Again, more silence

Apparently, my children have a great love for writing on themselves..

At least this was just sidewalk chalk - no big deal. Definitely beats the time when Evan was about 18 months old and gave himself a Hitler mustache with permanent black marker.

The Green Monster

Of course, it was too quiet and I should have known better.

Why, though, is it always when you are running late and have to be somewhere on time (we were going to a surprise birthday party) and now you have to give them a bath?

Always beware of silence.

Holy Doormat Batman!

Check out the fluke that my brother in law Bill caught! It was 14 lbs! The thing was so ridiculously huge - Scott was just freaking out. We were really happy for Bill - it was almost as big as Evan! LOL

The garden grew great this year - lots of tomatoes. The sunflowers got as huge as dinner plates - I'm so mad at myself for not getting the kids to stand by them one more time. Evan's pumpkin grew the biggest this year, and Abby's plant got two little sweet ones. I love that the kids are so into gardening. They love helping me pick the tomatoes; sunflowers are awesome for them to grow because it seems that they grow a foot in a day! I hope it's something that they'll always want to do with us!

Summer Re-cap -

Well, the painting is done and the floors are all finished and came out beautiful. It was alot of work with the kids and I'm beyond relieved it's over. Everything came out beautiful and we're back to normal. Now I can catch up on posting!

When we were still at my mom's, we went to an Olympic's party hosted by our friends Missy and Greg. The kids had a ball. To our surprise, our friends Sharon and Eric, who we traveled to China with, came with their daughter Katie. Abby and Katie were in the same orphanage together. In just about all the pictures we have of Abby there, Katie is right next to her. When you see them together, there is just something about them together- they L O V E each other. They hug each other so hard that most of the times they fall on the ground. It's like the have a bond with each other, it's the only way I know how to describe it. Katie and Abby actually sat and watched the Opening Ceremonies and were cheering. It was adorable. I love what Katie does for Abby - just brings her out of her shell. Sharon and Eric have become such great friends of ours - we just love 'em and feel so blessed to have them as part of our family.

We thought the Opening Ceremonies were spectacular! We knew the Chinese would not disappoint - it just meant too much to them.

Thanks for not giving up on this blog!!!

Hugs,

My poor blog, I'm not ignoring you

I have so much to catch up, and I want to get everything updated before Disney, so I can post pictures when we get back...I'll update tonight and over the weekend. Thanks for your patience! I hope we still have somebody out there reading! LOL

A true classic

Ahhh, yes - it's almost that time.




But who's counting ;)
It's been crazy around here - I'll post soon!

Hugs,

Beijing 2008

Like the Five Olympic Rings from which they draw their color and inspiration, Fuwa will serve as the Official Mascots of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, carrying a message of friendship and peace -- and good wishes from China -- to children all over the world.
Designed to express the playful qualities of five little children who form an intimate circle of friends, Fuwa also embody the natural characteristics of four of China's most popular animals -- the Fish, the Panda, the Tibetan Antelope, the Swallow -- and the Olympic Flame.
Each of Fuwa has a rhyming two-syllable name -- a traditional way of expressing affection for children in China. Beibei is the Fish, Jingjing is the Panda, Huanhuan is the Olympic Flame, Yingying is the Tibetan Antelope and Nini is the Swallow.
When you put their names together -- Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni -- they say "Welcome to Beijing," offering a warm invitation that reflects the mission of Fuwa as young ambassadors for the Olympic Games.
Fuwa also embody both the landscape and the dreams and aspirations of people from every part of the vast country of China. In their origins and their headpieces, you can see the five elements of nature -- the sea, forest, fire, earth and sky -- all stylistically rendered in ways that represent the deep traditional influences of Chinese folk art and ornamentation.

Ni Hao!

I remember the day that the Olympic Committee announced the mascots for the Beijing Olympics - I was on a flight from Beijing on our way to Jiangxi Province to adopt Abby! They had English copies of a Chinese newspaper and it was totally cool to read about the mascots - I still have the newspaper. We had seen the big countdown sign outside of Tienenmen Square when we were in Beijing - I didn't take a picture of it because we were walking so quickly that day to get to the Forbidden Palace; I wish we could have just slowed down a bit for that one!

So, tomorrow is the big day and we're really looking forward to the Olympics this year because they are in China. Of course I understand the problems surrounding the Olympics with human rights abuses and China's control of Tibet - we obviously do not support China on this. However, I am very excited that the world can get to know China on a more personal level - and that they will see what an amazing culture and land that China is. I have no doubt that the opening ceremony will be awesome. My wonderful friend Missy had a great idea to throw an Olympics party. We are going to spend the evening with other families that have adopted from China watching the opening ceremonies together. It's kind of a big deal for us and a way to celebrate our children's heritage with them. We are very proud of where our kids are from and are excited that the rest of the world can see the wonderful people of China.

Hope you like the pictures of the Olympic Garden in Beijing.

OMG, I forgot to mention that my sister got Travel Approval! She should be able to leave for Katie at the beginning of September!!! We cannot wait!!!! We love you Katie! You can check out my sister's website at www.katieliling.com

Hugs,