Alot of Stuff

Just some fun pictures from last couple of months.

This last month or so has bee a little crazy and I apologize for so much time in between post. Nick got notice a little over 3 weeks ago he was losing his license for 1 yr!!!!!! He had 2 tickets in 24 months, we are still working on that, forgot what it was like having to drive your kid around, but I think we are making head way thanks to grandpa knowing the State's Attorney

Then, two weeks ago today my Grandma passed away very unexpectedly. She went in to have 2 stints put in for poor circulation to the legs, after a long surgery something was hit and the bleeding they were hoping would stop. Once she was taking to ICU they very quickly realized the blood was not clotting and she sadly bleed to death. Although she had been wanting to be with Jesus for a long time, not the way we have hoped she would go. But now she is in the presence of God our King and singing his praises and seeing the man she had loved for so many years here on earth.

Things are now slowing back down and we are preparing for a long needed trip to Florida the first of April, so ready for the sun and just laying around.

Hope everyone else is doing great, will stop by to visit you all soon:)

Birthday Party

Well my baby boy turned 18 last Friday, we had a family party at home and as usual it was a little crazy. My nephew fell running and hit his ear on the corner of the steps and punctured clear through his ear and even left a small cut on the head where it went through the ear!!!!!!!!!!!!! After some bleeding and tears he was ready to eat cake and ice cream and play with all the cousins, thank goodness the rest of the evening was a little calmer. Here are some photos from that night:) A couple of Lily and her cousin Sohpie who is from Guatemala playing in Lily's room was just soooooo sweet, I told my sister in about a year they will run up to Lily's room to play and leave poor Samuel out. He did manage to make it into the bedroom and played with Lily's new dollhouse, so sweet to seem all play together:)

Time Out??

Am I a stinker??



What causes a timeout? Well today the two brothers babysat for Lily, my first text came asking what in the world we fed her for breakfast, eggs and an orange, "well she has Pooped twice already." LOL Next call I get, "guess what your daughter did now"? While Blake was emptying the dishwasher Lily decided to dump her baby powder on the carpet and end tables, just got the carpets cleaned Wednesday, oh well they smell good!! That did manage to get a time out, too scared to get down because the sweeper was running would be my guess of how they got her to stay! LOL Now the dog, we have a beagle who is 14 and Lily bugs the heck out of her, her next time out came from chasing the dog around the house pushing her highchair, which she finds very funny, Lily not the dog. LOL Anyway they all made it through the day and when I came home Lily and Blake both were fast asleep one on the couch the other in the chair, guess they both had a rough day.

Merry Christmas

We hope everyone had a great Christmas. Here are a few photos we would like to share. We all had a great Christmas and Lily really enjoyed opening her presents. She also had fun making Christmas cookies. I think that she liked eating the candy sprinkles more than decorating the cookie, but she still had fun.

Where has the time gone???

Oh my goodness I cannot believe I have not posted in about a month!! When I went to upload some new pictures I could not believe how long Lily's hair is getting, guess you see it everyday and don't notice it. She also go her first busted lip, on Thanksgiving day she was walking with her eyes covered up and walked right into the table giving her a bloody lip, the next day I was trying to scrub what I thought was ink of her face and realized that evening she was getting a nice little bruise. We got family photos the other night but Lily was NOT in a good mood and starting to get sick hope to post them soon but will have to take Lily back for her individuals, it was not pretty. Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and looking forward to an amazing and blessed Christmas.

My Baby is 2!!!!!

Lily celebrated her 2nd birthday on Sunday, her celebration actually started with party Saturday evening, one Sunday afternoon, followed by Chinese at our favorite restaurant. It was so sweet as soon as we walked in the young gal said, "oh it's Lily's birthday" can't believed she remembered, she also gave her a sweet gift, she along with her husband are from Fujian and always treat Lily like a little princess when she comes in:) She had a great time, can't believe she is already 2 though, where did the last year go?

I wondered that day, did her birth mother remember it was her birthday? I am sure she did and probably shed a few tears, as we said our prayers that night we prayed that somehow her mother would know she was safe and very much loved. As I looked down at Lily with her little hands crossed peeking up at me as we prayed I thanked God for the mother who gave her life and for allowing me to take over when she had to let go.

Trick or Treat

Lily really enjoyed Halloween this year, it started last week going to 2 church truck or treat parties, the YMCA, followed by a party at daycare yesterday morning. First, her favorite treat are SUCKERS, think she had at least 4 last night. She started out a little clingy but by the third house is was a pro. She loved knocking on the doors although I am pretty sure they couldn't hear her little taps but once in she was headed straight toward the candy bowl picking out a few for herself. She was a trooper and was not in bed til 10:30pm, thinking she would sleep in, ha!! she was up at 6:30 asking for Kai Lin to be put on followed by a whining spell because she wanted a sucker for breakfast,ok I gave in but it was followed by a bowl of cereal, think we are going to need to hide the candy and she's not even 2 yet!!!! Just a few pictures of a cute little St. Louis Cardinal Cheerleader

Let's figure out....... What to do?!!!

Up until about 3 weeks ago Lily was really not interested in watching tv, I would put on ni hao, Kai-lan, she liked the music and would watch about 5 minutes and then be off again. Well that has changed, she now loves ni hao Kai-lan and wants to watch it all the time!!!!! We have almost all of them on the dvr and so she now yells out K when she wants it on, which is way too cute, but boy I think we are all getting tired of it. LOL Every once in a while you can sneak in a Backyardigans and she will watch it, but nothing else. I have bought the only dvd out which came with a cute HoHo doll and I am really hoping they start merchandising some of the other characters. I am excited that of all the shows she could watch she picked this one, she will yell out the Chinese words when Kai-lan ask, it is just way tooooo cute!!!!

Home Coming and Hong Kong Guide

Over the last few weeks Nick has had his Home Coming followed by a reception we attended welcoming our guide from China here to the states. There were over 200 hundred who attended all eager to say hello to a woman who was amazing and made our time in China wonderful. Have some photos of Nick and Lily before the Home Coming and then some at the reception of Lily and her friends Olivia and Maimie. It was so nice to see everyone again, it was a fun evening but wow did Lily wear me out. She had 2 naps that day and was full of it!!!! She would just go up to anyone, climb up on a chair and enjoy whatever snacks they may be having, girl is not shy. LOL Again, we have just been so busy lately, and preparing for the BIG 2 yr birthday party here in a few weeks. :) Hope everyone is having a wonderful Fall!!!!!

We Slept in our Bed!!!

So, we have had 2 nights in a row of Lily sleeping in her crib ALL night!!!! We spent about an hour the other night playing in her room, she has always liked being in there just not sleeping in there. That night she fell asleep in our bed and Jeff moved her in her bed around 10:00pm and she slept until 6:30!!! You would think that meant a good night sleep, but I think I got up and checked on her at least 4 times. LOL Anyway the following night she actually fell asleep in her bed, so we are making great progress :)

We also went to Fox Ridge State Park on Sunday, the weather was great and Lily had a great time playing outside, hopefully this will not be one of the State Parks closing on November 1.

Jeff and I also had our first date night since coming on with Lily which was almost 14 months ago!!! We went with a group from church to see the new movie called "Fireproof". Our town of 20,000 was originally not going to show the movie because they didn't not think there would be much interest but after several phone calls I am thrilled to say that ALL showings SOLD out. If you have a chance to see it please go, it was a wonderful movie on relationships and how God can bring any relationship closer together.