I updated it by myself! :)

Check out the new blog (that I updated all by myself!!) and see an updated picture of our sweet Aaron! :)

Click here

Halloween pictures up!

Still working on getting you guys over to the new site. Head over now to see Allison as a lovely butterfly! :)

click here

I'm still learning my way around iweb, but it sure is fun! Scott has to help me with it every time I want to upload, but soon I'll learn how to do it myself and update all the time like I used to! Yeah!

TAKE NOTE!!!

I know, I said the last post would be THE last post, but I had to write at least one more time on here to tell you that the link to our new website has changed. This change will allow you to make comments, which I'm excited about since comments are so much fun!

SO, just click on the link below and save it to your favorites and then you'll be able to visit AND make comments. Yeah!

I still have a LOT to do to make the site how I want it, but hang in there with me!

Go HERE and see a new post! :)

Have a great rest of the week!
Laurie

The POT IS BOILING!! China here we come!

This will be my final post from this website. We are going to use iweb for our next blog, and I hope you'll all join us over there today for our BIG NEWS!!! I promise to write more later- all I know is that we're hoping to head to China in early December. Praise God! :)

Now, head on over to see pictures of our darling boy Aaron. When you get to the page, click on "Our son Aaron" to open up the page for today! :)

A Watched Pot

Well, I'm tired of watching the pot, so I decided to update the blog with some new Omaha pictures. :) I decided this at 9:00 AM but just remembered that I hadn't actually posted it and it's 5:00 PM. Oops!

I would call Vala's the "mother of all pumpkin patches". In fact, I don't even remember seeing a lot of pumpkins- it was more like a HUGE fall festival of fun. After looking through my pictures I realized that I needed to take a few of the surroundings and not just close ups of my kiddo- sorry. I guess you'll just have to take my word for it that it was a really cool place! Or, go to Omaha next fall! :)

I have a lot of pictures from this day, so it'll take me a few days to get through them all.

Happy Thursday, everyone!



Heading out of the hotel and to the pumpkin patch. Daddy always makes the ride fun!



First we visited the park where Daddy played as a child. He couldn't wait to take her up in his favorite rocket, only to find out it had been barred up so you couldn't get in it. Ah, the 70's, where nothing was really safe. I sometimes miss those days! :)



The good witch!



"Here's a flower for YOU!" Is anyone else's child OBSESSED with flower/weed picking????



Reading a sign about the bunnies. Love how her little finger is pointing to the words! The sign told her not to put her hands over the fence because the bunnies might bite. It was cute to see her scared little face after she read the sign.



We spotted Cinderella (not sure what she was doing at the pumpkin patch, but okay), and you can see the anticipation in Allison's face as she waits her turn to say hello.



This is our child's nervousness showing through.



The nerves give way to excitement as she runs to meet Cinderella!



Okay, I'm no Cinderella, but no one's PAYING me to be her either! Allison could care less- she thought she'd met the REAL princess and was happy to have her picture taken.

More Omaha fun!

One thing on our list of things to do in Omaha was to visit Boys' Town. We didn't have time to take the official tour, but we did learn a lot from the kind lady at the gift shop, who told us all about the grounds, the programs, etc. We toured the grounds and supported the mission by purchasing a few things at the shop. :)

On Saturday night we visited our friends Matt and Heather. Their family was in our travel group from 2006, and Heather and I have grown very close over the past couple of years. We turned in our dossiers for our 2nd adoptions on the same day, but they received their referral a month earlier, so they are headed to China THIS WEEK!! If someone came to visit me a week before I went to China I'd be a basket case. Not Heather! Her house was spotless (and I have a feeling it's like that every day, not just when visitors come!), she had prepared a yummy meal, and she had activities for the girls to do. Seriously, this is one organized woman! Claire (their 3 year old) was a bit under the weather, and Allison was a bit cranky from lack of sleep, but they got along great and had a fun time anyway. Thanks to Heather's older kids being fantastic helpers, the adults were actually able to have some nice conversation throughout the evening. We enjoyed their hospitality so much and can't wait to return for some more! :)

My next post (unless something exciting happens tomorrow, PLEASE let something exciting happen tomorrow!!) will be from our awesome time at Vala's, a pumpkin patch in Omaha. I can't really call it a "patch", though. It was more like, well, there's just no way to describe how HUGE and wonderful it was!! We could have spent the weekend there and still not done everything. Stay tuned for pictures!

The Omaha Zoo

We had a ball at the Omaha Zoo on Saturday! We noticed upon our arrival that weather.com was a bit off on its prediction for the day. We were going to be very chilly! Allison was fine, but Scott and I had to purchase jackets right away. :) Our favorite spots at the zoo were the penguins, the really cool aquarium, the tigers and the butterfly house.

Before walking into the butterfly house we were given some rules to follow. One of the rules was to not reach out for the butterflies- you might hurt them. I didn't notice until we were about halfway through the house, but Allison was holding her hands behind her back the whole time. When we got out I asked her about it and she said, "I didn't want to hurt any of the butterflies, so I kept my hands behind my back!" :)




I guess Allison wasn't as excited about our trip? :)



Allison and Mommy enjoying the aquarium



Allison asked us to "act like fish". I really have to give Daddy the prize here for the best fish! :)



Allison is having a talk with the penguins



We're inside the butterfly house. If you look closely you can see Allison in the background with her hands behind her back. :)



Daddy asked us to make scary faces. Grrrr!



Oh my- she sure had fun playing on the lions!



Sweet face, huh?

Allison's first "recital"!

We are back home after a FABULOUS weekend away. Now, you might think fabulous means that we went somewhere exotic. Nope. Fabulous to me means going ANYWHERE, just getting away, spending time together, doing fun things, etc. I am very easy to please. Our getaway this weekend was to.... OMAHA!! No, we didn't just close our eyes and point to the map. :) Scott was born in Omaha, we have friends in Omaha, they have a great zoo in Omaha... the list goes on. We had a blast!! I will be posting about our adventures all week, as soon as I can figure out what's wrong with Scott's camera and why it's not downloading the pictures correctly. Grrr!! So, in the meantime, here are some pictures and videos from Allison's dance "recital" last week. Enjoy!

Taking the Weekend Off!

The other day Scott told me that my blog has been "less than interesting" this past week and that maybe we needed to do something fun so I'd have something to write about. Ha! SO, we are going away for the weekend. Away from computers, away from blogging, away from waiting on news about Aaron- just away!

I promise when I return I'll have ballet pictures and hopefully some new pictures from a fun weekend away. See you then!

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch!

Happy Thursday! We had such a fun morning with our friends, Cat and Morgan. We headed out to a local pumpkin patch we'd heard a lot about. Turns out it's really famous for the activities it has available on the weekends. Oh well- we still had lots of fun with the girls, and with temps in the high 50's, I was in HEAVEN!! After playing at the patch we headed to lunch at St. Louis Bread, or Panera, depending on where you live, and it was oh so yummy, as usual!

I love the story of how Cat and I became friends. She was Allison's first swimming teacher when we took the Mommy and Me class at the Y last year. She taught the class while demonstrating everything on her own daughter, which I thought was really neat. As is so often the case I found myself thinking, she seems like such a neat person, but I have no idea how to become her friend. Making friends was so much easier when I was younger. I didn't have so many insecurities. Or I did but I didn't let them get in the way. Turns out God had a plan for us, as he placed us at the Borders store at the mall on the same morning a few weeks after swim class had ended. We began talking, discovered we were both Christians, and there you go- we became friends. Recently we've gotten our husbands together and they seem to hit it off too, so it's nice. :)

Right now my little angel should be napping or resting, but instead I hear the sweet little pitter patter of feet running back and forth from room to room. Obviously NOT sleeping OR resting. Hmmmm. Tonight is the final ballet/tap class, and parents can watch, take pictures, etc. SO, look for a new post tomorrow with ballerina pictures. Until then!




Getting Allison and Morgan to pose at the same time proved quite difficult, but I tried!



It was tough to get her off the swing to look around some more! This girl and swings- she could go for hours!



How cute is THIS? I told Cat I should be paid for this picture! :)



Allison and Mommy peeking through the bus



How 'bout them pumpkins? :)

Be Patient, Be Patient, Don't be in such a hurry...

These are lyrics to a song I learned when I was a very little girl, that I still sing sometimes today. Here's the whole song...

Be patient, be patient, don't be in such a hurry
When you get impatient, you only start to worry
Remember, remember, that God is patient too
And think of all the times when others had to wait for you

This little song helps when you're in a long line at the post office or when a friend is late meeting you for lunch. It's not helping me out too much as I wait to hear word on if I've been officially accepted to adopt again from China. The general consensus was that we would hear something this week. That consensus has changed due to an email we received from our agency today, explaining that the CCAA (big wigs in China) is a bit behind due to being on vacation, and to please have patience waiting for RA's to be delivered. SO, that sounds like nothing will be happening this week and it really gave us NO idea as to when they might come. Just that they will come. Eventually. Meanwhile Aaron is getting older every day and living under the care of nannies in an orphanage. Not exactly what I'm wanting for him. I want him home, with us, being loved on all the time! I'll keep you posted on any progress. You never know, we could still hear something in the near future, but for now, I'm not holding my breath. :(

I couldn't JUST write this icky news, so here's an old picture of Allison just for fun! :)

Stylin'!

No new news around here, although I sure wish there WERE! We are expecting to hear about our final approval to adopt Aaron any day now, so every time the phone rings I jump! So, don't call me! Ha! Scott is designing us a new blog, and as soon as we hear news about Aaron and are able to post his pictures, we'll start that new blog. I'll post the link to it on THIS blog so you can all follow us over there. I'm PRAYING I can make that announcement on Thursday- just my guess as to when we'll hear some news. For now, I'm holding you over with a picture of Allison before church this weekend. Nana loves her a good children's boutique! Thanks, Nana!! :)

WARNING: Proud Mama Post Ahead!

I've been saving my money to buy a program called "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Days!", but I think I'll spend it on books instead. Yesterday I found Allison in the middle of her room, which was covered in these little beginner reader books that I was planning on introducing her to in the near future. She looked really interested in them, so we headed to the couch to read one. I suggested she read it (although up till now she'd only sounded out words and was not able to string them together), but she said, "Let's take turns. You read one page and then I'll read one." I said, "Okay, you start." I never got to read. She, very slowly, read the book to me. Daddy missed the moment, so this morning I called him into her room and handed her another new book from the collection. She sat on the floor in front of us and read us the book. We were giddy!! :)

Wordless Wednesday

Nothing in particular..

When you blog almost every day you really hear about it when you go three days without updating. Sorry 'bout that. Our everyday lives have fallen into quite the routine, thus fewer pictures are being taken. I can only take so many swimming, dancing, and preschool pictures, and those events are taking up a lot of our time these days. Loving it all though!

I do have a few random pictures to share and a cute video. The first one needs a bit of an explanation. Allison is VERY into writing these days, and the other day she was going back and forth between her table (where she writes and does crafts) and my "office", where I "work", showing me all of her little words and sentences. At one point she brings me the one you see in the picture. I was struggling to make any sense out of it, but finally I made some weird guess based on what I saw. She laughed and said, "No, silly! It's He is Risen!" OH, I didn't know to read it backwards. Those of you out there who have experience with this, is it normal for kids to write backwards? Should I be concerned or just keep reminding her to write left to right? I figure she'll be fine if the thing she's writing about is the gift of eternal life, right? :) After a few minutes she comes back with the 2nd sheet and yells, "INDEED!" I was crying. I know, I'm a sap, but come on! That piece of paper will be saved in her time capsule!







Indeed He is, little one!



During rest time (what a joke!) I was in my own room resting. When I came out, this was the scene. :)



Another "rest time" photo. The thing that's special? She's in her brother's room. :)

And the video- cracks me up! She was reading to Shay Shay, but you'll hear her get caught up in a sentence and have a hard time getting out of it. So funny! I was trying so hard not to laugh at her, but it was tough.

Give me an I, Give me a Can't, Give me an I Can't Sleep!

Tonight Scott went to check on Allison (who was supposed to be sleeping) and came back laughing, telling me to get the camera. I said, "Why, what is she doing?" He said he went in there and said, "Goodnight, Allison", and she said, "K!" He thought she meant okay, so he said, "Okay, goodnight." She said, "No, K!" She was in her bed trying to make different letters with her body, and she was trying to tell him that she was in the letter K. OH MY GOSH! I guess when you're not really tired and it's too dark to read you have to make up a game to amuse yourself. Of course I grabbed the camera. She gave me an I, an L, a T, and an X. I have a feeling this will turn into a nightly ritual!

Favorites for a Friday

Since I have nothing new to say (never stopped me from talking before!) I thought I'd post some favorite pictures from the past. Enjoy!

A few stories for the day...

The other day in the car, out of nowhere, Allison asks, "Who lives in Asia?" Uh, uh, uh, lots of people. Just kidding- that's not what I said. I gave a decent answer and made sure to include her brother, of course. Then she said, "Do we live in North America?" I said, "Yes, we do." Then she says, "Well then, who lives in South America?" I'm like, heck if I know. Where is this all coming from? Did she not get the memo that I do NOT do geography? Wait till your dad comes home and ask him! :)

"Mommy, I have to poopy!" I said, "Okay" and met her in the bathroom. She proceeds to show me her panties and says, "See, there's just a LITTLE poopy on there. It's no big deal, really."

Yesterday for lunch I served lima beans and peas, mixed together. I walked into another room after serving her lunch and I hear her yell, "I'm not going to eat the lima beans, okay?" Later when I checked on how she was doing with lunch, I didn't see any lima beans. I was so excited. I said, "Oh, Allison, you ate all your lima beans?" She said, "No I didn't. I didn't want them on my plate so I put them over here. They were all on the table, in a nice little line, kind of hidden behind her glass. Silly Mommy!





I love this picture of my brother holding Allison for the 1st time. :) He was a hit with her from the very start!



Allison is getting to know her daddy. Not so sure about facial hair.



Love this cuddle shot!



This was taken the week she turned one. She was working on "telling" me she was ONE!



Our first trip to the train station to welcome Nana and Papaw! Is she relaxed in that stroller or what?

A busy week- LOVING it!! :)

This week is jam packed with activities and fun times! Between swim class, park dates, school and MOPS, this week is proving to be a busy and fun time for Allison and me. The weather is in the 60's, making it an even more wonderful week for yours truly. :)

Thanks for asking how school went for Allison and for ME! I did just fine. Teared up a bit on the way to the car, but then I was fine. I listened to some 80's music on the radio, turned up really loud, the whole way home. It was a wonderful break from nursery rhymes!! Allison had a wonderful experience and was full of stories in the car. I arrived a bit early and watched through the glass for a bit. She was busy with her new friends and teachers and didn't even notice me. I was thrilled and can't wait to take her back tomorrow for more good times.

Thought I'd provide a couple of stories along with today's post.

1. Every once in awhile Allison will ask about her adoption story in one way or another. One thing she's been focusing on lately is her Chinese name. She likes to say, "When I was in China my name was Wei Feng Lu, right?" It's sooo cute the way she says it. The other day she finally asked, "Mommy, why did you and Daddy name me Allison Faith?" Now mind you, I think it's just fine that other folks have incorporated their child's Chinese name into their American name, and I understand and support their choice to do so. We chose not to, however, and the way I explained it to Allison was by telling her that we wanted her name to be given to her by people who truly loved her and would be her mommy and daddy forever! She liked that answer. For those of you not in the adoption community, here is how the naming works.

Wei- a first name given to her by the nannies in the orphanage
Feng- She was brought to the Nanfeng orhpahage, thus the Feng
Lu- the last name of the orphanage director

What was funny about the story was that she then turned to me and asked, "Mommy, what was YOUR name when YOU were adopted?" Uh, Uh, Uh... stammer, stammer, stammer...


2. We've been reading a book lately called China's ABC's (great book- thanks, Nana!), and Allison just loves it. The "C" is for calligraphy, and she keeps asking if she can write like that someday. I say, "Sure!" Well, the other day I saw her writing with a black marker. I asked, "What are you drawing?" She said, "I'm not drawing. I'm doing calligraphy." I said, "Oh, you're writing like the people in China write?" and she said, "No, I'm doing it my own way. I'm doing the St. Louis kind of writing." :)

That's all for now. :)



I've heard from the BTDT crowd that soon I will be VERY sick of all these papers coming home from school, but I sure loved seeing them on this first day. It was just neat to see all they did in such a short time. Of course the teacher in me came out- I went over the work with her and talked with her about each paper. :)



A new game before swim class- pretend to be stuck in the lockers. How cute is that smile?



Just a pic from swim class- still loving it!



Showing off her 1st "homework" assignment. She had to find things around the house that started with "F" for show and share time tomorrow. How I wish I could be a fly on the wall. I had her practice taking each thing out and telling me about it. I'm going to make her hate school before she's 7, aren't I? Ha!! Notice how beat up my kid looks. The rug burn on the chin looks a lot worse than it did the day it happened, and she has some new bite on her neck that's made her look all rashy for 2 days. Poor thing.