Eli's First Halloween!

The cutest pumpkin of the 2011 season!

Olivia & Ellye

He was so good while I was painting his face!

I am not a lover of Halloween celebrations. I LOVE celebrating Fall, and I have taught my children that Halloween for our family is just a fun time to dress up, trick or treat, go to the pumpkin patch, or enjoy hayrides! I have explained to them that some people celebrate Halloween as the devil's holiday, but as Christians we do not! We celebrate Fall for its beauty and bountiful harvest of crops!
 The kids of course are all about trick or treating and can't wait to find the "perfect" costume!
Have you seen the price of children's costumes??? OMW!!! I could not believe the price of costumes, even at Wally World! I refuse to pay over $10.00 for something that will more than likely be worn one night, and will probably be ripped and or stained by candy by the time the night is over! I have always been very frugal when it comes to costumes. This year really was no exception. So off to the thrift shops I went a lookin! I already had Eli's costume so it was just Liv & El that needed new ones. I lucked out this year and spent less than $10.00 on everything! We were given so many compliments on the kid's costumes! I LOVE a bargain!!! 
Eli absolutely loved having his face painted. He was not real sure about trick or treating until he realized that there was candy in his bucket!! That did it for him! He had a ball! He looked so cute, and the only time he cried was when someone approached him wearing a scary costume. The weather was perfect for trick or treating and the kids walked for around an hour and then they were ready to call it a night! I can't believe October is gone and Thanksgiving is fast approaching! Where has this year gone to????

Oktoberfest time!

Seymour just celebrated its 39th Annual Oktoberfest! It happens the first weekend in October! Seymour is primarily a German town so the whole town comes out in full force to celebrate! With a name like SCHRINK, being German, we MUST attend! :O)  This year was a special year as it was Eli's first ever Oktoberfest!! I find it sooo hard to believe that a year ago Kayleigh, I,  & the 2 little girls were sitting downtown when Kayleigh checked her phone to see if we had received any new pics of Eli!!! And low and behold we had 2 new pics of him!! And here we are one year later and our sweet boy has already been home for 8 months already! WOW where did the year go to? We live only 3 blocks away from where they set up the festival, so it is within walking distance! We go every day and night! This year I purchased ride bracelets for the kids. This entitled them to ride NON-STOP Wednesday night, Thursday night, and until 5pm Friday! WHAT. WAS. I. THINKING? I was never so glad to see 5 pm Friday roll around in all my life!!! Eli is absolutely terrified to ride, but the girls had an amazing time! My best friend, no, really my sis Steph came down on Friday to attend as well, and we had the best time ever! I did get a nice surprise as my son Zach and my beautiful daughter in love were able to come down Friday and spend the evening with us to! The food was scrumptious, the sweet treats, elephant ears and funnel cakes were divine, and the weather PERFECT! All in all it was a great time and we look forward to it rolling around next year!

****Remembering 9/11****

I will never forget where I was when the first tower was hit in NY on that fateful day 10 years ago. I was on my way to work. I was teaching and I was in disbelief that an "accident" like that could happen! Then the second plane hit and I knew then that it was "NO" accident! My disbelief quickly turned to fear! Were we as a nation under attack? Unfortunately, yes.....yes we were under attack by a great evil. And now 10 years later the pain and memories of that awful day are still fresh in my mind. For months I had dreams that the US was under attack. I could see the planes in the air as they were swooping in to bomb us. I wold be running around trying to find a place to hide, wondering what it was going to feel like when I was shot. Yes, horrible nightmares. And now 10 years later my nightmares have taken on a different fear. For now my oldest son is a United States soldier bravely defending this country! Now my fears are not about myself, but about the safety and well being of my son. The hardest job I have ever had is being the mother of a soldier. I know our troops are making progress, but it is a war we will never win...the war on terrorism! I am sooooo very proud of my son, and I love his dedication and love for our country! But I am a mother, and I am afraid. I trust GOD with my eternity, so I must trust GOD with my son! 

Having 3 children who came from a c*mmunist country, and are now US citizens, I feel it is very important that they are well educated about the US and the job that our milt*ary does. We are a very patriotic family, and they know just WHY their brother does what he does ! We have taught them that freedom is not free! They know that they are here because of the brave!!! Are they proud of what their brother does! You bet!  So 9/11 has taken on a totally different meaning for me and our family. My son is schedulaed to be deployed within the year.....I ask that if you are reading this that you would say a prayer for my son and all of our troops! For without these brave young men & women we would not sleep well at night, nor would we be living in a nation that gives us the rights and freedoms we have! SO thank you to our military; past, present and future! May we all live lives worthy of their sacrifices!

Two Different Types of Love

Once there were two women who never knew each other
One you do not remember, the other you call Mother.
Two different lives shaped to make your one.
One became your guiding star, the other became your sun.
The first one gave you life, the second taught you to live it.
The first gave you a need for love, and the second was there to give it.
One gave you a nationality, the other gave you a name.
One gave you the seed of talent, the other gave you aim.
One gave you emotions, the other calmed your fears.
One saw your first sweet smile, the other dried your tears.
One sought you a home that she could not provide,
The other prayed for a child and her hope was not denied.
And now you ask me through your tears
The age-old question through the years,
Heredity or environment----
Which are you the product of?
Neither my darling--neither;
Just two different kinds of love.

The Red Thread

A red thread to China was cast today
From us to a child so far away.
This thread symbolizes an attachment of hearts That distance alone can't keep us apart.
Her mother and I are caught in a chase
That time alone will bring us to face
This loving young child we want so much to greet With love in our hearts before we did meet.
This tiny, thin thread may stretch, tangle or fray,But our love for her grows stronger each day.
Through the test of time it won't break or sever, She'll be part of us forever and ever.

With oceans between us, the distance is spanned
By a love that is greater than man could have planned.
For God in His mercy loved her and us
And decided our family would be a great plus.

So for now we'll just love her and pray every day
That God keeps her and loves her for us till we may
Travel to China, that land of great past,
To the side of our daughter, to hold her at last.


 

Indianapolis Chinese Festival!

On Saturday Sept. 10th, Indianapolis held their 4th Annual Chinese Festival! I found out that Hangzhou, Eli's hometown is Indy's Sister City! How cool is that? So that made it even more special to us! The girls were up early and they wanted to dress in their traditional Chinese outfits, so I allowed them to do so! We arrived right about noon so as not to miss one thing about the festival!!! The fest kicked off with the traditional Lion Dance, which is my favorite! Eli was not sure of all of the loud noise, but at least he did not scream! There were booths with traditional Chinese instruments, food, and wares that  could be purchased. They had a children's area set up with bubbles, face painting, Chinese hacky sack, Chinese Yo-yo's, Chinese checkers, origami, and an arts and craft area. Olivia had her face painted like a panda, Ellye got an airbrushed butterfly on her arm, and Eli got an airbrushed coyote on his arm! We watched a little bit of the dance performances and then the  kids were whining about starving! Zach & Courtney were able to join us in the afternoon, so  we played numerous games of Ping Pong!  Eli even played! He loved it!  We then took a walk around the canal and enjoyed our time away! By 4:00 the kids were getting tired and hungry again, so we went out to eat Chinese and started our way home! The fest was so nice and I can't wait to go again next year! Right now the girls are not really interested in watching the dancers, or the singers, which disappoints me..... but I am going to continue to go and incorporate their culture into their lives until they tell me they don't want it anymore! I feel like it is too important! I know they are young, and I pray that as they get older, they to will learn to appreciate, love, and embrace their culture as much as I do!

Some great pics of our funny boy!

Random pics of my sweet boy!

Back to school: August 11th, 2011

Ellye's first day of KDG

Me & the Gang!

Well, the new school year is here! Livvy is a second grader this year and this is EllyeKate's first year in public school! She is in afternoon kdg and loving every minute of it!!

The summer has literally flown!!

WOW! I can not begin to explain how busy our summer has been! It seems like school was just over and we have already been back to school for almost a week now! 
Eli continues to do very well. He had his surgery on July 14th, and did very well. He recovered nicely and it did not slow him down one bit!
FTIA held their yearly reunion on July 23 at Forest Park in Noblesville, and as always we could not wait! We enjoyed our day with friends from Seymour and made some new friends! It was very disappointing as the attendance was very low this year. I do hope that FTIA will continue to have the yearly reunions as I feel it is so  very important for our children!
We took a small vacation day and took the kids to Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana! The girls had been wanting to go all summer so Craig took the day off and away we went! The day was very hot so we spent a lot of time in the water park! Eli would NOT ride any of the rides! Little Stinker! He just screams at the top of his lungs! Ellye had a great time, and Olivia was all about the BIG kid rides! She informed me the "kiddie" rides were too "lame" for her! She enjoyed the roller-coasters and the bigger water rides in the water park.
School started very early this year! August 11th!! I never started school until after Labor Day! CRAZY!!! Both girls love their teachers and seem to be adjusting back to the morning routine! Eli was so excited that he to wanted a backpack..so mommy bought him his own little CARS backpack.

Zach was given a promotion in the ARMY and is stationed stateside! Courtney graduated college in May, and is now working for a large hospital. Kayleigh goes back to school next week and will complete her degree in May! So here we are halfway through August already! Soon it will be October and then the holidays will be upon us! Wish I could slow time!