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We waited anxiously in a hospital waiting room for the baby of our family to have her first baby. Then we blinked and that baby turned 18.
Happy Birthday, Sadie!! We love you!!
My parents said, "I do"...and I'm so glad they did!
Fast forward 50 years and Mary Beth and Ed are celebrating their 27th wedding anniversary (how'd they get SO old?)...and Katie and Sadie are going to their senior proms. Time sure does fly when you're having fun!
Lily and I stopped by and caught Katie in the midst of having her hair done for the prom. That didn't stop Katie from throwing her dress on...mid updo...so she could have her picture taken with Lily. Needless to say, Lily was thrilled!
Then we headed up to Patti's to see Sadie all decked out in her prom finery.
Have I mentioned lately how much Lily LOVES her big girl cousins??? You know what's so nice? They love her, too!
I wonder if Mom and Dad had any idea 50 years ago how their love would create so much more love!
No, this post doesn't have anything to do with eating chocolate for breakfast. However, you still may need to make a dentist appointment after reading this. I'm just not sure you're prepared for so much sweetness!
This weekend Lily had her first ballet recital. Oh my goodness! Talk about precious!!
Lily's ballet teacher, Miss Jen, asked me if I'd be a "stage mom". Basically, that meant staying with the girls backstage and keeping them relatively quiet while the other dancers were performing. Oh, and trying not to gag while I watched mothers put make-up on their children (ages 3 - 6) before they danced. No, I am not kidding!
The girls were as good as gold backstage. I brought a big stack of books (Angelina Ballerina, Baseball Ballerina, Nina, Nina, Ballerina, etc.) with me and they all sat quietly and looked through them or peeked out to see the other groups dancing.
Lily was so incredibly excited!! She told me multiple times that she was not going to be nervous and that she wasn't afraid to be on a big stage in front of people even if she had to stand in the dark while she was waiting to dance. All of these reassurances without me asking a single question. Hmmm. You know what I was thinking. Right?!? Well, there was no need for me to worry! Lily did great!
I was able to go out and sit in the audience to watch Lily perform. I'm not ashamed to tell you that I cried...and laughed...and cried!
I had a problem trying to post the video of Lily dancing onto Blogger. So, here are just a few snippets of Lily's performance. Too cute!!
Lily had quite a large cheering section. Daddy, Dad Dad, Nai Nai, Aunt Sheila, Aunt Baba, Katie, Aunt Patti, and Christina were there.
After the recital we all went out to dinner to celebrate Lily's performance and our Family Day. It was really such a fun and happy day.
Oops, I've gotta run...the Bolshoi's calling.
We had a wonderful Family Day from start to finish!
We began the morning by eating banana chocolate chip muffins for breakfast. Lily and I made them Friday and they were really quite delicious. Lily got such a kick out of eating something with chocolate chips in it for breakfast! She said to me, "I guess since it's our Family Day we get to do crazy things!"
After breakfast we headed to ballet class. Lily was SO excited that Daddy was coming with us! The parents are not supposed to stay in the studio while the class is going on, but Lily didn't care that Daddy couldn't watch. She was just thrilled knowing he was right down the hall!
After ballet we headed out to lunch and then to the park for a rousing game of Poohsticks. For those of you who are a little rusty on your Hundred Acre Wood games click here and here for more information. I've just got to tell you it cracks me up that there's actually detailed information about Poohsticks on the Internet. Anyway, Lily absolutely LOVES playing Poohsticks and could play for hours and hours!
Lily had so much fun spending the day with Daddy. It was very cute listening to her talk to Tony. Lily acted like she was the tour guide for the day.
"Don't worry Daddy. Mommy and I will show you how to get to ballet and what to do because you might not know Miss Jen's rules."
"Daddy, now we're going to go out to lunch. Okay? After lunch we'll go to the park. Okay?"
"When we get to the park just follow me and I'll show you the way to the bridge, Daddy."
"First we'll play Poohsticks and then we'll walk and show you the dam. Do you know what a dam is Daddy?"
Once Lily was finished playing Cruise Director we went out to dinner with Jim and Wendy and their children to celebrate our mutual Family Day. Jim and Wendy were united with their daughter, Amanda, the same day we were united with Lily.
After dinner was finished we all went to watch the Chinese Acrobats of Hebei. They were absolutely AMAZING!! Despite the fact that they were amazing I think I'll ask for my money back for my ticket. I don't think I should have to pay if I couldn't bring myself to watch! Right?? I seriously had my hands covering my eyes most of the time...and I can't imagine what my blood pressure must have been!! The acrobats were incredibly talented and performed extremely dangerous stunts effortlessly!
We also saw our friends Christine and Lian at the performance. Christine is the one who told me about the show. I'm so glad she did. Lily, Tony, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
It was an extremely fun and very long day. By the time we got home it was very late and I had one Sleeping Beauty in the car. No, not Lily...her daddy!
As I was getting Lily ready for bed I asked her what was her favorite part of our Family Day. Without missing a beat Lily answered, "Eating chocolate for breakfast!" Like I said, it was a great day from start to finish!!
Three years ago today, in a conference room on the other side of the world, something truly magical happened - we became a family of 3.
From the very first moment we were united with Lily life has been nothing less than extraordinary. In every way imaginable Lily is a dream come true! Lily is a sweet, happy, engaging, articulate, funny, sensitive, and beautiful child.
Lily wakes up in the morning with a smile on her face and goes to bed each night the same way. During her waking hours Lily puts a smile on the face of everyone she comes in contact with....especially her mom and dad!
I know that Lily did not become this happy, healthy child by chance. From the moment we were united with Lily it was obvious that she had been loved and well cared for long before we ever met. As a result of that loving start to life our transition into a family has been miraculously smooth.
We recently sent an update to the orphanage that was responsible for Lily's incredible care. I am hopeful that word of how happy, healthy, and loved Lily is finds its way to Lily's foster family and, perhaps, her first family.
The last 3 years have passed so quickly! I know that the next 3 years...or 30 years...will pass just as quickly. I also know that each day we spend with Lily is an indescribable gift from God and we plan to cherish every second!
Before I became a parent one thing (among many) that I never really considered was that you don't parent in a vacuum. I guess on some level I knew Lily would be exposed to other people's parenting styles...and I also knew that some parents think it's okay to swear in front of their children or to hit their children. I just never really considered how that would impact me as a parent or impact my child.
In the last two days Lily and I have witnessed two incidents that really confirm the whole "not parenting in a vacuum" thing. Please bear with me while I vent a little.
On Monday Lily and I were in the produce section of the grocery store. There was another mom and her little boy (about 5 or 6 years old) in the same area. The little boy was watching Lily and I very closely. It was almost as if you could see the wheels turning in that sweet little head of his.
After we had gotten all our fruits and vegetables Lily said to me, "Mommy, can we go weigh the produce now?" (Yes, she does say produce...and using the scale is one of the highlights of Lily's trips to the grocery store. Right up there with the child size cart and the hand held scanner!)
Well, once the boy heard Lily say Mommy I think it gave him the confirmation he was looking for. He turned to his mother and said, "Look Mommy. That little black girl has a white mommy!"
To which his mother responded by hitting him HARD...and I mean H.A.R.D...across the back of his head. Naturally, the poor little boy burst out crying.
I was stunned...sickened really. Oh, and my poor Lily. Her eyes immediately filled with tears. Lily wasn't upset by the little boy's comment, but she was very, VERY upset to see a mother hit her child.
Off the top of my head I can think of about 1,000 ways that that situation could have been handled a whole lot better. There was absolutely nothing malicious about the boy's comment. He was simply trying to share with his mother what he had seen.
Sadly, I think the mother was embarrassed by her son's comment, but not embarrassed by the fact that she chose to respond by hitting him. It was really terribly sad.
We saw the mother and son several more times during our shopping trip and each time Lily got very quiet. At one point Lily said to me, "We're not supposed to hit people. Right? Mommy, maybe that lady doesn't know that. I think you should tell her." Boy, I hope she heard!
We also had a very unpleasant experience yesterday when I picked Lily up from school.
At Lily's school there is a special designated driveway for preschool pick-up. There are numerous signs clearly posted that there is no parking/driving in this area during designated hours. For safety reasons the school doesn't want a bunch of cars driving through while we are lined up waiting to pick up our children.
There is a separate parking lot that is designated for pick-up for the children in the upper school. The car pool lines for the upper school can get pretty long and occasionally one of the parents will try and "sneak/squeeze" past the preschool pick-up line. Well, yesterday was one of those days.
To make a long story short one of the moms from the upper school was trying to sneak/squeeze through the preschool pick-up line and one of the preschool moms wouldn't let her. What ensued was an ugly, screaming fight. The language used was unbelievable. It was terrible. Really.
Unfortunately, the preschool teachers inside the school had no idea what was transpiring outside and came walking out the door with the children in the midst of this ugliness. Poor Lily stopped dead in her tracks and had that look on her face like a deer caught in the headlights.
I rarely lose my temper, but I had had enough. As I walked to meet Lily I stopped long enough to calmly say to the two screaming banshees (I mean mothers), "Now that our children are being dismissed do you two think you could try to start acting like adults?"
I know I probably should have kept my big mouth shut, but the look on Lily's face just about broke my heart.
Lily is one of those kids that is very "tuned in" to her surroundings. She doesn't miss a thing. Seriously. These two incidents, albeit unpleasant, have led to a lot of great conversations between Lily and I.
I know I won't always be able to protect Lily from everything unpleasant, but I will continue to try my best. Because I don't know about you, but I want to see this beautiful smile as often as possible!
Lily was off of school all last week for Spring Break and we had so much fun. Tomorrow it's back to school and truth be told I'm more than a little sad.
I know, I know...Lily is only in school 2 hours twice a week...but I still miss her! Lily is such a happy, easy going little sweetie that it doesn't matter if we're grocery shopping, folding laundry, scrubbing the tub, or outside playing we always have a lot of fun!
Last week Lily and I spent two great days with our neighbors, Wade and Sandy. Not only do they live right down the street from us, Wade also attends the same preschool as Lily. Sandy, Wade's mom, and I have been friends for several years and have gotten even closer since our children started attending the same school.
I guess you could call what Lily and Wade have a love-ignore relationship. Some days they simply can't get enough of each other...other days you would think they've never met!
During spring break Lily and Wade definitely hit it off! Together we spent one day at a train museum and another day at a park/farm.
It is so much fun to watch Lily and Wade play together because they truly are polar opposites. Wade is as much a daredevil as Lily is tenative and Lily is such a chatter box while Wade is a man of few words. None of that seems to matter. Most of the time when they are together they're both all smiles!
When we weren't spending time with Wade and Sandy we were having fun at the playground, taking hikes at the park, going on picnics, meeting Daddy for lunch, riding the miniature trains, going to storytime, and just enjoying spending lots of time together.
How many more weeks until summer break???
The other morning for breakfast Lily and I were eating some of the hard-boiled eggs leftover from Easter.
When I bit the top off of my egg and popped the yolk out (I just CAN'T eat the yolk) it looked exactly like a little cup. I said to Lily, "I bet you could drink your milk out of this." I then poured some milk in the egg cup and handed it to Lily.
Well, you would have sworn I had done the greatest thing ever! Lily drank all of her milk in little tablespoon increments from the egg cup. She absolutely LOVED it!! She even asked me to take a picture of her, "Because Daddy will never believe what I drank my milk out of."
When we were finished breakfast Lily said to me, "That's one of the things I love about you best, Mom. We do such fun things together!"
It really is all about Life's simple pleasures!
We had a wonderful Easter with our Easter Lily! Everything was just so nice...right down to the weather. I love it when it works like that!
Lily started out the morning by searching for her Easter basket. That took all of 2.2 seconds. Next year the Easter Bunny is going to have to be a little more creative with where she...I mean he...hides it!
After eating some chocolate we had a nice breakfast at home and then headed to church. We went to Easter services at the Deaf church.
Worship at this church tends to be a lot more visual and interactive than a traditional service. It turns out that this is not only an effective way to reach Deaf people, it's also a great way to reach children.
I just about fell over when Lily leaned over to me and said, "I think she just signed - The tomb is empty." Lily was right. I just didn't realize Lily's receptive skills were SO good. By the way, the service is voice interpreted for the signing impaired ;-) Lily had just picked up the meaning before the interpreter had a chance to voice it.
Oh, and another thing. Lily got such a kick out of the minister munching on Peeps during her sermon. The minister used the Peeps to help demonstrate that the reason we celebrate Easter has nothing to do with Peeps, M&M's, and jelly beans and everything to do with the fact that - The tomb is empty! Her sermon made quite an impact on Lily.
After church we came home and Nai Nai stopped by for a brief visit and to drop off some Easter goodies. After Nai Nai left we had a quick Easter egg hunt in the backyard and then headed up to Patti's to celebrate with the rest of the family.
Patti's house was full of family, friends, and yummy food. Every year Patti and Dave host a wonderful Easter gathering complete with an awesome Easter Egg hunt. Dave does such a good job hiding the eggs that even the "big girls" still participate.
The fact that the weather was truly picture perfect was just the icing on the cake of an absolutely beautiful day.
Speaking of cake...I made a carrot cake and a lemon meringue pie from scratch for dessert. Not much of an accomplishment for an almost 45 year old woman I'll admit...but for me...it's HUGE!
I should also mention I never would have been able to make my culinary "masterpieces" without the Internet. How on earth did people cook before the Internet??? Seriously?!?
When I was making the carrot cake I realized the baking powder had expired (a true sign of how often I bake). I didn't have time to go out and get more so I just looked up, "what to do if your baking powder is expired?". I quickly got a few tips for a "sizzle test" to see if the baking powder still had leavening power and voila I knew I was good to go.
And the lemon meringue pie...forget about it! I made a lemon meringue pie years ago and ended up with a dollop of meringue about the size of a quarter in the center of the pie. I'm still traumatized by that baking fiasco. Once again the Internet to the rescue. Did you know they have little video clips online about how to make a meringue pie??? They do! And, guess what? It worked!
