Special Quilt Square

I had to put this sweet little square in my regular post so more people would see it. Alexia's school has a fundraiser which the children all draw a piece of art and then you can pay a pretty penny to have it printed on all kinds of stuff like bags and cups etc... This year she drew this picture and I ordered it on a quilt square for it to be placed on our mei-mei's (little sister) quilt. How special is that??

Alexia has such an awesome world view for a five year old. She loves learning about other cultures (just like her mom and dad)! She has a placemat of the world and will point to countries and start asking questions. I love that her little mind is like that and hope that she will continue to explore her big, little world.

Breaking news!

Alexia has lost her fourth tooth! It was her other top tooth as you can see from her picture. It was a little sooner than I expected, but a spirited little girl was bouncing around and bumped into a door frame. As she held her mouth, I noticed a little white thing on the carpet! I guess it was a little looser than I thought.

While we are showing off pictures, I'll show off my late night project last night - her "pillowcase dress". I saw one a few weeks ago when we were in Birmingham and knew I could make one myself. I can't wait to do another one!

5 months...

It's our 5 month LID-versary! I know I have a lot of translation to do for those not in the adoption world. But, to be brief on this post, today marks five months since our Log In Date. This date is given by the Chinese Center of Adoption Affairs when we are officially registered in their long wait list to adopt. Ours was 11-24-06.We have many more months ahead of us. But for now, we celebrate every month that passes which will bring us closer to getting our little girl!

Happy Earth Day

Now, many of you don't "know" me. Let me just state I am not a granola girl or a tree hugger. However, I have been a little more in tune with Earth Day this year. Maybe because it goes from 80 degrees one day to 25 the next that I am getting on board with this "global warming". Not to get on to that subject, but I do believe that we need to preserve the simplistic beauty of nature that God has given us to enjoy. I have tried to enstill little pieces in my children like picking up litter and cutting down on water usage. I try to minimize my own gas usage like avoiding staff meetings the days I don't work - haha!!

Anyway, this year San Fransisco has done something I think will eventually come around to the rest of the US. The major grocery stores have been banned from giving out plastic bags. I for one always have these kind of bags running out of my ears! I reuse them for diapers and dog poop (okay that's Erik's job). But are they ALL necessary? This reminded me of living in Europe when recyling was mandatory (fine imposed) and you brought your own bags or paid for them per bag.

So, on this Earth Day 2007, I have decided to purchase a start up lot of reusable canvas bags to do my grocery shopping with. The next time you see me at my Publix, it will be with 2 kids, a sippy cup, 2 bags of fruit snacks AND a load of reusable bags - thank you very much. It is a simple change and I still won't be driving a hybrid - but it's a change.

Awesome Secret Pal Goodies!!

I had a big ol' pakage from my Secret Pal sitting on my sunny front step today. I was so excited to open it up and find so many sweetly wrapped up gifts for the whole family-including one for our dog Tori! I couldn't resist taking a picture before I dove in further. At that time Alexia came home just in time to help me unwrap them all.

My Secret Pal spent so much time thoughtfully shopping (I can tell from her blog that's something she likes to do!) The theme for this swap was "Read Me a Story" hence all the books!

Look at all the stuff we got! She even included Lindt chocolate and some lavender scented soap -my favorites!

Two books we received for our collection were Madeline in London and Linnea in Monet's Garden since our pal knew we like to travel. Little did she know Alexia Madeleine was named for this little French girl and has been to all these places herself!

Another bonus was two more quilt squares!! One was a beautiful impressionist style deep blue print. The other was a fun little square with a London theme. Thank you SO MUCH!!!

Welcome all who come to this happy place!

I have done it! I am finally a blogger! I am painfully in the midst of creating this site for friends and family to check in on us, see what we are up to and for the next year (plus some) travel along with us on our adoption jouney. Check back often, I promise there is always lots to say in our household!