Wordless Wednesday

An everyday sight in China.  Finding myself missing China....the people are wonderful!

♥ Tammy ♥ 

♥ Is She Chinese? ♥

“Is she Chinese?” That’s the question one of the girls in Joy’s Chinese dance class asked their teacher the first night Joy walked into class.  Joy got tickled at the question and asked her with a grin, “Do I look Chinese?” They all got a chuckle out of it and the teacher assured them that it didn’t matter if you were Chinese or not…..anyone could take the class.

We laugh about the fact that 2/3 of my children are Asian and the one that’s not is very interested in the Asian culture. This is Joy’s second year of taking Chinese as a second language class. In addition to that class, this year she is also taking the Chinese dance class. She just loves it. This class will perform at the Chinese New Year festival.

Her fan came from China and it just so happens that in this dance, they are dancing with fans…….just the kind she brought back from China.  It really is a beautiful fan that pops out with the neatest sound and just flows with the dance.



Instantly, Joy made friends with several of the girls…….Kaia, Annie, and Ying Jie. Kaia was adopted as an infant. Annie has Chinese parents but was raised here in the states, and Ying Jie has Chinese parents as well.  Ying Jie is a little shy, but Joy has won her over.  :)

From left  to right.....Ying Jie, Annie, Joy & Kaia

I hope I can video the dance when they perform it so you can see it. It is different from American dance, but it is pretty. You may remember Joy dancing with the ladies in the park in Hohhot, China. If you missed that post, you can see it here.  So taking this Chinese dance class is a very exciting thing for her!

So is she Chinese? Yes, a part of her is and always will be now. After traveling to China, it just becomes a part of you.  :)

*************************************************

 

For Sandra's 31 days of fall challenge, I have another of Joy's pics to share.  She loves photography and got some wonderful photos that shout fall and she gave me permission to share with you.  The many leaves that collect on our sidewalk going up to The Cedar Loft:

 



Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a wonderful day!  :)

♥ Tammy ♥

We Met in China.....

Kim and Chuck live only 7 hours from us, yet we first met in China, Hohhot China to be exact. They were there to bring home their 2 year old daughter, Shiloh, and we were there to bring home our 2 year old son, Luke.

Kim and I found each other a little before leaving for China as we waited. We talked online and eventually on the phone. We hoped that it might work out that we would be in Inner Mongolia, China together. It was looking a little iffy. Kim and Chuck knew they would be there a particular week and we didn’t know until later. It all panned out and we were arriving there on the same day, and at the same hotel!

We met Luke the day we arrived and they were excited right along with us and anxious to see Luke as quickly as possible. I know it had to be hard for them to wait to get their daughter because they didn’t get to meet her until two days later. (Luke and Shiloh were from different orphanages in Inner Mongolia). Not long after Shiloh arrived in their room, we came by to meet her as well. She was SO tiny compared to Luke! We all had a great time getting to know each other (and our newest additions) as we hung out in China.

Little did we know then that our bond would extend this far. Since we came home from China, we’ve stayed in touch, over the internet, over the phone, and made plans to get together over a long weekend.

Well, we finally had our weekend! Labor Day weekend, Kim, Chuck, Dakota, and Shiloh, came to see us and were also our first guests in The Cedar Loft! We were so excited to have a special place for them to stay. By the way, they dubbed it “The Turner Bungalow”.

It was just like we picked up right where we left off! We had never met 6 year old Dakota, so we were excited about meeting her for the first time too! She took to Joy immediately.

We had a wonderful weekend together! But, it passed much too quickly!

They arrived on Thursday and we spent most of that day just catching up on everything. First off, Joy gave Dakota and Shiloh manicures. Luke was their audience at the “salon”. Later the kids swam and I just realized that we never got photos from that. Oh well…….they had a great time. Chuck was the “big kid” swimming with all of the kiddos. He’s great with kids!  We had dinner at home and Luke and Shiloh had their "own table".

The little ones were worn out by the end of the evening.  Dakota fell asleep on the couch; Shiloh fell asleep standing up, leaning over the chair; and Luke fell asleep in the other recliner.  They all had to be carried to their beds.  :)

Friday was a full day. We spent most of Friday at Incredible Pizza. We ate WAY too much and the kids had a great time. Here are some highlights from that day:

The kids got their faces painted. It was actually the first time Luke had ever had his painted. I didn't get a picture of Dakota, but her's was cute too!

Later that night at home, Joy getting tackled!

That evening Joy had her Chinese language class and we all came home and snacked on the desserts I made before they arrived. I'm so glad I did that because instead of spending the weekend cooking and cleaning up, all of that was done and we were able to spend our time visiting.

Saturday was a full day of sightseeing  and MORE eating, and we were all exhausted at the end of the day. Yet, we came home and ate again…… :)

Kiddos with the Peabody Duckmaster

They were doing the tango on the ballroom floor of The Peabody Hotel to the singing tune of "Wags the Dog, He Likes to Tango" from the Wiggles.

I love this photo of Shiloh running through the River Park

The daddys and the babies...

There was a Pirate Festival going on.  Here the kids are with none other than Captain Jack Sparrow.  Notice Luke wasn't crazy about that at all.

Sunday was a little more low key. I really enjoyed sitting and looking at Kim’s very BIG albums that she scrapbooked of China! She did such a great job on them! It made me want to get busy on my photos as well! We enjoyed an evening out to dinner at our favorite Asian restaurant and the kids had a little while to play in the play area of the mall.

Kids Table

Maybe you noticed the extra kid? That's Hang Hang. He's the nephew of our server at the restaurant. He's gotten to know us a little bit. He's only been in the US a few weeks. Of course, Joy's in love....again! :)

Hang Hang (or Jason as he's known) calls Joy "Jie Jie"



Luke has made a friend!



We call that "The China Pose"

And my goodness, they came bearing all kinds of gifts! They brought snacks galore…….and much more! Do they know me or what? Look what Chuck gave up from his country antique collection to bring me! Anyone know what this is? I’d like to see how many people guess it.

It's different....and I am happy to add it to my collection! It found a place of honor in my kitchen near the stove.

They really are such giving people! They brought Luke a puzzle, Joy a journal, and Kim even donated hairbows for Joy to sell to raise money for our future China trip, as well as teaching her how to make this particular style of hairbows too. Oh and Kim even thought to bring a couple of crafts for the kids to make while they were here. Let me tell you, Kim is one organized traveler! Thank you Kim and Chuck for everything!

We have made friends for life. I can’t wait to see how the kids grow each year. (Luke and Shiloh had both grown so much since that time in China). Oh, and Kim and I have decided that an arranged marriage just might be in order. :)

I wonder if they have any idea what their moms are planning?  :)

We really enjoyed your visit Kim, Chuck, Dakota and Shiloh! You are always welcome here! We love you guys!

This Time Last Year.....

This time last year......

We were on a plane to China!  

Father's Day last year was our Forever Family Day!  That is still so hard for me to believe!  My....how our lives have changed!

I'll be back with a post about this past year with Luke......so I hope you'll come back! 

Have a great Thursday!  :)

American Girl Draws Crowd!

While in China, we really had a great time in Hohhot (Inner Mongolia). The little park down the road across the street from our hotel (home away from home) became a familiar place to spend the late afternoons/evenings. We'll always have special memories from there. It was full of Chinese culture and we loved watching people and even enjoyed the people watching us! :) Yes, we got lots of stares, but the people were very very good to us. From a post in China, I told you about Joy dancing with the Chinese culture dancers in the park. Some days there were just a handful of dancers there, and at other times there were more. Joy watched them and I could see her wheels turning wanting to try it. Well...on the third night of watching them, she asked if she could ask to join them. Her dad was a little reluctant, but finally agreed. I think he wasn't sure how they would take to a foreigner joining them or if she knew the dances well enough to join in. They graciously invited her to join them. Each time they did a little different dance, so she really was winging it and just watching and learning as she went. As you can tell, she drew a crowd. I suppose they were all interested in this American girl dancing their dances! We were so proud of her and she was so glad she had the courage to go up and ask!


Here she is in a posed picture with them afterwards....

M.I.A. - What's Been Going On Around Here

Did you think I vanished? I don't think I've ever gone this long in between posts....ever. I apologize. It's been a different kind of week around here though.

First of all, Colt has had the flu since last Sunday evening (October 4th). He was quite sick with this flu, with body aches and high fevers up to 104 degrees. He missed an entire week of college and work. This is very rare for Colt. For him to stay at home, in bed, for that long, is very unusual. I'm so thankful that he is better and up around and out, finally. He was able to return to work yesterday and to go to church today. Now, we're just praying the rest of the family doesn't get it. Joy is so determined to NOT get it....she won't even go near his room. I suggested she "borrow" a pair of his anklet socks, and she wouldn't hear of going into his room for them! She knows she doesn't have time to get sick! lol!

Next of all, you know from my last post that we are initiating the adoption process. Well, if you know anything about that at all, you know it's alot of paperwork. Any spare time last week was spent in researching medical issues, talking to adoptive parents, talking with our social worker for the homestudy, and the adoption agency, as well as filling out the many forms and papers that are required. We found THE adoption agency for us. We decided to go with B.A.A.S. The lady that is working with us, Xiaoqing, is just wonderful. It makes such a difference to know we have someone like her working with us. It's so obvious that she really cares and she is very efficient. It is also so exciting to know that a child.....our child.....waits for us somewhere in China.

Along with the homestudy, of course, comes a visit to our home from the social worker, so since we made it past Colt's bout with the flu, we began cleaning and organizing our home yesterday. We took, I believe, four or five bags of trash out of just our bedroom and the hall linen closet. It's amazing what we hang onto that we really don't need! So that brings me to the one thing for which I have pictures to show today! We rearranged our bedroom after cleaning and it looks so much better (and bigger) this way. Funny thing was though when Colt came home Saturday night from work and came into our room to tell us goodnight, he was disoriented. Of course, he has come to expect the unexpected from us. He never knows what he'll come home to find....whether it be a wall knocked out, something being painted, crafting spread over the table, or worse. He sat on the side of my bed, looking around, and remarked how he liked it. Not bad for a twenty year old guy. Maybe I trained him well. :)

So, here are some photos of the bedroom rearrangement. Our bedroom is country, but not primitive. Someday it will get a makeover....all in its own time. (However, I do have a little makeover in progress too). I spent my birthday money on giving our upstairs bathroom a new look. We're working on that too. That's another thing we've been up to. Actually Jason has done more on that than me. Joy and I worked on the bedroom, while Jason painted the upstairs bath. I'll share more on that on a later post. Okay, here's the bedroom pics:









So I hope you excuse my absence from blogland this past week or so. I'll try to do better....really. And I've been just as bad about visiting blogs....couldn't there be just a few more hours in a day? It sure is hard to balance it all, isn't it?

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day and a wonderful week! :)
~ Tammy ~