Later!
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Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Birthday in the happiest place on earth!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
The Music Show
I'm not sure if, in the future, my kids are going to appreciate me posting this, but it was a significant enough event in our household that I thought it was worthy of sharing. During the last week of February, Merrilee and Jacob started planning a "Music Show" for us to watch. They practiced, made tickets to the event, and gave Jay and me our own personal invitations. It was actually quite impressive. Unfortunately we had several long days with late dinners and we just didn't get the opportunity for the kids to present their show. So it wasn't until March 2 that we finally got to see what they had been working on. The tickets were personalized for each attendee, and even the instructions on the invitation were personal: "Please turn off all cell phones" on the grown-up's tickets, and "Snacks and drinks are aloud" (sic) on Katie Mei's.
The event was titled "The Music Show" and the tickets indicated that we would be watching the team Hit The Beat Rock Stars. I have no clue how they came up with that name for their "team" (they're totally unfamiliar with the concept of a music "group" so they just assumed it's called a team), but it has kind of a modern, edgy sound to it.
They started with a little opening number that had Merrilee on guitar and Jacob doing vocals. He just kept repeating "Rock stars", so I wasn't really sure if he was singing or if he was trying to introduce the "team", but it was part of the show.
Then Merrilee interrupted the music for a solemn moment. She said this show was dedicated to the men who are in the military fighting for our country's freedom. Now please note that this Music Show took place the day after Jay's promotion ceremony, and the week after she finished her American History textbook, so the patriotic stuff was still quite fresh in her brain. Jay was presented with a badge which reads "Welcom chornl", translated "Welcome, Colonel". He had apparently done a great job in his first 48 hours as a Colonel, since it also had an A+ on it! I'm not sure, but I think the red blob right before Welcom is an eagle.
Now this is the part of the show I have debated posting on the blog. Merrilee decided to sing the National Anthem after the lovely patriotic part of the Music Show. The snag here is that she doesn't really know the National Anthem, and she certainly doesn't know much of the tune. She knows the ending of it-- "and the home of the brave," but that's about it. I hope she forgives me one day for sharing this with you. She did make a disclaimer right before she sang that she had learned part of it wrong and didn't realize it until she re-read the words in her history book the day before the show. We told her to go ahead and sing it anyway. And I hope she forgives me for failing to conceal my snort of laughter in the video when she sang "whose broad red and white stripes...". It really was too much for my poor lungs to hold in!
Jay and I loved the show, and were delighted to be entertained by our kids. Merrilee and Jacob sure enjoyed putting it together for us and did a great job with all the details. Katie Mei sat with us and enjoyed it too. However, I think she would have rather have had a bedtime story. She just didn't quite pick up on the same humorous nuances of the Music Show that Jay and I shared for quite some time after the show was over. Don't worry, Katie mei, your day is coming!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Random Things
Sometimes I wonder what goes on in my head. I don't usually stop to think about this, but it's at those odd, random moments when I can step back and look at myself from the viewpoint of an outsider (meaning someone else who's not in my head).
What kind of person do you see here?
This is the junk I just pulled out of my older purse as I make that seasonal change to a new purse. It makes me wonder how an outsider would describe me just by viewing the baggage I carry around with me every day.
The first thing that really jumps out at me is Did I really have 12 (12?!) lip products in that little purse? I hardly ever put it on unless my lips feel dry or I'm going to church. There were two glosses, one medicated lip balm, two shaded lip balms, and seven lipsticks. Do you realize how much room all that lip junk takes up in a purse? And what really cracks me up is that this past Sunday I was looking for a particular shade I knew I owned and couldn't find it anywhere in my make up drawer. I have spent three or four days this week wondering where it was. Duh. Who is this woman who keeps taking lipsticks out of my drawer and putting them into my purse?
I also wonder why I have five packets of breath freshener strips (one is hiding next to the Trident breath freshening gum). They're usually only used at church, too, and not always by me!
The three pens are a necessity...I have to have them. One of the worst things for me is to have to ask someone if I may borrow a pen. Don't like touching other people's dirty pens.
That brings me to the two bottles of hand sanitizer. Yep, we go through lots of that stuff.
And we have to have hand lotion, though I usually just leave that in the car glove box. Don't need to carry that around. The Visine A needs to stay in the purse, though, especially since we're already into pollen season. My eyes give me fits.
I can't really explain all the candy. I love, love, love peppermint Lifesavers and keep a bag of them in the car. Sometimes when we're heading into a store, I'll grab a handful and toss them into my purse. These are the ones that fell to the bottom and didn't get found again. They remind me of the sticks of gum my mom used to have in the bottom of her purse when we were little. Mom used to smoke and I can clearly remember her sharing sticks of gum with us and there'd always be little tiny bits of tobacco stuck to the gum inside the foil. Didn't mind it at all. It's always kind of funny to think about it.
The three Dove chocolates came from a little old lady at church whom I don't even know. She called Jay over a few weeks ago and dropped three candies into his hand and told him to give them to the kids. It's dark chocolate and the kids don't like it. I don't really know if I want to give the kids candies from little old ladies at church, anyway. Not that I don't trust little old ladies, but they always make me think of old Aunt Bethany on that show National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Remember the one who wrapped her cat in a box and put cat food in the lime Jello mold? That was the first thing I thought of when Jay handed the candies to me and told me where they came from.
The few Smarties left in the roll were Jacob's. He's always sharing, and after eating 3/4 of the roll, he handed me the leftovers and said "Here Mom, you can have the rest of my Smarties since you like them." I think that was in early January.
I bought the Trident last summer and there are two pieces of gum in there. I threw them away. I don't chew gum very often. It was getting rather rubbery, anyway.
The empty lollipop stick was Katie Mei's. She got a sucker this past Thursday when she got her vaccinations. She ate the sucker in the commissary and then didn't want to carry the stick around. I told her to hold it until we found a trash can, but she wasn't having any part of that. Against my better judgement I stuck it in my purse. Literally, stuck.
I don't know why there is a pencil eraser in there. Guess that's just part of being a homeschooling mom.
Three packets of Equal because I love iced tea but don't like going to restaurants that only have Splenda. Gotta have the Equal. These packets have seen better days. Time to change them out for fresh ones.
There is an index card with the names and phone numbers of friends we met up with while we were on our trip to Florida in January. I just never took the card out when I got home. There's also a business card for the tobacco cessation person at the military clinic. She helped me make an appointment for Katie Mei once. Don't know what the connection was with tobacco, but anyway, I had her card.
I also had the receipt for the kids lunch during Friday classes, a Publix receipt, and a JC Penney receipt, my shopping list from Thursday, about a dozen coupons I didn't use, a business card for Merrilee's eye doctor, and my little bundle of America World Adoption Association business cards. They still have my Maryland info on them, so they're useless at this point, anyway. Why do I have all this useless stuff?
What you don't see are my very fat wallet full of my IDs, two major credit cards, library cards for two kids and myself, coffee club cards, a Sam's Club card, and other junk I cannot remember. My cell phone and a little box of ibuprofen and compazine are also not in the photo. Don't go looking up compazine on the internet. It will tell you it's an antipsychotic drug used to treat schizophrenia. I'm not schizophrenic. At least not today. I have it for motion sickness and anxiety. Don't usually use it, but I got the Rx a couple years ago and found it more effective that other nausea drugs, so I keep it handy. And if and when I do become psychotic, it will be good to know it's there when I need it.
My new purse now has only three lip products in it--lip balm and the two skinny tubes of shaded balm. Nice for springtime! And I only put in two packets of breath freshener strips. Still need those so the Montgomery's are not offensive at church. I dumped most of the coupons, all the receipts, business cards, half-eaten candy, and the Equal.
The reading glasses, sunglasses, and pink comb stay.
I'm kind of still feeling like the crazy cat lady with a hundred cats because of my lipstick issue. Wonder if the compazine would help with that....
What kind of person do you see here?
This is the junk I just pulled out of my older purse as I make that seasonal change to a new purse. It makes me wonder how an outsider would describe me just by viewing the baggage I carry around with me every day.The first thing that really jumps out at me is Did I really have 12 (12?!) lip products in that little purse? I hardly ever put it on unless my lips feel dry or I'm going to church. There were two glosses, one medicated lip balm, two shaded lip balms, and seven lipsticks. Do you realize how much room all that lip junk takes up in a purse? And what really cracks me up is that this past Sunday I was looking for a particular shade I knew I owned and couldn't find it anywhere in my make up drawer. I have spent three or four days this week wondering where it was. Duh. Who is this woman who keeps taking lipsticks out of my drawer and putting them into my purse?
I also wonder why I have five packets of breath freshener strips (one is hiding next to the Trident breath freshening gum). They're usually only used at church, too, and not always by me!
The three pens are a necessity...I have to have them. One of the worst things for me is to have to ask someone if I may borrow a pen. Don't like touching other people's dirty pens.
That brings me to the two bottles of hand sanitizer. Yep, we go through lots of that stuff.
And we have to have hand lotion, though I usually just leave that in the car glove box. Don't need to carry that around. The Visine A needs to stay in the purse, though, especially since we're already into pollen season. My eyes give me fits.
I can't really explain all the candy. I love, love, love peppermint Lifesavers and keep a bag of them in the car. Sometimes when we're heading into a store, I'll grab a handful and toss them into my purse. These are the ones that fell to the bottom and didn't get found again. They remind me of the sticks of gum my mom used to have in the bottom of her purse when we were little. Mom used to smoke and I can clearly remember her sharing sticks of gum with us and there'd always be little tiny bits of tobacco stuck to the gum inside the foil. Didn't mind it at all. It's always kind of funny to think about it.
The three Dove chocolates came from a little old lady at church whom I don't even know. She called Jay over a few weeks ago and dropped three candies into his hand and told him to give them to the kids. It's dark chocolate and the kids don't like it. I don't really know if I want to give the kids candies from little old ladies at church, anyway. Not that I don't trust little old ladies, but they always make me think of old Aunt Bethany on that show National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Remember the one who wrapped her cat in a box and put cat food in the lime Jello mold? That was the first thing I thought of when Jay handed the candies to me and told me where they came from.
The few Smarties left in the roll were Jacob's. He's always sharing, and after eating 3/4 of the roll, he handed me the leftovers and said "Here Mom, you can have the rest of my Smarties since you like them." I think that was in early January.
I bought the Trident last summer and there are two pieces of gum in there. I threw them away. I don't chew gum very often. It was getting rather rubbery, anyway.
The empty lollipop stick was Katie Mei's. She got a sucker this past Thursday when she got her vaccinations. She ate the sucker in the commissary and then didn't want to carry the stick around. I told her to hold it until we found a trash can, but she wasn't having any part of that. Against my better judgement I stuck it in my purse. Literally, stuck.
I don't know why there is a pencil eraser in there. Guess that's just part of being a homeschooling mom.
Three packets of Equal because I love iced tea but don't like going to restaurants that only have Splenda. Gotta have the Equal. These packets have seen better days. Time to change them out for fresh ones.
There is an index card with the names and phone numbers of friends we met up with while we were on our trip to Florida in January. I just never took the card out when I got home. There's also a business card for the tobacco cessation person at the military clinic. She helped me make an appointment for Katie Mei once. Don't know what the connection was with tobacco, but anyway, I had her card.
I also had the receipt for the kids lunch during Friday classes, a Publix receipt, and a JC Penney receipt, my shopping list from Thursday, about a dozen coupons I didn't use, a business card for Merrilee's eye doctor, and my little bundle of America World Adoption Association business cards. They still have my Maryland info on them, so they're useless at this point, anyway. Why do I have all this useless stuff?
What you don't see are my very fat wallet full of my IDs, two major credit cards, library cards for two kids and myself, coffee club cards, a Sam's Club card, and other junk I cannot remember. My cell phone and a little box of ibuprofen and compazine are also not in the photo. Don't go looking up compazine on the internet. It will tell you it's an antipsychotic drug used to treat schizophrenia. I'm not schizophrenic. At least not today. I have it for motion sickness and anxiety. Don't usually use it, but I got the Rx a couple years ago and found it more effective that other nausea drugs, so I keep it handy. And if and when I do become psychotic, it will be good to know it's there when I need it.
My new purse now has only three lip products in it--lip balm and the two skinny tubes of shaded balm. Nice for springtime! And I only put in two packets of breath freshener strips. Still need those so the Montgomery's are not offensive at church. I dumped most of the coupons, all the receipts, business cards, half-eaten candy, and the Equal.
The reading glasses, sunglasses, and pink comb stay.
I'm kind of still feeling like the crazy cat lady with a hundred cats because of my lipstick issue. Wonder if the compazine would help with that....
Friday, March 12, 2010
A Very Special Day
Does anyone remember what happened one year ago today? Let me give you a little reminder.
I tried to think of something profound and wonderful to say in this post, but I cannot even begin to put my thoughts into words.
Bringing Katie Mei home from China was an ordeal in itself. An amazing blessing, a testimony to answered prayers, a spiritual journey. And the gift of life she was given by God via the hands of the surgeon is nothing short of miraculous; anyone who has heard her story knows that God has had his hand on her. But to look at this photo, I see something else that others don't see. I see the other children we met in the hospital that didn't make it home. The ones who are still there or who did not survive.
And I see the beginning, albeit unknown to us at the time, of our own long stay in the hospital. The flood of emotions I felt at being there for two months is still raw: the helplessness when she was in surgery, the fear when the complications began, the frustration when she wouldn't heal, the raised hopes that were let down again and again...it's all very hard to process. I am surprised at myself that I still cannot go back there in my mind.
But what I can say is that God is good all the time! Even through the deep valley we had to walk last March and April, God never let us or our daughter out of his grasp. He continually provided for us daily. He provided for our own health, for the care of our other two children, for the class I was teaching back home, and so much more. All our prayers were answered, even if they were not always answered in the time or fashion we would have liked. For that I am grateful.
Obviously I will never know why we had to go through what we did, but I will never be less than thankful that God chose this precious child to be our daughter. And in being thankful for her, I am thankful for everthing that caring for her entails, deep valleys and all. One day I will see it all clearly, but for now I will praise Him because he is God, not because he makes my life smooth.
Happy Heart Day, Katie Mei. I hope you can grow up to be thankful to the Lord and give him the glory for the great things He has done.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb
And I'm way behind the herd!March is already here and I've failed to get so many things posted. So I'm going to try to get caught up a bit in the next few days. It seems like we've been on a bit of a roller coaster since the end of February. The kids and I took a short trip to SC to visit my parents, and had a great time. We had one fairly warm day to go to the beach and let the kids dig in the sand, but pretty much every one else had the same idea! Katie Mei had a wonderful time playing with Gramma's dog, Cody, and now we cannot pass the pet section in the grocery store without her pointing and yelling out "Cody!" every time she sees him on a bag of dog food. Gramma also graciously spent some time playing Katie Mei's favorite game, Curious George's Discovery Beach Game. You Go, Gramma!
The day we got back from SC, I came down with some horrible stomach bug that knocked me for a loop! I spent almost two days in bed. Right after that was over, Katie Mei, Jay and I got bad colds. So we've all been rather out of sorts for awhile. Katie Mei was nice and sweet to her Mommy for the most part, but I think that was because Daddy stayed home from work and she got to watch TV continuously.
We finally got a little warmer weather and I got outside when I felt well enough to walk around. the fresh air was reviving, and I grabbed the clippers and started pruning the crepe myrtles. Before too long everyone was outside doing yard work. I was glad my burst of energy was more contagious that my stomach bug!
So I still have lots more to share. Stay tuned for my next installation where I share the Music Show, featuring the "Team Hit the Beat". For now I leave you with this video of Katie Mei on the day she learned how to ride her trike. You can hear her saying "I did it!" Go Mei Mei!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Meet Colonel Montgomery
May I introduce to you the United States Marine Corps' newest Colonel?
Yesterday was a big and long-awaited day for our family. Jay was promoted to Colonel after nearly thirty-three years serving our country. The longest part of the wait for him was probably just the past few months, since we didn't know exactly when he'd get to officially pin on the eagles. He was pretty sure it wouldn't be in January, but hoped it would be in February. Then the February list came out and he missed being on it by just one, so he knew he was first on the list of five promotions for March. So his staff and the General scheduled his promotion ceremony for March 1, a cake was ordered, and a reception was planned weeks ago. On Friday he checked the list again, and found that the list had been changed and the Marine Corps was only going to promote one person in March...and it would be him. The other Lt. Colonels on the list were bumped to April. Talk about a bummer! They probably already had their promotion ceremonies scheduled and their cakes ordered, too, and had to cancel three days before. Ugh!
With many thanks to the Marine who graciously took photos for me, I now share some highlights of our Monday morning.
Taking the Oath of Office
Reading the Directive from the President of the United States
Officially a Colonel of the Marine Corps
The General and I pinning on those Eagles!
The obligatory speech from the General
The obligatory (short) speech from the promotee
The surprisingly long receiving line (I think it was at least as long as the one at our wedding!)
A quick family photo opportunity
Yesterday was a big and long-awaited day for our family. Jay was promoted to Colonel after nearly thirty-three years serving our country. The longest part of the wait for him was probably just the past few months, since we didn't know exactly when he'd get to officially pin on the eagles. He was pretty sure it wouldn't be in January, but hoped it would be in February. Then the February list came out and he missed being on it by just one, so he knew he was first on the list of five promotions for March. So his staff and the General scheduled his promotion ceremony for March 1, a cake was ordered, and a reception was planned weeks ago. On Friday he checked the list again, and found that the list had been changed and the Marine Corps was only going to promote one person in March...and it would be him. The other Lt. Colonels on the list were bumped to April. Talk about a bummer! They probably already had their promotion ceremonies scheduled and their cakes ordered, too, and had to cancel three days before. Ugh!
With many thanks to the Marine who graciously took photos for me, I now share some highlights of our Monday morning.
Waiting for the General to arrive
Taking the Oath of Office
Reading the Directive from the President of the United States
Officially a Colonel of the Marine Corps
The General and I pinning on those Eagles!
The obligatory speech from the General
The obligatory (short) speech from the promotee
The surprisingly long receiving line (I think it was at least as long as the one at our wedding!)
A quick family photo opportunity
Congratulations, Jay! Your whole family is as proud as can be to belong to you!
Love,
Pet
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