Publishing my blog

Just to answer Jocelyn's question regarding publishing my blog.... I was very happy with Blog2print.com . They give plenty of options regarding book design; the font and page set-up were very professional; and you can choose whether to include all your posts, comments, dates, etc. The book is bound quite sturdily in a nice hardback cover. You can also just buy a CD-ROM of the blog as well, if you prefer, and print it out on your own paper.

Here are some photos of my book. The total cost of this book (about 160 pages, hardcover), was about $63 when I ordered it during a special discount offer. The regular price would have been about $74. Shipping was free. Printing and delivery took about two weeks.

I am very happy with the printed book, and plan to do the same thing for my other two kids' adoption trips once I get my journaled work into blog form. Since their books will only cover the weeks leading up to the trip to China and a little of the weeks following our return home, the books will be much shorter than Katie Mei's, and therefore cost me quite a bit less.

Another site that I've heard good things about is picaboo.com . I believe prices are similar.

Merrilee's Special Day!

Today is the sixth anniversary of the day I became a Mother, and it's a very special day in our house. Merrilee came to us as a 14-month old toddler, and has brought more joy to my life than I ever imagined. She is dear to my heart, and my best friend.

I have been working on transferring my posts from our original Yahoo group for Merrilee's and Jacob's adoptions to a new blog for her. I'm doing this so I can get a book published as I have with Katie Mei's blog (I use blog2print.com) .

If you'd like to relive Merrilee's adoption day, you can go to http://treasuresfromchina.blogspot.com/ to read the post from that special day and see the photos.

Love you, Merrilee!
Mama

YMCA Soccer Camp

Jacob got his first taste of sports camp this past week with the YMCA Challenger British Soccer Camp. It was a crazy week of transporting kids to camp, VBS, gymnastics, Tadpole Time at the aquarium, and library visits. But it was fun!

We had to get Jacob to soccer camp at 9 am every morning. This was the hottest week we'd had so far, and the temps on Monday got up to about 102. Fortunately, it was only in the low 90s earlier in the day, so he didn't suffer too much. I have to give him credit, though. He never once complained of the heat or the gnats, which seem to be a constant around here now.

The first day I brought my camera along at pick-up time, this is how I found him. I had that familiar "Oh no" feeling that we had when he took Tae Kwon Do, and started to get bored with it. He ended up playing around much of the time and acting, well, dorky.


However, it was good to finally see him get out on the field and give it his all. He was fast, always alert, and tried to get into the fray rather than avoid it. He was a pretty darned good sport, and impressed me with his willingness to go after the ball.

On the last day of camp, the parents were asked to show up at the end to see the kids perform the tricks and turns they had learned. Jacob did a great job! He had learned more than I thought he would, and really seemed to have enjoyed the week. The coach reported on his evaluation that Jacob was one of the fastest kids out there!

The other really nice surprise was that Jay was able to get home from a business trip to D.C. just in time to make it to the soccer field! Jacob was thrilled to be able to have Dad see some of his accomplishments.

Jacob received a T-Shirt from Challenger, a new soccer ball, and a personal evaluation from Coach Craig Ingram at the end of camp.

Thanks, Coach. You made my boy very happy! And thanks for doing such a great job learning, Jacob! You'll definitely be going to camp again next summer!

"Hinkey Wonk", and the rest of the lyrics to "Jesus Loves Me"

This is for those of you who thought you knew the words to "Jesus Loves Me":

Jejus luh me, sigh know,

For na By-boo tell me so.

Leedle one da hinkey wonk,

Day dah weak buh tic-tac trong.

Yeh, Jejus luh me,

Yeh, Jejus luh me,

Yeh, Jejus luh me,

The By-boo tell me so.

Dusty Ricochet!

Introducing the newest member of the Montgomery Family! And no international air travel required!

Day Trip to Columbus, GA

Packed 'em up in the car on Saturday morning.

Headed to Fort Benning to check out the AAFES Exchange and see if they had anything cooler than our own exchange. Answer: Yes, of course! Can't beat an AAFES!

Then we explored a little and found the Columbus Museum of Regional History and Culture. Lovely little museum. It had displays on Native American history in the area, with some very insteresting exhibits. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to use photography in the museum. There was also a nice exhibit of the history of Columbus from the days of slavery through modern times. Quite educational for the kids as well as myself. Truly enjoyed the visit.

Afterwards we went outside to check out the fountain.

The kids threw coins into the water. I made them stand backwards to do it.

Then we drove to the river front to check out the Coca-Cola Space Science Center. There was a pretty garden across the street so we walked through there first and the kids enjoyed the water. It was a refreshing break from the heat.

The Space Science Center (http://www.ccssc.org/) was a small building but it had some pretty cool activities for the kids and grown-ups to enjoy. There were flight simulators (wish I had taken photos of us trying to fly our fighter jets), and this contraption that Jay was checking out. He didn't let the kids play, because he wanted it all to himself. Merrilee started teasing him and pushing buttons and messing him up when he was trying to fly his jet. Wonder where she picked up that harrassment package?!

There was also this planetary display where you could push the buttons and choose which planet you wanted to learn about. The globe would change to look just like the planet. It was some kind of projection device, but very, very cool.

Merrilee and I thoroughly enjoy the Infrared display that allowed us to see all the IR around and on us via an IR camera. We liked putting our hands on the floor and seeing the handprints we left behind.

When we were done with the displays we headed to the planetarium to watch a show about the creation and expansion of the universe. It was a very fun afternoon, and we got out of the space center just in time as a huge storm came upon us. The drive home was a little too exciting as we passed through several whopping thunderstorms and heavy rain. We were happy to be home, but so thankful that Daddy took us out for a delightful afternoon.

Our New Athletic Pursuit

On May 25, while Grandma and Grandpa visited, Merrilee had her Gymnastics Family Night. Her class is very small and of the six kids, only three showed up for Family Night. It made for an intimate presentation of their floor and beam routines. Afterwards the kids got to show their families some of their skills on the bars and trampoline.

I asked her to wear her newer purple leotard for the occasion, but she insisted on wearing the one shown in the photo. She said it felt patriotic and she wanted to feel like she was at the Olympics. In the end, I think she really did feel like a star!

That's Coach Renee in the photo above. I love Renee. She's firm and doesn't put up with any goofing off or lack of attention during practice. The girls' social time does not coincide with practice time, and Renee makes sure the girls don't think otherwise. She's kind and loving towards the girls, but business is business. Just my style! I've been telling Merrilee for the past two years that when she's in practice her attention must focus solely on the coach, both for safety reasons as well as because I'm paying for her to learn gymnastics, not chit-chat. I love having an instructor back that up now! But it's not a total social loss; yesterday Merrilee was invited to a gymnastics birthday party for one of the other girls on the team. The girls will get to enjoy all the equipment they love without being "in class" this Saturday--not to mention cake and gifts! What fun! I'm so glad this is also an opportunity for the Merrilee to make friends.


Here is Merrilee's floor routine she performed on Family Night.

Here is Merrilee showing us some of her skills on the equipment. She was able to do a pull-0ver on the bar all by herself on her first try and I was so happy for her! She and I both love the bars the best, but they are by far the hardest. Merrilee is blessed to have upper body strength that I have always lacked.

Each child got a medal for his/her hard work. Merrilee wasn't expecting any kind of award, so she was in heaven!

After the program was over, the coach came up to me and handed me a piece of paper which stated that Merrilee had been selected to be on the gymnastics team. To say that this came as a surprise would be an understatement! We had put Merrilee in gymnastics as a recreational source of physical training, not for competitive athletics, and I was pretty sure the coach of the gym had understood that. So for the next week I did some research into the pros and cons of being part of a gymnastics team, and even spoke to a friend back in Maryland whose daughter is on a team. In the end, we decided to say "yes" to the two-hour practices three times a week, as well as the upcoming monthly competitions, fundraisers, and snazzy new leotards.

We ended the evening with dinner at Golden Coral, one of Merrilee's favorites. We had so much fun, and really enjoyed sharing the special occasion with Grandma and Grandpa.

So far the team thing has worked out well. The more she goes to practice, the more she loves doing it and wants to go back. I had a feeling it would work out this way; she's a natural athlete and loves the pressure of pushing herself to do better. That's not to say she didn't point out her sore pectoral muscles after doing at least 50 push ups last Friday, but she did not complain about it once. And I'm finding that it's giving me the opportunity to spend several hours a week working on Merrilee's quilt that I started before we brought her home from China. Who knows...I might even get her quilt done in the next year!