The madness of March 2010

I am making an effort to catch up on some backlogged blog posts. As I've mentioned before, the three blogs are kind of our scrapbook and memory book. It is amazing to me how memories begin to fade so quickly when you are my age. ;-) So, instead of attacking some of my seemingly more pressing tasks, I am choosing to work on catching up. Not only do I need some closure, I need it NOW!

March was a bit of a blur for our family. On March 10th, my dad had a stroke and we were completely shocked by that news. God's hand of protection was on him and things were not nearly as bad as they could have been--for which we are extremely grateful.

Lindy and I were able to go to Kansas to visit my parents during Lindy's spring break right after Dad got home from the hospital. I think having two of his favorite girls around was good medicine and rehab for Dad/Grandpa, or at least that's what I'd like to think. ;-) I know it was sure better for us to see him and spend time with him in order to get that feeling that he was going to be okay and get better, as well as to see Mom--who was so diligently taking care of him. I helped Dad take care of some business while I was there but Mom also planned some play time for us, too, which was completely unexpected and really appreciated.

Highlights included:

Going to The Toy & Miniature Museum and helping Barbie celebrate her 50th birthday.
No cameras were allowed inside. :( Lindy loved seeing all the different Barbies from the past and present and I had fun spying the Barbies from my era.

Making biscuits, gravy, and scrambled eggs with Grandma. YUM!!
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Checking out the Fairy Tale Town play area at Crown Center.

Crafting at the Crayola Store, also at Crown Center.

Bathing in Grandma's big tub! Totally luxurious.

Getting a manicure--pink crystal, of course.

Thinking a big surprise was a new fairy pencil (aka lost treasure) box ONLY to later find out it was a foreshadowing of the Disney On Ice show. Totally flitteriffic! AND last but not least...
EXPERIENCING SNOW!!!

Yep, Kansas got a nice blanket of snow and we were utterly unprepared after coming from the 80s but we had lots of fun being out in the beautiful snow. To say Lindy loves the snow seems like an understatement.

I want to thank all of you who prayed for my family during my dad's health crisis. So many of you have continued to check in with me about him and that means so much to all of us. Your words of encouragement really helped sustain me during that emotional time for me. Dad is doing great. He was cleared to drive, has graduated from his various rehab therapies, and is back to work on a full-time basis. We are so grateful!

Other activities in March included meeting a blog friend on vacation in Austin and San Antonio from the Philly area (my old stomping grounds). We met Jen, Dan, and Katie for dinner down on the Riverwalk. They had been in Austin to have a reunion with their travel group. Along with them they brought some friends of theirs visiting from Reno--Erika, Todd, and their sweet daughter Madison. We had a great night visiting and showing them some of the sights of the city. Unfortunately, the pictures I took outside of the Alamo were too blurry and exposed wrong for me to publish here. Anyway, the evening was a great reminder of some of the wonderful bonds that come from adoption.

Pretty girls...
Madison, Katie Min Min, & Lindy

It was hard to capture all the girls at once when there was so much for them to see at the Riverwalk!

When in Texas you have to try BlueBell ice cream. Lindy was more than happy to introduce her new friends to this local favorite. I found chocolate EVERY where when I did the laundry later!

This spring was a great year for bluebonnets and wildflowers. Sadly, I only had one short and not very prosperous outing with Lindy because of many things we had going on during their short season. I am kicking myself now for not getting out there again but there really is more to it than pulling over on the side of the road and sticking your kid in a patch of flowers. Here are some of my favorites from our single outing.









One of Lindy's favorite books is Pinkalicious. A long time ago I had seen an advertisement that there was a musical based on the book. For a couple of years I had been waiting to see if it would come locally and I was thrilled when I finally saw that it was coming to our fantastic Magik Theatre. She actually got to see it twice and loved it both times!




That seems to encompass most of what was happening in March for Miss Lindy Li. I need a nap before I can think about tackling April...

How can it be?

Four years ago today, a beautiful little baby named Fan Xiao Jia was placed in my arms in a small room in Changsha, Hunan. It is hard to say who was more frightened.

On that day, God answered my prayers by allowing me to become a Mommy.

He also answered my prayers by allowing an awesome man to become a Daddy.

It didn't take long for him to steal her heart and for her to steal his.

I could fill pages about the many ways this child has blessed us, tested us, taught us, and loved us. Our Lindy is filled with wonder and delight and marvels at the simplest of things. She makes the ordinary extraordinary. Lindy has incredible compassion and concern and we are so proud of our beautiful and joyful little girl.



Thank you, Lindy, for being YOU!

We love you so very much and are so happy and thankful God chose YOU for us and US for you.

Say yeah!

This really may be one of those "you had to be there" moments but I'll relay it anyway since this is kind of Lindy's "baby book."

On Tuesday morning we were on our way to Ladies Bible Class. I had some extra time and some money left on a Starbucks gift card, so I decided to hit the drive thru for my non-fat, no-whip mocha...I was rockin' out to a song (ghastly image to picture, I know) and one of the lines was "Say yeah" and I sang that pretty emphatically.

Very quietly from the back seat I hear, "I don't want to say yeah."

Thankfully, I wasn't drinking my mocha yet or I might have spewed it all over the dashboard because I was laughing so hard...

Okay, you can tell me that it really isn't that funny. It won't hurt my feelings. Really. Oh, by the way, if you are the first to guess what song I was "singing," I'll send you a $5.00 Starbucks card.

Say yeah!

Happiness is...

...a bed-headed little girl composing a song called, "I Love My Family."

Sweet times

Yesterday Lindy had her Valentine's Day party at school. Here are a few highlights of her sugar-laden fun time.

She loved decorating her bag and making it fancy for all the Valentine cards she'd receive...I didn't capture the back of the bag but that's where ALL the bling was. She doesn't understand the concept of "less is more."

She enjoyed playing games with her friends...

Life got really good when she found out about the ice cream sundae bar!

And the "cherry on top" for me was getting to be there for all the fun with my sweetie!

This post contains NO calories, sugar, or fat for the readers--just lots of

L-O-V-E

Celebrating recovery!

If you're a long-time reader of this blog, you may recall this post from May 2008. Not long after Lindy turned three, we tried to get her to give up her "rag." We thought we'd cured her in a matter of days but come to find out she had found replacements, instead. The rag gave way to a nice pillow which gave way to a blanket and so on and so on. We'd take something away and she'd find something else. Eventually, we gave her the original rags back because the blankets were even grosser than the rags. I'm sure this wasn't our finest parenting moment and that we made some mistakes in the process. We just didn't know how to break the cycle. We talked about addiction and habits and there were times I was afraid it was going to continue until she got married as her need for it seemed to grow stronger.

Late last fall she and I made a goal for her to give it up come the new year. I think she truly wanted to give it up but didn't know how and I told her to pray to God about it, which she did. She knew it wasn't healthy and that it wasn't good for her teeth. Right before we traveled at Christmas, she gave it up for her nap. Then one day after the new year, Don put her down at night and took it away from her. I would check in the morning and there weren't any obvious replacements. I was afraid her replacement would be her fingers but there wasn't evidence of that happening. One day led to another and then another and I'm so proud to say she's FINALLY cured of her habit.

Last Saturday night we went to celebrate the fact that she gave up her rag. She chose to go have ice cream and was quite excited. The second picture makes me wonder if her new habit is bad manners...Actually, it was just goofiness and giddiness.



I don't know why but the rags had remained in the house and were on my dresser. (BAD MOMMY!) Today she asked to throw them away. I thought she'd be remorseful or regret seeing them go but she was excited to do the honors.



Lindy, Daddy and I are so proud of you for setting a goal, following through with it, and asking for God's strength to help you. In fact, I think we could learn a lesson or two from you...

Flashback Friday

I love this girl like white on rice.

January 22, 2007
20 1/2 months

Happy Flashback Friday!

Christmas 2009

I had a super fun Christmas and hope you did, too. If you want to read about it and see more pictures, please visit the family blog. Mommy is seriously rethinking maintaining three blogs. It is a lot to keep up with.

Also, Mommy and Daddy have been kind of sad lately about my baby sister. You can read why on her blog. I know they sure could use some prayers. I really, really want to be a big sister. I know I have Max but I know my sister will be so much more fun than my invisible brother.

Have a fun new year!!!