"Two Grandmas and a Grandpa"

wow...not sure what's up with Brock's face...maybe he sees that white, shadowy figure in the corner (inside joke for two grandmas and a grandpa :o) )

In case the title has you wondering...???...

Recently, Max's Mom and Dad, along with my Mom all flew together from TN to see Brittany's drama production (see next post) and to visit with us. In anticipation of their coming, Brock excitedly asked a LOT of questions. For some reason, he was having a hard time grasping that not ALL of our relatives from TN were coming just because some were. He kept asking about cousins, Aunt Cindy, Uncle Pat, etc. Likely, it was because when we went to TN for Thanksgiving, we saw ALL our TN relatives. Finally, I told him that just "two Grandmas and a Grandpa" were coming from TN -- a total of three people. For some reason, this clicked, and so it was repeated again and again before their arrival.

We had a great time, as always, with our extended family. What a blessing it is to share the simple things in life with loved ones. Simple our time together was. In between drama rehearsals and productions, we simply fixed meals together, ate together, talked (a lot), took nature walks, learned the names of some TX wildflowers, etc. Simple and relaxing.

Oh...I almost forgot to mention our greatest accomplishment together...


As tradition requires, we put together this beautiful 1,000 piece puzzle...in just 3 days!!! Okay, I admit...they were three VERY LONG days...days with not nearly enough sleep, but with so much good late-night conversation ;o) .

Thank you so much for coming, Two Grandmas and a Grandpa!!

Come back soon...next time with Grandpa #2!

Thought I'd better share some of our pre-Christmas festivities before Christmas is actually here (and I only have 2 more days to do that). Can you believe Christmas is just TWO days away??

It has been unusually COLD down here in TX, so it does actually feel like Christmas. One night, we even saw this icky stuff falling from the sky and into our backyard (what is up with that????) ...

Tree Decorating:
For once, our Christmas tree lights and decorations went up without any mishaps. With the six of us working on it, we were done in no time. I've definitely lightened up in the ornament placement category. I used to secretly fret over where the kids hung each ornament. Now, I'm just happy they make it on the tree in one piece! Brittany helped add to the Christmas cheer by making us all a cozy cup of hot chocolate.

(click to enlarge)

Traditions and Advent:

If you were reading my blog last Christmas, you might remember me mentioning that I LOVE traditions and Christmas is a great time for loads of traditions. In case you missed it, you can read last year's post here: Christmas Traditions and Orname-mories .

We are once again reading The Advent Book every night before the little kids go to bed. What a great (and simple) way to hide the story of Christmas in their hearts. It warms my heart to hear both of them call out, "God with us", when the author mentions the meaning of Jesus' name, Immanuel. This advent season has opened up many opportunities to talk with the little ones about the baby Jesus, God's plan for HIS and OUR lives, His coming so that He could ultimately die for us, etc. What an awesome privelege it is to share these truths with these little ones, just as we have to the big kids over the years.

2008 Orname-mories:

Brittany will kill me for attempting to explain her 2008 orname-mory, so I'll let all of you fill-in-the-blanks...

Brant's 2008 was undoubtedly marked with TEXTING his friends, with 100s and 100s of texts coming to and from his cell phone per day. Crazy, isn't it?

2008 for Brock Ji Hao was obviously a year full of changes, as he prepared for and then began to acclimate to his new family and home here in America. We are so happy to replace his 2007 orname-mory, when we were just "thinking about Ji Hao", with his new 2008 "1st Christmas home" ornament.

Brielle has spent the last half of 2008 purring and meowing like a kitty. Not sure where that is coming from, but it made picking an orname-mory for her quite easy.

Cookie Making and Decorating:

Cookie decorating has always been an event for the entire family, and now with two more members in on it, it goes so fast. This, too, has been a place where I've given up on things looking perfect...or in this year's case, even edible :o) !

(click to enlarge)

Gingerbread House:

While Max and I were shopping one afternoon, Brant helped the little kids make a Gingerbread House from a ($9) kit. Brock and Brielle were so proud of their creation. It has been our centerpiece on our breakfast nook table, and they still proudly tell me all about it on an almost daily basis. Brant is such a good big brother!

Better make that it for now...there are many things to wrap up in the next TWO days!

Wishing you and your family the most blessed of Christmas Days!

Multiple Blessings from China!

(photos compliments of my sister, Cindy, whose camera is MUCH better than mine...thanks, Cindy!)

Aren't they precious?

It really wasn't until I got home from our visit to TN and loaded my pictures into the computer that it really sunk in just how COOL it is that our family has been blessed with FOUR sweet Chinese children. To be honest, the reality of it brought me to tears. I am so humbled that our family was chosen to reach across the ocean to hold the hands and hearts of four of God's precious children born in China. God has a perfect plan for each of our lives, and I can't help but stand in awe and wonder of how He is orchestrating the lives of these precious, once fatherless, little ones. I can't help but wonder what great things He has in store for them...and for the country of their birth.

A Tennessee Thanksgiving!

This year, with Brielle no longer "two", we decided to brave it and take the L.O.N.G. car ride to Tennessee for Thanksgiving with our family. With all six of us crammed in to our extremely over-packed van, we made the journey with no problems at all (as long as you don't include the difficulty in keeping our eyes open on the 19 hour trip home).

Several times a day leading up to leaving, I talked with Brock Ji Hao about the trip and who we'd see in TN, and he was so excited! He kept asking, "Tomorrow Tennessee?", so I finally decided that a count-down chain might help...and it did! He was able to meet both sets of grandparents, as well as some of his aunts, uncles, and cousins (two of whom are also Chinese...how cool is that???). He seemed to be enjoying his time with extended family so much, that I was worried he'd be sad to go back to life as usual. Actually, though, he was more than ready for life as usual, and once we were home, he repeatedly said, "I like San Antonio." So cute!

(click on the photo collages to make them larger)

A short hike in the Smokey Mountains...

Exploring the outdoors at Grandma and Papa Thibert's house...

Thanksgiving (and a little Christmas) at Grandma and Grandpa Good's house...

A-MAiZE-ing

An aerial view of the corn maze

A Mother Like No Other

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I'm taking over Tracy's Blog (one day only; no encores please). - Max

Memories that make Tracy the best mom in the world:


Using the full time allotted during college junior year spring break to birth and take care of Brittany - didn't miss a day of school
Staying seated at the table while letting an employee of Cracker Barrel take her new born Brittany into the kitchen to show her off
Caring for Brittany at our first home, a tiny apartment at dirty Chateau Village - we fit in well with all the other creepy tenants
Caring for a family with minimal resources: $8 for two weeks of groceries ($60 phone bill)
Finishing college (an important example) while taking the best care of Brittany and me

Hours and hours of video taping baby Brittany saying “soo big”
Motherhood with minimal breaks for self; breaks like walking in search of dollars with me hoping to find $ to buy ice cream at McDonalds
Playing with kids and Simba for hours in the backyard at Boneham Addition – our first real home
Many stroller walks with Brittany, Brant, and me up and down Boneham Addition’s country road
Working for 75% less as a night transcriptionist (vs. nurse) to have the day hours for the children

Putting up with husband studying seven years for hours a day; helping him get the CFA & CFP
Getting the kids integrated in their new town of Sheboygan (YMCA, dance, ball, hockey)
Leading the family into home schooling in the best interest of her children
Buying a tent and going on many family camping trips at Yogi Bear and other campsites
Vacation planning to bring education into fun vacations: Badlands, Cap Cod, Williamsburg
Taking the family for many nature walks at Maywood and getting excited about barf (owl pellets)
Leading the family along with Brittany into adopting our precious little Brielle
Including her son in her marathon training by wanting him to ride his bike along each time

Leading the family in running and the importance of living healthy
Hours and hours and hours and weekends in encouragement of Brant’s hockey
She sees a little boy in a picture with pulled in ears and no hearing – wants to make his/our lives better
Leading the family along with Brittany into adopting Brock Ji Hao
Spending hours and hours every day making sure the children get the best education available
Sacrificing her time every day to cook, clean and do the laundry – with joy
Walking/hiking often with the family: Eisenhower, Comanche, Govt Canyon, McAllister, and around the neighborhood
Being a family running partner; teaching Brant the benefits of running
Encouraging Brittany in her love for writing and acting; attending all of her events
Making life fun for little B’L: Starbucks, park, pool, games
Transporting and arranging all the kids SHINE activities to show them the importance of others in their lives
Being someone who the kids are proud to tell others she is their mom


Tracy, thank you for all you have done and all you will do!!!??? Also, thank you for doing it in a way that is fun, light, full of energy and excitement. Thank you for being our family’s sunshine!!! We, especially me, all LLLUUUUUUUUUVVV You!!!!!

Happy Mothers Day!

Max

Lions, Love, and (Child) Labor

Happy Year of the Rat!!

February 7th marked the beginning of Chinese New Year, and according to the Chinese Zodiac, 2008 is another Year of the Rat. People born in a Rat Year are said to be logical realists, shrewd, charming, ambitious, and inventive. A Rat Year is said to be a time of hard work, activity, and renewal. Traditionally, this is a good year to begin a new job, get married, or make a fresh start of some other sort. I wonder if adding a new child to the family counts??

During Chinese New Year, a local museum hosts its annual Asian Festival. So, we were able to spend an afternoon taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of the Asian culture. The festival ended with an assortment of traditional Chinese dances, the lion dance being the grand finale.

The plate dance...

The fan dance...The lion dance...


Brielle is not so sure she likes the lion dancers...

Valentine's Day followed all too quickly on the heels of Chinese New Year (where has February gone, BTW?). February 13th at 9:00 p.m., Max and I joined the swarm of others who were searching for those perfect last minute gifts for the ones they love (trust me...the early bird really does have the advantage here; the rest of us are left with whatever the early birds have cast aside, unwanted).

For Valentine's dinner, it has become our tradition to make heart-shaped pizza. Right before Valentine's Day, I saw an ad that Papa John's was selling heart-shaped pizza, so I decided to delegate my pizza-making to them. Brielle and I listened to Chicago's love songs CD while making our Valentine's jello and cherry cheesecake. There is nothing like "You're the Inspiration" to get you into the Valentine's spirit!

After dinner, Max held the annual presentation of Valentine's gifts to the kids. As you'll see from the pictures, he has them sit backwards on the couch (no peeking) with their hands behind their backs. Brielle joined in as if she'd been doing this forever! Max then places gifts in their hands, starting with small things and moving up to larger things. The kids like to "feel" their gifts and guess what each one is before looking (this might be a significant fact to know before viewing one of the photos below). I'm not sure why we ever started this for Valentine's Day...there was obviously not a lot of thought put into it and there is obviously no significance to any of it...but, it's made it a fun night for all of us!

In position...I can't believe the early birds left some of these...

Look carefully at what Brant is receiving....yes, that is our already been "used" plunger....no, it wasn't really a gift to him...yes, Max is mean...no, Brant will probably never trust Max on Valentine's Day again...UGH! Brant was a good sport, though, and after scouring his hands, he was able to laugh about it.

Before closing out this post, I wanted to share some pictures of Brielle, my BIG HELPER! Brielle LOVES to "help you, Mom", and is quite capable at what she does. If I am in the kitchen, she will drag her stepstool to wherever I am working. I have learned to capitalize on this, and she and I will work on dinner together right after lunch. With her stepstool pulled up to the island, she is a master at opening any boxes of food I might need; she can crack eggs; she pours, whisks, and stirs; and is the best spoon- and beater-licker around! Last week, she totally surprised me by folding dishcloths and washcloths just about as well as I do. Truthfully, I do NOT know how she knew how to fold them so well. She just picked them up, one after another, and folded them like I would. I never taught her to do it...she just must have watched me and figured it out. I was shocked! Since then, whenever I have a load of towels out to fold, she grabs all the little washcloths out and folds them! Now, if only I could get my big kids to fold so eagerly and so well!

"Reporting for duty, Mom!" (Grandma Thibert...do you recognize this apron?) Brielle even stacked her folded cloths...

Inspecting her work...