Updates for 2009

June 3/2009
Hard to believe we're in June and I'm just getting to a second update for the year!  Apparently we've been busy.  First no real news on the baby front.  Rumor Queen just put out a projection list and our log in date (May 8) is finally on the chart (chart below this paragraph).  Some folks feel May families will get matched this year.  I have doubts still.  Our agency has said nothing to us but we heard from a family behind us that they were told this year.  Which means we would be this year too.  It's a wait and see.  Some friends just dropped off baby clothes all in the 6mo. to 18mo. range.  It was a BIG pile and the girls and I had a riot going through it all.  We certainly won't need to shop much if we get a wee one, it was very appreciated.  Made things feel real for a moment. 

The girls are finishing up school, dance and piano.  Their dance recital is this Sat.  They've both improved so much over the last 10 months.  I think they're looking forward to the recital this year.  There is tons crammed into the last weeks of school, all fun stuff.  The piano recital is on the 20th, they're not very excited about that at all.  Fei is dreading it.  They've got their songs down pat, so I'm not sure what the problem is.  If you ever visit our house and ask them to play for you, they'll gladly sit at the piano and play and play.  Lili has started writing her own songs and sits and composes almost daily.  We got the girls a trampoline and Lili says it's easier to think of songs when she bounces.  She's been rapping in the 'tramp'.  Where she's heard rap music is beyond me.  I don't normally care for it, but coming from her is pretty cute.

Eric had the girls pictures done at Wal-Mart for my Mothers Day gift.  I thought they turned out really good.  They had a lot of fun posing.  Lili made me 5 different cards and Fei managed 3.  They're such sweet girls.

We're once again going for our last chance trip to Disneyland before the baby comes.  Awesome that we have time to go again, but we really would have preferred being home with our baby.  Anyways, while we're way too busy we planned a trip in June!  Not sure why we thought that was a good plan.  Now I'm concerned about the heat.  Every Disney trip to date has been in Dec. or Feb.  We're hyped about going, my Mom and Dad are coming and we're meeting some friends there.  It's all good.

We're finally planning to do something about the green trim on our house that we don't care for.  It's been four and half years, so it's way past due.  We haven't found a new color yet and the green roofing is throwing our plans.  We'd like a change but we're starting to waffle and are thinking of just updating the green.  I found a really cool site on Sherwin Williams where you can find a house similar in style and try out house colors.  

I finally got to try out the girl camper, we've had three trips already.  It's very user friendly and I'm getting used to driving the big truck.  Eric won't stay in it.  Hopefully by the end of summer we'll have talked him into trying it.  My Mom and I do a weekend trip every summer with the girls.  Last year Mom tried rving with us in the trailer at a big provincial park.  Just today we were talking about going backwoods in the camper.  I don't know how keen she is to try that.  The plan for this summer was that I'd take the girls camping on the weekends and Eric would stay home and get some projects done.  So far he hasn't managed any work but he's got some great dirt bike riding time in <cheeky grin>.

Right now Eric's trying to get our up-upstairs deck redone.  The garage leaks so it really needs to be fixed.  The rush is so that the painter can do the railings along with the rest of the house.  We're getting closer to my outdoor bed.  We took the back stairs off, so no one can get up there.  The girls can't believe I'm planning to sleep outside, they were too young to remember the bed on the deck at the old house.  I told them we could try sleeping outside on the trampoline too, now they bug me every night about that.  

So many fun and cute things happen every day.  I never really know what to update with, I'm guessing everyone pretty much just wants pictures and news of the baby.

Ta Ta For Now, Shelley

Jan. 16/2009
Let's see, so much has happened and it's hard to keep track.  The girls were very busy in Dec. at school and with dance and piano.  They had their first piano recital which went great.  Mom got there very early (she had to have someone unlock the door) and she got us some front row seats.  The girls were so nervous (as I'm sure all of the children were) I felt sick too, I hope that goes away with practice.  They did awesome.  Both went up and introduced themselves and played their two songs like little pros, then took their bows.  They were elated when it was over ;)  We didn't get to do the year end dance party because of the snow but they did dance twice in Dec. at an old age home and they both enjoyed performing there.  They also had their school play which I thought was quite good for an elementary performance.  Fei's class were all stars and sang three songs.  Lili's class were sheep and they sang two songs and danced to one of them.  Very cute.  I took lots of video but most of the photos have other kids so I won't post them here.  Too bad I can't post the school name or town, because there are great photos on the school site.  For those of you who know us, you'd know where to look. 

Christmas was fun this year.  We hosted the FCC Christmas party at our house.  It went well, a pretty good turn out of people considering it snowed all that weekend.  One of the Mom's brought her harp and she and her husband played music for us and we had a group sing-a-long while she played our piano.  Very cool.  A Hallmark event.  Lili and Fei visited Santa and got their photo taken by Lisa Peterson.  Isn't the picute of Fei with Santa amazing?!  I just love it.  I thought the girls were starting to think there might not be a Santa but on Christmas morning Lili came upstairs to wake us up and very excitedly told us Santa came so she wasn't on the naughty list.  Too funny.  They're pretty good kids so I'm not sure why she would have thought she'd be on the naughty list anyways.  They both got Nintendo DS from Gramma and Poppa so they were pretty happy.  They've been asking for them for two years.  Now they want i-pods.  My little girls are growing up and acting like big kids. 

Miss Lili decided to donate her hair.  She had 10 1/2 inches cut off on Jan. 2.  She looks adorable with short hair and she's really enjoying it so far.  We are so proud of her choice.  Hanna donated her hair at the same time.  It was a big event.  I filmed the pony coming off but I haven't figured out how to download video yet.

The girlies learned to skate this year.  Eric took them, I filmed.  I asked them the other day what their favorite part of the Christmas holidays were and they both said it was the night we cut snowflakes together.  I have to admit it was a lot of fun and rare to get Daddy joining in for arts and crafts.  We covered several windows in the family room and kitchen with them.

Next on the agenda is Chinese New Year, year of the ox.  Or, as they call it in China, Spring Festival.  Our FCC party is on the 24th.  We're doing it at the same place again this year so we can have the private room.  The girls are really looking forward to the party.  Anna is going to do some Chinese dances for us this year with a friend and her dance teacher.  We have two lions for the lion dancing this year too.  Then we're off for our holiday right after CNY.  We just got a stateroom upgrade yesterday to the upper verandah deck so that was fun news.  I'm not sure what's more exciting for the kids right now, flying for the first time that they can remember, Legoland or the Mexican cruise.  E is just looking forward to sun.  We've just spent the last three weeks at home taking turns being sick, so I'm looking forward to some family time together where we're all having fun instead of being sick or snowed in. 

Here are two pictures showing off how much older and more mature my little ones are this year.

Not much new on the adoption front.  RQ had some good rumors yesterday and I'd love to get caught up in the hoopla and join the next roller coaster ride but for now I'll believe it when it happens for real.  Everyone around us is sure that it will be this year.  I'm not sure of that at all.  I'd love to be pleasantly surprised though.

Shelley (Lili, Fei and Su's Mama)