2008 CNY dinner with the Brooks family

For Julia...

It's Mulan and Kai-Lan day on TV here...so for Julia, here's 2 pictures of her favorites!

The Storm: Part 2 and Happy Chinese New Year!

So I posted those pictures of the snow yesterday that most of my friends further south said looked pretty. Well. Last night around 11:00pm when I went to let the dogs out, imagine my surprise to find snow drifts that were 2ft tall in some spot in the driveway. I was really shocked. I grabbed the camera and took some more pictures. Needless to say there is NO SCHOOL again today.

On the bright side...it's the beginning of the Chinese New Year celebration! YAY! We are headed to Holland (funny place to celebrate CNY!) to eat at a resturaunt that has an amazing spread of food, dancers and music. My kids are soooooooooo excited!! I will have pictures tomorrow.

Ok...here's the small video clips that I took last night when I let the dogs out :-)

Welcome to Siberia...I mean, Ludington?

I can't tell you how much I'm really beginning to hate...HATE winter. I know Wayne loves it, but I've grown tired of being cold, having cold toes and fingers, wearing jeans and sweaters everyday and not going where I want because the roads are crappy. I joked with Tonni that I live in Siberia, just with less vodka and no big fur hats. LOL! Here are a few pictures I took just now of the snow. Oh, and then there are the 2 pictures that Julia and I took of each other. She's been into pictures lately. Especially ones that are SUPER CLOSE.

Julia on China, Adoption, and The New Year celebration

Julia and I often have deep converations about her adoption, living in China and celebrating holidays. She knows we are meeting up with the Brooks family (they adopted their son at the same time we did) and so we had a long talk about China tonight.

Julia: Mom, why you come to China to adopt me? (Her exact words, I swear!)

Me: Because we wanted another daughter and you needed a Momma and Daddy

Julia: Baba Lu (orphanage director) he helped you find me?

Me: Yep, he sent your paperwork to a place that put your picture on the internet and we saw you and knew that you were our baby girl

Julia: My foster mom loved me?

Me: YES!! Of course she did, but Baba Lu knew you needed parents that could take care of you forever

Julia: Baba Lu, he a good guy?

Me: (Ok, I don't know the answer to this, but from what I've been told, yes...he's very nice!) Yes, Baba Lu is a nice man.

Julia: I like to see him again, with my foster mom

Me: I hope we can see them too

Julia: What about my 1st mommy (birth mom)?

Me: Well, we don't know who she is, I don't know how to find her

Julia: Moooom, she look like ME! Like Anna look like you

Me: Yeah, you're right. :-)

Some of this is heavy! She's 4 and I want her to know that it's ok to talk about how she feels. I truly think a very open heart is the way to approach this. I don't want her to ever think that she can't talk to me about China or her life there before us.

Julia: Mom, will you put some pictures of China on your 'puter (meaning website)

Me: Sure, anything you want!

Julia: Will you put the pictures of when you and Daddy came to get me?

Me: Of course! I like looking at those

Julia: Your hair was long and you were fat then. (Thanks, kid!)

Ok...so here are some pictures of our trip to China in celebration of the upcoming Chinese New Year. Remember these were taken in November/December 2005. Julia was just 25 months and just a tiny peanut!!

This picture was taken as we got ready to leave the hotel in Beijing and fly to Wuhan to get the babies. We would be proud parents for the 3rd time in a few short hours from then!

Need a new blog design?

Apparently more of my friends are getting into blog design than I realized!! My friend and fellow adoptive mom Sharon has started a new blog design business, Spiffy Blogs! How lucky am I to know all these creative moms? ;-) Just as a reminder here's a list of my friends and their websites:

1. Sharon's Spiffy Blogs (Blog designs)
2. 4 Princess Bows (Tonni's bows, my bracelets and Dawn's tutus)
3. Karen's Soaps (The BEST SOAP EVER!!)
4. Anyone else that wants to be on my list, just let me know!

Camnanna?

Julia has taken to sleeping in Cameron and Anna's room (they share the bunk bed). So tonight this is the coversation we had tonight:

Julia: Mom, is today Friday?
Me: Nope, it's Monday.
Julia: Do we have school tomorrow?
Me: Yes!
Julia: Mom, can I sleep with Camnanna
Me: Who?
Julia: Camnanna
Me: You mean Cam AND Anna?
Julia: Mom...you know what I saying. I want to sleep with Camnanna, in their bed.
Me: We have to wait to the weekend.
Julia: Oh darn!

...then she saulks away...mumbling..."stupid school" :-)

Not that I cared, but...Giants WIN!

I'm not a big football fan (give me rugby any day!), but the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots 17-14. YAY! I was tired of hearing all about Tom Brady, so I kinda started liking the Giants. Either way, I figured that the Super Bowl was blog worthy. :-)

On a greener side...there a great player for the Giants who is a former Michigan State'r. Plaxico Burress is an amazing receiver. Go Green!

BLoggy Giveway WINNERS!!

First, let me say THANK YOU to everyone that enter the giveaway for my earrings. It was really exciting to see people interested in my creations. :-) I will be sending out emails to the winners. So...on with with the announcement!!

THE GRAND PRIZE WINNER OF THE 2 PAIRS SHOWN IS:

PAM (afriend@netcommander.com)

Here are the 3 other winners picked for one pair of earrings made by me!

JENNY (j_hoesli@yahoo.com)

Linda (lholland78@comcast.net)

Faerie Mom (xenabich28@yahoo.com)

Thanks again to all that entered. I would have loved to sent each one of you a pair of earrings, but hubby wasn't going to go for that one! Take care! ~Melissa~

I WON! I WON!! I WON!!! I WON!!!!

Won what??? Well, remember that Exceptional Parent thing I got nominated for?

Welllll..... I WON!!! I freakin' WON!!

I am now the Michigan Council for Exceptional Children, Exceptional Parent of the year for 2008!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There's a small reception the day after I get home from New Orleans. Wow. I am soooo excited and in shock. In the words of Sally Fields...They like me, they really really like me!! ;-)

The day after the storm

Picture of the trees in the north part of the yard.

Another view of tree covered in snow.

Mom's picture of Julia while waiting for the bus.

Julia's picture of mom while waiting for the bus. :-)

Julia's feet.

A classic Mom and Julia goofy picture.

Last but not least is a new picture of Oliver. Who happened to get caught eating Riley poo today. He's now in doggie jail for that offense. UGH! It's not like he's starving, he's eat good! What a maroon!

Tutus!

It seems as though the craft bug has hit another friend of mine. Dawn started making tutus for her daughter EmmaLi and now our friend Tonni is selling them at her store!! Sooo...if you're in the market for a great tutu, go check out Dawn's page!

Snow Day #2

School was cancelled again today due to weather conditions. Yesterday wasn't too bad as we were able to get out and about and have lunch and do a bit of shopping. However...today is much different. It was -4 degrees this morning, blowing and drifting snow. The windchill was like -22 (actually, I'm not certain what it was...but that's what I thought I heard!)!! Winter is BACK! It was 49 just 2 days ago! The state police are recommending that people not drive unless they have to. Blahhhhhh...... If I get brave enough, I'll take some pictures.

Bloggy Giveaway!!

Ok...so I've wanted to be part of this bloggy giveaway thing for awhile (even though I've never entered one except for Tonni's!) and I'm finally going to do it. Here's the really cool link to all the neato folks that are giving things away!! Here's what I'm giving away! There are 2 pairs of earrings that I made. The first pair are made with 2 Japanese white tensha with sakura cherry blossoms beads , 2 smaller red seed beads all on gold wire hooks. The second pair was inspired by the red Chinese New Year lanterns you see hanging. There are 2 silver "lantern" beads with 3 smaller seed beads on silver wire hooks. :-)

How to win them: Just comment on this post saying you want to be entered. Make sure to leave a blog address or email address! Shipping is on me. So, just check back here on FEBRUARY 3RD to see if you won! Woohoo!

Because I'm THRILLED to have so many people sign up for my earrings, I decided to give away an addition 3 pairs. Ok...they won't all look exactly like the ones above, but...who doesn't like FREE STUFF?? Good Luck!