Pumpkin Madness

Yeah, we had to hose the girls down afterwards
Meagan discovers a new "pumpkin-seed exfoliation" facial treatment Ahhh, pumpkin guts

Brown County weekend

Just now posting pictures from our big weekend in Brown County. We go with my sister's family every year and it is a sacred tradition that drives our husbands crazy. It's kind of a joke that each year we say we are going to go during the "peak" of the season, when the leaves are the most colorful. Well, every year the leaves are either completely green (like this year) or have already fallen off the trees. Anyway, we always stop at the park to take family pictures (in front of the very GREEN leaves...breathtaking) and then go into Nashville for the rest of the day. This year we had one more kid making 5 between the two families and this was pushing it a bit. We decided that neither of us can have any more children because it would make the Brown County trip too challenging.

As a side note, it is very interesting being in Southern Indiana with a daughter from China as this is not a very ethnically diverse area of the state (ok, who am I kidding, it is lily white!) As we strolled past the onlookers they immediately honed in on Alina's cherubic face, then, without fail, their eyes would begin to dart around, looking for the parents that matched this child!

Afterwards, we headed back to our place to celebrate Chris' birthday by watching the Purdue game and the whole gang spent the night. Alina is like a live doll for the older kids. Their favorite game to play with her (or TO her I should say) is called "Queen Nini" (Nini is what we call Alina at home...it was her nickname at the orphanage and is still really the only name she responds to. We think it suits her) Anyway, the game consists of Alina sitting in the laundry basket, and the kids carrying the basket around the house chanting "Queen Nini!" Sometimes they make a crown for her and a little container for snacks. As you might suspect, Alina thoroughly enjoys this and will sit very still for her loyal subjects. Hope you enjoy the pictures

Sisters

The above picture gives you an idea of how my little "photo shoot" went. Alina does not stop, so most of my pictures of her a just a blur. And it seems like when she is settled down a little, she's in a bad mood. Well, this does not work in my favor when I'm trying to get a good shot of the girls for our Christmas cards (yes I start thinking about this in October. I send or give out almost 100 Christmas cards, the result of moving around a lot I guess). These just may be as good as it gets. Anyway, I NEED YOUR VOTE! Leave me a comment and let me know if you like photo 1, 2, or 3. And DON'T just say they're all cute :) By the way, I do realize that this is SO not important in the grand scheme of things, but it is an effective diversion from housework.

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A budding friendship

I've been meaning to post these pictures for awhile. They were taken at a play date we had last week. The two cuties in the pictures are Violet and Anara who is adopted from Kyrgystan (sp?) Their mom, Amanda, and I met last year at the health department getting travel shots I think. We got to talking and found out that we were both in the process of adopting internationally. The rest is history. It is so exciting to see the girls we prayed so hard for, finally home, safe and sound and playing together at Castleton Mall. Who could have imagined. God is so amazing.

Alina and Anara taking turns
Alina looking cute
Violet has the best smile!
Our best attempt at getting a shot of them together

Things that make you go Hmmm...

This was the expression on Alina's face when I read her the letter she got in the mail from George Bush. Apparently the president sends a congratulations letter to all brand-spankin-new-barely-English-speaking citizens of the U.S.A. A very nice touch except the letter contains phrases such as:

"grand and enduring ideals"
"unfolding promise"
"hold beliefs beyond ourselves"

Huh? I'm not trying to slam the leader of our county, just merely suggesting that they come out with an easy-to-read version of the celebratory letter. It sort of reminded me of an excerpt from the reading comprehension portion of those hateful standardized tests. This got me thinking of other things that make you go Hmmmm. For example:

Where DO fruit flies come from? I mean, are they on the fruit when I buy it at the store and I just don't notice them? Or, worse, are they lurking around my house just waiting for a piece of fruit to attach themselves to. So annoying.

Where do all of the missing household objects hide when I KNOW that they did not leave the house. For example, we have at least 5 hair brushes. So why can't I find one when I go to do my hair in the morning? Is there some mysterious Bermuda Triangle in my house? If I find the hair brushes, will I also find my Abba CD and Meagan's slipper that came up missing the day after Christmas last year?

How is it possible that I am constantly sorting, washing, drying, folding, or putting away laundry yet there are always clothes on the floor. And I don't think we are TOTAL slobs. It's like laundry oozes out of the walls. Or like that character in the fairy tale...was it in Rumplestiltskin...where the girl has to weave straw into gold and the more she weaves the bigger the piles get. I'm pretty sure I didn't get the story right, but you get the idea.

A busy few weeks

Sorry for the lack of blogging. I was trying to come up with a catchy title for this post to explain what we've been doing the past few weeks, but the only one that comes to mind is "Mom is sick, the house is trashed and the girls have taken over" but that sounded sort of negative. It's true that I have had this wicked-flu-turned-sinus-infection thing. I am sick so much more often than the girls that it is not even funny. The truth is, I get tonsillitis all the time because I need to have my tonsils out because they are...well, rotting. Sounds gross and is even more gross in real life. Sadly, too many stories of "adult tonsillectomies gone bad" are keeping me from any more trips to the ENT in the near future.

This past weekend we attended a family reunion on my dad's side of the family. My dad passed away 15 years ago and I have done a terrible job with keeping in touch, so seeing my aunts and cousins was a real treat. My cousin had some old family photos converted to DVD. Here is one of my mom and dad when they were 15 and 19!

I also got some cute shots of Meagan and Mallory on the tire swing

Ok, and this one was not even staged. Of course they were SLEEPING. They cannot be held responsible for their actions

We're saving this one to use as blackmail. I'm sure it will come in handy at some point in the future

And finally, the many faces of Alina :)

There's a fine line between getting a drink from the hose and having the hose GET you!

This is my "I'm really tired and you're getting on my nerves now" face

Hmmm....I wonder what Meagan is thinking about