Caught....Up

I think this post will actually catch me up!  We've been super busy these last few months but unfortunately I bad have been a bit about taking photos.

We've had some really wet weather this spring so every day that it is even a bit nice we've been spending it outdoors!

We took a mini family trip to Florida in March.  It was a fun visit with the Grandparents and Adam and I attended the wedding of one of my dear pals.  All the kids wanted to do was put their toes in the sand...

And collect shells and rocks...

We headed to one of our favorite playgrounds in Dunedin, one that we took Simone to when she was just a baby!  The weather was perfect for an afternoon of play!

And we took a walk to see the boats!

It was a fun fun visit!

Back in TN we continued to try and coax Spring into the air!  Sammy & I went to a Spring fling/egg hunt at a local farm.  It was bitter cold and windy but we made the most of it.

Sammy loved the sheep & cows and spent most of the time visiting with them!

Sammy's school held their annual "Art Gala".  It was a fun night to socialize with other parents and see all the cute artwork.  Of course we bought Sammy's masterpieces!

And we attended our FCC Kite Festival,  The actual festival was cancelled this year but we decided to all meet up anyway!  We had a great time.  

My pal Julie talking with Sammy...

And the whole gang!!!!  What a great group of kids....

And with this I am finally caught up! 
That wasn't so bad now was it?

And since I loaded these photos we've done more, seen more and had more fun so I will be back to posting again soon!
J

Birth Mother's Day

So I had no idea there was a day set aside to remember Birth Mothers.  But there is and it is today - the day before Mother's Day.  It isn't on any calendars and it's not really a day of "celebration" in my opinion.
But it is a day to honor a life altering act, one that is painful and difficult for most, if not all, women who decide to place their baby for adoption.

And now that I know of it I'll take this opportunity to say a special  prayer of thanks to the three Birth Mothers that have changed my life completely.  Through the choice each of them made I have been able to grow up in a loving and amazing family, and I have been able to be Mom to the most incredible little beings in the world. 

I remember how difficult Mother's day was in the years before Simone came home.  I remember feeling such pain and anguish once when the clerk at the grocery store unknowingly wished me a Happy Mother Day with a big smile on her face.  I remember some of my friends celebrating being new Mom's and their first Mother's Day's, how I really had nothing to do besides calling my own Mother.   So even now in my joy of waking up to breakfast in bed, cards and flowers and a day of (somewhat) leisure with my kids I still have the remembrance of that pain.  And I often wonder if the three Birth Mothers I am forever indebted to have that very same pain.

If only I could tell them that on every day they are remembered, thought of, honored and thanked.   But for sure on this day I will give an extra prayer and I will give my two blessings an extra hug with their Birth Mothers in my heart.
J

A game of catch-up!

Oh yes, now we begin the game I like to call "catch-up"!  I really have let myself get behind, so let's just dive in with round 1.

Back in February we celebrated Chinese New Year with our wonderful FCC friends.  It was an incredible day full of laughter and entertainment. 

We got photos of the kids with others from their region.  Here's are 2 Taiwan tornado's!

And the Jiangxi gang!  There is actually a lot more from that Province but rounding them all up....well I am sure you've heard the expression "herding cats"...

And the WHOLE gang!!!!  I love how certain kids are holding, or leaning into, or have their hands on or are smiling at other kids.  This group is just amazing together and I relish every gathering we get to attend with them. 

The same day we celebrated CNY was.......Sammy Wei's 4th Birthday!!!  I can not believe my sweet baby is a four year old boy!  He got quite spoiled with friends and family for birthday dinner and cake!

The next day we had his Birthday Celebration with all of his friends from school.  Our little fighter pilot in training insisted on a "runway" cake, so Mama did her best.

He had a huge birthday bash with lots of great friends.  We had/borrowed inflatables and booked the gym at his school.  The kids ran, danced, hoola-hooped, bounced and played for 2 straight hours.  Even though there were over 20 kids it was a really fun afternoon!

And of course there was a Pinata!

We got a late winter snow...not enough to really play in but enough to make Simone happy!

My silly guy!

The kids have been enjoying riding bikes on the street this winter.  It's so cool to see the little fellow on a bike!  And Simone hasn't been on hers for over a year, I think it's time for a new one that fits those long legs!!

Rock on little buddy!

And this next set of photos was really a huge treat for our family.  I saw tickets on Groupon for a "drive thru zoo" about an hour from our house.  Sure, at first we were all a bit skeptical (especially Simone!).  But I tell you what...it was one of THE BEST days our family has spent!  It was full of laughs and hugs and just being together!  

So you basically stay in your car & roll the windows down and all these animals just come up and eat the food out of your hand!  We petted deer, cows, emus (ok...we were scared of the emus and just tossed the food to them) and zebras and piglets and.....oh so many really cool, and some slobbery, animals!

Yep, great animal fun!

So that is the first round of catching up. 
I think I got us to March.  Let's see what comes next!!!
J

Just stuck

Yes, I hang my head.  I admit I've not been on the blog scene for a long time, both writing and reading.

You see, I just got stuck, a bit frozen inside. 
It started with the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary.  Suddenly I couldn't drive by Simone's school without bursting into tears.  I ached for those families, for those little lives so brutally taken.  I cried for the moments those children spent in terror without Mommy or Daddy - for some their last.  I felt such anguish on behalf of the brave teachers and the choices they were forced to make to protect those in their care -some with their own lives.   I thought constantly about what a waste that coward was - that evil being that committed that crime.  It was all just too much, to think some monster could just walk in to the place I thought my kids were safe - I guess we all became "collateral damage" that day.  The hurt I felt for the Sandy Hook community  mixed with this intense fear for my own children.   And my innocent way of thinking was stolen away, causing something in me to just freeze. 

So I had a hard time posting about my joys of parenthood, about being thrilled over the little things we did together and days we spent being a family.  There were so many that could never feel that again with their babes, these families grieving the loss of their own children.  I posted about our holidays with a heavy heart and just couldn't find it in me anymore. I was literally just stuck, there were no more words to bring out, no photos worth posting.

And then Boston happened.  
I sat glued to the TV,  praying for all those killed and those injured - maimed maybe physically and definitely emotionally for life.  I watched the victims, the survivors, and the heroes with a new rawness in my soul.  I felt that shock, the pain, and the fear that captured a city that I hold near and dear to my heart.  I heard the survivors stories with an unexplainable fascination.   And then I realized that yes indeed, life is short and the joys of it can be taken away so quickly by something as terrible as a terrorist act, or something less newsworthy but still devastating, like disease or accidents or....anything.  But that should not prevent us from still living. 

When I  started this blog it was to have a written log of our adoption journey and beyond. I realized as I write each entry and add new photos that I am keeping a journal of sorts. One that I, or the kids, can go back into in years to come and relive these days.  I want to continue to document the simple joys and the complex events in years to come.  I want to be able to see and remember each moment as it was on that day, at that time.  And I also want to share my journey of adoption and life with two amazing kids with anyone who may be interested.  So for those very reasons I started this blog I am vowing to keep on with it.  My heart will still clench every time I drive by Simone's school, and my mind will always wander to those families, how could it not.   
 
So in the coming weeks I'll catch myself up, get some photos loaded and events documented.  A lot sure has happened - the kids have been growing so much, spring has sprung and life has been as busy as ever.

And maybe when you read my posts you'll say a little prayer, or send a kind thought for the lives, both little and big, taken too early through big or little tragedies.
J