Visitors!

During December, we had quite a few visitors--not including Santa. John's folks came by for an overnight visit. They are our first "overnighters." Here they are making a wish on Luci. Grandpa gets some cuddle time with Luci.
Shanna, Sophia and Heath came for our annual Christmas Eve breakfast a day early this year. It was lots of fun having them here. I'll put pictures of Luci and Sophia playing in a different post. You can hardly tell that Shanna is expecting baby #2 soon.

*WHAT* Is She Drinking??

Those of you who grew up in Charles' and Audrey's household know what Luci is drinking...and you know why it is a family tradition of sorts. The rest of you need to hear the story....

Mom and Dad took us on family trips to Tennessee to visit the cousins. Seven people in one station wagon (five of them kids who could eat you out of house and home) was a guarantee of interesting meals. Usually we were subjected to canned Vienna sausages and Shasta soda pop (warm, of course--there was no room in the wagon for an ice chest). But on this trip, Mom and Dad got giddy and went through a KFC drive-thru and got a bucket of chicken with all the trimmings. We got to the next rest stop and, oh, we were so excited to not be eating Vienna sausages. But Dad forgot the drinks. We didn't even have warm Shasta. So, we passed around the gravy container and sipped.

There were two other things memorable about that rest stop--Mom gagging at the sight of us as we drank gravy, and Charlie in the middle of the creek, patting a boulder and telling us he was on "a nice rock." Let him tell you about that.

Audrey's Family

We got to have Audrey's family over twice after Thanksgiving. It was a lot of fun seeing everyone all together. Here are a few shots...but Audrey, you must be a shy girl! Between your Dad and me, we only got one photo of you in the background and one of the back of your head changing Haley's diaper (and that one didn't get turned correctly, so it looks kind of funny down below).

Proud daddy Thom with baby Haley.
Papa John with Haley.
Bryan surprised Maggie and Luci with the camera. Maggie is a real ham!
The kids' table. Bryan, Maggie, JT and Luci. This one is called, "What is Haley doing?" It should also be called, "Why can't Susan get the photo rotated?"

Our Christmas Wish

These words were written by Brad Avery; it is a song sung by the group Third Day. When the CD was published, Brad and his family were still waiting for their China girl to come home. My friend Maryellen in New York listened to this with her kids and they named it "Luci's Song." It really seems to describe the feelings we went through before Luci came home. Here are JT, Luci and Bryan in front of our tree this year. This is Luci's second Christmas with us. She spent one Christmas in China without us. There's a little girl trembling on a cold December morn
Crying for mama's arms
At an orphanage just outside a little China town
Where the forgotten are

But half a world away I hang the stockings by the fire
And dream about the day when I can finally call you mine

It's Christmas time again but you're not home
Your family is here and yet you're somewhere else alone
So tonight I pray that God will come and hold you in His arms
And tell you from my heart
I wish you Merry Christmas

As I hang the tinsel on the tree and watch the twinkling lights
I'm warmed by the fire's glow
Outside the children tumble in a wonderland of white
And make angels in the snow

But half a world away you try your best to fight the tears
And hope that Heaven's Angels come to carry you here

Christmas is the time we celebrate the Holy Child
And we celebrate His perfect gift of love
He came to Earth to give His life and prepare a place for us
So we could have a home with Him above

It's Christmas time again and now you're home
Your family is here so you will never be alone
So tonight before you go to sleep, I'll hold you in my arms
And tell you from my heart
I tell you from my heart
I wish you Merry Christmas

Kids and Yu

Yu, our friend from Shenyang, China, studying at UNA, is moving to Houston to finish her studies. We are going to miss her so much. She is a beautiful young lady, very sweet and kind.

Yu with Haley, Audrey's new baby.

Yu with Luci and Bryan wearing their mei mei (little sister) and geh geh (big brother) shirts. We gave Yu a jie jie (big sister) t-shirt. She asked the kids to call her "jie jie" because she always wanted little brothers and sisters. Our friends Kathy and Greg, who just got back from China with their own little China doll, got the jie jie shirt for us to give to Yu.
Can you read her forehead? Luci has a sticker that says, "may cause drowsiness." She certainly caused plenty of drowsiness for me! In a 30 day period in October and November, I had 5 contacts with the pedatrician because of her--allergies, sinus infection, flu shot, pink eye and a dislocated elbow! The "nursemaid's elbow" happened at our new house--a total accident that had me thinking her arm was broken. This is the same house where Bryan broke his arm in July. We told JT that he has to wear full body armor, since he's the only one who is still whole. Luci and Maggie have a tea party.

Heath's Family

We met up with Heath and Shanna and Sophia at Cracker Barrel. Shanna is 6 months pregnant, could you tell? She is so tiny! Sara is due on March 1st.
John holding Luci and Sophia.
Aunt Luci and Niece Sophia yakking it up on the front porch.

Moving Day!

JT had his karate test on moving day. JT, Luci and I missed the big move. (I didn't realize that this photo was sideways until I posted it here!)

Garage is filled up. Heath surprised us by being in town and he came to help. So did Julie and Jud and Barry from church, and Bryan.
Luci helped pack up boxes in the apartment.
Bryan put together Luci's bed. He was a really big help.

We're Home!

We finally got into our house! It is not completely finished yet, but it's close. For instance, we do have running water, but no sinks in the bathrooms. Teeth-brushing takes place in the kitchen. Front porch is not connected to any stairs yet, but that doesn't matter when the garage door is so nice and handy.

Heath surprised us by coming to town--don't think it was just to help us move, but it is nice to think so. He and Shanna and Sophia are in town, we plan on seeing them later on this week. Several others helped out, too, and found that taking all that stuff downstairs in cold weather is much easier than taking it upstairs in hot weather. John also hired two guys to move the heaviest stuff...worth every penny.

We are all sore and tired. At supper tonight, we passed around the ibuprofen along with the iced tea.

Just Some Thoughts

Luci has pink eye, what fun trying to get the eyedrops in--it's like wrestling an octopus.

Luci's become quite good at washing her hands....in the toilet. We really have to be careful to keep the door shut. She zoomed past John yesterday while he was washing his hands (in the sink, what were you thinking?!) and splash! Then while I was loading the dishwasher, she went to the other extreme and stuck her hands in the powdered dishwasher detergent. Aaack! Got to be careful with this one. At least she isn't washing my keys off in the potty anymore--that was last Saturday, and yes, the van beeper-thingy still works.

We watched the movie Cars last night. It just came out on DVD. It is a good movie. It made me cry! While JT was sitting there thinking how dopey his mom is, I was reminded of our family seeing 101 Dalmatians when it came out in the 60s--was it 1969? I know it was at Mt. Home AFB. We were all in the movie theater (our family made a pretty big crowd) and I remember being so embarrassed because A DOG MOVIE made my mother cry. Sheesh! How dopey is that?! Now I know.

Last night, Luci's allergies and sinus drainage made it impossible for her to be comfortable lying down, so we spent most of the night in the recliner....until that 3:30 a.m. run to Walmart. At that hour, you can really zoom through the store. We got some medicine to help with the drainage, and Luci got lots of attention from the few people who were there at the same time. Even the couple with matching nose rings thought she was adorable (of course).

Moving SOON!!!!!

Hi and Lois in the funny pages was all about us (Nov 8's strip). Lois told Hi that if they ever moved, they'd have to take the door jamb with them because it has the children's measurements marked on it. We have always kept the measurements of Bryan, JT and Luci on the door that goes to our basement. Open it up, and you see the growth from their Day 1--well, Luci's Day 2. This door has markings with their ages, height and important events, like, "Christmas 1996," "5th Birthday," "Daddy comes home from Afghanistan," "Luci comes home."

It was this door that let me know that Luci's birth length was identical to Bryan's and JT's length at birth, and her weight was almost exactly half-way in-between both of the boy's birthweights. Luci had those items recorded on the day she was found, which we think to be the second day of her life, so they are pretty accurate. Pretty remarkable, too, that they all match up!

When we signed papers around the dining room table that day last February, we told the lady buying our house that we'd leave the oven but take the door to the basement.

We are now looking for people to help us move our apartment items to the new house next Saturday, the 18th. It is also the day the big football rivalry takes place here--known as "The Iron Bowl." We placed a request for workers in the church bulletin promising we'd be done before the Iron Bowl starts. I hope. John's contacting the Direct TV people to come out tomorrow or next week to set up our dish so we can watch the game in our new home. Doesn't matter how the team does the rest of the season, you gotta win the Iron Bowl!

Haley's Here!!

Miss Haley Elizabeth was born October 23. Proud parents are Audrey and Thom. John and Bryan got to go visit and meet Haley, and here she is! She is a pretty baby, and looks a lot like Audrey. Here Uncle Bryan is cuddling his newest niece.

Big Sister Maggie kept Papa John pretty busy, too!

Next time, Papa, take more pictures! (please) Bryan got plenty of footage on the video camera, but that does not help show off the grandbabies on the blog.

FCC Group get-together

Drew and Lori hosted an informal get-together at their barn last Sunday. It was a gorgeous day, and filled with gorgeous little girls. Here are some photos of the kids. I can't remember two of the girls' names, so I am not labeling every one--I'm sorry I can't remember! I cannot find my list of FCC members--I am going to say that it is packed away (don't know if it is or not, but that is my excuse). John was at drill. One of these days, he will actually be in town for a meeting and get to meet the other dads who have beauties from China.

We also all got to congratulate and give our good wishes to Kathy and Greg, who leave Friday to get their new daughter! They are so excited.


Bryan and JT embarrassed me by pulling their chairs right up to the buffet. At least they waited until everyone else had had their fill.

This is Lori, our hostess, with Karlee.
The girls found the garbage can fascinating--they played music on it. Oscar the Grouch would be proud. Miranda, Luci and Christine.



Halloween!!!!!

I showed Luci this photo and it scared her!

JT's creation

Luci's Birthday Party!

We had a big party today! Luci's name was drawn for a reduced price party at our wonderful Children's Museum. It is a small museum, with high quality. It is one of the best children's museums that we've been to, and we've been to quite a few. I was thrilled that Luci's name was chosen for the party! We all had fun--the kids pretty much filled up the museum and got to play with their favorite things.

Here are photos of some of our favorite people:

Luci's name was posted throughout the museum.

Luci and Daddy. When he walked in, everyone knew that Luci loves John!

Karlee and Kate--there were costumes for the kids to put on! FUN.

Maggie and Seora

Nathan Riley, Hannah and Britt (I couldn't catch Cole on camera) working the locks on the Tennessee River

hmmm....awfully cute! Casey Brooke and Bryan....more on Bryan's costume later.

Tyler and Luci in the house the boys built

Rachel in the Tennessee River

Nathan Riley and JT digging for dinosaur bones



Bryan decided that the boys' costumes were a little dull. Oh, brother! Don't you know that Mommy has a blog???

Bryan, Graham, Nathaniel, Ben and Tyler

Whitt

Luci and Kate

Our Queen for a Day

Luci found the water! Love seeing that happy face. Later, Diane wrung lots of water out of Luci's sleeves. It was pretty funny.

When we got home, I thought I put the leftover cupcakes up high enough. I heard a crash! John went to investigate and I yelled, "Grab the camera!" Luci's only comment was, "Mmm, Good!"