Characters

Bryan,Mickey and JT. Pretty Princess Luci. She adores dressing up.
JT meets Jack Sparrow, star of Pirates of the Caribbean.
Get that mouse out of here!

"Bye-bye, Minnie!" Luci was happy as long as the characters kept their distance.

Snow White was the one exception--Luci actually talked to Snow White, and now she's Luci's favorite. We did buy a photo of Luci with Mulan, but that one is not nearly as happy as this one.

The Last Day of Cruise

We are at the end of the cruise. Bryan is determined to stay up all night with his new buds. We saw two pretty girls chasing him around the pool deck yesterday (yes, I got a pic of them--for future bribery uses). J.T. paged us and told us he'd rather eat dinner with his Oceaneer Lab group tonight. They both have really had a good time with the youth programs.

We spent today on Castaway Cay in the Bahamas. It is a tiny island directly north of Nassau. Disney owns it, and does the Bahamas up well. They had a super barbecue lunch there today--John had a grilled salmon sandwich. Too bad I am not fond of seafood. All three boys had ribs, too.

Luci had her first encounter with the ocean and sand today. She loved it! It was a cool day--73* and the water was cool, too, but that didn't stop our kids. They had a ball going out to the jungle gym in the bay, riding on big inner tubes we rented. It was a great day. We used lots of sunscreen but still got some sun. Luci turned out to be a brown little bear.

Found out tonight there are 58 countries represented here by the crew on the ship.

Last night we had rough seas, according to channel 12. That meant waves up to 13 feet high. I thought it was a bit rougher, since at one point in the night I got up to go to the head and kept running into the bulkhead. (Ask Dad B. what those mean.)

We leave early tomorrow--I wondered if they would serve us breakfast, and they will--we are in the early seating at dinner so we are also the early seating tomorrow for breakfast! 6:30!! That is O-Dark-Thirty for you military types.

There were a couple of things I wanted to remember to tell in The Blob, but I can't remember them now. If I do happen to remember them later, I'll blog it later. By the way, I did mean to call this The Blob--Mom used to call it that sometimes, and I like that name. It has character. Mom always told me that some things build character.

If This Is St. Thomas, This Must Be Wednesday

Here we are in St. Thomas. We all went ashore today, mostly so we could say we'd been to St. Thomas. The kids are very happy with their programs on board and would rather do that. Fine with me, the tours would cost money. Keeping money in our pockets is fine with us. I found some books on the Caribbean, real pirates, and the ocean in a little store and now we have a whole unit of study ready for us when we get home (aw, Mom, don't you ever give up?).

Last night was Pirates in the Caribbean night, and many dressed up for the party. Bryan and JT both had costumes. Bryan wore a homemade costume that looked pretty good. JT was Jack Sparrow from the movie. I found his costume online (Disneyshopping.com) before we left home and it was actually on sale! JT loved people noticing who he was. We met Jack Sparrow, too--not Johnny Depp, but I'm told the character looked and acted just like him (which means he was kind of weird and acted drunk--what a role model, huh?). There was a huge party up on deck--started after Luci went to sleep, so all the boys went and I tidied up the cabin. The party included a big fireworks show, too. There was food galore, as though no one had had any dinner just 2 hours before. Huge barbecued turkey legs, along with many, many other things. JT and John ended up bringing turkey legs back to the cabin, and I went up top and got some chocolate cake.

Bryan made it back to the cabin 2 hours before the curfew we set--I had promised to go searching for him myself if he were late this time; the threat must have been embarrassing enough since it worked.

Homeland Security demanded early inspection of all passengers once we got to St. Thomas this morning. That means that we were up and in line with passports by 7 a.m. Everyone looked too tired, and that cheered the boys no end since they imagined we were the only ones who had to get up so early. Disney knows how to keep everyone happy--they had coffee and juices, sweet rolls and boxes of cheerios (what do you think babies want most?) for us while we waited in line. After the short inspection, we were all herded to the feeding troughs--oops! I mean, we were directed to three different dining rooms for breakfast.

The last time we went through a Homeland Security Inspection was the day Luci came home from China with us. That was the day she became a U.S. citizen. Nice memory! She has her own blue U.S. passport just like ours now, and her red Chinese passport is just a nice memento.

The wake-up calls are pretty nice--Mickey Mouse himself calls you! And, because he knows you didn't get up the first time, he calls you back in a few minutes to tell you again that "it's time for the show!"

Yesterday in St. Maarten we got t-shirts and baseball caps for the kids for souvenirs. Luci was in the Baby Brig when we were on shore, so when we got her out we showed her the t-shirt we got her. "Ooooh!" she said with happiness, and then blew her nose on the shirt. Yuck.

There is a channel on the cabin t.v. that shows the weather, the map where we are, where we've been and where we are going. There is another channel on the ship that shows the view from the Bridge--the bow of the ship. You can see where we are (all it shows most of the time is a bunch of water--how exciting is that?). At night, you guessed it, the channel still shows the bow. But it is in the dark. You can't see a thing, just a dark screen. So how do we know that the camera is really working? Wouldn't it be helpful to have headlights or something?

Got to go. Lunch time already!

Luci Is Disney-fied!

We've had such fun watching Luci's reactions to Mickey (cried), Doofy (what she calls Goofy, cried), Daisy and Donald and Chip and Dale (cried, cried, cried, cried). But Snow White she loves! JT kept asking me why Snow White giggles a lot and has such a high voice. Do you remember that movie? Snow sounds funny compared to the actresses today.

We've met people from all over the USA and Canada, and a few guests from Australia. Several families have passed by speaking languages other than English, French or Spanish, so I guess they are from other places. The crew here are from all over the world. Our wait staff at dinner, Teodor and Martina, are from Bulgaria and Slovakia, respectively. Today's lunch staff were from Singapore, Malaysia and India. Geronimo, our room steward, is from the Philippines. Yes, his name is really Geronimo. I've seen several name tags with Italy, Great Britain, Australia and the USA on them, but most are from other, lesser-known countries.

Sagas of the Boys: Last night, Bryan re-played a group of characters from Peter Pan known as "The Lost Boys." Or rather, "The Lost-and-Soon-to-Be-in-Trouble Boy." The teen program was over at 2 a.m. By 2:35 I was getting worried and woke up John. I called the guest services and a very nice voice named "Kumi" said she would alert the housekeeping staff, tell them Bryan's description and when they find him to tell him to go back to his room. He did return, but after John left searching for him. Kumi told me to call back when Bryan got back or in 30 minutes if he did not and she would alert the security department. I called her once Bryan returned to thank her for her help and she said "if it happens tomorrow night, call again." I told her that "it won't happen again." Bryan heard the bells tolling for himself. It sounded like a death knell. I mean, where does he come off not being where he is supposed to be? I certainly never pulled any stunt like that--oh, wait a minute, never mind, I just remembered an incident that happened in 7th grade....Maybe he does come by it naturally. Guess who is our special travel buddy today? Bryan! (where was he? Playing hide-and-seek with four other 9th graders. He is mortified that we want to meet these people just to make sure they are not axe-wielding mass murderers. We figure he's embarrassed us many times, so we owe him some of that.)

JT has been very good. This cruise has a lot that really floats his boat. Yesterday he learned to break dance while other kids were singing karaoke. He even talked John into a really cool (read: expensive) magic trick set.

The rocking of the boat stopped, finally! Smooth sailing! What is that outside my window? (It is not really a porthole, it is a "veranda," darling.) It looks like Sint Maarten. I guess we are in port, so Luci and I are enjoying the stillness of the boat. I am not walking like a drunken sailor (although I have never seen a drunken sailor). Bryan, John and I went ashore while Luci was in the baby brig and JT was having fun with his Ocean Lab group. We got some souvenirs close to the ship. There are just as many fun things to do on the ship as off. The boys didn't really want to go ashore except to be able to say they've been in a foreign country. I guess they are counting countries like I used to count states. China, Dutch Sint Maarten, etc.

John got me a very nice camera! It's a Pentax Optio W20, with a 1-GB memory card. Cool!

Guess I better go. Luci's napping, and I'm sure it's nearly over. (Don't worry, John's with her.)

News from the Ship

Hello out there from somewhere east of the Dominican Republic! 400 nautical miles to St. Maarten (hey, are nautical miles different than statute miles?? I don't know, email me and tell me the difference.) Partly cloudy skies, moderate swells (4-8 feet), 80* F. Here are some impressions and some news about our trip. (I'll have to post pictures when we get back.)

First of all, the kids did great on our drive down here on Friday--a twelve hour trip, the most harmonious trip we've ever had with all three children in the car at the same time. It was also the longest day of driving we've ever had. (I know, Dad, twelve hours should be the norm, but we usually go only about 8 hours before stopping. And, we actually stop for real food, not Vienna sausages and warm Shasta soda pop!) Of course, having one kid sit up front while Mom or Dad is driving and then switching drivers and front-seat passengers every few hours helps.

Secondly, when we got to the port on Saturday, we were amazed at the beauty of the ship. Disney's ship is classic in design. It was berthed (is that the right word when you want to say "parked" a ship?) right next to a Carnival Cruise Line ship--that Carnival ship looked a lot like I would imagine Noah's ark to look--I always imagined Noah's ark to be a big box that floated. Carnival's ship looked very boxy, not pretty at all. Click on the link here to see what our ship is like. (If you are really interested, we are in a Deluxe Family Stateroom with Veranda, on Deck 8. We are able to be here because of our Disney Vacation Club membership. The room is about the size of a hotel room, with a bunk bed for JT that pulls down out of the ceiling. Since we can sometimes hear deck chairs being moved overhead, I can only feel sorry for those passengers who have cabins below the nightclub area.)

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/dcl/en_US/cruises/landing?name=7NightEasternCaribbeanCruiseLandingPage

When we got onboard, JT said that our bathroom is just like an airplane's bathroom! (well, except that it is bigger, there is a separate room for the shower and another sink, it does not smell like an airplane's bathroom, there is no Occupado sign that shows up when you close the door, and the light switches are outside in Luci's reach--so, if you are in there and the lights go out, it is Luci's fault!)

Luci's had fun getting autographs of different Disney characters, as long as the characters keep their distance. We have a few photos of Mickey, Chip, and others with a smiling JT, Bryan and a screaming Luci. But she is calmer than she was when she saw Santa! So maybe there is hope for a peaceful photo some day.

The food is pretty good--I am more of a Cracker Barrel person, so the gourmet food at dinner (you don't say "supper" on board!) is beyond me. But breakfast and lunch look familiar. John enjoys the fancy stuff more than I do. I guess I ought to gussy-up supper at home more often.

Bryan and JT have their own separate programs that keep them busy most of the day. Luci has a babysitting area that is available--but only 10 hours total for the entire trip. I suppose that some parents might try to park their babies in there the whole trip. (Who would do such a thing? Don't think it hasn't occurred to me, especially after last night when Luci decided to wake up EVERY hour just to make sure I didn't sleep.) The boys' programs are free and lots of fun, evidently, since we didn't see them at all last night after supper (oops, that is "dinner") and Bryan finally showed up at midnight! He was still sleeping when we left for brunch at 10 a.m. Luci's babysitting has a fee, but it is in line with what I would pay someone at home, so that seems fair to me.

Tonight we have will have the boys busy with programs and Luci in babysitting (Flounder's Reef, if you looked on that website) so John and I get a 2 hour date! The first alone time in a long time--and we have to book a cruise to get it! Our dinner is scheduled for Lumiere's, one of the fanciest places on the ship, so that will be very nice. There are three main dining rooms--Lumiere's (named after the candlestick in Beauty and the Beast), Parrot Cay, and Animator's Palate ( I did spell that correctly).

Last night we took Luci to her first big show depicting Disney music throughout the years. It was like a Broadway show. We thought she'd be scared of the loud-ness of it, but she loved it! Afterwards, I asked her if I could take her to another show tomorrow night, and she got a very happy look on her face and nodded YES! Finally, after 15 years, I have a kid to go to musical shows with me! Hooray!

There is constant movement on the ship, which I am not crazy about. Dad and John's Dad would probably be ashamed at that, since one sailed with the Naval Academy and the other was in the Navy, but there you have it. I do NOT have "sea legs." Most people watching me might assume I've had some of those drinks they serve with the little umbrellas in them. Nope! Just ungraceful. John, who gets dizzy just thinking about the Teacup Ride at Disney World, is doing FINE. It is not fair. All three kids love the movement, and JT proudly tells people of his "navy heritage" from his grandpas. This movement is just like riding on an airplane to me, with the movement and the noise. If you know me well, you know I am scared of flying, so this is not a happy feeling for me. Add to it the fact that this plane is skimming along the ocean's surface--it is NOT keeping its altitude! Well, I guess it is keeping the altitude just fine since we are above water.

And, why, you ask, is Susan on the internet when there is so much to do on board??? If you are busy chasing a 2 year old and cleaning her up and putting her down for a nap, the possibilities for Mommy are rather limited. There is a spa area, but of course those items are pretty expensive and spa stuff just isn't my thing--add to that the fact that I am not exactly a swimsuit model, and the choices for me are sort of limited. So I have a cup of cappuccino next to me and I've paid for internet access for the week (cheaper than a spa treatment) and I get to check out the news, weather, and bore you with this.

Now, let me tell you that Disney does this cruise very well. There is a lot to do, you could never do everything listed on the schedule every day. John got to run around with kids doing stuff yesterday and Saturday, so I am having some free time now. When we get home, I'll post some pictures. We have quite a few, so far.

The Red Couch

Luci Willingham (9 months), Annaleah Bearden (18 months), Hannah Lane (2 years)--from Liu Zhi Social Welfare Institute in Luipanshui, Guizhou. I call them the Guizhou Girls.

This photo is on my computer desktop. It is my current favorite, and I see it every time I pass by the computer. That red couch has been in my mind a lot lately--two families we know have been to China and have come back with their new children recently--one with a daughter, the other with a son. They had their own Red Couch photos, too.

In this photo, Annaleah has a bandage on her left hand; she had several doctors look at her and once she was home, her affliction healed. Hannah is not quite sure about all of these strange white people taking her picture; she is quite a ham at home now, we hear. And little Luci is propped up because, even at nine and a half months, she still could not sit up on her own; within 3 weeks of being home she was crawling!

U.S. citizens pass through Guangzhou to finalize their US documentation for their newly adopted children. Many stay in the White Swan Hotel, and those who don't stay there visit the hotel to have the Red Couch photo taken. It is a tradition. Whenever you see a photo of Chinese children on a red couch, you can bet it was taken in the lobby of the White Swan. There is even a Merrill Lynch Financial commercial on TV about planning for your future, and one of the vignettes shows an American couple sitting in this lobby, on one of the red couches, with their new daughter. Makes me cry every time I see it.

January Happenings

We've had spring weather this week--the high on Friday was 75*. John and Luci were out on the deck, watching bats flick around at sunset. It was so warm, Luci went barefoot! Today (Monday) the weather is changing, it is rainy and cooler, and tomorrow the high will only be about 35* and we may have some sleet. It is not expected to be as terrible as the rest of the country has experienced, though. Documentation of the first hole being put into the walls of our new house. John put in a bracket so the cabinet would not tip over.
Bryan--isn't he handsome? And yes, he does do his own stunts!

JT always wants to rock Luci but she usually isn't this accomodating Had to preserve this moment for JT!
Luci loves taking a bath--this one is in the kitchen sink. Luci has surprised us by wanting to use her potty and has done so 4 times in the past three days! Maybe she will be easy to potty train. That would be a very nice thing.

Traffic in China

Click on the link below to see an article and aerial photo of a traffic circle in China.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=426647&in_page_id=1811&ito=1490

This looks just like what we experienced....except the photo does not show the ba-jillion pedestrians also on the road. Notice I did not say the pedestrians on the sidewalk. There were just as many people on their feet as in cars, and the game seemed to be, "See how many people can fit into one space at one time." Crosswalks are for the timid and light signals are just a nice idea, as no one seemed to obey them in Guiyang, our gotcha city.

I never did see an accident, which in itself was amazing.

The House...and New Year's Eve Tradition

December

December
January -- this was just before they started working on the stairs to the front porch. There are already shoots of grass coming up! John, Bryan and J.T. worked hard putting down seed and hay.
January

This is such a sweet picture. New Year's Eve

Every New Year's Eve we do a jigsaw puzzle. Everyone works on it, and then we glue it together, sign the back and use it as art work in the stairway to our basement. We try to finish before midnight. We didn't make it this year. I worked on it until about 12:30 am and John finished it around 3 am. J.T. ended up staying awake until 5 am and Bryan made it until 3:45 pm the next afternoon! Yawn!

Christmas Morning

JT is a happy camper! Bryan had a "to-do" list taped to his arm...stuff to do Christmas morning.
Who is more excited? Hard to tell.
Luci loves her new coat and baby doll. Mom, this is about the last time we saw clothes on that beautiful American Girl baby.

Gingerbread House

Our yearly tradition continues. We started building gingerbread houses when Bryan was 4. This is year #11 for us.
Luci contributed as a taste-tester.

Isn't this apron adorable? Kalyn's grandmother made it for Luci. Kalyn is our newest friend from China. There is a Thanksgiving turkey on the reverse side of the apron, so we've got two months covered with this cute gift.

Thank Heaven for Little Girls

Guess what Sophia taught Luci to do??? Mommy, this is lots of fun! The girls bounced and had a great time.
It just looks like Sophia doesn't enjoy this. The girls got along really well.
There's just something about sharing a chair.

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.