Six Years Ago

Six years ago today, we met Luci face to face.   For better or worse, our lives all changed that day.  All adoptions begin with a loss.  Luci may never get to meet her birth parents or know what happened that had her end up in an orphanage.  Since this is the anniversary of her adoption, there are lots of mixed emotions running through her mind.  Happiness that we went out to eat in honor of HER, and sorrow that she is not with her original parents.  Joy that Mommy played video games with her "in celebration, Mama," and consternation that I would not play Disney Princess Wii for more than two hours.

Here are some photos from that trip six years ago.  They are not in any particular order.


Here is a photo that was taken at the orphanage before they traveled to Guiyang to meet us.  Pictured:  Hannah, Luci and Annaleah.  We sent a disposable camera (along with other goodies for the staff, ordered from here) and were thrilled when it was returned to us when Luci was put into our arms.  The shots were all from the morning they came to meet us, probably all taken in about fifteen minutes, but they are the only glimpse we have of Luci's life before we met her.

Bryan and JT with all three Bearden girls.

JT and Bryan with some cigars that John bought at the White Swan.  That bed was supposed to sleep two.  TWO.  It didn't.  But at least it was more cushy than the bed in Guizhou.

JT with Jophy, our guide.

Bryan and JT climbed up a temple.  This was about seven flights up.

Eating with chopsticks!

The boys with their "I'm the big brother" and "I'm the bigger brother" t-shirts on (Bryan's actually says, "biggest."  But it should say, "bigger." The editor in me comes out!) .  Luci has on an "I'm the little sister" shirt.

Happy baby at Lucy's Bar in Guangdong.

On the way to LuiZhi, the city where Luci's orphanage is.

LuiZhi

The back of Luci's SWI (Social Welfare Institute--different than an orphanage, in that senior citizens also live there, and probably infirm adults as well).  I think those folks in the red are exercising.

The first photo we ever saw of our precious Luci.

Answers to that Prayer

Two days after the Rain, Rain post, we got 0.51 inches of rain.  Half an inch!  That was really nice.  Thank you, thank you, Lord!  We got more in ten minutes than we had in the past three weeks all together.

Yesterday we got another 1.19 inches.  Yippee!  And perhaps some more today.

And now, it's our turn.  To have grandchildren here when it's raining.  John's daughter Audrey is in town, and bringing over her three children for some fun.  I'm sure they'll have fun with Luci's bed , which will mean that bed is seeing some action.  Since Luci's slept on the living room floor with me ever since it was built.  (Told ya so.)

So, here we are, with lots of wet ground.  John's out now, scrounging for some dry wood so we can make a fire in the fire pit and roast marshmallows.  It's a fine substitute for going to the big creek with all the girls.  We haven't been able to use the fire pit since the weather has been so dry, but today that is not a problem.

Justice, huh, Lord?  You laughing at me, up there today?  I would be.

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And now I feel really selfish.  Here is Luci's province, Guizhou, in the news because of a severe drought.

Rain, Rain, Wherefore art Thou, Rain?

We've had very little rain in the past three weeks.  Finally, two days ago, some big storms rolled through.  Areas around us got three inches of rain.  Just 15 miles away, in two different directions, THREE inches of rain!  We got...ready for this?  0.15 inches of rain here.  That's right, not even two-tenths!  Arrgh!  Then, today on the way home from town, the rain was so intense that we nearly came to a standstill on the highway.  It was a real toad-strangler.  I was so excited, now we have some rain!  Then we got home...and it was bone-dry.  Not even a drop!  About two hours later, though, we did get some rain.  A whole 0.05 inches. Woo-Hoo! Celebrate!  Not so much.

It is so dry here that I've been praying for rain.

Which is unusual.  Me, praying for rain.

I remember very well one summer that we went to Tennessee to see all the grandparents and cousins.  I was six or seven years old (no older than that).  Here is a photo of my family around that time (Dad was behind the camera) .  I'm the blond girl on the left, in front of the Mother who looks like she's about to pass out from being a mother to five children.  She was exhausted, I'm sure. (Mom, this photo is so funny.  I love it!)

While we were in Tennessee, it began to rain!  Oh no!  The only thing we kids could do in Tennessee was play outside.  Heavens, five children descending upon grandparents who hadn't had kids living in their homes for decades, and what, did you say FIVE kids?  Send those boogers outside to play!  Don't call them in until supper.  After that, send them back outside to chase the fireflies.

We were in our station wagon with Grandmother.  Sandwiched in, up close and personal, getting to know Grandmother better.  Driving through Nashville somewhere, going someplace and under pain of death to be good to our siblings.  And it started to rain.  Rain!  What are we going to do now?


Grandmother, sitting in the middle seat, said how happy she was to see the rain.  "I've been praying for rain!"

I remember just as if it were yesterday, thinking, "What a stupid thing to pray for!"

Now I'm praying that stupid prayer.

Cool Things

Tonight, after working on World Bible School, I made smoothies (love that VitaMix!). 

Luci's gave her brain freeze!

I caved and got Luci some Skechers "Twinkle Toes" shoes.  They are plenty big, so she will get lots of wear out of them.  The shoes are sorta expensive (yipes!) but wow, they flash!  LED lights in the toes of these already-sparkly shoes (they have an abundance of sequins, and then they added the lights) really make them stand out.  Lots of fun for a little girl.

Heard today, I think my hearing is going:

while listening to a Christian CD (Wee Sing):

Luci sang along, and then said:  Jesus likes hearing this CD.  It makes Him happy!


Yes, it does.  I know He loves hearing you sing, too.

 I know!  I am a fish stick!


What?  You're a fish stick?

No!  I said, 'I am a Christian!'

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Also today, Luci told us this story:

One day, when I was in my bedroom with Bryan, I wanted to hit him!

I heard this voice in my head saying, "Don't hit him.  Don't hit him."

That's your conscience, Luci.

Then I heard another voice saying, "Hit him! Hit him!"

But I didn't hit him.

Much.

Our Week

We processed another pumpkin. This latest one weighed 7.4 lbs. I don't think there are any more pumpkins left in the garden. 

I took Luci to our closest splash pad.  That's a fancy term for a place where water squirts up through the ground.  It was lots of fun for Luci.  I still got some sunburn, even though I sat in the shade the whole time.  I also got to visit with a homeschool mom, Sara, as we watched our kids play.  That part was fun for me.

One thing we learned is that a kid can get an accidental enema from these jets.  Poor Luci. I did get her to the bathroom before the explosion hit, and I was able to clean her up in the van.  Good thing there were some extra clothes in the van.  The next night on the local news, there was a story on E Coli contamination in area splash pads.  How timely!  Testing the Waters, Channel 19. 

Thursday, after working at the Friendship Center, Luci and I headed to Huntsville to get a Smurf at Build a Bear Workshop.  They were out of girl Smurfs, so that was a bust.  Except that Luci ended up with a teddy bear instead, which cost half as much as a Smurf, so we both were happy.  We visited Redstone Arsenal to get groceries at the Commissary, so it was not all about Smurfs.  We did some good stocking up, too.

Luci's highlight of the day (since the Smurf was AWOL) was riding the Cow-levator.  What's that, you ask?  It's the elevator at the mall that has a Chik-Fil-A cow painted on the door.  She kept telling me she wanted to ride the Cow-levator...I didn't even remember the cow.  But she did.

When she told me she wanted to ride the ask-a-lator, I figured that one out much more quickly.

Guess Who?

John found a photo album yesterday, and we had fun looking through it.

Here's a photo of me with my Mom and siblings 'way back when we lived in Albuquerque.  You can tell I was thrilled to be a big sister, loving that I am no longer the one in Mom's lap.  Yeah.

Now I know where JT gets that face.  Here he is at about age 4, in an angel costume at church.  Martha Harrison, JT's Sunday school teacher that year, dressed all the kids up, took their photos and decorated the class with them.  You can tell JT's thrilled with the get-up.

Oh, JT, you are so cute!

Pumpkin!

Luci planted pumpkins this year.  Today John harvested the very first one.  Luci and I worked to preserve it, and made some muffins along the way.  I followed the directions on this site.

Here she is!  This pumpkin weighed 7.2 lbs.  It is really too large for freezing, according to the things I've read online because the larger the pumpkins are, the stringier they can be.  We didn't let that stop us.

Not so sure about the innards!

It was really easy to separate the seeds from all that goop.  Just put the stuff in a bowl, add water, and watch the seeds float to the top.  Pick those out, then stir the mess again.  If the seeds are stuck to the fibers, just rub them between your fingers.  They will come loose.  The bowl of water makes it so easy.  I roasted the seeds (Luci added the butter and salt) and we enjoyed them after supper.  Directions here.

We steamed the pumpkin, a bit at a time, in the microwave.

Pureeing the flesh.  The site recommended a hand blender.  Mine did not work.  The VitaMix had no problem!

We had enough for three packets for the freezer (one will make a batch of muffins, two will make a pie), and enough left over for...

Muffins!  These were so good!  Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins from allrecipes.com. 

JT refused to try a muffin.  He won't eat anything that's the same color as his hair (orange).  I tried to get him to taste just a crumb of one, a crumb loaded with chocolate chips, but he wouldn't!  He did, however, make off with half of the roasted pumpkin seeds.

The Great Pumpkin Experiment is a winner!

John's been busy!

This week John put together a platform for Luci to sleep on.  Before I show you this fantastic bed/sleeping platform, let me show you the other beds that Luci has had in her room since moving here:  

November 2006 ~~Bryan putting Luci's crib together

 March 2008  ~~  Just the crib mattress on the floor

 July 2008 ~~ a real bed, big enough for Mommy to sleep with Luci (yeah, right, as soon as she nods off, she's perpendicular!).  Also big enough for company, should any be brave enough to stay here overnight....

 December 2010 ~~ Maybe, just maybe, she'll sleep in this bed

and Today ~~ the extravaganza, the whoop-de-doo, the bed to end all beds!

Whatcha wanna bet that she won't sleep here, either?

This is a fantastic play space!

I figure this is just another pretty bed, set up for looking at.  Because I betcha she won't sleep in it any time soon.

Usually Luci and I end up on the floor in the living room.  When she starts out in her room, she ends up on the floor with me there--crammed between her bed and the kitchen playset (it's a tiny, tiny room).  So, we end up moving to the living room floor. 

It's getting kind of old for this old mommy.  I don't get stiff, which is a surprise to both John and me.  It's just that I'd rather Luci be able to sleep by herself.  She wants a little sister, then "I can sleep with her, mommy!"  Yeah, right.  I don't think that's happening.  So, I sleep with her.  Luci's counselor says this will pass, Luci will eventually not need me next to her.  Be tough, you say?  I baby her, you say?  You are not living with a sweet little girl who thinks she's being abandoned.  Again.  :( 

Look, Ma! No Cavities!

Luci and I had an appointment for teeth-cleaning and came back with a no-cavity report.  Yay!

But Luci is showing some serious need for braces....

And earlier last week, I found this sweet surprise on the top of a new carton of Daisy Sour Cream--a tiny heart!

First Day!

Our school year officially began yesterday.  Here's our annual photo.  I have taken photos each year, measuring them against the hutch to see their growth.  What you see is one boy who grew by leaps and bounds last year!  And yes, he's wearing his pajamas.  On a school day.  Because when you homeschool, you can do that. 

What you don't see:  Bryan, in the background, laughing at the two who must start school.  It was hard for me to see only two kids in the picture this time.  Sniff, sniff. 

Luci began Mandarin Chinese with Rosetta Stone today.  She's so excited about it!  I also began today, with the Mandarin, to keep her company. We use the homeschool version of Rosetta Stone and I love it.  It is almost like a game, and the homeschool version keeps track of everything for me, including scoring.

Bryan completed two years of Spanish (Latin America) with them, and JT completed one year or Spanish.  This year he's working on Korean.  Someday he wants to go to South Korea and train further in Tang Soo Do, so Korean is his big interest right now.  This shows a screen in the Mandarin lesson from today.

Here are some blasts from the past, showing how the kids have grown.

 1997  Only one student that year! 

 2007  I absolutely LOVE Luci in this photo.

2008

 2009

We are now pet owners.

Luci out-lasted me and so now we have a hamster. 

Yes, it's in a pink cage and yes its name is Fluffy or FluffBall (changing all the time).  And yes, it's MALE.  In a Pink cage.  With a name like "Fluffy."  I refuse to pay for the animal's therapy, so if it has issues then, well, I don't care.

Such a happy Hamster Mommy!

Road Trip!

Thursday...St. Louis

Luci was so excited to see the Arch in person.  Right before this photo was taken, she whispered, "Can I touch it?"

Saturday...Wall Drug in South Dakota.  Luci was scandalized at John's enjoyment of this beauty.

Jackelope!

Sunday...Mount Rushmore. My favorite picture of the whole trip.

Breakfast with the presidents.

Bighorn National Forest, Wyoming.  This pass was opened just one week before we drove through!  The snow was about 2 feet deep here.

Monday...Yellowstone National Park.  Old Faithful.

Yellowstone Lake.  I took a photo of Bryan and JT on this very rock nine years before.  Almost to the very day.  It was not snowy then!  We were amazed by all the snow.

More later!

For Mom

Mom, we are using a few "Pretty Things" for our 4th of July celebration today.  The carrots and tomatoes came from our garden, and we're having some corn on the cob from the garden, too.

And don't forget the banana pudding in the crystal bowl!  It's still in the fridge, hence this silly shot.

Thanks again for the Pretty Things.  Luci especially loved that we are using some of them today.

Wish you all could join us for ribs and potato salad!