Mid-Autumn Festival (Moon Festival)

Tomorrow (Friday) begins the Mid-Autumn Festival, what we Americans usually call the Moon Festival. It is the marking of the first full moon during harvest time. Every time Luci and I see the moon, we blow kisses to it and I tell Luci that her China-momma is going to see that very same moon tonight, and perhaps catch her kisses. It is fanciful, and not really true, but I do imagine that her Chinese mother wonders just how her precious daughter is, and where she is, and is she happy? I pray, as Luci blows kisses, that her mother can somehow feel in her heart that her daughter (whom she loved enough to give her life, and to place her where she would be found quickly) is healthy and full of happiness and has everything a little girl could ever hope for.

We are going to have a special treat--a mooncake! Last Saturday, Yu told Kathy (a friend who just got her referral) and me a little about the Mid-Autumn Festival. I said something about maybe going to the Chinese market in Huntsville and getting a mooncake for Yu, and her face really lit up. So, naturally I delegated and John went to the Chinese market and found these moon cakes. Isn't this a beautiful package?! I was really astounded when John brought this home today. The box of 4 red-bean paste moon cakes (doesn't that make your mouth water?) was $12.99. The box looked more like a big book than a box of cake.

The individual cakes are in gorgeous metal boxes. I am going to have a hard time deciding which one we will keep. (I figure we will be happy sharing just one, not being big fans of red-bean paste.) I am going to get us a box of Moon Pies, too. That just seems more appropriate for our family. I'll get Yu a box of those, too, and let her come to her own conclusions.

Here is an interesting story from China Daily about Mooncakes. Thank you to the Rumor Queen for finding this, and prompting me to post about our own moon wishes. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2006-10/05/content_701794.htm

Guess What We Did on October First?

SWIM!!! It was 86* here today--plenty warm for a dip in the pool. The boys played for about 45 minutes, but Luci only lasted as long as it took to take this picture. Her comment: " 'S CODE!" (John and I were sensible and did the life guard duty from lounge chairs.)

Catching Up--One Year Later

This was taken in September, 2005, not long after we got home with Luci. Luci is on the left, holding on to the table. Maggie, Audrey's daughter (who is only 2 1/2 months older than Luci!) is on the right. Now look at these two girls--Luci on the left and Maggie on the right....Maggie is still bigger, but Luci has definitely closed the gap quite a bit. Audrey is in town this week with Maggie.
Luci, the fashion doll!
Hey! Who knocked on my cabinet??
Bottoms Up! Bryan holds up Luci and John holds up Maggie.
JT wants everyone to know that he made a goal today in his soccer game! Hooray, JT!

September

The last week has been tough, mostly for the lack of sleep that Momma gets. Which, in turn, affects everyone (John is nodding in agreement). The last HSLDA (Homeschool Legal Defense Association http://hslda.org ) magazine we got had an article by Mike Smith that stated several things of frustration for the homeschool mom: " 1. mom's scenery never changes, and this can be stressful. Dad typically goes to a whole new set of adult relationships and surroundings every day. 2. the whole world can see the results of mom's homeschooling, and moms feel the intense pressure of this fact. 3: moms need some time each week to regroup, to listen to themselves think, and just be alone for a while. During a typical homeschool day, mom probably hasn't talked to another adult at all. Meaningful adult communication meets a basic emotional need of our wives...."



Those are all so true. Add to that list very little sleep because Luci still does not sleep through the night--up twice most nights, and restless (almost night terrors at times) quite a bit of some nights plus trying to keep kids quiet because the lady downstairs can hear lots of what goes on up here. It's been very stressful, and I am so ready to be in our new house. I'll be able to let Luci fuss a bit more at night without worrying that she is waking John up (she'll have her own room on the other side of the house) or bothering the neighbors, and the boys can be noisier without me getting so upset.


John helped so much Saturday--he took the kids to do errands and then to JT's Upward Soccer game at church and I stayed home to sew. I had the best time working on curtain liners for the new house, and I made Luci and myself matching bags out of red, paisley quilting. They turned out so cute! I even added fuzzy pom-pom trim to them, and they are so girly. Luci loves hers, which makes making them even more enjoyable. Thanks for that time, John. It is rare and sweet!


Here is a photo update for the past two weeks. It's been difficult to find time to "do the blog" since it does take more time to upload the site and then the photos and text...much more time in comparison to checking email, or even another friend's blog.

We got to see the reproduction of Christopher Columbus' ship, the Nina (I don't know how to make the mark over the n). It is a fabulous ship, built by hand, without power tools. It was amazing to think that Columbus and his crew (and the Pinta and the Santa Maria) braved the open ocean. This is an incredibly small ship. The men all slept on deck and bailed out the hold every shift change (every four hours) with leather buckets. Here are JT, Bryan and Luci and some kid we couldn't get out of the photo--we'll call him cousin Bob.
Bryan is getting so grown up! Fourteen and ready to explore the world.
JT is on the right in this picture, and Nathan Riley is next to him. Nathan Riley is one of our favorite friends.
Casey Brooke, Nathan Riley's sister (and another favorite person!) is here with Luci. Luci had to sit exactly like Casey, it was so cute!
Luci is looking into the hold of the ship, seeing where Columbus might have kept water in barrels, livestock and firewood for cooking. It was very interesting, as you can tell. Luci loves to read the paper with Momma's glasses on. Good thing her teeny nose holds them on so well.
She also likes to do the crossword puzzle. Soon I'll have her doing it with a pen instead of that pencil.
Let me outta here! Luci does her version of chin-ups.

Update

Here's what has been happening at our house the last week:

John had an Army drill, then a trip with work, then an Army AT (I think that means "annual training") and he is home now. He's been gone for a total of a week. Luci did her great squealing welcome, letting John know he is still loved.

Bryan is no longer wearing the brace on his arm. He's considered healed! He is so happy!

JT got to meet the man who started Tang Soo Do martial arts in the USA. He is Grand Master Chin (pronounced Shin) from Korea. This man trained several famous people in Korea, including Chuck Norris, and when he came to the USA, he changed it some and called it Tang Soo Do. JT met him in Murfreesboro last weekend and got Master Chin's autograph on his (JT's) karate uniform. JT proclaimed that day "the best day of my life, so far!"

Luci has been talking up a storm. Last night she woke up in the middle of the night and asked for a hamburger and an apple. Of course, she sounded like the detective Clousseau in the Pink Panther movie, "am-boo-gare."

Susan got to get groceries by herself today. Hooray! That is a rare thing.

Of course there were lots of photos taken, but they are not on a disk yet. They will be posted soon.

Freedom!

Bryan got his cast off last Tuesday. The first thing he did? He took a shower and washed his hair, without a big plastic bag on his arm. He's supposed to wear a brace most of the time (exceptions: bathing, sleeping and swimming) until September 12. Here Bryan is showing me what it feels like to be without his cast--pure freedom! JT is in the innertube, and the arms at the bottom of the picture belong to Bradley, their friend and a distant cousin, as we found out in June.

This one was just too adorable to leave out! I've finally figured out how to get those pretty bows in Luci's hair.

Baby Speech

"Go Shibby!" That is "Go Swimming!" in Luci-ese.

Luci's speech has grown so much in the last month--her first sentence, "Me go," was a month ago and we waited for sentence number two for 3 whole weeks. Finally, last Saturday, she said another, then another, then another--Luci is well on her way using speech all the time (as opposed to sign language and babbling).

I just noticed today that she no longer uses the sign language that we all depended upon for communicating. Hooray for you, Luci!

I love this picture! The kids' personalities really shine through. Such hams, and such joy.

When, Oh When?

Imprisoned? Don't get me wrong, we do love this apartment, and are so thankful to be in this very nice place with a pool and nice neighbors and air conditioning, and I am so thankful that we are not in a little travel trailer of some sort behind the new house which was the original plan (have you seen RV yet? it's a must-see), but we are so ready to be outta here and into our house!

We are upstairs, which means someone is downstairs who listens to every footfall, door slam, boys' sword fight (quit that!), baby squeal. Even little Luci can shake the floors with her little Sumo-wrestling walk. Poor lady downstairs. I finally met her today, she is very nice, but I'm sure she's lying about us not being too noisy. It will be nice to let the boys be boys in the new house, to let Luci have her ride-on toys, to let the kids just play without having to worry about the neighbors.

We have learned not to stock up on things (Isn't there a Bible verse for that? A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. Luke 12:15b) because there is just not room. So, when JT and I went to the commissary to get groceries today, I got just enough. Not a whole big freezer full, just enough.

We have learned not to holler at the kids about anything (well, I learned it--John already was pretty good at this)--supper's ready; leave your brother alone; yes, you do have to do your schoolwork!!

We've learned that having nice neighbors is nice. It's nice to have someone to wave to as you leave the apartment, and it's fun to see their kids riding their little toys.

We've learned that it is so nice to have a pool! Bryan learned that it is nice when the 13 year old neighbor girl (who is quite cute) says hello to him.

John learned that not doing the yardwork all summer is quite nice.

Luci has learned to climb stairs all by herself. And I've learned I should not rush her because then it takes twice as long to inspect every stair as she climbs.

JT's Orange Belt Test!

JT had a great Tang Soo Do test last weekend. He tested for his orange belt, which you see around his waist--his old white belt is resting on his shoulders. JT got to break a board, too. The Master at the test signed JT's belt, which is pretty cool if it is your belt. We found out while there that his teacher asked the person grading JT to grade him for double ranking--that would give JT two steps up for this one test, instead of the usual one step forward. He won't find out if he double ranked until the test certificates come in about a month.
Luci also had a good time at the test. We are not sure exactly what she's doing, but it was a lot of fun.

Luci loves JT!

Fancy Hotels--We Are the New Clampetts

We got to spend the night in the new Marriott resort hotel here. We had a balcony and this is how the kids entertained themselves. John said I was not allowed to lock them out there.

Luci loved the baby in the mirror. This was a first for her, to have a mirror on her level. Every time Luci picked up something new, she ran to show the baby. They had the best conversations...I only wish I had an interpreter.

School Time

What does Luci do when the boys are doing lessons? Just about anything she wants to, until she gets caught!
Today she got into the junk drawer in the kitchen (don't you have one?) and found the rubberband ball. Then she ran into the living room and, after a few minutes, shouted with glee, "Did it!!" What did she do? She released the rubberbands from the ball and they "exploded" all over the area--about 100 bands to pick up. She spent the next half hour picking them up and dumping them on her little table, then picking them up off the table and dumping them on the floor. Must have been pretty exciting to her. (That is a mosquito bite on her forehead.)

Another favorite pasttime is shooting Mommy and watching her reaction. The boys provide plenty of firepower for this pursuit.

Su Doku

We have caught on to the Su Doku craze. It is somewhat addicting, which you know if you have tried a few of these number logic puzzles. I found a Su Doku puzzle board that has tiles similar to Scrabble and assign the boys to do a couple of these puzzles a week as part of our homeschool curriculum. So far, so good! Here is JT finishing up a puzzle last week.

Luci's

Those of you who have been to Guangzhou remember Lucy's Bar. JT made our Luci her own Luci's joint from a washing machine box. What a fun time JT had making it! Can you see the table and lamp and plant he painted inside? I love it!

(Lucy's Bar was a favorite of ours since we spent a week out in the province of Guizhou--definitely not a place that is used to Westerners and our foods. We spent a week not knowing what most of the things we ate were. Lucy's Bar serves a sort of American food, at least it was recognizable to us and tasted familiar. A funny aside: JT told the staff at Lucy's Bar that they spelled Luci wrong!)

Luci and Bryan

Luci and JT

Look!

Look! Luci's favorite word this week is LOOK! She will hold a funny face or keep food in her mouth or stuck to her face until we LOOK at her. I think we are creating a class clown. Since we homeschool, she will definitely be the clown in her class. She will also be the serious one in her class. And the Valedictorian. And the bottom of her class. And so on.
We just call this one Fang.

Do It Myself!

Climbing the stairs is a fun adventure when you are 21 months old. It is also a very long adventure. And I am not talking about the number of stairs--it takes several minutes, and we must adjust our schedules for this "do it myself" little girl.
Bryan takes a rest on the trip up the stairs. Luci just keeps on chugging along.

Progress on the Kids' Rooms

The kids are all standing in their rooms. Since the photos were taken, sheet rock has been put in, and we've been told to get the paint colors chosen by the end of this week. It looks like it will be a real house very soon. Very soon I will be able to send the kids to their rooms for real!Luci!
JT looks manly, doesn't he?
Bryan is pretending to play a video game. Later he wants to stand in the same position, playing a real game in his finished room. Oh, and have me take another picture.

It was such a hot day. We've had nothing but hot days since Mom and Dad and Charlie and Q. and kids left. We hope that by the time moving day arrives the hot spell will be broken.

On the plus side, gas has gone down 12 cents in the past two weeks. Cynic that I am, I expect it to go back up for Labor Day weekend travel.

Gotcha Day Anniversary Happenings

Some have asked why is it called "Gotcha Day?" Here is my explanation: When the orphanage director handed Luci to me on August 14, 2005, I wanted to yell, "Gotcha!!"

Here are some of the things we did to celebrate Luci's first Gotcha Day Anniversary. Luci, although very smart, has not figured out that "eating with chopsticks"

does not mean "eating chopsticks."
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The Dumplings that Yu taught me to make--Yu's are in the front and look like very pretty packages, and are uniform. Mine are in the back and look like, well, badly formed wads of dumpling.
Hey, we need about 2 more people in this tiny apartment kitchen!!

(Bryan, get your paws off the dumplings!)

We gave Luci a new Wiggles dvd--she adores the Wiggles! Can you tell?

What a great trio!!

Dad and I are so proud of you.

Thank You, China!! Xie Xie!

Xie Xie

means Thank You.

We released balloons, imagining they were traveling all the way to China.

Yu, Bryan, Luci, JT, and John

Yu was not sure of this strange American custom.

JT loved his job as big brother--Luci was not quite sure about letting go of her balloon, but she got into it and released a couple more.

I can see six balloons in this picture. Can you find them?

Do you see more? We let go of eight all together.

I have spent a great deal of the last month in tears as I read 20 Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew. I could go on and on and make you all cry, too, but that is not fair to you. Let it be known that we are supremely indebted to Lu Min Jie's Chinese parents and are so thankful that they gave Luci her beauty, intelligence, and sweet nature.

Xie Xie

First Anniversary

Tomorrow is the first anniversary of our Gotcha Day!

Isn't Luci Vivian Minjie beautiful?

What a doll.

Tomorrow, our sweet Chinese friend Yu is coming over. We will go shopping at Walmart for ingredients for steamed dumplings, and Yu will teach me how to make her mother's recipe. I will make my mother's recipe for fried rice. We will also release red balloons as part of our celebration of Luci. That sounds like a pretty nice day, doesn't it?

Hair Dos and Don'ts

I have finally figured out a way to fix Luci's hair. She squeals with delight and runs to the bathroom when I ask her if I can fix her hair. The bands that hold Luci's hair are about the size of those little bands that kids who wear braces use. Very tiny, but so is Luci.Below, this morning's hair-do. All ready for church! Don't you love that outfit from China?
And, just how does the daughter of an electrical engineer fix her hair?

She makes it look like she stuck her finger in a light socket!