So much going on.

My thoughts are all over the place. 

Certainly with the survivors all over the South.  We've donated to our church's relief efforts, and will continue to do what we can.

Trying to not dwell on the bad stuff too much, for fear of Luci's over-analyzing things to death, and for keeping me out of a depressive state.

So, when Luci is around, we have watched some of THE wedding videos, kept the TV off of the news as much as possible, and generally tried to lighten the mood around here. 

Not to the point of hilarity, that just seems wrong.  But lightening it, certainly.

As evidence of my mixed up thoughts: At this moment I have open in my tabs here on the computer a story about the Royals:  What did the lip-readers pick up on the conversations during the big day?, and a video of Hackleburg, one of the hardest hit areas in Alabama.  The town was closed off, even to help, until late yesterday.

THE Wedding

Luci and I did not get up early today to watch THE wedding of William and Kate.  But...we have seen videos on the internet already, and looked at many photos of the happy couple.  This is one of our favorite compilations of photographs.

The big question from Luci: Will my big teeth come in before I get married? I do not want to get married with these holes in my smile!

Luci thinks this is the blooper reel from this morning:

Biblical Proportions

Yesterday, April 27, 2011, will go down in the history books as the worst tornado outbreak in forty years.

At one point, I was close to tears as we hid in our basement safe room.  John thought I was fine; I told him I was just acting fine for Luci's sake.  It was terrifying, knowing what had already hit elsewhere and then was heading our way.  

It is just devastating, seeing the news.  Overwhelming.

I don't know why our county was spared, but I am thankful.

We are helping as we can, giving supplies that those in the communities hit hardest are asking for.  Today Luci, JT and I got some things and delivered them to our church...as part of the outreach ministries.  It was wonderful to see so many people bringing things.  As we pulled in, we saw many cars also pulling into the church's parking lot.   They planned to take a big van and a delivery truck; both were filled when we got there and there was much still to load.


Please pray for the survivors.

Today

Jeremiah 10:12-13 (New International Version, ©2011)

 ¹² But God made the earth by his power;
   he founded the world by his wisdom
   and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
¹³ When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar;
   he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain
   and brings out the wind from his storehouses.


Isn't that a cool Bible passage?

Today at 10 a.m. the sky was so dark that our security light turned on:

Seen this afternoon:

the remains of Luci's chocolate Easter squirrel  beaver  bunny.  We're not entirely sure what it was when it started out on Sunday morning.

We have about 4 more hours of stormy weather to go through.  Thankful, thankful for the electricity!

Where were you...

at 4:05 a.m. this morning?

We were in our tornado shelter, our safe room in the basement.

Today we have a big system moving through, and I am scared stiff.  Trying to hide the nervousness from Luci, who has recently been diagnosed as "O.C.D., hyper-vigilant, and high-anxiety."  Like i need her to be more nervous than she already is!  She's like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rockers on normal days.  Add tornadic weather, and, well, it's not fun around here.

Except for right now--JT is keeping Luci calm by wrassling with her in the master bedroom (I was going to say, "on my bed," but since I still sleep with Luci in the living room....).  They are watching the Disney channel's Junior programming...how calm is that? 

Very early this morning, as I woke from the NOAA weather radio siren, I noticed something.  I am the only person in our house who can hear the blasted thing!  It is loud, and annoying, and my mommy-brain can not block that out.  Maybe because it sounds a lot like children whining about their siblings.  "M-o-o-o-o-o-o-m!  Come NOW!" 

So I herded the family to our safe room, and watched Luci entertain us for the duration of the warning (45 minutes worth).  One child, who shall remain nameless but has red hair and the initials J.T., was such a grumpy-Gus (no offense intended to any of you named "Gus.").   Bryan told him, "You are the last person on Earth I'd want to share an apocalyptic event with!"

Keep us and all of us in the South in your prayers today.  It looks like it could be a very bad day.

I did it!

Successfully made my first meringue on top of a Key Lime Pie.

Right about now, my Dad is calling it "Cow Slobber."

Ready for the Beach!

I found Luci wandering around the house this morning, wearing this ensemble.

I am so excited!

This might not mean much to you, but it was an exciting discovery for me. Many people who adopt from China get to see the "finding place" of their child, and some get to meet the foster parents, if the child was in foster care.

Luci was not in foster care, so we didn't get to meet those who took care of her.  Ayis ("aunties," the orphanage workers), did not come with her to our meeting, either.  As far as we can understand from watching the video of that day, the orphanage directors were there.  (Lest you think I am a total fool for not knowing exactly, that was a hugely emotional day and details sometimes get lost on days like that.  Even on video.)

Well, on Luci's paperwork, it is translated as saying, "Saji Town" as the town where she was found.  The orphanage director said that it was too far from the orphanage to go to (about 3 hours further), so he could take the other two families to their spots, but not ours.  He also insisted that Luci is from the Bouyei minority.  I have always thought Luci is from the Miao Minority--she looks so Miao that others have commented on that, too.

Tonight I was just clicking on different links I had in my favorites list and this popped up:

I had never seen that listing before, with the Minorities listed on the map.  Zip, Pop, Pow! I was wide awake after seeing this! The place in the near middle of the photos is called, "Luzhi Tequ," which is the area of Liuzhi, the town where Luci's orphanage is.

Down near the bottom-middle of the photo is "Sazhi Yizu Bouyei Ethnic Minority."  I think that is Saji Town!  The differences in spelling?  Why, you try translating Chinese characters into English.  Since we have never known where, this is a very big find. 

I can't wait to show Luci tomorrow.

Apologies for the poor photograph.  I cannot figure out how to capture the screen and then open the Paint program to paste it and save it.  My computer-whiz is in the basement, busy in the Man Cave.  So you have a photograph.  :)  I wanted to document it because next time I click on the link, it is sure to be something else that pops up.

Terrain (double click to see the image bigger):

Fishing!

Luci has begged and begged to go fishing.  So this morning, after I got back from our Fun-Razor, John headed out with all three children to a friend's pond.

I figure Luci will love it until

1. she has to go potty; or
2. she sees a real fish on the line.

Then I'll get a phone call to come pick her up.

JT wanted to know, "How long is this going to last?"  because JT and Bryan do not think fishing is fun anymore.    I told him, "Until you boys get along."

I figure they will be home sometime late.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now, about that Fun-Razor.  

Since I was not able to sell the 5 tickets Luci brought home, I own five discounts.  So, I made five purchases and got some polo shirts for the boys for only $5.85 each after the sale and discount was taken into account, and two cute little dresses for Luci.  (One was only $2.83! Can't beat that with a stick.)

Classic Luci-ism

Our church is having a big mission trip this summer.  One of the fund-raisers is with the Charity Sale at Belk's Department Store.  They sent the kids home from Sunday school with several tickets to sell.

Luci kept asking, "Why do I need a Fun Razor?"

"I already have one!"

Then, before worship started, a video of the church folks in Antigua (where the mission trip will be) was shown.


Luci's next question (you know it already, don't you?):  "Are we sending them razors?  Why?  They don't have hair on their faces!"

Demonstrating proper use of a Fun Razor:

Rainy Day

The yard has gotten so GREEN over the last week.  Yesterday, with all the sun, there were not as many leaves.  Today, with two and a half inches of rain (and it's still coming down!) everything has exploded. 

It's that time of year...

The Pool is Open!

This Week

John planted our garden this week.  Luci helped.  Luci is a real outdoorsy girl.  Good thing she has a daddy who loves being outside a lot!  Luci had him going down to the creek, out to the treehouse, driving to Lowe's to get plants (she picked a geranium for herself), and all things muddy.  She had a blast.  John did, too.

At supper, after they planted the garden, I asked Luci, "What did you and Daddy plant today?"

Redishes.

They put these little stakes in the ground, noting where each vegetable is located.  Isn't that cute?  I think the neighbor's dogs will love having those little chew toys.

Today

I have really enjoyed today. 

Thursdays are our day to go help at our Friendship Center at church.  John had a job out of town and left before we did.  (He called an hour ago and said they just got done and would be heading home--two and a half hours from here, so he'll be home around Luci's bedtime.)

The boys got up without arguing with me, or each other.  That made it a great day from the start.  There was more than usual work to do at the Center, so we worked for nearly three hours solid.  Usually we are ready to leave after two hours. That good work felt good. 

Then, the trip home with peace in the van.

Cleaned out the van, with the boys' help (again, peace).  Luci and I washed the van--she learned how to scrub the floor mats and did a great job!  Luci had a lot of fun, and so did I.  And we didn't get too wet, either.

Bryan even mowed the front yard when I asked, without any griping.

At supper (John was not home yet), the boys sat next to each other (gasp! dare we try it?) and more peace.  I was thankful and mentioned that in our blessing for the meal.

It was so nice to hear the conversation (the tone of it, not the topic; they talked about video games!) because they were so nice to each other. 

JT even offered to play outside with Luci (she's been begging ever since the van was finished) and they are out there playing Army (Luci's choice, can you believe it?).

I could get used to this.

Hard Worker

John spent today working in the backyard, making a concrete pad under my Harding Swing.  Luci went out to "help" and got much dirtier than John ever thought of getting.  Not sure why, maybe it's because she is closer to the ground and therefore attracts dirt more easily.

Can't take her picture without the cheesy grin.

This one was my favorite--shadowed, and all the grit on her face shows up well.

John's driving Luci around the backyard, down by the creek, on the tractor.  What a lucky little girl.

Luci's Orphanage

I found this article about Luci's orphanage--the LiuZhi Social Welfare Institute.  I thought some of you might like seeing a bit about it.

I am so happy that Love Without Boundaries is moving into Guizhou.  I hope that someday we can sponsor a child from Luci's province.

Although our blog header says Luci is our "Bouyei-Baby," I think she is really of Miao heritage.  I may have to change that header soon.  The more I find out about her area, the more I think I am right about the Miao distinction.

Love Without Boundaries blog post on LiuZhi SWI

Our Jokes Today

Luci woke up Bryan and told him it was snowing! In Alabama?  No way!

She told JT that his underwear was on backwards.  After a quick check, he said it wasn't.

I told Bryan that I ran into his BMW as I backed out of the garage...he was glad it wasn't true but he was not glad that I woke him up.

I told JT that his Math average for the year was only 63.....

And the finale for today:

Would you like ice cream with your "pizza?"

Luci and I made this with a vanilla cake, some vanilla icing and strawberry preserves spread on top, grated white chocolate bar and some "pepperoni" cut out of fruit roll-ups.

The Joke's on Me

About 36 years ago,my Mom wagged her finger at me, and said,

"One of these days, you're going to have one just like YOU!"

And I did.

That's him with his little sister.  He's now fourteen years old, giving me fits.  He's a joy, but wow, can he tie me in knots.

Thanks, Mom!  You got me!

Library Fun

Last night our library had Family Fun Night.  The kids were to dress as a character in a book. 

Luci was Lilo, from Lilo and Stitch (she tells me there's a book about Lilo, not just the movie).  Here she is with Mrs. Helen, who is dressed as Viola Swamp from Miss Nelson is Missing.  (Dad, do you remember that book?  You sent it to me when I began teaching.)

Jack--the cutest little boy there!

Luci with Kalyn, who is dressed as Mr. Brown, from Mr. Brown Can Moo.  Can You?

Mrs. Jessica made the mistake of made the kids happy by handing out noisemakers for the parade.

Off to have a parade!

They went around the building!

If you look hard, you can see Luci in her grass skirt, and Kalyn in front of her.

Luci, Kalyn and Jack were in the very front for story time.

Mrs. Jessica was dressed as the Alphabet Tree in Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.

Luci-Speak

complimanicated -- complicated.  As in, This picture is complimanicated!