The Melting Pot

Refreshing

2010-07-13T21:40:00.008-05:00

We spent the morning with some good friends cooling off at the local splash park on a terribly hot day. This is our favorite summer park. You can see why.

Avi Joy, Andrew, Luke

Our tiny little 9 1/2 month old peanut - lol.

Luke

Avi Joy

Fountain race.

Sarah is very proud that she finally mastered the monkey bars.

Wearing out.

Thanks Natasha and Jamie for a fun time!

Okra

2010-07-12T13:10:00.003-05:00

Fresh okra from our garden.....

Coated in self-rising cornmeal, fried in olive oil. A southern summer staple.

I think my grandma Essie would be proud.

Golden Birthday

2010-07-12T08:29:00.002-05:00

On July 5th, Sarah celebrated her 5th birthday. As we typically do, we kept the party small and simple. The Perrymans, Hodges, and my parents joined us for dinner and cake. Sarah's special treat was getting to have her first real girlfriend sleepover with Avi Joy. We did our best to keep the brothers out of the mix so that the girls could play dress up, play games, watch a movie, and gab into the wee hours of the night (10:30pm - late for a 4 and 5 yr. old) uninterrupted.

Pickles!

2010-07-02T09:19:00.002-05:00

What do you do when your garden gives you heaps of cucs? Make Bread and Butter Pickles! Yesterday was my first time to make pickles and can. I had to make a trip to the store to buy all the proper canning supplies. Then, I had to read up on all the details to avoid food poisoning. It was time consuming, but it wasn't hard to do. We've already been in the pickles this morning. They are oh so good!

Our 1st Try at Gardening

2010-06-25T11:41:00.003-05:00

A sampling of our "harvest."

While our garden certainly isn't going to solely feed our family, it has been fun to incorporate the daily pickings in our meals. The peas barely made it in the house because they were mostly consumed during the picking process. It seems the cherry tomatoes might suffer the same fate (which is fine). Sarah is loving the opportunity to snack while playing in the yard. I'm loving that it is healthy.

Minnesota and 70 Years of Marriage

2010-06-22T22:13:00.013-05:00

Last week our family made the long trek to Minnesota. We made the drive there in one shot - a 12 hour day in the car. The kids did remarkably well. I swear by leaving bright and early in the morning. I am also more in love with Redbox. Renting movies along the way was a life saver. You can imagine we were all glad to arrive in the Cities, though, and we definitely hit our max for one day. We stayed the first half of the week in Minneapolis. Michael's cousin Amber and her husband Matt graciously invited us to stay at their house - which was much easier than a hotel room. They were awesome with our kids.....even indulging Andrew and Sarah's snacking preferences. (If you read this guys, thanks!) We pretty much over-scheduled our kids during our stay in the Twin Cities, but I think that is what usual happens on family vacations. Right?

Day 1 we hit the Mall of America. We took the kids to see a science show, had lunch, and rode some fun rides at the indoor amusement park. That night we had dinner with friends Andy, Erika, and their daughter Anika at their home.

Day 2 we visited the Minnesota Zoo. On our way to the zoo, we drove through my old neighborhood. When we pulled up to my old house, I went to the door to make sure it was okay to snap a few photos. The current owner was so kind and invited our whole family in to see the place. I wasn't expecting that. She invited me to take the kids upstairs to see my old bedroom. She even fed my kids a snack in my old kitchen.

Day 3 Michael and Sarah went to a Twins game at the new stadium, Target Field, downtown Minneapolis. I took the boys over to St. Paul to the MN Children's Museum. That night we caught up with Michael's high school friend Andrea and her family for dinner at their home. This was the night when MN had 36 tornadoes, but thankfully we were in a small pocket that didn't get any significant weather. Just a nice refreshing cool down......you know, from a really hot 89 degrees - lol. (It is close to 1oo as I write this from Tulsa.)

Day 4 We loaded the car to drive out to the farm in western MN. Along the way we stopped in St. Cloud to see Michael's high school friend Aaron and his family for brunch. We stopped one more time in Wilmar to see his home town and have ice cream with Andy's parents. We arrived in Brown's Valley just in time for a family cook-out by the lake. Michael's aunt and uncle opened their home to our family and his sister DeAnn's family. The kids had a lot of fun being out on the farm.

The next day we celebrated Sally and Sylvester's 70th wedding anniversary. They are Michael's paternal grandparents. Four out of the eight siblings (that is including Michael) were able to travel for the celebration.

After that, we were back on the road. We split the drive home into two days, staying at a hotel in Sioux City, IA so that the kids could swim, relax, and get a good night sleep.

Now we are back home to the brutally hot OK summer weather. The kids are slowly settling back in. Tons of laundry await me. But, I planned for us to have a relatively boring week this week to help get back on track.

Michael took Andrew on the Log Chute. He looked a little shell shocked when he got off the ride. I think Babe the Blue Ox was scarier than the hill.

I took Sarah on Swiper's Sweep, among other things.

Andy, Michael, and some Simon and Garfunkel.

Annika

My home from Kindergarten-first semester of 9th grade. My mom worked closely with the architect to design the house. She added extra features like a secret passage from my closet to my brother's. (Which, my brother hated, BTW.)

New home of the Twins - Target Field.

Aaron and Michael

Andrew, Lydia, and Sarah

Sally and Sylvester - 70 years of wedded bliss. :)

Pat and Jim with half of their children...

...and some of the grand kids.

Sarah with her cousin Mattison.

Vietnam Camp 2010

2010-06-20T22:06:00.007-05:00

Sarah and Thomas

Anna, Sarah, and Ella - All 3 from Ninh Thuan.

Earlier this month our family attended Dillon International's Vietnam Camp/Heritage Weekend. Since Dillon is local, we didn't have to travel. But, we had many families drive or fly in from all over the country. Suzie, a mom we traveled with to adopt Sarah, stayed at our home with her daughters Hannah, Ella, and Hannah's friend Olivia. They are from N. Carolina, so it is a rare treat to see them. We had a lively and full house with three extra girls! Andrew wasn't sure what to do. :)

At camp the kids worked on heritage crafts, learned to make spring rolls, and played with friends while the parents attended workshops and/or caught up with other travel companions and parents. Thomas, Dillon's in-country attorney and adoption facilitator, was flown in for camp. His daughter was also able to join him. Thomas means so much to all the families and we all were so happy to see him again.

On the day camp ended, the Mulliez family stopped by our home to visit and watch a World Cup match before their drive home. Well, the guys watched soccer while Mandy, Suzie and I visited. Shortly after they left, Jynger, Thomas, the Perryman's, and my parents came over for dinner. It was a busy time, followed up by our trip to Minnesota, which I will be blogging about later.

Sarah and Luke!

Luke and his Ninh Thuan girls.

Friends from the orphanage in Ninh Thuan.

Samuel getting a little love from Nancy.

Waiting for Michael to whip up a pancake breakfast.

Suzie, me, and Mandy visiting at our home after camp. We three have daughters from Ninh Thuan Province.

Hannah was so good with baby Samuel.

Hannah with Mandy's Anna.

Mandy's son taking a break from the World Cup and playing soccer with the girls.

The kids doing an after dinner performance of Jesus Loves Me on the "stage" for Thomas. Yes, that is Andrew in a dress.....again.....

Teaching him how to be an Okie.

Hannah, Olivia, and Ella - the sweet girls who stayed with us.

Our Spring

2010-05-25T15:13:00.012-05:00

It's a bit daunting trying to decide where to start on updating the past two months. Not only has it been a busy spring, but life is just a little busier with three wee ones.

As soon as the weather cooperated, we began landscaping the front and back yard. We were able to recycle a few existing plants, but for the most part we started from scratch - even cutting in new beds. We also put in our first vegetable garden. We are getting excited about all the fresh herbs and veggies. Things are really starting to look good around here.

Andrew turned 3 in April. We had a little party for him at the house with some friends and a very important Spiderman cake. I tell you what, marketers are genius. This kid has never seen a Spiderman cartoon, movie, or comic book, yet he is in love with Spiderman. It must be the colors and the graphics. Andrew potty trained a month before his birthday. Andrew is wicked smart, super verbal, creative, imaginative, and a bit naughty. He is high energy and highly curious, so I am usually whipped by the end of the day.

Sarah has one more week of Pre-K left before summer. She is looking forward to sleeping in this summer, but I know she will miss her friends and teachers. She has had a great year at school. We are very proud of her hard work and her good attitude in the classroom. Sometimes all of her cooperation and good attitude get used up at school.... Sarah loves to sing, dance, and perform. She especially loves to sing worship songs and pray. Melt my heart!

Samuel is almost 8 months old. He is just shy of 23lbs and is in the 97th percentile for height and weight. He is wearing some 18 month clothes. At 7 months he learned to hand and knee crawl. As of this week he can pull up. A little too soon, if you ask me! Samuel has two top and two bottom teeth. I've said it before and I'll say it again....he is the BEST baby! Samuel is everything a baby should be. And, thank the Lord for that!

Michael has been slammed at work. Spring, especially May, is always a busy time of year. He just returned last Thursday from a trip to Malawi, Africa. He took a small group of university students over there. The students are going to stay as missionaries for 8 weeks. Michael was only gone for 9 days this time and my niece Katie was able to come up from TX to stay with me as a mother's helper while he was away. Michael has also started his doctoral work - and all the reading and writing that goes along with that.

Me? I'm just busy being a mom. Which means I am very busy!

Gotta join in with sister and friend.

Avi Joy and Sarah

Coloring the eggs.

Egg hunt at Camp Loughridge.

On the hunt for.....

....candy!

Cousin Lauren was here for Easter (and Uncle Brian and Aunt Kathy).

OMG - my kids can not take a decent picture together!

3rd birthday

He seldom falls asleep in his bed. We never know where we are going to find him.

At nearly 5 years old, I took away Sarah's nap. She still sneaks one in, though.

Watching a "movie" about flowers.

Snacking on puffs and cheerios.

"Robots" coming down my hallway.

Building robots with kitchen utensils.

This was only funny BEFORE I saw the red ink all over his upholstered rocking chair.

The Ordinary, The Milestones, and Family Celebrations

2010-03-18T22:30:00.009-05:00

The Ordinary....

Up.

A flower for Mommy.

Baby in the backpack and a coloring book in the stroller.

The albino Samoan and his girls.

Performing for us "on stage."

I love my sissy.

Milestones....

Samuel: 5 months old, 20 pounds, 12 month clothing, cutting 2 teeth, rolling all over the place, eating lots of baby veggies and fruits, and learning to sit up.

Andrew: making some good progress on the potty training this week.

Celebrations:

Waiting at the courthouse for Samuel's adoption finalization.

Trying to escape the finalization.

Happy that it is final.

An attempt to get a decent picture of the finalization.

Celebrating TET (Lunar New Year, Vietnamese New Year) with some friends at the Vietnamese Baptist Church on Feb. 14th.

New Pictures

2010-02-13T10:17:00.006-06:00

Samuel: 4 months old, 18+ pounds, 26.25 inches long, eating 1st baby foods, officially sleeping 10-12 hours through the night. :-)

New Mexico Part 2

2010-01-22T08:51:00.010-06:00

Michael's parents graciously kept the boys while Michael, Sarah, and I headed to the mountains of New Mexico to ski. A university student from our church offered the use of his family's vacation home for a college retreat. Let's just say that the world was Sarah's oyster for those four days. She had her own Sarah H. fan club of more than 20 college students and no brothers to divert any of that attention.

Sarah went to ski school for three days. Or, as I like to call it, ski school daycare. Best thing ever! Drop off was shortly after the lifts opened and pick-up was shortly before the lifts closed, which left plenty of parent ski and relaxation time. And, she loved every minute of it. No tears, all smiles. She didn't graduate off the bunny slope, but by the last day she was allowed to ride the chair lift by herself.

I had not skiied in three years, so the first day was pretty rough. I didn't warm up or get my legs under me before I headed for the harder stuff. I basically went down half the mountian on my butt and put a big ole rip in my ski pants. At one point I took my skis off and chucked them as far as I could. Let this be a lesson; this is not a good strategy. By day two I was back to my usual ski self and day three was perfect. Michael learned an important lesson, too. Don't check facebook on the chair lift or you might have to ski down a precarious part of the mountain to find the iphone.

Each afternoon, when the lifts closed, the local mule deer would come out to feed on stale bread, chips, pretzels, and other highly nutrious foods.

Here is the lovely house were we stayed. It was an amazing three story home with lots of bedrooms and space to spread out.

It also had an indoor ice rink, so Sarah also got to skate for the first time. Let's just say she was better at skiing.

New Mexico Part 1

2010-01-13T11:42:00.010-06:00

After Christmas we headed west to see Michael's parents, who now live in New Mexico. We had a great time seeing them, their new home, and the unique landscape of the desert. We took a couple of drives with breathtaking views and also caught up with some old friends who used to live nearby before moving to NM.

Playing with Papa Jim.

Nana kisses.

While at our friend's home, Andrew had one of those horrendous diapers that overflowed to his pants. The poor kid had to go out in the winter night with just his diaper, shoes, and coat.

Michael's parents kept the kids so that he and I could spend a day in Santa Fe. On our way to lunch we stopped at a French bakery and bought an apricot crepe for an appetizer and a San Michele to eat later for dessert. We ate lunch at a fabulous hole in the wall Mexican restaurant. My dish came with a pineapple pico de gallo that was crazy good.

Michael visited his older brother John, who now lives in a group home not far from his parents.

Happy Samuel. What a baby!

With Papa Jim.

Christmas '09

2010-01-12T15:25:00.011-06:00

White Christmases are really overrated! At least the kind that cause blizzards. In years past I always felt a little disappointed that the ground wasn't softly blanketed in powdery Christmas snow, like in my Minnesota childhood. I was actually pretty excited that the weatherman was predicting a major snow - a prediction that sounded convincing enough for us to go to Home Depot to buy a snow shovel. The nostalgic feeling that I was having about a white Christmas flew out the window when I pulled out of the drive with my three babies in the car to drive downtown to church so that our family could light the candle on the Advent Wreath. Despite getting the minivan stuck twice on the road that evening, we made it safely. Sadly, we had to cancel our annual Christmas Eve open house because the conditions were just to treacherous. We really missed celebrating that evening with my parents and close friends. But, we still had a full house because Michael's sister DeAnn, her husband, and their four children were up from Texas to spend Christmas with us. The Hodges were also able to slide over since our houses are pretty close. On Christmas Day, my parents were able to dig out of their driveway (it took them several hours) and make the 6 mile drive to our home for Christmas lunch. The snow provided hours of afternoon fun for the big kids after lunch, so there was an upside.

Backtracking a little, the kids had so much fun Christmas morning. With every gift that was opened, Sarah and Andrew demanded that everyone close their eyes, "No peeking!" until the paper was off. Then they would yell, "Ta da!" or "Surprise!" and everyone would have to ooh and aah over the gift. For the second year in a row, Sarah asked Santa for a candy cane. And, seriously, if that had been the only thing he left, she would have been perfectly happy. He left her 4 candy canes, so it was really her lucky day! She liked her other things, but those candy canes were the prized possession. Andrew asked Santa for a banana, but ended up being more interested in his own candy cane. Sarah's other favorite things were the headlamp, butterfly wings, and soccer ball. Andrew was really excited about the train set and the play kitchen.

I bought this gingerbread house kit at Sam's Club a little over a week before Christmas. I told the kids that we couldn't open it until the cousins arrived. As soon as their van pulled into our drive, Sarah and Andrew had the kit in their hands ready to greet them at the door. Thankfully the cousins were really good sports and went to work helping my kids.

Finished product, plus Advent Wreath and frosted windowpanes.

Christmas Eve - crazy Oklahoma weather!

Obligatory Christmas Eve PJ picture.

Michael reading the "big" kids 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Michael reading the "littler" kids 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.

What else could be in here?

Samuel taking it all in.

A little unwrapping action.

The new train set.

Totally pooped Christmas night. He was so excited to be sleeping in the sleeping bag.

The snow actually stuck around, so the kids got a lot of time to play in it.

Messiest playdate!

2009-12-22T23:02:00.006-06:00

I will never leave a bag of flour unattended again - lol!

I told Sarah her hair was gray. She said, "Why thank you Mommy."

The yummiest Royal Icing.

Pure satisfaction!

Thanks Avi Joy, Nehemiah, and Natasha for coming over for Christmas baking.

Christmas Letter

2009-12-22T10:01:00.007-06:00

Our Christmas Card photos with excerpts from our Christmas Letter, which finally went out in the mail today. (I am not sure how to correct all of the font variations going on in this post.)

Sarah celebrated her 4^th birthday in July and is our same sweet and sensitive little girl. Sarah is a very balanced little girl - one minute wearing a tutu and the next collecting bugs and worms. In July Sarah took swim lessons which turned out to be one of the highlights for her, as she turned into a little fish. Sarah also attended Vietnam Camp for the third year, where she had tremendous fun doing heritage activities and playing with dear friends. This fall Sarah started half day Pre-Kindergarten at a nearby school. She loves her teachers, friends, and the general routine of going to school. Pre-K has been such a positive experience for Sarah and we are impressed at how much she has learned already. Sarah continues to be Andrew’s best friend and mercifully they entertain each other for hours a day.

Andrew celebrated his 2^nd birthday in April and he is pretty much a textbook two year old boy – a curious child in constant motion. He is into climbing on/jumping off precarious things, trains, trucks, dolls, dress up, and imaginative play. He is my talker and joker and he doesn’t give me many quiet moments in a day. Andrew balances out his tantrums and hard-headed behavior with his charm, affection, humor, and winning smile.

Samuel is 2.5 month old and is a g-r-o-w-i-n-g boy. He currently loves to smile, coo, and show off his dimples. He is blessed with two siblings who could not possibly adore him more, and we are blessed to call him our son.

Michael continues to have broad responsibilities at First Presbyterian Church as the Pastor for Next Generation Ministries. His position encompasses all things birth through college-age students, as well as other pastoral duties (weddings, funerals, visitation, etc). He has a great team of directors and volunteers working with him. Michael plans to begin work on his Doctor of Ministry degree this summer through Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA. The degree is designed to be completed within the context of a local parish while traveling 1-2 times per year for intensive coursework, lectures, etc.

I continue to stay home with our children. Most of my days are filled with laundry, dishes, errands, sibling mediation/negotiation, and such. But, I do enjoy balancing that out with play dates with good friends, dates with my husband, and the occasional shopping outing without the kids in tow. In September I began a very part-time job as the nursery/toddler care coordinator at our church. Apart from Sunday morning, most of the work can be done from home. I’ve enjoyed getting to know more of the young families in our congregation. Shortly after the New Year, the committee to plan Vietnam Camp for Dillon International will begin meeting to prepare for June. It is a great group of women and something I really enjoy being a part of.

In 2010 we look forward to taking Sarah skiing for her first time while the boys stay with Michael's parents. We also plan to travel to Minnesota for Michael’s grandparents’ 70^th wedding anniversary, Michael and I look forward to celebrating our 10^th anniversary in July, and we look forward to having a less eventful year….if that is possible with three little ones!

May you sense the Joy and Hope that sits deep within the heart of the good news of our Savior’s birth. As He came so long ago, He promises to come again; ready with a blessing for whoever will welcome Him. Let every heart prepare Him room!

Again this year, the Christmas photo outtakes...

2009-12-13T21:52:00.006-06:00

"What you are about to see isn't pretty."

"Andrew's not kidding. It really isn't."

"Andrew wouldn't stop making silly faces."

"And then he stepped on my hand."

"Baby Samuel couldn't stay sitting up to save his life."

"And mommy disregarded the crying Samuel was doing in hopes of a perfect group shot that never happened."

"I mean, just look at this face!"

May your Christmas photo shoot be merrier than ours!

Size Comparison

2009-12-11T13:39:00.002-06:00

Andrew's 1st Christmas, 8 months old.

Wearing "big" brother's hand-me-down for 1st Christmas, 2 months old.

What is this all about?

2009-12-11T13:34:00.002-06:00

The Good Stuff

2009-12-11T13:32:00.002-06:00

A Charlie Brown Christmas

The Boys

2009-12-08T17:37:00.001-06:00

Wow, pictures!

2009-12-02T09:46:00.011-06:00

Can you believe it? Pictures finally! We actually lost our camera on the day that Samuel was born. We had a standard point and shoot camera. We couldn't decide if we should replace it with something similar or really splurge and get something more. So, after deliberating for 7 weeks, we pulled the trigger and got a DSLR. The only setting I know how to use so far is automatic, so I guess I am going to have to get the "For Dummies" book to learn all the great features. Anyway, here are some pictures taken from the day before Thanksgiving through yesterday. I'll have to do some backtracking later and add pictures from the summer through Halloween another time.

Here he is....Mr. Samuel!

He likes to sleep with his hand raised.

And, he's a really big boy. He's already outgrowing some of his 3-6 month clothes at 8 1/2 weeks old. He is just really long.

Watching the Macy's Parade.

First Thanksgiving. He was pretty happy about it.

It's hard to see, but he has dimples!

Michael and I have never had Thanksgiving at our house (or Christmas dinner, as a matter of fact). Neither one of us had ever cooked a Turkey. Our parents have always done that. Well, my parents went out of town to my brother's house and Michael's parents moved from Texas to New Mexico. With Samuel still being so young, we decided to stay home and see if we could make a proper holiday meal. I can't believe I am going to brag, but it was awesome! Michael brined the turkey and it was so delicious. All the sides turned out. And, so did the desserts. We were so tired by the end of Thursday, but it was a great feeling of accomplishment. Samuel's birthmom, her toddler son, and a university student from our church were our willing test subjects. I'm glad we got a trial run before Christmas, because we are hosting Michael's sister DeAnn and her family of six, as well as my parents.

A certain kitty cat also made her apperance at dinner. She is in a phase right now....

The kids helped get our house ready for Christmas on Friday.

Playing doctor. I ran into the playroom to see why Sarah was crying. She informed me that she was just pretending to be at the doctor's office.

Sweet.

Sassy.

A mess!

Advent traditions.

The new house decorated for Christmas (below).

Just in case you were wondering.....

2009-10-09T12:11:00.004-05:00

....what in the world happened to the blog and us, we:

A) Sold our (small) old house
B) Frantically found our new (bigger) one because the above one sold in 4 days
C) Celebrated Sarah's 4th birthday (and later her 3rd Forever Family Day)
D) Started Sarah in Pre-K at a local school
E) Started a small part-time job at the church (me)
F) Moved
G) Frantically unpacked our boxes and did some remodeling so that we could....
H) Bring home our third baby, Samuel James, from the hospital last Saturday. (He is one week old today.)

Whew! A, B, E, F, and G were all in preparation for our 3rd adoption. It has been a packed, stressful, but blessed summer/fall.

Pictures and details of all these events will eventually follow, but for right now it is back to caring for 3 small children. :)

Think they like each other?

2009-06-16T07:42:00.006-05:00

This past weekend was Dillon's 2nd annual Vietnam Heritage Weekend (we've met for 3 years now, but the first year was a one day reunion). The camp committee worked for months to make this happen, and thanks to the wonderful Dillon staff, we pulled it off with just a few minor and typical glitches. It was a weekend for old and new friends to gather, parents to connect, and kids to play with their Vietnamese friends and learn about the Vietnamese culture (thanks Natasha for the great crafts!). There are some families that I have the privilege of seeing frequently because they are local, but there are other families that I really love visiting with that I just see once or twice a year. That is why I really look forward to this weekend.

Sarah's favorite part of the whole weekend was, and I quote, "Luke!" (See above.) We do get to have playdates with him every few months, but I think these two could play together every single day. They spend a good amount of their weekend chasing each other.

Sarah's least favorite part of the weekend was the dragon (dragon dancers). Freaked her out! She told me over and over how much she disliked them. In fact, she continues to tell me how much she didn't like them. She screamed bloody murder when they came into the room, so I pretty muched missed seeing it because we had to leave the room.

Sarah with her other favorite pal, Avi Joy.

Posing!

Andrew really wanted a picture taken with Sarah.... You can see the one hand going up around her waist. He did eventually put the second hand up on her waist and it resembled something of a bad prom picture where the guy is way more into the girl.

Andrew created his own fun at camp.

Umm...I hope she is being nice here....

Since Natasha and I were working, Adam and Michael got to take the girls around to do the craft activities.

I think Sarah had a positive camp experience!

It's Summertime

2009-06-09T16:47:00.004-05:00

Memorial Day

2009-05-29T08:05:00.005-05:00