Update

We all seem to be on the mend right now. Mary Joyce is the only one in the house to avoid the bug. My mom was the last to get it and is still recovering, but the rest of us are basically okay. Not much of a fun vacation, but thanks for the prayers.

Please Pray

Hey everyone, this is Chet.

Dusty and Katherine have come down with a stomach bug in a pretty spectacular fashion, along with Dusty's Dad. Please pray that 1) everyone who is sick gets over it quickly, and 2) that no one else gets sick.

Thanks!

Edited to add: Chet has it too, now...

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Just a quick note to say Merry Christmas to everyone! Tomorrow morning, we get up, open gifts and let the girls play with their Santa gifts, then it is off to Grandmama's house in Georgia. Then on Friday, we're heading to Lao Lao and Papa's house in Louisiana for a week, so blog updates may or may not happen in the meantime. We'll be back home on January 3.

Have a wonderful Christmas and a very blessed New Year!!!

Happy Birthday to the 117b Girls!

Our China travel group girls are all turning 3 years old. Ella, Rachel, Mary Joyce, and Jaiden have already hit the big milestone. Sasha and Alivia are our Christmas Eve and Christmas babies, so they are celebrating within the next day or two, and then Aidyn and Isabelle have their big days in January. It is so hard to believe that those tiny babies who were placed in our arms in Nanchang are now active three year olds. Time flies! Happy Birthday, Girls!!!

A Few Family Photos

We made a few family photos this afternoon, well as much as we could considering that Chet and I were having to take the pictures. I wanted a Christmas profile photo for my Facebook page, so we took some pictures next to the Christmas tree. Chloe the cat wanted to get in on the action, too.




And here is a pretty hilarious outtake:

Popsicles are Yummy!

Mary Joyce has loved popsicles for awhile now, and recently Katherine has started practically begging for one every time her sister has one. Finally, the other day, we relented and gave her her own. She is getting quite adept with these things and thinks they are very yummy!





I had to include this picture of Mary Joyce just because it is hilarious!

O Christmas Tree

Here is our tree this year, and so far even with a 3 year old, a 16 month old, and 3 cats, it is still in good shape. :-)

Katherine Slides!

A December Saturday in Florida

A Favorite Viewing Spot

For some reason, the girls love the green plastic laundry basket. It is one of their favorite places to sit and watch "Sesame Street," which is about the only TV show they watch on a regular basis. Mary Joyce usually lines it with her pillow and blanket and both girls climb in. It really is sweet to watch them. The thing is, this day, I really needed the laundry basket, but I just didn't have the heart to make them move...

Mary Joyce at Three

Here are some pictures of our now 3 year old girl. It is hard to believe how much Mary Joyce has grown. Her personality is as big as ever. She loves to talk and does so pretty much constantly. Favorite questions/phrases at the moment: "What's that, Mama?" "What doing, Mama?" "I had to!" (The last one is usually said right after she is scolded for doing something that she shouldn't have, no matter what it was.) She is still such a joy to all of us! We love you, Mary Joyce!

Playing with her Beads from Aunt Lynda, Uncle Wade, Carl, and Erica:


The Finished Product:


Two of her Favorite Current Activities: Pretending to talk on the phone, and writing...


On her actual birthday, December 16:

Happy Birthday, Jesus

Mary Joyce sang with the "big kids" at church on the Sunday morning of our Christmas musical. She even had a special part at the end. We thought she did a wonderful job to be not quite 3 years old at the time (2 days before her birthday). The next youngest child up there is 4. (And, yes, that is a plastic outdoor nativity scene in the sanctuary--don't ask...) By the way, for some reason, compressing this video has made the quality absolutely awful, but it still sounds cute. :-)

Panda in Diapers?

The other night, Chet and I were watching TV after the girls were in bed. We were watching last week's CSI episode that we had recorded on the DVR. Something rather unexpected happened on the show, and Chet said, "Oooh!" (Very similar to the sound he makes when he is watching a football game and there is a particularly spectacular tackle...) Mary Joyce, who is in her room, in bed, calls out "Touchdown!" At that point, we paused our show, and I went to tell her that we weren't watching a football game and that she needed to go to sleep.

When I walked in, her stuffed panda was on the floor next to the bed. I immediately asked her why her panda was wearing a pull-up. She told me it wasn't a pull-up, but a diaper. Sure enough, I picked up the panda and discovered that Mary Joyce had very neatly put one of Katherine's diapers on her stuffed panda.

Of course, like any good parent, I laughed, called Chet to bring the camera, and we put the panda on the changing table and made pictures for the blog...

3 Years Old!

Mary Joyce is now officially a three year old! Look out, world.

(I did make a few pictures of her today, but I will have to get them posted tomorrow. It is late, I am exhausted, and my bed is calling me...)

Mary Joyce's 3rd Birthday Party!

20 Weeks!

Yesterday marked the 20 week point in my pregnancy. Here is the most recent tummy picture...

Recent Random Photos

Christmas Parade--Florida Style!

7 Random Things

I just found out that my friend Kim tagged me for a meme, and since I'm playing catch-up with the blog right now and waiting on some pictures to upload to Photobucket, this seems to be the perfect time...

The Rules
1. Post the rules on your blog.
2. Write 7 random things about yourself.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post.

7 Random Things:

1. We are having Mary Joyce's 3rd birthday party tonight (the actual birthday is on the 16th), and most of the prep work is already done. The party is at 6, and it isn't even 2 yet.

2. I was pretty sure even before the ultrasound that our coming baby was a boy because this pregnancy has been very different than my last one.

3. I don't know if I will ever completely get used to Florida weather in December, but I do enjoy it!

4. I never think I will be able to come up with enough random facts to complete these memes, but somehow I usually do.

5. I finally got started on Christmas cards yesterday. They might actually get mailed within a reasonable time frame.

6. I can get more done around the house in the one hour that Sesame Street is on TV than at any other time of the day.

7. Chet and I are both reality TV fans. Favorites include "Amazing Race," "Survivor," "American Idol," and "So You Think You Can Dance."

TAG! The following friends have been tagged to do this on their blogs! :) (And, as usual, Kim has tagged a couple of people I would have tagged, so let me see if I can come up with 7):

1. Jen

2. Karen

3. Aimee

4. Susan (Ting Ting's Mom--Kylie's mom Susan was tagged by Kim)

5.Dana

6.Mendy

7. Shelley

Our First Purchase for Baby Boy

Chet and I went Christmas shopping last night, and I'm glad to say that we made a huge dent in the amount of shopping we had left. While we were at Target, we made our first purchase of a baby boy item. Aren't these adorable little shoes?

A Visit with Santa

Here is this year's Santa picture. Mary Joyce was SO excited to see Santa this year. She's been talking about it for 2 weeks now, and when we got there, she went running to him and jumped up in his lap. She was much happier than the picture shows. She kept smiling between the photographer's shots. Katherine, on the other hand, was exactly as happy as the picture shows, meaning not at all!

It's a...

BOY!!!!!

*****

Here are today's pictures of our little boy, Howard Malcom. (We are planning to call him "Malcom.") Howard is Chet's first name, and was also his dad's and grandfather's first name. Malcom is a family last name from my side of the family, and it is spelled without the second "l." (For the record, I'm not posting the "It's a boy!" photo, but I will email it to family and any close friends who would like to see it.)

Profile:


His "Alien" Picture:


Cute Little Baby Foot:

Thanksgiving Trip Pictures

Our Trip to Georgia

We had a great Thanksgiving trip to Georgia to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends. The trip was a whirlwind, from Wednesday to Saturday, but we made the most of the short time we had. Thanksgiving Day was spent at Chet's sister's house, where Chet (with the assistance of his brother-in-law, Wade) fried a turkey for the first time. It turned out very yummy. Somehow, most of the pictures I actually made that day had to do with the turkey. Not my best photography effort, I'm afraid. On Friday, we met my parents (who were at my sister's in Atlanta) and my sister for lunch. Then, on our way home, we stopped by to visit with our south Georgia friends who were such a big part of our lives when we lived there, and who we really do miss. All-in-all, a good trip! Pictures in the next thread...

Traveling for Thanksgiving

We are heading out this morning for Chet's mom's house in Georgia. This will be a fairly short trip (through Saturday), but will be very busy. I'm sure there will be lots of pictures to post when we get home. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Mary Joyce's Latest

I have had to decorate the house for Christmas earlier than I usually do because we will be out of town until late Saturday, and the following Monday (Chet's day off), we will be doing some of our Christmas shopping. The following Saturday we are hosting a Christmas party for one of the Sunday School classes from the church. That took out all of my usual decorating days. So, I put up the tree this past Saturday and did the rest of the decorating today.

Of course, the girls are fascinated. The Christmas stockings are hanging on small bookshelves in the entryway area of our family room. The shelves are low ones, so the stockings are within the girls' reach. This afternoon, I was sitting in the recliner with Katherine and heard Mary Joyce behind me fiddling with something. I figured she was up to something, but I wasn't quite sure what. Then she walked around the corner, and I saw what she was up to...

She was wearing 2 of the Christmas stockings! What do you think of this fashion statement?

17 Weeks!

I am 17 weeks along in this pregnancy, and finally feel like I'm getting some energy back--well, as much as one can have while chasing an almost 3 year old and a now-walking 15 month old around all day. Overall, though, I'm feeling great, and we're looking forward to the big ultrasound on the 2nd.

And, here is the tummy picture. (I cropped it to just show the tummy because I'm having a bad hair day. :-) )

Silly Socks

This is how Mary Joyce insisted on wearing her socks for the entire morning and part of the afternoon yesterday. I insisted she change into 2 white ones before we went to Target, although I have so say, this does remind me of something we might have worn in the 80's, frightening as it may seem...

Yummy Chili!

You know how you always try to get the pictures of little ones eating spaghetti and getting it everywhere? Well, Katherine is just not all that fond of spaghetti, so those pictures really just haven't happened with her. However, the other night, we had chili for supper, and she thought that it was quite yummy. So, here is our little chili-eating girl...

November China Families Get-Together

Shuttle Launch, Video 2

Shuttle Launch, Video 1

Launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour

We were able to watch another shuttle launch tonight--the first night launch we have seen since we moved down here, and the last planned night launch for the shuttle program. It was pretty spectacular. The pictures really don't do it justice. I will post a couple of videos in separate threads.

Congratulations--China Referral for a Friend!

When we lived in south GA, there was a small group of us in different stages of the adoption process who all became friends. Kim and Dennis brought home their Lia first. She is now 4 years old. We were next with Mary Joyce, who came home in September 2006 and will be 3 in December. Then our friends Jen and Mike brought home Mei last winter. That left Karen and David still waiting. Yesterday, they got their long-awaited call. They have finally seen their precious Kaelie. You can see their precious girl on Karen's blog or on their Adoption Voyages site. She is adorable! Congratulations to Karen, David, Shelby, and Jeremy on the new addition to their family!

Baby Update

I just got home from my regular doctor's appointment, and all is well. Baby didn't want to cooperate, so Dr. S had to chase him/her around with the doppler for awhile to find the heart beat, but he found it, and all is well. Heart rate was 140, and baby even wiggled a couple of times while the doppler was on my tummy, so I was able to hear that. And the big news...the big ultrasound will take place on December 2, so we are less than a month away from knowing if Mary Joyce and Katherine will have a baby brother or a baby sister. :-)

2 Little Trick-or-Treat Cheerleaders

Getting Ready for Trick-or-Treat

It is funny how the smallest things can turn into an ordeal around here. When we were in GA a couple of weeks ago, we got Mary Joyce a UGA cheerleader outfit. It was marked size 2T, so it should have been fine. If anything, I would have expected the skirt to be too big. Well, the skirt, even though it is labeled as a 2, is definitely not a 2. Let's just say, it is a bit too tight, even on her itsy bitsy bottom--quite a bit. Then, I pulled out the LA Tech (my alma mater) cheerleader dress that we had bought a few years ago before Mary Joyce had even come home from China. It was sized as an 18 month. We put it on Katherine, and it was huge! So, what did we do--we traded outfits! Yes, the almost-3 year old is wearing an outfit marked 18 months, and the almost-15 month old is wearing one marked 2T. Go figure...

Forgot to mention that I spent time today teaching Mary Joyce to say, "Go Dawgs!," which actually works for both, since LA Tech's mascot is also Bulldogs, but I also was working on getting her to say, "Beat the Gators!"--not as effective in the LA Tech costume.

Pictures in the next post!

Here She Goes!

Katherine has been walking in 3-4 step increments for awhile now, but she is just now really getting her confidence. Watch our girl go!

At the Pumpkin Patch

Game Day Girls

Guess what we'll be watching around here this afternoon? We got Mary Joyce's UGA cheerleader outfit in GA last weekend, but I told Chet she could only wear it today if Katherine could wear Mary Joyce's LSU shirt. :-)

Mama says, "Geaux Tigers!"

Daddy says, "Go Dawgs!"

Our Travel Group Girls

I just finished putting together the most recent (Summer 2008) photo collage for our China travel group. The girls have been home 2 years this past September, and will all be turning 3 years old between November and January. All are from Tonggu in the Jiangxi province. (As always, you can click on the image to see a larger version.)



For comparison purposes, here they are a year ago. (There are only 7 of the 8 girls pictured in this collage.):


Edit to Answer a Question from the Comments:
I use a program called Fireworks to make the 117b collages. This is a graphics program that we have because we use it with Adoption Voyages. I know others have used programs like Print Shop to make similar collages. We are Mac users, so I use iPhoto to crop and resize the photos before organizing them into the collage format.

Tagged!

While we were out of town, I was tagged by my friend Karen. The rules are listed in the image above.

Let's see if I can think of 7 random/weird things about me...

1. I am much more outgoing online than I am in real life.

2. I really don't like lettuce, although I'm making progress. I can now eat an occasional salad if I have the right ranch dressing with it, and even find myself occasionally craving the Ruby Tuesday's salad bar since I have been pregnant this time around.

3. I was valedictorian of my senior class in high school. (Not all that weird, but kind of random.)

4. I can't swim.

5. I am unnerved by bad storms, but I'm getting better since I have to be the "brave mama."

6. Chet and I had only been dating for 2 weeks when we knew we would get married. (Preface that with we knew each other for a year as friends before we started dating, and weren't "officially" engaged for another month or so.)

7. I am originally from northeastern Louisiana. That is not cajun country, nor is it New Orleans. :-) (Sorry, I get that A LOT.)

Now, I am supposed to tag 7 people. Let's see who I can think of...

1. Kim: One of our China travel buddies and mama to Jaiden and her big brothers, Jared and Cody.

2. Angie: A real-life friend who is in the midst of the very long wait for baby Ruthie from China, and is a very busy mom to her 2 boys. **Listen to the song playing on her blog right now--AWESOME!**

3. Mendy: Online friend and member of a couple of Yahoo groups that I also belong to.

4. Heather: Another online friend and one of our former Adoption Voyages moms. (Love the song on her blog, too!)

5. Susan: Yet another online adoption friend who we'll hopefully get to meet in real life when she and her family come to Disney soon.

6. Rossette: Not to sound repetitive, but another online adoption friend, referral buddy, and fellow "China Peach," even though we're not officially living in Peach land anymore.

7. Shelley: Real-life friend, and mama to Lili, also from Tonggu (like Mary Joyce) and Aly.

Heading Out of Town

We are leaving for Georgia tomorrow, headed up to Chet's hometown for the weekend to attend his 20th high school reunion. Mary Joyce is really looking forward to going to Grandmama's house. We will be home sometime on Monday, so I will be MIA for a few days, other than a random email check here and there. Have a great weekend, everyone!

You Know You Live Near the Beach When...

...you have this as a visitor in your garage:




Yes, that is a huge blue crab. It was there when we drove up after revival services tonight. We really don't know how it got into the garage--the garage door was closed, and the crab was inside when we opened it. Definitely a new experience for us...