One Year Ago Today

One year ago today our lives changed forever. On March 13, 2006 (China time) - March 12th (US time) we flew into a city called Nanchang to meet our little girls Huan Huan and LeLe. It's a day I'll never forget. There was lots of tears and a few smiles. Someone even peed on her crayons. The girls were even more beautiful in person then in any photographs. It wasn't long before we won them over with puzzles, crayones, and stacking cups. By the next day they called us Mama and Baba - we were a family from the start.

Things we've learned in year:

1. Sophie is a messy eater.

2. Avery still holds the title "Avery Crankers".

3. There's nothing better then hearing "I love you."

4. A close second is when you come home and they run into your arm as if they

haven't seem you in days when it's been only a few hours.

5. Painting nails is fun.

6. The messier the activity the bigger the smile.

7. Cookies are good anytime of the day.

8. Belle and Cinderella are the best princesses in the world.

9. A road atlas is just as interesting as a Winnie the Pooh book.

10. If it drops on the floor- it's Barn and Nala's.

11. Santa is scary - even if it is only Baba

12. Baby Jesus! No one tops him.

13. If it's cold out- put a hat on.

14. There's always time for a dance party.

15. All girls love chocolate.

We could probably go on forever listing all the wonderful and amazing things we've learned in the past year. We are looking forward to all the years ahead that we will share together.

KUNG-HSI FA-TS'AL!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! As parents of Chinese children we try to intergrate Chinese customs and traditions into our family as much as we can. Chinese New Year being such a big holiday - we felt that it was important for us to celebrate it. We cooked all day (authentic Chinese food), put out the Money God in the front yard, and cleaned the house. Friends and family came from all over to eat and celebrate the new year with us. Here are some pictures:

What is Chinese New Year?

Of the Chinese festivals celebrated throughout the year, the Lunar New Year is the most important and spectacular. In ancient China, the New Year was a time when the emeror honored his subjects. Today, the New Year celebrates the coming of a new year and family reunion. Families welcome the new year as a clean slate. They clean their house from top to bottom to remove all traces of the old year and misfortunate. They pray to the Money God for wealth and good fortune. Bills are paid and old debts are settled. They wash their hair and get new hair cuts. Children get new clothes. Lots of food is cooked and placed in front of a Kitchen God- as an offering. A plump Kitchen God is a happy Kitchen God. The Chinese believe that it is the Kitchen God that visits heaven and reports to the Jade Emperor, the ruler of the world. In China, all businesses are closed for the entire celebration so that family can be together. This year is the Year of the Pig.

Sesame Street LIVE!

Oh what fun! We saw Cookie Monster, and Big Bird, and, and, and GROVER! We danced and danced. It was so much fun. We ate chocolate chip cookies too. We hope we go again.

Love, Sophie and Avery

Back at the Farm

As a family tradition, if Uncle Bob liked you he would name an animal on the farm in your honor. When we were little kids, my brother and I had two pigs named after us - Jeff and Kate.

On Friday my cousin Bobby had let me know that Uncle Bob's goat had two babies. I couldn't wait to bring the girls. Following tradition, Bobby named the baby goats Sophie and Avery because he knew how much Uncle Bob loved the girls. What a gift! Here are some pictures of our visit on Sunday.

We'll Miss You Uncle Bob!

My Nana was born in Peacedale, Rhode Island. She lived in a tiny house on great, big farm. She and her twin sister grew up working on the farm. Boy, Nana hated working on the farm. My Nana Caroline met my grandfather, got married, and had 5 children. My dad was the first. Eleven months later came Uncle Bob.

Years later, Uncle Bob got married and moved close by to where my grandmother grew up. He loved animals and started his own farm. Growing up we go visit the farm. I have many fond memories of those visits.

I bought my first house in Peacedale, RI. I moved to what our family calls the "homestead". It meant a lot, knowing that I was where my Nana was born. I was the 25th and last grandchild. We were very close. Sophie Caroline is named in her memory.

I loved having Uncle Bob close by. When I moved down here I made a point of visiting him. He, Aunt Virginia, cousin Bobby, and his son Bobby all came to my house for my first Christmas there. It wasn't long before we lost touch for a few years. Doug and I had gotten married and we has just lost the baby. Not much later, Aunt Virigina had passed away. Uncle Bob said to me, "Don't forget me."

It was the week after Aunt Virginia passed away that I found out we were leaving for China to bring home the twins. I was out from work packing and I visited with Uncle Bob. I knew he was alone and grieving and I had time to spend with him. I was nervous going over- but once I got there we talked for hours. We talked about Aunt Virginia, adoption, the Korean War, you name it. We walked around the farm and talked about the animals. He had a pregnant goat that was quite fond of me. He kept offering to send some animals home with me ... I don't think so. Instead I took home some chicken eggs. They were the best eggs.

My first week home from China, I brought the girls to visit Uncle Bob. He was so excited. The girls loved him! There was hugs and kisses all around. They called him "Bob" and he got such a kick out of that. We visited a few times during the spring and early the summer. Whenever we got out of the truck, the girls would go yelling for Uncle Bob, "BBBBBBBBoooooooooooobbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb!!!!!!"' They couldn't contain their excitement. I think he had a hard time containing his. We visited often over the last ten months. He visited us too. He was at the girls first birthday party and Baptism. We saw his at the family Christmas party. He was becoming a special person in the girls' life.

Uncle Bob was one of the first people to meet the girls. It was in these past ten months that I really got to know and love a man that I knew my entire life. It was such a gift to share the girls and build a relationship with someone so special. Uncle Bob passed away this week - I feel so blessed for these past 6 months. If it wasn't for the girls, I probably would not have had the relationship we had. Those visits meant the world to me.

The girls do not understand that Uncle Bob has passed away- but they do know that he is with Baby Jesus in our hearts. I hope that they will always remember him.

Christmas Morning

The pictures probably say enough.

O' Come Let Us Adore Him

We've been calling Avery "The Christmas Poo" these past few weeks. No tree, no Santa, no presents - no fun. Yet, it is Avery who truly understands the meaning of Christmas. Last night we went to Church with Nana and Papa Mulholland- the girls were all dressed up and excited to see everyone. As we took our seats, the girls were looking around and dancing to the Christmas hymns. Avery could not contain her excitement .... Baby Jesus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, it's Baby Jesus! We could barely keep her in her seat. She wanted to run up to the Nativity at the alter to see baby Jesus. All through Mass Avery sang the hymns and watched for Baby Jesus. It's amazing that a two year old can remind everyone what Christmas is really all about.

No Tree Fall Down! Part Two

No Tree Fall Down! Part One

Doug and I have a tradition of cutting down our own Christmas tree and dragging it out of the woods to take home. Last year we took the dogs on our great adventure. We ran around and Barnacle peed on things. It was great.

This year,no dogs :( But, we took the kids, a camera, and the video camera! Needless to say, we were a little more civilized with our approach to claiming our tree. We went to the local tree stand.

Sophie and Avery were very excited! We sang Christmas carols and talked about getting ready for Santa. The girls ran around and even found munchkin sized trees.




After about 15 minutes of running around and carrying on we finally found the perfect tree. It was about 7 feet tall and about 5 feet round. It was beautiful! We walked around and viewed it from all angles - yup this was it. Doug handed over the video camera and I was ready to capture the official cutting of the tree. The girls and I stepped back and got prepared to watch BaBa at work.

"NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" All cutting comes to an immediate stop. We ask Avery, "What's the matter?" She cries, "NO TREE FALL DOWN!" We tried to reason with her. We told her that Santa needed us to put up a tree so he could have somewhere to put her presents. "Avery, Don't you want presents?" She said "No presents. No tree fall down." We told her we were going to decorate it all pretty for Santa. "No Santa." Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..... do we have a future tree hugger in the crowd?

Well, we cut the tree down fast and called over a tree farm worker to drag our tree back to the truck. Apparently, we got over her upset pretty quickly because she was helping hang ornaments a few hours later :)

Better Late Then Never

Here are the long awaited Baptism pictures. It's been a crazy few weeks- but we are ready to post again.