Thanksgiving...

and much to be thankful for. We had a lovely Thanksgiving day with Doug, Colleen and kids. We met at our favorite Chinese restaurant and ordered Peking duck. It was fabulous. Also ordered a whole walleye and so many sides our table could have collapsed. Hope to make this a yearly tradition. On Friday, we grilled our turkey and had new friends Ben and Brandy over for dinner. They are both from out of state and are relatively new to our church, St. Mary's. Plus, they are in the process of adopting a child from China. Libby has her very first crush and it is on Ben. It is jaw dropping for me to witness. Both B & B are fabulous people and we had a great evening.

Libby and I went to the Wizard of Oz at the Children's Theater with Colleen and Jai. Libby insisted on wearing her Dorothy costume. It was an incredible performance. Both girls really enjoyed it, but Colleen and I agreed that one year older would be the perfect age for most of the plays there.

I am finally decorating for Christmas. I am not inspired this year and if the house had stayed the same, I would have been okay. This is quite shocking for me. I did pull things out and although not up to my usual ho, ho, honess, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. I know that as the girls get more excited for the big day, my feelings will soon match theirs and that is one of the joys of Christmas.

Stay warm!

Prayers for a friend and his Family

We are going through a very sad time here. Our dear friend Marc was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the end of September. Sadly, none of the treatments have been very effective. His latest round was done in hopes of decreasing the size of the tumor so they could remove it. Unfortunately, it did not shrink and may have grown larger. He has been in and out of the hospital due to his bad reactions to the treatments and other complications. I cannot put into words how much we miss his company. Not to be able to spend time with him and wondering if we will again has been very disheartening to us. Each day we wait for word that we can at least stop in and see him for a bit. We will keep praying that we get the go ahead soon. Our thoughts never leave his wife Teri and their daughter, our God-daughter, Maddy. I, selfishly, have so many memories going through my head. We would meet at the Green Mill, a restaurant directly between our two houses, more times that we could count over the years. So many dinners with them at their house and the ones in the winter with Marc adding wood to the fire and settling into a chair with Maddy climbing up to snuggle against him. He is such a good guy, good friend, father and husband.

We will continue to pray for him that he may be comfortable and surrounded by those he loves. If you read this, please keep him and his family in your thoughts.

Halloween Catch Up

Time has just zipped by. We had a Halloween season this year. We went to the Children's Museum for their annual party. The girls had a great time and the staff does a wonderful job. Libby had a Halloween party at a friends on Saturday. We had a family Halloween party on Sunday and Monday was Halloween-whew! So thankful I grab Halloween costumes at consignment sales, garage sales and clearance racks. We ended up using most that we had for any number of reasons. Halloween night we had the most trick or treaters that we have ever had-about 120!

Life settled down after that and it is just back to school and regular life. Thankfully, both girls are still loving school and that is such a nice thing. I no longer attempt to say anything in Chinese because Libby will first tell me she does not understand me and after I say it several times, will correct me. Hmmmmm

Eric is traveling for work and was fortunate to spend time with both his sister and family in Richmond and his parents in Staunton. Maisy said, "me too miss you dada" on the phone to him and I think both Eric and I got choked up over it.

Starting to make Thanksgiving preparations. I cannot believe it is just around the corner. Hope all of you have your feet under you better than I have!

Pumpkin Patch Visit

We went to the pumpkin patch/apple orchard for the third year with T-Man and family. The first year we went, it was so cold we were in winter coats and hats. This year, it was an absolutely gorgeous day. Eric had to do the annual ride down the hill in the wagon with the kids. Libby got to try and fling apples at a target with a giant slingshot. Maisy got to swing her her favorite bee swing from last year. We had just a great day.

Libby continues to love school. She does have homework each night, but does it right away. She is teaching us all how to count to 10 and to say some basic phrases. I fear the day when she is fluent and I will have no clue as to what she is saying! :) We are just so fortunate to have this school near us.

Maisy speech is improving leaps and bounds. Her pre-school teacher today told me she is able to understand her so much better than just two months ago. They think she is the most independent funny little thing. They would be right.



Less than one month ago we found out our dear friend, and Maisy's god-father, has pancreatic cancer. We are all trying to do as much as we can for the family during this difficult time. They are also members of St. Mary's and Eric and the St. Mary's Snow Shoveler's have offered to help with many big projects. I have offered to take their daughter, and our god-daughter, Maddy as often as they need. It is times like this when you realize how precious loved ones are. Please hug those you love and keep our friend and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

So proud of my girls!

Though Libby was pretending to sleep, poor thing was not. School is tiring.

I cannot believe how fast the month of September sped by in a blur. Libby has officially been in school one month. We are so thankful that there has been no separation anxiety or fears. In fact, quite the opposite. She loves it! She has no problem riding the bus and gets off at the end of the day with a big smile on her face. Libby had thought that the other Asian children in her school were Chinese. I had to explain they were most likely not. She recently informed me that she was very happy she had Chinese teachers. I know for some adoptive children it would not matter, but it really drove home how happy we are we went with this program for many reasons. Last week, she sang "Happy Birthday" in Chinese. By bedtime, she is one tuckered out girl.

We had our first parent meeting with the teacher last week. We knew we would have to be involved more than the average parent, but this really drove it home. The administrator of the program has made a huge offer to the parents-to teach us enough Chinese that we would be able to assist with basic homework. I have never heard of any school offering this and we are thrilled to be learning Chinese. The parents are also banding together on FB to organize and to promote the school. It's is going to be one heck of a ride.

Miss Maisy loves her pre-school, but is right in the midst of being 2-1/2 years old. She is bossy, sassy, loving, clinging, teary, mad and exhausting. Dang, we love our little monkey. She cries each time at drop off, but when I come to pick her up, wants to stay and play. Her speech continues to grow and we are thankful to the school system that allows Mary, her therapist, to come to our house each week. This morning, I woke up to Maisy singing "Twinkle, Twinkle". She was working very hard at enunciating her words. Our little amiable girl right now is our tyrant and the girl who used to just go to sleep is now up until all hours. We know we will get through it and on to the next phase we will go.

Eric has always made fun of me pretending to make Libby/T-man wedding plans. However, now that it clicked that T-man's last name is Walker, he is determined that they marry so we will have Libby Roller Walker. And I'm bad? :)


This week, the temps will be in the 70's-80's. Wow. It is gorgeous here and we hope to take advantage of the weather.

Maisy's favorite part of the MN Zoo, riding a fish.

Our poor sick Libby trying to have fun.

Yeehaw, Tenzing

! Trying to "pet" the fish

Kissing the "puppy" goodbye

I have a sticker on my nose, take my picture.

Lots of Firsts this Week!

Maisy started a very sweet little preschool program that is near our house. It is two mornings a week for two hours. Best thing is that she does not need to be potty trained! It is just the thing she needs. However, when I went to pick her up, her teachers gently admonished me for not giving Maisy a kiss good-bye. I laughed and stuck my lip out and said, "mama no kiss, mama no kiss, mmmmm". They realized they had been had by a two year old! Little darling stinker.




After meeting a little girl in Libby's class who would also be on the same bus as her, Eric and I took a deep breath and agreed to let Libby go to school on the bus. She was excited about it, us, well a little nervous. Turns out she did great. However, the teacher was confused about Libby being on the bus both in the morning and afternoon. Maisy and I stood at the corner for almost an hour with Eric making phone calls only to find out she was at the school waiting for us. She was quite fine with it all and told me on the way home that her teacher helped her learn more Chinese. I thought I would apoplectic, but I was glad they erred on the side of cautiousness rather than just putting her on a bus.

To all of you experiencing changes of any sort, a sense of humor does wonders! :)

First day of Kindergarden

First day of kindergarden

With several new classmates

Ellie's very lovely lantern

Malia and Libby

Three crazy girls


Today was a big day in our house. Libby started kindergarden. We tried not to have it overwhelm her when we talked about it. She seemed only mildly interested and would make comments once in a while. Although she had fun buying new shoes and other items for school, she really did not react one way or the other. Last week while reading a book about going to kindegarden, there was a page that showed some kids crying. I asked her how she thought she was going to feel on the first day and she logically replied she that would have to see that day. That's my girl :)

Last night, we had a lovely party for autumn moon festival. Several friends commented that they thought we were a little crazy having a big event like this before Libby's first day of school. Au contraire. It was the perfect distraction. She had so much fun playing with her friends. Plus, all of them had already started kindegarden and they all told her how much they liked it. I am one smart Mama :)

Because we were a little nervous about the bus and also how her little school of one class in this very big building would be handled, I drove her to school today. Very glad I did. It was chaos. Plus, several people looked at you blankly when the Chinese immersion school was mentioned. All schools in St. Paul now offer a free breakfast to students. I feel kind of funny taking it, but Libby likes to eat several small meals a day and this is perfect timing for her. Fortunately, met a father whose daughter Ada is on Libby's bus. I introduced the girls and asked Ada if Libby could sit with her. They gave each other the thumbs up, hand bumped and it seemed to be sealed. Miss Maisy will be thankful not to have to be loaded up every day. As I was leaving, Libby almost started to waiver, but did a little pause and said, "Mama, think I'm....I think I'm going to be okay". I don't doubt it my dear love.

Tomorrow, Maisy starts preschool for two days a week. I think I am ready...

Rrrrrr, I'm a mean pirate!

Captain Libby at your service.

Happy Fall!

We had such a nice Labor Day weekend. The girls always like being able to have more time with Dada. On Sunday, we went to the MN State Fair again, this time just the four of us. The girls love walking around and seeing things. Before you know it, you have been there for hours and it is time to go home. Libby was riding on Eric's shoulders and looked around and said, "Boy, there are a lot of people here now. Time to go home." Okay then.

Monday, we went to the MN Zoo and had another great family day. The girls enjoyed all the animals, but I swear were just happy running up and down the paths on such a gorgeous day. It makes us realize how lucky we are to have the MN Zoo and Como Zoo so nearby.

I had Libby try on her school uniforms again and got all sniffley. She looks so little and cute. So far, she remains calm about the whole thing. I was reading a book about starting kindergarten and there was a page that showed some kids crying. I asked her how she thought she would do that day, and my smart girl said, "I guess we will have to see how I feel that day". Crossing fingers all goes well and it is a smooth transition.

Hope wherever you are, you are enjoying a beautiful September!