How to Have a Great Day

To have a great day....

Get on your knees and pray before you start your day.

Also, smile big, cheesy smiles into the mirror in the morning before you start your day.

Read a bit of your Bible.  Whether it be one chapter, a couple of verses, or five chapters, it can give you that lift you need for the day and keep you close to Him all throughout.

Pray little prayers when you think about it.  Worried about something?  Pray about it.  Did something make you smile?  Praise Him for it.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
-1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Compliment people.

Give out lots of hugs, kisses, and "I love you's" to your family.

Hold open doors for everyone--from elderly folks to kids, adults, teens, and annoying or grumpy people.

Acknowledge when someone acts kindly or gentlemanly.  Did that man just open the door for you?  Give him a smile and a cheerful "Thank you!"  Did that girl just let you pull out in front of her?  Make sure you say thank you by way of the hand wave.  :)  

Be unusually kind and cheerful.  Seriously.  Sincerely ask your cashier how she's doing.  Give a warm-hearted thank-you to the lady at Starbucks.  Smile at that homeless man that you always look away from when you walk by, cringing.  Being kind to people makes them want to be kind to other people.  It's an awesome cycle.  :)

Spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

-Hebrews 10:24

Take time to pay attention to kids.  Read a book to a kiddo, indulge their imagination, play with them, tickle them, cuddle them, talk with them like you would a regular friend.  It'll make their day!  And in return, those kids can definitely make yours.

Doodle cheerful doodles.

Look for beauty.  Seek it out, find it, soak it in, appreciate it.  Get out of the habit of seeing your surroundings as just surroundings.  Look for something special in it.

And finally, make up your mind that today will be a great day.  Because 75% of your day depends on what you do and how you react and your attitude.

"How beautiful a day can be when kindness touches it!"

-George Elliston

Story Startin'

Hi everyone!  I'm very sorry that I've been so MIA lately!  I think it's been a combination of business and not really knowing what to post.

But, I have a couple of posts in mind for you, so you better get ready.  :)

                                       ~*~

I love to write.  I love to read.  Actually, I love anything that has to do with English!  Reading, writing, grammar, spelling, you name it! 

I also love pretending--imagining, thinking, creating, that sort of thing.

So what do you get when you put those two together?

Story starting!  Take a picture.  Preferrably an old one, like this:

{This picture via Google--is it just me, or does the lady in the middle remind you of the housekeeper from the Brady Bunch?!}

And then begin writing--maybe a story, a "journal", or just imagine what the personality of the people in the pictures were.

Like that man there on the left--his name is Frederick Von Schneider.  He is a rough, but educated, man, slim, tall, but not very handsome.  His wife there in the middle--yes, the only one in the picture that is smiling--is Elise Von Schneider.  She is the life of the Von Schneider home, always merry, keeping things lively and keeping the rest of the family on their toes--her husband in particular. 

Beside Elise is Jacob, the small boy on the right.  He is five years old, serious at some times, but mischievious at others, but generally a bit shy.  As you can see by the protective hand on his mother's lap, he is very close to Elise.

On the other side of Elise is six year old William, affectionately called Willie by everyone in the family.  Willie is a chubby, smart little boy who is full of life--and a bit full of himself, if you were to ask his older sisters.  :)

Topping off the lineup of boys in the familiy is Isaac, who is standing behind Willie and Frederick.  Isaac is a proud, somewhat stuffy boy, but just like any other twelve year old boy, he loves sports and playing with his friends.

Across from Isaac, with her hand on Elise's back, is Eleanor, the quiet, serious middle girl of the family, at eleven.  Eleanor prefers her nickname, Elle.  Elle likes reading, staying secluded in the bedroom she shares with her sisters, and studying.  She has a small, tight circle of friends.

Beside Elle is Josephine, the complacent, fun, youngest girl of the family at nine.  "Josie" is easy-going, laid-back, and fun.  She's a sweet girl, easy to make friends with, but not quite a social butterfly.

Sitting by Josie is Hattie, the oldest girl of the family at thirteen, soon to be fourteen.  She is responsible and dignified, but not above having fun when it's in order.  She's a great help to her mother and she loves helping her father in his office, although the rest of the Concord, Massachusetts, society doesn't think it is quite acceptable for a girl to do males' work. 

All in all, The Von Schneider family is quite different from other families in their community.  They have more fun, less worries, more relaxation, less strict society-ness.  They march to the beat of their own drum and try their best to exhibit Christianity as it should be done--genuinely.

                                      ~*~

That was very fun.  :)  I think I might just have to do it again, if you guys aren't tired of it already!  :P

Oh, and before I say goodbye, I wanted to invite you guys to go enter Lucia's awesome 900 Follower Giveaway HERE.  There are some pretty great prizes over there!

God bless you!
Joy :D

P.S. How do you guys like the new blog look?!  I'm working on a new header, new font, font colors, etc., so it's still sort of "under construction".

Movie Quote Challenge Part 1

I saw this on a blog the other day and thought it was a great idea. 

Here's how it works.  In part 1, I list several quotes from different movies and you guess what movie they're from by commenting.  Whoever guesses correctly the most wins--which will be revealed in part 2!  :)

Here are the rules:

1. No cheating.  Don't look it up on the internet!
2. You are allowed to ask family members for help, but make sure you give them credit in your comment!  :)
3. You must name the movie and the characters' names.

A few of the quotes may be from the same movie.

Ready?  Go!

Quote 1

Character 1: Do you know how to use that thing?
Character 2: Yes, the pointy end goes into the other man.
Character 1: *sighs* This is going to take a lot of work.

Quote 2

Character 1: If you accept defeat, (Character 2's name), then that's what you'll get.

Quote 3

Character 1: I don't need easy.  I just need possible.

Quote 4

Character 1: Sorry I'm late, it's a jungle out there.  I had to beat an old lady with a stick to get these cranberries.

Quote 5

Character 1: And keep the stitches small!

Quote 6

Character 1: Why a spoon, cousin?  Why not an axe?
Character 2: Because it's DULL, you twit.  It'll hurt more!

Quote 7

Characer 1: Well.  We'll see what the man's sellin'.  THEN we'll shoot him.
Character 2: Good plan.

Quote 8

Character 1: You look like two marshmallows trying to get out of a hotwheel.

Quote 9

Character 1: What is it you want, (Character 2's name)?  What do you want?  You want the moon?  Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down.  Hey.  That's a pretty good idea.  I'll give you the moon, (Character 2's name).
Character 2: I'll take it.  Then what?
Character 1: Well, then you can swallow it, and it'll dissolve, see...and the moonbeams would shoot out of your fingers and your toes and the ends of your hair...am I talking too much?

Quote 10

Character 1: Really, (Character 2's name), suppose that man had shot you?  Is it worth risking your life for ten dollars, two credit cards, a hairbrush, and a lipstick?
Character 2: How did you know that?
Character 1: Know what?
Character 2: You just described the exact contents of my purse.
*Character 1 peeks in purse*
Character 1: Hmm.  Uh...wild guess.

Think you know any of these?  Leave a comment and let me know! 

God bless you!
Joy :D

This Week's Waiting Kids!!

Hey everyone! This week I have a bunch of kids to share with you. Hopefully soon I can start doing more posts, both Waiting Kids and regular blog posts.

So first we have Gordon. I posted about Gordon a while back, and he's still waiting! :(



DOB 10-10-2007, location CWI of Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, medical history: hernia.

He was listed as "Gordon" on Madison Adoption Agency's private list until the CCAA called back files last year. His real name is Wu Lisheng

From his file: Wu Lisheng is a smart child. He is a love child; nannies are all called her "Da sheng".
If you are interested in Gordon, leave a comment!

Next is adorable Jimmy.

This little guy's DOB is 7/22/08. Here is the information about Jimmy:SN Conclusion and suggestion: 1. introrsus deformity of both hands, deformity of left thumb,four fingers on right hand, deformity of the middle finger and the index finger; 2. non-development and underdevelopment of both forearms and hands



Jimmy is smart, out going, has a ready smile, with sweet face, the deformity of handsdoes not cover his lovely and handsome appearance at all, appropriate physicalgrowth and stature, can stand up alone with holding onto handrails, is learning to walk,likes playing in baby walker, can make simple words, responds to others’ asking forobjects, gets along well with children in the same room and is close to caretakers. Now he is 69cm in height, 7.3kg in weight, 44cm in head size, 46cm in chest size, 6teeth, because he suffers congenital deformity of both hands he has to hold thingswith both hands coordinately and the flexibility of his fingers is bad. He can laughaloud when being teased by others, can make simple words as if he is communicatingwith adults, likes being held by familiar people, is not afraid of strangers and does notcry very often. He is out going and looks sweetly, so many people like him; he likes playing in baby walker best and likes cars and wooden horse toy.



If you are interested in Jimmy, leave a comment!

Next is pretty Natalie with FTIA.



Natalie is a beautiful 12 year girl, but very shy. She has had surgery to repair her cleft and palate. Our medical team felt like she would still need some work on her palate and perhaps cosmetic work on her lip. She also has dental cavities. Natalie has lived with the same foster family for 10 years. They report that she takes care of herself and helps with the housework. Natalie does well in school and is currently in 6th grade. Her favorite activities are ping-pong and computer games. She has learned some English but is not comfortable with speaking. She is so shy and quiet and does lack confidence in herself. Natalie’s best friend is Sean, who tries to encourage her, and she is never far from his side! Natalie can be seen at the beginning of this video.

For more information on Natalie, leave a comment!

Next is cutie Drew who is also from FTIA.



Drew is a 4 1/2 year old whose beautiful face will capture you. Drew has congenital DY of the spinal column. We were unsure at first how Drew was physically affected by this condition, until we saw him jump down three stairs! His gross and fine motor skills are great! Drew is in kindergarten and his language is superior. He is confident, outgoing, and friendly. He toilets independently and performs many activities of daily living with minimal assistance. He is just an amazing boy. Our medical team suggests an MRI of the spine and possibly a surgery upon Drew’s placement with his family.
For more information on Drew, leave a comment!

And on to precious Kent, with Lifeline.



Kent is a healthy 10 year old boy. He has a $1,500 scholarship available.
Kent is stated to be active and outgoing. He always tries to help the caregivers. He is very good at performances. He enjoys playing iwth his friends, playing games, football, or hide and seek.
For more information on Kent, leave a comment!

And beautiful Saige, also with Lifeline. Saige is 6.



1 CHD; tetralogy of Fallot 2 WBC and NEUT # go up 3 hypochromic microcytic anemia
Video taken in March 2009: http://vimeo.com/4314201
Password = llcs424
For more information on Saige, leave a comment!


And sweet Carly, with AAC.



Carly's birthday is May 3, 1999. Her care takers describe her as a polite, warmhearted, good child who cares about others. She is optimistic and easy going. Carly enjoys singing, dancing and outdoor activities. She also loves to draw and is very imaginative. Carly is a hep b carrier. She is otherwise a healthy child who is developmentally on track.
For more information on Carly, leave a comment!


And on to adorable Jayden, who is also with AAC.



This adorable little guy was born 2-10-2008. Jayden is very outgoing around those he is familiar with. he loves to play outside and with other children. He loves to explor and learn about things he has never seen. Jayden has a minor deformity of some of his fingers and toes. He also has cleft thoracic vertebral plate associated with meningocele which has been surgically corrected. He is able to walk, go up and down stairs, and dress and undress himself. He is also potty trained. His CT showed widened lateral venticles on both sides but he has not been diagnosed with any brain disorder. In fact he is very bright, can speak well, has great hand/eye coordination, and fine motor skills.
If you are interested in Jayden, leave a comment!

And lastly, darling Danny from LWB's blog.



My name is Danny. I am just two years old, am happy, and am loving life…despite the serious face I’m trying to put on for the camera!



I also enjoy an occasional treat from a visitor from LWB’s Nutrition Program. Snacks really make me happy, and I also love to visit the orphanage director’s office to see if he has left any on the table. I am a cooperative little guy, and I get along well with other children. My caregivers are very proud of me and tell me I am quite smart. I love to be active, and some of my favorite things are playing outdoors, dancing, and music. As you can see I am very curious and enjoy learning about new and interesting things.



Danny is such a little darling. Ironically, we think his serious face captures his silly side!
Due to Danny’s medical needs, his file will be available for matching through the Waiting Children Program. Danny is in need of a therapy that isn’t readily available in China, so finding a family is essential for him. Please contact your agency or adoptionassistance@lwbmail.com to learn more about making Danny your darling!

Thank you, everyone, for taking ten minutes out of your day to read this post and see this precious waiting children in China who just want a family that loves them. Please pray and search your hearts and see if you are their forever family that they've been waiting on.

Blessings,
Joy :)

This week's Waiting Kids

Hey everyone! I CANNOT believe I forgot to do this last week. The week went by so quickly! So this week, I wanted to get a head on start early. I ask you, as you read this, to pray for each and every one of these beautiful kids. That they will find a Forever Family and have the love and care needed.

First, we have John Wayne. Mr. John here has been on CCAI's list for a while. Here's what's written about John.



He is 2 years old (April 2008). He was born with spina bifida and a club foot.The SB was repaired at about 6 months (I don't have those details). While I washis momma I had his club foot serial casted by China Care in Beijing. Awesomepeople. He was in Beijing for almost 6 months and while there fostered by aCanadian teacher and her daughter. Talk about great treatment! His foot healednicely and he started to walk. Since being back at our foster home in his homecity he has had some ups and downs with his foot. But he is still active andwalking, nothing seems to keep him down. He is in a brace at night, and will beuntil he is about 5yo. He needs a family who can get him home fast and get greatcare for his foot. He is a terrific kid, I love him to bits. (From Donna, the director of Eagles Wings)

If you are interested in John, leave a comment!

Next is lovely Maria, with Lifeline.



This girl really gets me. She's a girl my age, with a minor growth SN(which by the way barely affects her from what I can understand); she's beautiful; and she has a great, sunny personality. Maria is stated to have won many educational awards for calligraphy, reading, and excellent school record. She is active, mischievious, clever, confident, beautiful, and lovely.

If you would like more information on this beautiful girl, leave a comment!

Next is cutie Pierce, who is also with Lifeline.
Post-operative cleft lip, unrepaired cleft palate



Pierce is stated to be outgoing and curious to the things around him. He also enjoys watching TV.

If you are interested in Pierce, leave a comment!

And another adorable little girl with Lifeline. This is Whitney.
Albinism



Whitney is stated to be introverted. She likes sitting and playing with toys independently. She likes eating food and loves crackers.

If you are interested in Whitney, leave a comment!


And this is Zoe, from AAC.



Zoe is only a year and a half old. She was born January 6, 2009. She is very lovely with a sweet face. She is somewhat introverted and enjoys being cuddled by caretakers. When she is happy, she shakes her head babbling and singing. She gets along well with other children Zoe was born with myelocele which is a form of spina bifida. It has been surgically corrected and she is doing well. She is developmentaly on track for a child being raised in an institution. In May she could crawl, stand steadily on her own and walk holding on to something.

If you are interested in Zoe, leave a comment!


Next is Nathan. He is also from AAC, but he is in Korea.



This cute little guy was born January 3, 2010, weighing just over 8 pounds. His ears are malformed and he has some hearing loss. Nathan is otherwise, developmentally on track. He babbles a lot and smiles responsibly when entertained. He is a sweet baby, and as you can see, he has awesome hair!

For more information, leave a comment!


And adorable Erin :) She is also with AAC.



Erin is a sweet young girl. She was born on 2/25/2009. She likes listening to music and will sway her body. She absolutley loves taking baths.
Erin has leucoma in both eyes. As she has gotten older her caretakers have found that she can see somethings. Otherwise she is developmentally on track.

If you are interested in Erin, leave a comment!

Then you have Lexi, from FTIA's Special Focus listing.



Lexi is such a doll :) She was recently moved to a instution in Beijing. I hear that she had been telling her friends at her orphanage that she was going to be a "Beijing Person". How cute is that?

Born December '06. Lexi’s special need is spina bifida and repaired clubfoot.
What an adorable little girl. Lexi is very kind, patient and polite. Lexi is quite the girly-girl and enjoys every opportunity to try on new outfits and have her hair done. She is a cuddle bug and loves to give and receive hugs and kisses. Lexi is a good singer and her speech is very clear.

If you are interested in Lexi, leave a comment!

And Landon, also from FTIA's Special Focus program.



Landon is an all boy cutie! He was born May '06.
Landon’s special need is a complex heart condition.
Here is one cute and lovable little boy. He loves to participate in school activities and works hard to develop his fine motor skills, do puzzles, learn numbers, colors and shapes. Landon is a very active little guy who loves to ride the bike and the scooter, jump on the trampoline and run around. He is quite the helper around the house and loves to be in the middle of the action.

For more information on Landon, leave a comment!

Please pray and see if one of these kids are yours. Or maybe, should I say, YOU are THEIR Forever Family.

Blessings,
Joy :)

Picnik!

Yes-that's what I've been doing my friends! Picnik.com is like your own little easy to use free photoshop!! I love their collage/scrapbook templates and retouching photos is a BREEZE!! So here's just a few examples. NOTE-Some of these are for Babydow, thus the cartoon babies :)

Ears Pierced!!

Hi everyone! We're here in Nashville for a vacation :) Well, kind of. Dad has to go to this class thing here in Nashville for his work so we're going to have a little vacation. So, anyway, on with the post.

Yes! Finally! MY EARS ARE PIERCED!!

Sometime around Wednesday or Thursday last week, I was talking to my friend Katie. For a while I had been thinking about getting my ears pierced but I never really have gone far with it. Anyway, Katie was talking and this is how the conversation went;

Katie: You have your ears pierced right?

Me: Nope.

Katie: WHAT!!! Joy, you HAVE to get your ears pierced!!!!

Me: Well....I dunno....doesn't it hurt??

Katie: NO!! It doesn't hurt at all!!

Me: Well....let me ask my mom. (Ok, so that was VERY sudden :)

Katie: Ok.

Me: Mom can I get my ears pierced?

Mom: You'll have to ask your dad. Does Katie have her ears pierced?
Me: Yup.

Mom: Well, ask your daddy. It's fine with me if it's ok with him.

Mom and Dad said I could have it done in Nashville when mom took me to the mall. Well then I remembered we were going out tomorrow evening. So, partly because I wanted it over with and partly because I was excited(lol), I asked to have it done the local Claires. The answer was yes!

Last Friday evening, Mom, Dad, Luke and I set out to run some errands. FINALLY-we got to Claire's. We went in and waited for our turn. I picked out the earring that I wanted-Rainbow Daisy :) And then...well..I'll let the pictures tell the story :) Here you go, Katie. The pictures you've been waiting on! :)

And voila!! I'm soo happy. It hurt some but it was worth it :) Now I just can't wait until the 6 weeks is up and I can change earrings! :)

Blessings,
Joy

I've been tagged!

By Cassie, from Inside My Mind. Thanks Cassie!

The instructions with this tag are: Answer the 10 questions that are given from the person who tagged you, then add 10 more of your own and tag 6 bloggers.

Here are the questions:

1. In what location do you feel God's Presence the greatest?

Hmm...usually a quiet place where I'm praying and can concentrate fully on him.

2. What is your favorite craft? (i.e. knitting, scrapbooking, drawing, etc.)

Scrapbooking!!

3. How many brothers and/or sisters do you have?

2 brothers, one is 21, Colt, and one is 2, Luke.

4. Do you have an iPod?

Nope but I have a super old mp3 :)

5. Do you speak a second language?

A little bit of Spanish and a little bit of Chinese.

6. What type of food is your favorite? (i.e. American, Mexican, Indian, Chinese, etc.)

American! Or French...French is pretty good, too.

7. Have you ever eaten sushi?

Ewwww no.

8. If you had to live in a foreign country for five years, which country would you pick and why?

Probably either Korea or China. Korea-Because it seems like a good place to live if you can't live in America, and you can do mission work and I'd like to learn about the culture since Colt's adopted from there. China-I kind of miss it! It's not the greatest but it is pretty nice.

9. Can you either "speak" sign language or read Braille?

I know a little sign language.

10. Describe your pets:

Bambi-Fat, furry, loving, hairy.

Now for my 10 questions...

1. How long have you been on blogger?

2. What's your favorite food?

3. What was your first word?

4. What's your favorite form of art?

5. What's the most recent thing God has done for you?

6. When's your birthday?

7. Did you take swimming lessons to learn how to swim?

8. Have you ever taken lessons for things like dance, gymnastics, Piano, etc?

9. What's your favorite article of clothing?

10. Do you like doing tags?

I tag...

Mom at Country Girl at Home

Madison at Madcrafts

Allyson (friend with a private blog) at Green Gables Girl

Amber at Honeysuckle Cottage

Elizabeth at 4 Siblings 1 Me

Ms. Lynn at Country Heart and Roses

More posts coming soon! Thanks again for tagging me, Cassie :) Can't wait until your sister and mom and dad get home!

The Upcoming School Year = EXCITED!

Let me just say that I am EXCITED to begin our school year, because the books this year sound overall exciting, aanndd, we're studying the Eastern Hemisphere (China, Korea, Japan, and India, basically). I guess you could say these books are going to have SUPER special meaning to me. :) I've already taken a peek into a few books, but most of them I've just read the description. These are the ones I'm particularly interested in:

Shadow Spinner-

Each night, Sharazadan begins another story, and each morning, the Sultan lets her live another day, providing that her story caught his attention. But alas, after a thousand nights, Sharazadan is running out of tales. This is where Marjan's story begins....It falls to Marjan to go out into the city and find stragglers and travellers from all over and listen to their stories, then bring them back to Sharazadan.

The Kite Flyers-

Young-sup and Kee-sup are brothers in Korea in 1473. Both must come to terms with the privileges and responsibilities associated with their birth order.

Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze-

Young Fu, 13, enters the streets of 1920's China. Even though the world is different from Young Fu's time, this story still reflects Modern China-Making friends, making mistakes, and making one's way in the world.

Story-Part 2

A looonnggg time ago, I started another Story Journal Series. You can see it here. Now I'm ready for part 2!

March 3rd, 2010
Dear Journal,

Sitting on my bed with Mina, about to go eat lunch. Mina is the only one I've showed my journal to besides mom so far. Mina is playing with her pretty dark ponytail and watching me write. She wants a journal now, too. This morning after breakfast she came over and looked at my journal, then we put my paint set for painting my bike in my tote bag along with our other exploring equipment(Binoculars, notepad and pencil, water gun, etc.).

Georgi left to go see a movie with her friend Kaicee. Kale went to Violet's house, and dad and Connor went to a Red Sox game. Mom drove over to Mina's house to have a visit with her mom and plan stuff for our homeschool group which she and Miss Hailee lead. She offered to give us a ride over to her house since we were going over there anyway to paint my bike, but we thanked her and said no, we're going to ride our bikes. So we did, down the street to Mina's house, with our bags stuffed into our baskets. We passed a kitten on the way and picked it up and put it in my bag.

Once we got to Mina's house(we beat mom there!), we painted my bike with NEON colors! I found out my paints work on paper too!! We then let the paint dry while we got a snack inside with mom and Miss Hailee. While we were there, Mina's cousins, Haven and Hunter, came over. They're identical twins. Haven is really nice. I like her. Hunter is shy and quiet at first, but really fun when his personality comes out.

Haven has long black hair that she always wears in a high ponytail, she has dark-brown-almost-black, sparkly eyes, she's skinny, short, and has SUPER tiny feet! Hunter has thick, shiny black hair which he has spiked into a little point on his forehead. He has black smiling eyes and is always laughing about something. He's big, but not fat. He's muscle-y. He towers over Haven! Anyway, Haven and Hunter asked Miss. Hailee if their mom could borrow one of her skillets or something, and they got it and went back to their house. We finished our snack and packed up our bags, then went out into the woods to explore around.

We climbed into a tree and started painting it. It looks really nice. We're thinking of building a little platform up in the tree since it's big and putting some umbrellas up there so we can have a make-shift clubhouse! We painted flowers and trees, and hearts and stars, and all kinds of things really! It was fun. Then we climbed down and packed everything up and went and found our kitten, who had wandered off to a nearby stump and was napping peacefully, and put her in the basket and rode back to my house for lunch! We came up here first so I could write. Now we're going to go eat, so I'll write later tonight or tomorrow!

Finnley Hope Ryder

Hope you enjoyed!
Hugs and Blessings,
Joy

Journal Entries from China.

I kept a journal in China, which I found at Claire's for about 10 dollars. Nothing much, but I thought it was cute, and it had Chinese writing on the pages. Well I thought I'd sort of edit them onto my blog as posts, because that's what I wrote it for, to be able to look back on it. :) This was the first entry, when we were sitting in the airport.

June 17th, 2010, 3:22 AM. Airport.
Airport! I'm at the airport!It's all so new and different to me! I mean it's like Christmas! I already miss Colt, Pop, Grandmama and Bambi. :) I wanted to play games on Mom's laptop because I'm so BORED but it went dead. Now I'm looking at my "Then and Now" book and writing here in my journal.
*A few minutes later*
Now we're talking to an aiport policeman. Well I'm going to find something to do....I can't wait until I can email and blog!
Joy

Same Day 5:58 AM
I'm on the plane! We haven't taken off yet. I'm sitting across from dad, a bald guy, and a hippie! The hippie's nice though. He plays the banjo! WEIRD!! The plane is SO tiny!!! I can't wait until I can get wifi and our journey to me and email and everything! Weird people come to airports....Hope to see a movie star in the San Fransisco airport! Haha. I got a window seat! Woo hoo!
Joy

Same day 9:00 AM
Just boarded the plane that will fly us from Minnesota to San Fransisco. Hippie and Bald Man are gone now. I can't wait until we get to Beijing! Everything is just "I can't wait", isn't it? I just want to crawl into my Chinese bed and go to SLEEP! :)
Flying is sooo fun! The wait isn't fun, but still. Our plane has wifi but the laptop is dead. I have another big window seat to me!
Joy

Same Day 1:47 PM
On the plane to Tokoyo! I'm one of the only Americans. I regonize a bunch of people from Minnesota such as, the cute little Asian kid with his mom, the little girl from the airport reasturant, the guy who was singing on the escalator, etc. Our "neighbors" for this 11 hour flight are: On the right, there is a young Asian couple. They seem nice. In front of us are 2 older Asian men, one who looks like my friend's dad, and an older Asian woman. On the left is a Asian man and his son, I think. The man is reading a book. I have been drawing and reading. For lunch I had sprite, vinegar and salt chips, and a fruit foll up. By the way, the book I'm reading is "The Best Christmas Paegant Ever". Ahh, what memories!! Haha. My ears are popping. I think I'm going to eat goldfish crackers, read, then hopefully go to sleep. I dunno....I wish Christina and Colt were here, they would keep me entertained.

I hope you enjoyed! I'll post more of it soon!
Hugs,
Joy

VBS fun!

Starting on last Thursday night, we have been having our church VBS, the Pirates Who Don't do Anything. last night was our last night, and I'm very sad! I'm on the worship crew, and I help out in the Yo Ho Ho opening show. I love getting dressed up in my pirate gear and wearing my "Bucko" name tag. Bucko is my pirate name, I'm part of the quadruple B's, Bumpo(Molly Grace), Boho(Taylor), Billy Bob(Sarah), and then me, Bucko. The VBS is truly great, I love watching these kids learn about God.

On Friday night, mom, dad, and Luke came in to watch the opening show! Before we started, I took Luke back to the preschooler's playroom and he LOVED it!! It took me a while to get him to go sit down with mom and dad for the show!

There's always our clue for the day about what we're learning about, a skit from Bones and Bumpo(Bones is played by our friend Ms. Haley), our theme song, our theme verse(Phil. 4:13) , and our worship songs. During the opening show we also have snacks. We have a craft or science experiment that relates to our lesson, and then we head to the Bible Theater for a Bible story with sound effects and everything. That's my favorite part! After that, we go to the Yo Ho Ho Closing Show where we do our scripture verse, a quiz on our lesson, a skit again from Bones and Bumpo, and then our last worship song, "In the Secret". This VBS is so greatt!

Here's some pics from Friday night:


Praise and Worship


Bucko.Is.Fearsome!!


Ms. Rebecca, the Praise pirate, and Bucko :)


Pirate gear on and ready to go!


Argh!

More updates!

Life has suddenly gotten busier :)

But I think we're finally finding our new normal. The first few weeks were very very hard on me and mom, and Luke too. Sometimes he would cry solid for an hour or so when it was time for bed or a nap, and Luke was clinging to mom a lot, and she couldn't get anything done, and when I tried to help, Luke would scream and hit at me, so I felt left out. But now, he's gotten much better, and he's sleeping good; he's very happy and playful; and he's coming out of his shell around strangers! Yesterday he went over to Grandmama and Pop's house and stayed over there by himself for about 30 minutes, then I came over and we made brownies while mom and dad took a walk. He's learning SO much more English, and understands even more than he can speak. The other day, he was laying in bed with mom and she said, "Do you want to go wake up jie jie?" he shook his head. "Do you want to go nuya(potty)?" he shook his head. "Do you want to go eat?" he shook his head. "Do you want to lay right here in bed?" and he nodded. How cute is that?? He knows how to turn his light in his bedroom off and on and communicates with us pretty well. I taught him the hand motions and words to Phillipians 4:13 from our VBS, so maybe we can get that on video for you all!




I watched this video of Ms. Traci and Mr. Herman's Emilia, over and over again, so I had to try this. Luke can say "Pine" and "Apple" just fine, but when he puts them together, it's just mush! I hope we can get that on video too, it's hilarious!

Luke is fearless when it comes to the water. He will jump in by himself, be dragged, thrown, or pushed in and come up giggling and and coughing up water because he ALWAYS leaves his mouth open! It can be a bad thing, because he will bail off in the water sometimes, but then again, he's not afraid to get in and have fun, so one of us doesn't have to stay out and hold him while the other swim. He usually wears either his ring float and his arm floaties(which are very cheap), or he just wears his arm floaties and we hold onto him. He can swim from one person to another most of the time, so maybe next Summer we can get him into swimming lessons. It'll be a breeze for him!



If any of you follow Ms. Melissa's blog, you might remember this video. And if you do, then you remember how CUTE this one part is when she does her hands in a circle, then holds them up and looks at them, like one of those greek statues, lol! Luke does that in his own way, and usually it ends up looking like he's slapping someone, then putting up his hands as if saying, "What did I do?" lol. But it's still cute!!



There are SO many things I need to put on videos of, so keep checking back and checking mom's blog!

Love and blessings,
Joy

We're back, and it feels SO good.

We're FINALLY back. I cannot tell you how great it is to be in my OWN home, my OWN bed, my OWN good old USA. When we got to Michigan, the man who checked our passports asked us how long we had been gone, etc etc, then he handed our passes back and said, "Well welcome back to the USA." I promise you, I almost cried!! We got back a day before July 4th, so it seemed like we celebrated it early. We had barbeque and my cousins and Aunt Missy and Uncle Richie were there, and my grandparents, and Colt, and Amber, and of course, mom and dad and Luke! It was SO much fun!

Jetlag really wasn't that bad, and I'm not sure why. Maybe because we left Hong Kong in the morning, and, give or take a few hours, it seemed like we were in the same time zone as home, because we arrived home at 5:00-ish PM. Luke has adjusted pretty well for what he's been through. I mean he was in surgery at 1 month, at 4 months he was put in his foster family, then a month before we came, put in the orphanage, then us. Then, he saw the orphanage nannies the very next day, along with seeing other adoptive families and Chinese people who would speak to him and call him by name. The worst night so far was when he woke up at around 3:00 AM and cried solid for an hour and 18 minutes. The other night, we all got in the bed and watched a movie, Richie Rich. When it was time to go to bed, he freaked out and started crying. He led mom into the kitchen and opened the fridge, and touched everything, then got a bottle of water, took one drink, then led mom back to HIS room in his bed which he had been scared to sleep in, and climbed in with me and mom, and fell asleep. It was so weird! Mom said it's probably because he remembers us trying to get him to sleep there, and since we had never watched a movie in bed before, he was looking for something familiar. He's getting very attached to Pop and Grandmama. Whenever he sees Grandmama coming up the sidewalk, he'll run to the window and shout, "Gramamaa!!!" He likes riding in the mini trailer behind the fourwheeler, and he LOVES to swim. He actually knows how to kick his legs and move his arms already, but he still has trouble floating and keeping his head up. When he does let me put his ring around him, he can swim around and splash and everything! He likes dunking himself and playing around with my goggles. :) He likes looking at my magazines, and when he sees a picture of Victoria Justice, he says "Jie jie"! Haha! And when he sees a picture of Taylor Lautner, he says "Dang Dang!" Which is his Chinese nickname, pronounced "Dong Dong". Keep dreamin', little man! LOL.

I can't wait for him to meet all our friends and families, and I especially can't wait to get videos on here! He is learning english SO well. Everyone says so, even the doctor! His english vocabulary is HUGE. Let me see if I can remember them all:
Throw'm'way.
Mama
Baba
Joy(Jo-Eh! Lol)
Colt
Gugu
Jie jie
mom (it sounds more like MAAA)
Ready to go?(He found one of my old doll cars that says that and he repeats it over and over again!)
oh yeah, baby
no way, dude.
Say wha say whaaaa????
I love you!
Thank you!
Hello!
Hi!
Bye bye!
Please!
phone please
Luke
want
Grandmama
Pop
Laci
Kemper
Uncle Richie
Aunt Missy
Amber
Ring ring
water
pray
Thank you Jesus
for this food
In Jesus' name
Amen
Team Jacob!!! (That's my boy!)
Oh yeah!
yayyy!!
yeah!
No
And something that sounds like "quit"

And he can imitate just about anything! If my phone makes a noise, he can repeat it exactly!! It's so funny! He sings and talks in both English and Chinese all the time, but he's saying less Chinese.

He's super smart and whenever we sit down to eat, he says "pray!" and he puts his hands together, bows his head, and closes his eyes and waits for us to tell him what to say. If we don't pray, he doesn't eat! How great is that? Thank you, God!

So far, so good. We just got him down for a nap, and it went smoother than usual. Videos coming soon, for now, I'll just show pictures!


Mr Cool.


Pop's "Little Man"


Swimming lessons will be a breeze!


Cool vampire??!!


Little Fish!



Fun with Jiejie


Playing Guitar Hero with Jiejie at Incredible Pizza :)


A little kiddie ride at Incredible Pizza, he loved it!


Look at that grin :)

Blessings,
Joy