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My girls made me a card on the driveway for Mother's Day! It was so thoughtful and one of the few days of no rain....thanks girls you are very clever! I love my role as a mom to two awesome, God-filled, loving kids and know I am blessed!
Our last week of school was FUN, no stress, just, let's party! The girls got to "dress-down" for the last three days which is so different for them to wear regular clothes to school instead of a uniform everyday. I love the uniforms! ha
Grace participated in Chess Club after school during this past semester and received a trophy for placing in the top five for Blitz chess and 3rd place in Bughouse Chess.....she really learned alot and hopefully can teach us a few moves!We are officially on summer break! It takes me a few weeks to figure out what everyone is doing kind of "getting a flow" to our days...thankfully, my girls love an organized day "stuff to do", which we have plenty of things planned over the next month and then getting ready to leave for China in July (Grace and I), Dan and Mimi get a trip to the beach while we are gone.
We are prayerfully getting ready to "plant" our first orphan home in China and thank God for being so gracious in sending us the right people, as always, at the right time! Working over in China and exposing our family to what it is "really like" orphanages, etc... brings alot of interesting conversations between Dan and I and the girls. Mimi has been exposed to alot of conversation about China, but watching her begin the process of "who she is, her identity" is sometimes fun and sometimes very hurtful to experience. She has ALOT of questions and many theories about why, what and how everything happened for her in the first year of life at the orphanage. She said to Grace a few days ago "take a good look at my skin, my hair, my eyes, you, mom and dad are all the same, I am different...this is why I get frustrated sometimes and get mad at you because I don't fit in." Mimi is almost seven and I know, for us, keeping everything right out in front of her is so healthy, Chinese friends, learning the language, culture things...the confusion on her face sometimes as she tries to process "it" looks painful .....I do know that everything we do to "keep it real", as Dan says, heals her soul and continues to bring her a sense of peace. "Identity" is a big word, it's relevent at almost every age and what a huge gift you can give your kids by helping them find the tools to master the ability to find their identity.
I guess it's obvious at this point that we love the beach. We stayed at my mom and dad's for about 10 days and just had so much fun! We biked, swam in the pool, hung out at the beach, and played alot of cards! Since we are approaching the eligible age to buy a house in this retirement community, we actuallly talked about buying a place. We'll see :)
Mimi learns to ride with no training wheels!! Go Mimi!! After a few days, in the bitter cold, she got it and now she is a maniac......
MPCS future cheerleaders!
Our Grace turns 8! We love her teacher, Mrs. Dodson, she looks like one of the kids! What a blessing to have such a loving, hugging, warm environment to learn in!! Our girls love to go to school, they miss it when they aren't there....thank God for providing this wonderful place and these wonderful people to embrace our kids and give them confidence to pray together and to pray for each other, learn about giving to others, and not feel they have to follow the culture, which these days can be pretty scary:) We are blessed!!
Family photo! Maybe next years Christmas card! ha
New China Tree school opened in January - Gwinnett! We have 15 students and two awesome teachers! The school is designed for kids 5+ years old. Our teachers Yumin and Hong Ma are both getting their Masters Degree's at Georgia State in Linguistics. They are fabulous teachers and with their dedication and love for these kids we are off to a great start!
Making and eating dumplings! We handmade over one hundred dumplings!
Three beautiful girls - loving learning Chinese language and about their culture!
Class picture taken to send to our new friend Li Ke, whom China Tree school is sponsoring. Li Ke lives in an orphanage in ZhengZhou and is 10 years old. Our goal is to have the kids from China Tree go to China in two years and we will definitely stop in to see our friend Li Ke.
Our first trip to Scottish Rite - Mimi had such a bad stomach virus. They made her feel so much better...
Mt. Paran's annual daddy/daughter dance! The three of them had a special dance they worked on...lots of foot moves and booty shakin! I heard tons of stories about the night, my girls loved their date! I sat at home by myself, which was such a rarity for me these days, and just enjoyed quiet!
I am working on a new blog design, not my forte, but it's fun learning. We are getting ready to go to China in a couple of months and are getting our first medical mission team in place. If you are ever interested in traveling other than an adoption (hopefully one of our trips will be for Hope) please let me know. We have this upcoming trip and then another in the fall 2009 and early 2010....we will "always" swing by Xian to visit with Amanda at Starfish....this is an ongoing "need" and she is an incredible person who is doing so much for these kids.I hope to get my new "blogsite" up soon...there is so much we are working on and I hope to pass along some of these opportunities to those intersted in getting involved over in China.There are big things and small things to get involved in....we sure have seen the incredible "need and appreciation" from those who are working with the orphans who "still wait". I never knew how much these workers appreciate our involvement and our comittment to supporting them each and every day. They work very hard and sometimes the "daily grind" can seem overwhelming and hopeless..but I've seen the gratitude from a caregiver's face when we showup with supplies or just a fresh look. Let me know if you have any interest in joining some of the work in China....just e-mail me at chapmansk@bellsouth.net
The "Girls" making cookies....cousins Brit and Lauren (twins)
Grandpa turns 78! We celebrated my dad's birthday in Dallas, TX where some of my family came out to celebrate my sister's surprise 50th birthday! We all had such a great time and so many laughs! We have so many inside jokes in my family, that we laugh for hours about stuff nobody would ever get. My nieces (the twins above) are now 20 years old and our girls just loved hanging out with their "big cousins". We shopped, went to their church, and just loved hanging out together....we can't wait to see you guys soon!
A favorite during the summer around our house is building forts and then camping indoors!
One of my all time favorite things to do is garden and over the years I've developed many perennial gardens (which mean the plants come back on their own every season) I love daylilies and have found these to be one of the most successful plants in my garden. I just discovered a great local daylily garden called Kennesaw Mountain Daylily Garden 310 McDaniel Road, Marietta, GA 30064, which is just off Barrett Parkway near Burnt Hickory Road. You have to call (770) 429-0204 and the owners Bill and Diana Waldrop would be happy to show you their awesome gardens! This garden is all daylilies with many plants that they have cultivated on their own! I hope you have an opportunity to stop by to checkout this local treasure!
Life is good this summer and we are gearing up to leave for China in a few weeks - God is opening so many opportunities in China and as always, we are waiting to see where He wants to use us.
