Vacation

I am heading out tomorrow for a three week vacation, well only a few days will actually be "vacationing." I am going up to Utah to visit family and take my boys to a few week long sport camps.The "vacationing" part comes in when my hubby will fly up and join us over the Fourth of July weekend...we are going to YeLLowStonE. I am so excited to get somewhere that has clean air, beautiful scenery, waterfalls and lots of animals. I love YeLLowStonE, my kids love it and my hubby really LOVES it. One of the days we are there, he is going fly fishing on the Madison River...the same river we named our daughter after. She has the middle name of Brooke after the Brooke Trout. Can ya tell my hubby is a huge fly fishing fan. The rest of the time I am going to hang out with family. We do not live around any family so it is going to be a treat to see cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles...looking forward to it. I am going to try to post some pics of YeLLowStonE...hopefully, we see a big 'ol bear. =)

Swim Lessons?

Ella finished her swim lessons today. Bart called to see how the last day of swim lessons went. My response "the same as the first day...she sinks to the bottom like a brick." She looked so dang cute in her swimsuit trying to learn how to swim with her class that I guess I can't be too upset that Ella didn't learn a thing.

Thoughts and Prayers

Say an extra prayer for this family and their brave little girl Ellie.

Sniff Sniff

Last night as I was putting Ella to bed, this was the conversation that ensued:

Ella: "Momma, I want to read Ballet Kitty."

Mom: "OK"

Ella: "Momma-I read book myself. I a big girl. No momma read book. Ella read it."

Mom: "OK" (Standing there stunned)

Apparently, I have been demoted from story teller to story listener.

Little Miss Independent read the book almost word for word-of course, it was in her "I spoke Mandarin for four years and am just getting this English language down" words. We said prayers and I tucked her in and got sad that she is getting so big. She is growing up too fast (I have repeatedly stated this fact about all my kids.) When someone figures out how to slow down time-please let me know.

I Had To See It To Believe It!

White Swan Hotel-November 7, 2007 - One day shy of her fourth birthday


Home - June 8, 2008 - Seven Months Later


Ella is growing like a weed-6 inches since we came home. That is like ONE HALF OF A FOOT in seven months. I had to do a side by side comparison. In China, our kids asked us to post a pictures of Ella next to Bart so that they could get an idea of how tall she was. Tonight, I made Bart and Ella pose once again in the same dress and gasp out loud when I saw the difference. Not only has she grown, but her face looks so much different...she looks her age of 4 1/2. In China, she looked like a toddler, but in reality she had just turned four. Not only has Ella grown, she is developing so quickly-I am amazed at how much her little mind soaks in. As a mom, I think she is the smartest and most beautiful little girl on the planet and I love to watch the stages of her development. So blessed to have our Ella Bella =).

"Found In China"

I had the most awesome lunch on Wednesday with a local waiting mom-Donna. She brought with her this DVD for me to borrow. I watched it last night and was so moved by the production that I am going to order it for myself. The documentary follows several families as they return to China with their adopted girls to gain some insight of where they were born. The most moving moments came when the girls visited their orphanages, finding places and caregivers/foster parents. I was not prepared for the emotions-I cried, I missed being in China and I ached for my own daughter, Ella. Bart and I have always known that we will take Ella back to China. I feel that it is very important for her to know as much as she can about where she was born and raised for the first 4 years of her life. This documentary talks specifically about when it is the appropriate time to make that decision which surprised me. I always thought that Ella should be older (18-19 year old range) , but the experts suggest taking her back to China when she is 10-12 year range. I was struck with the honesty that each adopted girl talked with when discussing their own personal feelings about being adopted by Americans and their birth country, China. I highly recommend watching this documentary to any parent that has adopted or is in the process of adopting a child from a foreign country. Thanks again Donna who brought this to my attention...I had so much fun meeting you and I have my fingers doubled crossed that your referral comes soon-you will make a great mother.

Championship Baseball Game

"Sports do not build character. They reveal it."
Heywood Broun

Well, it was a night to remember-the showdown in the deseret between the Angels, who came into the game with the best winning record against the Mariners, the team with the second best record. The final score 8-9 with the Mariners pulling ahead of the Angels in the bottom of the six inning. These were two evenly matched teams and the game was a nail bitter to the end. One team would go up a run, then the next team would come in and score 2 runs and at times the score would remain tied. The stands were filled-standing room only-parents, siblings, relatives and friends cheering on the boys. So much fun and even though we lost-we are not hanging our heads over second place. The boys on our team fought all the way until the end, they never gave up and that is something to be proud of. My husband, who was the Manager and his two phenomenal Assistant Coaches had a great time. It has been amazing that even though our team was put together through a draft process, my husband could not have picked a better bunch of boys (although this one gave us a few headaches). These boys are kind, hard working, considerate and come with the most awesome set of parents. The mothers of the team have all remarked at how sad it is going to be to break up this "dream" team. Half of the team will be moving up next year and with the draft in place-no one is guaranteed a spot on any team. So Angels-Thanks So Much for an an incredible season.

Lining up before the game-waiting to get their name and number announced

Bridger on first base

Bridger batting

Hunter batting and he looks so small-he is the youngest player on our team, but is right in the middle of the team as far as statistics go-I am so proud of him for hanging tough with the older crowd.

Trophies

Watching the balloons released into the air (sorry to all environmentalist out there)