Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Bedtime.....
By about 6:30 I am either ready for Jeff to walk in the door and scoop up his girls, or I am ready for a glass of wine. It is not because my girls are difficult, I think it is just the closet introvert in me screaming for five minutes of quiet time. Ainsley is so excited after school, that she is non-stop energy until her head hits the pillow. And, Ruby is just plain BUSY unless she is napping or in her chair at the kitchen table. On the nights when Jeff is traveling or at a meeting I find myself feeling a little stressed by all of the noise and action! Last night Jeff was at BSF so I was doing the bedtime routine solo. These pictures are from Ruby's room where she and her big sister were having a "big time!" She is climbing up onto her crib to get her blanket out, the backbends are to just make her sister laugh, and the climbing out is to show me that in no way will she still be in her crib when she is three like Ainsley was. My Mom sat in an ice rink, I think I am destined to sit in a gym to watch Ruby flip, tumble, and throw herself in the air! I always wanted to be a gymnast, but I was much better on a pair of thin blades than on a 4" balance beam! Guessing that may be different for our little limber climber!
With one budding song writer, and one daring toddler in the house, I can not complain that life is dull (or quiet) around here!!!! And, on the days I feel stressed I just take a deep breath and give thanks for these two healthy, and energetic girls!
Tonight Jeff and I are going on a date!!!! I can't wait!
Happy Birthday Kimber!
Blessings, Diana
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Six Month Anniversary of Ruby Tuesday!!!!
Six months ago (11:00pm Central Time May 7th/11:00am China Time May 8th) today our prayers were answered when Ruby Mei was placed in our arms on the 26th floor of the Civil Affairs office in Nanchang, China! Jeff and I will never forget that day as long as we live. It was the beginning of our life as a family of four. In six very short months this child has blessed us in so many ways. This thankful Thursday I am thankful for...
- Mei who found Ruby and did the right things to get her placed with the Yugan Police
- The Yugan SWI who placed Ruby immediately with her loving foster mother
- Ruby's biological mother who loved her enough to give her up
- Amy Pearson at AWAA who took care of us for 17 months
- Mary, our guide in Nanchang who created such a special Ruby Tuesday for us
- Jeff for never giving up, and for teaching me so much about trusting God
- My Monday Night Prayer Sisters who prayed with me and taught me so much
- To the CCAA for matching us with Yue Meng Ru
- To Ainsley for patiently waiting to be a big sister
- To our Family Group and our families for living each day of our wait with us and for celebrating every milestone along the journey!
- To everyone who signed our guest book at Myadoptionwebsites.com
- To Joe and Jen who journaled with us
- To Ruby Mei for being courageous, and so brave six months ago
- To all the special families and children in AWAA's Travel Group #124
- To God for teaching us so much in the last 2.5 years..
- For our healthy & beautiful daughters and the special bond between them already.
Ruby has taught each one of us that love has no boundaries! She has blessed our hearts and our home ever since we knew her name. But especially on Ruby Tuesday, six months ago, when we got to whisper "we love you Ruby Mei" in her precious ear.
Blessings, Diana
Monday, November 5, 2007
'Her Rubiness' & Her Loyal Subjects...
'Her Rubiness' has two faithful servants in this house. They greet her in the mornings, they follow her wherever she goes, and they clean up after her. They will even test the temperature of the bath water if she will allow it. When 'Her Rubiness' first met these royal subjects she was not one bit pleased. However, over time she has grown to "tolerate" them. And, quite honestly, they have learned to "tolerate" her too. She likes to greet them by shaking their tails and pulling on their beards. Some days it is like having three toddlers around here! Thankfully, only one of them is still in diapers! This photograph is where you can find her loyal subjects when it is meal time in the castle!
We refer to her subjects as Caymus (named after the vineyard in Napa) and Piper (named after the champagne we served at our wedding.) They are both Portugese Water Dogs imported from Wisconsin!
Not much else going on here. It was just the girls yesterday, and Ainsley and I had a great time starting her first scrapbook of our beach vacation. Ruby, unfortunately is fighting a cold and a flu bug so we are hunkered in on this cold, almost winter-like day! Ironically, flu shots are on the calendar for Thursday for the girls.
On a fun note, I get to boast about my big brother again... He is now going to National's next week with THREE dogs!!!! Way to go Mark! We are so proud of you!
Three more days until the six month anniversary of Ruby Tuesday!
Blessings, Diana
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Thankful Thursday!
I can't believe it is Thursday already! Happy November!
Today I am thankful for:
Today I am thankful for:
- For the lessons my children have taught me this week.
- For my trick or treaters, "Hannah Montana" and the "Little Ladybug"
- For the memory of watching Ruby enjoy her first piece of chocolate and the melty fingers that went with it!
- For the doors that God has opened for me because of our adoption of Ruby
- For this blog, and the sweet messages and emails I get from you.
- For time spent yesterday with my childhood friend, Jenn, who lives in Steamboat
- For a very positive post placement visit with Amy
- For a safe & fun Halloween. And, a very fun party with our neighbors!
- For my mother-in-law who had a birthday yesterday
- For the hilarious emails and photo's my Dad & Mom sent to Ainsley
- For the precious relationships between grandparents and grandchildren even when they are far away
- For the vacuum I am going to use in a minute to pick up the box of cheerios Ruby just dumped on the floor!
- For having absolutely nothing on my schedule today so Ruby and I can find some Mums to smell!!!!
Blessings, Diana
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Happy Halloween & 6 Month Post Placement!
Happy Halloween! Today, we had Ruby's 6 month post placement review with our wonderful social worker, Amy. November 8th will already be our six month anniversary of "Ruby Tuesday." I look forward to re-capping that next week. All of you Mom's of adopted children will appreciate this story. Five minutes before Amy was to arrive this morning, Ruby fell in our kitchen and got her first bloody lip... She was beside herself as I tried to clean her up and console her. After a lot of love, some ice and some grapes she calmed down. So, we greeted Amy at the door with tear stained cheeks and a fresh new fat lower lip... Classic! Thankfully, Amy goes to our church and knows us. She was so understanding! The good news is the meeting went great and she is very pleased with Ruby Mei's progress.
Tonight we will be joining neighbors for dinner, and the Dad's will be hitting the streets with the kids. I get the fun job of handing out candy with Ruby! It is a chilly sunny fall day here. It may be a short night. Trick or treat everyone!
~Diana
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Take the time to smell the mums!
I think this post is really advice for me! I need to pause and take some time to smell the mums! Before I know it the snow will be here, and getting outside with the girls will not be so easy. Ruby and I seem to be so busy that rarely are we just at the park on a swing where we should be. So, my goal this week is to do more of that with her! I just love the fall, and it sounds like we have a few days left to enjoy it here. I can't remember a Halloween where the weather has been this nice. The kids should have a wonderful time tomorrow!Well - the Christmas card photo shoot was humbling for me. Yesterday, Ruby and I went to Bloomingdales and picked out a beautiful dress for Ainsley. As I told you, my vision was velvet and gold.... Well this was chocolate velvet with a very pale rose petal skirt. I was going to put Ruby back in the gold dress. With the fall colors, I was excited to get the girls together outside. When Ainsley got home from school I was excited to show her the dress. Let's just say Ainsley had a different idea in her head. To her a Christmas dress is red or green not chocolate brown and rose!!!!! At that moment I realized I was obsessing over the darn Xmas pic. So, we dug in Ainsley's closet and found a dress she wore last year. Not my first choice, but she did look pretty in it. We put Ruby in Christmas green, and headed to the Arboretum. I took 80 pictures and got 1 I love!!!! Ruby did great, but getting them together is just not easy. I guess yesterday was God's way of telling me to relax a little! I try to teach my daughter to be more flexible. I guess I need to take a little of my own adivce here!
I hope you have a chance to smell the mum's today!
Blessings, Diana
Monday, October 29, 2007
The Family Group Pumpkin Event!
When Jeff and I first relocated to MSP we were blessed to find a church and a small group to join within our first year here. This group has become our extended family. They are an incredible group of people, who put their families first. We have so much respect for our friends in this group. We learn so much from them daily about marriage, parenting, and serving others. When we received Ruby's referral we could not wait to share the good news with each family. In a way, it was their referral too! The gift of their friendships is priceless to us. And, the way they love our girls, like their own, is such a blessing! These are not part-time friends. They are the real deal! When Jeff was sick, my girlfriends here were the ones who cooked, took care of Ruby, helped with laundry, etc... They knew what I needed when I had no clue. We are so grateful that God gave us these amazing friends!
Annually we do two parties with our Family Group. The first one is the pumpkin carving party at our house. This was yesterday, and we all had a great time. In December we do Ginger Bread Houses. It is so fun to see the kids and the parents working together. It get's a little competitive too!
Here are a few photos from yesterday! For Ruby's first Halloween, I carved the Chinese character for faith! Thanks to Sheri for drawing it. I had the easy job of carving!
This afternoon, we are attempting the Christmas Photo of the girls. I will let you know how that goes!!! And, I must answer several of your inquiries about my camera from Friday's post. I didn't get a new one. It is still my Nikon D50. I was just thanking Jeff for it again. I do love it!
Happy Halloween Week! -Di
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