Beautiful Blogger

Thanks SO much to Kelli at Life With My Little Prince for nominating me for this award! In the past, I admit that I have sometimes neglected any award duties that have come my way(not that I receive tons or anything...LOL) and usually its been due to lack of time to play along or fear of leaving someone out who I wish to honor. But this award is too juicy to pass up and though I would very much like to award ALL the bloggers who I know, frequent & love with this honor, its my hope that by sharing it with a handful, it will trickle onward and find its way to all the amazing blogs and bloggers gracing the blogosphere!

I've made no secret of my admiration for the many talented, compassionate, thoughtful and incredible bloggers I have had the pleasure of "meeting" and not surprisingly I always take something.....something pretty gosh darn wonderful, from each & every blog that I visit. I have been privileged to follow along with your families and your adventures and feel richer for it!

I also wish I could give this award to all the many folks who take a moment in their busy days to peek at our daily happenstance and leave a friendly or supportive comment ~ they mean so much and truly help to keep my blogging perspective fresh and fun! AND thanks to absolutely everyone who emailed me or left a comment sharing tidbits and tips about our Disney trip! They were all SO helpful! Yup, I loved the well wishes too! :)

Soooooo....without further delay, here are my nominations: ( cue Oscar music please....)

Jen of Bringing Home Baby #2 ~ Beautiful Mama (and blogger) extraordinaire to the gorgeous Simone & Sam and absolutely my bloggy BFF and sounding board! Sometimes you just meet someone that you feel like you have known forever & could share anything free of judgement. That's Jen! I *heart* ya my friend & value your amazing perspectives!

Wanda of At Last....Milana's Comin' Home ~ because she enchants me with her breathtaking photos(lovely lovely girls and sweet Milana IS home!!), artistic soul and beautiful Mama's heart. She makes blogging look easy even when its not!

Tiff at Blessed with Sweatpeas ~ oh gosh, I just adore everything about her blog. I guess you could say, "she had me at hello". And those sweatpeas? So beautiful! Truly a beautiful Mama with BOTH hope & faith......

Amy at She Writes ~ if you have not stopped by her blog please run, don't walk and take a peek. Hers is a rare gift ~ a magic weaver of words with a champion's heart of gold. A courageous Mama in all the important ways! (Yes, you really are!!)

Rachel of Wherever You Go, Go With Your Heart ~ I smiled to myself just typing this. Rachel has a way of sharing that makes you feel like you are seated across from her sharing a cup a tea. Talented, beautiful, patient and just home with the breathtaking Baby Evie from Ethiopia!!(plus 2 more cuties at home!!) AND she can sew!!

Lisa of Red Thread to our Daughter ~ Lisa and I go way back, at least in the bloggy sense. Lisa always keeps it real and I value her insight into all things family. She's got 2 fab. boys and a diminutive beauty home from Taiwan. Lisa faced a twist in the adoptive road(once upon a time) that would have left even heartiest shattered ~ she handled it with both grace and faith ~ a beautiful blogger indeed.

Staci of Two in Taiwan ~ Beautiful inside and out and a Mama I greatly admire. Gorgeous kids and an infectious love of life! And her photos? Stunning! (private blog)

Tracy of Anna Banana and Baby Pancake ~ Beautiful girls, beautiful family, beautiful spirit ~ always graces a blog she visits with THE sweetest comments and spreads a bit of sunshine with each post or comment she shares. (private blog)

Jules of Pink Velvet Baby ~ our babes share a special connection and in Jules I see a loving Mama and lovely spirit. Her journey to Mama hood was long and winding but she never lost faith. Beautiful Miss H. has brought such a flourish and delight to her days and I know this because she never fails to share her incredible blessing and feelings of incredible joy in her creative and oh so pretty blog! And she's got incredible fashion sense!

AND please note that I would have liked to have given this to a few other gals too(Christine, Sarah), but alas they were already nominated by other bloggers. Drat! :) I have a few new bloggy friends too I would love to honor, but don't wish to scare 'em away! LOL AND a few who are taking a small hiatus ~ maybe I can catch them next time!

AND I know I should be embedding the appropriate blog links for sharing, but by golly I must be the last blogger on earth who just does not know how to do that! :( Anyone care to give a gal a quick tutorial sometime? :) But all of these spectacular ladies can be found on my blog roll with the exception of the private gals! Please stop by and leave them all some sugar! :)

Finally and yes, this is turning out to be quite long (sorry) the final part of this award is to share 7 things about.......well, ME. (gulp) Its always so much easier writing about the kids! Here goes....

1. I love to workout and get crabby if too many days go by without exercising.
2. I rarely drink milk ~ ugh ~ hated it as a child, but LOVE yogurt. Go figure! :)
3. I have a small scar on the left cheek of my face from having a birthmark removed as a child.
4. The birthmark was pink and roundish and was called, "an angel's kiss". Doctors feared it could become cancerous, so it was removed in grade school. I don't think of it often, but I also rarely touch that part of my face.
5. If I like a song, I REALLY like a song. I would rather listen to one or two favorites on my Ipod than a huge mix of songs.
6. In 6Th grade I played one of the "Buzzards" in the Jungle Book play. LOL I was beyond proud and I think my Mom earned an extra set of wings by feigning enthusiasm for her daughter, the buzzard. :)
7. I can barely choke down coffee. LOVE the Diet Coke (but am trying to quit!)

Wishing you all a great day!

Mickey Fever

Thanks to the incredible generosity of a friend & coworker at Scott's school, we will be heading to Disney World this summer and staying for free at their lovely timeshare resort and condominium. I can't even begin to express how fully we appreciate this and it will be a first visit for both kiddos! I don't honestly know who is more excited........Lauren or her Daddy and I! LOL Tyler will be tickled too, but honestly right now he's just happy pushing his Tonka truck around! Oh, and he's ready for Mama to be done with this "blogging biz-ness" for the day!! ;)

We are staying for 7 nights but only plan to spend 2 or 3 days at the actual parks. We also plan to spend a day or more at the beach(the gulf side is our favorite!) and visit one or two other attractions. We absolutely wish to take in the Magic Kingdom as we believe both children will adore it, but are not completely certain about what else is a must see.

From following along with other fabulous blogs out there, I KNOW many of you visit Disney yearly or just about yearly and I am hoping that you might take a moment to leave a comment with any tips or must see attractions we should plan to do while visiting the park(s). We are hoping to schedule a "Character" breakfast or lunch and have heard that Epcot might be best for dining with a larger range of Disney characters? We do plan to rent the double (big kid) stroller as we know Tyler will probably get worn out long before he's ready to leave for the day! :) And what about those Fast Passes? I've heard they are lifesavers!

Any other tried and true tips or suggestions? I welcome them all and appreciate them SO MUCH! Disney World or bust!

Happy Friday to you all and happy weekend!

Black & White Wednesday Once Again

In their eyes..........

~ I see dozens of multi-hued sunsets, both here & in far away lands......

~ I see the innocence & joy of childhood......

~ I see beauty in even the smallest of moments.....

In their eyes, I witness the miracle of God each day.

The top photograph is one I've cherished for some time. Lauren's eyes are so expressive and the quote, " eyes are truly the window to the soul" seem to resonate so readily within those peepers. They also reflect so clearly her beautiful, diverse and blended Kazakhstani heritage.

And our sweet boy, whose eyes always seem to hold a moment of laughter or barely suppressed mischievous glee ~ you have to peek carefully to see his eye peering out from behind the tiger and I almost missed it myself the first time! In fact at first glance I thought this photo (taken the day before the CNY) was a miss......I'm so tickled I looked a bit closer!

Happy Wednesday my friends! Wanna play along? Join us at Lisa's Black & White Wednesdays at The Long Road to China.

She's Got......

She's got.......

something........

something that propelled her to read before the age of 5........

something that drove her to master the deep end of the swimming pool, simply because she wanted to jump from the diving boards and ride the water slides like the big kids.......

something deep within herself that squelches any self- doubt and says, "yes, you can" tackle those Heelies/roller skates, even if only by sheer will.......even if it means stumbles & falls....

something that whispered urgently last year ~ it's time for a snowboard ~ and when none arrived it told her to improvise by standing up and riding down the hills on her sled ~ until the long awaited snowboard DID arrive this year!

something.......yep, call it moxie, courage, strength, passion, stubbornness(lol) or will.......

she's got it and I need to share it with you all before Winter takes it final bow! ( well, yes, wishful thinking as I'm sure we will be celebrating this "season of the white stuff" for a bit longer....LOL ) *sigh*

I think.......

this "something" is something she was born with(and needed) & interestingly its tempered well by her innate caution ~ she's not reckless, just determined! Her Daddy & I can encourage, support & foster each endeavor, but honestly its all hers! Just this past week she asked me what the average age of an Olympic Snowboarder is..........hmmmm......Winter Olympics 2022?? :)~ Would she board for the U.S. or maybe Kazakhstan? Who knows? :) I just know she's our very best girl and I would travel the world to cheer her on, no matter what the challenge big or small!


I love the look of sheer anticipation on her face as she sets her sights down the hill......

From further back......

Hanging on to the ride with joy and grit............in truth? Snowboarding IS NOT easy! LOL

And yes, there are plenty of falls too......sometimes they discourage her too........

But she gets back up with greater resolve.......

And keeps trying & trying.......

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Summer dreaming.........off the high dive she goes!

And the low board too.......

And yes, that strong will and determination can be exasperating as her Mama at times too. But when I look at that face I can only admit that courage without the caution and sweetness without the occasional sass, just wouldn't be our Lauren! Remind me of that please when the "tween" years arrive! :)

Happy Weekend everyone! (Busy tomorrow all day)....but Sunday afternoon?, look for us on the slopes! :) I'll be the one whose holding her breath while cheering her on! Oh yes, and I'll be pulling the baby up the hill on the sled so he can ride too! Cuz guess who else is already eyeballing a "no bosh"(snowboard)???? yep...... Ha! Ha! Ack!

Black & White Wednesday

It's time once again to play along with Lisa's Black & White Wednesday!

As this is my third week to participate and the previous weeks have been split equally between both kiddos, I thought it only appropriate to make this week's theme: My 2 Angels......

Tyler of course is too little to pay any attention to my blogging, but Lauren does peek from time to time and requested photos of both herself and Tyler together for this week's contribution. Of course I was more than tickled to oblige!

AND this might be a new record for me.......2 blog posts in just about 2 days!! LOL I hate to bump our New Year's celebration down the way(and thanks so much for all the sweet wishes and comments!) but am just enjoying this nostalgic peek back so much.

The photos below are not new, but the treatments are different & fresh. The middle shot I have not shared on the blog before and is the oldest of the 3.....taken last February shortly after bringing Tyler home.

I can't wait to see all the rest of gorgeous shots and would LOVE to see lots of bloggy buddies play along too!

I have always called this last one.........."Embrace"

Happy Wednesday everyone!!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!!

Xin Nian Kuai Le!!
Gung Hay Fat Choy!!
Happy New Year!!

and last but absolutely not least......

Happy Valentine's Day!

Yesterday we took the kids downtown to Chinatown in celebration of the Chinese New Year. Our first visit to Chinatown was last July to attend the Dragon Boat Races and we just fell in love with the area, the food, the folks and the yes, the shopping! :) Last year we were readying ourselves for travel to Taiwan during the CNY and our celebration was limited to purchasing a few books and reading them with Lauren. So it was with much pleasure that we celebrated the Lunar New Year this year as a family of 4!

We were relieved to awaken to a sunny and relatively mild day........yep, still wintry, but decent all things considered! We should have anticipated the extra crowds such a day would bring......my gosh it was crowded and the name of the day quickly became, "patience" AND celebration! We walked a whole lot further than expected from our remote & slightly creative parking spot *grin* and the kids were such troopers. Once we arrived though, it was complete celebration and FUN! We shopped a bit, looked around a lot and felt very welcome.

For those who may not know, the Chinese New Year begins with a new moon and finishes on the fifteenth day, which is a full moon. It generally falls between mid January and mid February each year and the fifteenth and final day, The Lantern Festival, marks the end of the festival. Last year, sweet baby Tyler was placed in our arms on the 9th of February or Lantern Festival and we witnessed much preparation & joy all around Taiwan. This new year marshalls in the Year of the Tiger!! Grrrrrrr.........

Below are some photos of our day and a bit of the celebration leading up to it. I'm a bit behind in wishing everyone a Happy New Year and I just can't wait to see how everyone else has celebrated the CNY and Valentine's Day!

LOL I have to laugh as I see this pic and the next one too. During a quiet moment on Saturday Tyler motioned towards the outfit we purchased for him in Taiwan(we have it hanging in his room). Often he asks to wear it, just as he did on his First Birthday, but usually I defer and distract. :) On this day though a wee light bulb when off and my yen to snag a photo or two of him experiencing this holiday in traditional dress spurred me on! Perfect, right? Ha! Ha! Not so much.....I said he could wear it if Mama could take his picture and he readily agreed. Mmmm hmmmm.......he was only all too eager to accommodate Mama UNTIL that camera appeared ~ then the Taiwan tornado appeared and I was lucky to snag the above picture of him playing with his zodiac animals and below, reading a few of our CNY books. But its hard to stay mad at him, cuz he's so darn cute and clever!

Our two tigers just before heading downtown! We found these matching shirts thanks to a tip from a fellow Taiwan Mama friend and of course especially Lauren LOVED LOVED matching with her baby brother! However, like so many other Mamas of toddlers ~ sitting happily for a picture? No, not so much! :)

Yep, a bit happier to be on the move and wearing the hat he insisted Lauren put on for him! LOL

In Chinatown, posing in front of the Tiger zodiac statue. They have a beautiful statue for each sign situated in the main plaza of the outdoor mall area. Mama ~ happy. Lauren ~ gleeful. Tyler ~ not too tickled to be trapped in the little stroller!

I know this is far away, but I wanted the sculpture of the horse to show. Lauren is a Horse and just loved this spot!

Mid day brought a festive parade down Wentworth. So many floats and groups to enjoy and above and below are a few of the parade entries.

We were so excited to see this Taipei 101 float and the other Taiwan participants! The children on board were all so cute and excited to shout out, "Happy New Year'!

Just after we finished our yummy meal, 2 dragons and a small band began touring the square area and ducking into each restaurant and store. Both Tyler and Lauren were transfixed by this procession and we followed it for quite some time!

And of course we celebrated Valentine's Day too. This year the children found lucky red envelopes tucked into their treats and presents. All in all a charming way to blend two holidays that represent family, tradition and love.

Wishing you all a blessed year ahead!

One Year Ago Today

One year ago today the most beautiful baby boy imagineable was placed into our arms. He was 7 months old to the day and perfect in every way possible ~ perfect for us.

In thinking of this day, I am struck by the understanding that its so much more than one day or even one moment in time; its a collection of moments, both big & small that truly create a family. The shared laughter and joys......the moments of struggle and misunderstanding.......moments of pure bliss & of self- doubt. Trips to the park...ordinary errands & outings...... picnics......evening walks around the block and stories at bedtime.....heads bent over coloring books and hanging treasured ornaments on the Christmas tree. Discovering yourself & one another, while uncovering the sweet cadence of everyday family life.

One year ago we glimpsed our precious son and finally held him in our arms. A day of celebration and joy for us; a day of confusion and sadness for someone so small. In looking back on our photos & videos I am again struck by his magnificent resilience as he was swept away from the only home he knew by 2 strangers. For certainly, though our love for him had grown all along, sadly his awareness of us was limited to a 30 minute visit in his foster home.

He grieved ~ I know he did, though it mostly manifested itself late at night. Missing his familiar faces, sounds, scents & surroundings must have been terrifying. Our hearts broke in unison for his loss & pain while at the same time wept with wonder at his stunning spirit and willingness to embrace this change. So quickly he opened his heart completely and totally to us. A gift beyond measure and a measure of his strength.

This past year has challenged us in ways I didn't think possible; this past year has also blessed us more than I can adequately express or anticipated.

I awoke last night to his sweet baby stirrings and gathered him close to rock and soothe. I realized then that only one short year ago it was another set of arms that would have cradled and held him close. Another pair of loving arms in the night.

Today and for the past year, it has been my (our) blessed arms to soothe and hold this gentle babe. My hands have bathed, diapered, dressed, hugged, caressed, protected and encircled. My lullabies that softly reassured in the night and greeted in the light of morning. My smile turned to his, our laughter ringing out in a shared moment of glee. My voice that cried out in warning or shared in teaching. My heart that shattered with joy at the arrival of this second miracle child. This amazing baby boy!

Not a day goes by that I don't thank god for the privilege and gift of being Tyler Pei-En's Mama(and of course our beautiful Lauren's too.). One year ago today I whispered in his ear.....murmurings of love, devotion and reassurance. I pledged to him that each day would be better than the next and I pray I have been able to keep that promise.

Words have honestly failed me this past week as I've thought back on our travels last year and all the days since(and that just doesn't happen often!).......my hope is that the pictures(slide show) below & my musing from previous posts might better express the journey of this past year.

I thank you all for coming along with me and for the love and support shown our family throughout.

P.S. I've added some music for just a brief time so please have a quick listen while you watch! :)