Why?

As may of you know, I recently had major surgery. I have good & bad days. Today, as I was trying to gather myself, cheerleader asked the question I have been dreading. Why am I here, Why am I from China? The boys have long been at school and she has only watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the T.V. Where did she come up with that question? I had gone over this so many times in my head, asked friends how they had answered the question. All of this I could not remember for the life of me. I told her she lived in China & needed a Mommy and I lived here & needed a little girl. This simple answer seemed all she wanted. The next question was "Why did I pick this house"?

For most families the question is "How did I get out of Mommy's tummy" and "How did I get in there". There are tons of books on how to answer that question. But when your adopted child asks, each child needs their own special answer. Because each child came to that family differently than any child came to any other family. Why did you adopt, Why did you chose a girl or a boy, Why a certain agency, Why a certain country over domestic?

I gave Cheerleader a simple answer to a huge question, she is 3 and that is what she wanted. Please pray that as she grows I am able to give her huge answers.

WHAT HAVE I DONE TO MYSELF!!!!!!!!

Well here I am in all of my glory! Everyone wants to know how I am doing. Words cannot express my feelings because I am so swolen, you cannot make sence out of anything I say! My family thinks I am crazy for putting this on the blog, but my blooging buddies have a deep understanding of why I am doing this! This first pic is right after surgery. My lips are grossly out of shape but the outside of my face is still pretty much the same. The inside of my mouth is swollen shut. When I woke up I found that I was not wired shut, I could breath, and I did not feel claustrophobic! Praise Him, Praise Him, my prayers were answered! It was my early Easter miracle!

This is me day 2. I am that blob under all the ice packs. They were my best friend. This was my nurse Hill, he gives GREAT drugs!
Can you believe I had to travel to Parkland for an X-ray looking like this. I got some of the strangest looks. Sad thing is, I did see some women having their X-rays done that their face looked like mine due to their boyfriend/husband.

Since I had only been out of bed once, to go to Parkland, and that was a bad 2 hr. experience, my pain was unmanageable, and I got the spins looking sideways I got to spend a second night. Praise Him, Praise Him!

These are the pretty flowers my Sister & her family brought me. I could not have them in my room because I was on the bone marrow ward. I was on the 7th floor where Head Coach usually works. I had people I knew taking care of me! My niece drew me this picture on her visit, she is always so good her artwork! It is hard to believe she will be turning 10 yrs old this next week. She was born on my anniversary!

This is a going home pic. Face starting to swell. Lips, is that what those are? Angelina Joli, eat your heart out!

And this is what we came home to, SNOW!!! It snowed all day! Nothing stuck to the ground but it was beautiful! Can you see the giant Easter eggs in the bushes? As for now, much is still the same. Went to the Dr. on Tues. and he is happy with the surgery and the swelling. I think I look like a monkey and my Mom agrees. Facial swelling will take several weeks to go down, bone & inner will take several months to a year. Today I started to turn greenish yellow from the bruising. Maybe I will update you with a greenish-yellow monkey pic!

M.G.M. Day 3 !

On day 3 we visited MGM Studios, it is a park dedicated to everything about movies. You can take back lot tours, learn about special effects & sound. You learn the magic of movie making. And for those keeping track, today was purple day!
When we first entered the park the first "characters" we met were "Tow Mater" and "Lightening McQueen" from Cars. They drove themselves around and "road" music was playing on their radios!

Outside of the Star Wars ride we ran into some Storm Troopers. The ride was really cool.

Toy Story has been one of the boys favorites for years, so seeing Buzz & Woody was a real treat.

Running back wanted his face painted "REAL BAD". I tried to talk him into a partial painting, nothing doing, he wanted the whole thing. The man was able to do the whole thing in about 10 min. I could not believe how good it was. Running back got so many comments all day, he looked sooooo cool. He would have painted his face everyday if he was able. He had his painted at 9:00 in the morning, and it stayed ALL DAY! We had to wash it off with soap & water at midnight so he could go swim at the hotel! That was the best $12.00 face painting ever!

One of the best shows we saw was the Paris Stunt Cars. Mini Coopers raced & slid around showing precision maneuvers we could not believe. Both boys agreed that both their Grandfathers would have loved the show. Smoke, the smell of burning rubber, engines revving & fast car chases, what more can a man want.

We saw how the newest cartoon movie, Meet the Robinsons, was made and ran into the Incredibles! Everyone had their pic taken but I only posted mine because we all know that Moms are truly incredible!

While waiting for dinner our "Mickey-Jack Black-Tiger" fell asleep. He was so cute that I was not the only one who took pictures of him. Several people asked if they could as well. He was clueless until he saw this!

We ate at Hollywood & Vine a 50's inspired diner. The food was great, of course.

After dinner we had reserved seating for the Fantasmic laser-light and water show. WOW, it was the best! I cannot put into words the feelings we had during & after the show. I remembered things from my childhood & wondered if my kids feel the same thing. Of course, it is the Magic of Disney! It is never ending!

Look!!!! The face paint is still on 11 hours later!

P.S. What color will we be wearing tomorrow?

Hello EPCOT! Day 2

Day 2 of our Disney adventure! Did you guess the next color of the day? If you guessed ORANGE, you win! We are at EPCOT. Did you know that it is an acronym for Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow? Walt Disney has a plan for an entire city of the future. The park is there to help explain his vision. That man truly made his dreams come true.
Our first ride was to outer space, a Mission to Mars. I for one DO NOT ever have to do it again! "M" & the boys loved it, I thought I was going to pass out! It is a G-force machine simulating a rocket launch, flight & landing. Maybe I am raising tomorrows astronauts!

Next up we visited different countries in the World Showcase. All those who worked in the various countries are really from there. First up was Norway. The wooden church was beautiful. They have a strong belief in gnomes. They were everywhere, large small & extra-large!

Next up was China, of course this was my favorite! Everything there looked like it was taken right out of Beijing, without all the smog, traffic & smell. I wanted the boys to get a little taste of where their sister was from. The water gardens, wooden carvings, roof tiles & incense made me feel like I was there again.

We even ran into Mulan!




The boys had fun posing with the guardian lion!

"F" was rubbing Budda's belly for good luck!




There were even Terra-cotta Warriors! Daddy stood next to one in China & he was taller, "H" is almost there! "F" did his best to look mean & fierce.

Did not do much in France, they had shopping & eating, but we were looking forward to our dinner in Canada!

There was a drumming demonstration going on in Japan.

In America we watched the American Spirit Singers. They sang patriotic songs acapella in the rotunda of a hall. All I can say is WOW,WOW,WOW!!!! "F" is out aspiring singer in the family, his eyes would not leave them. He even had his picture taken with the leader!

A quick stop in Italy. This is a replica of the bell tower in Venice. On my European trip after college I had a really good cry up in the real one. Four friends & I begged the guide to take us up into the tower at sunset after it had closed. The view was breathtaking. Orange, yellow, blue & purple of the waters & canals. Believe it or not, there was a pay-phone at the top. I tried calling everyone in my family, even my boyfriend at the time,"Coach", no one was home! I had no one to share the beautiful moment with in the most romantic city in the world! Now in the age of cell phones when my kids travel around the world they can call Me to share the moment with!

Look who we found in England! Alice in Wonderland!

Finally, Canada! This is where we had our best meal. Daddy & the boys had steak while I had Salmon. The meal was wonderful, there was more than we could eat! Specialty breads from different regions, Cheese soup & crab souffle, as well as desert! I took this pic of my "Chocolate Mouse" with maple leaf ears for my friend "J". With dinner "M" & I had a "Blue-tini" a martini that had a glowing blue ice cube. That cube is still working today, 2 weeks later!

Good-bye Epcot, we had a great time! Guess what color we will wear tomorrow!

Magic Kingdom Here We Come!

We are Back! We had a great time and we all certainly fell under the spell of Disney Magic! So many wonderful things happened I decided to blog about it a day at a time. Our first day was Magic Kingdom, we walked in the gates and they started roping off the street for a parade, I said they must have been waiting on us, we had "THE" perfect view looking straight down Main Street at Cinderella's Castle. You will see a pattern in what we are wearing each day. Dad & I decided it was best if we dressed alike to keep track of each other. I know the boys are big & know their own name & address, but it really came in handy when you needed to find everyone at a glance. Day one was red, can you guess what tomorrow will be?!?

This is the exact spot we had for the parade! All I had to do was turn around and start taking pictures! The boys could not believe all the characters who waved right at them. At first "H" did not want to watch the parade, but after he said it was "Way Cool"!
Our official first ride was the "Haunted Mansion". The boys were excited because they had seen the movie, it was a bit creepy but fun! I could not get over all the detail there is at every turn.

At dinner we met up with friends "B" & "H". "B"'s Mom "D" came with them. After dinner we rode some rides together. They got tired & went back to their room while we went on to a late night at the MGM park. We did not get back to out room until 3:00a.m.! What were we thinking!

We ate dinner at the Liberty Tree Inn. It was a colonial style building serving family style meals. We ate turkey, ham, dressing, potatoes, green beans & mac-cheese. There was more food than we could eat! There was even apple cobbler for desert! It was a character dinner, so Minnie, Goofy, Chip & Dale each came over to greet the boys & take pictures!

At night Cinderella's castle was lit up so beautiful! It would change colors, blue, purple, red, yellow & green. The fireworks were super! There is truly something magical about that place, you feel that your dreams really can come true!

P.S. I really took this picutre! I am soooo proud of myself! It turned out beautiful! I might be getting good at this picture taking stuff!

Monsters Inc.

Runningback & Cheerleader were playing in his room & came across a box of costumes. They had a great time trying to scare me with the different masks. Cheerleader kept asking brother to lift his mask to make sure it was still him inside. I love watching my kids having fun with each other!