The Best Christmas Gift

On Christmas morning we were opening presents and having a sweet time when my phone started to beep with texts from friends and family. So I also looked at my email and saw the following subject line “MuRong Wang Lei Update” AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

So I quickly opened my laptop and we all crowded around to see new photos and the answers to our update questions. YIPPIE!!

Mike cropped this one – isn’t she adorable? We can’t wait to meet her!!!

Amelie 12.24.2010

Amelie Update

We found out that she likes apples, milk and yogurt. She sleeps on her side and listening to music makes her happy. They said she is seldom sad and when asked to describer her personality they said “lively.”

What a wonderful blessing! We are grateful for the services of Angela with LadyBugs N Love in Beijing.

We used her to send the care package to the orphanage in November and then she sent off the update request for us this month.

Decorating the Tree

Nadia was all kinds of excited to help with the tree this year. She has “helped” in the past, but this year she was serious about where stuff was going and that she was involved in the whole process. When Mike had to head out for more lights she was so impatient it was humorous.

2010 Decorating the Tree
Click the photo above to see the album

Deco Tree 2010

Deco Tree 2010

Oh and this year she got to help with the icicles and they had to be “sorted” first.

Deco Tree 2010

P.S. They have these owl jammies that Nadia got from her cousin Jade last year at Target this year for adults. And just so you know – I resisted buying them even though I really wanted to match! (next year all 3 of us girls will have to have a matching set of jammies)

Christmas Crafts 2010

I love to do arts and crafts! And since I am her mommy, so does Nadia. Here is a little sample of what we did last week.

Santa. From Confessions of a Homeschooler blog.

Christmas Crafts 2010
Click the photo above to see the album.

Christmas Crafts 2010

Christmas Crafts 2010

Popcorn snowflake. Anyone see the dude at Main Street Arts Festival trying to sell the popcorn art for $500? Here you go!

Christmas Crafts 2010

Christmas Crafts 2010

After she was done gluing she finished off the bowl of popcorn and said, “FUN!”

Christmas Crafts 2010

Worked in some Christmas themed school with an ornament counting and number matching game. This is from the Confessions of a Homeschooler blog. We also did a candy cane themed one and a Christmas tree color by number.

Christmas Crafts 2010

These ideas came from the Mama Jenn blog.

Christmas Crafts 2010

Christmas Crafts 2010

Christmas Crafts 2010

Christmas Crafts 2010

Popsicle sticks, rhinestones, sequins and glitter glue. What’s not to love?

Christmas Crafts 2010

And to make everything even more awesome, I won a paint set from the Paint Me Plaid blog and it was delivered. It has 14 colored Apple Barrel paints plus a big bottle of white and new brushes! YIPPIE!

IMG_2870

ICE – 2010 at the Gaylord Texan

ICE - 11.17.2010

Click the photo above to see the whole album. It’s a lot of photos, but they are cool *wink*

This year the ICE display was a Charlie Brown Christmas. We learned our lesson last year and decided that we were going ASAP when it opened this year so we wouldn’t have to fight the crowds. We had the place practically to ourselves and it was a great time. Nadia had a lot more fun in the display this year even though she did complain about the cold at the end, but I don’t blame her. It was cold!

Here are some of my favorite photos. This was a great way to kick off our Christmas season!

ICE - 11.17.2010

ICE - 11.17.2010

ICE - 11.17.2010

ICE - 11.17.2010

ICE - 11.17.2010

ICE - 11.17.2010

Nadia did the “meet and greet” with Snoopy. She gave him a hug, high five, poked his belly and scratched his ear!

ICE - 11.17.2010

ICE - 11.17.2010

ICE - 11.17.2010

Is this cute or what?

ICE - 11.17.2010

On the way home I asked Nadia what she liked best about our night. She said, “Seeing the ‘tivity’ scene….. oh and meeting Snoopy!”

ICE - 11.17.2010