Arctic Experiment

Nadia and I are working on a “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” unit study from Erica at Confessions of a Homeschooler. She had a test to see how blubber keeps animals warm while they live in the Antarctic.

It’s a super easy experiment and Nadia loved it. First take about a cup of shortening and put it in a Ziploc baggie. Place the child’s hand in the bag and mold the shortening around the entire hand.

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Then fill a bowl with ice water and place both the bagged shortening hand and the plain hand in the bowl and see which one feels protected from the cold.

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She said she could tell right away that the “blubber” hand was not instantly freezing like her other hand.

Disney Photo Pass

We have a ton of photos from our trip to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, but here are some of my favorites from our photo pass. I am glad we decided to purchase one because they captured so many good family photos.

Disney Photo Pass 2012
Click on the photo to see album

Disney Photo Pass 2012

Disney Photo Pass 2012

Disney Photo Pass 2012

Disney Photo Pass 2012

Disney Photo Pass 2012

Disney Photo Pass 2012

Disney Photo Pass 2012

Disney Photo Pass 2012

Disney Photo Pass 2012

Disney Photo Pass 2012

Thankful Thursday

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I have many great photos of China travel group reunions and other visits with China friends, but this one made me smile today thinking of how much fun the girls had at the beach last year.

I am so thankful for all the amazing people we have met and friends we have made through the adoption community. It’s impossible to imagine my life now without the friends I have made on this journey and it never would have happened if we hadn’t adopted from China. I am so thankful for their love, support and friendship.

Amelie’s Re-adoption

Amelie Re-adoption
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Amelie Re-adoption

Waiting for our turn to go in the courtroom.

Today we went to Dallas for Amelie’s re-adoption hearing. In Texas it’s just a formality to be able to get a Texas birth certificate for her. That way when she is older and needs a birth certificate for various applications and other needs she won’t have to deal with her Chinese one. We did the same for Nadia in 2008 and the same lawyer friend took care of everything for us. We got there early and the girls got a lot of attention and smiles because the hearings happen at the Dallas Juvenile Justice Center – and let’s just say there isn’t a lot of happy stuff going on in there.

We waited in the courtroom with several other families and we were called first to go before the judge. Jonathan asked us all the questions and the judge said that she accepted it, we posed for a photo – then bam we were out of the courtroom.

Amelie Re-adoption

We filed our paperwork with the clerk and received the form we need to mail to Austin. We left the courthouse and headed for the Paris Coffee Shop in Fort Worth for breakfast and PIE!