This breaks my heart

Check out Ben's story at the link below.

http://www.lwbcommunity.org/ben-waiting-a-decade-for-a-family-to-call-his-own

He has never been given a chance, and now his chance for a family is really slim.  Please share this with everyone you know.

As I think of this that song lyric "break my heart for what breaks Yours" runs through my head.  I can't speak for God on this one because I have to trust that he has a good plan for this child, but maybe just maybe that good plan includes sharing this story.

Happy New Year (Chinese Style) from the Pages

We joined other families with children from China for a meal at a local Chinese restaurant.  Both Wyatt and Julia made sacrifices for this event this year.  Both missed birthday parties with friends, and Julia missed an opportunity to cheer again with the varsity cheerleaders which was a big disappointment to her.  However, it was great for the family to enjoy this event together.

The dragon parade

I think I have a picture of these three together every year for the past four years or so.

This was a very interesting performance.  This artist played the pipa and included songs from different provinces.  The kids had an opportunity to get their hands on this beautiful instrument.

This is heaven for Wyatt.  He loves a buffet, and the food was good.  I think we will make a return to this restaurant.

I am attempting to get a good picture of the whole group together.  Traditionally, Zach has not cooperated for these things.  He did better today, but this is the only shot in which Julia cooperated.  GRR.

We always fall short on the right way to celebrate the holiday.  While a big meal is part of the celebration.  Traditionally, the house gets a good cleaning to sweep out negativity, and the kids get money in red envelopes. We fail on those two every year, but we are an all-American family.

新年快樂 Xin Nian Kuai Le! Happy New Year!

A Big Night for the Little People

Andy and I both had special dates tonight as we head into a booked weekend.

This picture was actually taken last night while out for ice cream.  Julia is in love with my new phone and is already taking lots of pictures of herself.  I now have video of our drive to take Shiloh to the vet on Wednesday as if that was needed for posterity.  When I brought the phone into the house for the first time last Saturday, she was like "hand it over."  Within minutes of having it in her hands, she had taken a picture of herself and tried to download a game app.  Whose phone is this?  When Andy saw this picture, he just shook his head and said, she will be all over Facebook when she is old enough. Yep, she is full. of. herself.

Julia headed out the door tonight looking stylish rather than goofy as she and Andy attended the annual Father/Daughter dance at her school.  She went for a different look this year from her usual glam.  Julia insisted that she could not wear a poofy dress because it hindered her ability to successfully do the hula hoop.  She wore cowboy boots and rhinestones and pearls to complete her look.  

We have a funny story about the pearls.  We bought this pearl necklace in China while there to adopt Julia.  I figure we can only enjoy them if we are wearing them, so I let her wear them to the dance.  When she arrived at home, she was tired and headed to bed in pretty short order.  I asked Andy about the pearls as I figured that she would have a hard time with the clasp and must have needed help to get them off.  He freaked out.  He had no idea they were real and didn't know if she arrived home in them. Andy raced up to her bedroom and tried to wake her (no easy task) to find out what she had done with them.  We couldn't wake her but found them safely laid out on her dresser.  

Andy has been running for about a year now.  He gets in at least three miles a day and ran more than five today in order to make sure he would have the stamina to keep up with his much younger date.  He was happy that he was not worn out at the end of the night.

Julia always looks forward to the chocolate fountain.

She won some kind of hula hoop contest, but it wasn't the typical hula hoop spin around your waist, so I am not sure what she did to earn this prize.

In true Julia style, we worked on her jewelry the night before, and she really wanted her hair curled.  Julia wants curls so badly that she would like a perm, but she is just too young.  Without the talent of my sister, I agreed to do the best I could with hot rollers and hairspray, but I felt like she would need a barrette or headband so that we could part it on the side which she doesn't usually do, but I really like it that way.  I stopped after work to pick out something for her hair and couldn't make the decision, so I took her back with me after school.  I should have known that my best bet in order to make her happy would be to buy the most expensive barrettes.  That's Julia.

She and Andy had a great time!

While Julia and Andy danced the night away, Wyatt and I had serious racing business to do at the pinewood derby.

We are ready to go.

Andy and I have neither the tools nor the expertise to cut one of these cars, so we always need a little lot of help from our friends.  I was thrilled that the troop now has a day where the boys go and cut the cars with people more skilled than we are.  However, that happened on a very busy Saturday morning. Zach agreed to take Wyatt to the event, and I read the email incorrectly, so they went to the wrong place and never made it.

In desperation, I put a request out there on Facebook, and a friend came through for us.  He really came through.  I thought that we would get the car cut and then figure out the weights, wheels, paint etc. on our own.  However, he had the materials and excitement to see this car all the way through to completion.

 Wyatt was thrilled to win his second heat. He came in 2nd for two of the heats and third for the other.  It was a successful night.

Wyatt had so much fun that he didn't want to leave.  As much as I expected scouts to be his thing, he is finished.  He wanted to do this last event and quit. Sigh.

Flashback Friday

Tonight is the Father/Daughter Dance at school, so today I offer some pictures from past Father/Daughter Dances.

Flashback Friday

I remember how excited he was to build a snowman.  He was so happy about the snow.  Ironically, I can't think of a time that he has desired to play in the snow since.

This is the link to the original post on this little snowman: http://lifewiththepages.blogspot.com/2009/01/posting-twice.html

Just like that day four years ago (that long, really?), we are at home today for a snow day.  This time it is too cold to go out and play, but that is okay. The roads have cleared enough for Zach to bring us some hot pizza, and Savannah is baking cookies.  She really, really needed this day and is so relieved to have it.  Happy Snow Day!

Recovering

I spent today at home with Julia.  She awoke with a fever this morning and has complained of dizziness and headaches most of the day.  I think she will be fine to return to school tomorrow, but I have misplaced the thermometer, and she does feel a bit warm tonight.

I think I needed this day off as much as she did.  We both slept until 10:30 before she parked herself in front of the TV and watched Disney movies and shows all day while I worked around the house and joined her every once in a while.

We came off of a rough weekend.  I attended a women's retreat on Friday night and Saturday morning but remember little of it even though I know it was good.  I need some time to just sit and review my notes. I had just a couple of hours at home on Saturday before I went to the funeral home to support my friend Kim. Most of the late afternoon and evening were spent there before Andy and I left to join Tessa at a bowling party for her birthday.  I returned to the funeral home on Sunday and spent five hours there and then returned for the funeral on Monday.  It was the first military funeral I have ever attended.

The sweetest moments occurred when I held Kim's 2 year old daughter for about 2 hours while she napped.  She awoke in a good mood and was ready to see her brother and have something to eat.  She's   a sweetie.  During the actual funeral service, the Chaplain was required to read the awards Jim earned during his career in the military, and the list was impressive.  Jim was humble enough that we never knew just how distinguished his career was.  The one moment that I think will be etched in my mind forever is that of his 3 year old son hugging the flag presented to him by the military.  The flag was almost as big as he, but he was not letting go of it.

The graveside service was not as hard as I expected.  The gun salute didn't undo me, nor did Taps (probably because of all the nights at band camp in high school that taps was used to send us to bed).  The hardest part of the ceremonial aspect was seeing the soldier salute the casket.  Kim did forget to warn her son about the gun salute, and that upset him, but he recovered quickly from it.

My friend is so strong.  She spoke at her own husband's funeral.  I know very few who could be composed enough to do that especially after such a sudden loss, but she did very well.

The road ahead for this sweet family is hard.  Over and over, it was said that the five years my friends were married were the happiest years of their lives.  Kim said it for herself, and Jim's friends confirmed it for him.  They wanted more, and this loss just seems so cruel.

Flashback Friday

From Sunday, March 8, 2009

So here's the deal. Ask your kids these questions and see what answers you come up with.
It's a very enlightening experience. 
answered by Julia - age 4 and Wyatt age 6

1. What is something I always say to you?
Julia -Do you know how much I love you?
Wyatt - I don't know (he doesn't know the answer, I don't say this to him)

2. What makes me happy?
Julia -clean the house
Wyatt - you smile 

3. What makes me sad?
Julia -when you go somewhere, and you are not going to come back for a long time
Wyatt - if somebody hits somebody

4. How do I make you laugh?
Julia - by saying funny things
Wyatt - funny faces

5. What do you think I was like as a child?
Julia- funny
Wyatt - silly (he made a face, so I interpreted)

6. How old am I?
Julia -What?! That's hard! That's too hard! 18?
Wyatt- 100 (gee, thanks) Are you 100?

7. How tall am I?
Julia- close to Daddy's age (Does she mean 37 inches? - Yikes!)
Wyatt - I doesn't know.

8. What is my favorite thing to do?
Julia - take a nap
Wyatt - take a picture and make me go upside down

9. What do I do when you're not around?
Julia -pick up our stuff when we're not picking it up - you do that a lot (if you saw my house, you would think I apparently don't do that enough)
Wyatt - I doesn't know

10. If I become famous, what will it be for?
Julia - famous?, like being stylish and stuff?, what's that mean?
Wyatt - 1+2 (If he means math, we would all be in big trouble if that made me famous)

11. What am I really good at?
Julia - you're really good at a lot of stuff, like cleaning the house, and doing the laundry, and like, vacuuming,... exercising - you make me laugh with that
Wyatt - taking pictures

12. What am I not really good at?
Julia - nothing, oh wait...just stuff
Wyatt - I doesn't know

13. What is my job?
Julia - to go to work and teach a class
Wyatt - go to school

14. What is my favorite food?
Julia- What is your favorite food?
Wyatt - corn and kiwi ..(then he asks, "do you like kiwi?")

15. What makes you proud of me?
Julia - making me laugh
Wyatt - you laugh

16. If I were a cartoon character, who would I be?
Julia - one of the Johnny Test characters (I don't even know what she is talking about)
Wyatt -Batman or Sponge Bob or Bakugan

17. What do you and I do together?
Julia -cuddle
Wyatt - hug and kiss

18. How are we the same?
Julia - I don't know
Wyatt - We are not the same. We just have the same last name.

19. How are you and I different?
Julia - We don't have the same hair.
Wyatt - I doesn't know

20. How do you know that I love you?
Julia - We're a family, and Jesus wants us to love each other.
Wyatt - I just know

21. Where is my favorite place to go?
Julia -When something breaks, you like to go somewhere where you can get another one.
Wyatt -Mommy likes to go on a date with Daddy.