Fairy Party

One of Meredith's friends had a Fairy Party today .........

So much fun for the kids to get together and dance and have fun.
And such a treat for me to actually dress her up in girly clothes!!!

Just Being Silly

I loves these shots....it was one of those days when we were just hanging around the house having fun............
Lindsay came over to help decorate Halloween cookies and the girls were tickling each other and laughing and giggling like they do when they get together!

I took a lot of pictures of Meredith in this dress because it is one of Lindsay's old dresses that she wore when I think she was about 4 years old!!!

Swimming!

 
We enrolled Meredith in swimming lessons for the first time this summer and she really loved it after the first couple of sessions. Considering when we first met her she ABSOLUTELY HATED the water, she has really come around!

 


 
Jumping off the side is especially fun!

 

It doesn't get much better than when I have BOTH instructors all to myself.

Ahhh, summertime.....

Summer Picnicking

 

Waiting for her sister to come back from her ride...

 

Headed out of the corral...

 

 

Down the long, dusty trail she goes.......




We had a summer meeting/picnic at a wonderful ranch yesterday and Meredith had an opportunity to ride a horse. She rode not only once, but twice, and probably would've ridden many more times if we let her!!
"Brownie" was such a sweet gentle horse and the ranch hands were so patient with all of the little kids that were not old enough to go on the longer rides with a group.
What a fun time!!

Meredith is THREE!!

 

 

Meredith had a "Tinkerbell" birthday party last month to celebrate her third birthday.
 

 

Her friends and their parents came over to play games, eat, play and party with her.
 
 

It was a great day for all fairies and their friends!!
 

What has been going on?

We spent a nice, relaxing week in Mexico in April. It was wonderful, but truly seems like a lifetime ago! Lindsay and John were able to join us for part of the time, and we got to celebrate Lindsay's birthday on the beach. Meredith was thrilled to have her sister there - they even had a sleepover one night. What a treat for Mom and Dad! We found a great place to stay and are ready to go back...!!

Dee

My fondest memories go back to when I was about 6-7 years old. Quite frankly, I ‘m not sure how I managed to graduate from 1st grade…you see Mom worked part-time and her job required her to leave a few minutes before the school bus picked Mark and I up (right outside our front door)in Wichita. Each day as Mom left she said, “don’t be late, and if you have any problems, call Dee”. Well, Mark never had any problems, but I very conveniently had a “tummy ache” most every morning that Mom worked and Dee had to come pick me up! We would go to the dime store and buy paper dolls or a new book and then go spend the morning together. Sometimes we would bake cookies or hang the laundry outside on the line to dry, but mostly it was just about spending time with Dee! At least until Mom came to pick me up and gave me the ol’ hairy eyeball…..Of course this was never so harsh a punishment that it prevented me from doing it again and again!!
A lot of the other recollections I have revolve around food and sometimes I will smell something that will trigger a memory of Dee and Carl’s home. Soft molasses cookies; homegrown Kansas cucumbers and tomatoes; wintergreen-flavored pink candies; dilly bread. Angel food cake – one time she brought her special bowl and spoon to Colorado in her suitcase so she could make me a cake for my birthday.
Dee saved dimes. She had a stash in her bureau drawer that fascinated me. She kept them in a box right next to her jewelry and when I visited we would check it out.

The baubles and the dimes.

I always thought that maybe she would give me her secret supply one day and then I would be rich!!
She was very independent if not detrimentally stubborn. I think I inherited/learned this trait from her. I would tell her that I am pretty proud of this. My husband isn’t always so thankful!
I always felt that I had a special bond with Dee. Looking back, I have a suspicion that all of her grandchildren, even great-grandchildren felt the same way. That is just the way she was. I think she was a kid at heart and was always comfortable around all of us.

There is so much more…but let me just summarize by saying that…..
“I reckon” this was one special lady that I loved very much!

I’ll never forget you, Dee.
Love,
Margo

Happy 100th Birthday Great Grandma!!

Meredith's Great Grandmother Catherine turned 100 years old last Sunday!! So Jie Jie, Auntie Feather (Heather), PopBob, Geny, Cousin Scott, Cousin Suzanne, Meredith and I went to Kansas for the celebration. Aunt Pat and Uncle Doug met us there from Washington and we had a party for Grandma complete with cake, ice cream and punch. How fortunate and blessed we all are to have this wonderful woman in our lives!
We love you Grandma!!

Qu Mei and Qu Sha

The top photo was taken in April 2008, in Hunan China.
These two precious girls spent the first year of their lives under the care of this wonderful woman, their foster mother.




On January 17, 2010, Qu Mei (Meredith), and her beautiful foster sister, Qu Sha (Lily) were re-united. It was such a blessing to meet Lily and her family and to have the opportunity for these children to re-connect and establish a lifelong bond that will be so meaningful to them in the future. I am so grateful to Debbie for traveling to meet up with us, so honored to be introduced to Miss Hannah and so thankful that we were brought together.



We look forward to many more reunions and lots of photo opportunities and stories in the future!

Re-connecting

Every so often we are able to re-connect with the other Colorado families that we traveled to China with when we brought home our precious daughters. These times are so very special and I hope we can continue to gather so that our girls can maintain their bond and grow their frindships.
This particular day was spent at the Denver Aquarium and then out to lunch for some yummy Mexican food and fun together at the restaurant. Hopefully the next reunion we will be able to let the kids run around outside more....maybe a park?!?
We love you Joie and Ren!!! (Loe too, of course)!!