BCS Charlottesville Walk for Life

We drove up to C-ville for a Walk for Life that our local Bethany (adoption agency) office was having. We arrived at 10:30 and stayed until 12:45. It was smoking hot. At least the "walk" was only a mile and was shaded. Lily was sweating up a storm in just a few short minutes. We are all very spent. The pictures are in reverse order. Sorry wasn't thinking.

The last pic I posted (the first one you see) was taken just before we left. The "balloon man" had made a parrot for Lily. She saw him make one for someone and walked up to him and pointed to her shoulder. He knew exactly what she wanted. Once we got her in the car, she kept saying her version of shoulder and pointing to the parrot!

I'm back!

I am back and we received both our new camera and our new computer in the last couple days. I took a couple pictures today and I like the new camera. It takes pictures much faster than our old one. The video it takes also has sound. I am going to try something new. Let's see if it works . . .

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Mine, Mine!

Lily just got up from her nap and Daddy was finishing a hockey game on his Gamecube. She came running into the living room yelling "mine, mine!" Steve let her have the control. Now she has no idea what she is doing, but . . . Steve said for awhile she was doing better than him. She was on a power play. I think in the not-too-distant future that may be some friendly or not-so-friendly Daddy/Daughter games being played.

I am heading to VA Beach for a conference in just a hour or so. This will be the first time Lily and I will be away from each other overnight. Everyone keeps saying that it is harder on the parent than the child. I will be playing that mantra over and over again in my head until Thursday night when I pull into the driveway once again!

Steve has his control back and Lily has her own (It's plugged in but not controlling anything). We will see how long that lasts!

Missing our camera!

Sorry for the lack of pictures. I was scrolling through this blog and realized there are no pics on the most current page! I never realized how hard it is to go without a camera until it happens. I just tried one more time to turn the camera on and - well - didn't go so well :)

We are waiting for our coupon ($75 from Dell for buying a computer through them). That coupon just can't come fast enough!

Chapman Update - 06/21/08

It was a month ago today that tragedy struck. Sometimes it is hard for me to fathom that it has been that long. At other times, it seems like just yesterday. I am SOOOOO blessed to be able to be one of many standing in the gap to pray for this precious family.

Lily is a constant reminder of how in following God's lead (starting Shaohannah's Hope) they personally helped bring our daughter home (through the grant we received).

I know they aren't "friends," but they are indeed part of our adoption and spiritual family. Please continue to pray for them. Here is the link once again to the blog of SCC's manager: http://chapmanchannel.typepad.com/jim/.

I was thrilled to read such an encouraging update this afternoon!

Newest Nephew

Andrew David was born earlier this evening. 7 lbs. 12 oz. They are calling him Drew. I now have 2 nieces and 2 nephew with yet another niece coming in the fall to a different sister-in-law :)

Two Kinds of Owies

Well, we have experienced two kinds of owies this afternoon. One being fatal and the other not so much! This afternoon I turned around to find Lily dipping our camera in the kiddie pool. Now, we have a new camera picked out already as we have been experiencing issues with it for quite some time. It just bit the dust a little sooner than I thought.

The second owie isn't painful or fatal, but is VERY annoying none the less! I knocked out part of one of my front teeth. It is actually just compound or composite from a repair that was done 20 years ago here in Lynchburg. I am in no pain, but I have a bit of lisp if I am not careful with my enunciation. Fortunately, I was able to get in to see the dentist tomorrow morning at 9:30 am [the benefits of being the daughter of the office manager:) ].

No, pee pee!

As I type, Steve is getting Lily ready for bed. I just had to post this. I want to remember all these silly times. The following exchange in varying degrees has been going on:

Lily: pee, pee
Daddy: No pee, pee!
Lily: belly shaking laughs- PEE, PEE
Daddy: No pee, pee on Daddy!
Lily: pee, pee, pee, pee, poo, poo
Daddy: Definitely, no poo, poo!
Daddy: (after several minutes) Maybe we better get a diaper on you.

Sorry Lily for the embarrassment that this will bring later on in life, but it just brings some MUCH joy to hear you laughing and playing with Daddy!

Chapman Update

Please continue to pray for Steven Curtis Chapman and his family. Maria went to be with Jesus three weeks ago tonight. Here is a link to his manager's blog: http://chapmanchannel.typepad.com/jim/

"Shower Me"

Steve went outside to water some flowers. As he was watering the little sprouts, Lily started saying "Shower me, shower me." We stripped her down to her diaper since it was almost bathtime and this was the result!

Budding Photographer

Lily has recently started showing an interest in "taking" our pictures. I thought I would help her really take a picture, so this is the product. I normally really dislike having my picture taken w/o notice or "prep" time, but I thought her first picture wasn't too bad! I just had to share.

Squeaky Shoes and Naptime

Yesterday, I put Lily down for her nap and took off her squeaky sandals. She was not happy. She got up twice and I put her right back in bed. The third time I didn't see her get up, but I heard her! She found her squeaky sandals and had put them on. I love my daughter and think she is one of the brightest little girls ever, but she just wasn't thinking things through!

Today I asked her if she wanted to wear her squeaky shoes for nap. She was thrilled and, of course, I had other motives than making her happy. At least I knew I would hear her right away if she got up, but guess what - She didn't get up once!

The picture is from earlier in the day. She was playing her version of hide and seek and I found her in her bed with only her eyes showing,

It's Official!

Steve resigned from his position as of August 1st of this year! He applied for admission into James Madison University's Physician's Assistant Program last fall. He was interviewed in March and was notified in April that he was on a wait list (approved for admission, but no spots available). Classes start August 24th!

Lily and I will stay here in Lynchburg with me teaching in Amherst. Steve will come home as often as is feasible as JMU is about 1 hr 45 min away. Right now, we are praying for God to provide a family with which Steve can stay as we cannot afford rent for him. We checked into moving to Harrisonburg, but it just doesn't make sense. Housing is much more expensive and God provided a great job for me here.

The program is 27 months long. The first 15 months he would be in Harrisonburg, but the last 12 he could be anywhere in the state of VA (or possibly surrounding states) as he completes his rotations. Lily and I would be left alone that last year anyway. Here we have a church and my parents are only 30 min away!

We have quite a story to tell of God's direction and providence. The next two and a half years are going to just add to that!

Hot, Hot, Hot

Steve just informed me that we are currently in the hottest part of the country! Today's high is 94F, tomorrow and Monday are to be 97F, and Wednesday it is to be 95F. Yuck! We are scheduled to have our heating and cooling system replaced on Monday. Needless to say, I won't be hanging out here at the house while they install the new heat pump!

Popsicles

We are having a hard time getting Lily to consume enough calcium. She basically won't drink milk before it will go bad. I am trying to get creative here. We have found a Yoplait Kids drinkable yogurt that she likes, but doesn't have as much sugar. She won't eat regular yogurt though on most days. She likes fresh steamed broccoli. She does eat 1-2 oz. of cheddar or colby jack cheese a day.

Today I hit the jackpot! I decided to try making miniature popsicles using the ice cube trays, these little popsicle sticks, and yogurt. Well, it was a hit. She loves them and thinks they are a treat! If anyone has suggestions for calcium and healthy fat intake, please let me know!

Water Fun

Yesterday and today we got out Lily's little pool. It is getting warmer here. Today wasn't as much but we wanted to try something new. We got this plastic play set at a local consignment shop. Well, it was a big hit. Lily LOVES being outside, so we are going to be spending sometime in the little pool. We have a bigger one that we bought, but it was too big for her last summer, so we got a smaller one. Now, we can't find the bigger one. This will come in handy as it looks like it will be in the low 90s starting on Wednesday!

Factoids about China

A fellow blogger posted this interesting list of China factoids published by The Independant in Britian. He cut out about half of them to focus on some of the more notable ones, so if you want the whole list, follow the link above.

China: In Numbers
By Simon Usborne
5.7 million: Students graduated from Chinese universities in 2007 (compared with 270,000 in 1977)
10 million: The estimated number of Chinese people who have no electricity
540 million: Number of mobile phone users in China, with an increase of 44 million in the past six months
160: Cities in China with populations that exceed a million. In the USA there are nine; in the UK just two
0: Miles of motorway (freeway) in 1988
30,000: Miles of motorway (freeway) today
6.3 million: The number of passenger cars registered in 2007 (compared with 2.3 million in 2004). More than 1,000 new private cars hit the roads every day in Beijing alone
68: The number of crimes thought to be punishable by death in China, including non-violent offences such as tax fraud, embezzlement and the taking of bribes
350 million: The number of Chinese people who smoke (a third of the world’s smokers). Around a million people a year are thought to die from smoking-related diseases
240 billion yuan: ($34.6 billion)* The estimated amount earned by the Chinese government in tobacco taxes in 2005
1.3 billion: China’s population. The country accounts for one in five people in the world.
400 million: The estimated number of births prevented by China’s one-child policy, introduced in 1979
22: The number of suicides per 100,000 people, about 50 per cent higher than the global average. Suicide is the fifth most common cause of death in China, and the first among people aged between 20 and 35
700,000: The number of people living with HIV or Aids in China. The UN has warned China it could have 10 million cases by 2010 unless action is taken
45 billion: Estimated number of chopsticks China produces every year, the majority of them disposable. In 2006, Beijing introduced a five per cent tax on disposable wooden chopsticks in an attempt to help save the country’s forests
* at the moment, 1 USD is worth 6.9 RMB