Happy Easter

It's been a while since my last post. Just haven't been into blogging lately.

Easter was great break from the blahs that both J and I seem to have had this week. My dad was here and so was J's sister from North Carolina. My dad enjoyed all the chaos of the house. We watched ball games, ate, laughed... loads of fun.

After Easter service, we had a good time eating lunch at a Japanese restaurant. It was a bit nontraditional, but a lot of fun. The guy fixing our food was funny and entertained us, especially Tatertot. She has been fearful of their shows in the past, but this guy made her laugh. The food was extra good, too.

In the afternoon it started snowing. BIG, thick flakes that covered everything beautifully. This weather has sure been interesting. From raining so much that it flooded our basement, then sunny and snowy and cold!

Spring is starting to show up. We have daffodils blooming and the grass is greening. Bring on the warmer (NOT HOT) weather.

Spring, where are you?

Tatertot has been wanting to build a big snowman, but the weather hadn't given us the opportunity until this weekend. We were told to expect 8-12 inches of snow. The snow was coming down Friday when we woke up and continued until Saturday afternoon. When all was said and done, we had around 10-12 inches. The wind caused some drifting.

We all went outside and took Lucy our Basset with us. Not sure who loved the snow more, Tatertot or Lucy. Lucy would jump like a rabbit over the snow. Tatertot made snow angels and loved climbing the piles of snow and falling down. We came inside and had hot chocolate. After a nap, Tatertot and I made oatmeal no-bake cookies. Later, we went back outside to build a snowman, but it was too cold. Tatertot hates the cold, but was in no hurry to get back into the house. All-in-all a very fun winter day!

Birthdays

Being sick on your birthday really sucks!! I'll just say that the past two days, I have stayed very close to a specific room in the house. NOT FUN!! J- and I had a nice day planned. We were taking Tatertot to a friend's house to play. We were going to go to a movie and eat dinner. This is not something we do very often, so I am extremely disappointed.

I stayed at school thinking I just had eaten something(s) that hadn't set well. I have missed so much work this past month, I just couldn't see going home. Hopefully, I didn't infect too many.

Chinese New Year celebration 2008

We have had a great time celebrating Chinese New Year this year. We participated in several activities. First, we got together with the families wetraveled to China with in 2004. The girls have such a wonderful timetogether. I wasn't there but know they had a great time. Two of the families took Rachel to see Chinese dancers the next weekend. She had a blast with 2 of her Hengyang sisters. They took us out to eat Mexican after the show. I was beyond exhausted fromm staying at the hospital and really enjoyed the food and company.

FCC (Families with Children from China) had 2 gatherings. The first was the monthly dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant. The second gathering with the big Chinese New Year celebration. There were over 500 people at the gathering. We enjoyed great food, crafts for the kids, shopping, dancing, and gathering of friends/family.

Next year will have to also include Tet. It is going to take some research and outreach to the Vietnamese community. We will do some shopping of Vietnamese items to decorate our home.
Now it is time to take down the decorations and put them away until next year. I am so happy we bought all the things we did while in China.

Peace

Sunday afternoon, at 2:33, my mother passed away. I was with her, along with my younger brother and Dad. She died 10 days short of her 81st birthday. It is hard saying goodbye, but she is now at peace.
M-

Ready for Kindergarten??

I can't believe that my Tatertot is going to be in kindergarten this fall!! Today began the registration for school in the fall. I had looked at internet, talked with my teacher friends and even went on a tour of a school back in October. (and this is for public school). A new school was opened last fall that is awesome. They have a lot of the programs that I think would be great for her. I knew I wanted her to go there the moment I walked into the school.

So, I got to the school at 8:00 this morning (the time registration started) and there was already a fairly long line. I filled out the papers and wrote down 2 choices. I would be okay with the second choice, but I REALLY would like her to go to the first choice. There is no guarantee we will get her in there, but at least I did all I could.

I-600 Reciept

We got an email stating that our I-600 had be received in HCMC. This means that we have up to 60 days to hear back from them. With Tet beginning soon, I predict we will have to wait at least the 60 days. This is going to be a long 2 month stretch...