First Snow Day!

Sunday was an exciting day in our family. Every year I buy each of my kids a gift when the weather starts getting chilly. I wrap them in festive snowy wrapping paper and place them on our mantle in the living room. There they sit, tantalizing the kids until the day we see the first snow fall. We started this tradition when Tristan was old enough to enjoy and recognize snow and is a favorite ever fall.

It used to be very simple. Although we may have had a few flurries when the kids were younger, they really didn't notice until we had the first ground-sticking, wake-up in the morning to a white winter wonderland, beautiful snowfall. Things have been trickier the last couple years since the boys have become more aware of their surroundings. Over the years I have had to implement a few more rules.

1. Everyone has to see the snow for the first snowfall to count. No, it does not count if you see a few snowflakes at recess. No, frost does not count. No, you can't shave some ice indoors and throw it outside and expect it to count. (See why we had to make new rules?)

2. It has to stick on the ground until everyone sees it. OR...

3. If we are all walking outside and someone catches one in their mouth and we all see it, it can count.

Scenario number 3 was the big winner this year with Tristan being the "Catch-ee". As we were leaving church, the most beautiful, big snowflakes were falling down. The kids went wild trying to catch a big juicy flake to cinch the deal. We had jubilant kids on the ride home who couldn't wait to tear into their new presents. This year they each received a favorite animal. Some years we buy snow-related gifts while other years we just get something the kids will enjoy. Here are some photos to enjoy.

Fall Pictures

Trick-or-Treat

Another halloween come and gone. My kids, like all other kids, love halloween with the excitement of dressing-up topped with lots and lots of candy! I love seeing the kids all dressed up and carving pumpkins. Harry, however, absolutely hates halloween. He grudgingly goes along with the festivities but really hates it. I really like it up until we are leaving our the fourth stop, the kids are whining about someone "stealing" their candy, part of Alex's outfit is falling off, and we are busy removing and replacing Lyra's wings as we buckle her in-and-out of the car seat.

See, we live in the country and do country treat-or-treating - much different from our city counterparts. Here are the differences:

1. We do not have a designated night to go out - you need to be prepared any night within a week of halloween.

2. We do not walk door-to-door (mostly because walking a half mile between stops is not practical with 2, 4, 6, and 9 year-olds.) This means taking the kids out in the mini-van and strapping up between each stop - which means I should be careful with which costumes I choose but always seems to forget.

3. We only go to family and friends homes that we know well. I really enjoy stopping in to see people we love. However, instead of the normal "Trick-or-Treat", grab a hand full of candy and dash to the next house, we stand around and talk.

4. Because we stand around talking too long, we used to have to dress-up several nights in a row to get to all the required houses! Talk about dragging out the torture - no wonder Harry has learned to despise this event! Now we only do one night since the kids are older, we pared down the list of stops to only the essentials (grandparents and a few close neighbors), and we are a lot smarter (or less tolerant) than we used to be. Now, before you feel too sorry for the lack of candy our kids get for only going to a few places, we come to #5.

5. Because we only get a few trick-or-treaters in the country, we give large bags full of candy to each kid. So the pumpkins are full after a couple stops!

Tagged

OK, I know I haven't looked at my blog in a while. I just realized that Jaime
tagged me almost a month ago. Since is it a little late, I will just do the best I can with it. Here we go:

1. I love to play dress-up with the kids. And we are going to 2 halloween parties this weekend where I am "forced" to dress-up!

2. I really think many of the rules are really just guidelines to be considered.

3. The only reason I went to Ball State is because Harry went there. I denied it for many years but it's true.

4. I have loved reading Sci Fi books since reading the Lord of the Rings series in middle school.

5. I participated in my first Olympic distance triathlon this summer.

6. I did not swim, bike, or run until a year and a half ago. So ANYONE can do it!

7. I hate mopping my floors. Just hate it so it doesn't get done until our socks are sticking too much.

I'm not tagging anyone else because, well, see fact #2 above.

Assume the position

Here are my kids in their favorite positions around the house.

Tristan is now reading all the time: in bed, at the table, and any other "comfortable" place he can find! And I totally get it as I am an avid reader, myself.

Alex is our craft boy and spends many hours with markers, glues and scissors. We often find him perched on the bar with his latest creation. Where normal people see trash, Alex sees art. I have to quietly throw away many of his possible supplies consisting of used straws, milk jug rings, and many of the items he collects from our house.

Lily is still our princess/dancer/gymnast/ballerina. Every day she can be seen in different poses.

Lyra is seen here in her favorite position: Lily watching. She keeps a very close eye on what her favorite subject is doing and mimics as closely as possible.

Sisters!

As you can see in the following pictures, these two girls love each other very much! Enjoy.

Baby Claire!

My sister had her second baby last Wednesday, October 1st. Baby Claire entered this world at 5pm as the sweetest little girl! I'll post pictures when I find my camera.

A busy Fall

What a busy Fall we have had this year! I keep naively thinking that life will slow down once we reach the next season but that hasn't happened yet. School has started for our oldest three kids.

Tristan is now a busy and happy third-grader. We are busy carting him around to soccer practice, games and birthday parties. He turned 9 several weeks ago and we had a great time taking him and his friends to the new Star Wars Clone Wars cartoon and playing with Light Saber glow sticks in the darkened basement. Sweetest comment: after asking him which 4 friends he wanted to take along, he picked his brother, Alex, because "Mom, he hasn't seen the movies yet and just know he would love it!" He didn't know I was already saving a spot for Alex!

Alex has begun his school career as an energetic and enthusiastic kindergartner. The kindergarten classes unexpectedly had too many kids sign up in the week before school started that the school had to scramble and hire a new teacher quickly. After 2 1/2 weeks with his teacher, Alex was picked to join the new class because they thought he would "adapt easily". I could have told them differently. So after 2 days of gentle persuasion, I finally found the ultimate deal-sealer - they would have a party after school for the new class with punch and cookies. When I mentioned this to Alex he said, "That sounds great! Count me in!" Had I know it would be that easy, I would have bribed him earlier. Alex also won the "Boxtop for Education" prize for the most Boxtops collected in the kindergarten. He has an eye for finding them and has been pestering me to clip them for the last year. So if anyone wants to collect for Alex, he's already started the collection for next year! Sweetest comment: The night before Tris' birthday he comes up to me in a panic. "Mom, can you PLEASE buy me a pack of Pokemon cards! I'll use my own money!" I replied, "Sure, I can do that. What's up?" Alex replied with big eyes, "It's Tristan's birthday tomorrow and I forgot to buy him a gift!"

Lily is now in preschool at AC two mornings each week. They are offering swim lessons during this time and she is being very brave. She also started gymnastics and is loving one-on-one mommy time and tumbling. She is also settling in to being a great big sister. She happily bosses Lyra around while playing dress-up, house, and tea parties. Sweetest comment: "I just love our new baby! Isn't she cute?"

Lyra has made an amazing transformation over the past month. She is growing steadily, eating like crazy, and beginning to talk with signs and words. She spreads most of her awake time following Lily everywhere and copying EVERYTHING Lily does (good and bad). Lyra seems a little lost on the days Lily goes to preschool in the morning. However, she has been using those mornings to cuddle up with mommy and read books together! Sweetest comment: Not really so sweet but her first 3 word sentence, "I want it!" which she uses all the time!

A girl and her shoes

How quickly a girl begins loving shoes! Flip flops, princess shoes, sandals, tennies, Crocs and boots: Lyra is not picky as long as she can wear at least 5 different pairs in a day. It also doesn't matter if they are hers, Lily's, the boys', mine or daddy's. As long as she can fit them on her feet (or hands), she is a happy girl.

A few family camp pictures

Here a couple pictures from Family Camp in Wisconsin. If you ever get the chance to go, I completely recommend it! Of course, it took us a week to recover but we are all healthy now and enjoying the last few days of freedom before school starts. And staying up way too late watching the Olympics! It was really interesting watching the Opening Ceremony with Lily. She is starting to "get" that she is Chinese and an American. We talked about China's incredible history and their many accomplishments from the past. Of course she was most impressed with the performers' outfits and insisted on having her hair like "the girl who had it up in the front" - I still have no idea what she meant but she settled for a braid.

Lily spent the day practicing gymnastics in our living room although she is considering diving as a possible Olympic dream - if only we could get her in the pool without screaming! Lyra just follows Lily around - she can't do the somersaults like Lily but she can roll and tumble which in her mind looks exactly like Lily's graceful passes. She has been sleeping wonderfully at night which makes her happier during the day (her parents are happier, too).

The Family - looking a little grimy after a week at camp.

Blue Candy? There's nothing in my mouth!

Fourth of July Fun!

Here are a few pictures from our Fourth of July celebration at my sister's home.
Lyra playing in the ball pit at the local festival. She absolutely loved it and cried when it was time to go!

The kids posing in their Fourth of July outfits.

Lyra sitting in a toy wagon - she is so tiny she could fit in it! The kids took turns pulling her around.

Watching the parade in the drizzle - we only survived half of it before it started to pour rain. Lyra tried to insist on staying but we could only tolerate so much water.

A long, sick week

This has been a tough week in for the Andersons. We were just starting to recover from vacation when Lyra suddenly came down with a cough. Within 24 hours she was incredibly sick and diagnosed with pneumonia. Thankfully we caught it very quickly and were able to keep her out of the hospital. She then shared the bug with the rest of the family so we all have bronchitis (except Harry who has the teacher immunity - the one that has seen everything). We are all on the road to recovery and preparing for school to start. It will be a big year this year; Harry starts his second year at AC, Tris will be a 3rd grader, Alex starts kindergarten and Lily will attend preschool there. So Lyra and mommy will have some together time alone. I am really looking forward to getting back on a schedule. It will be a busy Fall with soccer and gymnastics but it will be fun.

Home again - again

Summer 2008 has hit a new record in busy-ness for the Anderson family. We are home, again, after a wonderful week at family camp. Family camp is the highlight of the year for our children and us. It is a Bible Camp located in Wisconsin where we stay in a cabin, learn more about God and join in tons of outdoor activities! This year included swimming the lake, the Amazing Grace Race, swimming, boating, biking, fishing, collecting shells (Alex), crafts, tubing, triathlon, duathlon, archery and hanging out with friends we love. Lyra loved it! We ate too much food, sang around the campfire and took a week out of our summer to get closer to our family and our God. I'll post pictures later.

New Anderson children pics

Lyra

Lily

Alex

Tristan

Settling In

Boy, it feels great to be home! Several days after arriving home from China, we packed for our annual family trip to the cabins. I would have loved to have just stayed home, but it is the kids' favorite vacation. Lyra was also doing very well so we decided to go. It was really a great week. The kids played and played constantly with their cousins - Lyra got to meet my entire family and had a great time swimming, taking hikes, sliding, swinging and riding a pony (that's right, she insisted on riding the pony with our help after seeing the others kids take their turn - and did not want to get off!) She really is a brave little girl! My mom taught her the "Bring Home a Baby Bumblebee" song with motions which Lyra throughly loves - just ask her to perform.

Lyra is still not talking (other than "Eh, eh" while pointing) but seems to be walking and running a little better. She has decided diapers are the way to go right now which is fine for now. We had an unexpected trip to the doctor today which showed a 1 pound weight gain in 2 weeks - that is really great since she is severely underweight, even on the Chinese charts. So we will continue the formula 3 times a day. Lyra loves most food, especially noodles, fruits and veggies. She went crazy for Harry's mom's spaghetti the other night! Lily is adjusting - doing well at times and struggling at others. She delighted in playing dress-up with Lyra today and even shared one of her Sleeping Beauty nighties with Lyra tonight so they could match. The boys are pretty much in their own world but think Lyra is "really funny". We are really blessed with a great family and appreciate the prayers for our children.


This week starts with lots of house cleaning to get rid of the piles that have accumulated from school ending, birthday parties, China and the family vacation. We also have numerous medical and adoption business to attend to this week. And the weeds kept growing while we were away and my raspberry bushes are producing several quarts of red raspberries every other day. It's going to be a busy week! We are just so thankful to start getting into a regular routine.

Home again, home again jiggety jog

Hooray! We are back home again in Indiana. The trip went amazingly well, considering. Lyra was able to sleep some on each leg of the trip. She came off the plane ready to meet her new siblings. Lyra spent the evening playing and romping around our living room - she fit in perfectly. Lily did a great job sharing her new birthday toys and showing Lyra how to play "Tea time". Lyra slept poorly but that is understandable considering the travel, time change and new bed. We will pray for better sleep tonight.

The Girls

Lyra "getting" Tristan

Lyra playing tea

The boys and their Fuwa (Olympic mascots)

Ready to be home

We have tried hard not to think about home too much but to enjoy our time with our new daughter. Through your continued prayers, we have felt an amazing peace throughout this incredible journey. But waking up this morning on the last day, we are done - just get us home. We miss our other kids so much.

Today we will take group pictures this morning and then go to the American Consulate this afternoon for the official oath taking. This extremely important appointment on which our entire trip was scheduled around looks like this: They pack as many families as possible into a small room, everyone raises their hand while someone in the front murmurs some words about taking care, never abandon, etc - I could only hear about half of it last time. Everyone agrees and we all leave. Very anti-climactic. However, it is the last step and we will be getting her visa to enter the US this evening.

Tomorrow morning will start bright and early. We will leave the hotel around 5:30am for the airport to start the longest day of the year for us. 25 hours later we will be staggering out of the Ft. Wayne airport at 6:20pm on the same day! This last leg of the trip is a true test on the strength of your marriage. Happy Anniversary to us!

Thank you all for your support and prayers during this journey. You guys have been an amazing support group with your encouaging emails and prayers. We have felt the peace the passes understanding as we stay in the middle of a foreign country with a new 2 year-old daughter. You are all appreciated.

Weekend in China

We have had a couple days of relaxing here at the White Swan. Lyra continues to do pretty well. She has decided that potty training is too much work - fine by me - and just comes to us patting her diaper when it is wet. We have plenty of time to work on that later. She is learning to understand more words but not using many yet. Lyra loves the swimming pool - she spent several hours there yesterday in the water and playing around. She likes to mimic others which means she gets really wet and we have to keep a really close eye on her.

The food here has been wonderful. There are several really good Chinese places close by. We ate with several families last night and broke down to order Papa John's pizza. Tasted the same.

We have been doing lots of paperwork but have lot of free time. I am meeting a local guide this afternoon to show me the places to get good deals and unique items here in Guangzhou.

China is doing so much to prepare for the Olympics. They are so proud the fact they are hosting. Everyone in China is excited. They are selling Olympic items all over the place. Taiyuan City airport is being upgraded to be used as a back-up for Beijing. New consruction is everywhere, especially in Beijing - I can't see how it will be done in time but you never know.

We leave for home in 2 days. We will miss China but are so ready to get home! Happy birthday, Lily! You are going to look so big as a 4 year old. And Alex, you are going to look so big and tall as a 6 year old. Tristan, you look big and tall all the time! We love you guys and are so thankful for the friends and family who have been helping out. Can't wait to see you on Wednesday!

A few more pictures