Picking out pumpkins!

We took the girls to a local pumpkin patch last weekend. It was very wet in the fields so we needed to pick our pumpkins out of the pre-picked batch. They also had hay rides which the girls loved going on... okay, okay, Hubby and I loved it too!!

 

Our three pumpkins are behind the girls, we got gourds and corn, too! I think gourds are so cool and unusual! The girls couldn't get over their shapes and colors!

Sarah wanted so much to feed the chickens but was afraid to do it. As you can see on the far right is Daddy's helping hand! I am not so sure Sarah appreciated his help!

She did get the courage up to do it, way to go Sarah!

Anna on the other hand did not get the courage up to even stand next to them. She is our scaredy cat! She wanted nothing to do with the chickens other than to watch them from afar! In the pic she is further away from them than it appears!

It was really so much fun going there with the girls and the weather was perfect! It was a cool crisp fall day!

Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder!

It must be true that absence makes the heart grow fonder! When Mark left for college he was thrilled to have a much needed break from his special sisters. You see he worked for me all summer as a "manny" - male nanny! Even when he didn't work for me and was just in the house the girls just couldn't leave him alone. They were all over him! 

I know it didn't take him long to start really missing them. They feel the same way about him- they love their big brother Mark! The girls love all their brothers but this one has been gone for 9 weeks- so right now he is pretty special!

When we adopted we never intended our older children to feel like they had to help us. adopting was our choice, our desire and our dream... not theirs. What has been so wonderful to see is that the older children just naturally and joyfully help and encourage the younger kids. I just love that about big families! It is such a joy to see them interact!

Cinderella!

Katie got the swine flu, too. She spent the first 3 days at her place laying low but then it got a bit lonely so she came to our house. We were all been exposed to it a couple weeks ago when Johnny was sick so I was fine with her coming over. The little girls loved it! We did school and they would take breaks and visit big sissy Kate and her doggy Penny! 

We had just read the story Cinderella so I had the three of them watch the movie (I'm so glad I didn't have to for the 100th time!)! It was hard for the two younger ones to sit still but they saw most of it (kind of). 

I asked Sarah when it was over if they lived happily ever after? Her response was "Who?" Oh well we still have a ways to go! ;-)

Prepping for Halloween!

The girls have been trying on some costumes to see what they want to be for Halloween. The problem is when the day finally comes the kids have to wear so many warm clothes they end up being nothing other than a bundled up kid!! Every few years we get decent weather and the kids can actually be something- hope it's this year!

Just so you know I was always the kid without a costume OR not a very good one...  Sorry Mom- you know it's true. I have no other complaints about my childhood other than my halloween costumes...

As it turns out Hubby's mom loved to sew!! Praise the Lord! Our older children were saved from my fate!! God Bless her!! The kids always had awesome costumes! Usually she would surprise us- which was great with me! Sometimes the children got to pick out what they wanted! We had a bunny rabbit, pumpkin, bear, doggy, tiger, leopard, Zebra, mini mouse, pirates, power rangers and many more! Dear Lolly thank you so so much!!

I do not sew but thank goodness they have cute quality costumes in the stores now! The kids are trying to decide between a ladybug and a butterfly! We had fun trying them on! They are not going to be the same thing- we will see who gets what??

An Interesting Question!

This is the lantern that Anna made at the Autumn Moon Festival!

This weekend we went to the Autumn Moon Festival! Thank goodness for our Local FCC group- the make celebrating the Chinese Holidays easy!! There is always something planned. If it were just up to me I am afraid they would fall by the wayside. Here is Sarah getting her hair braided and then came the pink hair coloring AND the glitter! The girls loved the celebration! It was simple but fun! Of course my camera battery died right after the pic of Sarah- bummer.

They served both moon cakes and regular cake. Not too many people enjoy the moon cakes...

I was asked by another bloggy friend what Sarah remembered about the Chinese celebrations. At first she was surprised to hear that she remembers absolutely nothing but once you think about it - of course it is that way.

When you belong to a family they teach you about the celebrations. You may cook with your mother and grandmother. Our your grandfather will share stories about past celebrations. Without a family there is no one to teach you and no one to celebrate with. I do not think (and think is a key word) that the orphanage staff spends much time teaching the children. That is something we do in our culture, we are always teaching our children. I do not think the orphanage staff is educated. Sarah was not taught the simplest things- we are often so surprised at her questions. Can animals talk? Is that real or not? 

So our darling daughter came to us having tasted moon cakes but having no idea what or why they celebrated the autumn moon festival. She saw fireworks but had no idea why people were setting them off. She had no concept of time, the seasons,her age or when her birthday was. Why then would it matter to her if it was a new year?

I Like Me!

We went to the play "I Like Me" at a local Children's Theatre. It is from a children's book written by Nancy Carlson. It was absolutely adorable and at just the right level for Sarah and Anna. We read the book many times before going to the play. Comprehension is pretty tough for Sarah. We need to stop often when we read to her and repeat over and over. It can wear me down but it is so rewarding when the light bulb goes off and she gets it!!

Anna did spend a portion of the play staring at the people behind us that just happened to bring a snack in a crinkly bag. She knew the sound right away and honed in on their food. This was her first play and she did pretty well!! I think we can do this again!!

In the pic above she is posing with the cast! Anna did not want anything to do with those scary looking people or where they animals?

Little miss Anna did not drink her milk (she hardly ever does) so she lost out on her chips at lunch time. Sarah and I went upstairs to start a little school work when I heard a few questionable noises coming from the kitchen! I like to think of Anna as resourceful and not naughty. I came down and the kitchen was empty but there was a light on in the pantry! Of course I knew exactly what was going on so I grabbed my camera to get a pic of "lil miss resourceful" in the pantry stealing chips! It just so happen she pottied in her pants when she heard her mothers voice. Do ya think she was feelin a lil guilty??

So I was planning to announce this to the world because I am so excited and I am sure everyone is interested (not) but Anna is potty trained! (Kind of!) 

Moon Cakes!

Eugene and his daughter Amy had it all set up for us!

This is the mold for the moon cakes!

We were all thrilled with how good the turned out!

This is one that Sarah made!

This one was my first successful attempt!

Anna just played and opted out of moon cake making!

We made mooncakes with our FCC group this Friday. One of the members had it all set up for us! We watched a video on how to do it and then attempted this amazing feet! I never would have even tried to do this alone but I was thrilled to do it with the group! 

Sarah remembered eating moon cakes in China but had never had the experience of making them. She made 2 of moon cakes and then choose to play! A favorite pastime of hers! I can't blame her, they were tedious and tricky to make! It ended up being the adults in the kitchen banging the molds on the wooden cutting boards.  

Thank you Eugene for this fun afternoon!