And I'll have potpourri for $200, please...

I've been told it has been a while since I've done any blogging and was surprised--but not shocked--to see that it had been a month since I've touched this blog.

So in an attempt to catch up, I present you some randomness from the past month.

Twice a year, Don travels to Idaho and Utah to lure unsuspecting college students and graduates to intern and work at the fine institution he's a part of. It is a busy, busy week for him as he travels to two universities and meets with college classes, professors, and interviews lots and lots of people. This trip he had a Sunday afternoon to spend time outdoors hiking in the mountains which is one of his all time favorite things to do. Here are some pictures of his little excursion in the Tetons.

Good thing I'm not the jealous type... :-)


Gotta love a self-portrait!


A couple lone aspens providing some color

My picture would be blurry, too, if I was that close to a moose because those guys can be AGGRESSIVE! Don saw a family of three--this is the papa...Momma and baby were ahead.

In the past month I got to see two friends I haven't seen in a long time. The first was my friend Kelly. Kelly and I used to work for the same company--although in different states. She and I were on several projects together and used to enjoy hanging out whenever we were on the road together or she was on my home turf or I was on hers. It had been over three years since I'd seen her and I was excited that she squeezed a visit in with me while she was on business travel here. We celebrated by having a pizza and p*izookie from an eating establishment we discovered together years ago in California that is now in San Antonio.

The other friend I got to reconnect with is a friend I hadn't seen since May 1988--the close of my sophomore year of college. Yes, you read that right--1988. What? You didn't think I was that old? Awww, thanks... A lifetime ago, Deena and I went to East S*troudsburg University and were in the same sorority. Unfortunately, we lost touch with each other because she graduated and moved and I moved, too. Last year we reconnected via F*acebook (which you know I love) and I found out she works for the same company as Don and had spent a lot of time in San Antonio at the corporate office. This spring she found out that her office in Virginia was closing and she moved here this summer. We FINALLY were able to get together and visit and it was so nice. No we didn't start singing our sorority songs and we really didn't talk too much about the old days. We really just visited about life as it is now and had a lovely time together. I can't wait to do it again--sans the four year old!


I will be back soon with some more posts.

Hope everyone is happy, healthy, and enjoying a lovely fall.

Parenting with A.W.E.

"Nine tenths of education is encouragement." Anatole France

I've been attending a great parenting class at church called Confident Parenting. It is based on the book of the same name by Jim Burns. There have been many super nuggets to think about and apply as I journey down the road of parenthood. This week we talked about parenting with A.W.E. I love that because the acronym is simple to remember. However, while the acronym is quite easy to remember, it isn't always simple to apply--especially when you're in the moment...

A=AFFECTION

W=WARMTH

E=ENCOURAGEMENT

I think I'm pretty good with the A and W. However, I think I'm really going to have to work harder on the E part. I have noticed that I am not always great at providing encouragement to those who are closest to me. I give my best to others and don't always reserve as much as I should for Don and Lindy. It just is easy to get in that rut of being nit picky and more critical than affirming and encouraging.

I want to parent with A.W.E. It is my prayer to continue to get better at giving Lindy affection, creating a warm home by minimizing stress and conflict, and to grow leaps and bounds in the area of encouraging her.

Friday Night Lights

In case you've been in a cave, high school football is a REALLY BIG deal in Texas. Perhaps you've heard of the book, movie, and TV series called Fr*iday Night Lights??? It is set in Texas and some of it is based on actual events. Okay, okay, I'll totally admit I get just a teensy bit defensive when some people (ahem, Don Osborn) think Texas is the only place where high school football is king. My high school alma mater, C*entral B*ucks High School West in Doylestown, PA, was quite the powerhouse in the 1980s. I am super proud they were undefeated during the entire time I was there and that their coach (and my really challenging Global Affairs teacher), Coach P*ettine, was a class act. His son, the star quarterback in 1984, is currently the defensive coordinator for the NY J*ets. How 'bout them apples? Did I mention two of the greatest quarterbacks who've played the game--Dan M*arino and Joe M*ontana--are from PA?


Whoa, did I digress or what? This past Friday we had the opportunity to get out and watch some high school ball--Texas style (which meant we WEREN'T freezing to death). Lindy had lots of fun hanging out with her Auntie Carolyn, going into the swanky suites, drinking "Sprout," and eating who knows what. She loved watching the band, the cheerleaders, dance team, and, oh yes, the game. Don and I call very enthusiastic people "woo hoo" people and our girl is definitely a "woo hoo" girl. Every once in a while (when she was with us in the stands and not socializing in the suites), we'd hear her cheering and she did admit having fun at the baseball game. (We're still teaching her.)


While I was in the stands, I really enjoyed people watching and taking in the sense of community. It was a lot of fun seeing little tiny children, parents, and grandparents, friends, and family assembled together donning their appropriate school colors and supporting the kids and a fun tradition. It also made me think about a man we knew from church who routinely made it his ministry to support high school football players from our congregation by attending their games. Charlie passed away last week at the age of 56 and was laid to rest on Saturday. Although I didn't know him well, I am certain he was a huge source of encouragement to the young athletes he cheered for from the stands. I also am certain the next time I see Charlie it will be light and bright because we'll be basking in the presence of God in Heaven. How wonderful it'll be to be under that light not just on Fridays but for eternity. And that, I believe, deserves a big woo hoo!

Happy Birthday, Dad

"Live your life and forget your age."--Norman Vincent Peale

Wishing you a very happy birthday, Dad!

I love you~
Lisa

Thankful Thursday

It has been a while since I've done a Thankful Thursday and I really felt called to take a break from my housework and do one right now...

Today I'm thankful for many things, especially my parents. Today they are celebrating their 43rd wedding anniversary. They were kids when they got married and have been through many things--both wonderful and difficult--together. I'm so thankful for the Christian home I was raised in and for the way they still teach me about love and life and doing the right thing. I love them so much and they mean the world to me. Congratulations, Mom & Dad!!!

I am thankful for news of new babies! Two of my dear friends are expecting and publicly announced their great news yesterday. It will be fun watching these little mommas-to-be blossom and dream and I pray they will both be blessed with a safe and healthy pregnancy and that God will give them the desires of their heart.

I am thankful for birthdays. Oh, no, NOT MINE. This week my sweet sister-in-law and Don's baby sister, Anne, had her birthday, Lindy's adorable little friend, Henry, turned three, and one of my "big sisters", Trina, has a birthday on Saturday. There are others, too, I haven't mentioned. I love the people God has brought into my life and celebrate each one of them!!!

I am thankful for the Chinese adoption community FAMILY. There are many things I can say about this but I'll just say it is wonderful to see how people come together during exciting, difficult, and challenging times to encourage, educate, exult, and edify. Over and over, I'm blown away how people--whom often HAVEN'T met--call on each other for support and receive it in tremendous ways. Just this week, I have a dozen examples that come to mind.

I am thankful for the opportunity to get in God's word more as I work with my friend to write our Ladies Bible Class lessons for the fall semester. It is time-consuming but worth every moment. It is true that you learn more when you teach. I know I have lots to learn!!! Our series is called Unwrapping God's Gifts. It is based on the book The Ultimate Gift, which I highly recommend! We are taking the gifts in the book and putting a biblical spin on them. This week we examined the gift of work. It is a challenge for me to always find worth in what I do and I don't often feel a lot of pleasure in sweeping the floor over and over. We issued a challenge to the class to meditate on Colossians 3:23 this week, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men..." I realize I don't always find joy in what I'm doing and I focus so much on myself in the process of the mundane chores. So, in addition to being able to work on the lessons, I'm thankful for the work I have and the opportunity I have to stay at home with Lindy and (hopefully) bless my family.

I'm thankful for all the rain we had last week and for the hint of cooler weather in the air! It has been a LONG, HOT summer and the hope of autumn brings a huge smile to my face. I can smell the wonderful scents of cinnamon now...

I could keep going but I have the gift of closet organizing waiting for me!!!

What are you thankful for today???

Wordless Wednesday

Mid-day meal monotony

I need a little help...Lindy starts back to preschool this week and I realized that means I better have some lunch box appropriate stuff in the house.

I don't think lunch is really her favorite meal (it definitely isn't mine, either), so I've got that working against me and then there's that whole issue of her being social and not really getting to the business of eating while she's at school.

So, won't you please let me sneak a peek into your lunch box and see what you pack your kiddos??? I'd love to hear your ideas for healthy lunches! And, hey, I'll trade you my pb&j for whatever you've got in there...

Wordless Wednesday

Precious family time

"The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together." ~Erma Bombeck

About a month ago, we spent a few days in Port Aransas with my parents and brother's family for some rest, relaxation, and a much anticipated visit. We had a great time together. We spent time at the beach and pool, went to the aquarium, watched movies, talked a lot, had some good fresh seafood, and ate more than our share of yummy ice cream.

Lindy, Brendan, & Bryce having fun at the aquarium

Mom taking in the sights and sounds of the beach. Totally not a sun, heat, or beach person but a super, duper GREAT sport.

Bryce with the coveted watering can

Can you really dig a hole to China?

Dani, didn't you see the sign? Please don't feed the seagulls!

Bren chillin' in the sand...

Great sand castle, Uncle Jeff!

My beautiful girl...
Don't be judging! Yep, our kids are eating their psketti in their undies. So???

Brendan enjoying his 5th birhday

Lindy enjoying Brendan's Transformer Party

I was a little bummed that my new camera locked up in the severe Texas humidity so I wasn't able to experiment with it as much as I wanted. I had grand plans to do the proverbial family beach shots in white. This year the humidity, race against the sunset, crazy wind, some punchy kids, and my lack of photography knowledge kept me from getting the "perfect" shots I had pictured in my head AND had documented on a list.

I'm beginning to think our beach shots will always be bloopers...I have to remind myself it is all about the memory, though, and we have plenty of great ones.

Jeff, Danielle, and the B boys--Bryce (6) and Brendan (5)

My precious parents


The cousins

Us with Mom & Dad...
Did I mention it was windy and humid?

Hey, no fair! He got the height, looks, and brains! RATS.

A phenomenal sunset!

Thanks, everyone, for coming our way to spend time with us. We look forward to the next adventure. I'm already coming up with the next picture scheme. KIDDING!!!

Just because

This morning I was spending a bit of time reviewing some pictures from the summer and trying to categorize some more blog posts in an effort to catch up.

I found a couple of pictures of Don and Lindy and just felt moved to post about the two of them.


I am so grateful and thankful that Don is such a great daddy to Lindy. He brims over with love when it comes to that girl. In the past, I've let the green-eyed monster rear its ugly head and sometimes I've mocked and made fun of their relationship (e.g., cracks about the violins playing in the background like a movie theme when he comes home). I'm not proud of that and the truth is that I just don't praise him enough for being a tremendous father.


The two have an amazing bond and he adores her and she adores him. I love that he knows what to do with her, how to play with her, and how to take care of her. He is so patient with her and can get through to her when I can't.


Don, thank you for wearing so many hats and taking on so many responsibilities to take care of our little family. I don't thank you enough for going to work every day and being the sole provider so that I can stay at home. I don't thank you enough for the sacrifices you make to spend time with your family. I hope you know that you're making a difference in Lindy's life and that she'll be a more confident, secure, and grounded person because of YOU and your relationship with her.

Weddings, wonderful weddings

A rare photo of the our little family together

I'm back again. You probably didn't expect me so soon did you? I really am trying to document a lot of this summer.

It seems like many people like to get married in the summer months, so it is always fun to hear of a new crop of weddings each year. This weird phenomenon is happening. The weddings that we're being invited to are weddings of the kids of friends of ours. How'd that happen??? How can we be old enough to have friends whose kids are getting married and how is it I have a pre-schooler and one on the way? Actually, the special thing is that we're so hip, young, and cool (ha ha), that we're friends with many of these kids, too.

I already wrote about Ashley and Matt's beautiful wedding here. This was an especially exciting event as Lindy was the flower girl and we were so proud of our beautiful girl.

Three weeks after Ashley's wedding, we had the privilege and honor to attend Katie and Blake's wedding. Katie is the oldest daughter of Jenn and Karl, more sweet friends we've met through adoption and blogging. (Lots of you might know her as one of Karleigh Mei's big sisters!) It is a small world folks and not long into the relationship we discovered Blake is the son of one of Don's work associates and that Katie and Blake are also friends of our friends, Kara and Houston.

I like to watch shows like Say Yes to the Dre*ss but it really blows my mind when I see how much emphasis and MONEY (yikes) is placed on finding the perfect dress, having an outlandish reception, etc., and how less emphasis seems (I could be wrong) to be placed on the actual ceremony. I guess this is really not anything new. Anyway, their wedding had to be one of the sweetest and most thoughtful weddings I've ever attended. It was a beautiful ceremony and Katie just glowed the entire evening. I know her parents were beaming with pride as they watched this special moment. It was a family affair and Karleigh Mei was the flower girl. Lindy was especially interested in Karleigh Mei's execution of her job and I had to keep her from giving pointers from the stands. Lindy and Karleigh Mei got to spend some time together at the reception which was a joy to watch, considering we had met Jenn and Karl right after they were logged in for China and had helped pray this child home.

Here are some pictures from the evening. I put Don in charge of the camera and there weren't many at the end of the night. ;-)

Jenn, the lovely Mommy-of-the bride, and I

I pretty much can see Lindy tugging on KM's hand saying, "C'mon, let's go!"

Sweet friends

Solving the world's problems

I know this isn't supposed to happen but it is indicative of what the girls looked like that evening...Very busy; very blurry!

Katie with Houston and Kara

Houston and Kara (less than one month from their wedding here)

Unfortunately, I ran out of the house without either camera for Houston and Kara's wedding on July 25th so you'll have to picture them about 100 times more amazing looking than the above picture (if possible). Grrr...I'm still kind of mad about that because it was another beautiful evening. Kara looked angelic and Houston just looked so in love with his bride. I did that I'm not going to cry, suppressed snort thing, again, as I watched her walk down the aisle and saw the tears in her eyes (and maybe Daddy Garry's, too?!) as she approached the altar. We have had the privilege of watching Houston and Kara grow up and grow in love. They are a special couple who first met each other in the 3s & 4s bible class at the church we attend and the class Lindy is in now. They both have incredibly godly parents whom we love, are wonderful individuals, and together I know they'll be a strong, Christian couple who'll do great things for the Lord.

It was another tear-jerker wedding as I listened to each carefully chosen and prepared word Houston's father, Daryl, spoke to his son and now daughter-in-love. At one point he acknowledged that each one was an answer to the many prayers each set of parents had prayed. I recall my dad saying those same things to Don when we were married. It reminded me that not only do I need to be praying for Lindy during the here and now but that I also need to be CONTINUALLY asking God to be preparing a special boy just for her--when she's 30! ;-)

Well, it appears the summer weddings are over. I pray that all these couples will grow more and more in love with each other and as Lindy says, "...live happily ever after--AMEN!"

Reintroduction

Hello, my name is Lisa. (You say, "Hi Lisa...") For those of you who don't know me or can't recall, I used to blog--A LOT! One blog wasn't enough for me, so I maintained three: The family blog, Lindy's blog, and her little sister-to-be's blog. Three became too many. After a period of time, I hit blogger's block. I also felt kind of bad about myself when I read other people's blogs. I wasn't good enough, smart enough, crafty enough, organized enough, clever enough, etc., etc. I was in too deep. I'm not proud of those feelings but I'm an open book kind of gal and that's some of what I've struggled with.

I began to question my motives for blogging and reading other blogs and realized that I'd probably lost sight of my original intent which was to keep family and friends informed about what has been going on in our life, as well as chronicle our life since I don't scrapbook the good old-fashioned way.

Lately, I feel like I've been blessed with LOTS to blog about but I've been too busy to blog. I am going to make an attempt to get back into it and I'll start with trying to recapture some of what we've been doing this summer. I can't get it into any order right now, so I'm just going to document for now.

It seems fitting to blog about blog friends, so I'll start there!

Last Friday, Lindy and I got to spend the entire day with friends I've met through the world of adoption and blogging...I was so happy to be able to see Diana and Jeff again and meet Ainsley and Ruby. I'd only met Diana in person one other time and I was sooooo sick that I'm pretty sure I had vomit in my hair and was breathing fire during our dim sum lunch. It was back in February 2007 not long before they got Ruby's referral. She has been a faithful friend and prayer warrior since late 2005 or early 2006. I just love her! I love that when I met Ruby she said, "This is Lisa. She prayed for you." That is so true! I also got to see Kim and her lovely family again. I met Kim last year right after she had moved to Houston and was forced to evacuate due to Hurricane Ike. This was a much happier time for us to meet and be together.

Here are some pictures from the day. (The good ones are ones Diana sent. She's an incredible photographer!!!)

If you think we look like drowned rats, we were in the pool all day long, trying to stay cool...

Sweet Ainsley & Lindy Li



Di, Lindy, & Ruby

My precious girl

Lindy Li, Kate Emerson, and Ruby Mei all sharing a cool and colorful treat

Jeff is a magnet for these little girls! What a daddy!!!

One of these is not like the other...(I'm referring to the brown hair!!!)
Kim, Me, & Di

Thanks for a great day girls!!!