Oops

It has been about two years since I have posted anything on this site.  With the wonderful invention of Facebook, my family stays up to date on our happenings so I have neglected our blog.  I will give a brief overview of our fun.

Addie-Mei is now 8 years old and in the third grade.  She is a beautiful, sweet young lady.  She is involved in many things at school, including playing volleyball and the school choir.  She continues to grow in her relationship with Christ.  She was baptized on April 15 of this year.  A very special day for her and most of her family were able to make it down for her special day.  She also continues to be a part of our church's Easter Passion play, Behold the Lamb.  We love to serve the Lord together in this production.

We continue to enjoy our trips to Alabama each year to visit our wonderful friends, the Parkers.  We also enjoy going the other direction to the north to spend time with our family.  Addie-Mei was the flower girl in my sister Deb's wedding in August.  It was a wonderful day of celebration and fun!!


We added a new friend to our family on January 2nd of this year.  Star of Bethlehem, or Beth as we call her, is an 11 month old Black Lab.  She is fun and silly and fits into our family very well.  We are both enjoying her very much and Beth LOVES "her girl" as we refer to Addie-Mei.

So I have been a bit negligent with updating for the past few months. So sorry. We had a wonderful summer and fall. I will try to recap:

We had the wonderful opportunity to have a reunion this summer in PA with other families who adopted children from the same Social Welfare Institute as Addie-Mei. It was so precious to see the girls interacting and enjoying so much fun with each other. It was a double pleasure for us, as one of the precious little girls was also our sweet KK. She and Addie-Mei were cribmates in China. He mother and I had met online even before we had met our girls. We did not figure out their relationship in China until months after being home and looking at pictures the nannies had taken of the girls in the SWI before we traveled. Their connection is deep and it was obvious the moment we reunited them after 4.5 years. Addie-Mei and I have taken a trip to AL to spend a long weekend with them at their home. While in AL, Addie-Mei caught her fist fish, a HUGE striped bass. She even caught it on one of those little Disney reels :o) KK and her mom will be coming this way in November for a visit as well. A relationship that will prayerfully last a lifetime!

Addie-Mei has started first grade. She is doing GREAT! She loves her teacher, and loves her classmates. She is catching on to all the new concepts there are to learn in first grade. It is such a blessing to me to see her grown intellectually and emotionally. She continues to gain ground in playing the piano. She was blessed with a piano as a special birthday gift. (Mama found a great deal on Craigslist :o)) She loves it. This Christmas she plans on going to a nursing home to play the piano for the residents and also paint the ladies finger nails. She has such a sweet heart! Gymnastics also keeps her hopping, literally :o) She loves it and does well at it. I will keep her in the non competitive gym for now. We will see where her passion leads us.

This fall I took the opportunity to bring Addie-Mei to a Broadway Musical, Marry Poppins. It was a wonderful evening and a great show. Something we will both cherish for a long time. Sweet memories!

School for me is going great. I have wonderful kids and wonderful classes. I cannot complain :o)

I will try to post a little more consistently.

Tamie and Addie-Mei

Summer has arrived :o)

Well,

Addie-Mei has finished her first year of school and will be moving onto first grade. She did wonderful in Kindergarden. She loves school and loves reading, doing math, and figuring out how things work. She finished her year out with a sweet concert and a fun field day. I am so thankful my schedule allowed me to take the day off work and enjoy her field day with her.

We went on our annual visit to southern Indiana to meet up with a family we met in China, and a whole lot of other friends we have met through them. Our lives are truely blessed to have these wonderful families in our life! Addie-Mei has some wonderful teenage girls who have walked a similar path she has in front of her on her journey to understand her past. They are great for her :o)

Looking forward to a very busy summer with two very special trips, one to MIichigan and one to Pennsylvania. Will let you know how things go on these trips.

Amazing Spring

So this spring has been a wonderful time here in the Gipe household. Addie-Mei and I were a part of a wonderful play about the life of Jesus that our choir director had written, Behold the Lamb. It was the 20th anniversary of this play. Amazing experience, great friendships built and the Word of the Lord was proclaimed!
We had my two sisters and one of my nephews come to visit as well this spring. We had a great time together, even though I got a bad case of food poisoning. We went to visit the Creation Museum in Cincinnati. It was a great trip and we all had a wonderful time.
We also had some dear friends come down to build a quilt in less than 36 hours. We worked hard, the kids played hard, and it is now done. Brenda is my friend who went with me to China to adopt Addie-Mei.
Now we are coasting to the end of another year. Addie-Mei will finish Kindergarten and officially be a 1st grader. I can't believe she is going to be in school all day, every day. She is getting so big. She continues to melt my heart with her sweet spirit and her sweet smile. I thank God everyday that He gave me the privilege of raising this precious child. She is such a blessing.

4 years together

Addie-Mei and I have celebrated our 4th anniversary of being a family! She has blossomed into the sweet precious child I had prayed she would be. She loves the Lord, she is tenderhearted, she loves gymnastics and piano, and is just a joy to be around.

Addie-Mei is doing great in school. She is learning to read, enjoys math, and loves her teacher. It is hard to believe that her first year of school is almost over. Only 2 more months. She participated in her first science fair. She did a good job. She wanted to know which stain remover worked the best, so we had some fun destroying one of my tee-shirts.

We are looking forward to this summer, as we will finally be able to meet a few more of her Suixi sisters, other children from the same social welfare institute. We will be having a reunion in July, over her birthday, in Lancaster, PA. We will stay in Philly for another 5 days for a family vacation.

Addie-Mei and I are both involved in a passion play for Easter. It has been a long road and a lot of work, but it is so worth it. We are both very excited to serve our Lord in this way.

I will try to get the pictures we had taken this weekend uploaded. They turned out well.

So I missed a month...

OK, OK I know I missed September and almost all of October. SO I thought I would update for you die hards out there, mostly my family.

The week after Addie-Mei learned to ride her bike, she blessed me with the most wonderful announcement. As we were driving down the rode, she declared, "Mama, I want to ask Jesus into my heart." I was totally taken off guard, but was so excited to ask her all about her decision and make sure she knew what she was asking. When we got to where we were going, I sat her in my lap and helped her to ask Jesus to forgive her sins and ask Him to be her Savior. What a blessing to be witness to the most important decision she will ever make i her entire life. Praise God!!

The next week, she started kindergarten. She was so excited to go to her big girl school and ride the bus. We had met her teacher a couple of times before and she already decided she liked her a lot. It was a great day! I was able to stay home that day, put her on the bus, and be the one to pick her up. We went to the State Fair right from school and spent the whole afternoon and evening there.

School has been going very well for her. She is learning her words and is able to read at least 20 sight words. It is so neat to watch her grow. Gymnastics is also going very well. Last week, she FINALLY mastered the hand stand against the wall. She has been working so hard on this since January. When she kicked up, her face lit up like a Christmas tree. Her teacher and I both saw her HUGE grin on her face, upside down. Instead of ringing the bell for doing something well, she came running to me with arms open wide and that grin on her face. What a teachable moment. She is starting to see how hard work and perseverance pays off.

Addie-Mei gets to sing in the church choir this year! She is very excited about this as she has been coming to the adult practices for some time now. I am so thankful she is excited about things at church!! She loves her Awana program and memorizes at least a verse a week if not two! Keep it up sweetie!!!

We had a bought of illness last week and are still recovering. Addie-Mei is visibly weakened by being sick, but she is bouncing back.

I think that brings you all up to speed on our happenings down here!! I will get some pics up tomorrow.

Blessings,
Tamie

Proud Mama moment!!!

This pictures say it all!!! Note what is missing on the rear wheel of her little pink bike!!!!!! (no more training wheels for those slower than others :o) She concentrated so hard while she was riding, then when she stopped she had the cutest little giggle and the largest smile!! I am so proud of her. She blew her training wheels a kiss as we rode past the house. It was so cute!

My baby is 5 years old, sigh......

Wow, I did not realize how it would hit me to watch Addie-Mei turn 5 years old. She is such a little lady, no longer a baby girl. It is amazing to hear the deep thought out questions come out of her. Just 2 years ago, I was wondering if I would ever understand her completely. Time flies!!!

We had a wonderful trip to MI to visit friends and family. Our summer trip north is always filled with fun and at least one trip to Lake MI!! Oh how I miss the beautiful sand, the gorgeous sunsets, and the time just playing on the beach! I hope this tradition continues!! While in MI, Addie-Mei met two ducks at my parents trailer. They actually took bread right out of her hands. She was a bit nervous, but Papa was right there to help her along!!

In two weeks she will start Kindergarten. She is so excited, as am I. It is the start of a new adventure for us! I know she will do very well in school. I just pray she is protected from some of the ugliness in the world.

Until next month....

Summer good times???

Well,

I am not sure if painting the house is considered summer fun, but it is FINISHED!!! Addie-Mei has been a trooper while I worked hard on the house. The rain we have gotten has allowed for a few family days in the middle of all the painting. She is excited to "help" me paint the shed next week.

We were able to get away for a beautiful day and go hiking with a friend of ours and a large group of parents and children from her kids school. It was so nice, and Addie-Mei hiked the entire 2.5+ mile RUGGED trail. See picture of us getting by one of the little streams. I do not have the pictures of the 3 ladders we had to decend in order to get out, wow!!

Once the shed is painted, the rest of our summer can begin.

Will post about all that fun next month!!

Tamie

Some pain, some joy...

We have had a very hectic last week in the Gipe household. As the school year winds down, it is always a little more crazy than normal, but this year was special. As the title to the post says, there has been some pain in our lives and joy.

Last week, I had to make a very difficult decision to put our beloved dog, Missi to sleep. She has been the best friend and companion any dog could be for the past 13.5 years. We miss her, but I know she is not in pain or suffering as she was over the past couple of months. Addie-Mei misses her coming into her room in the mornings when I wake her up. She is still processing what has happened to Missi, but she is doing well. Yesterday, she blessed me with a precious little picture she made on the back of a piece of paper she was drawing on. It was a simple face, with a line drawn to another simple face with 4 legs. She told me it was a picture of me walking Missi on a leash. She then told her freind that Missi is gone now, and her little friend came over and gave her the sweetest hug. Brought tears to me eyes to see a little four year old consoling the sad little heart of her friend.

On the same day that we had to say goodbye to Missi, Addie-Mei graduated from Preschool, the joy!!!! It was so cute to see the little caps and watch the picture slide show of the whole year. She has blossomed this year and I am so proud of her. She will be starting Kindergarden in the fall and she is so excited!!!

We got to celebrate with a trip to southern IN and visit some friends while enjoying Holiday World, an amusement park we Hoosiers love!!! It was a wonderful time with friends and travel!

We are looking forward to a wonderful summer together!!!!

Tamie

Spring Break and Easter 2009

Addie-Mei and I have celebrated 3 years together. People told me to enjoy everyday while she is young because the time flies by. I now know what they meant by that. Believe it or not, Addie-Mei will actually be starting kindergarden next year.

Addie-Mei has asked for a long time to go back to gymnastics, so we have started again. She LOVES it. This past week, she was finally able to kick herself up into a handstand on the wall. She has also been able to push her head off the floor in her bridge once by herself. This has been so good for her strength! She loves her teacher, and really enjoys seeing how her hard work allows her to do more things. I can see a confidence building in her.

My sister and I went on a cruise over Spring Break while Addie-Mei stayed with our other sister and a friend in MI. She did very well and enjoyed all the time she had with her friends and cousins. It was nice to have a break, but was also great to see her again! While up in MI, we were able to spend Easter Sunday with the family. It was very nice. We have not been able to do that in the past three years, so it was great to be there and have all the family fun! My niece and one of my nephews were enlisted by the Eatser bunny to help hids the eggs. They enjoyed it, but made the comment that it is no fun to grow up! Too precious!

Only a few more week sna dsummer break will be upon us. I am looking forward to the summer!

Maybe another post then!!!

Tamie