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

Catching up

We have had some fun times this past month or so. We had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate the Chinese New Year with great friends from our adoption playgroup. It seemed as though all had a great time and it was fun to see the kids all running around having a blast.

We also had the wonderful opportunity to go to Great Wolf Lodge with a dear friend and her foster son. The kids play so well together and we were honored to be included in celebrating his 4th birthday! Happy Birthday Timmy!!

We had a warm spell come through here and we enjoyed every minute of it. Scooters came out, dog got walked, lots of playing to be had! I was able to cut down our pear and one of our apple trees. Addie-Mei is allergic to bee stings, so the fruit on the ground under these trees was quite dangerous for her to be around. I hated to see them go, but I hated it more for Addie-Mei to not be able to play out on her play area.

Addie-Mei has been asking for the last 2 months to do gymnastics again. I finally found a place that I love. I do not want her in competitions yet, so I was selective on where she went. I was referred to a place where recreational gymnastics is taught and I really like it there. We have gone twice. The first time she was a bit overwhelmed to see all the equipment, but once she understood that she was not going to be doing the big stuff, she did better. Last night she impressed me. She actually jumped up onto the bar and help her body weight up for awhile. She also could hold herself up in a handstand against the wall. She is stronger than I thought. Of course she still only has 29 pounds to hold up. I will post some pics next week, once I take them.

I guess that is it. Have a great day!

Tamie

Winter fun

I thought I would post a few pics of our fun in MI in the snow and with family. We had a wonderful visit with the family and loved the 2.5 foot of snow we had to play in!!!

Tamie

Merry Christmas

In lew of sending out a Christmas letter and picture, I decided to update Addie-Mei's blog with the letter and pics. Saves paper, save time, and saves finances. I hope you enjoy.

2008 has been a wonderful year for us. God has blessed us in more ways than I can express. We have a wonderful family, great friends, and a wonderful home.

We did a lot of traveling this year. In April, we were able to take a vacation down in FL. While there I decided we would visit Disney World together, each for the first time. It was a perfect vacation. Each time something majical happened, I thought to myself how Addie-Mei would never have had these memories had God not led us together. It was such a special time. We were able to go to southern IN and visit with some dear freinds we met while in China who were in our travel group. It is very important for us to stay connected to Addie-Mei's roots as long as she wants to. The time we spend with this family is always precious! June brought us a trip to St. Louis for a conference I had. Addie-Mei came along and had a great time. We went on our first train ride together and she really liked that. The highlight of that trip was visiting the zoo. Addie-Mei LOVED the penguins.

In July we went north to MI for our summers ending vacation to visit with family and friends. We both cherish this time as we only make it to MI twice a year, and that is usually the only time we see our family. Addie-Mei got to experience her first camping adventure over fall break this past October. It was cold, it was rainy, but we both had a GREAT time in God's creation in our little tent. This child was created perfectly to fit into our family!!

As I said, lots of travel. Addie-Mei continues to flourish into the precious little girl God intends her to be. She is sweet, sensitive, loving, very kind hearted, and just a joy to be around. Her sweet little innocent voice can bring a smile to your face at any given moment. Especially when she is playing the "Don't you smile" game. She is doing great in school. She surprises her teachers on occassion with knowing how to spell words, or how to write her numbers even though no one has worked with her on this.

As for me, things all revolve around my sweet little girl. I continue working at Westfield High School. I was able to teach a new class this year that we created, Introduction to Athletic Training. It is nice to finally be able to use my athletic training knowledge in the classroom. I continue working part time in athletic training at a local junior high school. We are very active in our small group at church and with a group of friends who all have adopted children from China. Life is good down here in Indiana.

We both hope you have a wonderful Christmas season.

God Bless,

Tamie and Addie-Mei

Halloweeen fun

Addie-Mei had a riot with Halloween. She dressed up three different times, and each time she was something different. She had a costume party first and she was Tinkerbell, second, she dressed up as a ballerina for her preschool costume day, and then she wanted to be a Sprite from Disney's "Johnny and the Sprites" show. Here are some pictures.

Tamie

Fall Festivities

Sweet Surgum

Tinker Bell

Pumpkin girl

What a pretty leaf

Swinging in the sun

Fall Fun

Mama, it is really cold today!!

Sweet

My Hiking Girl

Nice family photo of the two of us

Beautiful fall colors

Addie-Mei and I have had a wonderful fall. We have had fun playing outside with the wonderful weather we have had. We also had Aunt Debbie come down for a visit and had lots of fun with her. We ended up going to Conner Prairie and Addie-Mei got to help make surgum. What a sweet treat!

Addie-Mei has had some fun with Halloween festivities this fall. She had a costume party at a friends house which was a blast. We are blessed to have so much fun with our friends.

We went camping down to Brown County State Park for fall break this past weekend. It was COLD and it rained a couple of times, but we had a BLAST!! It was Addie-Mei's first real camping experience and she loved it. We had the opportunity to do lots of hiking and enjoying of God's creation. When we came home she kept asking to go back camping. She had lots of Mama time and I had no chores to do, so we both loved it. Now it is back to reality and she is not liking it much.

For those who are following the Melamine contamination of milk in China, we are on the list of possible exposures. The formula used in Addie-Mei's orphanage is one of the brands found to have tainted batches. We will be having some testing done in the next week or so to make sure her little kidneys are healthy.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures.

Tamie

Long time no post, sorry

Well, it has been a little time since I posted. Sorry about that. Addie Mei and I have had a wonderful summer. We finished out the school year with nothing spectacular happening.

Over Memorial weekend we had the wonderful oppurtunity to go visit one of the families we went to China with. They have a reunion of their first travel group from 12 years agao every Memorial weekend. They invited us to join in that celebration with them each year so we can stay connected. We went to Holiday World, as they live so close to there. Addie Mei had a wonderful time playing with the other children and also playing with the "big China girls" as she calls them. It will be great for her to be a part of such a great group.

We had a wonderful trip to St. Louis in early June. I had a conference to go to and brought Addie Mei with me. A friend and his wife also went and we shared a room together. My friends wife watched Addie Mei when I had sessions to go to. We were able to go to the St. Louis Zoo and went on our first train ride together to get there. As you can see in the above pictures, Addie Mei decided it would be fun to turn into "Super Addie Mei" and fly between the beds for about 30 minutes. It was a riot to watch. Eventually, she put a cape on and continued.

We enjoyed our swimming pool all summer and I gave swim lessons to a couple of my freinds children. Addie Mei is swimming all over the place. When there is only a couple of people and limited waves in the pool, she swims without any swim vest. She does very well, even though she cannot touch the bottom of the pool. I am shocked that someone so little can swim so well. She LOVES the pool.

We ended our summer with our annual MI vacation. We love going to MI to visit our family. It is nice to reconnect with friends also. We went to MI Adventure with some friends from down here, and my sister and two nephews also joined us. It was so much fun. We also went to a fair while we were there. Addie Mei is a true fair girl. She really likes the animals and the rides. I am thrilled she enjoys the simple things in life.

We enjoyed the IN State fair when we returned to IN. I have never gone before, but enjoyed myself as well. It is large, but very child friendly.

School has started and Addie Mei is in two preschools. She goes all day Monday, Wednesday and Friday to one and half day on Tuesday and Thursday to the other. She loves school and enjoys meeting new friends. She turned four this summer and I can't believ how fast she is growing up. Next year she will be in Kindergarten. My how time flies......

My classes have also begun and I am thrilles to be teaching a SPorts Medicine class. I can use my Athletic Training in the classroom finally and I am loving it! I have great kids and I teach at a great school.

I have been working all summer on writing a Lifebook for Addie Mei. It is a book containing everything that I know about her history and the journey we each took to get to each other. It documents all the things I know so she can have all the information as she pieces together her past. She may not understand these things now, but will need then later in life. It has been very difficult at times to revisit the reality of her past, but I am honored to have her now and be influential on her future. The picture of us together was taken to put in this Lifebook.

I will try to post more often for those die hards out there!!

Love,

Tamie