A visit with Santa

Tonight we went to the mall across town to find a Macy's. EmmaLi wrote a letter to Santa at the North Pole and Macy's has a program where they donate a dollar to the Make a Wish Foundation for every stamped letter dropped in the mail box. They deliver the letters to Santa for the children.

Afterwards we went to see Santa. Believe it or not there was one wee little baby getting her picture taken when we walked up and there was no other line. EmmaLi walked right up and got the Big Man's attention. Afterwards he gave her a special sign that says "Santa Stop here!"On the back it has a place for EmmaLi to write her list. He instructed her to put the sign in the front window so he will see it and make sure he stops.

Santa was provided to the mall by a photography company and they forbid pictures taken with personal cameras. I was not going to pay for one of the "packages" they offered since they started at $19.99 and went up to $50.00 with additional buy up options. Instead we only have photos of her mailing her letter to Santa at Macy's. I would also like to put in a plug for the ladies at Macy's. Three of them helped us locate the mail box to Santa. They were outstanding customer service representations.

Busy, Busy Weekend

What a busy weekend we had this past weekend. It started Friday night. We went to the Christmas pageant at First Baptist Church Columbia. I hadn't planned on going this year. We went last year and EmmaLi didn't seem to enjoy it too much. She whined about it taking so long to get inside the church due to having to get there early to get a decent seat. The tickets where for assigned section but each section was first come for seat. She did like the Bell Ringers that were playing while we waited to go in. Once inside she had a difficult time sitting still and kept asking when it was going to be over. Apparently, that's how she shows she likes the show.

Last weekend she asked when we were going to the church show that we went to last year. I told her I didn't think she enjoyed it last year so I didn't get tickets. She was disappointed and said "I wiggled around alot but I liked the show and want to go again." The next day I called the church and was able to secure our tickets. So we went to the Christmas Pageant Friday night. I am glad we did. It was a better show this year than last year. This years show was geared more towards kids. Towards the end they had a live nativity and the show proceeded to show the life of Jesus. EmmaLi kept asking questions during the show which gave us an opportunity to discuss how Jesus was crucified on the cross even though he did nothing wrong. She had known that Jesus died on the cross for our sins but she didn't really get the magnitude of what that meant until she saw the show. She asked a number of questions all the way home and even continued asking questions once we were home. It was good for her to see it in a non-threatening way. She wanted to know why the guard kept pushing Jesus up the steps? Why they were being mean to him? Why if he didn't do anything wrong was he killed? I gave her the answers as best I could. It's one thing to hear that Jesus died on the cross for our sins but quite another to see it happen.

Saturday morning we went to our Families with Children from China Christmas party. EmmaLi had a great time. She made a new friend named Nan. She has come a long way for sure. Several of the older girls (7 to 9 years old) were playing just outside the doors where the parents were chatting and visiting. There was a large basketball court out there and a couple of basketballs available. Emmali wanted to go out there too. I suggested if she wanted to go play she go out with the girls but I was going to stay inside with the parents. She asked why I didn't want to go outside and accepted my answer. She actually, went outside with the girls and hung out with Nan. They were running around, playing and shooting hoops. She had a blast and the best part was I was able to stay inside and talk with the other adults.

After that party we went home to rest for a couple of hours. Later that evening we went for Christmas party #2. That one was full of food; shrimp cocktail, grilled roast pork, grilled prime rib, several different chips and dips, cocktail wieners, and veggies. There were four girls EmmaLi's age and they had a blast. They danced the night away on the deck then in the living room then back on the deck. Some of the guys there were dancing with the girls and the girls were just loving it. EmmaLi was fine tuning her hip hop skills. She had those fancy feet of hers going a mile a minute. She would slide across the living room on her knees impressing everyone watching. She even threw in a few donkey kicks while she was dancing her heart out. LOL When we were getting ready to go to the party, she didn't want to go. Once there she didn't want to lave. LOL

If she had to pick which party she liked the best, I think she would have a hard time deciding. They were different styles of parties with different people and activities but both included her favorite things. She was exhausted by the time she got home. This morning she woke up complaining her tummy hurt. It was low in the front about where her bladder was so I suggested she go in to go potty to see if that might help. I went to start my coffee and she came out and climbed on the sofa. Within a few minutes she had dozed off. I covered her with a blanket and let her rest some more since her tummy had hurt. She slept from 8:30am until 10:50am. She woke up and had no tummy ache. I was thankful for that. We missed church but I thought it was better to error on the side of caution than to get to church and her throw up all over the place.

The Christmas Season has begun!

We have been in the throws of the holiday season with no end in sight. The shopping is nearly finished. Our first Christmas pageant was last night, our second is Friday night and we have two Christmas parties this weekend and we went to the Parade of
Lights complete with Santa Clause last weekend.Two more weeks til Christmas so lets take the ride for all it's worth!

Enjoy the pictures of EmmaLi at her Christmas play at her day care. They did the A, B, C's of Christmas. While I took the pictures EmmaLi, one thing I find hilarious is the looks on the kids faces that are in the pictures and around her but didn't know the pictures were being taken. Check out some of these kids!

This is EmmaLi passing her "Letter M" to Ms. Suzette to hang on the tree.

Thanksgiving Day

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We went to Savannah to spend a couple days with friends. Our friends Chrissy, Gordy and Jackie came from Aiken as well.

We had good food, good friends and a great day. What else could you ask for. We have a great deal to be thankful for every day. Carol returned from Iraq healthy and safe. Everyone is healthy. We all have jobs, a roof over our heads, and food on the table. Compared to more than 95% of the worlds population, we are rich indeed. I try very hard to remember that through the year. I may not be able to afford everything I would like but I can afford everything we need. Thankfully, that is enough.

A letter to Santa from a Mother

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor and sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school Playground. I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:

I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze, but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.

I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music, a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals, and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jea ns that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable?
It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is calling and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold.

Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always,

MOM...

PS. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa.

Fall is in the air

Mid November the leaves start to fall off the tree in our back yard. For the past couple years I tried to get EmmaLi to help me rack leaves into a big pile and play in them. She would have nothing to do with it.

This year her teacher was discussing fall, the changing colors of the leaves and the leaves falling off the trees until spring and playing in the leaves. So while Mom has no knowledge of how much fun playing in the leaves can be (ahem) her teacher does. This year EmmaLi decided she wanted to rack the leaves and play in them in the back yard. Below are a few pictures of her playing in the leaves.

A very sad day

Yesterday was a bad day all around. It seemed everything that could go wrong did. The last half hour at work was spent trying to get out of there by 6:00pm to go to soccer practice but the calls and "emergencies" kept coming. I did make it out the door at 6:00pm and picked up EmmaLi. I forgot her soccer cleats and she insisted on wearing her cleats and not regular tennis shoes. So we went home before going to McDonald's for diiner on the go. As soon as we walked in I noticed something was not right. Our kitty Mei Mei usuall is at the door to greet us. She was not there. Instead I found her laying on the floor in the living room. She was not moving. As I approached her, she didn't lift her head and I noticed her face was contorted. She had passed away. I do not know what caused this kitty or her sister to pass away. Both seemed healthy and fine the morning each of them passed away. Meimei was eating, drinking, peeing and pooping on schedule. She was running in front of me to leave the bedroom before me in the morning like she always does. It is a mystery. I suspect there was some sort of genetic disorder or siezure disorder these two sister kitties.

We will miss her very much. We buried her in the back yard today and will remember her forever. EmmaLi wants a new kitty but I told her we would take a break from pets for now. We will have to make due with our guppies.

It does seem strange in the morning when a kitty is not chasing me out the bedroom door to get in front of me. It seemed strange to lay in bed last night and look up to the spot Meimei liked to sleep and find it empty. It was also strange to come back from our soccer game this morning and not be met at the door by a kitty.

In honor of both of our kitties Mao-ee and Meimei, I am posting their pictures.