Hannah Loves Mimi & PawPaw

I think it's been too long since we've been able to see Hannah and Jaycie's Louisiana grandparents. She's all into kissing now, and I caught this on the camera just the other day. In the last pic she's making her "ain't I cute?" nose scrunch.

Sisters Inside & Out

Jaycie loves to play on the balcony, and today Hannah wanted to be out there, too. Instead, they played this sweet game. I particularly like the kiss through the glass.

What's For Dinner?

If You're Ever In St. Louis...

...you must visit the City Museum. It was an awesome adventure and right up Jaycie's alley. I was in complete awe of it's uniqueness; it was like something from a dream. I highly recommend it, but I don't suggest taking a toddler into the labyrinth of the maze system there. Our family almost got stuck in a tight spot with Hannah (a wire "tunnel" that led out of a wire ball - see photo), so Lee and Jaycie went off to explore things while Hannah and I investigated the "safe" spots.

The thrill of the museum (and the scary part for type A folks like me) was that there were no directions, and once you chose a path, there were no instructions on how to get out. Sometimes folks were blocking your way, since there was no in or out signs, and you'd have to back out or squeeze by. Crazy - but way cool! There was a really neat area with strange carnival memorabilia and another spot with tons of architectural ornaments. Everything was decorated in a methodically random way, with castoff items from a million different places. It was amazing!

Find out more here.

Hangin' With the Coopers

Backtracking a little, the weekend after camp we were able to spend some time with my sister and brother-in-law in Pennsylvania. We had a great time, but the trip was too short. Thanks for everything, Jen and Andrew!

Meet Me In St. Louis

We had the most marvelous mini-vacation this past weekend in St. Louis, and one of the most special things we got to do was to attend was our adoption agency's annual reunion picnic. Three other families from our travel group were there, so we got to spend time catching up with each others' lives before and after lunch, comparing notes on how the girls had progressed, and reminiscing about our time in China. Wanting more time together, we met again for supper at a delicious Chinese restaurant (more traditional than any we'd been to since our return home), recommended by our local hosts, Chris and Melissa. It was wonderful to see these families again and to see how much their girls had grown and progressed. Spending the holidays in China with these folks and meeting our girls at the same time was quite a bonding experience for us, and treasuring beautiful daughters from China will always be an blessing we'll share. Thanks to the Decks, Bradshaws, and Farmers for sharing their lives with us again this weekend! We had a blast! Hoping, too, that more of our Jiangxi families can join us in the future - we missed you!

My American Girls

The girls and I enjoyed wonderful Independence Day festivities with our Fowlkes family and kin in Nashville while Lee was at camp. I was particularly thankful this holiday, since it was Hannah's first July 4th as an U.S. citizen. To celebrate, I dressed Jaycie and Hannah in matching dresses, and they looked mighty cute (if I do say so myself), despite Jaycie's being a little short and Hannah's a little long. I think this was the first matching outfit I purchased for them (way back in late summer 2005), so I think I did pretty well for the most part. Jaycie loves to identify with her sister, and she really got into the whole thing. I'm so proud of my lovely American girls.