Happy Adoption Day and Merry Christmas!

Wow - how time changes things, and what blessings we've found in this year's changes. Hannah has grown and flourished in ways too many to list since our first Christmas as a family of four in 2006. She came to us with smiles and laughter, and has since that time brought us incredible joy. She is an amazing daughter and a precious little sister. We love her more than we could ever express. Thank you, Lord, for the former Feng Fu Er, Miss Hannah Li Fowlkes.

Celebrating "Gotcha Day" With Our Little Duckies

Christmas Eve marked a very special anniversary, as it was the first anniversary of our meeting Hannah Li. In honor of the occasion, her daddy cooked Beijing (aka Peking) Duck, which was really delicious, despite the disgusting looking preparation process (shown above). We shared our meal with the Cosby crew - parents, siblings, siblings-in-law, and nieces - and thanked God heartily for all the joys we've experienced as a family over the past year.

Greeting Cards Have All Been Sent...

....except from the Fowlkes Family of Four. Ours won't likely go into the mail until tonight or tomorrow, even though I've had them for over a week (and the postage, as well). I also didn't order enough for all of our friends and family, and I'm certain I'll be using Christmas stamps far into the New Year. Oh, well; 'tis the season!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Not So Picture Perfect

Here's when a picture (series) is worth a thousand (plus) words. Not long ago, we got the girls cute, matching "Santa's Favorite" pajamas so we could take traditional night-before-Christmas style pics under the Christmas tree. Jaycie, my tactile-sensitive gal, gets hers on and promptly decides that they are itchy and immediately wants to take them off. Ugh - what's a mother to do? Why shoot away, of course!

The following photo montage documents the variety of emotions and actions that ensued. Suffice it to say that this photo session did not yield a postcard-worthy picture, but it does make for a somewhat humorous retelling:

Holiday Cheer

Following in the footsteps (or should I say dance steps) of several silly friends, we, too, were elfed! Jaycie had too much holiday shopping today, so she turned into Scrooge!

Trimming the Tree

Basta Pasta

My girls really know how to use their noodles! In our house, pasta is one of the four (or is it five) major food groups. Long live carbs!

Holiday Travel: Chinese Style

This video (not filmed by us, by the way), is a hilarious reminder of some of our travel experiences in China a year ago. Even though our group - because of its large size - traveled largely by bus, the crazy traffic as depicted in the video was very noticeable and somewhat disconcerting. Had we been in a smaller vehicle, I would have worried much more than I did speeding down the highways and zig-zagging down the byways of Nanchang with a 7 year old and baby in tow.