Thursday, February 24, 2011

Seems Like Yesterday, Seems Like Forever Ago....

3 years ago today, we met Lilli AnHui in Xian, China. She was a scared yet very very brave teeny tiny 3 and 1/2 year old little girl.

We had a crazy, busy, fun, stressful, amazing, difficult, blessed 2 week stay in China.











Lilli's third year "home" was filled with a lot of fun experiences and even more smiles.....
















We love you so very much Lilli girl!!!


Thursday, February 17, 2011

Don't Know Exactly How I Feel About This....

This picture was taken shortly after the Auburn Homecoming victory at Toomer's Corner. Those stately oaks are over 130 years old. They are tradition at Auburn... they are a proud symbol ... and they are where all types of victories are celebrated.

This morning, a 62 year old "wacko" man who claims to be a University of Alabama fan, was arrested for poisoning the trees. He poured a dose of chemicals about 65 times what would be necessary to kill the trees. It is sad. He is crazy. He should be arrested, convicted, fined - made to pay for the chemical clean-up, locked up, etc etc. His bond was set at fifty thousand dollars.
Speculation is that he will get at least a ten year prison sentence for what he did. The radio is a buzz with folks talking about this... it is in the newspaper and on all the major news sites. On the local news internet site, there are hundreds and hundreds of comments.

Why I don't know how I feel about this... just last week I was reading a story in the local news about a man beating his wife to death. He was arrested. There seems to be significant proof - evidence to convict the man in what the facts led me to believe was a brutal murder. His bail was set at twenty five thousand dollars. I have not heard another word about the story... and I did not hear a single person talk about this sad event. There were zero comments on the story.

Several years ago, I followed a story about a woman convicted of killing her three year old daughter. She received a ten year sentence. I am sure she will be up for parole after just a few years.

My question- are trees more valuable than humans? Why is bail set so high for potentially destroying a tree and so low for killing a human? Why is the sentence for killing a tree and killing a child the same? I don't understand. This does not seem like any justice to me.

Where Did Frosty Go?

...Hard for us to remember that exactly one week ago, we were having a "snow day". Schools were closed... the roads were a dangerous mess... Joe's office was unreachable. And... here we are today with a sunny mild day with a temperature nearing seventy degrees. Outside was a must when the girls came home from school.

... a little bicycle practice!


... and of course the basketballs came out!


Lilli - so aggressively went after a rebound, she found herself in the bushes!


Introducing {the} Bob!




"NO MORE KNOTS!!! ... Well... that .... and the way it feels when I move my head side to side really fast!", Lilli says when I ask her what she likes most about her new "bob".

She hopped up in the chair at the beauty salon (are they still called that or am I being old fashioned???) last week and had 10 inches neatly clipped. Lilli has not stopped swinging her little head for 8 days now! : )

For those of you considering a big cut in the future... We decided to donate her "unattached pony tail" to P@ntene Beautiful Lengths. Seems like a very well run project in conjunction with the American Cancer Society.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

... "And One" More



I don't really know that much about the sport of basketball. I played in high school (being 6 feet tall I was only asked : ) to rebound)... I cheer for the New Orleans Hornets, and now can be found yelling "Roll Tide" at my television during the occasional televised University of Alabama game... and finally and most important, I have watched my five kids (yes, Lilli is playing this year! YEAH!!!) for about 15 years now.

One thing I do know - for certain - ... Daniel can "handle" a basketball.

The season is winding down... they are now in tournament play. Last night (yes... Joe and I cancelled our dinner reservations and happily spent a romantic ??? valentine's evening at the gym) - Daniel's team was victorious, which means they get to move on... one more game! Great job Nuggets!

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Covering Her Bases

Yesterday after school, the littles and I headed for a very specific store in the mall.... Build @ Bear. They had been counting down to this day for quite a while! They were not above begging... and I recently told them that as soon as Build @ Bear sent a coupon to my email address we would head that way! So... about a week ago... Abby raced into the kitchen to tell me she had checked my email and I indeed had the much anticipated coupon! YEAH!

So, off we went. It is always fun to slowly "case" the bear wall to select a new friend. Then comes the really fun part of stuffing that new friend with fluff and a very special heart. But then.... there is the hard part... narrowing the hundred choices of clothing down to that perfect outfit (that fits into mom's budget for the day!!!).

For those of you that understand the dynamics of the college situation in the great state of Alabama.... you will understand why Abby's choices yesterday were "shocking" to say the least... and maybe even down right "offensive" to some! HAHAHA! The girl is just trying to cover her bases... with big brother at Bama and big sister now seriously considering Auburn... this is what Abby created....


I think he is quite cute!



Lilli on the other hand subscribes to the old adage - "stick to the weather, and don't talk politics or religion" - and made a typical - but very cute - girleeee bear that she name Berry!
Not a single person would be offended by her choices.... well, maybe the fact that mom would not shell out the 6$ for bear underwear was offensive to Lilli!

But in the end... the only thing that really matters is the fact that Berry Bear and Crimson Roll Tide Aubbie are BFF (the littles have learned this term now and use it all the time... I think it is hilarious) - just like their owners!


Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Lilli's (2nd) Favorite Song - Karaoke Style

First.... a reminder to scroll to the bottom of the page and stop the music player before you try to watch these.

Second... the quality is not great... I recorded with my phone and then bluetooth-ed them to my computer. As you can tell... I was holding the phone the "wrong" way and have no clue how to make these straight... and... I promise, I was holding the phone the same exact way when recording the few seconds of Abby... and it came out horizontal???? I so don't understand.

Anyway... still worth watching sideways! : )

1) The first video is Lilli singing about a minute of her 2nd favorite song... Gott@ Go My Own Way from High School Music@l 2.... her favorite is Defying Gr@vity... I will have to figure out how to hold the phone correctly and make a video of that one for later.

2) "Out-take" with Daniel making Lilli giggle sooooooooooo much!

3) The "Musical Director" Abby at the control panel for the background music! : )

Enjoy!