Pre-Contest Wind Ensemble Concert & Music Contest!

Last Thursday, we attended a pre-contest performance of the Wind Ensemble.  They sounded amazing!

 Brady played piano and bells.

 Brady and Elli.

We like to stop at Dairy Queen for treats after music concerts!

On Saturday, Brady performed a four-mallet marimba solo at the school music contest.

Brady also performed in a percussion quintet.

This piece was so cool.  Brady played marimba, bass drum, tom, and a kazoo!  They also created unique sounds with pipes and ceramic bowls!

First Tennis Match of the Season!

Brady won two singles and two doubles matches to start the tennis season this past Friday!

Singles scores: 6-2, 6-3

Doubles scores: 6-3, 5-2 (second game called for time)

Elli caught a little nap during the chilly match.

Brady's Academic Awards and Elli's Preschool Registration

Earlier this month, we attended an Academic Awards Recognition Ceremony at Brady's high school.

Brady received an Academic Letter Award for recognition of excellence in scholarship.

We are so proud of Brady!

The awards ceremony was held in the theater where we also attend school music concerts.  Elli whispered, "When is it going to start?"  I whispered, "It has already started."  Elli whispered back, "Why aren't they playing music?" :)

 Elli and Brady.

After the awards ceremony, we took the registration papers to our school district's preschool that Elli will be attending next school year!

Mommy can hardly take it…

Rainbow Fruit Kabobs & Shamrock Waffles!

We had some fun with our food on St. Patrick's Day!

First, we made rainbow fruit kabobs!

We had fun picking out rainbow-colored fruits at the grocery store!
Red ~ strawberries, watermelon
Orange ~ oranges, cantaloupe
Yellow ~ bananas, pineapple
Green ~ green grapes, kiwi, honeydew
Blue ~ blueberries
Purple ~ purple red grapes

Elli helped everyone find the fruit they wanted for their kabobs.  Since the bamboo skewers have a sharp pointed end, we helped Elli carefully slide the fruit on her skewer.

Our "pot of gold" at the end of the rainbow was a shamrock-shaped dish filled with Hershey's gold-wrapped milk chocolate toffee almond nuggets!

Next, we made green shamrock waffles with a sausage link stem and "gold" scrambled eggs like we made last year!

For dessert, we had mint chocolate chip ice cream cones!

Jake and the Neverland Pirates Treasure Hunt Game!

Friends of ours gave Elli a cute new game called "Jake and the Neverland Pirates Shipwreck Beach Treasure Hunt" game!  She loved it!  Elli wants to marry Jake someday, but forgot to tell him when she met him at Disney World last summer.  ;)

The game is a memory match game played on a treasure map with gold Doubloons.  Some gold Doubloons are secret and need a decoder spyglass!

If a match is made, you grab your foam sword and run to get the shipwrecked treasure hidden around the house and bring it back to the treasure map before the timer runs out!

The game is quick and only takes about five minutes to play!  Maybe we should be hiding the treasures better?

"Jake" and Elli

 Walt Disney World ~ June 7, 2013

"Said the Robin to the Sparrow"

"Welcome to our tree, little robin." ~Elli

“Overheard in an Orchard”

by Elizabeth Cheney - 1859

Said the robin to the sparrow,

"I would really like to know

Why those anxious human beings

rush around and worry so."

Said the sparrow to the robin,

"Friend, I think that it must be

That they have no Heavenly Father

such as cares for you and me."

Playing on the Deck!

"Referral Day" ~ 3rd Anniversary

Three years ago today, we got "the call" for our adoption referral and saw the first pictures of our precious baby girl!

We were emailed pictures and files from Pam, the Waiting Child Program Assistant Director.  This is from her email… 

"Here is the file on Zhou Yin Zhen – an absolutely adorable little girl. She was born on January 7, 2010, and she has post-surgery TOF…" 

These pictures were taken in China when she was about 10 months old (two months after her heart surgery).

One of the documents we received was a Development Report.  This is the last paragraph of that report that brings tears to my eyes...

"Yin Zhen is a gentle, pretty little lady who loves to smile. She really makes people love her. We all hope that she can soon find a family to love her, so she can enjoy the love of a mother and father who can provide her with an appropriate environment in which to grow up."