We all share the same moon no matter where we are in the world!

Dec 28, 2009

CCAA Match


This is the latest update on matches from China.
China Center for Adoption Affairs, (CCAA) Status:
Children matched April 1 - April 3, 2006

The last match date was DEC. 2, 2009,

WE ARE LID 5-16-06

In a far away land God planted a seed and now it grows in our hearts.
Not of our flesh, nor bone, yet miraculously our own.
.

Dec 25, 2009

Merry Christmas

HO HO HO Merry Christmas!

Taylor told me last night she was getting up at 1 am....
Thankfully she waited until 8 am and tipped-toed into our room and whispered , "Mommy, I peeked downstairs and I got a pink razor scooter!!"

Santa was good this year! I even received lavender roses from DH. They are my fav and just beautiful (to make up for the late nights shopping wrapping, delivering!)

Dec 22, 2009

Mommy How Does Santa Know...



Tonight we all sat on the couch with our hot cocoa and watched The Polar Express. Taylor loves this movie and we have started a tradition of watching it just before Christmas. We have one of the reindeer's bells too.
Tonight Taylor asked "Mommy, how does Santa know which stocking is mine, yours, and daddy's. What if he puts kitty stuff in my stocking?" "How does Santa know that I have been good after I apologized for doing something bad?".
My favorite, "Mommy you have been a little naughty, but you are just this far from the good list (pinching her thumb and finger together)". Whew! I am glad I am going to make the good list.
Taylor has asked Santa for the new Barbie Diary movie....I better see if he has that available! She has also asked for a pink guitar and a pink razor scooter. Theme...PINK. We got Taylor a beautiful pink pearl set. I made the earrings and bracelet from an extra necklace. It is beautiful and just right for a little girl.
We are spending Christmas eve dinner at the Greslins~Patty, Ron and Michelle,and Ron's sisters and Christmas day lunch with the Caro family~Pam, Tony, Sydney and Miah~and friends. We are looking forward to a nice time with both parties and a little R&R at home together. I always get a little home sick for my family so getting the chance to be around other families together helps. I act like their mom is my mom. It is snowing outside right now and we expect a white Christmas! Just what Kip has asked for this year! I want news from China that we are matched with Kendy. A girl can dream. another tradition with Taylor is creating our gingerbread house. Yummy. Next year maybe I will try and bake one....or not, I just bought one at 75% off. Merry christmas!
Taylor 6 years old
Taylor 3 Years old

Dec 11, 2009

Tay turns 6

What a birthday Taylor has had! I thank my mom for giving us wonderful birthdays growing up. I want to pass on many of these family traditions to Taylor.

Dec 4, 2009

Taylor is Growing Up

Pooh & Tay at 15 months. Her first lovey.

2 Years

3 Years

4 Years

5 Years with Pooh

5.5 Years, So Grown Up

6 Years with Her Friend Pooh

The best 6 years of my life and counting on many more! Taylor you are the light of my life and daddy's. We love you and wish for you a bright future full of love and family and friends. Happy birthday Tayter tot!
SEPT 2008 TO DEC 2009
-------------------------
41" tall now 43" or 3'7"
36 lbs now 46 lbs
4.5 yrs now 6 yrs

Tae kwon do Yellow Belt






Taylor tested for her Yellow belt today and passed! She had to break a board with an ax kick! Taylor demonstrated all the correct forms and displayed her mature attitude. Of course, she is 6! She takes taekwondo after school as part of the after care program at GVA. She goes one day a week and then about every other Friday evening we go to the studio to practice. I felt so proud of her when she shook the masters hand and just smiled. she gets so shy sometimes and the place was packed when she did her testing. But she did great and really stayed focused. Awesome Tay!

Dec 3, 2009

Adoption Match Update from China CCAA Dec. 2

This is the latest update on matches from China.
China Center for Adoption Affairs, (CCAA) Status:
Children matched March 29 - March 31, 2006

The last match date was Oct. 22, 2009,

WE ARE LID 5-16-06

In a far away land God planted a seed and now it grows in our hearts.
Not of our flesh, nor bone, yet miraculously our own.................

Nov 28, 2009

Thankful Hearts

I am thankful for my family: Taylor, the light in my life, Kip who saw the light in me enough to marry me and keep on pluggin', my parents, sisters and brother and their families, for Taylor's birth mother and father for unselfishly giving us their most precious girl, for my DH's family, my in-laws and his brother and sister, for two adorable kittens to fill the hole left by TC a year ago; by good friends near and far who support and love me and my family. I am thankful for all that I have.

Taylor is thankful for having a great family. That says it all!

Nov 27, 2009

Celebrating Adoption Month



We attended a wonderful fun-filled celebration for families encircled in adoption. Taylor and her friend Isabella really loved the dancing and even accompanied the band with tambourines. Sherrie Eldridge,the author of the book "Forever fingerprints", read her book aloud while about 30 kids squirmed around and even a few listened. Taylor was so excited to tell her Literacy teacher at GVA about meeting and listening to a real author. The book is wonderful. The kids did fingerprint art, got tattoos, balloons and treats! It was a nice evening for us as a family to really reflect on adoption and how much our lives are enriched by the experience. China is taking so long and we are seeing more and more families drop out of the program due to the length of time and uncertainty of the ongoing wait times. Some agencys are saying another 2 years for June 06 LIDS. We are LID May 16, 2006. Ours is not giving out time lines. I am afraid the wait will extend out beyond 2010 and then I do not know what will happen. feeling sad and disgusted at the same time. This too shall pass.


Oct 31, 2009

Happy Halloween


What fun October is with friends, family and trick-or-treating! We had a few guests come stay at Chez Altman this past month and are looking forward to more in December. Our good friend Terra came for a visit as well as Grandma & Grandpa Altman. Taylor was on Fall Break for the week, so we covered just about everything from swimming to major snow with sledding and lots of Halloween fun. Taylor was a kitty for the library story-time and trick-or-treating and "I Dream of Genie" for the fun at the Wild Life Experience, and then back to the kitty at the fun-filled Halloween Eve event hosted by a local church. Taylor, Michelle, and Kristen all attended the fun-fest with jumping castles, more candy and a cake walk! Grandpa even won a pumpkin cake. The big excitement was when Taylor scaled a twenty foot rock wall at the event, as did Michelle and Kristen. Amazing to see the strong leg muscles she has while going up...even better to see her smile when she came down. Taylor's school also celebrated with a Fall festival and classroom party. October is host to more activities for us than any other month. I can't wait for November :)
Snow Day!
Did I mention we had 18+ inches of snow in our yard? Grandpa kept busy shoveling for a few days while the kids and I went sledding!

Oct 24, 2009

Taylor Alyene Measures Up!

Taylor is 3'7" and weighs 46 pounds! She has strong legs and loves to cartwheel across the yard, the living room, the family room, etc. Almost able to hold a handstand. enjoys roller skating too. Taylor is very active and yet likes to stay up like mommy. Did I mention she can kick over her head? Her reading is coming along nicely too.

Oct 22, 2009

Adoption Match Update from China-Oct 14. 2009

This is the latest update on matches from China.
China Center for Adoption Affairs, (CCAA) Status:
Children matched March 25 - March 28, 2006

WE ARE LID 5-16-06

Keeping the faith that we will go to China and bring home our little Kendy.

Oct 21, 2009

Riding bikes with Friends





Taylor, Jaida, and Sydney love to go out on their bikes, scooters, whatever....as long as it has wheels. Tay is not quite ready to ride without training wheels. She has had a few wipe outs rounding the corner down the street. No big scrapes, but a few jitters when she knows the corner is coming. She is ready for a new razor scooter like all the big kids :)

Oct 20, 2009

AKA Hannah

TAYLOR WANTS TO BE A SINGER!!

Oct 18, 2009

Taylor's Beautiful Creative Side

Taylor says she wants to be a singer when she grows up. Gotta love it! I tell her she can be anything she wants to be if she tries her best and loves it. She loves to tell make-up stories and color pictures to go along with the stories. Her art is so colorful and she expresses herself so well through her pictures. She always includes Kendy when she draws the family. Here are a few of her beautiful masterpieces!

Oct 14, 2009

Stay at Children's Hospital

Tonight we had our first visit, and hopefully our last, for Taylor to the emergency room at Children's Hospital. She started with a cold and then progressed to serious coughing within hours. She was in respiratory distress when we got to the hospital. She was put on an oxygen mask with some meds to open her airways. She took a while to respond, but once she did her body healed pretty quickly. She will need to use an inhaler and take some meds for the next 48 hours, but should be fine after that. No flu, no allergies, just some virus. Yuck! Pretty scary stuff especially when we have a healthy active 5 year old. Tay was a trooper and very polite even though she was scared. The nurses gave her a purple teddy bear and a few books. But coming home and getting to sleep in mommy & daddy's bed was the best treat!

Oct 12, 2009

The Moon Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, is one of the most celebrated holidays in China, taking place in October with the full moon.
Our adoption agency's cultural school, the Joyous Chinese Cultural Center-JCCC, celebrated the Moon Festival this past Saturday. The kids were invited to help make moon cakes, a beautiful paper lantern, and play games. Taylor and her friend Sydney went together and had so much fun. Making the moon cakes was fun...but eating them was not! Hopefully we will be celebrating with Taylor & Kendy next year!



A little bit of history: The Moon Festival is a popular harvest festival celebrated by Chinese people and Vietnamese people (even though they celebrate it differently), dating back over 3,000 years to moon worship in China's Shang Dynasty. The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar, which is usually around late September or early October in the Gregorian calendar. It is a date that parallels the autumnal equinox of the solar calendar, when the moon is supposedly at its fullest and roundest. The traditional food of this festival is the mooncake. Farmers celebrate the end of the summer harvesting season on this date. Traditionally on this day, Chinese family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon and eat moon cakes together.

Sep 29, 2009

Bringing Home Graci and Bobbi

Our adoption is final!






Today we brought home Bobbi & Graci, sister kittens. They are two months old and needed a home and we needed them. Graci on the right with the white nose has a pink tip on her nose and Bobbi has a brown tip and stripes. They are so loving. Graci is asleep on my lap as I type. Bobbi was here first then they switched. Taylor is in heaven. She picked their names. She had a hard time staying in bed tonight and wanted them to sleep in her room:)
The sisters are very loving and playful. They were found under a canoe and were wild. A gal at the vet's took them home and domesticated the 4 kittens. We have been on a waiting list for two kittens and I checked in today and they had these two beauties. Fate brought us these sisters and we couldn't be happier :)