Sunday Smiles

Happy Birthday Lucy!

Sweet Lucy is now 5 years old!!  We had a great time at her birthday party on Saturday afternoon!!

Oath of Allegiance

On Friday, we traveled to Fairfax so that LiYang could take her Oath of Allegiance, and receive her Certificate of Citizenship!!  It was a great day!  LiYang was already a citizen, but due to her age, had to participate in the ceremony in order to receive her certificate..

Happy Birthday Pictures

Finally, a chance to put together a slide show from Alyssa's birthday!  In China, Alyssa had our guide tell us that she wanted to ride the little cars for her birthday.  So, we went to a local place called Thunder Valley, and that's what she did - all the kids seemed to have a great time, and they all loved the little cars!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALYSSA!!!

Yesterday was our sweet girl's 8th birthday!  She is happy, loves school, loves her sisters, and they all get along so well!  We are very blessed that she is our daughter!  She is really learning English quickly too, and teaches us a word of Chinese here and there!  Emma and Allie are picking it up much faster than  mom and dad are!!

We will have a birthday party for her Saturday, so stay tuned for pictures...

Sunday Smiles

Chinese New Years' Celebration 2011

On Saturday, we celebrated Chinese New Years' with our local FCC group.  There were about 100 or so from our community there!  It's a wonderful time for all the children to get to visit, (and the adults!) and to see that there are so many families just like their's!  Afterward, we headed downtown to our local museum who also hosted Local Colors celebration of the Chinese holiday.  The festivities included a wonderful orchestra, demonstrations of a number of martial arts, lots of crafts for the children, and an overall great way to see some of our children's culture.

Alyssa's Visit to UVA

Yesterday, we took Alyssa to UVA to the SB clinic for evaluation.  She came through all with flying colors!!  The orthopedic doctor, physical therapist, occupational therapist, and pediatrician we saw feel that she needs no intervention for anything at this point, and will see her again in a year!!  We still have the urology appointment in a couple of weeks, but, she's doing great!!

It was a really nice office too.  In the front, is a huge glass room filled with castles for climbing, and playing, all kinds of toys, and, when we arrived, a lady playing a guitar and singing children's songs, who had a beautiful voice.  There was also someone who was doing different crafts with the kids - they truly enjoyed being there!!