Gung Hay Fat Choy...from our family to yours!!

Gung Hay Fat Choy...which means "Best wishes and Congratulations. Have a prosperous and Happy New Year."

We got together last weekend with our Chinese Adoption group to celebrate the beginning of The Year of the Ox. It was a lot of fun and the children all had a wonderful time celebrating their heritage.

A few years ago I had a friend attend a Chinese New Year party with us and she was so moved. She said that she was almost jealous for her own biological child because they didn't have a celebration like this where we all could come together to celebrate our children and the rich culture and history that they all came from.

Chinese New Year is one of the many amazing opportunities we have to keep our beautiful daughters heritage alive for them. It is also a wonderful opportunity to celebrate THEM and reflect on how blessed we as parents are to have them in our lives!!!

The children (and adults) all had fun eating a delicious array of pot luck Chinese foods...listening to wonderful music, dancing, playing games, doing crafts and just enjoying each others friendships!! Then they all hit the playground just had some plain ole fun together!!

Aly working on her dragon mask

Lili wanted to see if she could scare Ms. Robin with her Dragon


Feel the love...I always dreamed of pictures like this of my beautiful daughters!

My beautiful China Angel...

Wow...I have TWO beautiful Chinese Angels!!


Lili got to participate in the Ribbon Dance. Sorry it is blurry...she just moves too fast for the camera!

Aly with the older girls doing their chopsticks dance

Always the ham!!

Aly on the swings...

There's Lili at the top of the ladder!!

Here are all the kids posing for a group shot.

Big Celebration at our House Last Night!!!!

Last night I asked Jesus to come into my heart and save me from all the sins I ever committed and ever will!
Last night was a special night for me. I asked Jesus into my heart and it was a very very special night. In Heaven the Angels were having a party for me and God wrote my name in the Book of Life.
That night was a very very special night because now I have been adopted two times. Once by my Mommy and Daddy and now by God!!
Love,
Aly
(Note from Mommy...if you would like to leave a comment for Aly, we will be glad to read them all to her and save them for her!! Thank you. Blessings ~Shelley)

Goodbye lovely little gingerbread house...

This is a picture of the Gingerbread house that the girls and I made for Christmas.


Last week on trash day I finally bit the bullet and threw it away. I was hoping that Lili wouldn't be too devastated since she sat and looked at it almost daily.

It wasn't pretty!!!

I told them what I was doing, and let them say goodbye to the lovely little house. Poor Lili! She hit the roof!!! A meltdown of Dramatic proportion ...it was Oscar worthy! I tried to console her, but she would have no part of it. She came running back into the living room, told my Dad I was throwing away the Gingerbread house and then threw herself onto the couch. She folded up her little arms and yelled, "I'm never celebrating Christmas again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"...as only a three year old with major acting skills can do!!
My Dad and Aly were there and I didn't know which one of us was going to bust out laughing first. Thankfully we all managed to keep a straight face.
Ahhhhhh......the drama. I can't wait until she turns 13. Pray for us.

I've been tagged!!

Okay...so I have a huge holiday catch up post to do, but it's not ready yet...so I will indulge my friend Jenny and give in to her tag!! Love ya Jen!!!

So here goes...I have been "tasked" to open the 4th photo folder on my computer and then post the 4th picture in the folder and describe what's pictured.

Here it is...

OMG!!!! Is that not the cutest thing ever!!!!! One of my favorite things that Aly did when she was little was to rub those beautiful eyes with her chubby little fists and just melt anyone nearby who saw it. Something about the WAY she twisted her hands...I don't know...she could just suck you in every time she did it!!! The first time I ever saw it was on the way back up to our hotel room in Nanchang not more than 30 minutes or so after she was placed in our arms for the very first time. I am so thankful that we have that moment on video and I dearly treasure it!!! It is so precious and so vunerable and so...well, so Aly!!!

This photo was taken in early August of 2005...so Aly was about 19 months old. It must have been later in the day because as you can see by her hair sticking up, we had just taken down her "whale spouts". She had been a busy little girl, as usual, and she was pretty tired. I love that David always seems to be able to capture the most amazing moments in time with both of the girls. He has a special gift!

Okay...so time to "tag" some others for your viewing enjoyment.

How about

David

Lisa

Dusty

TonguMomma

and Val

Okay guys...don't let me down. I look forward to seeing what you come up with!!!!

Thanks Jen for letting me take a moment to go down memory lane!!!!

In HIS Mighty Grip

Pre-Christmas family update...

Wow...it has only been a few weeks since I updated and so much has been going on here at the Swindler house. I keep meaning to blog, but then I got started on something else and got sidetracked. Anyway...go get some coffee, tea or some Xanax and enjoy December with the Swindler family!!!

yep...I'm three now!!! Can you even believe it??

Now that I am officially three...you have permission to call me by my new name...Super Toddler!!

Mary Joyce is totally enjoying all the sugar coursing through her veins after eating Cake and ice Cream!! Mary Joyce is Lili's Tongu buddy.

A Walmart Christmas Shopping break. Just me and my appendages!!! As you can see I still am using a scooter to get around. I use the walker if I will have to do too much walking like at church. But, I am definately getting better. The pain is GREATLY decreased, as is the muscle cramping in my calf. PRAISE GOD!!

Oh...and Yes...we did cruise around the store like this...it was quite hilarious!!!

My oldest Angel got to be an Angel in the Christmas program at church. She was a HOOT!!!!!

Aly and some of her fellow Angels...

I was so proud of my baby girl!!! She made a truly beautiful angel!

"The Young and the Dejected! These are the Days of Our Lives!" (She wanted to be an angel too...poor baby!!)

"I think I will just lay here on this pew and eat worms and be pitiful!!! It has to be better than any other possible solution!!!"

Their Christmas best!

Aren't they adorable?? I just love those dresses and the angels in them!!

Awwww...how precious!

"Take our picture Daddy!!!"

"This is SOOOO cool!!! A big ole book of music!!!" She spent about 20 minutes turning one page after the other....it was amazing to watch her concentration !

Aly playing in the 4 year old handbell choir at church.

Look...that's my sister up there. She's the one with the red handbell. Did you know red is her favorite color?

My youngest gift from God! (Notice the big red circle on her cheek? Well, she decided to hug a lightbulb and burned her face! It was horrible looking, but it has healed up very quickly and it doing great now!)

The first annual Gingerbread house!

Can I even tell you how much fun the girls had making this thing!!! It was awesome.

Aly and her Daddy Man setting up the It's A Wonderful Life Christmas village. I was cooking dinner and Lili was...


...passed out asleep in the middle of the living room. Princesses in Training can only go so far and do so much before it is nap time!!! I mean...HELLO!!!!

Of course Aly had to have her picture taken with Sleeping Beauty.

We attended Mary Joyce's Super Toddler birthday a week after Lili's birthday. The girls made crowns...are they neat?

Aly was checking out that cake@!@!

Ahhhh...the birthday girl!!! Such a little beauty!!!

Aly helping to serve cake

Hey...when the cake is THIS good...a princess needs TWO spoons!

What a princess looks like after eating cake with two spoons!!

We also made sugar cookies...and ate them!!

My little "strong as an Ox" princess can crack some serious nuts with those nutcrackers!!! I was very impressed. I am also still finding pieces of nut shells all over the living room!! :-)

The picking out of the Christmas Tree. She was so proud of herself!!


First hand account of how loud a chain saw REALLY is!

Isn't it pretty?

Can you believe it actually fit IN the trunk? You can't see her, but Lili is sound asleep in the back seat of the car...she missed the whole darn thing!!

Wow...these tree lights are really cool!

Lili didn't care about putting the lights on...she just wanted Poppy to crack nuts for her. :-)

Having fun with Daddy Man...

Oh yes...I'm four and I am having a blast!!!

I think Daddy Man was having fun too~

Lili hanging the candycanes

"Aly, would you put that one up high for me?"

Hi! My name is Rudolf...notice my red nose? Have you ever seen anyone as cute as me?

"It's me Rudolf again...this is my sister Grumpbucket...Uh, I mean Aly. She isn't very happy right now.

There is something between those two teeth! I must floss it out@!@

It's right there DaddyMan!!! I can't get it out!!

Oh man...do I LOVE me some dental floss!!!

Am I trouble looking to happen or what?

Poppy is definately the best "place" to take a nap! Especially when he has his heated throw on toasty warm!!

Aly, in her new footy pj's talking on the phone to Aunt Babs. Hi Aunt Babs!!!!

Princess Lili says, "Hey ya'll...come back soon okay? Have a Merry Christ mas!!!

In His MIGHTY Grip~