We at least made it into the review room at CCAA.

From CCAA:

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before June 30, 2006.

The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before November 21, 2005.

November 21, 2005,
I will be so happy when they get into the same year that we were logged in July 22 2006. Glen

Done

I got up stretched out and pulled all the spacers out and cleaned off the tile in preparation for grout. Then I ran the kids to school.

Boy, it is a good thing I cleaned the tile wouldn’t want to get anything on them.

It's just grout.

Photos from this moring all done but still have to move all of our furniture back, and to say we have to dust would not do it justice, but I'm happy with the way it turned out. We laid the two floors 8 months apart and the tile STILL matches. We were worried that they would stop carrying it before we got done so, when I found out that I had a couple of days off I jumped on it now that my back can handle laying tile again.

Long Busy Day!

Well yesterday was a very productive day, but before I get into that let me just say my reef tank is doing swimmingly. All corals and fish survived & show no signs of stress from the move to the bar in the kitchen.
That clown fish loves his anenome way to much. He guards it with his life.

I also wanted to show you the piece of equipment (tile saw) Lori ran yesterday when she got home from work. While I put down morter and tile, she did the cutting. I am so proud of her she still has all her fingers.

First piece of hardy backer board goes down.




You put it down over mortar then nail it to the sub floor. Lots of nails went into this floor.


All the hardy board is finally down, now it is time to get some tile.
Lori made it home for the last two peices of the hardy board.



We wanted to match the tile in the kitchen and I figured it would take 14 boxes of tile to cover the floor. Then I would get a box or two of extra tile for broken pieces that you get sometimes when you buy tile & for any mistakes we made in cutting. They only had 13 boxes and 5 pieces. We bought it all in hopes it would be enough. No room for mistakes now & we did get 2 tiles that were broken but we managed to use them for some of our cut pieces.







I had to post this photo notice all the spirit orbs. You people that waste your money on having ghost busters come to your house need to get a life. It is dust in the air reflecting back from the flash you dorks. Lori had just finished sweeping the side where the bucket is before she took the photo.

Finally at 8:00 last night we were done laying the tile & hit the KFC for a late dinner. Today I will grout the joints in the tile, put the furnishings back, and start collecting the many sprit orbs with my proton power pack. I will post pics of the finished product.

Glen

My project for the next few days...

After work today the opportunity arose for me to finally get the tile in the living room laid down. The fish tank had to be drained and relocated to the bar in the kitchen, all of the furniture had to be moved throughout the house, and the desk had to be turned so that it was on the already laid tile in the kitchen which exposed the wiring birds nest that exists behind it. The flooring that is shown in the pictures is the linoleum that was underneath the flea infested carpet when we moved in in 2001. Lori immediatley ripped all of the carpet out and we have been slowly renivating and replacing the flooring since then. The living room is last to be done. More pictures tomorrow.

We went to parent - teacher night at the high school and met almost all of the kids teachers. We ran out of time and ended up missing 2 of them. Everyone was very happy to have Annie in their classes and remarked on how she is very smart and nice. Boo's teachers really like him as well and had lots of nice things to say about him, and also added that he calms down quickly when they ask him to during class. Boo's a talker and a comedian, we know it, if they don't they will soon.

The fellows at the Waterbuffalo Lodge in Bedrock would be proud!

Well, we decieded yesterday to get out of the house and go bowling. Annie has never been before and Brandon LOVES to go bowling. Brandon went out of his way to show Annie how to hold and aim the ball and then she promptly beat the pants off of all of us. The girl catches on quick! Ok, it's not really that hard to beat us bowling as we are not very good. After bowling we went to Moe's (mexican resturant) for dinner, another Brandon and Glen favorite. We also ordered the couch that we have had our eye on for sometime, it should be here next Sunday if all goes as expected. The weather has started to cool down some here, thank goodness but still no rain. We had to close the vent in Annie's room yesterday becuase she was turing into a popsicle. Apparently Americans keep our homes and places of business alot cooler than in China. While we were out the other day Glen had to go out and get Annie a sweatshirt because her hands felt like ice cubes. This winter we will have to make sure she stays bundeled up and get her an electric blanket for her bed.

Glen

We need to go do something.

The kids had a good week at school. Boo likes all his classes and seems excited to be in high school, even with his busy schedule. Annie has also been doing good in her classes and is catching on quickly to the way things work at schools in America. She requested that we change one of her classes, which we did Friday. Journalism was just not her cup of tea. When we talked about why she wanted to change the class on Thursday she told us, “I don’t want to make stories up. I want to tell the truth.“
We went out last night to eat and to the book store. At dinner there was some lady complaining about her meal, service, the table, you name it. I think she was trying to get out of paying the check. I didn’t see how it all played out because Annie and I had to go out to get her a sweater. The Girl is freezing in all this air conditioning. Annie was very surprised and happy to have only one assignment to do over the weekend. Lori and I are hoping that with her new found free time she will be able to see and do some new things or pursue an already existing interest that she may have. We are going to go do something this afternoon to get them out since they are done with all there schoolwork for the weekend.
Glen

My Dorky Plant looks good now!

Before I took it under my wing.

After!

The trick in life is knowing what can become beautiful.

First day of school

Lori here. I stayed home from work today to make sure that both kids got off to school alright. Brandon requested french toast for breakfast and Annie had toast with peanut butter and an egg (regular fried egg, not 100 year old). I was able to snap a picture right before they walked out of the front door with only slight eye rolling from Brandon. Thank goodness the sunglasses were able to hold back the looks. Annie was very nervous this morning but smiled like a real trooper and set off for school with Brandon without any trouble, just lots of deep breathing. I also took a picture of them walking down the road together. The high school is relatively close to our house and the kids decieded that they would prefer to walk rather than ride the bus.

Glen got a call from Brandon this afternoon to come pick them up. him and Annie were full of news about their first day. Everything seemed to go well for Annie, who even made it to all of her classes on time in an unfamiliar school. She said that people were nice to her and that her Biology teacher is very sweet. Brandon is going to have a very full plate this year with all of the activities he has taken on. Which translates into a very busy year for us as well. We are going to chalk today up on the success side of the page and hope for a repeat tomorrow.

Lost in traslation

Annie made us dinner last night with some of the things we got at the Chinese food store. One of the more interesting things that went into the meal were what were called 100 year old duck eggs. We also purchased a rice cooker to make rice in, and found some sticky rice at Wal-Mart that can easily be eaten with chopsticks.
She hadn’t made the dish she prepared for us last night before so she was winging it on what went into to it. One of the dishes tasted like stew and potatoes with spices. The one with the duck eggs was the one that got a good laugh out of all of us. We all sat down to eat and as Annie started eating the conversation went like this:
Annie: This is to delicious.
Lori: Yes, it is very good.
Annie: I’m sorry I never made it before. I don’t think I can eat anymore it tastes to delicious.
Meanwhile I am across the table eating away at it.
Lori: You have never made it before and some of the ingredients you are using are different from what you are used to.
Annie: It is not good. I don’t know if I can eat anymore, it is to delicious.
Glen: Annie I don’t think you are using the word delicious the right way.
Annie: (Goes into deep thought, then her eyes light up) I know the word I meant . It is terrible. I don’t like it.
Lori & I: Oh. Annie, you don’t have to eat it. We all had a big laugh Annie included. She is a riot and fits in perfectly with our family.

Annie also had more gifts for us last night. There was a tissue box cover and coasters. We really enjoy and appreciate her gifts.
Glen

Some beautiful gifts from Annie & the kids get new duds.

Annie surprised us with some beautiful pillows. There are 100 people in each one, you can count them if you would like, we did and there is exactly 100. Annie laughed at us because people back in China told her that we would want to count them. The Chinese writing on the side says peace around the world.
We had another busy day today. We went to the farmers market and then we hit two Asian food supply stores because they did not have some of the ingredients Annie needed to make us something she wanted to cook at wal-mart. We took the kids to the mall yesterday to look for some new school clothes. The high school here has very strict dress code, the shorts can not be more then 4 inches above the knee when they are kneeling on the floor. I would have never imagined how hard it was to find clothes that meet that criteria. We did eventually find some and both kids have some new clothes & school supplies for the start of school. Just one more day and it is back to the books for the both of them.

Glen

Annie & Boo about to start school / Annie bakes a cake

We have two teens now in school. Yesterday we got Annie all set up with classes & she is excited to start school. We came home and looked over her classes she has & went over what is expected in them, dress codes, getting to class on time and she will go for new student orientation on Monday. Brandon already went to the orientation with Lori that the school had before Annie arrived. Tonight we will go to the "football frenzy"at the high school where they introduce all of the football players and cheerleaders and Brandon will play with the school band so Annie will have an opportunity to see the people she will be going to school with. Even though it is like the face of the sun outside. I am soooooooo ready for this heat wave break.





Annie did bake the cake the day we planned to do it & it was delicious. She enjoys cooking & when I got home today she had made cookies. She is such a joy to have in our home I feel lucky to have the opportunity to parent such a wonderful child even if it is for such a short time. I will have to help her with her classes these first few months but she is so bright she will catch on fast.
On another note the movie in the pervious post we went to is so shaky we all got headaches, I like the two before but this last one wasn’t very good because of the shaking.

Glen

Our projects for the day.

We had Lori’s Mom & Dad over for dinner last night. After dinner I started cutting cookie dough from one of
the already made up tubes you can get at the grocery store . Annie jumped right in & wanted to finish the job. It was fun watching her get excited when the cookies were done. She told us she liked to cook. In our house cookies from a tube frequently qualifies as baking, so that works for us. This morning I am letting the kids get some much needed rest. This afternoon if she wants to Annie & I are going to bake this cake to surprise Lori. Then Annie, Boo, and I are going to take in a movie.

Glen

I new that adding another teen would make life more interesting. I didn’t expect the more interesting part to come so soon.

After a missed flight to Little Rock we thought that Annie would be getting in the next day at around 3:20 P.M., so off to the airport we went. Annie was in the air already and we did not want to be late.
On the way to the airport my cell phone rings. It was Annie, I said are you calling from the plane. No she said, I might be late. She had accidently gotten off the plane during a stop and had to again schedule another flight from another city that was to come in at 10:35 P.M. Me, Lori and Lori parents spent the next 4 hours trying to make sure that the airline she was flying on knew exactly where she was and that she was not to get off at yet another stop on the way here. Nobody is perfect, especially me, so Annie’s mistake just made her all the more endearing to us. We were so glad to see her coming down the gateway in Little Rock. She looked so tired. I didn’t feel it was the time to take photos so we snapped some this morning.

After a 2 long days of flying the girl was wiped out, so I let her sleep in today while I got her and Brandon’s laptops hooked up to wi-fi, then it was off to the races. Annie, Brandon, & I went to the school and got some papers we needed to fill out for her to resgister, then to the gym to put her on our family membership, Wal Mart, Kholes, JC Penny’s, Sears, Chick fi lay, Bed Bath & Beyond, then back to JC Pennys for the bedding that Annie picked out and supplies for Brandon’s & her room. We are all resting now before Lori’s parents come over for dinner.
I had to take a photo of Annie’s shoe’s. Why because when I got up this morning they made me smile. They are so small and after waiting for her to join our family these last couple of months it was very touching to see them when I got up this morning. She is an absolute joy to have join our family. She has a wonderful since of humor, a smile that will light up the room, and her and Boo are getting along well. They like a lot of the same music. We will have to see what the next couple of days bring.
Glen