Bunny Sightings...

Hello to Spring!

Conversation with my daughter {Sunday snapshot}

Last week Sophie asked me the loaded question-

“Mom, was I in the ladies tummy that took care of me in China?" It caught me a little of guard, am I ready for this? Is she?

Up until now, she just thought she was from China, like she and Sage just came from the orphanage, waiting for their family (us) to come and get them, but not really knowing how they got there. We celebrate Birth Mother's Day (the day before Mother's Day) and read our favorite children's adoption books, but they never asked about their birth mother. She knows her brothers were in my tummy and tonight she was curious whose tummy she was in. I carefully explained that she has a lovely birth mother and she was in her tummy in China. Then she went to the orphanage and waited to come home, but she wasn’t in her nice caretakers tummy who cared for her in the orphanage. She wasn’t upset at this news, but clearly bothered. She actually giggled nervously and said “ewww”, and didn’t want to talk about it anymore. I respect her feelings. They are a little afraid of Asian women, thinking they will take them back. It's getting better now that they're getting older, but the first few years they were so fearful. It's nice to see them trust and turning to us with questions.

I have to admit, I’m a little nervous about her next question- “Why did my birth mom give me away?” Who knows when this will come up. We have always been open with their background, keeping it positive and age appropriate. It’s complicated with the one child law, especially with twin daughters. Someday she and Sage will put it all together, but for now they are just happy to be home with their family, even if they weren’t in my tummy, they've been in my heart since the day I first saw their picture, and we and they are so happy they’re here!

Sophie- left, Sage- right

Nick Names

Sophie Mei

She renamed the girls in our family- Sophia, Sagia, and Mommia. LOL

Love this girl!

Nick- my senior

It’s been so fun having a senior. I’ve enjoyed watching Nick grow and mature, some days more noticeable then others, he’s still a teenager :). I haven’t blogged a lot about my oldest (but his baby books are full of good stuff), he barely lets me take his picture let alone blog about him, but I can’t resist. There are exciting things happening in his life and we’re all happy for him. Here’s a glimpse of his last couple of months…

He received his Eagle!, lettered in swimming, got asked to Sweethearts Ball, turned 18, got his first speeding ticket, called to assist the bishop in his church calling in his quorum, got accepted to college of choice- BYU-I :), and got a job today. (He’s been casually looking since swim season ended about a month ago, pickings are slim these days, so he was happy about this one. He starts tomorrow at a delicious Chicago style Pizzaria.)

Reality hits me thinking he’ll be off to college in less then six months, then serves a mission for a couple of years then back to school to finish up, that’s the plan anyway… how did it happen so fast? He’ll be missed!

Love this kid!

Many of his friends came to support his Eagle Court of Honor. I was too busy visiting and serving cake and didn’t get their pictures, so I made the family stick around for pics. Nick has had some great scout leaders and mentors along the way, big thanks to them! It was great seeing his brothers and friends do the flag ceremony.

Paul put together this video for Nick showing his path and accomplishments in scouting and in life up until now. For Nick’s first big service project he got together a group and made blankets & dolls to hand deliver to the girls orphanage. Everyone was happy to help out and be a part of it, and they were thrilled to receive them in China! Notice some new China pics in the video. Then, for his official Eagle project he and his buddies collected almost 300 children’s books for a local Elementary & Jr. High School, delivered them, helped organize and shelf them. Very appropriate to help with literacy since Nick loves a good book. His merit badges include sports, dog training, rifle shooting, biking, service projects, citizenship… along with many camps and Klondike camps in the snow. Scouting is great for boys and I’m thankful for his dedicated leaders! The video is long, 10 min, so if you have the time sit back and enjoy. We’re so happy to see him make great choices in his life. Keep it up Nick, love ya tons!

Jump!

Perfecting the back flip

little gymnasts

One more week ‘til Spring, yahoo!

Sophie- red, Sage- blue

Sunday Snapshot

 

Don’t ask 

 

 

I swear when I took them to church today, their shoes matched. Sly switch in Primary.  :)

 

2010 Goals, for work

For sure, being a wife and a mom is #1 in my book, the thing I am most passionate about… I'm also enjoying my design job I have, a lot. Luckily I mainly work while my kids are in school. It's perfect for a mom schedule and fun to do something else I have a passion for, and use my degree (thanks again Laryl!). My clients have been great and I’ve enjoyed helping with their home or business design needs. Of course I have the occasional difficult jobs and some bad days, but for the most part it has been really good and my numbers have been high and consistent. It's been a blessing and I'm looking forward to learning more, getting drapery certified, and gaining more experience.

We’ve been asked to submit our yearly goals (I admit I wasn’t too thrilled about this assignment at first, thinking "who has time?", but I know it helps to think about your goals and get them down on paper, so I'm glad they asked). I'm posting them here since it’s a part of our lives and I know I’ll read and think about them more often if I do…

Versatility-

• Get trained and certified in Draperies. (finishing this up in two weeks, exciting!)
• Order my shutter samples and become a shutter expert. (received them a couple of weeks ago, sold my second shutter job:)
• Keep up on product knowledge, new products, and refresher courses (the Luminette webinar was great)
• Keep my samples fresh, new, and updated.
• Continue to attend Parade of Homes, Open Houses, and subscribe to my favorite Design Magazines- stay current.
• Use my own home as a showcase, add my touch and flare to keep it nice. (even with 5 kids, they can help :)
• Attend "Escape Convention" in the summer

Keep my numbers up-

• Treat all clients the same, no matter how big or small the job is.
• Listen to help solve their design issues and have their best interest in mind.
• Be professional and sharp.
• Make suggestions they may not have thought of, maybe other areas of the home they may want to invest in.
• Be assertive, not overbearing, and ask for the close.
• Follow up with each client.
• Make them a client for life, thank you cards, customer service…
• Stay positive, organized, thankful, and enjoy the job!
• Stay one of the (actually "the") top designer in my state.

Design shapes the way we live, so it ought to serve everyone. ~ Eva Maddox

Good tasting Homework...

Making Bread

They made the dough at school (in big zip lock baggies, germ free), and cooked their bread at home tonight for homework. So cute to hear them explain how they used math to make the dough, and it turned out quite tasty, one better then the other, but who's comparing :). Great hands on homework. Thanks Mrs. N & S, awesome teachers!

Sophie's in red, she lost her first tooth on Christmas Eve, love the toothless grin. You can imagine the excitement anticipating the Tooth Fairy & Santa on the same night. That night they left extra cookies and a note asking Santa to share with the Fairy.