Beautiful Mess

When no words are needed.

chalk

markers

paint

life

half a bottle of foundation

And the irony is that her Chinese name translates to "clean."

Another Visit from the Tooth Fairy

The night before a big snowstorm, Dayna finally lost the tooth that's been dangling for months. We weren't sure if the tooth fairy would be able to make it to our house in a snowstorm, but Dayna prepared a special refuge for our winged friend as she came in from the cold. She included a fairy-sized scarf and hat, a tiny drink of water and a small snack...even a soft bed with stairs leading to it.

Good news...the tooth fairy WAS able to make it in the storm...but she left pixie dust all over the carpet!

Young Author 2014

I'm always thrilled when a team can repeat a championship. And a three-peat is particularly impressive. But this mama is so incredibly proud that her daughter managed to win the Young Author's award for her class not two, not three, but FOUR years in a row!

Each class selects a winner, then from those entries, 3 school-wide winners are selected. This year, Dayna's story was selected as the best of ALL the second and third graders. She'll be published in our local newspaper very soon. I'll be sure to post a link when I can!

I was unable to make it to the awards ceremony, but Dan was able to take the afternoon off and get some great pictures.

Local author Tom Spears shared with all the aspiring authors

She gets to be featured on a poster that will be displayed at the school

Chinese New Year

We rang in the Year of the Horse with our annual Families with Children from China party. This was Annie's first, and as expected, she wasn't a huge fan of the lion dancers. This is always a fun time to see friends, particularly those precious College boys!

Waiting for the lions

Not a fan

Lucky lettuce

Check out these Henan cheeseballs!

Father-daughter - warms my heart

2 of All God's Children's sweetest kids

Cookie Time!

Take one Girl Scout Mama who loves tea. Add cookie season, and what do you get?

Tea pairings.

Love Notes

Found this sweet note from Dayna the other day in my wax warmer.

Slumber Party

After weeks of begging, we finally relented and allowed the girls to have a slumber party. (I find the begging odd as they share a room and have a slumber party every night.) So we pulled out some cushions, blankets and pillows, put Curious George on the laptop, and let the girls sleep in the living room. It took way too long for them to fall asleep, but it was awfully sweet watching them together.

The Hair Fairy

Really! Where does my Chinese daughter get hair like this? Is there any hope for taming it? The hair fairy is very busy at our house whenever Annie is sleeping.

Daddy Date

On Valentine's Day, Dan had the privilege of taking not one, but TWO lovely girls out for a special Valentine's breakfast. (Meanwhile, Mom was able to get ready for work in a quiet house...a little too quiet!) This is such a special tradition, and it was even better that Annie is here this year to enjoy.

My heart belongs to Daddy