BROOKLYN BOTANICAL GARDENS- CNY CELEBRATION

waiting for the Opera to start

Beautiful Cailyn

Gelina helping Emilee cut her Ox

Ta Da---Red Envelope Ox cutout

Planting CNY Flowers

Peek-A-Boo

FERRIES, TRAINS, DRAGONS AND DIM SUM

Waiting for thr Ferry to arrive On the Ferry Admiring the statue of Liberty This picture makes me smile, Years ago most immigrants when they came to this country came by boat and the first thing they saw before hitting land was the Statue of Liberty.

The famous subway ride

Two weeks ago, Galina and i took the girls to a Chinese New Year Celebration at the Children's Museum of Art in China Town. The girls had an adventure before we even arrived. We took the Ferry over and then the subway. The girls could not have been more thrilled. Especially the subway ride where they held on to the poll and were tossed and jerked at every turn. They giggled the whole way and we moms tried to act as bumper guards so that the girls would not go flying through the air. The Children's Museum of Art did a really nice job of putting on a CNY celebration. ( Except for the fact it was very crowded) They had a bunch of stations set up with all sorts of great crafts and at Noon, they had a traditional Lion Dance. Since it was very crowded the Lion sort of danced in a small circle, but the kids seemed to enjoy it. After the celebration we took the girls to Mott Street for Dim Sum at one of my favorite Dim Sum Restaurants, Mandarin Court. It was a great day with wonderful friends, fun crafts, a blessing from a Dragon and terrific food. What a great way to start the New Year.

checking out the Drangon before the performance

A very serious Emilee watching the performance

Emilee showing off the Lantern she made

Emilee charming us with her version of the drum portion of the Lion dance

The project at this station was to look in a mirror and create a self portrait

The Giant Ball pit was a big hit

Making clay Animals

Emilees Horse

BEAUTIFUL JULIA CELEBRATING CHINESE NEW YEARS IN SINGAPORE

Year of the Ox!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

These pictures still melt my heart.....

January 25, 2009 Three Years Ago today the stork delivered my daughters photo to me. It came via Internet at 6pm and as it downloaded I caught glimpses of an angel pixel by pixel. I had dreamed of this face for year and the reality of it was even more spectacular.Like the rest of the April 29ers we knew that the referrals had come to Great Wall Adoptions the evening before and that they would be calling us with our precious children’s Information the next day. I didn’t sleep a wink thinking of this special treasure that I would final get a glimpse of the next day. January 25, 2006 was the longest day of my life. I knew that GW would start its calls around 8am, so I patiently stood by the phone awaiting my turn. It was a true labor of love. Every so often I would glance on the Internet and check to see how many others in my group got their referrals. It seemed like everyone but me had a referral. My heart grew more anxious and I grew more stressed. What was taking them so long? Was their something wrong? Did they forget me? My best friend Kathy and my mom kept calling me the whole day with encouraging words to help me pass the time. But 5pm I became frantic. Where was she? I called GW and I was told that they would get back to me. Surely they had called everyone but me. I knew something was wrong!!!! At 6pm, Beth finally called. My mom was sitting next to me and Kathy was on my cell speaker phone. Then I finally heard the words that I had been waiting for my whole life. “ Congratulations, you have a daughter” I'm sure she said something else after that but I didn’t hear it. When I finally stopped crying she gave me the information I had been waiting to hear. Her name was Xu Jin Xiu and she was 5 ½ months old. She was living in Xuwen SWI in Xuwen, Guangdong province and she was a very healthy and happy baby that loved to smile. Beth then told me she was sending over all over her documents and pictures via email. I hung up the phone with her and downloaded the file. As the four pictures downloaded. I was captivated by the beauty and purity of this child.. She was beyond any expectation I could ever have wished for. She was perfect!! Emilee turns 3 ½ years on January 28th, and on March 28th we will celebrate 3 years together together! They have been the happiest, most amazing years of my life. I thank God every day for blessing me with my precious daughter.

THE LITTLE MERMAID ON BROADWAY

Tuesday evening Emilee saw The Little Mermaid on Broadway. The Little Mermaid is one of her favorite Disney movies. She can sing almost every song, and has every doll and mermaid figure made. She had been talking about going for awhile and was so excite to finally see Ariel on stage. From the moment the curtain rose, she sat at the edge of her seat oohing and ahhing. What was great, especially for me who has sat though countless hours of the movie, the Broadway show changes the story just a bit and they have added many wonderful new songs. The sets were incredible and the props were spectacular. I truly recommend this show for both children and adults.