What's a Mom to do?

What's a mom to do when her daughter is taking FOREVER to eat her lunch? Take pictures, of course! I have to entertain myself somehow. The one is the upper right is a classic "Stop doing that" look, by the way.

Old MacDonald had a Farm...

We didn't think we would see Lori and Ya Qin today, but got a great surprise this morning! The girls hadn't seen each other for a few weeks and really had alot of fun together. We started out at Burger King where the girls thoroughly enjoyed playing in the tunnels, then headed over to the little farm. It's just the right size and is free! What could be better? Thanks for playing with us today, Lori and Ya Qin!

Family Pictures

I love having pictures of our family hanging around the house. I think it's really important for Megan to see the people she's related to regularly in person and around our home. My family, until recently, all lived nearby, so that was easy. Unfortunately, David's family is scattered around the world and is therefore grossly under represented. So, we made a special effort while we were all gathered together this summer to get a good portrait taken of us all together. Here are the best two pictures of the bunch. I love this one of David and Megan together...so sweet!

From left to right starting with the girls, is Jenny (David's sister), Megan and I. The back row is Andrew (Jenny's husband), David, and Jim (David's dad and Megan's "Wampa")

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Happy 37th Birthday, Daddy! You're the best!

One...Twoos

Megan doesn't quite understand the use of the word "both" yet, so when she and I have the same _____ (you fill in the blank), she excitedly says "One, twoos!" She also says it when we give her two of something. Well, I now have "one, twoos" jobs! In addition to teaching kinder on Friday's, I'll also be teaching a 4 year old class on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the preschool where Megan will be attending! I'm excited about getting to be creative with my teaching again and in addition to some extra income, we'll get a break on Megan's tuition! I just pray that I'm not getting in over my head scheduling-wise. Two sets of teacher trainings, staff meetings, Open Houses, Back to School nights, etc... OY!

I did it!

I did it... One of Megan's favorite things to say! (Actually, I think she says, "I do it" way more than, "I did it," but she does like to celebrate when she successfully does something!) But, tonight, I can say that myself. I just turned in my integrative project, which is the last thing I needed to do to complete my Master of Science in Information Technology degree. So, unless something unexpected happens, I am all done. Praise the Lord!

Answer to Prayer

I got a huge answer to prayer this afternoon. Many of you know that I cut back to teaching one day a week (plus a few days thrown in here and there) when we adopted Megan. I've been happily sharing the contract with a friend now for 3 years. The problem is that due to state budget issues, districts were required to cut back several million dollars in their budgets which translated into huge teacher layoffs...including my teaching partner. So, we've been praying and pondering about how to proceed...do I go back full time (not an option), do I take a leave of absence (not good financially when another adoption is in the works), do I take a huge pay cut and teach at the preschool where Megan will be attending (preschool? yikes!) I haven't known which way to turn, and finally decided on the "wait and see" approach. Well, my partner called this afternoon to say that the district has decided to continue funding "class-size reduction" which guarrantees that our position is safe! I can't tell you what a relief it is to have that settled! All I can say is...Thank you, Lord!

A Day at Disneyland with Talia!

Goofy Megan

Grandpa (my dad) is visiting for part of the summer, which is a lot of fun. Here is a little video clip of Megan laughing and giggling with her Grandpa! Unfortunately, poor lighting and taken from one of our digital cameras, but still cute.