Addicted

Yes, we can all honestly say that we are addicted to the Wii Rock Band 2....what a fun time we are having. I told Ryan we are like the Von Trapps from Sound of Music, our children sing, they play the guitar, they beat the drums, even the littlest little Drafts is a part of the action.

Christmas

Christmas traditions are important to me. Until I was in college, my family always went to my grandparents home Christmas Eve to attend a party at their house. That evening, we would go outside to see if there was any sign of Santa in the sky, my parents always said there was, so then it was time to travel back home and go to bed quickly so that Santa could come visit us. My brother, sister and I would always sleep in my sister's room together....not sure how that became part of the tradition, but my guess is that it had something to do with the fact that my little brother always threatened to stay awake so he could see Santa or he would say he was going to sleep downstairs behind the couch and "catch" Santa during his big delivery....I am thinking my parents needed our help to keep the little escapee in one place. Christmas morning would arrive, Santa always came through, there was a huge breakfast to be cooked, family came over, presents were opened and that was the end until the next year. Tradition. It is important to me to try to create traditions for my children. Christmas Eve we now invite friends over who are in town for a chilli dinner after church, we feed the reindeer, we decorate a Gingerbread House, we decorate cookies for Santa and we always read the Christmas story before going to bed. We are also always very excited to have my parents join us for Christmas Eve and Day....the children LOVE that part, someone to entertain, two more people around to give them extra attention, it is great. Christmas Day is a big hit, gifts are everywhere, the children open some, play with some, open more, eat (this Christmas my parents brought "snowman" donuts and that was a huge hit), eat more, open more, some of us get a nap, others stay awake to take it all in. So that is what has become our "tradition" for Christmas. This Christmas was extra special....two years ago we were dreaming of our little girl in China, wondering when we would be lucky enough to meet her, wondering what she would look like, praying for her; last year, we had a picture, three pictures to just stare at actually, we carried those around telling anyone who would listen about our 11 month old baby girl waiting for us in China and we prayed for her; this year, she is here in the middle of it all, thrilled by opening gifts for her and others, loving the lights, loving the sounds....unbelievable, really, that she is here with us. This year the prayers for Mason-Kate were answered and new ones have begun.

Up at 6:00 AM....

The boys discovered the trampoline as the sun was rising.

Rock Band has us all rocking!

MK saying "WOW!"

MK spent the day doing everyone's hair....

she was right, we all needed a little help in that dept.

An Adoption Poem

Below is a poem I came across today. Mason-Kate was a baby when she was adopted but this poem speaks for all of the older children who wait for their families to come for them.

An Adoption Poem
By Debbie Bodie

I saw you meet your child today
You kissed your baby joyfully
And as you walked away with him
I played pretend you'd chosen me.

I'm happy for the baby, yet
Inside I'm aching miserably
I want to plead as you go by,
"Does no-one want a child of three?"

I saw you meet your child today
In love with her before you met
And as I watched you take her out
I knew it wasn't my turn yet.

I recognize you from last year!
I knew I'd seen your face before!
But you came for a second babe.
Does no-one want a child of four?

I saw you meet your child today
But this time there was something new
A nurse came in and took MY hand
And then she gave my hand to you.

Can this be true? I'm almost six!
And there are infants here, you see?
But then you kissed me and I knew
The child you picked this time was me.


This is especially on my mind now as I wait to follow along on the journey of one of our "blogger buddies" during their journey to adopt their 5 year old daughter who waits for them in China. They leave tomorrow, Christmas day. You can access their blog and follow along at www.cupcakesandhairbows.blogspot.com.

Tradition

Tradition. Every year we attend Ryan's extended family Christmas party. It is ALWAYS held the Saturday before Christmas. Then, we have my extended family's Christmas party. It is ALWAYS held the Sunday before Christmas. On this weekend last year, we were telling our families about Mason-Kate. The boys volunteered to say a prayer at each gathering and read a poem:

She was found on the steps of her orphanage house,
Wrapped in old clothes, quiet as a mouse
Her name is XueMei, to us, Mason-Kate
We're going to China and we can't wait!

Being that it is our first Christmas season with MK, we are all very excited to see her reactions and excitement to everything around her. She is having such a wonderful time with opening gifts, eating the holiday food, dancing, seeing the Christmas lights, making people laugh and playing with her new toys. Her favorite gift thus far is a piggy bank. Ryan's parents gave her a pink piggy bank with coins for her to put inside. Everytime you put a coin inside the pig, it sings "It's a Small World". She loves it so much that we are probably going to have to use the "out of sight, out of mind" technique on her. When the coins run out, she is not a happy camper.



Colin and Pryce enjoyed their school Christmas parties with some friends....



Mason-Kate tried her first piece of fried chicken....



The Tisdale grandchildren....

Santa arrived on his sleigh, er, ATV....

Merry Christmas, Everybody!