Check out MK's new hat! She loves hats! Ryan's Aunt Peg made MK this very special Christmas hat just in time for the holidays! MK liked it so much, she insisted it sleep in the crib with her.

Conversation with MK

I literally just came down from putting Mason-Kate to bed and had to post our conversation. First, I must say that the one thing MK is most particular about is bedtime. She wants me to put her to bed and it offends her to no end on the nights that Ryan takes over the job. She loves Ryan and he is the first person she asks about in the morning yet she will have nothing to do with him at bedtime. So, tonight I was rocking her and I asked her if she was ready to get into her bed yet. She answered yes. I said, "Who loves you?" and she stated, "My mommy does." I said, "You are right!" MK asked, "And my boys? You love my boys?" and I responded, "Oh yes, I love you and your boys. God gave me you and Colin and Pryce and I love all of you!" Mason-Kate sweetly asked, "And my Jesus gave me my Daddy?"

Our little elf, Matthew, has become quite the master at flying in during the night and cleverly hiding himself so that he can keep watch on the children and their mischief during the day. There have been several mornings that we literally cannot find him. Anywhere. Last year it was not so tough. Last year he hid in the Christmas tree or in a ficus tree here or there or, you know, somewhere easy to locate. This year, however, is different. Pryce's priceless comment came this morning when, after looking for Matthew for at least 10 minutes, he looked at me and said, "I am thinking this is like Level 2 for us. You know, like a game. Last year was Level 1, easy. This year, we have moved onto Level 2 and it is HARD." I am thinking he is right.

This year seems to be the year for questions. C asked the dreaded question of whether or not Santa was real. Ryan quickly responded, "Yes, of course he is!"....we have decided that in the future, when this question comes up, we will just say that you must believe to receive. That way, no one gets accused of not being honest. Safety. And then there is the whole elf thing. Matthew, our elf, continues to hide about our house. He hides in things, on top of things, around things.....everywhere. One day, Pryce asked, "Is he REALLY real? I mean, look at that tag on his pants." Me, not wanting to cave, carefully walked over and observed the elf's pants for this tag....thankfully, there was no tag - a long shirt but no tag, I was able to point this out to P, he was satisfied and he went about his day. He LOVES the elf and can't wait to find him each morning to see what kind of mischief he has gotten himself into during the night. And then there are the letters to Santa. Out of respect for this child, I will not print his name but I have to share one thing that he asked for.....a BB gun complete with targets and safety goggles. Love that he asked for safety goggles. His letter reads, Dear Santa, I would like this, this, this "and a bb gun (wish me luck on that one!)"......I laughed when I read that and asked him why he needed luck. He responded, "Because I know that you and Dad will talk, you both will decide no to the gun and that will be that. Santa won't give us anything you don't approve of." Yes, he is right.....on one part of that at least. And then, last but not least, P has been doing a lot of thinking. His question for us at dinner was, "So, do you think that Santa gets all of his money from the Tooth Fairy?" Pretty good theory for a seven year old! It looks as if everyone is still on board with Santa, the elf and the magic of Christmas, at least for now....love this time of year!

Stay tuned, we are improving.....meaning, one year ago, Mason-Kate sadly screamed in horror as the jolly red suited Santa made his appearance in her life for the first time at a church Christmas party. It was sad. This year, he came in and MK watched from her seat with her big, bright eyes....she never moved, she never smiled, she just watched. When he left the room, MK looked at me and said, "I not sit on Santa's lap with my boys. I sit on Santa's lap with you." Ok, so that is how it went, she sat on my lap, the boys with Santa, and Ryan ran to jump in too. How she sat on my lap was the funny part. She sat facing me, hands gripping my arms, her head tucked into my chest. This is improvement, yes. She didn't cry, not even one little tear. And she told Mrs. Claus thank you when it was all said and done.

Our elf, Matthew, is back and wreaking havoc on our holiday decorations. Seems he has gotten a bit more mischievous this year. He is into rearranging our decor and then he perches himself next to his mess to keep a watch on the behavior in our home. Silly elf. Pryce is so excited about Matthew; MK can't figure him out and asks at least once a day "who dat is?"; Colin has deemed Matthew a "decoy"....
Yesterday we made our annual trip to the Christmas tree farm. We typically spend a few hours there, first selecting the tree of all trees for our home and then drinking hot chocolate, eating baked goodies and visiting with friends that we run into. To fight the cold yesterday, I layered myself with first a t-shirt, a sweater, then Colin's heavy jacket and topped it off with my coat....layering is the style, right? Our day was wonderful, our tree is beautiful and now the boxes can be put away. Yay.

During the hayride, P spotted a ladybug. Ladybugs are a popular good luck sign among those in the Chinese adoption community. For us, it symbolizes our hope and dreams to go back. To find this "needle" in a haystack, during this holiday season, assured us to hold onto our hope.

After our wonderful day out, we ventured back home to begin the afternoon of decorating. Last year, we did this same thing....we visited the farm, got the perfect tree, came home only to realize that the tree was too big for our stand....back to the farm, got another perfect tree, back home, decorated. This year during our drive home, Ryan and I talked about our plans for the afternoon, football, and dinner. The entire drive, I kept thinking how pleasant the day had been and how easy the tree selection had gone....good thoughts. We arrived home, drove into the garage, the usual. After I turned the car off, I looked into my rear view mirror only to see this tiny little evergreen hanging down from the back of my car....it was the top of our tree! We had driven into the garage with the 9 ft tall Christmas tree on top!

**Click on the pic of MK with Ryan to make it larger. Notice her little eye peering back at me.....

A Seabrook Thanksgiving

Ryan's family tradition as a child on Thanksgiving was to visit Seabrook Island. We were fortunate this year to be able to unite with everyone, 21 family members, to celebrate the holiday. Ryan is the youngest sibling in his family. His brother and two sisters were teenagers when he was born. We have 7 nieces (and a niece-in-law?) and nephews on his side of the family. Our children are the babies of the bunch and make up the 8, 9 and 10 of the grandchildren.

We are thankful to the aunts, uncles and cousins who openly included the youngest three in their games.....favorites of the weekend were Apples To Apples, Scattergories and 21. P will tell you that his favorite part of Thanksgiving was playing 21.

And we are thankful for G-Mom and G-Dad. G-Mom and G-Dad are very dear to our family and have saved the day on many occasions over our almost 12 year union. One of the most notable saves came when P was born. We were living in Massachusetts, just outside of Boston. No family around. My parents arrived shortly after P's birth and had to leave the day I was released from the hospital. I had some complications following his birth. G-Mom arrived when P was just 6 days old. G-Mom walked into our house, placed her bags on the floor, the two of us loaded P into the car and off we went to the dr.'s office. This was about 3 in the afternoon. Ryan was at the airport waiting on a flight to interview for a job in Florida. Colin, then only 2, was being watched by a friend. The doctors appointment did not go so well and I was told that I would be having surgery that very night. Frantically, we called Ryan, who was boarding a plane, and he rushed home to be with me. And then there were my two precious boys, just 2 and 6 days old. G-Mom didn't know what she was walking into when she came to visit but fortunately she was up for a surprise overnight babysitting adventure. As we were leaving to go to the hospital that night for the surgery, I remember Ryan's mother asking me in a desperate voice, "Beth, what am I going to feed the baby? Will he even take a bottle?" G-Mom handled it well, they all three survived and P has had a special bond with G-Mom ever since.

And we are thankful for Seabrook Island. And the beach. We can't seem to get enough.

And we are thankful for modern technology. C's weekend included numerous football games with the cousins and computer hopping. If C could not be found on one computer in the house, he was on another.

And we are thankful for rest we were able to enjoy. I was able to take numerous photos of P sleeping. He plays hard and crashes harder - this pic was taken around 7:30 one evening, can you tell which one took a nap earlier?

My first mother gave me roots, my forever mother gave me wings. I like this statement - it is one that was posted on another blog, the blogger being an adoptee. Many days I honestly forget that I did not carry MK for nine months and actually give birth to her. Just like the boys, she is a part of me, no doubt. One day, Mason-Kate will ask about the lady that gave her life. She will be curious of how she came to be, whose tummy she grew inside of and the circumstances surrounding her first 14 months of life, her life before her family. Most everyone has a story they have been told about the day they were born. Mine goes something like this....on the day I was born, my father received his only speeding ticket ever while rushing to my mother's side. My mother, who was being driven to the hospital by a friend, got to one hospital and was told that they were out of room so she had to proceed to another hospital - me being me, I have always been the different one, the one who doesn't do anything like her brother and sister including being born in the same hospital as those two. My mother arrives finally at a hospital with room, they take her back and she gives birth to a strikingly beautiful (ha!) NINE pound baby girl with more hair than most teenagers. The nurses cleaned me up and very carefully tucked me into a hospital gown that was not made for strikingly beautiful NINE pound babies, I took my first real good deep breath and, POP, I busted out of the gown. That is my story. That is the one I have been told since I can remember talking about how I came to be. That is the one that I will tell my children. MK's story will be unique, she will ultimately have TWO stories. Her first story, the story of how a lady, one who lives a world away, gave her life. The second story, the one with endless details, the one with multiple parts including the adoption decision, the paperwork, the surprise call, the first time we were able to see her picture; the one where we tell her of how we heard her little voice as we walked off of the elevator, the one where she was "birthed" right into the arms of her family - the family that will teach her how to fly.....my first mother gave me roots, my forever mother (family) gave me wings.