Gung Hay Fat Choy, y'all!

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival in China.  This "Chinese New Year" is the longest celebration in China lasting FIFTEEN days.... this year, that's from January 31 until February 14 and it's the Year of the Horse!

In an effort to introduce Mary to the culture and traditions of her birth country, I've been doing lots of research about what happens during the days of the New Year celebration.  One thing I read was that "customs are flexible"..... don't sweat getting the traditions "just right"..... instead, just ENJOY!

Well,  it's a good thing.  Cause we already messed up.  Apparently, the BIG meal of the New Year is to be eaten on New Year's Eve.  That would be TONIGHT.  Well, we ate Mexican.  Cause I was planning on the big meal being tomorrow.... the first day of the New Year.  Oh well.  If we're anything around here, we're flexible.

Although we won't be participating in EVERY tradition involved in Chinese New Year (no incense burning for our ancestors or kitchen gods around here.....), there are some that will, I hope, help Mary learn about and appreciate the culture of her heritage.  Some day, she may decide that she's learned enough... and that's fine.... but for now, we'll do all we can to show her the beauty of China.

Now.  On with the celebration!

One of the traditions for CNY is getting a fresh haircut before the holiday begins.  Getting a haircut symbolizes cutting away any bad luck from the previous year.  And it must be BEFORE the holiday begins.... getting your hair cut DURING the 15 day celebration will ensure a financial setback!  Well, we sure don't want THAT,  sooooo......

GUESS WHO GOT HER FIRST HAIRCUT TODAY???!!!!!

(Well, except for that time they shaved her head.  Boo.)

She didn't love it, but she didn't completely jump out of her PINK DISNEY PRINCESS HAIR-CUTTING CAR or hit the hair-cutting lady, so we're considering this CNY tradition a great success!

Note:  Pictures are not great.  Cause 1) the whole event lasted about 12 seconds and 2) she was not exactly a willing participant, so it took some encouragement from Mom and Dad.... thus you'll 3) see my hand poking in there a couple of times.... trying to keep a hand on the brewing storm.....

Anyhoo.....
LOOK:

We are well on our way to an awesome Chinese New Year!

 (which isn't really what they call it in China, apparently, but I'll explain that later.....)

Tomorrow, we get rid of all old houseplants (which will be easy since I don't have ANY), get some fresh flowers, fill a bowl with mandarins, give red envelopes to the kids,  and enjoy a meal together as a family (a day late, but whatever....)!  

Don't worry..... I'll explain everything.  

Thank you, Google.

Gung Hay Fat Choy, y'all!

"Best wishes and congratulations.  Have a prosperous and good year."

I will not.

I am thankful.  I am thankful for many, many things.  At this hour, there are LOTS of people who STILL are not home.  Cause of the snow and icy roads and traffic and all.  So, I WILL NOT allow myself to be frustrated by the events of today.  I will not.

What were the events of the day, you ask?  Well, I'll tell you:

1.  Mice.  We have mice.  Mice in my car eating the #7 injector wire - TWICE.  Mice in our storage room.  Mice in our attic.  Thanks to Josh the exterminator guy, we now have a whole bunch of traps.  I'm thankful that he came out at 10:00 today and investigated our problem.  I'm sorry that he BUSTED IT when he slipped outside on our sidewalk.  And I'm pretty sure that we're gonna have to SELL OUR HOUSE cause I cannot deal with mice.  I cannot.  BUT:  for today, this house is warm and I'm IN IT instead of STRANDED on my way TO IT, so I WILL NOT complain. (But if I actually SEE a mouse, I'm checking into the Sheraton.  Just sayin'.)

2.  Snow.  We also have snow.  Much snow.  Snow is cold.  Snow makes my hair wet.  Snow makes the roads hard to drive on.  Snow makes school let out early, which is normally GREAT, unless you're helping a dude set mice traps and don't get to leave the house until 11:10 to get your children from school at 12 across town and CANNOT EVEN GET THERE.  Mary says that snow makes your hands cold and hits you in the face.  Mary also says that snow gets all over her shoes and makes them wet and makes her feet cold.  But, I WILL NOT let the snow bother me today.

3.  Traffic.  There was much traffic today.  I was on McFarland - BAD.  I was on University Blvd - BAD.  I was going across big bridges - BAD.  But, since my tires kept hold of the road and I wasn't part of the traffic in the DITCH, I WILL NOT complain.

4.  Joe.  We do NOT currently have a Joe at our house.  Joe works in Birmingham on Highway 280.  No one who works on Highway 280 is gonna get home today.  Some are sitting on Highway 280 and will be sitting there all night.  Thankfully, Joe's co-worker lives just across the street from their office, so he's toasty and warm and safe.  I'm glad.  So, even though we'll miss our Dad tonight, we're glad he is safe.  So, I WILL NOT worry or be sad.

It's been a long day, huh?  Well, there are LOTS of folks who've had it rougher than we've had it here. So, I will not be stressed.  I WILL smile and enjoy spending time with my kiddies.  I WILL remember to be thankful for electricity and a warm fireplace.  I WILL be grateful for a safe journey across town.  And I WILL be up all night waiting for a mouse to crawl across my face. (That last one stresses me just a bit.)

I did manage, in between all of the mice and snow and traffic and Joe-less-ness, to take a few pictures of our girl on her FIRST SNOW DAY AT HOME!  She liked it, then she didn't like it.......

Didn't even tell her to stick her tongue out..... that must just be a natural snow response!!

For the MILLIONTH time, I told Mary to "say cheese!"..... for the FIRST time ever, she actually smiled at the camera when I said it!!!!  

Uh.  This snow is getting on my shoes.  All pictures after this were taken on the DRIVEWAY.  Girlfriend would NOT get off the driveway to play in the snow.  "Mo!" she would say..... (That's NO in Mary-speak.)

Uh.  I do NOT like this stuff.

Uh.  The DOG is getting snow on his feet.  "Go over THERE, Buddy."

A glimpse of her past.

Today, my day started notsogood.  Apparently, MICE have built a NEST in my ENGINE and, according to the dude at the Toyota place, they had "eaten through the #7 injector wire."  I need the #7 injector wire, so we spent some time in the playland at Toyota and got it fixed.  Currently, I've sent Joe to Home Depot to purchase rat poison and moth balls and, following the advice of that Toyota dude, we will spend our evening strategically placing them on my engine so the mice will GO AWAY. (Apparently, this is very common during cold "polar vortex" type weather..... mice need a warm place to sleep and car engines are PERFECT.  Who knew?  And YUCK.)

We finally got home and Mary promptly fell asleep..... for about 37 seconds..... and then she was awake.  Her nap lasted just long enough to make her really grumpy when she got up...... so, the day continued to be just great.

MICE and a grumpy two year old.  And it was 12:17.  I was already counting up how many minutes until Joe got home......

  BUT.  THEN.  THIS.  HAPPENED.

An email popped up...... in Chinese..... and then translated, it said.....

Hi,

Thank you for your updates of cute Rui Yang. She changes a lot and we could hardly recognize her. It's obvious that she is loved so much. Thank you for everything you have done for her.

Please check the attachment and find her baby pictures. Hope you enjoy them.

Wish you a happy 2014. God bless!

AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Over Christmas break, we received a holiday greetings email from Shanghai Children's Home, Mary's "home" from December 2011 until June 2013.  They wished us a Merry Christmas and asked for an update on our girl, which I gladly sent.  I also mentioned in my response that if they happened to have any more pictures on their computers from when Mary was a baby, we would love to have them.  That was WEEKS ago, and I hadn't heard anything..... until today!

The attachment was filled with at least A HUNDRED pictures of Mary that we'd never seen before!  Pictures with her nanny, pictures of her as a little one, pictures of her taking a bottle, pictures of her playing in the Disney playroom (yes, I know), pictures of her outside, pictures of her in the big playpen thing...... so.  many.  pictures.

As I scrolled through each one, Mary was eating a late lunch.  She was sitting in her high chair, munching on her graham cracker and watching Donald Duck cartoons, not knowing that I was getting a rare glimpse into her past.  I kept looking over at her.....hair askew, laughing her precious laugh when Donald got stung by the bee.... then I'd look down at the pictures.  Same girl.  But OH MY, how her world has changed.  OH MY how SHE has changed!  I can't get over it.  I simply cannot get over it.

Here are a FEW of the pictures they sent us......

That was THEN:

She favored this particular corner of the big play pen........

Look at the fingers..... proof that it's our girl!

Head newly shaven..... bless it.

I adore this one..... we got a similar one with her standing NEXT to the chair.... apparently, sitting IN the chair wasn't working out.

Makes my heart sigh.  Wonder what I was doing on the day this picture was taken.  I hope I was praying hard for her on this day......

My precious, precious darling thing.

This is more the Mary that we know!

Not sure, but we're assuming this was her nanny.  It's not the same lady that brought her to us, but she's in MANY of the pictures.  Do you see the Disney characters behind them?  They have a whole little Disney playroom!  Baby girl has Minnie Mouse background knowledge!!

She is NOT HAPPY in ANY of the outside pictures.

She's musical.  And beautiful.  And precious.  

She LOVES stuffed animals, but she wasn't having it on this day.

Waiting on her family to come get her......

AND THIS IS NOW:

Got me a Build-a-Bear....or RABBIT, actually.

Piggy tails AND a full mouth.

Ready to get my Social Security card, Mom!

Beautiful, happy baby girl!

Look at her.  Just LOOK AT HER.

She's our little BOO!

What is she eating, you say?  Her FAVORITE:  deviled eggs!  

Oh my goodness, y'all......
How we love this girl.