Lucky Mom

Recently, Abigail has begun telling me, "You lucky Mom." Hmmm. To make sure that is really what she's saying, I asked her, "Are you telling me that I am a lucky mom?" She grinned and nodded. It made me think about parents who, while they are in China adopting little girls, are sometimes approached by Chinese people who comment, "Lucky baby," or "lucky girl." Sometimes I wonder, although I know that the possibilities are slim, if Abigail remembers anything of what was said to her in China before she became part of our family. Did the nannies tell her that she was lucky, to be getting a family? What I do know is this: I am a "lucky mom." Abigail is such a special child, a gift from God. People who normally do not care to be around children are drawn to Abigail. She is happy nearly all the time, so full of joy and love, the epitome of a resilient child.

But I know lucky by its real name: Blessed.

Christmas 2009

On Christmas Eve, following the 6 p.m. church service, we went to the Hunters' open house. This has become an annual tradition for us, because we always have a great time. We walked a few blocks to a nearby cul-de-sac where the houses could win awards with their decorating, to see Santa Claus one last time before he makes his deliveries. Abigail is no longer afraid of Santa, especially if he gives her a candy cane. It was pretty cold outside - check out Santa's John Deere gloves! Back at Grandma & Grandpa Hunters', everyone was assigned a verse of "The Twelve Days of Christmas." Frances joined Heather and Renae in "Five Golden Rings," and Abigail and I were "Ten Lords a Leaping." Afterwards, we had a fun time visiting and catching up with folks that we don't see very often. We left the party at 10 p.m., and all were in bed by about 11:00.

On Christmas morning, Frances was up shortly after 6! We woke Abigail, who was not interested until Frances said that Santa had brought presents. The girls got small gifts in their stockings (which were made by Gramma B, Fran's in needlepoint, and Ab's in cross-stitch) and opened the presents from the jolly old elf. Then we drove out to my parents' house (about an hour away). Both girls slept during the drive! At Gramma and Grampa B's, we opened gifts from family and friends. Gramma and Grampa cooked a delicious steak dinner, and Frances found the original version of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" on television. We left there about 4 p.m., and again, both girls slept on the drive. It was a long day, but lots of fun.

Sunday morning

Frances played "Joy to the World" for the last time this season, during the offertory at church. She was also dressed up as "Mary" (although it was not a typical Christmas pageant because we have so few kids, the children wore costumes and sang songs), and we all joked that apparently, it was a little known historical fact that Mary was a talented pianist. Abigail flatly refused to wear any sort of costume, and instead of standing up with the other children to sing, sat in my lap at the feet of the other children while I coached the kids on the lyrics. Maybe next year...

Last year, Frances' teacher gave the girls really cute dresses as a gift for Abigail's shower. This year, the dresses fit both girls, so I dressed them up today!

Fran's school Christmas program

At Frances' school Christmas program, each class sang a song, and recited a poem or a passage of Scripture. Between each group, individual students played the piano. Frances was nervous, but did a great job playing "Joy to the World."


Her class (a 3rd/4th combo) sang "Gospel Bells," which is the same tune as Jingle Bells, but the lyrics are about Christ's birth and the salvation He offers.

After the last verse of the song, the children played the song on their recorders. This had the potential to be somewhat painful for the audience. However, the children had apprently been practicing hard. The students all did a great job.

Abigail sat through most of the program, but during the pastor's message, I had to take her outside to walk around. I wore a dress to this event, and since it's finally winter here in So Cal, I was wearing stockings. I almost never wear them; they are annoying. While Abigail and I were outside, I tried to pull up my stockings, and instead realized that I had ripped a huge hole in them, causing numerous runs to travel all down my leg. Making sure that no one could see me, I worked those stupid stockings off, outside in the dark, and threw them away! My dress was fairly long, so hopefully no one noticed that I returned to the auditorium with bare legs...

The Nutcracker

My friend Linda had a few extra tickets for the children's version of "The Nutcracker" and kindly offered them to us. I tried to find a sitter for Abigail, but 'tis the season to be busy. I had to bring her with us. The good thing about this version of "The Nutcracker" is that it is scaled down in length and number of performers, and the conductor narrates and explains throughout, so that the children better understand what the music and dancing represent. Many people dress up in fancy clothes for this event, but the weather had been cold and rainy, and the performance was at Abby's naptime, so all I can say about our attire was that we were all clean and decent! Abigail was asleep in the car on the way there, but woke up as we walked from the parking structure to the theatre in a light drizzle. We met up with Linda & Ralph, their teenagers, and Ralph's mom outside the theatre. The seats were great, and the girls enjoyed the performance. Afterwards, we got to see the costumes up close as the performers mingled with the crowd. We also got to see (and hear) some of the orchestra instruments up close. It was a fun day!

The season begins!

Frances learned "Joy To The World" on the piano this year, and did a beautiful job playing it at the Christmas recital. Trying to keep Abigail quiet and still during the piano recital was a little like trying to contain a puppy! She wiggled, talked loudly, you name it, while I tried to maintain some sort of dignity, avoid disturbing other people, and show respect for the performers. Aargh! At one point, while several students quietly waited for the piano teacher's signal to begin playing, Abigail said, "Mama big time out! Behave!" The dad sitting in front of me cracked up. Near the end of the recital, we all got to stand up for the "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's "Messiah." I thought it would be safe to let Abby stand, but she started jumping up and down, and shouting! I took her outside onto the deck to wait until the end of the recital.

Just some cute photos...

Here are the girls in their jammies, playing on mommy's big bed!



Abigail loves her grandparents, and is learning to sit still so that Grampa B can read to her.

Veterans' Day 2009

First and foremost, we want to say how grateful we are for the many men and women who serve (and have served) in our country's armed forces. They are not recognized and honored often enough.

That being said, we also are grateful for a holiday from school and work! Like last year, we spent it at Disneyland and California Adventure with Haley. Our friend Janice signed us in for free, and we had a low-key, relaxing day.


Abigail got her first pair of ears! There were so many styles and colors to choose from, and the "Minnie Mouse" ones were what she finally decided on. She was very pleased with them.


Frances and Haley rode "Space Mountain" while Abigail and I rode "Autopia." Abigail was not that excited about that ride, and did not want to try and steer the car.

We went on some of the cool rides together, like "Pirates of the Carribean," "Buzz Lightyear's Astroblasters," and "Tarzan's Treehouse." Frances played "Minuet" on Tarzan's xylophone.



Frances climbed on everything, including a porch support!



We spent some time on a porch in Frontierland, where a man was playing the fiddle. He let both Frances and Abigail try it out, and he taught Haley and Frances how to do the two-step.


We didn't stay late, because Frances had gymnastics class that evening. The gym owners are from Kazakhstan, so apparently, have not yet figured out American holidays...

Only in SoCal...

...can you go to a (mostly) outdoor aquaruim in November!
I had won tickets to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, back in September at back-to-school night at the school where I work. It had been a last-minute purchase at the PTA raffle as we left campus. The next day when the winners were announced, I was so excited! I almost never win anything. So one Sunday, at the beginning of November, Haley, Dana, Roger, the girls and I all went to the aquarium after church.

Abigail wanted to be out of the stroller and running around. although she was not very interested in the fish, sea lions, rays, etc. Dana tried to help Abigail touch a ray, but Abby was not impressed.

There were lots of cool things to see, from both above the water and underneath.


Because the tickets had been free, I agreed to buy the girls something at the gift shop (guess whose idea that was?). Frances chose a blue seal, which she named, predictably, "Blue." Abigail also chose a seal, a dark brown one, that she named "Doggie!"
One of the highlights of my day was when Abigail learned from Frances how to make the fish face!

Another outlandish evening at Mexicasa!

It's no wonder that they always seat us way in the back of the restaurant! We do request our favorite waitress, and that happens to be her usual station. But we tend to get a little carried away and silly...
This particular night was shortly after Halloween, and Dana brought some chocolate eyeballs along, for dessert.

Of course, we didn't even wait to look at the menus before we started playing with the eyeballs.
It was difficult for me to hold the eyeballs in my sockets long enough for a photo, but by squinching up my face, they stayed there for a few seconds...


Fran seemed to find it easy enough!

I caught Haley in mid-eye-drop!

Abigail didn't even try to put the chocolate eyeballs on her face. She just liked eating them!

More fun things about our neighbors

Our neighbors, Janice and John, are semi-retired. Janice was adopted as an older child, and she & John adopted children as well. So we have a mutual admiration society. In addition to a puppy, they have another more unusual pet: an umbrella cockatoo! Her name is Sadie, and on sunny afternoons, they all sit out on their front porch together. Sadie gets jealous and bossy, and tends to screech at people and animals who pass by. This crazy bird loves Frances. Franny can hold Sadie on her arm or shoulder, and Sadie even cuddles up under Fran's jacket! The bird hates me, and tries to peck me whenever I get close. Sadie is also not fond of Abigail and has bitten her twice. I think it's because Sadie wants Frances all to herself! Frances loves to help train Riya, the new puppy, and has taught her to fetch, release, sit, and is working on leash-training.

Frances often visits with Janice & John during Abigail's nap. Sometimes they all go for a bike ride together. Riya the puppy rides in the front basket of Janice's bike, and Sadie's big cage is secured to the back. It looks a little like a traveling circus! I am grateful that Frances can go off and do "big kid" things, since I can't do them with her these days.

Janice's mom made Frances a really groovy bag, out of blue jeans! Very hip.

young brides...

Our wonderful neighbors, Janice and John, gave Abigail two dresses as gifts for her dedication...



She looks like she is ready to walk down the aisle... Any takers? Micah?

Halloween!

We are still waiting for autumn... after taking the car in to the dealership for service, the girls and I played in the front yard for a while. Frances is posing, saying, "What is up with this weather?!"


We waited until Abigail was napping before carving our pumpkin (sorry Ab, maybe next year). We'd had to wait until the last minute, so that the pumpkin wouldn't get moldy with all the hot weather! Frances drew a picture of what she wanted the face to look like, and I did my best to carve it the way she wanted. She was pleased with the result. I cooked the seeds with a little olive oil and garlic salt, and they are yummy!

We went trick-or-treating in Old Towne Orange, at little Phoebe's house. Frances and Haley went together, as Sonny & Cher. They got lots of laughs and comments from people in my generation who knew immediately who they were supposed to be!


Abigail wore her ladybug costume from last year. This year (unlike last year), she was delighted to dress up, especially in the tap shoes! She was not very interested in having her picture taken, though. Frances took off with Haley, to get to as many houses as possible. Abigail and I went at a slower pace. At first, she was a little confused, but then she figured it out! She jauntily walked from house to house, holding up her little bucket for candy, and rewarding people with her flirty smile. If they told her how cute she was, she would grin and show the dimple in her cheek! We went up and down both sides of the street with Phoebe, for about a block. Then, Phoebe and Abigail sat on the porch and helped give out candy.

But wait! There's more! Abigail's fabulous sitter had extra tickets to Mickey's Trick-or-Treat Party at Disney's California Adventure, and she gave them to us. Frances fell asleep in the car on the way there... but perked up once we arrived. As you enter the park, you are provided with treat bags, and a map that shows the candy locations throughout the park. And at each stop, they give you a whole handful of candy! Wow. I could see that Frances was getting tired, but when I finally let Abigail out of the stroller, she was like a lunatic! She was running, dancing, waving her arms, flirting with anyone and everyone! We stayed pretty late, and it was only 7 minutes from the Disney parking structure to our driveway, but both girls were sleeping hard when we got home.

Fran's Halloween costume piano recital

Each year, Frances' piano teacher has a recital, and lets the children wear their costumes. They can choose what piece they want to play. Fran chose to play "How Great Thou Art," and decided to wear an ice-skating costume that we found at a thrift store. She was having trouble deciding which shoes to wear (she does not have ice skates). I was dressing Abigail in her ladybug costume (recycled from last year), and was also having an issue with shoes. For Abby, I decided to let her wear the hand-me-down tap shoes, before she grows out of them. I told her that they used to be Franny's, and then Fran remembered that she also has a pair (another thrift store find). I told her that both she and Abby could wear tap shoes, and be the dancing sisters. Frances was enchanted with the idea! Both girls tap danced around the living room on the hardwood floors, and then we went out onto the porch for pictures, and it was like a stage!

Abigail's dedication at church

To coincide with Abigail's adoption anniversary, I asked our pastor to do a baby dedication at church. He called it a "commitment ceremony," because Abby's family and friends are making a commitment to teach her about Jesus, and praying that she will make a decision to follow Him.
You can see in the photos that our church is fairly casual; that's Pastor Gary on the left in the Hawaiian shirt! The other two gentlemen are elders.

We had some friends and family over to our house after church, for lunch and cake. I had considered buying a cake (the same one that I had for Frances' dedication) but Franny convinced me that, after my success with the pirate cake, I could certainly make Abigail's cake. And as money was a little tight toward the end of the month, I agreed. It didn't come out as nice as I wanted it to, but it was delicious. The bumps in the frosting are rainbow chips! Mmmmmm.

Grandma Hunter made Abigail a special pillow for the occasion. Abigail is currently obsessed with the letter W (and sometimes it is a number, as she counts, "1...2...3...W!" followed by a fit of giggles). Here is an excerpt from the accompanying note:
"Welcome to your forever family! And 'W' stands for willful, whimsical and sometimes weary and weepy, but mostly it stands for Wonderful Abigail." Abby carried the pillow around for several days, so proud of having her very own W!

The pumpkin patch, soCal style...

We went to Tanaka Farm's Pumpkin Patch on October 24th, with Haley, Dana, and little Phoebe from Kyrgyzstan (she was spending the day with H & D). It was very hot and dry! We brought bottled water and sunscreen.

Frances had been there a few days prior, with a school field trip, but we did not want her to give us any hints in the cornstalk maze! There was a little bit of shade in the maze from the tall corn, and we had fun finding our way to the flag in the center of the maze.

Frances had a great time with little pumpkins (she balanced them on her head) and big pumpkins (how big a pumpkin can I lift?). Abigail kept picking up pumpkins and then accidentally dropping them, until I finally told her to stop picking them up!

It was about 90 degrees out, and Abigail does not do well in extreme heat. She was as red as a beet, and her hair was soaking wet. When it dried, it was crispy with salt from her sweat!

After about an hour at the pumpkin patch, we all headed to McDonald's, to sit in the air conditioning, and the kids all had ice cream to cool off! I wish that autumn would arrive here in sunny southern California...

Sometimes, I love my job!

Here are some of the students in my afternoon class, playing outside. My afternoon class is a lot of fun; they understand so much (like "air five" instead of high-five, with all of the germs going around) and I can joke around with them. The morning class is a little more... challenging. But they are coming along nicely as well.

One year ago today

One year ago today, in a dimly lit hallway in Zhengzhou, I was handed a tiny (surprisingly heavy!) little girl, who was wearing three layers of clothing (despite the temperature being in the 70s). She was very serious, and she was also pretty much bald. She did not cry, but was very curious about her new mama and sister. She could not understand anything we said to her, except possibly our attempts at saying "I love you" in Chinese. Still, she must have known that she was embarking on a new and exciting journey into a loving family, for on that same afternoon, the woman who'd handed Abigail to me in the morning reached out for Abby, and Abby refused to go to her. Abigail had decided that she was staying in the loving arms of her forever family. No confusion about that. She has grown and flourished during the past year, from a quiet, serious, physically weak baby into a sassy, silly, big strong girl. She is a special gift from God to our family.

She is such a two-year-old!

According to Abigail, the reigning two-year-old in the Bushnell household, everything belongs to her! Whenever anyone else touches something in the house, Abigail casually remarks, "Oh...that's mine."
Apparently, ownership extends as far as facial expressions and phrases. The other day, Abby came up to me, saying, "Ffff, ffff, ffff." I made the sound back to her, and she said, "No, Mom! That's my fffff!"
Last week, she kept saying, "Oh my gosh." Frances said it back to her, and Abigail shouted, "No! That's my applesauce!" I have no idea what the connection is there, but Frances and I cracked up!

This is what Abigail does with a baseball glove...

Almost a year ago...

Here are bathtub photos from Feb 2009 and October 2009! Both girls have more hair...




I can hardly believe that it will be a year since Abigail joined our family. On October 21, 2008, Li DanYang became Abigail Grace Bushnell. What a blessing she is, as she runs and shouts her way through life, with a big smile on her face! Our funny, bossy, sassy little MeiMei...

A test of manual dexterity...

Abigail has been trying to make the hand sign for "I love you" for a year. Frances and I flash the sign to each other frequently, and Abigail has learned what it means, but it has apparently been a difficult position for her little hand. She kept holding her hand out to Frances, so that Fran could bend Abby's little fingers into the right shape. Finally, Abigail can do it on her own, and she is so proud. Like Frances, she has started giving me the sign spontaneously, sometimes saying "I love you, Mom" along with it.