Constant Beginnings

On our way! Beijing, here we come! Making our way to the bus. Little Miss Attitude! Charlie, our tour guide! He called himself a big bellied buddha man. I think he is right ;) Beijing through the windows of our bus. This is where we ate dinner. It was a peking duck, which was rather tasty!  We rolled it in a pancake, which is like a very, very thin spring roll wrapper, tossed in some scallions, duck sauce with duck meat and rolled it up. Yum. Our hotel from afar. Beijing has a major air pollution problem. There is a constant haze in the air, which is thicker in the fall/winter months due to the coal that is burned to heat homes. A government building. All government buildings have this emblem on them. The Bird's Nest. Home of the 2008 Summer Olympics and now the symbol of China. Our trip to Beijing was underway when we arrived at the airport to join our tour group. There were over 70 of us partaking on this adventure t...

My Mom is on her way, my Mom is on her way, my Mom is on her way!!! Yay! I am so excited to have her visit. I know it is a long trip and rather costly, but we are so thankful that she's taking on the adventure. I've planned some fun things to see/do in addition to our upcoming trip to China. The girls' carriers finally arrived this week. I ordered them 2 months ago, knowing that there would be a lot of walking on our trip and not much stroller friendly spaces. Anyway, I was getting rather worried they weren't going to arrive, but they did! Chris made it home on Friday night. The girls talked his ear off for over an hour. Kids obviously have no real sense of time as a long time is simply a long time. Claire was updating him on things that happened over the summer. It was quite funny. We have a King sized bed, but even that wasn't quite big enough with all FOUR of us in it! The girls were so excited to see their daddy and they'd been sleeping with me for the past...

It is 3:00 on a Friday morn. And here I sit in the rain. I could be sleeping or blah blah blah.... I was actually just sitting here thinking and suddenly my thoughts were set to one of my favorites--Billy Joel. Funny stuff happens in my mind. Anyway, I have been up since 1:00. I swear I am 50 years old or older? Isn't 50 about the point where you have sleep issues unrelated to babies and such? Well, I am there. I am in crunch time. My hubby is due to arrive in just over 12 hours, my Momma will be in 24 hours after him, I am wrapping up my first TWO classes to my Autism certification (which have been awesome--if only I knew about online education back in the day---so much easier than onsite learning and much LESS work!), trying to create our Christmas card (which is being reduced to a photo card & possible letter from what I had initially planned), and I need to complete a job application (Yep, we'll see how this goes. I am going to apply to a job in Germany with DODDS b...

A few things I don't want to forget... Claire is learning Korean. Her dear teacher, Ms. Kim is passing along her wisdom daily and is totally taken with Claire's desire. Anyway, one night Claire and I were talking in Korean (at least as much as either of us know) and Claire stops and says, "Momma, you know why I can say that?" Me--"why?" Claire--"Because I'm a little Korean." Such a funny girl, thinking she is a little bit Korean the blondie that she is! She has really begun to notice differences in Koreans/Americans, etc. She still calls African American people, "brown" girl or "brown" boy. Given her awareness, she doesn't speak badly or say anything beyond their identifying characteristic. She occasionally says some scripted comment that she has obviously gotten from me or Chris, "it doesn't matter if we are Korean or American, we are good people." Yes baby, we are. On that same note, Ms. Kim is going...

When you think about having children, you never ever imagine that you are capable of loving someone as much as you love your husband. Then you have them. The love you feel for them is different than that which bonds a husband and wife. A deeper, stronger, different kind of love. These girls are my life. They are my everything. They are the perfect blend of Chris and I. Sure, I exist apart from being a mother, but their happiness, breath, love, laughter, and being, consumes the majority of my day. They simply mean the world to me. I can't imagine my life with greater joy than that which is brought by my children. Being a Mom has changed my life in the most unimaginable, amazing way. I am such a better person because of Claire and Mya. They push me to be the best 'me' I can be. They make me laugh, make me cry, make me smile, make me imagine, make me believe, make me doubt, make me remember and make me happy. How two beautiful beings are capable of such intense feeling is amaz...

When I learned I'd be having daughters, my biggest hope was they'd become best friends. My sisters are my best friends in this world. Hands down. Sisters are special people. Friends come and friends go, but sisters are always there.  Our girls love each other unconditionally, they share with each other rather well and worry and think about each other when apart. They truly have become the best of friends. I cannot wait to see their bond continue to strengthen with time. The thought alone brings a smile to my face and tear to my eye. This quote accurately describes sisters... She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities.  She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway.  She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark.  She is your teacher, your defense attorney, your personal press agent, even your shrink.  Some days, she's the reason ...