Silly Girl

Spring Break

Nothing new on the house front, except my attitude. I am trying to be more laid back about the whole thing. Everytime I find myself getting wound up I just tell myself to cut it out, nothing really matters. (All I need is a rubber band around my wrist to snap at the appropriate times!)

This week is our Spring Break. We have decided to go camping.....sort of. We are taking the camper over to the area where Mike is working and we are going to live for a week out of the camper as a family. Mike going to work during the day and the girls and I just hanging out. It was a good way to get me away from the house and the whole selling thing. Adam, our church's youth pastor, who has been living with us since the beginning of the year, will keep an eye on things here at home. Hopefully he will keep it clean too in case we get some showings. LOL!

The temps are suppose to be nice this week but they are calling for a chance of rain everyday. That should make for some fun camping. The girls and I may spend more time at the mall than in the camper. :)

Talk to ya all in a week.

Prayers for another

I have been following a blog http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/ for the last month or so. It is a husband, Nate, that is married to Tricia. She has cystic Fibrosis. In January she gave birth (very prematurely) to Gwyneth Rose. They have both been in the hospital ever since. Just last night Tricia was given a new pair of lungs. PRAISE THE LORD! Hers were in very bad condition. Nate is a riot and does a wonderful job of blogging about their situation. It is very easy to get caught up in what this family is going through. They both have very strong faith and it is amazing how positive they are with all they are going through. Please pray for them as I am sure the next few weeks will be tough for Tricia but also very exciting and pain free with her new disease free lungs!

I am still here

I have been having a rough few weeks. I keep meaning to post but my heart is just not in it. I am really going through a depression. It all revolves around our house being for sale.

We have been having about one showing a week. We had one yesterday and it was looking I thought fairly good-but alas they have decided against it. One showing the people love the property but the house is not fancy enough for them and the next they like the house but the property isn't what they are looking for.

I have had a pretty rough day today. Ever since I got the email that they have ruled our home out (yesterday's showing) I have been sitting and crying. I am really mad at myself for being so emotional over all of this, but darn it- for 7 stinking months I have been on a stupid roller coaster. This whole moving thing has consumed my whole life and I am so sick of being depressed. You'd think I had been diagnosed with a disease for as messed up as I have become. I am even losing faith in God because I feel like he is not answering my prayers. I know this is all ridiculous, but I can't figure out how to shake it. Showings are the only thing keeping me going, but after each one I just crash down again. I am also stressed knowing that in two weeks our contract expires on the home we want to buy. I have been watching other listings and Mike has been driving by a bunch of them, but we don't like any others. I keep trying to be logical about it all and tell myself "all in God's timing" but my heart just isn't buying it. I am normally such an up and positive person, that this depression has really wore me down.

In the last couple of weeks we have celebrated our two year anniversary of our "gotcha day". We all went out for Chinese to celebrate. Katie turned 20 last week. So, for about 6 months I have no teenagers in the house. Mike is back to work after having about a month off. He is in charge of rebuilding a new road through a town. It sounds like this particular project will last all year.

Well, that about wraps up my update. I will try to be more positive next time. :)

Human Sandwich

Reading Time

No Jenny Craig needed....

Okay, okay but I can't make her gain weight or grow a butt!

Happy 22nd to my baby boy!

Workin' and Workin'

Well, this week Mike got laid off. This is not a bad thing. They just ran out of equipment to work on in the shop so they said take some time off. He came home Tuesday night and by Wednesday morning I had given him the dreaded "honey-do" list. He was less than thrilled, but he knew it was coming.

I have added two more rooms on the list that need to be painted. Morgan's room is a custom painted room. When she got her new bedspread last year we had paint matched to the vibrant pink. It is pretty wild, unfortunately it is not a great color when you are trying to sell. So, I told her we were going to paint at least three of the walls a neutral color and keep the pink for an accent wall. Our dining room really needs some updated fresh paint to it. The problem is we had some cracking in the ceiling corners. That was Mike's first project. The has removed all the old drywall tape and is in the process of re-taping. Our biggest problem will now be trying to match the texture on the ceiling and walls.

I have also been watching lots of designing shows and shows on selling your house, so I am going through and re staging and cleaning out more of our stuff.

The good thing is that Olivia is gone for at least four days down to see her sister in Bloomington. I will actually get to sleep in tomorrow morning and won't wake up to a pair of eyes staring at me at my bedside at 7:00 AM. :)

Happy Valentines Day

to all my faithful readers!

YIPPPEEE!

Katie made it on the Dean's List at IU!! Here is part of the email she received....

Congratulations! Because of your outstanding academic performance, you have been placed on the School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation Dean's List for the Fall Semester 2007. Eligibility for the Dean's List is reserved for those students who complete at least 12 graded credit hours in a single semester, earning at least a 3.50 GPA. You can be proud of this honor.

Students often include information about their Dean's List semesters on their resumes. If you wish to have this achievement published in your local newspaper, you can print this message and send it to the editor of your local newspaper. We cannot provide individual information to hometown newspapers, so we encourage you to make available to them as much information about yourself and your studies as possible.

I am one proud mama!

Chinese New Year

Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year. This year is the year of the Rat! The actual years go from about the end of January or first of February to the end of the following year. With that in mind I am the year of the Sheep instead of the Monkey (January 7, 1968).
Mike is a Horse
Evan is a Tiger
Katie is a Dragon
Morgan is a Pig
Olivia is a Monkey



The Year of the Rat 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008
A person born in the Year of the Rat is said to be clever and intelligent. They are self-confident and have an optimistic outlook on life. They work hard to reach their goals and are considered perfectionists. When it comes to money matters they are rather careful even stingy and usually don't lend money.
Ambitious
Sincere
You can be generous with your financial resources
You are compatible with the Monkey, Ox and Dragon
You are not compatible with the Horse


The Year of the Ox 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009
The Year of the Ox Persons born in the Year of the Ox are diligent, patient and rather remain silent. They are consequent and reliable as friends. But they are easy to irritate and tend to be stubborn and obstinate.
A leader
Bright
Cheerful
You are compatible with the Snake , Rat and Rooster
You are not compatible with the Sheep


Year of the Tiger 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010
Tigers are sensitive, emotional and thoughtful persons. But they also tend to be impatient. Others pay them respect but they sometimes get into conflicts of authority with elder people. They sometimes delay important decisions which leads to the result that they often have to decide in a rash and hasty way.
But they also have the guts take risks and are very success- oriented. Tigers are distrustful but also stand for courage and fortitude. They are born leaders.
Forthright
Sensitive
Posess great courage
You are compatible with the Horse, Dragon and Dog
You are not compatible with the Monkey


Year of the Hare 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011
Persons born in the Year of the Hare are talented and ambitious. They are popular with anybody and good entertainers which often makes them the centre of attention. Even though they are liked they are rather pessimistic, insecure and are afraid of changes. They almost never lose their temper and are very good-natured. In the business world however they are smart and make the right decisions according to instinct. Nevertheless they are no gamblers. Hares are known for their sense of art and for that reason often have beautiful homes.
Talented
Affectionate
You are a seeker of tranquility
You are compatible with the Sheep, Dog and Boar
You are not compatible with the Monkey


Year of the Dragon 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012
The dragon used to be the symbol of the Chinese emperor. The emperors throne was called the "Dragon throne" and according to the Confucian ideal the whole earth should be influenced in a positive way by the shining example of the emperors life. People born in the Year of the Dragon are in good health, bursting with energy, long-living, easy to irritate, impatient and obstinate.
On the other hand they are dependable, honest, brave and beam with self- confidence. They are perfectionist and demand the same from others. They always make an effort to let their positive features show through but sometimes overdo their role as the shining examples. In life Dragons are strong- minded and successful whatever they do. Among the twelve signs of the zodiac they are considered the most eccentric personages.
Robust
Passionate
Your life is filled with complexity
You are compatible with the Monkey, Rat, Cock (Rooster) and Snake
You are not compatible with the Dog


Year of the Snake 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013
People born in the Year of the Snake are considered profound and wise. Problems are solved by means of brain and logic instead of deciding according to one's instinct. They are fortunate in money matters but are also penurious and don't lend money.
They tend to be egoistic while feeling sympathy for others and helping the less fortunate. They don't have much confidence in others and take matters into their own hands anticipating that they will be solved.
Strong willed
Intense
Displays great wisdom
You are compatible with the Rooster, Hare and Ox
You are not compatible with the Boar


Year of the Horse 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014
Persons born in the Year of the Horse are liked in general. They are always good-humoured, handle money well and make long term plans for their lives.
They are wise an have an artistic disposition. Even though they have an enormous sex appeal they' re weak when it comes to dealing with the other sex. They tend to be impatient and passionate when it comes to things disturbing their daily routine.
Physically attractive
Popular
You like the company of others
You are compatible with the Tiger, Dog and Sheep
You are not compatible with the Rat

Year of the Sheep ( goat, ram) 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015
People born in the Year of the Sheep are characterized by their kindness and good nature. They have talents in the field of art and are elegant. They are thoughtful, shy and pessimistic.
Even though they are not eloquent they get behind their position with emphasis and passion.
Aesthetic
Stylish
You enjoy being a private person
You are compatible with the Boar, Hare or the Horse
You are not compatible with the Ox


Year of the Monkey 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016
Persons born in the Year of the Monkey are said to be intelligent, clever and flexible. They're very inventive and therefore solve problems easily. Monkeys have sanity and reason and are eager for knowledge.
They don't put tasks into cold storage but tackle a problem right away which makes them successful. That also leads to them looking down on others and makes them tend to be overweening.
Persuasive
Intelligent
Strives to excel
You are compatible with the Dragon, Monkey and Rat
You are not compatible with the Tiger


Year of the Rooster 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017
Those born in the Year of the Cock are thoughtful and very able people. They tend to take too many tasks at once and therefore are often stressed and disappointed when they fail a task.
Most of the times they are eccentric and have problems to get along with others because they are too aggressive. Very often they are mavericks and though they are said to be adventurous they are rather fearful.
Seeking wisdom
Seeking truth
You have a pioneering spirit
You are compatible with the Snake, Dragon and Ox
You are not compatible with the Rabbit

Year of the Dog 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018
Persons born in the Year of the Dog have a lot of characteristics considered positive in China e.g. loyalty, honesty, friendliness, reliability and discretion. They're not into experimenting and are rather conservative. On the other hand they are eccentric, headstrong and even egoistic.
They don't care about wealth and money but are always generous. They have high moral demands and often criticise others for their mistakes.
Generous
Loyal
You have the ability to work well with others
You are compatible with the Horse, Hare and Tiger
You are not compatible with the Dragon


Year of the Pig 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019
Persons born in the Year of the Pig are chivalrous and born sqiures. They put their whole energy in everything they do. They pursue their goals without wasting a thought of giving up. They often are fortunate in their ventures and reach their goals. When it comes to friendship they are quite choosy but once they made friends the friendship is everlasting and they are loyal friends.
They are eager for knowledge and usually well informed. They are not very talkative though and avoid discussions and arguments.
Gallant
Noble
Your friends will remain at your side
You are compatible with the Rabbit, Rat and Sheep
You are not compatible with the Snake

There is a new show in town

There is a new show that started on Nickelodeon toda (coincendently also the first day of Chinese New Year). It is called Ni-Hao Kai Lan. And let me tell you Olivia has been waiting for this day. She is a big Dora fan, so we are hoping Kai Lan sticks around for a while. It was funny though today...on the way home from pre-school she asked if Kai-Lan was on yet. Then she asked if Kai-Lan's mom got her in China when she was a baby too. Hmmmm.....maybe she really has been paying attention when we talk about our trip to China.

Pint-Size Peacemaker With a Lot to Teach
('Nickelodeon can only hope Kai-lan, the bouncy star of its new weekday morning cartoon “Ni Hao, Kai-lan,” will demonstrate the earning power of "Dora the Explorer" while teaching children Mandarin.');
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They’re both assertive young heroines with dark eyes and dark hair, brightly colored animal friends, theme songs that feature much chanting of their names and a habit of slipping non-English words into their conversations. Oh, and they both work for the same division of Viacom.

Nick Jr.
Kai-lan and Yeye, her grandfather, in “Ni Hao, Kai-Lan.”
One major difference: Dora the Explorer has made more than $1 billion over the last eight years while exposing children to Spanish. Nickelodeon can only hope Kai-lan, the bouncy star of its new weekday morning cartoon “Ni Hao, Kai-lan,” will demonstrate that kind of earning power while teaching them Mandarin.
“Ni Hao, Kai-lan” (it means “Hello, Kai-lan”) was scheduled to make its debut in the fall. The delay has allowed it to make its arrival on Thursday, the first day of the Chinese New Year. Even more auspicious than the timing, of course, are the successful example of “Dora the Explorer” and reports of how eager American parents are for their children to learn Chinese.
Will the show appeal to a “Dora”-size audience? Only a preschooler could say for sure. To this adult there are positive signs: a charming animation style that triangulates Hello Kitty, the Powerpuff Girls and SpongeBob, and a vibrant performance by the young voice actress Jade-Lianna Peters as Kai-lan.
But here’s that comparison again. Dora, the geography nut, is a problem solver — she needs to get to her cousin’s quinceañera, or return a beached crab to its ocean home — who operates without adult supervision. Kai-lan is a peacemaker and amateur therapist whose smiling YeYe (paternal grandfather) is always lurking. The first two episodes of “Ni Hao, Kai-lan” revolve around her instructing the selfish, competitive tiger Rintoo in the value of teamwork and self-sacrifice.
Nickelodeon has announced that it wants this show to have a strong cultural-awareness component (i.e. dragon boat races, New Year traditions, dumplings), and it also seems likely that the two shows are being tuned for slightly different age groups. (Dora is 7 years old, Kai-lan 5.) Still, why does the Hispanic girl get to have adventures while the Asian girl giggles and teaches the boys about good manners and collectivism? I suspect that 5-year-old Nielsen viewers may have the same question.
As for the language instruction, a surprising number of Mandarin words and phrases are worked into the dialogue, often without translation. Presumably the preschool brain will apprehend and remember them. Given the multifarious nature of the Chinese language, choices have to be made, and some Chinese-Americans might be disappointed to know that millions of children are about to be told to call red packets — the envelopes used for gifts of money at new year — ya sui qian rather than hong bao or ang pao. They’ll also be taught to wish their family and friends “Xin nian kuai le” (“Happy New Year”) but not “Gong xi fa cai,” the traditional congratulation and wish for prosperity. (And definitely not “Gung hay fat choy”; the show is a Cantonese-free zone.)
In the meantime, xie xie and zai jian. Ask your children — they’ll be able to translate by the second episode.
NIA HAO, KAI-LAN
Nickelodeon, Thursday morning at 11, Eastern and Pacific times; 10, Central time.
Created by Karen Chau; Mary Harrington, executive producer; produced and written by Sascha Paladino; directed by Dave Marshall; music by Matt Mahaffey; Kay Wilson Stallings, executive in charge of production. Produced by Nick Jr. Productions.
WITH THE VOICES OF: Jade-Lianna Peters (Kai-lan), Clem Cheung and Ben Wang (YeYe), Jack Samson (Rintoo), Khamani Griffin (Tolee/Howard), Angie Wu (Hoho), Beverly Duan (Lulu) and Frank Welker (Mr. Dragon).

Buried under snow.....again

Well we were hit with another snow storm yesterday. We got about 10 inches of snow. No school for the second time this week. This has been one of the hardest winter's I remember. Snow, ice, flooding, and thunderstorms. Yep on Tuesday night we had a thunderstorm. Right after the storm there was a flash freeze. The temperature dropped 30 degrees in just a couple hours. It is just crazy.

For the last two weeks I have been stripping wallpaper and borders and painting my bathroom and bedroom. It has been a good cold weather project. I am trying to do anything cheap that I can to improve our house so if we ever get a showing again, it might sell. :)

Expensive Week

So this last weekend Mike was "surfing on the net" and showed me a picture of a gun. (He is a hunter and also loves to target practice with his guns). He said, "If you need an idea for Father's Day you can get me this." I told him if he really wanted it to just buy it. (He hardly ever buys things for himself that is not a neccessity.) Well he ordered it. Hmmm, didn't think he was THAT serious about wanting to get it, but oh well. So, come Tuesday and my computer is REALLY acting up. It had been infected with spyware for about 3 weeks and just kept getting worse. It also had an overheating problem. I called my computer guys and they said for $50-$75 they could take off the spyware, but they have worked on the overheating problem and there was nothing more they could do. I called Mike and asked him "Since you are getting a new gun and my computer is 5 1/2 years old, can I get a new computer? The computer guys will build me one for $500." He gave me the go ahead to get a new computer....I am so glad I told him he could buy his gun. :) Well I ordered my computer and about a half hour later I look at the TV to see what was on and low and behold it is black. There is sound coming out, but no picture. Now this dumb TV is ONLY 3 years old. About 6 months ago we had an isssue. When I turned it on it was black, there was a loud pop sound and then slowly the picture came back on. I knew we were probably on borrowed time, but was holding out hope we would get moved before we had to invest in a new TV. SO, I made another call to Mike and started crying that we had just gotten another $$$ hit and that I would not have ordered my new computer if I knew the TV was going to go out. Needless to say he told me to go TV shopping and gave me a budget to stick within. So, that night I went shopping and got a new 37" LCD HD TV. I even only spent $800 and stayed below our budget. The new TV comes tonight, I got my computer yesterday, the gun comes next week.

*Happy Anniversary Honey! Let's take a cruise next time!!!

*Today is our 22nd anniversary.

Preschool Fun

I was the "helper mom" today at Olivia's preschool. I decided to take along my camera and try to catch some school action.

I really need to get a new camera. Mine takes some really crappy pictures. But here they are no less.

She headed right to the reading loft.

Then it was on to the "Snow pit"

Don't forget snack time.

I can't post the circle time pics because I don't know how to blur out the other faces.

She loves preschool. We are very lucky. We live near a really small town. There are 3 preschool's available. We take her to our old church. There are 18 kids in her class and three teachers. In her class their is one other Chinese girl (adopted also) and also a hispanic girl, a black/asian girl and a bi-racial boy (also adopted). I love the fact that there is some diversity in her class. She is still the smallest kid in her class (I think she comes up to the bottom of the chin of most of the kids) but she doesn't care because she is mighty. She has learned colors, shapes, how to write (trace) her name and this month they are learning their numbers. I hope once we move we can find another program similar to this one. She is going to miss all her "fweinds" very much.

Two years ago today......

Two years ago we got the call about our precious little Yang Guo Guan. I cannot believe how long ago it seems but yet I can remember it like it was yesterday.

Go here to a look back.

To all of my fellow "waiting and totally frustrated" adoptive moms..... I can't even imagine the anguish you are going through during this looooong wait. Our log in date was 4/19/05. It is unfathomable to me that the CCAA has still not gotten through the year of 2005. I can guarantee you that every stinkin' day you have to wait will be worth it when you set your eyes on the newest addition to your family, but I also know that piece of information does not help while waiting. I heard it many times and it meant nothing to me until I was living it. I just pray that your time of waiting will soon be over.

And to my precious Olivia.....you were worth every frustrating minute that we waited and I love you sweetheart.

Our first look at Yang Guo Guan

Little Miss Olivia Guan today.

Livi and her buddy Emmy

Christmas Love and Borderline Insanity

Well I can sit back now and sigh with relief. I am done with my Christmas shopping and even have everything wrapped. I love the spirit and meaning of Christmas. I tend to go overboard because I just love the magic of it all. This year I am even spending much more time thinking about the reason that we celebrate this season. We are all so blessed to have the gift of Jesus. Even though it is His birthday that we celebrate we are the ones that receive the biggest gift of all. I cannot fathom how I am even worthy of His gift to me, but because God says I am worthy I must believe it and be so grateful that we have such a wonderful, loving and merciful Father.

We have found a home. We have made an offer and all the details have been ironed out. Only one little catch is that our offer is basically a first right of refusal...meaning the house is not really ours until we get ours sold. This is where I have been bordering on the fine line of faithfulness and the insanity of depression and despair. In 100 days we have had 7 showings. Two of those showings it was reported that "this is our favorite property that we have seen so far". But alas nothing has happened beyond that. I could live with that if it wasn't for the fact that nothing *NOTHING* in our whole county has sold in the last 2 1/2 months that is over $250,000. AND only 4 houses in our school district have sold between $200,000-$250,0o0. (Ours is currently listed for $287,000-which a year ago would have been considered a steal in this area.) So, now we have to decide if we need to lower the price again and maybe take a hit on it, or stick with it and hope that once the holidays are over things will pick up a little bit. It is so hard to know what to do. I am a worrier. You know the kind that worries about things that I cannot control. The other day I gave it all over to God like I know I am suppose to do. The only problem with that is that I keep taking it back and then remind myself to give it back to him again. I really feel like I am lacking in the faith department big time. I HATE waiting. I hated the waiting when we were waiting for our referral of Olivia and I hate this waiting on our house selling so we can all be a family again.

Well I will leave you with a picture of our new house......maybe. :)

Merry Christmas from the Stahley's

Here is my Christmas greeting to you.

Merry Christmas from the Stahley's

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