As I mentioned on our other blog, I couldn't be prouder of Victoria.... What a girl!

Pride

As a mother, I have often felt proud of our girls. The kind of pride that makes your eyes well up in an instant....

Today, I experienced this motherly pride, but it was different in a sense. It struck me that Victoria is getting older. Of course I knew this, but her conscious desire to make a difference in such a worthy cause was so wonderful. It was such a feeling of intense pride in the person Victoria is. She demonstrated such courage, poise, dignity, selflessness and inspired me with her shining spirit. Victoria raised over 2500$ for Breast cancer research and awareness with much hard work, and today she participated in the Shave To Save event at her school. She had her head shaved in front of the students, family and staff at her highschool. Not for one minute did she show fear, regret or any sign of insecurity beforehand or afterwards. She possessed such a grace about her today that took my breath away. She astounded me and inspired me and I am bursting with pride.
xoxo

Happy 4th Birthday PARTY Mara-Mouse!

Our Mara-Grace's actual birthdate is November 1st. However, since we may be travelling (OOOHHHH) we decided to have her party early this year. She wanted a Mickey Mouse party and we had a great time with this theme.
Here are some pics of Mara-Mouse's special day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! We travelled this weekend and enjoyed two beautiful Thankgiving meals and visits with our families. This morning we went to our favorite Pumpkin Patch and had a beautiful time. xoxo

Lantern Festival

We had a lovely evening last night. We dropped Tori and her friend off at their Mini Medical School and drove over to the lantern festival. After a week of much rain, it was a clear, crisp, lovely night. We enjoyed the lanterns very much, and Mara-Grace also enjoyed some mooncakes! It certainly made us nostalgic for China and we look forward to being there soon. xo

Happy Mid-Autumn Moon Festival!!!!!
Today was a beautiful family day. Late this afternoon Mara-Grace and I made our mooncakes (which ended up being one large mooncake). We have been reading a lot about the importance of the Moon Festival and also the story of Chang E and Hou Ye and Jade Rabbit etc... Although Mooncakes can be filled with different ingredients, ours was date, apricot, coconut and raisins. I would love to buy some Moon cake molds while we are in China.
I couldn't help but think of our darling Hannah. When we woke up this morning, I thought of her as it was evening time in China. Was she celebrating? I imagine so! I thought of her standing next to Mara-Grace making our mooncake, and I imagined her eyes wide with excitement enjoying Chinese Food and stories. Although, it is too cloudy here to see the moon tonight, we thought of everyone in China who have been such a special part of our daughter's lives. They are always in our hearts.

Hannah, darling, soon you will here and we will celebrate and remember.... We love you little one....Happy Mid-Autumn Moon Festival to you and all those who are surrounding you to celebrate. xoxo

Update: We caught a glimpse of the moon right before Mara's bedtime! We all stood out and admired the most lovely full moon. We are sure we saw Chang E and Jade Rabbit too!!!!