Easter Pictures (Thank You, Grandma)

A big thank you to Grandma & Grandpa, who emailed me some Easter pictures last night so I could show off my handsome boy & beautiful girl.

Shaling's First Easter

Shaling & Preston spent the weekend with Grandma & Grandpa. They don't have school today, so that was done partially to allow Mom & Dad NOT to have to take off work. Thanks to Grandma & Grandpa wanting to have the kids for the whole weekend and not just one night, Mom & Dad to the opportunity to have a partial getaway weekend. Our first time together just the two of us since well before we started down the adoption path.

We spent Friday & Saturday in St. Louis, then met back up with the entire family (including the kids) at my aunt & uncle's house in the country near Carlinville. Despite the fact that I'd sent clean and church appropriate clothes for the kids, they were both dressed in brand new outfits thanks to Grandma's shopping addiction generosity. I stupidly forgot my camera, so I don't have a photo to include right now (hoping Grandma & Grandpa got some to send to me).

A farm is a great place for Easter Egg Hunts, so we hid a number of plastic eggs all over the backyard. We left them empty because we knew it was going to rain. However, the Easter Bunny was well-prepared. He left treat bags inside for the kids to receive when they brought in the empty eggs. I took a couple of videos with my phone. It had already started to rain, so I didn't venture out too far in the yard, as I didn't want to get caught in the mud in my heels ruin the phone. Therefore, the second video shows the kids fairly far away. I do think it's cute to watch at the very end of the video how one of the cats is chasing Shaling along. For those of you old enough to remember the 1980s, my Aunt Ann's cats are named Crockett & Tubbs. Name that television show!

I hope all our family and friends (those we know in person and those we know "virtually") had a lovely Easter. This year especially I'm feeling quite thankful that Jesus Christ our Savior died and rose again to relieve me of my sinful burden. I am also quite thankful for His blessing us with both of our kids.

Easter Egg Hunt 2011 from Amy Reynolds on Vimeo.

Easter Egg Hunt 2011, Video 2 from Amy Reynolds on Vimeo.

Pictures From Shaling's Camera

Shaling has a 35mm camera that she brought with her. I'm not sure if it was a gift from her foster family or someone else. We had a roll of film developed for her after we got home. We didn't realize that she still had one in her camera. We found it last week and had it developed. I'm guessing most of these are from late September when we sent her birthday cake (her birthday is October 5, but they did the cake early). Some of the others seem to be from the final days before we arrived to get her. I'm going to post most of the pictures here. For other families with children from the Long Gang Welfare District, make sure you scroll through all of the photos. Your children may be in here.

Trivia Category 10: Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

This category is not about the movie, but about planes, trains & automobiles, all of which will be used by the Stengels to get their boys.

1. Jan & Dean sang a song about a Pasadena Granny and her shiny red car. What brand of car was it?

2. Harry Potter & his classmates take the Hogwarts Express to return to school each August. What is the number of the platform where they board the train?

3. What is the name of the title character in the PBS Kids series based at Tarrytown Airport?

4. In Knight Rider, K.I.T.T. is the intelligent car driven by Michael Knight. However, K.I.T.T. had an adversary. What was the name of the ruthless prototype car that preceded K.I.T.T.?

5. Sheena Easton’s song, Morning Train, was re-titled so as not to be confused with another popular song at the time of its release in the United States. What was it originally titled?

6. While piloting the “Enola Gay”, named after his mother, pilot Paul Tibbets dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. What was the code name of the bomb?

7. In Stephen King’s Christine, what make & model of car is Christine?

8. In what movie does Sandra Bullock play a Chicago elevated train worker named Lucy?

9. On December 17 of what year did the Wright Brothers make their famous powered flight at Kitty Hawk?

10. In the “Love Bug” movies, what number is painted on Herbie’s sides & hood?

And the answers are...

1. Dodge

2. 9 3/4

3. Jay Jay (the Jet Plane)

4. K.A.R.R.

5. 9 to 5

6. Little Boy

7. Plymouth Fury (1958)

8. While You Were Sleeping

9. 1903

10. 53

Follow-Up With the E.N.T.

Shaling went back to see Dr. Huang (the Ear, Nose, & Throat specialist) yesterday. At the last appointment, he had prescribed ear drops that were a combination antibiotic & steroid. The previous 3 antibiotics prescribed by our family doctor hadn't fully cleared up the infection. These new ear drops cost as much as a front row seat to see Jimmy Buffett were quite powerful. Her ear has been clean for nearly two weeks, so I was not surprised that the doctor said her ear looked really good.

However, she still has the large perforation in her eardrum and surgery is inevitable. He asked me if I'd like to wait a few months to let her settle in to being in America some more before we did the surgery. I told him I would defer to him, but that my inclination was to go ahead and get it over with, as she has a social calendar busier than mine is an active little girl. Volleyball season is finishing up this week. Softball season has been going for a couple of weeks. She is participating in several mini-sports camps this summer. We intend to do a lot of swimming this summer.

Dr. Huang has a different perspective. He wants to make sure that her ear can stay infection-free for a couple of months before doing surgery. He says that if she continues to get infections, then the surgery will have been a waste of time and money. We see him again on June 21. I'm assuming that if her ear remains free of infection until then that we'll schedule the surgery at that time.

The doctor explained to Shaling (in Chinese) that she would eventually have surgery. Twice she smiled, but firmly told him (in Chinese) that she did not want to have surgery. Sorry, my darling daughter, but you don't have that choice. I don't blame you for not wanting it though.

I bought her a large jar of foamy ear plugs yesterday to use during showers and swimming. I had previously been trying to wash her hair just once or twice a week, but with warm weather here and Shaling liking to play outside with all of the neighbor kids (basketball, trampoline, bicycles, scooters, etc.), that is going to be impractical. Plus, my parents have a swimming pool and we have a pool membership during the summer at a club less than a mile from our house. Swimming is definitely on the agenda.

Trivia Category 9: I Am A Rock

I Am A Rock

Joe & Lynne run a rock climbing facility, The Silo, in downtown Rochester. This category involves people & things with the word “rock” in their names.

1. In the Madagascar movies, Chris Rock provides the voice of Marty. What type of animal is Marty?

2. James Garner portrayed private investigator Jim Rockford. What make & model of car did Rockford drive?

3. In the movie Rocky, Rocky has a pair of pets named Cuff & Link. What type of animal are they?

4. In the 1996 movie, The Rock, a federal prisoner portrayed by Sean Connery & a chemical weapons expert portrayed by Nicolas Cage team up to infiltrate Alcatraz. What actor portrayed the leader of the rogue Marines that had seized control of Alcatraz?

5. Who provided the voice of “Mister Ed”, the talking horse?

6. Who said in 1985, "I am not happy that I am sick. I am not happy that I have AIDS. But if that is helping others, I can at least know that my own misfortune has had some positive worth."?

7. What Montreal Expo was the runner-up for the 1981 National League Rookie of the Year award?

8. Kid Rock scored big with the hit song “All Summer Long”. What is Kid Rock’s given name?

9. In the 1980s, Fraggle Rock was a hit show for HBO. In the show, tiny green characters were frequently shown running construction machinery. What were these characters called?

10. In the type of rock climbing called top-roping (which is considered the safest), rope goes through an anchor, with one end tied to the climber and the other tied to a person that tightens the rope, letting go slowly when the climber wants to come down. What is the technical term for the person in control of the rope?

And the answers are...

1. Zebra

2. Pontiac Firebird

3. Turtles

4. Ed Harris

5. Rocky Lane

6. Rock Hudson

7. Tim “Rock” Raines

8. Bob Ritchie or Robert Ritchie

9. Doozers

10. Belayer

Trivia Category 8: Who Am I?

Who Am I?

You will be provided with the birth name of a famous person. Provide the name by which they are better known.

1. Vincent Damon Furnier

2. Erik Weisz

3. Terry Gene Bollea

4. Anna Mae Bullock

5. Leslie Lynch King, Jr.

6. Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon

7. Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr.

8. Rose Louise Hovick

9. Reginald Dwight

10. William Jefferson Blythe, III

And the answers are...

1. Alice Cooper


2. Harry Houdini


3. Hulk Hogan


4. Tina Turner


5. Gerald Ford


6. Minnie Pearl


7. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar


8. Gypsy Rose Lee


9. Elton John


10. Bill Clinton