Sassier than Sassy!

Lily Wen decided yesterday that she wanted to cut her hair. I wasn't sure what prompted her decision other than Graeme and I were getting our hair cut. This does not usually factor into her decisions. She said that she wanted her hair cut short and sassy.

After she was all done and had admired herself in all of the mirrors of the salon, she came over and said, "Mom, Now I look just like Janette from So You Think You Can Dance!" Ahhh, the real reason for the Sassy New Cut!

So you tell me, does she look like Janette?

Last But Not Least!!!!

This is the last of the posts from our trip to Louisiana but it is definitely not the least. We spent a fabulous afternoon with my friend Kim and her daughter, Mary Grace. I met Kim and David and their daughter when we were waiting for Lily Wen's referral. Getting to know them helped make our wait go by so much quicker. Mary Grace is amazing and Kim is always there to listen!

This sign awaited us when we arrived...so SWEET!

Lily Wen, Mary Grace and Graeme
They really enjoyed playing and creating!

Mary Grace

Lily Wen is showing Kim her caterpillar, bracelet and tiara.

We love you all and can't wait until our next visit.

Special times with Wonderful friends!

This was another very special day on our trip to Louisiana. When I was a teenager, close FAMILY friends adopted my Godsis, Danielle. I remember when she came home and all the excitement around her adoption and that of her older sister, Amanda. I think from those special moments as a young teenager, I was touched by adoption and it just became a natural way for me to build my family. On this trip, my Godsis, Danielle, and her daughter, Molly, joined me for a visit with close friends who have all adopted from China. I love going home and seeing friends and there is just always something special about seeing all the kids play together. We were able to see four families with children from China (3 that we have known since right after Lily Wen came home and 1 that we were able to meet on this trip). There is another interesting side note about red thread connections. I went to an extremely small private school for high school (my graduation class had 63 students). Two of the other Moms also went to my high school. We all adopted from China and all realized it either after we were home or while waiting for our little ones. On to the pics of our day!

Molly and Mommy, Danielle

Makenna and Lily Wen with Danielle and Molly. So sweet!

Audrey and Graeme are 3, Lily Wen 5, Makenna 4, Sydney and Sophie 5

Our upside down picture (we take one each time we get together)

Lily Wen and Makenna started the tradition in one of our first visits after Makenna came home.

Sydney and Lily Wen are three months apart in age. As Lily Wen now says, "I'm just petite!" I think that may be an understatment!

Graeme is already riding in cars with girls!

Miss Molly! Stunning!

The underwater shots...Makenna and Lily Wen

The trio, Lily Wen, Hannah (who joined us later in the day) and Makenna

Hannah 4 years old

Graeme with his signature smile. (He was probably developing swimmer's ear as this shot was taken! Oh well)

Makenna...Gorgeous!

Three oh so special girls!

Hannah...with attitude!

So much FUN! Looking forward to our next get together hopefully at Christmas!

An afternoon at Mikie's house

I am determined to catch up on posting pictures from our Louisiana trip before August!!!! We spent an afternoon at my brother's house. It was wonderful to see Mike, Mary and the kids, Anna, Alex, Ashley Grace and Catherine. As you will see, there are more pool pictures. It is soooooo HOT in Louisiana that we spent most of our time in a pool! I wish we all lived closer so we could see each other more often. Looking forward to Christmas already!

Lily Wen loved the play house and would have spent all day in there!

Lily Wen and Graeme greeting visitors!

The rope swings were a big hit too!

Graeme was actually a little nervous but kept on smiling!

Ashley Grace and Graeme loving some watermelon

Catherine and Lily Wen

Catherine - so CUTE!

Alex, Ashley Grace and Graeme playing in the pool.

Ice cream break!

I think he thought he was sneaking in where he shouldn't be playing. It made the experience even more fun for him ;^)

Graeme loved playing in the fountains!

A full circle moment!

The wee ones and I went to Lafayette one of the days of our vacation. We got to spend time with some very special friends, Mary and her daughters Ann Marie and Jon Terez. I have known them for many years now. (I talked to Mary before sharing the following information :) The girls were toddlers when I first met them and their Mom. They are both profoundly deaf and have cochlear implants. I worked with them in auditory-verbal therapy to teach them to listen and speak. Mary would drive over an hour one way for therapy and bring both girls for weekly sessions. Amazing Mom, amazing girls, amazing family! We spent lots of time in therapy and became friends. I have a vested interest in how the girls are doing today. They are AMAZING!!!!!! They listen so well and we had wonderful conversation about all that they love including their academic success, how active they are on swim and soccer teams and the things they remember from those sessions so long ago. I especially loved watching Ann Marie and Jon Terez teach Lily Wen how to swim the butterfly stroke and dive. Mary and I were able to visit and catch up. What a wonderful way to spend our day!

Ann Marie, Jon Terez, Graeme, Lily Wen

My Girl

Jon Terez

Ann Marie

My boy!

Aren't they adorable? (Graeme was too busy eating to be in the picture. Is anyone really surprised?)

Just hanging out!

The Jump!

Trying it again!

Mary and I

A pic with my girls!

I am so looking forward to our next visit!

Dolphin Cruise

I have so many pictures to post from our last week of vacation and so little time now that I am back to reality!!! Our dolphin cruise was a highlight and amazing!

Attempts at getting the perfect beach picture!

Yesterday evening, we decided that we wanted to get the "perfect" beach picture of all of us. We never accomplished that shot but we did have a lot of fun and entertained many people on the beach as we got these shots.

The cousin shot, Graeme, Lily Wen, John Christopher and Luke

John loving on his Mom's belly and his soon to be baby brother!

Just me and my wee ones~

The Cain Women, Jodi, Mom and me

Miss Sassy Pants

I don't think I could love anyone more than them!

The bow is bigger than her head. It's a Southern thing!

He is smiling so big that he could hurt himself!

My nephew, Luke. Ahhhh, those eyes!

John

Mom and three of the grandkids. We couldn't catch Luke to get him in the shot!

The wind blown look!

Luke and Granny Mary

A bowless Lily Wen

Running for the ocean!

Tonight is our last night in paradise. We had a great day today that included a dolphin cruise. I think I got some great pics but won't download until tomorrow. We leave early in the morning to head to Baton Rouge. I can't wait to see our family and friends!