Thursday, January 15, 2009

I've been tagged!

I was tagged by Adam and Carolyn and I need to tell 7 things about myself....hmmm....what is there you wouldn't know about me....

1. I love to laugh. I love to laugh so hard that my stomach hurts and tears are in my eyes. I love it when something is so funny that everytime I think of it, I start laughing all over again. My husband and I have had some really fun laughs like this and I love it.

2. I have never smoked a full cigarrette or gotten drunk. I hate the taste of alcohol and I can taste it no matter how small the amount. The other night I ordered a dessert at a restaurant and thought it tasted like cough medicine. I said "there must be alcohol in this!" and sure enough there was rum in the sauce. It is now a BIG joke in the family to try and get me "drunk" on Christmas Eve....every year they say, "this is the year Tammy!" and we all laugh.

3. I used to be so skinny that my high school basketball coach strongly encouraged me to eat donuts and drink milkshakes to gain some weight!

4. I LOVE detective work and really wish I had pursued a career as an FBI agent. I think I would be really good at it! I even looked into a private investigator course a few years ago but just felt I didn't have the time or lifestyle (with 4 kids) to do nighttime undercover work. I applied to be an auxiliary police officer but they closed the program before I got in. Bummer!

5. If my house is untidy or needs cleaning, I am CRANKY. As soon as it's clean, I'm a new person - happy and sweet. I've tried, unsuccessfully, for years not to worry about the tidiness of the house. :-(

6. I was 18 when I met my future husband. We started dating a few weeks after my 18th birthday (he was 19) and I never doubted I was too young to know he was the one I wanted to marry. And, here we are 13 years of marriage later and I still like waking up to him!

7. I do not like having a lot of children...it is a ton of work, exhausting and hard for me to keep a calm, peaceful house. BUT, I love each child I have and was THRILLED and EXCITED to have each child join our family. And, if the possiblity of a 5th child comes up, I'll do it in a second!

Friday, January 9, 2009

Back to China????

Hi everyone. I am posting some information for a blogger "friend" who is hoping to head back to China. Her name is Kennedy and she was adopted several years ago. There is a trip being organized to visit her orphanage in China and she is really hoping she can go back to China for this trip! She is trying to raise some funds for her trip and I said I would include her link on my blog. You can read all about her amazing trip back to China and her fundraising initiatives. Click HERE to read more....

Speaking of heading back to China...Evan is still missing China and his foster mama so badly. He talks about China every day and most days he is asking us when he can go back. He says he "loves China so much" and "misses his China". This is so hard for him...his english is fantastic now so he is able to share a lot about his life in China and he openly admits how much he misses his mama and big brother in China. We have told him we will try to go back to China when he is 10 but that is still 4 years away. And, really, how will we afford a trip to China for 6 people!!! Maybe just one of us will take Alyssa and Evan back - I don't know. Maybe the boys will be working and can save a bit of their own money for their trip.

It is really heartbreaking to hear Evan talk about his mama and how he misses China. He was so loved there.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

The Story of Mii

Our children received a Wii for Christmas this year. Evan was thrilled! He's been asking for one since he came to Canada so getting one was HUGE for him (and the other kids love it, too!)

He made a Mii the other day and he said "Mommy, I made one of you!" So, I came in and looked and the Mii was Chinese. I told him it was great and that I really liked it. Later that night I said to Evan "I love the Mii you made of me...I see that you made me Chinese." Evan says to me..."I wanted to! I wanted you to be beautiful!"

Hmmm...you just never know what they are thinking or how they are processing....