NEED to Win!!!!!

OK~as you can see from the links in this post I was encouraged to let all my readers know about the great contest going on over at 5 Minutes for Mom. If you really want to join in, then just follow the instructions, but please be advised that the little PRIZE is coming to the Panda home.....I hope. I really NEED a Dyson slim vacuum. Really. So do what you must, but remember that I have a cat and NEED this. Really. NEED. ; )

The Beauty of Spring

These lovely buttercups pop up in our front yard every evening around 6:00 PM. They really are beautiful amongst the lush green grash. I remember growing up enjoying these fun little flowers just like PandaGirl does. So sweet and simple.

We are very busy this weekend so I won't be back until my next Memory Lane Monday. Since PandaPop is a Children's Minister we are heading up a pre-teen retreat this weekend. PG is so excited because we are letting her attend and bring her sleeping bag and all the garb that goes along with it. I will be posting pics of us in our cute matching t-shirts that PandaPop had made for us. The last time we did this was two years ago. I will post those pics as well and see how much PG has grown. Until Monday....have a great weekend!

Thursday Thirteen #10

Thirteen Places I Have Visited Outside of Texas

1. Antigua, Guatemala
2. Arkansas
3. California-layover
4. China
5. Colorado
6. Cozumel, Mexico
7. Florida
8. Illinois-layover
9. Kansas
10. Missouri
11. Nebraska
12. New Mexico
13. Washington, DC

OK~14. I forgot about Tennessee, sorry you guys!

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Wordless Wednesday #6-PG's Baby Chick Drawing

Tea for Two

These two are tooooo much! PandaGirl adores having hot tea. Funny, since her Chinese name given to her by the nannies at the orphanage literally means "tea". For the past two years on her birthday I have started a tradition of taking her to a tea room for her birthday and buying her a tea cup. I hope to continue this as long as she likes to go. I adore it! PandaPop likes hot tea as well, so these two decided to be a little spunky and have their own tea party with two antique tea cups. Who couldn't love a manly-man that knows how to have tea time, as well?! (BTW: he doesn't normally look this goofy. I believe he is over accentuating the delicacies of attending a proper tea. Goober! ; )

Mom's Night Out!!!

Last Thursday my playgroup moms and I all went out WITHOUT OUR GIRLS to enjoy a fun evening without any CHICKEN STRIPS and no LIDS on our cups...LOL!!! We adore our sweet little White Swans, but the mommies have become such good friends, meeting every Monday for playgroup for two years, that we wanted some grown-up time together without having to constantly keep an eye out for one of the girls. I am so blessed by the bond that we share. We each have a daughter adopted from China. I laugh at the fact that every time we get together we somehow manage to have more adoption things or China things to discuss. We all can connect because of the experience of going through all the junk to actually GET to China and then we basically all had to go through the same exact thing at the same places to complete the adoption in China. PandaPop and I traveled with a whole group of families who all live up north or on the east coast. We keep up through a Yahoo! account, but the likelihood of ever meeting with them is slim. Those girls were my baby's cribmates and first friends. The playgroup now are going to be her memories. I am more than blessed by this group of women and their daughters. You can check out each of their blogs listed under "The White Swans". That is the name of a famous hotel in China where all adoptive families either stay or get their baby's picture taken on a velvety red couch just for tradition sake. We will have to make our little night out a tradition at four times a year. What do ya think, girls?

Memory Lane Monday #2

These pictures are over 30 years old. I am the little one in all three of them. Fuzzy at best when taken by a digital camera from an old photo. Memories, none-the-less for me, though. For some reason this weekend I have been feeling very nostalgic just thinking about my growing up years in the spring. I always think of my maternal Grandma and Grand-daddy's ranch home way out in the country. I am the baby of 25 cousins with SEVERAL second and third cousins. My grandmother was 40 when she had my mom who was the baby of 9 children. Each of those kids had lots of kids and so forth. Prettty big family. Of course, we have all grown up and live in many different parts of the world living our own separate lives. I always associate spring and Easter with my cousins and spending Easter Sunday dinner and egg-hunt at my grandparent's. It is something that can't be explained. Just in my heart. My mom always made that bunny cake made from two cake rounds, ears cut out, decorated with coconut, jelly beans, etc. I seriously thought MY mom designed this "original" cake until I was a grown up, met PandaPop and HIS mom made it, too! Funny.

One memory that stands out in my mind is my brother (who is 8 years older than me) and the boy cousins hiding Easter eggs for the younger ones. They would think they were soooo darn funny by "hiding" some of the opened candy eggs on COW-PILES!(for those of you unaware of what that is...think cow-POO!) There was always the "walk", as well. My aunt was usually the ring leader and always had a walking stick with her. This wasn't just for Easter, but rather pretty much anytime we had Sunday lunch out there, we'd all gather up and go for a walk in the fields, woods whatever.....sometimes walking all the way from my grandmother's to my aunt's (several fields away....that's the only way I know how to put it. Divided up between my grandmother, my mom and her siblings was several thousand acres!!) and end up at the creek. To any city-folk this probably sounds retarded, but to me and anyone who grew up in the country it is pure heaven. I haven't even lived NEAR the country since 1993, and have become quite accustomed to city-life and being minutes away from practically any store or restaurant I want, but there will always be that longing to be in the country. Fresh air. Beauty. Ahhhh. Nothing like it. I think this is why I am always trying to do so many things with PandaGirl and take a gazillion pictures, so that she too will have great growing up memories from which to pull. Do any of you have certain memories which remain a constant in your mind and heart? Please share! ; )

I'm Sew Domestic!

Mama Darling is an amazing seamstress and helped me make a cutie-patootie outfit for PandaGirl. It was fun! I have sewn before, but was a little rusty on the pattern part. I have two other really cute materials to make more outfits. It took a long time to do this, but the result was worth it. In our world so full of FAST-FAST-FAST it was nice to slow down and make something from scratch. Thanks MD!

Thursday Thirteen #9

Thirteen of the Panda Family's Favorite Household Items
(as if you CARE! LOL!!)















I bet you will be able to sleep better tonight with this information in your head. Have a great sleep!


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Wordless Wednesday #5-God's Art...a Purple Tree!

Spring Pics

Overcast and Wonderful!

At our playgroup today the weather was so awesome! It was overcast, windy, a bit cool (enough for a light jacket or sweatshirt) and the grass was very lush and vibrant green. LOVED IT! No doubt, the girls and the mommies all had a blast being together. Thanks Team Mom for the books a couple of weeks ago and MamaDarling for our cute matching pink Chopstick Chics hats....can't wait to wear them together!

Memory Lane Monday #1

I have decided to take a little walk down Memory Lane on Mondays. I love being nostalgic and remembering "the good ol' days". I can sit for hours just looking at old pictures, new pictures, other people's pictures. I don't know why, but I just enjoy looking and thinking back or imagining how things have changed for me or others in the pictures. What has life thrown their way? Have any of the people in the pics chosen a path that follows God or the world? Who is still living, has kids, grandkids, joys, sorrows, just life? I should have been a photographer. Maybe someday soon I can pursue it more than just blogging and scrapbooking. I will be putting pics of myself, PandaPop and other friends and family from way back when. Though you might not know us you can certainly identify with life.

BTW: you'll see from the get-go that I have BIG thick Texas hair. Good thing I was born in Texas so I have an excuse, huh? Enjoy!

Cinderella

We were able to attend a Cinderella Musical in which our Minister of Music from our church performed as the herald. This was PandaGirl's first play and she LOVED it! That is huge considering it was smack in the middle of her naptime. She still takes naps (woohoo!), but we are flexible when we need to be. She had a blast seeing all the characters that she knows so well from her Disney movie. The story was a tiny bit different, but that's great to expose her to things other than Disney's version of everything. Her grandparents had a great time watching HER have a great time. After the play PG got her playbill signed by the main characters, so sure enough, when we got home ON went the princess dress and out came her own book which she "autographed" for us over and over. Priceless!



Grandparents loving spoiling PG!


I know, this is such a lovely angle to show off how skinny I am. LOL!



This is our Minister of Music....he did fabulous!



The pumpkin (not pictured) and the lit carriage was so AWESOME!





PandaGirl "autographing" for her fans!