SO this is ALMOST the last of the Gotcha Day anniversary pictures..... The year that Lily came home her Papaw Russ bought her this beautiful Lily pictured below. Each year it blooms on the 11th... her anniversary.
With our recent move we didn't want to leave this special plant behind.... so it came with us. I have to say it has never looked happier. It is about 2 times bigger this summer and seems to like its new home.
We have always been home to see it bloom on the 11th but this year we were at Kelleys Island. WELL... what do ya know.... it bloomed just a few days after we got home.
Lily isn't a fan of flies (who is?) but she wanted to make sure I got the fly in the picture of her Lily.
Did I mention that I took LOTS of pictures during our Kelleys Island weekend (for Lily's 3 year celebration)? I am almost done with my posts from that weekend but I have a few more to share.
I think I like sharing them so much because the 4 of us had such a great time.
We enjoyed dinner at the local winery........The "FAMILY" winery has a kid friendly section. They have a picnic type area (covered) near one of their old rustic buildings..... it isn't fancy... BUT the backdrop of the old buildings, white sheer curtains blowing in the wind, perfect weather, and an open air dining pavilion made for a wonderful evening. Jeff and I were able to have a conversation AND enjoy a nice dinner... all while Lily and Ty had SOOO much fun playing. Not to mention they both loved the pizza, ate as fast as they could without being prompted, and then raced off to play.
Do you ever have moments that you don't want to end? This evening was one of those...... there is nothing better than having fun and enjoying life with those you love!
One of the old buildings....
A delicious Caprese salad....... Fresh mozzarella, juicy tomatoes, balsamic drizzle, and a little pesto....... YUM..... The littles discovered they had 10 minutes to play before the pizza was ready.... Lily is giving the news to Ty and off they go to play After dinner we stop at the beach to walk and took a HAPPY FEET picture.... We took one like this a few years ago but needed a new one that included Ty's cuter-than-ever feet
July 11, 2006...GOTCHA DAY.... OH what a Happy Day this was!!!!
***WARNING*** The photos you are about to see are products of less than great lighting, some funny faces being made, and flowers that should have been moved. I am sharing them with you nonetheless........
July 11, 2009.... Silly Lily brings us so much joy!!!!!
SOOO... you may remember that July 11th was our 3 year anniversary with Miss Lily. WELL, I have lots of good pictures to share with you this week....... Maybe I can get in a post each day.........
Got this from Wikipedia........The four-leaf clover is an uncommon variation of the common, three-leaved clover. According to tradition, such leaves bring good luck to their finders, especially if found accidentally.[1] According to legend, each leaflet represents something: the first is for hope, the second is for faith, the third is for love, and the fourth is for luck. Another Irish legend tells that the three leaf clover, or "Shamrock", was what Saint Patrick used to represent the Holy Trinity.
Well.... Grandma Glenda has been finding 4 and 5 leaf clovers for as long as I can remember. She has shared many with friends and family over the years. When she was here for the 4th of July she made the comment that she hasn't found any in quite some time.... what do you know.... she found 2 soon after.
Lily and I had a long talk about 4 leaf clovers the other day... since Grandma found them she had some ?'s. Go back a month ago... the littles and I saw Horton Hears a Who. The Who's happen to be floating on a clover flower. (Since the movie the littles have been going on and on about clover flowers). Nobody believes that the Who's are really there because they can't see them. Lily and I talked about the faith we have in God even though we can't see him.
I told her that finding a 4 leaf-clover is special because it doesn't happen every day.....That if we open our eyes to what is around us we can find special little things like that. She looked at me very seriously and said, "Finding 4 leaf clovers is special". I agreed!
Whether 4 leaf-clovers actually bring luck or not I don't know. I've carried one in my wallet (that my mom gave to me when I was little) and what I think it brings is a reminder of the person that gave it to me.
At the request of the littles....We took a picture of a clover flower... since that is where the Who's live....... When I loaded it on my computer I noticed that even a clover flower is beautiful (that doesn't mean I want them in my yard... hee hee). The littles call them pretty flowers and now I see why. At the end of our chat Lily reminded me ......... Who's don't really live on the clover flowers because it is only a movie MOM.
At any rate...... It is cool to find a 4 leaf clover and clover flowers are actually really pretty.
So hard to believe that 3 years ago we were in China with our Lilybug..... where does the time go?
We (just the 4 of us) celebrated her anniversary (July 11th) with a long weekend on Kelleys Island.... one of her (and our) favorite places. We all had a great time!!!! Lily said, "I love my anniversary".
Of course I snapped MANY pictures and hope to get some of them up here very soon....
In the meantime here is a favorite......
Miss Lily Feifei Sitting on the porch not knowing that I was taking her picture.....
The first picture we ever saw of Feifei.................
Our 4th of July weekend included Grandma Glenda, Papaw Russ, a parade (in very small town not too far from us) , lots of food, fireworks, and fun.
A weekend favorite......delicious black raspberries hand-picked by Jeff and then Jeff with the littles. OH THEY ARE YUMMY!!!!! These are plentiful along a nearby trail but no easy task to pick. Apparently all the critters love these as well. Did I mention they are so delicious.... especially with this Toblerone chocolate mousse.
Grandma Glenda and Lilybug
Ty baby using dad's camera to take my picture taking his picture......
Lily and Ty loved this.....(notice the Mickey Mouse... Minnie is on the other side)
We don't know this Grandpa but I thought his sign on the car was cute....
A parade full of tractors.........
Ok this Red Hat Lady is too cute on her red tractor that happens to be pulling 2 other red tractors
We adopted our daughter, Lily Feifei from China in July 2006. In March 2008 we adopted our son, Ty Olsen from China.
This blog is about our journey as a family.
