happy halloween

meet our 1950's homemaker/mommy and our 1920's newsboy. our little town had trick-or-treat around the square last night. viv and max loaded up on the candy. i am, most of the time an anti candy/sugar mama unless it is a holiday, on holidays you can have as much candy as your tummy can hold and then more. max stopped when he had had enough but viv on the other hand would NEVER get enough! they had a ball! this was vivi jo's first halloween, i wish i could describe her reaction...she was walking around taking EVERYTHING in...she was in awe of it all....let's say she was in utter shock of it all. i think she could not believe people were stuffing handfuls candy in her bag....it was a dream come true for my little sweet tooth :-).

i have lots more pictures to share. i am so far behind on my journaling. i have so much to catch up on but here are a few pictures until i can get more posted.

:: guess who is 4? :: [part 1]

max turns 4 years old today....so hard to believe. here are a few pictures of his birthday breakfast in bed. lots more of his special day to come.

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our birthday prince.

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sharing breakfast in bed with many of his friends.

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must have a good birthday bite...mimmy is still so very loved!

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the birthday wishes came early...yes kiki you were the first to call.

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happy birthday max...you are loved and adored!

I ♥ Faces :: halloween dress up ::

this week is halloween dress up week at i ♥ faces. since i LOVE creating costumes so much i had to participate. this is max from last year.....my sweet little hobo. i remember so clearly the excitement that was in the air around our house last halloween, within just a few days we would be on our way to china to get miss vivian. i am so excited that she gets to join in on the costume and candy fun this year. i can't wait to get them all costumed-up...i think i am more excited then they are.
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click HERE to see more adorable little goblins.

:: pumpkin painting ::

we decided to paint the pumpkins that we got from the pumpkin patch. there was some serious painting going on. to see more pictures from our art filled afternoon click HERE.

when viv and max wake up from their nap we are going to make something fun out of the brown paper that was used to catch their paint drippings.

pumpkin patch

vivi jo's class went to the pumpkin patch yesterday. it was so much fun that we are going back on saturday....we're taking dad with us this time. click HERE to see more pictures of our day.

and the winner is.......

i apologize that it is so late in the day and i am just now posting the giveaway winner. i have been gone most of the day, vivi jo's class went to the pumpkin patch and we had a blast! i'll be posting about our day soon.


without further ado


pleeeese....how long is max going to stir those names?



i may be here for a while....



finally i get to pick a winner....



anticipation.....



ladies and gentlemen...we have a WINNER! *******AND THE WINNER IS......

oh you mean you can't see the name on my paper?



what if i hold it up a little higher? ********you still can't see it?



what about now? *****ooops, i'm holding it upside down.

now this is better.....


CONGRATULATIONS patti @ life with annika grace!



with all that work behind us, it's time for a corn candy break (that's what my little brother calls it :-)

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patty, i will leave you a comment and let you know who to contact to order your dress.....it was nice meeting you and to the others that i have never "met", it was nice visiting your blogs.

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and to everyone who entered, THANK YOU...it was fun!

mid-autumn festival

this year the mid-autumn (moon) festival was on oct. 3rd. on this day the full moon is at it's roundest and brightest of the year, which symbolizes family unity and togetherness. every year when the festival comes people go home from every corner of the country to meet their family and have a feast, much like our thanksgiving. it is a time for families to be together and express gratitude for the blessings of the previous year.

according to chinese traditions, on this day family members and friends will gather to visit scenic spots, gaze longingly at the bright moon while the children carry around brightly lit lanterns , and eat moon cakes (the moon cake which is round symbolizes reunion).

the mid-autumn festival is one of the two most important occasions in chinese calendar (the other being chinese new year) and it is an official holiday.



we planned to go outside and gaze at the moon and let vivi jo and max carry their lit lanterns around but our plans changed because it was raining... so we improvised...paul pulled the cars out of the garage and lit candles. vivi jo and max in their chinese party clothes, carried around their lit lanterns and had a lantern parade in the garage. they loved it and were all smiles! after the parade we came inside to have a chinese tea party. we turned the lights low, lit candles and turned on chinese music. we shared moon cakes and drank chinese jasmine tea. we used our chinese tea set and made our tea the same way the chinese people made it for us while we were in china...it was wonderful! before we enjoyed our moon cake feast we had a time of prayer for china and specifically for vivi and max's birth parents...we ask God to give them a peace, that they would know that their children were safe and dearly loved, we prayed that their birth families would come to know Jesus and their Savior. it was a beautiful beautiful night...not sure if it will be a forever memory for max and viv but it sure is for me!

i ♥ these happy little profiles!