Yes, I've been slacking on the blog posts. It was a busy, summer, too, so there's no hope in me catching up on everything. I can hit some highlights, though!

• R2 is doing well. She does have a major surgery scheduled in December; we are praying that it goes well and she recovers quickly. I'm very grateful that we live in the age of modern medicine.
• C took us all to Hawaii and played six concerts around Oahu. Hearing her solo intro to "How Great Thou Art" on the USS Missouri (where Japan surrendered, ending WW2) was a highlight for me.

We did the usual summer stuff. Made a trip to Chattanooga. Had snow cones. Rode bikes. Went hiking.

We saw a couple of shows at the Nashville Symphony. J and C even played their instruments at an "instrument petting zoo." The event was a Harry Potter-themed thing so C even got to bust into "Hedwig's Theme."

The trip to Hawaii was a blast. I was a little apprehensive about the long flight there and back, but R2 did great. She was pleasant for the daytime ride out there, and slept nearly all the way back.

We enjoyed C's various concert stops (Pearl Harbor, the Polynesian Cultural Center, and the Punahou School of Music). Her teacher recorded the last concert and posted it on YouTube as a playlist. At the Punahou School (where President Barack Obama attended fifth to twelfth grade) they did a joint concert. C's fellow students are in black and pink, and the Punahou students are in black and white.

C really enjoyed spending time with the other (mostly older) students as well as her friend and fellow violinist from our neighborhood in Nashville.

We also got to see several of the natural sights on Oahu. We hiked up the volcanic crater at Diamond Head State Park, which was no small feat with little kids. I carried R2 the entire way (a great workout for the quads on the way up, and the calves on the way down!) but I was proud of R for hiking all the way up, given she's only four. The promise of a fresh pineapple smoothie once we got back down probably helped things along.

We also snorkeled at Hanauma Bay. I was concerned about it being crowded, but we got there early and they start turning people away when it's "full" so it never felt over-crowded. I'm glad we went - it was a wonderful place to spend the morning. Had we brought food I would have been happy to stay there all day.

We also wanted to see some waterfalls, so we hiked up the nearby Manoa Falls. I could have easily spent hours just looking the lush flora and examining roots, trees, and leaves.

We appreciated the uniqueness of the landscape; there are beaches, yes, but they are often surrounded by towering hillsides, making it feel very different than most beaches I've ever been to.

We spent most of our stay on the north shore of Oahu. Many of the beaches are jagged volcanic rocks, but in some places there were little coves you could snorkel in. Shark Bay was one example, of a cove with placid, clear water that allowed us to observe fish, eels, and coral. We also floated around in Turtle Bay, which was cloudier but, true to it's name, allowed us to watch sea turtles munching vegetation underwater.

Hawaii was not really on our "short list" of destinations, but I'm glad we were able to go with C, see her play, and enjoy some of the natural landscape.

When we left Nashville, temperatures were in the 80s, and when we got back, we found that we missed the blip of autumn and it was quite cold. 😆 We should better plan the timing of our trips to tropical islands.

I look forward to the cool, crisp winter and whatever new things 2020 brings us!

C's violin teacher put up a very nicely edited video on YouTube that we didn't know about until this week.

The entire recital is online, including the other pieces that C played with the group, as a YouTube playlist.

She's improved a lot in the last 6 months and has another recital coming up in June that we'll share.

In May 2018, I got an email from our adoption agency about a little girl in Shandong province, China, that caught my eye. I hit up A about it, and she agreed that we should request more information. We did so, and started pursuing her immediately.

On May 3 of this year, A flew to China (along with our niece, Lauren) to pick up our girl. May 5 was officially our "gotcha" day.

Nearly a year after seeing that email, almost to the day, and after two weeks in China, A flew back with R2 in tow.

The girls have been showering her with attention. Even with the jet lag and an ear infection, it's easy to tell that this little girl has a ton of personality. We can't wait to get to know her better!

I am grateful for:

• Family that helped us with travel logistics and childcare (both in China and here at home!). Particularly Lauren, our niece, who traveled with A, and my dad, who came and helped me out with the other 3 girls.
• Our friends that provided resources, encouragement, and advice in our pursuit of international, trans-racial adoption.
• The staff and social workers at our adoption agency and Catholic Charities, who supported us in filing paperwork, gathering needed materials, connecting us to local resources, and more.
• My job, which allowed me to take off 2 weeks to watch the girls while A traveled in China.
• Our church, which supported us with practical advice, financial logistics, prayer and food.

International adoption is no joke. Much like child-rearing, it's done well with the help of others.

Now the real work begins! I can't wait to see where all four of these girls take us.

March is almost over and I'm just now getting to post photos from January and February. Better late than never!

We read Jurassic Park with the girls, and after finishing it we watched the movie. Doing so was pretty funny: the already-suspenseful movie was made more terrifying, I think, by them knowing exactly what was about to happen next.

I took J to work with me one morning. She's old enough now that she can pretty much hang out at a desk and do her homework. I look forward to doing this more often! She left lovely little notes on my desk and whiteboards.

At our wedding, almost 15 years ago, we had a live bluegrass band play for the reception. The family/band were friends of A. We got to see one of them, who now plays fiddle and lives in Nashville, play at the City Winery. Much to our suprise, they were joined by the amazing Sam Bush. What a treat!

We also got to spend a long weekend at one of our favorite Tennessee State Parks: Rock Island State Park. It rained and flooded all weekend, which was a bit of a bummer, but if you're stuck indoors all weekend there are certainly worse places to be than sitting in front of a cheery fire and reading a book. My dad came along with us, and we got in a short hike before heading home.

At the start of March I ran a 5k for Colon Cancer Awareness, and pushed R in the jogging stroller. She was a sport and I was able to finish in pretty good time. A, J, and C were all in NYC (I hope she will write a separate post with pictures from the trip!).

A's family also came to visit for a week. We ate hot chicken, walked around downtown a lot, went on a few hiking trips, and generally had a blast.

C lost a bunch more teeth. I keep asking what she'll eat when all of them are gone.

With Spring here, we've been working to get the garden going. I still need to get a fence up. My plan is to try an "invisible" fishing-line fence. It might not work, but after getting quotes on installing a "real" fence, I'm going to try the cheaper alternatives first. I may also install an electric fence to turn on at night. Either way, at least we have dirt to plant things in!

I also picked up some chicks from the Davidson County Co-op this morning. They had sexed pullets, so it was cheaper than ordering online! We got six - a mix of Americana, Rhode Island Red, Barred Rock, and Black Sex-links. The girls did not know that I would be coming back with them, and I'm pretty sure they sat with these things in their laps all day. It's been fun seeing them interact with them. I remember distinctly having chicks through my rural 4-H program as a 4th grader, so I'm glad to see J enjoying them as much as I did.

Last, but not least, we have more recitals! Both C and J played piano. This was C's first piano recital.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og8f0KNvwDM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPSqxKubxUU

Happy New Year!

December is always a tough month for us due to all the short days and long nights. It's usually dark by the time I get home, so our outdoor adventures are often limited to weekends. Still, we got out as much as we could!

We went to Texas to visit A's family for the holidays.

We went roller skating at the Galleria in Dallas. Apparently Auntie Anne's pretzels are a great way to lose teeth, because C did just that.

We visited Grapevine and saw the clock-tower train robbers (it's definitely Texas!).

We also took the girls to the educational mecca that is Six Flags Over Texas.

• 

• 

The drive itself was much better this year than in previous years! We managed to do it in one day - in 13 hours, no less (it's about an 11 hour drive, flat out). It's easier when diapers are not involved!

We really enjoyed our time with Papaw and Juju.

Happy holidays to you and yours!

Happy holidays! It's cold.

In early November we went to our church's fall retreat. The girls had a lot of fun roasting marshmallows, playing games, and worshiping with their friends. It was especially encouraging to see J engaging in the teaching with her gaggle of friends.

As usual, we spent a fair amount of time at Cornelia Fort Airpark. :) The girls always look forward to them mowing the grass and putting out haybales.

For Thanksgiving we stayed in Chattanooga and hit up the usual spots: The Creative Discovery Museum and the riverfront.  We spent an inordinate amount of time at a Barnes and Noble; I'm pretty sure the girls read at least two or three books while fending off the clerk's "If you need any help finding anything, let me know!"
We found a new place, Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center. This little nature center was about 20 minutes from downtown. It was pretty in the fall, but I can imagine it's even prettier in the spring or summer. They had a lot of animals in rehabilitation: among them an owl, hawk, and bobcat and even several red wolves. We got to see the bobcat climb the chain-link fence roof upside down to chase a squirrel - a physical feat I would have considered impossible if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes!

We also visited Point Park (overrated and pricey, unless you are really into Civil War history) and went out to Tony's Italian for A's birthday.

For Thanksgiving we got to see my grandparents and their family (my aunts and uncles). My aunt has a pretty great setup for entertaining: an old barn that has been remodeled as a vacation home, with a screened in back porch and a stocked pond in the back. My youngest brother, now a Marine, was able to come into town and it was very good to see him.

C brought her violin and they had an old organ set up, so the girls entertained everyone with music. Hopefully it wasn't too entertaining, and they invite our circus back next year.

Oops. I got a bit behind on posts! Here's my attempt to catch up.

This summer's garden was a complete bust. It was due to these guys (and girls) eating pretty much everything. They even nibbled on my trees! Next year I'm going to have to fence and cover everything. I'll be armoring-up this winter! Check out the video below. This was a half-dozen bucks, a bachelor group, hanging out munching on our tomatoes. We hardly got a single tomato. We actually had to pay for them at the Farmer's Market! Horror of horrors!

Media unavailable · Original source

As usual, we spent a lot of time out on bikes!

Speaking of bikes, I upgraded my hybrid commuter bike with a Hill Topper 350-watt motor, which has been a delight. I wrote about it here on my other blog after trying it out for three months. I still take my road bike every now and then, but having the ebike has been great. I've really enjoyed spending more time on the bike, and less in the car.

We took a trip to St. Paul, Minnesota and visited the Minnesota State Fair. The girls had an absolute blast.

After spending a few days in St. Paul, we drove up to Duluth and stayed on Lake Superior. We love the northern beaches!

We also went on a camping trip to Montgomery Bell State Park. This is the first (tent) camping trip we've taken with R, I believe. It went pretty well, all things considered. We got to sleep through the night, which is always a plus. The girls enjoyed playing in the creek that ran through the campground.

Of course, J's birthday was in September. She had a Greek god's themed party, complete with Olympic games and a giant Medusa-head piñata.

For Halloween, we (and some friends) stopped by our neighbors to say hello and, incidentally, collect some candy.

I went to Seattle for a work trip with my company to one of our major conferences and, while I don't say much about my company here, it was really neat seeing our sales team in action and speak with so many of our clients from hospitals all over the country.

I recently started my first batch of muscadine wine. I expect it to end in abject failure, but hopefully I will learn something from the process. If it does go well, I should have about three gallons to try out sometime in the spring.

Sure, it's hot, but I love summer. I love seeing friends at the pool, the long days, the night-time sounds of bugs, and the fireflies.

The girls got to go to the YMCA horse camp for a second year. They've been waiting for this since their last visit and it did not disappoint.

I took R to Home Depot's first Saturday, entirely by accident. I was there to pick up some items and they flagged me down, "Doesn't she want a wooden car?" She did, of course. She was quite happy with herself.

We also had a visit from Papaw and Juju. ❤❤❤

We celebrated Father's Day (thanks for the card, Juju & Papaw), my birthday, and our 14th anniversary.

They brought a swing, which we hooked up. R has enjoyed it very much, asking to get on it nearly every day. We have another swing in the backyard, but they very much prefer this one.

We lazed around a bit. And we picked a lot of plums. I mean, a lot. I've never eaten so many plums. They were delicious.

We also went to Pickett State Park. The flora of the park is surprisingly similar to the Smokey Mountains - very lush with ferns, moss, and evergreens. I will definitely be back. Google compiled this short video which included some photos. I bought a refurbished GoPro and the girls wore it out trying to get videos of fish in the lake. 😆