Formerly "To China For Kelly"

When I originally set up this blog, it was to chronicle our trip to China to adopt our daughter, Kelly; thus the title, "To China For Kelly." But now that I've decided to keep it up as my on-line scrapbook/journal, the title needs updating.
Inspired by my girls, who, despite their ten year age difference, both love lollipops and lip gloss; it is now titled, "From Lollipops to Lip Gloss." This is not to leave my son out, who also loves lollipops, but isn't too big on lip gloss, understandably!

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Pretty Girl

Camryn took this picture of Kelly. I thought she did a pretty good job, the way Kelly is backlit, and the pink hue from the sun that's coming through the pink window panels... pretty artistic, huh?


Nanna made several of these darling headbands for Kelly, but Kelly hasn't been willing to wear them until the past week or two... (thanks to persistent Camryn!)


Here's another few shots of Camryn working the headbands with Kelly...

"Oh Dahling, don't I look simply devine?!"
But as is typical with Kelly, she still likes to call the shots, or at least TRY to... so off the headband comes!

These next two aren't necessarily the best shots, but I wanted you to see Kelly's cute new sweater jumper... isn't she so fashion forward?! ;-)
This is just normal daily life at our house...Kelly is feeding Kaya some of her crackers.

Daddy laid down on the floor to stretch and sneak a little catnap in, but whenever any of us plop ourselves on the floor, you can be sure we will soon become Kelly's own personal furniture. She's watching her favorite show, "The Backyardigans."

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Fall is Finally Here!!!

I love Fall. It's my favorite season for so many reasons, but the biggest reason this year is just because it means Summer is coming to an end!
I have been such a whiner about the heat for the past month or so. I'm soooo tired of being hot and sweaty and just sapped of energy because of the intense summer heat. I was really becoming quite a grump about it! So I was absolutely thrilled this past weekend when we finally got some seasonably cooler weather. Now with Fall's official arrival yesterday, I know we'll gradually be cooling down more and more- and I can't wait!

As you can see, I was eager to get Kelly into a long sleeved shirt with a cute little Autumn theme. I don't know if you can see it very well, but it has a little doggy in a pumpkin costume on it, and he's saying, "trick-or-treat."

I was even able to get some little matching clippies in Kelly's hair all by myself! It took me the longest time though- I could not get the little things to snap closed on Kelly's fine hair! But I knew Camryn had successfully done it, so I was determined that I could do it too. I felt like I had to wrestle Kelly to the ground to do it though- it was quite comical. She actually didn't put up much of a fight- it was the barrettes that put up the fight! She just looked up at me a few times, like, "Um, Mommy- what in the heck are you doing?"
Her expression cracked me up.

Anyway, as you can see, I finally got the little things to stay in her hair! Yeah!!!
I don't know if you can tell, but she's playing with my bracelets in the pictures. It was the only way I could get her to sit still so I could take her picture! She LOVES those bracelets- they're better than any toy! She puts them on, one at a time, and takes them off, one at a time, over and over, and over again. Isn't that always the way it goes with babies? You can have a room full of toys and what do they want to play with? The remote... an empty box... the phone... pots and pans... my bracelets... you get the picture.


Enjoy the photos... isn't she such a doll?




Saturday, September 20, 2008

Badminton anyone?






Friday, September 19, 2008

Tumbling Girl

Kelly is such a physically active girl, I decided to try to teach her to do a somersault. She was so quick to pick it up, I think I might have to get her into a little tumbling class here soon!


Thursday, September 18, 2008

Camryn's New Haircut

Camryn has been thinking about cutting her hair for a while now. You know, we girls must always mull it over for a while before we make such drastic decisions!


She finally decided about a week ago she was ready to do it. She wanted to get it layered with long side-swept bangs. We were having a hard time connecting with the stylist to schedule an appointment, so my mom cut it for Camryn!

My mom has always been good at cutting hair for as long as I can remember, so since she was here for a day, Camryn asked her if she would do it. My mom was kind enough to oblige. (Thanks, Mom!)


When my mom was done, Camryn looked in the mirror and said it was even better than what she had in mind- she loved it! I have to agree, I think it's adorable! But I'm kind-of sad because she keeps looking more and more grown up. Good thing we have little Kelly around here or I might start getting downright depressed!




















Okay, I just have to add- isn't Kelly cute in her new blue jeans?

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Caleb

Here's Caleb after receiving his certificate last week for making Principal's List!
He worked really hard last year, particularly in his Honors English class. He had a hard (but very good) teacher, and keeping that grade up was difficult for him at times. Obviously, his hard work paid off!
This picture is so "Classic Caleb" with his awesome sense of humor. As high of an achievement and as great of an honor making Principal's List is, Caleb never takes himself too seriously!
We love you son, and we're so very proud of who you are! You can do anything you set your mind to, and have a blast while you're at it. We're so very honored and blessed to be your mom and dad.


Emma's Peasant Shirt

My sister handed down an especially darling and beloved blouse, that used to belong to Emma, to Kelly. (If you can believe long, lean Emma actually used to be this little!) We all loved Emma in this little top- she was soo sweet in it! Even Emma's daddy, Joel, who (like most dads) usually doesn't even notice what his kids are wearing, much less have an opinion about it, loved it on Emma! So did Jen, Rinnie, and I- she was so yummy in it! So, Jen, I just want to say thanks for the beloved peasant top- we will take good care of it and cherish the memories of Emma in it every time we see it on Kelly!
A few of these pictures are blurry (can I just say... I hate my camera!), but Kelly's expressions were so cute in them, I had to include them, even though their quality isn't "blog worthy."






Wednesday, September 10, 2008

3 Months Since Gotcha Day!

Here we are, just three short months after the first day we met our precious little Kelly Elise. She is such an amazing gift from God, and as this 3-month mark is upon us, I have to stop and give thanks. He knew the perfect baby for us was waiting for us across the ocean in a little town in Southern China, and He miraculously orchestrated it all to come together and bring her home to us in His perfect time in history. She came exactly when she was supposed to because she was supposed to be our daughter. I know that as plain as I know my other two children are supposed to be mine- they just are!
I'm just in awe of Kelly and how strong, smart, funny, brave, loving, resilient, trusting, silly, and loveable she is. She truly amazes me each and every day and I adore her to pieces.
Just look at what a difference 90 days makes!

THEN...

NOW...





THEN...





NOW...



THEN...

NOW...

THEN...

NOW...

Thank you, God, for the gift of little Kelly, and thank you for the gift of love for her. Thank you for the gift of being a family. We are blessed beyond all we could ever ask or imagine!

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

A Tale of Two Princesses


Once upon a time there were two beautiful princesses, Princess Camryn, and Princess Kelly. One was fair with crystal eyes of blue and hair like spun gold. One was exotic with silky, black hair and mysterious, dark eyes. One was long and lean, and one was teeny-tiny. One was older and wiser, and one was still quite young. But no matter their differences, both princesses were very special, and both princesses loved and trusted one another very much.

One day, Camryn, the older, wiser princess, said to Kelly, the young, tiny princess, "Sweet little one, I have noticed that you refuse to wear shoes. Why is this?"

"Because," answered the tiny princess, "shoes frighten me so. I just do not understand the purpose of wearing them. Besides, they feel dreadful on my feet!"

"Oooh, I see." replied Princess Camryn. "Well, let me tell you, Princess Kelly, shoes are nothing to be afraid of. In fact, they're actually quite wonderful! They protect your feet from terrible, sharp things you might step on that could hurt your feet. They keep your feet warm when it's cold out, and they can make quite a fashion statement! Oh, they also help your feet to stay soft and clean, which is very important for dainty princesses like ourselves. You really should try them!"

"But the queen has already requested that I try them several times, but I just cannot do it. They feel too strange and I do not like them at all, Princess Camryn. The king and queen have granted me permission to walk without shoes on, so why would I want to try shoes when I don't have to?"

"Because, think of how proud the king and queen will be of you if you show them how brave you are that you are willing to try shoes even when you don't have to? And don't worry, little one, I will help you to find just the right pair of shoes that feel perfect on your feet! If not, you can continue to go without shoes and I won't mention it ever again."

"I don't know," replied the tiny princess suspiciously. "Are you sure you're not going to force me to wear them, like you force me to wear bows in my hair?"

"I promise!" said the big princess (with her fingers secretly crossed behind her back). "I will not force you to wear them if you don't like them."

So tiny Princess Kelly agreed to try shoes if it would please the older, wiser Princess Camryn.


"Yeah!" says Princess Camryn. "She's going to try them!"
But the little princess must first study the shoes to make sure they're well-constructed.
"See, these are called sandals." explains Princess Camryn. "This is where you fasten the strap so it stays on your foot."
"Oh, Princess Camryn, I just don't know about these." replied the tiny princess. "They're so strange-looking. I don't think I'm going to like them."

"And exactly how am I supposed to attach these contraptions to my feet anyway? Which one goes on what foot?"

After several attempts, Princess Camryn finally helps the tiny princess to get the sandals on her feet. After taking several steps, Princess Kelly realizes she still does not like the way the sandals feel on her feet, and she begins to protest vehemently.

The older, wiser princess knows the tiny princess will do anything for strawberry yogurt, so she offers her a bite if she will only walk across the room in her sandals. The tiny princess reluctantly agrees.

After walking across the room several times in the sandals, the tiny princess has not changed her mind about shoes. She says they still feel dreadful and she does not want to wear them.

The older princess thinks about this, and then decides that the sandals must be the wrong shoes for the little princess, so she asks her to try on just one more pair of shoes.

Princess Kelly tells Princess Camryn she is not in the mood to try on any more shoes, but Princess Camryn *convinces* her to try on the second pair of shoes anyway.

"You said you would not force me to wear shoes, Princess Camryn, but this feels an awful lot like forcing to me! Well then, if that's the way you're going to be, I'm going to pull this ridiculous bow out of my hair!"

The older, wiser princess just knows the tiny princess will love the sparkly, pink shoes if she only takes a few steps in them, so she doesn't even notice that the tiny princess has pulled the bow out of her hair.

The tiny princess takes a few steps in the beautiful, pink, sparkly shoes, and something magical begins to happen...

She hears the clip-clop of the beautiful, pink shoes on the tile, and it's like music to her ears. She notices the shimmer of the sparkles, and it feels like rays of sunshine beaming from her feet!

"Oh, Princess Camryn, I do love these shoes! I do! Listen to the sound they make when I walk! Isn't it divine? And look at how lovely and sparkly they look on my feet! I love them! I love them! I absolutely love them!"

"Look at me! Look at me! Oh, they're so comfortable- I feel like I'm walking on a cloud! They're simply divine, Princess Camryn! Thank you so much for helping me discover how wonderful shoes can be! I will never walk without them again!"

And so, Princess Kelly continued to walk in her magical, pink, sparkly shoes. The king and queen were very pleased with Princess Kelly's bravery and Princess Camryn's determination, so the entire kingdom celebrated with brownie-a-la-modes for everyone! Hip-hip-horray!

Hip-hip-horray!

Hip-hip-horray!


"For she's a jolly good fellow,

for she's a jolly good fellow,

for she's a jolly good fellow,

which nobody can deny!"


Good job, Princess Camryn. Your powers of persuasion with Princess Kelly know no bounds!