Surprise!!!

Rowland is so amazing at surprising me. Through the years, he has outdone himself on numerous occasions. I'm learning, though, as he pointed out to me on our recent "surprise getaway." With airline information and passports in hand, all of our bags packed, and the kids lined up with a great babysitter, we headed to the airport last Thursday morning without his having a clue where we were headed! Being one who seldom can keep surprises quiet, I was most proud of myself that even upon parking at the airport, I still kept my mouth closed tightly! Once we reached the check-in station for Alaskan Airlines, I decided that I needed to let him in on the secret. True to his optimistic self, he was excited and ready for the adventure.

Several hours later, we checked in to our Premier Suite at the Four Seasons Vancouver. As I had been planning the trip, I was concerned that I was spending too much on our hotel room. I've always wanted to stay in a Four Seasons, though, and they had a special "stay three nights and get the fourth for free." Never being one to pass up a "sale," I jumped on the deal!! I truly thought that Rowland would never let me plan another vacation once he saw that I'd booked us in such nice rooms, but as usual, Rowland outdid me yet again. He upgraded to a suite so that he'd have a separate den where he could hang out while I slept in the mornings. After our stay, I determined that, given the choice, I'd rather stay in a lesser quality hotel and have the extra room when we vacation. Of course, I'm always up for a five star hotel AND the extra room!!

We had a wonderful time while we were away, enjoying walking in the rain, shopping in an enormous mall, traveling by ferry to Victoria, walking around Granville Station and the Gas Lamp district, and eating delicious food. Rowland is the most fabulous tour guide, even with no advanced notice. Each morning, he would get up at his usual 5:30 (ugh! ugh! ugh!), dress, head for Starbucks, relax with his coffee on the couch, and plan our day. His best quality as a tour guide is that he is very flexible and presents several options from which to choose. He also knows that if he throws in a little shopping, he can easily put a smile on my face!!

Me on the Ferry

Rowland's Hike on the Way to Whistler

Shannon Falls

So....here are the top ten things I discovered while in Vancouver:

TEN - It rains A LOT and ALL THE TIME!!!!

NINE - The man checking out of the hotel with his huge bag of golf clubs probably had a very disappointing trip!

EIGHT - The private room on the ferry to Victoria is a quiet place to travel, especially after a short girl with a Southern accent put on her B**** attitude and complained about the woman trying to give a mini-seminar on growing organic food!

SEVEN - Even while watching a movie in a foreign country, Milk Duds are still our drug of choice!

SIX - Did I mention that it rains A LOT and ALL THE TIME??

FIVE - For a country with such socialist programs, they certainly don't believe in left turns while driving! (Just a little Rowland humor!!)

FOUR - Vancouver is about 40% Asian, and there were times that I felt that we were back in China! (And that's a good thing!)

THREE - It rains A LOT and ALL THE TIME!!!! (In fact, according to Rowland, it's raining right now! Shock of all shocks!)

TWO - The Cactus Cafe needs to open a restaurant in Denver since it definitely has the BEST food and atmosphere! We ate there two out of four nights and even snuck in for a dessert the third night!

ONE - In a mall of 450 stores, there were NO red ankle boots, and Lucky Brand Jeans is STILL my favorite store!!! (See, it really is all about the shopping! I even ordered my red boots from the computer in the lobby from Zappos.com. Now, that's service!!!)

The time away was priceless with lots of time for conversation (Rowland's favorite part of the trip, I'm sure!), time to re-group as a couple instead of simply parents, and loads of laughter! Even after almost 16 years of marriage, I still love my best friend!!

The Steam Clock in the Gas Lamp District


Dinner at Our Favorite Restaurant

Our Hands May Be Older, but They're Still Holding on Tightly!

She's Back......

I know that I've been a horrible blogger the last few months. I've been in one of my "depression times" and just haven't felt like writing, but I'M BACK!!!

Since I've been gone for a while, I decided to just catch you up on some of the fun things that have been going on in our family, and I'll do that mostly via pictures!!

William and Kitty had their first choir concert together. They did a great job and sang several fun songs!

William and Kitty after the Concert

Beautiful Singing

I took Carson and a friend of his to the One Republic / Rob Thomas concert. I have definitely become a HUGE Rob Thomas fan!! The concert was great!!

Carson and I Ready to Rock!

Carson, Dee, and Maria, Dee's Mom

Next on our list of things to do was to go to "Wicked!" Last year while I was in New York, I went with my sister-in-law to see it, and it was fabulous!! Rowland and I were not disappointed! It was fabulous again!!!!

I love "Dress Up" Dates!!

Since we don't celebrate Halloween, we enjoyed going out to dinner as a family, then watching "Igor" and stuffing our faces with as much candy as we were able!! I always treasure Family Night!

Candy and Movie Night

Our Newest Addition, Joan "Jet" Watching the Movie

And lastly, we celebrated my 44th birthday yesterday! My precious friend Jeannie made me a cake and tried to slide some trick candles into the mix. Still full of hot air, I blew them ALL out!!!

Stuffing Our Faces at On the Border

Momma with Her Little Princess

Daddy and William

The Oldest and the Youngest

Kitty Still Adores Her Big Brother

The Birthday Dance with Joe and Jeannie

My Precious Friend

Making My Wish

All in all, it's been a tough road for the last couple of months, but joy truly does come in the morning, and the sun has risen! I've enjoyed the time of "circling the wagons," focusing all of my energy on my family and resting as needed. God is always faithful, though, even when I begin to doubt Him. Fortunately, His faithfulness is not dependent on mine!! Thank you to those of you who have prayed for me and for our family! Prayers are the real treasures!!

Happy 5th Gotcha Day September 22, 2009

On December 10, 2002, a little baby girl was born in Guigang, China. Almost two years later on September 22, 2004, that little girl, Cydney Jia Xiaoshen Smith, was placed in our arms to complete our family. Somehow, God in His amazing and miraculous ways led us straight around the world to our beautiful daughter. We are so blessed to be her Forever Family. Jia, your momma and daddy love you with every piece of their hearts!!!



My heart is so filled with joy as I watch the video for the 100th time. I remember sitting on the couch, waiting for the orphanage director to place my baby in my arms. Instead, a beautiful little toddler came walking into the room. As tears streamed down our cheeks, Rowland and I reached for our princess. Naturally, she screamed! It was not exactly the moment I had pictured in my mind, nor were the days following. In fact, it was a L-O-N-G three weeks in China living with a little girl who hated me, would not allow me to touch her very often, and would scream if Rowland touched me or I even touched her stroller.

Jia slept on top of Rowland's chest each night, and each time he would try to move or get up, she would scream "Ma-Ma, Ma-ma!" I began to think that she would have been better off to have stayed with her foster mom of the last 14 months. At 22 months of age, she understood just enough to know that she was miserable!

As countless friends and family prayed, I began to notice small changes in her responses to me. My mom, being the wise woman that she is, suggested that I give her Skittles and Diet Coke and that she only be allowed them when she was in my lap. I'm not sure that a psychologist would have agreed, but her plan worked! I gave her Skittles and Diet Coke morning, noon, and night! And God began to work in her little heart to bond her to me. I specifically remember God whispering in my ear, "Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning!" (Psa. 30:5) And so it did!

Jia Taking Skittles from My Hand

And Feeding Them to Her Momma

On the long plane ride home, Jia and I were the only ones who seemed to be awake on the entire plane. I spent hours walking her up and down the aisle, singing softly in her ear, "Yes, Jesus loves Jia...." I know that God used that time to further bond our hearts together.

Now, my little princess who was formed in someone else's body has been forever imprinted in my heart. As I read recently, "I may not have given you the gift of life, but life gave me the gift of you!" Thank you, God, with a gratefulness that only You can understand!! You have been good to this momma!

Jia and "Mom-mom" Loving Each Other

To Understand Me......And the Plight of My Precious Husband

Rob Thomas - "Her Diamonds"

Oh what the hell she says
I just can't win for losing
And she lays back down
Man there's so many times
I don't know what I’m doin'
Like I don't know now

By the light of the moon
She rubs her eyes
Says it's funny how the night
Can make you blind
I can just imagine
And I don't know what I’m supposed to do
But if she feels bad then I do too
So I let her be

And she says oooh
I can't take no more
Her tears like diamonds on the floor
And her diamonds bring me down
Cuz I can't help her now
She’s down in it
She tried her best and now she can't win it's
Hard to see them on the ground
Her diamonds falling down

She sits down and stares into the distance
And it takes all night
And I know I could break her concentration
But it don't feel right

By the light of the moon
She rubs her eyes
Sits down on the bed and starts to cry
And there's something less about her
And I don't know what I’m supposed to do
So I sit down and I cry too
And don't let her see

And she says oooh
I can't take no more
Her tears like diamonds on the floor
And her diamonds bring me down
Cuz I can't help her now
She’s down in it
She tried her best and now she can't win it's
Hard to see them on the ground
Her diamonds falling down

She shuts out the night
Tries to close her eyes
If she can find daylight
She’ll be all right
She’ll be all right
Just not tonight

And she says oooh
I can't take no more
Her tears like diamonds on the floor
And her diamonds bring me down
Cuz I can't help her now
She’s down in it
She tried her best and now she can't win it's
Hard to see them on the ground
Her diamonds falling down

Get Off My Back....

My kids educate me all the time on conservation. Jia was just explaining to me at the cabin this week that we have to take care of the Earth because when we die, there will be a whole new "school" coming up. They tell me not to let the water run too long when I'm brushing my teeth. They tell me which items are to be recycled and which can't be. Another thing that I hear about is gasoline conservation, a GREAT topic for a family of six driving a Yukon XL!

I see all of the cute little mini-SUVs driving around town, and I'd love to own one. The Toyota Prius is adorable and fun to drive. I also think that the Toyota Venza and the Nissan Murano are great-looking cars, and I have driven a Honda CRV that I really enjoyed driving. Rowland and I even spent an entire day trying to figure out how our family could down-size. The problem is that we can't! Carson is in high school now, taller than I am; William is right behind him, gaining on me; and then there are three more of us, not including our huge Lab Sage.

Just this past week, I took the three younger kids to the cabin for a week while they're off track. By the time that we had the car loaded, there was barely room for Sage to lie down in the back. Reality is that we needed every single inch of that monster SUV. We didn't even have room for Rowland and Carson! (Of course, after shopping during the week, we barely made it home! That's a whole different issue!)

I appreciate the Cash for Clunkers idea. I would love to be able to help out by driving a less fuel hungry car. I hear the comments about my tank. Bottom line, though...all of that to say....I'll do my best to conserve. In fact, I even have re-usable bags for groceries. I'll be as green as I can be, but I'm driving my big SUV as long as my family needs it. The rest of the world, including my kids, can just GET OFF MY BACK!!

Everybody in the Car!

I was having a mommy memory a couple of days ago and have been thinking about it each time that we load up the fam lately. When the children were smaller, and there were only three of them, I remember one of my greatest frustrations. I could NEVER get the children in the car with one simple command, "Everybody, get in the car!" Instead, I would have to say it over and over and over again as I would run around the house doing last minute things. In fact, my goal was to get them in the car so that I could pick up the house quickly on my way out the door. (This worked GREAT when we were selling houses!)

I remember talking to Lisa S who was the Teaching Pastor's wife at our church in Little Rock. She had four children, and her youngest was in second or third grade. My oldest was in first or second grade with the younger two being around two and three, I think. She made a great observation in that conversation. "Don't tell them to get into the car over and over again. Wait and tell them when you REALLY mean it." Good point, Lisa!! Her advice didn't solve my problem, though, because I, of course, didn't change!

My problem has been changed, though, because my children DID change! We spent a few days in Breck while the kids were off track, and I noticed that every child can pack for him/herself, prepare a bag of toys or electronics, put their stuff in the car, AND get in the car with one simple request on my part! While I definitely enjoyed their babyhood (probably not a word), I DEFINITELY enjoy EVEN MORE that when I say, "Everybody in the car," the car fills with people, and those people even have my keys waiting for me when I finally get into the car!!! Now, that's what I call progress!!!!!!

Everybody in the Car!!!

Just Doesn't Get It

Jia's in first grade this year and having a great year. She is also the child who shares EVERYTHING - TWICE! (Must've gotten it from Rowland?) She came home from school a couple of days ago and asked me if I'd like to hear what happened at school that day. Not wanting to disappoint her, I said, "Sure."

The conversation went something like this:

"I had to change desks today because I was looking on my neighbor's paper."

"Honey, why were you looking on your neighbor's paper?"

"Because I didn't know the answer."

Duh! "Did you feel badly when the teacher moved you?"

"No. I got to move back when the test was over."

"Honey, you understand that you can't look on your neighbor's paper anymore, right?"

"But, Mom, what if I don't know the answer?"

Hmmm......

She also shared with me that she had never "gotten" to sit in the "private office" chair. Thinking that this was a great privilege, I asked her what she needed to do to be able to sit in this special location. Jia: "Talk to my neighbors instead of doing my work."

Just not sure she gets it.....

My Little Swimmer

Jia's in her second round of swim lessons, and while I'd like to see her teacher push her to progress a little faster, Jia's doing a great job. The good thing about her teacher's slow pace is that Jia loves to go, making life easier for mom!

Yesterday, they had a short segment on the use of life jackets and what to do if you're ever in cold water, how to huddle together, etc. Of course, Momma on the side of the pool was thinking, "What exactly are the odds of this six year old getting stranded in ocean water with seven other people? Could we just do some 'swimming?'" Just in case, though, she's prepared!

Jia Floating in Her Life Jacket

My Princess Getting Out of the Pool

And, Of Course, Always a Pose!!!

More China Days

In between the orphanage and playing at the church, we had some time to sight see and SHOP!!!! During my last visit to China, we visited the Emperor's Summer Palace in southern China. This time, we visited the Forbidden City, the site of "The Last Emperor" and other movies surrounding that time period. It is truly overwhelming as the grounds go on and on. There were specific areas in which only the emperor could walk. There were also different palace receiving areas depending on how close to the emperor that one was. It's such a special piece of China's history, and the buildings were beautiful.

Carson, Rowland, and I at the Forbidden City

A Clueless Denver Nuggets "Fan" (Colorado is loved everywhere!!)

The Beautiful Gardens

Rowland STRONGLY Questioned the Rating System!!

Tiananmen Square is directly across the street from the Forbidden City. In 1989, there was a huge student protest that unfortunately ended in bloodshed. When you realize the cry that was being heard around the world, it's a special place to walk.

The View of the Forbidden City from the Square

The Square

Anita and I Posing when Rowland Was Looking for an Action Shot Instead!

The Great Wall was another one of our site-seeing adventures. Suffice it to say that it is a BUNCH of steps that extend for thousands of miles. Anita and I climbed a few, then headed back down to do a little shopping while the guys hiked further up the wall. Once again, we weren't where we were supposed to be when the guys came looking for us. It really wasn't our fault, though. Shopping is an occupation, not a hobby for girls like us!

It Just Goes On and On and On and On

The Group on the Wall

Anita and I Just Before We Got "Lost" Shopping
(Check out the cool parasol and hat! Definite fashion statements! HA!)

Girls Just Wanna Have Fu-un!!!

Saturday was another work in the yard day for me! Two days in a row, I have cleaned out our backyard. I have accumulated 17 bags of yard trash as well as 12 bundles of sticks. If you could see how small my backyard was, you'd wonder what kind of forest was living behind us! There's still work to be done, but it's SO much better.

The boys were at a car show with Rowland so the girls each had a friend over to play while I worked. As you can see, I actually stopped long enough to make lunch, including soup! Pretty good for the non-cooking mom!!! They had such a good time playing together!

The Four Girls Having Lunch Outside

KeKe and G

Jia and Her New Best Friend (Cayden, You'll NEVER be Replaced!!)

BTW, thanks for the prayers yesterday. Carson had a good day of school, mostly just learning the school rules and his schedule, meeting the teachers, junk stuff.... He walked home with Zach, a friend from church whom I REALLY like. They hung out all afternoon, making the day even better for him.

Today, the 10th - 12th graders show up for school! MORE, BIGGER prayers!!!

Another Milestone

My Almost-Grown Son

My baby Carson is no more! He started high school today, walking down the street with his friend..... He didn't even need to be taken to school, completely self-sufficient. Of course, his dad did make his lunch and print out his schedule from the computer. His momma dried his hair for him. I guess he still needs us a little!

I can honestly say that I am very, very proud of the young man whom he has become. He is a delight to be around, funny, intelligent, and even showing some of that softness that he seemed to have hidden away in middle school. He is rapidly becoming an awesome guitar player and is also teaching himself harmonica. In spite of his "old" parents, he seems to enjoy hanging out with us. This weekend, he went to a car show with his dad, and he hung out at the park with all of the adults in Life Group last night. He's much better about helping me around the house when I'm in a panic and has such an even nature like his dad. Best of all, he didn't complain once about having his momma take "First Day of School" pictures!!!

Yes, He's Definitely Much Taller Than His Momma!

Two Peas in a Pod

Pray for my baby as you think about him. I know that the next four years will be trying times for him (and us, too, I'm sure!). He has a good foundation and a loving and supportive family, but he's the one who will have to make the real-life choices that will help him become the man he will be. God, I'm thankful that you're walking to school with him!!!

ROTFL (Are those the right letters?)

In the midst of the "work" that we did while in China, we definitely had lots of time for laughter. Anita and I are lucky that Rowland didn't leave us in China or at least lock us out of the apartment on several occasions - and no alcohol was even involved! We laughed more over those eleven days than I remember laughing in a long time. I doubt seriously that China will grant Anita and me visas at the same time!!

Anita and I in One of Our Constant Photo Op Poses

We definitely were not laughing at the Chinese people, and most of the time, we weren't laughing at the other people in the group. We just laughed at each other, making stupid jokes on a continual basis.

Anita in Her Quite Fashionable Hat at the Great Wall

Since Rowland, Carson, Anita, and I were staying in a small apartment, often Galen and Shaun would come over to hang out as well. The bathroom was RIGHT THERE so that everyone watching TV or talking in the den could hear the person in the bathroom tinkling. Although there was a fan, the odor from turning on the fan made it something we preferred not to use - even to drown out the noise.

One afternoon, we were all hanging out, and one of us (we'll call her "Anita") had to go tinkle. She made a joke, asking me to create a diversion so that all of the men in the den wouldn't hear her. Being the amazing friend that I am, I jumped into the middle of the den and in my best cheerleader voice, asked all of the guys to join me in "If You're Happy and You Know It." Now, the truly hysterical part, you will have to picture in your mind. Galen, Shaun, Carson, and sometimes Rowland sang along with me and even did the hand motions. I kept having to encourage them as they would begin to drag at the end of each verse. They hung in there, though, finally completing the song as I jumped up and down with my hands in the air "Woo Hoo-ing" them! As I was standing my the bathroom door, I could hear Anita falling off the toilet in laughter! Finally, Rowland said in a less than enthusiastic voice, "That was so that we wouldn't hear her using the bathroom, right?" So I'm 43 going on 16, and Anita's 39 going on 17, but those men DID participate, so how old does that make them??????

The Guys Trying to Get As Far Away from Us As Possible

Another hysterical thing that happened was one evening when I was hanging out with one of the unnamed people in the group. We were sitting on a bench in the courtyard when all of a sudden, I felt the bench move and looked underneath it, expecting to see an animal that was underneath. The person sitting with me was falling off the bench in laughter when I came up from under the bench. Turns out, the "animal" under the bench was actually a silent, non-smelling toot that rumbled the bench! Now, anyone who knows me will tell you that I don't laugh at fart or burp jokes, and I don't approve of discussing bodily functions, but I laughed until I cried and haven't stopped yet!

One of the funniest and yet un-funniest things that happened was while we were at the orphanage in the volunteer housing. Anita and I had a room to ourselves with two full-size beds. As we went to get into bed, I saw a HUGE albino lizard (or gecco or salamander or maybe even a shark) climbing on the wall above my bed. It quickly skirted behind the air conditioning unit on the wall. Now, I'm not afraid of a little lizard, and water bugs are just a common household occurrence in Arkansas, but I don't know anything about lizard-looking animals in China. Do they bite? Will their venom kill you while you sleep? Do they leap? As Anita got out her camera waiting for the perfect photo opp, I went in and awakened two of the Chinese girls who were staying in the next room.

One of the sweet girls was just as afraid as me while the other decided that Anita and I were hallucinating. She shoved paper behind the air unit, tapped on it, and shone the camera light behind it. Her determination is that we had imagined the creature. She kept saying in her very best English, "Are you SURE? Are you absolutely SURE you saw something? Are you definitely SURE?" After a while, I began to doubt that we were even in China and decided that the whole thing was one big hallucination. She did reassure us that IF there were an albino lizard in our room, and she was certain that there wasn't, it wouldn't hurt us. She explained that China was full of these harmless creatures and left us for her own bedroom. Anita and I looked at each other, and before a word was spoken, knew that it was going to be a "spooning" night for us in her bed across the room from the imaginary lizard!

Our Chinese Friends Trying to Help While Anita Takes Pictures Under the Unit to Try to Find the Lizard

Although there were SO many funny times, one of my favorites was that each morning Carson and Rowland would get up at 4:30 a.m., and Carson would sit in the den of the tiny apartment playing the guitar. Poor Anita was awakened EVERY morning at 4:30 to the theme from "The Office" being played by my precious son. He even learned a couple of new tunes that he tried out on her early in the morning, but she never seemed to like his repertoire! Finally, one day while Rowland and I were napping, she determined that she was going to keep Carson awake so that he'd sleep at night. Each time he tried to fall asleep, she'd wake him up again. Over and over, she'd awaken him until she eventually quit trying. Sure enough, he was up at 4:30 the next morning. Sad thing is that Ms. Anita seems to have a problem with forgiveness and is still plotting her revenge on Mr. Carson!!

Carson Practicing His Morning Wake-Up Song While Watching the Office

One thing that I was definitely reminded of while in China is that God is a God of laughter!! And I'm pretty sure that He was laughing along with us - or more likely, AT us!!

Rowland "Riding" an Exercise Saddle

The McDonald's Delivery Guy

Silly Americans at Hard Rock Cafe, Beijing