Introducing My Family

These are pictures of my 9 siblings and one with all 12 of us! In the line, we are in order from eldest to youngest except mom stepped in front of dad. I'm the short squatty one with the rose skirt and black top with short dark hair standing next to Chewbacca... I love ya Sasquatch! I'm still short and I'm wearing platforms! hahahehe That is my "little" sister by 3 years... she says it's like living in the "land o da little people!" I don't see no dang rainbow... oh wait, maybe I'm too short. We are a goofy bunch and I adore them. It's been an amazing wild ride but somehow we made it to adulthood haha. Why are they on my blog?... they are a big part of me and key to understanding who I am. Oh and yes, you will have to play "Where's Sara?" because my hair always changes. Good luck!

Taiwanese Children's Books (work in progress)

I've decided to locate children's books that are written by Taiwanese authors and have been translated into English. They also might include ones written about Taiwan that are not necessarily Taiwanese. I thought they would be nice to have. I may also add some favorite Chinese books as well. Stories are such a staple in our home, we'd be lost without them; why not add some that we might have heard if we grew up as children in Taiwan. Being a child is all about imagination anyways, right? SO here is an expanding, tentative rough draft:

1. Tales from a Taiwan Kitchen by Cora Cheney Illustrated by Teng Kung Yun-chang. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1976
A collection of traditional Taiwanese tales that reflect the varied cultural heritage of the island.
2.Dragon Kite of the Autumn Moon by Valerie Reddix, Jean Tseng, Mou-Sien Tseng, 1992
When his grandfather is sick, Tad-Tin goes out to fly his special dragon kite, so that it can take all their troubles away with it.
3. On My Way To Buy Eggs by Chih-Yuan Chen
In this award-winning import from Taiwan, a young girl's errand to the store turns into a sensory adventure.
4. A Family in Taiwan (Families the World Over) by Ling Yu, Chen Minq-Jenq
Presents life in Taiwan as seen through the daily life of a twelve-year-old and her family.
5. The Abacus Contest: Stories from Taiwan and China by Priscilla Wu
These six simply written short stories, which take place in a small manufacturing city in southern Taiwan, are about values: religious, secular, and cultural.
6. Taiwan: Lisa Lin's Painting "Making Mooncakes" by Jacquiline Touba, Barbara Glasser, ph.D. Touba, Lisa Lin
The young Taiwanese artist, Lisa Lin, describes her painting of her family making mooncakes for the Mid-autumn Festival. Beautiful paintings!
7. Happy Birthday to You by Fang Su-chen
winner of the first Mandarin Daily News Children's Literature Award for illustration in 1995.
8. Taiwan in Pictures by Yu, Ling Minneapolis : Lerner Publications, c1989.
9. Guji Guji by Chih-Yuan Chen a book about a crocodile that's "adopted" by a duck family.
10.
An introduction to the geography, history, economy, government, people, and culture of the island republic of Taiwan
Copy and paste this into your browser: http://www.taiwan-taipei.com/taipei_city_tip/smile_kid_learning_store.html
It is a site to a children's store in Taiwan that has English books (I'm planning on stocking up)!

Happy Halloween Hooplah Continues!

We have Kole... little G.I. Joe, Elvis, and tribute to the Vikings (although he kept saying dragon slayer because sisters were a Princess and a dragon). I adore the Elvis... it even had the cape! Jadyn... Jade Dragon. Nika is the Little Mermaid Bride and the fairy one is Bloom from the Winx (if anyone has any clue who that is). The angel is a cousin ... look at that gorgeous red hair!

Happy Halloween!!

Let the costume party begin! Since I have never had a blog and Halloween is very dear to us (my husband proposed to me on Halloween), I'm having a costume parade from the past. Nika picked out the little demon costume and the vampire one (she liked red a lot and now it's pink). We even asked her at the store if she wanted Tinkerbell at age three. Answer... "No momma, Vampire like the little Vampire." That was the only vampire show she's ever seen because vampires give me the willies! I don't like them in cartoons etc. but she is definitely the cutest little vampire I've ever seen. She even picked that mask I was wearing... she couldn't stop laughing when we bought it (maybe it reminded her of momma when she wakes up) . Now we've had a Princess count down for a few years straight which is fine by me. And to think I had to fight her to wear the Fairy costume I made. To Be Continued....

Little Miss Feisty Pants

This one is my comical little spitfire who is so photogenic like her sister if I could just get her to sit still. She is a cute little tank and makes sure that she is not left out! My siblings call her my mini-me ... I think she is an original creation all her own! And don't you just want to squeeze those cheekies???!!! I spent forever trying to find a serious sweet smile picture but she is just a bundle of joyous emotions that can't be bothered to be contained.

Oh I can't wait to add the photos of our newest little one (this blog of mindless rambling helps me try to convince myself that I CAN handle the wait) . This blog will just end up being a picture celebration. I take pictures of my little chickadees almost everyday... I don't want to miss anything. Hope you enjoy photos?!

Mad Hatter

My son is absolutely crazy! I LOVE it! He jumps off of everything and makes crazy star wars and crash noises everytime I turn around (the noises just spew from his mouth... I can't even make half of them)! He's always making crazy Jim Carrey faces (he's never seen him except on the Grinch) and it just cracks me up. And his eyelashes are an inch long!!! So not fair...he's a boy! Just kidding... it's fair.. I get to see him everyday! Somedays, I tell him I'm gonna eat him up (like The Wild Things) and I nibble on his ears or eyes and he just squeals! It's so funny.

Strike A Pose

My child actually just poses this way!!??? We laugh because everytime we take out a camera... she is insta pose! You'd think we told her to do this (well some of them, we'd say act mad and bada boom there you go). My children just amaze me and my children are way more photogenic than I ever was... sheesh can some of those genes rub off on me? And yes! She is wearing my sister's car seat headrest cover on her head!

What's In a Name?!

In need of a nickname...we name our children after we see them so I have to have a nickname for our Taiwanese bundle. For my son, it was Hambone which my daughter so graciously bestowed for him and Bosa because when he was born he growled like a pirate! Captain Jack Sparrow was ridiculous so he became Bosa for Barbosa. Jadyn is Jade Dragon, & Gorge Monkey, and Nika gave her Princess Lemon. Nika was Nikachu after Pikachu which is not because we love Pokemon but because of her thunder attack. Yes, my daughter did the whole grumbling thunder attack just like Pikachu. Later it was shortened to Chou... which in Europe seems to be like Pumpkin only it means cabbage and is a term of endearment so it sticks.

So now we are here waiting, calling this little one... the little baby in Taiwan. We have to think of something. Nika has thought Little Miss Bee is cute. I found this darling drawing of a little girl in a bee ballerina costume. I seem to be leaning towards Bitty Bee. My husband likes it because of Bumblebee the Transformer! Maybe we could call her Rumbler. haha So the search for a name for my littliest monkey in waiting continues. Credit for the picture goes to Variations.

Finally Making That Timeline

~June 30, 2007: sent off homestudy application and our app to FFC (Families for Children)
~July 2007: went mad crazy and filled out all the papers for our hs in record time just over 1 week, baby! Started preparing dossier papers at same time.
~August 2007: received word that our FBi clearances came in... waiting on reference letters to come in (my friend was getting married in a month and super mondo busy)
~Sept. 3, 2007: Homestudy visit (first and only required in my state) so done baby done!
~Sept. 23, 2007: received phone call from social worker because she needed some general clarification on questions. She hadn't typed up the report because one of her birthgivers had spontaneous labor and she was a busy woman.
~Sept. 27, 2007: I believe that was the day FFC received my homestudy because I received my hs through email (since my state won't let me directly recieve it from my sw, only if my intl. agency shares)... HENCE.... OFFICIALLY WAITING for about 18 to 24 months until referral).
~Currently finishing: dossier (one paper left but having trouble getting because it requires going to a jail where a certain celebrity who doesn't deserve mentioning on my blog is being held and a circus of picture mad hatters have cluttered my place of dossier paper finishing),
USCIS which I won't apply for until just before my hs is 6 months old to try and prolong the validity of that sucker,
referral request form... that one was the hardest for us so far to fill out.
MY BLOG!!... it is lacking so I have to catch up and give it pizzazz (is that even a word?) Jazz hands everyone when you say that ;)