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The Gingerbread Party

December 19, 2013, 12:54 pm
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Yesterday Aubrey and I hosted a little Gingerbread Party afterschool for the girls in her class.

We sent out an e-vitation through Punchbowl. In the invitation details, I mentioned that the moms could either stay with their daughter or drop them off and do some Christmas shopping. Only one mom stayed, which made me feel better about the fact that I'm not the only one still working on my holiday shopping! ;)

It was SO much fun setting up this party.

What's not to love when all the decorations are edible?!






Practically everything you see was from things we already had on hand, purchased at the Dollar Tree, or Target's Dollar Bins. I went through our pantry to check my sprinkles inventory -- holy moly, I didn't have to buy any! Evidently it takes a lot to empty a container of sprinkles.
I decided to make the gingerbread houses out of graham crackers -- major money saver!
I hot-glued them together and to the plate for easy decorating / transporting. And since they couldn't eat their houses, I made gingerbread girl sugar cookies for them to decorate too (and gobble up).

My one splurge was personalized gingerbread aprons for the girls.
I found a lady on Etsy who made these for $12.
She even included matching hair barrettes for free.
Aubrey came up with the idea to remodel her playtent into a "real" gingerbread house.
Only $4.99 for three yards of cheap quilt batting at Joann's and using things we already had (foam shapes, cotton balls, poster board, and wrapping paper), I'd say she did a pretty darn good job! The bin in the front is full of "snowballs" (aka: balloons). I loved her idea of cotton balls coming down like snow. Oh how I adore preschool imagination!

I set-up a snack bar with grapes, strawberries, chocolate donut holes with sprinkles, chocolate gingerbread boys, and popcorn. Just out of reach were take-home gingerbread boxes with two cupcakes to-go.


There was also a beverage station with Cranberry Punch and The Best Ever Hot Chocolate.
 

I made an area with coloring wrapping paper for those who needed a break from the mega sugar fest... 


The girls LOVED finding their decorating work station and diving into the sugary goodness.
They worked on their little houses for a good 40 minutes, which is pretty long for a bunch of preschoolers.
It was so cute hearing their ideas on decorating...
I'm adding a flower garden in the front of my house!
I'm going to use these gumdrops to look like Christmas lights!
I'm going to use the shimmery sprinkles because mine is a fairy's house!



I should have taken the group picture before the sugar overload. 
These girls were 100% silly and trying to get them to all look and smile was impossible.
I can't show this last picture to Mina. She didn't know little sisters could crash the party. 
This little shindig all went down while she snoozed upstairs. Shhhh!

It was an absolute blast of an afternoon!
Sweet memories made with some super sweet friends!
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From My Heart...

December 26, 2013, 12:25 pm
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I've been waiting for this Christmas for years.

December 24th, 2011, Daniel gave me two gifts:

One was a 147 Million Orphans shirt. (Notice the daisies on there?! GODWINK!)
The other gift was a folder.
Inside the folder was adoption paperwork that Daniel had already started filling out.

Daniel said, "I just want you to know, I feel like God is saying now is the time."
I was so shocked.
I put my face on the ground, cried, and thanked God.
Daniel didn't know, but I had prayed every single day for over six months for God to work in his heart regarding adoption. I knew God had a child waiting for us, but I wanted it to come from God and not me.

That Christmas, I told Daniel before going to bed, "You realize that our child is probably alive already? They are somewhere in this world. I hope they had a Merry Christmas..."
I cried myself to sleep that night.
And across the globe, our little Shisi was turning 5 months old in a Chinese orphanage.

The next Christmas, we were literally aching to travel to bring her home.
She was living with a foster family in a rural part of China, which made it difficult to get information about our sweet girl. 
That December 24th, God nestled a little ladybug amidst the gifts under the tree. 
The hope and promise that our Shisi would be with us next Christmas.
I cried myself to sleep again that year. 

Well, this Christmas I cried too.
Tears of complete and total happiness.

Merry Christmas from all FOUR of the Riherds!

Daniel made this wonderful slideshow to a song that fits our past three Christmases perfectly...


Merry Christmas, by Third Day

There's a little girl trembling on a cold December morn
Crying for momma's arms
At an orphanage just outside a little China town
Where the forgotten are

But half a world away I hang the stockings by the fire
And dream about the day when I can finally call you mine

It's Christmas time again but you're not home
Your family is here and yet you're somewhere else alone
And so tonight I pray that God will come and hold you in his arms
And tell you from my heart I wish you Merry Christmas

As I hang the tinsel on the tree and watch the twinkling lights
I'm warmed by the fire's glow
Outside the children tumble in a wonderland of white,
Make angels in the snow

But half a world away you try your best to fight the tears
And hope that heaven's angels come to carry you here

It's Christmas time again but you're not home
Your family is here and yet you're somewhere else alone
And so tonight I pray that God will come and hold you in his arms
And tell you from my heart I wish you Merry Christmas

Christmas is a time to celebrate the holy child
And we celebrate his perfect gift of love
He came to earth to give his life
And prepare a place for us
So we could have a home with him above

It's Christmas time again and now you're home
Your family is here so you will never be alone
So tonight before you go to sleep, I'll hold you in my arms
And I'll tell you from my heart, and I'll you from my heart
I wish you Merry Christmas
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Ho-Ho-Holy Christmas

December 30, 2013, 6:57 pm
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My girls never sat on Santa's lap this year.
And, to tell you the truth, I'm kinda glad.
(Gasp!)

Shortly after Thanksgiving, I asked Aubrey (nonchalantly) on the way to school, "What are you most excited about when you think about Christmas?"
Preparing myself for the "GETTING PRESENTS!" response, my 5-year-old shocked me by saying, "Getting to eat birthday cake on Jesus's birthday!"
"That's great! What else are you excited about when you think about Christmas?"
"Getting to decorate my very own Christmas tree in my room!"

I thought about turning the car around and driving back home.
This child must be ill if she didn't even mention gifts or presents when asked twice about Christmas.
But looking at her in my rear-view mirror, I could see that those two things made her literally light up. She was downright giddy just thinking about it all.
Right then and there I decided Santa was going to take a backseat this holiday season.

I also decided I wasn't going to totally outcast Jolly Old St. Nick.
I was just going to wait and let Aubrey be the one to bring it up.

By the way, I had to make a vow with myself to not to play the "Santa's watching..." card.
I didn't utter that magic little phrase one time during the holiday season.
Not once, I tell you!
(I'm pretty sure this means I get an award, right?)

In fact, Aubrey only brought up Santa one time.
I was cooking dinner, and she came up to me and asked (totally out-of-the-blue), "Mom, did Santa bring Mina gifts when she was in China?"
Caught a bit off guard with her big blue eyes looking earnestly at me, I answered, "No, honey..."
And off she dashed not saying another word about it.

Another thing that made this holiday season seem a little different was the fact that we left 98% of our Christmas decorations in storage back in Kentucky.
Apparently Daniel knew this and thought I did as well.
I did not.
And when I realized that I would have to tell Aubrey that her second favorite thing about Christmas wasn't going to happen this year, I wanted to cry.
Luckily, two mini trees had weaseled themselves onto our moving truck and were discovered in the garage. I bought some pink lights from Big Lots, and gave Aubrey her ornament for the year. (A princess cat bride -- the absolutely purrrfect ornament for this girl.) She used random things she found around the house to drape on her tree, and -- despite the lack of ornaments -- she loved every inch of it.


I tried to coax Daniel into taking us all on our first Christmas Tree Farm excursion, but he wouldn't go for it.
I couldn't bear the thought of Christmas without a tree in the living room, so instead of finding the idyllic evergreen we found ourselves in the fake tree display area of Walmart. Twenty bucks later, we were driving home with our 6 ft. tree in a 3 ft. box.

The next day I showed Aubrey how to make snowflakes out of coffee filters, which found their holiday home rather quickly...
My favorite moment was when Aubrey squealed, "This is going to look SO great for Jesus's birthday party!" I had never thought of it as decorating our house for His birthday, but it sure made an impression on me and how I'll decorate our home for Christmases to come.

As luck would have it, the Advent calendar I made many Christmases ago was mistakenly (providentially) packed in with the girls art supplies. I plan on doing a post in more detail about our Advent calendar before next Christmas because it really opened up some amazing conversations with Aubrey. She loved coming downstairs and seeing what the letter / word was for the day and all the while trying to guess what the message was spelling out. After the first week, it had revealed the words, "Jesus Is" and Aubrey started guessing what the rest of it was, which melted my heart. Seriously, ask your child the open-ended phrase, "Jesus is..." and see what they say. I couldn't help but get choked up hearing Aubrey shout, "Jesus is...AWESOME! Jesus is...GOD'S ONLY SON! Jesus is...THE BEST IN THE WORLD! Jesus is...THE KING FOREVER! Jesus is...ALWAYS WITH ME!"


So, despite the fact that our house didn't look much like Christmas, the only "Santa" we saw was the Chick-fil-a cow dressed up, and there was never an Elf to set on a shelf -- the girls had an extremely fun time leading up to Christmas Day.


We actually never set foot in a mall throughout November / December, instead we took advantage of all the things going on at our church. Because -- seriously -- as a Christian, shouldn't the church be the BEST place to spend your time getting pumped up about our Messiah's birth?



We let the girls stay up past their bedtime to go to the Christmas concert. It was incredible, and we all left that evening full of the Christmas spirit.

Mina's Sunday School class had a birthday party for Jesus. Her teachers said she danced the first half of the class while singing the Happy Birthday song. My goodness, I love her so much...

At home, the girls successfully broke nearly every piece of our glass nativity. 
I've since ordered a plastic one for safety reasons. :)

On Christmas Eve we went to the Candlelight service at church, which has become one of my favorite family traditions.

On our way home from the candlelight service, I asked Aubrey if she was excited about it being Christmas Eve night. She responded, "Why?" I realized that due to our lack of Santa build-up, she didn't realize that tonight was THE night.

Now let me just say, I loooove Christmas Eve. 
To this day I have hard time going to sleep. 
There's something magical about it. The anticipation. The excitement. Ah, I love it.
(See, I promise I'm not anti-Santa!)

When we got home I asked her if she wanted to put out cookies for Mr. Claus. She was super excited to set out the ones she had made earlier in the week with Daniel  -- along with some milk, of course. 
She also wanted to open the fireplace doors for easy entry.


After getting into jammies and reading some books with Zubie (who came and celebrated with us the week of Christmas!) and Daddy, it was time to say g'nite!


Aubrey said, "I think I'm going to stay up and try to see Santa coming." to which I responded, "You know, he only comes once you're asleep..."
"Then I need to go to bed NOW!"
And that girl was asleep before I shut her door.

By the way, we have a deal with Santa that he only brings four gifts per child:
Something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read.

So for Aubrey it went like this:
Want: Scooter
Need: Electric toothbrush
Wear: Heart-locket / necklace
Read: Jesus Calling Kid Devotional


For Mina:
Want: Mini shopping cart
Need: Backpack (for church and when she starts a MDO program one day.)
Wear: Backpack fell under this category too (Santa realized this as he sat it all out. Oops.)
Read: The Pet Dragon


Christmas morning was full of smiles, squeals, and laps around the house...

 

 
Opening more gifts from mom, dad, and other family members...


We had our birthday dessert for breakfast.
This year, Aubrey decided she wanted to have chocolate mousse instead of cake for Jesus's party.
A treat fit for a King, I'll say! :)


I realized that since Santa played such a small role this Christmas, Mina didn't really know who he was.
I laughed so hard, when she came up to me while I was watching an interview with Phil Robertson, and asked, "Swanta Cwaus?!"

I must admit that it made me pretty happy, happy, happy.

Our Christmas was very different this year.
I think for once it was balanced the way I've always wanted it to be.
The main focus was Jesus, with a fun little Santa sideshow.
We didn't go overboard on decorating or gifts.
We savored the season by making memories and reflecting on God's promises.
It was truly a Merry Christmas.
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Aubie & Minkster

January 16, 2014, 12:26 pm
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Aubrey was so excited to become a BIG sister.
Then Mina arrived.
And she hit, pinched, stole toys and attention.
Aubrey's life was turned upside down.
Mina's life was turned upside down.
My days were filled constantly calming two girls screaming at each other and refraining one of them from causing physical harm.

Adoption is a beautiful thing, but it can get ugly at times...


As I'm typing this post (11 months later), both girls are in the playroom downstairs.
They've been there a good 20 minutes.
I hear laughing.
I hear one pretending to be a cat.
I hear meowing.
More laughing.
A random knock-knock joke.
They are both cackling (even though the joke made no sense whatsoever).

Aubrey just ran upstairs and grabbed both their thermos cups because "kitties need their milk!"

Aubrey started praying, "Dear God, please help me get along better with Mina..." once we moved to Cleveland.

Relocating to a new city without friends or family nearby has truly been the greatest blessing.
It forced helped these two strangers become sisters.
And -- dare I say -- friends?

I rarely have to intervene while they're playing together.


Aubrey even gets antsy when Mina is napping.
"Is she ever going to wake up?!"
She misses her little sidekick.
She calls her Minkster, by the way.
The first word out of Mina's mouth when she wakes up from her nap: "Aubie?"


Of course it's not sibling BFFs all the time, but I'm noticing this sweetness is not so rare anymore.
This little photo collage below illustrates how far they've really come.
(We moved the bouncy house to the basement to help get us through the winter months.)
Mina accidentally crashed into Aubrey's head while they were bouncing away.
A few months ago this would have resulted in a major meltdown from Aubrey, but now it's just a few tears (because it did hurt, after all). Aubrey knows it was just an accident, and she's quick to except Mina's, "sowy Aubie!" After wiping away the tears, she even asked me to take their picture together.


And hanging on Mina's closet door: the pièce de résistance of sisterhood...

Aubrey calls it: "Aubie and Minkster".
I call it: "Answered Prayer".
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Christmas, Part 2 / Chinese New Year

February 2, 2014, 1:57 pm
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Grammy and Pop Pop came to visit exactly one month after Christmas.
So we celebrated again!

To get us all in the mood, we started the first day of their visit by going to The Christmas Story house.
I have been dying to go, but Daniel has had ZERO interest.
Whether you like the movie or not, you have to admit it's a Christmas icon.
I mean, you can't tell me you've never used any of the following:
You'll shoot your eye out!
The Triple Dog Dare...
Fragile (Fra-GEE-lay)
I can't put my arms down!
FUDGE! (the F-Dash-Dash-Dash word)
Fa-ra-ra-ra-ra
And everybody knows about the leg lamp...

The house and tour was everything I hoped it would be. 
It was even snowing, which gave it a nice, nostalgic vibe. 


That evening, the girls shimmied into their jammies and opened up a copious amount of gifts.
No BB guns or pink nightmare bunny pajamas though... ;)

The next day, Mina and I were supposed to have our first Mommy and Me class.
We decided to skip it. (Shhhh!)
We went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame instead.
Totally worth it.
The museum was awesome -- stage / performance costumes, handwritten song lyrics, album covers, band members signature guitars/pianos/drums/ etc., memorabilia from groups ranging from Nirvana, The Supremes, The Beatles, ZZ Top, ELVIS, the Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and more. It was all pretty impressive.

The last couple of days it snowed non-stop so we stayed snuggled up indoors enjoying all the new Christmas loot:
Playing Guess Who, watching 3D movies, and reading books...
On the last night, we celebrated Chinese New Year!
Dumplings are Mina's favorite. Fried Rice is Aubrey's favorite.
And these two are MY favorite. I could seriously eat them up...

Each year I plan on making a new Chinese dish with Mina. This year she wasn't too interested in helping, but I hope as she grows older she'll like doing it. Wonton Soup was the dish this year. It was even featured in my friend, Brandi's, Soup virtual potluck!

I am trying to learn all I can about things like Chinese New Year traditions, but more often than not I feel like I am doing it all wrong. For instance, I couldn't find my other gold napkin so I used a black one. Apparently black is the biggest no-no color on CNY (Chinese New Year) because it represents death. I also got Mina some silk Chinese shoes as a CNY gift, but apparently that's one gift you shouldn't give. Oh well, I'll keep trying and learning and maybe one year I'll get it right!

I know some adoptive families choose not to acknowledge their child's birth country, and that's completely their choice. I find that I think about Mina's birth family even more when we celebrate Chinese holidays. Perhaps that's another reason adoptive families shy away from things like this? It bubbles up lots of emotions, and I'm sure as Mina grows up things like this will spur some hard questions. It gets us all wondering about things we don't have answers to.

So even though we are separated by thousands of miles, anonymity, and unanswered questions -- I take comfort in knowing that (for at least one day) we're all celebrating together.


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Stuck in a Snow Globe.

February 10, 2014, 7:54 am
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Winter in Cleveland is exactly how you'd imagine Winter in Cleveland.


It's freezing cold (wind chills in the negatives).
It snows nearly every day.
And no one seems to notice.
I walked out to start the car before taking Aubrey to preschool to find this kid just riding his bike in 8-10 inches of snow. WHAT?!


I feel like we're stuck in a snow globe.


And considering we've had snow since before Halloween, I'm about to lose my mind...


Nevermind.
Too late.
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It Was a Total Love Fest

February 16, 2014, 6:30 pm
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I love Valentine's Day.
Reds, pinks, hearts, flowers, chocolates, love letters.
Ah, I love it all.
And having two girly girls that I love so dearly...well, I just can't help myself when it comes to Valentines!

Grammy and I joined forces for this little project. 
Starting February 1st, the girls woke up to a little Valentine funsie each morning.
I mean, who doesn't love getting fun mail?!

For Aubrey I wrote something I love about her on a pink doilie and hung it on her stairway wall each day.
I want to do this every year for the girls -- Aubrey just beamed when I read a new one each morning. It reminded me how important it is to build her up with positive words. Even simple ones like, "I love how your eyes sparkle when you smile and laugh." or "I love how you make up your own songs and dances. You're so creative!"
Here was the breakdown of little surprises for one munchkin:
(everything was from the DollarTree)
1. Valentine socks. 2. Fingernail stickers 3. Butterfly Headband 4. Wack a Pack 5. Notepad / Pencils 6. Stickers 7. Paint Your Own Suncatcher 8. Love Bug Magnet Craft 9. Moon Fairy 10. Q-tip Paint Notepad 11. Glow sticks 12. Scented Bubbles 13. Silly String 14. Candy!

Several of the items were crafts that the girls could do while stuck inside and others were just for fun. :)

We also made lots of heart-shaped treats leading up to February 14th...


Aubrey's preschool class was asked to make their own Valentines for classmates. I pulled out all our craft supplies, and Aubrey decided she wanted fairies for the girls, googly-eyed monsters for the boys, and bouquets of flowers for her teachers. With 3 teachers and 18 kids in the class, it took awhile...
But I'd say her perseverance and hard-work paid off -- her Valentines turned out so cute!

The day before Valentine's Day, I let the girls pick out some real flowers to take to their teachers. We used some craft paper we already had and made cone holders. Mina even had her Mommy and Me class so she was able to deliver her flowers too. It was so cute seeing her run up to her teachers saying, "FOR YOU! FOR YOU!"

On Valentine's morning, I had a trail of hearts for the girls to follow down for breakfast.
They squealed and giggled all the way. They both LOVED it! Have I mentioned before how much I love being a mom?! 
There was a NO CANDY policy for Valentines at school this year.
I know kids have allergies and what not, but seriously?
It's one day out of the year. 
It's a party. 
Live a little.
Besides, kids don't even eat the candy at school -- they take it home where the parents can filter out what they don't want their kids to eat (or like me, pick out what I want to eat...;)).
So, in protest of the NO CANDY policy, here was our Valentine Breakfast Menu:
Pink Cinnamon Rolls
Mini Chocolate Croissants
Powdered Donuts
Heart-shaped Eggs 
(I had to put something healthy in there, I am a mom afterall...)
Milk / Grape Juice
**And Bonus: CANDY**
The powdered donuts were the hit of the morning, which was hilarious.
I don't buy these, so it was a real treat in their mind!

I think this was the only broken heart in our house on Valentine's Day. :)

 I set the dining room table up later in the day with some sweet treats.
For dinner we went to a Mexican restaurant close to our house -- not exactly the most romantic setting, but it was perfect for our feisty little family of four! We rarely eat out, so the girls thought it was so special eating at a real restaurant!

After dinner it was time for desserts at home!
Strawberry cupcakes and chocolate covered strawberries.

I tell Daniel every year, the only thing I want for Valentine's day is a big heart-shaped box of chocolates.
He always thinks I'm joking, but I'm dead serious.
I LOVE those!
My favorite piece out of the whole box is the chocolate caramel.
The day before Valentine's Daniel surprised me with a box filled with the most amazing chocolate caramels from Cleveland's own Malley's. They were TO DIE FOR.
Then, on Valentine's Day he hand delivered a HEART-shaped box of chocolates just for me. :)
He is the SWEETEST. Oh how I love that man.


Once we put the girls to bed, we snuggled up and watched the movie Love.
I've been wanting to see this for awhile, and it was the PERFECT Valentine movie.

It was kinda like an Asian version of Love, Actually.
Watch it for free here -- don't let the subtitles keep you from this gem.
You'll laugh, and you'll cry.
You'll love it.

Well, that about does it.
Until next year...
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Three (BIG) Things Thursday

February 27, 2014, 11:24 am
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There have been lots of majorly exciting things going on in our little family...

Thing 1:

Daniel signed a contract for an amazing job starting this Summer.
It's been a loooooong road, and it's so nice to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel!

   4 years of Undergraduate College
+ 4 years of Medical School
+ 1 year of Internal Medicine Internship
+ 4 years of Radiology Residency
+ 1 year of Muscloskeletal Radiology Fellowship
= 14 years


Thing 2:

The job is in KENTUCKY!
Ahhh, our beloved Bluegrass State!
We will be two hours from our families, which after living so far away for over a decade sounds absolutely, positively delightful.
And the extra cherry on top?
Daniel will start out getting 15 weeks of vacation. 
Let that sink in for a moment. 
FIFTEEN WEEKS.
I can hardly contain myself.

Thing 3:

We recently signed official paperwork and closed on a house!


It's five minutes from Daniel's work, two minutes from Aubrey's school, and on a 1.5 acre lot situated on a quiet street with young families. 
It's an older home (built in the 1930s), so there will be plenty of home projects to come. 
But the backyard?
Um, I'd say it's pretty move-in ready...



Now we just need to get through the next 105 days, 8 hours, 54 minutes, and 47 seconds left of our time in Cleveland.
Not that I'm counting.
Well, on a day like today when I had to take Aubrey to and from school / go to the post office / make a trip to the grocery store / drop off something at a friend's house / pick up Aubrey's mittens from the Lost and Found at the local ice rink all in this snowy and -9 degree wind chill, maybe I am counting down the days...

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The Marvelously Mundane

March 4, 2014, 7:00 pm
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There was a time I updated the blog between 14-17 times a month.
I cannot even fathom that now.
I had to look back to see what in the world I actually posted.

I went through the archives and found the most humdrum things.
The daily grind.
Average every day moments.
Nothing, really.
Which, as it turns out, was / is actually everything.

So. I'm here to say that I wanna hop back on the blog bandwagon.
Reclaim some territory that Instagram seems to have stolen.

Because I want to look back five years from now in my 2014 Riherd Family Blog Book and fight back tears over the fact that my Mina Bug no longer wears footed jammies.
How she used to stand on the sink while Daniel brushed her teeth.
And how cute these two looked when I snuck in on this little moment.

'Cause this is the good stuff...

The marvelously mundane.
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What Would You Do with 45 Minutes?

March 8, 2014, 8:14 am
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Daniel took the girls to Best Buy to price match a food processor on Amazon.
I need to make some Oreo truffles (yes, I used the word "need" on purpose).
Our food processor's motor went out.
Tragic.
Daniel lovingly said he would take the girls with him.
When he left he said, "Enjoy your alone time."
I told him I'd probably work on my grocery list / week meal plan.
Maybe start a load of laundry.
Then he said, "Don't. Instead, do what I would do."
Hmmm...
Channel my inner-Daniel?
So, what would he do with 45 free minutes?.........

I grabbed a Vanilla Coke.
(We're out of Dr. Pepper.)
The Mac.
Pulled up some music.
And here I am.
(Daniel would be researching the newest tech thing online.)

It's pretty nice.

(I might have returned a few emails. Scheduled a playdate for next week. Cleaned up the living room. And I'm really trying not to mentally map out our meals for the week. And now I can't stop thinking about how it would only take 3 minutes to start a load of towels.)

As much as I try, I just don't think I'll ever be able to go full Daniel...


Which is okay.
For all our sakes.
;)
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School, Skating, and Sunshine!

March 11, 2014, 6:05 pm
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School

Mina has been dying to go to school like "Aubie" so I signed her up for a Mommy and Me class that meets one day a week. The class is like getting to be a fly on the wall at a Mother's Day Out program. The kids are learning how to behave in a "classroom" setting, while all the moms are within reach in case separation anxiety strikes. It's so cute to watch the kids interact, and at the same time I am always convinced I could NEVER be a preschool teacher.

Mina asks me every single day, "Mina class?!"
She is the first one in the door and introduces herself, "Mina! From China!", scurries to hang up her backpack, washes her hands, finds her Mina "Mitten" to place in the basket signifying she's present, and then she's off to do some important preschool work.
Basically, she's the cutest thing ever.

I've always been impressed with Mina's ability to focus.
School is serious business for this girl.
One little boy in her class is always trying to get her to play.
This scene unfolded the other day: he nudged his chair over to her, leaned over to check out her work, and finally worked up the courage to ask, "Mina play?" to which she responded, "No, I'm fine. Busy."
I predict she'll be a brilliant heart-breaker one day.

Skating

I took Aubrey ice skating a couple weeks ago and decided she was / is the most adorable ice skater ever.

I don't think I had been ice skating since Middle School, so we both about busted it when our blades hit the ice. Aubrey said, "It's so slippery! Who even came up with this idea?!"
After clinging to the rink wall for dear life, we started to get the hang of it by the third lap.


This is the pose she struck when I suggested, "Lets take your picture to send Dad." after he texted me to see how it was going.


Then she wanted me to take a video to send him, which didn't go quite as planned...


(The boy talking in the video was calling for a friend named "Temere". 
He wasn't saying, "Come here" to Aubrey -- just to clarify in case that was confusing. ;))

I was hesitant to post that video of her falling, but I love her resilience afterward. 
"That was a little tumble!" 


She is so awesome.
Gosh, I love her.

Sunshine

The other day the temperature warmed up to 47 degrees. A few more degrees and the girls would have asked to get the inflatable pool out. It felt SO warm compared to the tundra we've been living in since, well...I can't remember. I do recall our pumpkins having snow on them well before Halloween, so yeah. It's been awhile!

I think Mina was in a slight state of shock at first...


But it didn't take long for that smile to defrost...


Ahhhh...SUNSHINE!!!


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The End of the Lucky Green Hat

March 17, 2014, 7:37 pm
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It's had a good run.
And I think after this St. Patrick's Day, it's time to hang up the lucky green hat.
So, let's see it one last time.
Take it away, Mina...








Good-bye you silly green hat!
Thanks for five years of cuteness!
(2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, and now 2014)
Happy St. Patty's Day!
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Spring Break, Zubie Edition

March 25, 2014, 1:17 pm
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We decided to take our Spring Break a tad bit early, and we traveled South!
At the moment, we're soaking up time at Zubie's house.
Literally...
We're also taking advantage of NO SNOW on the ground! 



We're also making time for educational enrichment...
"I want to see some GERMS!"

We piled up on the couch and introduced Zubie to the movie Frozen.



And it wouldn't be a trip to Zubie's without the girls smothering the poor cat!




Thank you for having us, Zubie!
We love you!

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Spring Break, Grammy / Pop Pop Edition

March 31, 2014, 6:52 pm
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We spent the second half of our Kentucky Spring Break at Grammy and Pop Pop's house.

And, like most of our trips to Kentucky, the time seemed to fly by.

Speaking of flying by...


Aubrey loved flying kites at Grammy and Pop Pop's house!
Why just fly one kite when you can fly two?

Poor Mina had a hard time and just yelled at her kite (or anyone who tried to help her). It was pretty comical considering she rarely gets mad at anything!

But Mina sure loooooved getting to see her new cousin. 
She begged, "Hold Baby!!!!"
This was our compromise... 


Is he not the cutest thing in the world?! Even when he's fighting a nap... :)


Grammy and Pop Pop let the girls get in a practice Egg Hunt before Easter.

They even filled the eggs with fun things like candy, bath/water toys, and money! 

And, as luck would have it, we were in town over my grandmother's birthday!
We wanted to do something that she'd never done before...
81 years old, and this was her very first pedicure!


Fun week of memories!
Only three more months until we'll be back in the good old Bluegrass for good!
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The Unexpected Baby Blues

April 9, 2014, 6:09 pm
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Aubrey's teacher recently sent out an email to the parents in the class: 

We need everyone to send a story about when your child was a baby. Add a fun baby picture to attach to the story and the class will make a baby book of all their pictures and stories. 

My heart cracked in half.
On one side was the realization of just how long ago it was that Aubrey was a "baby".
On the other side of my broken heart was little Mina.

I thought of the only baby pictures we have of her:
Her finding ad photo when she was one month old.
Her referral photo in the orphanage when she was somewhere between 5-6 months old.
Her photo the day she went to live with her foster mom when she was 7 months old.

That's it.

It makes me so, so sad.
I can barely breathe thinking about how one day it will probably make Mina so, so sad too.

She's already starting to ask questions.
"Mommy from China?"
"No, sweetie. Mommy isn't from China."
"Daddy from China?"
"No, Daddy isn't from China either. But Mina is!"
"Yeah! Mina from China! Aww! Happy! Mommy happy too?"
"Yes baby, Mommy's happy too..."

I know this is just the beginning of her search for answers.
Right now it's simple conversations during an afternoon popcorn snack.
One day it might be gut-wrenching questions over a box of tissues well past midnight.
But the thing is -- no matter what -- we are in this together.
Which takes a little of the sadness away...


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Flesh

April 14, 2014, 7:23 pm
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Easter is just around the corner, and it always gets me.
I will cry this Sunday in church.
The overwhelming magnitude of its significance will flood my heart, which will then result in mascara cascading down my cheeks.
I'll look like a mess by the time it's all over.
And that's okay.
We're all a mess anyway.
I'd say Easter is the one day we might as well embrace it.
Amen?

I mean, have you ever really meditated on the fact that God came to down to us through the incarnation of a man?
Ever actually let that sink in?
Or at least imagined, "What if...?"
That He physically walked this Earth.
Breathed our air.
Burped after a meal.
Got splinters working as a carpenter in His dad's wood shop.
Hugged His friends.
Went to the bathroom.
Laughed.
Cried.
Loved.
Became one of US.
It's absolutely mind-blowing when you take the time to even attempt to process it.



A dear friend of mine shared on Facebook that this book was free for download one day on Amazon.
So, I figured I'd download it. (Why not, right?)
And it turned out that this book put into words some of the very things I had been wrestling with since reading the Bible in its entirety a few years ago.

One of the main takeaways from that year for me was the realization that Jesus and what He taught is scarcely seen in professed "Christians" today. More specifically, it is RARELY seen in ME.

I feel like God has been telling me to be more INTENTIONAL.
Intentional with my family, with my friends, and with people God puts into my life unexpectedly.
To not be in such a hurry, but to see people through His eyes.
Not with judgment, but with compassion.
Really get to know what's going on.
Know their struggles.
Strengths.
Situations.
Set-backs.
And then serve them right where they are.
However that looks.
Each person / relationship will be different.

I'll be honest, there are days / months / years when I do a super crappy job of being intentional.

We had a neighbor in Oklahoma who was a retired, never-been-married woman with not many (if any) friends or family around. She lived all alone, and I went and visited her one time.
We lived there for four years.
I was home every single day.
She was home every single day.
I never invited her over.
Not once.

In this book, Flesh: Bringing the Incarnation Down to Earth, the author highlights the God incarnate life of Jesus on Earth. The God-Man literally walking our streets. How He interacted with people. He was SO intentional -- particularly with "big sinner" people. The way He treated them is so vastly different from how most "Christians" treat them today.

There were several quotes from this book that I feel like said exactly what I've been thinking...

Jesus was teaching that godliness is not about trying to hide our humanness and appear more like God. That always comes off smelling like inauthenticity and reeks of hypocrisy -- and neither God nor the observing world buys it. Worse, it doesn't work anyway.

People are not pagans to be converted, projects to be preached at, or demographics to be reprogrammed. Humans should never be generalized, categorized, dismissed, judged, or underestimated. Every person is a story, rich with history, experiences, creative potential, strengths and weaknesses, clarity and blindness.

You must learn to respect people's lostness; you must become a deep listener and learn to dignify people's spiritual journeys. And when you hear what has happened to them or not happened to them regarding spiritual matters, you must identity with them or put yourself in their shoes so that maybe someday you can help them see Jesus ans separate from those bad experiences. You've got to help them see the real face of God.

Jesus transcended all the dilemmas, arguments, trite judgments, and religious expectations simply by not picking a side. He neither condoned nor condemned, and yet people felt accepted by Him...and they felt conviction.

People of every sexual orientation miss God's design for marriage. In fact, they miss His design for just about everything. It's called sin -- missing God's mark. But for some reason, God looks past that and still shows up at our parties, our ceremonies, and our dinner tables. He wants to talk. He did way back then. I believe He still wants to talk today. Jesus shows us that there's never a change of mind unless there's a change of heart, and there will never be a change of heart without a conversation between trusted friends.

We have to remember that how we treat people influences what they may believe about God, and if you look like you've got an agenda other than loving, listening, or blessing, your God will look like a conquistador instead of a compassionate King.

If any of this resonated with you, I highly recommend you read this book.
It's written in a down-to-earth / conversational way.
It will encourage and demonstrate how to live more than just skin deep life.

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Three Things Thursday

April 17, 2014, 7:14 am
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Thing 1: Weather

Signs of Spring started popping up here in Cleveland despite the cooler temps...


And then it warmed up beautifully and even exotic pets were out enjoying the fresh air!


And then this happened...


And we spent the afternoon watching (and singing) Frozen because it just made sense.

Thing 2: Books

Daniel started reading chapter books with Aubrey this year. I decided I wanted in on the action too because -- Good Lord -- Mina wants the same 10 page books read from dusk till dawn.

Curling up with my big girl and reading a book has been beyond delightful. It's the perfect afternoon wind-down after school and once I put Mina down for her nap. I'm going to miss that sweet time with her when she's in school all day next year. (Waaaaaaah!!)

A bonus is when there's a movie based on one of the books. After we read the book, we pile up and watch the movie together. I love how (so far) Aubrey's decided that she likes the books more than the movies. She'll often say during the movie, "That's such-and-such character?! I had a totally different picture in my head! I like my brain idea more..."


Here are a chunk of the books we have read: The Jungle Book, Peter Pan, The Secret Garden, Ramona the Pest, Shanghai Secret, and The Lion's Paw. Daniel has also been reading her the Chronicles of Narnia set. I asked her today what her favorite one has been so far and she said The Secret Garden. We just finished The Jungle Book last week, and she's trying to decide between Mary Poppins, The Voyages of Dr. Doolittle and Pollyanna right now.

And, just a sidenote: When did Aubrey turn into a full-blown big girl?


Thing 3: Recipes

My friend posted this Cafe Rio Shredded Chicken Copycat recipe on Pinterest. I have never heard of Cafe Rio -- much less eaten at one -- but after trying this, I'm pretty sure I'd want to eat there at least once a week.

It's a crock-pot recipe (three cheers!), and you can eat it any way you like: taco salad, soft tacos, or just on a bed of romaine lettuce. My girls gobbled it up in quesadillas. It's SO good.

Cafe Rio Shredded Chicken with Cilantro-Ranch Dressing 


       (Image via here)

PREP TIME:  
COOK TIME:  
TOTAL TIME:  
SERVES: 6
INGREDIENTS
  • 2 pounds chicken breasts
  • ½ cup zesty italian dressing
  • ¾ tablespoon minced garlic
  • ½ tablespoon chili powder
  • ½ tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 1 oz package dry ranch dressing mix
  • ½ cup water

  • Optional toppings:
  • minced cilantro
  • roma tomatoes, chopped
  • olives
  • fresh lettuce
  • cilantro ranch dressing
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Spray the inside of your slow cooker with cooking spray. Add all of the ingredients except for the chicken into your slow cooker. Mix until combined.
  2. Add the chicken and cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high 3-4 hours until the chicken is no longer pink and cooked throughout.
  3. Remove chicken from the slow cooker and shred. Replace the chicken back in the slow cooker and mix with the juices. Enjoy!


Cilantro Ranch Dressing

      (Image via here)

INgredients

1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch mix (not BUTTERMILK)
1 cup buttermilk
2 tomatillos, remove husk, diced
1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeno (if you like it mild, just remove the seeds)

INSTRUCTIONS

Mix all ingredients together in the blender or food processor. That’s it!

I just realized this would be a perfect dish for Cinco de Mayo!
How fantastico!
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The Cleveland Botanical Gardens

April 22, 2014, 6:49 pm
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I was going to add this little segment to my ridiculously photo-overloaded Easter post coming soon, but I decided to post these today in honor of Earth Day.

The girls didn't have school on Good Friday, so I decided to take them to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens. I had wanted to take them earlier in the week to snap some pictures of them in their Easter dresses. Luckily I didn't get around to it -- seeing as it wasn't quite the idyllic Springtime backdrop I had envisioned...

Poor, poor Cleveland.


To make up for the lack of outdoor scenery, Polly the Bee was buzzing around to provide some sort of photo op for moms with their cameras.
Mina was in love, and Aubrey suddenly turned into that big kid who looks awkward posing with a costumed character. 


And, um, since I used the Chick-fil-a cow dressed up as Santa over Christmas, I'm chalking this one up as our trip to see the Easter Bunny. (Mom of the Year, folks.)


Moving on.
So the outdoor area of the Botanical Gardens was downright pitiful, but the indoor elements were a bit more colorful. Aubrey even whipped out her camera.

Sidenote: Aubrey's outfit. She insisted on this floral cardigan ("Mom! It's perfect for the botanical gardens! I'll look like a fresh Spring bouquet!"). I had been cleaning out clothes that were too small in her closet when she spotted it. Oh well, I must admit I like her appreciation for themed apparel. :)

Mina couldn't stop saying, "Whoa, Mama! Woooook!"




The girls spotted a stage filled with insect / bird / animal props.
Aubrey was basking in her full-winged glory of a captivated audience.
(It's truly a shame that she inherited my "singing" voice.)

And then little Mina came out just flapping her wings and smiling at everyone. 


Next we were off to find our way through a ladybug labyrinth...


And the girls' favorite part -- the glasshouse filled with all sorts of plants and insects.






Despite the look of these pictures, the whole place was PACKED.
I was worn-out and stressed-out after 90 minutes, but the girls were loving every second.

So I guess it was a small price to pay.
Especially since I skipped out on the Easter Bunny this year. ;)
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My Easter Chicks

April 24, 2014, 7:58 pm
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My sister called me one morning a couple of weeks ago and mentioned, "I need to get stamps to mail my Easter cards so they make it in time." Easter cards!! Oops. Totally forgot.
"Hey GIRLS...wanna try on your Easter dresses? I'll take your picture and send them to grandparents!"
I may have also mentioned that if they cooperated I'd let them watch Frozen.
That movie has power, y'all.
Dangerous power.


Okay, okay girls...you can show some personality!

Okay, tone it down.
Mina...


By the way, I dropped the ball on Easter dresses for the girls too. 
These were ones they already had in their closets.
But it turned out fine -- I think I'll forget to buy Easter dresses next year too.
The girls were thrilled to pick out what they wanted to wear. 


Gosh, I love this girl...

Sweet, little Mina. She is so petite. I want to eat her up.


"Dis my favwit dwess, Mama! I WUV it!"

EasterEggs
This year I used the oven to make hard boiled eggs. 
(Put eggs in a muffin tin, bake at 325 for 30 mins. Put eggs immediately in cold water for 10 minutes.) 
I broke two during the process because I have a gift for finding ways to mess up the simplest things. 

I bought a speckled egg kit from the Dollar Tree. It was another fun (and messy) way to color eggs. 

Egg Hunt

Speaking of eggs, we had a little egg hunt in the backyard. 
This sure made me miss our Annual Laws Egg Hunt with our Oklahoma friends. :(

Easter Day

This is our second year of doing Resurrection Eggs on Easter morning. 
I plan on doing it until my kids are grown adults, and then I'll do it with my grandchildren. 
It's so easy and such a neat illustration of the resurrection for little ones.


Oh, I just have to include this random photo from our Easter lunch...it's my favorite. :)


Hope everyone had a lovely Easter!


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Let's Just Start with Today

May 7, 2014, 4:23 pm
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Aubrey's been sick, which means things like showering and blogging have taken a backseat for me.
But now that smiles have returned, and I've washed my hair...it's time to dust off the blog!

I have several things to post about, but I don't have the mental energy to write it all out.
So, until then, here are some random pictures of Aubrey and Mina from this afternoon.
Popsicles, insect catching, and just good old fun.


  


Ahhhh, it sure feels good to be back!
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