Happy Easter, Amelia!

Missing The Chunster

The Chunster is spending 9 days with her Papa & Grandmama this week while Mama is working extra hard. Amelia is having a good time in The Princess Room at her grandparents' house and loves that she gets to play with her cousins every day. Mama, on the other hand, is in serious Chunster withdrawal, and it is only Day 2. Pray for Mama!!! (and The Chunster!)

The Many Faces of The Chunster

The Chunster has about a million expressions, and a simple camera with a lacking photographer (me!) could never hope to fully capture even one of them. Her referral papers said "her eyes swim with things to say". I love that. It's so true. There is so much light and life and laughter behind those eyes. I know that only someone who really loved AiChun could have written such a thing - they are the words of a mother.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Doctor?

Lately, The Chunster has enjoyed playing "doctor" with Big Mickey and Big Minnie. She faithfully takes blood pressures, checks temperatures, and administers band-aids. Still, she is not sure that being a doctor is her life calling.

Pilot?
Amelia was very self-assured when she told me the other day that "girls cannot be pilots, only boys." Alrighty, Mama is not a feminist by any stretch of the imagination, but the idea that any profession is a "boy job" as opposed to a "girl job" kind of rankles. I immediately got our pilot friend, Steve, on the speaker phone. He did an excellent job of setting Amelia straight. He very kindly explained that girls can, in fact, be pilots. He even told her that on his most recent flight to Japan, one of the co-pilots was female. It took some convincing, but Amelia now acknowledges that she could be a pilot.

Teacher?
"No," says Amelia, "because the kids won't mind me."

Business owner?
This is Amelia's current claim. Specifically, she says she wants to own 20 purple offices. She says she wants to work on her "'puter" and "type-type-type." Now, I don't know what kind of business she thinks she will be engaged in with these 20 purple offices. I don't even know why 20 (not 19, not 21...always 20) or why purple. All I know is that if she is a successful entrepreneur, maybe Mama will have a nice room in "the home".

Oh how this child makes me laugh.

Amy

Play Ball!

I should entitle this post "who needs a son when you are the mother of Amelia AiChun?" HA! She is the funniest girl I ever met. Since she loves Chase and Chandler (our good friends), and they love baseball, Amelia loves baseball. My parents and I were out shopping recently, and Amelia chose a new ball and bat and a baseball outfit as her treats from Grandmama & Papa. I still think she looks pretty darn cute - - even if she is going incognito as a boy!

Happy Chinese New Year!

We celebrated with friends at our favorite restaurant, The Great Wall. The lovely people who own the shop and who work there just love Amelia AiChun. When we first got home and she would not eat much, we went there often for a "taste of home". Now, Amelia prefers McDonald's (I know...I know...tragic on so many levels), but we still love to visit The Great Wall on a regular basis. Several of the people who work there are from ChengDu, where we received Amelia, so they have a special Sichuan bond. They always croon, "AiCHUN!!!!" when we walk in. They marvel over her English. They bring her special treats. We love our friend at The Great Wall.

The Chunster & The Minnster

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books



Yes, friends, I am officially raising a second child, commonly known as "Big Minnie" in our home. She is a giant (stuffed)Minnie> Mouse who apparently requires as much care as an actual, breathing child. This weekend, The Chunster was appalled when I refused to purchase Minnie a burrito at the Taco Bell drive through. "But
MOM! Minnie be hungry!" the Chunster wailed. "Well, give her a bite of your burrito," was my unsympathetic reply.

Minnie has to be buckled into the car. Minnie has a place at the table. Minnie has an eye patch put on daily that has to be removed before lunch (or "wunch" as the case may be). Yesterday, Minnie even needed to go potty. However, her shoe fell into the toilet, which means - OH, YES - I had to do Minnie's laundry. I also refused to allow Minnie to attend Sunday School. She was allowed to ride in the car, but when it came time to go in, I said no. "But MOM," advocated The Chunster, "how will Minnie learn about Jesus?" Again, no sympathy here. "Think of Minnie as
your first cross-cultural mission field. You learn, and then you share. But Minnie is not going inside with us."

So, now I have starved The Minnster and neglected her spiritual development, just in case anyone was keeping score. Tonight, however, I happily wrapped Minnie
up "like a buwwito" and gave her 2 kisses and 2 hugs. Lest anyone worry about The Chunster being an "only", I promise I am doing almost as much work for The Minster.