A Gift for Kailei's Social Welfare Institute

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Express Yourself

We are very fortunate to be tied to an organization that does so much to help us and Kailei embrace her Chinese Heritage.  Today she participated in a small group workshop called Express Yourself.  It is basically designed to provide a safe place for children to talk about being Chinese in a white family in a white community.  Depending on the nature of the child, this can be no big deal or weigh heavy on their heart.  Regardless, I decided to send Kailei.  As expressive as she is, she tends to internalize many feelings and  does not like to talk about them.  She was not happy that I signed her up for this.  In fact, she stated she did not want to go and that I should know she doesn't like to talk about her feelings.  :)  After overcoming the small hurdle of getting her there without the comfort of friends or family nearby, it turned out to be a great experience for her and she "loved it!"  I felt certain it would be OK and was grateful that things went well.

I hope she doesn't mind me sharing some of the activities but I'm thinking it is OK since she gave the papers to me to look at.

What I like about being American is...we don't have to eat snake.  We have real toilets.


What I don't like about being American is...once I went to Mcdonald's and a guy with yellow teeth told a not very funny joke.  I was wearing my fairy dust and he said, are you trying to poison me?  And the thunder storms.


What I like about being Chinese...I can go to China and talk to the people in Chinese.


What I don't like about being Chinese...you have to eat rice every day.  You have to eat pig with its head on or not.  You eat chicken with its eyes on or not and with feathers and head or not.

Keara is Cantering!

Finally got to go to another riding lesson after a long winter.  Keara is doing so great.  I love watching her.  Here is a little glimpse into her lesson.

Mark

And we wonder why the single ladies aren't just banging down the doors for this hunk.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

The boys are in town and we are so excited.  They just arrived but Uncle Mark decided he needed to take them to a Rockies game.  He invited Zeb and the girls and so they headed out and had a great time.  The kids got along amazing well considering they haven't seen each other in three years.  I'm not sure if they enjoyed the game or the junk food more but it was a great start to their vacation.

End of the School Year

Well, we made it through another school year.  Kailei will move into 3rd grade and Keara into 6th (gulp).  They both did very well and we are very proud of them.  There was quite a bit of hoopla towards the end of the year with field trips to the Butterfly Pavilion, park picnics, and presentations.  It gets kind of crazy but the kids seem to enjoy it.

Kailei's First Communion

Reconciliation was a bear but first communion was a whole other story.  Kailei was very excited about the whole idea.  Naturally the white dress was a bonus and made Kailei feel like a princess.  After practicing a number of times Kailei announced, "I got this Mom."

We got there early for pictures and then proceeded to wait until the rest of the family showed up for the 9:30 mass.  It was good we got there early so we could reserve a row.  Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Mitch and family, Ms. Britt, Grammy, Poppy, Uncle Gary and family as well as Uncle Mark all attended the service which meant a great deal to her.

She sat next to the CCD coordinator who came to us after mass and told us that Kailei leaned over to her at one point and told her she was "so excited she just wanted to scream".  Fortunately, she didn't.

After mass we came back to the house for brunch and some more celebration.  We are very happy for Kailei for we know it was God that brought her into our family and it is God who will continue to look after her.