Gobble Gobble

This Thanksgiving we came, we saw, we ate!  It was good!!

We started off the holiday weekend by getting ice cream at a local fav.  It was delish--yum yum ;)

Then it was time to get our turkey on (at least most of us!).

After eating ourselves silly, J and I snuck out to walk on the beach.  it was cooold but nice to have a little mini-date.

On Sunday we helped man a booth at church to promote adoption and orphan awareness, since November is the "official" month to draw attention to it.  We are part of a small organization that helps support families who are going through the adoption process.

When you say "yes" to God and get out of his way, amazing things happen!

Halloween!

I don't know if your house is like our's, but come September, this little catalog comes in the mail filled with Halloween costumes.  The only problem?  The price tags.  $100+ for a kiddo costume? No way.

That being said, it is good for sparking ideas.  So............after pouring over it, the girls decided they wanted to be a peacock and a donut.  Both of those seemed pretty doable so J and I got to work.  Pinterest, as always, provided great tutorials.  Peacock here, donut here. 

 We had been to a Halloween party earlier in October, so both girls got to give their costumes a test run prior to the Big Day.  They were easy to wear and pretty comfortable.  The only problem Mei Mei had was remembering to turn sideways when going through doors--ha!

On the night before Halloween we carved pumpkins.  They each had specific ideas about how they wanted their's carved.  J decided to do one this year too.  #eachoneunique

Halloween actually was beautiful this year.  We've had a warm fall and the temperatures remained high.  Since Daylight Savings was also later, it was light out which made for an added bonus.

We hit up a few houses in our neighborhood and then took to the streets.  After about an hour and a half, bags were getting pretty heavy and full, so we decided to call it quits.

So many excited squeals of "Look what I got!" and "I'll trade you this for that!".  After counting their loot and sorting it out, we had them pick out about 12 random pieces of candy (approximately 10% of their stash) to give away.  Read about the explanation here.

There was also a drive at school to bring in goodies for servicemen stationed overseas, so we used that as an opportunity to talk about service to our country, Veterans and how this is a small way for us to show how much we appreciate their sacrifices on our behalf.  

It was a fun Halloween and both girls are still at that age where they're excited about going out, which is great.  Any opportunity when J and I can help them see their faith being acted out in real, tangible ways is even better!

Now it's onto Thanksgiving and Christmas--the most wonderful time of the year!

Fall fun

So we've been a bit absent 'round these parts as of late.  Sorry!!!  Life has been full but in a good way.

While our weekdays/evenings are pretty rushed, we relish our weekends.  Aren't they the best?  This fall God has been putting on quite a show for us and we are loving every minute of it.

Clear, sunny days.  Endless blue sky.  Jewel-colored foliage.  Warm temperatures with a touch of that cooler weather that we know is just around the corner.  Who am I kidding--cooler temperatures is a joke.  It will be freezing, gray and slushy in no time!  All the more reason for us to live it up in fall.

One great way to do that is by taking a trip to the farm.  Hay mazes, piles 'o pumpkins, scarecrows and a few four legged creatures.

On my list of things to do was to get an apple fritter to enjoy.  Mmmmmm I love them!  I think everyone felt the same way.

After that delicious ball of fried goodness, we took a walk around the orchard.

I spy with my little eye...some sister love!  Ha--quick, capture it!!!

Gotcha Day 2016

We've gone from this

to this

8 years ago this loving, smart, strong, stubborn girl met us in a hotel meeting room, across the world in China.  We were instantly head-over-heels in love with her!!  We still are ;)

As we do each year, the girls put on their silks and we headed down to AsiaTown for dinner to celebrate becoming a forever family.

The Noodle's Gotcha Day generally falls right around the Mid-Autumn Moon festival.  When we were in China, we were the only family who actually was able to meet their daughter on the pre-determined date.  Everyone else had to wait an extra day because of the holiday, but in our province (Fujian) they were willing to move forward with the adoption without waiting.

One the night we were there, there were many families and college students eating out and celebrating so that made it even more fun!

 This is the look when you're about to eat some serious yummy food.  Bring it!

An empty plate but a full heart--I'd like to think she's swooning over how she feels so blessed.  In reality, she's expressing her love for all things noodle, dumpling and rice related.  Ha ha!!

 And then there's this one--ready to dig into plate #2!

 Sometimes you  just need your mama to feed you baby-bird style.

I am forever grateful that God brought this girl into our lives.  She is a blessing and it is an honor to be her parents!