Chinese New Year and the Contest

We celebrated Chinese New Year on Saturday. See the photos and story below. Then, check back on Wednesday, I plan to share the top THREE funny stories, and announce the winner. Really, you ARE going to laugh out loud. And, scroll down to the bottom for my own funny.

I am also learning that staying busy keeps me from being sad. We spent Friday evening working at the benefit BBQ for the Clements family. Final totals aren't complete yet, but it looks like there will be profit and donations totalling over $6,000. Praie the LORD! We invited Casie to join us, and she came out for a while.

On Saturday, though, we drove the 2 hours to JAX, Florida, and celebrated in style as we have now for 7 years, each year with our friends, the Stretches.

Josie-Tatum: The Serious Crafter
There were several crafts the girls completed at the beginning of the evening.



Elli'es Idea of Crafting
Okay, she completed some, but, but this time, she was content to let her daddy craft while I photgraphed, and she put the supplies to other use. (If you were here with me, I would "pinky square" this was not a staged photo.)

Our first CNY with all six children:



The Newest Stretch Family Member
We had the privilege of welcoming home Lily Kay Zibing just last week. Look at that smile. Isn't she beautiful? And, tomorrow we have a play date after school. I can't wait for some more Zibing therapy.

My Beautiful Girls!
God knew I would need the precious girls when my big kids left home. I could not be mroe grateful that he chose me to be their mama.

My favorite photo of the evening:

This was the look on Ellie's face when the lion entered the room for the beginning of the lion dance. My children have always been afraid of the lion. Do any of you have that same experience? This past Saturday was the first year, Josie-Tatum or Ellie would get close to the stage. (Some of you may remember that Ellie hid under the chair of a total stranger last year.) They even followed the lion when he exited the stage, danced around the ball room, exited and entered again. They only turned back when the lion would occasionally turn his head to frighten the children, followed by squeals and giggles.

Why did I laugh?
The CNY celebration we attend yearly is sponsored by First Coast FCC and attened by hundreds of people, all families with children from China. Following the meal at our celebration, several groups of children performed on the stage. Being a family friendly event, those children not participating can always be found in front of the stage beyond all of the dinner tables where many adults stay behind. This year, like others before, Joli and I positioned ourselved behind our children. While we were wataching a lovely ribbon dance, Joli's son Noah, turns around and says with surprise, "Mama, I think all of those girls are Chinese!"