Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Party, party, party!   If you are going  to finally start leaving the house, you gotta do it big! Chinese New Year brought us out of hiding as a whole family.   Eli and Evie were a little shell shocked by the festivities at first, but ended up having a big time!   (Now that we are all out of the house, our next project is a family picture.)

 

 

We got invited to a super fun party in honor of the Year of Horse!  We got to meet lots of new families, meet some online only buds in person and see some friends that we need to see much more often.   The organizers did such a an awesome job of decorating and planning.  This party really kicked up our celebrating about six notches!

 We dined on some Chinese-American eats with some cute, little Chinese-Americans.

 There was a group picture that could never quite come together!

 Be still my-still new to having four-heart.  Look at them holding hands!! 

 Just before we left, they made my China momma, lantern loving dreams come true with a lantern release. 

 We lit ours, then squealed with delight as it lifted into the air, joining the others in the beautiful, glowing sky. 

 To end the night, they set off fireworks, Eli cried his eyes out in fear, and we packed up and headed home!  Such a fun, fun way to celebrate the culture that is so dear to our hearts!

Chinese New Year: Small Group Style

Secrets out.  We hit the small group lottery!  The families in our group have blessed us in a huge way.  They pray for us, stand with us, and inspire us.  Doing life with them is a gift.  Our group of kids is not so small!  This crazy rock pic is missing, Lucy, Zoe, Finn, Henry, Rachel, Ellie and Annie. 

This past Sunday, we got together for some Chinese New Yearing at Jay and Angela's.  We gathered together for a Chinese feast and lots of laughs. 



 

 

 

 

Friendship isn't a big thing - it's a million little things.  ~Unknown

Chinese New Year!

Gung Hay Fat Choy!
This Chinese New Year was a celebration of blessings. 
A look back at the gifts given and a celebration of the hope that is to come.

We partied this year with some of our favorite people, who just happen to also be China adoptive families.  There were plenty of littles and reminders of littles loved but not held yet. 

We ate, talked, climbed, drank tea,

hung with fun pals, and wore our Chinese silk dresses.

Keeping with Chinese tradition, we added a little sparkle to our festivities. 

Adoption is a unique gift, and adoptive mommas share a crazy special connection.  So grateful for these friends. 

By the end of the shindig, the littles had their crazy on!

China is part of us, so we love the opportunity to celebrate that connection...even in our very American way!




We can't wait to see these frames filled with new little ones!

Celebrating China

Knowing we will hopefully travel to China this year to bring home another little love, made Chinese New Year extra special this year.  Pulling out our keepsakes from our trip was a big part of the fun. 

Our silky dresses were perfect for church,

and a special Chinese meal and craftiness made it a special family night. 

And, as always, a dose of crazy is always in order. 

 

China 2013 or bust. 

Kung Hei Fat Choy! Chinese New Year Fun

Happy Chinese New Year! 

The girls got festive in their Chinese silk dresses, and we invited some friends over to celebrate.  With Pandora's "Chinese Flutes" playing,
and the party was on. 

All our China keepsakes were pulled out and used to decorate. Last year, we got the idea for CNY tree from this blog.  This little tree is a new tradition, and a fun way to enjoy our ornaments.

What would a lunar new year party be without a parade?

The littles loved doing a Dragons on Parade craft.

And they giggled and shook their silks, Mandarin style.

Seeing the littles in their traditional outfits was the stuff of memories.
And Hayden?  Well, he stayed in dragon mode. 

We colored these BEAUTIFUL Chinese New Year coloring pages
(and will be printing off more to enjoy this week.)

We read (and reread) about how the holiday is celebrated in China.

We used red paper, ribbon and a Chinese calligraphy stamp to decorate with traditional red flag banners. 

The littles soaked up all things China!

Our dragons turned out even cuter than last year's!

And the those parading get cuter every year!

We didn't pass up the opportunity to have fried rice, dumplings, crab rangoon, and spring rolls attempted to be eaten eaten with chopsticks.

It was a special morning with special friends. 
We even ended the day with a viewing of Mulan!
Next, we'll be doing some cherry blossom art.

Chinese New Year

Happy Year of the Dragon! 

We kicked off Chinese New Year with a special dragon craft session
at Sophia's art school. 


Our buds Laney, Hailey, Hayden and Briana were there too!

Glitter, foil, markers, friends and an messy creativity is
our kind o' fun!

This little fire breather opens the door to more crafts, fireworks, a dragon parade, a family feast and red money filled envelopes all in the name of
Lunar New Year!