Tagged: 4th folder, 4th picture post

Kylie over at Bus Driver tagged me with a picture post. Find the 4th picture in your 4th folder and post.

This is at a Temple in Foshan, China. Our youngest daughter is from Foshan/Nanhai. This is one of the pictures I intend to scrapbook one day when I work on her China Album. At least that is the plan.

Foshan is located in the northern part of the Pearl River, about 12 miles from Guangzhou(Canton), Guangdong Province. Foshan is made up of five districts: Chancheng, Shunde, San-shui, Nanhai and Gaoming Districts. The population is about 5.4 million - with about 1.1 million in the city center itself.

Foshan is a vital part of an active economic zone comprising of Guangzhou in the east, and Hong Kong and Macau in the south. There are miles and miles of factories...along with farming, big cities and little villages all in the same area. You have to see it to wrap your mind around all of it.

Foshan has a history dating back to approximately 5,000 years. It gained its name from the three Buddha statues unearthed in this area in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Having a temperate climate with abundant rainfall, it has been a land of fish and rice. Besides fishing and farming, the local craftsmen were also known for their skills in making ceramics.

Thriving handicraft industries, commerce, and the arts made Foshan one of the four most famous towns in Tang and Song (960-1279) dynasties. Foshan has a reputation as the home of Chinese ceramic arts, Cantonese operas and martial arts.

Foshan is a modern city. It was one of the earliest ports to engage in foreign trade since China's open door policy. Foshan has become the third largest city in Guangdong Province, combining its manufacturing industries with tourism. In recent years, Foshan has committed its resources to further expand its vibrant tourism industry.

The top attractions in Foshan are many. Highlights include Xiqiao Mountain and the Foshan Zumiao (Ancestral) Temple.

The 8 Favorites Tag

Did you know you can gain 2 pounds by drinking 2 glasses of eggnog??? Okay, so they weren't 8 oz. glasses. But still!!! Oh well. At least I kept it even. That's one pound per cheek, right? I mean, I wouldn't want it to be 1 pound on one cheek and 2 pounds on the other.

My friend Amy at Having It All tagged me this week. This one will be a little tough for me but here goes.

8 TV shows I love to watch:
Uuummm....I might just have to take the "F" on this one. Will you still be my friend if you know I don't have a single show I watch?? It's more like this...

1. Netflix
2. SciFi Channel cheesy movies.
3. Netflix
4. USA movies
5. Netflix
6. Flix movies
7. Netflix
8. Any other channel with a good movie.


8 favorite restaurants:
1. Any authentic Chinese place. Back to Guangzhou was my favorite in Omaha - haven't found one here.
2. Vietnamese food places...the Clay Pot here is pretty good. Mighty Mouse loves the soup
3. Thai food places like Bangkok Royal here (Jitt's in Omaha)
4. Smitty's Barbeque - Panama City FL
5. Whataburger - which they have not had most places we've live....gasp!!
6. Spaghetti Warehouse
7. Small Mexican food dives in New Mexico and Arizona -- green chili to die for! The best was an actual tortilla factory with a little kitchen that sold green chili burrito's in their fresh tortilla's in Las Cruses NM.
8. The once or twice travel places.... an Indian place in the town outside Mildenhall AFB England; a coffee shop in Keflavik Iceland that made the best soup in bread bowls; a coffee shop in Guangzhou China where we ate most of our meals for 2 weeks

8 things that happened today:
1. Mighty Mouse had speech. She's doing so well that we are skipping a week again.
2. I had lunch with my sister-in-law that came into town to finish up some shopping and see her older boys.
3. I bought Mighty Mouse a new coat. Her's was looking too small and I checked the tag....size 18 months. Umm, yeah, a 4 year old in a 18m coat. I win the bad mommy award for today.
4. Dropped off two meals for friends.
5. Took a nap.
6. Watched Songbird sing at a Motion performance at church during an outreach program.
7. Took Songbird shopping for a winter coat since I was still feeling so guilty about little sis.
8. Read some of my favorite blogs.
8 things I am looking forward to:
1. Paying off debt.
2. Christmas!
3. Our next Bible study that begins in January.
4. Any and all playdates and coffee nights with my friends.
5. My oldest graduating from college.
6. Being a grandma instead of a parent (NOT in the near future please!).
7. Settling in one place and never moving again...but traveling every chance I get.
8. Heaven.

8 things on my wishlist:
1. That none of my children will make me a grandmother before they are married.
2. Having bills paid off and breathing room to live comfortably.
3. To drop 40 pounds.
4. A trip to Austrailia.
5. A homeland tour with Mighty Mouse when she is about 10.
6. To always have a church home that I enjoy and want to serve in.
7. Not driving a minivan anymore - I think a Jag will do.
8. For all my unsaved family to find Christ.

I am not going to pass this on to 8 others as it is such a busy time of year. You are tagged if you want to be...just post a comment and let me know you are doing it so I can go read yours!

Autumn Asks: Did I give you an award today?

Heather at Want What You Have gave me an award today. (Check out her page to see her answers...she will make you laugh). This is my first award. I think that means I'm somebody now...but I'll have to check to make sure. Anyways, thanks Heather!

Here are the rules that you agree to when you accept this award:

"When you receive the prize, you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in their content or design. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing that they were prized with 'Honest Weblog'. List [if you can and/or dare] at least ten honest things about yourself. Then, pass it on!"


Thinking of 10 things is always hard...but here goes:

1. I don't like spotlight attention. Can't stand being in charge. LOVE being the right hand of the person who is in charge and doing what needs to be done to keep them doing what they need to do.

2. I don't like being around 95% of other military wives. It's too hard. We are too lonely or stressed or tired or whatever. It's too much like being at a funeral.

3. I used to draw. So much that I was always in trouble in school for "doodling" on my work. So I stopped drawing. I picked it back up briefly while living in Iceland. The results:



4. I cross stitch -- but only when I watch tv -- which is not often and usually only movies. So it can take me 8 years to do one piece. Yes, 8 years. I tend to finish 1 piece per place we live. This would be Autumn Queen, that represents 8 years in Omaha.


5. I really, really, really want to learn to crochet or knit -- but haven't found anyone that can teach a serious lefty. I'm really hard to teach. I should be ashamed.

6. I spent too much money when my husband was overseas so much. Shopping was something to do to fill up the empty hours. Having always been frugal I find this quite shameful...even though "too much" wasn't into the thousands, it was still useless excess.

7. I am ashamed to drive a minivan. It is practical but ugly and boring. My first car was a 1969 fastback Mustang that screamed...and the minivan just doesn't compare. Heck, the Honda was better than the minivan.

8. I failed math classes in school. More than one even. But I was always the consumer math teachers favorite cause it was way too easy and I turned everything in and made A's.

9. I failed PE in high school. Not hard to do. Don't dress out and its pretty much over. I mean they really didn't expect me to play basketball or volleyball and risk breaking an nail did they?? Seriously. Not a joke.

10. I once threw my books at a star high school football player in typing class. And then I kicked him in the head when he bent down to pick them up. And I didn't even get in trouble although I did get pulled into the hall so the teacher could ask me what happened. That's the day the nickname "Spike" stuck. Sigh.

The 7 great blogs I will pass this on to are:

1. Angela at Adventures of a Supermom -- her blog entries are great. She is always making me laugh and the more I learn about her the more I love her!

2. Molly at Dark Oak Woman -- Molly is a fairly new web friend and I'd like to know a little more about her.

3. Amy at Having It All - one of my favorite people. Sure have missed getting the girls together and our play dates this fall!

4. Heidi over at Zeigler Family Adventures (Rainbow after the Rain) - another military and adoptive family that I love to keep up with.

5. Debbie at Suburb Sanity - another one of my new web friends that I like to follow. Would love to learn more about you!

6. Melissa at Tea with Milk - one of the blogs I have followed the longest. We tend to have "funks" at about the same time. Not sure what that means.

7. Suzie at Up the Hill Backwards -- fast becoming one of my very favorites. Love your blog!

I've been Tagged

Heather at Wanting What You Have tagged me today.

The instructions are:

* Go to your Sixth Picture Folder then pick your Sixth Picture.

* Pray that you remember the details.

* Tag 5 others.


The details: Feb 2008. Chinese New Year. Mighty Mouse and her friend Little Miss Sunshine. Before moving to Texas I found out there was another Foshan Nanhai baby in the area and we made contact. The girls are 4 months apart in age and love to get together for play dates.

I've never tagged anyone before (oh the pressure!!!) but I'll give it a shot this time.

1. Kylie at Bus Driver
2. Donna at Confessions of a Crazy Lady
3. Carrie at with all I've been given
4. Sandra at Diary of a Stay At Home Mom
5. Rose at Growing Colin

Autumn asks: How did you and your spouse meet?

Sandra over at Diary of a SAHM did this questionnaire yesterday and asked her readers to join her. Here are my answers.



1. Who is your man?
Dion, a SMSGT in the United States Air Force, a lover of extreme metal music (mostly Christian now-a-days), a man that loves his family, is a thinker and almost always looks like he's frowning if you don't know him, takes his responsibilities very seriously, loves his country, loves mopars and is waiting very pateintly to be in a position to pick up a junker and restore it.

2. How long have you been together?
24 years

3. How long dated?
Just over a year...and several of those months he was away at boot camp and tech school.

4. How old is your man?
He is 40 years old

5. Who eats more? Him

6. Who said "I love you" first?
I honestly don't remember.

7. Who is taller?
Definitely him, he's 6'0 and I'm only 5'5

8. Who sings better?
Him. I sing really, really bad. That's why we try to sit next to loud singers in church...so no one can hear me! LOL!

9. Who is smarter?
Lets just say we both have our strong subjects and our weak ones.

10. Whose temper is worse?
His

11. Who does the laundry?
I do - but there was a time in life when I worked full time that he did it.

12. Who takes out the garbage?
First choice would be whichever kid is assigned. Then its his turn. I fall in that line last.

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?
He does

14. Who pays the bills?
I do -- can any current military wife say they don't? If they do I'll show you a husband that never deploys.

15. Who is better with the computer?
Him

16. Who mows the lawn?
He does - now that our son has moved out!

17. Who cooks dinner?
Depends. If I don't cook, he does. He's a GOOD cook. And he has control issues about his food.

18. Who drives when you are together?
He does

19. Who pays when you go out?
He does - I have no money!

20. Who is most stubborn?
Me

21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong?
He is - I have issues.

22. Whose parents do you see the most? Mine. They even came to see us when we lived in Iceland.

23. Who kissed who first?
It was a mutual thing

24. Who asked who out?
He asked me out

25. Who proposed?
He did

26. Who is the most sensitive?
He is.

27. Who has more friends?
I do. I'm more trusting of people in general.

28. Who has more siblings?
He does. 2 with the same parents and 6 half brothers/sisters. I just have one sister.

29. Who wears the pants in the family?
He is the boss. He is the boss. He is the boss. :)

30. How did you meet?
I worked with his friends and there was a Kiss/Ratt concert coming up and his friend said they were going and I should sit with his friend since he didn't have anyone to sit with and I didn't have a ride. The rest is history.

Autumn asks: What does your name mean?

What Autumn Means

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. (So not true...give it a try and have fun...and if you tried, you win.) You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. (Hmmm....maybe....not sure how aggressive I would call myself.) You have the classic "Type A" personality. NO You are a very lucky person. Things just always seem to go your way. (Yes and No. When I'm lucky, I'm lucky, but I sure am not exempt from being unlucky!) And because you're so lucky, you don't really have a lot of worries. You just hope for the best in life. (Pretty much true. Prayer helps alot also.) You're sometimes a little guilty of being greedy. Spread your luck around a little to people who need it. You are a seeker. You often find yourself restless - and you have a lot of questions about life. (So true) You tend to travel often, to fairly random locations. You're most comfortable when you're far away from home. (Travel...yes - but home is best.) You are quite passionate and easily tempted. Your impulses sometimes get you into trouble. (Yep) You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated. (Pretty much) You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want. (Hah!! So not true.) You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way! (Not so much...I don't like knocking anyone down.) You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. (I'd like to think so but not so sure this is true.) You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. That's a fact. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. (I stink at interpreting - I'm a "give it to me straight and say what you mean" kind of person.)

Now you give it a try. Click on the link to find out the meaning of your name.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Autumn Asks: Do you have great Daddy and Kiddo pictures?

Heather at Wanting What You Have has another great picture post going on today. She posted pictures of her husband with the kids. Now I have to say I love those kinds of pictures. One of my favorite things about my husband is how he is such an involved father. Although he is away too often, when he is home he really enjoys his kids. So this was a hard task for me - paring down my favorite daddy and kid pictures. But here is a rundown through the years....















Bones LOVED Ninja turtles! Here dad is home on mid-tour leave (stationed a year overseas without us) playing Ninja Turtles.

Football with Bones in the backyard. You'd think we were living somewhere in the north...but this was actually in Austin, Tx. We must have had really thin blood back then!


Daddy's first dance with his daughter. Songbird was not yet 6 months old. Bones is dancing with his grandmother in the background. She really did try and teach him how.

Bones learns to drive the boat. My guys were always so tan when we lived in Florida. I hid under t-shirts and hats. It must be nice.

Hiking in Iceland. Songbird being so small while we were in Iceland did not slow us down much. We brought a backpack carrier with us that made her very portable. Now, this stick that was supposed to be a bridge was almost my undoing. It's not bad enough that I don't like heights, but watching DH cross that with my baby on his back almost gave me a heart attack!

Daddy and bones before their marathon in Reykjavik, Iceland. It was a beautiful day. I really miss Iceland.

Songbird with Daddy on 4th of July weekend. We were outside playing baseball and having a picnic with others in our apartment stairwell.

Christmas in Iceland. Songbird is wearing one of the outfits her grandmother made her. I don't know what it is with my girls and only wanting to wear dresses. I was such a tom boy growing up!

Yes, there is a story behind this one! Bones had to bring a cake to the Scout cake auction to raise money for their troop. So, with the help of a neighbor they made a tank cake. It was the most popular cake at the auction. Kids CRIED when they didn't win it. And who was the happy winner of a $40 homemade box cake? Why that would be the parents that made it. Bones HAD to have it. And let me tell you, it was GROSS.

Songbirds 6th birthday. Finally back in the states in Nebraska. What a goofy dad.

Less than a year after this picture was taken Bones was 2 inches taller than his father. I've never seen anyone take off in growth like he did. I'm really surprised he did not have serious growing pains.

First meeting with Mighty Mouse. The rush of emotions that these pictures bring still take my breath away. Adoption is such an incredible miracle. Not to say my older two aren't miracles, its just so very different.


Home six months and finally growing hair. Mighty Mouse was still very afraid of her surroundings but we got laughs and smiles out of her at this event -- parent day at Songbird's Horse Camp.

Daddy and Mighty Mouse. Nebraska. Settling in.

Daddy and his girls. South Dakota vacation. Look! MM has hair!

Daddy and his kids. Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota. Bones...what's up with the hair? Oh, that's right. Dad was gone overseas and you decided you had to have a Mohawk. Mom let you. But you were smart enough to shave it off before dad got home! And I do mean shave.
Our most recent shot. Songbird helps out with the car. Not by choice. You'd be surprised how many different shots/kids I have this one of. Slave labor is good when you like clean cars.

Autumn asks: Do you have those cute sleeping baby pictures?

Heather, at Wanting What You Have, did a photo spread today of her cute sleeping kids. I love sleeping kid pictures so I dug some out. What I find really funny is how we go from extra-young, hand-me-down furniture and no curtains, to a complete other state and better off, to a complete other state in late 30's and even a rug on the floor! LOL!



A very young daddy and Bones. These two were always falling asleep together. I thought the saying was "NO rest for the wicked"?



Bones holding sleeping Songbird. He wanted a baby brother or sister so bad and could hardly wait. It wore off.



Mighty Mouse and daddy. Mommy left them and went away for a weekend with the Girl Scout troop. It was very exhausting for the two of them.

Me from A-Z

I got tagged by Heather at wantwhatyouhave.com. I've never been tagged before. I must be moving up in the world as my blog is on her blog roll. Anyways, here goes:

A: Attached or single? Attached to my husband of nearly 22 years. Very, very, very attached.

B: Best friends? My husband - and see older post on friends. Love and miss you ladies!!

C: Cake or Pie? Both - who's picky? Give me some sugar!

D: Day of choice? Any day I don't have to pay bills.

E: Essential item? Coke (as in cola). With a book being a close second.

F: Favourite colour? green - the darker the better

G: Gummy bears or worms? Bears - made in Germany

H: Hometown? Ft. Stewart, Georgia. Maybe I should call it birth town instead since I've never been back or lived anywhere else long enough to be a "hometown".

I: Favourite indulgence? Coke (cola) and any travel/sight seeing

J: January or July? July. I'll sweat, just don't ask me to put up with the pain of cold hands and feet.

K: Kids? 1 grown son and 2 girls still at home. I'd love another but I've been outvoted.

L: Life isn't complete without....? My family - most specifically, my husband!

M: Marriage date? December 30

N: Number of brothers & sisters? 1 ultra cool little sister

O: Oranges or apples? Apples. Oranges give me hives on my tongue

P: Phobias? Heights

Q: Quotes: Love quotes.

· If you believe everything you read, better not read. Japanese Proverb

R: Reason to smile? Because there is fun trouble (not criminal trouble) just around the corner, waiting to be discovered.

S: Season? summer

T: Tag 5 People: Anyone willing to be tagged - I don't do mass email forwards either.

U: Unknown facts: I like ketchup on my fried rice.

V: Veggie? All fresh veggies! Steam them!

W: Worst habit: procrastination

X: X-ray or Ultrasound? xray - basic machine operator - which is inactive at the moment

Y: Your favourite food? STEAK

Z: Zinc or sunscreen? Sunscreen - but its poison