Joy and Sorrow

"Joy and sorrow are inseparable. . . together they come and when one sits alone with you . . remember that the other is asleep upon your bed."
— Khalil Gibran

We have had our share of joys. I post often about them. We have been blessed with so many wonderful things in our lives. The girls bring unbridled laughter into each day. For example, this conversation overheard at bedtime between the girls in their room:

Shanna: My baby's leg hurts.
Megan: My baby's leg hurts, too.
Shanna: No. Your baby's TUMMY hurts. My baby's LEG hurts.
Megan: (slight pause) So...... can your baby walk- or what?
Shanna: No. My baby's leg is broken.
Megan: Ohhhh.

These conversations go on ALL day and sometimes into the night!! We smile around corners as they ponder the ways of the world.

Another conversation on the road (Megan- looking at the addresses on a plaza of buildings while we are stopped at a red light):

Megan: Look, Shanna! Number 1!
Shanna: Number 1, Megan???
Megan: Yes, Number 1!
Shanna: How 'bout Number 2, Megan?
Megan: (sadly) No, no Number 2.
Shanna: How 'bout 3?
Megan: No, no 3.
Shanna: How about 4 or 5?
Megan: No, Shanna. Just number 1 and  number 7!
Shanna: Oh! Number 7! Wow, Megan!


Now, who wouldn't laugh at that?

They are like two peas in a pod and their love affair grows daily. Two days ago marked the 4th month of us meeting Shanna for the first time. They love to wear matching outfits and do the same things. Sometimes, one wants to be different and we encourage them that "that's okay!"

Painting time!

Big hugs!

I ordered another baby carrier for Megan and she was thrilled!

They are working on using their knives properly. Switching hands seems so needless to them! We are making great progress!

They are like puppies, always curled up together.

Cindy, Look! Yoga! Shanna showed us these moves.

She told me one of her friends from Shantou does this (Teri--It's Emily)!

In love with my sister.

So now for the sorrow, which apparently was asleep on our bed.

Marion, my sweet mother in law has been diagnosed with cancer. It is devastating news. Apparently, growing silently in her lungs and moved to her brain. The doctors are very hopeful and she is receiving aggressive radiation and drug therapy. She is the epitome of a Cancer Warrior; facing it head on with a positive attitude and a brave mindset. As she does with everything in her life, she does not feel sorry for herself, but rather takes action. She becomes informed and does what it takes to succeed. I am praying everyday that the medication does its work and that she heals. She is tired from her treatments, but she is taking care of herself. We love her so much.

She & Tom came for dinner last weekend.

Megan is sporting Gramma's new wig.

Shanna & Ye Ye Grandpa Tom

We think Gramma looks great in her wig!

I saved a few miscellaneous pictures so that I don't end on a sorrow:

This is Shanna's ESL Teacher

This is her 2nd grade teacher. Right now she is bridging between Kindergarten and 2nd grade.

Remember the 100 good wishes quilts we made for the girls? Well, we are doing another one for Sofia Bao, Megan's friend/sister from her orphanage. I am sewing a few minutes at time every few days/weeks and it's coming along nicely. I think the fabrics are so pretty.

FYI- this is a LONG post :)

and it took me two days to write.

"Me, too!" Shanna says this all the time. She wants to eat it, too; go there, too; have it, too; read it, too; and wear it, too. Especially wear it, too. She loves to match Megan, and the feeling is mutual. If one wears a dress, the other must, too, if one wears blue socks, the other must, too. Even if the matching article is covered up, it's okay, as long as it is there. Their relationship is growing deeper everyday. They are learning to play together more, rather than parallel, and their favorite thing to do is pretend to be baby and mother or doctor and take care of each other, easily switching roles. It's very cute. They take time to set up their environment (in the newly finished playroom), with tents and beds on the floor.

The playroom

One day, last week, I heard them talking:

Megan: on her way up from the basement, yelling down to Shanna as she closes the door: "Shanna, I will get the cushion, OK?"

Shanna:  "OK, Megan"

Megan: coming back downstairs from the bedroom and yelling down to Shanna again "Shanna, I think I need some help with the cushion."

 Hmmmm.......They both disappear upstairs.

Megan: yelling down to me in the kitchen "Mom, I think I need some help"

Shanna: yelling, too "Mom, Megan needs some help"

I go up to investigate, bracing a little for what I might find.

Mommy: "Oh!!! Wow!!!" as I digest the fact that Shanna's (extra deep) mattress has been completely removed from her bed, top sheet and comforters discarded nearby, and is now lying perpendicular to the beds on the floor and taking up every available floor space in the room!!! "You were taking the MATTRESS down to the basement????!!!!!!" Wow.........you never know what they are up to. I called Matthew to help me put it back and I tried to explain that the bed needed to stay upstairs. They were a little disappointed about that.

Last week, Megan and Shanna were doing some writing, a constant favorite activity. Megan explained what she was writing to me. "These are the rules. Chapter 1: Don't cut your hair yourself (see this post and this post-notice the bangs). Chapter 2: Don't get glue in your hair. Chapter 3. Don't paint your hair". I told her those were excellent rules.

Shanna's sayings, beside "Me, too" include "Hi Guys", "A neeny bit", "Megan, off light, off door" (referring to the basement). We are happy to say that she is now starting to refer to herself in the first person, rather than the 3rd and is saying with regularity "I am cold", "I am hungry", "I am hot", "I am tired".

Things continue to be very busy around here. Matthew has started lacrosse, Mary Alice will be starting her riding and the girls' Chinese Dance lessons started last week.

Shanna's school finished up her evaluation and she will begin receiving OT and PT services, soon. She scored quite low on things related to sensory issues (sensitivity to noise, touch and temperature), some balance issues, gross motor movement and strength, and some visual motor integration skills. We are so thankful that she will get the help she needs.

Baking sourdough bread with Mommy. This is my first attempt at baking it from scratch. I made the starter and everything. With high hopes......

The finished product! Although it looks great, it was a lot of work, dense as could be, and destined to be croutons......The girls, however, thoroughly enjoyed the floury mess it made!!

Fun with Shaving Cream! It got a little messy after this, as the videos show....
They are only about 12 secs each.

I think this one is so funny.

Mr. Bear was here for a visit during the week of school vacation, so he had lots of fun.

We had a bring your own baby playdate.....

And Matthew's friend (on right) returned from Maine, where he moved several years ago, for a week to stay with us and other friends in the neighborhood. The boys have been close friends since they were in 2nd grade. 

The girls never miss an opportunity for a photo.

Then we packed up for an overnight trip to an indoor waterpark.

The weather outside looked like this.....

Inside, it was 84 degrees.

There was lots of time for hugs.

Even the babies had a great time.

This is just weird. I think Shanna took it.

Story hour- very crowded.

More hugs.

and MORE hugs!

This was a fun activity.

Mary Alice helped them build their boxes.

Fun!

Proud Mamas

Love my sister

And this is the first time these two have been so close!

Last Saturday, we had a potluck dinner for about 25 people from our church. We had a great time.

And a last minute, surprise visit from Eric's brother and his family.
The cousins had not yet met Shanna, and it was wonderful to see them all and be together.
Ian and Matthew are only two years apart!

Lounging around, bonding over the Wii

Playing Wii Jeapordy

Playing a game together on Itouch

Snuggling with Gramma

The whole family.

This morning, first Megan trudged downstairs and enjoyed my lap for about 20 minutes, then Shanna came down and said "Me, too" so we made room.

Then two minutes later, Misty said "Me, too". Megan was feeling a little put out.
As for me, I was having trouble breathing, but enjoying it too much to care.