New Year's Eve with Lil' Miss Maran

 Using the chop sticks at the Japanese Steak House.

 Snickerdoodle Luke with the LOUD noise making windy thing.

 Maran standing in her seat.  She wore one of Daddy's favorite dresses.  By this time she had already shed the hair bow and Party Hat.

Her eyes were as big as saucers when the chef was cooking the rice and noodles.  She looked at me and did a 'thumbs up' and said "Mommy, so yummy". (The Cola is Daddy's)

It's a little after 9 pm on New Year's Eve.  The children are asleep and we are watching a movie.  We are so much fun!  We had a 5:00 dinner reservation at the Japanese Steakhouse.  It was lots of fun and entertaining for the little ones.  At our table was a family who had adopted a girl from China who is now 8.  (She came home at 10 months of age).  She asked her mother if Maran was from China and then she was fascinated when Maran ate her meal with chopsticks. As usual Maran was a real trooper during dinner and couldn't wait for her meal to be served.  She ate her food and then started on Daddy's plate.  This little girl just might eat us out of house and home and it will be fine.  David still loves to just sit there and watch her eat.  She will say 'uhm...yummy" and pat her tummy.   Luke was a little spooked with the fire and the loudness.  We took him there two New Year's Eve's ago and he loved it.  You never know what you are going to get!! There are few things that Maran won't eat and she still absolutely refuses to have anything to do with milk or milk products.  She loves juices though and vitamins.  One day she may like cow juice as much as she likes cow meat.  The girl can eat a piece of steak and leave no trace of it. 

Our NEW YEAR is perfect since we have two sleeping toddlers and our family is complete.  What incredible memories we have from 2010 but we welcome 2011 with open arms.  We hope that tomorrow we all wake up feeling a little better.  Daddy is on his first round of antibiotics and I am on my second.  Both Luke and Maran have been taking cough meds for about 5 days now but seem to be much better.  They both go to the Dr on Tuesday for a well visit which I am sure will go fine.  We have to get paperwork filled out for their applications to PRE-K.  Charlotte is a wonderful city and we LOVE it but there is not a PRE-K program.  They offer it at one school so 30 kids get in and there are literally thousands applying.  So we get to do the private school route for this.  Let the fun begin!  How sad it is since we have a wonderful elementary school across the street from our house. 

Happy New Year! From our family to yours we wish you a year of love and hope.  We pray for our country to become stronger in many ways.  May you be kept safe and full of love!  We also hope and pray that many more orphans find their forever family.