As you have probably already deduced by the little image we are sick here at the "Compound" (that's what Barn has loving termed our house with it's new living arrangement!). It all started last week when the men of the house (Barnabas & Chris) came down with gastrointestinal woes. The Asa got it, then little Coal got it and topped it off with puking. And the past few days I have been taking my turn. I am having a harder time getting over it it seems. With the whole Crohns's disease thing it makes it more difficult for me to rebound. So what was a 24 hour bug for the rest of the gang ,for me I am currently at 48 hours and still sick. Last night Barn had to take me to urgent care. Not for my stomach but for my knees. They hurt so bad I was in tears. The Dr. said it was peripheral Arthritis. Because I couldn't keep anything in my system I got 2 injections one of steroids and one of a anti-inflammatory. It was magic. In a half hour the burning ache had been reduced to just a minor annoyance. Having gone through this small bit of pain I can only imagine how my father-in-law made it through all those years with his hips in such a bad way! So hopefully I am the last of the crew to be sick and we will have a healthy fall!

The Firt Hair Cut!

Look how long it is! And only in spots, in other places you cant even pinch a bit of hair.
Holding so still.....
only because of the movie!

Not a real fan of the spray bottle.
All the little curls...
The profile.
Handsome baby man.

Tears on the First Day.......

I pulled up in the school parking lot anxious to get Grace. While waiting my turn and I spy Grace through a small crowd of teachers-she is crying. One of the teachers seeks away to tell me (in English- the teachers cannot speak English with students present) "She didn't think you were going to pick her up!" she whispered. Turns out they were trying to figure out what carpool she was in (she isn't currently) so Grace thought she had to have a stranger drive her home. Poor girl! Earlier in the day they put all the scissors in a box, then the teacher redistributed them (it keeps kids who aren't able to afford the fancy stuff from feeling on the outside.) It appears that I didn't quite explain this well enough to Grace. So when another girl ended up with her pink handled scissors her heart was broken. I just looked in her "Home" folder and saw her first worksheet. A big red star on the lower left side. Grace knows how to read Chinese number characters 1-5. So now she lays on the couch with her brother who on the way to picking her up said "It's just not more funner to not have Grace around." I asked Grace what she thought of school she said, "It's not as much fun as I thought it would be. It's kinda hard." I told her that going ot school is hard work and that she would get used to it soon. She said, "Yeah, I think so."

First Day of School!!!

Well my first born is all grown up! I swear yesterday she was butt scooting across the linoleum in our apartment on 3rd street! Here are just a portion of the 30 (yes 30. and that was using restraint this morning!) pictures I took of Grace and her first day of school. She took this day in stride and was very excited to get on her way. She jumped out of the van with out a second thought and walked away. The teacher had to remind her to say goodbye! I will post again when Grace gets home from school with a full update of how her first day of school went!

Grace wanted to pretend she was running in this shot.
Hello Kitty? Grace? Who knows?
Grace showing her school backpack. Her and I decorated it this past week.

The happy schoolgirl!
All of Grace's school supplies.
Feeling a little goofy. She was so excited about today. I thought she might be more nervous but as always she surprises me!
Asa getting in on the goofy fun.Grace getting a happy first day of school talk from Nonna.

As you can tell by his face Asa ia a "Little nervous" about Grace going to school.
He comes in for a hug from to me reassure him that we will have a great day.
Yinghua here we come!!
Arrival and excitement! And in her usual style she is off with out saying goodbye just a hand wave while she was walking away. ;)