Thursday, July 24, 2008

Happy Birthday Annabel!

Today you are 11 years old. I wonder if you even realize it is your birthday? I know that Chinese tradition is that everyone turns a year older on Chinese New Years, but wonder if anyone in your group home will plan something special for you today?

Your birthdays here will usually consist of your grandmother making your favorite meal or we will go out to eat at your favorite restaurant. I wonder if Chuck E Cheese will be your favorite? My friend Patti gave us some passes. We can try it out. We try to celebrate on the closest Sunday to your birthday so your Aunt Martha and Uncle Mark and cousins Emily, Marcie, and her husband Drew can all celebrate too. Oh and of course there will be presents.

Your cousin Gillian's birthday was Tuesday. She is also 11 so she is still the oldest! She and Darcey and your Aunt Lisa are coming today to tell us goodbye.

My ever on top of things new friend Holly found you in a couple of pictures from Holt in a story about your recent adventure to the mountains. I am glad you got to have such a great adventure. When I read the story to Grace she was caught up in the fact that you got to see peacocks. I thought the monkeys were most interesting.

Somehow I can't get the pictures or the links to work right. I will have to try something else later.

But I have to warn you that even if you are up early and trying to write something sweet you can get distracted easily!

The dogs decided they needed to go out just as the water sprinkler came on. Ollie has tried without success for a while now to show them who is boss but has continued to fail. He looks like he has had a bath this morning! It is pretty funny unless you are a neighbor trying to sleep and don't like a dog barking like crazy!

I got several things off my list yesterday:
Cleaned out the refrigerator - Yuck! I don't think I recognized most of the food in there!
Got prescriptions refilled.
Got toenails done!

OK, it felt like more than that at the time.

Mom and Dad took care of a big one for us though: a new camera! Somehow I had never moved into the 21st century and bought a digital camera. I've bought plenty of disposable ones but never really satisfied with the pictures, if I remembered to get them developed. They bought just the right one, not too big and not too small. Can take a million pictures before needing to be recharged! maybe not that many.

One more day and we are on our way.

Yes, we are on our way because very kind people like Flo from Congressman Pete Sessions' office has made the calls to ensure that our paperwork made it from Oklahoma City all the way to Guangzhou! Thanks Flo! And you too Pete! I worked for Pete a long time ago before he was in Congress. He kindly wrote me a letter of referral to leave SWBT and go to graduate school. We had worked together on a parade for returning soldiers from Desert Storm. What great fun to throw confetti off the buildings in downtown Dallas!

I often wonder how different my life would have been if I had stayed at SWBT and never pursued working with people with disabilities and then on to older adults. I think I would have weighed about 500 pounds and smoked by now! That was a stressful job. Plus I don't think I ever would have adopted Grace and now Annabel.

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