Old friends and New friends and a child's imagination

This has been a weekend of reconnecting with old friends for me, as well as meeting new ones.

Peng sounds like pon yo is the pinyin for friend. There are accent marks but I don't know how to type them in here.

Friday afternoon we headed to Denton, which is not that far from Dallas. Denton was my home long before I thought of becoming a mom. I moved there while completing my masters degree and returned for a job at UNT. I had not been back since I moved to Dallas almost 9 years ago. It was where I bought my first house, met lifelong friends, and enjoyed the sense of a small town.

It seems like a lot of people have fallen in love with the smaller town too. Traffic was bumper to bumper the entire way. The girls were distracted by Barbie Island Princess and did not notice.

Our first stop was a drive by of my first house. In the dark, I was so surprised at how difficult it was to find. I thought I would always be able to zero in on this house forever. Grace understood but for Annabel explaining things like this are difficult. I guess it is probably difficult for Grace too. Life before her doesn't make sense!

Our next stop was my friend's house for dinner. It was so nice to see longtime friends. The girls were so impressed that they had a whole room dedicated to fun, they had never seen something like that. From a tv dedicated to Wii to a piano, and everything in between.

It was difficult to drag them away, but Annabel was anxious to get to our next destination - the Chinese church of their music teacher.

For a church service that began at 8:00 on Friday evening just steps away from a major state university, it was amazing to see so many college students there to worship. Every seat was taken. Of our trio, Annabel was the only one who understood what was going on but I felt it was important for us to provide this opportunity for her. The sermon was on a variety of philosphers and how their teaching falls short of the love of God. The woman sitting beside me explained that for many in attendance, they have been raised as atheists in an environment where saying the wrong thing has dire consequences.

After the service was dinner. The girls were thrilled with "homemade" Chinese food. Annabel described another breakfast favorite and someone translated it and told me how to prepare "porridge".

Getting home at midnight felt very late!!

Breakfast was the new porridge, a cup of rice, lots of water, and the rice cooker. I did not have one of the key ingredients, dried shredded pork. It was suggested I could use salted bacon, but opted for sliced ham instead. Annabel isn't sure I did it right, but after 3 bowls it must be good enough!!!

The girls went with Grandmother/Grandfather to visit aunts and uncles in Paris.

I stayed home because I had planned to work on a planter at the girls' school in memory of Jana. It is a huge mess overgrown with weeds, trash, and shrubs that are out of control. But before I could even start, I was stopped. To try to explain why I was not allowed to simply try to beautify an eyesore, I can't. I thought I had contacted all who were involved but at the last minute someone else put a stop to it.

I hope to have better news on this soon.

I received a call from a new friend in Canada. They have adopted an older daughter too and reading her blog seems like a reprint of mine. Our daughters are experiencing similar issues in their adjustments.

Although money is very tight, I had set up an appointment with the dog trainer to help with some HUGE problems we continue to deal with our dogs. I felt like I had taken my car to a mechanic. Our dogs were absolute angels sitting ready for their next command. The second she walked out the door, the barking and jumping started again. I think I should have taken notes.

This evening we visited another old friend. It was fun to reminisce about our performance on the three legged race. I think that was the one and only time I had practiced for an event and the only time I ever won.

They were clearing out clothes, toys, and accessories and my girls were able to find LOTS to love.

My daughters have broadened my circle and continue to bring old and new friends into our lives.

A child's imagination can be pretty funny.

When Gillian was about 4 she invented a complete baseball team. She had coach, Tasic, Luna, and several others on this team. On New Year's Eve while sitting in the back seat with her in her car seat, Gillian casually announced that Coach had called and there would be no practice tomorrow.

Darcey would tell us about what her Chinese mother had taught her such helpful things as tossing her panties across the room. Now Darcey was adopted at the age of 11 months and I don't think she had ever had a pair of panties by then.

In our kitchen, we had a taller table with stools where we have most of our meals. Annabel was telling how her Jiangxi Bobba had a REALLY TALL table with REALLY TALL chairs. Ours was almost short compared to her Jiangxi Bobba's.

When we were at the church in Denton, their teacher told me how Annabel said she had had lots of Mommas and Bobbas, including a white couple, some missionaries, and others. There is nothing documenting any of these "families". I'm not sure but that is the first time I had heard of any of this. She has told her teacher lots of intimate details about her life. I am glad she has a good friend who shares a common language to share this about her past. I am anxious for her to be able to share anything she wants with me. I just hope it is before she becomes a teenager and then doesn't want to share anything!!!