Diving Dreams and Back to School

I feel like I'm always apologizing for being behind in my posts, but life happens and all of a sudden you find yourself in the middle of September. We are all back in school, including mama. My position at CHI was eliminated, and I had to return to teaching. I'm at a great school and am once again teaching language arts to middle school students. I'd forgotten how much I really do love teaching language arts, so it's all worked out for the best. It will be nice to share our summers together and to have days off together throughout the year. Here's a picture of Ella's first day of school.
Since the Olympics, Ella has been talking a lot about being a diver. She was glued to the tv when the diving events were on. She told us one night that she needed to eat her dinner in front of the tv because she "couldn't miss diving." This obsession has gotten a little more serious lately. Just a few days ago, I heard a very loud thumping noise. It sounded a little like someone "landing" on my hard wood floors. I yelled down from upstairs, "Ella, what are you doing?" She responded with, "I don't know." That was my clue that I needed to investigate. I snuck into the living room to find her in a peculiar position on the ottoman. She had her knees bent and her arms out at her sides. I asked her what she was doing, and she said that she was practicing her dives. After my blood pressure went down a little (I"m thinking that she might actually be diving into the floor), I asked her to demonstrate. In a very nice, fluid move, she gracefully jumped to the floor. I'm kind of wondering now if she really might have a career in this. Here's a picture of her in the tub with her goggles (she thinks she might like to be a swimmer, also):
I'll leave you with a funny story. When Ella and Brian went to the dentist last week, the dentist asked Ella how many teeth she has. This was one of those questions that really wasn't supposed to be answered; you know what I mean. However, Ella looked at him and said, "Twenty primary teeth." She's right and after everyone recovered from shock, the visit went on as planned. Who know where she comes up with this stuff? Here's one last image of her on her new scooter:

More Summer Fun

Ella has wanted to go fishing for quite some time now. Brian loves to fish, so taking Ella fishing is a moment he's waited for since as long as I can remember. Here's Ella getting ready to go:

Shortly after we arrived at the lake, Ella was kicked back ready for the "big one" to hit her line:

The funny thing is, she had a bite almost the second Brian dropped her line in. After a brief moment of panic (by mama and Ella), Brian took over; however, it was too late at that point, so that first bite will always be the one that got away. Since he got her worm, Ella (well, daddy really) had to reload:

Daddy is so patient and such a good daddy. After another unfortunate worm was put on the hook and everything settled down again, I looked over to see this:
...and this:


This was probably the shortest fishing trip daddy has ever been on, but I'm pretty certain it's one that he'll never forget.

Beach Pictures

If slide show stops, click on the 'x' in the top right corner:

Bad Blogger and Breaking News

I have been so bad about posting on our blog. We've had so much going on and have been incredibly busy. Between the beach and visits from family, our summer has been full but fun.

It's always so great to have daddy home, and both Ella and I have enjoyed spending more time with him. Daddy and Ella have been able to go to the zoo together and enjoy time at the pool, also. Since mama doesn't get a summer break anymore (a little sadness, but I love my job and wouldn't trade it), it's been nice to have daddy take over the morning duties of getting Ella to school. I am on a summer schedule that has allowed me to leave work each day at 2:30, so that has given us lots of family time at the end of the day. All in all, this has been a great summer, and we'll all be sad to see it come to an end.

**BREAKING NEWS**

For those of you who don't already know, we are adopting again, but this time from Ethiopia. We are adopting a boy, and we've requested 0-6 months...I know, I know, lots of sleepless nights, but we are super excited. Our paperwork was sent to ET in May, and the current wait time is 6-10 months. Since Ethiopia has a rainy season from August to October, we probably won't receive a referral until after they reopen. We are thinking that we may have a picture of him (oh, it's so fun to type that) in October and then travel in December. Of course, God's timeline is always perfect, and we have faith in that. It's easy to fret and to worry about your child when you have absolutely no control over what's happening in his itty bitty life, especially when he's so far away. I saw this verse last week, and I've been clinging to it ever since: "Faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of the things you cannot see." Hebrews 11:1 Please pray for us and with us as we wait for our little guy. We'll keep you posted.

Easter Pictures and More...

Put your arrow over the picture for a caption:

Lightning Strikes and a Funny Girl

I haven't posted in a while because our computer was fried. A bad storm came through Franklin about 3 or 4 weeks ago, and lightning literally struck in our back yard. Brian's dad said our trees would start dying soon, and sure enough, the ones in the back yard have started turning brown. The strange thing about it was when it hit, it knocked out our cable, phone, and computer, but our power stayed on. We saw a big blue flash in our house and didn't realize what it was until we weren't able to turn our computer on. I'm really not sure what we did before we had a computer because it's been very difficult to function without one; however, it has been good to spend extra time playing games as a family. We haven't been so involved in email, and we haven't worried too much about what we are missing.

We were without our cable and phone for over a week, so we've definitely gotten to know each other a little better. While spending so much time together, we've had the pleasure sharing these things with Ella:

-She loves to role play. Ususally I'm Bob and she's Larry from Veggie Tales, but her new favorite is God, Jesus and the Holy Spirt. She always gets to be God.
-She's decided that when we get to Heaven, God will make sure we all brush our teeth.
-When she gets big, she wants to be "bathtized", and she wants daddy to do it.
-When the bad people get to Heaven, God will teach them to be good.
-She can't see God living in her heart because her skin is covering Him up.
-She wants a brother and a sister, and their names will be Diego and Alicia (those of you with little children will recognize those names)
-If we brush every night, we'll have healthy "guns" and won't get "fake" teeth.
-She's on God's team
-And my personal favorite, "Mama, we have a Mighty God, don't we?"

I have lots of Easter pictures and will post them as soon as our computer is fixed.

Birthdays, Snow and More!

The last week has been so full of fun. We had real snow...finally! It was so fun anticipating the big storm. We stocked up on fun snacks and hunkered down for the drifts up to the windows. When it was all said and done, though, the big event was gone by noon, and most of the snow had melted, too. Oh well, it WAS fun to look outside the night before and watch it all pile up. The main event on Saturday wasn't the snow, however. Saturday was Ella's birthday, and she turned four! We can't believe that she is that old already! She had a great day with her friends and family and was exhausted by that night. Add that to the time change, and we are still trying to get caught up. She continues to be her funny self. She woke up Sunday morning to ask if she was still four. Below are some recent pictures of birthday, snow etc. Oh, and be sure to see the one of Brian painting Ella's toes. This is Ella's new favorite thing. She loves her toes and nails to be painted. In fact, this morning, she wanted to change her nails to pink, because she thought Dr. Godfrey would "enjoy" that color best (she had her check up this morning; enjoy is her word, not mine). Brian may have found his second calling!

Happy Valentime's Day!

No, that's not a typo...that's the way we say it around our house. Well, Brian and I don't, but we don't count anymore :-) Ella awoke this morning very early to ask if it was Valentime's Day. She has been so excited about taking her cards for her friends to school. They made valentine bags for the cards, and Ella wrote her name on each card. That's quite a feat when you consider there were 18 cards. When she got home, we had to go through each card to see who they were from.

Ella has really fallen in love with the movie Cinderella. She loves to sing the songs and dance around. She's had a pair of slippers for a while, but she just got the dress for Valentine's Day. She wanted to put in on immediately, and of course, we had to wear the shoes, too. She's such a girly girl one minute, and then the next she's kicking her soccer ball around the house trying to score under the chair in our office.

This morning she told me that I was her valentine and that when she was a mommy she wanted to live with me. I hope that all of the above is still true when she grows up. I would love to be her valentine forever, and I would love to grow old with her. What a sweet little Cinder"Ella" she really is...

Happy Chinese New Year!

Gung Hay Fat Choy! Ella had a great day today sharing Chinese New Year treats with her friends at school. She picked out red Chinese take-out boxes to fill with gold wrapped chocolate coins, noise makers, fruit snacks and lots of other goodies. She also took several items we bought while in China to share with her class. Her teacher said that Ella was very prould of the things she showed her friends. That made me smile when I heard that because we want to embrace Ella's Chinese heritage and want her to feel proud of that heritage. It's a part of who she is and, really, it's a part of who we are too. Here are a few pictures of her getting her treat boxes ready:



Happy Chinese New Year to each of you!

The Rat

Being born a Rat is nothing to be ashamed of. In China, the Rat is respected and considered a courageous, enterprising person. It is deemed an honor to be born in the Year of the Rat and it is considered a privilege to be associated with a Rat. Rats know exactly where to find solutions and can take care of themselves and others without problems. They use their instinctive sense of observation to help others in times of need and are among the most fit of all the Animal signs to survive most any situation.

Years of the Rat
First in the cycle, Rat Years begin the sequence and recur every twelfth year. The Chinese New Year does not fall on a specific date, so it is essential to check the calendar to find the exact date on which each Rat year actually begins.

The Sign of the Rat
Being born under this sign determines many talents, as well as other characteristics that may not be so commendable. Rats are very lively and need a lot of mental and physical stimulation. They can be calm and perceptive, but sometimes their brains can cause a mental restlessness, tempting them to take on too much, only to discover they are unable to meet their commitments. Rats are blessed with one of the best intellects going. Add to their intelligence a curiosity and a bright imagination, and they seem as sharp as a needle.

The sign of the Rat is the first sign in the cycle giving Rat people exude great leadership qualities and are good at taking the lead. They don't mind a lot of responsibility and they demonstrate a strong presence that other people respect. For those with the Rat nature, status and monetary satisfaction are the greatest motivation.

CHARACTERISTICS
Smart, Magnetic, Well-liked, Affable, Quick-witted, Surreptitious, Selfish, Protective, Calculating


New Year Sweet Dumplings
2 ½ ounces black sesame paste, red bean paste, or creamy peanut butter
4 tbsp superfine sugar
1 ½ cups glutinous rice flour
1 ounce rock/lump sugar
Combine the sesame paste with the superfine sugar
Sift the rice flour into a bowl and stir in ¾ cup boiling water. Knead carefully (the dough will be very hot) to form a soft, slightly sticky dough. Dust your hands with extra rice flour, roll the dough into a cylinder, then divide it into cherry size pieces. Cover the dough with a tea towel and, using one piece at a time, form each piece of dough into a flat round, then gather it into a cup shape. The dough should be fairly thin.
Fill each cup shape with 1 tsp of paste and fold the top over, smoothing the dough so you have a round ball with no visible joins.
Bring 1 liter of water to a boil, add the rock sugar and stir until dissolved. Return to a boil, add the dumplings in batches and simmer for 5 minutes, or until they rise to the surface. Serve warm with a little of the syrup.

"Gotcha Day!" It's been 3 years...

We can't believe it's been 3 years since we held our sweet girl for the first time. What an amazing gift she has been. We have been so blessed and still can't believe that she's in our lives FOREVER! Here are some of the lyrics from Phil Collins' song "You'll be in my Heart". This kind of sums up the day we met Ella. When we hear this song, we always remember the emotions we felt on that day. At the bottom of this page, you can listen to the song and watch the video:

"You'll Be In My Heart"

Come stop your crying
It will be all right
Just take my hand Hold it tight

I will protect you
from all around you
I will be here
Don't you cry

For one so small,
you seem so strong
My arms will hold you,
keep you safe and warm
This bond between us
Can't be broken
I will be here
Don't you cry

'Cause you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on
Now and forever more

You'll be in my heart
No matter what they say
You'll be here in my heart, always

Here's a picture of Ella on the day we met her:



Here are some of the pictures from our Gotcha Day celebration:

Happy Holidays

Here are some holiday pictures of the Mast family (there's a video at the end of the post):


It's hard to believe that it's been about 3 months since I last posted. I'm not sure where the time goes, but my time is always filled with good intentions. I usually intend to do lots with my time, but somehow, those intentions slip away with the time. Oh, well, I'm writing now, and that's what matters. Life for the Masts has been full of changes. Before Thanksgiving break, Brian found out that he'd be moved from one school to another, effective the day he returned from the break. He's a principal, so we knew/know this could happen at any time, but we weren't expecting it. After the initial shock of it all wore off, Brian settled in at his new school and has done a great job as usual. He leaves the house at 5:30 and gets home around 6:00; that's rough, but we are managing.

Shortly after Brian was moved, I begin to feel God's call to something different than teaching. This was difficult for me because it was early in the first semester, and I didn't feel like I could just leave. God continued to nudge me and speak to me through His word, so I decided to be obedient and just follow. Not long after that, a new opportunity opened up for me, one that I had wanted for a long time but was afraid to venture into previously. I felt like God opened this door for me, so I decided to apply for the job, and after several interviews was offered the position. I'll be working at our adoption agency as an adoption consultant. I am so thrilled about this and really feel a peace about all of it. SINCE WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF ADOPTING A SECOND BABY FROM CHINA (didn't know if you knew that, so I thought I'd get your attention), I'll be a part of the process from the inside and the out. I think that's awesome!!

Well, let's talk about Ella. She continues to make us laugh each day. She's turning into a bossy little thing! She likes to be in charge of her friends at school and TRIES to be in charge at home, but that's not getting her very far. While driving around to look at Christmas lights, she tells us whose turn it is to see the lights. Have you ever? She loves to make words rhyme, especially silly made up words. She likes for us to give her a word ("any word" she says) so that she can tell us the beginning sound. The harder the better! She likes to write her name on anything, including our adoption documents (not a good thing). Her favorite thing, however, is to play board games. The only catch is that she doesn't like to lose. We've been working on this (very unsuccessfully)! She recently asked Jesus to come into her heart, which has been the highlight of the year. She'd been talking about it for a while, so we knew that she was thinking about it. One night she told me that she wanted Jesus to come into her heart, but she wanted me to ask Him. So that night, we knelt by her bed, and I asked Jesus to come into her heart. I'm pretty sure that it was ok with Him that I asked for her, don't you think?? What a precious child she is.

We hope all of you are well and have had a wonderful holiday season!

Way Behind!!

I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted. Time has just been flying by for us. I started a new job, and Ella is going to school full-time now. She loves it, I'm trying to love it, but we are all surviving it. I am teaching 4th grade ELL (English Language Learners), which has been a HUGE adjustment for me. Ella and I leave the house each morning around 6:55. I drop her off at 7:30, and then I have to be in my classroom at 7:45. That doesn't leave a very big margin for error. So far, we've done pretty well. I think if we'd both sleep in our clothes, it would be even better!
Ella loves school. Here she is on the first day:
She has been writing her name for a while now, so she wants to sign herself in when we get there each day. Of course I'm looking at the clock while she's writing SLOWLY, but I would never discourage her from doing this :-) She likes to be independent, and I'm happy for that. She's learning lots Spanish in her class and has already been the student of the week. Her teacher is a former kindergarten teacher, and Ella adores her. Anything that Ms. June says is just about as reliable as anything the Bible says.
Ella has started gymnastics and seems to really enjoy it, too. She's always very anxious to go each Saturday, and we enjoy watching her try new things. Her coach Miss Tiffany is in second place behind Ms. June. I'm not sure where I fall in the ranking anymore, to tell you the truth. Here she is on her first day of gymnastics::
Ella still likes the Florida Gators and likes to watch them when they play football. Blue is her favorite color, so we think that has something to do with it; however, whenever they are on, she recognizes their uniforms and says, "Go Gators!"
We found out that Ella is a talented artist. She is really into painting and can draw pretty well for her age. Here's a picture she drew for Brian's parents. It's of Brian's mom, his dad and Ella:
What a little survivor she is!! We have been very blessed by her sweet life.

We survived Disney World!

Wow! I am so far behind in my posts, but we've had a wonderfully busy summer, and I just haven't had the time to keep up. We went to Disney and the beach, and what a great time we had. It was incredibly hot the day we went to the park, and to be quite honest, I wasn't sure if we'd make it the whole day. BUT, our little champ hung in there, and we ended up staying until the end of the parade. The entrance into the park was overwhelming for Ella, so you can imagine how excited she was when we actully got into the park. Here's a picture of her face as we drove in:
We parked, got our sunscreen on, loaded up and everything was "magical" the rest of the day. Here we are getting ready to catch the trolly, and here's Ella anxiously awaiting the ride into the park: It was hard to decide what to do first, but we quickly found our way to the rides that we knew Ella would enjoy and pretty much stayed there the whole day. The lines were long and the sun was hot, but Ella never complained. She didn't mind waiting for anything. In fact, she and Brian waited for Dumbo for 60 minutes, and Ella didn't mind a bit. She even wanted to ride it again as soon as it was finished! The racecars were the big hit, and she told us at the end of the day that the cars were her "best."



At the end of a very long day, we settled down to watch the parade. While waiting for it to start, beach balls were thrown out for the kids to play with. Of course, they all enjoyed this more than anything. Here's Ella trying to catch a pass from another little girl she met:
Finally, the parade in all of its amazing splendor started. After Ella caught her breath, she leaned back and whispered, "Is this Disney World?" Now, that may seem like just another question to you, but to hear the awe and wonder in her voice was truly priceless. When everything was over and we were waiting to board the monorail, Ella said, "Mom, that was fun!" Yes, we spent a small fortune to get into the park, but we would have paid double just to hear that. Brian and I have both been to Disney World but to have experienced it through the eyes of a three-year-old was one of the most remarkable and unforgettable moments in our lives. So to sum it all up in the words of a three-year-old..."We had a big time!"
Listen to the mustn'ts, child.
Listen to the don'ts.
Listen to the shouldn'ts,
the impossibles, the won'ts.
Listen to the never haves,
then listen close to me...
Anything can happen, child.
Anything can be.”
~Shel Silverstein

Shoes to Fill

I was cleaning in the living room after Ella had been playing in there, and this is what I saw:
It reminded me of how our children truly do walk in our footsteps, so it's important to watch each step we take. It is our prayer as parents that God will guide us as we parent Ella and our hope that she will also follow God's guidance as she grows.

The wedding is over...

It's been forever since I posted, but getting ready for Lance's wedding has been the main event in our lives for several weeks. I was in charge of decorations for the rehearsal dinner, Ella was the flower girl, we all had to get clothes, shoes etc., we had to attend wedding showers and it literally goes on and on. It was all so fun, but I must say that I breathed a sigh of relief when I got up this morning. The wedding was beautiful and so was the bride. My "little" brother is a married man, and I can hardly believe it!!! I must say that I was really proud of him yesterday.

Ella did great as the flower girl. It was really "iffy" for a while, but she came through like a champ. Months ago, when Lance first asked her to be the flower girl, she said that she wasn't going to be in the wedding. Each time that Brian and I talked to her about it, she said that she did NOT want to be the flower girl. So, Brian and I did what any parent would do, we bribed her. Yes, we admit it. We reached an all time low as parents because we told Ella that she could have a new bike if she would walk down the aisle at the wedding. The funny part is that she is way too smart for all of that. When we told her that she could have a bike, her reply was, "I want to see it first." Smart girl, if you ask me. At the rehearsal, we still weren't completely sure that she would actually do the deed as you can see in the picture.
But, as the evening wore on, she became a little more comfortable. She actually seemed to enjoy it a little.

Finally, though, when it was all said and done, she did a great job and even sat quietly during the ceremony. She walked out holding Poppy's hand and pretty much stole the show. I'll post some pics from the wedding later. Oh, and Ella got her bike after the reception. She even got to ride it around a little before we came home, so at the end of the day, everyone was happy!

Getting Older and Making Good Choices

Saturday was my 36th birthday. It was a wonderful day full of all of my favorite things, but I can't get past the ideas of being 36!!!!! How in the world did that happen??? How did I all of a sudden take a huge step toward 40 and what in the world is happening to my body? Ok, so don't answer the second part of that question for me, but, seriously, I can hardly get up off of the floor after playing with Ella. My mind says, "Move already," but my body just won't cooperate. I'd just rather ignore the whole birthday thing all together, but Ella thinks that getting older is the greatest thing ever. It's just another excuse to eat cake, buy presents and eat good food...all of her favorite things, by the way. In fact, about half way through the day, she asked me if my birthday was "still here." She didn't want it to go away. I can't avoid them, so I might as well enjoy them I suppose!

We've been trying to talk to Ella about making good choices. We feel like it's important to use certain situations as teaching tools to prepare her for the future. She seems to understand and process what we tell her, and we can see her "use" some of the knowledge we've given her. Yesterday afternoon Ella and I were talking about random things. She looked at me and said, "I've been making a lot of good choices lately." I just have to laugh when she says things like that because she talks like she's 12 and is so serious and reserved at times. Then there are other times when she is so SILLY and can make us laugh hysterically. Here's a picture that kind of catches both sides of her at the same time. What a mess!!

Happy Mother's Day to Me!

Wow! I love Mother's Day so much!! I know that all mothers love this day, but I have to admit,it's one that I REALLY look forward to. Yes, I do love getting a special gift, but that's not all there is to it for me. Being a mother to Ella is the MOST wonderful job I've ever had.
I love hearing her say my name each day, and I cherish the smiles and hugs she gives me. I love when she asks for noodles "without any casserole on them," or when she says that she's almost grown into medium. I love when she belly laughs or when we share a private joke together. I love it when she asks me about God and the way she's ALWAYS worried about "where the mama is" whether it's a baby bird, a worm or the last piece of corn on her plate. Mother's Day for me, though, is also a day that I think about Ella's birth mother. I think about the sacrifice that she made so that our family could be complete. I think about how her tragedy was our miracle and about how she must have a hole in her heart. I think about a mother who carried her child to term only to then give her to another mother to raise and to love. I think about how without her I wouldn't be a mother. I'm grateful and thankful for this woman that I don't even know because she gave me the most precious gift, and I hope she knows in her heart how deeply and unconditionally Ella is loved. I love my sweet girl more than words could ever fully express, so, yes, I love the gifts and going out to dinner on Mother's Day, but what I love the most is celebrating the fact that I am Ella's mama forever.