Chinese New Year 2012

Welcome Year of the Dragon!!! It's going to be an exciting year for the Heut fam! To quote my mom, "Dare I say that next year we'll have another little one at the table?" That's going to be so fun! Wonder if we'll have to serve congee. *GRIN*

We started of this year's celebration with a big family dinner on Sunday afternoon (1/22). We had church commitments that morning. This is Hope in her Sunday best.


After singing our way through the morning we were ready to head home and start the preparations. Part of our tradition the past few years has been inviting Hope's grandparents to join in the celebration.



We pass out the Tsing-Tao and everybody has a hand in the preparations.





We were all business in the kitchen. There were some shenanigans going on in the other room, though.



Dinner is served! YUM! Our menu this year: Pork Dumplings, Cream Cheese Wontons, Steak and Onion Stirfry, Sesame Chicken Skewers, Broccoli and Hazelnut Stirfry, Szechuan Green Beans, and Fried Rice. And, P.S. to my family reading this, your effort in staging this photo to make it look like you all used your chopsticks did not go unnoticed. :)


Dessert


After dinner there was time for some Just Dance for Kids and a couple serious rounds of Uno before we called it a night. Happy New Year!!! I just know our year of the dragon is going to be an exceptional one.

Timely Verses

God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. ~ Isaiah 12:2

"If we believe in God's promises, then we don't need to be afraid." These were words from Hope's evening devotional the other night (1/18). Granted, the story was referring to being afraid of the dark or strange noises, but poignant still? I think so.

And, the Proverbs 31 Ministries daily devotional two days ago was called "Listening to God." Renee Swope wrote, "Like Jesus, we will discover God’s purpose for our lives through dependent hearts that seek to listen to His...."

What is going on? What is this knock upside the head? This happened to me during our first adoption too. I know I wrote several times about how as we walked through the adoption process there were lessons sprinkled all over the place about God's master plan. Well, it's time for another lesson. Time to let go. Time to open my heart and mind, and to remember that God's got this. He knows our future child. He sees our family as He has designed us to be.

Trust Him.

Works every time.

(So God? If we could just speed things up a little that would be great. Thanks, Beth)

Hope Has An Announcement

Hey Everyone! I took these pictures back on August 20 and made a Shutterfly announcement for our family sharing this news, but I thought it was about time I shared it here and gave this blog thing another try. It was such a wonderful outlet for us during Hope's adoption and first couple of years home.

It's true! Our family has some exciting news to share. Doesn't it look like Hope can hardly keep our secret?


What do you think it is?


This picture makes it a little more clear.


We are LOVING the idea of Hope becoming a big sister.


Hope is such a precious girl. She is going to be an awesome big sister. Just look into those beautiful eyes. They travel deep. She has a lot of wisdom to share with her new little sibling. We can't wait!

Hope has been practicing her coloring skills.


We are getting ready to celebrate Chinese New Year soon.

Fall Escape - Sunday

"Is this a park with a playground?"
"The best kind, honey."

We spent Sunday morning at Eau Claire Dells Park. This is such a beautiful place and appears to be as underused as many county parks often are. We saw only a handful of other hikers. We were here 10 years ago on our way to our Door County honeymoon (yes, we waited a year to honeymoon). It brought back some fun memories and it was special to hike the loop with Hope. You should see her go! No tree roots, slippery rocks, or branches across the path will slow her down. Roots make great balance beams. Rocks, acorns, leaves, moss, fungus, etc., are all just curious distractions. And those branches, you ask? Well, she's a climber.





When did those legs get so long?

I said she was a climber. :)


Gymnastics Pays Off

Nature-Made Tunnel...Toddler Size!





"I Love You"

Bowling Videos - Take 2

Here are a few more of the bowling videos. This was great! We'll be going again soon.

Bowling Videos - Take 1

Hope's Dance Moves - We were waiting for dinner in the bar. Such a WI thing to do. :)


Hope picks up her first 10 pin!!! She's available for lessons.


Hope's First Spare - We were a little more excited than she was. You should see her face when she watches the video now though. All smiles!