July Play Date!

Lisa and Jade hosted this month's play date. We had lots of fun!

Here is Livvie and Annalisa helping Lisa with the craft project!
Our hard work paid off!

Everybody loves Stephanie!

Bonding time with Livvie!

Kimberly is teaching Annalisa to mimic the "Wheels on the Bus"!

And of course...we had to try the couch picture again. Although, the girls didn't seem that interested in standing still long enough for the moms to get a good shot :)

From left to right: Peyton, Annalisa, Kimberly, Casey, Livvie and Jade.

My first set of Golf Clubs!

I found these on sale at the Disney Store. I figured Daddy could start teaching Annalisa how to hit the ball but Annalisa was more interested in walking around with it rather than playing.

Annalisa and Emma!

Annalisa is totally enamored with Emma, my youngest niece. She calls her Baby and wants to help with the bottle all the time. Here she is giving her kisses!

Fund Raising Event!

Do you want to help the First Coast Families with Children from China (FCC) raise money? We are selling these bracelets for $2 each (including shipping and handling). They read "The Red Thread" and have a red thread go all the way around the bracelet!

So far we have raised several hundred dollars which along with the money raised from Chinese New Year have totaled $5,000 in donated money.

Here are the charities that have benefited so far from our fund raising activities:

$1,000 to the Jacksonville Daniel Foundation, Inc;
$1,500 to the Altrusa International Foundation;
$1,500 to Love Without Boundaries;
$1,000 to Half the Sky Foundation supporting Ron, Kate and Elizabeth Nune’s Fundraising efforts.

If you would like me to mail you this bracelet please e-mail me at rinaspcl@yahoo.com for details!

Happy 4th!

HAPPY 4th OF JULY EVERYONE!!!!

Annalisa just didn't want to give up her tea cup with Cerios (yep...Still a hit), so we compromised!
This is Hippo! Nonna Lucia gave this to Annalisa!

Just a little perspective.

The dress Annalisa wore for these portraits is the same dress she wore in Guangzhou for her swear in ceremony at the American Embassy (below is a picture of her at the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou right after the ceremony 8 months ago). Back then, she didn't have any hair so I put the hair clips on her sleeves. The dress was really big on her but I made the bow on the back a little tighter so it wouldn't look so big. It was also so long that you couldn't see her feet underneath it.

This was the first dress I allowed myself to buy for her a few months after we got our LID.

Today, the sleeves were a little tight around her chubby arms and I know it is the last time she'll wear it. It will soon go in her memory box :)

CORN!!!!!

Hey Amy, can I have some of your corn?

Aunt Rina...Annalisa ate my corn!!!

Isabella, Brook, do you want some of Amy's corn?

How about you little ones?

Ok, I guess I'll eat it all!!!!