Happy Valentine's Day/Happy Chinese New Year!

Yesterday we celebrated Valentine's Day and the Chinese New Year......the Year of the Tiger.  It was a big day for our family.  We woke up and exchanged our Valentine's gifts and cards with one another.  We then decorated the house with red lanterns and red streamers, then we decorated our Chinese New Year's tree with special ornaments.  All of the red colors fit in perfectly with V-Day!  We broke out our modified chopsticks and had a tasty lunch.  The kids ate Ramen Noodles and did very well with the chopsticks!  I even used mine with Tostitos and dip!  It worked like a charm!

   

We headed to Kansas City and walked around the KC Home Remodeling show for a few hours.  The kids were perfect as always.  There was a lot to see and a lot to do.  Cade was put in the back of an Ambulance, and the kids both visited a crafts area where they made cool bracelets and Cali made a special crown.  We really enjoyed it.  After the show we headed up to Zona Rosa and ate dinner at Bo Lings, a nice Chinese restaurant.  The kids used some chopsticks again and that made the meal even more fun for all!  It was a great meal and a great way to help celebrate the New Year.

We came home where we enjoyed an evening watching the Olympics and eating red Chinese New Year cupcakes. The last two pics show you how much little Liu enjoyed her cupcake! 

The day was a great one for the McGinness crew.  We enjoyed celebrating both important holidays.  It was so nice that the day fell on a Sunday.  Today is President's Day so we are all home from school and work.  I apologize for the long break in between posts.......I was out of town for a while at bank compliance training so that put me behind the 8 ball a bit.  I am back and promise more posts.......keep checking in! 

GOTCHA DAY!!

Three years ago today our lives were forever changed........after a long, two year, roller coaster of a wait, we finally met our little Cali Liu!!  Today is what they refer to in the adoption world as "Gotcha Day".  It is amazing to think that three whole years have passed by since that remarkable day.  We remember the day like it was yesterday.  This entire week we have been looking back at our old blog site (http://www.crazyaboutcali.blog.com/) reliving those precious memories.  If you would like to go back and look at those same memories, go to that site and on the right hand side of the blog, click on January 2007.  Here are some pictures of the day that we finally met our Cali Liu:

    

 

We have always said that we want to make Gotcha Day a very special day for our entire family.  When you think about it, Gotcha Day is more like her birthday to us.  This is the day that we first held our little bundle of joy!  Today she wore a special Gotcha Day dress to Tammy's.  She also took some pink Gotcha Day cookies to share with her buddies.  We allowed her to pick out a special dinner and cake.  She chose spaghetti and angel food cake with pink icing!  She has great taste!  We also allowed her to pick a movie to watch......she chose "Paul Blart, Mall Cop"!  Once again, she has great taste!  We watched our movie, and then sang "Happy Gotcha Day" to her and she blew out a #3 candle (for her 3rd Gotcha Day).  After the cake, Cade took her upstairs to find the outfit that she had on when they handed her to us back in China.  Believe it or not, she can still fit into the outfit (it is a bit snug)!  It was so cute.  She has had it on now for over 2 hours....even the socks!  We broke out the picture albums from the China Journey and she was infatuated....she looked through the albums over and over, soaking it all in and asking question after question.

 

As you can tell, we had a great Gotcha Day celebration!  As I finish this up, Cali is down here still wearing her original Gotcha Day outift!  She loves it.  We always talk about how God had a plan for our family and had a plan for Cali Liu.  He definitely knew what he was doing!  Think about all that had to happen in order for Cali to join our family.  It is truly a miracle.  We cannot imagine our lives with out Miss Liu.  She is full of orneryness and we love every bit of it!  We have truly been blessed with both Cali Liu and Cade Michael.  We give thanks every day for the both of them.  Our big Gotcha Day celebration is coming to an end.........Cali's 4th birthday will be here before we know it (April 5th).  Another celebration will take place for that big day!  Check back soon for more updates from the McGinness crew.  Good night.   

Three years ago today...........

Three years ago today Kim and I were on a plane to China to meet our Jiang Cheng Liu (Cali's given name).  It is amazing to think that three years ago our wonderful journey to China had just began!  We have been looking back at our old blog (http://www.crazyaboutcali.blog.com/) and reliving all of the wonderful memories.  We have shed many happy tears the past 48 hours! 

Cali's referral picture

This weekend was kind of a wild one.......especially Friday night and Saturday.  Friday night Kim had a lia sophia party so I was in charge of the kiddos (and Cade's buddy Parker).  Saturday morning Cade attended a paintball birthday party for his buddy Devin and I worked at the bank.  Cade has numerous bruises on his body from the paintball experience!  Saturday afternoon Cade had a baseball hitting league game.  The boys won again (they are now 3-0) and Cade had his best outing yet!  We rushed home and then rushed right back out the door.  That evening Kim and I attended the Northland Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards Banquet with our friends Brad and Kim.  The dinner was at Harrah's Casino.  It was a very nice event and we really enjoyed ourselves.

   

Today we actually had NOTHING on our schedule.  The day still ended up flying right by just like every other day does.  The NFL playoffs have been on today so we have tried to keep our eyes on the games.  Cade and I were cheering for the Jets and they lost.  We are also cheering for the Vikings and they are in a battle with the Saints as I create this blog.  Here are a few more pics from the weekend..............

 

Kim recieved this plate for her birthday....Cade used it tonight.  It is a Fred Head plate.  You can put your food all over his face/head to make him look funny.  The kids love it!

The week ahead is going to be a busy one. The weekend will be here again before we know it!  I hope all of you have a great week ahead! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY!!

Today we celebrated mommy's birthday.  The morning began with the opening of her cards and gifts before we took off to school and Tammy's.

Naturally with today being a regular day during the work week, it was a bit hectic.  Kim ran Cali to gymnastics early in the evening and then we all met up at home for some tasty Casey's pizza.  After the pizza was devoured, the kids made mommy some chewy fudge brownies!!  We sang to her and she (plus two helpers) blew out the candles.

The night has flown right by.  They are all upstairs right now messing with one of her birthday gifts.  I hope that Kim had a wonderful birthday.  It is always crazy having it on a weekday like this.  Here are two more pics from the evening.........Mommy reading a birthday message with Cali Liu and Cali performing to the American Idol Wii game.  Have a great night!