David Cook wins American Idol

The battle of the Davids ended last night when David Cook won the title of the new American Idol. Host, Ryan Seacrest, said that Cook one by "12 million votes." I think that is amazing, especially since both Davids were equally talented in my opinion. The difference comes down to style. David Archuleta is more of a pop singer while David Cook can do both pop and rock. I also enjoyed the final show last night, especially the part where the Idol singers performed songs from various artists, and then that artist came out to perform with them or solo. It was great!

Wednesday's Reflection: China Earthquake

Dear Lord,

Please remember all the victims of the recent earthquake which devastated parts of China, especially the mothers who lost their children, and children who lost their mothers. May you come to their aid and give them strength and courage in their darkest hour.

Love,
Ashley

Forever Family Day

As I celebrate the year anniversary of the day I adopted my second daughter in China, I feel grateful that my wait was only two years, and that God
choose this special child just for me. Little Sister turned "2" in April and enjoyed a birthday party with her family. She especially liked the Cookie Monster cake that
her Mommy made for her. At two, she is sweet, affectionate, intelligent, and curious. Little Sister absolutely adores her big sister and cousins. Her favorite possessions are her blankie, food, toy phones, visiting the park, and her baby dolls.

Once a week, we have a speech therapist come to work with her. At this point, she can only say a few words so the therapy helps. Little Sister is now 26 pounds and 2 ft, 8 inches. She continues to be a deep sleeper, sleeping 11 hours each night and taking a 2 hour nap daily. Her temper flares up occasionally, but she now knows how to self-soothe. She will be baptized this weekend at our church. The past
year has made an incredible difference in her life. I look forward to seeing what changes will happen within the next year.

Portrait of Mei Mei

Photographed by Big Sister last week.

One of those days. . .

Today started out being a very good day. I woke up early and drove to the social security office so that I could finally obtain a card for Little Sister. The traffic flow wasn't too heavy and I found the office without any problem. Once inside, I was happily surprised to see that I was only one of two customers. Usually government offices are packed, especially on a Friday. I kept thinking, "Wow, can my morning get any better." After I left the building, I decided to head over to our local library to work on my resume. (I'm still looking for a job!) As I left the library, I started rummaging through my pockets and pocketbook looking for my keys when suddenly I realized that they were not with me. I panicked and walked over to my car. As I peered inside, I could see them laying on the passenger seat right where I left them. Oh crap! Now what I thought! I immediately called my sister. No answer. Then I called her husband who just so happened to be at the same library as me at the exact time. Okay, I thought, maybe we can get out of this jam. My brother-in-law, who is always calm in a time of crisis, gave me his keys so that I could drive his car to my house and look for my spare key. Sounds like a great plan, doesn't it? I drove home, found 'the key' and returned back to the library with rapid speed only to discover that the key didn't fit my car and wasn't the right 'key' after all. Moving past crap at this point to more complex cursing in my head, I returned the key to my brother-in-law and then walked back into the library and asked the librarian for help. She called the non-emergency police line and within minutes, not one, but two elderly gentlemen arrived one after another on their motorized police vehicles to rescue a damsel in distress. Okay, it wasn't really that glamorous. The cops could have been my dad or grandad. I guess the good-looking, younger officers were assisting someone who really needed help. At any rate, I now have my keys and will be more careful about taking them with me in the future.

Wednesday's Reflection

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

Spring Photos

When Big Sister turned four, her daddy bought her a digital camera. At first I thought the idea was crazy, but she loves her camera, takes very good care of it and is a good photographer. Check out her latest photos taken at the Chicago Botanical Gardens.