33 Months

33 months. That's pretty random and won't mean much to most people. But Hannah was 33 months old when I adopted her at the very end of May 2006. And today is 33 months later. Which means from this point out, Hannah has been with me longer than she has not. Not an earth-shattering thought or even hugely sentimental. She has been mine since day 1. But, the thought does make me smile.

Want to know how we celebrated today? Well, truth be told, although I've known for a while that today was the 33 month mark, I actually completely forgot once it got here. Didn't think about it at all until just a few minutes ago...long after I put the girls to bed. But, we did do fun things this afternoon..just because. As we headed home from school in the middle of pretty good rain, I was thinking.."well, no outside play today. we're stuck inside for the day and likely most of the day tomorrow according to the weather folks". So, I did what anyone else would have done on a cold, rainy day. I stopped at the store for ice-cream! We came home, changed into pajamas, spread a blanket on the floor, put in a movie, and cuddled under our blankets while eating ice-cream! Fun times!

I hope everyone has a good weekend..and for those of you who live in the general area I do, can't wait to see what this weekend brings. Rain and storms tonight..snow tomorrow night?? Not getting my hopes up..but it would be fun!

My Family Has a Marathon Finisher

Hannah ran in the Mercedes Kids Marathon this morning and did great! I was so proud of her. She's been "training" all year at school in her P.E. class by running the first 25.2 miles over the course of the year. Then, she and about 25 others from our school ran the last mile on the official course today downtown along with who knows how many other kids (thousands I think!) There were about 7 kindergarteners from our school and two were in Hannah's class. After a group photo, we split up to wander around waiting for our turn. Kindergarten ran last. By the time we lined up for the race, it was so crowded and we couldn't find any of the kids she knew. But, she marched on out there to the starting line anyway..looking a bit nervous but determined. And my determined little girl finished her mile strong. Much to her delight, she received a medal and a powerade. And she convinced me to stop for McDonald's on the way home too.

I was very proud of Hannah for the simple reason that she's mine. And I know that as excited as she was, she was also scared...a mile is a long way for a 5 year old to run with a bunch of kids you don't know when you can't see familiar faces until you near the end (where I was). So - her efforts and bravery were well noted. But there were a handful of others I was proud of too: the third grader who rolled over the finish line in his wheelchair, the 2nd grader who finished behind the last 1st grader (grades started 12 minutes apart with the older grades going first) and had a huge smile on her face as she ran by me, the very small 1st grader with obvious disabilities who ran with her mother and did a limp/walk/run/shuffle all the way, and the parents standing near me who cheered every bit as loud for these kids and for every child that passed by as they did for their own. It was a good day.

Hanging out by the fountain at Linn Park waiting for her age-group to line up.

Here's all the runners from my school before their races.

Hannah with a sweet friend from her class

This is the only picture I got of Hannah running. By the time she got close enough for me to see her and I got my camera focused on her, she was past me!

Checking out her medal after the race

All I wanted was to finish grocery shopping!

So, after church I took the girls to the grocery store. We usually go Fridays after school or Saturdays after Hannah's dance class. But we had other things going on this weekend and didn't get to it. So - after church it was. I knew it wasn't a great time to go - it was nap time for Sadie. But we didn't need too much and I thought "let's just get it done while we're out". So, I'm pushing the cart (Winn Dixie has new carts by the way...and their "car" carts aren't as big as they used to be so it's great!) and trying to get through the list quickly..when uh-oh, sweet looking older woman is staring at us. Not unfriendly stares...she smiles and says hello. I smile and answer hello and keep looking at the apples I'm deciding on. I don't really want a friendly chat at the moment, I want to get done quickly and get home before the "window of opportunity" for nap time fades away or before someone melts down from being tired. But, sweet looking lady moves in closer and strikes up a conversation with the girls. They tend to draw attention sometimes. When they both glance at her, here's how the conversation goes.

lady: oh, I thought they were twins for a minute. (Hannah is WAY bigger than Sadie by the way). I can see now that they're not.
me: (smile) no, not twins. (move on to the bananas)
lady: (follows us)..No, they're not twins are they?
me: no. This one (pointing to Hannah) is older.
Hannah: She's younger. I'm five and she's three.
lady: How old are you? (to Hannah who just shared that)
Hannah: 5
lady: and how old is the other one?
me: 3 (seeing where this might be headed, I try to move on)
Hannah: (friendly, but no clue where this is going...) We're sisters!
lady: oh, they're sisters?
me: yes.
lady: REALLY? They're really sisters?
me: yes.
lady: I bet you adopted them!
me: yes, I did.
lady: (very smug look on her face) I could tell..I just thought you had.
me: (thinking to myself "gee, is it that obvious I'm not chinese?") keeps silent and smiles and starts off again.
lady: Do they know they're adopted?
me: um..they do now thanks to you. (JUST KIDDING - I didn't say that one, just thought it) yes, they do. Girls, tell the nice lady to have a good day.
Hannah and Sadie: Have a good day
lady: wait..did you get them at the same time?
me: (Hannah's listening..she knows the truth so I decide to be honest) no
lady: But you said they were sisters.
me: They are. Bye (fake smile and walk away quickly!)

I mean really! So, for those who need to know (mostly strangers who will never read this blog..not the people who do read it..but oh well.)

Yes, Hannah and Sadie are adopted.
Yes, they know they are adopted. (Hannah knows, Sadie doesn't understand the word "adopted" yet but she does know she's from China)
Yes, they are my daughters.
Yes, they are my REAL daughters.
Yes, Hannah and Sadie are sisters.
Yes, they are REALLY sisters.

And for the record, I am their only parent. I have only one set of parents. Yet, they have more than one set of grandparents. My only sibling (a brother) doesn't have any children. Yet Sadie and Hannah have three cousins.

Hope that answers all the questions out there! Except of course, most of those questions come from complete strangers like I said..not the wonderful friends or follow adoptive moms who read here. oh well..

And I really don't mind answering quetions..it's just that sensitive questions should be asked outside of my kids' hearing..and by people who either have a reason for asking (like if you want to adopt - you can ask me anything!) or at least by people who know me well enough to ask personal questions. (At the minimum I should at least know your name!)

Rant over. Have a good afternoon!