Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a very enjoyable Thanksgiving celebration this year. My brother, Xavier, was able to come visit with us even though Grandma, Pop-Pop, and Doe were not (since Grandma is not feeling well and needs to keep her immune system healthy right now). This year, we decided to dine out for the first time! Mama has cooked Thanksgiving dinner every year since she and Daddy have been married with the exception of one year, so this was a real treat for her. We went to the fabulous buffet at Chateau Elan, a nearby vineyard and winery in Braselton, Georgia. Here I am standing by the fireplace at their beautiful resort.

Xavier took this picture of Mama, Daddy and me overlooking the Versailles restaurant (where the Thanksgiving dinner buffet was held) at Chateau Elan.

And here is a nice shot of the buffet tables and the festivities below. I really liked looking up at all the glass and seeing the sky and the clouds as they moved past us.

Here I am sitting in my brother's lap. I love spending time with him.

And here I am in Daddy's lap after eating some of everything on the buffet - including caviar, foie gras, smoked salmon, and all kinds of things kids are NOT supposed to like. My parents love that I'm a culinary adventurer!

We hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving. We look forward to the upcoming holiday season and all the festivities and fellowship that it will bring for us. Stay tuned for pictures from the various events we attend and activities we participate in. And we thank everyone for the continued prayers for Grandma. She has tolerated her second round of chemotherapy well and has only one more to go. We look forward to 2010!

We Had A SPOOKtacular October!

The month of October was a busy one for us! It was filled with both fun activities as well as those that were more mundane but necessary - as always with life. We also had some news that our family had to cope with - which we will discuss later in this post. Thankfully, all is well. This first set of pictures shows how I typically look on an average Saturday when I go with Mama and Baba to run errands. Here I am all set to go out to lunch and to the library. I always want to wear a "princess dress" at every opportunity, and I always carry a purse. Sunglasses are a necessity in the Georgia sun - even in Fall.

Here is the BIG canvas bag of books we are returning at the library. Like Mama, I love books and reading.

And here I am outside again, standing like a proper little lady. Mama and Baba do say they are proud of my behavior and that I do act like a nice little lady.


We also went to the Washington Farms Pumpkin Patch this year with the Asian Children's Mentor Program. My mentor Ji In and I had a GREAT time petting the animals and doing lots of things. Here we are trying to entice some animals to come visit with us.

These goats finally decided to come see us.

And now we are vising with a donkey. Mama called him something else, but she won't tell me what she called him. She said it's in the Bible, though. :)

I am petting a bunny rabbit now. He has really big ears.

We are on a hay ride now! The wind is really blowing!

This is a big and interesting slide!

Wheeeeeee!

And now we are playing in a bin full of corn!

This is FUN!

Now Ji In is helping me to ride a tricycle through a hay maze.

Woohoo! I'm doing it!

Grandma, Pop Pop and Doe came up, and we did some pumpkin carving! Daddy just took off the top of the pumpkin.

And now I am taking the icky insides out. Yuck!

I'm in up to my elbows!

Whoa - it's empty in there!

Now Daddy is cutting out the pattern.

And now the finished product!

Look how it glows. Spooky!

I really love my grandma!

This year, Daddy was Rorschach from The Watchmen, I was Cinderella, and Mama was a Vampire.

We outsmarted the rain this year by trick or treating INSIDE the mall!

Grandma and Doe had a great time as well. So did Pop Pop, but he's not in this picture.

Mama wasn't a "scary" vampire. She said she's a vegan vampire. :)

But with spooky red eyes.

And here's a close up of Mr. Rorschach.


This past month has been tough, as we found out that grandma has breast cancer. The good news is that she is only in Stage 2 with no lymph node involvement. The bad news is that a few rounds of chemotherapy is still warranted. We appreciate the prayers and kind thoughts of all our family and friends who are supporting us through this. And we celebrate that Grandma has a fantastic positive attitude and the love of her family to help her get through this - and especially the love of ME - her favorite granddaughter to give her hope and some humor along the way.