Brooklynn had a Birthday! (and so did 2 others in the fam but u have to start somewhere)!

Brooklynn had a Birthday...! Brooklynn turned 5 in April. We may be blogging late but the fact of the matter is that she still turned 5! She insisted on a Barbie cake so being in China without a wal-mart where I could just go buy a pan....I got creative. It worked out fine and she was happy! She had a great day full of friends and family.

We opened presence in the evening. This is her opening the Birthday shirt our Ayi bought for her. After dinner out with friends we went to see The Sound of Music as a family..... the kids loved it. I have to take a moment to mention that I got a little gift myself that night! Brooklynn chose her own outfit and she looked adorable. Brooklynn has quite the eclectic taste which has taken her mother a little while to learn to deal with! I now simply look at it as entertainment! I never know what is waiting for me around the corner when it comes to Brooklynn and I love her for that!

Brooklynn was a very lucky girl in that she had two Birthdays this year. This was middle of prep for the princess party. Her Chinese friend in the corner of the picture had never seen anything quite like the party we had in motion! I wish you could have seen this little girls eyes when all of the princesses arrived!!!

I hope Brooklynn had a wonderful day! She is such an amazing little girl! She brightens my day and at times has taught me more about patience than I ever thought possible. Her vibrant spirit, desire to know "why" and her ability to "take care of herself" are the things that make me look forward to seeing the type of beautiful young lady she will soon become!

Christmas in China 2009!

Christmas morning with the kids in their new pajamas! It was our first Christmas not returning to America. It was so wonderful to spend Christmas at home! Santa seems to think it is the way to go too!;)

Did Bryant really buy a 20 pound turkey for our little family to eat for Christmas Dinner.....Yes!

Did Bryant really spend 100 usd on an imported turkey for us to eat for Christmas Dinner...Yes!

Did we love every minute of preparing and eating that expensive US imported turkey..........YES!

Bryant with the kids on Christmas Eve! Everyone was anxiously awaiting the arrival of you know who!!!!

London and Mom Go To America!

Although unexpected London got the chance to go to America for the first time! I think no one was more excited than her Grandpa! He had not had the chance to meet his newest grandchild yet. As you can see by the picture he spent quite a bit of time with little miss London! He baby sat her on many occasions giving them the perfect opportunity to bond. His first few hours with her however, were a bit rocky! They were spent in the back of a car while she screamed at the top of her lungs. We went straight from the airport to the doctors office. He decided to keep London so I could concentrate on myself and the ten needle biopsies that awaited me!

Thanks Dad! I have a feeling London will treasure this picture for years to come!!!

If this face leaves you with any doubt I think London had a great time on her first visit to America! It was so nice to have her with me! I missed the other kids like crazy!!!!! As it turns out......they missed me too!!!

So after all of the business was taken care of we got to play. This is my brother with his his son Owen and his other son with Boomer (the Indianapolis Pacer mascot) My brother and his wife invited me to go with them to Jackson's first professional basketball game. We had seats on the 6th row. Jackson got the chance to meet Boomer outside of the Pacer locker room. I had so much fun with them that night ( a little sad my boys weren't there though). Thanks for the invite George and Stephanie! Wish we could play more often!

So not only did I get to visit my family I also got to visit my friends! This is a picture of one of my great friends from Shanghai! Kathleen now lives in Indiana and she came up to Indianapolis to visit me. It was so great to see her! I was suppose to meet her and another one of my friends from Shanghai over the weekend but ended up staying in Indianapolis to help my mom with a party! Sorry I missed you Morgan, my Mom was totally grateful though!

So last but not least my little emergency trip home came three weeks after my best friend Alicia delivered her first baby. This is a picture of Eliana and I am just so glad that I got a chance to meet her! She was so adorable. I can't wait until London and Eliana can actually play together!

I had a wonderful time back in America. I am so glad my Dad got to meet London and I got to see my friends and family but I have to say...........there is no place like home! Upon my return to Shanghai I was greeted by two of my little ones (the other fast asleep at home.) Brooklynn met me with the tightest hug and uncontrollable tears! A moment I hope I never forget! So being cancer free and home with Bryant and the kids in time for Christmas......... I couldn't have hoped or wished for more! Thanks to everyone who prayed for me and was there for my family while I was away. We are surrounded by amazing friends and a wonderful family!

Our Turtle Dove!

Austin had a Christmas performance at Dulwich.  He was a Turtle Dove.  We were very impressed by the performance.  The costumes were great and the kids learned 12 different songs!  Very impressive!  They did a wonderful job.

Here is our Turtle Dove dancing during the performance.  He learned all the moves!  Good Job Austin!

These are two pictures we took at the end of the performance.  He was so proud of himself.  It is always so much fun to see your kids work hard and feel accomplished at the end of the day!  I have a feeling he will be singing the songs he learned for the performance well into 2009!

We Love Gingerbread Houses!

This is Austin with his friend Sid.  Sid is from Ireland and Austin finds Ireland a very fascinating country.  Hey you can't blame him it is a country  filled with Leprechauns.

This is Austin with his buddy Liam.  As you can tell they share the same hair cut!  Thanks for the inspiration Kathleen!

Last but not least Austin with his classmate Will.  They were just as excited to eat the house as they were to build it!  The boys were so kind to let our precious ballerina join them!  She loves hanging out with her brother (especially when he has friend over) funny how that works!

We have a special rule in our home. When we make a Gingerbread house we get to eat it right away.  This is mutually beneficial.  The kids love to eat them and I don't have to stare at stale gingerbread for weeks on end!  So...not only did we get our Gingerbread house fix for the year we also got our sugar fix!!! 

Thanksgiving at The Eggett Home!

There are two things aside from my family and friends that I love..... food and parties.  You can only imagine how my wheels start turning when the holiday season rolls around.  I love finding new fun ways to decorate.  I guess it is my way of showing the people I care about how much I value them.

This is the table right before we sat down to eat.  Minutes later it was in shambles but it was totally worth it.

Mom with "her boys."  Aren't they handsome.  I am a lucky women!

Here are a few closer looks at the table.  I used pears  for the place cards.  I cut out leafs and used gold pen to write everyone's name.

I had to blog about our friends, Andre and Jennifer.  They are not American and this was their first Thanksgiving ever!  It was so great to celebrate such a fun holiday with them. 

 

Just another picture so I guess I will take a minute to say how grateful we are to have such wonderful friends that serve as our family away from home!  They have really become such a huge part of why we love Shanghai.  To our family reading this......you are irreplaceable this is why in ten days I will be traveling alone with three children half way across the world!!! :)

This is a picture of the gift I assembled  to give to the guests at the end of the evening.  Just something fun and yummy to take home in the event they didn't get full during dinner! :)

So I guess after all that hard work there is only one thing left to do........go eat a turkey sandwich......nothing better!!!

United Nation's Day at Dulwich!

Every year Austin's school has UN day.  They spend the whole day celebrating all of the countries around the world.  They are asked to dress up in outfits that represent their home country.  This of course led to a very interesting conversation with Austin.  He has a difficult time understanding he is an American not a Singaporean (Austin was born in Singapore).  Sorry Dad,  you know I am a total patriot!  I will work harder!!!  However, you can't blame the poor boy as he has never lived in America let alone spent more than three weeks at any given time there!  So anyway............as you can see he was a cowboy!!!

This is a picture of Austin outside of his classroom.  His classroom represented Ireland as that is where his teacher is from.  One guess who his teacher is!!! :)

This is a picture of his whole class after the big parade outside of the school.  All of the kids march in a parade wearing all of their outfits.  It was so much fun to enjoy all of the different costumes the children wore to represent their home countries!

This is Austin in the parade giving me a quick wave.  I love my cowboy and I am so grateful for the amazing opportunities he has living abroad to truly appreciate the diversity around him.