Emma's Ornament

Emma kindly made us an ornament for our Christmas tree.  Or is a schefflera a plant?  Thank you, Emma!  Your ornament was the first to go up!

P.S.  Otis and Mya are looking from the wall, and Amon is looking from his 1994 ornament.

A different kind of evergreen

OK, I'm not exaggerating!  I spent about 2.5 hours untangling Christmas lights, one fraction of an inch and one light at a time!  The time flew though:  listened to the entire New Orleans Christmas CD, visited with Evelyn, talked long distance with Skyler, LaWanda, and almost Otis: he emphatically said "no!" when asked if he wanted to talk to Mia on the phone; something about playing with Bananas instead.  I don't blame him!  But watch out, Otis.  We're going to play and play when you come to visit!

Here's our schefflera, decked out for the holidays.  And maybe for all year!  I don't think I'll ever unwrap those lights!

Emma goes Cajun

We enjoyed Emma's performances Saturday as The Little Matchgirl who starved and froze to death  (Shanana cried and vowed to stuff Emma full of food at the cast party); a dancing fruitcake (so graceful!), and Sandy McGee, a reporter from the London Times, complete with English accent.

After the cast party, we hung out at Starbucks and Emma opened her gift from Mema and Pepa Hogan, "The Cajun Night Before Christmas."  Emma showed us that not only can she do an English accent, but she can also speak Cajun!  You geaux girl!

Mya helps Papa in the garden

Mya helps Papa tend the lettuce, all decked out in her Mardi Gras beads from the Princess room.  Ready to water the plants and feed the cats.

Emma and Mya meet for the first time

On Sunday, the Manhattan Lewises and the Waco Horns met each other for the first time, at Dos Salsas in Georgetown.  Emma brought Mya books about sisters and brothers and a bunny that looks a lot like Tina, Emma's favorite stuffed animal since she was 6 or 7. Mya christened her new bunny "TaTa." We needed quarters for the gumball machine that dispenses toys--are those called "gumball" machines too?--and Emma got a Yosemite quarter in her change, one she didn't have in her collection. She still needs an Arizona quarter, if anyone has one to send her way.

Emma and Mya check out the Big Sisters book

Emma reads to Mya

The cousins

Emma shows Mya the yo-yo ropes

Ryder joins in

Emma helps Tina do the hokey-pokey while TaTa watches

Come on, Mya!  Be in the picture!

Mya thinks about it

Family photo: yea!

Ryder, Brandy, and Mya visit us from the City

What fun we've had this week!  Ryder, Brandy, and Mya arrived on Thursday.  First stop: Chuy's, for real Tex Mex, with Amon, Anjanette, and Evelyn. No down-home Threadgill's cookin' in NYC either.  So we hit Threadgill's too.  Not in the same day, thank goodness!

Swingin' time at Capital Gymnastics:  sorry! can't help being a corny punster

Rocking out at Capital Gymnastics

Mia and Mya after a round with Blue Dog

River and Jade meet for the first time

Amon races Mya through the kitchen on Blue Dog

Brandy, Sarah, and Anjanette

Brandy and Ryder, relaxed and happy, no?

Mya decorated our kitchen tree with Papa Bear and turned to admire the flying elf

Papa and Mya catching the last rays at Brentwood Park

Our neighbor displays every inflatable Christmas decoration ever made, we're sure of it.  Here's Mya, mesmerized by the reindeer merry-go-round.

That healthy looking (uneaten) carrot is not real; it's decoration that Mya brought to the table. 
A minute earlier, and you would have seen chocolate cake and key lime pie on everyone's plates (eaten by now).

Bananas!

LaWanda called us Friday to say she and Otis were stopping in at the Humane Society to visit with the dogs. I could hear Otis in the background saying "cat" and "doggy" in his cute 2-year-old voice. They fell in love with a golden lab mix: who wouldn't? Labs are so friendly. They look like they're always smiling. Anyway, here's the newest member of the Ollison-Lewis household, Bananas! LaWanda tried to also get a photo of Otis and Bananas together, but as she explained, it's hard to capture two moving objects in a still pose!

House of Light and Joy, for sure

OK, we were testing out Tom's IPod camera and captured the light beam focused on our deck (above).  I guess we really do live in the house of light and joy?

Homestead Fair

Tom and I spent Saturday with Al, Joyce, and Emma at the Homestead Fair.  The fair is put on by a religious group that mainly lives off the land, but recognizes the necessity and usefulness of modern technology on a limited basis.  The craftsmanship in their furniture, clothing, baskets, and pottery was impressive.  I learned how to weave a basket (sort of), and learned that a good broom will stand alone.  There was a wonderful sense of serenity, excellence, and caring there.  I highly recommend their website: http://www.sustainlife.org/.  Tom and I were thrilled to find out they deliver their cheeses to an Austin food co-op weekly.  We'll be there!  Oh!  And who would have though jalapeno sweet potato soup would be so good with a side of crusty homemade bread and herbal butter?

Thanks for Thanksgiving blessings!

Thanks to everyone for a wonderful holiday:  Tuesday in Shreveport, Thursday in Austin. Enjoy the photos!

Tribute to Tom's burger quest

OK, above is Skyler's drawing of a burger.  Makes Tom hungry every time he looks at it.

Giving Thanks for So Many Blessings: All of You!

Happy Thanksgiving!  What are we thankful for?  We're thankful for you! When we count our blessings, we count each of you.  You bring us joy and enrich our lives so much.

So, as for Thursday: I've been through the Cooking Light recipes and shopped at Central Market tonight.  Costco run is tomorrow.  The turkey's in the freezer. Amon and Anjanette are bringing homemade cranberry sauce, and Al, Joyce, and Emma are bringing dessert:  I think pumpkin bars might be in our future. ;-) Sarah and Evelyn will come over for awhile too.  We wish everyone could be here; we'll be thinking about you!

In the meantime, we'll be celebrating the holidays on Tuesday in Shreveport with my Mom and Dad, brother Charles, sister Martha and family, sister Donna and family, and brother Martin.  Donna, Destry, and Colton are driving up from New Orleans and Martin is flying in from Miami.  It'll be a one-day zoom zoom to Shreveport and back.  We already have our book on CD for the trip, and are looking forward to our usual trip treat that we make early in the morning before we hit the road:  coffee with cream and chocolate.  Mmm!
I'll take a lot of photos and post next time.

We love you!

The next chapter

Tom and Al and I spent Saturday at the Adoption Knowledge Affiliates (AKA) conference, learning more about the triad of adoption:  adoptee, adoptive family, and birth family.  Tom and I are so fortunate that Al and Joyce embrace the triad.  They've welcomed us into their family with open arms and open hearts!

Following the conference, Al and Amon and Anjanette met each other for the first time over mmm good barbecue at Artz Ribhouse.  We thought the a la mode on the raspberry/peach cobbler looked like a Thanksgiving gobbler.  What do you think?

Jade Fox Lewis is on her way!

We found out Thursday afternoon that little Jade is on her way. She currently weighs about 11 ounces and is the size of a mango. At the sonogram, we were able to see all her little fingers and toes. She waved at us several times. She's due to arrive in Austin around March 27. Can't wait to meet her!




A little history about jade: For 8,000 to 12,000 years, the Chinese have held jade to be the most precious stone. The Confucianist Hàn Dynasty scholar, Xu Shen (c.58 CE to c.147 CE) described jade as the fairest of stones, endowed with five virtues: "Charity is typified by its luster, bright yet warm; rectitude by its translucency, revealing the color and markings within; wisdom by the purity and penetrating quality of its note when the stone is struck; courage, in that it may be broken, but cannot be bent; equity, in that it has sharp angles, which yet injure none."



May our own Jade personify the virtues of her namesake.

Hanging our bathroom mirror

We were excited this past week to finally, after two years, find a mirror for our bathroom.  I'd been searching Craigslist forever.  Love that website and love buying things from the sellers:  met a lady in an alley to get the metal pitcher that keeps water so cold, and met the mirror guy in a parking lot at lunch.  Papa/P.Tom did a professional job of hanging the mirror, all without a laser level, but with his trusted tape measure.  (Learned all about laser levels from Benjamin, who gave Amon a quick lesson in kitchen cabinet installation on Saturday.)  And P. Tom/Papa used a roofing hammer because it was indoors in the utility room which meant not going out to the tool shed in the rainy cold to look for a claw hammer.  I love my handyman!

Emma is "The Little Match Girl"

Emma's next theatrical role will be as the lead in "The Little Match Girl," in a production slated for December 10-12 in Waco.  Congratulations, Emma!  I like that memories of her grandmother (of course!) bring comfort to The Little Match Girl (see plot summary below).

On a cold New Year’s Eve, a poor girl tries to sell matches in the street. She is freezing badly, but she is afraid to go home because her father will beat her for not selling any matches. She takes shelter in a nook and lights the matches to warm herself. In their glow, she sees several lovely visions including a Christmas tree and a holiday feast. The girl looks skyward, sees a shooting star, and remembers her deceased grandmother saying that such a falling star means someone died and is going into Heaven. As she lights her next match, she sees a vision of her grandmother, the only person to have treated her with love and kindness. She strikes one match after another to keep the vision of her grandmother nearby for as long as she can. The child dies and her grandmother carries her soul to Heaven. The next morning, passers-by find the dead child in the nook..

Bye-bye, Halloween!

We didn't have a jack-o-lantern, but had orange and yellow tulips to decorate our Halloween table.  I sat out front with the bowl of candy until every last piece (well, except for two Nestles Crunch bars) was given to all the princesses, comic book heroes, and vampires who stopped by.  Later,  we hd dinner with friends Joel, Cheryl, and Loren. Tortilla's aren't just for eating any more. That's Loren playing Jason with a tortilla mask.  Oh!  And Papa/P.Tom checked out the candy bowl.