J&D Racing Update

This is the first post of the racing season even though racing is well underway.  Both scheduled races in May were lost due to rain, but all three events for June saw good racing weather.  This year J is running the Jr. Outlaw and D is running in the Tiger Sprint A division.  Unfortunately, both karts are not handling well through the turns and the finishing results show this.  J has finishes of 5^th, 10^th and 8^th in the three races we’ve had, while D has finishes of 7^th, 6^th and 10^th.  We’ve made some big changes to the setups for both karts and will continue to move in that direction until we either go too far or hit something that works.

The next race is Monday, 7/11/11 at Stafford Motor Speedway.  For those in the local area, this event is the Family Fun Night – the event with games and prizes on the midway for kids (as well as kart racing).  In the past, this event was held in August before the kids went back to school, but this year it has been moved to July 11^th.   If you want passes for this event, please let me know as soon as you can and I will get some for you.  Passes are only needed for those 13 and over, as usual, 12 and under are free.

After 7/11, the kart racing schedule at Stafford Motor Speedway is as follows:

July 18 & 25 (Karting for Cancer)
August 8, 15, 22 & 29
September 11 (Sunday)

God Bless and hope to see you at the track.

What We've Been Up To

It's been a long time since our last post....sorry.  We've been busy
settling in as a family of 5.  Trying to finish our homeschool lessons. 
Yard work. The boys (and by that I mean ALL of them)
have started a new season of go-kart racing.  So, needless to say
we've been busy.

We've also been getting all of Q's doctor appts. needed to
prepare for her palate surgery (which will be July 17th). 
We wish there was a way to prepare her for what's to come
and also explain to her that her favorite snacks will be off limits
for weeks to come.  I see many meltdowns in my future. :-0
We're praying for a safe surgery with no complications and
 a speedy recovery.


Q has done so well adjusting to her new home.  It's amazing to
think she's been home less than two months.  It truly seems
as though she's always been with us.  She continues to amaze
us each day with what she knows.  She babbles and tries to
say words (but we're not sure if it's a combination of English/Chinese
or babble). She understands more than we'd expect being
home for such a short period of time. We started teaching her some
sign language so she (read we) wouldn't be so frustrated with
communication. She has no fear, which is good and bad.
She LOVES her brothers! :-)  The feeling is mutual. :-) 
She loves her baba even though it seems that words with 'b' are
difficult for her to say...she calls him 'mama'. She lights up when
he walks in the door each afternoon (the string is firmly tied around
the finger). :-) She still has a love/hate relationship with the dog.
I think the dog feels the same way. :-)   Sleeping is still an issue,
but I've learned to get over it. She falls asleep in her crib but wakes
up a few hours later looking for someone to rescue her.  I've learned
to just enjoy this time with her as it will pass quickly. I have to remind
myself of that each time I get a jab in the back or face in the middle
of the night from our little kick boxer. :-) She loves to be outside
and has no problem getting dirty.  She prefers cars over bows and
ribbons.  Yeah, makes me a little sad but she SO fits in with our family.
God truly had a hand in placing her with us.  We are thankful that He
entrusted us to be her parents.

We had an unexpected trip to FL two weeks ago due to my
father having a stroke. Q did great traveling. I had worried that
she'd have trouble adjusting to a new place, people, etc., esp
after just being home with us for such a short period of time. She did
GREAT! This was a true blessing as I needed to be with my sister
and dad at the hospital quite a bit. On a good note about the trip
(if there could be one), the kids got to go the beach. We haven't seen
the beach in YEARS. The boys had a blast but Q ,who LOVES the
water, didn't like that there was so much water....not to mention this
water had lots of waves. :-) Maybe next time Q. :-)

So, we end this post with a few pics from the last few weeks.
More to come after her surgery.

                    Our trip to the butterfly garden.            

                                                                     

Q having fun at one of the local parks.

Big brother J helping sis with the slide.

Okay, so she does like some girly things. :-)  She giggled the whole time I painted her nails. :-)

Supervising the yard work in her chair.

J & D at the Air Museum in Pensacola.

Boys enjoying the beach.  They haven't seen it since they were Q's age.

Enjoying the view from the safety of mama's arms.