The Chronicles of Mia - Our Southern China Girl: December 2014

Christmas Concert at School

Here is Mia singing once again at the Christmas concert for school chorus. This time she was chosen to play the Glockenspiel. She was really excited about it! Beautiful job, Mia!

Eight years ago today, God placed this wonderful child in my arms. Here she is almost nine years old ready to go sing at the Christmas concert at school. She is holding her Life Is Good dog:) God and His abundant blessings!

Annual Gingerbread House

Mia's TNT Girls AWANA group had a party last Friday night and built gingerbread houses. This kit was adorable and had plenty of items to use to make it a perfect house. Great job, Mia!

Angel Breakfast

Our church hosts an amazing Angel Breakfast every year. This year, the Hosanna choir sang and of course the puppets performed. Mia and Jeffery are still a team:)

Bijou, Reindeer, and Santa's Letter is Already Here!

Yes, Bijou and Reindeer are already here with Santa's letter. Santa even told Mia her teacher was on the "Good List." Mrs. Carpenter said it made her feel special:) Bijou and Reindeer were so proud of Mia's spelling award, they decided to bring her a book. They've also been playing games with some of her other stuffed animals . . .

Spelling Bee

Our school hosts a spelling bee every year and Mia won the Runner Up Award for her class! This contest went on for some time with some pretty tough competition. We are proud of you, Mia!

A Very Merry Christmas to You!

This is our Christmas card picture this year. Like everyone else, I try hard to either take the perfect picture or find the perfect picture which reflects Mia and who she is this year. And then sometimes, you just accidentally capture it. Like this one . . .

Hosanna Choir and The Agape League

Mia sings in two choirs. One at school and one at church. This fall, Hosanna choir did a presentation called The Agape League. They incorporated puppets this year, and Mia was able to be a puppeteer. She loved every minute of it and grew fond of her boy puppet named Jeffery. Singing in the choir is special treat if she gets to stand next to Drew:) (and she did).

Halloween Fun

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. This year was no exception. We made mummy pumpkins, Mia was Hermoine Granger, nearly froze, and had a great time! Can't wait until next year!

Notice the curly hair. It stayed for three days!

Halloween and the Swim Team

Mia still loves to swim and loves her swim team. We have a wonderful group of eight year olds - all soon to be nine year olds. This picture was taken at this year's Halloween party. Mia came as Hermoine Granger from Harry Potter. They had a blast!

How I Love These Two

I love pictures of Tim and Mia together. How I love the two of them! So many people think they favor (I do too). What do you think?

AR Trophy

Mia has always loved to read. She was so proud of her first AR Trophy! We are proud too!

Muffins with Mom 2014

My favorite picture of us. This was Muffins with Mom Day and also Breast Cancer Awareness Day. What a great idea to have both celebrations on the same day. This day will mean even more to me from now on.

What can I say? They are selfies! We had the best time doing this:)

(There's about 20 more on my phone!)

We LOVE Mrs. Carpenter:)

Georgia Tech Football

Mia has been a Georgia Tech fan since she can remember. She says she wants to be an Engineer and go the college there - wonder where she got that idea?

Here's the two of them enjoying one of games this fall.

Pickwick Lake

Every time we visit Pickwick Lake, we have to go see Mr. Tom Hendrix and his stone wall. He built this wall to honor his Native American great-great grandmother's journey. This is by far Mia's favorite part of the trip. When we visited this year, Mr. Hendrix clearly remembered Mia even though it had been over a year since our last visit. Last time we visited, he had given Mia a Native American name, which means "Bright Path." This time he gave her a Native American spearhead, which she treasures. Here's a few pictures of them together and Mia having fun playing in the lake this fall. If you are ever in the area, this is a must see.

Jeans and More Jeans

Ever since Mia could talk, she told me JEANS. When she was three, that was all she would wear:) So, when I can get a picture like this one - I make sure I take it. I have to confess, I love jeans too!

Turkey Trot

Every year our school has a Turkey Trot to help the school raise money and get the students running. It's always one of our favorite things to do. Here's a few pictures of her class having fun.