Marietta Fun!

Will and I took a last minute trip to Marietta while Jon was in California. Needless to say, little man thoroughly enjoyed himself (as did his mom!!). Webb is growing so fast, and the boys "played" together...we think. Our friend Livie provided lots of entertainment, esp at the water table. We took Will and Webb to their first Marietta High football game (for one quarter), but they looked so cute with Mom and Dad and their matching blue devil tshirts. We had a great time!

Prayer

Jon and I were in the guest room playing with Will tonight - we looked away for 10 seconds and found him kneeling, thumbing through Jon's miniature Bible on top of a stool in the closet. It was the sweetest, and we grabbed the camera. Of course, he then threw the Bible at us and started jumping on the ottoman..but I'm sure it was just the excitement of God's Word and not disobedience.

Thank you Jessica and Matt for the large OSU shirt for Will - he loves it (well, his dad loves to put it on him).

(PS - Haircut is already scheduled for tomorrow...no worries grandparents!)

GFFL Draft 2009

We traveled to Dallas last weekend for a Goolsby Family Tradition - the Fantasy Football Draft. Why do online @ yahoo what you can do in person after a 4 hour car ride? Three dads and their 5 sons gather every year to select their fantasy football teams after a day of shopping and dining with their families. (Aren't they nice to include us?) This year, the event began with a tour (guys only) of the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium. I think it was impressive considering the scoreboard alone cost more than the former stadium...recession? And yes, all of the guys now have matching collared shirts with the GFFL logo on them. Nothing is too good for this league. I promise Will and I were there - we were just too busy studying our stats and players to leave the hotel room. Jon's team better bring home that trophy this year! Go Goosebumps!

Back to Reality

Life has returned somewhat to normal with haircuts, dr. appts, scrapbooking and baking cookies for a much needed road trip to Dallas. We miss Olivia and Letitia greatly - they have emailed every day, sometimes 2-3 times, and we are thankful!! Little Will is enjoying having Mom and Dad all to himself. =) The girls left so many gifts, but I forgot to get more pictures of the gifts with them. Jon is displaying the fan from Chengdu and Will is playing with his new Chinese drum. They brought a boy drum and a girl drum and said, "we wish for you a girl!" No pressure! I also received a set of traditional chopsticks, 2 pashminas (sp?), panda bear postcards and beautiful trinkets for my cell phone.

Final Hours of FUN!

Olivia and Letitia will depart from the Church tomorrow morning at 5am, and we are really sad to see them leave. It has been a great experience and one we want to repeat often. It taught me more about the love of Christ than most experiences in my life. God loves His people. We gave the girls a few gifts last night, shared our hearts regarding the gospel and they were in tears. Jon was amazing and we had a sweet, sweet prayer time with them. We were speechless at their emotion and grateful for everything they have taught us this summer.

Last night was a big dinner at the Taste of Texas steakhouse - a must if you are ever in Houston. They enjoyed it and all received a red bandana. After school today, we stopped by cheer practice at Second Baptist School so the girls could see them dance....and take pictures. One last trip to the mall, but the girls had to settle for Payless Shoe Store since their cash flow is diminishing!! HA - welcome to our world, girls! Couldn't resist a few pics of my little man waiting "patiently" at every venue. The kids had a talent show today, but the pictures are too dark...and really, you just had to be there in person to appreciate an interpretive dance to High School Musical performed by Chinese students....or the opening number, We are the World. It made my week! Pray for our sweet girls as they travel one more week in California and head back to Chengdu, China. We are crazy about them! Thanks for enjoying our journey with them.

Shopping and Astros...

Our time is winding down with Olivia and Letitia and we're all sad (I've had the sweetest help with Will for 2 weeks!). We spent yesterday with Jon and Will at the outlet malls and had a blast. Will entertained the girls if we ever lingered too long in a store. Jon helped the girls pick out clothes for their cousins and fathers back home...hilarious! All of the host families and students went to the Astros game last night...and we stayed til the bitter end (thus the empty stands!) hoping to see just ONE more homerun. Everyone had a great time.

Family Lunch & Closing Ceremony Hoedown

We spent the afternoon at Aunt Becky and Uncle Mac's house enjoying a yummy meal. The girls were so curious about the tree face in their yard, so we took pictures...of course. Their friend, Charlie, stopped by to visit with the girls because he has spent much time in China. They really enjoyed his pictures and stories. We ended the night with a fun hoedown with all the host families and Chinese students. We had a BBQ dinner, square dance and closing ceremony. Will is still smiling through it all (except for his new trick of plugging up his ears if it's too loud or if he's bored). Shhhhh...don't tell, we're skipping school tomorrow and having "family day" with Jon and Will at the outlet malls. The girls said, "FABULOUS!" when we told them. Astros game is tomorrow night after they play hooky. No scrapbooking tonight - off to bed early!

Eat More Chicken!

After a great morning trip to the Houston Zoo (and a 3 hour nap from Will AND the girls - yea!) we met some families at Jon's Chick-fil-a for dinner and a kitchen tour. It was a blast and as usual, many photo opportunities were seized. The girls are working on scrapbooks again tonight. Tomorrow is the closing ceremony (aka Texas Hoedown!) after a family lunch at Aunt Becky and Uncle Mac's. We are sad thinking of the girls leaving this Thursday!

Yao Ming and State Park

Last night we took a trip to Brazos Bend State Park for a picnic. The students enjoyed KFC and fresh watermelon. We celebrated the weekend with dinner at Yao Ming's tonight with several Chinese students and families. Everyone is glad it's the weekend! We're off to work more on the scrapbooks and hit the zoo in the morning.

Scrapbooks!

Olivia and Letitia have been working very hard on their scrapbooks. Two school nights this week, they worked for roughly 3 hours and are very proud of their pages. After school one day, we met some friends at Voss Yogurt for a snack....I think Will had the most "snack." Jon picked the girls up one day and took them to buy flowers for me. They thought we were crazy and SO romantic. (I don't have the heart to tell them it's a rare occasion!) The girls picked them out, arranged them, then presented them to me and said, "Thanks Mom! We love you!" There is a flower for each of the girls and me, but the baby's breath represents Jon. HA! The water equals love they told me. We have big plans for the next few days - a trip to Brazos Bend State Park tonight, Yao Ming's restaurant tomorrow and the zoo on Saturday! Stay tuned. Check out their great artwork (and a picture combination for everything!)...

Sunday in Galveston

Will's grandmother, Suzie, was in town for the weekend with her family, so Jon and I took Olivia and Letitia to Galveston for the afternoon. They had a BLAST! We went to the Aquarium and took pictures of every animal, even the stuffed ones in the gift shop. On the beach, we had to take 100 "family photos." It was extremely windy (as seen in the pictures), but the girls kept telling me my hair was "so sexy." Nice. So please ignore the wind-blown Americans and see the smiling Chinese faces. =) We wore them out.

A Galleria Weekend!

The girls have shopped til they dropped this weekend...and still want to shop some more! Will's grandmother, Suzie and her sister, Amy and her two girls, Allyson and Sarah joined us for the weekend and the shopping extravaganza. The girls loved the GAP and Victoria Secret the best. We finished the day with a trip to Build-a-Bear and they LOVED all of the choices in clothes. The store closed at 9pm, and the girls asked to come back for a 2nd bear this week! Olivia's bear is named Will and is dressed in a USA outfit so the bear can protect her. Letitia's bear is named Giggle because that is what Will's bear is named and is also dressed in American colors. My girlfriends met us for some of the shopping and were most helpful in helping Olivia and Letitia chose their "sleep clothes" at Victoria Secret. =) Friday night we played games and had a large pizza with other Chinese friends. We're headed to the beach today after church and then plan on working on scrapbooks. We spent 2 hours at Hobby Lobby looking at supplies!

High School Musical and Game Night

Letitia and Olivia invited Emerald, Tina and Manny over after school to watch High School Musical...I did my best to answer all of their questions regarding the characters in the movie. Will enjoyed the movie, too...I think because the girls kept him quiet with one bite of cookie after another. Then, Tina and Emerald stayed for dinner when James, Steve, Jack and Joseph joined us for lasagna. The boys brought me a basket of fruit for hosting dinner! Anne Barnes and Lauren taught them how to play farkle with dice...it was a BIG hit. Olivia and Letitia were proud to share their chocolate chip cookies. =) Another highlight from the day was the gift the girls received at school - Chinese Bibles. They asked to see mine and then wanted to take pictures with me and the Bibles since they are "special." Great conversation followed. Good times!

Youth Group & Cookies

Olivia and Letitia stayed at school today with the other Chinese students to attend youth group tonight. When Will and I arrived to pick them up, it was a party! The students were playing cards, pool, ping pong and volleyball. When we came home, the girls and I made homemade chocolate chip cookies (thanks sis, for the recipe). They thought the cookies were "very delicious" and watched every batch bake from the floor in front of the oven. Then, they said America is so exciting! I'll remember that next time I'm tired of cooking....that it is instead "so exciting."

Field Trip and Ranelle 7/21/09

Olivia and Letitia enjoyed their first field trip at school today. They toured the Toyota Center, Rice University, General Consulate and Museum of Natural Science. They were very tired and went to bed really early! Ranelle joined us for dinner and the girls loved chatting with her. Before we knew it, they had gone upstairs to each give her a present! These girls are so thoughtful and kind. They are really excited about the badminton tournament tomorrow! Below are a few pictures Olivia took on the trip today and loaded them to my computer - she is really smart!

First Day of Classes and Taco Night!

Olivia and Letitia started American classes today and learned about the history and geography of the United States. They came home very excited to start a scrapbook (another lesson from class), so after a trip to Sonic, we went to Michael's to get ideas for a scrapbook. They studied Will's book and gathered more ideas. The highlight was cooking a meal for the family. They helped me get taco night ready and enjoyed the fruits of their labor. They told me they want to cook every night now. I have enjoyed answering their many questions about America, especially about our church, Jesus and prayer. We love these girls!

Sunday 7/19/2009

After Bible Study with other American teenagers, Letitia and Olivia went to worship at church with Jon and Emily. We ate lunch at home and then went shopping with Emerald and Tina, also students from China. We spent a lot of time in Forever 21 (XXI) and shoe stores. Tonight, we went to the Barnes for a steak dinner and dominos. Before dinner, Mr. Bruce taught the students how to play football, and Letitia scored a touchdown! The students start class tomorrow, so everyone is in bed. The girls are very sweet, intelligent and kind.

Meet Olivia and Letitia

Letitia and Olivia (the girl in glasses) arrived in Houston tonight.  We had a great opening ceremony and heard from the Chinese teachers.  The girls love Will and told us they are so lucky to have a baby in their host home.  They chased and followed him all night and were very kind to him.  They took lots of pictures of him.  Here are Ann and Bruce Barnes with their four boys and a few of Letitia and Olivia.  We are excited they are here!

Fourth of July!

We had a great week in Marietta for the Fourth of July!  The boys did great on the square for fireworks.  I'm not sure what all Will ate, but he continued to pick off of Granmer and Pop's plates.  We had his little lovie close at hand during the fireworks, and he seemed somewhat interested.  Webb is growing so fast and has THE cutest smile.  Will wasn't a fan of me or Granmer holding Webb...but he did ok when he had the remote.  He was so wiped out today and slept til 9:15 AND took a 3 hour nap.  He has figured out how to move the bumper pad all around and then just crashes.  More posts to come this month as 2 sweet Chinese students live with us for 3 weeks for an exchange program.  We'll be updating almost daily when they are here so their parents can keep up.  

For the Peerless Ladies and Uncle Joe....

Here are a few updated pics of the fam.  Will spent a week with Granmer, Pop, Sissy, Uncle B and Webb (whom Will tackled a few times).  He loved playing with Livie and David at the Hunters and pool hopping in Marietta.  Here is an attempt at a Father's Day pic for Dad.  The photo shoot was interrupted slightly when Will popped Webb on the head...so Will got popped on the hand and it was down hill from there.  He also tried to pull Webb down from his bumbo seat...I'm sure they'll be best friends.  We love the 3 generations pic (minus Jon :( ) even though Will was "patting" Big Pop's head.  Happy Summer!