Happy Gotcha Day!

It was three years ago today that Zhu Jian Xia became Maggie Jian Xia Berridge.

The memories are even more vivid for me because a family from the dance studio just came home with their new daughter, who is about the same age Maggie was. Every time I see her, I think "Wow, did Maggie look that shell shocked?". But to see Maggie now, you'd never guess how difficult those first few months were.

Here's a few reminders of the special day.

This next one's a family favorite...

And to prove she eventually got over it, here's a recent photo...

We love you, Maggie!

Identity Issues

Maggie is aware of, and often bothered by, the fact that she looks different than most of the people in our community. She routinely laments her shiny, straight, dark hair, her beautiful dark skin, her non-existent eyelashes and her little, flat-ish nose, all the things that we think make her beautiful. If it were up to her, she’d be Barbie.

We were at a party this weekend where Maggie was playing with Katie’s two cousins, who are Japanese. Martha witnessed this exchange in the kitchen as they ran through.

Maggie: “So we’re the same, right?”
N and L look at each other, then at Maggie, shrug shoulders and respond “Yeah”
Maggie again says : “We’re the same?”
N and L say “Yeah”

And off they run.

Wii -ner

Thanks to all of you who contributed to the 08-09 Dance Fund for the wii giveaway.
In order for those that do not get chosen to have time to procure Christmas gifts – we gave it away today. There were 11 different contributors, all with numbers from 24-50.
I went to a trusty online random number generator to select the winner


With 5 of the 11 contributors as witnesses, the ‘Get Numbers’ button was pushed…

And the winner is…..

Tim Laird!!

Thanks again to all who participated.

Star Girl

Emily is currently reading Star Girl by Jerry Spinelli in her English class.

The novel recounts the junior year of a boy named Leo at Mica Area High School, when a new student, "Stargirl" Caraway, sends the school, which up until that point had nothing unusual about it, into an uproar. Her unusual antics include wearing kimonos, Indian buckskin, 1920s flapper dresses and pioneer dresses to school. She carries her pet rat, Cinnamon, around with her in a bag with a life-size sunflower painted on it. During every class periods she puts a table cloth and a vase with a daisy in it on her desk. When it rains, instead of running inside like the other students, she runs outside to dance. She strums a ukulele during lunch every day and sings "Happy Birthday" to kids she has never met. She cheers for everyone at football games, including the opposing team.

At conferences last night, I was told by the English teacher that Emily is their Star Girl.

I couldn’t be prouder.

OK, OK

I've been told to update. I was trying to leave the wii post up in order to make it easier to get in on the fun, but apparently Katie needs to know what's going on at home.

The fall school, dance, soccer schedule is in full swing and seems to be manageable, thanks in large part to the car pool participants.

Last weekend I took Emily's Girl Scout troop up to Newaygo for the night. The girls planned all the activities and the menu, then rotated prep and clean-up duties. The weather was perfect and we had a great time. Especially because I didn't have to do all the work!

Maggie has been tearing up the soccer fields on weekends. She has scored at least one goal in her last three games. Last night at practice, her coach told me she was a 'little spark plug'!
GO ORANGE TIGERS!!

This weekend we will miss the soccer game, but are looking forward to the Halloween Haunt activities at King's Island with our friends. The Cedar Faire season passes have been well worth the money.