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Premier http://lorirenee.com/journal.cfm Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:35:00 GMT http://bandzoogle.com Our Funny Valentines http://lorirenee.com/journal.cfm?feature=205186&postid=1780507 Sometimes there just isn’t enough time and there aren’t enough words to describe just how much we love these two and how much they love each other. Therefore, since I am short on both time and words, let’s just let these two speak for themselves! Happy St. Valentine’s Day!   Sometimes there just isn’t enough time and there aren’t enough words to describe just how much we love these two and how much they love each other. Therefore, since I am short on both time and words, let’s just let these two speak for themselves!
Happy St. Valentine’s Day!

]]> Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:35:00 GMT 0EA95BEFF2AD63953E06C0C1FFB47F35 Favorite Things http://lorirenee.com/journal.cfm?feature=205186&postid=1650608 Our lives have altered dramatically over the past year. From repatriating from China to the States, to the addition of our gorgeous baby girl and the adjustment of Jim’s new job as well as navigating a new city, we have experienced a lot change this year. But, change is good as it prompts us to prioritize the things that are most important to us. So, in the spirit of the season of “silver-white-winters that melt into springs,” These are a few of our favorite things… Our favorite Jameson and Giselle! Gorgeous Giselle Renée   Giselle loves: Her big brother Laughing at her big brother Making her big brother laugh Singing loudly (La La La!) Talking loudly (she tries to say “ha” or “hi” when I pick her up) Crying loudly (if she does not get what she wants Dancing with mommy and daddy Listening to music Reading (fuzzy books are the best!) Snuggling Being held constantly! (She would NEVER cry if I held her constantly and fed her every two hours) Bathtime Jumping in her “Johnny Jumper” Eating (she wonders why it took me so long to offer her anything but milk) Smiling Blowing “kisses” Giselle hates: Hearing her big brother cry Being ignored Cold water Cold wind Watching mommy walk away (why would I ever want to do that anyway?) Giselle is: 7 months old 15 ½ pounds Gorgeous Strong (even as a 5-pound-newborn, she was stronger than most babies) Working on her two front teeth (and that is not what she wants for Christmas) Sweeter than Christmas pudding Grandma Kelley’s twin Handsome Jameson Ramsay Jameson loves: His Daddy, his Mommy and his baby Giselle Making baby Giselle laugh His “bigger bigger” house Bouncing like Tigger San Diego The Beach, bathtime, swimming or anything to do with water Cars, trucks, trains and anything that goes Cars Cars (and Cars 2) Top Gear Reading books about cars Cars Running “presto” like a racecar Cars Super cars (he knows the difference between a Lamborghini, a McLaren and a Ferrari) Dinoco blue Puzzles Singing to baby Giselle Rossini “Sleigh Ride” and “The Nutcracker Suite” Swinging Dancing Jameson hates: Waiting Boys who don’t share their cars Cold water Being cold in general Strangers Having his photo taken (as it feels like he is being followed by the Chinese paparazzi in China again) Jameson misses: His Shanghai house Lulu Jodie, Amalie, Maddie, Joefish, Joetar, Josh, Heidi and Owen (he remembers so many people!) His Shanghai ayi His Shanghai toys (as we could not take them all) His Shanghai elevator (this cracks me up because our elevator was so slow it was a bit like being stuck in purgatory, and we were on the 22nd floor!) Jameson is: 3 ½ years old 35 pounds Handsome Daddy’s twin Helpful Super silly (but not supercilious) Precocious Tenacious Curious Sibling Sweetness   My favorite people! Our Fabulous family photos are by Hillary at <a target="_new" href="http://www.stillsbyhill.com">www.stillsbyhill.com  
Our lives have altered dramatically over the past year. From repatriating from China to the States, to the addition of our gorgeous baby girl and the adjustment of Jim’s new job as well as navigating a new city, we have experienced a lot change this year. But, change is good as it prompts us to prioritize the things that are most important to us.

So, in the spirit of the season of “silver-white-winters that melt into springs,” These are a few of our favorite things…

Our favorite Jameson and Giselle!

Gorgeous Giselle Renée

Giselle loves:
Her big brother
Laughing at her big brother
Making her big brother laugh
Singing loudly (La La La!)
Talking loudly (she tries to say “ha” or “hi” when I pick her up)
Crying loudly (if she does not get what she wants
Dancing with mommy and daddy
Listening to music
Reading (fuzzy books are the best!)
Snuggling
Being held constantly! (She would NEVER cry if I held her constantly and fed her every two hours)
Bathtime
Jumping in her “Johnny Jumper”
Eating (she wonders why it took me so long to offer her anything but milk)
Smiling
Blowing “kisses”

Giselle hates:
Hearing her big brother cry
Being ignored
Cold water
Cold wind
Watching mommy walk away (why would I ever want to do that anyway?)

Giselle is:
7 months old
15 ½ pounds
Gorgeous
Strong (even as a 5-pound-newborn, she was stronger than most babies)
Working on her two front teeth (and that is not what she wants for Christmas)
Sweeter than Christmas pudding
Grandma Kelley’s twin

Handsome Jameson Ramsay

Jameson loves:
His Daddy, his Mommy and his baby Giselle
Making baby Giselle laugh
His “bigger bigger” house
Bouncing like Tigger
San Diego
The Beach, bathtime, swimming or anything to do with water
Cars, trucks, trains and anything that goes
Cars
Cars (and Cars 2)
Top Gear
Reading books about cars
Cars
Running “presto” like a racecar
Cars
Super cars (he knows the difference between a Lamborghini, a McLaren and a Ferrari)
Dinoco blue
Puzzles
Singing to baby Giselle
Rossini
“Sleigh Ride” and “The Nutcracker Suite”
Swinging
Dancing

Jameson hates:
Waiting
Boys who don’t share their cars
Cold water
Being cold in general
Strangers
Having his photo taken (as it feels like he is being followed by the Chinese paparazzi in China again)

Jameson misses:
His Shanghai house
Lulu
Jodie, Amalie, Maddie, Joefish, Joetar, Josh, Heidi and Owen (he remembers so many people!)
His Shanghai ayi
His Shanghai toys (as we could not take them all)
His Shanghai elevator (this cracks me up because our elevator was so slow it was a bit like being stuck in purgatory, and we were on the 22nd floor!)

Jameson is:
3 ½ years old
35 pounds
Handsome
Daddy’s twin
Helpful
Super silly (but not supercilious)
Precocious
Tenacious
Curious

Sibling Sweetness

My favorite people!

Our Fabulous family photos are by Hillary at www.stillsbyhill.com

]]> Fri, 23 Dec 2011 04:50:00 GMT AF09BB471456B4E3CEFA5C41D9999189 The Deveys love SD http://lorirenee.com/journal.cfm?feature=205186&postid=1643947 Merry Christmas and we wish you all… HOPE for the future with grace for the past JOY in each moment, beyond happiness PEACE as we long for eternity’s rest LOVE who came down as the gift of Christmas We welcome this Christmas season with much gratitude for 2011 and hope for 2012. As most of you know, we spent most of 2010 and half of 2012 living in Shanghai, China. Jim worked as a Structural Materials representative Engineer for the State of California (A.K.A. quality assurance) on the new Oakland Bay Bridge, which like so many other products in this country was “Made In China.” The decision for me to move to China with Jim was not easy (as Jameson was only 18 months at the time) but ultimately, we wanted our family to live on the same continent so off to Shanghai we went. Jim’s job required him to work 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, so we only had an hour a day with daddy plus his one day off per week. We quickly learned to appreciate every moment we had with him and made the most of our time living abroad. Jameson and I began learning Mandarin as quickly as possible, as we had a non-English-speaking “Ayi” helping out with chores five days a week. We made loads of amazing friends and loved exploring the vast city of Shanghai. For the first six months of our stay, we were required to leave the country every 30 days. Because of our visa limitations we were able to take four trips to Hong Kong and one trip to Korea. Our friends in Shanghai soon became family. We spent holidays together, celebrated birthdays and shared the ups and downs of daily life in China. Friends like Jodie & Fish, Lenny & Melissa, Carolina & Will and Karen & Jonathan and all of their children made our time in China so amazing that I quite honestly was not ready to leave. Jim was ready to leave, however. He had been working his tail off for 18 months, therefore when he was offered a job in San Diego he took it. The project was coming to a close in China and he was ready to move. Jim was offered the job when I was 8 months pregnant with Giselle (the bridge was not the only thing “Made In China”!) During my pregnancy, I experienced some complications and was hospitalized twice. Therefore, I was a little apprehensive to leave right after Giselle’s birth as I was worried about her health. After lots of rest and even more prayers, beautiful Giselle Renée was born on May 20th, in Shanghai at Shanghai United Hospital. My mother came to stay with us for a month to help out and we were so blessed to have her. Five weeks after Giselle’s birth, we moved to San Diego. Besides being uneasy about moving with a newborn, we were also sad to leave AGIF, our international church. We loved being a part of the core team that started Grace Extended, the Saturday night service. But, by the grace of God we had a healthy baby girl with no complications and I was able to lead worship for two services at Grace Extended before we left Shanghai. The months of June and July are a complete blur. The 12-hour flight home from Shanghai was actually the easiest part of those two months. Poor Jim and Jameson were sick with hand-food-and-mouth disease for two weeks when we first set foot on American soil. We then set to the task of finding a house to rent, moving out of our home in Pleasant Hill (then putting it on the market), searching for a rental home in San Diego and moving in with a newborn baby and a toddler. By August, we had finally begun to settle into our new community and by October our house in Pleasant Hill was sold (thanks to <a target="_new" href="http://www.neighborcity.com/CA/agent-profile/23433-Rosie-Meddaugh/">Rosie Meddaugh) and we finally finished unpacking (thanks to my parents!) Since then, we have enjoyed loads of visitors including my parents, Jim’s brothers, Tom and Dave, My sister and her family, my aunt Tricia and my friend Sally. We have embraced our community and found an inspiring new church <a href="http://www.wavechurchsd.com">www.wavechurchsd.com  I am getting involved with the music at Wave Church and am looking forward to singing at the Christmas Eve service on Saturday. Jameson loves his new life in San Diego, as he has an adoring baby sister, a lovely house, loads of trips to the beach and most importantly, more time with Daddy. Because Jameson began speaking Mandarin so young, he has no English accent. We continue to speak Mandarin at home, but we decided to put him in a Mandarin school one day a week to continue his studies. It won’t be long before he will begin teaching me. Life is busy and joyful in the Devey household and I suppose you could call our lifestyle a bit more “normal” than it was abroad. But, we have learned to be content in all things. After the amazing blessings we have received over the past two years, I have learned that every time we question our future, God always delivers more than we could ever ask or imagine! There are so many more tales to tell, and you will find many of them written in my blog below.  I look forward to more tales to come as our journey unfolds!  May your journey over the next year be filled with faith, hope and Love and the greatest of these…. His love With that said, the Devey’s love San Diego and we love you too!

Merry Christmas and we wish you all…

HOPE for the future with grace for the past
JOY in each moment, beyond happiness
PEACE as we long for eternity’s rest
LOVE who came down as the gift of Christmas

We welcome this Christmas season with much gratitude for 2011 and hope for 2012. As most of you know, we spent most of 2010 and half of 2012 living in Shanghai, China. Jim worked as a Structural Materials representative Engineer for the State of California (A.K.A. quality assurance) on the new Oakland Bay Bridge, which like so many other products in this country was “Made In China.”

The decision for me to move to China with Jim was not easy (as Jameson was only 18 months at the time) but ultimately, we wanted our family to live on the same continent so off to Shanghai we went. Jim’s job required him to work 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, so we only had an hour a day with daddy plus his one day off per week. We quickly learned to appreciate every moment we had with him and made the most of our time living abroad.

Jameson and I began learning Mandarin as quickly as possible, as we had a non-English-speaking “Ayi” helping out with chores five days a week. We made loads of amazing friends and loved exploring the vast city of Shanghai. For the first six months of our stay, we were required to leave the country every 30 days. Because of our visa limitations we were able to take four trips to Hong Kong and one trip to Korea.

Our friends in Shanghai soon became family. We spent holidays together, celebrated birthdays and shared the ups and downs of daily life in China. Friends like Jodie & Fish, Lenny & Melissa, Carolina & Will and Karen & Jonathan and all of their children made our time in China so amazing that I quite honestly was not ready to leave.

Jim was ready to leave, however. He had been working his tail off for 18 months, therefore when he was offered a job in San Diego he took it. The project was coming to a close in China and he was ready to move. Jim was offered the job when I was 8 months pregnant with Giselle (the bridge was not the only thing “Made In China”!)

During my pregnancy, I experienced some complications and was hospitalized twice. Therefore, I was a little apprehensive to leave right after Giselle’s birth as I was worried about her health. After lots of rest and even more prayers, beautiful Giselle Renée was born on May 20th, in Shanghai at Shanghai United Hospital. My mother came to stay with us for a month to help out and we were so blessed to have her. Five weeks after Giselle’s birth, we moved to San Diego.

Besides being uneasy about moving with a newborn, we were also sad to leave AGIF, our international church. We loved being a part of the core team that started Grace Extended, the Saturday night service. But, by the grace of God we had a healthy baby girl with no complications and I was able to lead worship for two services at Grace Extended before we left Shanghai.

The months of June and July are a complete blur. The 12-hour flight home from Shanghai was actually the easiest part of those two months. Poor Jim and Jameson were sick with hand-food-and-mouth disease for two weeks when we first set foot on American soil. We then set to the task of finding a house to rent, moving out of our home in Pleasant Hill (then putting it on the market), searching for a rental home in San Diego and moving in with a newborn baby and a toddler.

By August, we had finally begun to settle into our new community and by October our house in Pleasant Hill was sold (thanks to Rosie Meddaugh) and we finally finished unpacking (thanks to my parents!)

Since then, we have enjoyed loads of visitors including my parents, Jim’s brothers, Tom and Dave, My sister and her family, my aunt Tricia and my friend Sally. We have embraced our community and found an inspiring new church www.wavechurchsd.com I am getting involved with the music at Wave Church and am looking forward to singing at the Christmas Eve service on Saturday.

Jameson loves his new life in San Diego, as he has an adoring baby sister, a lovely house, loads of trips to the beach and most importantly, more time with Daddy. Because Jameson began speaking Mandarin so young, he has no English accent. We continue to speak Mandarin at home, but we decided to put him in a Mandarin school one day a week to continue his studies. It won’t be long before he will begin teaching me.

Life is busy and joyful in the Devey household and I suppose you could call our lifestyle a bit more “normal” than it was abroad. But, we have learned to be content in all things. After the amazing blessings we have received over the past two years, I have learned that every time we question our future, God always delivers more than we could ever ask or imagine!

There are so many more tales to tell, and you will find many of them written in my blog below. I look forward to more tales to come as our journey unfolds! May your journey over the next year be filled with faith, hope and Love and the greatest of these…. His love

With that said, the Devey’s love San Diego and we love you too!

]]> Wed, 21 Dec 2011 04:35:00 GMT 1ABA2F8ADC08939E5FE282FEFE14CC9E Gorgeous Girl http://lorirenee.com/journal.cfm?feature=205186&postid=1564064 I took this photo of our gorgeous girl over 6 weeks ago, but Giselle is even cuter now! Here is a quick update… We have a new church that we love called the Wave <a target="_new" href="http://www.wavechurchsd.com">www.wavechurchsd.com and I had the opportunity to lead worship there last week. It is great to have a church home again as we begin to connect with our community. Our Thanksgiving weekend was fabulously quiet with just the four of us. Although poor Jameson was ill with a stomach flu (which he generously shared with me) we were still able to do a family photo shoot with Hillary from <a target="_new" href="http://www.stillsbyhill.com">www.stillsbyhill.com. I will post photos of our session as soon as I see them! On Sunday we are off to Carolina and Will’s wedding in LA followed by a short trip to Seattle where Jim will see his family for the first time in two years. By the time we get home, we will have just enough time to put up the tree, bake cookies and order my last gifts from Amazon (my favorite store, as it does not require dragging my children through the holiday masses!)  Oh, and I plan to finally send out Giselle’s baby announcement/change-of-address just weeks before sending out Christmas cards. Better late than never, seems to be my new motto, especially since most every creative thing I do happens late in the evening (A.K.A. midnight, when Giselle is taking her sweet time going to sleep!) Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas, just in case!

I took this photo of our gorgeous girl over 6 weeks ago, but Giselle is even cuter now!

Here is a quick update…

We have a new church that we love called the Wave www.wavechurchsd.com and I had the opportunity to lead worship there last week. It is great to have a church home again as we begin to connect with our community.

Our Thanksgiving weekend was fabulously quiet with just the four of us. Although poor Jameson was ill with a stomach flu (which he generously shared with me) we were still able to do a family photo shoot with Hillary from www.stillsbyhill.com. I will post photos of our session as soon as I see them!

On Sunday we are off to Carolina and Will’s wedding in LA followed by a short trip to Seattle where Jim will see his family for the first time in two years. By the time we get home, we will have just enough time to put up the tree, bake cookies and order my last gifts from Amazon (my favorite store, as it does not require dragging my children through the holiday masses!)

Oh, and I plan to finally send out Giselle’s baby announcement/change-of-address just weeks before sending out Christmas cards. Better late than never, seems to be my new motto, especially since most every creative thing I do happens late in the evening (A.K.A. midnight, when Giselle is taking her sweet time going to sleep!)

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas, just in case!

]]> Wed, 30 Nov 2011 12:15:00 GMT 209708E8A5A7924AA08BC4EBE6AE83BA Moooo (not boo!) http://lorirenee.com/journal.cfm?feature=205186&postid=1452826 My computer is dying… my kids ate my camera… I am sleep-deprived!!! Ok, so I really don’t have a good excuse for not blogging, other than your average, every-day busy-ness!  But, more on that topic later as everyone just wants to see the cow and the pilot! Here are our gorgeous trick-or-treaters who say "moo"!   Actually, Giselle says "Got Milk?" and Jameson says "Got Candy?"   Giselle has just informed me that her 20-minute nap is over... A.K.A "Got Milk?" It is now 11 PM and everyone is miraculously asleep so here is a quick update... My mom and Dad helped me unpack our last boxes and organize our garage last week! Yay!  San Diego is beginning to feel like home and that feeling is compounded by the fact that our house in Pleasant Hill is finally sold. Thanks to <a target="_new" href="http://www.realestatereviews.com/openhomes.asp">Rosie Meddaugh and her team, we had multiple offers on our house, in spite of this crazy real-estate market. Now that the unpacking and house selling is behind us, we can begin to focus on a few creative things in our lives. I have written a few songs and am hoping to find time to record them. Jim and I did a preliminary recording a few months ago, but I was completely distracted by our sweet little one and learned something about myself. I really don’t like to multi-task. Naturally, I multi-task constantly as a mother of two young children. In fact, I feel like I run a multi-tasking marathon every day of my life. But, when it comes to being creative, I really want to focus on one thing. Jameson began his Mandarin class on Wednesday, so I have some time to run errands and just hang with Giselle. But, Mademoiselle Giselle is not a big sleeper during the day. I cannot guarantee that she will sleep for more than a half-hour at any point during the day right now. So, how much can I really accomplish during that short half-hour in the studio? I am hoping if I just keep writing every day and practice when I can, and be super-efficient when it comes to recording, that I will eventually accomplish my goal. My question for the day is: Am I the only woman/artist who dislikes multi-tasking? If so, does anyone have advice on how to stay creative with constant distractions? How do I stay focused, when honestly, I cannot focus even when I am asleep? I must learn this skill soon or I am bound to write 200 songs that never make it past my iPad! My computer is dying… my kids ate my camera… I am sleep-deprived!!!
Ok, so I really don’t have a good excuse for not blogging, other than your average, every-day busy-ness! But, more on that topic later as everyone just wants to see the cow and the pilot!

Here are our gorgeous trick-or-treaters who say "moo"!

Actually, Giselle says "Got Milk?" and Jameson says "Got Candy?"

Giselle has just informed me that her 20-minute nap is over...
A.K.A "Got Milk?"

It is now 11 PM and everyone is miraculously asleep so here is a quick update...

My mom and Dad helped me unpack our last boxes and organize our garage last week! Yay! San Diego is beginning to feel like home and that feeling is compounded by the fact that our house in Pleasant Hill is finally sold. Thanks to Rosie Meddaugh and her team, we had multiple offers on our house, in spite of this crazy real-estate market.

Now that the unpacking and house selling is behind us, we can begin to focus on a few creative things in our lives. I have written a few songs and am hoping to find time to record them. Jim and I did a preliminary recording a few months ago, but I was completely distracted by our sweet little one and learned something about myself. I really don’t like to multi-task. Naturally, I multi-task constantly as a mother of two young children. In fact, I feel like I run a multi-tasking marathon every day of my life. But, when it comes to being creative, I really want to focus on one thing.

Jameson began his Mandarin class on Wednesday, so I have some time to run errands and just hang with Giselle. But, Mademoiselle Giselle is not a big sleeper during the day. I cannot guarantee that she will sleep for more than a half-hour at any point during the day right now. So, how much can I really accomplish during that short half-hour in the studio? I am hoping if I just keep writing every day and practice when I can, and be super-efficient when it comes to recording, that I will eventually accomplish my goal.

My question for the day is: Am I the only woman/artist who dislikes multi-tasking? If so, does anyone have advice on how to stay creative with constant distractions? How do I stay focused, when honestly, I cannot focus even when I am asleep? I must learn this skill soon or I am bound to write 200 songs that never make it past my iPad!

]]> Tue, 01 Nov 2011 01:40:00 GMT BAF59FC4551D184833C21F41CDFCD647 Baby G http://lorirenee.com/journal.cfm?feature=205186&postid=1219926 Both children are sleeping, so I am making this post short and sweet!  Baby Giselle is three months old and has not only doubled her weight, but has quadrupled her cuteness! I think these photos speak for themselves!  Giselle is Jameson's xiao mei mei... ...A.K.A. his little sister, and Jameson is Giselle's Ge Ge But, she is our baby G... women de bao bei   Both J and G are still asleep, how did that happen?  No, I did not give them benedryl!  Since they are still sleeping, I will add a little history to the "xiao mei mei" thing!   When we first moved to China it took me a few months to figure out why I was always asked how old Jameson was when we were at the park, or anywhere around other children. I quickly learned to tell how old Jameson was, but did not yet know why. In China there is a title given to every person in a child’s life, everyone is family. An elderly woman is Lai Lai or Grandma An elderly man is Ye Ye or Grandpa An older woman is Ayi or aunt An older man is shushu or uncle An older girl is jie jie An older boy is ge ge A younger girl is mei mei And a younger boy is di di Once I figured out why I was being asked Jameson’s age, we learned to participate in the tradition. Jameson learned to address children and adults according to their age and gender. He still calls baby Giselle Xiao mei mei and we like reinforcing that although she is small, she is a part of our family and therefore deserves our love and respect. One day, she will learn to call him ge ge, I’m sure it will happen sooner than I can imagine!     Both children are sleeping, so I am making this post short and sweet! Baby Giselle is three months old and has not only doubled her weight, but has quadrupled her cuteness!

I think these photos speak for themselves!

Giselle is Jameson's xiao mei mei...

...A.K.A. his little sister, and Jameson is Giselle's Ge Ge

But, she is our baby G... women de bao bei

Both J and G are still asleep, how did that happen? No, I did not give them benedryl! Since they are still sleeping, I will add a little history to the "xiao mei mei" thing!

When we first moved to China it took me a few months to figure out why I was always asked how old Jameson was when we were at the park, or anywhere around other children. I quickly learned to tell how old Jameson was, but did not yet know why. In China there is a title given to every person in a child’s life, everyone is family.

An elderly woman is Lai Lai or Grandma
An elderly man is Ye Ye or Grandpa
An older woman is Ayi or aunt
An older man is shushu or uncle
An older girl is jie jie
An older boy is ge ge
A younger girl is mei mei
And a younger boy is di di

Once I figured out why I was being asked Jameson’s age, we learned to participate in the tradition. Jameson learned to address children and adults according to their age and gender. He still calls baby Giselle Xiao mei mei and we like reinforcing that although she is small, she is a part of our family and therefore deserves our love and respect. One day, she will learn to call him ge ge, I’m sure it will happen sooner than I can imagine!

]]> Tue, 23 Aug 2011 02:55:00 GMT E56023F78A878CCD280FB7A4D982F778 Birthday Boy - Part II http://lorirenee.com/journal.cfm?feature=205186&postid=1186680 Please pardon the nearly weeklong interruption in Jameson’s birthday post. As I was saying (or at least I think I was saying, but please pardon my intense case of “Momnesia”!) Jameson has been asking for a Lightning McQueen cake since I made him a guitar cake for his last birthday. So, in spite of the mountain of boxes in the garage and shabby, but not chic layer of dirt that covered our entire house, I decided to learn how to decorate with fondant. What else could I do? My mom and I were up 'til midnight finishing the details... Let's just say it was not easy to cut into something painted and sculpted by hand! At first sight, he stood up in his chair and squeeled with delight and has not stopped talking about his McQueen cake since his birthday. I had some difficulty with the structure of the spoiler... yes, those are allen wrenches, but they totally worked!   But he ate the spoiler anyway, so it didn't matter enough already with the cake... I would have never attempted to make this cake if my parents had not come to help. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!   Giselle (or as Grandpa calls her "<a target="_new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limpet">the limpet" as she loves to be held) put Grandpa to work I love Giselle's chubby little smile... she is not 5 pounds anymore! When we left Shanghai, we promised Jameson four things. 1.  A McQueen cake for his birthday 2.  A big boy bike 3.  A trip to Legoland 4. A house instead of an apartment   Jameson has not looked back on the life he left behind, but often talks about Lulu, and Jodie, and Joefish, and Joetar, and Maddie, and Amelie, and Owen.  The people with whom we do life make life beautiful. We miss our friends, but are enjoying our new life in San Diego.  Yesterday I asked Jameson who his best friend was and he said "I have Mommy friend and Daddy friend".  He is learning that as long as we have our family we can call any place, home! Please pardon the nearly weeklong interruption in Jameson’s birthday post. As I was saying (or at least I think I was saying, but please pardon my intense case of “Momnesia”!)

Jameson has been asking for a Lightning McQueen cake since I made him a guitar cake for his last birthday. So, in spite of the mountain of boxes in the garage and shabby, but not chic layer of dirt that covered our entire house, I decided to learn how to decorate with fondant. What else could I do?

My mom and I were up 'til midnight finishing the details...
Let's just say it was not easy to cut into something painted and sculpted by hand!

At first sight, he stood up in his chair and squeeled with delight
and has not stopped talking about his McQueen cake since his birthday.

I had some difficulty with the structure of the spoiler...
yes, those are allen wrenches, but they totally worked!

But he ate the spoiler anyway, so it didn't matter

enough already with the cake...
I would have never attempted to make this cake
if my parents had not come to help.
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Giselle (or as Grandpa calls her "the limpet" as she loves to be held)
put Grandpa to work

I love Giselle's chubby little smile...
she is not 5 pounds anymore!

When we left Shanghai, we promised Jameson four things.
1. A McQueen cake for his birthday
2. A big boy bike
3. A trip to Legoland
4. A house instead of an apartment

Jameson has not looked back on the life he left behind, but often talks about Lulu, and Jodie, and Joefish, and Joetar, and Maddie, and Amelie, and Owen. The people with whom we do life make life beautiful.

We miss our friends, but are enjoying our new life in San Diego. Yesterday I asked Jameson who his best friend was and he said "I have Mommy friend and Daddy friend". He is learning that as long as we have our family we can call any place, home!

]]> Sat, 13 Aug 2011 00:45:00 GMT A3632DEB4A78BC1CA24CE30F900E958D Birthday Boy - part I http://lorirenee.com/journal.cfm?feature=205186&postid=1165842 My amazing parents drove down to help us unpack and more importantly help celebrate Jameson’s third birthday. A new bike, Lightning McQueen cake, story-time and tons of snuggles from Grandma and Grandpa were the main events over Jameson’s birthday week. Jameson has been asking for a bike since his last birthday! Jameson soaked up loads of Grandpa love! ...and after 6 weeks apart from Grandma, Giselle needed heaps of Grandma snuggles Gorgeous girl! Giselle just woke up... I will post more photos of Jameson's birthday week when both children are asleep... But, that might never happen, so, I'll just post them whenever I can! My amazing parents drove down to help us unpack and more importantly help celebrate Jameson’s third birthday. A new bike, Lightning McQueen cake, story-time and tons of snuggles from Grandma and Grandpa were the main events over Jameson’s birthday week.

Jameson has been asking for a bike since his last birthday!

Jameson soaked up loads of Grandpa love!

...and after 6 weeks apart from Grandma,
Giselle needed heaps of Grandma snuggles

Gorgeous girl!

Giselle just woke up...
I will post more photos of Jameson's birthday week
when both children are asleep...
But, that might never happen,
so, I'll just post them whenever I can!

]]> Sat, 06 Aug 2011 19:25:00 GMT C5558EB7E37D3A9943B9A5209DE16ABB Beach Babies http://lorirenee.com/journal.cfm?feature=205186&postid=1113968 We have a home! Thanks to Jim’s fabulous house-hunting skills we only looked at two houses before deciding on a place to rent. Our new home is amazing and is twice the size of our house in the Bay Area. On top of that, our landlord is Shanghaianese and our neighbors also speak Mandarin. I also discovered that there is a pre-k school nearby that offers Mandarin courses as well. I am super excited about this, as we would love for Jameson to continue learning Mandarin since he has already learned so much. Finding this house in this location is a huge blessing and is no accident! It took us over a week to get everyone well enough to consider starting to move in and last Tuesday Jim pulled an all-nighter driving the U-haul from the Bay Area so that we could begin moving in on Wednesday. Needless to say, we are still unpacking and there is no end in sight. After five days of triple tasking (multi-tasking hardly describes holding one child, caring for the other, unpacking boxes and preparing dinner) we decided to take a trip to the beach on Sunday. Jameson asks to go to the beach every day now, and since we are only 10 miles from the ocean, perhaps Sunday beach trips will become a tradition. My philanthropic parents are driving down to spend some time helping me unpack, as Jim returns to work tomorrow and there is no end in sight to all the boxes (didn't I just say that?). Thankfully, unpacking is a bit like Christmas. I have never been so excited to have a dishwasher, washer and drier, and rocking chair! Oh, and our house has TWO bathtubs! Now Jameson can take a bath in a real bathtub, although he never complained about the blow-up pool we had for 18 months in Shanghai! Jameson "swimming" in our Shanghai "Bathtub"   Sadly, this is the only photo I have of the four of us... I love Jameson's sandy hands! Jameson has his "happy feet" on, as Daddy calls them   Our gorgeous little beach baby is almost 2 months old!   Jameson is such an amazing big brother.... and helpful too! We have a home! Thanks to Jim’s fabulous house-hunting skills we only looked at two houses before deciding on a place to rent. Our new home is amazing and is twice the size of our house in the Bay Area. On top of that, our landlord is Shanghaianese and our neighbors also speak Mandarin. I also discovered that there is a pre-k school nearby that offers Mandarin courses as well. I am super excited about this, as we would love for Jameson to continue learning Mandarin since he has already learned so much. Finding this house in this location is a huge blessing and is no accident!

It took us over a week to get everyone well enough to consider starting to move in and last Tuesday Jim pulled an all-nighter driving the U-haul from the Bay Area so that we could begin moving in on Wednesday. Needless to say, we are still unpacking and there is no end in sight.

After five days of triple tasking (multi-tasking hardly describes holding one child, caring for the other, unpacking boxes and preparing dinner) we decided to take a trip to the beach on Sunday. Jameson asks to go to the beach every day now, and since we are only 10 miles from the ocean, perhaps Sunday beach trips will become a tradition.

My philanthropic parents are driving down to spend some time helping me unpack, as Jim returns to work tomorrow and there is no end in sight to all the boxes (didn't I just say that?). Thankfully, unpacking is a bit like Christmas. I have never been so excited to have a dishwasher, washer and drier, and rocking chair! Oh, and our house has TWO bathtubs! Now Jameson can take a bath in a real bathtub, although he never complained about the blow-up pool we had for 18 months in Shanghai!

Jameson "swimming" in our Shanghai "Bathtub"

Sadly, this is the only photo I have of the four of us...
I love Jameson's sandy hands!

Jameson has his "happy feet" on, as Daddy calls them

Our gorgeous little beach baby is almost 2 months old!

Jameson is such an amazing big brother.... and helpful too!

]]> Tue, 19 Jul 2011 09:20:00 GMT 2861490631DCBB93E85A0F6D24443E4A Mei Guo http://lorirenee.com/journal.cfm?feature=205186&postid=1089721 In Chinese, the word for America is "<a target="_new" href="http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/zgwh/speeches/t36370.htm">Mei Guo" and it litterally means "Beautiful Country".  The past week has been full of a few surprises, some challenges and lots of blessings in the beautiful US of A.  Repatriating from China is not as easy as I thought it would be, but we are happy to be closer to our family and friends here on the West Coast. Getting to and from the airport with all of our luggage seemed to be more stressful than the actual 12-hour flight, but we are so greatful that our friend Justin gave us a ride so we did not have to take two taxis to Pudong International.  I was surprised at how smoothly everything went and was amazed that Giselle slept for the entire flight.  She slept, she ate, then fell back to sleep.  Jim, Jameson and I, however did not sleep.  When we reached LAX, Giselle was ready to play and Jameson, Jim and I were ready to sleep.  By the time we were ready for bed both kids had fevers, so no one slept that night, or the following night, or the night after that as well. After four days of Jameson experiencing mouth sores, fevers, fussiness and a strange rash, Jim took him to urgent care.  He found out that Jameson has hand, foot and mouth disease and is very contagious.  Luckily, Giselle and I seemed to fight of the virus as Giselle is still nursing and perhaps I was already exposed to the virus as a child.  Unfortunately, JIm caught some symptoms of the virus and did not feel well until this morning. We have spent 6 nights at the Residence Inn at Carmel Mountain and have only made it to the pool one time.  This was Giselle's first trip to the pool.  She loved being outside, but thought the pool was a little chilly.  In spite of a nasty virus, Jameson is still loving our beautiful country   Our biggest blessing this week is signing a lease on a home in Rancho Penasquitos.  The house is gorgeous, has great acoustics, is in a lovely location and best of all, it has room for lots of guests. Tomorrow we shall move out of the Residence Inn and may not have internet access for a while, but I will post tons of photos as soon as I can. Jameson calls our new house the "bigger, bigger house" and we are all excited to move in tomorrow.  On Sunday, Jim plans to fly to Oakland and move all of our things out of our house in Pleasant Hill.  Jameson, Giselle and I will be on our own for a few days in the bigger, bigger house.  We will be camping out a bit as we have nothing but clothes to move in at this point, but just having an oven and a bathtub should keep us entertained for hours!   In Chinese, the word for America is "Mei Guo" and it litterally means "Beautiful Country". The past week has been full of a few surprises, some challenges and lots of blessings in the beautiful US of A. Repatriating from China is not as easy as I thought it would be, but we are happy to be closer to our family and friends here on the West Coast.

Getting to and from the airport with all of our luggage seemed to be more stressful than the actual 12-hour flight, but we are so greatful that our friend Justin gave us a ride so we did not have to take two taxis to Pudong International.

I was surprised at how smoothly everything went and was amazed that Giselle slept for the entire flight. She slept, she ate, then fell back to sleep. Jim, Jameson and I, however did not sleep. When we reached LAX, Giselle was ready to play and Jameson, Jim and I were ready to sleep. By the time we were ready for bed both kids had fevers, so no one slept that night, or the following night, or the night after that as well.

After four days of Jameson experiencing mouth sores, fevers, fussiness and a strange rash, Jim took him to urgent care. He found out that Jameson has hand, foot and mouth disease and is very contagious. Luckily, Giselle and I seemed to fight of the virus as Giselle is still nursing and perhaps I was already exposed to the virus as a child. Unfortunately, JIm caught some symptoms of the virus and did not feel well until this morning.

We have spent 6 nights at the Residence Inn at Carmel Mountain and have only made it to the pool one time. This was Giselle's first trip to the pool. She loved being outside, but thought the pool was a little chilly.

In spite of a nasty virus, Jameson is still loving our beautiful country

Our biggest blessing this week is signing a lease on a home in Rancho Penasquitos. The house is gorgeous, has great acoustics, is in a lovely location and best of all, it has room for lots of guests. Tomorrow we shall move out of the Residence Inn and may not have internet access for a while, but I will post tons of photos as soon as I can.

Jameson calls our new house the "bigger, bigger house" and we are all excited to move in tomorrow. On Sunday, Jim plans to fly to Oakland and move all of our things out of our house in Pleasant Hill. Jameson, Giselle and I will be on our own for a few days in the bigger, bigger house. We will be camping out a bit as we have nothing but clothes to move in at this point, but just having an oven and a bathtub should keep us entertained for hours!

]]> Fri, 08 Jul 2011 02:45:00 GMT C2051A67DD09293AE14022764D5CFE9F Zai Jian http://lorirenee.com/journal.cfm?feature=205186&postid=1065555 Our move date has moved several times, but as far as we know, we are flying to LA Wednesday (tomorrow) evening. Please pray for traveling mercies and pray for endurance as we travel with a six-week-old baby, a three-year-old, six suitcases, two car seats and a guitar. Sadly, it is time to say “Zai Jian” to an amazing community of people and an exciting culture. We shall miss so many people but are looking forward to being on the same continent as our family and our American friends.   Tomorrow we must say goodbye to our beloved ayi, Jin Mei Li.   I have already felt the loss of great friends leaving the country.  But tomorrow I must bid farewell to my dearest friend Jodie. I am not sure how we can do life without the Clark family and <a target="_new" href="http://www.agifshanghai.com/">AGIF, but I know God has a great plan for us in San Diego. Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Much Love, Lori   Our move date has moved several times, but as far as we know, we are flying to LA Wednesday (tomorrow) evening. Please pray for traveling mercies and pray for endurance as we travel with a six-week-old baby, a three-year-old, six suitcases, two car seats and a guitar.

Sadly, it is time to say “Zai Jian” to an amazing community of people and an exciting culture. We shall miss so many people but are looking forward to being on the same continent as our family and our American friends.

Tomorrow we must say goodbye to our beloved ayi, Jin Mei Li.

I have already felt the loss of great friends leaving the country. But tomorrow I must bid farewell to my dearest friend Jodie. I am not sure how we can do life without the Clark family and AGIF, but I know God has a great plan for us in San Diego.

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Much Love,
Lori

]]> Tue, 28 Jun 2011 09:05:00 GMT 548B7D361D91CADF7901ED47B496C64F Chinese Laundry http://lorirenee.com/journal.cfm?feature=205186&postid=1054391 Every mother of multiple children will tell you how unrealistically perfect many mothers are with their first child. I remember washing all of Jameson’s clothes with a special detergent gentle enough for baby’s skin, then double rinsing everything. It took me an entire month to get over that obsession. Poor baby Giselle does not have that luxury, as our clothes are all hung out to dry in the great Shanghai outdoors. No matter how fancy the detergent, everything ends up smelling like pollution, so what’s the point? Yes, having an Ayi to do our laundry has been a huge luxury, and I shall greatly miss her (for more than just her laundering skills). But, in San Diego, we shall have this new fandangled contraption called a drier and a functional washer. We will also have this fancy thing called a dishwasher, and kitchen counters that are slightly higher than my knees. I am looking forward to those little luxuries. Until then, we still hang our clothes out to dry. Giselle is one month old and is already 8 pounds! I wonder if she is like her mother, as she is stronger than she looks! This afternoon I learned that we may be moving as soon as Sunday. Moving with a one-month-old was not a part of the plan, but I am trying not to be too anxious (<a target="_new" href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=philippians%204:5-7&version=NIV">Philippians 4:5-7). Our VPN has expired so I cannot access facebook anymore, so keep reading my blog for more updates… perhaps we will move tomorrow, I don’t know, but am learning not to stress about the little things or even the big things.

Every mother of multiple children will tell you how unrealistically perfect many mothers are with their first child. I remember washing all of Jameson’s clothes with a special detergent gentle enough for baby’s skin, then double rinsing everything. It took me an entire month to get over that obsession. Poor baby Giselle does not have that luxury, as our clothes are all hung out to dry in the great Shanghai outdoors. No matter how fancy the detergent, everything ends up smelling like pollution, so what’s the point?

Yes, having an Ayi to do our laundry has been a huge luxury, and I shall greatly miss her (for more than just her laundering skills). But, in San Diego, we shall have this new fandangled contraption called a drier and a functional washer. We will also have this fancy thing called a dishwasher, and kitchen counters that are slightly higher than my knees. I am looking forward to those little luxuries. Until then, we still hang our clothes out to dry.

Giselle is one month old and is already 8 pounds!
I wonder if she is like her mother, as she is stronger than she looks!

This afternoon I learned that we may be moving as soon as Sunday. Moving with a one-month-old was not a part of the plan, but I am trying not to be too anxious (Philippians 4:5-7). Our VPN has expired so I cannot access facebook anymore, so keep reading my blog for more updates… perhaps we will move tomorrow, I don’t know, but am learning not to stress about the little things or even the big things.

]]> Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:15:00 GMT 01DBF404E63EBD9B6B8BEF06923F5178 Wo ai ni http://lorirenee.com/journal.cfm?feature=205186&postid=1040028 On the day Giselle was born, my friend Amy told me that Giselle’s birthday is a very special day. <a target="_new" href="http://thingsyoudontknowaboutchina.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/5-20-wo-ai-ni-netizens-getting-married-online-on-web-valentines-day/">May 20th (520) in Mandarin sounds like the words “Wo ay ni” which means “I love you”. Giselle is 4 weeks old today and we are truly in love. After a very long night on Wednesday, with three whole hours of sleep, I felt exhausted and overwhelmed. Giselle did not like something I ate and therefore was up most of the night. Just when I was feeling like I could never get out of bed again, Giselle smiled for the first time. God is funny this way, as He times everything so perfectly. After a month of sleep deprivation, a mom may feel like banging her head against the wall or running around wearing a chicken suit clucking “let me sleep”. It is just at that moment where insanity begins that God throws in your child's first smile. When your child smiles at you for the first time, your heart melts and you fall in love all over again.   Snuggling with Daddy could make anyone smile (even though he was annoyed with me for taking his photo)   Giselle snuggles in the hospital at four days old The whole world seems to be in our hands, but we are also in His capable hands     “Many” Lori Renée Devey I was born to take your hand To settle down and understand why I love And I love you May I look through your eyes? See the world in different guise Then I know, I know Many things I understand Many I don’t know Won’t you come and take my hand Together we will grow I was born to glorify To understand the reason why I know And I know you May I live in your world? Feel the brush as your wings unfurl Then I know, I know Many things I understand Many I don’t know Won’t you come and take my hand Together we will grow On the day Giselle was born, my friend Amy told me that Giselle’s birthday is a very special day. May 20th (520) in Mandarin sounds like the words “Wo ay ni” which means “I love you”. Giselle is 4 weeks old today and we are truly in love.

After a very long night on Wednesday, with three whole hours of sleep, I felt exhausted and overwhelmed. Giselle did not like something I ate and therefore was up most of the night. Just when I was feeling like I could never get out of bed again, Giselle smiled for the first time.

God is funny this way, as He times everything so perfectly. After a month of sleep deprivation, a mom may feel like banging her head against the wall or running around wearing a chicken suit clucking “let me sleep”. It is just at that moment where insanity begins that God throws in your child's first smile.

When your child smiles at you for the first time,
your heart melts and you fall in love all over again.

Snuggling with Daddy could make anyone smile
(even though he was annoyed with me for taking his photo)

Giselle snuggles in the hospital at four days old

The whole world seems to be in our hands,
but we are also in His capable hands

“Many”
Lori Renée Devey

I was born to take your hand
To settle down and understand why I love
And I love you

May I look through your eyes?
See the world in different guise
Then I know, I know

Many things I understand
Many I don’t know
Won’t you come and take my hand
Together we will grow

I was born to glorify
To understand the reason why I know
And I know you

May I live in your world?
Feel the brush as your wings unfurl
Then I know, I know

Many things I understand
Many I don’t know
Won’t you come and take my hand
Together we will grow
]]> Fri, 17 Jun 2011 09:20:00 GMT 612994BF3BDFFD7ECE65EC39AD861036 Wide-eyed http://lorirenee.com/journal.cfm?feature=205186&postid=1018747 Mademoiselle Giselle is spending more time wide-eyed and less time sleeping (or should I say, more time eating as I type with my laptop propped on my boppy pillow) so we I finally have a few photos of her beautiful eyes!  The past few weeks have been both glorious and arduous. The glorious part was when Jim took 6 days off work.  Having four adults and two children made the first week much like a dream. I hardly felt like I had just had major abdominal surgery by the end of his vacation. We celebrated Giselle’s birthday with the Martinez family and Jameson and Giselle exchanged gifts. Jameson loves that Giselle gave him “Spencer” one of “Thomas’ the Train’s” friends. We also spent our first Sunday together at Century Park, as the weather was lovely. The arduous part began last week when Jim went back to work and Giselle began to wake up more throughout the night. That is not a big deal except that I began to have a fever on Sunday that just would not go away. Yesterday Jim and I went to the U.S. Consulate with Giselle to apply for her U.S. passport. One can imagine just how chaotic that task could be. Unfortunately, I still had a raging fever and was seeing stars from time to time. In spite of having to wake Giselle up for another attempt at getting a new photo for her passport (poor dear) and calling our friends in the States to send us a photo of our marriage certificate A.S.A.P. (thank you Dustin and Steph!) I just found out that our application was received and is going through. We should be able to pick up the passport in 10 business days. At that time we have to apply for her visa, which will take another five business days. If you are doing the math in your head, you can tell that everything has to go as planned in order for us all to be on a plane on July 1st. By the time we returned home from our trip to the consulate my fever had spiked to 104 so I went in to see the doc (again). They took a few tests and discovered that my white blood cell count was quite high indicating an infection. Since I had been taking ibuprofen and Tylenol for three days and my fever was still high, my internal doctor chose to give me antibiotics intravenously. Although I was still a mess yesterday, my fever finally broke last night and I feel like a new person today. I am hoping and praying that I can stay well over the next few weeks so that we may move on July 1st. There is much to be done here, but I am doing my best to take photos and post them whenever possible! In China an infant is considered 1 year old when they are born, so this was Giselle's first Chinese Birthday part   Grandma is going home on Friday, Although my dad will be happy to have her home, we shall all miss grandma dearly!   I do not have many photos of our wide-eyed baby girl so I stole a few photos from my mother's camera   This was definitely glorious! (although you can see I am keeping an eye on Jameson and not the camera) Jameson had another gift for Giselle... Giselle's first flower from her brother... so glorious! I had to include the gift-flower in Giselle's one-week-portrait I will do my best to take more photos of those gorgeous eyes! But Giselle is so cute when she is sleeping, who can resist? Mademoiselle Giselle is spending more time wide-eyed and less time sleeping (or should I say, more time eating as I type with my laptop propped on my boppy pillow) so we I finally have a few photos of her beautiful eyes!

The past few weeks have been both glorious and arduous. The glorious part was when Jim took 6 days off work. Having four adults and two children made the first week much like a dream. I hardly felt like I had just had major abdominal surgery by the end of his vacation.

We celebrated Giselle’s birthday with the Martinez family and Jameson and Giselle exchanged gifts. Jameson loves that Giselle gave him “Spencer” one of “Thomas’ the Train’s” friends. We also spent our first Sunday together at Century Park, as the weather was lovely.

The arduous part began last week when Jim went back to work and Giselle began to wake up more throughout the night. That is not a big deal except that I began to have a fever on Sunday that just would not go away.

Yesterday Jim and I went to the U.S. Consulate with Giselle to apply for her U.S. passport. One can imagine just how chaotic that task could be. Unfortunately, I still had a raging fever and was seeing stars from time to time. In spite of having to wake Giselle up for another attempt at getting a new photo for her passport (poor dear) and calling our friends in the States to send us a photo of our marriage certificate A.S.A.P. (thank you Dustin and Steph!) I just found out that our application was received and is going through. We should be able to pick up the passport in 10 business days. At that time we have to apply for her visa, which will take another five business days. If you are doing the math in your head, you can tell that everything has to go as planned in order for us all to be on a plane on July 1st.

By the time we returned home from our trip to the consulate my fever had spiked to 104 so I went in to see the doc (again). They took a few tests and discovered that my white blood cell count was quite high indicating an infection. Since I had been taking ibuprofen and Tylenol for three days and my fever was still high, my internal doctor chose to give me antibiotics intravenously.

Although I was still a mess yesterday, my fever finally broke last night and I feel like a new person today. I am hoping and praying that I can stay well over the next few weeks so that we may move on July 1st. There is much to be done here, but I am doing my best to take photos and post them whenever possible!

In China an infant is considered 1 year old when they are born,
so this was Giselle's first Chinese Birthday part

Grandma is going home on Friday,
Although my dad will be happy to have her home,
we shall all miss grandma dearly!

I do not have many photos of our wide-eyed baby girl
so I stole a few photos from my mother's camera

This was definitely glorious!
(although you can see I am keeping an eye on Jameson and not the camera)

Jameson had another gift for Giselle...

Giselle's first flower from her brother... so glorious!

I had to include the gift-flower in Giselle's one-week-portrait

I will do my best to take more photos of those gorgeous eyes!
But Giselle is so cute when she is sleeping, who can resist?

]]> Wed, 08 Jun 2011 11:05:00 GMT 3234DD5B90226FD6A3148D8F2BFCA526 Oh, little angel http://lorirenee.com/journal.cfm?feature=205186&postid=1001830 Giselle is an Angel and her big brother is amazing. I am not saying that the last week has been a walk in the park, but it has been so much easier than I ever expected. Although <a target="_new" href="http://www.unitedfamilyhospitals.com/en/sh/facilities/department/pediatric/index.html">Shanghai United Family Hospital is well over an hour away from our apartment in Pudong, it was well worth the drive. My c-section went smoothly while <a target="_new" href="http://www.unitedfamilyhospitals.com/en/sh/facilities/medicalStaff/obsgyn/0/0/202.html">Dr. Ji and the entire staff at UFH cared me for exceptionally well. In spite of my being under general anesthesia, Giselle was born completely awake, pink and mewing like a newborn kitten. Jim was the first to hold Giselle while I finally rejoined the conscious world around 11:30 AM. All three of us stayed in the hospital for four days while Jameson and Grandma commuted to and from the hospital each day. My mother is a saint to brave the world of Shanghai taxis. She even taxied home twice alone with Jameson and even remembered to tell the driver to stop “ting”. I am quite proud of my mom and so blessed that she was here to care for Jameson while we stayed in the hospital with Giselle. Just before leaving for Shanghai United... 39 weeks prego at 5 AM, ayioo! Love at first snuggle Daddy's girl     Oh, little angel All ten fingers All ten toes A Daddy serenade Big brother cuddles   Jameson made the transition into big-brotherhood look so easy. He even gave Giselle his Maserati! At first Jameson did not want anyone else to hold Giselle, But we changed his mind So many of our prayers have been diligently answered. For one, Giselle kept cooking for four months past my episode of bleeding and pre-term labor. Both Giselle and I are so healthy that the hospital staff sent us home a day early, yet another prayer answered. God also blessed us beyond what we would ever ask for in an easy-going, angelic, sleepy baby. Last night Giselle slept from 11 PM to 4 AM! All of you mothers out there know what a blessing five hours of consecutive sleep is to a mother of a newborn. We are so blessed; I hardly know how to request more prayer. But, I do ask that you keep us in our prayers as we transition to our new home in San Diego. We have tickets to fly out July 1st and need everything to go smoothly in applying for Giselle’s passport and visa. Giselle is an Angel and her big brother is amazing. I am not saying that the last week has been a walk in the park, but it has been so much easier than I ever expected. Although Shanghai United Family Hospital is well over an hour away from our apartment in Pudong, it was well worth the drive. My c-section went smoothly while Dr. Ji and the entire staff at UFH cared me for exceptionally well. In spite of my being under general anesthesia, Giselle was born completely awake, pink and mewing like a newborn kitten.

Jim was the first to hold Giselle while I finally rejoined the conscious world around 11:30 AM. All three of us stayed in the hospital for four days while Jameson and Grandma commuted to and from the hospital each day. My mother is a saint to brave the world of Shanghai taxis. She even taxied home twice alone with Jameson and even remembered to tell the driver to stop “ting”. I am quite proud of my mom and so blessed that she was here to care for Jameson while we stayed in the hospital with Giselle.

Just before leaving for Shanghai United... 39 weeks prego at 5 AM, ayioo!

Love at first snuggle

Daddy's girl

Oh, little angel

All ten fingers

All ten toes

A Daddy serenade

Big brother cuddles

Jameson made the transition into big-brotherhood look so easy.
He even gave Giselle his Maserati!

At first Jameson did not want anyone else to hold Giselle,
But we changed his mind

So many of our prayers have been diligently answered. For one, Giselle kept cooking for four months past my episode of bleeding and pre-term labor. Both Giselle and I are so healthy that the hospital staff sent us home a day early, yet another prayer answered. God also blessed us beyond what we would ever ask for in an easy-going, angelic, sleepy baby. Last night Giselle slept from 11 PM to 4 AM! All of you mothers out there know what a blessing five hours of consecutive sleep is to a mother of a newborn.

We are so blessed; I hardly know how to request more prayer. But, I do ask that you keep us in our prayers as we transition to our new home in San Diego. We have tickets to fly out July 1st and need everything to go smoothly in applying for Giselle’s passport and visa.

]]> Tue, 31 May 2011 11:30:00 GMT 3D30399C8C469F512E79C1C4A284C51E Giselle Renee http://lorirenee.com/journal.cfm?feature=205186&postid=992423 Giselle Renée Devey Born May 20th, 2011 at 9:45 AM 5 Pounds, 13 ounces 18 inches Practically perfect in every way  

Giselle Renée Devey
Born May 20th, 2011 at 9:45 AM
5 Pounds, 13 ounces
18 inches
Practically perfect in every way

]]> Wed, 25 May 2011 11:35:00 GMT 64AF81E81EA8C751D878AEA97F8C6731 Back in Beijing http://lorirenee.com/journal.cfm?feature=205186&postid=965238 Tomorrow my mother is coming to stay with us for an entire month! Although seeing her newest grandbaby is a big attraction, she is quite an amazing woman to travel halfway across the world twice in one year. Back in September my mom, Judy, flew home with Jameson and I to spend three weeks with us in Shanghai. During my mom’s visit, her youngest sister, Margaret and Margaret's daughter Vonnie joined us for two weeks. It had been a while since I last saw Margaret and Vonnie, but because I lived with Vonnie for one summer and worked at their resort in Roslyn, Washington, it was just like old times… sort of…. Instead of sheep crossing the roads, there were camels! There was no way I would allow my family to fly all the way to China and not see Beijing. So, we spent a weekend seeing the <a target="_new" href="http://www.chinahighlights.com/greatwall/">Great Wall, <a target="_new" href="http://www.thechinaguide.com/forbidden_city/index.php">The Forbidden City, <a target="_new" href="http://www.thebeijingguide.com/tiananmen_square/index.html">Tiananmen’s Square, and (my favorite) <a target="_new" href="http://www.thechinaguide.com/summer_palace/index.php">The Summer Palace. I visited Beijing with the <a target="_new" href="http://oregonstate.edu/cla/music/chorus/chamber-choir">Oregon State University Chamber Choir in March of 1997, so I had already seen many of the sites, but it was wonderful to share Beijing with my guests. All of my photos are packed away in my garage, so when we move home I’ll have to scan them and post photos of my previous trip. Jameson fell asleep at the Summer Palace, so we decided to play dress up When I visited the Summer Palace 14 years ago, the Marble Boat was still open Since the Marble boat is now closed, we settled for a ride on the Dragon boat Jameson still talks about the Dragon boat and having a massive blowout on the boat didn't seem to phase him! The forbidden City has not been forbidden since the "Reform and Opening" three decades ago Ironically, "<a target="_new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen">Tiananmen" means "The gate of heavenly peace" ???   Vonnie and I were proud of our moms for climbing the Ancient Great Wall of China But, is the wall as old as "Ancient Aunt Judy"?   Vonnie (or as Jameson calls her "Funny") Had to buy a Great Wall Diet Coke My little Emperor needed to be carried up the Great Wall!   Mmmmmm... I’m afraid Margaret thought the Peking Duck was Peking Yuck…     Although most people don’t dream of visiting China and being here does not always feel like a vacation, I know that my mother, Margaret and Vonnie made some fabulous memories here. I never dreamed that I would move here let alone deliver my second child here, but in just a week from tomorrow (if not sooner) Giselle will be here! Stay tuned for lots of photos of our little empress! Tomorrow my mother is coming to stay with us for an entire month! Although seeing her newest grandbaby is a big attraction, she is quite an amazing woman to travel halfway across the world twice in one year.

Back in September my mom, Judy, flew home with Jameson and I to spend three weeks with us in Shanghai. During my mom’s visit, her youngest sister, Margaret and Margaret's daughter Vonnie joined us for two weeks. It had been a while since I last saw Margaret and Vonnie, but because I lived with Vonnie for one summer and worked at their resort in Roslyn, Washington, it was just like old times… sort of…. Instead of sheep crossing the roads, there were camels!

There was no way I would allow my family to fly all the way to China and not see Beijing. So, we spent a weekend seeing the Great Wall, The Forbidden City, Tiananmen’s Square, and (my favorite) The Summer Palace.

I visited Beijing with the Oregon State University Chamber Choir in March of 1997, so I had already seen many of the sites, but it was wonderful to share Beijing with my guests. All of my photos are packed away in my garage, so when we move home I’ll have to scan them and post photos of my previous trip.

Jameson fell asleep at the Summer Palace,
so we decided to play dress up

When I visited the Summer Palace 14 years ago,
the Marble Boat was still open

Since the Marble boat is now closed, we settled for a ride on the Dragon boat

Jameson still talks about the Dragon boat
and having a massive blowout on the boat didn't seem to phase him!

The forbidden City has not been forbidden since the
"Reform and Opening" three decades ago

Ironically, "Tiananmen" means
"The gate of heavenly peace" ???

Vonnie and I were proud of our moms for climbing the Ancient Great Wall of China
But, is the wall as old as "Ancient Aunt Judy"?

Vonnie (or as Jameson calls her "Funny")
Had to buy a Great Wall Diet Coke

My little Emperor needed to be carried up the Great Wall!

Mmmmmm...

I’m afraid Margaret thought the Peking Duck was Peking Yuck…

Although most people don’t dream of visiting China and being here does not always feel like a vacation, I know that my mother, Margaret and Vonnie made some fabulous memories here. I never dreamed that I would move here let alone deliver my second child here, but in just a week from tomorrow (if not sooner) Giselle will be here! Stay tuned for lots of photos of our little empress!

]]> Thu, 12 May 2011 04:45:00 GMT 79B32B708A14ECC22D9C88BE58DA6F0C Nest http://lorirenee.com/journal.cfm?feature=205186&postid=953105 Although baby Giselle does not have her own room in our Shanghai apartment, she does have her own space. We learned of our move to San Diego the day after I purchased a second-hand dresser and changing table for Giselle. At first it seemed as though I should have skipped these purchases, but after receiving so many gorgeous gifts for our little girl, we needed a place to store her things. In spite of the impending move, Giselle will be here in two weeks so let the nesting begin! The cherry blossoms in Century Park were my inspiration for the artwork, as well as loads of polka dots. Who knows what Giselle’s nursery will be like in San Diego (or our lives for that matter), but for now, I am content with her own little “nest” in our living room! Although baby Giselle does not have her own room in our Shanghai apartment, she does have her own space. We learned of our move to San Diego the day after I purchased a second-hand dresser and changing table for Giselle. At first it seemed as though I should have skipped these purchases, but after receiving so many gorgeous gifts for our little girl, we needed a place to store her things. In spite of the impending move, Giselle will be here in two weeks so let the nesting begin!

The cherry blossoms in Century Park were my inspiration for the artwork,
as well as loads of polka dots.

Who knows what Giselle’s nursery will be like in San Diego (or our lives for that matter),
but for now, I am content with her own little “nest” in our living room!

]]> Fri, 06 May 2011 04:05:00 GMT C54BB83828409164EDACECBA4DEBC6D8 Celebrating Life http://lorirenee.com/journal.cfm?feature=205186&postid=935762 Last week was an amazing example of just how lovely life can be. On Tuesday, my friend Marisela drove me to pick up second-hand changing table and dresser for Giselle’s things before taking me to my doctor’s appointment at Shanghai United. If that doesn’t sounds like a huge answer to prayer, imagine me trying to load up two pieces of furniture into a taxi, then taking them for a one-hour tour of Shanghai to visit my doctor, then driving them home to Pudong and getting them into my apartment! On Thursday, my friend Melissa had an Easter egg dying party. As you can tell, this was Jameson’s first time dying Easter eggs… Tia Carolina and Abby made the most beautiful eggs while Alex and Jameson made a beautiful mess Next, On Friday, my dear friend Karen gathered my friends Melissa, Stacy and Carol for a birthday/baby celebration. I have never felt so spoiled by such amazing friends! Melissa and Carol went to the <a href="http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/shanghai/listings/dining/cafes/has/amokka-cafe/" target="_new">Amokka Cafe in Puxi to decorate, while Karen brought Stacy and I. My friends showered me with balloons, fresh flowers, a yummy cake and gorgeous gifts for Giselle; not to mention an awesome time with just the girls as we all had babysitters! I only have one photo with Karen... how did that happen? Carolina, I, Melissa, Karen and Stacy pose at the fabulous <a href="http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/shanghai/listings/dining/cafes/has/amokka-cafe/" target="_new">Amokka cafe   Giselle is a lucky young lady with so many gorgeous gifts and even more importantly, so many people who love her     Then on Saturday, my friend Marisela gathered my dear friends from AGIF for yet another celebration of Giselle’s life. I am honored to be blessed by so many after only being in Shanghai for one year. Nearly everyone had a pacifier, except for the gorgeous baby!   On Easter morning we celebrated with a few beautiful gifts my sweet seester sent from home Even Giselle had an Easter gift... her first pink slippers! What 2-and-a-half-year-old boy would not want a space shuttle for Easter? Thanks McKinnon and Monet!   Finally, on Sunday, we celebrated life and Easter with eggs, chicks and baby bunnies, at the <a href="http://www.parkyard.com/" target="_new">Parkyard Hotel with many of our friends from <a href="http://www.agifshanghai.com" target="_new">AGIF and Jim’s work as well! Chicks and geese and ducks better scurry! Jameson was surprisingly gentle with the baby chicks I think he is ready to hold his baby sister in a few weeks! I know, I know, enough with the baby chicks!   Hunting for Easter eggs with your best friend is always fun... … until you discover a fountain! Carol, Melissa, Nilusha and I.... but where are Jodie and Amy? I should have kidnapped them for this photo!   Lenny, Jim and Eric have worked 6 days a week for more than a year... This job is almost finished, right?  7/11/2011 ???   The Martinez family have been great friends to us in China It is hard to believe that our time here might be coming to an end...   I still cannot grasp how we will be expanding to a family of four in three weeks, especially while living in China! The last exciting thing we have to celebrate in our lives is that we are moving home, or at least we are moving Stateside! Jim was offered a position at the San Diego office starting in July. Jim is ecstatic about the location, whereas I am a little apprehensive about moving with a 2-month old baby. But, I am sure God’s timing is perfect! Speaking of timing, my mother will be here in two weeks from Friday and Giselle will be here in three weeks from Friday. Time is rushing past in spite of the fact that I am in slow motion this week from a flu bug both Jameson and I are fighting. Please pray for health for our family, a complication-free c-section, a healthy baby Giselle, and a smooth transition to San Diego!

On Thursday, my friend Melissa had an Easter egg dying party.
As you can tell, this was Jameson’s first time dying Easter eggs…

Tia Carolina and Abby made the most beautiful eggs
while Alex and Jameson made a beautiful mess

Next, On Friday, my dear friend Karen gathered my friends Melissa, Stacy and Carol for a birthday/baby celebration. I have never felt so spoiled by such amazing friends! Melissa and Carol went to the Amokka Cafe in Puxi to decorate, while Karen brought Stacy and I. My friends showered me with balloons, fresh flowers, a yummy cake and gorgeous gifts for Giselle; not to mention an awesome time with just the girls as we all had babysitters!

I only have one photo with Karen... how did that happen?
Carolina, I, Melissa, Karen and Stacy pose at the fabulous Amokka cafe

Giselle is a lucky young lady with so many gorgeous gifts
and even more importantly, so many people who love her

Then on Saturday, my friend Marisela gathered my dear friends from AGIF for yet another celebration of Giselle’s life. I am honored to be blessed by so many after only being in Shanghai for one year.

Nearly everyone had a pacifier, except for the gorgeous baby!

On Easter morning we celebrated with a few beautiful gifts my sweet seester sent from home

Even Giselle had an Easter gift... her first pink slippers!

What 2-and-a-half-year-old boy would not want a space shuttle for Easter?
Thanks McKinnon and Monet!

Finally, on Sunday, we celebrated life and Easter with eggs, chicks and baby bunnies,
at the Parkyard Hotel with many of our friends from AGIF and Jim’s work as well!

Chicks and geese and ducks better scurry!

Jameson was surprisingly gentle with the baby chicks
I think he is ready to hold his baby sister in a few weeks!

I know, I know, enough with the baby chicks!

Hunting for Easter eggs with your best friend is always fun...

… until you discover a fountain!

Carol, Melissa, Nilusha and I.... but where are Jodie and Amy?
I should have kidnapped them for this photo!

Lenny, Jim and Eric have worked 6 days a week for more than a year...
This job is almost finished, right? 7/11/2011 ???

The Martinez family have been great friends to us in China
It is hard to believe that our time here might be coming to an end...

I still cannot grasp how we will be expanding to a family of four in three weeks,
especially while living in China!

The last exciting thing we have to celebrate in our lives is that we are moving home, or at least we are moving Stateside! Jim was offered a position at the San Diego office starting in July. Jim is ecstatic about the location, whereas I am a little apprehensive about moving with a 2-month old baby. But, I am sure God’s timing is perfect!

Speaking of timing, my mother will be here in two weeks from Friday and Giselle will be here in three weeks from Friday. Time is rushing past in spite of the fact that I am in slow motion this week from a flu bug both Jameson and I are fighting. Please pray for health for our family, a complication-free c-section, a healthy baby Giselle, and a smooth transition to San Diego!

]]> Wed, 27 Apr 2011 18:50:00 GMT C3CBDB297F092B868E7BE916546FF859 Thank You For Visiting http://lorirenee.com/journal.cfm?feature=205186&postid=889480 We are fortunate enough to have 90-day visas now, which means we only need to leave the country to reset our visas once every three months. Thanks to a month of lots of rest and antibiotics, I was feeling well enough to gain travel approval from my ob-gyn and we opted to go back to Hong Kong Disneyland. After three months, Jameson was still talking about Disneyland, so we decided that we would stay at the <a href="http://park.hongkongdisneyland.com/hkdl/en_US/hotels/landing?name=HongKongDisneylandHotelLandingPage" target="_new">Disneyland Resort on<a target="_new" href="http://hongkong.angloinfo.com/maps/918/Lantau+Island+Map.html"> Lantau Island so the commute to the park would be short and easy. Jim and Jameson spent one day at Disneyland while I had a massage and relaxed at the resort. I would have loved to go with my family, but the doc did not approve of my spending the whole day on my feet. I know, what torture, to have to spend the entire day reading by the pool followed by a massage and dinner with my family! Jameson and Jim had a fabulous time at the park Thank you for visiting... again   Our room had a view of the South China Sea (and Hong Kong Island on a clear day) Jameson loved feeding the birds from our balcony The sight, sound and smell of the ocean was invigorating, Especially since we have not been out of the city in eight months The Hotel and the grounds were so gorgeous and since this is our third trip to HK, We did not even bother going to Hong Kong Island After three days of Mickey waffles for breakfast Jameson finally let Goofy get close enough to take a picture with him (You have to admit that giant Disney characters are a little intimidating!) We had a fabulous four days of “Daddy, Mommy, Jameson” time as J tells us. Now our next visa reset will be approximately 6 weeks after Giselle’s birth, so we are looking for another "quiet and relaxing" destination for our new family of four (wink wink).  If all goes as planned, my mom will be here in five weeks and Giselle will be here in six weeks from tomorrow! But, if Giselle is anything like her brother, she will decide to come whenever she is ready. We are fortunate enough to have 90-day visas now, which means we only need to leave the country to reset our visas once every three months. Thanks to a month of lots of rest and antibiotics, I was feeling well enough to gain travel approval from my ob-gyn and we opted to go back to Hong Kong Disneyland.

After three months, Jameson was still talking about Disneyland, so we decided that we would stay at the Disneyland Resort on Lantau Island so the commute to the park would be short and easy. Jim and Jameson spent one day at Disneyland while I had a massage and relaxed at the resort.

I would have loved to go with my family, but the doc did not approve of my spending the whole day on my feet. I know, what torture, to have to spend the entire day reading by the pool followed by a massage and dinner with my family!

Jameson and Jim had a fabulous time at the park

Thank you for visiting... again

Our room had a view of the South China Sea (and Hong Kong Island on a clear day)

Jameson loved feeding the birds from our balcony

The sight, sound and smell of the ocean was invigorating,
Especially since we have not been out of the city in eight months

The Hotel and the grounds were so gorgeous and since this is our third trip to HK,
We did not even bother going to Hong Kong Island

After three days of Mickey waffles for breakfast
Jameson finally let Goofy get close enough to take a picture with him
(You have to admit that giant Disney characters are a little intimidating!)

We had a fabulous four days of “Daddy, Mommy, Jameson” time as J tells us. Now our next visa reset will be approximately 6 weeks after Giselle’s birth, so we are looking for another "quiet and relaxing" destination for our new family of four (wink wink). If all goes as planned, my mom will be here in five weeks and Giselle will be here in six weeks from tomorrow! But, if Giselle is anything like her brother, she will decide to come whenever she is ready.

]]> Thu, 07 Apr 2011 10:35:00 GMT B2F33903354CF9D903E9D5EDD2707618