CNY Wrap Up (And Bri's Growing Confidence)

I just got finished putting all my CNY decorations away, so the CNY celebrations are now officially over.

Yesterday, Briana brought in her bright red goody bags and a book to read to her Venture class for CNY. We planned on doing it the Thursday before, but because of her school closing due to snow, we had to push it back a week. Briana's teacher sent me the above picture of her reading to the class with the caption "Briana did great!"

I'm so proud of her. I'm proud of her every day of course, but I was super proud of her yesterday. As outgoing she is with her really close friends, she can still be a bit shy in front of her classmates. Years back, I know that her not being able to pronounce her "r's" and "sh's" made her feel a bit uncomfortable at times. She doing amazing with her speech now. And getting up and reading in front of her friends is a pretty big deal for my girl. She looked confident, didn't she? Her confidence is definitely growing.

And I'm not only proud because she was brave yesterday, but because right now, she seems so very happy and self-assured with who she is. She loves being an Asian American and she loves celebrating her Chinese holidays and heritage with other people. I can't change the fact that she is a minority and that she lives with Caucasian parents. And I can't change the fact that she is adopted and that it is pretty obvious to everyone the minute we walk down the street together. Of course she really is an "All-American kid" at the same time. We don't focus on China and adoption all the time in our home - she goes to school, giggles about boys, loves cool clothes, her iPad and Minecraft, plays soccer, loves to run and hangs out with her friends. But what I can control now is my effort in helping her embrace her identity (by respecting and sharing in the love of her heritage and keeping ties to the Chinese and China adoption communities) and my aim in making her feel "special" instead of "different" whenever an opportunity arises. Because she really is so very special. In so many ways. And as she gets older, I may not be right there to protect her and make her feel special, so I'm doing my best to try to build her confidence now. (I am aware that the teenage years may stomp a bit on some of her confidence and self-assurance - as with most teens - but I hope B comes out the other end of it still embracing who she is.) And for as long as she wants to celebrate and share with me, I'll be there. I'll follow her lead.

So that's it for CNY ~ until next year that is. ;)

FCCA Chinese New Year Dinner 2015

I am so happy that we were able to attend the FCCA/Hand in Hand Chinese Culture Program's CNY event this year. We missed it last year because we were heading out to Disney.

The event was held at a restaurant that is about an hour away from where I live, but it's worth the drive to be able to give this experience to Briana. We were so happy that our friends Laura and Ella joined us for the occasion (we drove together).

It was held at the Golden House restaurant...

The restaurant is really pretty...

Love all the red and gold...

A large fish tank at the entrance...

As we all walked in, the families had their picture taken (I swiped a few of my photos from the Hand in Hand FB page)...

Briana and Ella...

We were so happy when April and her family arrived...

Bri, April, Ella and Laura...

And then Miss Katie and her parents arrived too. Perfect photo opp of four exquisite ladies...

The girls kept themselves busy before the entertainment started. Spinning chocolate gold coins worked...

The girls all bought tickets for the raffle...

Then it was show time. These two girls emceed the entertainment...

A lovely Chinese dancer started things off...

Then there was a martial arts act...

Then several groups of kids came up to break boards. April, Ella and Katie were in one of the groups (Bri didn't get up there fast enough to make the cut!)...

Then it was time for the Lion Dance...

The dance was simply amazing.

The kids got to pose with the lions after the performance...

Then it was food time. We were all pretty hungry when the food came out. And it was delicious...

While we were eating, they started giving out the raffle prizes. Miss Ella was one of the winners!!

Bri was picked to read one of the raffle numbers...

She read the number loud and clear. She didn't seem nervous at all. I was really proud of her...

After dinner, it was announced that the firecrackers were about to start. I was very curious as to what they meant because we were inside a restaurant. Then I realized it was just sheets of bubble wrap. When all the kids stomp on the bubble wrap at one time, it sounds just like firecrackers. Who knew? It was really cool...

Then sadly, it was time for goodbyes...

Lots of hugs to go around...

Pretty girls...

So sassy!!!

Me and my best girl...

I want to give a big thank you to the FCCA and Hand in Hand for putting this wonderful event together. It was a great night, and I'm so glad we got to be a part of it.

(To read about some of the other things we did for CNY ~ click http://waitingforbriana.blogspot.com/2015/03/celebrating-chinese-new-year.html.)

Celebrating Chinese New Year

Wow - CNY has been a super busy one this year. The holiday lasts for 15 days, and I have to say we have filled a lot of those 15 days with fun. CNY ends on March 5 this year ~ and on that day, Briana will be bringing in some goody bags to her Venture class. That will be a nice ending to our very long celebration...

 You will probably remember that we decorated our house the day before the new year started and we gave Bri some gifts and ate long spaghetti noodles on the first night of CNY.

One the second day of CNY, I took Bri to the local art center to do a CNY craft. She dressed for the occasion and I did a fun little photo shoot...

At the art center, she did a craft for the year of the sheep...

She was the only one that attended the workshop from our China adoption group, but she made the most of it. She still loved doing her craft...

Finished product...

On Sunday night (Feb 22), we attended a wonderful CNY celebration at a Chinese restaurant hosted by the FCCA and the Hand in Hand Chinese Culture Program.

Bri put on her new dress...

I took lots of pictures and I have so much to blog about regarding that evening. I've decided to do a separate post on it.

But for now, here are a couple of pictures ~ Briana with her friends April, Emma and Katie...

And there was an amazing lion dance...

The Tuesday after attending the CNY dinner, we had snow come through the metro Atlanta area. Bri got to school Monday, but she was out of school Tuesday through Thursday. I was scheduled to do my annual CNY presentation for her class that Friday (Feb 28). I was even put on the weekly agenda (exciting stuff!) - LOL! There were some grumblings of possibly not having school on Friday because of a few slick roads left in the area. I hoped that we would have school - I was so ready to do the presentation. I had to reschedule my presentation last year due to snow and hoped I didn't have to do it again this year.

Thank goodness - school was on Friday! Bri wore her purple dress that day...

I had all my little goody bags ready to go...

I passed out a couple of handouts and read a book to the class. And then I had the kids do a 

China word search for a prize (a dragon head on a stick). The kids really got into it...

A little girl in Bri's class won the search, and then the kids were able to color the zodiac placemats I handed out and also their bookmarks...

In the goody bags each year, I put little slide drums/noisemakers and they are always the biggest hit. I asked the kids this year to pose with them...

My gal was the belle of the ball wasn't she? ;)

I was really happy because every kid in Bri's class was at school that day. I guess all the parents were ready for their kids to get back to school after three days off (and winter break the whole week before)! LOL!

Then Saturday evening, Doug, Bri and I met some of our closest friends at our favorite local Chinese restaurant...

Our traditional quipao dress photo...

Sweetest and loveliest girls ever ~ Mary, Briana, Ella and Imerie...

So, I have more on the FCCA CNY dinner to come in my next post ~ please stay tuned.

To those that celebrate, hope you all are having a very happy Chinese new year!!

Xīn Nián Kuài Lè! 新年快乐!