Pre-Chinese New Year Party

Sometimes in my adult life, I stop to appreciate a professional accomplishment, sometimes I am pleased with a recipe that has turned out to be delicious and sometimes, I am simply proud that I have been part of a successful photography session involving children! They are the definition of "moving target"!







Saturday night, my friend Jill and I organized a gathering of 18 families who have adopted from Asia or are waiting for children from Asia. Twenty-seven energetic children ran around the Grange Hall at top speeds while bouncing balls and trading turns on a few ride-on toys. Several families brought Chinese New Year themed crafts to busy the kids as well. We all ordered Chinese carry-out and enjoyed each other's company.







Here is our best (and I think, quite good!) attempt at a group photo. I think we missed a few kids but these were my best shots. What a fun night!


Theo is in yellow in front. Ella is in pink on the far right, second from the top row.

The official start of Chinese New Year, or as some Asian countries call it, the Lunar New Year, begins on January 26th. 2009 is the Year of the Ox.

Chinese have a unique way of representing the New Year through animals. They have 12 different animals to represent each year of the 12 year -cycle and the order remains the same throughout with the year of the rat beginning the cycle and the year of the boar/ pig ending the same. As the Chinese year 2008 was signified as the year of the rat, the following year, 2009, is going to be the year of the ox. Chinese New Year of OX, 2009 will fall on January 26th and will mark the 15 day long festivitiesbeginning on the said date and going on till the 9th February.

This paragraph from www.123chinesenewyear.com