Mackynzie

Remember when I told you about the mean girl in my class, Mackynzie? Well my friend Sophie suggested that I invite her over, and my parents suggested the same thing. Sometimes the best way to get someone to stop being mean is to do something nice unexpectedly. So, last weekend I invited her over.
It ended up not being an ideal day because it was really cold and rainy so all my rambunctious siblings were stuck in the house. Mackynzie looked kind of uncertain, like she wasn't sure what to expect, so I offered to give her a tour of our house.

 

She actually seemed impressed by our large bedroom.

We sat down to play with Molly's iPad. Mackynzie said she already had one of her own, but I showed her some of our pictures we've taken with the iPad.

 

Next we decided to play with my dollhouse

At that point, my siblings realized that I had a friend over, and they came thundering in from all directions to see who it was. Mackynzie looked really overwhelmed. I can't say I blame her. I introduced her to everyone.

Some of us decided to play a game together until Mackynzie's mom came to pick her up.





 I don't know if Mackynzie and I will ever be best friends, but I did have fun. Have you ever invited over someone you didn't like and wound up having fun?











I was nominated for the versatile blogger award!

So, I really have no idea how this thing works. A few days ago a girl named Saoirse (saoirsesspace-ag.blogspot.com) nominated me for it, so I now shall proceed to accomplish the requirements.

The Versatile Blog Award!

1. Must State Requirements


2. Thank the Person Who Awarded You
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Saoirse!!!

3. Pass the Award on to Five Other Bloggers
 My picks:

1. Crystal James (http://crystaljforever.blogspot.com/)
2. Sophie Moreau (http://sophie-amelie.blogspot.com)
3. Katia Grinkova (and her sisters) (http://lawrencegirls.blogspot.com/)
4. Sabine Bouchard (http://sabinethegreat.blogspot.com/)
5. Keyvee and her sisters (http://fearstreetsaga.blogspot.com/)
 
3 1/2. Notify the Awarded Bloggers by Commenting on Their Blogs

4. Share Seven Unusual Things About Yourself
(My sister Amber would be better at "unusual" stuff)
1. I hate pickles
2. One of my thumbs in double-jointed
3. My favorite thing about America is Johnny Rocket's. :D
4. I am worried that my English accent is beginning to fade
5. If I could have any animal as a pet, I would have a cotton-topped tamaran
6. When I was first adopted, it was really overwhelming having all these siblings, but now I have gotten used to it
 7. Another blog post will be up this weekend!

Meet the Family!

Well, I kind of let my blog slip over the second half of summer. I sort of forgot about it on account of traveling back to England and adopting my brother and then starting 5th grade Oh, speaking of school, William and I are in a fine arts school this year. I was homeschooled last year, but I wasn't crazy about it. So I'm now enrolled in a school that focuses on art, writing, literature, drama, and music. I am taking violin classes and I'm hoping to one day be brave enough to try drama. There is a girl in my class named Mackynzie who is kind of mean. She is an only child and rubs it in my face. My best friend Sadie says maybe she's jealous because I have 8 siblings and always have someone around to play with, but I think she's just mean. What do you guys think?
Which reminds me, if you don't have a Facebook page, that means you don't follow Amber and Molly's pages, and that means that you're not familiar with my family. So, I proudly present to you....
My family!!!

Kirsten Annika

Birthday-December 3rd

Age-15

Kirsten was adopted from Sweden at the age of 11. She really misses her home country and likes to do things that remind her of Sweden, but she is adjusting to life in America as well. She says that the best thing about the USA is fried chicken! She also likes to go shopping at Target, another one of her favorite American things She is easily one of the sweetest of all my siblings. She can be kind of shy, but when people get to know her, they have to love her. She likes to hang out with me a lot and play with the little kids, especially our baby sister. She is homeschooled and in 10th grade. Fun fact about Kirsten-she is the only one of us to have been to an actual American Girl Place store (the rest of us have only been to the smaller ones inside malls).

Molly Grace

Birthday-February 25th

Age-12





Molly was adopted from Kentucky at the age of 7. She is pretty much the opposite of me in that she is outgoing, dramatic, and loves to be around lots of people. She loves singing and acting and being at the center of attention. She also likes clothes and has some outfits I'm rather jealous of myself.Her favorite color is pink. She loves music, especially One Direction. Her best quality is that she's extremely friendly and welcoming. She goes to public school where she is in a drama club and has lots of friends. She recently went to AGP in Atlanta and got her ears pierced, and the earrings look great on her. Sometimes I wonder if she knows how extremely pretty she is.

Amber Nicole

Birthday-March 8th

Age-10

Amber is my parents' oldest biological child and a force to be reckoned with. She is the most impulsive human being who has ever existed. For example, she is currently 5,000 dollars in debt after accidentally bidding too high for a horse. And speaking of horses, she loves them. She has two that she trained on her own and is in her 4H club's advanced equestrian class. She has an electric guitar and plays that thing LOUD. She is free-spirited and sarcastic and always has a comeback. Even though she doesn't try to, she tends to mess things up or get into trouble. She obsesses over Brad Paisley and is always up for an adventure. Fun fact- Amber bears a striking resemblance to a girl named Piper Nicole, but the similarity of their names is coincidental.

 

Catherine Margaret

Birthday-May 19th

Age-9

 

First of all, I am very fond of Kit's real name. It sounds royal. But when Kit was little, our dad called her Kit-Kat, and the name stuck. Besides, Kit isn't one for big, royal names. She is our parents' second biological child and exactly in the middle of all of us, but that doesn't stop her from making her voice heard. She plays baseball and hockey and shows our animals in 4H competitions. She loves to pal around with our younger brothers, ride 4-wheelers on our uncle's farm, and "help" our dad in his garden (she really just uses it as an excuse to get dirty). But she can be cute and really, really manipulative when she wants something. She is extremely creative (especially when it comes to clothes), has a big personality, and instantly loves everyone she meets.

 

William Alexander

Birthday-October 22nd

Age-8

 

William is pretty much the cutest, sweetest, funniest, smartest, most talented kid you will ever meet. Okay, so maybe I'm biased, but he is my only biological sibling. And we were separated for 2 1/2 years after I was adopted and William had to stay behind in England while "legal issues" were worked out or something. I don't know; all I know is that William finally got here almost 2 months ago and life has been perfect since. He is adjusting well to school and is going to a class for newly-adopted kids, where he's made a couple of friends who were also adopted from Europe. He's the tiniest 3rd grader I've ever seen but when he went to the doctor last month, they said he'll catch up before long. William plays piano and drums, and he's getting the hang of video games and American football. He also loves basketball and to play Indiana Jones with Sean in our backyard. He will turn 9 next month and is looking forward to his first birthday as an American citizen.

 

Justin Levi

Birthday-September 14th

Age-8

Justin is 11 months younger than William and Mom and Dad's only biological son. If I were to sum him up in one sentence, it would be this--This kid is a NUT. He seems to think that rules don't apply to him and will stop at nothing, even trying out for a play part that's meant for age 16 and up. He talks about football night and day and roots for Alabama, The Tennessee Titans, and the Atlanta Hawks. He has an annoying sense of humor, but every so often he comes out with something that is actually really funny. Ever since William arrived, Justin has seen to it that William always knows where to go or what to do. He really looks out for him, which is kind of funny because he's younger. In some ways he reminds me of William because he always tries to include everyone and is actually pretty sensitive. (But you did NOT hear that from me!)

Sean Michael

Birthday-February 2nd

Age-5

Sean is 5 years old and Ethiopian, but you would never know it by talking to him. His favorite restaurant is McDonald's and he knows the names of more than 200 football players. There is an interesting story behind his adoption. He was born in Africa into extreme poverty with a serious heart defect. Every year my parents sponser a child by paying for them to be sent to America for life-saving surgery, and one year, Sean was the child they sponsered. Sean was 6 months old when he had his surgery. He was going to be sent back to Ethiopia afterwards, but instead, my parents adopted him. He recently got the bizarre idea that he was meant to be a professional golfer, but all he did was smash a window and break two lamps. Since then he's stuck with football and soccer. He also likes race cars and motorcycles and Lego's. He follows William and Justin around like a typical little brother and likes to help take care of Holly.

 

Holly Rebekah

Birthday-August 1st

Age-1

 

 











Holly just turned 1 and is the cutest thing ever. She gets into everything and is starting to learn more words; in fact, my name was the first word she learned (she said "Manda", but hey, it counts). She is really fun to play with. For now, at least, she's the youngest in our family and the youngest biological child, so she always has someone playing with her or carrying her around. She likes it when I read books to her. I think she will grow up and love to read like I do.

 

So, that's my entire family! I am never lonely and I always have a fan base.  I apologize for how long this post was. I hope you enjoyed it. Do you have any siblings? What are they like?

 

 

Family Portrait:

 



 



I'm in London!!!

As of right this second, I am sitting in our hotel room looking out the window at the tall buildings on the horizon, the lights from London Tower Bridge spilling onto the River Thames. I am finally back home!! And if that's not enough, my brother is sitting here next to me, almost like we were never apart.

We've been here in London since Friday morning. The first thing we did was pick up my brother from the children's home. That was pretty much the best moment of my life. And, while we were there, I got to see my best friend Nellie again! It was great to see her, and she wanted to hear all about life in the USA. I didn't even know where to begin.

On Saturday, we went to gymnastics and diving events. It was so much fun watching all the athletes. I love the Olympics because it's almost like the whole world comes together for a couple of weeks, although there is one corner of the world my brother and I rooting for especially. ;)



The next day, Sunday, we watched a bike race early in the morning before going to Buckingham Palace. That place is breathtaking! We watched the Changing of the Guards, which was nothing new for William and me, but the other kids were fascinated. Justin and Sean have been marching around "guarding" our hotel room ever since. That night we watched some Olympic fencing, and I should have known it would give the boys all kinds of ideas......

We've seen Big Ben, the Natural History Museum, Westminster Abbey, and the London Eye. I'm terrified of heights, and I thought the London Eye would help me conquer that, but it freaked me out even more!! It was very fun seeing all of London at once, though. I know my way around here pretty well so my dad made me the official tour guide. :) It was fun pointing out all the places I used to visit frequently.

Tomorrow is Holly's 1st birthday, so we're going to celebrate it somehow. I remember how excited I was when she was born. She's the most like a biological sibling to me, except, of course, for William. Oh and speaking of William, I've been telling him all about America and what to expect. He says he is eager to experience life in America but is sad to leave the only home he's ever known. That little kid always did talk fancy.

Anyway, that's what we've been doing! We will reuturn home on Friday, and I think coming back to America will feel more like coming home then I could have ever imagined. I guess home is wherever my family is, you know? 

My First Pen-Pal Letter

Last week, I mailed my first letter to Marie-Odette!! Here is a copy of it:

Bonjour Marie-Odette,J'ai bien aimé votre lettre. J'étais un peu nerveux à l'idée de répondre, mais mes bons amis français, Sophie et Sandrine, m'ont donné beaucoup de bonnes idées pour des choses à vous raconter. Eh bien, pour commencer, mon nom est Samantha Elizabeth Parkington-Chevalier. J'ai deux noms de famille parce que j'ai été adopté. Jusqu'à ce que je était de 8 ans, j'ai vécu dans un orphelinat à Londres, en Angleterre. Il ya des choses en Angleterre qui me manque vraiment-surtout la nourriture, et aussi mon professeur, Mme Katherine. Mais il ya de grandes choses au sujet des États-Unis.

Quand je vivais en Angleterre, il n'y avait que moi et mon frère, William. Il a huit ans maintenant et nous sommes en train de l'adopter. Depuis que j'ai été adopté, je suis 7 neufs frères et sœurs-Kirsten, Molly, Ambre, Kit, Justin, Sean, et Holly. Kirsten est de 15 et vraiment le seul à avoir un sens, de ne pas être signifie pour les autres ou quoi que ce soit. Elle est très douce et j'aime passer du temps avec elle. Molly a 12 ans et veut être une actrice. Elle a l'air pour toute occasion de se produire. L'ambre est mon âge, 10 ans, mais nous sommes très différents. Ambre aime à courir partout à l'extérieur et se salir et avoir des aventures. La plupart de ses aventures de son avoir des ennuis graves. Kit est 9 et aime le sport, si elle aime pote un peu avec les garçons. Justin est de 8 et me rappelle de William en ce sens qu'il est très doux, mais il peut avoir des ennuis à droite avec le reste d'entre eux. Sean est de 5 et il agit comme un typique 5-year-old boy. Il me rappelle William, aussi. Holly est 1 et très mignon.

Quel âge a votre sœur, Chloé? Comment est-elle? Mon père est un entraîneur de football collégial, et ma mère reste à la maison avec nous. Molly et je vais à une école chrétienne, mais le reste des enfants sont scolarisés à la maison. Qu'est-ce qu'un jour d'école habituelle pour vous?

Là où j'habite, nous avons beaucoup d'espace pour jouer dehors, et nous avons un grand jardin. Cela me rappelle de The Secret Garden, un de mes livres et films préférés. J'aime lire et regarder des films. Quels sont les livres et les films que vous aimez? Avez-vous jamais vu le Lac des cygnes?

Votre nom me rappelle du Lac des cygnes. Mon amie Sophie m'a dit de vous poser des questions sur le célèbre cuisinier, Julia Childs. Savez-vous quoi que ce soit à son sujet? Je ne sais pas beaucoup sur elle, mais j'ai vu une réplique de sa cuisine au Smithsonian Museum of American History à Washington, DC J'adore l'histoire, mais pas autant que ma sœur, Kirsten. Oh, et parlant de la cuisine, qu'est-ce que vous et votre père faire dans votre boulangerie? Mon préféré est éclairs au chocolat.

Quels sont vos hobbies? J'aime lire, regarder des films, dessiner, jouer du violon, et l'apprentissage du français. J'ai essayé de lire un livre en français, l'autre jour, Il ne va pas très bien. Vous m'avez dit que vous aimez l'équitation, et devinez quoi? Là où j'habite maintenant, j'ai deux chevaux dans ma cour!

Je suis impatient d'entendre de votre part!

Sincèrement,
Samantha

And since most of you probably can't read French, here is a translation:

Hello Marie-Odette,

I really enjoyed getting your letter. I was a little nervous about responding, but my good French friends, Sophie and Sandrine, gave me lots of great ideas for things to tell you about. Well, to start out, my name is Samantha Elizabeth Parkington-Knight. I have two last names because I was adopted. Until I was 8 years old, I lived in an orphanage in London, England. There are some things in England that I really miss-especially the food, and also my teacher, Mrs. Katherine. But there are great things about the United States.

When I lived in England, it was just me and my brother, William. He is eight years old now and we are in the process of adopting him. Since I was adopted, I got 7 new siblings-Kirsten, Molly, Amber, Kit, Justin, Sean, and Holly. Kirsten is 15 and really the only one with any sense, not to be mean to the others or anything. She is very sweet and I love to spend time with her. Molly is 12 and wants to be an actress. She looks for any opportunity to perform. Amber is my age, 10, but we are very different. Amber likes to run around outside and get dirty and have adventures. Most of her adventures get her into serious trouble. Kit is 9 and loves sports, so she likes to pal around with the boys. Justin is 8 and reminds me of William in that he is very sweet, but he can get into trouble right along with the rest of them. Sean is 5 and he acts like a typical 5-year-old boy. He reminds me of William, too. Holly is 1 and very cute.

How old is your sister, Chloe? What is she like?

My dad is a college football coach, and my mom stays at home with us. Molly and I go to a Christian school but the rest of the kids are homeschooled. What is a usual school day like for you?

Where I live, we have lots of space to play outside, and we have a large garden. It reminds me of The Secret Garden, one of my favorite books and movies. I love to read and watch movies.  What books and movies do you like? Have you ever seen Swan Lake? Your name reminds me of Swan Lake.

My friend Sophie told me to ask you about the famous cook, Julia Childs. Do you know anything about her? I don’t know much about her, but I saw a replica of her kitchen at the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. I love history, although not as much as my sister, Kirsten. Oh and speaking of cooking, what do you and your dad make in your bakery? My favorite is chocolate éclairs.

What are your hobbies? I like reading, watching movies, drawing, playing violin, and learning French. I tried reading a book in French the other day, It didn’t go very well. You told me that you enjoy riding horses, and guess what? Where I live now, I have two horses in my backyard!  

I am looking forward to hearing back from you!

Sincerely,

Samantha

So, what do you guys think? Can you think of anything else I should of asked her or told her? If so, I can ask her in the next letter. Thank you, Sophie and Sandrine, for your help!!

Jusqu'à la prochaine fois, adieu!

Pen-pal letter

My pen-pal!

I am back from French class, and I have the first letter from my pen-pal!! Her name is Marie-Odette Lisle. (That's a really pretty name, isn't it?) She is ten years old and lives in Paris with her parents and her older sister, Chloe. Paris is divided off into sections, and Marie-Odette lives in Arrondissement 11, otherwise known as Popincourt. It is a lower-key section of Paris but contains some beautiful churches. Marie-Odette's favorite things to do are cook (cooking is considered a fine art in France!), draw, and ride horses when she gets a rare chance to do so. I have two horses in my backyard, and I have to drive pretty far to get to the city, so I guess we will have plenty to tell each other about!
Anyway, Marie-Odette told me a lot about her school. She goes to school on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and has Wednesday and Sunday off. That is not a bad idea, in my opinion. There is nothing wrong with spreading the weekend out! After school lets out, she helps her dad in his bakery, and her sister Chloe goes to ballet class. Apparantly ballet is very, very popular in France! Her family is Roman Catholic and they go to church several times a week, not just on Sundays.

I am kind of nervous about writing to Marie-Odette. She wrote almost perfectly in English, and besides that, she has beautiful handwriting. Plus, I live out in the country while she is in Paris. My mom pointed out that I have lived in two countries, and that will give me plenty to talk about, I guess. What do all of you think I should tell my pen-pal about?

Marie-Odette with her favorite doll, Emilie:

This is the picture I am going to send to her. I am holding my favorite doll, Rose. Maybe Emilie and Rose can become friends, too? :)

Updates

Hello everyone! It has been awhile since I blogged, and this one is going to be full of information. Not life-changing information or anything. Just what we've been doing lately.

The number 1 thing we've been doing is packing to go to London the first of next month. This is what our closet looks like right now. It was entirely mine and Kirsten's doing, because Mom is nowhere near that organized. She tosses the stuff to us and we do the packing.

Speaking of Mom, and my family in general, she, Molly, Sean, Holly, and I are the only ones at home right now. Dad is busy with football camp (he's a football coach), and Kirsten, Amber, Kit, and Justin are off at 4-H camp. Mom is in the middle of writing another book, so Molly and I are left in charge of Sean and Holly a lot. It reminds me of when I was the oldest kid at the orphanage, helping to take care of dozens of younger kids.

We celebrated the 4th of July at my mom's brother's house. I guess he's technically my uncle, but it's hard for me to feel that way. It's also hard for me to celebrate American being free from British rule when I AM British. What's wrong with British rule? I love England.

Molly and I have been enjoying hanging out together while the rest of the kids are gone. Mom says maybe tomorrow we can drive into the city and go play at the science center/children's museum for awhile. This past year, I've felt like I'm adjusting to my new family more than ever. I even fight with the other kids like I'm their real sister. It's been a challenge, but to quote my mom, "Clumping a bunch of strangers together and trying to make a family out of them isn't easy. It's hard. But if something isn't hard, it's usually not worth anything in the end, either."

I would end on that, but I have a few pictures to share. The first is when I video chatted my little brother last night:

Here are me and Molly hanging out in our bedroom together. It's so hot and we're trying to stay inside most of the time.

I go to French class tonight, and we are all getting French pen-pals! I am excited and nervous at the same time. Wish me luck!

BIG news!

Hello everyone! I have the best news ever! We found out where my little brother, William, is! He was sent to a boarding school for boys out in the English countryside. My parents are going to adopt him! It will take awhile; all international adoptions do, unfortunately. But, we will travel there this summer to visit him, AND we will be in England during the Summer Olympics, no less!
I am so overwhelmingly happy right now. I am the one who tracked my brother down by emailing everyone I had ever known. I was able to keep my promise to him.
Oh, and one more thing. I realized that none of y'all (can you tell I've been in America awhile?) had seen a picture of William yet. So here he is, the last picture I ever took of him. He was six years old here. I bet he will still have the same unruly hair and puppy-dog eyes. I hope so.

My new friend

I've been taking French class every Monday night at my school. It is so fun! Plus, it is a much smaller group than my regular classroom during the school year, which makes it easier for me to talk to people. In fact, I even made a new friend. Her name is Sadie Campbell. Here is a picture of us together.

The best part about Sadie is that she is British, too!! Both her parents are from England, and they came here when Sadie was seven because her father was transferred.

This weekend I spent the night at Sadie's house, my first time spending the night with someone in the two years I've lived here. Sadie lives in a beautiful Victorian home with her parents and her two sisters, Mary and Clarie, and as soon as the car pulled into the driveway, we made a beeline for Sadie's bedroom.

Sadie loves dolls as much as I do. She even has a doll bed that matches her real one.

Sadie's mom still serves tea every afternoon, just like she did in England. We wanted to drink our tea outside, but it was raining, so we did the next best thing-we had it in Sadie's room with our dolls.

At night, Sadie and I got in her bed and talked for a long time about what parts of England we miss (everything, but the food especially), and our favorite parts of America (French class, hot dogs, baseball). Our dolls talked together, too.

What are your favorite things to do with your friends?

Oh, and stay tuned for the next blog post. I may or may not have some news......

I'm learning French!

I am learning French. Il est difficile! But for the first time since being adopted, I am actually doing something besides searching the internet for William. Or, I mean.....Mais pour la première fois depuis qu'il a été adopté, je suis en train de faire autre chose que des recherches sur internet pour William.

Okay, I'll admit I used a translator for that one.
But here's one I can do on my own-Le temps est chaud! Which, it is. And I feel all mixed-up because I'm in the United States speaking French in a British accent!
Sophie Amelie Moreau was my inspiration for learning French. She is so smart, beautiful, and kind-everything I wish I was! I wish I could meet her someday. My favorite thing about America is meeting all the people on Facebook.
Kirsten and Amber ditched us and hightailed it to the beach. The rest of us are hanging around home trying to beat the heat. Kit and I redecorated our bedroom, our chambre à coucher. What do you think? What are you doing this summer?

Au revoir et merci pour la lecture!

Okay, I cheated on that one, too. 

My life in America

I don't want you to get the wrong impression after reading my last blog post. I LOVE the United States, my new parents, my siblings, my pets, my school, I guess you could say everything. This Christmas, my mom and dad took me to Gaylord Opryland in Nashville, Tennessee. It was so fun!

I also went to American Girl Place and the Coca-Cola museum this February. Yes, I realize that there is a rat in my lap.

I have so many pets, the cutest being Bitsy

Here I am reading a book to Justin, my new brother who reminds me so much of William:

My parents are even working on finding William. He was moved to a different orphanage recently, so we don't exactly know where he is right now. I worry about him. I hope he knows that I'm going to keep my promise of finding him. I hope he isn't scared. It would be so great to have him here, especially since I'm the only family member with a British accent. Everyone loves to imitate me, but I think they're just kidding.