Our Journey Continues

Summertime Fun!

2011-08-07T23:05:00.004-05:00

We recently visited Cedar Point, the amusement park and water park. The boys absolutely loved the roller coasters! Kamryn rode her very first little roller coaster too. I got her on a few of the bigger rides that she probably was not ready for . . . oops . . . she just closed her eyes and held on tight to me. I rode some of the roller coasters with the boys and don't like them so much as I thought I used to! I usually close my eyes too! Everyone enjoyed the water park. The kids especially love the wave pool. My favorite is the lazy river. It was great family time and a fun end of the summer little trip!

Two Teenagers in the House!!!

2011-01-30T21:23:00.006-06:00

Yes, there are 13 candles on Brendan's birthday cake today! We celebrated his birthday by having family over yesterday. Today we went up to Dave & Busters for dinner and games. It was a fun time!

Brendan is excited to finally be a teenager. It seems to me that he has grown up so much faster than Matthew. Probably because he's been hanging out with Matthew and they generally seem the same age. Last weekend Kamryn wanted to watch the video from our time in China. It's emotional for me on so many levels, but what hit me the hardest this time was how young the boys seemed!!! They looked like little boys with little cute voices. They are still cute but they are not boys anymore but young men. I'm so glad I have them on videotape as young boys. I captured their little voices at least. Brendan's voice has deepened and changed already. And almost overnight it seems.

I made him the cutest card for today . . . it said, "Here's something to do on your 13th Birthday. Write yourself a letter about what you expect to be doing 10 years from now and then put it somewhere where it won't be disturbed for the next decade." open the card. "like, say, under the pile of clothes on your bedroom floor!" So appropriately funny!!! I don't know if he thought so but he did laugh because he knows it's true.

When I am reprimanding him or asking him to do something, I often say I am doing it because I love him. Sometimes he responds back to me by saying that I care too much. Any parent knows that that is just not possible. I'm glad he knows I care. Someday he will understand.

Brendan is the most caring kid I know and always thinks of others. He has a heart of gold. He is always thinking of others with genuine concern. He continues to say he wants to be in the Army someday . . . I don't know if I like that but it really doesn't surprise me.

Brendan is doing great in school! He continues to get straight A's and we are really proud of him. I hope Brendan enjoys his teen years, and I hope I survive with 2 teenage boys in the house!

Is Anyone Here?

2011-01-04T13:09:00.003-06:00

I know I've been MIA for oh a whole year! 2010 just came and went! Here's a quick recap:

Brendan turned 12 - and is about to turn 13!
Matthew graduated from Jr. High and started High School and drivers ed!
Kamryn started kindergarten. We had a 5 year travel reunion with our China travel mates at our house over the summer. What a fun time! We've been home 5 years as a forever family already!
Kevin's company got bought out and luckily he was retained by the new company. Lots of corporate changes however but we are thankful his job his doing well.
Me, I started working part-time for a Premier Jewelry Director and a couple of months after that decided to become a part of Premier as well as a Jeweler. I was able to travel to Texas and got to tour the company headquarters and manufacturing plant and have dinner at the owner's home too. It really is a wonderful company with wonderful values and great jewelry too!

So now I am wearing lots of hats; wife, mom, daughter, sister, decorator, jeweler, assistant, friend.

I have lots of goals for the year 2011 and one of them is to get a grip on my to do list and I'm starting with the blog. Anyone still out here? I have to admit that I got caught up with the one liner facebook thing. But mainly just lurk on FB and only post once in a while. This really is a better way to journal.

Oh and there's Max. He's doing great too! We survived the puppy stage and are now enjoying him fully. He's a dog with a lot of personality and spunk and we get a kick out of the funny things he does. Yes, he's out of the crate at night now too so our already family bed of Kevin, Kamryn and I turned into an even bigger family bed of Kevin, Kamryn, Max and me:) Lots of warmth on these cold winter nights!

Max is worse than a toddler!

2009-12-19T12:36:00.013-06:00

Max came home and quickly found some great spots to lie down. Kamryn's chair being one of them! She is not too fond of sharing it with him. In fact, we've had to deal with some jealousy issues between her and the dog. She's always said she wants a sister, but I don't think she could handle not being the only princess in the house!

Max is saying, "What? I'm not doing anything."

Then he's saying, "How can I grab those sandals? I hope no one is looking."

Max steals socks, toilet paper rolls from the garbage can, and Kamryn's clean pull up. We gate him downstairs so he has free reign of the family room and kitchen but occasionally he gets past us and sprints upstairs. One morning while Kamryn was getting dressed, he took her pull up. Thank goodness it was clean as she really doesn't need to use those anymore.

Max is a good playmate for Kamryn.

Meet Max

2009-12-19T09:52:00.016-06:00

Max is our new puppy. We brought him home in August when he was 8 weeks old. He's not this tiny anymore! He's probably a big part of the reason why I've been so tired too! No more sleeping in on the weekends when he is used to getting up at 6:30am when the boys are getting ready for school during the week.

The boys have always asked for a dog. We've always said no because they have proven to be allergic to them. But they keep asking and then I started doing some homework about more hypoallergenic breeds. My friend Beth some time ago mentioned that her neighbor sometimes breeds her Bichons. They are in the "hypoallergenic" category. Back in the spring of this year, Kevin & I actually checked out a different older Bichon puppy that another friend told me about, but we walked away, and I walked away knowing that I wasn't ready for it. Then Beth called me this summer and told me about these adorable little pups next door to her. I had to go take a look. One look and it was love at first sight. I couldn't walk away this time and the boys were thrilled!

We were fortunate that Anita was gracious enough to let us "visit" the pups a few times before we were able to bring Max home. Grandpa Ahearn & Grandma Dianne from Florida even got to meet Max before he came home. Look at how the pups all slept together! They are on Max's blue towel. Anita sent home a care package with Max and that same blue towel was part of it. He still loves it! Max was the blue ribbon dog.

Aren't I cute?

Blog hiatus

2009-12-13T18:19:00.006-06:00

Yes, there's been a huge pause in my blog. I can't believe there's been a 6 month hiatus from blogging. It's not because I've had nothing to say or because we've been home doing nothing but twiddling our thumbs. I actually dream of white space on my calendar. No, it's probably not entirely due to the fact that I'm on FaceBo*k now. Although that is fun and quicker to write a one line update. It's probably more or less just due to the fact that I just plain haven't been feeling like it. I have been very fatigued lately and not just the normal tired. So after finally seeing a doctor and several tests, I am on thyroid meds now and getting B12 injections. Hopefully I will feel back to normal soon and my blog will resume because in all truth, I do love having this blog to vent, share, and to use it as a personal journal.

But 6 months is a long time . . . so instead of filling in the gap and trying to catch up (which seems very overwhelming), I will instead focus on the now.

Boys Adventure Day

2009-07-21T13:28:00.010-05:00

The boys are more into roller coasters now so we spent a day at Universal'$ I$land$ of Adventure. We all really enjoyed that park! There is a Dr. Suess section for the little ones and big roller coasters like the Hulk for the bigger ones.

Kamryn and I spent most of the day together and Kevin went on the faster rides with the boys. I did one roller coaster and that was enough for me. We took advantage of the parent/child swap feature for the water ride; we all stood in line and then Kevin & the boys went on while Kamryn and I waited on a nearby bench. When the boys got off the ride, Kevin & I swapped places so the boys and I were able to get right back into the line at the end of the line:) The boys got a kick out of it because that way they could ride the rides twice in a row without the wait. Figures, the boys came off the ride looking dry but I ended up getting drenched!

Kamryn also loves Spiderman. Probably because she has seen the Spiderman movies with her brothers. So she loved seeing him IRL. I absolutely LOVED the 3-D Spiderman ride. So very cool.

There's always been something about teacups

2009-07-21T13:19:00.007-05:00

Disney Day

2009-07-21T13:03:00.017-05:00

Kamryn and mommy had breakfast at the Castle after the salon appointment. K loved having the Princesses come up to our table so she could have her picture taken with all them. Unfortunately for K though, her favorite princess wasn't at the breakfast. She stayed very loyal to Ariel and wore her mermaid dress. The minute we were done with breakfast, we headed to the Grotto to see Ariel.

Kamryn loved the rides! The faster the better. Good thing her brothers were good sports about riding them with her!

My princess in her rain poncho.

She was in awe at the wonderful shows!

and the parades and fireworks at night!

A Princess for the Day

2009-07-19T00:41:00.000-05:00

Kamryn had a fairy tale like morning . . . even though it was raining . . . again.

Kevin dropped us off at 8am, and we made our way to the Castle for an 8:30 appointment at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. We walked in and they presented Princess Kamryn with her royal invitation to the salon. Her Fairy Godmother-in-Training met us and asked Princess Kamryn which hairstyle was the one of her dreams for the day. Kamryn chose the Fairy-tale Princess look since she a true princess at heart.

This is Kamryn before all the magic took place:

Here she is getting dolled up. Her Godmother-in-Training asked her if she wanted bangs or no bangs. Well I would have said bangs, but before I knew it, Kamryn answered no bangs and I didn't have the heart to change her wish since this was her day. I am not used to seeing my princess without bangs! It makes her look so much older:(

Another girl came by to do her makeup.

Kamryn got to choose the rhinestone tiara for her hair and a Mickey-shaped hairpin was put on the back of her hair. Here are the finishing touches of the transformation.

The magic begins when a pinch of fairy dust is sprinkled in your hair!

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo, May all your dreams come true!

All done!

Magic Kingdom

2009-07-15T10:22:00.008-05:00

We took Kamryn to the Magic Kingdom when we first went down to visit Grandpa & Grandma three years ago. But she was only almost 2 then (thanks to my blog, I know it was Nov. 2006 from my posting - this blog thing is a great journal when the memory fails! So fun to go back and see how little the kids looked then!)

She was in awe then of the rides like It's a Small World.

She was in awe this time of all of the princesses and the faster rides!

We were all in awe at how quickly at night the Castle changed colors! I snapped this shot of it in pink and the next shot I got it was orange!

Cocoa Beach . . . in the rain

2009-07-14T23:57:00.033-05:00

We had planned on going to Cocoa Beach one day, which is about a 45 minute drive from Kathleen & Peter's. The skies were cloudy and it was raining in Orlando, but the weather is so weird in Florida in that it can be raining in one town and sunny in the next. So we still followed Kathleen, Peter & Greta to the beach in hopes that it would be clear over there. No such luck that day.

So what do you do when you want to wait out the rain? EAT! We went to a little restaurant (with covered seating) right on the beach. Kamryn stole a few of Peter's steamed clams and actually liked them! She doesn't get those when she's with me.

After lunch we got a bit lucky because the rain actually stopped. The kids were able to run into the waves and Kamryn was thrilled to find a bunch of pretty seashells.

It was Kamryn's first time being at the beach and she would have loved an entire afternoon there! It was actually Greta's second time being on the beach, that little adventurer that she is! Well, her parents are the adventurous and brave ones. Despite the weather, a fun day of togetherness was had by us all!

Greta was actually put asleep by the crashing waves. The rain started again so we headed to the Ron Jon surf shop and then headed back to Orlando.

Pool time!

2009-07-14T23:35:00.026-05:00

Grandpa & Grandma Dianne have a really nice pool. The kids loved swimming!

Once again, I had Kamryn in swim lessons for a couple of sessions before our trip. At lessons she acted afraid to jump in the pool. Not in Florida!

Kamryn likes gator float rings!

The kids were in the pool for hours at a time. We had to shoo them out of the pool at 10 pm! I'm sure the neighbors appreciated that.

Even baby Greta got in the pool one day!

Gatorland

2009-07-14T10:12:00.015-05:00

We all went to Gatorland for the first time together. Even the Floridians hadn't been there yet. It was a fun afternoon! It's so cool to see so many gators together (and not on your own property or by your front door like your neighbors did, right Dianne?) and know that you are safe!

This is a little too close in my opinion!

Brendan LOVES holding snakes and reptiles. Oh my. He really wants one for a pet. I'd do the dog route way before this!

Kamryn wasn't so sure!

A fake gator is more her speed!

Greta's Baptism

2009-07-14T00:32:00.035-05:00

How wonderful that we were there to witness Greta's baptism! What a happy day. Kathleen & Peter, you have a beautiful daughter!

Aunt Julie happy to be holding her new niece!

The result of Aunt Julie's photoshoot in the bedroom back at the house. Got a beautiful smile!

Grandma Dianne happy to be holding Greta! Lucky her, she gets to hold her more often.

Brendan and Matt happy to be holding Greta. And they really were happy to hold her. They did awesome with a four month old baby!

Some of Peter's family also came down to Florida for the baptism. It was so great to see them again. We met them two years ago at the wedding. We met Peter two years ago at the wedding too:) Anyway, Kamryn sure leaves a lasting impression with them I'm sure. (at the wedding she ran up to the alter when Kevin "let her go" during the ceremony. I was the maid of honor and Kamryn was fussing for me. So instead of Kevin leaving the church with her, I know it was his sister's wedding, but he releases her and what else does a two year old do? Run to her mom & pick up her dress as she tries to climb into her arms. So I pick her up. She stood with us at the alter while the happy couple said their vows I believe, right Kath? Hmm, have to watch the video again. Can you tell I've tried to block this from my memory? It's only taken me two years to finally talk about this mishap. It was all Kevin's fault!)

At least this time in church, Kamryn stayed in the pews.

Until the baptism and church service was over.

Then she tried getting in some pictures. See this one???

At the baptism party, Kamryn sure loved hanging with Peter's nieces. She entertained them by putting her hands in the cold icy water where the drinks were staying cool and then "massaging" everyone's legs and feet. (It was very HOT out!) The funny part is that when she was done, she asked for $5.00. One of the girls said she didn't have $5.00 until I told her that pretend money would work just fine. So they pulled out their pretend bills, Kamryn kept massaging, and I believe Kamryn even got a $20;)

Meeting Greta!

2009-07-13T23:35:00.018-05:00

We were so happy to get to Florida and finally meet Greta! Our first hello was outside the JcPenney's on our way to take a big family photo. We don't waste any time do we? But who could wait for the photographer to start taking pictures?

Not me!

Grandpa with the boys.

Grandpa with the girls.

Greta didn't like the bright lights in the studio so it was a bit of a challenge. Kamryn was very concerned for her new baby cousin so it was hard for her to "ignore" the crying, put a smile on her face and look at the photographer. Don't worry. I got lots of pictures of Greta smiling from our trip. To be posted soon.

Kamryn's 1st dance recital

2009-06-25T00:15:00.012-05:00

Back at the beginning of the year, I enrolled Kamryn in a Chinese dance class. Many of her friends were already taking it and since she turned four, she was able to participate as well. She really enjoyed the class, and I enjoyed talking to my friends while she was in the class!

This class is offered by a local Chinese school. At the end of the school year, they hold a commencement ceremony for their students and the dance classes perform at it. Kamryn really surprised us with how well she did! She was very graceful and beautiful, if I don't say so myself;)

This mommy will learn to bring flowers at the end of each recital. Thanks Emily for sharing your bouquet with Kamryn! And thanks to Emily's mommy too for taking pictures of Kamryn for me since my camera (or battery) was acting up!

Now it's more personal!

2009-05-25T23:00:00.013-05:00

Okay you gluten allergy! I know you are not one single ingredient - but a protein of wheat, barley and rye - but you are in everything! Why are you in licorice? I love Twizzlers!

Why are you in the little taco seasoning packets? Why are you in canned soups? Don't you know how busy I am already without having to spend time in the grocery stores reading labels? No more quick dinners but now I have to actually plan meals. Not so many casseroles and already prepared stuff but back to the basics of meat, fresh vegetables, potatoes (thank goodness:)

I guess it's not your fault that my immune system is tricked into thinking food is a poison. I can handle this. What I am having a problem with is that now you're messing with my son!

How do I tell him not to eat bread, pasta, pizza, cookies, hot pretzels, sandwiches, pop tarts, bagels, granola, sauces, Hot Pockets, stuffing, pancakes, smores, or birthday cake? And don't drink beer when you go to college. Oh, and no more hot lunches at school. Now that makes my 6:30 am morning more fun!

I know, it could be much worse. I am venting. And it feels good. I need this blog more than I think:)

This gluten thing is hereditary. Matt has mentioned that his food gets stuck when he eats a burger (on a bun) so I was not at all surprised when I called the doctor's office for his results on Saturday. His food allergies are a carbon copy of mine; in fact, his gluten intolerance was a bit higher than mine. I don't know if I like this "feeling responsible" thing that comes with having biological children.

This is when I really wish I had my medical history though. Maybe I wouldn't have had to "not feel good" for so long. Food intolerance worsens over time so that's why my body "handled" things up to this point - at my expense of not feeling up to par. I wonder if my birth mom or birth dad suffer from the same thing. I bet one of them does.

So on one hand, I'm glad that we found this out for Matt while he is only 13 so that he can feel his best everyday. It's hard enough being a teenager without feeling so crummy all the time. I don't know if he's felt the brain fog like I did, but he definitely has this chronic congestion which I am betting goes away within a week or so on this new diet plan.

Tonight he asked what I'm going to pack him for lunch tomorrow.

Yikes! Good thing I have some gluten free crackers and some gluten free pepperoni (can you say our own little "lunchable") and a gluten free peanut butter rice bar and an apple.

Good thing he is not my picky eater like Brendan! (who isn't allergic to any foods)

Good thing summer is right around the corner!

Good thing I'll have a few months to get this new routine in place.

Good thing that now I am more determined to meet with a dietitian. (when it was just me, it got put on the back burner.) But he is a growing boy.

Now it's more personal!

I've found the needle in the haystack

2009-05-25T22:21:00.002-05:00

Really. It's taken a very long time, but I do feel a bit victorious and actually feel like rejoicing because it all makes sense now. It's been at least a 7 year mystery. It all began when I noticed my food "getting stuck" while eating. It is not a pleasant feeling. In fact, it is very, very painful and not even drinking water helps. That makes it even worse. When this would happen while dining out, I'd excuse myself and make a bee line for the bathroom so I could suffer alone until the feeling passed. Not to be gross, but not even expelling the food would help. I would still feel this tightness.

Went to several doctors and after given meds for reflux or some anti-yeast antibiotic for having too much yeast in my system (WHAT?, I knew that wasn't the answer. Had my esophagus dilated a couple of times and that helped temporarily. It wasn't until we were living in Indiana when our allergist suggested doing a biopsy of my esophagus for suspected EE - Esinophilic Esophagitis. Which is basically like having asthma in your esophagus. Yep, he was right. White blood cells aren't supposed to be in your esophagus. Probably an allergy. Did allergy testing at the time but looking back it was mostly environmental stuff they tested and not many foods. I was given an oral steroid inhaler to use every day just like an asthmatic would. (Matt was diagnosed with asthma at age 2, so again, it makes sense. I learn in reverse about medical stuff; more from my biological kids)

Since moving back here, I noticed my food getting stuck again more often. Lately, I've had thyroid problems too. So I'd blame my tiredness, brain fog - which makes your head feel like it's lugging a ton of bricks around, irritability, weight gain, bloating on that. But lately my thyroid numbers are okay. So stumped again.

But the feeling of having my throat swell is a new symptom - more pronounced then when my food would get stuck. It would swell without any food being there. And that's very scary! It started happening frequently and almost immediately after eating. I felt like I should have an Epi pen so I went back to the doctor and asked for more food allergy testing.

Boy am I glad I did! It's actually a relief to know that this is something I can control without medication. For the past several weeks that I've been trying this new diet, I've noticed a definite improvement in how I feel. When I "cheat" I can feel the effects. It's so not really worth it. That is how I will stay on track. Feeling good is the best incentive to eating right.

Why I haven't blogged lately

2009-05-24T00:38:00.002-05:00

Because I'm going NUTS and going BANANAS! (about all I can eat)

Because I have so much on my PLATE. (not food either)

Because I've had a lot to DIGEST. (my stomach can't do that)

Because I've come to a FORK in the road. (it's really a dinglehopper anyway right?)

Because my emotions sometimes lately BOIL OVER instead of SIMMER.
(wouldn't yours if you couldn't eat a hot buttered roll out of the oven, or your favorite cookie/cake?)

Because I am trying to use my NOODLE, Rice Noodle that is . . .

Because I have a lot to learn now.

I have an allergy to GLUTEN, WHEAT, MILK, CORN & WALNUTS!

What is left to eat!??

Because I have FOOD on the brain and am trying to learn a whole new way of eating and cooking and eating out:)

More details soon . . .

Brendan's Band Concert

2009-05-24T00:15:00.008-05:00

Brendan played the saxophone this year in 5th grade band. There was supposed to be a concert around Christmas time but due to the weather it got canceled. So unfortunately for us, we had to wait until the end of April to hear him play. No, really, APRIL because we never ever hear him play (practice) at home!

The band as a whole sounded great! Then they played "We will, we will Rock you" and each person in band got a turn to stand up and play that part SOLO. Brendan kept standing . . . which signaled he was going to give it a try. Not everyone did the solo. I was so nervous for him. Kevin and I kept looking at each other with questioning eyes.

But Brendan totally ROCKED!!! He sounded so awesome! We were so proud of him!

Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt B are our witnesses. We are not just prejudice because he is our son. He has chosen to not continue with band next year in Jr. High. We wish he would but we know we can't force him to. If only I can convince him to play that solo one more time for my video camera.

Kamryn's new prayer

2009-04-28T11:01:00.003-05:00

When praying together often, I will say "thank you God for bringing Kamryn into our lives." She heard me say that this morning and here is her response:

"Dear Jesus, bring me a sister and a dog . . . NOW!"

She only knows this because

2009-04-26T20:20:00.009-05:00

she climbs into bed with us almost every night!

My mom was babysitting her one night, and I don't remember how this came up, but Kamryn told my mom the following:

Easter Blessings

2009-04-14T00:02:00.007-05:00

My family celebrating at church in the morning. Praying the kids really understand what "He is Risen" means for all of us. The Easter egg hunt with the kids and their cousins in the afternoon. Spending time with my mom, dad, sister and her family and Aunt B. Bravely trying a new recipe that was luckily very yummy:) A big blessing indeed:)

Brendan's Civil War Days

2009-04-07T22:28:00.008-05:00

The whole fifth grade class did a unit on the Civil War. It concluded with a music program at school and then a classroom tour of each student's "masterpieces."

Brendan actually chiseled this bar of soap! Looks pretty cool! His cereal box was one of the best I think too (if I don't say so myself). It was all his idea although his dad did help him a bit on the cereal box project.

Brendan had his own fan club there that night. Grandma and Aunt Bernice came with us. We all enjoyed the American music and seeing all of Brendan's work. We are so proud of him!

This picture is the keeper

2009-03-18T23:14:00.004-05:00

I took this picture right before Kamryn went to school on picture day. Good thing too because this one turned out much better than her school picture. Needless to say, I didn't keep any of the school pictures - I guess by the third child you learn that you don't need to keep all of them if they aren't great! The boys never had "preschool" formal pictures anyway. Thanks Tina for the cute outfit in the bag of hand-me-downs!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T21:00:00.001-05:00

Well we didn't celebrate with corned beef and cabbage but the kids did wear green to school! Brendan was so concerned that the Leprechaun was going to forget to bring them a little treat. Why oh why did I start that a few years ago?! They never forget anything! A bag of chocolate coins was their pot of gold and they felt oh so lucky!

Hmm - I misspelled leprechaun on the chalkboard but neither of my straight A students caught it!

Firefighter Kamryn

2009-02-25T17:53:00.004-06:00

I will have to say I've been very impressed with Kamryn's new school. We just recently had conferences and both her teacher and speech teacher say she is doing well. Her teacher called her "my little social butterfly" in class. Ugh-0, I hope she won't be too vocal in class in the future and get in much trouble! Her speech teacher said that Kamryn is a good helper to her friends and teachers. Her speech teacher Miss Laura just looked at me and with all sincerity said, "you are so lucky to have her." That comment brought tears to my eyes (because she gets it!) and I absolutely agreed with her.

The school has this online curriculum network and this is what I found there today which was input by her teacher. Pretty neat!

Learning about Fire Fighters
We learned many things about Fire Fighters throughout the week and then were able to pretend we were Fire Fighters. Kamryn pretended to be a Fire Fighter that makes food for everyone!!

This journal entry is related to these objective(s):

26. Applies knowledge or experience to a new context
35. Takes on pretend roles and situations
36. Makes believe with objects
37. Makes and interprets representations
39. Expresses self using words and expanded sentences (SO GLAD TO SEE THIS!)

We've totally noticed an improvement in her speech lately. She is using more new words and is talking in longer sentences. Yea Kamryn!

Baby Greta is here!

2009-02-18T14:20:00.011-06:00

Baby Greta is our new niece/cousin. Kevin's sister and her husband were blessed with a baby girl last night weighing a healthy 7 lbs, 13 oz three weeks early! We are so excited for the new first time parents! Isn't she just beautiful?

I was lucky enough to go down to Florida in January for a weekend to surprise Kathleen & Peter during their baby shower. It was a fun time especially because I really did surprise them! Kathleen is a hard person to surprise too.

I was happy to hang out with her, Peter, Dad A. & Dianne (& their fun friends) in the Florida SUN in the middle of the yuckiest winter in a long time! Greta's room is darling and was ready then for her arrival. Good thing too! Kath was diagnosed with preeclampsia so they were monitoring her blood pressure weekly. This past week it had spiked and she had not been feeling well so on Tuesday at her weekly appointment the doctor said, "Go to the hospital. We're doing a c-section today." I guess both Greta and I have surprised her with our arrivals!

My baby boy is 11!

2009-02-03T07:24:00.018-06:00

Brendan hates when I call him that, my baby boy. But the way I see it, I don't have a middle child. I have my oldest boy, my baby boy and my baby girl. I have two babies:)

Brendan's birthday fell on a Friday this year (Jan.30), so it was a weekend of celebrations. Friday night we went to Aunt Melanie's for our birthday celebrations. The next Saturday, Kevin took Brendan and a few friends to Dave and Busters for lunch and some games.

So do you think you can trust 5th graders with getting information home to their parents? If you thought no, you are right. Brendan passed out a few invitations to some boys in his class the week before the party. Three days before the party, I had only heard from one of the moms saying that her son was able to go. So out comes the school directory and I start making phone calls. Good thing or I would have had one very sad and disappointed birthday boy on my hands.

One of the boys "lost" his invitation and therefore kept forgetting to tell his mom about it. The other boy had his invitation still shoved in the bottom of his backpack and his mom had never seen it. I couldn't believe it. I don't mean to generalize, but I guess some boys are all just the same. I am constantly asking Brendan for stuff out of his backpack for this very reason. There was this other boy who's number wasn't listed in the school directory, so I resorted to whitep*ges.com and found someone listed with the same last name. Yes, I left a message on a females voice mail hoping I got the right boys' mom. (I got the right person but found out after the party so that boy did not come) I really wish everyone would join the PTO's so that I could find everybody in the directory; my life would be so much easier when the boys want a new friend to come over.

I was really glad to hear one of the boys say later that this was such a great party! And with minimal work on my part except for the phone calls!

My Cup of Tea

2009-01-20T10:53:00.030-06:00

Those of you who know me know that I do not drink coffee or tea. So what exactly is my cup of tea? Planning a little tea party for Kamryn and her playgroup friends!

We get together most Fridays with our Chinese playgroup. I decided to host right after Kamryn's birthday and have a tea party in her honor.

It was so much fun! I think I had just as much fun the whole week prior just planning it out. It sure warmed my heart more than the weather was warm that week! At first I was just going to have a cake and ask our playgroup friends to sing to her; after all Kamryn is young enough to not really know the difference between a playgroup and a party right? But then in conversation with my sister, she mentioned, "you've been waiting a long time to plan a little girl's party." She had a point. Plus, soon enough Kamryn will probably want to go some place to have her party.

So I started making stuff for games like Pin the handle on the teapot and sheets for musical teapots. Planned on singing I'm a Little Teapot which we did at the end of the party with a few of our friends. The girls played a quick game of pass the hot teacup.

The boas were out, the mini heart turkey sandwiches, scones and fruit were out and tea (pink lemonade) was served.

The girls made a lacey paper fan and then kept busy by playing with legos! We passed out flower pens (which I made) and a homemade coloring book with tea party pictures inside. It was a very fun morning and lucky for us, we replayed the whole party when a friend stopped over in the afternoon.

I can't believe she's four!

Kamryn's actual Birthday Day

2009-01-19T10:38:00.014-06:00

Kamryn's birthday was Jan. 14th, a Wednesday, and she was supposed to go to school. Lucky for us both, they canceled afternoon school due to the weather which was good because I had already decided that I wasn't going to take her;) We stayed in and made - yes - cupcakes together! (Look at her holding the scoop we use to put the batter in the pan. She's pretending it's a guitar!)

We were supposed to go to Brendan's first band performance that night but it was canceled too. We were also supposed to have my family over for a celebration dinner since it's also Lauren's birthday on this same day but my sister's family can not shake the sick bug:( So instead it was a quiet evening of dinner with just the five of us and opening some presents.

Grandma Dianne and Grandpa gave her a cheerleading outfit for Bitty Baby which she just loves! See - now her "Summer" bear and Bitty Baby both have cheerleading outfits like she does - remember her halloween costume?

She got some new outfits from us for Summer bear. Pj's so she can dress both bitty baby and bear like her at bedtime and a pretty dress and sparkly shoes just like Kamryn's.

A New Year, A New Routine

2009-01-18T20:50:00.008-06:00

Change . . . it's defined as many things. But as a noun, one way to describe it is a variation or deviation: a change in the daily routine.

I generally dislike change. Not to say that I don't like to be spontaneous, but I do get comfortable in my daily routine. This new year brings a new routine for Kamryn and I.

Back in late November, our speech therapist mentioned that Kamryn just might qualify for the at-risk program offered through the school district. It's a "preschool for all" program that is funded by a grant through the Illinois State Board of Education. It focuses on providing high-quality educational programs for children who are determined to be at risk of academic failure.

Of course my initial reaction was "No thanks, I'm happy with her preschool. Plus, her speech isn't that bad, she probably won't qualify. My child is smart." I told them no to the free screening. After talking with some friends (who are also moms to girls from China), I decided that I may have made a mistake. I happened to call back the school days before a new screening was about to take place due to new grant they received. (which means they could add a new class)

Later the next week our speech therapist called to say that Kamryn had qualified. Both she and the woman who run this program were a bit surprised because during the screening, Kamryn's speech was actually pretty good. It was her "at risk" factors though that gave her enough points combined with her speech that made her qualify. (being adopted, having had ear tubes, possibly being a premie)

So instead of preschool Tuesday mornings and Thursday from 9-3pm (art class in the pm, bye bye to my long day!), she is now going to preschool 4 days a week and some weeks 5 days for 2.75 hours a day in the afternoon. I really am not ready for her to be gone every day:( But how can I deny her the (free) help if she really needs it? I know, it's not about me. But she was really liking her art class and preschool too . . . see it's a whole new change for us both.

She's adjusting okay. Last week she missed two days because of the weather and even on day two though she asked one morning after running errands if we were going home. I had to say, "No honey, you have school." She let out a big sigh. So how long does it take for something to become a habit? Five weeks? The first few days she cried when I left her, which was hard for me, but she did better as the week went on.

Hopefully this change will prove to be good. I do look forward to her speech exploding like the speech therapist predicts it will do after being in this program.

Cupcake?

2009-01-18T20:08:00.005-06:00

Before Christmas, Kamryn kept saying she wanted a cupcake for Christmas. I thought how easy is this? Well a few days before Christmas while we were watching "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" on TV, a commercial came on for some cupcake decorator thing. Kamryn got so excited and said that's what she wanted. A cupcake MAKER, not just a plain old cupcake. Aw shucks, I need to go back shopping!

At times like this, I notice her speech "delay" . . . she gets lazy and will try to just minimize what she has to say to get her point across. Ugh! At a time like this, it doesn't work to her advantage. Good thing I saw this commercial with her!

So I'm at Wal*art because it was a Wal*art commercial. I find the cupcake maker and decide it's way overpriced ($25) for some plastic thing that pushes frosting out onto cupcakes. I'm not getting it. I have a frosting decorating thing (see I don't even know kitchen tool lingo) that I've never even opened or used already at home. So I scour the aisles for something else. Low and behold, the perfect alternative and only $10.

It's a cupcake holding plastic cupcake tins, cupcakes, play boxes of frosting, a stick of butter. Close enough. Now will she be happy?

Yes! Thank goodness!

Fun Pictures from our holiday gatherings

2009-01-18T19:45:00.005-06:00

Sitting on Santa's lap at the Christmas party with our Fox Valley adoption group.

Singing at the Western Suburbs Adoption Playgroup party. (above picture. Look how tall Kamryn looks!)

Our Friday morning playgroup at Emily's house. Her mom was brave enough to let the girls decorate cookies. It was so much fun. She had lots of candies and sprinkles for the girls to decorate with. Look how serious the girls were!

We met Aunt Cathy and Uncle Marc and the cousins up at Dave & Busters one day for some food and games. It was an awfully cold day but we had fun inside!

New Year's Eve at my friend Heather's house. The little ones definitely stayed up until midnight and had lots of fun ringing in the New Year together!

I promise

2009-01-17T23:04:00.003-06:00

I will not be quiet for much longer! I have so much to share. Finally . . . a new background! Looks good huh?

My "baby" is four!

2009-01-14T21:49:00.001-06:00

Where does the time go?! Kamryn turned 4 today. More coming about her birthday soon!

An Unexpected Performance!

2008-12-26T21:41:00.007-06:00

Yes, Kamryn happened to be in two school performances this year.

Kamryn and I went to Gavin's school performance. That particular evening, Kamryn wanted to dress up in her Chinese outfit. So I let her and she looked beautiful!

Little did we know that she would end up in Gavin's performance! He did not want to participate so Aunt Melanie coaxed Kamryn into taking Gavin over to his classmates. She stayed with them and actually tried to sing the songs and copied the hand motions as if she had been practicing all month! The teachers were great and actually gave her a set of antlers to wear too. So fun!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-26T21:04:00.010-06:00

I hope everyone had a blessed and happy holiday. We enjoyed having our family over here on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Unfortunately, my niece and nephew were sick on Christmas day, so it was a bit quieter than we had expected; crazy bingo is postponed:)

We had a very full December. Kamryn's Christmas program at her preschool was very sweet. I quickly dropped her off at her classroom and ran so that we wouldn't have a meltdown like at her Halloween party. During her performance, I tried to hide but just couldn't because she was searching for all of us . . . I had to wave! She did great! She's been singing all month, "bells are ringing, bells are ringing, baby Jesus born today." She'd sing this in line at the store or wherever we were. I'd get lots of smiles:) My little angel was an angel at her performance, how appropriate! Here are some of her biggest fans!

Three Little Piggies

2008-12-21T22:37:00.003-06:00

One of our playgroup outings was to go see the performance of the Three Little Pigs that was put on by Alphabet Soup Productions at one of the local colleges. I was expecting the traditional story and was rather pleased how they elaborated the story and added lots of piggy humor. It was very cute and entertaining for all.

Ha ha, funny funny

2008-12-21T21:41:00.008-06:00

Grandma Dianne always emails us these great photoshows. She has fun putting captions on the pictures. I thought this one was funny:)

Yes, the tree finally did get put up and decorated along with the rest of the house for the holidays. We've had a busy but fun December. I hope to catch up and share about it soon!

The more prayers, the better.

2008-12-21T00:12:00.009-06:00

This is the season to be joyous. Yet, my heart is very heavy because one of Kamryn's little playgroup friends is fighting cancer. I asked Ann, Abby's mom, if I could post about her situation and of course she said the more prayers, the better.

I think there was a definite "red thread" linking us with their family. My cousin Debbie and her husband Andy had a graduation party for their daughter in July. I knew that their friends who had just returned home from China were going to be there. We were excited to meet them and during our conversation that day when talking about China groups in the area, Ann mentioned that she had gone to a Friday playgroup outing at a park near our homes one day with her friend Julie. I'm the one who usually sets up the Friday playgroups, and I couldn't recall meeting her. Then I put two and two together and realized it was a day Kamryn and I missed, and Rowan's mom Julie had invited Ann & Abby that day. They attend the same church. Small world.

Abby has a "small eye" and vision loss. They had all the medical tests, MRI's etc, done when they returned home and everything checked out okay. But Abby's eye has been causing her pain so after lots of medications to help with that, the doctors decided the best course of action was to go in and remove the small eye now (instead of later) and to move forward with replacing it with a prosthetic eye. During surgery to remove her eye, they noticed the cancer.

Her website can explain everything much better than I can. She is currently in the hospital for chemo and has a long road ahead of her including daily shots and radiation treatment that will take place in Boston.

I can't even imagine being in their shoes. And they've been through this before with their first biological daughter who had a brain tumor. Ann is a pillar of strength though and has such strong faith that it really is an inspiration.

She's posted in her journal that they would like to "reward" Abby with small surprises after each of her shots. If anyone is willing to send stickers or small toys for Abby and big sister Jenna, please email me and I will forward you their address or would be happy to gather/buy/deliver for you too.

Kamryn with Abby and Rowan at Halloween.

Abby's website

This was one of those moments!

2008-12-11T23:50:00.005-06:00

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,
but by the moments that take our breath away!

Yes, that about sums it up for this day three years ago! Add this day to our list of other days - June 15th and January 30th, when the boys were born. Our three children have completely different stories about the day they came into our lives. Our three children are completely loved (and fiercely!) the same regardless.

Today is our family day. Three years ago today our family became complete.

I truly believe that this day three years ago took the boys breath away too.

They constantly write about their trip to China for numerous school projects. Good thing they always have new teachers so the subject can be written about over and over. It's interesting for me as their mom to compare their writing, so that I can understand how much they really understand (and they do!) and to realize how different the two of them are! Matt writes factual stories. Brendan writes from his heart.

So I'm going to share Brendan's latest writing since it is FAMILY day and you "hear" from me all the time. I want you to see this through his eyes. Remember he was only 7 years old (well almost 8) at the time.

MY TRIP TO CHINA
by Brendan Ahearn

Click, I buckled up and the airplane took off to China. I was getting ready to meet my little sister that my family was going to adopt from China. I was thinking of what I would say to my new sister when it came time to meet her. I was bouncing out of my seat in excitement.

Kamryn was living in the Jiangxi Province in a foster care home. When we finally got to the building where Kamryn was, we noticed that there were mounds of garbage everywhere. I couldn't believe how dirty the outside was. However, when we got inside it was so nice. We went up some stairs and walked down a short hallway that had pictures of adopted children. On a bench I saw three infant girls crying. We were finally going to enter the room where we would get Kamryn!

As the doors opened we saw a room full of babies that were crying. They started calling out last names and the family would greet their new child. When they called our last name I couldn't wait to get my sister! My parents, brother and I had huge smiles on our faces. When we got Kamryn, she was crying so much! Then I realized she was one of the babies that was on the bench. We had to say, "I love you" in Chinese before she calmed down.

In conclusion, getting Kamryn was the best day of my life! I couldn't wait to get home in the U.S.A. to celebrate Christmas with my sister.

Such Great Heights

2008-12-07T00:00:00.011-06:00

Kevin took vacation days the whole week of Thanksgiving. At first I questioned him taking those few days. I would have rather him taken some days in December when things get so hectic, and I could use some help. But then again, that wouldn't be "vacation" for him then, would it?

So be it, he took the November days off. It turned out better than I expected! Kamryn really loved having him home all the time! Her little heart was soaring with all the attention she was getting from daddy. She ended up wanting daddy's help for most everything which was a nice, welcome change.

We took a family adventure downtown to the Sears Tower one day. Brendan suggested it so we jumped on the chance to get the boys out of the house, away from their games, and to have some family time.

Fun facts about the Sears Tower

Matt had just completed a math study about scale and actually had just recently built the Sears Tower out of cardboard. I had printed off a scavenger hunt game from the Sears Tower website for the boys so they could try to find certain locations of interest. It helped because it gave detailed directions on where to look for things.

Up by the windows, there were maps with sites numbered too. I told Kamryn to look for Chinatown and as she looked out the window and only saw buildings in the distance, she said she couldn't see it. She was looking for Chinese characters on the buildings. Maybe if we had brought some binoculars or put some quarters in the ones they had, she could have seen that.

Kamryn was fussy the whole time we were up on the 103rd floor. When we got back down to the ground, she was fine. I don't think she likes such great heights.

Isn't this photo funny? They took our picture before we got on the elevator to go up to the Skydeck. Then they use the same photo with four different backgrounds. One on a sunny day up as if you are up on the Skydeck, one with a night view, one in front of Buckingham Fountain and one with the lake and skyline in the background. The great thing about this picture is that Kamryn is totally into Brendan, and he is loving it!

Back at the farm!

2008-12-06T23:45:00.014-06:00

We are so glad that we are not that far from our Indy friends - only an hour and a half halfway. The Saturday before Thanksgiving we traveled back to the farm to see our friends Delilah, Mark and Mary Grace and Karen and Tess.

The pictures say it all! We all had a great time! It was nice to see Mary Grace walking now. And yes, I think she remembers me:) because she came right to me when I wanted to hold her.

Is it really that time again?

2008-12-03T00:23:00.012-06:00

For snow! I for one like to look at it, but I do not really like to be outside long enough to play in it. But the boys can't wait to go sledding, and Kamryn is thrilled just to touch it.

And what is wrong with this next picture?

Anyone guess? Look close.

It's the same snowy day. Just minutes after I took the picture of her touching the snow.

Yep. This is what's wrong.

The minute she gets in the car, she takes off her coat. No big deal really until we get to our destination and I have to stand out in the cold and help her get it back on! Today I didn't pull out of the driveway until she put her coat back on and then got buckled up. I guess now I will need to add extra time to get out the door just to win this battle. Everyone has extra time especially this time of year right?

Hmph. But look at this. Is this too cute or what?

Yes, her doll has her coat on! But when her doll comes along, I have to wait a few extra minutes for them both to get buckled up.

I know, I complain about the time it takes to get out the door, but in reality, I will be begging for these "times" when she's 16 or 17, able to drive and out the door alone.

Yikes, times getting closer for Matt to be able to drive! Anyone have a secret for stopping time?

Thanksgiving Gathering

2008-12-01T20:05:00.004-06:00

Grandpa and Grandma Dianne traveled in from Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday. Lucky for us, we were able to see them this year on the holiday! We went to Aunt Cathy and Uncle Marc's house for the delicious dinner. The kids enjoyed cousin time and it was nice spending the day with family.

The kids enjoyed an early Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa too. Brendan was thrilled to get model cars to add to his newly wanted collection. Matt got some great books that completed the series he is reading. Kamryn got some new pj's for Bitty Baby and a matching set for herself along with a snowsuit for Bitty baby to keep her warm in this winter weather we are having!

Grandpa and Grandma spent the night at our house Saturday night. Grandma played Dominos with the kids and yes even Kamryn played with some help and even seemed to understand it!

Poor Grandma got an early wake up call Sunday morning though. Matt remembered at midnight that he didn't turn off his alarm clock. I didn't want him sneaking back in his room, which was now their room, in fear that he would scare them if they woke up and saw him tiptoeing around.

So Matt wrote a note to Grandpa (who we knew would wake up in the middle of night because he always does:) asking him to go unplug the clock. Kevin woke up at 3am and found his dad awake downstairs. They talked about Matt's note, and Kevin told him that we thought his alarm was set for 6am. Grandpa goes upstairs at 5:30 am to turn off the clock, but the alarm had already gone off at 5 am. Ugh!

Silly Matt set his clock earlier the day before so he could get up and play his new Playstation 3 (please! of course he didn't) which he recently bought with his own money. Poor Grandma:( and poor Matt after getting a stern talking to by me:( Thank goodness she fell back asleep after fumbling to turn it off.

Hopefully the rest of our hospitality makes up for this; the homemade chili, yummy dessert, the fun company and WII entertainment. Won't happen again, I promise. Please come back soon!

If it makes you feel any better Dianne, Kevin did the same thing to me (almost) this morning. He left the house at 5:20 am and then the phone rang. I was startled, scared (any phone call at that hour can't be good) and saw it was his cell phone. When I called his number back, he said he had no idea how it called me.

Dianne and I will be thankful for a good night's sleep.

My blog is decorated

2008-11-29T00:46:00.001-06:00

for the holidays, but my home isn't.

Hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving!

Is it manipulation or sweet innocence?

2008-11-20T22:46:00.013-06:00

We teach our children how to pray. We tell them that prayers do get answered. How was I to respond to this one prayer that I knew wasn't going to be answered:

"Dear Jesus, please let mommy stay home with me tonight."

That's what I heard Kamryn say right before I was to leave for the neighborhood bunco the other night.

Nice try Kamryn! I rarely go out in the evenings. Maybe once or twice a month. And I'm home with her during the day. I was actually in disbelief that that's what she really said, but the boys heard her too. I told her when mommy goes out, I always come back home.

I've been a sub for a few months now for the neighborhood group. It's fun to get out and finally meet some neighbors after living here almost two years.

Matt babysat the other night and did such a great job! I got home by 10:00 and was surprised to find Kamryn fast asleep. I really expected her to wait up for me. Matt is such a good big brother/babysitter though and he read books and stayed by her until she fell asleep.

I won $5.00 for rolling the most "mini-bunco's" - big excitement! It's funny how different groups have different rules/prizes for the game. In Indiana, I started a bunco group in our neighborhood, and we played a little differently. We didn't keep track of mini buncos but just counted them as 5 points.

Hey you Indy bunco friends that may be reading . . . are you still playing? If not, we'll have to set up a bunco night next time I'm down there! And playgroup friends here, we do need to set a date maybe in Jan/Feb for a bunco game night.

How her mind works

2008-11-19T23:26:00.001-06:00

At Chinese class a few weeks back (we are not taking Chinese right now but hope to continue sometime soon) Helen Lao Shi gave the girls beads and string to make a necklace. Kamryn started hers and honestly with NO help from me, this is what she made:

Her necklace is on the right and the necklace she made for her doll is on the left. She thinks in patterns! There is a rhyme and a reason to the way she strung the beads. Oh my!

Then one day she was playing with stickers and this is what she finished. One sheet of stickers was for me, the other for her daddy.

Going through her backpack after school one day, I saw this:

She pasted fabric squares on the paper. Isn't this amazing? She's very methodical.

I haven't had a diet coke

2008-11-19T23:03:00.000-06:00

since last Friday. I know, that's not a whole lot of time away from it. But I am noticing a difference in my energy level - I have more of it surprisingly - and I don't have those weird, dull brain fog headaches. Coincidence or not?

Healthy Eating is hard to do!

2008-11-14T19:59:00.026-06:00

Wednesday night I went to a "seminar" that my chiropractor's office was having at Whole Foods. It was about how to read labels and buy healthy foods.

First let me tell ya, I am doing everything wrong. The only good thing about this revelation is that there is great room for improvement. (When I say "they" I am referring to the gal from the chiro office and what the doctors there believe.)

My top five pitfalls:

1. Diet Pop - I am trying to give it up. They said regular pop is better than the aspartame in the diet sodas. Hmm, maybe that's why I always have a dull headache or brain fog feeling? Water is the best thing to drink. I knew this already.

2. Sugars - I love my chocolate! The only thing going for me is that I love dark chocolate and that is actually one sugar that they said is good for you in moderation.

3. Cheeses, or anything pasteurized. Okay, how can my family give up milk when Brendan has 3 bowls of cereal a day! They said "raw" is better. Raw cheese and raw milk. Raw vegetables, raw nuts. I guess organic milk is a better option for us, but is it really better?

4. Grains - I know wheat is better than white and pasta is bad. But come on, no grains at all? They told us about sprouted bread. Never heard of it. It's flourless. I bought a loaf and it's not bad, but the kids won't want it for their sandwich. But then again, lunch meat is out too because it's processed.

5. Meats - They said anything cooked is bad because it destroys the nutrients and actually causes carcinogens. I didn't believe it but just today I actually OPENED my Women's Health magazine that comes every month:) and I saw the following article:

When beef, pork, poultry or fish are cooked at 350 degrees or higher, their amino acids and creatine form carcinogenic chemicals called heterocyclic amines or HCAs. But in a study reported in the Journal of Food Science,HCA levels in steak dropped by up to 88 percent when the meat was soaked in an herbal bath for an hour before grilling. Marinating your meat can cut cancer risk.

WHAT IS LEFT TO EAT?!

Okay, the gal doing the talk said that you shouldn't eat fruits after 12:00 noon because they contain sugar. We should only eat 20 grams of sugar a day. Also said that any vegetable pulled out of the ground has lots of sugars, like carrots, and you should really stick to the green vegetables.

Figures, carrots are the one vegetable that my kids actually eat.

Granny smith apples, celery and cucumbers are good because they are alkalizing. (whatever that means, I still don't understand it.) We like these, thank goodness.

I tried some new foods. Ate pine nuts and liked them, but boy are they expensive! Tried a kale salad.

Liked it and brought some home. No one else liked it. Tried a dairy free version of Oreo's and didn't like them at all and actually said out loud that if I didn't like them my kids wouldn't. The lady at Whole Foods let me bring home an organic dairy version of them home free for the kids to try. (I should have spoken up more!) Brendan & I don't like those either. Brought home some raw Gruyere cheese. Matt & I like it. Brought home organic Buckwheat dairy and egg free waffles . . . still sitting in the freezer.

Looking in the freezer tonight deciding what to make for dinner, I opted for the frozen Schwan's lasagna. That is surely not on the healthy list - pasteurized cheese, pasta, meat - but hey, I have to make whatever is already here, right? The sprouted bread made great garlic toast:)

Sticker Fun

2008-11-08T11:01:00.008-06:00

Kamryn can entertain herself with stickers in ways unimaginable to most. She is definitely creative!

Cousin Time

2008-11-07T21:05:00.009-06:00

Last week, my nephew's school had a fall festival. Kamryn and I joined the festivities and had a great time! Gavin and Kamryn love to be together. They were so funny pretending to cook. When it comes to real food though, they don't get along as well. Kamryn has to eat fast or guard her food because Gavin is quick and tries to swipe hers off her plate! And yes, he is a year younger than K, and I think he is taller than her!

Kamryn's School Party

2008-11-04T20:51:00.008-06:00

Last Thursday was Kamryn's preschool parade and party. I volunteered to help out at the party thinking it would be fun to see Kamryn interact with her classmates. Well the day didn't go exactly as I planned.

Grandma was nice enough to come with us that morning. I thought Kamryn would love having us both there. She did love having us there but a little too much. She got extremely clingy as soon as we walked into the classroom. We had to force her to stand with her classmates for a group picture.

Then it was time for the parents to leave and go into another room where the children would be parading through. Kamryn was starting to lose it. The classes were gathered together waiting for their turn to parade and the teacher brought Kamryn to me saying that she couldn't handle her and the rest of the class. So at that point Kamryn started crying hysterically. I don't know if she was mad at me for leaving the classroom or just got so freaked at the chaos of the moment. She really wanted to go sit by her friend Lilly but that was against the rules since Lilly is in a different class. Kamryn never did participate in the parade. It took her a good 15 minutes or more to calm down so she could then participate in the party.

Lilly didn't know what to think about her crazy friend!

So much for me volunteering anytime soon. I think Kamryn does much better with a set routine. When I drive up and the ladies come to the car, she does just fine. This just threw her all off.

Halloween Recap

2008-11-04T19:42:00.021-06:00

Thanks for the pumpkin cookies Grandma from two of your pumkins! Well Matt too, but he is avoiding the camera lately.

Lucky for us, the weather on Halloween was just wonderful for being outside. Kamryn and I started off our morning at Barnes and Noble for playgroup. We heard spooky stories and then went trick-or-treating throughout the store. It was fun to see Rowan and Abby. Kamryn enjoyed being the "oldest" and took care of her younger friends well. When the lady was passing out treats and Halloween bags, Kamryn made sure that her friends were taken care of.

Kamryn and I went to Brendan's school parade that afternoon and happily waved to him as he passed us by. Brendan couldn't wear his scary costume to school so he chose just a skeleton for the parade. This is what he chose to wear trick or treating though. (he's never even seen the movie but liked the Freddie Kruger mask. yuck!)

Matt stayed in this year. I guess 13 year olds are not into trick or treating anymore. Candy yes, but not going door to door for it.

It's become a tradition for me to make chili on Halloween so Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt B came over for dinner and helped hand out candy while I went out with my little cheerleader. Kamryn enjoyed herself the whole evening. Even after we came in, she loved running to the door to see the kids in costumes. Funny thing was that a group of 8th grade girls saw her and said, "hey, this is Kamryn from the picnic. Hi Kamryn." Then one girl reminded me that she is the one who gave me her phone number at the picnic because she would love to babysit Kamryn. I may just have to take her up on it sometime.

The funniest thing to hear was Kamryn saying that her pumpkin bucket was "so heavy" from all the candy she collected. She was one tired little girl that evening.

Bragging on the boys

2008-11-04T19:39:00.004-06:00

We just have to say that we are so proud of both of our boys! Both came home boasting straight A's on their report cards! Way to go guys! We love you. Keep up the great work.

Our Anniversary!

2008-11-02T12:17:00.006-06:00

Today marked our 17 year wedding anniversary. Thought I'd share a wedding picture with you all. I've had fun going through all the pictures and remembering the details from that day. Seems like yesterday, yet a world of time away. I'm grateful that most people who were present at our wedding are still present in our lives. I'm sad for our loss remembering those loved ones that are no longer with us but reside in Heaven. I'm glad for the new relationships and friendships we have in our life. A lot can change in a moment, in a day, or a year let alone 17 years. Feeling thankful that God has blessed our marriage and our life. Thankful that His blessings remain constant.

Calendar for a cause

2008-10-30T20:06:00.005-05:00

Our agency, FTIA, produces a wonderful wall calendar every year featuring the kiddos that they helped bring home to their forever families. One hundred percent of the calendar proceeds will support FTIA’s humanitarian aid projects, helping children in need overseas.

Kamryn is going to be in the calendar! This is her third year in a row. Mary Grace will be in next year's calendar too and hopefully some of Kamryn's travel buddies and Indy playgroup friends as well. Needless to say, I've placed my order! (& the order for extended family that has expressed an interest.)

If you are at all interested too, please visit FTIA's website. Tomorrow, Oct. 31st is the last day for pre-orders and then calendars will be available for as long as they have them.

Shopping, haircut, and carving a pumpkin

2008-10-28T21:32:00.017-05:00

Kamryn and I were shopping one day at Children's place and she picked out this outfit all by herself. Even the headband. Which she wore to school on her head but when I picked her up, it was hanging around her neck and looked more like a scarf.

Hmph. She does not like stuff in her hair. I struggle to keep any bows, clips or anything on her head. Luckily I've trained her to now at least hand them to me when she takes them off so that they do not get lost.

I stopped by my hair salon last Thursday after I picked Kamryn up from school just for a free quick bang trim for me. As we were sitting there waiting for my stylist, out bee-bops this adorable little Chinese girl with the cutest hair cut ever. After exchanging phone numbers with her mom (we love to make new friends!), I made an appointment for Kamryn for that next Saturday with my stylist.

So goodbye long hair . . .

We didn't go as short as the other girl we saw because Kamryn has a colic in the back of her head and Colette (my hair stylist) was afraid if we layered it too much, it would make a big hole in the back of her head.

I won't ever get her hair to look as good as Colette did. I think the trick is in the blow drying of the hair. I have such a hard time styling it while blowing drying it . . . I need three hands. Kamryn has never let me blow dry her hair either. But she sat okay for Colette. We'll see if we ever find the time or the patience to do this at home.

She was all stylin' and we stayed home that night. Brendan and Kamryn helped Kevin carve a pumpkin. Scary of course to go with our new wreath.

Not Scary Enough

2008-10-28T21:03:00.012-05:00

For Brendan's liking . . . He told me he doesn't like Halloween cute.

I love my "fall" decoration for the front door, but I took it down to be more in the "Halloween spirit." These friendly ghosts are all I could find in my boxes of stuff.

So, I decided to make a new "scary" wreath for the front door.

It's still not scary enough for Brendan, but hey, I don't want to really scare people away;) Plus, it's a good compromise from the gross scary stuff that he really likes.

Check this out!

2008-10-20T19:14:00.014-05:00

FALL FESTIVAL - Kamryn

Click on the link above to see how Kamryn is one of the new stars for the day on myadoptionwebsite.com. My friend Chrissie's daughter, Carley, was the star of Day 2. Isn't she so cute?

Oh golly, then after reading this fun stuff and copying down the yummy recipes, for kicks go to the sidebar on my blog and click on "read about our time in China" to see one of the very first pictures we got of Kamryn! Oh my, how she has grown!

The Amazing Panda Adventure

2008-10-18T18:22:00.010-05:00

Last night we all went to Blockbuster to get some movies for "movie night." It was the perfect night to just hang out in front of the T.V. The boys picked out an oldie, Red Dawn. We all watched it with the exception of Kamryn who watched Cinderella.

Kamryn and I stayed up for a double feature. I happened to stumble on a movie called, "The Amazing Panda Adventure." Has anyone else ever seen this one? It was a very good movie with great footage of China and adorable pandas. A ten year old boy goes on a trip to China and ends up on a journey to rescue a baby panda taken by poachers. Kamryn and I really enjoyed it. I am thinking that it's one I want to keep in our movie library. I even learned something from it; the legend of how the panda got its colors.

The panda used to be all white. A panda and a girl were friends and she was the youngest of four sisters. The panda helped her herd her sheep and one day a tiger came. The tiger attacked the panda and the girl tried to save him but she was no match for the tiger. The tiger killed the girl. The pandas wore black ashes on their arms as a sign of mourning. They were so sad that the ashes got in their eyes because they cried so much. The sisters missed their youngest sister so much too so they jumped into the river. The next day a mountain appeared with four peaks. It is said that this mountain, called the Four Sisters, are there to stand guard to watch over the pandas.

I had to google this legend to see if it is true. I did find it out there and also found out that the Four Sisters Mountain is also called the Siguniang Mountain and is located in the Sichuan Province where the earthquake hit. There is even a book I stumbled upon called the Legend of the Panda by Linda Granfield. Amazon didn't have any copies available but Alibris.com did. So I bought it brand new. There are 6 brand new copies left. Hurry!

Fair Oaks Farm

2008-10-12T19:20:00.018-05:00

I'm sure I've mentioned Fair Oaks Farm before. Not only is it a fun place to go in Fair Oaks, Indiana - www.fofarms.com - but it is exactly halfway from our previous home in Indiana so it's a great place to meet up with our Indy friends!

(Do check out the website! It's a nice daytrip!)

Yesterday we met up with our friends Carol and Rob and their family. It was so nice to spend the day with them. The boys had so much fun bouncing outside and climbing the rock wall while the little ones rode the train and went for a tractor ride. Inside they watched a movie about cows and milk and enjoyed a cheesy dinner and homemade ice cream for dessert. We were so close to seeing twin cows being born, but we left the birthing barn about 5 minutes too soon. Oh well, we did see the babies after that. It's probably better that the kids didn't witness that. What an education!

We are so glad that our kids still get along so well even though they don't see each other very often. In fact, they didn't want the fun to end and even before the visit was close to being over, they started sweet talking us parents into the idea of a sleepover. Well lucky for them, and lucky for us, I remembered that Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt B. were driving down to Indy the next day (today) for a visit with Aunt B's daughter & family. So the boys won and had their overnight and an extra day together with their friends. Mommy was a bit jealous that she couldn't jump in their car and spend the night too! Kamryn and I are getting ready to go pick up the boys at Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt B's house soon.

Animals from afar (AKA ZOO)

2008-10-12T19:06:00.009-05:00

Kamryn and I finally made it to the zoo this season. We went with some new neighborhood friends a few weeks ago on a school day. Yes, we went without the boys while they were in school and daddy was working from home. The boys aren't thrilled with the idea of walking around the zoo anymore so it worked out perfectly.

It was a tad bit chilly the day we went, but the animals were out and Kamryn enjoyed looking at them from afar!

Having Fun in the Sun

2008-10-12T18:38:00.014-05:00

Look at those smiles! Aren't all of these girls just too cute? Kamryn and I love our Friday morning time with friends. It's been so nice out lately that we've been able to be outside whether it's to a park or to the St. Charles scarecrow fest!

Thanks Kerry for telling us about the Scarecrow Fest. What a fun time to walk around and look at all the creative scarecrows. The girls loved the Horton Hears a Who and the Little Mermaid display. I liked the mechanical scarecrow riding the bike and the "Chercrow" - yes a Scarecrow with metallic silver boots on and all decked out to look like Cher.

They even had a petting zoo but Kamryn was not thrilled to feed the hungry, aggressive goats. She seems to like animals better from afar.

My Little Helper

2008-10-12T18:25:00.005-05:00

I cleaned out the fridge tonight. We save leftovers, but I don't know why we continue to do so because we are not a leftover family. Leftovers tend to sit in our fridge until they aren't so appetizing anymore. Honestly, to us, they are not even appetizing the very next day.

As I was washing the tupperware tonight, Kamryn chimed in, "Mommy, I want to help you!" So she grabbed a towel and dried every piece. Can I tell you how nice it is to have someone in the house who WANTS to help?! I won't ever tell her no to helping me with the dishes, even if it means I need to dry the floor afterwards.

Soccer Fun

2008-10-08T22:12:00.005-05:00

A couple of Fridays ago we were invited to join our friends at an indoor soccer place for a soccer party. Everyone had a ball! (no pun intended!) Sophie and Kamryn had fun pretending they were playing soccer and the boys, well, they did have fun playing soccer. Brendan even scored a goal! The dads even got out there and although Kev didn't play soccer, he did throw around a football with one of Kris' nephews. Us moms did what we do best; chit chat and talk some more since the kids were all entertained.

Chinese language and more

2008-10-01T22:44:00.016-05:00

Not only are we learning Chinese language, but we are also learning about the Chinese culture in class. Moon Festival was not too long ago and Helen LaoShi (teacher) brought in moon cakes for a snack. You will all be surprised to hear that I actually ate a sliver of a lotus seed paste flavored moon cake. It wasn't too bad but I prefer chocolate cake. Maybe those round ding dongs will be a nice substitution for my family next year since Kamryn didn't like the moon cake at all. (great idea Megan - check out what Megan did for her daughter's class!)

It's so nice that Helen mixes things up during class. We all get up and exercise and count in Chinese while we are doing that. She sings songs with the girls and lets them dance around. She offers a snack and makes them ask in Chinese, "May I please have 3 pieces of cracker." Then she'll count out the crackers in Chinese. Of course thank you is said in Chinese then by the girls. This past week Helen gave the girls a Dora DVD in Chinese to borrow. Kamryn loves to watch it.

We were given a book and CD of the lessons too so we can practice at home. The songs are catchy, and we hear Kamryn singing the Chinese songs often. The boys will often ask me, "Is Kamryn speaking Chinese?" Good thing I am taking the class with her so that I know it is not just toddler babble. I am glad to tell the boys, "yes, she is."

That's Chinese!

2008-09-29T13:31:00.021-05:00

We finally ventured down to Chinatown. The boys both complained that they didn't want to go but on the way home they admitted they had more fun than they thought they would. Just look at their genuine smiles in the pictures.

As we drove down the street trying to find parking, Kamryn got very excited and started saying, "That's Chinese! That's Chinese!" She recognized the Chinese characters on all the storefronts. All this Chinese started rolling out of her mouth! We were pushing her down the street in the stroller and she was saying "Ni Hao, Wo Jiao Kami" and waving to everyone so excitedly. It was so funny.

I guess the Chinese language lessons are paying off. Kamryn and mommy have been taking Chinese language lessons now for about 10 weeks. It's amazing how natural it is for Kamryn to repeat the Chinese words. She can hit the tones perfectly. I, on the other hand, have a hard time sounding right. Heck, she almost speaks Chinese better than she does the English! (just kidding) She does know the difference. One day while I was in the laundry room I could hear her playing with her dollhouse. She was setting up the dolls saying, "This is daddy or baba."

She obviously LOVES Shanghai Soup Dumplings too. I didn't even know what they were until we got home from Chinatown and I googled the restaurant that we ate at. I think it's a newer one there - Lao Shanghai. The restaurant did get great reviews online and we enjoyed it too!

So there we are sitting in this quaint little one room restaurant (which after reading one review I noticed it said "Kids: No" - oops) and out comes this dumpling looking food. I thought, bummer, the pot stickers we ordered aren't fried enough for my liking;) Well, it wasn't the order of pot stickers.

We obviously didn't know what we were doing because the waitress came over to our table and told us to scoop out the dumpling with this spoon and then pour the soup over it and slurp it from the spoon. Well Kamryn really loved eating these just right off her plate. So we let her. She ate the majority of them although all the guys tried them too. (yes, even Brendan!)

What I learned online later is that Shanghai soup dumplings (also known as xiao long bao), are filled with ground pork and chicken broth. The secret to eating these steamed, juicy dumplings is to grab the tops of the dumplings with your chopsticks (don't poke them in the middle) and carefully place them on top of your soup spoon so that you don't lose the broth. Then you nibble off a tiny piece of dumpling skin so that the soup can pour out onto your spoon. They taste best dipped in vinegar and topped with slices of fresh ginger. (who knew? I guess we live a sheltered culinary life.)

Shopping in Chinatown took me back to China although the prices weren't as low like in China. Brendan wanted a wooden sword, Matt wanted a cap gun keychain thing, and Kamryn, my princess, wanted a mini wooden sword covered in jewels so she could be like Mulan. So I bought my princes their goodies and the princess a sword and a really cute stuffed panda bear eating bamboo.

Mamma Mia

2008-09-20T00:09:00.015-05:00

Kamryn's new favorite music to listen to in the van (when a DVD isn't playing) is the Mamma Mia CD, one of the gifts Dianne gave me for my birthday. (love it! thank you!) Kamryn has her favorite songs too. Today she told me "No honey honey how you thrill me" I had to giggle. I didn't realize she is really learning the words! Her favorite current song is Dancing Queen.

Another day she told me "not Daddy's song, I want Mommy to sing." I figured out that she didn't really want me to sing but she wanted to hear the song sung by the female singer. She prefers the female singers to the male singers but not her momma's voice because she tells me to stop! If only I could be so lucky to sing and sound good!

In the Spring of 2003, I actually drove up from Indy to see the play Mamma Mia with my Home Interior friends because I had won a contest. What I remember the most from watching the play was feeling a void in my life at the time because I didn't have a daughter. (and feeling guilty for it because I have two wonderful sons who were the world to me then and now!) I remembered really paying attention to the relationship between the mother and daughter and thinking that although I have that with my mom, I won't have that type of relationship with a daughter. This was just one of the many "signs" that my heart was on it's way to China.

When the movie came out this past summer, I was anxious to see it again to see if I would feel any differently watching it now or if I would remember one particular part that really moved me the first time around. I really didn't remember the whole story line and had slightly forgotten it was about a search for the girls' father.

I saw the movie Mamma Mia with my friends Kris and Heather on my birthday in July. On the way to that movie is when I talked to my mom about my dad not feeling well after his surgery. I was hesitant to go to the movie but mom assured me that my dad was fine.

I silenced my cell phone and instead of throwing it in my purse and forgetting the outside world, I had my cell phone in my hands throughout the whole movie. I jumped during the movie when I saw Kevin call me. Why was he calling unless it was an emergency? I fumbled in the dark and sent him a text message wondering if all was ok. I was nervous he heard some bad news from my mom or something happened to the kids. He replied he accidentally hit my number. Relief. Until the next morning when my mom did call me and tell me that my dad was in the hospital with a blood clot in his lung. I had a strange feeling that night before . . . my instincts are usually right on. (thank goodness he is doing fine today!)

I did enjoy the movie, and more so than I enjoyed the story the first time around because I wasn't sitting there wishing for something I don't have.

Anyway, the reason I bring this up months later is because I do find it a bit . . . I don't know the right word . . . ironic, funny, comforting . . . especially for my adoption friends, that as I am watching this movie about a girl in search for her real father, I am worrying about my real father . . . and the farthest thing on my mind on my birthday is my birth mom or my birth father. To tell you the honest truth, I don't ever recall really spending lots of time on my birthdays thinking of "them."

Maybe that's more a momma thought because yes, I do wonder what it was like for Kamryn's birth mom on the day that Kamryn was born. But I will silently wonder and let Kamryn have her own thoughts. Our birthdays are wonderful celebrations of us coming into this world created by our God. I love the cross hanging in Kamryn's room given to her by my friend Laura. It says, "God danced the day you were born." I like to remember that.

I may be a bit self centered on my birthday because I don't think about the two people who helped create me. I think about ME:) Yes, I do thank God that I am here. I am thankful that I have a loving mom, dad & sister who have always loved ME and continue to celebrate ME for ME. That's what's real.

My Guitar Hero & Band Boy

2008-09-15T17:47:00.003-05:00

Brendan is taking a new direction with extra-curricular activities. He wants to explore the world of music! He has started taking guitar lessons and also just joined the 5th grade band where he'll learn the saxophone. I hope he likes band because it will be a great way for him to make new friends. And he'll have to give up recess a couple of times a week to practice!

My little ballerina

2008-09-15T15:06:00.009-05:00

Today Kamryn started her creative movement class. It's a pre-ballet class for 3 year olds. I don't know who had more fun, Kamryn or mommy watching Kamryn! The class takes place at the church where she goes to preschool. They actually have a dance room with a wall of mirrors and a bar just like at a dance studio. There was this big window so the parents could watch. Kamryn liked waving to me and doing extra little exaggerated dances just for my viewing pleasure. It was adorable to watch these 8 little girls dance around. Funny thing was when they were comparing their little skirts and then their ballet shoes . . . proof positive that the class is full of girly girls. We'll see what she likes better, gynastics, which she took over the summer, or ballet. Who am I kidding? At this age, she likes everything!

ILL - INI

2008-09-14T23:15:00.017-05:00

Saturday we drove down to Champaign, IL to see the Illinois football game. We went prepared to sit in the rain. I made sure to pack those yellow ponchos we got in Florida one year, and I found my pullover rain jacket from college. It says on it: Pi Beta Phi FIJI Football Block and the year . . . oh my! I can't believe it but it said '88. Yikes! I graduated from college in 1989, and I can't believe it's been almost 20 years since then.

We made it down there in great time and wondered why it always seemed to take our parents longer to get there? Do we just drive faster or is it because we live a bit closer now? We didn't make any stops either so maybe that explains some of it.

We left very early in the rainy Chicago morning. By 7:15am! That's early for us. We drove through lots of rain and lucky for us, as we got closer to Champaign, the skies were clear. It was hot, hot, hot though. (Don't know whose sign this is, but I thought it was neat! They tailgaters didn't mind the photo shoot. Future Illini?)

We walked up those long ramps to get to our seats in the stadium and when we got settled and started looking around, Kamryn asked, "Which one is Hunter?" It was cute. We went to one of my nephew's high school football games so naturally she thought of him right away. The boys were laughing and explaining to her that this was a different football team.

Sadly enough, we have not been back to U of I for a football game ever. I guess we got busy with our careers, then kids, then we moved to Indy. Now that we're back in state, I thought it would be fun to do with the kids especially because Matt loves football so much. Brendan enjoyed watching the game though too. Kamryn liked eating.

As I was sitting there, I couldn't help but think of all the memories of my college days in school there. I remember visiting the school when I was in high school and thinking "Wow, I'd love to come here, it's seems like it's full of tradition and a cool place to be a part of." This weekend I was thinking similar thoughts but they were more like, "Wow, I was a part of this a long time ago."

After the game we drove and parked in front of the Pi Phi house. I did ring their doorbell and ask if we could peek inside. (So my 13 and 10 year old sons have been in their first sorority house!) I was pleasantly surprised to see that it looks the same.

We then walked on the quad, and I pointed out which buildings I had lots of my classes in. I told them about how daddy and I used to pass each other on this sidewalk before we were dating and would shyly say hi to each other.

How many women can say that they are married to the first guy they met the first night of freshman year! It's true! Kevin was roommates with a friend of mine from back home. Tony and Kevin came to my dorm room to hang out that very first night. (we didn't start dating until the next year, but pretty weird, huh?)

In school this year, one of Matt's projects is to list a career he might like and from there pick out an in-state college that offers a program for that career. Amazing that in 7th grade they are already thinking of college. I don't remember thinking about it until High School.

Walking around the campus some things were the same, like the buildings, the big trees, the bike paths, the excitement of a win in the air. But we are not the same. Last time we were there, we were together but single. Now we are married and our three children are in tow. Wow.

Ready to go

2008-09-14T21:00:00.000-05:00

Brendan's school had their carnival Friday night and someone was there painting faces. So Kamryn got ready for the Saturday trip to Illinois. It didn't last until then though. It bothered her and we wiped it off before bed.

How Many Apples?

2008-09-09T23:09:00.016-05:00

Did we pick? Too many to balance on top of our heads! Not that we tried.

But we did eat our share while we were picking.

This was our 2nd annual apple picking outing with the bigger western suburbs playgroup. We really enjoy it and hope to make it back to the orchard with the boys and dad for picking out pumpkins too!

Their sugar coated apple cider donuts are so yummy and worth the trip alone!

Spending the morning with friends is so much fun!

My Littlest Blessing

2008-09-07T00:41:00.011-05:00

is back at Little Blessings. She started last Tuesday and much to my surprise, she did wonderful at drop off time. She was a wee bit whiny that morning at home and during the ride to the church, but by the time the friendly greeter came to the car door, she turned it off and happily took the woman's hand and went right in.

Then Thursday came, and this is her long day at school. She stays to have lunch and then takes an art class in the afternoon. By noon that day I was really missing her and thinking what a very long day it is for her. (and me!) Bren had a follow up doctor appt for his leg that afternoon, so he was able to come with me to pick her up. (thanks Tina for being my back up in case his appt ran late!) I'm so glad we got to the school in time to pick K up because it was sweet relief to peek into K's classroom and see her having so much fun. There she was dancing and acting out motions to a story they were being read. I'm happy Brendan was with me too - he is my witness that she was all smiles!

Doesn't she look so grown up in this next picture?!

Kamryn is excited that her friend Lilly is going to the same school as her. Too bad they aren't in the same classroom. It's still nice for them to know that their friend is right next door:)

Panda Bear Heaven

2008-08-30T20:50:00.046-05:00

The boys got their bedrooms painted first. We decided they should get settled in their rooms first after we moved in, and I'm glad we did that. After all, when Kamryn started climbing out of her crib, she came into our room. She wasn't in her room anyway! One Colts room, one Pirate Room, and now last but not least, one pink and purple girly girl room with a panda bear picnic theme going on in her attached playroom.

Just look at her playing in her playroom. I painted the walls in there a mint white and the angled wall & ceiling a pale blue but you can't really tell from this picture. This was before the mural was added.

I decided to keep her bedroom in the ladybug and flowers theme until she gets old enough to really express a liking for something else. Her bedroom walls are painted lilac and pink & any other girly theme will most likely go with them later too. I still need a few decorations but it's coming together. I love her quilted bedspread on her big girl bed which coordinated great with the accessories I already had. Knock on wood, she has been sleeping in her room all night long most nights now!

I really like the every other wall a different color. I was nervous to do it, but my friend Kris painted Sophie's room purple and green like that, and I loved it!

Her playroom is really just an extension of her closet. I first thought of a teddy bear picnic theme to help coordinate the play kitchen she has in there and the ladybugs and flowers going on in her bedroom. Then I realized she has all these panda bear stuffed animals, and since pandas are from China and so is she, I decided a panda bear picnic would be more fun. So after getting quotes from 3 muralists, I found the one right for us. She does amazing work! Her name is Pam Nelson, and I found her online at www.findamuralist.com. Go figure. And she had just two weeks prior to my call decided to add herself to that website.

Here are some pictures. I just love how it brings the room to life and makes it so fun to be in there. Lately, I find myself just wanting to be in there by these panda friends.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

These pictures truly do not do it justice. Just try to look at the detail! Or come on over!

Look at this panda's eyes. I just want to hug this one!

I don't know if you can see the shadows she painted on the wall. Check out the apple, bamboo and teacup on the picnic blanket. I wanted to add a tea cup because Kamryn has always loved playing with her play tea sets. Of course we added ladybugs and butterflies too.

I hope that Kamryn won't outgrow these realistic looking panda friends too soon. Of course in my mind I tell myself that as she gets older and learns more about her heritage and birth country, she will have an even greater fondness for the panda bears in her big closet and it will be a special retreat for her.

One summer day

2008-08-30T00:38:00.003-05:00

we took advantage of a free program at our local library. An X-games medalist BMX biker was in the parking lot doing his tricks. The boys loved it. Brendan got to participate in a race . . . a bunch of kids had to run to a finish line while MW biked it to the finish line. Who got their first? The runners. He wanted to prove that you are actually faster on foot so when you cross the street, you should really get off your bike and walk it across in case a speeding car comes by you. You could ditch the bike and run faster to safety! Great tip!

Brendan didn't want his picture taken, but Kamryn had no problem posing for it! Matt wanted his picture taken, but didn't want to admit it, so I told him he could use Kamryn as his excuse for getting in the picture!

Love this photo!

2008-08-30T00:32:00.001-05:00

Teddy Bear Picnic

2008-08-30T00:28:00.005-05:00

One of the summer playgroup gatherings was a Teddy Bear Picnic. It was such a fun day in the park. The girls made a bear craft, lunched with their bears, played bear hunting games and just had so much fun!

Wii Fit . . . or are we?

2008-08-29T23:39:00.014-05:00

As a back to school "gift" to the boys, I bought the game Wii Fit. I had heard that it is really good, has yoga on it and stuff I would like too, so I guess it was really a gift for all of us. Anyone who has the Wii game system knows that you can create a "me" or "mii" character which represents you in all of the games. In the past, the boys have had fun creating their "me's" and also some other funny characters. We all created our own game person when we first got the game system. You can choose the hair color, hair length, shape of your face, shape of your body, height, almost everything . . .

When you first start the Wii Fit game, it weighs you and tells you your BMI so that you can create a fitness goal and work with your "trainer" in the game to achieve it. Matt was the first one to get on it and he is within a normal weight range. Kamryn got on it, and she actually turned out to be underweight. She was told to gain weight. (I wish I had that problem!) The funny thing was that it automatically made her "me" person skinnier and really sickly looking lean. When we created her person, we made her look "average" I guess. There is no lying with this game! When I finally got brave enough to take the fitness test, it actually (sad to admit) made my "me" person heavier and shorter I think! So much for having fun trying to create the perfect me on this game system! Can't a girl dream? I was still rejoicing though because the number was right where I thought it would be and actually not higher. (whew!) If only I could grow taller.

The exercises on the Wii Fit are harder than you think! I tried the skiing activity, and I really had to move my hips. The hula hooping wasn't easy either. I haven't tried the yoga yet. In all honesty, I haven't taken the time to get back to the Wii Fit. My game trainer is going to be upset with me. It tracks the last time you logged on to play. Oops. At least school is back in session, so now I need to get back to Cardinal Fitness for some good old fashioned workouts!

Kamryn's Great Imagination

2008-08-29T22:45:00.018-05:00

She really does play well BY HERSELF once in a while. Not very often, but when she does, she is really creative. I did not help her at all with any of these playtimes.

Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Peter need this Mr. Potato Head!

Here she was playing "airplane."

All tucked in

2008-08-27T00:01:00.009-05:00

Wow, you can tell school is in swing now. All three of my children were in their beds, lights off and well into dreamland before 10 pm. It's a good night. I imagine bedtime will crawl to an earlier time in no time.

I love when all of my children are snoozing. In fact, I hate when one of my children is not at home snoozing. Do I dare say it? I HATE SLEEPOVERS!

Not only friend sleepovers either. Just the other night Brendan stayed at my parent's house because he was going on a road trip with Grandma and Aunt B the next day to Indiana to visit cousins. The whole night I just felt unsettled. I could feel his absence especially when walking by his empty bed. The house just felt different. Of course I know he was fine, but I just do not like not having my kids home with me at night.

Now about friend sleepovers. I thought having boys, I wouldn't have to endure sleepovers so much. Not true. Boys just like girls like to stay up late. They have fun in different ways than I remember having fun at sleepovers. They like to play video games. We liked to make up our own games or play spoons or truth and dare. They like to watch You Tube. We liked to watch TV (but never at a sleepover, hmm, maybe a rented movie?) They like to talk about sports or cheat codes for their games. We liked to talk about boys. They like to play with Nerf guns. We liked to play with make-up or hair things.

(that's me, Heather, Sue and Jenny!)

The one thing in common is that everyone stays up late, giggling or laughing, and talking loudly into the wee hours of the night. Then the next day, the parents pay for it, even though everyone endures the slumber party hangover. The kids are cranky and overtired even though they will not admit it. (Being a night owl mom does sometimes come in handy during a sleepover)

I just sometimes don't get why it's not enough for the kids to stay at someone's house until later at night and then come home and sleep in their own bed. (Except for of course when we go visit our friends in Indiana or they visit us! I LOVE those kind of sleepovers!)

But now I sound like a hypocrite because in all truth, Kevin and I just had a date night that included a sleepover away from the kids:) and Heather, Sue, Jenny and I are trying to coordinate a spa retreat overnight. We'll see if it actually happens though because trying to get 4 moms away from their children on the same night could be tough. But we all know how valuable SLEEP is, kids don't. Especially when as a parent, we can't just sleep the whole next day.

Okay, sleepovers are fun. If they are few and far between.

Kamryn's first pony ride

2008-08-23T23:39:00.015-05:00

At a farm? At a fair? At a zoo? NOPE! At the local petstore!

One of our playgroup friends set up an impromptu playdate at the newest local petstore . . . strange place to have playgroup, huh? Not when there are free pony rides, a big bouncey, clowns doing face paint and balloon animals too!

Kamryn wasn't so sure about the pony ride but since I was walking in circles right next to her, she was liking it a bit better but I was getting dizzy!

We told some friends too and were glad that Sophie and Gavin came along. Aunt Melanie and Kris didn't go home empty handed. They bought some treats for the doggy in their families.

It was lots of fun. Cousin Gavin was the only boy in the crowd but he didn't mind.

Thanks Wendy for letting us know about this fun event!

The boys are back to school

2008-08-23T23:27:00.008-05:00

I've been pleasantly surprised that our mornings have gone fairly smoothly the first two days of school. The boys are used to staying up late and sleeping in so I was afraid it was going to be hard waking them last Thursday and Friday. Especially Matt at 6:30 am. Both days they actually woke up with their alarms. I guess next week will be harder since it will be their first full week of school.

I asked Brendan on the first day back if I could take his picture, and he told me that he is too old for that. I didn't even try asking Matt that early in the morning. So this picture of the two of them is the closest I'll get to their first day as a 5th grader and a 7th grader!

We've been talking about wanting to go paddle boating downtown Naperville, so one day last week I called my mom to join the kids and I. When we got to the Riverwalk, we were disappointed to see that they are now closed during the week and only open on weekends. We had a good time just walking around down there though and we'll have to try again on a weekend.

Yikes, blood!

2008-08-15T07:46:00.003-05:00

I try to not be squimish around blood, but yikes. Last night around dinner time I was out picking up Hunter so he could help Brendan with one of his playstation games. (since B had to take it easy) When I got back, K said that B's leg started bleeding and the steristrip was starting to come off already. So nurse mom takes a look and oh my. The area is all bruising and it's starting to look nasty. Not as neat and clean as it looked while at the doctor's. I know it's normal but I call the doctor on call anyway. Will this dermabond hold up? I covered his leg with a gauze pad for overnight. We'll see how it looks this morning when he wakes up. I hope it's okay.

Brendan's fine!

2008-08-14T16:16:00.015-05:00

I will have to say that it was a breeze today. We got there on time at 6:30 am for a 7:30 scheduled procedure. The doctor didn't get there until 8. Dealing with a waiting 10 year old is so much easier than dealing with a waiting three year old:) (remember, dental surgery) Especially when the facility is "children" oriented and the nurse wheels in a WII game system for Brendan to play while he is waiting. Wow. I had to giggle a bit because when we first walked into the room they had his name on a piece of paper with the doctor's name too and a SpongeBob character.

(Maybe if Spongebob had greeted Kamryn she wouldn't have been so insane. No, highly unlikely that would have made a difference.)

Brendan's surgery was only 45 minutes. This nevus was pretty well rooted in his leg so the doctor had to cut deep. He told us that there are two layers of internal stitches and then just dermabond on the visible cut. Brendan did fine afterwards and loved getting the royal treatment from the cute nurse. What 10 year boy wouldn't like a popsicle and than a gatorade and a wheelchair ride out to the car? (He could have walked, but why not spoil my cute boy?) Since he was so hungry then too, Kevin and I took him out for a big pancake breakfast.

Thanks Mom for coming over so early (7am!) to stay with Matt & Kamryn! It was comforting knowing that you were here so we could take our time with Brendan.

Even though we warned Kamryn that Mom wouldn't be home in the morning, when she ran into my room at 8:45 and didn't see me, she started sobbing. Matt then woke up, and he and Grandma comforted her.

Why do my children not sleep? Brendan has not slept a wink since we've been home. I am ready to take a nap, but no one else seems to be. Brendan told me that he did sleep during the procedure . . . hearing him talk about the laughing gas (before the IV and anesthesia) is funny. He said the one nurse turned into three people and he felt like he was floating above the room.

Tomorrow will be an early morning

2008-08-13T20:55:00.002-05:00

Brendan is having surgery tomorrow to have a birthmark removed. It is a pretty big nevus on the back of one of his thighs. Please say a prayer for him (& mom in the waiting room) that all goes okay. I'm sure it will but once again, here we go, that whole anesthesia thing again. We need to be at the Children's Memorial outpatient facility at 6:30 am! Yikes. Better go to bed now.

Special Friends Visit

2008-08-12T23:33:00.020-05:00

Our friends Chris and Kendra and their three sweet children stopped over one recent Friday night for a visit. It was a special visit not only because they are special friends, but because they live all the way in Texas! They drove to Crown Point, IN to visit Chris' family and then got back in the car the next day and drove to our house for the night to see us too. We were honored:)

Chris and Kendra's family became a family of five the same exact day and time our family became a family of five. It is an amazing moment to share that special delivery of a child. Our little Ling sisters had so much fun playing together. They are really so much alike. They both are talking the same and liked dancing and singing together.

Kamryn was not shy around them at all. Can you tell? She just loved on Jia's brother's (and daddy!) as if she sees them all the time.

Look how tall Jia is! Look how tall her daddy is;) Kendra and I have always said that our girls just fit perfectly into our families. It's proof positive that God is the One who formed our families. For that we are very thankful. I wish we could snap our fingers and move Texas closer to Chicago so that we could see our friends more often. I've never been to the Dallas area so it's pretty top on our list of places we'd like to go. Funny how our destination places include family or friends that we'd like to see too.

Our Olympic Festivities

2008-08-10T22:22:00.023-05:00

It was fun to watch the amazing Olympic opening ceremonies Friday night. It was fun to watch the Travel Channel last week since they were airing shows on China. (I especially loved Samantha Brown's Passport to China when she was touring Beijing. It was cool to say, "We were there!" while watching it.) But nothing was as fun as our pre-Olympic party last weekend with our bigger FCC playgroup.

Our playgroup leader Kerry had thought of all the small details to make it a memorable day for everyone. The decorations made us feel like we were really at the Olympics.

Kerry took some time to explain the mascots to the kids. The five mascots each have a name. If you take the first part of each of their names, it says in Chinese, "Beijing welcomes you." Bei jing huan ying ni. Pretty cool!

The games and relays were fun for all the kids! Even for my boys, Kevin included!

This game was so funny to watch. The kids, with help from their friends, had to put all this dress up stuff on, carry the suitcase to the next station and take off all the dress up stuff, put it back in the suitcase, then roll it to the next person and help them get dressed! (I don't know if I even have that right, but everyone loved it!)

The medals were a big hit with the little athletes.

The crafts were Olympic style.

The cooling station was not only a great way to cool off but a fun activity too. There were surprises frozen into the ice cubes!

My mom and Aunt B joined us for the fun day, and I'm glad that they came! We loved spending the day with friends and family.

Kerry gets the gold medal for organizing such a fun event! Thanks Kerry!

Kane County Cougars Game

2008-08-06T23:56:00.011-05:00

My next door neighbor Jen graciously gave us 4 tickets to the game one night a few weeks back since her family wasn't able to go. It happened to be on a night when Kevin was out of town so it worked out perfectly. Just enough tickets for the kids and I.

Jen is a teacher and had these special passes into the picnic area too so we all got a free dinner! Bonus! The boys enjoyed being spectators at this game. They really loved the fun things that happen on the field in between innings! I think I impressed them by catching a soft frisbee that was tossed into our area. Kamryn enjoyed the night too. She actually became an attraction for the folks sitting near to us. Watch the video and you'll know why.

Boys Trip to Great America

2008-08-06T23:11:00.012-05:00

My brother-in-law Todd was brave enough to take the day off work and spend it with Hunter, Matt and Brendan at Great America! The boys were thrilled. Even if it meant waking up early since traffic is a nightmare around here. My night owl, Brendan, has been sleeping in all summer sometimes until 10 am or later. I went into Brendan's room to wake him up at 7 am, and to my surprise he was already dressed, bed made, ready to go! He woke up by 6:37 on his own that morning. Figures. Do you think that will happen in a couple of weeks when school starts? Not a chance.

When the boys were much younger, Kevin and I took them to Kings Island in Ohio. They both rode the Beastie, and Matt and I went on the bigger roller coaster, The Beast. At the time, I remember looking over at him and thinking he looked scared to death. I was so worried that my sweet boy was going to have a heart attack.

Needless to say, I am glad I was not with them at Great America. I would have been worried sick to see them actually board the roller coasters. Especially Brendan because he never has really been on a bigger roller coaster.

Well they both loved every minute of it! Here's the proof.

Thanks Todd!

FTIA Picnic 2008

2008-07-29T00:20:00.012-05:00

Every July, FTIA, our adoption agency, always has a big reunion picnic. It was great the first summer home with Kamryn when we lived in Indy because we only had to travel about 10 minutes away from home to get to the park. This was our third picnic, and now it's a good excuse to get back to Carmel to see our friends.

It was a terribly hot day the Saturday of the picnic. Kamryn enjoyed the carousel ride this year and the boys were able to play mini-golf. One of the highlights for me (other than seeing how big the girls are getting) is shopping the booths that vendors have set up. The gal from Scrap-N-Tell.com is always there and she has the best supply of adoption related scrap booking stuff. This time I bought two albums so that I can maybe try to copy what Linda did and make each of the boys their own travel book. The covers are red with black Chinese characters on it. Of course I forgot to get some stuff so I am planning to order from her soon. If anyone wants to tag onto my order so we get free shipping, let me know! If you happen to order yourself, let her know I referred you and I'll get a little gift certificate;)

Start Your Engines!

2008-07-28T20:04:00.009-05:00

The same weekend as my parents' party were the Nascar Races at the Joliet Speedway. My Aunt Linda is a HUGE Nascar fan to put things mildly and since she was coming in for the party, we treated her to the nights at the races as a kind of a thank you for all of her hard work doing our China travel scrapbook.

I was able to go with Kevin, Brendan and Linda to the Friday night race. It was more fun for me to see Linda's reaction to the whole event and especially Jeff Gordon's trailer of stuff. She's a huge #24 fan! Jeff wasn't racing that night, but we did get there in time to watch him practice for Saturday night's race.

Linda rented us these cool screens and headphones to keep tabs on the stats and listen to whichever car we wanted to. Since I was a bit busy on Saturday preparing for the party, Matt went to the Saturday race with them instead. (Matt is not into racing as much as Kevin and Brendan) They were able to leave at noon on Saturday and spend all day at the track. I was told they all had a great time. Kevin was able to text a message to Linda on the Sprint scoreboard in the infield. Pretty cool for her to see her name out there!

The Greatest Fortune Ever is a Love as Good as Gold

2008-07-27T23:38:00.036-05:00

It was a "golden" day. The sun was shining, and we were surrounded by family members from both my mom and dad's side of the family. My Aunt, Uncle and cousin from Virginia drove in to be here, my Aunt drove in from Omaha, my Aunt and Uncle drove down from Wisconsin and we had cousins drive in from Indy, Bloomington and Rockford and a bunch of other towns . . . everyone was together from aunts and uncles to cousins and their kids. What a celebration it was! Thanks to everyone who came to make it so special.

Here's the wedding party 50 years later!

Isn't it amazing that the wedding party could celebrate together? How cool is that!

Thanks to our designated photographers of the day, Ginny and Linda:) we have a great collection of photos that captured the day.

A special thanks to my cousin Teri who helped me bake, set up, and clean up and for entertaining Kamryn with homemade play-doh the day before the party. The kids didn't need help being entertained during the party because my sister and I rented one of those big bouncy playhouses and set up lots of outdoor games. Honestly, I don't think I saw the kids much at all during the party. Kamryn tuckered out and took a short hour nap starting at . . . yes, gulp . . . 6 pm that night.

It was a sweet day . . .

At the end of the night, we even got my dad and Aunt Ginny to dance to "their" Glenn Miller song, In the Mood. My sister and I always enjoyed watching them dance at family weddings. My mom says at all the parties they would dance while she and my uncle would sit and have a drink:)

Too bad we can't have this big of a family reunion every year! We honored my parent's marriage and reminisced about years gone by. Boy, how they seem to be flying by faster and faster . . . maybe we'll have another party when they hit 60 years together!

Prayers appreciated again

2008-07-24T20:11:00.006-05:00

My dad had knee replacement surgery a week ago Tuesday. He's been doing great with his therapy but last night he started complaining of shortness of breath and that his ribs hurt. My mom took him to the hospital, and he has a blood clot in his lung. It's so hard to see him down like this because he is such an active guy. Please keep him in your prayers that this clot disappears soon and that no others form.

My Uncle Fred (my dad's brother) could also use prayers. He and my Aunt Polly were one of the first guests at my parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary party, and not 5 minutes in the house unfortunately he took a fall. To make a long story short, he ended up spending the party time at the hospital and even though everything checked out fine that day, they realized a couple of days later that he had broken his foot. He is recovering in a nursing home.

Hopefully these two brothers will be home and well soon. Once again, it's a reminder that even with the best of plans or doing as the doctor orders, some things are just not in our control. That's why prayers are appreciated.

Florida visitors!

2008-07-23T08:42:00.021-05:00

Dad and Dianne and Kevin's sister Kathleen and her husband Peter left the Florida sunshine for some Illinois sunshine and fun with family. They came up the last weekend in June. Kath & Peter actually celebrated their one year wedding anniversary while here in Chicago! We surprised them that weekend with a copy of the video we took at their wedding. (they didn't have it professionally videotaped) It was fun to watch it together during our big family barbecue. Some of Kath's friends were even able to come over so they could meet Peter for the first time. (Kathleen met Peter while living in Florida.)

Look how lovely Maddie made Kamryn's hair! They were sitting watching the wedding video together. Notice Kamryn's boo boo on her nose. Figures a couple days before this she fell down the stairs and got this major rug burn.

Try cooking with two professional chefs in your house! A bit intimidating, but I pulled out all of my best recipes:) Plus, it was actually nice to have so much help in the kitchen! Peter and Kath did most of the preparing for the barbecue, and Kevin and I learned a few tricks:) Everyone agreed that my chocolate chip cookie recipe was the best one ever! The kids even helped make those.

Since Peter's trips to Chicago have been limited, Kathleen wanted to finally show him the house where she grew up in. So one day while Dad & Dianne were at cousin Maddie's dance recitals, we all drove to the south side of Chicago. It was a trip down memory lane since we then found ourselves also driving by her high school and then the first house that Kevin and I lived in after we got married almost 17 years ago! It's for sale now so we had to stop and pick up a flyer. They have redone so much inside and it looks great! No more yellow and white tiled bathtub and an updated kitchen!

Grandma Dianne and Grandpa spoiled the kids rotten one day too. They took them to the movies, out to lunch and then to play mini-golf! The kids loved it. The boys especially love just hanging out with Grandma Dianne and Grandpa because they will play games with the boys all the time. This trip it was Sequence. Grandpa was a good sport when Kamryn got out her play doctor kit and listened to his tummy:)

We all enjoyed their visit and wish we could see each other more often. It's great to see how Kamryn just loves on them and picks up right where she left off. And even with Peter, whom she has only met the one other time at the wedding. She knows who loves her and is great at returning that love. Her newest saying is, "We're family, we're all together."

My Life in Six Words

2008-07-22T00:06:00.008-05:00

I've been tagged by my friend Sue to describe my life right now in six words.

Party Planner - My parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary party was at our house. I planned every detail of the party to make it memorable for our parents. (and it was memorable! A separate post about the party coming soon!) They didn't renew their wedding vows, but other than that, it was like an actual wedding reception. There were gorgeous flowers on the tables, a special corsage and boutonniere, music playing from the 50's, golden tablecloths, golden wrapped silverware, golden balloons, a memory book for guests to write a note, golden picture frames adorned with crystal hearts showcasing their wedding picture and also a recent picture from Lake Geneva, homemade food (just like their wedding), golden sparkling wine for a toast and gold organza bags with customized fortune cookies as favors. I also splurged and ordered customized gold and white m&m's with their name and wedding date on them. My sister and I also put together a musical picture slide show of pictures throughout their 50 years together.

Decorating Crazy - Okay, it's one of my passions and actually an obsession. I LOVE to decorate my home. I used to sell Home Interiors & Gifts for 8 years which I stopped doing when we moved back to IL. Just recently when I was getting a quote on window blinds/treatments, I was told by a decorator that I should start my own business. It was such a huge compliment coming from her and was nice to hear. Anyway, the one big project that I recently finished and didn't post pictures of yet is Kamryn's bedroom/playroom. It's adorable. Pictures coming soon.

Blessed - Blessed beyond belief to have good health, a wonderful husband, three really good kids, a great family-immediate and extended, and friends-old, new and reacquainted ones! in my life.

Mom - It's the biggest job and best job that I have right now. With the boys being older and Kamryn being three, it sometimes can be a challenge to keep them all happy. We've been having a great summer though and keeping them all happy!

Nurse/worry wart/hand holder/hugger - No, not a licensed nurse. But I feel like a nurse none the less. Matt had a "mole" removed earlier in the summer (easy), Kamryn had her surgery (not as easy) and Brendan actually has one coming up in August too to remove a birthmark from his leg. It will be pretty intense since it's a pretty big nevus on the back of his thigh. (hopefully not too hard) I hate when my children are under anesthesia, that's the worry wart part. But I do like to hold their hands (the boys who are too old to cuddle) and hug on them. Kamryn is so good at cuddling, until she says "that's enough mommy."

Hectic - But fun . . . but it's been nonstop. I really need more whitespace on my calendar:) But then I will be looking for things to do. Why is that? This afternoon we stayed around the house and the boys found two little frogs out in the street while they were pulling weeds. Brendan was complaining about his chore but then was so happy he was out there.

I am supposed to tag 5 other people, but I think many of my blogger friends have been tagged already. If you are reading this and haven't been tagged, consider this your tag. Go ahead and try to describe your life right now in 6 words. Even if you don't blog, think about it.

Forgive me blogger

2008-07-21T23:56:00.004-05:00

for I am behind. Terribly behind. About one month behind really even though I posted two weeks ago. I will try to catch up. I have been too tired, busy, not in the mood to post but I will try to get out of this funk.