Florida visitors!

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

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

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.

Okay, so she eats ice cream too!

This picture was taken this past weekend in Lake Geneva. Grandpa treated everyone to an ice cream cone after the boat cruise. Okay, not good for her teeth I know, but we were celebrating!

Isn't her dress adorable? My mom made it for her. She couldn't pass up the ladybug print fabric since she knows we have a thing for ladybugs. Ladybugs are a good luck symbol for Chinese adoptions. She even made a matching purse. Thanks Grandma!

Her surgery is over

I am so glad that the morning is behind us. She is doing well and is back to her spunky self! She hasn't even napped at all today even after the anesthesia; figures, this girl never sleeps! Actually, I wouldn't want her any other way than her "normal" self.

It was terrible to see her all dopey on the sedative they gave her before the surgery to help with the separation from us. When we got to the hospital room, she started throwing a fit, refusing to even put on the gown. Ten minutes after the sedative, her eyes started rolling and she just laid on my lap.

Three and half hours in that waiting room is no fun.

Finally, the dentist appeared. He filled 11 cavities and did the two crowns on her two front teeth. We only knew about 4 cavities going into this. Needless to say, we were very shocked! He said it is due to the bad enamel on her teeth, probably from lack of prenatal care. Hmph. No fluoride in the water in China probably didn't help either. Two strikes against her right from the start. Really, it is not our parenting skills . . . she doesn't really drink juice, yes she eats suckers and will drink pop sometimes . . . but the boys haven't even had one cavity yet. I guess I will brush her teeth more often even when she insists on doing it herself.

It is what it is. The dentist put sealants on her other teeth. Hopefully that will help. Oh, and the ear tube was still in so the ENT took it out and fixed the hole in her eardrum. He put packing stuff in her ear so he said she may not ear well for a few days until that all dissolves.

The ENT was the hero though. Her teeth are bothering her more than her ear. We are tired here tonight. Getting up at 4:45 am and leaving the house at 5:30 is not common for Kamryn or mommy. Looking forward to some sleep tonight.

Please say a prayer

Tomorrow morning we are off at 5:30 in the morning to go to the hospital for Kamryn's dental surgery. Ugh. It was going to be a dual surgery with the ENT going first to remove an ear tube that has been in her ear for over 2 years with the dentist going next to do the crowns, fillings and xrays. But when we went to the pediatrician for the pre-op physical, she didn't see the ear tube. So the ENT will still take a peek but hopefully it has in fact fallen out on it's own. I think this surgery will be harder on me than it will be on Kamryn. I can't wait until it's over.

Then . . .

And Now . . .


It was a golden day as our families took off for Lake Geneva. The kids were happy to be with their cousins, Kamryn was happy to be with her Uncle Todd (she wouldn't leave him alone!), and Melanie and I were happy to be with our parents and Aunt Bernice and reminisce about their wedding days. We were all happy to share the beautiful day together!
























My Aunt Bernice was my mom's matron of honor.

Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary!

The greatest fortune ever is a love as good as gold . . .














My parents celebrated their Golden Anniversary today. We were lucky enough to spend the day with them up at Lake Geneva and took a luncheon cruise. More details and pictures tomorrow I promise . . . wanted to post this on their actual anniversary! Love you both! You are an inspiration.

Happy 4th of July!

My little rocker

This is what happens when she sees the boys playing guitar hero . . . she wants a guitar of her own! So we did find a cute little pink one that plays preloaded children's tunes or in a different mode Kamryn can make up her own tunes. She's so funny because she'll stand real still and play and then once in a while lift the guitar up like she sees the boys do.

This isn't the new project

But this was a project from a fun day with friends at a paint-it-yourself store. It was difficult for me to let Kamryn just go at it . . . after all, I had a "theme" in mind for her little shirt. I'm bad I know. I did let her do what she wanted after I stamped the princess crowns on.













Now Kamryn "poses" for the camera! Oh my!















The artist at work! This is so much better than taking paint out at home:)
















Thanks Tina for emailing me the pictures from the store from your camera phone!

My boys meet Mary Grace

One weekend my mom and I and the boys went down to Carmel. My mom and I went for Mary Grace's baby shower. The boys went because they were so excited to meet Mary Grace! It was a nice weekend with friends even though we drove through horrendous storms half the trip there. You should have seen me running into the hotel with a inside out umbrella that was no help at all! The boys slept at friends house's so my mom and I were able to stay up late chatting both nights in the hotel. I miss that . . . even though it's nice being back home and close by, I really liked when my parents would come visit and stay for days at a time.

We're excited about having visitors next weekend! Kevin's dad & Dianne, and his sister and new brother-in-law will be coming up from Florida. It will be a fun, busy weekend.

Keep posted to see the latest project we finished! How come having company puts me into the quickest action?

Kamryn hanging out with friends

Speaking of birthdays . . .

June 2nd was my Aunt Bernice's birthday. It was a Tuesday. Tuesdays are the day that my mom and aunt go stitching at Carillon with their Carillon friends and sometimes they all go out for lunch before they stitch. So this Tuesday in honor of my aunt's birthday, Kamryn and I decided to join them. (after all, years before Aunt B lived in AZ and we couldn't celebrate with her!)

It was nice to meet the sweet Carillon ladies! Kamryn thankfully was pretty well behaved except for the deliberate small salt and pepper mixing on the table. Grandma and Aunt B tried to keep her entertained since they were sitting by her. Kamryn enjoyed the attention from everyone so much that she drew everyone pictures. Then during lunch, Kamryn got up, walked past me and went right up to Phyllis and wanted to sit on her lap! Phyllis graciously let her even though she wasn't finished with her own lunch. And then she graciously shared her french fries with Kamryn even though Kamryn's basket of fries sat untouched. Thank you Phyllis for being extra kind!












From what my mom tells me, Phyllis faithfully read our website while we were in China and continues to faithfully read the blog. (Hi Phyllis!) In my mom's words, she is Kamryn's biggest fan. Kamryn obviously became quite fond of her too. She definitely felt very comfortable around Phyllis, and I'd say she bonded with her! It was very cute. Kamryn and I hope to join them all again soon. After all, Grandma's friends are our friends and we love to eat lunch out!

I have a teenager!

Today was Matt's 13th Birthday! Yikes! Kevin and I are parents to an official teenager now. Matt is such a good kid if I don't say so myself. I just pray that he continues to be a good teenager through all of his teenage years! (he's all sweaty because he was outside in the yard playing ball with Brendan)

Yes, Kevin had to share the father's day spotlight with Matt. We had my parents, Aunt B, Mel and Gavin over for a barbecue. What a great dad to grill on supposedly his "day off."

Hunter's birthday was last Friday so Melanie sat in the theater with Matt, Hunter and Brendan and saw the movie, The Hulk, while Kamryn and I saw Kung Fu Panda with our friends Heather, Hannah, Kaitlyn and Josh. Then we had a family celebration at my sister's house.

Kevin's Uncle Bob turned 80

So his cousins threw a birthday party for him at a restaurant up near O'Hare. We don't see Kevin's extended family very often, and since we've been back in Chicago, we've only seen some of them once last summer. It was nice to see everyone again and introduce Kamryn to some of them who had not met her yet. There was a band playing so Kamryn had a ball dancing with everyone.

Kevin's cousin Roberta adopted her daughter from China I think 9 years ago. (because Mary Claire is close in age to Brendan.) I remember meeting Mary at a family party when she was just a toddler. I remember thinking way back then that I too would like a daughter from China.

The cool thing the night of the party (other than celebrating Uncle Bob's 80th bday) was that Kamryn went with open arms immediately to Mary Claire. Mary whisked Kamryn around on her hip the whole night and took great care of her. I was sitting by them at a table and Mary said to me, "she has small eyes like me." I replied, "yes she does, and you are both beautiful." One of Kevin's other cousins reminded me that when Roberta first told Mary about us adopting from China, Mary said, "oh good someone in the family who will look like me."

I am glad they have each other. There is definitely a special bond between the two of them even though there is an age difference and even though they don't see each other very often. They are cousins. They are family. They look different than all of us. But to each other, they look the same.
















The boys didn't know that daddy had cousins with boys around their age. They had fun hanging out together even if it took most of the night to warm up!

End of the school year picnics

I am fortunate enough to live close to my mom for a number of reasons, but at this time of year, especially because she is able to babysit Kamryn! Because of her help, I was able to go on a field trip with Brendan's class and then another day to Matt's school for his 6th grade picnic.

Back in Carmel it was no problem volunteering at school because I didn't have a little one at home. I enjoyed being in the classrooms with the boys and helping out at school functions when I could. They liked me being there. It amazes me really that B still wants me to go on school trips with him. It makes me feel good that he does really want me around. I know the day will come when he won't.

During Brendan's picnic at Indian Head Park, the classes rotated between different events; water balloons, softball, kickball, etc. Brendan wanted me to play kickball so lucky for me I actually kicked the ball really hard and ran to first base. I could have made it to second, but I didn't feel like booking it. I'm just glad I didn't embarrass and disappoint my son in front of his entire class! He was happy after the game, and told me, "good thing you had on gym shoes." Ha! He knows that's a rare thing. I only wear my gym shoes when I am working out. Otherwise, it's usually cute sandals of some sort. I definitely couldn't have played kickball in sandals without getting hurt.

Matt's picnic was at his school. My mom joked with me that day before I left that I didn't have on my gym shoes to play kickball. I knew that I wouldn't be asked to play kickball with the sixth graders. Sure enough. I was right. I barely even saw Matt. The only time the parent volunteers saw the kids is when they were in line getting their food. Then the kids quickly ate and ran back out to the field to play whatever they were playing. It was a nice time for me to mingle with other moms and meet some new people though.

Reaching Hearts in China

My friend Becki is in China right now. No, not there adopting a baby, (she did that once already - see Addison's story on my blog roll) but she's there with a group of women helping out in an orphanage just because. Just because their hearts are so big. Just because they want to spread the word of Jesus and sing Jesus Loves Me to the children. Just because they are wonderful women!

When Becki told me that she was going on this mission trip, I felt that twinge of "Oh I want to go too." Then reality for me set in, and I just knew that I couldn't do it. The trip is expensive (little did I know then that through hard work and fundraising, the trip gets paid for), and I seriously don't think I could leave my kids for 12 days. I have a hard enough time getting a sitter for a much needed date night. (I need to work on that I know because spending time with your spouse is pretty important too!)

When I found out that Becki was going to be in an orphanage in Shangrao, I was so happy . . . and then felt terrible that I maybe didn't pursue this further. Kamryn is from Shangrao. They are not at the same orphanage where Kamryn was, but they are not too far away. I do look forward to going back to China someday.

Becki I am praying for you and the rest of the group and am there with you in spirit! I love the photos on the website. I bet you are loving it. I think if I were there, I would want to bring every child home with me, and I'm sure you will feel the same way.

Here's their website!

Reaching Hearts In China

Project #3

Potty training Kamryn

It seems to be a never ending thing. Finally, I decided to try something that always worked with the boys. Bribery with money. It seemed to be working. We have what I call her "money bucket" and every time she goes, she gets some change for her money bucket. When it adds up, she can buy a toy.

She did great for a week so I bought her the Dora backpack toy. She continued to do so great for many weeks that I slacked off and didn't give her money anymore. I thought we were past that. But today she had a really bad day. I guess it's time to bring out the money bucket again.

Project #1 & #2

My sister had an Uppercase Living Party a while back, and I finally put up my phrase and other design. Well, okay, Kevin helped me, I must admit. It wasn't hard to put up but it was a bit of a challenge especially for one person. (I did hang my mom's saying by myself though.) This was harder though because I chose a more intricate design and bigger stuff. Anyway, I love them!

The first one is a reminder to myself to not stress about the everyday little things and to plan more "moments" and have fun. It says, "We do not remember days, we remember moments." How incredibly true!

The second was a design I chose for a difficult wall to decorate. When you walk into our powder room, the first thing you see is the sink. When you are sitting on the toilet, you are looking at that blank wall next to the sink. I can't really hang anything there because the door opens to that wall and plus we'd hit something with our elbows as we wash our hands. So this solves the problem. It gives the ladies something to look at and it's flat on the wall!