Goofball

1st Band Concert

Trace had his first ever band concert Thursday night. I was very pleasantly surprised! It is required that all 5th graders take band therefore the 5th grade band is pretty big. Despite that I didn't hear any squeaking or honking as I'd expected! Trace thought it was pretty fun but also kinda boring. He certainly looked nice all dressed up! This is a picture of him and his best friend Seth just before it started.

p.s. I made it black and white because the lighting in the gym made their hair look green and I couldn't fix it! They were wearing black and white so it doesn't change much.

End of the season...

Caden's football team played in the Championship game this year. They were undefeated all season however due to several factors they did not win the championship title. The boys were so pumped up and excited that they didn't hear their parents telling them that, "someone has to loose." Caden held it together until we got in the car then the tears started flowing. I felt so bad for him. It's tough to be so disappointed when you're a kid. He did decide that lunch at Sonic might make him feel better though. After the game trophies were given to the coaches and ALL the boys got a medal and a league t-shirt which I thought was nice. Those boys had only each lost to the other so they all deserved to be rewarded! Caden has mentioned next year a couple of times so we'll see how he feels next spring at sign up time!

Major Defense. That's what Trace's coach called him when it was his turn to get his trophy. 9 times out of 10, if Trace was on the field, that ball was getting stopped. I was so proud of him as the coach talked about his playing and the season he had. I understood what it feels like to literally have your heart swell with pride. He improved so much this year and even scored one goal! That's hard to do when you always play defense! His whole team started out really struggling but by the end they had pulled it together and were really playing well. Three of the boys were even invited to try out for the select team next year. I'm hoping they don't because we need them! There was a potluck at one of the boy's houses last night and everyone had a great time. It was a nice end for the season.

Family Day

We celebrate the day our family was complete each year a little differently. It is a little challenging since we have just finished so many birthdays and are caked out. This year Paige and Rick opted for Chinese food. When we asked Paige and Caden if they wanted Chinese food she nodded yes as furiously as he shook his head no - it was pretty funny! So Caden had leftover pizza instead (Trace was at Nana and Papa's for the night). When she saw Daddy using chopsticks Paige had to have some too. She actually ate everything but the rice with them! After dinner Paige got to choose a movie to watch before bed. Her choice was Rack, Shack and Benny (Veggie Tales).

Many families refer to the day they received their child as "Gotcha Day." We've opted for "Family Day" for a couple of reasons. First, it is the day our family was completed. Second, Each child has a birthday so rather than have another day that celebrates just Paige we wanted it to be a day for everyone. I'm glad that we've opted to keep it low key instead of making a big deal. In many ways it is more like Paige's birthday than her actual one. I get to tell her HER story of joining the family and remember all the wonderfulness of it. But we have had a cake, gone out to eat and had Chinese food. It's flexible. It's special. The kids enjoy the fact that we have our own special day for our family (they probably think everyone has one). Happy Family Day to all of us!

Three years ago today...

I'll never forget that day. I'll never forget trying so hard to memorize every second of it. Willing my mind to never forget a single moment.

We got up really early to have our luggage outside our door then headed down to breakfast. After that we sat around in the hotel lobby, in Beijing, waiting until it was time to go to the airport (9 or 9:30 if I remember right). It seemed like forever. Once we were checked in at the airport we sat around for what seemed like hours. Oh wait, it was hours! There wasn't anywhere to sit or anything to eat and we were all just anxious to get on our way.

I remember leaving the airport in Jiangxi and walking across to the bus. Then the ride across town to the hotel. There was the bridge we crossed into the city, the rice paddies, the green hills. At the hotel we were told to wait in our rooms for our luggage, get ourselves organized and meet in the conference room at 4:30. The excitement was so hard to contain! The maids were busy delivering cribs to all of our rooms where we also found a baby bath and a stroller waiting. It was starting to feel very real. It was finally going to happen. Finally our turn after so many years!

Once our stuff was ready we headed down to Tom and Diana's room for a quick refresher course on making formula, last minute camera checks and gift wrapping. By four o'clock we couldn't stand it any more and decided to head down to the conference room where we discovered we were not alone in our inability to wait!

We stood in that hallway and later in the conference room listening to the sounds of babies and wondering if ours was there yet. Wondering what she would look like, how she would react to us and WHAT WERE WE THINKING!? A baby. Wow!

Before I knew it they were calling our name. I was shaking so hard that I could hardly walk and tripped over a chair in my haste.

Then we walked around that corner and there she was.

Our lives changed forever that day. Not only did we now have a daughter but we experienced the indescribable feelings of traveling along the path to adoption and seeing it come to completion. There just aren't the right words. We will never be the same.

We love you Paige, with all our hearts. We loved you before you ever were and we will love you forever more. God chose us for each other and He couldn't have chosen more perfectly!

Happy Family Day!

Conversation with a three year old...

"Mommy, what does the tooth fairy look like?"

"I'm not sure. Why?"

"Well, have you ever seen her?"

"Um, no. Why?" (We strongly believe in telling our children the truth about everything! Ahem.)

"Well, I think she's a hippopotamus."

"Oh, really? What makes you think that?"

"Because I'm smart."

"I see." (Not really)

At the pumpkin patch

Just playing around with the computer.

My Kids

On loan from God.

Trace

Sensitive, Selfless, Kind, Smart, Onery, Fun to be with

Paige

Cute, Smart, Giggly, Strong Willed, Clever, Daddy's Girl

Caden

Fun loving, Goofy, Snuggly, Smiley, Smart, Photogenic

The Cat in the Hat

"Does he have a mommy?"

Paige

I am SO rich!

I have a nice, warm home to live in.
I have an electric blanket AND a down comforter.
My kids each have a nice cozy bed with piles of blankets.
As of today I have three very healthy children.
I have a husband who loves me the way I am. (At least he says he does!)
We own two reliable cars.
My husband has a job.
We have loving family nearby.
We have great friends.
My boys are good students.
Generally speaking, I have three well behaved kids.
I own a sewing machine.
I have a bicycle.
I get to be home with my kids.
We have more than one computer.
We have two loving kitties.
I get to hear my children giggle.
I get to feel their hugs.
I get to watch them grow.

Sometimes life gets tough. Sometimes we get overwhelmed. But always I am thankful for the many blessings God has given me. Just little 'ol me. I have so much!

Mother of the year I am NOT

I did not put candles in a hot birthday cake only to have them MELT. I also never would have forgotten to be home when one of my boys got off the bus - let alone be 30 minutes away shopping. And if I had (which, of course, I didn't) that same poor child would not have been left sitting on the front porch alone. I would not have eaten enough Halloween candy to make myself sick - especially after telling the kids they'd had too much! And I most definitely did not loose my mother-of-the-year award three times in one day!

Some days are rough. Some weeks are rough. Then there are the months that just don't seem to go too well! As someone recently said, "there was no full disclosure on this parenting thing."

Undefeated!

Caden's team managed to pull off a win in the last two minutes of Saturday's game! They played to only other undefeated team and they will play that same team again in a week and a half at the Championships.

Trace's team pulled off another win also, bringing their team to five wins in a row! He has two games left in his season then advanced unicycle club will be starting up!

Way to go boys!

Wrapping up October...

The plan was to carve our pumpkins with cousins but thanks to the piggy flu that wasn't to be. So while Trace was drugged up on motrin and feeling pretty good we hauled them all inside and started cutting.

Decisions, decisions, trying to decide what they want.

Digging in. Paige prefered the one-seed-at-a-time method.
(this picture is for those who think Paige's hair is always perfect)

The finished products. Doesn't Trace look great? That's the
piggy flu on motrin!

Caden (a pirate), Paige (Grumpy the Carebear), cousin Carson (a chick) and Trace (Harry Potter) ready to go last night.