SCORE!

I'd like to say the second picture was of Caden saving the day but unfortunately that ball rolled right past him into the box the second the camera clicked! Let's just say goalie isn't his best position. Both boys had fun at their first games of the season and we had beautiful weather. Caden scored a goal and both of their teams won - a great start. I can already see my future flashing before my eyes though - we had a game at 9am about 25 minutes away,made it home for an hour (just enough time for a quick lunch) then had to drive almost 40 minutes to the next game. After that we rushed home so Trace could take a shower then immediately left to get him to a birthday party. Then it was back to pick him up and go to a special event down at Fort Vancouver. We didn't get home for the night until about 7:30! Next week will be the best since both games are at the same time at the same field! Whoo-hoo...

7 on the 7th!

We had Caden's little family party yesterday. (I decided that when our kids start school they no longer get big family parties, just little ones with grandparents and anyone else who chooses to come. Otherwise it just felt like we were seeking gifts from people that we only see a couple times a year.) Ok, off my soapbox...

Trace spent Saturday night with Nana and Papa and the rest of us went to church so that Caden could just lay around on his birthday morning. It turned out to be a great choice he really enjoyed his 'alone' time.

A little reflexion on the past seven years... (feel free to skip)

Caden was born on a Friday morning, two weeks early. I'll never forget the scowel on his little face as the docter lifted him up for us to see for the first time. His babyhood was not an easy one for me. A pretty fussy baby who was stingy with the smiles unless he was in a really good mood. Toddlerhood wasn't an improvement. He had speech difficulties on top of sensory issues on top of a very opinioated personality! When I recently looked back at his original diagnosis I couldn't believe how far he has come! Speech therapy made him totally understandable within a few months of starting which in turn decreased the tantrums a bit. Therapy for his sensory issues helped him a little but helped me even more know how to respond and react to him. Time, I think, has been the biggest help. And maturity. I still have to cut the tags out of shirts, and toss a perfectly good pair of shoes - because "they hurt!" But I no longer have to carry him everywhere because of weakness in his muscles (low tone). Now he can run up and down a soccer field! There are other patterns and issues that we have either managed to work through to an understanding, or are still working on but he has made such huge progress!

While Caden and I seem to butt heads a lot there is also an extremely sensitive side to him. He is always asking me to play with him or sit with him on the couch. Bedtime is our special time together to talk about anything he wants and he loves that. He can be an awsome brother to both of his siblings (when he wants), often thinking of them when he is getting something special. As our little comedian he can get us all laughing over the oddest things. And he never tires of helping his papa out in the yard. It has been seven crazy years and so many things have changed in his short life! I hope the next seven bring more growth and joy together. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CADEN!

A momentous day...

Most of you will not appreciate the significance of these pictures so let me explain. We discovered when we moved last February that all four of the corner brackets that hold our bed together had cracked. The bed is almost ten years old so I guess things happen. So we put the mattress on the floor, made it, and that's where it has remained! Until Monday. Exactly 7 months later and we finally got the new brackets and put the bed together! I can't tell you how happy I am to no longer be sleeping on the floor!

p.s. Paige is so thrilled to have her Daddy home that she has pretty much attached herself to him and follows him everywhere!

Back to school

The boys are back in school and so far so good. Caden is doing pretty well with the full day but has said he gets a little homesick a couple times during the day. I can't belive how accurate his therapist was when she said he'd hold everything in at school then come home and fall apart! That is exactly what he does and a few weeks ago was actually able to verbalize that to me for the first time. It should be an interesting year. Trace is happy to be back with friends and seems to really like his teacher. This is his first year with a male teacher and I hope it is a good experience for him.
Soccer started again last week also. We have missed it since there was no spring league this year. Trace got on a team with a lot of kids from school so he is thrilled. I had to laugh during his first practice though. Those coaches are serious! They ran those boys for almost a solid hour and a half. They aren't able to sit during water breaks either - makes them too relaxed I guess. I love it and Trace really needs it! Caden has a pretty good coach too and knows at least one other boy on his team. They both are in awe that there are no girls on the team - they played co-ed in Illinois for the past two years. The only downside to the whole thing is the schedule. They get off the bus at about 3:30 and Caden is supposed to be at practice at 3:50. He is done at 4:40 and Trace doesn't have to be back until 5:30 and picked up at 7:00. It makes Tuesday and Thursday pretty long days!

Summer's final farewell...

Labor Day weekend I took the kids down to the beach for our last camping trip of the year. We mainly went so that on Saturday we could go to see the cival war re-enactment. My parents met me part way there and took the boys on to their motorhome for the night. So Paige and I had a night alone in our trailer. I can say two things about that, it was very quiet and very clean! It was also very strange. The next morning we met at the fort to spend the day. The boys loved pretty much everything about it. Caden, our little war hero, thought he'd died and gone to heaven. He is convinced that Rick needs to get a uniform so we can all do that every year! I'm not so sure the rest of us want to dress in period clothing and live like pioneers for a weekend though! Papa bought each of the boys a rifle and union hat and after that they took off to join a band of boys they had seen running around the park. They spent the rest of the day running around with about 20-30 other little boys who all had a gun of some sort. Half of the time we had no idea where they were, but they had, as Caden put it, the best day EVER! We later found out that they were in the "Indian" camp, on the battery (from WWII), and down by the river(yes, that would be the mouth of the COLUMBIA river - holy cow, maybe it's better we didn't know where they were). Once we were back at the trailer I got it cleaned up and out and ready to store for the winter and on Sunday we bid it farewell and went home to see Rick.

OUCH!

I was in the kitchen when I heard the screams. Not your typical scream, but the only-mom-knows-something-is-seriously-wrong kind. Then next thing I know Caden is dripping blood across my kitchen floor and crying hysterically with his hand over his mouth. I managed to get a little look and saw two tooth-sized gashes on the inside that were bleeding so fast I could barely see them. My heart was racing and I was trying to stay calm and figure out what to do. So I called mom. My brother has had his share of split lips so I figured she could help me analyze the situation. In the meantime I got the battered and bloodied Caden onto the couch with washrag and ice so I could evaluate the rest of his body. One badly scraped and bleeding knee, a long scratch on the other leg, a bruised and scratched belly and, we later discovered, one missing tooth (that was contributing substantially to the bleeding). Fortunately Trace was able to find the tooth (which had already been loose) in the street. Unfortunately when it tore out it also managed to tear the gum in two spots all the way up (ouch!). After a call to the doctor we determined stitches wouldn't be necessary and a visit to the dentist checked out ok too.

Now for those of you who know me well, you will remember that I don't do well with medical situations involving myself or someone I care about. I break out in a cold sweat, get nauseous, shaky and just have to sit and take deep breaths. It isn't pretty. Especially since it usually happens during a rather inconvenient time (like when my child is bleeding to death!). Well, thank goodness my parents were able to come right over and as soon as he was comfortable with Nana I got in the shower and tried to get myself back under control! What a nightmare. Just typing this makes me feel queasy again! I'm pretty pathetic, I know.

Update:

Thanks to Darlene I realized that I never mentioned HOW this happened! We live in a neighborhood with a few hills, including our street. The boys like to go with the neighbor kids up and around then ride down one hill turn then turn again and go down our hill picking up speed all the time. Then we also have those new fangled curbs that are a big bump and don't slope into the street. (Exactly like the ones in Minooka - for those who are there!) Put two and two together and, well, you get Caden. I guess he tried to turn into our driveway and the way his tire caught just threw him. He is doing much better tonight and spending the night with Grandma. When the motrin wore off he started showing it a little so we drugged him up again. The dentist asked him right away if he was wearing his helmit - YES! We are huge pro-helmit around here - no helmit=no bike.

The Zoo!

Looking at a bunny. Just thought this was a cool picture.
Watching the penguins.

Even though we were all exhausted from over 8 hours of driving the last two days we decided to go ahead and go to the zoo with Rick's cousin and family who are in town just a few days. It was a beautiful day and just perfect for the zoo - not too hot, not too cold. The boys haven't been since they were in pre-school and back then were highly unimpressed. Paige had never been. Well, I am happy to say that all three of them had a great time and really enjoyed the animals. Paige was just fascinated with everything and kept saying, "lemme see, lemme see!" She says her favorite was the bears, specifically the black bear who came right up to the glass and walked back and forth! It was really cool to be less than a foot from a real black bear! When I ask her what her favorite was she says the bears then growls. We were really lucky to get to see a lot of the animals up and moving; the otter, the sea lions, the bears, the penguins all gave us quite a show! It was a fun day and we are happy to be home now to finally put our feet up!

Little cabin in the woods...

Taking a boat ride with Dad and Scott. Notice the little spot in the water just in front of the yellow barrel. That's Trace!
He made it in to the dock from the swimming platform before hypothermia set in!
The kids and I after 'summiting' our mountain! We were a long way up, and I do mean up! Straight up.
I took this about half the way up the rock wall/landslide that we climbed. The picture doesn't do justice to how steep it actually was!

Rick's sister and family in invited us up to their family cabin this past week. The drive up was nothing short of agony with three bickering kids in the back but is was a great chance to visit with Rick's cousin and family who went with us. The lake was absolutely beautiful though. The weather was a bit cool so we didn't do any boating or swimming (most of us), but we did relax, throw lots of rocks in the water, and do a bit of climbing.

New Pictures

I'm having so much fun taking pictures of the kids! Paige is obviously more fun but I was feeling like the boys were being slighted. So this last weekend I took all three camping and took a ton of pictures of the boys. Let's just say one is a bit more photogenic than the other but I eventually got a few good ones of both. I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out and the setting was just perfect! (I also added on the collage I made from Paige's pictures last week).

Our little princess

This outfit was given to Paige when she came home by a friend of mine (thanks Cheri!). I've been wanting to get her picture in it before she out grew it. Today seemed like a good day! I think they came out pretty good.

Take me out to the ball game...

Aunt Chris gets to take family to a Beavers game every year curtesy of her company. This year we were the lucky ones since we had just moved back and hadn't had the chance before. I didn't tell the boys until the day before though. They were soooo excited! We rode MAX which is Portland's above ground subway type system, something we had promised the boys we would do this summer. At the stadium we discovered that our seating area was literally right on the field! We were standing on the same turf as the players! Trace and Caden chose a table right in the corner against the Beaver's dugout. About half way through the game a man came over and slid a ball under the net to Trace. Trace was bouncing around with excitement but Caden, of course, was bummed. So we sent both boys over with instructions to stand there looking at them, acting like you're having fun, and politely asking for a ball. It worked! Caden had his ball too. By the time we got on MAX to head back to the cars everyone was pretty beat. We had a great time and really appreciated Aunt Chris for taking us!

Oh Happy Adoption Day!

Today was a both a big day and nothing big at all!  In order to get Paige an American birth certificate we were required to re-adopt her.  The adoption was legal and recognized by both countries November 13, 2006, but again we had to do this to get a birth certificate.  Had we chosen not to do this we would have had to take her abandonment papers and adoption papers simply to sign her up for school or soccer.  We felt that was a bit too much information for the general public!  So, today was the big day.  2:00 Judge Poyfair's courtroom.  Unfortunately the docket was full today and one family had over 30 people with them and another had 25!  We were packed into this tiny waiting area with at least 75 people and 1/3 of them were probably children!  Talk about noise!  We waited until 3:30 before being called in for our 10 minutes with the judge.  The kids were great under the circumstances and our attorney complimented them for it.  Paige of course was quite a hit and obviously the cutest one there!
Our little girly-girl!  Or as someone waiting in line at the courthouse said, "Miss Hollywood".  Paige arrived for her first (and let's hope only) court date dressed to kill.  She wanted "two ponies" she informed me as we were getting dressed, and insisted on three bracelets (two were the ones Rick chose for her in China so were extra special).  Before we left she gathered her purse complete with cell phone, toy car, toy bottle (you just never know), and sunglasses.  Oh the attitude!
After the proceedings were finished we all headed out to celebrate!  Rick and I were celebrating the fact that we are totally, completely, unquestionably DONE!  We chose to try out the Claim Jumper and were not disappointed - just stuffed!  With us are my parents and sister, Chris (one of Paige's favorites!).  It was a long day, but I am so relieved it is over!

China or bust!

The girls left for China today!  Yesterday the media found out about the cleft bottles they are taking and wanted to talk to them.  Next week they will all be in our local (weekly) paper.  All kinds of excitement!  

We finally made it to a parade!  The boys have such fond memories of going to several each summer.  We never found any in Illinois so it was fun to go back to our old stomping grounds.  It was Paige's first parade and she was mainly excited about the candy.  We also had our newest nephew/cousin , Carson, with us for his first Parade!
Paige and I went to the bank and I asked for three suckers so she could bring one back for each of her brothers.  She ate hers on the way home and shortly after getting home this is how I found her!  Little stinker.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!

I just wanted to let you all know that I so appreciated the gifts toward cleft bottles! I got anywhere from $5-$50 and believe me EVERY dollar made a difference. The total reached $200!! Since one case came to about $156 with tax I was also able to order 2 more boxes of 6 for $19 each + tax. With time running out (the girls leave this friday) I had to pay $14 to expedite shipping (on me!). So we were able to get a total of 84 bottles!! As I mentioned to many of you, each bottle has the potential to save a life so that is 84 precious little lives that will have a chance. I never could have made such an impact without all of you - Thank you!

Lazy days of summer

We are trying to venture out to a new park each week but so far we've only made it twice. This particular trip we wound up at an elementery school because all of the actual parks were too uninteresting for for the boys! It was awfully hot though with no shade so we didn't end up staying too long. In the bottom picture of Paige and Trace I just love the contrast in size! Holy Cow! Trace is about 5 inches shorter than me at the moment. Yes, he does have one sock pulled all the way up and one down - that isn't a new fashion trend he had some bug bites that he kept itching so I told him to pull his sock up to keep from scratching.
As usual, not much else going on! Rick has a really awful schedule this month which is keeping him away the majority of the time. The kids and I are just trying to stay sane together! We are always up for company, or free outings though, so give us a call if you find yourself bored!

The 4th in words - slide show below

We spent last weekend at the beach with family and friends. Rick had taken it off which made it extra special for all of us! On Friday night we went down on the beach to see the show and set off a few of our own. The smoke from fires and fireworks was so think you couldn't see very far at times. The best entertainment (see slide below with same title) though was watching the rednecks get their truck out of the sand. It was an old purple Ford, a bunch of rednecks who'd been partying too long, and two newer Fords. In the end it took both newer trucks and about ten or more people pushing to get the truck unstuck. We sat and laughed the whole time (aren't we nice?). On the fifth after roaming around the little town with their cousins the boys joined us at an open house. We only intended to stay a brief time but it turned into 9-10 hours! More fireworks, lots of happy people and just a good ole time. The "what not to do" picture below is courtesy of RICK. He threw a bunch of spent fireworks and cakes into the roaring bonfire we had going. 'Supposedly' he knew there were a couple of live ones in the bunch but it scared the you-know-what out of the rest of us when they started shooting out of the fire! Sunday was nice so we spent a few hours on the beach. Trace was feeling a little bored and left out so I took him for a walk. On the way back I told him how we used to jump over the waves and it entertained us for hours when we were kids. He gave me that typical 'you really are nuts' look. So I grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the waves. Now, for those who don't know, the idea is to HOP over the little ripples of foam as the come onto the beach. There is generally a bit of splashing and wetness up to the knees. Well, the tide was coming in and I think we had wandered closer to the water but suddenly a wave came at us that couldn't be hopped! We were shrieking and laughing and soaked up to the nether regions! After that it didn't matter anymore. Caden joined us and we spent a good half hour numb in the surf. Trace told me today that he was really surprised how much fun it was because according to him most of my ideas are just weird. Gee thanks!

4th of July Weekend!

Cleft Bottles

I'm looking for a little help. Some teenage cousins are going to Beijing to perofrm in the opening ceremonies for the Olympics. They are willing to transport special cleft bottles to a woman there who is willing to pick them up where the girls are and deliver them to the babies in desperate need. These bottles are not available in China and must be brought in by caring people. Each bottle can literally save a life. Cleft affected babies are three times as likely to be born into an Asian family and without these bottles they have little more than a 10% chance of survival. Most are abandoned because their families can't afford the necessary surgery. Many never grow or gain enough strength to be candidates for surgery due to an inability to form a suction and get nutrition from a bottle. I could go on and on but the bottom line is that I would really like to send a case of these bottles with the girls to Beijing in a few weeks. They cost $17 for 6 bottles or $144 for a case of 72. Really, such a little thing and really not that much money but it would literally save lives. I am looking for anyone who might be willing to donate a couple of dollars. I plan to pitch in what I can but on our present income that isn't much. Even if I could just raise $100 it would so awsome! Please won't you consider it? You can leave me your e-mail address if you want me to send you my address or if you already know it and want to send something please feel free. Seriously, I'm not looking for more than maybe $5 from any one individual ever dollar will help! I do have to get on this quickly though in order to get the bottles here and to the girls before they leave at the end of the month. Thank you!

A couple of pictures...

Our new short-haired girl! I still swing between liking it and feeling sick. I cut it myself for a couple of reasons. 1) It is so fine I couldn't do anything with it anyway (pony tails always slid out of the holders) and 2) I wanted to eventually even the sides up with the back so it could all grow the same length. Now seemed like as good a time as any, especially with the heat of summer!
Trying to stay cool in Aunt Karen's pool. This was our first swim of the year and the kids were so excited! Paige is doing MUCH better than last year and really seems to be liking the water.

Caden wacking the pinata!

We went to the HOLT family picnic today in Portland. It was probably the hottest day of the year and must have reached 100 degrees! Holy cow were we hot. We ate a picnic lunch and the kids had fun on the huge playground for a while. Then they did two pinatas which of course the kids loved! The second one was a unicorn and after the second kid the rope broke off so they tied a noose around it's neck only to have the whole head fall off next! It was hilarious but thankfully Trace was finally able to put it out of its misery! Unless I get to know some people in the area that are with HOLT I don't think we'll be going again next year. It wasn't all that fun not knowing anyone. On our way home we stopped off at Aunt Chris's place to go for a quick swim. It felt sooooo good to get cooled off. The boys tired themselves out and Paige used me for an underwater jungle gym. Seems like we are having a contentedly busy summer - not chaotic just busy.

Life (just venting not whining)

It is starting to look like monthly or maybe bi-monthly updates are all I'll ever get around to! There honestly isn't much going on though. I am still trying to adjust to our new life. There are days when I just really wish we were back in Chicago. I miss the neighbors, the kids playmates, having Rick home in the evening, and just - our life. So I try to remind myself that the neighbors really weren't around all that much, the boys got tired of always having to play with someone else, Rick was generally crabby because he hated his job, and I desperately missed having family around! Life is never perfect and for now it is what it is. Rick is much happier which in turn makes the rest of us happier - or should. It is just incredibly hard to not be able to run to the grocery store for one quick item without hauling three kids, or to never manage to get the dishes done because I am barely able to get dinner picked up before it is time to get kids into bed. By the time I get everyone in bed and actually asleep it is at least nine - and I start by SEVEN! So then I stay up to have two hours of my own then am too tired to get up before 8:30 in the morning by which point the boys are fighting and Paige is whining (and justifiably since she is hungry and her brothers won't feed her!). Whew, that was one long run on! Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is that I probably expected too much of this move but generally I'm 99% happy we made it. A lot of the stresses from Chicago are gone which helps tremendously and if I can just get my kids to get along life will be all rosy! I ran into a mom at the library yesterday and when I asked how her summer was going she said, "oh, it been just w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l! We are having so much fun. How about you?" Uh-well, the boys are fighting constantly, I feel like all I do is yell and they don't listen anyway, I'm on overload, and oh-yeah, how many more days until school starts? Actually I just said, "well, it's going." What's wrong with me how come we aren't just having a w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l summer?

I know, it's been a while!

The end of the school year is always so much fun. Teacher gifts to figure out, classroom parties, field day, 1/2 days... You get the idea! Caden's last 1/2 day is tomorrow and Trace is done on the 17th so we are almost there. Then I of course decided to throw in a trip to the beach with all three kids by myself! We packed that little Hyundai until we couldn't fit anything else in then hooked the bikes on the back and took off. It was supposed to be a beautiful weekend but true to the Long Beach Peninsula a cloud bank decided to sit there all weekend except for a couple hours late Saturday. It wasn't miserable by any means just not the 70+ degrees everyone else was having back home. Oh-well we had a good time anyway. It only took me about an hour and a half to get the fire going (and a whole bag of fire starters). It turns out that old, dry wood burns better than new wet stuff. Um, yeah I knew that at one time long before my mommy brain took over and made me look completely incompetent! Apparently I did a good job after that though because we got a really HOT fire going. The boys, of course being boys, were having lots of fun 'helping' me keep the fire going. About 8:30 we decided to drive down to watch the sunset, which was beautiful until the last ten minutes when the clouds blocked everything out. While we were sitting there waiting Caden asked me to look at his hair and tell him what was in it because it felt sticky "or something". I took one look and immediately started laughing - he had somehow managed to scorch the top of his head! Trace and I were laughing but Mr. Style was so embarrassed that he was crying. I took a couple of pictures (against his will) which he grudgingly smiled for. I'm still getting a chuckle out of that one. We spent over 4 hours on the beach Saturday hunkered down in the dunes to avoid the wind and the kids had so much fun. They dug until they couldn't dig any more and we all got a little sun on our cheeks. Well, on Sunday when we finally made it home we couldn't find Tigger who normally greets us at the door. I had my suspicions which were prooved correct shortly when we found him crying in the backyard. That darned cat thinks he should be an outdoor cat despite the fact that he has had no shots and has no coller. So now do we make him and indoor/outdoor cat? Or keep fighting an endless battle? So in short we couldn't start a fire, Caden nearly burned the hair off his head, and we left the cat out with no food or water for two days - but it was a great weekend!

Paige Singing Veggie Tales

"Hi Daddy!"

Paige just wanted to say "hi" to Daddy from her new slide. If it would quit raining and let the sun come out I'm sure she would be on it continuously! The only problem she has is with the "spiders" which can barely be seen but for some reason seem to freak her out - oh puuleees!