Our Three K Kids

Almost Christmas!

2011-12-23T06:30:00.000-08:00

Since the last posting we had three Christmas programs to attend.
Boyd sprained his ankle, and I slipped a disk in my back. And, Mojo was hit by a car... There are my three so the bad luck can just stop now.

Boyd's ankle has healed and I was healing during the past week. Almost back to normal today. Mojo has his stitches out from the plate they surgically used to fix his broken leg and on his way to recovery.

The kids are out of school for Christams break and I took time off for the first time ever before and after Christmas. I am so glad I did.

Finally got my Christmas letters printed and today, although late, I will be getting my Christmas cards ready to go out.

Kali IS GOING TO CHINA!!!! She is so excited. And even better news is that her friend Meg is going too! A trip of a lifetime for her. Then maybe in teh future she can go and help at orphanages on mission trips. This trip is a little more expensive then some. I'm ok with that because, she will finally get to see all the things that she missed when our flights were messed up years ago when we went to get Kaci. And she will be able to experience so much more! We have enough or close to enough for our next payment towards the trip. Now to start in again on the fund raising. If you would like to help Kali in her fund raising for this trip, send me a comment with your email and I can let you know how to get in contact. Some things she is doing is a Pampered Chef online party, just order on line and she gets the profits. Also a Scentsy online sale where she gets 20% of the profits!
Here are the webpages:

Scentsy: www.brianlewis.scentsy.us look for the ongoing parties and select Kali's fundraiser. ORders are shipped directly to you!
Pampered Chef: http://www.pamperedchef.biz/tracystewart?page=host-search-results&showId=3448794

This will take you directly to Kali's party. Or just go to tracystewart and type in Kali's name in the search to take you there.

Another option is save your aluminum cans and if you live close we can pick them up and cash them in ourselves. If you don't cash them in, send me a comment with your email and I will not publish the comment, but instead email you with our address where you can send your donation. Or if you just want to donate you can do that too! Either through the chipin that is on this blog or comment with your eamil address, I will email you our address and delete the comment instead of publishing it. And not to worry, we are paying at least half of the trip or more out of our own pockets. IT would be easier if Mojo's surgery had not cost us $1300. yikes! But he is worth it.

Anyway, enjoy some pictures that we did take:

I hope you enjoyed the pictures! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

72 hours ...

2011-12-04T14:46:00.000-08:00

We will know for sure that Kali will be going to China in June 2012 in just 72 hours. She attended a group interview with 11 other delegate candidates today and got along well with all of them! She has grown up so much! So here we go! We have started fundraising as if she was selected. Any amount we make that is above and beyond the amount Kali needs for this trip will be donated to our local food bank and to Love Without Boundries.

There are a couple things we are working on besides the Chipin account.
One is a Scentsy Fundraiser. You can go to this website (www.brianlewis.scentsy.us) scroll open parties and select Kalis Fundraiser. Order online and the order will be shipped to your home address or the address you designate.

If you are local or within an easy drive we are also collecting aluminum cans to turn in.

Any assistance will be helpful and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for helping meet this goal of returning to China!

Leave a comment if you have cans to be picked up or better yet, if you are far away turn them in for cash and then just send Kali a check. You can private message me on facebook or at my email address s.bringolf@att.net

Thank you!!!!

Chipin To help Kali go to China in June 2012!

2011-11-27T14:09:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving and a lot more!

2011-11-27T13:45:00.000-08:00

This year we went to my brother Pat's house for Thanksgiving. We had a lot of fun and loved getting caught up. Too bad we could only stay a few hours. Then Friday following Thanksgiving, we had a big meal at home. We are still recovering from the carbohydrate overload of the past 3 days.

The kids are healthy, the animals are all doing well with the exception of Mia. Her leg is messed up and she will need to see the vet. If it isn't one of the kids, it is one of the dogs or cats needing medical attention.

Earlier this month I took Kali to an orientation for People to People Ambassadors. She has applied and interviews next week to go to China!!!!!   She is so excited! I am excited for her! We are in the process of funds raising and saving to hopefully have enough money come June 2012 for her to go.

Right before her 16th birthday she will be returning the the country of her birth as a Student Ambassador for the US.    We are saving aluminum cans and cashing those in. She is also working on coming up with other fundraising ideas. Two friends have offered to have Scentsy parties and giving her a percentage. Her interview is a week from today. I don't seem to think there will be any reason why she shouldn't do wonderful at the interview.

If you would like to help in anyway, have a fundraiser, make a donation, save your cans and donate what you earn from them... let us know by email for commenting on this blog. This is a chance of a lifetime for Kali.

I am going to try to get a Chipin working to put on this blog. Just need to figure it out.

Thank you in advance for any assistance anyone would like to give.

November is here already!

2011-11-04T05:31:00.000-07:00

Time is flying by! Kaci turned twelve! Kali is driving! Kole is playing on a competitive basketball league! November is the month when we sent our paperwork in for each kid years apart! Thanksgiving is on the horizon with Christmas right on it's shirt tails.

Parent teacher conferences are done. The kids are amazing! Academically I will never have to worry. They try their best and do well. They are all honor roll kids.

Kali has been struggling to get straight A's this year, but she also has a very challenging course load. Biology II (junior class), Chemistry (Junior Class), Geometry, World History, English, Band, Spanish II. I am sure there is one more in there. She is also involved in Swim Team, Leadership, and she is the Class treasurer. She is a sophmore.

Kaci continues getting wonderful grades. She also participates in Band and Basketball. Basketball is winding down, then on to volleyball. She is trying out sports this year and will decide her favorite over the summer.

Kole is reading at a 4th grade level as a 3rd grader. He is being moved to a more challenging reading curriculum at school a couple days a week to challenge him. He finished up football on a good note and then moved on to basketball. This was his first year on Honor Roll.

We also acquired a new cat. Smokey (I was going to name him Maurice, but no one liked that name).

The dogs are doing well and love Smokey. Tink is starting to accept him in the house.

Picutres: Bonfire, Kaci's basketball team, JAsmin's cross country team, Reiko and Smokey,
KAli, Ally and Kole at bonfire, Kaci after the cake fight, last two are Kole at football.

I should be ashamed...

2011-09-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

Making you wait for updates on this blog! LOL

Well, it has been a crazy since my last post. Jasmin has joined our family and started school. She is participating in Cross Country. Kali is on swim team, Leadership committee, and who knows what else.
Kaci is participating in basketball this year. Kole is finishing up football and starts basketball this week.

Homecoming has come and gone. Everyday is a busy day here. We went camping as a family for the first time. Thank goodness we had Jasmin with us! She knows how to do stuff in the camper that we were renting. Below are a bunch of photos from when school started on.

I hope all the pictures make up for the lack of content!

K Kids plus J and more

2011-08-12T08:07:00.000-07:00

The summer is almost over. The past week I have been on vacation. It has been so nice to be home and get some things done and to just sit and do NOTHING! I am really enjoying it and think that one week just hasn't been enough! LOL

This past week we agreed to host a semester student from Germany. Her name is Jasmin. She will be joining us on Tuesday. We are really looking forward to this! Our house is getting smaller! Jasmin likes pets, which is good around here. I hope she will like staying with us. This is the first time we have hosted from Germany. We have had Taiwan, Brazil, China, and Japan.

Back to the family here. Kaci went with a friend on vacation the past 10 days. She really enjoyed herself. Especially the Taylor Swift concert! 3rd row from the stage and her two friends with her were able to touch Taylor's hand! Talk about your squeeling happy tears girls! Kaci was within one foot of Taylor Swift. These girls were star struck. What a wonderful experience. However, Kaci says she will stay home next year. LOL

We just kind of hung out at home this past week. Tomorrow I believe we are going to the Zoo unless it is raining. Then we will think of something else to do.

I would like to get up to Knoxville to see my grandmother. I have had time to go, except for the constant running of kids to doctor appts and team practices. Band started again also. It has been just one wild and crazy time!

It seems there is always something going on.

I started taking a class a church for Stephen Ministries training. I am really enjoying it. It will be even better next week when my friends are back from China and can attend class too!

I will try to get some pictures on here soon! Wish us luck with our new family member for 5 months.

Summer crazy is over...... or is it?

2011-07-30T14:20:00.000-07:00

I just noticed it has been since June that I updated our blog. Well, you see.... The girls have kept me very busy with swim team, sleep overs, shopping adventures, trips to grandma's house with three boston terrors to celebrate Kali's 15th birthday! That is right my sweet Kali is 15! This means, more responsibility, driver's permit and a sophmore in High School! I think back to when I was a sophmore, so much has changed since then. We wandered around the city with no worries, basically had fun and did the cooking, cleaning, laundry etc. hmm I think I am still doing all that stuff!

We had a lovely time visiting with family and friends at my mom's place. Then the next weekend we had a cookout. Which turned into an indoor Wii Fest! I should have taken pics. We had a couple families show up and had some friends over to eat, and chat and just plain have fun! The pool felt like it was 100 degrees.. It did turn my skin bright pink from the heat!

Swim team is over. The girls had a great season and went to conference. No medals, but they placed in the top ten of each event they participated in with the exception of one and it was a twelth place. But you need to understand there were 300 kids and 169 heats total!

No sooner did swim team end, then band marching band practices started and so did football for Kole! School swim team will be starting and volleyball for Kaci, if she still decides she wants to do that. Music lessons continue.

Starting next week I will be attending training through December for our church's Stephen Ministries. I know, when am I ever going to have time. Well, Wednesday nights are my time for this training. Most kids activities are not on Wednesday nights. I will try. If I can't make it, I can't.. I know I need to at least try.

August 3, I register the kids for school. First day at school will be August 19! I can't believe the summer is almost over!

Advocating for a special little girl and special boy

2011-06-16T17:03:00.000-07:00

A wonderful friend who I might through adoption has a blog that features a beautiful 3 year old girl who desperately needs a family who can help her with her special needs soon. Please take a look at my friends blog at:

http://piecesoflifespuzzle.blogspot.com/

OR if you would prefer a boy from the Philippines take a look at our blog for John

http://www.janjansjourney.blogspot.com/

June is half over! How did that happen!!!!

2011-06-16T16:59:00.000-07:00

Now there is too much to catch up on. Since my last post I have had a birthday and school has let out and summer swim team has started. Music lessons have increased and sport camps have started.

Whew! When do I have time to work! All I wanted for my birthday was dinner at The Cracker Barrel. I got it! Following the girls' music recital which was awesome!

All the kids did fantastic in the report card area. School was done on June 1. Then there was a parade to do in Athens, very short for memorial day. That too was something I attended on my birthday.

Since then, Kole has attended a basketball camp, which he loved! A new sport for him. The girls started taking piano along with their band instruments. Kole is still plugging along with violin and has his first recital next Saturday!

The girls survived their first swim meet and and Kole is registered for football camp and also for the late summer football season.   Kali will be turning 15 next month! WOW The time is flying!

Boyd and I are still both working. Boyd had a scare with his health this past month. Part of the reason I am so slow in getting updated. He has had some trouble with the medications his doctor has had him on causing some liver and kidney protest. Then to add insult to injury, he has a bad tooth.

Hopefully by the end of the month he will be on the mend for good.

I have been attending Weight Watchers religiously and keep gaining and losing the same 5 pounds over and over. Hmm Maybe stress is playing a HUGE part.

We still have all the dogs, cat, fish and bunny. All are in good health and thriving.

Kole has been testing the rules and testing to see if Boyd is really going to stand behind my summer rules of no computer, video games, or TV until after breakfast, teeth brushed, chores done and instruments practiced for 30 minutes.    Yes, I am a really mean mom.

I have been advocating for children needing homes. We have a lead on a possible family for John, the boy from the Philippines that we hosted and I just fell in love with.   But just can't adopt him due to family issues and money... I know, sad when I think about money needed to have another child.

I have become a great- aunt again to a beautiful little girl named Jasmine Nicole. Trey is a big brother!

Well, that is all for now. I have no idea what pictures I would have to share, but I will look.
First we have Doodlebug getting to know Daisy, Then Daisy on her house, then Kaci, Kole with Mia, and Jasmine Nicole. Of course the ones I have of Kali are on the iPhone that I gave her so she probably deleted them all by now.

May is Chugging along full steam ahead!

2011-05-15T06:37:00.000-07:00

Next thing I know we are halfway through May! It is so true that time goes by faster the older you get. Kaci went to IGSMA state solo and ensemble contest earlier this month. She received a 2nd division on her solo. I believe she was a bit flustered going so early after arriving at the site. The duet and quartet she was in received 1st division. I am so proud of her and all the kids that made it!
That same day the girls and I enjoyed a day going to O'Fallen to shop and then to Fairveiw Heights for shopping at St. Claire Square adn the St. Clarie mall. It really isn't that far away that a day trip would be possible in the future. The girls were in Mall heaven! And of course we had to visit Barnes and Noble. I love bookstores and libraries. They have always been my favorite places.

Mother's day followed very quickly and the I had an hour and a half with the toddlers at our church, then home to pick up kids to attend Church. Well, they were all in bed still, so I went alone. Kole gave me a booklet called I love you that he wrote all the reasons he loves me. My favorite was he loves me because I adopted him and bought him new clothes. :'-) This made we tear up especially following the weekend that he stated he hated it here.   He also made me a beaded bracelet which I really like! Kaci made me a colorful firendship bracelet and Kali rounded up money and sent me for my second manicure ever. Which, I was impatient and left too early. So, my nail polish ended up ruined. I went to Ulta and purchased some of the polish and redid them myself. LOL    The kids also gave me 1 hour of peice and quiet on the deck to read my book.   Then they came out and we were being silly. As I was sitting on the deck bending way over to the left, unbeknownst to me, a wasp had landed so when I sat up, it stung me in my behind! THAT STINKIN BURNS!!!! We now know I am not allergic to wasp stings. whew!

After Mother's day I received my NEW refrigerator and it is wonderful! I love it! A black side by side 25 Cu. Ft. with crushed ice, ice, and water! Very nice indeed!

Kali had her last spring concert of the year. I let Kole and Kaci stay home, good thing I did since we did not get home until 9:30! Kaci made sure they were in bed by 8:30 and when they went for a bike ride, she texted me and then texted when they arrived home.

This weekend the whole family was going to walk in a 3K, but it rained, so I made the decision to walk 3K on the treadmill. And I did it! Took me just over 45 minutes, but it was a task I had been working towards!

Kali begins practice for clarinet choir today and recital for her and Kaci is on my birthday later this month!

Kaci's last spring concert is this Tuesday.

We finally laid the flooring for the hallway and that is almost back to normal! Just some final trim to replace. Then, mop and put things back. The only room that will require new flooring is our bedroom. ugh. I do not look forward to that! too much stuff in there to remove to do it! We would have to take up the old and put down the new all in one day! A nice day to boot, since all our funiture would be on the deck! LOL

Kole has done amazing at school this year! He has learned to love to read. He loves the Diary of a Wimpy kid books. I am sure this will lead him to more books. Kole is also participating in a basketball camp next week and an art camp the first week in June! He is so excited! I think his nitch is sports and art. He does ok on violin and really does not enjoy it, but I keep him plugging along at it.

Only 10 days and 1 hour of school left for this school year!

I have been horrible with pictures this year!

Oh and I almost forgot! Reiko brought us a little day old bunny the weekend before Easter. Kali couldn't just send it back out in the cold since we could not find the nest, so she decided to bottle feed it. We received a concoction from the vet and began feeding this little bunny with it's eyes closed still. Kali named him Easter. We scoped out a release site on our way to visit grandma. But to Kali's dismay the trip up was too much for him and he died.
Uncle Pat, Tyler, David and Mo helped bury Easter at grandma's house.
On our way home from grandma's, what do I do, but get her a bunny.... ha! like we needed another pet in the house.   She is doing fantastic taking care of Daisy the black and white Dutch bunny.

Hopefully later I can upload some pictures!

Where did April go?

2011-04-30T18:40:00.000-07:00

Wow that was fast! The kids have only one month of school left! It is so hard to believe that this school year is almost over!

We have a couple new school pictures. They are nice. I haven't scanned them in yet. I will someday soon.
Kaci has state music competition this weekend then a Spring concert in mid May. Kali and Kaci both have Recital on May 30th! what a wonderful birthday present for me!

Kole is still at the violin, but doesn't try as hard as he could. He practices when he REALLY wants to play on the computer or play video games. If he doesn't practice he can't play electonic games.

We had a beautiful Saturday today for our last day of April. Planted a lot of pretty flowers.

This month, Reiko brought us a day old baby bunny. She did what she could to keep it alive until we could find the nest to return it to the wild, but alas, the poor bunny died. He, named Easter, lived 4 days being bottle fed. There was a burial at my mom's house by the bamboo patch. Then the next day on the way home, we stopped and got a bunny who is now named Daisy. She matches the silly boston terrors in color.

April was very rainy and busy... May will be just as busy. Then June starts Swim Team through July... Then in August School! Kali will be a sophmore, Kaci a 6th grader and Kole in 3rd grade.
This is Kaci's last year in the intermediate school and Kole's last year in the Elementary school....

Enjoy some pictures taken today!
Check out the black petunia in the first picture

Tree frog!

Daisy and Doodle bug

Daisy the dutch bunny

March a month for celebration

2011-03-27T14:27:00.000-07:00

I posted this note on facebook, and thought I would share it here with family and friends.

We have had so much to celebrate in March! Spring! yay and with it came along Xi Chun Xin (West New Spring)

Yes, Kole. Kole came to us in the spring and moved to the west from the east. He was born new in the Spring and he found his new forever family in the Spring. He became a U.S. Citizen in the spring. He started a new life in the Spring.

His name is the perfect fit for him.

Many new beginnings happen in the Spring.

From a scared, frightened, angry little boy who had been ripped from the arms of the only life he knew and understood. How could he have ever known that the love for him in his New home would be never ending? How could he have known that his sisters would love and protect him and torture him with kidding? How could he have known that no matter what he did to make us leave him, that we would stand beside him?

I think he knows that now. As he thrives and grows in the love of his home with his new forever family. He has now lived with us, his family, longer than he lived in China.

Kole still has many more New experiences along the way and every Spring will be remembered for the tornado that hit our lives that has turned into a beautiful Spring day.

Advocating for Children

2011-03-25T18:47:00.000-07:00

This month our family started sponsoring a little girl in an Anhui Cleft Healing Homes with Love without Boundries. You can find a link to their site down the right hand side of my blog here.

Here is a link to sponsor a child for assistance with their fostercare, surgery, healing home, or education.
http://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/education_sponsor_child.cfm

Any donations to this charity is tax deductable take a look and see if maybe your heart is touched like ours was.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KOLE!! MARCH 22

2011-03-25T18:37:00.000-07:00

O.k. so I am late getting this posted. Kole's birthday fell on a Tuesday this year. We took two large cookies to his class for snack. One was frosted to look like a basketball the other had a football on it and the word Touchdown. He was so happy to take in treats.

When I arrived home it was about time to take Kole to violin, so he opened gifts and we had supper. Then we left for lessons, came home and had to wait for Kali to get home from her stuff so we could enjoy cake and ice cream.

Tomorrow Kole is having a couple friends over for a few hours to play video games and go to Dairy Queen.

Here are some pictures from the day.

Still missing this little guy

2011-03-13T07:30:00.000-07:00

Wow! It has been seven months since John went back to the Philippines. I miss him so much still.
I so hope he can find a forever home!

With a new orphan hosting program starting again this summer, it really makes me miss him all the more. I hope that some day we will meet again.

Happy Gotcha Day Kole!!!!

2011-03-12T14:45:00.000-08:00

Five years ago today we met Kole! What a changed little guy he is. He is so happy. We have so much fun with his antics. Tonight to celebrate we are having Chinese Buffet! He has spent the day shooting hoops and hanging out with his dad.

I was in Litchfield all day for solo ensemble contest. Kaci is going to STATE! She received a Division 1 Superior on her solo! yeah!

Will add pictures later!

Here are the pictures I promised!

Kole March 12, 2006

Us with Kole March 14, 2006

Kole February 2011

Kaci waiting for her 5th and final performance

Kaci and her besties

Keeping busy

2011-03-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

This weekend Kali had IHSA solo ensemble contest. She received a Division I for both her solo and a duet played with one of her very good friends. Her confidence was broken a bit with her scales. She stressed so much about it that she drew a blank, but came back to have a beautiful solo.

Kali is also going to try out for the pit orchestra in their school's play of Cinderella.

Next weekend is Kaci's solo and ensemble contest. She is playing a solo, a duet, a trio, and a quartet. She is very busy preparing.

I think we are done with contests after this round, then recital's will be arriving in April.

Kole continues to do very well on violin with very little practice. The practice he is doing is done well. I am amazed at how well he is picking this up. I hope the girls instruments are paid off before we have to purchase a violin for him. LOL

I have been continuing with Weight Watchers. I am down a total of 15 pounds and hope for another 35. Then I will set another goal. I really need to break down below that 200 mark. I know hard to believe I was 110 at marriage and I have doubled my weight. Stress is a really bad thing. So are certain medications.

Boyd has finished painting the girl's bedroom. It is PINK! with Chocolate brown trim and turquoise green curtains. It looks really sharp. And they have a fake crystal chandelier which really brightens the room. Of course Kali's comment now is it looks too little girlish and something is missing. I am sure she will think of it.

Kole's room is all blue. I am sure I posted pics of it on an early blog entry. The closet doors still need to be painted and put back on, but otherwise their rooms are done! Yeah! Now we can get the hall flooring finished.

Boyd has been working Sundays so all the kids have been going to church with me. Kole is the only hold out and he has no choice since he is 8. But this week he should really like children's church. They are going to play with WORMS!!! Should be fun for him. Boyd has also been doing all the changes to the kid's rooms. He sure is handy!

The dogs are all healthy and so is the kitty. There are days I think of letting some go to other homes to make our lives easier... but it is like trying to pick which kid you want to get rid of and that seems to have the answer of none. Tasha is 8 years old and she is such a sweetie. She was housebroken almost immediately this year. Her thing is to get into the trash, so that stays in the garage when she is inside. Mia is 4 years old and she is house broke but she constantly dings you to pet her all the time and she wants the couch. The bostons have finally all caught on to what it is to be house broke and the clean up has begun. Reiko is about 4 years old Mojo is 5 years old and Doodlebug is 1 year old. Then we have the Tinkerbell and she is about 10 years old.

Kali will have driver's ed next school year which starts in August! ahhhh! How scary is that! Hard to believe my baby is grown up soooo much.

I am sure there is so much more, but gotta go get my day started!

I went back and checked and no pics of Kole's room, so here goes.

Their rooms are all still a mess with bewds unmade so I can't show the full room shots yet.

Starting to feel like Spring

2011-02-13T06:31:00.000-08:00

Today is a warm up! Already today it is starting to feel like Spring out and I am getting the Spring Cleaning Bug. Time to start getting rid of stuff that is just sitting around with no purpose! I am loving just seeing the sun!

I have seen several Robins this past few days. I have been seeing them off and on for about 2 weeks now. Hmmm 4 weeks until Spring? The old saying is Spring is six weeks away from the first Robin siting.

The girls are gearing up for Music Federation competition next Sunday afternoon. This is Kaci's first year and Kali's second time. They play scales, a memorized solo with accompaniment and a non-memorized solo with accompaniment. It will be very interesting. Then I think they have a school music solo ensemble coming up in March. Next year Kole will have his first Recital. He better gear up and start practicing.

Midterm grades came in and both girls have straight A's!!! Kali went on a biology club field trip this past Friday. She had a blast! She had a lot of homework to catch up on, but she had fun! They went to Starved Rock State Park. That is starting to look like a great day trip for the family.

Kaci is exchanging a Valentine gift with her first boy this year... EEEKKK!!!! where did my baby go!??!?
Kali and her boyfriend exchanged gifts last night. He got her a Columbia fleece jacket and she got him a large chocolate crunch fish. LOL He is really hard to shop for.

We went to Annie's birthday party yesterday in hopes that Kole would get to see Sierra... LOL We tease him about his future prom date. They were adopted one month apart... He is a year older, I think. WE had fun hanging out with our Washington IL friends. Then went to dinner at Avanti's Italian Restaurant. This will be on our stops in the future.. Just like Harris Pizza in Rock Island and Country Style Ice cream in Moline. LOL

Hopefully the kids will have no more snow days this school year. As it is they will be going to school probably until June 5! oh well, it is good for them. :-)

A Confession in Faith

2011-02-08T05:10:00.000-08:00

This blog is about our kids and our family... so this is something that I truly felt needed to be posted. These are the thoughts that occured to me during church on Sunday and I had to put them in writing.

I had a very eye opening event in my life recently that I wanted to share, but first some background.

I have never considered myself to be a Christian.

Back in the early 90's Boyd and I wanted to start a family... but lo and behold, I could not seem to be able to conceive. Some would say I was baron due to scar tissue build up over years of endometriosis. At that time it was lie threatening to have the surgery to remove the scar tissue completely and still conceive. We went for the injection route to stop the cycle of endometriosis and I never had a cycle afterwards...

Well, as luck would have it, we were both open to adoption as a means of having a family... We chose China after many hours of pros and cons and talking about our fears in each area of where we would adopt from. I know many today even say we should have adopted from the U.S. But we didn't. We added Kali in 1997 to our family. We could not have been happier! She was and still is our daughter from the day we saw her picture. A couple years later we met a family waiting to adopt from China. We became friends and when their daughter came home, we happily enjoyed their company and their baby girl so much, we decided to try again from China. That way Kali would have a sibling experiencing what she does. So in 2000 we added Kaci. She was a Baby.. we had actually asked for a toddler... but from the moment we received the call we knew she was ours. And we were done. We had a complete family.

A few years later we discussed an older child adoption. Surprising ourselves that we would even think of such a thing. And a special needs adoption at that. Well, by then I was starting to pray because this was the first one we were questioning ourselves from beginning to end and even after we met Kole for the first time. We struggled and I knew that God had sent us to bring this boy home.

Notice anything unusual? I mentioned God. That's right. In those previous years, and previous adoptions not once did I think God was in that picture. Our own selfish wants to be parents turned into being for than a selfish act.

We took in an exchange student that next year. Yes, we are crazy. She was from Taiwan. She fit right in with our family and has made us proud to have her in our lives. We love this girl so much still. We started attending church wtih Vivian since that is something she did back home. It wasn't long afterward that Kali talked to me about being baptised. I could see no need for it at the time and had no idea what was involved and I was really scared of the tytheing part because when I was a kid the church we "had" to attend as kids required it. I was a fraid for my child to commit as I was afraid to commit.

We stopped attending church with Vivian about half way through her stay with us and hadn't been back except occasionally to drop off Kali to a youth group or Sunday school. Vivian had gone home a few months later and we were on the fast track with a lot going on. Always busy all the time, I wanted to add yet another child to our family, but finanaces never allowed.

Fast forward to last summer. WE looked at hosting an orphan but really didn't have the money to do it, so we just held off. Then I asked about it, but they already had all the host families, but if we would like to adopt, there was this boy in China. So we looked at his file and were all ready to adopt him, then another family was accepted to adopt him, so another was offered, and we just didn't connect, then the first became available again, and Boyd just couldn't connect. So we gave up. In July we received a call to host a young boy from the Philippines that the host family could not and he was already set to come over, we said sure! Most of the fees were paid already so we went for it.

He was so adorable and fun! He was 10 years old a little younger than Kaci. He had some English and he loved to attend church. We started to attend church and I was so sure that God had sent him to us that we had almost all the paperwork together to adopt him. Then our kids put in their 2 cents worth. This forced us to really look at the situation. And in the end John went back to the Philippines. With a heavy heart I prayed for this boy that I had come to love unconditionally. I prayed for the kids to have a change of heart because I wanted this boy to be our son so badly... It was not to be. I still pray daily that his forever family would find him.

Since John left, Kali asked me once again about being baptised. I said, well, talk to your youth minister.... well she told me "I know this is where I want to be". My comment at the time was, I don't know yet. It must have been at least 5 months later when I finally said, I will make the appt to speak with the Minister about it. Both girls went with me and I knew what I was doing was what I wanted to do and so did Kali. Kaci, however is still on the fence. Kali and I were both baptised in 2010. I am where I want to be at Athens Christian Church.

Here comes the wake up call.

I have always thought God's plan was for me was to adopt another orphan or to help with orphans in some way, so when I found out about yet another hosting program. I emailed promptly asking to be involved in some way and could we host again. The answer was no. That only families who were truly interested in adopting the child(ren) they were hosting would be accepted. My heart sunk to my toes and it was then that I realized God is telling me that his path is not to help in this way. I went through the greiving yet again of losing John of losing the part of my life that longed for that 4th child. I even went to a meeting about going on a mission trip to Canada or Africa.. That is not the path either. I could tell.

All this time my family discouraged even the thought of another child. And of course being told I shouldn't do this made me want to all the more. Now I realize his plan for meis something more basic. It is to be closer to the children I have and the family I have and give in another way altogether. I am not sure what that is yet, but I am sure it is just around the corner...

I knew today I needed to write this and put it out there for my friends to see. I am a Christian now and I will follow the path outlined to me.

.

BLIZZARD!!!!! SNOWTOPIA!!! SNOWPOCOLYSPE!!!

2011-02-02T16:41:00.000-08:00

We had snow! And a lot of it!!! 11 inches and plus in some areas. Drifts were 3 - 4 ft high! First order of day was making a trail for the little dogs and the others to go out to do their thing... Checked out the back door where the outdoor dogs are usually at and was only able to open the door about 6 - 8 inches. The back deck had the drifts and about 11 inches up to the door.

We spend the day finishing putting flooring down in Kole's room and scooping snow and playing with the kids and dogs.

Enjoy the snowy pics!

Kali, Boyd, Kaci

snowing!

Kole

ahh warm fire

Kole

Doodlebug

Mia

Reiko

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Our county had gone to a Level 3 snow emergency last night. This means that all roads in Menard Co were closed to all traffic except Emergency Vehicles and plows. Finally around 2 pm today we received the all clear for state highways. School is canceled for the 3rd day tomorrow. Today the governor even closed the state except for those services that are required to keep the state running. Pretty bad... Couldn't have come at a better time. I had been sick, Kaci came down with it and now Kole is... Kali is yelling at them all the time to cover... and that she will slap them if they don't. lol

While Boyd and the kids were outside trying to scoop out the driveway this afternoon, a neighbor brought his tractor with his plow attached and cleared out the rest of our driveway for us... an answer to a prayer.

well, gotta go!

Is it Spring Yet? NO!

2011-01-29T13:58:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness, will Spring ever get here!?   So tired of snow and cold...

So far we have been healthy with the exception of my first head cold of the year.

The kids brought home EXCELLANT report cards from school. Kali had all A's and one B. Kaci had her first semester of Straight A's! And Kole, what can we say, he will be following along with his sisters with his excellant grades once he goes to letter grades.    He is one smart cookie. Very bright and talking about wanting to be an Architect. How so totally cool is that!

Had to get the kids new shoes today.   Kole's feet have grown to a size 3. Good to see he is healthy and growing. The girls just had to stop in to Ulta for a makeup fix. They love looking at cosmetics and nail polish. Kali painted her nails to be a French manicure. She has also been practicing her Spanish with us at home. Not that we know much Spanish.

Kaci loves video taping herself and then playing it back, but not for us! LOL She says it is embarrassing. They are like instructional for applying makeup or doing hair. lol

I did see a robin about a week ago and one again today... I hear that means that Spring is 6 weeks away! Oh I hope it is sooner... Or at least a good thaw where the weather can break out of the 30's and below...

We recognized two birthdays this month, My Mom and our wonderful Vivian Kuo..

Happy New Year! 2011 is here!

2011-01-01T13:46:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that a year is gone already. It just seems that the older I get the faster the years go by.   I think we have had a good 2010 with many ups and downs... The kids have really grown not only in stature but emotionally and mentally.

It is so hard to believe that Kali's first year of high school is half over. Three more years of school and she will be graduating!   Kaci has one more year in the intermediate school then she moves to the Junior high!
Kole has another year in the elementary school, then he will move to another school too!

My hopes and wishes for this new year is to make the best of it and fully enjoy life and our kids! We are in the planning stages of a family vacation this year. We are looking at several different places for this family vacation.

Kali celebrated with her girlfriends at a sleep over, Kaci and Kole stayed here with Boyd and I. It was nice to just sit back and relax.

Now a new year begins....

Thanksgiving and Christmas

2010-12-26T11:16:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was a quiet day at home with just our family of 5. We watched movies and filled our gullets with turkey, dressing, potatoes, gravey, green beans, cranberry sauce and pie. We also made sure to call family members and chat about our day. We have been invited to Pat and Patty's next year. Not sure how Smoke would feel about being converged on with three boston terriers and 5 more people! LOL So we will wait and see what happens.

Christmas was VERY nice this year. Pat, Patty and Tyler brought mom down on their "Santa Run" to drop off gifts. We sat around the table and ate Chili and Pat picked on Kaci and Patty and we were all laughing and realizing the all 5 dogs were behaving themselves and not really begging, just watching for something to fall. We opened gifts and I really think we all really enjoyed our time together here in our zoo.

Today, December 26, Doodlebug is 1 year old! Happy Birthday to Doodlebug... It is also the one year anniversary of our dad's passing. I am not sure how the memorial service went or if it did. We were the lost family members not even mentioned in his obituary, so, there we have it.

On to happier things! Kole received most everything on his list including the night vision goggles from Uncle Dana. Those things really work! We were testing them out last night. Kali received all the stuff on her list which was mainly gift cards and lip balm... Kaci received her mp3 player and many other things that she wished for. Me, I got the four things on my list! A hooded scarf, Just Dance for Wii, a housecoat and new slippers! Boyd received an aquarium, neck massager, and bird feeder. We have so much to be thankful for. We are blessed to be able to continue having such wonderful Christmas get togethers and the sharing of gifts. Here I go getting sappy. Of course this year, I just wasn't as prepared as in years past. Didn't wrap gifts until the 23rd and 24th of December. No real plans for a big Christmas dinner. Missed Christmas Eve services due to the weather but all in all it was good.

Enjoy the pictures!

tree decorators

Christmas snow!

presents!

watching Tinkerbell

yeah presents

Doodlebug and Reiko

Christmas Eve

Tasha at home

family over more presents

Mia saying Hi to grandma

Cool presents!

Catching up

2010-11-21T12:03:00.000-08:00

It is almost Thanksgiving! We are so wound up in life that many times I don't get over here to update very often. Since October, Kole has started violin lessons, Kaci will be playing sax with the 6th grade band for the Christmas tour, even though she is a 5th grader. Kali is working on music to compete at Federation, and so is Kaci. Kole is learning his violin parts and how to control the sound and bow. Scholastic Bowl starts tomorrow for Kali as does Pep Band and Jazz Band... so more stuff yet again. It was a nice break. lol

We have been trying to decide how this year will go with the Christmas tree and two dogs that have no clue what one is. lol I think putting up the tree and keeping after the dogs to stay away from it will help. But I dread putting the decorations on with a pup. Reiko was always good about it. Or did I forget.... hmmm I will have to think about that one.

This will be our first Christmas in 3 years that we have not had a foreign exchange student to share it with. We loved sharing the moments of our craziness with Christmas. It usually starts with Kali waking the others to come out and see if Santa has been here at around 2 am, then they all camp out in front of the tree until morning.... Then they come and wake us up way too early, usually around 6 or before! LOL It is going to be VERY interesting this year!

This year for Thanksgiving we are staying home and enjoying a meal here. Boyd has to work that day so it will be interesting when we decide to eat. Early before he goes in to work, or during his hour dinner time later in the evening... That is yet to be decided.

Enjoy the pictures taken of the kids practicing their instruments and some of our four legged friends.

These are the captive audience to all the musical sounds.... LOL

How could I have forgotten!!!

2010-11-02T13:01:00.000-07:00

Kaci turned 11! Yep, that's right 11 years old! It seems like just yesterday her dossier was going off to China. In October the little crud added a year to her age and a hole in each ear. She now has double piercing in each ear. Looks really cute. For her party she invited over 7 + friends, but only seven showed up. She had a bonfire weiner roast. What fun they had. Kali invited her boyfriend over and the house was full of kids. Three of Kaci's friends spent the night and they were giggling and talking until after midnight. They had so much fun! Then that Friday after the party was the Halloween Carnival at the school where I took Kole and Kaci there while Kali was on a ahem ahem cough cough Date! with her boyfriend Sam. They went to the playoff game between Athens and Auburn with his parents. I guess I missed a really good tight game.

Enjoy the Birthday pictures!

Aren't they a bunch of really silly girls!? this last one where they are trying to look mean... LOL They are just soooo scary! LOL

November already!

2010-11-02T07:33:00.000-07:00

Where has the time gone. It is so hard to believe that it is November already! It won't be long until Thanksgiving and Christmas are upon us! So hard to believe... I took a good look at the kids the past couple of days... and think wow... they are growing up at warp speed now. I still remember wondering if Kaci would ever walk and talk.. If Kali would ever grow taller than 4 ft and if Kole would ever learn English. Well, they have accomplished all those and are moving on to bigger better things...
Report cards came home and Kali - straight A's! She works so hard to keep those grades and sometimes she gets so burned out. Kaci had all A's and one B. She too is working very hard to keep her grades up. Her ankle has healed and she is doing great. Kole was my biggest surprise this year. I really didn't think I was ever going to see a V for very good (equivalent to an A) and he brought home his report card and it had all V and S which would be all A's and B's and he is either on target with his grade group or higher... He has come so far in 4.5 years! I am soooo amazed! I announced to all the kids how proud I was of their accomplishments and let them know they should be proud of them too. I guess all of our ranting at them about homework and studying and doing well in school is working.

Halloween has ended and this year was Kali's last year trick or treating... She is going to be 15 next year so it is up to her to decide what she will do next year...
This year Kali was a Bee, Kole was Darth Vader and Kaci was a princess of her own design. Enjoy the pictures. I also made a plate of Brigadiero......

This is for you Wells! LOL updates

2010-10-17T15:56:00.000-07:00

I have been negligent on updating our blog. Busy times since Sept 11, 2010. Since then there has been a lot going on in our household.

Let's start with Kole.   Football season has ended. His team ended the season with 3 losses over all and 5 wins. He is doing well in school and is really getting opinionated. He likes to go outside and throw the football around. He also loves riding the mini bike. He still likes video games the best. Kole has really grown this summer and fall... almost all his jeans are too short.

Kaci has finished up cross country for the season. She hasn't been able to run due to a small tear in a ligament, but she has been to every practice and meet. The girls team went to state competition this year and one boy did. IF her physical therapist had released her, she would have run at state. Now she can concentrate on music. She started playing Alto Sax this year and so far likes it, but as any kid, doesn't like to practice and just thinks it will come naturally.   She is doing very well in school and likes it. She is growing so much it is unbelievable!

Kali has been the busiest of the three. She has been preparing for I.M.E.A auditions for months. She auditioned on October 11 and was one of 4 in the high school band that made it. She has been swimming on swim team and doing well. She has shortened her times and improved her techniques. She loves biology and science. She is in biology club and went on a field trip to clean out wood duck nests for winter.    She continues with music lessons and has a lot more studying now too. She attends all home football games with the marching band and also tries to fit in other fun stuff throughout the week. This weekend she went to the U of I for the marching band competitions and to see the Marching Illini perform. She had a really good time. I think though, the best thing for her so far has been attending Homecoming for the first time.
She had a date, Sam. He is in her grade and they have known each other since they are both in band. His mom and I took them to IHOP(their choice) for their dinner. Then back to the school for the dance. They looked so nice and had a good time.

Boyd and I, well we are being run ragged by the kids and their appointments and extras. But at least we know where they are and they are doing something constructive. We are getting older and just keeping things going. Health wise we are good with exceptions of the normal seasonal stuff.

Today Kali and I were baptized at our local christian church. A decision that Kali has been mulling around since she was 8 yrs old and I have mulled around for a few years. We took that step today.

Enjoy pictures!

Updates Sept 11

2010-09-11T14:57:00.000-07:00

Where was I nine years ago? I was driving to work when I heard of the tragedy of the twin towers. My brother, Dana was in the hospital from a motorcycle accident... My kids were in daycare/school. I remember at work, that no one was at their desks.. they were all in a conference room watching the TV.... I wondered, Why are they watching a movie this time of day? It was that surreal.... We all ended up going home for the day and the next day our building was on Lock down. It has been on lockdown ever since.
10 years ago we were preparing to fly to China to adopt Kaci and 13 years ago we were preparing to leave to go to China to meet Kali... Joy and sorrow to celebrate this month.

The kids have been going gung ho at school and activities.. Keeping me hopping with practices and meets and games and performances. Football games, swim meets, cross country meets and marching band... really can keep you on your toes and living in your vehicle. So much for getting exercise except giving the vehicle gas and putting on the brakes and steering..

They are all doing very well in the individual areas. Drama is back because school is back. Just an evil to try to ignore.

Kids are getting their homework done even with the extras. The house suffers a bit, but it is not gross. LOL

Just everyday life here with our zoo...

Fall Festival weekend!

2010-08-28T11:17:00.000-07:00

First, I know, two updates in one day... what is up with that! LOL

Today Kole was riding a float and throwing candy in the fall festival parade.
Kali was in the marching band in the parade today also.
Kaci, myself, and Drake watched the parade and got candy!
Here are a few pictures!

School year in full swing!

2010-08-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

The 2010 - 2011 school year is in full swing! Kali is our freshman in High school this year, Kaci is in 5th grade and Kole is in 2nd grade. Kali is participating in band, swim team and biology club. She hopes to be scholastic bowl again this year. Kaci is participating in band this year, and cross country running. I would like to see her do speech. It is a wonderful way to build self esteem. Kole is playing football this year. His team won their first game last weekend with a score of 6 - 0.

We have been chugging along getting kids to and from their events and practices as well trying to keep everything here going.

The kids were so excited about their first week of school (not).

New Blog - hosting an orphan

2010-07-25T05:21:00.000-07:00

I started a new blog last night for John's journey here and the happenings while he is here.
The link is in my blog list called Janjans Journey to America.

Follow along if you would like!

Swim conference done

2010-07-25T05:11:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the final swim meet of the season. Conference. Only the top two times of each even participated. Kaci in the 9-10 group had one of the times in 5 events. Kali in the 13-14 group had one event. She had a good year and did her best. The heat was such a killer though.

Not sure of the results completely, but I do know that Kaci was in 8th or better out of 16 in all her events.

Kali's event, one person on the relay team was able to get them disqualified but touching in the wrong spot when she finished. What a disappointment. But as the girls say "there is always next year"!

No pics. I am a bad mom. forgot my camera at home. Too hot to carry it around anyway.

Summer is HOT! and a vistor is coming

2010-07-23T17:38:00.000-07:00

So far July has been HOT! Temps in the 90's with heat index as high as 110!!! The humidity has been nearly unbearable!

Swim conference is tomorrow! The last swim meet of the summer season. Next week Band Camp starts! No rest for Kali.

Kole has been practicing hard for Football season. He is doing very good! I am so proud of him

Then in 12 days we meet John Robinson, a 10 year old boy from the Phillipines. We hope to find him a forever family! Whether it is us or another family. We will see.

After he arrives I will post a picture of him with the kids! We are very excited to have John staying with us for 3 weeks. I know his name doesn't sound like the phillipines, but he is.

We have been through training, fingerprinting, forms, homestudies all sorts of stuff to bring him into our home for this short time.

Happy Birthday to Kali! July 17

2010-07-18T06:10:00.001-07:00

Kali turned 14 this year. Hard to believe... I had heard it is just a blink of an eye and they are grown up. It really seems like it has been just a blink of an eye.. We celebrated by letting Kali have some of her besties over for swimming cake and ice cream... Next year I think it will be swimming and snack foods.

Here are just a few pics from her big day!

The fun just never ends!!!

2010-07-11T06:09:00.000-07:00

Swim team is almost over for the summer.. two more weeks... Football starts in another week and a half.. band camp starts at the end of the month...

Then in August... register for school, high school swim team practice starts, and we will be welcoming an orphan from the Phillipines into our home for 3 weeks in hopes of finding him a forever family. John is 9 or 10 or maybe even 10 or 11. Not really sure. No birthdate was given to him. Anyway.. We received a call last week, on a Saturday morning to find out if we would be willing to get our foster licensing paperwork done ASAP. We took one look at his file and said yes we would host him. So while getting our paperwork done for the licensing we have decided to replace the hallway flooring, finish building a shed, shampoo carpets and try to clean up the driveway. ha ha ha along with the rest of our summer fun! Hopefully after school starts, we can replace the carpet in Kole's room with parquet flooring too. One room at a time.

We have just one step to complete in the licensing process and that is our physicals next week.

Then it is wait and see what happens. I don't see how we could possibly be a risk for this child unless they are afraid of him having way too much fun and things to do. Kole is so excited to have a foster brother. The girls think John is adorable. So maybe, just maybe things went crazy with the China adoption part for just this reason, that someone else was going to need us more.

The best treat of all is that at least two of Boyd's brothers are coming to visit today and help with the shed! I think if he had just asked they would have come sooner! We are all so excited to have them visiting.

How quickly things can change

2010-06-29T16:13:00.000-07:00

First, let me say we have done a lot of praying, discussion and more praying.

We have decided to give up on the adoption of the 12 year old boy. We went for a roller coaster ride with out the thrill and laughter.
First someone had locked in the boy we were going to adopt on the shared list. So we chose a boy on the select list for the agency. Well, we find out he is not just delayed due to circumstances he is mild to moderately mentally challenged. We talked it over and decided that would not be the best course of action for us. Then the first child became available again due to some glitch. So, we looked at him again, but Boyd was already more attached to boy number two. Since we were not adopting boy number two, we decided to hold off completely since Boyd could not feel very connected to boy number one.

The way things stand now. We are not adopting another child after all. Like I said, it was a roller coaster ride. During this I had a root canal done and we continued on in our busy lives.

So there you have it in a nutshell.

Recital

2010-06-27T14:30:00.001-07:00

Kaci performed in her last dance recital this weekend. She has decided to give up dance in favor of school activities.

Here is a link to the dress rehearsal night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqgAnYjFMK4

She did fantastic on recital night where recording is not allowed.

And the outfits were cute too!

A lot can happen in a couple weeks!

2010-06-20T10:54:00.000-07:00

Summer swim team is in full swing. We have swim meets every Saturday and Tuesday through the third week of July. They girls also have practices the other days of the week minus Sunday. We also have clarinet lessons and saxophone lessons once a week. Then there are the projects. Building a shed, which just needs the trusses built and a roof, then the doors and windows. Then there is the never ending battle of keeping the house picked up. Which we are losing now! Kali and I attending church services regularly now. We are enjoying the contemporary service quite a bit. Boyd has been working more hours at the airport and seems to enjoy the job one day and be mad about it the next. Oh well, I think most of us do that.
We mourned with Boyd's brothers and our neices and family at the passing of Brian's wife, Verna. We were able to spend some time with the family but not much.

Then just this past week, we decided to host an orphan from the Phillipines. Raymond. He is 14 years old and really looks and sounds like a great kid! So we called and asked about it. We hit a solid wall. We had only a few short weeks to get a foster/adopt licence and full blown homestudy done to host him in August for three weeks. That was not going to happen... Well then a door opened in that wall and our attention was brought to a boy from China who is going to age out in a year and a half from being adopted. There was already a grant in place and many fees were being waved. wow! A healthy boy... hmmm... so we discussed it and mulled it and prayed for direction not an answer. So I took the initiative and sent in the family information form to see if we even qualifed to do an adoption. I was assuming that our age and weight would throw us both out.

Then Friday I received a phone call. If we were 100% sure we wanted to adopt him, we could. I stuttered a bit and said, I really need to talk to the rest of the family. So after work, I came home and talked to Boyd. We talked to Kole, then off to the pool to talk to the girls. So, the answer is, yes. I called back Michelle to tell her the news. Right away we needed to send in pictures, an application form, money, etc....

So, today, Sunday I finished getting the main beginning stuff together. It goes out in the mail tomorrow. So we are now in the adoption process yet again... This time for a 12 year old boy. A big brother to Kole and Kaci and younger brother for Kali.

Of course all this happens the payweek that I had to shell out over $200 on glasses and over a hundred for an initial payment on a saxophone for Kaci and pay car insurance for me. But where there is a will there is a way. I prayed today and told God that I knew this would all work out if I just let my Type A personality relax and let it happen, just as the referral did.

Tune in again for more on the saga of bringing home our 12 year old son... Name yet to be determined.. probably will let him choose. No pictures yet... Not until after Pre approval and probably more!

End of May

2010-05-30T15:08:00.000-07:00

The end of May has brought about so many changes... Kali graduated from the 8th grade and is now officially a freshman in High School. After the ceremony we shot some pictures and Kali and I headed to IHOP for a celebratory dinner with other families and friends. Kole came with us, but Kaci was tired, so Boyd took her home and missed out.

Now that this ceremony is over on to the last couple days of school then swim team starts. It is going to be a busy summer! Kali really enjoys spending time with her boyfriend, Sam. He is a good kid. He is shy and likes to kind of watch things for a while. He doesn't let too many people know too much about him. He is a private person. Kali is the opposite, in that she likes to be with friends and hang out, but she too will sit back and watch people before she leaps into a relationship of any kind. Both are witty and smart.

Next post I should have more pics of the other two kids.

Oh and I had a birthday along with my older brother (who just so happens to be a half century old!) LOL I wonder if he will see this.....

One more spring picture

2010-05-23T05:49:00.001-07:00

The school year is one week from ending. Kali graduates from 8th grade this year and will be in high school next year! Hard to believe that this is the little girl we held in our lap just 12 years ago.. The time sure has gone fast.

Here is Kali's Spring school picture

And here is a picture of Kali and Kaci(hopped in) and Sam. Sam is Kali's boyfriend.

I know she is too young for this. We thought we would let her try it and see.

The channels of communication are open. It is so endearing to watch her grow up.

We are watching this from both our side and his. He is a gentleman so far.

Spring school pics

2010-05-08T06:51:00.000-07:00

I have two of three of the kids spring school pics back.

Here they are:

Thoroughly Modern Millie, Jr.

2010-04-25T09:32:00.000-07:00

Since just after Christmas break Kali has been attending play practices anywhere from 3 to 6 days a week for 3 hours or more each time. This weekend has been the performances. The group of 4th to 8th graders have been fantastic! I have been so impressed with all the effort they have put into this play. Three of the students had to learn how to say their lines in Chinese. Boy o boy was that a tough one for them. Kudos go to the director for getting tape recordings of the lines from a native speaker as well and letting the kids know they needed to not stereotype their parts. Kali played the part of Lucille, a flapper and a modern. There was a surprise part of her as well. That of Hong Kong Mama. A very important part!

Here are a few pics from the play!

A week since we added Mojo

2010-04-24T13:51:00.000-07:00

We are now the crazy dog people. I know too many pets.. but how could we resist this cute little guy. First is Mojo in his red collar that is now blue, then Mojo and Reiko and the last pic is Mojo and Drake(drake being the smaller). Still trying to get all three in one photo.

Kole's first short story

2010-04-14T04:21:00.000-07:00

This is Kole's first short story written in 1st grade. What an imagination!

Alien Attack

One night I woke up and I saw an alien burning the house. The whole neighborhood was on fire. All I could see was the houses on fire and an alien.
I ran quickly back to my house. I grabbed my two water guns and sprayed the fire but that weas not enough.
Then I got my dad's tools to openthe fire hydrants. I unscrewed every hydrant and water came out and put the fire out.
Then the aliens started to disappear because they didn't like the water. I saved my neighborhood from the alien's attack.

By Kole Bringolf
1st grade

April is almost half over!

2010-04-11T06:53:00.000-07:00

Holy Cow! Where has the time gone! It is moving so fast! Let's see....

We had a wonderful time at the U of I for ICASP (Illinois Chinese Adopted Sibling Program) put on by TASC (Taiwanese American Student Club). The kids love going to see their "Big Sibs". I love going so I can hang out with the other parents and learn about what our children go through being Asian and living in a Caucasion home. I also learn about the positive things that we are alreday doing for our kids and how we can support them later. A extra benefit, the food! oh yeah, very good!

All the kids are growing by leaps and bounds. Kole still has a size 1 foot. But he is getting taller! Kali and Kaci have almost caught up with Boyd and I. They have been on Spring break this week, so they have been home to drive their dad crazy. Boyd started a part time job at the airport. Sounds interesting and something new all the time.

I have been working crazy hard at work. Some days I am so burned out, I am not sure how I make it home, but I do. I have also started back at Weight Watchers trying to loose weight to feel healthier to keep up with these kids! If I am not doling out money, I am driving them somewhere or picking up something for them. Crazy busy. There is only about 7 more weeks of school.

Kali will be in a play in a couple of weeks. We will be glad when that is over... a lot of running to and from the school almost daily.

Kaci will have recital in June. That should be fun to see. I think their theme this year is candy.

Kole is still doing cub scouts and spends way more time in front of the TV and video games than I should let me. Some days it is just easier to ignore it.

Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure:

Happy Birthday Kole (march 22)

2010-03-26T04:24:00.001-07:00

I am really late getting anything in here about Kole's birthday. We celebrated Sunday with cake, Ice Cream and presents. Kole is 8 years old now! Kaci baked the cake and decorated it. She is my little baker.

We then sent cupcakes and napkins to school on Monday for his birthday.

I know not a really big deal and sooner or later we need to start having parties where he invites his friends...

Here are some pics from the day.

Happy Gotcha Day KOLE!!!!!

2010-03-12T16:15:00.000-08:00

Wow. Four years... We have come a long way since that day we met Kole in Kunming...
We started our day with the flight to Kunming then after a quick check in and drop off of luggage we headed to the Civil Affairs office to meet our son. We had no idea what to expect. We arrived at the white building tucked in a residential area and waited for the orphange staff to arrive. When they did, we say a large man step out of a van holding his hand was Kole. He looked scared and unsure. It was funny how both the man and Kole walked in the same manner. Afterward I asked Boyd if he video taped it, and he had forgotten. He and I were both caught up in that moment. Koles face was very ruddy and hair had been shaved. He wore a pair of denim bibbed overalls a flannel shirt and a lined denim jacket. He had batman shoes on. After everyone was settled, they broght Kole to us. We gave him a teddy graham which he ended up crushing in his hand, he was holding it so tight. Boyd showed him the balls in a small play area and they started playing. He was laughing then and playing hard. When it was time to do paperwork and sit with us he was very quiet and not saying much.

Oh I can't forget we were sitting next to another couple from Denmark, I believe and they remember Kole telling their son in Chinese, it's o.k. don'g cry.

So grown up for an almost 4 year old. When the paperwork was done we caught a cab back to the hotel to get to know our son. Our guide Mary, stopped and got us some supper on her way back from the final paperwork. Kole really liked the legos we had broght with us and the little cars. He like the sticker book with bugs that he kept pretending to feed us.

He spoke a lot in Chinese to us. I look back and he was very talkative with the toys etc. The worry started at bedtime.

He would not change into pjs and would not take his shoes off. He woudl not lay down in the bed. I finally had gotten his shoes off, but decided the rest was not a battle to fight. We got him tucked in and tried to tell him to sleep now. Instead.... he punched me. ouch! then he spit on me.... I stuck with him and the first song in English he heard was LIttle bunny foo foo.... and he was the one I popped on the head. lol lightly of course. He finally fell asleep.

The next morning was no better. He decided it would be great fun to pee on Boyd. He tried to escape from the hotel room. He would run from us laughing this evil laugh...

We wondered, What the bleep are we doing? Could we really handle this very energetic boy? Could we take him home and what would this do to our girls? We had a lot of soul searching to do. I left out quite a bit, but to say the least, it was very stressful for us and him.

Our final day in Kunming, we went to the airport and Kole yet again, ran from us. I turned, waved, and said si jian... (good by). And started walking away. Mary was horrified, Boyd was confused... but Kole came back to us.... We flew to Guangzhou where they put us in a room next to a podium lady to catch Kole if he should want to run again. We met other families who had adopted boys Kole's age and they were so thankful that our son was acting out worse then theirs... great.

When we left for Hong kong, Kole yet again was acting out and apparently hurt Mary. She took him for one of the walks she would take him on when he was not being nice and then came back and told us to give him a biscuit (*animal cracker). In the HOng Kong train station standing in line, he would not walk the immigration line so I was holding him with his legs hanging straight down and him pushing against me. People questioned and we told them he was now our son. The comments were "you are very nice family to take such a naughty boy". Then he head butted me. I saw stars.... I kept the tears back and made it through. I nice man behind us told me "you should smack him. I would have slugged him"

omg.... We got to our hotel without any further problems... The next day we flew home.

We had many struggles over the months that followed. The girls had a hard time accepting him for who he is, I did too. I think Boyd even did at some level... Kole had a hard time sharing dad.
Kole's anger continued to rise up and he would physically lash out. We took him adn ourselves to a counselor and it helped Kole the most. He now knows how to handle his anger without lashing out at people with fists and kicks.

I continued counseling for 2 more years... I can say today that I love this boy as my own son and that we do get along very well. We don't have the same bond as I do with the girls, but it is there.
Happy Gotcha day Kole!!!

March is here which means spring is coming soon!

2010-03-06T13:55:00.000-08:00

Another busy two weeks... school activities are keeping us the busiest! Kole loved it at the cub scouts pinewood derby day! His car came in second in the tiger scout division. He also won 6 awards!

Kali has been excelling in scholastic bowl, band, and the play she is in. Her grades sit at straight A's. Kali has junior high ensemble and solo competition next Saturday.

Kaci is working hard at her recital dance at dance class and enjoying school. She loves the spirit week events and does her best. Her recital will be in June.

Boyd has an interview next week for a job. It is nights and weekends but it is a job. Things will work out.

Here are some pics!

It's the guys this time!

crazy month

2010-02-24T03:54:00.000-08:00

February is almost gone and we have been very busy. Kole is getting ready for the Pinewood Derby this weekend. Kali had a solo contest with the National Federation Junior Music Festival and an afternoon and evening out with friends to a movie and a sleep over. Kaci is just trying to follow along..

We have brought home a new puppy. And of course our lives are busy. Boyd had some blood pressure issues that are now under control. He continues to be laid off and is still looking for work where he doesn't have to drive an hour to get there every day. The kids are doing well in school. Kole got his second yellow light of the school year. He was talking and playing instead of listening. This does not surprise me. He has a very good imagination and instead of sitting and watching a TV program, he will stand and watch in case the urge strikes him to play sword with the invisible people. He might even have to get a flying kick or cartwheel in there.

Kali got a Superior from her contest on Sunday! That is like getting a first division in IMEA.

Me, I have eaten way too many of my mom's cookies that she sent down. They are awesome! The one tin is nearly empty... the M&M cookies...

Drake is our new puppy. He is very smart and sometimes we think he is just too darn smart for his own good. Reiko is very good with him. Mia the doberman is scared of him, but getting better. You can tell Tasha is thinking, oh boy, here we go again.... lol

We will all be glad when this cold weather snaps and we have temps above 30 for more than a day.

Now for some pictures:

not keeping up on this blog very well

2010-02-06T13:15:00.000-08:00

Let's see...
We have been keeping really busy and just getting through the winter. We are very eager for spring.

Just checked my last update and not much has changed! LOL We are just doing typical school stuff and keeping up with things at home.

Guess I could share some pics.

O.k. I have not been good with pictures either... Here is a pic of our new puppy that we get next week. He is the one looking at you from behind the bars with the look that says "let me out of here!"

January is almost gone!

2010-01-22T04:49:00.000-08:00

I have been very bad about updating the blog lately. There has been a lot going on. Between school work, job, dance class, cub scouts, music lessons, scholastic bowl and play practice. It can be daunting finding time to update the blog. O.k. I know many of you probably see me on facebook. I am an addict. I love facebook and spend time on there chatting with friends instead of picking up the telephone. Easier for those of us who are becoming hearing challenged. Must be all the years of screaming, loud laughter, shouting and bagpipes...

Anyway for updates:

Kole: He is doing fantastic! I even had a phone call from his teacher telling me how awesome he has been doing in class. He loves Cub Scouts, can't say the same for his dad... He really enjoys the swordplay part of Wii Sports Resort. That was a very good investment. I had been told once that it takes the same amount of time that a child is in their country of birth before they become accustomed and adjusted to their life in a new home. Well, I think that is almost right on. Kole has been with us for almost 4 years. just a couple months shy of that and he is doing fantastic.

Kaci: Kaci is enjoying her dance class and getting ready for recital in June already! She love her hip hop dance class and is enjoying school. She is doing great. She has grown like a weed this past year and is nearly as tall as me. She is 5 foot tall and 10 years old. She also has enjoyed going to all the different places we have to go to on the weekends.

Kali: Kali has become our typical new teenager. One minute we are getting along great, the next butting heads. The most recent is dating... I tell her No and she gets defensive, then apologizes... then we are good. She loves her music lessons when she practices... lol she is playing Clarinet and Tenor Sax. She participates in band, jazz band and occasionally is called upon to help out with the high school pep band and concert band. She has found a true passion for Scholastic Bowl and loves the challenge and trivia. Time to bring out Trivial Pursuit again! She also auditioned for a part in the school play and is a Prisilla girl in the play Thoroughly Modern Millie (A flapper). She keeps us busy running her here and there.

Pets: Sweetpea went back to the Animal Protective League and now our home is quiet again. The poor little girl was just a bunch of nerves all the time.... The only time she was not was when it was just my mom here for a couple weeks. So hopefully now that we know more about Sweetpea they will be able to find her the home she needs.

Kendle will be coming home in February. He is a boston pup. Two Bostons in one house should be hysterical.

Mia is doing great and loves coming in at nights and hanging out where it is not cold.

Tasha is loving the cold.

Reiko is loving having the family all to himself. typical boston...

Tinkerbell has surprised us all by coming out of hiding and enjoying not being chased all the time.

Boyd is doing as well as can be said for someone who has been laid off for over a year now. Jobs are very hard to come by but we hope something turns up soon that does not require over the road truck driving...

Me, I am battling a bulging disk in my lower back and working full time and keeping the kids on schedule and trying to enjoy some quiet time from time to time. I need to lose a bunch of weight and stop eating junk. I am pre-diabetic and need to stop it before it becomes full blown. Some days I do well, some days not so good. I still substitute food for the cigarettes I gave up 17 years ago....

That's it for the updates!

Christmas Morning!

2009-12-25T10:49:00.000-08:00

O.k. the pic of Boyd with Reiko is not from this morning. LOL But is was so cute with him and Reiko. The rest are from this morning. The morning started at 2:30 am. Yes, you read that right. 2:30 am Kali comes in to wake us up and tell us there are presents! My exact words were "I don't give a damn if there are presents, GO TO BED!"
Well, here is what happened according to the kids.
Kali woke them all up and brought them out to see the presents, then tried to wake us up... (I don't think so). So, then they came out and started sorting all the gifts out. Then they got hungry, so they cooked Ramen Noodles and ate at 3:00 am.. (I didn't smell the noodles)...
Then they decided to fall asleep surrounded by presents. When I got up at 8:30 am.... I found them just like in the last picture..... No early morning picture of all the gifts under the tree.... darn. Oh well, they had fun! The girls have their new bed in a bag sheets on their beds... Qijia went back to bed and I think he is awake now.... not sure...
Kole has been playing with the Mario Kart Racing Wii game as have the girls. But Kali's all time favorite present this year was the used Samsung Eternity phone that Boyd found for her on Ebay. She didn't even get excited about the punching bag that she has asked for two years in a row! LOL Kali apparently had only slept for about 30 minutes last night.... the turd... Next year, I think I will cancel Christmas unless they keep their behinds in bed and get some sleep. I know some kids that are napping this afternoon! Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T13:58:00.000-08:00

Wishing all our friends and families far and near a wonderful merry Christmas! May the magic of Christmas be with you tonight and through the next year.

I have sat and thought what I could write about on the blog that hasn't already been said. Then I thought, maybe, I should put down my feelings this Christmas.

First, it has been a really tough time trying to get into the spirit for Christmas this year. I had tried all the things I normally do and just hadn't quite done it. I remember seeing Christmas decorations up in October this year! What the poo! Maybe the retailers started it too early for me. But then I am finding out that many of my family and friends are finding it very hard to get into the Christmas spirit. Maybe it is too commercial for me this year. I felt that I would have really rather helped others than buy a bunch of presents that will end up in the back room never to be played with.... We purchased gifts anyway, but not in the spirit that we would in the past. The kids will have nice things, and we will too. But where is that spirit I have been looking for. I think I know what it is that I will be doing. I have decided since I already donate to 4 charities year round that have to do with facial differences, that maybe I should be helping out in other ways.

Second, the kids have been good this year. Extremely wearing in some ways. We have Qijia staying with us. For the months he has been here, I have heard nothing from the kids that seemed to be positive for our family. One complaint after another, then we realize he just isn't getting into the life of an American Teenager. O.k. maybe that is good in many ways. But you know, it would be so nice to see him have friends and go out with them occasionally and get phone calls and not listen to the whining... Of course it comes from my other half as well as the kids. So, the agency is on a mission to find him a new home that is more accepting than my spoiled rotten kids can be and maybe he will find the atmosphere he needs.

Third, work has been very stressful. One of the people I have worked with for most of 20 years is retiring and moving away. He is brilliant on the applications we program and maintain. Now that job is falling onto my shoulders with the assistance of two others. It is a sadness that has set over me because not only am I losing a co-worker, he is a birthday buddy and without realizing it we have become good friends. Knowing that we won't hear "Enjoy" as we are leaving, or getting the " I think you need to research this" for something that is a once in a lifetime problem. LOL

Fourth, Boyd has been laid off for several months and is on his second extension of unemployment. He has been bothered by not being able to find work and the older he gets the harder it is to find a job. He did have an interview this week, so maybe we will have a Christmas miracle of a new job for the beginning of the New Year for him. He has really stepped up to the plate this year with the kids and they have noticed the difference.

Let's see, we have had to replace the microwave and now we need to replace the washer. We had to replace the dishwasher earlier this year and the dryer just a few months ago. Time to start saving for a new water heater too.

All in all we have had a good year. Busy, but good.

Christmas tree is decorated 17 days til Xmas

2009-12-08T04:38:00.001-08:00

Tada! They are done!

Thanksgiving is over and on to Christmas

2009-12-05T13:23:00.000-08:00

We had a very nice at home Thanksgiving with my mom and our family here. It was funny watching the animals all trying to help.. LOL The end of the second term of school and our first semester is over in a couple weeks and then Christmas break starts for the kids.

We have been busy with all the normal school stuff and being sneaky about Christmas shopping.

I need to the take the kids out to shop, but that will need to wait until next weekend. I did some black Friday shopping and started at the more reasonable hour of 8:30 am. I did very well and got some pretty good deals. Enjoy some pics from Thanksgiving and putting up the tree. We still need to put the other decorations on...

Forgot something on the last post

2009-11-22T15:26:00.000-08:00

Kali also participated in IMEA Music Festival. These are Jr High students 6 - 8th grade

Wow been a long time since I posted last

2009-11-22T15:18:00.000-08:00

We have had a lot going on! Kali got her braces on and Kole had his checkup for his nose revision and my brother Pat married his soul mate Patty. Thanksgiving is just around the corner actually in 3 days! But who's counting!

Here are some pics from the past few weeks.

I have fallen behind!

2009-11-07T03:47:00.000-08:00

The school year has been very busy this year. Between Band, Dance, Cub Scouts, and just plain every day life stuff it gets busy. We have Qijia in Art Club and Drama Club. We are hoping that this will help him make and meet new friends. We have been pushing him very hard to get his greades up in English and American History. He thinks he should just take different classes! LOL These are required classes that he has to take. Kali was straight A's this first quarter and Kaci had all A's and 1 B. Kole is doing great with his V and S+ grades. He just needs to learn to focus and not talk in class when he is not supposed to. Kole does participate regularly and the teachers are very impressed.

Halloween was fun. I stayed home and handed out candy. I sent the kids (minus Kali) alone. Well, they wouldn't go... so Boyd loaded them up and took them. Kali was sick for HAlloween night and was finally better on Wednesday to go back to school. Then Thursday she had spacers put in between her teeth in preparation for braces going on Veteran's day. She has been in a lot of pain with the spacers. It has made it very hard for her to eat.

All the kids that went enjoyed trick or treating with their dad. He took them all over Athens. I just take them in a couple neighborhoods..

Kole has been sick now since Wednesday.. low grade fever and irritating cough. He survived last night on the Robitussin... Yay!

Kaci has turned 10! We did not do much except she had a friend over and we had cake. She wanted her presents really early and there wasn't much there. But she was o.k. with that.

I had to go through my yearly physical and blood work and again have impaired glucose. I have to remember to stay on top of it and stick with the lifestyle changes no matter what anyone says or offers. It is going to be so tough to do... but I have to for me and my family.

Below are some pics from Halloween, Kaci's b-day and ICASP Fall 2009

Halloween cosutmes by the kids!

2009-10-24T06:36:00.000-07:00

Halloween costumes this year cost me a whol of $10.00. It could have been even less if I had owned a white sheet! Here are the costumes that the kids have made for themselves.

Kali is a Ghost. Kaci is an Evil Witch (we still need to do her nails), and Kole is Spiderman disguised as Popcorn!

Aren't they just adorable! LOL I thought they were very ingenious!

Busy week and post surgery pics update

2009-10-17T09:56:00.000-07:00

We have been very busy with school and activities this past week. Both Boyd and I have been on our second round of antibiotics fighting sinus infections or bronchitis... The kids remain well, thank goodness!
Kole is doing great since his surgery, we have allowed him to have regular food a little early but still not crispy hard foods...
Kali is off with the band today to watch some competition in Champaign... We are off to a weiner roast later today at some friends' home. Today was a cleaning day and I cracked the whip to get some bedrooms straightened up and the main living areas.
Kaci has taken to chatting on her cellphone with a friend from school who happens to be a boy. They talk about what is going on at school and their friends and what their plans are....

Post operative pics at 1 week and this weekend

Tink is very comfy on top of the dishwasher and Boyd and Reiko and sweetpea worn out from all the stuff.

Reiko bothering Boyd to play with him.

Two days Post Surgery

2009-10-11T19:27:00.000-07:00

I took these pics while Kole was feeling ornery. He was teasing Kali and she was teasing right back and he was laughing and giggling and smiling just 2 days after his surgery. There was no bridge work done that I know of, he is just still swelled is all..

They were playing the Wii and Kole had the controller. Anytime Kali would try to play, Kole would hit the cancel button on her.. He thought that was just hilarious until she came after him. Thank goodness no blood was shed and she stayed away from his nose.

A surpise call

2009-10-08T19:19:00.000-07:00

Tuesday I was sitting in a meeting and my cell phone buzzed with a number I hadn't seen before, so I excused myself since they were working on some technical difficulties. It was a call from Shriners to tell us they had a cancellation for a surgery and would we like to have Kole's nose and lip revision done. I said when does he need to be there. She said tomorrow. So I called Boyd and we decided that he would go up with Kole. They checked in at 10:00 am on Wednesday and at 8:30 am today (Thursday) he was in surgery. He came out of surgery at 10:45 and was released at 3:00 pm to come home! He will be on a soft diet for two weeks and then back in 3 for a checkup. He looks amazing even with the swelling...

Before

After 10 hours past the surgery

Busy weekend already

2009-09-26T10:14:00.000-07:00

Last night Kali had another football game to go to for Marching Band and then this morning she had to be at the school for the annual Athens Heritage Days parade. Kole had to be at the school too for the Cub Scouts walking in the parade. The morning was great for a parade and the sun even came out! On our way home I noticed some ominous black rain clouds. As soon as we were in the door, the bottom opened up and it rained like crazy! The kids introduced QiJia to the wonders of playing in the rain! He wasn't to happy at first, but then he was o.k. with it.

Below are some pics in the reverse order of how they happened! LOL I still haven't figured out how to put the first last etc... Enjoy

Homecoming 2009

2009-09-19T18:47:00.000-07:00

Today I took all four kids with me to go shopping for QiJia for his homecoming clothes. I think he looked rather sharp.

Here are some pre Homecoming dinner/dance pics

Updates

2009-09-17T04:27:00.000-07:00

Isn't that a boring title? Anyway, Since I was on last, Boyd had a birthday and the kids have been busy with school. I have been busy with work and helping kids with school work. Guiding them through their maze of homework and activities. O.k. if I wasn't busy I wouldn't be happy. I think Sunday will be a day for me. Last weekend one kid had two sleepovers, and one and a sleepover. This week is Homecoming week at the high school. They have had a different theme each day and tomorrow night is the homecoming football game. We go every year! I think tonight is a bonfire.. I will have to check to be certain. Saturday is the big homecoming dance. Qijia has been invited with a group to go to dinner at Rachel's house and one of the moms is taking them to the dance. Katy is taking Qijia shopping for a suit. ha ha He will have to wear it at the wedding in November too!

Boyd has kept busy with little maintenance things around the house and helping his brother with a roof job. We found out yesterday that our niece was in a car accident and was T-boned. Thank goodness she had not picked up the twins yet.... Apparently she will be fine. Boyd is going to stop in and see her and give her our best while he is there today.

Kali has been busy with Wednesday night church activities with her friends and sleepovers. Along with her regular homework, speech team, and band activities. Kaci is busy with school and dance. Kole is getting busier with Cub Scouts and is bringing home reading homework. You can tell he does not have any excitement for it. But he is doing well. I think I will try to challenge him more here at home with reading. He rushes and doesn't want to sound out words, but make up ones he likes better... lol Kali and Kaci did that too!

Next weekend is the big Wedding party cookout and getting Kole measured for a tux. haha
I will have the groom and daddy take him. I need to get Kali fitted for her dress too.

I should shop for a dress or pants suit for me to wear to the wedding too. It is coming up fast now!

Below are pictures of the birthday cake that Kaci baked, Kole and QiJia with their new haircuts and Boyd on his B-day playing with the bb gun he bought himself.

September is here

2009-09-05T09:41:00.000-07:00

Wow it has been a while since I updated...

School is in session for all the kids... We are keeping busy trying to keep up with all the school work, school requests, and just keeping the house from falling down around us. LOL

As you have probably read, we have a student from China staying with us this school year. He is a very nice boy. We have had some language barriers, but we are working on them.

The kids are all doing very well in school so far and the new rules this year have been working great. No video games or computer games during the week. Getting to bed by 8:30 pm and a few others and they are doing great!

Kali has joined speech team again this year and will be doing storytelling, duet improv and a group script. We are so proud of her for doing this.

Kole is enjoying his cub scouts that meets once or twice a month.

Kaci is loving her hip hop dance class.

Now to see if we can get QiJia involved in something with the school, a club or volunteer group or something like that. He is usually on his computer as you can see from the pics below.

Our furry kids are doing well also. Mia has finally lost weight and looks like a doberman instead of a rottweiler with a dobie head. lol Tasha's fur is growing back and she doesn't look as shaved as she did.

Last weekend was very busy. Qijia went on a trip to St Louis with Wells Ling, a good friend of the family. He really enjoyed himself and we are so thankful to Wells for showing QiJia St. Louis... While QiJia was in St. Louis below is what we were up to here.

On Friday night I took the kids to the first home football game including our friends' exchange student from Brazil, Thais. She had a great time with her friends and it was nice to see a football game again.

On Saturday, Boyd took Kole to a Cub Scout event and I took the girls with me to an FCC picnic. They took care of several of the younger kids by taking them to the park to play and bringing them back safe and sound. They made a new friend, Sarabelle. She is 11.

I enjoyed hanging out with the other parents and catching up.

On Sunday we went to a birthday party for the husband of my wonderful friend and sister of the heart. As you can see, busy busy...

This weekend is a bit more laid back..

Here are some pics from last weekend and this weekend

Happy 90th Birthday to Grandma!!!

2009-08-24T04:09:00.000-07:00

Today my grandma turns 90. Wow! We went to the nursing home on Saturday for an Open House Party for her. A lot of family and her friends were there. She whispered to me that her boyfriend was there, but his wife took him away.. ROTFL!!!

She lit up like a candle seeing all the family and friends. My uncle's friend Ben showed up and made her day... He was like another son to her.

She noticed QiJia and wanted to know "Who is this young man?"

I told her it was QiJIa and he was staying with us for a school year. She just smiled so big!

The party wore her out after about an hour and a half, so she called it quits and headed back to room as we headed back home.

Grandma and longtime friend Mrs.Pearcy

Mom and Judy

Brandi, Pat and Rob

Tyler, QiJia, Kaci, Kole and Phil

Cookout!

2009-08-16T06:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had a cookout and invited some friends over.. We had a great time!
Susan and Curt brought there son Ethan (from guatemala) and their exchange student Thais from Brazil. Lisa and Mike came and broght Billy and Sierra. And Kole's Big Sib, Wells from the U of I came. It was a small but fun crowd!

It was so much fun, I didn't even take any pictures! shame on me!

The kids played in the pool and Wells, kept surprising them from outside the pool, it was hilarious! After they were out the water continued with the hose and glasses of water being flung at each other.

We had quite the menu: Hamburgers, brats, ribs, salad, pasta salad, fresh veggie tray with dip, chips, watermelon, cantaloupe, chocolate brownies and gooey butter cake.

We did not even need dinner last night. ha ha

We talked and kidded around and just really enjoyed ourselves... we really need to do this more often!

Reiko and Sweetpea did relatively well, once the initial excitment was over, then after a couple hours it was more stimulation than they could handle... Time to really work on the training again. Poor Ethan was so close to the ground that Reiko thought he was his own personal lollypop. Billy being tall, Reiko thought it would be fun to jump as high as he could to get him to come down to his level so he could play with him....
Sweetpea on the other hand, did really well.

I think the kids would really like to do this again. Maybe not this year, but who knows...

Big news of the week

2009-08-11T04:32:00.001-07:00

After careful pondering and an o.k. from the rest of the family to try this one more time...
We will be hosting a boy from China. He is 16 and from the Jiangsu Province. This is the province just to the east of the Province Anhui, where Kali was born. He is very tall 5' 9". For us that is tall since none of us are over 5'6". ha ha

We are just waiting for final agency approval. We should be getting that today and they are going to get him here as quickly as possible to get registered for school.

More later as we find out!

Twelve more days of summer vacation

2009-08-08T06:31:00.000-07:00

With twelve day left until school starts things have already started to wind up here.
Kali started marching band camp at the school 3 - 4 days a week. Kole is into the swing in cub scouts and Kaci is signed up for Hip Hop dance starting the 27th.

Monday I get my stitches out and then I can get in the pool again!

Next weekend we are having a cookout and have invited a few people over to keep it small.

Kole had his Shriner's visit this past Wednesday and it went very well. His hearing and ears are in perfect shape. His teeth are growing great including the bonus tooth!
Next year we are looking toward a palate expander if he has more permanent teeth by then.
And he is on a list to get a cleft nasal repair to straighten his nose out a bit so kids can leave that part of him alone. It has only happened a couple times, but kids can just be cruel if you are not what they see in their eyes as normal. Kole is now 48 inches tall and 48.5 pounds. Not too bad!
He is growing like crazy!

Kali is maturing at a remarkable rate. She is more focused this year than last. She is really enjoying band even more this year..

Kaci is trying to mature... but still has a ways to go... She loves to dance.

Boyd is doing well, still laid off, but that has been a plus for us this summer with no daycare needed. It will also come in handy when Kole has his surgery. Boyd can go and I can stay back and save my time for when I am sick.. Let's hope I don't get sick.

We have had a wonderful summer and are looking forward to a great school year.

last week of July and heading into August

2009-08-03T04:54:00.000-07:00

Vivian stayed with us until July 30. We were so happy to have her stay with us. Just her presence brought a peace around the house. She is such a lovely girl inside and out. The kids loved having her... Kole was actually kind of flirting with her. LOL He was shy to do things hewould normally do...ha ha. I wished I could have taken more time off work to spend with her and the family. oh well better to look forward than back!

This week brings a start to band camp for Kali, a craniofacial team appointment at Shriner's for Kole and school registration for all three. Cub scouts starts this week too! oh boy... I thought I would be ready, but I could use another week or two! I also think it is time to register Kaci for dance. School starts in under three weeks!

During all this, I had a slight accident and cut one of my toes to the bone and had to have it stitched up. I guess it was a good excuse to have the kids help more around the house. Too bad it hurt more than anything I have felt for a really long time... And very lucky that the bone was not broken. The doctor didn't say what would have happened then... I didn't ask either.
I can still walk, but slowly.
And Boyd cleaned up the garage so I can walk out the door and to the deep freeze and not kill myself. Too bad it takes an injury to wake everyone up.

We are planning a cookout with the big sibs and a few friends for in a couple weeks. That should be fun. Not a huge event just a few friends over too.

The kids loved going to City Museum with Vivian while she was here. I really think Boyd is the one that really likes it! ha ha The kids have the most fun! They get to try so many dare devil things that are supervised, sort of...

Well, that is all for now and sorry no pics!

Back from Vacation!

2009-07-26T19:02:00.000-07:00

We are back from vacation and where to start.... hmmm
We left at 4 am on July 16 to head out to Maine. We arrived in Buffalo, NY around 6 pm and decided we really needed a meal with real food... So we went to Bob Evans for dinner. It was next to the Red Roof Inn we stayed in. After dinner the adventure to Niagra Falls began!
We found it on the map and headed out. Finding parking was crazy!!! So, I see this little lot and hardly any cars. I told Boyd to pull in there.. well, bad plan. We were now in Canada! LOL No passports, no visas... no id for the kids except for their health insurance cards. So, we couldn't just pull out of the lot, we had to go into Canada.... Funny, yes and no. Kaci was scared to death, Kole was saying, why are we here for? Kali was embarrassed. I was so tired I could have cared less. Anyway, we had to go through immigration in Canada to come back to the US. Apparently we are not the only ones to do something like this! So we did see Niagra falls from the Canadaian side, but saw most of it from the New York side in the dark.

We returned to our hotel around midnight to wake up around 6 am to leave for Maine. We found one way to get across to Vermont. A ferry ride! It was so cool. You pull on this ferry and across you go and then you drive off. We arrived in New Hampshire late and called Wanda to see how far yet and she told us to call her when we reached Farmington, ME for directions to her house in the middle of nowhere. The lady at the Mobil station where we stopped for gas in Gorham, NH was very helpful. She told us how to watch out for Moose. Did you know that a Moose's eyes do not glow like a deer's does? You just watch for a hulking shadow up higher than a deer. By then it is pouring down rain, road construction, new blacktop with no lines, oncoming traffic.... then we saw a frog hop across the road, a few miles later, a fox ran out... Then a few more miles a racoon with a fish ran out! No moose... whew! We made it to our home away from home late that night, then off to bed!

While we were in Maine we went to the big birthday bash for Boyd's Aunt Jerry. A huge success with many members of the family from Boyd's mom's side. The kids had a blast meeting all these relatives that they didn't realize that they had! The next day we had a really nice picnic with relatives from Nova Scotia, California, New Hampshire, Massachuets, and Maine. We played washers (also called ring toss), drank and ate and laughed until after dark. The next day it was off to Sugarloaf mountian resort and touring the mountains and streams. We visited little falls. We had to hike up into the woods to get there. It was so pretty... And yes, I did take a small tumble trying to climb up there.

The kids of course had no problem at all! After that we went to a mountain lake for the kids to swim and us to just enjoy the sunshine. We visited family some more and went back and chatted into the night. Then the next day was ocean day! We took the kids and others all to the Atlantic Ocean! We went to Pemaquid Point and saw the lighthouse and climbed the rocks. The coast is very rocky and just beautiful!

On Thursday we packed up and headed to Easton, MA to drop off Garnet then on to Washington, DC! We spent a day site seeing and just hanging out. Then we went the next morning to see VIVIAN!!!! We couldn't have been any happier than to see her well and good.

The kids were in total shock when they saw her! Kaci said, I thought I knew who it was, but then she spoke and I knew!! Kali said "I am in so much shock!" And Kole says "That's not Vivian!" But we knew it was her and she is here with us now!

We arrived home last night around 11 pm after 16 hours on the road!

Pictures can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/sbringolf/?saved=1

Look for the saved set Vacation 2009!

Catching up

2009-07-11T16:48:00.000-07:00

Wow, it has been a while since I updated the blog, so I guess today is the day.
We leave Thursday for our first family vacation... I know I shouldn't post stuff like this, but voila! We have a house sitter and a neighbor watching and our friend who happens to be a police officer in our town coming by to check on things. Besides, who in their right mind would want to try and get past, a doberman, Shepard Mix, Boston Terrier and a dachsund mix for not a whole lot worth while. When you have kids you can't afford anything really nice! LOL

Our vacation will be taking us thru Indiana and up toward NY to see Niagra Falls... Then on to Maine to visit relatives... After a week in Maine we will be off to Washington DC for the night and to just see what it looks like.. We have never been... Many of the places we are visiting we have never been there, so this is going to be sooo cool! From DC we will head home and go over a huge bridge: http://www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail.aspx?trailid=XFA132-017

Looks pretty scary to me and then work our way back home. We are so excited about this trip. This is our first real family vacation.... I wonder if it will be anything like that movie with Chevy Chase... Wasn't that called National Lampoon's Vacation? LOL

The past weeks have been filled with everyday living and chores and just doing stuff. The kids are home with dad so they swim or play wii or read or draw and run and ride bikes. Whiffle ball has become a favorite when the pool is too cool to swim in... yes, I did say too cool. We had unseasonably warm weather and then cooler, then rain again and again....

Reiko was feeling bad this past week so we took him to the vet, he had an infected anal gland, again... He had the same thing in May, so it looks like some minor surgery for our little boston to remove the cursed gland....

Mia has lost weight on her diet and looks like a real doberman with out her ears cropped and we had Tasha shaved and she looks so little now! Sweetpea is doing well and loves it when things are quiet around here. Too much hustle and bustle and she gets upset... Guess she better get over that in a hurry. Or we will just have to deal with it.

My job has been in jeopardy lately due to the state government here and it looks like I might get laid off or just not get paid or get paid not what my contract states... So I had to make a very difficult decision to put my resume out for other employers to see. Every year for 17 years I go through this and every year it is worse and worse. I can't lose my job and leave my kids and husband without a home, so I will take what I can get even if it means relocating to another state. Currently we are looking at Maine, Wisconsin, Indiana, New York, Nevada, Virginia. I might even be open to other states that I had not thought of as of yet.
We will see what happens. The kids are not happy and I was hoping to retire in this house and then move to a smaller when when the kids were out on their own... but sometimes plans have to change.

I don't have any pictures to share this time, but just wait until we get back from vacation! The pictures I will have then will be awesome!

Dress Reheasal night!

2009-06-27T05:28:00.000-07:00

This was a long night of waiting. They were running way behind so finally at around 9:00 pm Kaci's class was on. I recorded this on my camera, not the video camera. I hope it looks fine. I could only get the one third of her class in, so I chose the group she was in.

Here is a link to Kaci's dress rehearsal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RsAUaMC1Eg

Here are some pics to go with.

Kaci and her dance class friends

Happy Father's Day!!!

2009-06-21T07:21:00.000-07:00

Today is Father's day. Boyd recieved gifts of new jean shorts from me. ha ha so practical. The kids gave him a DVD, Gran Torino. The kids also fixed him breakfast this morning. Eggs, Toast, fresh cherries and chocolate milk. He ate it before I could get a picture. He was very happy and enjoyed it a lot! Basically today will be spent finishing up weekend stuff and lazing around.

Happy Father's day to all the dads!

Kali home from camp

2009-06-19T15:46:00.000-07:00

Kali spent a few days at a Christian Camp this week and had a wonderful time.

We missed her terribly and and she missed us. But she made many new friends. Some friends from school were there also. She has already decided to go back next year. She told us all about her time there and she had fun being who she is. She met three girls that are adopted too. She really enjoyed talking to them and having something in common with them.

Today was Recital costume picture day

2009-06-13T13:25:00.000-07:00

Two weeks until recital. Here are some pics of Kaci in her recital outfit. She will be dancing hip hop in the recital.

Instead of the red bandana in the pocket, they are going for them in their hair.

Building a pool, never again... ha!

2009-06-06T18:31:00.001-07:00

The kids were out of school on June 2nd. They have had a good first week off. This weekend we had company! Dennis, Blain and Brittany came to visit and help us and Pat and Phil with the pool. That was some hard work, but everyone worked hard and we got it done. Phil and Kole played catch with a football. Kali found a toad and named him Jeffrey Jr. She played with him for about an hour and turned him loose. The kids helped with the dogs and we had just a really enjoyable hot sunburned day. Now I know why my brother doesn't do this anymore.
We missed the graduation at the High School where Max graduated today. And the class lost one of their students to a car crash just 3 days before graduation. Please keep his family and friends in your prayers. Number 4 will be missed by all his friends and family. His passing has touched the entire community.

Last weekend we hung out at my mom's. Here is cute pics of Mr. Trey at 11 months old.

Happy Memorial Day!

2009-05-25T07:30:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine posted this on facebook and I thought it was a wonderfual tribute for families and troops.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKbZysRTZRk

Get out the tissues..... It is fantastic!

Busy weeks behind us!

2009-05-23T19:44:00.000-07:00

Wow! The last couple weeks of school are very busy with finals and field trips and so many things!

Boyd went with Kaci on her field trip last week to the Newspaper and our zoo in Springfield. They both had a great time. Boyd forgot the camera so no pics of that trips.

This week Kole and Boyd attended a Cub Scout Orientation meeting, a get together at Chuck E Cheese and the year end field trip to the Children's Museum and Scovil Zoo. The T-shirts say "I was in Mrs. Coady's last Class 2008-2009. Kole's kindergarten teacher is retiring at the end of this school year.

I attended the Junior High/High school Spring Band and Choir concert. It was going to run long, so Boyd stayed home to take care of the younger two and get them in bed at a decent time.

Today, May 23, we went with friends to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Strawberry Festival. Then back home to chat for a bit before they left. Then we took care of the dogs and off we went to go to dinner then home to watch some movies.

Kole, Kaci, Kali and on the far right is Uyen!

Kali's big field trip is Tuesday to Kickapoo State park. She will have a blast!

A small clip from the concert taken on my phone

Kindergarten program

2009-05-15T18:22:00.000-07:00

Kole's Kindergarten program was Thursday night. Here is a song they did. He was not very enthusiastic. Boyd wondered was I proud of him or was it just funny. I would say I was proud that he tried. I am thinking he was not too enthusiastic because he is a 7 year old boy and it had nothing to do with video games and it was not his idea. He still needs to learn that you have to do things in life that you don't want to do and you should do them to the best of your ability. Kole is in the red shirt in the front row.

I won a graphite drawing!

2009-05-13T04:45:00.000-07:00

I entered a picture of our sad Reiko Suave to win a 5 x 7 graphite pencil drawing of him.
It turned out so good! The artist has such a wonderful talent!

Here is a link to the winning photo and the drawing:

http://networkedblogs.com/p4789020

Reiko did not want to go in his crate and this is the look he gives when he knows he has to be crated.

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T11:32:00.000-07:00

The girls fixed me breakfast this morning. Then they all brought out their gifts that they had made. Kaci cooked the eggs, Kali took care of the rest. Kole watched and then kept me out of the kitchen until they were done. I took a pic with each of them earlier this past week having fun and I have added them too. It has been a really nice mother's day so far. I talked to my grandmother last night and my mom today. I even got to go to the store "Alone". Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers who might read this! I hope you all had something to remember! I think this will be my most memorable one. Right up there with my first one.

Our little biker babe

2009-05-03T16:46:00.000-07:00

This is Kaci riding the new used mini bike. She is a natural just like her mom was years ago!

A new toy for the "kids" and some pics

2009-05-02T17:26:00.000-07:00

Random pics of Kaci and Kole during having some conversations with them.

Boyd drove to Indiana yesterday and purchased a mini bike for the kids. I think he has ridden it as much as they have. Kole is in heaven. Too bad he didn't listen to instructions about stopping and ran into my van.. So no more mini bike for him until he listens...

New pics, a dance, and haircuts

2009-04-25T09:19:00.000-07:00

I had a local photographer do some "school type" photos of the kids. They turned out great! Kali had her first dress up dance last night and she looked beautiful!
Today Kali and Kaci went to my hair stylist to get their hair cut.

Now we are readying the house for a slumber party that Kaci is having tonight.

Random pictures and thoughts

2009-04-18T15:18:00.001-07:00

Not much has been happening this week. The kids were on spring break, but I had to work. So they didn't get to do much but hang out here.

Here are just some random pictures from the past week or so....

That's all!

Allergies

2009-04-14T05:12:00.000-07:00

Allergies are really bad here this time of year. So, when do decide to get Kali retested? Yesterday. It is time to decide if she will get the shots or not.

She was tested for 80 different trees, grasses, pollens, molds, other inhalants and foods.

Pollens: all grasses, trees, weeds, corn. With corn pollen being the worst reaction. But trees and grasses are right up there.

Other inhalants: dust mites, cockroach dust (ew!, we don't have any of those)

Molds: Mild allergy, not much to worry about.

Foods: Mild allergy to egg yolk, wheat, soy, fish.

Others are bug bites and those registered really high too.

Maybe now that she has seen pictures and talked to the allergist she will take her medicine like she is supposed to. I am thinking camping outside at night is not going to be very good for her.

I would post pictures, but she asked me not to. So I will not. Sorry....

Bad allergy to Peanut and shellfish.

ICASP 2009

2009-04-11T19:23:00.000-07:00

ICASP stands for Illiniois Adopted Chinese Sibling Program. It is a wonderful cultural day for our children. They are assigned Big Sibs and they spend the day with them learning and playing. This is our third year to participate. We have only missed one year so far. We try to make it a priority to attend. It is important to us that our children have this time since they don't have much interaction with other Asian Americans in our community. There aren't many in our community.

We took a few pics of the kids with their big Sibs. I would have taken more, but our workshops were so interesting!

We learned about Chinese/Mandarin linguistics and learned to speak some sentences with Dr. Jerome Packard. Mike Liu told us all about Chinese Fables and how they affected him as a young boy growing up in Shanghai after being born in New Hampshire. Dr. Ian Wang is the curator of the East Asian Gallery of the Spurlock Museum and he opened our eyes to Chinese Art Appreciation and meanings of the art we see. We enjoyed some very delicious Simple Chinese Snacks made by the students of TASC (Taiwanese American Student Club). Then we had the pleasure of hearing from two adopt adoptees who were adopted from Korea. Shane Carlin, and Susann Heft. Shane was recently a speaker at the KAAN conference held I believe he said in Chicago. Afterwards we were treated to photo ops of the group and of the song above in the video. Dr. Ian Wang told us something that really made sense. The Chinese believe that an education for their children and their Children's children is very important. Without an education you can not become anything. That is why they are so pressured to do well.

The children's portion included learning about the traditions of Chinese New year and other traditional stores. Chinese songs, mid autumn festival, dragon boat festival, geography and a game of jeopardy. In during all this they had a snack time and a scavenger hunt to find buildings in the area with their big sibs.

Springtime and trees

2009-04-05T05:56:00.000-07:00

Boyd and I went out and purchased two new large trees for the yard. We purchased a burgundy red maple and a lavender silk crab apple. We have been wanting to replace the tree in front that was cut back last year and we were finally able to save up for it. We will miss the shade it provided this summer but hopefully the other tree will start giving out some shade next year. Boyd cut the tree down yesterday. It was a little hairy that at first when the tree was going to go the wrong way. Like on to the house!

We lucked out and it fell the way we wanted to and missed the azalea and the bleeding hearts and the house!

I was very glad that the tree missed the last three plants. O.k. so you can not tell the azalea is there. It is the picture that looks like sticks with a gnome... It leaves out really late

Spring school pics

2009-04-02T04:11:00.001-07:00

The Elementary school sent home the spring school pics. They are pretty good. In the past they have been much better. The Junior high is using an awful bright tie die background to look like the 70's. We have decided to just call our local photographer to get better spring pictures to hang on the wall. They are looking grown up though. Kaci is 9 and Kole is 7.

Kitchen counter and sink makeover

2009-04-01T15:56:00.001-07:00

It was time to do something with the harvest gold counter and the leaking faucet. So we picked out a sink for about $175 and our favorite faucet for $150. The counter top paint was $20. So for about $350 we have a make over on the kitchen counter sink and faucet!

Boyd did a great job!

Pull up bar and my monkeys/snow

2009-03-28T18:27:00.000-07:00

The kids had a lot of fun playing on the pull up bar that Boyd installed today. This is a video of some of the fun they had this evening.

Then overnight we had snow

The Saturday after

2009-03-28T14:02:00.000-07:00

O.k. The night went very smooth. No arguing no "mom make them go away and leave us alone...." etc etc.
The girls had a great time and invited Kaci to join them. We rented scary movies and they ate fruit pizza and chex mix. The girls did great.
One had to go home due to her bronchitis. One went home with a bit of a fever coming on.
The rest left this morning. Poor Bubba, her dad arrived at 8 am to take her home..
The last two left around 9:15.
The house was all picked up and soon after the last girl left our new rebuilt clothes dryer was delivered and hooked up. No more high squealing noise.

Then off to go shopping for swimsuits for the girls. O.k. We did not buy any. We ended up getting a few things and some clothes for me. ha ha I got something this time!

Rain rain rain everywhere. We got soaked! It would be great if it was a nice warm summer shower, but, NOOOO it had to be a cold drenching rain...

So we came home to veg out and do laundry. I think I am ready for some hot tea.

Sorry no pictures of the night. I was busy keeping Kole entertained.

I think we might be crazy

2009-03-27T04:15:00.001-07:00

Tonight we are having 5 girls ages 12 and 13 over for a sleep over with Kali. I think we might be crazy! Of course we are not really ready for it, but oh well. We will see how it goes. Kaci wants to do the same thing... Yikes! I really can't imagine 5 of her friends over! They are all too much like her! Ha ha ha ha But I think will let her when she turns 10. We will see.
Move tomorrow on how the crazy night goes!

We had a visitor (Tivemos um visitante)

2009-03-22T17:59:00.000-07:00

Max came to visit and have some ice cream and cake for Kole's birthday.
Max chegou a visitar e tem um sorvete e bolo para o aniversário de Kole.

He appears to be very happy. We enjoyed talking and catching up on how things are.
Ele parece ser muito feliz. Desfrutamos falando sobre como recuperar o atraso e as coisas são.

He has enjoyed many activities and having fun with friends.
Ele teve muitas actividades e se divertindo com os amigos.

Kole and Max teased each other and talked all about Kole's new toy gun.
Kole e Max esmiuçadas mutuamente e falei tudo sobre o novo brinquedo Kole arma.

I have tried translating this for Max's family to know he is well.
Tenho tentado traduzir isto para a família do Max de saber que ele está bem.

Max e Kole

Happy Birthday Kole and We're taking a Summer vacation!

2009-03-22T12:37:00.000-07:00

Today Kole turned 7 years old! That's right 7! It is so hard to believe it is here already. We had a very quiet at home cake, ice cream and presents. He is very happy with his gifts this year.
The first picture is the first birthday we had with Kole in China in 2006 then following that is this year's pictures.

Kole playing a video game

We all bombarded him with birthday balloons!

Birthday Cake this year

Kole with cake

Blowing out the candles

Opening Presents

Kole received a Nerf gun and extra ammo, a nerf basketball hoop for his door in his bedroom, a troll doll, and a football.

Vacation plans were started last night. We spoke with Boyd's cousin Wanda for nearly two hours. His aunt (Boyd's mom's sister) will be turning 85 this year and they are having a huge get together on July 18. So in July we will be heading on Vacation. Watch the video to see where we will be going....

In case you couldn't understand these two try this one.

She is worn out or her excitement would really show through! ha ha ha

And if you still couldn't understand her

WE'RE GOING TO MAINE IN JULY!!!!!!

We have daffodils!!!

2009-03-20T17:34:00.001-07:00

O.k. It is now spring I know it is because we have these pretty flowers that just peeped out this week!

Fun outside with the camera

2009-03-15T17:01:00.001-07:00

I thought I would see just how small this memory stick is.. ha ha

Here is the result!