How cute is that!

 

 

 

There is a group that I belong to for adoptive mom's. It is kinda like EBAY, but there are no fees or anything. People just sell their items, etc. I got this adorable coat for a great deal and it was new with tags. I just love it and it just seems to fit Anna's personality. We got Justin for a few hours this week and it was fun playing in the sunroom and outside with him. The two of them played so well together and they are so stinkin cute to watch.

National Adoption Month

Well, it is almost over now, but November is Adoption Month. I have been meaning to post the link to two of my favorite videos. One is the Bring Me Hope tearjerker about Chinese Adoptions. A must see! The other is by Steven Curtis Chapman, a Christian singer that I love who has adopted 3 daughters from China. His video is inspiring to all who might feel that adoption could be right for them. As I type, I wait for word from a couple from church. They are hoping to adopt a baby that is due ANY MINUTE. I pray that things go well for Sherry and Daniela and that they soon become parents. They have waited a long time for this and felt that adoption was the best way to start their family.

It is neat to look down at the Thanksgiving day photo of Anna and her cousin Faith and think how adoption has touched our families. Faith and Anna appear in a new book that just came out from Love Without Boundries. So many Lifelink kiddos are in the book and Anna is also in the book with all of her friends from our travel group. The book is a great way to raise money for the orphans in China. Their website http://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/ states that Love Without Boundaries is a worldwide group of volunteers who have realized that people with a pure love for helping children can truly make a difference. Of course I am an advocate for China adoptions because I received the perfect gift from China and have a love for the people of China, but we need to remember all the orphans throughout the world, no matter where they are. All children deserve the love of a family.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

 

 

Thanksgiving was at Barry's parents house this year. The Scott's were there, so the kids pretty much played all day. Faith and Anna are starting to play together a lot more and Nolan and Brandon always play well, too. Logan played games with us adults all day. It was a fun day and we were stuffed. Brandon started to not feel well, though and today has a 102.5 fever. It will be interesting to see where this leads. Darn...I hate it when the kids are sick! We knew something was up since he went from feeling great to being rather quiet! I just feel bad that everyone was around him...especially Barry's dad, whose immunities need to be guarded more than others.

Logan gets contacts! Anna needs glasses!

 

 

The time had come where Logan kept begging and begging for contacts. So, we are on a trial basis with them for 3 weeks. We will see how it goes. He is having trouble with his left eye. It is awkward to put in since he is right handed.

And yes....due to Anna's astigmatism, she needs glasses. I still find it hard to believe that she is having difficulty seeing at all. She has more fine motor control than any 3.5 year old I have ever seen. She practically came to us undressing herself the first few months. She could do buttons and zippers very early and she can cut any intricate shape out. So what is the deal? I just hope that she doesn't fight the glasses. I just feel like if she was having difficulty seeing, she would not want to sit and color and cut for such long periods of time. So, time will tell. Finding glasses to fit her is not easy. Her head is so tiny and the eye dr. only had one pair that we could test out in her size. So, next week's goal is to hunt down more to try in that size. Luckily we don't need the infant size like her tushie, but she is needing the smallest type after infant. She wants the very modern look and wants red. Mommy is pushing for the age appropriate type in a pale pink or lilac!

15 years!

Has it really been 15 years ago that we got married??? That is sooo hard to believe. I searched the computer for our weddding picture and I know it is somewhere, but I can't find it. It is a hoot. We look like kids! We were 21 and 22 years old back then! We didn't really do anything special on Wednesday for our anniversary since we had recently gone to Cancun in September to celebrate.

WOW...15 years! I was getting ready to do my Student Teaching and Barry was in his first few months in his job. Now, we are a family of 5! It has been a great 15 years!

Family Reading Nite

Anna's Story Time at the Libray performed a couple songs for Family Reading Nite. Four Boys did "I've Been Working on the Railroad" and the girls did "Your Personal Penguin". It was a real hoot. Anna missed the rehearsal where the girls were to learn the ballet moves for the song, but the Librarian wanted Anna to come anyway. It was cute, but she really didn't do a whole lot. They were given a penguin hat, a tu tu and a wand. After they sang, a band performed and THEN Anna decided to show them all her moves. She was spinning and spinning around and attempting to dance. She hadn't had a nap that day, so it was even more interesting. I think that maybe we should stick to tumbling!

Marco 2007

Another wonderful few days away in Florida. Marco Island was as heavenly as last year. The four of us "flip flop" gals had another great time from Wed-Monday. We relaxed, did some damage shopping and ate lots of dips and brownies with frosting, etc. If it had cream cheese in it, we probably ate it! Thanks to Bill and Jo once again for letting us enjoy their slice of paradise. Your hospitality is appreciated!I am amazed at how few people were there at the condo and on the beach. It is such a quiet area with a great big beach. It is so pretty and peaceful there. Last year Michelle and Heidi went parasailing and we all chartered a boat and Capt. Rich, but this year, we relaxed more. We headed into Naples one day, but other than that, we hung out at the condo.

All together, the four of us have 16 kiddos.....and 14 of them were left home with the Dad's! I have 3, Michelle has 3, Robin has 5 (4 at home) and Heidi as 5 (4 at home)! WOW...it is a wonder that we can all get away, but we are already planning next Novemeber's trip for around November 12 so I won't miss LJ's concert again!

Logan's Concert

While I was in Florida, I missed Logan's Honor Choir Concert. They performed at a local theater as guests to the older 2 Show Choirs. I HATED missing it. It was the first big concert for Logan like that and I had gotten my ticket for Marco back in the winter, so..... it was a bummer. Barry did call me before Logan was getting ready to sing his solo. That was so nice of him. Logan sounded great, but I had tears in my eyes for missing it. All the songs were water related or something like that and the solo was in Garth Brook's THE RIVER song. They all wore farmer overalls.
I am so happy to have a bunch of pictures of the concert that one of Barry's co-workers took.

Way to go Logan!

Heading to Florida!

Tomorrow I fly out to Marco Island with 3 other gals. We went there last year to Bill and Jo's (Michelle's parents) condo. We had a wonderful time. I can't wait to see the sunsets again and catch those little blips in the water of the dolphins. Here is a picture from last year.

Playing in leaves

Logan was gone again this weekend. He went on a church retreat from Friday to Sunday, so he missed out on our fun at home and at the Grandparents' houses.

Make a slide show, scrapbook or ecard

Trick or Treat

Our Halloween started at 4:15 with picking up Justin. We were glad he could join us for the night. We went to the Grandparents houses and then home for pizza before heading out for more goodies. Brandon wore his costume, but it was hard getting in and out of the car, etc. with a cardboard box! He didn't bother with it at the grandparents houses. Maybe next year he costume will be a little easier to manage. Anna enjoyed having Justin go with us. They got the hang of the whole trick or treat thing quickly. Justin kept saying "Another House? More candy?" It was funny. Anna pretty much just held her bag open and got tired of saying Trick or Treat.