Friday, November 27, 2009

Giving Thanks


I love Thanksgiving. It seems to be the one holiday that isn't overcommercialized and still truly revolves around families coming together to count their blessings. I have so very, very much to be thankful for this year.


I am thankful for my beautiful boys who brighten my world every single day.


I am thankful for my adorable daughter who always has a kiss on her lips and a hug in her arms just for me.


I am thankful for my partner-in-crime. Not only is he a wonderful husband, he's also the best father I've ever seen.


And last, but certainly not least, I am thankful for our new baby boy. Although he is still waiting for us in China, he is always in our hearts and we can't wait to pick him up in just a few months.


I hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Wordless Wednesday

Fall fun. You'll notice Moneky is not in any of the photos; he's in an anti-picture phase. Should make Christmas card pictures fun...sigh....


Sweet siblings

Playing in the leaves

My little daydreamer

HD's first attempt at finger-painting

The end result (notice the paper is still blank!)

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Happy Birthday to You

My little Chipmunk is 7-years-old today. Wow. I'm having trouble wrapping my head around it. It honestly feels like just a couple of years ago we were in Russia picking up our tiny little 14-month-old who was barely crawling and never uttered a sound. Today we have a full-fledged boy that is always playing some kind of ball and doesn't know the meaning of the word quiet. Even though he sometimes makes me want to pull my hair out and loves testing boundaries, he is truly a joy ever single day. He holds such a special place in my heart and I am honored that I was allowed to be his mommy.



His CandyLand birthday cake...a great way to get rid of Halloween candy!

Can you tell what his favorite present was?!?!

His one request: Going to our favorite Mexican restaurant where they celebrate birthdays by shoving icecream in your face!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Trick-or-Treat


Another Halloween is in the books and it was a great one. The weather was perfect - a cool and crisp fall night. It is so nice when Halloween falls on a weekend night too; no running around after school trying to get changed, no having to stop trick-or-treating early to get in bed for school the next morning. The boys are at such a fun age - they totally get into dressing up and running from house to house asking for treats. HD had fun too. She didn't want to ride in her stroller though; she wanted to walk with the big kids. She was so funny - she would walk up to a door, get her treat, drop her bag, and then try to sit down on the porch and eat her candy. She did great though and walked through the neighborhood continually making the sign for candy at each house we passed:)
My kids know that on Halloween night, they get a free pass on eating candy. They can eat however much they can shove into their mouths. Boy oh boy, did they take advantage of that. Unfortunately, Chipmunk had a little too much candy and ended up getting sick in the middle of the night. He was sick throughout the next day too so I'm not sure if it was the candy or a virus.
I can't believe it is already November. I'm sure the rest of the year will fly by from this point on. Chipmunk's birthday is next week (can you believe he's going to be 7!?!) and then Thanksgiving and Christmas fesitivities begin.

Ready to start the night


Do you have any candy in there yet?


Trying to keep up with the big kids


Having fun with their cousin

Monkey going through his loot

HD trying to steal Chipmunk's candy

Chocolate!!


Can we say "sugar-high"?