The Christmas Season for Us (in pictures)

We had a great Christmas (sickness and all) this year. Nick performed beyond expectations at his Christmas pageant and if I could shorten the video, I would show it. He was so animated and fun during his caroling. I was such the proud mom!



There are so many pictures to share that I will just give a short description for each and leave the big narrative for the new year. Now that Christmas is over, I can show the surprise pics for Grandma Ruth and Ata Bob. The boys were so cute. We will try and get a picture of Dakota at our summer vacation but we couldn't pass up this chance with the two little ones. I just love Nick's big smile for Colin. Priceless! And, I just love that both the "Mom's" hands were in the pic below trying to control the pic....so funny!

The week before Christmas brought our first snow and Nick couldn't wait to get out in it with his bulldozer aka "snowplow". Amigo was frisky for an old one and was trying to pounce on Nick while making a snow angel but I was panicked because he was doing the angel where Amigo does his business so I missed the picture! :)

We started our journey south on the Saturday before Christmas. We had a great drive and stopped to eat lunch with the Hoagland's and Sulzer's at the Cracker Barrel in St. Louis. We headed South/West as the polar express climate change hit us and it literally dropped 2o degrees from StL to our next stop at the Segebarth's near Springfield. BRRRRRR! We haven't felt that kind of polar since Kaz. We had a minor detour thanks to our GPS which apparently was made by the hillbilly Sony as it took us on dirt roads and tried to get us in fenced entrances and the like......needless to say, Stacy and Brad do not live in the sticks anymore but our GPS thought they did! We had a great time eating yummy lasagna and laughing at our crazy kids.....I got a full tour of the Two Hearts for Hope warehouse (a very packed full room at the house) and was thrilled to see all of the stuff just waiting to go to the baby houses and orphanages in Kaz. Yeah! Nick loved all of their fireplace noisemakers especially this Santa. He reads "twas the night..." to you. Stacy got some better shots but here are mine. :) Trying to get all of them to look at the camera became a theme for the rest of our vacation....fireplace hearths too it seems.

Addison and Haven were the sweetest hostesses and Nick jumped right in....literally! 7 + hours in a car will do that to a 4 year old! :)

We arrived at Grandma Martha and Ata Bill's house with much excitement although Pat and I once again began the Sinus tango. UGH! New allergans and new climate.

Once the cold front moved thru the south, the usual balmy weather came and we were able to get out to the park with my sister, niece, and nephew. They had a blast together and played great the whole week.

On Christmas Eve, we made Aunt Julie's (Pat's brothers wife) rockin sugar cookies with real crisco/powdered sugar icing.....Can you say YUMMO! We made the cookies for Santa's snack and well, everyone else's too! It was so fun and I love Nick's two fisted decorating technique!

We waited for my sister, BJ, and kids to come over early on Christmas morning. We kept Nick sequestered in our bedroom until everyone was there. He was so excited but controllable...thank goodness! Mom had antlers for all (Zach of course was too cool for them). Santa got Nick the geotrax trains that he asked for ......the tougher guys and goggles and bunsen. He also got the chunkie starwars people that he loves!!! Santa is one smart cookie! Nick for some reason became attached to his Dallas Cowboy hat while in TX. He never took that hat off....even when applying the antlers! :)

Christmas Day eve, my cousin Scott and his family came over for a visit and all of the kids played great and baby Bethany was the star tumbler but I missed the pic! Scott helped me move from many an apt. and dorm room during college so he is basically my adopted brother. The girls all pounced him or as Lyndsay, my niece, said "you are trapped by girls!!!" Is that a "help me!" I hear!

And, the next firplace hearth, kid gathering but not looking picture opportunity...

We got a chance to go to the town Natatorium for a swim and Nick was in heaven! And, well, as usual underwater. This place had a lazy river to walk in and a whirlpool. Funtimes! Nick played so hard that he fell asleep at the restaurant table while eating dinner. Trust me.....this has NEVER happened. He was living the "play hard" motto all week!

We had the big family Christmas celebration on Saturday with my Aunt (mom's sister) and Uncle and the entire clan. My cousin Stephen and his family were in from Wyoming and his kids are close in age to Nick so again fun was had by all. We also found out that there may be more cousins in the future thanks to Cousin Ruth and Jeremy! Exciting times!

And then there was the token, hearth/children picture which actually had everyone looking, just not at me! Someone got a geat pic! We took a big family pic that I will have to post after it has been passed around as only one camera was used.....the kids would not last thru all of the cameras!

We had a great family visit for the week and even had the chance to have a date night with Pat's longtime highschool and fellow world traveller friend Dave and his wife Beryl as well as a visit from my highschool/college friend Mary Kay and her family. Nick was absolutely great for the whole week and I believe we can say that it was a NO timeout week.....yes, it is true.....he was so much fun! Speaking of funny....two pre-Christmas stories.

-----1. Nick was having trouble "waiting" for Christmas to come. We tried counting the days by marking an X, explaining weeks, days, hours, etc to no avail. One night we were driving home from shopping and he was particularly "frustrated" about waiting and I said something to the fact that maybe he just needed to pray to God to help him wait. He proceeded to say that he didn't want to pray and that it was just "too hard to wait" so I jokingly said kind of an aside to Pat....now, Nick the bible says "WAIT, I say, WAIT on the LORD! Nick didn't say much and Pat and I started talking about something and then we hear from the back.....a big OK, and then big sigh....."God, please help me to WAIT OF THE LORD!" We about busted a gut trying not to laugh. The way he said "Of" instead of "On" was so Ky! He was so serious and it was so sweet but the way he said it....kind of with a southern gospel accent was hilarious.

------2. Nick has been so lovey, dovey that it almost at times seems Eddie Haskell-ish. We even call him that occasionally. It is so darn sweet that you can hardly believe it. But, he topped it all in the car one night when (after I had talked about him being sweet and sharing his love with everyone previously) he proceeded to blow huge kisses to us one after another and then said (imagine donkey on Shrek saying this)...."I'm just sharin' the love" ....He continues to say this when being extra smooshy to us and it is the funniest thing but the most endearing thing ever!

-------We had an uneventful but LONG trip home and had one more surprise for Nick from Grandma Ruth and Ata Bob. A New Bike! He was thrilled especially because we had a really nice december day to try it out at the park. He did really well and we are anxious to get him out and burning energy at the first sign of spring!

Well, that is our Christmas in a not so small nutshell. We hope everyone has a great New Year's Eve and Wish everyone a blessed 2009!

Its the hap, happiest season of all.......

Nick has been a joy to be around this Holiday season. He has enjoyed every aspect of Christmas so far this year. He is singing carols, talking about Santa, wishing everyone a "Merry Christmas" and just generally being a cutie patootie. He loved putting ornaments on the tree and carefully plotted out each place.




Below he is hanging his yurt ornament from Kaz! We didn't come home with many souvenirs but we did get some!





He wanted to hang them up high and I just love this sweet picture of him hanging an ornament.






We worked hard on a Christmas card picture.....this is one of the outtakes....the dog was actually more uncooperative than Nick! :)





Tonight was the great debate.....Here in the almost south, a hint of winter weather coming can shut the city down but it could be like the boy crying wolf....so Pat being a Northerner decided to brave the "storm of the century" (this is really what it sounded like on TV) and we won! There was no precip whatsoever.... a little on the way home but nothing yet....It is still early....I am surprised school is not cancelled already. I really wanted that 3 hours tomorrow to finish up Christmas but it is not looking good......but I digress.....





Nick was so excited about going to the light display and to see Santa and the trains. It was truly PRICELESS! I found myself getting all teary and wanting to BOO HOO as we walked up to the building. It always gets to me at times like these when he expresses such pure joy and delight. For some reason my mind just wonders back to the little quiet boy with the serious look....no smile unless you tickle him.....and now, we couldn't suppress a smile even if we tried. He meets life head on now and brings joy and big Hugs to everyone he meets. I have struggled so much with the Christmas holidays since we have returned from Kaz. I just can't stand the commercialism and the craziness of consumerism. Frankly, it disgusts me now. I know that is harsh for a feel good season but we as a people need to get a grip. I always describe how I feel as the main character, Schindler from "Schindlers list" at the end where he is despairing over the fact that if he had just sold one more thing, not bought this, or not done that, he could have saved just one more life, he could have done more. That is how it is with me now....EVERYTHING equates to what the money we waste COULD be doing; Orphans could find homes, the homeless could be clothed and sheltered, the hungry could be fed but instead we buy the next biggest and best and most popular of the season. I can't look at my son's smile and the twinkle in his eye without thinking what a crime that is.....Truly learning more about the love of God thru the adoption of our son is the best gift we could have ever been given for the rest of our lives. Hearing him laugh, tell big stories, request a family hug, and say I love you mom will be the stocking stuffers that I cherish for eternity. So, maybe that is why I was weepy tonight, who knows, but I do know what sweet joy sounds like thanks to my son and my sweet and brave husband who weathered the great ice storm of 2008 (not) to have some great family time. So now, after all that pontificating, enjoy my boy's excitement and say a prayer for his "brothers and sisters" in Zhezkazgan tonight that they may find the same joy some day.






They have a great train display and Nick could have watched them all night....so could Pat!

This was the village display. If you click on the pic for a close up, you can see his excitement!

We took a little mini train ride and it was hard to keep him sitting!

He kept screaming CHOO CHOO and pulling on his pretend whistle!

He was so excited to meet Santa this year. Last year, he would run away scared to death. He couldn't wait to tell Santa what he wanted......Tougher and his train from GEOTRAX. Sure hope Santa can find them.........He was also requesting a winning season for the Packers next year!

So, for a first visit with Santa, I think it went pretty well....What do you think?

We have his school Christmas party on Thursday and I am so excited to see him sing this year. He has been singing along with the Christmas songs on the radio so I think they have been learning some of the classics at school! So sweet! We head to TX on Saturday and hope the weather cooperates as we travel south. Hoping to see some friends in St. Louis and the Segebarths of Two Hearts for Hope on our way down. We hope everyone has a wonderful joy and love filled Christmas and we pray that God will make Himself known to you in a real way thru the love of friends and family. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU!

This and That.....

The holidays have rushed upon us and Nick is way more into it this year. We have not visited Santa yet but he tells us Merry Christmas at least every other sentence! So cute! We are going to get out the nativity and some other fun little gifts from last year that explain the real meaning of Christmas. He loves bible stories so I know he will love this one! His latest fascination is Joshua and the walls of Jericho.....he marches around talking about the walls tumbling! I have been trying to teach him Vacation Bible School type songs lately and have some great CD's. I love the old stuff but he has latched on to the "new" song from Sunday School..."GOD IS Number 1, GOD IS Number 1......" over and over and over.... so true but soooo lacking in creativity and real musicianship.....it doesn't give me the "joy, joy, joy down in my heart!" :) But, I love the fact that he will sing a tune with his Mama!

We had an awesome visit with Aunt Tracey (Pat's sister) and Cousin Colin. Colin had grown alot since July and had the greatest laugh ever. He chuckled all of the time. Nick loved him and patted his head often. It was so cute. He always wanted to hold him and wanted Colin to "come play pirates with me bud!" Nick doesn't quite get the whole age difference thing....so sweet!

Sweet, Sweet Happy Colin!

I love this pajama picture of the boys...I want to crop it and get a close up of them when I get it developed....my arm doesn't add much to the pic! ha!

We had a beautiful late fall this year and the leaves are everywhere. Nick loved jumping into the piles this year...big change from last year with the screams and crying!

The Front yard Pile!

The Backyard Pile!

Pat is teaching Nick the finer details of pizza making because after all this is how he caught his awesome wife......a man that makes pizza is irresistible! This you must learn my son! :)

We have been having the attack of the Sinus Monster and I finally had to get on some high powered antibiotics and besides an irritating cough, my voice has returned and I am starting to feel normal again. Pat is trying to keep ahead of his before it gets too bad and Nick has stayed relatively healthy all year......thank goodness! He had a rough few weeks in the middle of November but has cycled out of it and is back to his extremely sweet and hilarious self. We missed him.....alot! We just wish we could predict what causes him to regress at times....you never know what triggers him but I do know that a good schedule and consistent discipline and love bring him out so that is our usual go to therapy...... I think the holidays with school disrupted and such cause some of the upset but you just never know.....breaks your heart and exhausts you all at the same time! I am so thankful for my bloggamommy friends who have also adopted.....we get each other thru the hard days and celebrate the great ones together!










Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Happy Birthday and Happy Thanksgiving!

We are celebrating at home again this year! It has been a good day! Nick has been playing pirates and castles with daddy. Pat has been cooking like a madman (me lucky girl!) and I have been lounging around with a bad sinus/cough thing AGAIN. I did contribute yesterday by making pumpkin pancakes for dinner and two pumpkin pies for today (Paula Dean recipe, yum!)

Today is also my father's birthday (and my good friend, Carrie!) so Nick had some birthday wishes! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ATA BILL!

We thought we would start videoing what he is thankful for every year and I was so happy to hear that we were first on his list since it was unscripted.....my sweet boy....we are very thankful for him!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!

oh, and if you happen to notice the missing tooth....another story for another day. :)

Fall, Glorious, Fall

We had a fabulous time at our Fall Photo shoot with our great friends, the Lykins. We have decided that it will definitely be an annual event for us. We had a glorious fall day and the trees were beautiful. Nick is at the "funny smile" stage of life but we still got some fun shots. Thank you d'Art for great memories. Grandparents, pick out your Christmas present.....ha!

He looks so old and handsome!

Pat and I think this is the real Nick....the mischevious "what have you done now" look......notice the hands in the pocket!

Nick looks quite the leader of the family.

The old home place!

The sun wasn't cooperating in this great spot but it is still cute!

They will hate these in their teenage years but AWWWW!

He was tiring of the photo shoot but how handsome he is.......

This was in an arbor with fall colors all around.

This was looking out the window of the kids cabin.....so cute!!

Enjoy the pics....It is National Adoption Awareness Month......Do you support Orphan care or Can you open up your home to someone who just wants a family to call his or her own? We all have been called!......what will you do?

Happy Halloween!

Before Halloween is a memory, I thought we would post some "just cute" videos.....they crack us up but part of the humor was in the moment so it is in our hearts and won't come across in the video. Enjoy!

cool evenings and confidence abounds

We have been enjoying cool fall evenings. While allergies keep us in on windy days, we make a beeline for the park when it is calm and cool. Nick loves the park and I am so thankful that Nick's daddy loves to be right in the mix. They run thru the playground, climb, and crawl. It is a treat to just sit back and watch them play.

Well, our next second time around event came and went today. We had Nick's second halloween party at preschool. Last year, he did not have a clue what was going on and was quite ambivalent about the whole affair. He would not participate in the program and would not even stand with his peers. He had to be with me almost the whole time. While I am so glad that we still had him attend all of the "first time" events, it was hard as a new parent to go thru those events thinking that maybe "this time" he would enjoy it and be like the other kids his age. Most people knew that he was adjusting to a new home and family but there were times that I still found myself wanting to "explain" why he was having a meltdown at a party, sporting event, carnival, etc. I would get so hurt by the "looks". I just wanted to scream with him. I wanted to get a shirt that said "my child is suffering from post traumatic stress, what is your child's excuse?" :) But we have all survived. Nick has really taken on a new confidence lately. He has matured in many ways. Again this last week, his speech teacher said that she has seen a big difference just since August. I think she is as amazed as we are. Today's Halloween Party was huge for me. I got to be a "normal" mom. I watched my child, antsy with anticipation, hurry to his classroom so the party could start. I watched him sing songs, shake his booty, do almost all the hand motions, and even crack a joke that everyone laughed at in the crowd. It was a grand moment indeed! I could write on and on about all the little things that he is doing now that just amaze us but it is hard to describe the change in words that give the full extent of the metamorphosis. Nick went to bed tonight so excited that tomorrow is halloween and that this year he will go trick or treating. He has been talking about it all week. It seems that for us, second time is the charm and the fun and the joy!

Once again, I felt the need to post this year and last year pictures. The pictures are of the same party at his preschool just one year apart. The turtle is last year, and of course, what else but the Pirate this year!

I will finish this post with a sweet Nick-ism from Pat. We were a part of the church service last week as they were speaking on human trafficking. Adoption was discussed as one way we can all be a part of aiding and rescuing children at risk. While we were at the front of the church for after service questions, Pat was walking Nick around and talking about the stage and such. Pat said he asked about the baptismal area and Pat gave him a 4 year old version answer and Nick said "so, like a bath, you go in dirty and you come out clean" ......no wonder Christ told us to have the Faith of a Child.......they get it. So simple, So sweet.