Got Kimchi?

A Boy and His Dog

2012-02-16T18:08:00.001-08:00

Ruffy was looking scruffy so it was time for his first bath. His proud owner could not have been happier about that.

The cuteness continues:

A couple of days ago I heard Erik get off the couch and start running towards the kitchen where I was. Of course I immediately heard him trip and fall. I walked towards the living room and sure enough he was sprawled out on the floor. He looked up at me and said, “Mommy, say ‘Safe’”

Vans

2012-02-15T19:30:00.001-08:00

I remember saving every dollar and dime I made in seventh grade to buy my first Vans. They were the newest and coolest thing then. They were blue and white with checkers along the bottom. Erik lucked out...Gramma bought his first pair.

Today was our last chemistry experiment. Today we learned about enzymes and temperature. It was a hit again. And we ate it for dinner!

Using warm water/warm location to rest with vs. cold water/refrigerator to get the dough to rise.

Real Science 4 Kids

My Little Valentines

2012-02-14T19:14:00.001-08:00

And this is how we end!

You Were Right!

2012-02-13T19:28:00.001-08:00

We have been talking about getting a minivan for a long time. We started thinking about it more seriously last summer when my car starting making that weird noise and we knew we were going to have three kids. There were only a couple of colors that we liked (it's sort of large vehicle to be covered in a color you don't like...it's a little too much 'Salsa Red' for me.) I also wanted the beige interior. Turns out that the combo we liked best is the least common. Our friend has searched for us for a long time. He was pretty sure it would never happen. Since number three is so far away it really didn't matter to me if we waited to see if one would come up. Well...on Friday afternoon Harvey told me that he had to go to the store to get some things for work. A couple of hours went by and I was starting to wonder where exactly the store was located. He finally called and said our friend who works for Toyota had a minivan that we might be interested in. He had to get home though so we had to hurry over there. Harvey got home in a few minutes and then we all drove over to the dealership. Well, it was exactly what we wanted. Our friend said we would probably never have a chance at this combo again. I asked Harv if we should talk about it, and then our friend handed me the key. Harv had already bought it! Happy Valentine's Day, birthday, Mother's Day, Christmas...for the rest of my life! Ryan knew about it for the last week or two. I can't believe he never even hinted about it. Anywho...I am a minivan mom!

Since no one is bringing their kid home anytime soon, our agency is letting us send another small care package this week. I went way colorful! And coordinating!

Ryan's teacher suggested that the kids make their valentines...which meant that Ryan absolutely had to make the valentines. Imagine how long making 16 valentines took...now add a couple of days.

This is what our dining room table looks like every day! : (

But they turned out so cute!

(I asked Ryan if he wanted to do something different for the boys. We had some old race car valentines..."No, I'm going to put an arrow on it. An arrow is kind of like a weapon, so the boys will like it.")

Guess What This Is!

2012-02-12T17:13:00.001-08:00

The Smile

2012-02-11T19:33:00.001-08:00

It always ends like this!

For Your Reading Pleasure

2012-02-10T17:05:00.001-08:00

Erik loves to tell me stories. Here is the latest. I think he has a writing career ahead! : )

He was a fish named Erik. He ate a yummy little fish. Then he ate a bug. Erik had a friend named Kitty Cat Girl. They played in the water. They started splashing. Then Erik’s mom said, “Stop splashing me!” Then they cuddled in Erik’s soft blanket. At night they read books. Then they played dot to dot in the morning. They started hugging a monster. The monster got angry. He drove a street cleaner to get away.

(gotta love a surprise ending!)

And a little alliteration for you all: Ryan raced really recklessly down the road.

Ten tardy turtles tug a timid ranger.

On to Cuter Topics

2012-02-09T17:31:00.001-08:00

Now this is a cute hairdo! I wasn’t expecting a photo right now so it was a very nice way to start the day. How about those chubbalicious hands! She is slimming down. She is just a little over 25lbs. So she has gone from the 75%-90% group to 50%-75% in weight. We didn’t get any other info. this time, but a short time back we learned that she is walking well, saying a few words, and that she likes to tear pages out of books. She is really looking like a little girl. I hope we don’t lose too much more chubbiness before she comes home!

From Hair Don’t…to Hair Do

2012-02-08T19:51:00.001-08:00

We spend the big bucks on the boys hair...$8. The downside is the language barrier with the stylist. It has been hit and miss but usually I can go with it. This last time I was trying to explain that I wanted to keep Erik's hair a little longer but to clean up the sides and back so it wasn't coming over his ears...Well, it ended up really short on the sides and had a thick section on top. I tried to go with it, but every time I looked at him I was staring at the thick blob of hair on top. I asked him if Daddy could buzz his hair like Ryan's. "Can I have a lollipop?" was the reply and off to the bathroom we went.

So I went and got a perm today. It is always nice to sit down and have your stylist say, "Wow, you have so much more grey hair!" I was kind of kidding (but not totally) yesterday when I said not to comment on my hair, but as I sat in the chair after she took the rods out and cut it I was sort of panicking. It was so short and curly! My last cut was a little short for me but I really didn't care. But this was ugly too! As she was blow drying she was telling me how it would relax and look longer. She kept pulling it down towards my chin. Ha! It would have been hilarious if it was someone else's hair! Once she dried my bangs it looked better. But just to be safe, tell me you love it.

I’m Back

2012-02-07T20:29:00.001-08:00

This is not my first 3 pack in the last couple of weeks. I’m not a big fan of keeping track of those kinds of things, so we’ll leave it at that. I AM a fan of Tin Roof Sundae. Last night Harvey asked me if there was any ice cream left. I hit him in his good arm, the one without the SHINGLES. No, I haven’t finished the second gallon yet! How rude! And yes, I am refraining tonight…well, maybe. It’s only 9pm.

I looked to 2012 with such excitement. Finally, we were in the year we would bring our girl home. The excitement filled Jan. 1 (except for the painful rash on my face.) It, the excitement, left Jan. 2nd. (The rash lasted the rest of the week, which was a relief, since I had to then focus on a broken crown and a broken filling on two different teeth.) On Jan. 2, our agency called with troubling information.

As much as a part of me wants to write out all of the details, I know it’s better not to at this point. It was a month of waiting on our agency and another country over things we have no control of. It is a situation that only pertains to us. Some things we have been able to find out, other things we probably won’t, at least until later.

To make matters worse, Korea has made no movement on a single EP (emigration permit). This means that not one child has been allowed to start the process of coming home. There is some hope that they will start again in Feb. but no one has heard anything from the government. No one knows how many EPs will be issued and at what pace they will flow. No one knows if/when they will stop again. New rules begin in July. Trying to imagine how things are not going to slow or stop again then. Nothing yet. So, sitting around eating chocolate and ice cream felt better than blogging. I’m getting phone calls about the lack of photos though, so I’m going to see if I can blog and eat at the same time.

So back to the SHINGLES…Harvey ~~finally~~ got started on the bathroom again. I may have had ulterior motives in my cute little “2012 New Year’s Eve” paper I had everyone fill out. I mean, I didn’t force him to write down “finish bathroom” in the goal section. I just don’t think I’m that kind of person. I’m probably not that kind of person. It’s only been four and a half years. I’m more of a patient person…No, that’s not right. Anyway, I don’t like keeping track of those kind of things either.

Well, Harvey was under the house welding for a couple of days. Not continuously…but you know, for a long time. A day later or so he started to say how much his shoulder hurt. Next day it was the same. And so on. Finally yesterday, he was talking about it again and saying how it was swollen. Seeing as I almost have a degree from Web MD, I took a look and concluded he must have gotten bit by some horrible creature that was crawling under my bathroom (which does not have a floor to keep such a creature from crawling into my bed…) I told him to head over to urgent care, so he went to bed and called the doctor today. The doctor looked at it and immediately said, “Shingles.” He also said that he waited too long and he could no longer have the shot that would have halved its course. Nothing makes you feel young and fit like a case of shingles! So if you are old, sick, or pregnant, stay away from Harvey.

So the reality is that we don’t even have a guess of when Kimmy will come home. The chances of it being this summer don’t look good, but I still think it because I can’t afford to buy new pants. I’m still in the/an angry stage so don’t say anything about my hair, or anything that might make me clear out Trader Joe’s bin of chocolate ~~again~~.

Tomorrow I’ll put up a photo of Erik’s new hairdo. But don’t say anything about the area Mommy tried to fix!

Time for some Tin Roof!

Motorcross

2012-01-29T20:09:00.001-08:00

Last night we went to see super motorcross. The boys loved it. Since there was almost no traffic on the freeway, we thought this might be a smaller crowd than the monster truck one. Oh, my heavens were we wrong. We had to park in the overflow parking’s overflow parking. We had to hike over a mile to get to the stadium. Seems a little far for a $30 parking spot!

That’s Erik asleep behind Ryan. Can’t even begin to tell you how cold and noisy it was…

Got Mud?

2012-01-27T19:11:00.001-08:00

I hope our little girl likes to get dirty!

Happy New Year

2012-01-24T18:54:00.001-08:00

Erik loves doing school activities. I’m going to have to pull it together for next year. If Ryan keeps going to his school, then we probably won’t send Erik to the preschool Ryan went to. I really liked it, but it was half the time for the same price as Ryan’s current school.

(Hubbard’s Cupboard)

Today was dragon day in art class to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Encouraging Adoption in Korea

2012-01-22T21:52:00.000-08:00

There is a new effort by a Korean church and two other groups to encourage the Korean government to continue and speed up adoption both domestically and internationally. The desire is that placing children in loving homes would be seen positively and that it would be encouraged. Here's more information about their next step:

New Sleeping Arrangements

2012-01-22T16:51:00.001-08:00

On Friday Ryan and Erik made a ‘fort’ on Ryan’s bed. The pillows weren’t quite up to holding the weight of the blanket and Ryan was pretty sure that he needed to work inside a fort to keep the creative writing juices flowing. Fortunately, we were able to get the tent up in time for him to finish writing his story! The boys decided to sleep in it that night. Erik finally stopped talking about 9:30. Last night, after we got home from Harvey’s aunt and uncle’s for Chinese New Year (and probably the largest amount of food I’ve ever consumed in one sitting), they both fell asleep in about two minutes. So it looks like this will be the new sleeping quarters for a while.

Got Goo?

2012-01-20T17:49:00.001-08:00

This week we learned about polymers. I’m telling you, I’m learning a lot! We mixed glue and liquid starch…

2012-01-18T18:55:00.001-08:00

2012 has felt a ~~little~~ lot like a battle so far…

Thankfully, we know God is sovereign.

Got Legos!

2012-01-13T18:21:00.001-08:00

Today we went and saw a Lego display. We walked around it four times. Ryan asked if he could bring a notebook next time so he could write down ideas. : )

For Uncle Dan

This was my favorite. There is a camo rv in the back.

After the Lego tour we had lunch in the park.

We then walked over to a small museum and played for a little while.

We then headed straight to Peet’s for a large coffee for Mommy.

The Artist

2012-01-12T18:58:00.001-08:00

Erik in play dough form. Not sure about the leg injury.

We started another art class. This is our family under an apple tree. Looks about right to me.

2012-01-08T19:58:00.001-08:00

Yesterday Ryan had a birthday party to go to so Erik and I hung out at the little zoo while Ryan partied at the museum. Erik had a party to go to also but he caught Ryan’s cold and has a nasty cough, which he usually shares with anyone near him. I thought I would be safe and not have him coughing all over the other two and three year olds. He seemed to be getting a little better, but today he is much worse so we stayed home.

I thought it would be nice for Erik to get a little cupcake since he missed his party so I bought him one when I got an allergy one for Ryan. This is the shirt I chose for the chocolate cupcake. Please enjoy it for the last time!

Oh, the romance!

Got Cute!

2012-01-07T19:34:00.001-08:00

We got a new picture of our girl. It’s a little blurry but fun to see such a cute smile! Foster mom put her in the sweater we sent her and used the hair clip we sent too.

Got Pudding?

2012-01-05T17:38:00.001-08:00

Ryan could not believe Erik’s luck when he saw the pictures of him writing in pudding a while back. When he saw some more in the fridge…

We are finishing up with owls.

We’ve Got a Sleuth

2012-01-04T20:24:00.001-08:00

At dinner last night Ryan broke the news: “ I know Santa isn’t real. Want to know how I know?” Of course we were all ears. “I saw the ‘Santa’ paper in your closet.” We could tell he was figuring it out this year. After I told him to keep out of my closet (which also holds his birthday present which he also now knows all about) he began to clear up the whole Santa thing for us. “I mean, reindeer can’t fly and how can he go around the whole world.” He thought it was beyond funny and promised not to ruin it for his brother. His only problem was, “Then who ate all of the cookies?”

Ahhh, new play dough

What a Year!

2012-01-03T19:15:00.001-08:00

We have a new writer in the house!

Weaver

2012-01-01T20:41:00.001-08:00

Gramma got Ryan a weaving kit. Oh, the memories. We had drawers full when I was of weaving age. Each of them had lightly browned edges and each of us had slightly burned fingertips.

The first of many I’m sure!

Check

2011-12-31T15:43:00.001-08:00

Why not end the year checking off a couple of things? I got Harvey to hang both the quilt from Gramma and the chandelier I bought a few months ago. The room is starting to look so cute. I’m now trying to talk Harvey into putting the crown molding and baseboards in Kimmy’s room. He’s not ~~totally~~ with me on it. He wants to wait until we replace all of the bedroom windows and then do the woodwork around the windows along with the moldings…I’m thinking she might be in college by then.

I love this quilt because elephants have about the same gestation as a Korean adoption!

Happy New Year!

End of the Year Ideas

2011-12-30T19:41:00.001-08:00

I love sending and receiving Christmas cards. I always struggle with what to do with them after Christmas, especially ones with pictures. Since the boys enjoy looking at all of the pictures too, I put them in a little book. I only had gigantic rings, but it’s such a great idea. I found the printout at: eighteen25

I also found this at eighteen25 for tomorrow night.

Owl Pellets

2011-12-29T20:29:00.001-08:00

Before our Christmas break we started learning about owls. I, of course, had no idea that was going to involve owl pellets. Owls don’t chew up all those pesky bones when they have a squirrel for dinner. They later throw up a pellet of bones and fur for kids to look through. As soon as I pulled the thing out I knew it was time for reinforcements: enter Daddy.

As I was starting to throw everything away so I could do a major bleaching job, Harvey came up with this great idea of saving all of the bones…

Christmas Day

2011-12-28T17:46:00.001-08:00

The reindeer must have been full by the time they reached our house.

Santa supports good oral hygiene!

Erik is going camo too!

“This is just what I wanted!”

MIL made us this wonderful sign with our last name on it. I can’t wait to put up. We just have to pick the perfect location.

“Will not damage walls…”

I totally believe this toy won’t damage my walls. I mean two boys racing metal cars on the wall…no problem!

I found this idea last year in the Family Fun magazine. Too cute!

A day’s work

The Day After

2011-12-27T17:27:00.001-08:00

This was our card this year.

And here is our photo

And our tree on Christmas Eve

I’m skipping over all of the Christmas day photos until next time and getting right to the action around here:

ALL of the boys got Nerf guns.

This isn’t the one I tried to talk Harvey into!

Harvey decided to stay home on Monday so I decided to take advantage…that meant everything Christmas was put away.

Visions of Sugar Plums…

2011-12-24T21:45:00.001-08:00

This is the cute Korean flag I found for Erik this year.

Since Ryan is all about camouflage this year…

Can you see it?

Time to make cookies for Santa:

Yep, those are the clothes they were wearing yesterday. This morning Erik walked into my room and said, “Can we make frosting now?”

When we got home from church tonight we found two new bags from our Secret Santa.

They ran into the bathroom to get some water and just parked it there. Why waste time going to a clean table?

Secret Santa has given them a good supply of growing things.

Erik’s first doodle at big church. I wonder how many offering envelopes the average kid goes through in a lifetime…

Why we should always be around kids at Christmas:

One of the pastors read a cute story about why we put lights on our Christmas trees. Before he got started he asked the kids if they knew why we put lights on the tree. A little girl’s hand shot up: “So Santa won’t trip over the tree.”
After he finished the story he went to light the Christ candle in the Advent wreath. He asked them if they knew what the candles were for. This time a little boy raised his hand, “Hanakkah!” : )

One present before bed:

A little honesty never hurts! Hopefully Santa will go for ‘pretty good’.

I walked out of the room for like a minute and the boys (Harvey and Ryan) had opened the Play Mobil from G and G.

Ready for visions of sugar plums…

Merry Christmas!

A Day at the Country Club

2011-12-21T17:26:00.001-08:00

Harvey’s aunt invited us to their country club for lunch today. I didn’t eat breakfast in preparation. They know lunch! We hadn’t seen them for almost a year so it was great to spend some time with our cousins too.

I remember the first time I went to the club. Harvey and I had just started dating so I was meeting most of his family for the first time. Of course I didn’t have anything appropriate to wear so I had to go out and buy an outfit, shoes and purse too. (It paid off though, I got the guy and I wore the shoes again today!) It’s a pretty fancy spread at Christmas time. After we gorged ourselves with endless shrimp and prime rib we decided to hit the dance floor, you know, while we waited for dessert. After a couple of songs we went back to visit with everyone…which proved difficult since they all left while we were dancing so they could play mah-jong.

Obviously we aren’t county club folk!

First lesson

Who let the ‘dog’ on the green? I’m pretty sure they enjoyed the barking, it’s helpful when you are trying to make a putt.

Another gorgeous December day.

S.S. was Here

2011-12-20T19:06:00.001-08:00

S.S. has been here a couple of times this last week. The boys just love opening these fun bags.

I was so proud of how much stuff I got done early this year and yet I am still finding things I need to do.

We’re learning about owls!

Pictures Do a Mommy Good

2011-12-19T19:15:00.001-08:00

I was getting ~~a little~~ very concerned that we hadn’t received an update this month. We just found out that our social worker went to Korea last week and got to meet our little girl. She sent some pictures and boy did I need that! It just lifted my spirits today, especially since she looks to be doing so well and couldn’t be cuter. I haven’t had a chance to talk to our social worker but I want to hear first hand about her personality and any other info. I can get from her.

Not to worry you, that’s foster mom’s forehead in the top corner! : )

Foster mom whipped the barrettes we sent into her hair! She seems to like the keys we sent. I forgot to include one other toy so hopefully we’ll get to send another package when the next group comes home.

All of the kids matched Nov. 2010 from our agency are home. Dec. through May are now ahead of us. Unfortunately, things slow down for the New Year celebrations and less happens in Jan. Now we wait to see how things get going in 2012. It will be so great to finally be in the year she comes home!

The Blame Game

2011-12-12T20:34:00.001-08:00

Ryan and Erik came into my room yesterday when I was wrapping a few gifts. As I was getting up from the floor I noticed a pile of sand by the closet. After going through the daily “leave your shoes by the back door” speech, I asked Erik who he thought could have left all that sand on my floor. Without missing a beat he said, “Maybe our little sister.” Little sister is in for a tough road if she is already being blamed for things while she is in another country!

Take 2

2011-12-11T20:26:00.001-08:00

How’s that for morning head?

For FGRMA

Take 2:

Our tree hugger

…and then we went home.

(Will be using a photo from the first shoot.)

In the Beginning…

2011-12-09T16:21:00.001-08:00

S.S was here. New Advent calendar!

Erik and I have been working on a new book:

This is from Hubbard’s Cupboard. She has tons of fun activities.

Oh Christmas Tree…

2011-12-08T20:01:00.001-08:00

We made our annual trip up into ~~the beautiful forest~~ Lowes to ~~cut down~~ carry out our beautiful Christmas tree.

Proof that Harvey should be in charge of lights!

Ta-Da!

This is How All of Our Photos Sessions End

2011-12-07T17:25:00.001-08:00

Secret Santa stopped by today!

(by the way, I have no part in this…it’s really a S.S.)

Ryan has been guessing what he might get next!

So I decided I better get to taking the boys picture so once I finally get the cards done…I can put a picture in it. We got some cute photos, but did we get THE ONE? Not so sure about it. Guess what they get to do on Friday! : )

Here’s a few cute, not going into the card, photos:

…and so we went home.

GROSS:

Erik just came in and sat on my lap while I was finishing this post. He was quietly chewing. I asked him what he was eating. “Nothing,” he said as he opened his mouth. “What did you just finish?” I asked. “I won’t get mad, just tell me.” “Fingernails,” he said pointing to his bare feet.

Secret Santa

2011-12-06T20:21:00.001-08:00

This year I wanted to make more of an effort of celebrating Advent. Back in September when I was ordering school supplies I ordered a book by Lisa Whelchel (Blair on Facts of Life) that explained the story behind each of the Christmas symbols… I finally found it yesterday in the bookshelf I had looked through about eight times. I also wanted to do an Advent wreath and light the candles each Sunday together as a family. We missed the first week but I managed to pull it together for this last Sunday (except for the Christ candle, which I think is kind of important.) The other book I ordered last week which has a reading for each day and an activity hasn’t shipped yet…and this would pretty much summarize life around here. What are the chances I’ll put these altogether, in a place I can find them, on time, next year?

When we got home from church on Sunday Ryan and Erik each had a special bag with their names on them. They got these fun gingerbread stickers. It seems they have a secret Santa!

Today was the last day of art class for Erik. He just loved it and I enjoyed doing a fun class with just him.

2011-12-03T19:58:00.001-08:00

The decorating has begun!

Today we went to a birthday party at the Discovery Museum and it was lots of fun.

This is my kind of December day!

Un-Mixing

2011-11-30T20:55:00.001-08:00

Sometimes it’s better if Harvey doesn’t see how I keep Erik busy…

I delayed this lesson a couple of times because it had a lot prep and took a while to complete. We finally got to it today and it was a lot of fun. Last time we experimented with mixing different liquids like oil/water and milk/water… Today we un-mixed different things. Some were easy, like Legos and rocks and some were more difficult to figure out, like salt and sand.

Ryan thought of cutting small holes in the bag for the sand to fall out, leaving only the rocks. It worked, but it was slow. We switched to the basket which was much faster. We have lots of experience ‘unmixing’ sand and debris!

We even separated colors!

Visiting

2011-11-29T19:32:00.001-08:00

Last night we had special guests. Harvey’s fake brother and SIL came for dinner. They are missionaries on the other side of the world and are here for a visit. It’s been a long time since we have seen them and it was great to catch up. Ryan took the money and postcards they brought him to show and tell today.

This is about the farthest Ryan ever got from his auntie the whole night.

At one point Ryan left and come back with his baby book to show her…thankfully she has saintly patience!

We’re Back

2011-11-27T16:59:00.001-08:00

Well, we didn’t go anywhere, other than Target but I took a little break from the camera and the blog. That means I have no Thanksgiving pictures. How can it be?

We made these cool leaves last week. It’s been hard to fit in fun arts/crafts things with Ryan gone all day T/Th. We have a lot of reading and such to get done on the other days. I found a great blog with really fun art activities and this was one of them. Her leaves are fantastic. This was a good first shot. We colored Elmer’s glue for the border and used water colors for the rest. Erik’s is on top. He loves art as much as Ryan does.

Here's the link:

http://pinkandgreenmama.blogspot.com/

“Erik, look tough!”

Ryan asked me to take a photo of his skid mark. Nice pants!

Leaves

2011-11-22T19:57:00.001-08:00

One Little Indian

2011-11-21T17:59:00.001-08:00

Ryan’s class had a Thanksgiving party and invited the parents. When I arrived Ryan escorted me to my seat. We ate and played some games. It was fun.

Tape Man

2011-11-20T19:37:00.001-08:00

That’s his official title at the boxing station. I’m surprised he hasn’t asked for a tape gun for Christmas. If you are moving any time soon, he’s your guy! We have had a great time this week packing the larger boxes with the Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. After making boxes for the last few years, it’s really great to be part of the next step. All of these boxes, close to 5,000, will go to another local church who will then send them to L.A.

“1” is Fun!

2011-11-19T17:19:00.001-08:00

For My FMIL

2011-11-18T16:29:00.001-08:00

Just wanted my MIL to know I made her boy some pie!

Apple-persimmon, and it was fabulous!

Merry Christmas Baby!

2011-11-16T19:34:00.001-08:00

On my lunch break yesterday I wrapped up our little girl’s Christmas present and then mailed it. It’s the last gift we can send this year. A few more families will get to pick up their kids in December and then nothing happens for the rest of December and much of January. I think it’s the most frustrating time. It’s a lot of New Year holidays, no working, no kids coming home. I’m finding that I just can’t let myself think about it at all or I start to lose it. Hopefully we’ll get another picture in December when she turns 14 months. Wow that is a lot of time missed! Painful to think we have at least another 7 months to go.

In His Element

2011-11-15T20:02:00.001-08:00

Tonight we took over some of the shoeboxes from church to another church where they were counted and boxed. Ryan could not have loved it all any more.

Obviously I was exhausted because no right thinking person would have brought a three year old just before dinner and after the day of errands that we had:

Yes, I’m going to share because it was ridiculous and no right thinking person would make a three year old do it.

After school we went to Erik’s art class for an hour, then to the library, then to Costco, then to Safeway, then home to drop things off and eat lunch. Then to the post office, JCP’s to pick up photos, and Whole Foods. We came home and picked up the cupcakes and cake and took it to Ryan’s school for the teacher’s birthday. We drove home and had a snack and then I took Ryan to his hour long art class. After we got home, we loaded the car with 102 shoeboxes and then worked for an hour packing the larger boxes. And that is why I couldn’t think clearly and let Erik come with us. Lesson learned.

Having Some Fun

2011-11-14T19:03:00.001-08:00

I purchased tickets to the amusement park at Costco at the beginning of the summer and `realized this week that they expired at the end of the month, so we took advantage of the nice weather and had a fun day together.

I forgot to take a picture of the lot of stuffed animals. We came home with five.

We ran into some friends we haven’t seen for a while.

This little lady rode on Erik the entire ferris wheel ride.

Can you see how long Erik’s eyelashes are?

Ryan got the same color car three different times…after all of these years of loving pink, he doesn’t love it so much anymore!

We’re Done!

2011-11-12T18:42:00.001-08:00

I mean soccer is over. Baseball is over. We have our weekends back. Busy, but without sports. Ryan couldn’t have had better coaches. It was a great season…but we’re done! Whoohoo!

Where’s Erik

2011-11-11T18:22:00.001-08:00

Erik has been into hide and seek lately. This is his new favorite spot.

Erik wants to do school too now.

I just wrote 1-12 in the bottom of each cup.

Does it Mix?

Photos as Usual

2011-11-09T19:24:00.001-08:00

I meant to take the boys in to get some pictures taken in Sept. but by the time I got around to thinking about making an appointment they needed haircuts again. I finally managed to get them in today though I did have to do a little snipping over Ryan’s ears. I was kind of happy with myself that we were clean and in the car with time to spare. Once we got to the mall Ryan of course had to go to the bathroom. We’ve made that trip. The store bathroom is the farthest point possible from the photo place so there was no way we were doing that. I forgot to restock the ziplocks so I had to dump all of the cassettes out of their bag for him. Turns out the bag was as old as the cassettes…so as he peed into the bag it leaked out…in the car, and neither one was about to stop. So…once I got the bag out so it could leak out all over the parking spot instead and I got as cleaned up as I could, we had to race into the store as usual.

Since the boys were all spiffy I made them pose once we got home too.

This is how I know the picture taking time is ending.

Orphan Sunday

2011-11-06T16:01:00.001-08:00

Today is an important day. A day to remember those we are called to defend, to love, to care for. I’m adopted. I remember the fear I felt after my mom died that my dad might die too, and leave me an orphan. But I was adopted by another mom and that brought me great peace and security. That was my second adoption. I was adopted into God’s family when I was seven. I am his beloved daughter. God loves adoption. I do too.

Orphans

2011-11-05T20:40:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow is Orphan Sunday. It’s a chance to learn about the needs of millions of orphans around the world and to consider how we can share God’s love and hope with them. How we can make a difference in one life. “Defend the cause of the fatherless…” Isaiah 1:17

The Air Show

2011-11-04T19:03:00.001-07:00

“Mom, can you see me?”

(Nothing beats first grade humor!)

The Cost of Following Christ

2011-11-02T21:02:00.001-07:00

Several friends donated to our garage sale in September. I got to do a little early shopping as I set things up for the day. I found this book and thought it looked interesting. I have read several books about the brutal treatment of so many Chinese by Japan during the war, but I had never read about what happened in Korea. This is the story of a young teacher who refused to bow to a Japanese shrine and was imprisoned for her faith in Christ.

While the story ends with her freedom at the end of WWII and her escape below the 38th parallel, the story of similar horror continues for those who are still in North Korea. North Korea is listed as the number one persecutor of Christians in the world. Unfortunately, it is not just N. Korea. There are over 100 million Christians suffering persecution all over our world today. The sobering fact is that many of those suffering are actually praying for us in America, knowing that our freedom and prosperity have actually kept us from knowing God the way they do, if at all. They know each time they share Christ with someone it may cost them their life. What does it cost me? More importantly, what does it cost those who never hear about Christ? This book has reminded me of how great my God is. That He is faithful to His people and that He is sovereign over all. I have to admit I mostly read this book tucked in my warm bed, wondering if I could sleep winter after winter in a cold prison cell, hungry and sick, and still sing to the Lord with gratefulness and joy; yet so wanting to experience God as she did.

A Fishy Halloween

2011-11-01T20:43:00.001-07:00

After walking around the aquarium for FIVE hours the boys talked the entire way home. As soon as we got home they played outside until dinner. After dinner they walked around the neighborhood for an hour and a half. Oh my was I tired! Didn’t seem to phase them a bit.

Last year Erik’s trick or treating experience lasted about 30 seconds. I got him dressed up, he answered the door, took one look at Yoda, ran screaming into the kitchen, and that was the end of the night for him.

I’m not a fan of Halloween decorations…especially evil looking ones. I tried to bypass this neighbor but they weren’t at all scared. After we left Erik said, “Mommy, I didn’t freak!”

These are our neighbors.

As soon as we walked in the door Ryan wanted to sort his candy. Okay, best part of Halloween! Sort and trade! Once again he was such a great sport about not getting to have most of it because of his allergies. Being the supportive mother that I am, I assured him that I would take care of all of the candy bars for him.

To Be Clear:

“COOL!”

“SCARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

The Play’s At First!

2011-10-30T17:57:00.001-07:00

Ryan got his first chance to play in the infield. He played first. Turns out it’s a pretty tough position. He loved it nonetheless of course.

WHOOPS

Today was the last day of fall ball. It was a great experience and helped us decide about where to put him next year. We got another wonderful coach this season. In fact, there were six dads coaching each week. We are hoping that most of these players will stay together in the spring. We would love to have this coach again.

All Dressed Up and Somewhere To Go!

2011-10-29T21:19:00.001-07:00

Today we went to a friend’s Halloween party. After talking up the monkey costume for weeks I had gotten Erik pretty excited about it. I finally got around to going to the shed to look for it…

fortunately he was into the frog!

He’s actually quite jumpy!

Yep, I keep a Snow White costume in my closet.

The photographer was reprimanded for not fixing the princess’s collar!

Taking Requests

2011-10-28T19:55:00.001-07:00

Erik requested his creation go up on the blog!

The boys have been crazy for Legos lately.

Switching Things Up

2011-10-27T16:58:00.001-07:00

I was asking Ryan why he wasn’t switch hitting this season…

so he decided to switch things up last Sunday. Great, me and my big mouth…it was looking like it was going to be his first time not getting a hit up at bat. Of course the day is coming, but I was hoping it wouldn’t be upon my comments and all. While I was sweating it out on the bleachers I heard some annoying mother tell him to switch sides. I don’t know who she was, though her voice was familiar, but he didn’t hear her or at least didn’t listen. Next thing you know, “CRACK” went the bat and he was off. Good thing he stuck with it and didn’t listen to ~~his mother~~ that old lady! Hope she learned a lesson, I know he did.

First lawn job!

“Hmmm, wonder if they’ll notice…”

It was Erik’s first time at the dentist today.

Learning about the ‘bugs’ that eat holes in your teeth.

(Don’t worry, I’ve been warning him about those critters for a long time. It’s often the only way I can get at them.)

Leaf hunting

GNBN

2011-10-26T19:28:00.001-07:00

So here’s some good news/bad news for y’all. Okay, I’m not from the south, but I so wish I could get away with saying y’all. My family is from Pittsburgh. There is nothing right about saying “yins”. I mean, it goes perfectly with the mullet… and I guess that about sums it up. What was I saying?

Well the good news is that our mechanic was able to find a guy who had a Toyota with low miles who wasn’t using the part we needed. He got it for about $100. Harv took the car up to him for a couple of days to get the work done. Bad news: it wasn’t the problem and he has no idea what it could be.

Other good news is I got our two nice chef knives sharpened for free. Bad news: I’ve cut myself twice. The first time was merely a flesh wound but Mon. night was not good. I’d describe it but then I would be back on the floor.

Good news: I got an almost perfect little dollhouse to go with the A-frame I have. Bad news: Erik dropped it and broke the roof and two corners completely off.

Loving the low branches for easy pickin’.

Good news: it’s almost bedtime y’all!

It’s in the Details

2011-10-23T18:08:00.001-07:00

So we’re almost done with volcanoes, but one cannot move on to the next topic of interest until they have created their own volcano...

It seemed kind of anti-climatic to just use a plain soda bottle so we made some brownish play dough and voila…a volcano.

Anticipation building…

and fading…

Notice how far back I’m standing…ummm maybe it did need to be cola and not the $0.69 M. Dew…

Take 2

(and an extra $1)

Way more fun…

except for the lack of a cool looking play dough volcano around it.

So looking back, you know, at the directions…the ingredients did say diet soda but in the ‘details’ it said ‘cola’. Wonder if they covered volcanoes in the second month of that high school chemistry class.

Boxes

2011-10-22T18:22:00.001-07:00

It’s time to start thinking about Christmas boxes! Ryan loves to go to his Aunts’ house to help fill boxes. We had to leave early so I could swap kids and go to a birthday party for a special little friend of ours.

How cute is this fruit bowl! And I just noticed he’s taking a drink.

Life’s good!

A Little Coaching

2011-10-21T20:02:00.001-07:00

Looks like we have a fall uniform…

Hey! It worked!