04 October 2008

Three years ago....

....on this day, we brought home a beautiful, five and a half month old baby girl from an orphanage in As, Czech Republic.  We met her just 4 days prior to bringing her home and our lives have never been the same since.
It’s amazing to think back on that day 3 years ago and to see how our lives have changed in the course of that time.
Happy Gotcha Day our sweet girl!!  We thank the Lord for giving us you!!

Outside the orphanage in As, Czech Republic on our Gotcha Day!
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03 October 2008

Dallas Arboretum



 I had to look up the word “arboretum,” because all I knew of it was the name used in Dallas.  An arboretum is a collection of trees. More commonly today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of primarily woody plants. 
So there ya go in case you were wondering what an arboretum was!
As I have talked before I have been so excited for Fall to begin!  I just LOVE the atmosphere that comes with Fall.  I’ve been researching local pumpkin patches and in my searching found that the Dallas Arboretum has this pumpkin house (pictured above), a hay maze, and pumpkin lined pathways.  It was fun!!  We met up with our friends & colleagues, Julie and her boys who are also in the States right now.
We took SO many pictures and I got so frustrated because I wanted that perfect picture!!  I just knew I didn’t get one good one.  Well, if you take a look we got some really good pictures.  I am much more happy with them than I ever thought I would be.

 





So, one Fall activity down and a few more to go!!
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02 October 2008

Fortunes


The other day I had my last check up for my lasik eye surgery that I had in June.  So glad that drive is over, except Jerry had to have his eyes done at two different times, so he has a few more drives over to Plano from Fort Worth (over an hours drive one way, longer in traffic).  I digress..
On my way home I thought I would have lunch on my own at Panda Express.  It’s quite the exciting thing to eat on your own and eat WHILE IT’S HOT!!!  Ha!
They were selling containers of 8 fortune cookies, so I got one and thought it would be fun for the kids.  Above are the fortunes that were in each of the kid’s first cookies.  I about cracked up!! Brennan & Karis’ are dead on to their personalities!!  Reegan isn’t using words much yet to express herself, so maybe that does say something about her fortune.  Ha!
Just one of those fun things to do, not that I put much stock in fortune cookies!! =)
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30 September 2008

I Hate it When She Sleeps

September 30, 2008 0
Sounds like a contradiction to what most moms are saying, eh?  Most often you hear mamas saying ”sleep will ya?! 
But Karis is no longer a napper, hasn’t been for about a year now.  So we moved on to “quiet time.” I can’t say that she is truly quiet.  I let her play with quiet toys, read books.  Most days I hear her playing, or singing or talking to herself.  If I let her sleep during quiet time it will take her forever to go to sleep at night!! 
But yesterday was one of those days where I was just a grump and would rather have crawled back under the covers or gone to a coffee shop or shopping or just been anywhere else altogether!!
And Karis decided to sleep.........I decided to lavished in the peace and quiet!!
Now, Brennan & Reegan are still good nappers, although recently have been a little off.  Yesterday they decided to wake up early from their nap where they played all kinds of games with each other until I came and got them about 45 minutes later.  Today, on the other hand, I put them down an hour ago and they are having a party in their room!!  They are not screaming and are happy, so I’m happy!!
So back to yesterday...when I finally went to get Brennan & Reegan up, I just opened the door to Karis’ room to allow her to wake up a little bit on her own (or she’ll be a bear!).  I walked back to the living room, but Brennan decided to check up on Karis.  The next thing I hear is Brennan opening and closing her door saying “mornin' ” over and over again!  It was so funny and just so cute!!  He’s a funny one!!
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29 September 2008

"Does Lauren Ride a School Bus?"

September 29, 2008 0
 The kids love any mode of transportation.....a policeman car (that’s what Karis calls it), airplanes, trains (which they have to go watch any time they hear one going by), buses, and just about anything.

Well, since we live on a seminary campus we have lots of adult friends around us who go to school.  The other day our neighbor, Lauren, came and said “Hi” on her way to class while we were playing outside.  She had her backpack on and Karis asked where she was going.  Lauren proceeded to tell her that she was going to school.
The next day or two we saw a school bus drive by while playing outside again and Karis asked “Does Lauren ride a school bus?”
Sounds right to me that someone that goes to school should ride a school bus! =)
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23 September 2008

Oh Great Pumpkin, Where are You?

September 23, 2008 0
I absolutely LOVE this time of year when Summer comes to an end and Fall begins.  Yesterday was officially the first day of Fall, although it is hard to believe when it is 88 degrees outside in sunny Forth Worth, TX.  Regardless, I am READY to bring on the Fall season!!  To me, it is just one long celebration as Fall gives way to Thanksgiving, which gives way to Christmas.

I already ordered and received Fall t-shirts for the kids and checked out all the local pumpkin patches and festivals for the season!!  Now let me add, I am not a big Halloween celebrator.  But any chance to eat candy and sweets is any reason to celebrate!!  I just love the feel of the cooler weather, seeing pumpkins, corn stalks, and scarecrows everywhere.  Aww, just brings joy to my heart!! =)

To finish up our vacation week, Saturday we went on a hunt for a pumpkin patch that we thought was already open.  It was not, but that’s ok.  We still had fun!  We ended up eating out at Red Robin, which is one of Jerry's & my favorite places.

And add to the fact that I got to enjoy a Pumpkin Spiced Frap at Starbucks today.  Ahhh, life is good!!
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19 September 2008

Botanical Gardens

September 19, 2008 0

Thursday we were off to the Botanic Gardens.  We had a good time just walking around the grounds and taking some pictures of the kids in this beautiful setting.  Our neighbor & friend, Lauren tagged along with us to help take some pictures!








  
I love this next picture!


 
  
 

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18 September 2008

Fossil Rim

September 18, 2008 0

Grandma and Grandpa (my parents) have been wanting to take the kids to Fossil Rim Wildlife Center.  It is a drive through safari/zoo and you can feed the animals from your car.  With the change in our plans we thought this would be a good time to go.  We had another day of great weather!!
I wasn’t sure how this was going to work with the kids being strapped into their carseats.  My dad made me realize that these were not public roads, therefore we did not need to keep the kids strapped, so we unstrapped the kids, threw the car seats in the back and moved them around from lap to lap.  They even got to help Grandpa drive!!  I’m SO glad we did that, otherwise I don’t think it would have been as fun!
 



As we got started it seemed like all there was were God’s different variations of a deer....Axis, falow, Red, Sika, White-tailed, as well as all the antelope...Addax, Blackbuck, Waterbuck, Sable, and Bongo, just to name a few.  



But we did get to experience Emus, Giraffe, Zebra, Ostriche, and a few others, including Rhinos and even Cheetahs.  Although the last 2 were behind a fence, so no feeding THOSE particular animals!



There are no pictures of us feeding the zebras.  


 Karis heard us reading the signs that the zebras bite.  Her and Reegan were sitting in the front seats with Grandpa and Daddy when 2 zebras both stuck their heads in the van at the same time.  Both girls started crying and screaming, while Mama & Grandma laughed out loud in the back seats!!  Wish I had a picture of that!  Ha!!  Neither one was injured and Grandpa acted quickly by hitting the gas pedal to get outta dodge.

Karis was also not impressed with the giraffe that we lured to our vehicle! 


 Especially after the little incidence with the zebras.  I was quite excited to feed a giraffe.  Even got giraffe slobber all over my hand!!  That’s my hand peeking through to the side of my dad!

At the halfway mark there was an eating area/gift shop/petting zoo.



Those zebras and giraffe did Karis in and whining ensued every time an animal even dared approach our vehicle!  She especially did NOT like the ostriches!  Actually, none of them were impressed by the ostriches.  Can’t blame them, they are kinda funny looking.


 All in all, it was a good day, with a little rest in the car on the way home!!



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17 September 2008

Fort Worth Mini Train

September 17, 2008 0
Fort Worth has a mini train that runs through the Trinity Park area.  I’ve been wanting to take the kids for quite some time, so what better way to fill in our vacation time than a ride on a train!!  Brennan loves all things moving!!  Any time he hears the trains on the track near our house he wants to run out the front door and watch it go by!!
So Tuesday we boarded the miniature train and took a 40 minute ride.  We could not have asked for better weather, it was perfect!!


Getting ready to pull out of the station.



 We didn’t get a pic of Brennan on the train.  He was actually quite pensive on the ride.  I wasn’t sure he was enjoying it, but later he told us he was ready to do it again!! =)

After the ride Jerry dropped Karis & I off at the Fort Worth Zoo to take advantage of our zoo passes while he took Brennan & Reegan home for a snooze.  We didn’t get any pictures, but mama and her girl had a fun time!
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16 September 2008

Our "Vacation" Week

September 16, 2008 0

 As you may have guessed, we were not able to go on our beach vacation to Crystal Beach, TX, just outside of Galveston.  Saturday, after Ike hit, I scoured the internet all day looking for information on that area.  Little coverage was given to the Bolivar Peninsula, which was actually hit harder than Galveston.  A whole community was lost that day.  Only about 20% of the structures on their peninsula were left standing.  I found an aerial picture of the beach we were to live on for the week.  The houses are gone!!  So sad!
I’ve been mourning this loss the last few days and could only think “If we were there, we would be playing on the beach right now.”

On Monday, watching the kids playing in our little sandbox in the back yard would even bring tears to my eyes.  I don’t know why I took this so hard, but I had been so looking forward to this trip.
We decided to fill our time with activities in the DFW area.  Jerry decided to work on Monday and take the rest of the week off.   Even though it wasn’t a day of playing on the beach, they still had a good time playing in the sand in our back yard!!





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11 September 2008

A "Butstrating" Day

September 11, 2008 0
Of course we have memories of 7 years ago and the happenings of that day.  We’ve just had a doozy of a morning.  It started out with Reegan being closed in Karis’ room.  She was crying so hard and was so scared....she is my sensitive one.  I felt so bad for her, I even got teary eyed she was so upset.  So she got some extra lovin’ and cuddle time with mama this morning!
Then we’ve been watching Hurricane Ike very closely.  See, we are suppose to head to Crystal Beach (outside of Galveston) on Monday.  This was to be our first family vacation.  I’ve been quite sad and upset (selfish really) that Ike may ruin our first family vacation.  Our big plans were......to play on the beach.  That’s it!!  We’ll just continue tracking Ike and see if our vacation might still happen, but right now that area is in the process of evacuating.  *sigh*

On to Karis....she was playing on the floor and scraped up her hand on a staple that was sticking out under the couch.  Ouch!!  Then not long after that Brennan dropped his truck (that weighs about 5 pounds) right on the base of his toes.  Poor guy screamed and screamed, got a little cut and a bruise
on his toe.  He LOVES that truck!!!  We’ll see how he feels about it the next time he sees it! =P
So, that has been our September 11 morning.  A sad and not so fun morning so far.

Then, as I was making lunch I turned on Cars.  It is Brennan’s favorite movie!  I had to make him feel better some how!  However, this is NOT Karis’ favorite movie and she was going to tell me about it.  She sat at the kitchen table huffing and whining about it and then says to me 

“Lightening McQueen makes me butstrated.”  (translation....frustrated) 


I BUSTED out laughing.  I was laughing so hard I was crying!!  Obviously you had to hear her tone as well.  I thought I was going to make her feel bad for laughing, but it was the complete opposite!  She loves to make people laugh so she just kept saying it over and over.  After calming down from my hysterical laughing, I asked why it made her frustrated.  She proceeded to tell me that she was “not that kinda girl.”  More hysterics ensued!!!!  Oh my, she can be SO funny!!!
So Karis sure made things a little better for me!!
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Deeper

  Deeper - adj. 1. extending or situated relatively far down from a surface: a deep pool. It's been a long time since I've ...