Thanksgiving Reflections...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I love Thanksgiving, it is definetely my favorite holiday. I would have to say that I am thankful for my health and my family, extended and immediate. It was a busy weekend for us. We had a split Thursday with celebrations in both Pittsburgh and Beaver. That kept us moving. In Pittsburgh the boys enjoyed playing with the marshmallow shooters that my brother made for them, and playing with their cousin Nick. The food was great as well as the company!Then it was off to Beaver for dessert and more merriment. That was fun too and it was nice to see everyone. Now it's off for the Christmas rush... fun, fun! Take care everyone!

Fall Fun!

Hi everyone.. Just thought that I would post a quick update. Halloween was great. I spent the afternoon volunteering at both of the boys school parties, which I really enjoy. The kids are so funny and nice, and the way I see it, they are only this young once. Then we went to town for trick-or-treat, also a good time. Logan was a motocrooss rider and Jacob was a Hounds football player. They have also been having fun playing in the falling leaves. There are always plenty to play in at our house.

To update on the China journey for our daughter. The news continues to be a longer wait. It could be up to another year. The wait is uncertain at this time, but we will continue to be in this until the end. I just have to believe that there is some fate behind all of this and that the timing of her adoption is being planned this way for a reason. If anything it keeps me sane!!!

Nine is Fine!

Our oldest son has turned 9. This is both a blessing and a challenge. A blessing in that Jacob has been here with us, creating memories for 9 years, and a challenge because 9 year olds are tough to raise. He has become so independent and is really growing up. He is starting to test the household boundaries and can be defiant at times. All of these behaviors are trying, but healthy. It's really quite interesting to see Jacob trying to find his interests and place in this world. He is really growing up.

We had a wonderful party for Jacob at a local recreational place. Jacob and all of his friends had a wonderful time. It was a great party and this really celebrated his 9 year old birthday!

Happy Birthday triple cheese... we love you!

Happy 5th Birthday

Well I'm posting a little late, but there has been too much sadness and I just couldn't do it yesterday. I looked in our Killian photo album for a picture of Matt's dad and Killian, but we don't have one, 10 weeks is not alot of time for photo opportunities. Anyway with Matt's dad passing, it really makes you appreciate what you have. I have a wonderful husband, 2 great boys, a china doll on the way, and 10 weeks of precious memories that I will never forget. Happy 5th baby Killian..."This is not at all how we thought it was supposed to be

We had so many plans for you, we had so many dreams

But now you've gone away and left us with the memory of your smile

And nothing we can say, and nothing we can do

Can take away the pain of loosing you...

But we can cry with hope

We can say goodbye with hope

'Cause we know our goodbye is not the end

And we can pray with hope

And we can say with hope

There's a place where we'll see your face again."

School and football- Fall is coming!

Hello everyone. I thought that I would do another August update of the past week. First the boys went back to school this week, and this year I was feeling alittle sad. We really had a wonderful summer with the boys. They were alot of fun to be around- minimal fights and lots of hanging out at home. Jacob started 3rd grade and Logan started 1st grade. This is really crazy - they are growing up way to fast!!!

And there has been some really exciting football news! Jacob played his first game today in the high school stadium. It was very amusing. Jacob plays Defensive back and wing back, and pretty much has no clue of what he should be doing, like all the other 3rd graders. It was really cute though, and he was so pumped up after the game. He had a great time!!! In the pictures below Jacob is number 77.
I'll update more as we advance through the Fall months. Matt has a new job and now that the boys are in school they do not see him as much, and they are going through some serious withdrawal! We are all doing well and patiently waiting for the baby- on which there has been no new news. The room is slowly coming along, though I can't quite figure out how I want to finish the walls. Unfortunately I have time!!! Take care everyone!

Summer continues, but not for much longer!

Hello everyone. We are halfway through August and it hard to believe how fast the summer has passed. The boys return to school on August 26th, so there is really not much more time for them. They are continuing to have a great summer. There is one new thing for this month, and that is football camp! We're talkin' pads, helmets, tackle, 5 nights a week, 2 hours a night. It is crazy and quite a commitment, but Jacob is really having a good time. During the second week, Jacob had shin splints. These are very painful, but Motrin with 20 minutes of heat and 20 minutes of ice before practice seemed to do the trick. They are still bothering him, but that's football.

Logan is doing well also. He enjoys going to the camp during the evening, and playing with kids he knows from school. Logan told me that he is not ready to go back to school and is not excited. It should be an interesting first day. Hopefully new shoes will motivate him to walk out the door.

As everyone knows, the Olympics are finally underway, so we are hoping for a speedup here in the next few weeks. There are some glitches right now with updating out fingerprints, but we have confidence that our adoption agency will work this out for us. It really does not look like we will be traveling until February anyway, unless of course there is a miracle.

We will keep everyone posted! Thanks for reading!

July Update

I have been thinking for weeks now that I should update this blog, but the boys have been really keeping us busy. We had our annual trip to Kennywood, and lots of Graduation parties to attend. The boys have been very busy, from morning to night. Slipping and sliding, riding quads, and catching fireflies. They also spend lots of time fighting and playing together!

Matt and I are doing well. Matt has been laid off for the summer, so he has become Mr. Mom and does a good job. The boys are really enjoying their time with Daddy! For the 4th of July weekend we all met at the Cabin. It was fun and the kids had a great time with their cousins. There was a lot of quad and dirt bike riding, but we have turned a leaf. It was the first time that there were no accidents or injuries! I think everyone is getting the hang of this.

As for baby Mia, we wait. Things appear to be speeding up already as China has announced that adoptions will be not be completed until after the Olympics, but they are sending out more referrals, that's good news. The bad news is that now our agency has not been accredited and we may need to change agencies. The agency is appealing the denial and we are hopeful that things will work out. Their sister agency received the accreditation, so we can use them if worse comes to worse. We have waited long enough already and hope that things will go smoothly. I have picked the paint color and will begin the room soon. We are at least at the home stretch. We'll be sure to keep everyone updated. Happy summer!