My African Princes

Playing!

2012-02-13T20:11:00.000-08:00

One of my greatest joys is to see the boys use their imaginations, and watching them play!

This week they have had so much fun!

The boys have decided that Storm Chasers is THE BEST SHOW EVER! Thanks to grandma and grandpa we know have a couple of seasons and we are slowly watching them and enjoying them together. I had a great time watching the boys play Storm Chasers tonight with Legos! They built the storm chasing vehicles, tornados, storm pods, weather cameras, etc. FUN!

Solomon has been enjoying his Automoblox! Seriously, if you are looking for a really great toy, this is it! They are awesome. I think that this play went along with all the tornado play, but not totally sure!

We also have a ton of science kits that the boys have been working on. The one pictured is looking for gems in rock. Both Owen and Abram are just loving science in school and would be doing science experiments all the time if they could!

Number 13

2012-02-13T19:54:00.000-08:00

I realized last week that I have neglected to take photos of Solomon playing hockey. He has come so far. He absolutely loves it, which is the most important thing!

Unfortunately for me.... his favorite position is goalie!! I love that he loves it, but I can only imagine how grey I will get and fast if this continues to be his favorite position!

5 Year Appointment

2012-02-13T19:50:00.000-08:00

Last week, I took Abram in for his 8 year appointment, and Solomon in for his 5 year appointment. We knew that the boys were very healthy, but it was nice to hear it from the Doctor! (Whom we love)

Abram is completely healthy. Dr. Welle said that he was amazed with how he tested in balance. Abram measured 9% on the chart for weight and 2% for height. Abram was thrilled to not need any immunizations!

I can not believe that Solomon is done with his 5 year check! One step closer to Kindy! Solomon did great. I had some concerns with fine motor skills but was reassured that he was doing great. Solomon is measuring 16% for both weight and height. He passed his hearing and vision screenings with flying colors. He, on the other hand, was sad to hear that he needed to have some immunizations. He was brave and did great for the shots!

By the time he got home, his legs were a little sore. Thank goodness for Grandpa making "old lady canes" last summer. It came in handy! Solomon was offered dinner out of his choice but, instead, he chose to trade in supper for some new legos! We still had supper, just a made at home supper! That night, he played with his brothers, his new legos, and his brothers were happy to read him his superhero stories!

That night though, Solomon woke up with a 102 fever. Even with medicine, it got worse and capped at 104.3. Thankgoodness it did not get higher! He was a very punk little boys for a couple of days, but eventually perked up again! Thankgoodness for sickdays, cozy blankets, playhouse Disney, spicy water and grandmas!

Valentine's Pinterest Style!

2012-02-05T20:10:00.000-08:00

Like everyone, I am loving Pinterest! Last year, we tried making our Valentine's more from scratch. With Pinterest, that has become very easy!

The boys each chose a valentine.. I bet you will be able to guess who picked what!

Oh, just in case... Robots were Owen's... Airplane's were Abram's... and Solomon chose the SUPER Lollipops!

Half Birthday... kind of

2012-02-05T19:55:00.000-08:00

This weekend we celebrated Abram's birthday...well half birthday sort of. This past summer we found out that his "real" birthday is actally in September. We celebrated that day with family and remebered Ethiopia and his birthfamily. We tried not to do any gifts and it was great.

As this day came closer it was a little harder. Hard to define what this day in February really is. We kind of let him take the lead.

He had not gotten to share cupcake with friends or celebrate at school until now. So, that was really fun.

When he woke up on Feb. 4th, it was neat. We all wished him Happy Birthday, and had a special birthday breakfast. He then tells me that it isn't like he is any older, this is just present day!

It is hard, he doesn't want to give up this day, and I don't think that he should, but he feels so strongly for the date in September.

All in all, we had a great day though. We met grandparents, and cousins at the bowling alley and had a special dinner!

Bowling isn't my idea of a great time, but with this little man, everything can be fun! His idea of the perfect dinner was a huge cinnamon roll from Perkins, so enjoyed that (huge treat) and then clunked out with Grandpa!

I am so glad we get to celebrate this boy. Whether he was turning 8, or 8.5, he is my baby!

Abram Art

2012-02-05T19:52:00.000-08:00

I love when the boys draw, they just don't do it that often. Abram brought this picture home from school the other day. It is a picture of him and Grandpa Keith shooting BB guns in Grandpa Keith's garage. I love grandpa's beard!

Slime

2012-02-02T14:42:00.000-08:00

We made some slime the other night... it was ...slimy!

Abram was wondering what animal donated their spit so that they could play with slime.

Little does he know that if slime were part dog drool, he would not play with it!

All he needs...

2012-02-02T14:39:00.000-08:00

A boy, his dog and a gui-tar!

7

2012-02-02T14:16:00.000-08:00

7! That is how many kids we had for 5 days last week! With a little orginazation, a TON of food, and beds,coats, and toys covering every inch of our home... we got through!

We not only got to school both days, a doctor appointment, two hockey practices and two hockey games, and Sunday School... but we got to them all on time!

The boys LOVED having their cousins for that much time. Loved it!

We were even able to take the kids to a movie, ice skating, and to play at Burger King.

The kids had one (very) late "sleepover" night. I know, weren't they all sleepover nights? Well, not really. We had church, and school so we did our best to get the kids to bed as early as we could.

I, personally, enjoyed having some girls in the house! I did braids and pigtails like crazy! We even got to bathe Bryleigh in the sink.... awww... made me remember when my boys were that small!

So, all in all, it was a great weekend! We were exhausted, but a good exhausted.

Reuse!

2012-01-22T19:24:00.000-08:00

Jared's dad, Keith, has become (or already was) quite the wood worker!

He takes wood that he already has, and turns it into ... FABULOUS!!

We recieved a great lamp for Christmas, which the boys immediately claimed as their own.

They did not have a lamp in their room, and wanted one to add light as they were trying to sleep.

Only thing was that I needed a table.

I told him where I wanted it to go, and he worked his magic!

I LOVE that these things are made from scrap wood or wood found in the field!

I love that he has turned them into beautiful furniture.

And I am not the only one.

The boys are so proud of grandpa's finished products too.

Love the lamp, and my new table... can't wait for my new shelves!!

Chopped... dessert round!

2012-01-22T19:18:00.000-08:00

It snowed today... quite a bit.

And we have a boy that LOVES going outside.

Only, he is recovering from a very scary round of asthma. (Where he almost ended up in the hospital).

So, needless to say, he was not going to play outside today. (Hopefully soon!)

The next best thing, Chopped.

The boys love it!

So, we did a dessert round.

The boys planned... and we shopped... and then we cooked!

Ok, so some of us decide to have a singing break.

Then, we ate!

WOW, these boys can bake!

It was good, really good.

Next time, I think we need to do a lunch round.. with some very healthy secret ingredients!

2 More Pets!

2012-01-22T19:16:00.000-08:00

We have two more Anderson's at our house! We are up two fish!

Abram got a small tank, and some eggs that hatch to some creepy creature. Well, the creature did not work out. Abram was a tad bummed, so we headed to the store and picked out a couple of goldfish.

He loves them, and I can not believe how many things he has found to do with them. I had no idea that he or the fish could be entertained in so many different ways.

Leave it to Abram!

Here is hoping that these are the longest living goldfish EVER!

Update!

2012-01-17T18:57:00.000-08:00

Well, Christmas is over, and life is getting back to normal at our house! Hockey, swimming, gymnastics, piano, and regular old school are all back in session!

Owen has started another level in piano, began another session of swimming on Team Gator and is actually flipping in gymnastics. He went up in his reading level...(a grade 5 now!!!) and has tested out of math facts multiplication AND division. He actually excited about reading and really loving school!

Abram is rocking hockey. He did amaazing as goalie, and is so much fun to watch. He CAN SKATE! He is also flying at piano! He has almost finished the whole primer level and loving it. It is so fun to watch him learn piano a whole different way than his brother. He listens so carefully and can do a lot by ear. AMAZING! He is reading up a chapter book storm!! Whizzing through math facts and is in love with learning! He has taken his love of science to a new level. Tornados, making, creating and airplanes! He has also decided that he does not want to ride in an airplane until he can be the pilot.. "Mom, those things are dangerous... I KNOW that I will be a great pilot.. you never know who is in the cockpit!" Oh dear!!

Solomon is loving life! He LOVES school. Loves his friends, loves his teachers, and comes home every day excited to share what he has learned that day! He has become a skating shark! Please don't tell him that he is not the best skater out there, because he won't believe you. He tries so hard and when he is not on the ice, he is playing hockey in the basement at home! Solomon is loving playing with all his new Christmas and birthday toys and tells me everyday that there was most certainly not enough time to play.

Besides the daily routine we are really enjoying being at home, and just playing!I uploaded the pictures in my camera and here is what I found!

While enjoying a day off, the boys made a huge slide out of the stairs.

We have been making and playing with playdoh. After being on a "playdoh break", the boys have been having so much fun with playdoh this year. And it has all been homeade!

Of course there are battle scenes being played out in the kitchen, complete with pop can barriers.

Making forts that were really "homes" during tornado emergencies. Playing meterologists whole having built forts was something I never thought of as a kid!

Building model airplanes. (this is not complete yet, waiting for the finishing touches!)

Racing Automoblox!! (If you are looking for a very cool toy... these are it!)

And of course, LEGOS! Solomon is beginning to branch and make a few Lego creations from his own imagination. Heaven knows he has enough Legos!

Lovin' It!

2012-01-12T19:00:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite.

A night at home.

Three kids playing like crazy!

Taking turns having "playdates" with the boys.

Puzzles with Owen.

Playing soldiers with Abe.

And Lego hockey with Solomon.

It may look like a mess.

But it is a our fun mess, and I am fine with it!

Record High's

2012-01-06T21:31:00.000-08:00

This week we had record setting high temperatures! We are talking temperatures in the 50's! The very little snow that we had, melted!

This is definately wierd weather, but we will take it!

Goalie!

2012-01-06T21:13:00.000-08:00

We are getting ready for the big game around our house, and not the Bison game! Abram is going to be goalie for his game this weekend. We all went to the rink to help him warm up!

Abram is not exactly looking forward to being goalie, but will do a great job I am sure!

5

2012-01-03T19:34:00.000-08:00

My baby is 5!

5!!!!

Is that crazy to anyone else, or just me!!!

Solomon was greeted this morning with a plethora of Happy Birthday songs, and birthday balloons!

He was very surprised to find that he did not grow a foot overnight.

He looked in the mirror and acted very surprised to not find... I am not sure... facial hair maybe? He really thought that he would appear older!

He was very excited to bring cupcakes to school. Superhero cupcakes!

Tonight we met grandparents, cousins, and aunts at Chuckee Cheese! They played, ate pizza and devoured the yummy cake that Jared made for him. Which, by the way was Batman... cause Jared is awesome and has way more patience than I do!

Owen and Abram had each made cards for Solomon on their own. Both Jared and I were pleasantly surprised to see that they had done this!

From reading their cards to Solomon, they are just as surprised by how fast Solomon has grown up as we are!

Owen, sounding like the old man that he is, and I were just talking about how we had "just" gone to Ethiopia to bring him home.

This little boy, Solomon, he just fills the room with joy. Not just a little.

He just FILLS it with joy!

This little boy that was so sad when we first met him.

He is so happy now.

So happy!

His imagination is something I am envious of!

Really, it is!

He plays ALL THE TIME!

He loves his family.

He loves Jesus.

He loves life...

And we LOVE him!!

Happy Birthday Baby boy!

New Year's Eve

2012-01-03T19:31:00.000-08:00

We celebrated a quiet New Year's Eve this year. For the first time though, all three boys stayed up to watch the ball drop with Jared and I!

Owen decided that it was a great idea to make T-shirts for him and his brothers to celebrate the New Year! They each had their own designs and were very cute!

We had a great time playing games and watching movies. These little guys are pretty fun sometimes! Oh, and they thought they were the shnizle for being able to stay up until midnight!

Ethiopia Puzzle

2011-12-31T14:03:00.000-08:00

Every year we try to get each of the kids a cultural present. This year I found this puzzle for Solomon. Both Solomon and Abram have enjoyed putting it together and I have loved the conversations that things such as this spark!

Another Christmas!

2011-12-31T13:55:00.000-08:00

I have kind of lost track as to what number Christmas we are on! This past week, we got together with Jared's family. His brother, and cousin were in town! So, together with aunts, grandparents and great grandparents we had a great celebration.

The cousins, young and old, had a great time! The littles, had fun with new light sabers, and tons of new toys. Another favorite at Grandpas is to play his Pearl Harbor Flight game. This year, cousin Rob and Lucy gave all the kids marshmallow shooters. They had a BLAST!! And thankgoodness for good weather. They played in the garage and outside!

Abram was so excited to give Grandpa a new toolbox that he had constructed and painted. He thought it would be extra special to build something for Grandpa because he always builds things for others. (Good idea Abe!) When we mentioned it was time for presents, Abe ran for his gift and gave it to Grandpa first. It was fun to see the boys get excited to make and create gifts for others this Christmas.

One of the best presents that the boys got was handmade cars, built especially for each of the boys. They will cherrish them for always.

One thing is for sure. This year we were surrounded by those who love us dearly, and it was nice spending the Holiday with them.

Aqua Massage

2011-12-31T13:50:00.000-08:00

Owen is a very cozy, comfortable, snuggly kind of guy. For years, he has begged to try the Aqua Massage in the mall. Good thing Santa brought Jared and Owen gift certificates to try it out!

Owen was in heaven! He beamed the whole time!

It was nice to see him enjoy something he had spent so much time looking forward too!

Airplanes

2011-12-31T13:41:00.000-08:00

This year, more than ever, we were surrounded by airplanes at Christmas! Abram and Solomon, especially, love airplanes... talking and learning about WWII, reading about them...everything.

Owen had swim team practice one day this week, so I took the boys to hang out at the air museum. Yeah, they had fun!

They were dissappointed to have to leave so soon. I think they could have played and looked at airplanes for the rest of the afternoon.

I took a photo of the boys in front of the "bendy wing" (corsair) This is the plane that they want to fly together when they are in the air force. They often talk about who will do what and how they will fly together. Kind of fun!

Little Clubs!

2011-12-31T13:39:00.000-08:00

I took the boys to the Golf Bubble, which we do farely often. This was the first time though, that Solomon had his own clubs!

He was very excited to open them on Christmas Day, and was eager to try them out!

The older boys were excited for an excuse to go to the Bubble again! As always, it was a fun time!

A very special gift

2011-12-31T13:35:00.000-08:00

Every year Owen recieves a very special gift straight from South Africa! The attourney's (seems weird to call them that after we have become friends and they are so much more than just that)that worked with us in SA send Owen a letter and an ornament every year.

Owen loves that the package is always addressed to Master Owen! I think he could get used to that! They send him a letter about just how special Owen is, and they send a very special ornament (that usually, in its purchase, has benefited others!)

It makes him feels so special, and it is so nice to reflect on those that helped us become a family, and remember our children's birth country.

December 26th? Really?

2011-12-26T21:34:00.000-08:00

The boys gave me a great pink tennis racket for Chirstmas, because we could not use the new hockey stick that the boys and I bought for Jared because the ice rinks were too full of water.

I think there is something majorly wrong with that sentence.

I will take it though, this weather!

The weather that allows us to be out in sweatshirts... playing tennis!

Abram took his new airplane glider out today too!

Owen and Solomon read stories on the front steps... no coats, but wrapped in blankets. In DECEMBER!

Love it!

Christmas Day!

2011-12-26T21:08:00.000-08:00

We had a fantastic Christmas Day!

The day began with three little boys waking us up!

We opened our Santa presents, and then enjoyed our traditional coffee cake breakfast! This is a tradition that comes with Jared's family. The boys love it and look forward to coffee cake on Christmas!

We then continued opening presents. The boys did request "playbreaks" after every couple presents!

We were happy to ablige, as this is why we do Christmas day the way we do. We stay home together all day! Just us! All Day! We can open presents all day if we want. Play all day, whatever!

The boys, of course loved their presents! Jared loved his glow in the dark shirt from Abe, the Christmas tree sleep pants from Owen and the Batman shirt from Solomon. Although Solomon had hoped the shirt would have come with a mask so that they could BE Batman together!

I was VERY surprised to recieve the first year of my blog published in book form from Jared. I have talked about doing this for years and he did it! I cried for hours! So awesome!

We also enjoyed playing Star Wars MOnopoly, putting together Legos and Trio blocks, playing pirate ship and the music! After just opening a few gifts, Owen informed me that this Christmas would not be quiet! He recieved a steel drum, and boom wackers, And Abram got a new harmonica and an electric guitar!

The best part of the day was hearing about Solomon's dream. He said that in his dream he was following the Star of Bethlehem with the shepards. Searching for Baby Jesus. Yeah, he gets CHristmas. Now that... that is a great Christmas gift!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-26T20:52:00.000-08:00

We had the honor of hosting Christmas Eve this year! I got to spend the morning with my mom and Grandma learning how to make the traditional Breden meatballs!

We attended church with the boys, where they were very excited to hear about God's love for kids all over the world!

Then back to our house for dinner and the much anticipated meatball dinner! We finished the day with birthday wishes for Grandma B, presents, and fun games! The boys were very excited to stay up late! It was a fun night!

2011-12-26T20:50:00.000-08:00

I think he might be an engineer some day!

Carroling

2011-12-26T20:43:00.000-08:00

The day before Christmas Eve the boys and I spent the afternoon making cookies! Ok, I made most of the cookies. The boys played! When I was done though, the boys asked if they could take some to the neighbors! What a great idea! We made up a bunch of plates, and the boys delivered them ... along with singing carrols! It was fun watching them be so excited to give!

Solomon quote

2011-12-25T19:17:00.001-08:00

Solomon and I were driving around the other day, finishing up a few Christmas errands.

He asked me if he could just write a message and send it up.

At first I had no idea what he was talking about.

"To Jesus". "You know.. I want to tell him thanks for Christmas and stuff, I just want to send a message to Jesus."

We then talked about how when you pray, you are just sending your messages up! All you need to do was talk and say them!

We both agreed that that would be wayyyy easier than attaching a note to a balloon and in the end endangering some animal or something!

Jared's heaven!

2011-12-23T20:51:00.000-08:00

As soon as the school bell rang for Christmas vacation, we grabbed our skates, sticks and pucks and headed to the rink!

Jared was in HEAVEN! He loves skating. LOVES IT! He has three boys that love skating too! The weather was gorgeous, we really could not have asked for more!

It is a tad odd for me though.

Instead of pulling kids around the ice on a a sled, or help teaching them how to skate, and pulling them up after they fall... I am being allowed to skate! Jared even got me a fancy new pair of hockey skates. Now, all I need to do is learn to skate again!

Piano recital

2011-12-23T20:49:00.000-08:00

The Christmas piano recital has quickly become one of my most favorite Christmas traditions! This year, was extra fun, as Abram got to take part too!

Jenny went from just 3 students last year at this time to over 10! Wow! This does not surprise me, as she is a fantastic teacher. Great with the kids and a true musician!

Even though Abram has just started his lessons, he has come so far! He loves to play and often plays without me asking him to! Owen still LOVES to play and has taken his love of music even farther and has started to ask for drums, and other instruments in the house....really, how can you argue with that?

Besides the boys learning piano, they are growing this very super, awesome bond with a person I deeply respect and love. I really couldn't ask for more!

Christmas Program

2011-12-23T20:45:00.000-08:00

Last week the boys took part in their church Christmas program. They had so much fun practicing the songs and singing them to us in the weeks prior, we were very much looking forward to the program!

The kids did wonderfully, and really enjoyed focusing on the true meaning of Christmas. The story of Jesus' birth!

Santa Fly-In

2011-12-17T20:42:00.000-08:00

For the 4th time, we have used the Santa Fly- in event as a great excuse to get to spend time at the air museum! The boys get to see an airplane come and bring Santa, visit with him, and most importantly.... we got to see the airplanes! This year, we brought kelli, Peter, and Simon with us! We all had a good time. Cousins got to play, and the boys showed Simon the ropes ;) My boys sure enjoyed having Pete with as he could answer all of their airplane questions! And they just adore Kelli! We stayed for a few hours and came home to play with more airplanes!

Christmas #1

2011-12-17T20:34:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we got to celebrate Christmas with the Simons' family! The boys (and girls) had a blast. To the point where they did not even want to open presents, but just keep playing. Never heard of that before! But these kids just love to be together!
The kids got to create their own pizza, they played (and played and played), Boppa read them the Christmas story and then they opened a few presents! It really was a great time!

Christmas Party

2011-12-17T20:28:00.000-08:00

Solomon had his last ever daycare Christmas party! He was soooo excited. We got to decorate gingerbread cookies, play with the kids, and the kids got to chat with Santa! Solomon really wanted Owen and Abram to be a part of his special party, and I was so glad that they not only came but really let Solomon "show" them around! Cute!

First Annual Holiday Movie Night!

2011-12-17T20:25:00.000-08:00

When Jared finally invested in his projector, one of the plans that he had was to have an annual movie night! I guess that when Jared was a boy, they would gather with the local neighborhood kids and watch old movies on an older projector. Soooo, we invited my sister's kids, popped popcorn and watched The Polar Express!
It was a great time for everyone, and I can't wait for next year!

Elf Day!

2011-12-17T20:21:00.000-08:00

Last week, Jared and I took off work to be a part of Abram's elf day! His classroom was set up with 5 stations where we got to make cute Holiday projects! It was a great time, and a great way to spend the afternoon!

Old and New

2011-12-17T20:17:00.000-08:00

I am finally catching up on blogging some of my Christmas time photos!

I love Christmas! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! So far this Christmas season, we have had a great time playing with some of the "old" Christmas toys, and making new Christmas projects. (Yeah, Pinterest!!)

A Few Funnies

2011-12-12T20:05:00.000-08:00

I have a ton of photos from many of our Holiday activities to share, but until I have the energy to get them off the camera, you will have to wait!

I have been keeping some notes on some of the funny things the boys have been saying. so here are a couple of their goofy happenings:

*While procrastinating bedtime one night, Solomon came out to the living room with a very sad look on his face, it was matched with sulky shoulders. I was soon greeted with "Mom, I just needed to come talk to you, I don't even remember what hugs and kisses even are." Oh my, that is so sad!

*One night we were talking about heaven and how great it is going to be! Solomon was quick to point out all the fun he would have. He would sing with Jesus, play baseball with Babe Ruth and hang out with Great Grandma Landenburger. Now that is a trio!!

*Abram mentioned something about the Christmas tree and mentioned the Christmas tree skirt. Solomon excitedly says, "We have a girl tree!"

*Abram was in a wee bit of trouble the other night. We worked things out and he was ready to be a good listener. When I began giving him some directions, he slowly stopped and said..." Mom, is this one of those... tests? You know, where you just want to see if I will do the right thing?" I almost died!

* Abram also pointed out to me that he was so proud of us for using an Ethiopian gas station!!!

Busy!

2011-12-04T19:21:00.000-08:00

It has such a busy week. Not a whole lot going on, but somehow we have been terribly busy all at the same time.

Abram insisted on decorating outside for Christmas. Jared, being the great Dad that he is, let him have all creative rights! So, anyone passing our street will enjoy Abram's creative lights! We even had to have a Griswold moment as he turned on the lights for us!

Solomon has been obsessed with Lego! He is always building and creating, I love it!

I think that I have created some Battleship monsters! We have had a great time playing each other! We have played this game before, but this week we have played a ton, and they are working on their strategies to beat Mama!

Both Abram and Owen have been loosing teeth! I think the tooth fiary is going to have to take out a loan! Here is Abe checking out his toothfairy money!

We are enjoying working on holiday projects with the boys!

Awwwww...

2011-11-27T06:10:00.000-08:00

It is these unplanned moments that make all the tough moments worth while!

Christmas Tree

2011-11-25T20:45:00.000-08:00

To continue with our holiday traditions we went to cut down our own Christmas tree again this year! I think this year was a first for us, as we did not even have to wear jackets and just wore sweatshirts! We had a blast just wandering up and down the tree farm. Usually we try to pick out a tree fast so as not to freeze! After the boys wore off some energy at the tree farm, we did find the perfect tree! The boys, of course, each did their part to cut it down!

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T20:33:00.000-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving we joined JoAnne, Rob, Lucy, Great Grandpa and Great Grandma for Thanksgiving dinner! JoAnne outdid herself for sure! Besides the great food, we had fun visiting with family, laughing and decorating gingerbread houses!

Light Parade!

2011-11-25T20:26:00.000-08:00

Nothing like the Merry Prairie Lights Parade to kick off a great Holiday season! Not only was the parade a blast, the weather was super! We cozied up with blankets until the parade began and then collected way more candy than neccessary! We have taken the boys to this parade every year, good weather or bad. It was very nice to have the good weather though!

Swim Meet!

2011-11-23T21:54:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we had fun attending not just one, but two swim meets for Owen! It never gets old watching Owen do something that he loves... and he LOVES the water! He swam 8 events and only was disqualified in one event, and since this was just his second and third swim meet, I thought that was pretty good! We are so blessed with great family and friends, so many came out to watch Owen swim (and keep us company), it was a great weekend!

Little Things

2011-11-17T19:52:00.000-08:00

Happiness is in the little things like, Star Wars shirts to start the day...

2011-11-17T19:50:00.000-08:00

Two boys...having fun...building trains!

Thanksgiving Lunch

2011-11-17T19:35:00.000-08:00

Jared and I got to have a special lunch with Solomon. Every year, his school puts on a Thanksgiving dinner for the daycare and their families. It was a special time and I am so glad we got to spend it with him!

First Hockey Game

2011-11-14T04:08:00.000-08:00

Solomon is LOVING his first hockey season! He is doing great too! He has come so far in the first few weeks. He is much faster and stays up much longer than he did when he first started. He still skates bent over, and leans on his stick, but that will get better. Most important... he LOVES it! He has spent many afternoons outside playing street hockey with his brothers to "sharpen" his skill... and he was the first to beg to go to open skate with Jared this past weekend too. It is so fun watching him enjoy it so much!

Orphan Sunday

2011-11-06T19:35:00.000-08:00

Today is Orphan Sunday.

You didn't see it, but my cursor just blinked 143 times, as I sat here thinking what to say.

What can I say that will bring justice to the millions of orphans that sit without a parent to hold their hand or a mother to wipe away their tears?

Did you talk about it in church today?

Did you try to wrap your brain around the fact that while you sit at dinner tonight with your family, millions of children (and young adults) are without.

Without both a family and dinner.

It is hard.

Hard to think about,

Hard to act on it.

I am tired.

I am tired, and feel that I don't know where my next move is.

I was on fire....before.

I had a plan and went full force, and now I am tired.

I am not sure who is listening,

or even who cares.

Then I look at three brown little faces and know that the fire is still there.

I write to my son in Ethiopia and know that my fire CANNOT leave.

I hear from Owen's Ouma and her fire is still burning, so my fire needs to burn with her.

I get so frustrated in hearing that adoption is the answer. IT... IS ... NOT!

Adoption will not fix this. It can be part of the cure, PART.

But we need to dig deeper.

Today is a day get our fires burning again.

God calls us and now we need to step up!

If you need some ideas as to what you can do...

Visit Mango mama!. She has some great ideas and ways to help orphans!

Ask me what you can do for Kolfe Boys orphanage in Ethiopia or the eSimphiwe baby home in South Africa. Both of these are my heart and soul!

Ethiopia Reads is doing wonders bringing education to orphans across Ethiopia!

Chopped

2011-11-06T19:29:00.000-08:00

Today, we did our own version of chopped! The boys have been asking for ages to do this, and today was the day!

We had two courses(dinner and dessert)... three secret ingredients... and three very eager chefs!

Jared and I were the assistants and tried to help with all the dangerous parts! All of the ideas were their own!

We invited some guest judges. Grandma Pam, Grandpa Kieth and JoAnne were so great and tried all the boys' delicious food creations.

I was actaully surprised at how much got eaten. Most of the food was gone! The boys had a great time cooking, and loved trying each others creations too.

We did make sure to write a couple of the ideas down to use again later!

Oh, and it was fun to see the boys use ingredients that they normally would not like, and LOVE them... since they made it!

Sleepover

2011-11-06T19:27:00.000-08:00

Owen spent his very first night at a sleepover. Very first night away from Jared or myself. I did not sleep well, or very much. But I am happy to report that he had a GREAT time! His brothers (they have never been away from each other at night) were VERY excited to have him back!

This picture is not posed..AT ALL!

Halloween!

2011-11-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic Halloween!

I was a tad ill, on the day we carnved pumpkins, but Jared took control and I believe the pumpkins turned out great!

Each of the boys had a Fall celebration at school. I got to attend Solomon's yearly costume party and go trick or treating through the school with him. He had a great time and I got to know some of his new friends! It is no wonder Solomon is into super heros, many of the boys were dressed as them! Solomon chose Batman for his school costume!

The boys were really excited to trick or treat to family and through our neighborhood. This year Abram insisted that we get costumes for the dogs. Molly was a gun slinging cowgirl, and Lucie a bumblebee. I think Abram had more fun walking his "cute little girls" through the neighborhood than getting candy!

With Owen's love for jazz and now tap and the Rat pack, his choice to be Sammy Davis Jr was no surprise!! He was so handsome too! Abram ...obviously... chose to be a pilot. And what better pilot than a Luke Skywalker from Star wars pilot! Solomon had a hard time deciding, as we had seriosly stocked up on discount costumes from Once Upon a Child. He ended up choosing to be Captain America!

Celebration

2011-10-25T19:41:00.000-07:00

Tonight we got to celebrate with Owen! He got to choose for dinner and he chose The Olive Garden. He told us this for two reasons.... 1. He likes pasta 2. He loves jazzy music they play there. He was sure to hear Sammy Davis JR, Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin! He was joined by his brothers, (mom and dad of course) and his grandparents!
Owen is such a fun kid. This was proven with his birthday presents and requests. He wanted an African drum so badly. He was thrilled when he recieved one! He got a very cool game that we can't wait to try, oh and then there is the unicycle. Yeah... who recieves a unicycle for their birthday??? Owen!
Our boys are so loved and we were reminded of this again today. Owen recieved so many phone calls, emails, cards, etc. Really, it was unreal!
Anyway, Owen kicked off his first day of being 9 with full force! I think it will be a great year!

Where did my baby go?

2011-10-24T20:14:00.000-07:00

My baby turns 9 tomorrow! 9!! How did that happen? On the way to swimming tonight, I was retelling Owen his story. Telling him that it seems like just yesterday when Jared hit the social workers car in South Africa just moments before we were to meet our Owen for the first time. I was retelling him about how he just loved the scrammbled eggs that we gave him as his first food. (Which he thought was cool, because he LOVES scrammbled eggs now too).
I know, it is so cliche. Owen changed our lives. But he did. This little baby boy changed us, made us better... made us whole.
I love how Owen has grown into such a big boy, this little mini man. If only we could share how wonderful he is to his birthfamily. Ooohhh how they would be so proud!
This past weekend we took our annual fall walk at the lake. Owen remembered a picture that I have hanging up, and we found the spot it was taken. We decided to take another just for fun! He has sure grown up!
Now....

Then...

I can't wait to celebrate my oldest baby tomorrow! Happy Birthday Owen!

Stage Coach

2011-10-23T19:22:00.000-07:00

It is a stage coach, of course! Solomon was the stage coach driver of course!

First Day of Hockey!

2011-10-23T19:20:00.000-07:00

After much anticipation, Solomon started hockey today! He did well. He had fun and that is the most important part!

Balance Beam

2011-10-23T19:18:00.000-07:00

What do you do when the dock has been brought in and the planks have been taken off... walk on it like a balance beam!

Waterpark!

2011-10-23T19:16:00.000-07:00

We had our yearly trip to the waterpark this weekend! Every year on this weekend we head to Grand Forks and enjoy the waterpark. Of course the boys had a great time! They have all grown up so much since we started this. The boys are all so much more independent in the water! Solomon even had to go down the big waterslides! I think this year it was Jared and I who had trouble keeping up, not Solomon!

Science Experiments

2011-10-23T19:10:00.000-07:00

The boys have been loving science experiments lately! We have had a great time creating sensory bottles, etc. This past week we created a new tornado bottle, which the boys have yet to put down! We are also enjoying our brain experiment! We have this tiny braing which we are growing in water. We measure it every day and in two weeks it will be the size of a human brain! The perfect experiment to do at Halloween time! The boys are loving learning about the brain as we go!

Lake

2011-10-23T19:05:00.000-07:00

We spent a couple great fall days at the lake! It was gorgeous! Abe caught one last northern, the boys got to ride with Arlen on his 4 wheeler, and it was just great spending time outside!

Abram was just cuddling with Lucie and they both fell asleep! It was cute!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-19T15:37:00.000-07:00

This weekend we enjoyed the Pumpkin Patch with the boys and some of their good friends! It was so nice to enjoy the sun, fall activities, and great kids!

Date Weekend

2011-10-19T15:33:00.000-07:00

I had two very important dates this past weekend. First up was my date with Abram! Seeing as how Solomon got to have a grandma and great grandma day, and Owen was home sick(this somehow is something to be very jealous of) It was the perfect time to have a date night with Abram! Him and I decided that the perfect night would start with golfing. I don't know how he did it, but he golfed 2 buckets of balls in just a half an hour. He is so determined to get that whole in one. He came unbelievably close as he had 4 balls land on the green!! We ended our night at Perkins! I think we both had a great time. I got to hear all about the second grade and the new game at recess. I could not think of a better way to spend a Friday night!

On Saturday night, Jared and I got to have a date night! We were so excited to go to Third Day, along with 10th Avenue North and Trevor Morgan. It was AWESOME! It was so great to spend time with my honey and listen to great music aat the same time!

Soccer Tournament

2011-10-11T19:24:00.000-07:00

We traveled to Minneapolis for three days last weekend to attend Abram's first ever soccer tournament! It was a blast! Abram did AMAZING!!! I had so much fun watching him. He was even team captain for the first game! His team ended up winning three out of four games. This was pretty good seeing as a few of the teams were older, and one was even a try out team! I know I am Abe's mom, but I was impressed! He loved every minute and spent much of the weekend stragizing with Jared! The first thing he asked when the tournament was over was when the next one will be! The next thing he did was fall asleep, and boy did he sleep! He was exhausted!

We had a great time watching Abram play soccer, but we had other fun this weekend too! We spent a great afternoon with cousins Tanner and Hayden! They all played pretty hard, and the adults got to visit too! We also went to Legoland which was a huge hit all around!

All in all... great weekend!

Friends

2011-10-11T19:22:00.000-07:00

Solomon got a fun package in the mail this week. It is so fun to see this friendship continue even though there are miles between them!

Never to small for Piano!

2011-10-04T19:46:00.000-07:00

Now we have two boys in piano lessons. Owen loves it, and Abram is loving it too. Why on earth would we have not have the tiniest member of our family begging to join in on the fun too?
So, now, everyday after we practice piano he asks for his own mini lesson. Since I have no idea what I am doing (that is why we have Jenny), I have him just dinking around. I have a feeling it won't be long until we have three in piano!

Jenny was great a couple of weeks ago and they played a duet together. She played an actual song, and he "did too"!

2 Eight Year Olds

2011-10-02T19:22:00.000-07:00

For years Abram has been trying to "catch" Owen in age. We tried for years to explain that this was impossible. I...guess... not! A few posts ago we shared about Abram's new birthday. So, for a month and 2 days. I have two, eight year olds! Abram is LOVING it! Owen...thinks it is weird! They are so completely opposite, but so completely perfect to be brothers and are so great together!

Pumpkin Pie Playdoh!

2011-10-02T19:18:00.000-07:00

In the newsletter that comes home with Solomon, a recipe was suggested for pumpkin pie playdoh. I could not wait and immediately googled it! The boys helped me make a batch today, and I am not kidding.... they played with it for three hours. THREE HOURS!! Because of the great smell, they loved making pumpkins, jackolanterns, pumpkin pie, etc. They also decided to play a game of Iron Chef! I could not have predicted the fun this simple recipe would create!

Click to find the recipe here!

2011-10-02T19:13:00.000-07:00

Retired

2011-10-02T19:09:00.000-07:00

Jared finished out his soccer season with the Monkeys! He has coached two seasons of baseball and four of soccer. He has decided that he and his hip are going to go into retirement. It was a great run though!

B-I-B-L-E

2011-09-25T19:21:00.000-07:00

Wasn't I just teaching this song to Owen? Well, today in church he completed his first part of comfirmation! He took a Bible class with our pastors and then recieved a Bible in church today! He was very excited, as were we! This is certainly a milestone for him and us!

Getting it!

2011-09-25T19:16:00.000-07:00

I know that I have said it before, but I need to say it again. Our family rocks! The adoption world can "get it" when you send out an Ethiopian "birth"day invite. Two birthdays, extra holidays, etc, etc! Our family just rolls with it and supports our boys every step of the way!

Our family pulled out all the stops to share with Abe how much they loved him, and celebrate with him. Playing ball with him, helping with serving at the party, special t shirts, etc!

I found this card so special. The effort, the time, and it taught us something too!

Rockets

2011-09-24T21:23:00.000-07:00

Now that I am a mom of three boys, I get to do really fun stuff like launch rockets! We spent the afternoon building (Jared did this) rockets and launching them in a nearby park!

The boys had a blast with this, but I will be honest and say that I had just as much fun as the kids!

First Ride

2011-09-24T21:18:00.000-07:00

Owen took his first (and I hope last) ride! His smile was so huge, I think he will be picking bugs out of his teeth for weeks! It was short, but great!

Birthdays!

2011-09-24T20:33:00.000-07:00

Birthdays come but once a year.... unless you are Abram!

I am not going to go into all of the details, but we recently found out that Abram's birthday is not what we thought. He is actually about 6 months older than we previously believed. When you are 7, this is a VERY big deal!

When we first found out a few months ago, Abram immediatley wanted us to change his birthdate to the new day. Legally, this would be very difficult if not impossible.

Because we were closer to the new date, than the old date, I thought this was because of the desire to have a party, be older, and have presents. The more we talked about his birthdays the more we realized that this was far from the truth.

We talked much about the new information that we now had surrounding Abram's birth and infancy. It was shocking to us how quickly he seemed to give up the birth date that he had had for the last 7 years. Whenever asked about his birthday he would reply with the September day. After many conversations, we decided that we would have a family party in September and his friend birthday would be on the old birthdate.

I guess Abram, himself, said it best. "They will be thinking of me on this day, and I want to be thinking of them."

With Abram's help, we planned the most perfect Ethiopian birthday party! It was fun to hear Abram's ideas, and have him suggest things such as Fanta and Coke to drink,a blue van cake, and to NOT forget the ET hard boiled eggs that come in the Doro wot!

The night also included a family game of baseball and an outdoor movie. Everyone was up for baseball. When I say everyone, I mean it! Even Grandma B hit! JoAnne, Annie, Grandma Myrhh, Lindsey, Grandpa Keith, and Boppa... and don't forget all the kids! Everyone had a great time!

This boy is so loved! It was so fun to celebrate this day, and see how important it was to Abram. To see him so excited about Ethiopia and see that connection grow even more!

Thank Goodness!

2011-09-22T21:31:00.000-07:00

It's still September, isn't it?

Thank goodness the boys have had an easier transition to school, than I have!

Thank goodness I have three lovely boys to show me what is important!

Thank goodness for good music and 4 year olds that have memorized lurics, and great dance mooves.

Thank goodness for 8 year olds with a tremendous gift for turning a bed sheet into 101 things, and using an imagination I could only dream of!

And thank goodness for an almost 8 year old who has an amazing talent of turning orinary sticks into "dangerous weapons" to ward off the "scary strangers" in the neighborhood.

Rugby

2011-09-18T11:31:00.000-07:00

It is rugby time! The Rugby World cup is happening right now in... I think it is New Zealand. We have been trying to catch some of the games. Mainly the South Africa games. We also found that our local college has a team. While they do not have many home games, they did this weekend!

We had a blast! For one... it was free!! For two... there are no seats so it is just come and hang out and watch the game. The boy really enjoyed playing some of there own rugby at the same time. For three... Solomon thought for sure that we were watching the Springboks as they were green and gold. He even went so far as to convince himself that he could see a "little deer" on their jerseys! And for Four.... it was right next to the airport so we got to watch some neat aircraft coming and going too! It really was a great time!

Now, isn't Solomon's Line up (I am a rugby learner... this may not be the right term) looking just like the big guys'?!

Airplanes and rugby together= awesome!

A scrum!! Solomon was quick to tell me what they say in a scrum. Crouch...touch...release! (I think)

The boys having a great time!

He see's it now

2011-09-15T20:55:00.000-07:00

Just about a week ago, on the way to Walmart, Solomon anounced... with much excitement, that he saw a black person. He almost jumped out of his seat, was pointing like crazy and kept repeating that there was actually a black person in THIS city.

I may need to preface, that there is more than 1 black person that lives in our city. Many more, but our city is definatley not as diverse as some.

On the day that the Walmart incident happened we had a conversation with him. Owen and Abram joined also. They pointed out to Solomon that there most certainly more than 1 black person in our city! The conversation continued to evolve and we kept with the we are all the same, but different theme.

Now, fast forward to tonight. We really had not talked about any of this since, but in the car( I swear, the best conversations always happen in the car) Solomon surprised us again. He says "when we were in South Africa, there were lots and lots of people that looked like me, and hardly anyone that looked like you".

I love that he remembers this. To be completely honest, both Jared and I tried on purpose to remember the feeling of being the minority while in Africa. It did take me by surprise that he remembered that about South Africa. But he did.

Owen and Abram both filled Solomon with their thoughts, and it was so great to listen to the three boys and their thoughts on all of this.

I don't want to you to think this was a negative, it really wasn't. It was hard to hear. Hard to hear that your children desire to be surrounded by more diversity. Wish we could just pack up and move to Africa.

I think that Owen and Abram were about this age, when they first started to see color a little more. So it is not like this is new, or unexpected. Just another part of our journey.

What's up?

2011-09-13T20:13:00.000-07:00

I love fall. I really do, but I realy... really, hate September! I like to be organized, ready, and in a routine. Slowly... slowly, we are getting there!

So, I have been back to work for 1 week. Solomon is LOVING his new room at daycare! He loves all the stories, and new songs, and adores the teachers! He took cookies and books to school to share about the Ethiopian New Year. He was very exciting to share with his class how to wish each other Happy New Year in Amharic!

There are apples, tons of apples on our trees! The boys were really excited to make some homeade apple pie! This is a terrible picture, but so cute! Owen was helping me peel apples when he announced that he had peeled out Africa out of his apple!

Abram and Solomon are really enjoying the fall soccer season! Our weekends are full of games. I love watching the boys play, and the other boys have so many friends to play with at the soccer complex, that it makes for a great time!

We made a quick visit to see Great Grandpa the other day. It was so cute. Abe had to run and get his cane, when he saw Great Grandpa with his!

This only scratches the surface as to what we have been up to. Trying to enjoy the wonderful outdoors, finish home projects, and school lunches. I have lots more to share, and will soon!

Back in it!

2011-09-06T04:38:00.000-07:00

I have had SUCH a great summer. It was only great due to one thing: the time I got to spend with my boys. There is no better thing than time with these kiddos. And I have to say, with no work stress, or chaos in the mornings, it is such a carefree time!
More than trips, golf lessons, or baseball it was just time!

Today, I start work again. We have been so blessed to already have a few weeks with the kids back in school. (Solomon has still been with me). So we have some routine. I am already used to getting snacks and lunches ready, and studying spelling words. Soccer has resumed, and practices are in full force. Piano starts next week. To say we are back in it... is an understatement. But we are!

I am looking forward to seeing how much the boys will learn at school this year. Seeing them progress in piano and sports. Seeing what our family will look like in May!

Anyway, here is to another year, and a great summer spent with the best boys around!!

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-06T04:27:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed another great time at the lake. We got to spend 4 days soaking up the last little bits of summer!

The water was a tad chilly, bit that did not stop Owen from enjoying it. He decided to try out the hipwaders that were in the boat house. Of course, they were leaky, but that only added to the fun.

Abram had a blast fishing. He even proclaimed that he likes fishing more than playing the wii, which is a huge admission for any 7 year old boy! He caught 2 bass and a northern which was great! For the kid with no patience, I am so surprised he can fish for SOOOOO long!

Solomon had a great time soaking in the sun. He played hard, just like his brothers!

JoAnne brought some craft ideas, and the boys went nuts. Abram built a light up (with flashlights) tree to mimick the lit up palm tree across the lake that we all admire. Owen also built a tree, but more of a christmas tree.

We also had our first ever movie at the lake! We hooked up Jared's projector, invited the neighbors, had yummy snacks and it was a great time!

Soccer, skatepark and Old Lady Canes

2011-08-28T19:01:00.000-07:00

I love how the boys can make something out of nothing. They have learned this great talent from their dad and their grandpa! Somehow, Abram convinced his grandpa to teach him how to make a cane while at the lake this weekend. Before we knew it, Grandpa had all three boys digging through the wood piles and each of the boys were well on their way to making their very own Old Lady Cane. Yes, they are officially called Old Lady Canes, and I guess they are the shnizel! The boys were very responsible and learned a lot about wood working. They even stained their new canes.

The boys also started soccer again. Solomon, once again, has THE best coach around (although he limps pretty bad;)! Solomon LOVES soccer and was so excited to get back on the field. When I took Abram to practice today, he cried because he could not play. Abram is playing recreational and competitive soccer this fall! He has three practices a week between the two teams and one game at least per week. He LOVES it. He always is the last off the field... just in case the other kids want to stay after and scrimmage a little longer. He was so fun to watch this weekend. It is like REAL soccer. Passing, calling for the ball, not as many herds chasing after the ball. It was fun!

We also found a few hours to hang out at the local skatepark. The boys were thrilled to show Jared there new tricks! Abram also brought his remote car, which proved to be a great idea. Perfect place for a remote car!

1st day of School!

2011-08-25T19:53:00.000-07:00

This week school started! I now have a second and third grader! I can hardly believe it. I dread the chaos that I know September will bring, but I am so excited to see the boys learn and expand their knowledge!

Last Summer Hurrah!

2011-08-25T19:45:00.000-07:00

This week we had fun! We have been having fun all summer, but we had extra fun this week! We went to the Sports Bubble, Jared took the boys to the Driving Range, the music store, etc. Tons of fun. But our last final summer hurrah was having the girls over for a swim party! THEY HAD A BLAST!!!!!

Grandma sprang for their favorite... tacos! We had multiple pools out, the kids played dress up (it is MY house;) Basically, they played their little hearts out for hours and had a great time. Even GGB had to join the fun! Great way to end a GREAT summer!

And these two... pretty much inseparable!

Summer

2011-08-25T19:40:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist posting these of last weekend at the lake!

Now THAT is National Pride!

2011-08-23T18:41:00.000-07:00

The other night Jared was watching the South African Springboks game. After the National Anthem, he called me over so we could re-watch it together. AMAZING! That is the only thing that describes it.

The first part of this video is the New Zealand national anthem and the SA Anthem starts at about 2 minutes.

Tap

2011-08-22T19:47:00.000-07:00

I love a good deal. When I found a pair of tap shoes in Owen's size at Once Upon a Child for $3, I knew I had found one! He has barely taken them off, and I have had a great time looking up youtube videos of the Tap greats! So far, Sammy Davis Jr, is a fave! The other boys could not be left out so they duck taped coins to the bottom of their shoes and tapped along. SO FUN! They tapped all weekend at the lake!

He's Got it!

2011-08-22T19:39:00.000-07:00

Solomon has decided that he has NO fear when it comes to the skatepark! He now goes down all the ramps that Abe does! So fun to watch!

5 for 5

2011-08-18T20:51:00.000-07:00

I keep having these bad dreams at night.

I dream that I open the fridge and there is nothing to give the my children to eat.

Really, every night, that is my dream.

And, I have also had the dream where I dream of the food I threw in the garbage the night before and there are starving children outside my door begging for it, yet I can't get the food to them.

It has been weeks really, that I am having these dreams.

The terrifying part, they are real. REAL.

How am I supposed to go back to sleep when I wake up from a dream like that? How am I supposed to get ready for a great day after a dream like that?

It is REAL. There are children, women, and men in Somalia , and Ethiopia dying every day because they do not have food to eat, or the resources to get it.

The most frustrating thing for me was that I did not know what to do about it.

This photo has been haunting me.

Those toes... they are Abram's.

Abram.... Solomon.

Our reality includes the fact that they both have living relatives.

Relatives living in hunger, not able to feed their children.

Their reality are my nightmares.

I found this today.... 5 for 5 !!! Here we go! Something I can do! Something You can do to.

So, go here. Give at least $5 and tell 5 people. Give 5 for 5, and keep spreading the word.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:16-18

New Board

2011-08-18T20:24:00.000-07:00

The skateboard that Abram has had since he was two broke. He was really excited to get a new board... until he got it! After much tweaking, replacing the new wheels with his old wheels, etc, he is finally loving his new skateboard!

Blue Angels Finale

2011-08-14T19:37:00.000-07:00

Loved it!

We absolutely loved attending all of the practices and performances of the Blue Angels this past week!

After much thought, we decided that to just set up camp and hang out near the airshow and enjoy it "free" of charge. It was perfect. We brought some of the boys' airplanes, some crayons and paper, and of course had the sporting goods section otherwise known as the back of the van. So, we had baseball gloves, skateboards, etc! I also had a ton of snacks and drinks packed! It was great.

We got to see so many of the shows. Abram was in his element seeing all the different propeller planes doing stunts, and loved the Hooligans!

Solomon had spent the last few days very nervous about the Blue Angels. He HATES loud noise. He had chosen staying home with Dad one day instead of going to the bridge to view the Angels, staying in the car with GGB another, etc. This time though he was ready...and very equipped. He had cotton in his ears, and two sets of headphone thingies on. He almost enjoyed it....until he fell asleep. Yep, half way through the Blue Angels show, he was snuggled up with me and zonked. Holding his little Blue Angel plane and all! Priceless. All that worry for nothing!

To finish off the whole thing, the NDSU marching band (or something) was practicing and there were lots of drums (Owen's big thing). It was fun to hear and a great way to end a great time!

Car Wash!

2011-08-13T19:59:00.000-07:00

One of the things on MY to do list was to let the boys wash my car. Just because I remember that when I got to do that as a kids it was so much fun. I think my boys had just as much fun!

I found some old towels, some dish soap, and gave them the hose. We added some extra neighbor kids for good measure!

I think the water bill will double, and the dish soap is gone, but it was a good time! (the cars look pretty good too;)

Blue Angels

2011-08-13T19:53:00.000-07:00

We have spent the last few days getting as close to the Blue Angels as we can! The boys have an absolute blast hanging out with the neighbors and watching them from our yard! The last two days, we have watched them from a bridge just off the airport runway. Talk about AWESOME! The planes are flying just above our heads. I don't know who has more fun...me or the kids!

A Playdate 3 years in the making!

2011-08-10T20:26:00.000-07:00

After much planning, and a failed attempt (terribly...blow up your van engine kind of terrible), we had our first South African friend playdate!

We have so many great friends in adoption. So many! But it has been painfully clear to one member of our family that none of our friends are South African.

A few years ago, we met someone that was in the process of adopting from South Africa! She is now home with her two beautiful girls, and after so much planning we finally had our families meet.

The boys and I woke up very early and drove to St. Cloud. Our first stop was the zoo! The kids had a great time feeding many of the animals, playing at the playground and we had a great picnic that we later followed up with DQ!!

Later we went to a great splashpad and even enjoyed a local festival with a magic show, bounce houses and face painting. Solomon had a butterfly painted on his face and "became" a butterfly (to match a great song from Imagination Movers) for the rest of the day!

It was great to see the kids make new friends and it was great to see Owen light up as we shared stories of South Africa!

Thanks new friends for a GREAT day!!

My Kids are so Fun!

2011-08-09T21:15:00.000-07:00

Seriously, my kids are fun! We had another great time enjoying fantastic Minnesota weather!

Our caravan left mid morning, and our first stop was The Logging Camp! This is one of our favorite stops of the summer. They serve a HUGE lunch/dinner of homeade grub. It is all done, logger style! Wood stools, tin cups and plates, and chickens outside! We all ate way too much. We also enjoyed checking out the fish, as it is by the river, the chickens, and all the logger tools including the huge chain!

After eating we headed over to Lake Itasca State Park! The drive is amazing. Our kids always love walking across the rocks that are the head of the Mississippi river. As Owen and Jaylyn said after they crossed it today "This is a huge thing in America". We have taken our boys for years, but it was great listening to Owen, Abram and Jaylyn talk about the river and many of the facts that had learned about it. They are growing up!

Grandma B and my mom joined us also. This made a good day...FANTASTIC! We were a little concerned about B walking all the way to the headwaters, so Lindsey and I found a wheelchair just in case. Needless to say, the wheelchair was put to good use, but not by Grandma B. She is one tough cookie!

Bringing the Rain

2011-08-07T20:16:00.000-07:00

We go to the Library ALL THE TIME! Jared gets mad because we usually max out one card and have to put books on another card. It is crazy. But reading is important. REALLY, REALLY important, so I won't apologize.

This was one of the books. I think I only read it 3 or 4 times (which is not that many, usually we read books over and over...and over)

So, on our vacation there were some pretty stormy dark clouds. The boys immediately started shooting at the clouds, and started reciting parts of the book. They were determined to make it their "shot" that would make it rain!

I finally caught on that they were taking about the book Bringing The Rain to Kapiti Plain. They told me exactly their favorite part and what they were trying to recreate...This....

They repeated this many times over the next few weeks. Eventually Abram made this all by himself!

So, when I saw this....I knew I could not pass it up!

It is funny, because all of this coming from a book that I didn't think (at the time) that they were really loving. They listened, like I said we read it a few times, but it was much later that I saw how much they had been thinking about the story!

I love how reading helps kids grow connections. It helps the
m make connections to things that they may already know, or helps them expand their already growing imaginations!

Lake Weekend

2011-08-07T20:10:00.000-07:00

I am completely ignoring the fact that the calender has flipped to August. We are conitnuing to enjoy our summer in FULL! We enjoyed 3 full days at the lake! There was swimming, fishing, campfires, and so much fun! We even got to go to one of our favorite lake spots...Zorbaz!

Abe was so lucky and got to borrow Arlin's (our great lake friend) BIG fishing net! Between Arlin, Abe and Jared, they caught well over 85 sunfish! He was in fish heaven!

Of course Owen brought all of his cozy stuff for the campfire. He was so nice to share some of his cozy's with Solomon. Solomon felt VERY special.

Renee's

2011-08-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

The kids had Bible school this week. I have to say that it was a very challenging week. There were not nice, hurtful things said to one of the boys. We dealt with it, and learned from it. Oh, and Solomon may or may not have bit his high school VBS teacher in the BUTT because he thought it would be funny. Yeah, it was challenging. All in all ...in the end. It was good and God wins. The boys had fun. Songs, and Bible verses were learned (and are being repreated over and over again;)

We decided that a trip to Renee's, our favorite small town Diner was much needed this week! We enjoyed cousins, and good food!

Of course, it wouldn't be THAT easy.... we had one side tracked adventure. I think I am supposed to thank Lindsey for taking these pictures. Owen had to get out and help push. Thank goodness my dad was along! And we had a lifesaver pull up with a truck and pull us out! It was an adventure... I can laugh now that my van is out and working fine. Muddy, but fine!

Black Hills Vacation!

2011-08-03T20:07:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite things to do is travel with our kids. We love it, and this past week as no exception! So, I am sure you all know that Owen has a list. Sydney Opera House, Great Wall of China, Niagra falls, Grand Canyon....Mt. Rushmore. The list goes on, but we were FINALLY able to check another one off of the list!

Other than the drive from Johannesburg to Durban in South Africa, this was probobly the longest drive we have done as a family. It went GREAT! We have such good travelers. The only one who had trouble in the car was.....JARED!(Mr. needs a new hip:) We made a couple of fun stops on the way to Rapid City. We stopped in Sioux Falls to see the Falls. We stopped at Wall Drug and enjoyed a homeade donut and the free ice water. Our last stop before our final arrival was the South Dakota Air and Space Museum. For Abe, this was the highlight! They have quite the selection of airplanes. There was an upcoming storm, but we braved the rain to keep looking at the airplanes. Thank goodness for the indoor section of the museum! It was a hit, and I recommend it for any airplane lovers out there!

Our first full day, the first stop was MT. RUSHMORE!!!! I think Owen would have burst if we would have waited any longer. Listening to the boys in the back talk about what they thought it would look like was so funny. They had seen pictures, but they still were unsure of how big, or high to look, etc. Once it was in view, they were silent. They were very pleased, and said it was even better in person. Now that it has been a few days, it is fun to talk to them about it. I am surprised at how much they took in from the readings and from us telling them. They really learned a lot. They also enjoyed the little hike around the mountain.

The kids saw their first cave, and gold mine. Both HUGE hits. We were unsure how well they would listen to the tour guides but they did great, even asking good questions. They are also very excited about the gold they got to pan for. You would think they found a million dollars worth...not just $4!

Another highlight was going to Devils Tower. Not only is a very cool national monument, but it is in Wyoming. A whole other state! (very important to the boy with the list;) I was even impressed as it is huge. They have a fun trail going around the tower that the boys had fun with.

Some other highlights.... Mini golfing. It was a pirate theme....very important to the pirate in the family(he is 4), and he even got a hole in 1!!! He was just a little proud! He also got to ride Secretariat. Well, his name was not Secretariat, but Curly. He looked a lot like Secretariat, and that is all that mattered! Each of the boys got a lesson on riding horse. They had to start Curly, turn him and get him to go backwards. Abram and Solomon loved it, and Owen...well, it pooped while he was on it. If he wasn't totally disgusted with being on a "stinky animal" before the poop did him in! They each got a cowboy certificate at the end!

We celebrated Owen's special day while in the Black Hills. 8 years ago since we first held him. CRAZINESS. I have had this sweet boy in my life for 8 years. WOW. We had fun letting him guide our day. He chose Sonic for dinner, which he loved (we don't have one where we live and is tortured by the slushy commericals daily.)

The best part of the whole trip.....rock climbing! The boys are in love with being outside...scaring me...and climbing, so it is the perfect thing for them! When we go to Duluth they climb across rock, here they climb up! At one point, Jared had them all up higher (I was spotting). He was being stern about not going past him. I went up to look when the boys got down. Yeah...it was a cliff! Thank goodness I didn't look earlier. Really though, it was great and they had so much fun! They could have done it all day!

All in all, I am so grateful for the time spent as a family and a kid with a list. I can't wait to see what we can cross off next!