Life at the Lunds

Double Digits

2011-12-29T15:40:00.000-08:00

As always, there is tons of activity and action around our house! The week before Christmas, Peter looked like this! He had a fever and a terrible cough that kept him(and me) up every night for a week. Then he developed an ear infection. Thankfully, by Christmas he was feeling better again!

We decided to do a family fun day on the Friday before Christmas and toured the James J. Hill House on historic Summit Avenue in St. Paul. At one time, this was the largest home in MN and was really state-of- the-art for it's time...it's still really impressive to tour, especially during the holidays. If you ever get the opportunity to get to St. Paul, it is worth your time to take the 4.5 mile drive down one of the most impressive historic streets in all of America...Summit Avenue is a beautiful street with original mansions that have been perfectly maintained or restored to their original glory...my dream is to live in one of them some day....

Christmas was wonderful as we spent it at home with just my parents. It was peaceful...as peaceful as can be with 5 very excited children! It's nice when we don't have to do any running and can stay home enjoying the reason for the season! We did get to visit with one of my brothers and his family as well as my sister and her family too.

Two of the SIX trees we decorated in our home with year! The kids each had small trees in their bedrooms as they do each year.

Yesterday, my twins, Ricky and Greta, turned 10 years old!! Double digits from now on... Greta had a party with her friends at the Water Park of America. They spent the day swimming and having a great time. Ricky will have a party with his buddies later in the winter!

I got these adorable dolls for all three of my youngest kids from a fellow etsy seller. They are so cute and so well-made! My kids all love them and sleep with their new little friends every night!

I just love these matching snowman birthday cakes that I get for their winter birthdays every year!

Here is some of Greta's birthday loot! Let me tell you, it's not easy shopping for TWINS 3 days after they just got every gift they already wanted for Christmas!

Wishing you a wonderful, blessed, safe Happy New Year, 2012!!

Sorry...

2011-12-13T05:59:00.000-08:00

It's almost embarrassing to post on my blog after such a long hiatus! Sorry for my absence. Life just has a way of slipping by when you are busy with 5 children plus doing foster care! Let me see if I can do a quick re-cap of our life since the last post!

We took in a few Twins games this summer. Their new stadium is very nice!

Rich was even featured on their giant screen as they honored foster parents across the metro area with a special pre-game event. He was chosen to represent our county as there were all 7 metro counties at this tribute to foster care.

Each year we make our annual trek north to Rich's hometown for the small county fair. My kids still love it and especially love getting together with cousins up there. Peter rode his first horse/pony this summer and loved it. He wants to be a farmer when he grows up and he LOVES animals!

My vegetable garden did well this year despite the frequent visitors right outside the fence. This fall we expanded the size of our garden and will put new, higher fencing around it to keep out these hungry deer!

Peter has always LOVED Thomas and all things trains, so this was a dream come true for him to ride on Thomas when he came to the Duluth Train Depot this summer. It was a fun day up north with his cousins!

Hannah turned 15 this summer and now has her driver's permit so she is enjoying practicing her driving skills! Hard to believe we have TWO teen drivers now! This was taken on the last day with braces...after two years she finally got them off. BEFORE...

and AFTER!

We spent a lot of time at our lake home in Wisconsin this summer....so relaxing...

Taylor turned 17 this summer. After much thought and prayer, we decided to home school her this year. She is now in 11th grade and is doing so well at home and at her homeschool co-op...here's her classroom!

Hannah is in 10th grade this year and is loving her second year in high school!

Hard to believe buy my twins are already in 4th grade!

The summer flew by and before we knew it, the leaves were changing colors and fall was here:

The little guy above is our friend, Andrew. As of this past weekend, he's also my Godchild!

Spent Thanksgiving with my parents...

Now we are preparing for Christmas and the celebration of Jesus' birth! We've been busy shopping, baking and decorating. I am looking forward to shutting my etsy shop down for a while and just enjoying the holiday season once all the work is done and we can just relax and focus on the meaning of this season!

I've already added some Valentine's Day and St. Patricks Day items to my shop...

Whew! That was a very quick review of the past half year from this bad blogger! I still follow all of your blogs and enjoy keeping up with you although I have not kept up on mine!

Merry Christmas and blessings for a wonderful 2012 from my family to yours...

Update

2011-06-14T18:06:00.000-07:00

School is done for another year and summer break is finally here...now all we need is SUMMER!!! It seems we get a few nice days and then the temps drop drastically and it rains again! Looking forward to just relaxing and not being ruled but schedules for a while...

Here are some before/after pictures from the first day of 3rd grade last fall...

And some from the last day of school this past week...

As well as Peter's graduation from the preschool he went to...

This week I brought Greta and her cousin, Jenny, to church camp for their first time away from home alone for the 4 days. They were so excited to be going to the camp that they have heard so much about from their big sisters and so proud to be going off in to the world all by themselves!

I can't believe how quiet the house has been with Greta gone but I am kinda starting to miss the little stinker too!

We have decided, for a large number of reasons, to homeschool our oldest, Taylor, next year. She will be a junior in high school and I am nervous about being able to adequately do this for her. I think it's going to be a really great experience for both of us and I know in my heart that it will be the best thing for her right now, but it's still scary. Does anyone have any advice or personal experiences/recommendations in homeschooling that you can offer us??

I have been adding new items to my Sox That Rock etsy shop on a regular basis...here is some of what I have been working on...

NEW DIY Do-it-yourself NO SEW kits for an inexpensive way to have a boutique-quality items at a fraction of the cost!

And some of the Mickey and Minnie Shirt sets that I make...remember this before your next Disney vacation!

Baby leg warmers...for boys and girls...great for new crawlers...

And just some other fun stuff!

Have a wonderful week!

Take me out to the ballgame...

2011-05-26T17:15:00.000-07:00

We had a great time yesterday at the MN Twins baseball game. Although we lost 3-0, it still was neat to see the new stadium! Rich took these photos on his cell phone and they were so nice and clear but for some reason, when he forwarded them to my computer, we lost something in the resolution!

Lil Helper

2011-05-20T05:43:00.000-07:00

Peter is always such a nice little helper for everyone...so when his daddy started mowing the lawn, he was right there to help with his lawn mower too! With all the spring rain we have had, our lawn is long and lush!

Looks like I will have a million apples this year with all the blooms on my apple tree...

It's been so cold this spring so I am really late getting my vegetable garden planted but I finally got it done...hopefully we have a long enough growing season for everything to ripen. Peter helped me plant carrots, onions, corn, peas, beans, beets, basil, tomatoes, peppers, spinach and lettuce!! Here is the garden after we added rich new composted black dirt before we planted...

We will need to re-inforce the netting around the garden as we have frequent visitors in deer and rabbits!

One of my flower beds promises to have lots of color and blooms soon!

That's how my garden grows...

Ricky

2011-05-18T05:57:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, Ricky competed in a regional meet for Special Olympics track and field. Although the weather was ONCE AGAIN cold and rainy, we all managed to have a great time! The thing that struck me about Special Olympics when we first began participating is that it is for ALL ages starting at age 8. You see some pretty old athletes competing which is great for them. Ricky always seems to get placed in competitions with much older and bigger athletes as they use their qualifying times to place them. He is quite a little runner and has a great arm for the softball throw so he is paired up with much older people to compete against...see the size of his competition! Ricky is in lane one all the way to the right. It was raining and he wouldn't take his Buzz Lightyear rain jacket off!

He took 5th place out of 8 in this race...the 50 meter dash!

He also competed in the 100 meter dash where he took 3rd place! In the softball throw, he did amazing too! We left before they determined the winners in that competition so we will find out tonight at practice.

They had the local fire department there to allow the athletes to tour the fire engines...Ricky LOVES fireman and wants to be one when he grows up so this was a treat for him!

We also had FOUR extra children with us this weekend! I am often asked to take foster children on a respite basis so we had 3 adorable...but very busy...children from one family over the weekend. Then our little princess, Miss S, who we cared for over the first 6 months of her life, came for an overnight visit too! We love and adore her and are so happy that she is back with her mommy and daddy and doing really well! We are blessed that they allow us to stay in her life and get to see her at least once a month! It's fun for us to see her grow up and it gives her parents a little break too.

The sun has been out for TWO days now and today promises to be beautiful too! What a difference the sun makes in one's disposition after weeks of cold and rainy weather! Enjoy today...

FFF

2011-05-13T10:30:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted photos for Friday Favorite Foto in a while...here are a few from this week. Peter recently started swim lessons and he has just taken to the water like a little fish! All 4 of my other children were very hesitant swimmers and I spend a FORTUNE on lessons before any of them advanced to the next level. With Peter, it's such a nice change to have a child who actually liked the water right away and he has already been moved up to the next level! Having him swimming this summer will be nice as we spend so much time at our lake home!

Ricky loves to see himself featured on this blog and asked me to take a picture of him in this silly pose! My flexible little man will be competing in a regional meet for Special Olympics tomorrow so I will be sure to post an update once that is done. The weather is supposed to be cold and rainy all day...no surprise with the cool wet spring we have has so far!

My Crew

2011-05-09T10:53:00.000-07:00

We had a beautiful day and a great time for Mother's Day yesterday. We all were squinting with the sun in our eyes but at least we HAD SUN!!! Spent the day with my sister and her family as well as my parents. I don't often post pictures of my whole crew but here we are. One member of this crowd was especially crabby and refusing to smile!

There are very few pictures of my mom and I as we both dislike having our pictures taken but I took the opportunity yesterday to have one taken of us.

This next one was taken on Mother's Day last year...my kids are growing up and changing....They are truly wonderful children and I am so blessed to be their mom!!

PETER

2011-05-05T06:54:00.000-07:00

My sweet little man, Peter, turned 4 the other day! He wanted a Sponge Bob birthday cake as that is one of his favorite TV shows! He is growing up so fast and turning into such a nice young man! We celebrated his special day by him going to a movie with his Daddy, "HOP", and then having a bar-b-q with my sister and her family.

We recently spent a weekend in Duluth staying at a great hotel right on Lake Superior. They have bonfires each night and hotel guests can roast marshmallows and make s'mores...yum!

We also got to meet my newest niece, Alivia...what a beautiful LITTLE one she is. She was born very early but is doing so well...

I couldn't resist taking this picture of her by a margarita which was bigger than her little head!

Of course, we got up early last week to watch the royal wedding. We were invited to watch it with our friends who are from England and they treated us to a wonderful English breakfast and tea! Greta will always remember getting up at 4am to see a real princess marrying her prince! The wedding was especially fun for us as we visited all those places while in England a few years ago!

I just want to say Happy Mother's Day to my mom and all the other wonderful moms out there! Hope you have a special day!

Water Fun!

2011-03-30T12:15:00.000-07:00

Last week my kids were on spring break. Unfortunately, we didn't have any fun vacations planned so we spent most of the week at home...did some shopping at the Mall of America but also had a few days of winter storms that we were basically stuck inside so it was a LONG week for this mama bear! I was happy to send them all back to school on Monday!

One thing we did do was rent a hotel suite for a night and met my sister and her family(she also had 5 children) there. The kids had a great time in the water and just hanging out with their cousins. The adults had a great time visiting with each other too! We even were able to sneak away for a nice relaxing dinner without the 10 kids! The pool area was nothing fancy but the kids LOVED just being in the water. It made me realize that I will never again miss a warm-weather vacation in the middle of winter...it's just too long to survive in the cold here in Minnesota without a break!!! Next year we are already thinking Disney or Nickolodeon Cruise....

Pictures

2011-03-25T10:10:00.000-07:00

I am FINALLY getting Peter's 3-year old pictures back. He will be 4 next month! I did try another photographer that came to our house last summer and took OVER 1000 photos of him and every one was awful! She just could not get him to do a natural smile and by the end of the session, he was so wiped out and crabby...so was I! I paid a fortune for that sitting fee and never even bought a single photo from it...they truly were terrible! Anyway, I went back to my old stand-by photography studio and they did a fantastic job capturing his sweet personality and sly smile! My handsome PILOT PETE!! When we ask him what he wants to be when he grows up, he says he will be a pilot "just like Daddy" or a farmer...really!!?? I actually can picture him as a very awesome farmer!! (growing organic produce for his mommy!!)

Welcome to Spring!

2011-03-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday there was NO SNOW left in our yard. Today we woke up to 6+ inches and it's still coming down. Under all that snow is a nice thick layer of ice too! I know this is Minnesota but seriously...this has been one of the longest worst winters that I can remember! Many Minnesota schools are cancelled today and we are ON SPRING BREAK!!! Bummer...we were hoping to do some fun OUTDOOR stuff during break...I didn't think shoveling out our driveway would be one of those FUN items!!!

We usually take at least one warm-weather vacation during the winter and this year it didn't happen as we still had our little foster baby and didn't want to leave her with another foster family while we left! When you do get away somewhere warm, it helps to endure the rest of the winter. On a positive note, my boys are loving the snow again!!

Ricky

2011-03-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

Today is World Down Syndrome Day! We are so blessed to have Ricky in our lives. Through him, we have met so many amazing people!! Ricky has taught us patience, acceptance of those who may be different than us and more than anything, he has taught us about unconditional love.

We just picked up Ricky's new glasses. Isn't he so adorable??!! We never even realized that he wasn't seeing well until the school nurse did an annual check of his eyes and discovered that one eye had very poor vision. It's going to take him a little while to get used to wearing them, but in the end, I think he will realize how much better he can see with them!

Our little foster baby was here with us for over 5 months and just returned to her mommy and daddy last month. We are happy for them but miss her like crazy! I have to say, foster care is a wonderful blessing for my family but the pain is very real when they leave us.

Our kids are on spring break this week!! Although the weather has been in the low 50's the past few days and the snow if melting, it sounds like more 30 degree temps are in our forecast for the rest of the week. We need to plan some fun outings to keep these kids busy!!!

Oh, one more thing...in addition to lots of other fun new items, I have added these three AWARENESS hair bows in my etsy shop!

Peter

2011-02-01T08:21:00.000-08:00

Where does the time go??? It was three years ago that we were in Guatemala City bringing our little man home...no more having to leave him behind when we visited!!

Peter was 4 months here when my girls and I visited him in GC.

This picture was taken by his foster mom around 7 months.
He finally came HOME at 9 months!!

This was his FIRST Forever Family Day!

Each year we celebrate the day that Peter OFFICIALLY joined his forever family. This year he wanted this giant cookie. He had a special date with his daddy and they went out to dinner. Then we watched home movies of our visits to Guatemala and our pick-up trip. Peter was fascinated with the videos of himself as a baby and his native country! Can't wait to take him back there some day!

In honor of his forever family day, I am giving away a set of 7 hair bows from my etsy shop! All you have to do is go to my Sox That Rock Facebook page and leave Peter a comment...he will draw a winner tomorrow!

Life continues to be busy and fun at our household! We still have our foster baby, Little Miss S! She is 5 months already and has been with us since 23 days old. The plan is for her to return to her mommy and daddy this month so we are already grieving for the time when she has to leave us. She is an amazing sweet baby and we will miss her so much. I am not sure if my heart can handle doing foster care but I am sure we will jump back into it again once she leaves us.

But before we take any more children into our home, I NEED a vacation from this cold and snow!!! Rich and I are hoping to get away to somewhere HOT...just the 2 of us!!

What about you...any plans for a warm weather vacation?

How about any of you with Guatemalan children...how do you celebrate their Forever Family Days?

Wordless Wednesday-9 Years!

2010-12-29T17:07:00.000-08:00

FFF-Christmas Card Outtakes

2010-12-17T05:43:00.000-08:00

Do you know how hard it is to get FIVE children to all look at the camera at the same time AND smile!!?? This year, the smiles were so "cheesey" and the kids were exceptionally uncooperative. Peter has a stubborn streak and was the hold-out for most of the smiles! Here was one of the out takes where Peter would not sit up straight...

Ricky was really trying to be a good boy and smile nicely but this was the best we could get in the end! I figure that at least 4 of them look natural in the picture!

FINALLY got my Christmas cards ordered and received them yesterday so I need to get them out today. I usually have them sent by the beginning of December but this year has been busy with one extra little peanut in our household! Our foster baby, Miss S, will probably be with us until February. What a joy she is to our family!! We love this little girl!

To see more FFF Christmas card out-takes, go to Hannah's blog. Have a wonderful weekend!!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-12-15T04:39:00.000-08:00

FFF

2010-12-10T05:11:00.000-08:00

We attended a Christmas party this week where Santa was present so we got some pictures with him. Even got some great pictures of little baby S with Santa to share with her birth parents!

Peter was scared to death of the reindeer and wouldn't go anywhere near Santa until the reindeer completely left the area! Then we was all smiles!!

I still have lots of Christmas shopping to do for my big crew! This weekend we will start some holiday baking. In years past, my Christmas cards have been ready to send by the first of November...not that I mail them that early...but this year I still don't even have a photo to use for the cards. I am really behind on all counts but most of my time goes to caring for a beautiful little baby who needs us right now!

A big snow storm is on it's way to Minnesota this weekend! Stay warm and have a great day. To see more FFF, go to Hannah's blog.

FFF

2010-11-12T04:53:00.000-08:00

Our days are filled with loving this little lady while she's in our care! What a blessing it is to be her foster mommy! Her sweet smiles make those middle-of-the-night feedings more enjoyable!!

To see more FFF, go to Hannah's blog.

I'm Here!

2010-11-10T07:35:00.000-08:00

I have thought of blogging so many times in the past several months but the longer I went without posting, the easier it was to just forget about it again! Life has been so busy...

In August, my oldest celebrated her SWEET 16 with friends at a local water park.

We are still working on practicing driving...some kids are just not ready for their drivers license at age 16(and some parents are not ready for that either!).

In September, the kids went back to school...two in high school, two in grade school, and Peter at home with mommy!

Also in September, a new little addition joined our family, temporarily! We became licensed foster parents and baby "S" came to live with us. She was 23 days old. We absolutely LOVE this little one but know that foster care is temporary and that she will return home to her birth family again. I am dreading that day!

In October, we took a family vacation to Florida. It was a quick trip and we decided to leave Peter home with my sister. We visited Universal Studios one day...

And Disney's Magic Kingdom one day...

The last day, we just hung out at the pool! Then spent the evening at Downtown Disney.

I have been busy with my etsy shop, Sox That Rock, and am currently working on lots of great Christmas items!

I wonder if I even have any followers left!! If so,I'd love to hear from you. I have occasionally been reading other blogs and promise to not be gone for 3 months again this time!!

FFF-Can You Do This??!!

2010-08-06T05:46:00.001-07:00

Children with Down Syndrome often have loosely attached super flexible joints…Ricky is no exception. Often I will find him sitting in front of the TV with one or both feet up by his ears! He frequently sleeps doubled over with his chest touching his knees! My strange little man…

We took this picture while we were out at our lake home a week ago. We also had to visit our newest family members while we were there…

Is there anything more sweet than brand new baby kittens??!! My kids couldn’t put them down!

Stop over to Hannah’s blog to see more Friday Fotos and have a wonderful weekend!!

HUGE SALE!

2010-08-03T05:02:00.001-07:00

For anyone who is interested, here is the link to my Etsy shop inventory-reduction sale that is starting today! Click HERE …

I have over 200 items for sale at a fraction of what I sell them for on Etsy. If interested in anything, please email me…udlund at hotmail dot com.

Here are some items for sale…

Mermaid and Lady bug made-to-match Gymboree hair bows

Most items are one-of-a-kind and are ready to ship today so don’t wait if you are interested. Buy now for back-to-school or for birthday, baby shower or Christmas gifts!!

A recipe for FUN!!

2010-07-31T12:39:00.001-07:00

Start with a HOT sunny day, add some freezing cold water, and combine an inexpensive Slip-n-slide…the results are hours of fun and smiles…

We spent a week in my husband’s home town visiting with family and going to a small county fair for 5 days straight! I needed to de-toxify my system after eating greasy and fattening fair food for the week!! The kids love spending time with cousins that we only see once or twice a year.

I also wanted to let you know that I am having a MONSTER of a clearance sale of over 100 items from my Etsy shop!! I need to re-claim my formal dining room space and move out some of the inventory that I have. Everything is priced way below what I normally sell for on Etsy and some is even priced so low that I am not making anything on it!! The sale will be next week and I have been marketing it on Facebook but please let me know if you are interested in seeing the items too! Great Christmas and stocking stuffer gifts, birthday gifts, baby shower gifts so stock up now at these amazing LOW prices!!! Some things have never even been listed before so get them before I sell them on Etsy!!!

FFF-Yikes!

2010-07-16T05:12:00.001-07:00

For those of you who have followed my blog for at least a year, you may remember that I LOVE garage sales. It’s not that I need any more STUFF in my house, but it’s the thrill of the hunt that keeps me coming back for more! I just love finding a great deal. Recently I found this really cool Little Tykes castle and slide for only $25.00 and that included delivery to my house as it was too big for my minivan!

It now sits on one of two beautiful stamped concrete patios that a friend put in for us along with the other big awesome Little Tykes garage sale find from last year…

My kids and neighbor kids hang out there alot. The other day while I was on the patio I happened to look behind this castle and spotted this right at Peter’s eye level…can’t believe the kids haven’t found this before me…

There were MILLIONS of wasps buzzing around there!!! Isn’t the hive/nest kinda cool looking though! It would be interesting to know how they do that…I might google it someday! Well, enter my husband who loves a challenge like this and wasn’t about to pay $150 to have it professionally removed! Only 2 wasp stings later and the nest is gone and so are the wasps!!

And speaking of garage sales, my kids and I are having one this week(yesterday and today) with a portion of the proceeds going to Mayan Families and Recces’s Rainbow! As much as I love to garage sale, I love to get rid of the accumulation of 7 people’s stuff even more! Whew…it’s lots of work though!

To see more FFF, please go to Hannah’s blog! Have a great day!

FFF-Wonderful Vacation!

2010-07-02T13:14:00.001-07:00

We just returned from a great 8-day vacation to Historic Williamsburg. I have to say that I never realized Virginia had so much to offer in the way of history and fun! We spent the week with my brother and his family so the kids really enjoyed spending time with cousins!

The weekend that we were in Williamsburg, there was a special event…the re-enactment of Cornwallis’ surrender so there were lots of extra historic people to talk to and event from history to see re-enacted. My kids were able to talk to a slave about what it was like for him, several Red Coat military men, dressmakers and wigmakers of the day and much more! Hannah has an interest in pharmacy so she loved talking to the doctor running the local apothacary!

We also spent part of one day at Jamestown..the first permanent English settlement…

This was one of the 3 replica ships that were the first to arrive in this country in the early 1700’s. We learned about Pocahontas and her father who helped these early settlers. This tour really made history come to life!

Spent a half day at Yorktown…this is where Cornwallis and the British finally surrendered..ending the war. This was the camps doctor…

Grinding corn…

Doing laundry…

Unfortunately, the entire time we were there, the temps were in the 100’s with high humidity! WE ROASTED!! My poor little Guatemalan man can not handle temps like that…sweat just poured off him! Luckily we had a week-long pass to Busch Gardens and Water Country USA!!!

This truly was a wonderful educational and FUN vacation. If you ever have the chance to visit this part of the country, I would recommend giving yourselves lots of time…we barely scratched the surface of all that there is to see and do in this area. My kids have learned so much more about the early formation of our country by seeing it first hand and being able to talk to the very knowledgeable actors who played the role of early Americans so well!

I would recommend a ghost tour of the haunted houses of historic Williamsburg…we did this with our older girls only and we all loved it!

One of our favorite places to eat was at Cristina Campbell’s Tavern in Williamsburg…this restaurant was said to be George Washington’s favorite seafood restaurant and much of the same food is still served there today!

On the steps of the historic tavern/restaurant we ate at…we made reservations 3 weeks in advance…it’s very popular!

Although we had an amazing time, there’s still no place like home so we were all happy to arrive home safely yesterday! Ricky even hugged the brick walls of the outside of the house when we arrived home…he really is a homebody so he missed it much more than the rest of us!

Have a safe Happy 4th of July holiday….

THRIFTY THURSDAY…99 CENT SALE!!!

2010-07-01T12:50:00.001-07:00

I just returned from a wonderful week-long vacation and I need to get back to business!! My Etsy shop was closed while I was gone so it’s time to get some sales again!!

This week’s Thrifty Thursday deal is on over 20 different very cute flower hair clippies. These are great when used with headbands or beanies and especially adorable worn directly in hair. Perfect for newborns all the way to women! A perfect photography prop too. Stock up at this great price…only one of each type available but the more you buy, the more you save with reduced shipping.

All flowers are 3-5” in diameter and attached to an alligator clip. Check out these cute hair clips at my Etsy shop. Stop back tomorrow for vacation photos….

Word-Full Wednesday

2010-06-23T05:34:00.001-07:00

I’d like to introduce you to my friend, Gretchen…well, she’s actually my sister’s friend from nursing school but for the last 4 years she has become a friend of mine as well!

About four years ago, Gretchen asked my sister, Vickie, if she thought I would let her “borrow” my Ricky for a few hours. You see, her family was trying to adopt a baby locally who was going to be born soon and happened to have Down Syndrome. She wanted her SIX children to see what a child with DS was like! After spending some time with my amazing little man, I’m pretty sure they all were in love with him! Although they already had a name picked out for their new baby, the children all convinced their parents that he should now be named Ricky! Gretchen was worried that I would be upset by this and asked my sister what she thought. When Vickie told me they wanted to name their baby after Ricky, I remember just crying. My Ricky will never be able to father a child so to me, this was like his opportunity to have a child named after him, just like he was named after his daddy! In other words, I was deeply honored!!!

Fast forward four years…Gretchen is in Ukraine right now adopting another little man with Down Syndrome! She needs your prayers as the paperwork is causing some delays. You can read about her experience on her family blog. Her Ricky is the one of the left in the photo!

Gretchen is one of the most amazing advocates for people with DS that I know. She travels around the country to speak at rallies and the capitol, gives talks in Ethics classes at the University and is a huge supporter of Pro-Life Minnesota. We couldn’t drive anywhere in the metro area for the past 2 years without seeing her Ricky’s gorgeous face up on a huge billboard somewhere, advertising Pro-Life! Please keep this sweet family in your prayers as they bring home another one of God’s precious children!!

Special Olympics and Thrifty Thursdays!

2010-06-17T05:36:00.001-07:00

Ever since Ricky was born, we have looked forward to the day when he could compete in Special Olympics. His daddy is such a talented athlete in almost every sport(and fiercely competitive too!) and luckily for Ricky, he inherited that natural athletic ability too!! Ricky is competitive and pushes himself to be a better athlete but he’s also a good sport when competing with others.

At age 8, a child is eligible to compete in this wonderful organization so this is Ricky’s very first ever competition today in Track and Field. It’s actually a 3-day event but we will only make it today and tomorrow as we will be at the lake on the weekend. Today he will compete at the University of MN campas in the Softball Throw…tomorrow is the 400 meter relay and that is quite a hilarious sight to see Ricky and the 3 other athletes running this race! I’ll let you know how he does…

Today’s THRIFTY THURSDAY special is on this cute pair of pink and sage green socks for only $3.00 at my Etsy shop!

FFF

2010-06-11T05:52:00.001-07:00

I’m not sticking with this week’s theme for FFF. I just ran out of time and didn’t get around to taking pictures of the things we love!

Today is my kids last day of school!! It’s hard to believe that my twins will be in 3rd grade in the fall! Hannah finished middle school and now I will have 2 kids in high school…how did that happen??? Today was supposed to be a field trip for the middle schoolers to Valley Fair, a local amusement park. Since it’s pouring rain, Hannah doesn’t want to go so we will get her pre-paid ticket from school so she can go another day when it’s hot and sunny! Poor Taylor has more final exams all day so she left for school all stressed out! I remember the stress of finals week and don’t miss that one little bit!

Here are my twins last September on the first week of school…

And now the last week of school!

I think they all grew a few inches this school year!

To see more FFF, check out Hannah’s blog!

Thrifty Thursday

2010-06-10T04:33:00.001-07:00

I am trying a new deal at my Sox That Rock shop called Thrifty Thursdays! Each Thursday I will feature one item or group of items that will be offered at an amazing low price for just one day. Today’s offer is this pair of socks in any child’s size for just $3.00 each!! Go HERE to check it out…

Facebook

2010-06-09T04:33:00.001-07:00

It seems to me that most people either blog or do Facebook, but it’s difficult to try to keep up on both. Then there are people like me that don’t do a good job keeping up with either of them!

I recently added a FAN page on FB for Sox That Rock. On it I will post special sales and new products in my shop! If you have a FB account, will you please stop by and become a fan of Sox That Rock? Once you do, you will be entered in a MONTHLY drawing giveaway for free items from my shop!

We recently attended a Presidential Academic Awards Ceremony at our middle school. Hannah received an award for maintaining a GPA of 3.5 or better throughout her three years at middle school. Actually her GPA was 4.0!!!

Great job, Hannah! We are so proud of you!!!

Wordful Wednesday

2010-06-02T05:35:00.001-07:00

Let me start by saying that I like my boys with longer hair…I’m not a fan of short hair and especially not shaved heads! With that being said, my poor little man has such a nice thick mop of hair and he sweats so much when he’s hot. The hair stylist who cut his hair last time suggested that we shave his head just for the summer months to allow him to feel more comfortable. So here is the BEFORE….

DURING…

And AFTER.

Although I can say I really don’t like his hair like this, I know he is already so much more comfortable on these hot days. We left it a little longer and his hair grows back super fast so I know it’s only temporary! He’s still my handsome little man!!

To see more Wordful Wednesday posts, please go to Angie’s blog.

Life at the Lake

2010-06-01T04:40:00.001-07:00

This chair had my name all over it!!

There’s nothing like a cup of coffee, a good book, and a great view of the lake on a beautiful spring morning!

Mommy and her handsome little man…

Peter doesn’t remember being at the lake last summer. He LOVES playing in the water and sand and he kept saying to me, “this is just like a beach, Mommy!” I kept telling him, “this is your beach, Peter!”

This past weekend, we enjoyed time with cousins…these three clowns had trouble finding the right sized life jackets!

Tubing….

Boating….the kids love to drive the pontoon boat with their grandpa…

Bright and early in the morning while still in their pajamas…

Ahhh…life at the lake! Do we really need to go home and leave all this fun behind???!!!

FFF

2010-05-28T04:35:00.001-07:00

I have two favorite photos for this week’s post. The first one I’ve titled “hanging around”. That’s right..hanging by one arm off the ground and eating a cookie with the other! This guy is such a monkey!

This next one is called “I can do it all by myself!” Peter is a very stubborn little 3 year old and often insists on doing things his way. He dressed himself the other day and was too stubborn to admit that there might be a problem here!! It’s a fun stage that most toddlers go through, however, so we are trying to enjoy his new independence! This inside-out-arm-pulled-through-the-neck look strongly resembles a toga, doesn’t it!!??

We are looking forward to spending a fun-filled weekend at our lake home enjoying this gorgeous spring weather! Please keep our military men and women and their families in your thoughts and prayers as we celebrate our freedoms this holiday weekend!

Join in the FFF fun at Hannah’s blog!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-05-26T05:38:00.001-07:00

Best Friends Forever!

40 Something…

2010-05-25T06:57:00.001-07:00

Forty-something years ago, this little girl was born! What a wonderful ride it’s been so far! I’m looking forward to many more years of fun memories and good health!

Thank you for your well-wishes and birthday greetings on email and facebook…my friends!

FFF-“That’s What Friends Are For”

2010-05-21T05:41:00.001-07:00

Today’s theme is friendship. For the most part, I think my kids all have pretty nice friends. It’s easy to guide them towards nice kids while they are young but as they become teenagers, it gets a little tougher influencing who they “hang out” with! We’ve been lucky with some great friends that stick by our children through thick and thin!

Greta’s friends have seemed to multiply since we put up the trampoline! At least I know where my kids are hanging out though!

Ricky has some great friends who have been in school with him since age 3! Mark and Ricky played together earlier this week at our house…

These two are the best buddies of all! I was just noticing that there is almost always a hockey stick in every picture we take!! We are a hockey family…even in the summer!!

Peter, being the youngest one who is stuck at home with mom day in and day out, doesn’t have many opportunities to play with friends. He’s excited even to play “house” when little girls come over to our home!

Taylor and a sweet friend after having her hair and makeup done at a sleepover last weekend…

More of Greta’s buddies…

These three muskateers are all in Special Olympics Track and Field together!

This hilarious picture was taken last summer at our lake home…Ari(right) is their cousin and one of Hannah’s very best friends! The girls were having a fashion show for us and came up with this silly pose!!

Another of Hannah’s friends…

And of course, my very best friend of all, Rich…this was taken in Paris last summer.

Hop on over to Hannah’s blog to see more FFF!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-05-19T06:05:00.001-07:00

Another Giveaway!

2010-05-12T09:56:00.001-07:00

Here is another chance to win some items from my Etsy shop! I usually get contacted by people looking for items to give away on their blogs and I have participated in quite a few of thoe. This time, I approached Sarah and offered items for her to give away on her blog! She is a fellow adoptive mom and we have enjoyed each other’s family blogs for a while now. She offers such great giveaways on her blog like Yummy Cuppy Crafts and Poppy Dip Dresses! Check out her site HERE where you can register for a chance to win several giveaways.

My daughter, Hannah, will eventually be moving her items that she makes off of her Etsy shop and over to mine. If you don’t keep adding new items to your Etsy shop, your stuff falls down so far on any of the searches that you never get visitors. That is what has happened to her! It’s discouraging to never have any sales anymore so I will just keep adding her handmade craft items to my shop!

Here are the items for this giveaway!

Good Luck!!

Adoption Books and Update

2010-05-11T04:51:00.001-07:00

It’s been a busy few weeks at our house. Originally Rich and I had planned to be gone to Italy on vacation now but when that volcano erupted in Iceland and I saw all the stranded passengers on the news, we decided it’s best to wait a while. We will re-schedule the trip when it works out for Grandma and Grandpa to babysit for us…maybe in the fall! I was really looking forward to gondola rides, fine Italian foods and wines and just enjoying all the Italy has to offer tourists! Oh well…

Hannah was recently confirmed in our church which is a milestone in her spiritual walk. She gave her testimony in front of the entire church…we were very proud of her! The class was a small one this year with only Hannah and 3 boys!

Peter had his first dentist appointment this past week. He did great and really enjoyed doing what he saw his big brother doing! He was a brave little man!

I have been talking to Peter lately about being adopted. He seems to understand (as much as a 3-year old can) that he has another mommy in Guatemala and is interested in talking about how he came to live with us. I found a book about adoption that is really cute. He loves this story! The book is called, “I Wished For You-an Adoption Story” by Marianne Richmond.

Do any of you have any other good adoption books you would recommend? I’d love to get him a few more!

Mary Merkley…if you read this, could you please email me? We haven’t been able to get on your blog for months and would love to see pictures of your girls (and boys!) again! Peter always loved seeing M’s pictures!!

FFF

2010-04-30T04:56:00.001-07:00

This week’s theme is U-Pick. Since we just celebrated Peter’s 3rd birthday yesterday, I will share some photos of the day. He was so excited with the whole birthday concept this year and was so sad to have it end when I put him to bed!

Peter wanted to celebrate his birthday at Chuck E Cheese(despite my teens trying to convince him to go to a more teen-friendly restaurant!) so that is where we went last night!

Then we came back home again for cake and gifts!

Also wanted to leave you with the latest Guatemalan items I am listing in my Etsy shop…

Check in on Hannah’s blog to see more FFF! Blessings….

Look Who’s 3!!!

2010-04-29T05:11:00.001-07:00

I find it hard to believe that my little man is already 3 years old! Three years ago I was still completing my adoption paperwork and just submitting it to our agency. Eleven days later we received a call about a newborn baby boy and these were the first pictures we saw…

We fell completely in love with this sweet little boy and knew that God intended for him to join our family! It was torture for the next 2 months waiting until we finally got to visit him for the first time…

We brought Peter home at 9 months of age. Here is his first birthday just 3 months later…

Here’s Peter at age two….

And here is my big THREE YEAR OLD boy today! We love you Peter!! Happy birthday!!!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-21T09:15:00.001-07:00

A Great Fundraiser

2010-04-18T18:33:00.001-07:00

I stumbled upon a blog this weekend and immediately felt like I wanted to help this sweet family. Tanya and her husband are adopting Khloe from China and are doing a neat fundraiser on their blog right now. There are some really great prizes and you don’t even have to contribute money to be eligible to win them(although they would sure appreciate it if you did!).

Here’s an opportunity to win some of my Sox That Rock if you’ve always wanted to try some. I also am giving away some cute hair clippies and Hello Kitty items!!!

I love the beaded silverware sets and the American Girl outfit and lots of other great prizes she is giving away very soon. Please go and check it out at Tanya’s adoption blog.

Also, would you keep my friend, Leah, in your prayers. She is stranded in Bulgaria. Leah went there with another mom who was adopting a sweet little boy with Down Syndrome and they are all stuck there until the air clears with the recent volcanic eruption in Iceland! You can check out her blog HERE. Leah has a great sense of humor despite her present circumstances…she’ll make you smile!

FFF

2010-04-16T04:36:00.001-07:00

Spring is the time of year when you think of new life. This weeks’ theme is “In Full Bloom”. Peter and I went to the MN Zoo on Wednesday to see all the new life…the baby animals. It’s great to have a zoo pass to to live near the zoo so we can visit for a short time and leave when my little man gets tired!

There is a working farm that you can visit at our zoo…

With baby chicks and ducks….

And even some newly hatched eggs!

The zoo was in “full bloom” with baby pigs…

And a brand new baby camel…

And Peter’s favorite, the baby cows.

Of course, no farm visit is complete without a “tractor ride”!

My favorite animals to visit at the zoo are the Russian bears. They are so fun to watch…

To see what else is in FULL BLOOM, stop by Hannah’s blog.

Fun with Science

2010-04-12T04:27:00.001-07:00

We send our twins, Ricky and Greta, to an Arts and Science Magnet School. It’s amazing to see how fun they make science and the arts for the children while they are learning!

This past Friday, the school held it’s annual Science Fair. They brought in birds of prey for the children to observe…

And lots of other creepy crawly critters…

They showed off some of their cool art projects…

And robots…

And we got the chance to do lots of hands-on experiments like pedal a bike to that makes light bulbs work. Greta found out that the new energy-saving light bulbs work with very little effort on the bike versus the old standard light bulbs which use more energy…

A bubble experiment…Peter loved this one!

Greta even got to make perfume using man-made products and also using natural items found in nature like flowers! I’m not sure I would wear the perfume she made, but she’s proud of it!

Ricky was off with his dad so I didn’t get many photos of him. They got to go into a star lab and see the planets and stars! It was a family fun night and we all learned something!

FFF

2010-04-09T11:10:00.001-07:00

Seriously…has it already been a week since I last posted?? Sorry…

We had a wonderful peaceful Easter with just my parents here. The youth group served a wonderful pancake breakfast at church and then we enjoyed a great Easter service followed by a glorious sunny warm day!

I tried so many times to get at least ONE nice picture of the kids but there was always someone with a goofy look on their face or someone looking off to the side and not at the camera!

With Grandma…

I won’t even post the ones of me…they were pretty bad too!!

My favorite photo, though, from this past week is of my niece, Gabby, whom I got the opportunity to babysit for on Tuesday. She is my little model for my Etsy shop and what a beautiful model she is!!

Her big sister, Ava, is a pretty cute little model too!!

To see more FFF, please go to Hannah’s blog! Have a wonderful weekend….

FFF

2010-04-02T04:46:00.001-07:00

I’m not sticking to this week’s theme of Silly Faces as I was too busy to get any pictures of that!

One of Peter’s favorite things to do now that the weather is so beautiful is to have “picnics wiff Mommy!” We eat lunch most days out on his little picnic table . It’s so nice to enjoy the 70-80 degrees that we have been having after being cooped up all winter inside!

He breaks for lunch just long enough to eat then it’s off to riding his bike again!

To see more FFF and “Silly Faces” please go to Hannah’s blog!

Wordful Wednesday

2010-03-31T05:22:00.001-07:00

A neighbor of mine always has an annual Easter egg hunt for some of the children that live nearby. Last night we got together for a beautiful spring evening and the kids had a blast hunting for eggs! Some years it is just too cold or snowy to do it outside but with Easter being later this year and our weather being unseasonably warm, it was perfect to be outdoors!

And my favorite photo of the evening was this next one…it looks like Peter found all these eggs but he really didn’t!

To see more Word-ful Wednesday posts, please check out Angie’s blog.

Celebrations!

2010-03-21T11:37:00.001-07:00

We were so busy celebrating my husband’s birthday yesterday that we almost forgot what today was!!!!

FFF-“Spring Forward”

2010-03-19T05:45:00.001-07:00

This week’s theme for FFF is Spring. Here in Minnesota we are actually seeing signs of spring after a REALLY, REALLY LONG WINTER!!! It’s been warmer than normal and we are so excited to once again enjoy the outdoors!

Peter spends much of his day riding on his trike or pulling the wagon around waiting for his siblings to get home from school and play with him!

The other day he was outside and I came out to check on him. He was “writing” letters with chalk and I heard him say,

“R-I-C-K-Y” as he was pretending to write. I couldn’t believe he was spelling Ricky’s name so I asked him to do it again and he did! I guess it’s time to teach him to spell his own name if he already knows how to spell his brother’s name!!! His big brother is such a good teacher for him!!

What a difference two weeks makes in the weather…look at all the snow we still had a couple weeks ago!

The bird feeder is attracting some birds that have returned again after the long winter and some others that wintered here in MN!

And some new shoots are coming up in my perenniel garden! Even the grass is already turning green under the winter kill! That seems early here in MN!

Ricky and Greta had their 2nd grade Spring music program last night. Ricky doesn’t always like to participate in these things…last year he stood up on stage with the class and sucked his fingers the whole time they were singing! This year we bribed him with ice cream if he sang and he did AMAZING!!! I was so proud!! They sang 7 songs and he knew all of them. A few of the songs had hand motions and one they sang while doing sign language to the song…he actually knew all the signs and did a better job than some of the 2nd graders who DON’T have special needs!!! He had a big smile on his face the entire time and was really having a great time…I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have even had to use the ice cream as a bribe! Ricky was front row, dead center so everyone saw him and several parents and teachers commented on how well he did! Not to leave Greta out…she did AWESOME!!

During the first song, Greta(in light blue) and a few other children played instruments in the front row…I actually got both my kids in one photo(Ricky was right behind her)! Then she moved back to her spot in the second row.

The entire class did a medley of songs playing their kazoos…we took this picture after the program was over!

Enjoy this great spring day and head over to Hannah’s blog to see more FFF!!

Guatemalan Adoptions…

2010-03-18T05:43:00.001-07:00

I just read in the morning paper today that Guatemala will resume adoptions beginning in June! Only 4 foreign adoption organizations will be selected to be part of the pilot program. This is such exciting news for the children of Guatemala and for families who want to adopt a child!! We always said we’d like to adopt a little girl from there if it was an option….

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-17T04:56:00.001-07:00

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

FFF-“Green”

2010-03-11T19:21:00.001-08:00

It’s not quite Friday yet as I go to post this but Friday will be busy so I needed a head start if I was to get a blog post up for this week’s Favorite Foto Friday!

This weekend the MN high school hockey tournaments are taking place in St. Paul. Once again, my husband’s hometown team is in the tournament. This little town of 2,700 population is like a David and Goliath story. Almost every year, they make it to state and compete against big city schools whose high school populations are sometimes larger than this entire little town of Roseau, MN, located 20 miles from the Canadian border! Although this school should be in the bracket with all the other little schools in the state, they choose to compete against the large schools in the other bracket! And many years they have won the whole State Tournament in hockey making them the best team in the entire state!

My girls and my husband are spending the weekend watching the games and hanging out with the entire population of Roseau who made the 7 hour trip to St. Paul to cheer their team on. Many of those people are relatives so my kids are having a great time skipping 3 days of school to be with them. Hannah was even on the t.v. today during the game when they asked her and her cousin to announce the commercial break ! Here is a picture of Greta wearing her Roseau “Green and White” hat!

My kids weren’t happy about this but I made them put the green wig on so we’d have some photos for this post!!

Actually Hannah refused but she said she’d be in the picture if Peter wore it! You can tell he’s thrilled about it! So is Ricky in this next shot!

I don’t often get an opportunity to photograph my oldest, Taylor. The other night when I was busy, she offered to put the boys to bed for me. When I went up to check on them, she was so sweetly reading them a story!

Thumbs up to that, Peter!

To see more FFF, please stop by Hannah’s blog.

WordFUL Wednesday-Remodeling…Before and After

2010-03-10T05:03:00.001-08:00

We are FINALLY done with our master bathroom remodel!!!!! It took WAY LONGER and cost WAY MORE than we ever realized that it would but looking back…it is so worth it! Not only do we now have a fabulous spa-like master bath retreat, we also will soon have a laundry area on the second floor where most of the laundry comes from!! No more running up and down the stairs with baskets full of clean and dirty clothing all week. With seven people in this family, I do lots of laundry!!

Without further ado, here are the before and after shots:

It wasn’t bad before but it was in need of a facelift! We opened up the wall between the shower and the toilet to add another 2 feet to the new shower. The old tile was only in this small area…the rest of the bathroom was carpeted!! Gross!

I sure don’t miss this lovely decorative band of burgundy tile in the shower!!!

We added a bench to the shower and around the corner where you can’t see it, we put in shelves to hold all the shower items.

Gone are the “popcorn” textured ceilings!

The existing tub was in great shape so we just updated the tile around it.

The finished product!!

The tiles are a rich, warm tan color…not the yellow color that they appear with this lighting. Our contractor did an amazing meticulous job with all this tile. Do you see how many types of tile we chose for the shower alone? I’m sure it was a nightmare for him but it turned out so beautifully!

We took the tile all the way to the ceiling and added a light to this area.

The carpet is gone and in it’s place, this beautiful travertine flooring. He also used it around the tub.

The door to the closet wasn’t in yet. The new laundry area is on the other side of this wall that the tub is on.(in the photo above)

For now, we kept the same lighting but replaced the big ugly 3 foot by 6 foot mirror with these two framed mirrors. They were such a bargain at a discount store for only $29 each! I think they make some of the biggest impact in the room!! Notice the smooth white ceilings too.

The mustard-colored walls were replaced with a warm neutral tan color. What was I thinking when I chose that yellow color for the walls??!!

Looking back, all the inconvenience for the past two months was all worth it. If we could do it over again, we would have gone alot cheaper on the tile. That was the largest expense and I know we could have found less expensive yet equally beautiful tile at another store. Live and learn…so much for our winter vacation!!!

To see more WordFUL Wednesday posts, go to Angies’s blog.

I’m Back!!!

2010-03-09T05:27:00.001-08:00

There’s no excuse for why I’ve been gone so long. I just felt like I had nothing worth writing about! I’ve also been a little wrapped up in my Etsy business lately and spend long hours each day creating new items if I’m not busy getting out orders. My poor little Peter is such a good sport about entertaining himself when I’m busy. I have to make an effort to spend quality time with him too…I know that sounds terrible. I love to be with him! He’s just so easy going that I figure if he’s content playing by himself, I’ll keep plugging away at my work.

He loves working on puzzles. He’s the only one of my 5 children who ever had an interest in them and spends lots of time putting these alphabet puzzles together. They are actually for older kids but he’s just really determined and great at doing them.

We are eagerly awaiting spring here in MN like everyone else is! The snow continues to melt more each day with temps in the 40’s…high for this time of year where we live!

We had hoped to take a winter vacation to somewhere HOT but our bathroom remodel costs got a bit out of control and now when the kids ask if we can still go on vacation, I tell them to go into the master bath and enjoy their spring break!! I’ll post photos of the before and after shots tomorrow….it turned out fabulous!!!!!!

Glad to be back and blogging! I missed it( and missed all of you) but I did try to keep up on all your blogs several times a week. Didn’t always comment but I still loved reading about you! I hope I still have some followers out there who haven’t abandoned me!!?? ANYONE THERE??????

Another Giveaway!!!

2010-02-13T06:23:00.001-08:00

I am contacted frequently by other bloggers who want to feature my Etsy items on their blogs for giveaways. I usually go along with them so I can reach a new audience for the items I sell. Here is the latest giveaway I am sponsoring on “Annie’s Home” blog. There will be THREE winners and I would love to see some of MY blogging buddies win these items!!

Prize one is this turquoise crocheted beanie hat with your choice of brown or pink flower…

And a matching hairbow and headband are also included in Prize #1!!

Prize #2 is your choice of a pair of crocheted baby booties…a great gift idea for a baby shower!

Prize #3 is a pair of Easter socks and matching hairbow…

Please go to Annie’s blog and enter as many times as you’d like to win on of these fun prizes! She gives you lots of opportunities to enter!! Click HERE! Good luck!

WordFUL Wednesday

2010-02-09T20:03:00.001-08:00

I have been such a slacker blogger lately…okay, I’ve been slacking for months now, who am I kidding! Time just gets away from me…

I was thinking that this post could be titled, “Wishful Wednesday” because I am wishing it was summer…

So we could be playing out in the yard. Or maybe it could be called “Warm Wednesday”…

So we could be out in our boat on the water!

Or maybe this post should be titled, “Wacky Wednesday” so Hannah and Peter could have a reason to act silly…

But instead it’s just “Wintery Wednesday” here in Minnesota and I am SO SICK OF SNOW AND COLD WEATHER!!! Anyone else with me???

(This picture is old…we have about 5 times the amount of snow now!!!)

To see more Wordful Wednesday posts, go to Angie’s blog. Check back here soon…another giveaway of great items from my Etsy shop!!

WordFUL Wednesday

2010-02-03T04:55:00.001-08:00

I call this picture “Goalie Greta!” All the kids on her hockey team have to take turns trying the goalie position. Greta was just dreading it but it actually turned out to be fun for her! Isn’t she a sweet goalie! It’s seems funny to see my Girlie girl all decked out in hockey gear but she’s a versatile one…she can be girlie and sporty, I guess!

With her Coach/Daddy!

In my last post I thanked those of you who left comments for my giveaway and promised to donate a dollar to a Guatemalan charity for each comment that was left. We choose to give money to Vanessa of Journey of the Heart, a fellow adoptive mom who is trying to make a difference in the lives of children in Guatemala. You can check out the exciting work she is trying to do by clicking on her name above!

To play along with Wordful Wednesday, hop on over to Angie’s blog!

And the Winner Is….

2010-02-02T05:54:00.001-08:00

I know I said I would have Peter draw the name of the winner but since he was still sleeping, I used Random.org to choose the winning number. And the winner is:

Melinda of One Thankful Family!

Now the difficult job of choosing her prizes…will they be for adorable Crista or precious baby Addie???!!!

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway. As promised, I will be donating money to a charity in Guatemala in honor of my little man, Peter’s 2nd Forever Family Day. We had 29 comments so I will be donating a dollar(not 50 cents as I originally said!) per comment!

Congratulations, Melinda!!!!

Remodeling AND Still Time to Get in on the Giveaway!

2010-02-01T05:05:00.001-08:00

Okay, this remodeling project is really starting to get to me. I am so tired of the dust and mess and disorganization! I’m sure I’ll forget all of this when it’s all done but it’s taking FOREVER!!! Every day that the contractor shows up I see the dollar signs and know this job has gotten way too expensive! He’s doing a great job but is a perfectionist with the tile so it’s moving at a snail’s pace. Here’s a sneak peak of what he’s up to in our master bath…

We expanded the shower size and added a bench.

I can’t wait to be done with all this mess!

Don’t forget to register for the giveaway which ends tonight! Remember that I will donate money to a Guatemalan charity for each comment I receive! There’s still time….

Here are some new creations I made this weekend!

FFF And A Fun Giveaway!!!

2010-01-29T05:40:00.001-08:00

This is a picture of my nephew, Bobby. Isn’t he handsome??!! He’s serving in Afghanistan right now. When this picture arrived via email, we told our kids that Bobby just bought his first house…this was all he could afford on his soldier salary! My kids all felt so bad for him for living in such a sad little stone home!

It’s nice to see that our military men and women can have a little fun despite the situation they are in right now!

And now on to the giveaway. In honor of our Peter’s second Forever Family Day(yesterday), I am giving away the following items from my Etsy shop to one lucky follower!

Your choice of a crocheted beanie hat in red(fits toddlers to teens) or white(fits 6-18 months) with an adorable Valentine’s Day hair bow clip…your choice of two hair clips.

PLUS, your choice of a flower hair clip which can be worn in the hat or worn alone in the hair. Flower clips are approximately 4” wide and attached to an alligator clip.

PLUS your choice of a pair of Valentine’s Day ruffle socks. I have several kinds to choose from in my shop! Here are just two of the choices…

Plus, I wouldn’t want to forget the mommy of the little girl that will get these prizes! You’ll also receive one of these cute cupcake dessert plates I found while shopping at Mall of America yesterday.

I’ve filled the plates with yummy gourmet chocolates and caramels and wrapped them up in cellophane for the lucky winning mommy!!

Okay, here’s all you have to do to enter:

1. Become a follower of my blog if you aren’t already. Leave a comment letting me know that plus your email so I can reach you if you win!!....one chance to win

2. Go to my Etsy shop and look around…come back here and let me know what your FAVORITE item is…one chance to win

For every comment I receive, I will donate $.50 to a charity in Guatemala…the country that gave me my sweet little man, Peter!

Peter will draw the winning name on Monday, Feb. 1st!! Good luck!

To see more Friday Favorite Fotos, go to Hannah’s blog!

Finally, would you lift up our military men and women in prayer today??

A Very Special Day…

2010-01-28T04:30:00.001-08:00

It was 2 years ago today that Peter became an “official” member of our family! Let’s take a stroll down memory lane…

Our first time we met Peter, he was just 2 1/2 months old. Rich and I flew to Guatemala City to spend a few days with him. When he first arrived at the hotel, he was dressed in 4 layers of clothing and was not very clean…notice the greasy-looking hair!

He did clean up nicely though!

I was blessed to be able to visit Peter 5 times in Guatemala…the final time was the pick up trip exactly 2 years ago…where does the time go!

On trip #2, I brought my 2 oldest daughters to meet their brother. Taylor, Hannah and I had a wonderful time there in August! We had some serious RED EYE going on in this picture…cheap camera!!!

By this time, Peter was on Foster Mom #2. The first one was VERY OLD and couldn’t care for him so he was sent to an equally VERY OLD foster mom.

On my next visit, I brought my mom so she could meet her newest grandson. We were horrified when we arrived to find a lethargic, dirty, weak little boy who didn’t smile anymore and could hardly hold his head up at 6 months of age. I didn’t even recognize him in the hotel lobby…he was covered with at least 200 bug bites over his entire body!

I knew he hadn’t been getting any stimulation and was laid on his back for most of each day so on that trip, I hauled an exersaucer all the way down there for him!!

Again, he cleaned up well and after a few days with his new grandma and mommy, he was smiling again! He got medicine for the poor baby who was so itchy and miserable. He was such a little trouper despite his discomfort, Before we left, we met his 3rd (and final!) very wonderful foster mom, Brenda! We LOVED her from the moment we met her and so did Peter!

(Mary M., if you read this, please email me…I can’t get on your blog anymore!)

My 4th trip to Guatemala two months later was again with Rich and this time we took our oldest, Taylor. Unfortunately, I can’t find pictures from that trip.

FINALLY the day came to pick up Peter and bring him home to his forever family!! This trip we brought Hannah. What a great experience for her to see the process of going to the US Embassy and all that it took to make it complete!

Peter TOTALLY rejected me on this trip. There were very few times that I could hold him without him screaming at the top of his lungs! All he wanted was his blonde-haired sister, Hannah!! To this day, he still adores her but he is Mommy’s boy too!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Peter and I…he actually let me hold him and love him!

Last year on this special anniversary we celebrated with gifts, a cake, and going out to dinner. This was taken a year ago…

This year we will do the same. Here’s my little man this morning! We love you Peter!!! What a blessing you have been to your family!

In honor of this very special day, I will be doing a giveaway tomorrow. Please stop back and enter for a chance to win some great prizes from my Etsy shop!!!

Birthday Party and A Giveaway!!!

2010-01-25T04:52:00.001-08:00

On Saturday, we finally got around to celebrating Greta’s birthday with friends. When your birthday is 3 days after Christmas, it’s difficult to try to plan a party! I like to wait until the holiday busy-ness has ended and it gives my twins something to look forward to!

She wanted to have her party at the movie theater so we saw the movie “Tooth Fairy.” It was really cute and the kids enjoyed it!! They got a tour of the film booths and Greta got to start a movie! I love when my kids birthday parties are somewhere other than our home…it’s just so much easier!! I will say that I have done some amazing theme parties at home when my older girls were little however. Now that I have 5 children it’s not quite so easy being creative!

This picture is dark because we were in the film projection room. The huge metal trays hold the movie film. He told the kids that for every one hour that a movie runs, the length of film is ONE MILE! The new movie “Avatar” is 3 hours long and that film is 3 MILES LONG!!

Now, on to the giveaway…my sweet 13-year old would like to offer a few giveaway prizes from her Etsy shop. Angie, from Seven Clown Circus, is hosting this giveaway. Please stop over there to register for a chance to win. Here is what Hannah is giving away…

This adorable fleece hat that fits American Girl dolls and Bitty Babies!

And your choice of 4 cute Tuxedo bow Hair Clippies.

Please show Hannah some love and stop over to her Etsy shop after you enter the giveaway. Remember when you were 13??? How many kids today are motivated enough to want to start their own business at that age!!?? We are really proud of her!!

FFF-Favorite Animals

2010-01-22T04:51:00.001-08:00

This week’s theme for Friday’s Favorite Foto is animals. The only animal we have is a sweet little cat named Molly. She lives at our lake home with my parents. We have tried having cats at our home in the past but they get out of the house and end up dying at the hands of other animals or by terrible neighbor boys target practicing with pellet guns.

I posted this picture last summer but it’s so cute! Molly is the darker kitten.

We also have lots of favorite stuffed animals! This is one of Peter’s favorites…the Build-A-Bear that Ricky made him for Christmas!

We are having freezing rain here today. My sidewalk and driveway look like a skating rink! I am dreaming of summer and warm weather but I know it will be a LONG time before we see that here in Minnesota!

Tomorrow we are finally having a birthday party for Greta with her friends. We are having it at the theater and seeing the movie “Tooth Fairy.” Our theater does a nice job with parties. They get to start the movie after touring the film booth. Then they have a party room for cake afterwards!

To see more FFF, go to Hannah’s blog!

Wordful Wednesday-Good Bye

2010-01-20T05:42:00.001-08:00

We’ve had the privilege of knowing an amazing man over the past year. His name is Keanne and he spends his life volunteering his time to make the lives of kids like my Ricky even better! He has taught hundreds of children with special needs (and their siblings) how to swim. He has been Ricky’s coach and friend and accomplished things with Ricky that we were not able to in the past 7 years of his life! Keanne earned Ricky’s trust almost as soon as they met and then taught my little man how to swim…something we had tried unsuccessfully to do since he was little. Now that Ricky is 8 years old, the world of Special Olympics is open to him! We would have loved to have Keanne and Ricky to be together for the competitions in the future.

Just seeing Ricky smiling in the water versus screaming with fear is still amazing to us!

But like the saying goes, “All good things must come to an end.” Our friend Keanne has left the frozen tundra of Minnesota and moved to Hawaii where he is excited to start a Special Olympics program there where there currently is none! How can you blame the guy for wanting to leave cold winters in MN and move to HAWAII!!!???

Before Keanne left, he was honored with a very special award at the 24th Annual Distinguished Service Awards Ceremony for Special Olympics Minnesota!! The ceremony was so much fun and Keanne even received a standing ovation for the tireless work he has done with so many special athletes.

When interviewed for the local newspaper, he stated that “every morning I wake up and pray that I will make a difference in someone’s life.” He sure has made a difference…we love him and will miss him but we wish him the best as he begins a new life on Maui! We hope to visit him this year!!! This picture was taken last Saturday…our last day of practice with Keanne…

With so many people taking winter vacations, I have to show you my line of Disney wear…click HERE to see more….

I LOVE custom orders and can make any kind of ruffle socks you may want! Team colors are fun! Football socks? Princess socks? Big and Little Sister socks? A favorite animal socks? Any ribbon you like can also be made into adorable hair clippies or hair bows to wear alone or in the cute crocheted beanies I carry!

Coming soon to my animal line of socks and hair bow…monkeys, puppies, kittens and ponies. Anything else you’d like to see, just ask!!!

Also, with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I have marked down ALL Valentines’ merchandise!!! Socks, beanie hats and hair bows….ON SALE NOW!!!

And finally….check out Hannah’s shop for the cute new hair bow clippies she sells….

Made from recycled Guatemalan fabric…with or without a worry doll attached!

My sweet 13-year old would LOVE your business! She has put everything she has into her Etsy shop and has had no customers since before Christmas. If you are looking for cute, inexpensive hair clippies or fleece hats for girls and American Girl dolls, please visit her shop and make this little lady happy!!

My apologies for such a long post of pictures! To see more Wordful Wednesday posts, stop over to Angie’s blog!

FFF-Close-Up

2010-01-15T05:41:00.001-08:00

Wow! This is a record for me to post 3 days in a row lately! What can I say…business is slow!

Here is one of my favorite “close-up” pictures of Peter. I never tire of looking at those beautiful Guatemalan eyes and amazing LONG eye lashes!

Please go to Hannah’s blog to see more FFF or to join in the fun!

Science Museum

2010-01-14T05:18:00.001-08:00

I usually volunteer in Greta’s 2nd grade classroom on a fairly regular basis but don’t get the opportunity to do so in Ricky’s class as much. Recently the school sent home a form looking for parent volunteers to go to the Science Museum of MN on a field trip. I was lucky enough to be chosen to go with Ricky’s classroom. Greta was disappointed that I didn’t volunteer with her class but I did see her there…she was with a different group of students and parents.

Here was the group of great kids that I was assigned to for the day!

We got to spend the day exploring the hands-on exhibits, doing cool experiments and seeing the documentary movie “Titanic” in the Omni theater there.

In this lab, we actually got to make a DNA strand from wheat germ. It was pretty fascinating to see DNA up close!

The children got to see what life is like for the Hmong people who fled Laos. Here is a typical Hmong hut and costume. Minnesota has the largest Hmong population in the US, I believe.

This really was a fun opportunity for the 2nd graders at our Magnet School for Arts and Science to experience some hands-on science up close and personal! I had a great day with Ricky’s class!!

Thursdays are Peter’s day to spend at a Mom’s Day Out program. I usually spend my free time shopping at the Mall of America…when you live 10 minutes from the largest mall in the country, it’s hard for a shopaholic like me to stay away! Today, however, I am off to meet friends for coffee and then another friend for lunch!!!

Have a wonderful day!!!

WordFUL Wednesday-Construction Zone

2010-01-13T07:46:00.001-08:00

We had our home built 13 years ago when Hannah was first born and Taylor was just 2 years old…now they are teenagers!! Back then, we couldn’t see beyond that day and so we chose things for the house that we would not have had we known we would have 5 children! The main area of the house that has been a problem is the laundry room/mud room. When we enter the house from the garage, which we always do, all seven of us crowd into this very small space. This time of year we also drag in lots of dirt, salt and grime from the garage.

Then when I do laundry and something clean falls on the floor, it gets dirty again!

We have thought long and hard about where we could move the laundry room to allow this space to just be an entry into the house from the garage. We finally came up with a solution that will solve the problem!!!

We have decided to move the laundry area to the second floor where all the bedrooms are and place it in our master bedrooms’ walk-in closet. We will be losing a little storage space but it’s so very worth it to me!! The stackable W/D will go where these shelves currently are.

Well, we just couldn’t do that…we decided to remodel the mast bath at the same time. Here’s a look at it before….

Do you see that wall between the toilet and the shower…we are opening that up to make a larger shower!

Here’s the new size of the shower!

All the “stuff” that was packed into our walk-in closet needed to be temporarily moved…guess where it is??!!

I can’t believe all the junk I have in there! We will be doing a thorough cleaning and removal of lots of stuff before we move back in the closet!

Gorgeous travertine tile will be going in…can’t wait to show you the finished project in a couple weeks!!! Stop back!

Next week, Angie of Seven Clown Circus will be hosting a giveaway of some of my 13-year old, Hannah’s cute items she sells on Etsy! Stop back for that! Also, to see more Wordful Wednesday posts, go to Angie’s blog now!

Cute Find

2010-01-11T05:18:00.001-08:00

I ran across this blog recently and thought I would share some of the cute pieces that Holly makes to raise money for their adoption. Her family is adopting a little girl from China and she is making and selling beaded silverware for a great price. You can check out the other cute items she sells at her blog, Purpose Driven Beading.

This last set is sold out but she is looking for more Tea Sets so she may sell more of these…she sold them for $10 each for the entire set!!

FFF-Grandparents

2010-01-08T16:39:00.001-08:00

I really thought I would start out the year doing a better job of blogging but it looks like I’m off to a bad start! I have been so busy with other things that I often don’t check my blog at all. That’s not like me!

This week’s theme for FFF is “Grandparents.” We are blessed to have my parents living 90 minutes away so we see them at least every 2-3 weeks if not more. Rich and I bought a lake home with them that they live in full time so we really see them lots in the summer months.

This was taken on Christmas Eve. Although I have 4 other siblings, we are so blessed to have my parents all to ourselves EVERY Christmas at our home! They have 22 grandchildren but ours are the lucky ones who get to see G and G the most!

We spend every Easter with them……

Most 4th of July’s are spent at their house, and this picture was from their 50th anniversary party in Wisconsin Dells.

I’m so thankful for their good health and the awesome example they are to their family. They are wonderful Godly Grandparents!

To see more FFF, go to Hannah’s blog.

FFF-Looking Back and Forward!

2010-01-01T06:33:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year! This past year was a wonderful one for me and my family and I look forward to another great year in 2010!

In 2009 we managed to get away on a few great vacations:

Jamaica in February….

Paris in August…

Wisconsin Dells in August to celebrate my parents 50th anniversary!

We also spent a fair amount of time in hospitals and emergency rooms this past year….

Peter experienced a 30-minute seizure back in May that brought an army of paramedics and police to our home. After a ride in the ambulance to the ER and an overnight stay, he made a full recovery!

Then he spent another night in the hospital after getting his tonsils out in October…

Also in October, Taylor had surgery on her nose…

And even Rich got in on the action with TWO Emergency room visits…one in June with a sky-high blood pressure and of course, on Christmas day with a broken finger from the “snowblower incident”!

I’m praying for a healthier year in 2010!

My oldest went off to high school this year…

And my youngest to preschool!

We’ve added braces…

And babies(niece) to the family!

Hannah and I created new businesses to keep us busy. Here are some of the latest creations she’s working on at Hannah’s Handy Crafts….

And some that I’ve been working on at Sox That Rock!

I truly want to thank all of you for your business and kind words as I ventured into the world of Etsy selling! I am looking forward to an even better year with fun new products and lots of GIVEAWAYS!!!

May each of your be blessed with good health and happiness in the upcoming year! I love all my blogging buddies!!!

Happy New Year! Now head over to Hannah’s blog to see more FFF!!!

Look Who’s 8 Years Old!!

2009-12-29T15:07:00.001-08:00

It is just amazing to me that 8 years have flown by and my twins are getting so big! There was so much fear and apprehension knowing that one of my babies had Down Syndrome…we found out at 32 weeks but the doctors suspected it throughout my entire pregnancy so we always kind of “knew”. Although I was glad that I had 4 weeks to prepare for him once I found out, there was still so much fear of the unknowns. When reading books about it, they present all the potential medical and health issues they COULD face so you have to prepare for anything and everything. Those 4 weeks until they arrived (at 36 weeks) were a time of grieving for the baby boy I always thought he would be and then accepting the awesome person he WOULD be!

When they arrived, the delivery room was filled with a huge team of specialists preparing for Ricky to be the sick one. He was born healthy and content! Greta, on the other hand came out yelling and hasn’t stopped since!!! She was the ill one with pneumonia and was immediately transferred to NICU. Ricky had to go it alone with out his sister in the regular newborn nursery.

I can’t tell you what a joy these children have been! We have been so blessed with a wonderful healthy family and I am so thankful!

Happy Birthday, my beautiful sweet 8 year olds!!! I love you!!!!!!

Wow! Where did Christmas Go??!!

2009-12-26T13:40:00.001-08:00

I pray that you all had a wonderful blessed Christmas! Ours was nice and peaceful as it should be. We always spend it with my parents at our home. We are so blessed to have my parents nearby and willing to spend the holiday with us each year as I have 4 other siblings!

It was nice not to have to drive anywhere except to church on Christmas Eve because we were in the middle of a huge snow storm! Once the snow finally stopped yesterday, we ALL got out to help shovel and/or snow blow our really LONG driveway! Unfortunately, the snow was so wet and heavy that the snow blower kept plugging up with ice and snow. My sweet really level-headed husband kept having to manually remove the snow to get it going again. The problem was that he didn’t shut the blower off in the meantime. Well, you can probably imagine what eventually happened…his hand got caught and it ended up somewhat mutilated! He spend Christmas night in the E.R. and has a broken finger. He was so lucky that he didn’t lose a finger as he met 2 men at the clinic who had! This picture was taken last week and he was goofing around with Billy bob fake teeth!

Other than that excitement, we all had a great time opening gifts, eating a great Christmas dinner and playing with toys!

For Peter, his new grocery store was a huge hit!!

Ricky’s best toys seemed to be his “Gassy Gus” game and a Whoopie Cushion! Do you see a theme here!!?? He has had more fun with these two toys in the last day than you can imagine!

The boys…

The twins…

The gang…

We plan and shop and cook and bake and await Christmas each year only to have it fly by at lightening speed!!! Did it seem that way to you too?

Wordful Wednesday-Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T05:21:00.001-08:00

My Christmas cards are mailed, cookies are baked, house and tree are decorated and gifts are wrapped. Now it’s time to sit back and enjoy this blessed Christmas season and reflect upon why we are truly celebrating it.

Here is our Christmas card photo that made the cut this year. They were taken over the summer. I think they capture the kids’ personalities perfectly…Taylor, the sweet one, Hannah and Greta-confident, sassy and cocky, Ricky-happy and his baby brother’s keeper, and Peter, the shy one!!!

Sounds like a winter storm is on the way to the mid-west this week so we will be cozy and safe at home as we celebrate the holidays with my parents!

Merry Christmas and a blessed 2010!!!

Cute Gingerbread Houses!

2009-12-22T11:14:00.001-08:00

I spent the morning in Greta’s classroom helping the kids make gingerbread houses. Each child brought in one kind of candy to share so there was a nice assortment for their houses! I peeked in on Ricky’s classroom which is right next to Greta’s and was able to get some pictures of Ricky too! Graham cracker houses are just the perfect size for kids to make. We usually do those at home so each of my 5 kids can have their own but didn’t get around to it this year.

Can you read what Greta’s shirt says??!!

And here are the finished masterpieces!!!

What a fun time we had!!

I just wanted to publicly thank Melissa at “Stockpiling Moms” for the awesome giveaway for a Zhu Zhu pet which I WON!!!! I know one young lady who will be very excited when it arrives!!!

My Little Shepherds, Wise Men and Angels!

2009-12-20T03:39:00.001-08:00

These pictures were taken recently at different events at our church. The youth group(high school kids) put on a short play last week and Taylor was a beautiful angel.

Today Greta will be performing in a musical at church. My sister and her 5 kids as well as my parents are coming to watch her. Then we will come back to our home for a brunch as we hold our annual birthday bash for Jesus! It’s so fun for my kids to get together with the cousins they adore! We also exchange gifts with them so they are all anxious to get some early Christmas presents. My sister usually spends Christmas Eve and day with her husbands family so we enjoy an early celebration with them each year.

Have a blessed Sunday! As we approach the day of baby Jesus’ birth, may HE fill you with love and peace and joy!! Blessings….