Slow recovery

I know I know, boring tales of flu. It seems almost everyone has been hit at some point this winter and it was finally our turn. While it has been a long lasting flu, no one got the stomach flu around here and I am very grateful for that. The final count, 4 down, 2 escaped. Callie and Jack were the lucky ones.

My countertop.

I just had to post these. The first day I was down, Brian was with the kids and got them dressed. Keep in mind it is the middle of winter and about 10 degrees outside. So Callie is in capris....

And Carter is in a t-shirt and sweatpants that are 2 years old and obviously a wee bit short.

The man did his best and I love him for that. Fashion and dressing children is just not his calling!I'm much better now and were almost back in the swing of things. It feels so good to have life back in order.

The flu

I thought we were doing so good. We made it this far into the season with nothing, not even a sniffle. Until now. It started with Brian, then me, then Anna. Without whining too much I have to say this really stinks. I'm grateful it's not the stomach flu but I haven't felt this miserable in a long time. The aches, head pounding, temperature swings, cough.....
And there is no rest for the weary. The kids still need me, chores to be done, carpools to run. I just want to wake up tomorrow and feel human again. While out buying necessities yesterday, I got clorox wipes, antibacterial hand soap, and germ-x. I gave the little kids each their own container of wipes this morning and let them go crazy. We might all have a lot of germs around here but I can tell you all the surfaces in my house are 100% germ free.
I'm looking forward to being back to my old self. Let's hope it happens soon.

My new hobby

As I mentioned earlier, I got a sewing machine for Christmas this year. The girls skirts are my latest project. They were fun to make and I have to admit that sewing mistakes are way easier to fix then embroidery mistakes. So I think I have the skirt down pat and can't wait to get more material to make more.

Carter had to get in on the action. I did his shirt too.

I owe a special thanks to my father in law who was here last weekend to visit. He built me an awesome sewing table and I was able to get all my new stuff organized. I had my machine on a card table and scissors and threads everywhere. I love organization so sewing with everything in it's place is much more fun! Thanks Paps.

What was I thinking...

I was thinking that I really wanted to get home and get my tired kiddos in bed. So I had a temporary lapse in judgement and let Carter (and Anna who was a bit more dainty about it) eat chocolate ice cream in the car on the way home. This is way out there for me, I am definately a neat freak. So the first time Carter said he spilled, I told him he would take a bath when we got home. By the time we got home, I had said "hold on buddy" about 50 times.
Let me just say we will never be eating chocolate ice cream in the car again. The car seat is disassembled and in the wash. I have little chocolate hand prints going along the wall up the staircase, and despite the fact that everything comes clean in the end, it was just too much for me on a Sunday night. So next time we are in a hurry kiddos and you want ice cream, ask mommy for vanilla and I just might say O.K.

A Precious Gift

Yesterday in the mail we received the most beautiful holiday card from Anna's orphanage. They wished us a joyful Christmas and happy new year. We were asked to send them an e-mail to let them know they had the right contact information for us. So after all the kids were in bed last night I sent them an e-mail. I thanked them for the card and wrote a short message about Anna and how she was doing. I also sent several pictures of her, some by herself and some of all of us together. I also mentioned that the earliest pictures I had of her were her referral pictures at age 2 and how wonderful it would be to have any baby pictures they had.

When I woke up this morning I had a response back with 3 attached pictures. They thanked me for the pictures I sent and said these were some baby pictures of her. I can't explain how emotional this was for me. Just seeing this tiny baby, my baby that I never knew at this age. She was found at 4 weeks old so we are guessing these are close to that time, putting her between 1-2 months old. Even at this early age, I recognize her. She was a beautiful baby and I am overwhelmed and overjoyed to have this tiny piece of her infancy.

What a blessing!

Callie is 6!

Callie turned 6 this weekend. She celebrated her birthday in true Callie fashion. In lieu of birthday parties we have special days where Callie got to chose what to do on her day from beginning to end. She spent the morning at the mall at Claire's, the bookstore, and shoe shopping. The afternoon was ice skating and then a family dinner at home.

This little girl is full of spunk and has a smile that can light up any room. She is goofy, loves her family and growing up way too fast. We love you six year old girl!

Happy New Year 2010

Another year....this one so extraoridinary for us. We had a daughter, our children got a sister and we are a full crew. I'll do another post on reflections of the past year but it will have to wait until the kiddos go back to school and I have time to THINK!
Our church has a wonderful New Years Eve party for the kids every year and that is how we celebrated.

This is Carter. Do you recognize him? His hair is usually the focus of this little guys face but I caught a pic of him just out of the bath, hair combed (very rare.) Under all that hair he's a pretty cute kid!
Callie started with the face painting station- always her favorite.

And Carter followed.

The kids made hats and mom made them stop the action and pose.

Shakers for the parade.

Jack trying to juggle.

At the end of the night we have the New Years countdown (at 7:30!) and balloons and confetti fall from the ceiling. The set up a large area of bubble wrap on the floor for the preschools to stomp on and fun is had by all.

Happy New Year friends. I can't wait to see what 2011 brings us!