A Special Christmas

I love Christmas, and we have tried to make every year very special for the kids to make up for the lack of Christmases in years past. This is another special one because we will be celebrating in our new home! It has been a busy month of getting settled, but the kids seem happy here. We love the lot and the fact that we have such a large backyard. We will be putting in a pool and Dainis wants to build another workshop. Buddy and Snoopy have also adjusted and seem happy in their new home!

 

 

The Big Move

It was a tough decision to sell our other house and move but it was just too much for us to take care of after my parents moved into their own house. Our other property was beautiful but had over 100 palm trees to take care of, and we did not need a 4200 square foot house. We are moving into our new house right after Thanksgiving, which makes it an extremely busy time. The kids are excited about their new rooms,

and Juan will now have his own bathroom!

So much to be thankful for!

We enjoyed a nice Thanksgiving at home this year.  It will be our last one in this home.  Our next big celebration will be Christma, and we will celebrate in our new house.  Although we still go through adoption challenges as we learn to be parents of three adopted children, we have a lot to be thankful for.  One of the biggest blessings is good health for all.  We  should be thankful everyday that the kids are healthy.  We are all excited about this Christmas season.  It will be filled with many busy times as we get ready to move and lots of new experiences.

Angie's 14th Birthday

WOW! It is hard to believe we now have a teenager! Angie had a party with our family, along with some friends, this year. She picked a "Frozen" theme. Her friends kicked off the party by watching the movie "Frozen", which is one of Angie's favorite. All of the girls then enjoyed pizza, cake, presents, a pinata, and just spending time together. Angie has made some good church friends, which we are thankful for. For her family party, we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant. We enjoyed more cake and presents. As we look back, Angie has matured so much in the past year and has become a good helper to me.

 

 

 

Our Third Halloween

This Halloween, Juan dressed up as Spiderman and both girls dressed up like Cleopatra  We went trick or treating at several neighborhoods this year and had a lot of fun.  One of the neighborhoods we went to was our new one.  We thought it would be great to walk around and meet some of our new neighbors.  We got a big surprise.  Our pastor lives right up the street, which the kids are very excited about.  Of course, the end result is the best part for the kids and not so much for the
parents...CANDY!

 

 

Our New House

 

Our big news this year is that we have decided to move and downsize!  After Lori’s parents moved last year, we decided our house is just too big for our family.  We are all very excited about this change, and think this smaller house will be a great home for our family.  We are in the process of moving now and will look forward to celebrating Christmas in our new home.  So, our family is busy with lots of good changes as we celebrate this year’s holiday season.

The Kids are growing up so fast!

It is hard to believe how much the kids have grown since they came home three years ago. This first picture is of our family in Fall 2011 after we first came home from Colombia.

These next pictures were taken this Fall.

Angie just turned fourteen and is growing up so fast. She is in seventh grade this year. Ingrid turned twelve in July and is in the fifth grade. Juan turned ten in July and is in the fourth grade. Our kids are attending the same charter school as they did last year. It is called Odyssey Preparatory Academy, and we have been thrilled with the education our kids are receiving there, and with the values they emphasize with each scholar. The school’s expectations are very close to the ones we have for the kids at home, so they are being taught the importance of respect, responsibility, and accountability both at school and at home. In addition, the kids have had the opportunity to continue their Spanish and music education. Angie is playing the flute for the second year. Ingrid is playing the clarinet for the second year. And Juan is playing the trumpet for the first time. Although it is quite loud in our house in the afternoon during practice time, they love it!

A Big Birthday Celebration

In addition to our family birthday celebration, Juan and Ingrid decided that they wanted a joint party with friends.  Because it was summer, we had a pool party.  We invited their friends along with their parents and had a great time.  Both kids wanted to do an ocean theme and love animals.  When it comes to picking birthday themes and cakes, it is a big decision!

 

 

A Day at Disney

 

 

 

Our kids enjoyed the park for three days.  Ingrid said her favorite ride was the Goofy ride.  Angie said her favorite ride was Snow White.  Juan said his favorite ride was the ferris wheel.  Because they stayed at a Disneyland Resort, they had early entry every morning.  So by the afternoon, everyone was tired.  They all went back to the room for a little rest.  Then it was back to the park for all of the night festivities!

Bed Time at Disneyland

 

 

After a busy day at the park, Grandma and Grandpa still made bed time special too.  Grandma and Grandpa did a lot of shopping before they left.  The kids were surprised every night with a new pair of Mickey pajamas.  They even had new toothbrushes and toothpaste with Mickey on them.  Lori's parents always work so hard to make everything so nice and special for our kids!