The Wellspring...

A long overdue update

2011-03-19T23:01:00.004-04:00

Six months! That is how long since I last posted. Holy Smokes!

We have just enjoyed a week with my brother Eric, and his family. Syd goes to school down the street and Dane is looking at schools in Chicago as well so it is great to see them "often".

This will just be a quick little post with a picture as well of the kids from today. They each got a new basketball this morning and enjoyed made up games with a box and a laundry basket in the front yard. :) You will notice that Ana got glasses! This was just a couple weeks ago, so I am not tooooooo far behind in that newsflash. She is doing great with them as well as with the patching of her right eye for three hours a day. Hopefully her left eye will be strong and mighty very soon. :)

Life is good and full. We are immersed here in Chicago - or at least as much as our schedules allow. Kurt is in a travel season at work, so that weighs in at different times. I work about 27 hours a week, but am home still with the kids when they are home from school. It is a great gift to still be able to do that. We enjoy our neighborhood so much and love it that the kids have so many friends here in this pocket. Simon and Ana always have each other too, which is fun. Some days it's hit or miss, but I guess that makes them normal - HA!

That's all for now - off to read before bed!

Lisa

Happy 6th Gotcha!

2010-11-23T21:42:00.005-05:00

Six years ago, we got the "thumbs up" that Ana, then 9 months old and a tiny little 10 pounds, would be our daughter. She joined our family that day as our "foster daughter" and then we worked steadily for the next 3 1/2+ years to make it all official. What a fun journey it's been. We love you Ana Banana!

The Gotcha Queen, and her gigantic piece of traditional cake.

It's a little tricky, getting all four of us in a "self-portrait". Simon got a little squished. ;)

The cake, made with love, by Daddy. :)

2010-08-01T12:22:00.002-04:00

We are having a good summer, here in Chicago. The kids and I have been to Nebraska (along with my sister and her three kids), Simon has been to Michigan for a week with his cousins, and this week we are enjoying a nice visit with our British friends from Ecuador. We have been downtown a lot this week, and it's been delightful. :)

2010-03-28T18:47:00.002-04:00

Yesterday we enjoyed a nice outing to the Brookfield Zoo - something we had not done before as a family. We had a lovely afternoon together and then spent the evening with friends. It marked the beginning of spring break for our kids, so it was a good way to spend the day. :)

Today of course, is Palm Sunday and a beautiful day for me personally as I got to sing with the church choir again at our home church. I have been on a "sabbatical" of sorts as I have sought to pare down my extracurricular activities in order to focus on school. Today marked my first day back and I have to say that I was my usual emotional self - which was good. :) It was a beautifully majestic day to reenact when Jesus rode into the City of Jerusalem on a colt...and also to prepare for the Holy Week ahead. May we be ever mindful, Lord Jesus.

2010-03-05T17:58:00.003-05:00

Enjoy this video of our niece, playing the harp. :) She had a part in a concert this week and we were delighted to be able to attend.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3rNdm3CQt8

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Birthday

2010-01-01T18:30:00.000-05:00

I forgot to bring my camera to the Christmas celebration in Grand Rapids, but I did grab some highlight shots here at home. My brother and his family, sister and her family (minus husband) and our family enjoyed some time here at our house after Christmas. It was delightful, noisy, busy, lovely and cup-filling goodness. :)

Today is Simon's 9th birthday, so there is a picture of him as well, and also a picture of the Siblings that had to bid farewell as Syd stays here to attend college. We are happy to have her with us for the next week until classes begin. She is in the blue shirt below.

Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving

2009-11-30T21:43:00.000-05:00

We drove to my parents house in Nebraska for Thanksgiving and spent a lovely four days with them. We got home this afternoon and had time to spare to enjoy something that the kids have been wanting for a long time. A pet!

And so, without further ado, let me introduce...Hazel. :) She came with that name and we thought it was pretty cute so we kept it. Isn't she sweet? She is ten weeks old, so just a baby yet. She rode on my lap most of the way home and did great. She slept most of the time and purred almost constantly. Kurt, who has always claimed to hate cats, was the one who pushed us out the door and out to the shelter yesterday to get a kitty and I must say, I do believe little Hazel has Kurt wrapped around her little paw. ;) And the kids? Well, I'm sure it goes without saying that they are both so very, very excited. Simon can't believe she is really ours and here to stay. Ana keeps having random loud bursts of laughter and giddiness and we know that Hazel is the reason.

And yes, I am allergic, but so far my Zyrtec (which I was taking at mom and dad's anyway, since they have a cat) is going strong and I have had no issues. Let's hope it stays that way - HA! :)

Catching up...again

2009-11-16T18:22:00.002-05:00

It's been awhile since I've posted any happenings so I thought I would take a few minutes to catch up on the little things around here. :) Simon and Ana are happy and growing, as usual. Ana is learning to read and doing so, so, so well! I am very impressed with her teacher and how she teaches. Ana comes home with her little bag of words everyday and she is up to about 20 so far. Today she came home with a SUPER JOB certificate for reading them all correctly. We work on them nearly everyday, so we are very, very proud of her. She was happily sporting her hip new Pilgrim look (see above) after school and so of course I couldn't resist a photo. She wore it to pick Simon up from school and got some interesting looks on our walk, but they didn't phase her. :D

Simon is doing well in school and brought home all A's with his first report card at quarter. He likes his teacher a lot and is happily engaged with many friends in the neighborhood and church. It is good to be settled into life for our almost nine-year old.

Yard work! We've been busy cleaning up the yard for the winter. The kids have been a big help. :) Some day we'll get that garage painted or sided... (in the meantime, we continue to enjoy our new bathroom)

Yesterday we had our first fireplace fire of the season - I say fireplace fire because I personally did have a fire in the kitchen last week as I accidently lit Ana's Barbie lunch bag on fire. Oopsie, Mommy...

Anyway, Kurts parents were here yesterday so we enjoyed Children's Sunday at church and then an afternoon with a nice fire, etc. The boys busted out the Lincoln Logs and built the huge tower above.

That's all for now, folks! :)

The final, finished product!

2009-11-03T18:03:00.000-05:00

Out with the old...

In with the new! Isn't it beautiful? I am so proud of Kurt! He did such a great job, and of course, by doing it himself he saved us a LOT o' money. He said he's ready now for the second bathroom...which is in Simon's room...and boy oh boy is it ever U.G.L.Y. In the meantime, enjoy this new look. :)

Almost done...

2009-11-02T21:06:00.001-05:00

Thought I would update you with the progress in the bathroom. Kurt is beginning sink installation tonight.

Remember that we started here.

Time to cast your vote

2009-10-31T19:34:00.000-04:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls: It is time once again to cast your vote for your favorite Halloween Pumpkin! Last years winner was never officially announced, though I'm SURE that I won. :D Voting is open until it closes. ;)

Got Playdoh?

2009-10-28T17:59:00.000-04:00

These girls had a heyday making pizza together the other day. I told them they could mix the colors "a little" and well, you see what they considered a little. Ah well, it was almost time to get some new anyway. ;) Little L. is our neighbor and she and Ana are good buddies.

Home improvement...

2009-10-17T21:55:00.000-04:00

So I can't remember if I've mentioned this before but a few weekends ago I went on a retreat...and Kurt was left home "alone" (but with the kids, of course) and as it typical for him, he took on a big project in my absence. ;) Kurt met me at the door the day I returned and he literally had sweat dripping off of his face. Thus...the beginning of the 1st floor powder bath re-do.

This is the before photo and it's pretty lousy as it was taken on our cell phone. Had I known that a large project was going to happen in my absence there would have been better documentation. HA! We're pretty sure that the tile is (was) original because of the style of it, and while we toyed with installing something to fit the era of our home (1940's), we opted out of that.

This is pretty much what was left when I got home! Everything went out to the alley trash and the sink disappeared within hours. The toilet? Not so much. ;)

This was an interesting remnant of years worth of wallpaper from behind the commode. Looks like there were some cool styles.

And that brings us to today - Kurt just finished installing the tile, with the exception of the area under the radiator to the left - not quite done yet as we ran out of tile. Oops - forgot to include that in our measuring! I really like the tile and Kurt did a great job of installing it. After all the paste stuff dries, he'll seal it, let that dry and then do the grout work. I'll keep you posted with photos.

Test Photo

2009-10-17T13:23:00.000-04:00

Here's Ana Banana - allowing me to give the new camera a whirl. :) She slept in until 10 today while Simon went to his early soccer game. I'm pretty happy that at least one child will sleep in on the weekend!

Watch out!

2009-10-16T22:18:00.002-04:00

I got a new camera - and I might actually post on here again very soon. :)

1st day of school

2009-09-08T23:45:00.000-04:00

This entry should be called "we survived summer" - HA! No really, we had a beautiful summer and last night when I put Simon to bed we reviewed the many wonderful things that we all got to do and it was a pretty good way to recap the weeks that had passed. Today however was a great day to hop out of bed and go to 3rd grade and kindergarten. I cannot believe that our children are the ages that they are! Both kids loved being back, enjoyed seeing their friends and meeting/reuniting with their teacher. Simon has a new teacher and Ana has the same one she had last year, but now for Kinder.

I am pooped. I worked today and then tonight participated in a focus group downtown regarding a new talk show that is potentially being launched this fall. It was a pretty slick/fast (2 hours) $100, plus I won $50 in the "early bird" drawing for being 15 minutes early. I can't remember having ever won a drawing before so it was pretty exciting. he he he Oprah was taping on Michigan Ave. right when my focus group was beginning and Michigan was closed to traffic. It was practically on top of the location for my little job so it was fun to hear the cheers and music and see the set up. I did not see Oprah, but it was a fun site nonetheless! No camera with me though, otherwise I would have a photo or two here. ;)

Nighty night!
Lisa

Cooperation at its best!

2009-09-06T15:40:00.001-04:00

We came up to TC for a quick little weekend before school starts. I had not yet met Betti (she's adorable! wonderful! loveable!) and the kids hadn't been together for a while so we are making the most of the holiday weekend. The kids are having a great time, as usual!

Summer smiles

2009-08-24T13:58:00.000-04:00

Summer is almost over - kids go back to school in two weeks. Thought I'd get some last shots of the kids out here, besides just the one below of Ana. They are both growing up so much and we are so proud of the people that they are becoming. They are wonderful children with beautiful hearts. Simon lost another front tooth recently. We like the look - don't you? :)

Ready to take on the world

2009-08-21T23:05:00.000-04:00

It struck me tonight that Ana totally looks grown up and ready for kindergarten - so of course that called for a photo. Where does the time go? Isn't she a beauty?

Ahhh, space - again with pictures this time :)

2009-08-18T00:02:00.002-04:00

Since moving into our house nine months ago, we have become increasingly aware of the fact

that we have a LOT of STUFF. Stuff from when Simon was a baby, stuff from seminary, stuff from apartment living, stuff from having moved a zillion times over the course of the last 15 years of marriage - stuff. You get the idea. So, last weekend we began in Anas' room. We cleaned and sorted. We threw stuff out, we gave more stuff away. We organized and beautified. Why oh why I didn't take a before picture is beyond me, but trust me - it was ugly. I determined that Ana had the biggest mess in the house - not only because she takes after me in the cleaning department, but also because all of the baby stuff that we had from Simon ended up in her room. It had all been in storage while we were in Ecuador and it somehow alllllll ended up in her room. Bins and bagsful. Aren't you so sad that I don't have a photo? Sigh. I even looked back at photos from the months we have lived here and there are quite literally none of her room besides right after we painted.

Anyway, enjoy the after and know that this weekend I believe we are moving on to our room - it is the second worst. Simon however would like for his room to be done so we may be moving there next. Wish us well and good luck in our quest of paring down - again. It's nice to be doing this with the intention of staying somewhere, rather than with the intention of moving on...which is the usual pattern as you know. :) Hope you are all having a lovely summer!

As a point of interest - the Raggedy Ann dolls on the bench were both made by my mom. The red-haired one is mine from when I was a little girl and the black-haired one is Ana's. :) Incidentally, the bench they are sitting on was made by my dad.

Ana has spent a lot more time in her room since the massive cleansing. She was out of sorts the day we did it...perhaps she thought we were moving...but now she is delighted.

Ana requested that I take a photo of her Hello Kitty that hangs on her door. :) Here you go Ana Banana!

By the way, I put this on my Facebook page today, but I should mention this here as well. Yesterday Ana had another follow up appointment for her new ear and it was an incredibly encouraging time. She is now hearing at 10 decibels - which is less than a whisper. She can totally hear and understand us when she is only wearing that ear. It is a truly a miracle. She told me the other day that her "new ear isn't ouchy any more" and that was music to my ears. Truly...a miracle.

2009-07-29T17:49:00.002-04:00

So I took this self-portrait today to remind myself down the road of the significance of this week in my life. It is a week without distraction for the most part. I am in class from morning until night, our children are under the gentle care of Grandparents in Michigan and I am breathing it all in - soaking in the silence and the words and the stories - and the beauty of excitement for my future and realizing some desires of my heart.

This week, I began my journey into a certificate in Spiritual Direction - to be a spiritual director. I am taking courses at North Park Seminary here in Chicago and this week is the first of three week-long summer intensives (which will be complimented by independent study throughout the year) – meaning that I will finish the summer of 2011. We are now at the mid-point in our first week and it has truly been a blessing so far. I am still exploring what exactly spiritual direction is and assume that not everyone “out there” (who are you all anyway??) knows what it is either so I will give a few bullets from what I have read and learned so far. I am not going to footnote anyone but know that none of the quotes below are from me – they are primarily from Holy Listening by Margaret Guenther. :)

“In some ways, the art of spiritual direction lies in our uncovering the obvious in our lives and in realizing that everyday events are the means by which God tries to reach us.”

“We assist at the birth of each other in an environment of gracious hospitality.”

“…in this covenanted relationship the director has agreed to put himself aside so that his total attention can be focused on the person sitting in the other chair.”

“I do indeed work with the dying, for we are all dying, and helping in the preparation for a good death is a priestly work.”

“The spiritual director is a host who gives to her guests, the bestower of guest-friendship. She is a host in the truest and deepest sense, reflecting the abundant hospitality shown by the host at a heavenly banquet.”

“Hospitality is an occasion for storytelling with both laughter and tears, and then the guest moves on, perhaps with some extra provisions or a road map for the next stage of the journey.”

This is simply a taste of it. At the beginning of the week I was intrigued with it. Yesterday I was excited about it. Today I find myself longing to plow through the next two years and soak it all in so that I can begin on this new direction of purpose that I truly feel is God given with regards to my gifting and interests.

So much more to say, but tomorrow will be another full “mental day” so I need to hit the sack. Please pray for me and for my 18 classmates and we learn to sit, listen and be still. Pray for us as we hear some of Gods stories in each of our lives and begin to build relationships with this new peer group. We all bring different textiles to this weaving and I do believe the end result is going to be beautiful. :)

2009-07-22T22:10:00.000-04:00

Our last full day at the Cape the boys all went deep sea fishing. We ate their delicious catch for dinner that night and sat closely around the table even though they all still smelled like fish after showering. ;)

While they fished, the ladies went to do a little shopping and eat some donuts. :)

2009-07-22T21:39:00.000-04:00

Ana kept busy collecting "things" in her little fishing net...

...while the boys fished. :)

Madeline and me giving kayaking a whirl. :)

NYC

2009-07-22T18:18:00.000-04:00

This year, in second grade, Simon learned about the Statue of Liberty. He talked about it fairly frequently at the time and said it would be cool to see it. It planted a seed in Kurt and me, since we had already discussed an East Coast trip sometime and we decided that there was no time like the present to make a road trip! It was a beautiful day for site-seeing and that is exactly what we did. :)

2009-07-22T18:13:00.000-04:00

The boat ride was great! we were hot and sweaty! But when we were finished, Simon said "Mom, this is the best vacation ever. I'm never going to forget it." How's that for priceless?

My brother, Chris, needs to photograph the Brooklyn Bridge. Oh the beauty he could capture here...

Ground Zero

2009-07-22T18:07:00.000-04:00

Times Square and NY piiizzzzza

2009-07-22T18:05:00.000-04:00

Kristen was a little embarrassed to be doing such a touristy thing as having her picture taken in Times Square (thanks for baring with me Kristen :)) but who could resist!?

Everywhere we went there were masses of people. Even Sponge Bob was there! (do you see him?)

We had delicious John's Pizza, which we ate when Lori and I went to NYC ten years ago. It was as tasty as I remembered. The pieces were huge and Ana ate almost as much as her daddy - 3 1/2 pieces!

Last day in NYC

2009-07-22T17:53:00.001-04:00

Our time in NYC was all too brief, but great. Our last morning we got up and walked to Central Park so the kids could play and do a little scootering before hopping in the car for another long day of motoring. Our thanks to Kristen for being such a great hostess and for opening up her home to us.

Simon is in the blue shirt, Ana in the pink. I think I must have been pretty worn out by the time this day was upon us as most of the photos that I took were blurry. :/

Some shots of the road

2009-07-22T17:43:00.000-04:00

Simon and Ana were huge troopers for our 2,300 mile trip. This is a glimpse of their backseat surroundings. The DVD players over each seat were absolute miracles! We had two different middle bins, plus an "electronics" bin for their games, iPod, DVDs, etc. The movies/iPod were an especially cool feature for Ana, because with her new "ear" she got some updated equipment, including an audio cord that she can plug directly from her implant to either a DVD player, an iPod, Leapster, etc. Her face absolutely lit up at home when we plugged her into the iPod for the first time so she could listen to a Wiggles song. Did I already say that on here somewhere? Sorry if it's old news - but it was really exciting - actually more fun than activating her second ear!

This is somewhere in PA and only taken because of the huge cloud mass. But the countryside was absolutely lovely. None of us had ever been in PA before and so delighted in the lush of the countryside checkered with farms.

The coolest kids in town!

2009-07-20T10:51:00.000-04:00

We returned yesterday from a wonderful vacation, which I'll share more about this week as I have time. We had so much fun! We logged well over 2,000 miles of driving but each mile was worth it. This shot above, though only from a rest stop for a picinic lunch, is my favorite of our family. :)

Another miracle!

2009-07-08T16:35:00.005-04:00

In this picture is Ana having impressions made for the molds that hold both processors in place.
I still can't believe she has two ears! I feel like she is finally balanced.

For those of you looking for word on activation of Ana's second ear - look no further! We have been without computer at home for more than a week and her activation happened on Monday - thus the delay. The whole family went for the big activation and while, as I said to Kurt and my parents, it was a bit anticlimatic compared to the first time around, it was nonetheless so cool to see her face light up the first time and say "I hear it!". Unfortunately I didn't catch that moment on tape as we didn't know it was coming, but I got the 2nd, 3rd and 4th times and they were all pretty much the same.

The process was similar to the first time around in that they hooked up her processor to the computer and checked to be certain that all the internal electroids (in her head/ear) were functioning properly and from there it was sort of a process of "waking" up the inner workings. During this time there was an occassional series of a few beeps that only Ana could hear. The reaction to those beeps is what you see in the below video. The first time she hears is at 1:05, then around 1:45, again at 2:50 and again around 3:50. If you want to watch the whole thing you might find the conversation between us and the audiologist to be interesting as it answers some questions we had.

As a side note, I should mention that during this time Ana didn't have on her other ear, so she couldn't hear any of our outside noise. :)

News from Ethiopia

2009-06-23T09:52:00.002-04:00

This is supposed to be on Lori's blog but I don't have her password. We talked about getting me that information before she left but it was too crazy. Anyway, if you're reading this and you know there are people who want to be in the Lori, Howie and Betti loop, please pass along this blog entry to them!

"Hi Everyone,

Well, we finally made it to Ethiopia Monday morning at 9:00! We were immediately taken to Birtukan and Nesibu's guesthouse, where we are staying, and upon arrival we saw two VERY cute little girls, Betti and Rediet (the Fry's little girl) in traditional Ethiopian white dresses holding roses! It was a picture that I will never forget! When we got out of the van the girls ran up to us and Betti kissed us. She LOVES HER DADDY (and her mommy too a little bit I think :) )!!!! She has had no hesitation in wanting to be with us. Last night she did not want to sleep with Rediet and Birtukan's daughter in the small bedroom--she wanted to sleep smack-dab between Howie and I. Throughout the night she would reach over to us and hug and kiss us--almost as if to make sure we were still there and to thank us for FINALLY coming to get her.

Today we are visiting the Bethany office, the Gelgela orphanage (not where our girls are from), and then going to the U.S. embassy for Betti's appt. We then come back for some of Birtukan's fabulous cooking, and the rest of the Bethany families who are here adopting will be here also, so that will be fun!

Okay, I MUST go take a shower since I haven't had one since, um, Saturday morning!?! We miss you Charlie and J.J. and love you VERY VERY much! Betti can't wait to meet you!!!!!!!!!

Love,
Lori, Howie and Betti"

2009-06-18T16:51:00.000-04:00

My parents were here for a few days this week and as usual it was wonderful to have them here. Kurt and Dad had a painting project (of course) and I will post pictures of that at a later date. Simon had a sleepover last night at a friends house so he wasn't around to bid farewell this morning and hop into this shot, but Ana was happy to have them all to herself! She is doing very well and to look at her you wouldn't know that she had surgery on Monday. She has her follow-up appointment this coming Monday and now we know that she will have her left ear activated on the 6th of July. Woo hoo!

Ta da!

2009-06-15T23:57:00.001-04:00

Ana is officially implanted with ear number two! As I was laying in bed with her tonight the words and tune "Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise him all creatures here below, praise him above ye heavenly host, praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost" kept going through my mind. As Simon said at dinner tonight "I never thought that when Ana got her first ear she would ever get a second." And I said "me neither Bud...me neither". But as usual, God is awesome in his workings and today we beheld yet another miracle in the life of our little peanut.

She did very well despite the two-hour delay in surgery time. She was scared and tried so hard to be brave beforehand. Her little face was often wrought with anxiety and she wanted us all to just sit and be quiet. After we learned of the long wait time, Kurt read many books to her and then she was even allowed to watch a Winnie the Pooh movie. It was the magic elixir she needed to wile away the next 90-minutes before surgery. All in all she was a wonderful patient and the nurses enjoyed her occasional "thumbs-up" when they asked how she was doing. She is now sleeping peacefully (though it took awhile to get comfy with her big bandage on the left side of her head - which you can't see in the photos - she has a cone covering her ear) and we anticipate taking off the bandage tomorrow and having a fairly normal day.

Thanks so very much for all of your prayers, comments on here via Facebook or the blog. I haven't read them yet but I see them there waiting for me...and I simply can't go to bed before I read them. I will update more when there is more energy in my body but for now I'll say nighty night!

My thanks to James and Judy for blessing Simon today with their love, time and energy. :)

-Lisa

Ear number two!

2009-06-14T22:54:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow is the big day! Ana's surgery is tomorrow morning (6/15) at 10:00 a.m.. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers as we take this journey once again. :)

2009-06-01T22:03:00.001-04:00

Along with these beautiful new flowers that are bursting in our garden we have some great news! Ana has a surgery date for cochlear implant number two and it's just two weeks from today! While it's not exactly the date we would have chosen (first day of vacation Bible school for Simon and first day of summer school for Ana) there was nothing else available until well into July. We are happy that she will have the summer to adjust to ear number two and excited for her because she is sooooooo excited about this! :) She has been asking about "two ears" since our first appointment way back in January (?).

The school year is winding down, with just eight days left. Thankfulness is in my heart as I reflect on the thoughts and feelings from a year ago and leaving Quito. It is good to be settled and with roots. I share the below quote, which I posted on Facebook recently but can't remember if I put it on here last fall.

"To be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognized need of the human soul." - Simone Weil, French philosopher

Home Sweet Home

2009-05-22T17:47:00.000-04:00

So...the party location moved (see earlier post). I found this in the hanging geranium plant today when I went to water it. I thought I had seen a bird fly out of there FAST earlier today. Now we wait. :)

2009-05-19T13:16:00.000-04:00

Today after seven days of near constant coughing, runny nose and fevers (both scarily high and just low-grade) Ana has emerged smiling and hungry - I am SO thankful. We were pretty worried about our little Peanut for a bit there, especially with the no-eating since she has little to nothing to spare (notice her toothpick thin arms and ankles???). Anyway, today she felt like getting dressed and even threw on her princess shoes - which I definitely thought called for a picture. It is good to be well!

2009-05-17T21:35:00.001-04:00

Soooo, things are still growing in the garden. Imagine that! Now we have Dahlia's (we bought those and they are on our porch), grape ivy, peony buds (doesn't it look like a jewel??), cherry beginnings on the cherry tree, the ornamental chives that are now in full bloom, as well as an unidentified blue flower, the garden frog and my ever growing chatter of all things garden - which brings me to the top right photo - me driving Kurt crazy. he he he :)

2009-05-14T10:46:00.000-04:00

A certain someone is trying to plan a party on our back porch light. See the glittery blue ribbon hanging down through our screen? (top middle pane). The party planner is hiding in the tree in the bottom photo. You might have to click the photo to enlarge it and find her. :)

I came in through the back door last night and found a bunch of stuff hanging down from our light and we thought it was done on purpose by a person...though that would have been a silly little prank...so we pulled it all down and went inside - but no sooner had we done that than a robin was dive-bombing to the porch to see what had happened. We were shocked! It was a nest! But my goodness was it ever sloppy. I'm not sure how anything could have lived in there. Imagine my surprise this morning when I went to the back to check the weather and found the below items hanging from the light...again. She was back at work. Not quite sure what to do...I hate to interfere with nature but it's not exactly the best location for a territorial Mama.

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T19:31:00.000-04:00

What a beautiful day we had. Breakfast with a friend, church, lunch, flower shopping, gardening/planting and now waiting for our burgers on the grill to be finished. Mm mm. Good day to be Mommy. :)

Happy Mother's Day to all the special women in my life.

2009-05-09T12:59:00.000-04:00

The back yard is springing to life! From the lilacs and grape hyacinth to the raspberries and lambs ear I am delighted beyond all measure. The sun and rain have brought forth much growth. :)

Soccer season!

2009-05-04T23:10:00.002-04:00

Soccer season began four Saturdays ago, though the kids have had playing time just two of those Saturdays. Chicago has had a lot of rain and so because the parks have been muddy swamps, games and practices alike have been cancelled. However, Simon and Ana are both having a great time and it has been fun to become official soccer parents. I even bought a couple of very portable lawnchairs last week and threw them in the back of our car (we bought a car! I haven't mentioned that on here. We love it!) Anyway, soccer is good, life is good, spring is beautiful and we are all well and happy.

I forgot that I wanted some pictures of Simon during the game until he was having his rotation out of the game so someone else could play. Oops!

More rain!

The Saturday that I took these pictures was a verrrrry busy day with two soccer games, dress rehearsal for Simon's musical at church, grand opening open house for the new wing at Simon's school and game night out for Kurt and me. This photo of Simon sort of sums up how we were all feeling about half way through the day. ;) Whew!

Go Ana Banana go!

2009-05-04T23:09:00.001-04:00

There's our number 14!

2009-04-30T17:09:00.000-04:00

April showers bring May flowers! Think these will bloom tomorrow???

2009-04-20T20:28:00.005-04:00

For those of you who began reading this blog because of Ana and her cochlear implant, I thought you might enjoy this little language update from this afternoon. Ana puts tons of words together these days and today was no exception. While Kurt, Ana and I were walking to the back door together from the garage, we got a kick out of this particular sentence: "excuse me, I want to be first" - and then she shoved her way in front of us and stepped up to the door. Yes - we're working on manners, but goodness, what a gift that she now has enough language to be rude! (she DID say "excuse me" though) ;)

Easter weekend

2009-04-14T17:00:00.000-04:00

A few photos below from Easter weekend. The one immediately below is of my friend Kristen, her niece, Ana and me. Kristen lives in NYC and my sister and I visited her there a couple of different years over Labor Day. Seeing as how that was before children, it's high time to do it again - don't you think Lor??? Anyway, Kristen has a sister that lives in Chicago and so now I am hoping that we will get to see each other more often. It had been about six years since we had seen each other which is too, too long. We lived next door to each other our freshman year of college so it's a tried and true friendship of over 20 years. The good kind, to be sure. :)

This is a shot that I wanted to take way back in November when we bought our house, but April is better than nothing, right? Anyway - here we are - home sweet home.

The Easter Egg Hunt. So fun to have our own back yard to do this in. The kids enjoyed themselves and we spent almost the whole afternoon outside. A bit chilly, but sunny and beautiful. We cleaned out the garden beds, raked, laid in the sun, ate candy and enjoyed being a family together on this day.

2009-04-14T16:58:00.001-04:00

Such good, beautiful children we have. :)

This scene makes me laugh. :D Simon had been happily helping in the yard but then Ana asked him if he would come and play with her. She was playing babies. Simon jumped in and fed one of them. As you can see, it was getting colder. Like his earmuffs? HA!

Soon it was time to move inside for egg coloring. The kids had a good time, as did the Mommy. :)

2009-04-14T16:56:00.000-04:00

While the kids and I colored eggs, Kurt busted out the grill for our dinner. He grilled steaks and asparagus to go with some other fixings. It was deeeeelicious! Oh how we missed grilling in Ecuador!

Hope you all had a blessed Easter.

"Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'" Then they rememebered his words. -Luke 24: 6-8

2009-04-06T20:04:00.000-04:00

A quick post of the kids. This was taken in front of Ana's school. :)

A day at the park

2009-04-04T18:18:00.001-04:00

The weather is definitely changing here and though it was a bit cold today, the sun has been shining and we are happily enjoying the Spring! We live just a few quick blocks from a great park so the kids rode bikes, Kurt and I walked and we enjoyed some swinging, soccer, running around and just hanging out together. It was a good time. It's supposed to snow tomorrow but I'm trying to not think about it...however, as I was beginning to clean some more leaves out of the garden this week and saw some more mystery shoots coming up, I thought better of it and covered them back up again with the leaves hoping that they will all be ok under their warm leaf blanket. :)

Simon learned how to give an underdog today, and Ana, dear Ana - finally, finally, finally learned how to pump for herself on the swing - yaHOOOOOO! I have had to keep reminding myself that Simon learned when he was two years old only because we had a swingset in our backyard and he practically lived on it. ;)

Kurt gave the kids a nice crazy ride on the tire swing. :)

Enjoy your Palm Sunday weekend!

2009-04-04T18:15:00.000-04:00

Brief Encounters of the Cousin Kind

2009-04-03T13:29:00.000-04:00

Howie and Lori stopped through Chicago on their way home from my brothers house in MN.
As usual, the kids made the most of their 24 hours together! :)
No action shots this time around, though there was certainly plenty of action.

The kids all wanted to sit on the same side of the table at lunch, though there was nobody else eating with them. HA!

Simon is apparently going through a "make faces at the camera" phase. Ah well... ;)

2009-03-31T18:43:00.001-04:00

Winter, winter go away...and yet you're so beautiful.

It's ok if you stay.

This is from last Sunday morning. We were at a camp in Wisconsin and while we thought the weather would be delightful and we would have lots of fun outdoor time, it snowed about 6". It was however a winter wonderland and really beautiful with all the trees.

Speaking of fat...

2009-03-13T17:10:00.007-04:00

Two weeks ago I was THRILLED that the birds FINALLY (after four months) realized there was food in the bird feeder. Literally, not a kernel was nibbled all winter long. By yesterday I was calling them "big fat birds" to their beaks when they polished off ten pounds of birdseed in nothing flat. I am debating whether or not to buy more...I can literally fill it every day and a half...BUT...we have had beautiful birds, including quite a few cardinals...so it's hard for me to resist.

If you click on the photo above, you will see some of our visitors perched on the cherry tree, though none of them in this shot are particularly "special"...just don't tell them that.

Joy...Life...Mystery...Spring

2009-03-11T18:45:00.014-04:00

These are the words that I have been pondering on. Joy has been sort of an ongoing, underlying "theme" for me since coming back to the U.S. last summer. Particularly late in the summer as I was struggling with weariness and so wanting to just be normal. I wanted to be happy and be able to enjoy all of the aspects of being back. But I was depressed and tired, tired and depressed.

Along the way in the midst of our transition and during our time of living in an apartment before finding a house, there were many moments of just plain crabbiness. Crabbiness exuded from each of us in the family on many different occasions. It was a hard time. We were walking around in the neighborhood a lot and one of the homes in the area had a garden flag out each day that said "Be filled with Joy". It looks like this. We walked by it a lot. I read it a lot. It began to sink in...this simple three-letter word. JOY. I decided to Choose Joy and to Spread Joy even though I wasn't there yet. Every time someone was crabby at home I would snap "SPREAD JOY". Maybe not the most gentle of ways to introduce the concept but eventually this saying would become affixed to me. If someone was getting crabby, Kurt would say "SPREAD JOY" - he was poking fun at me a bit as he was saying it (because everyone was getting tired of hearing it) but at the same time, there was an awareness or awakening in each of us I think...the awareness of choosing to be Joyful.

This morning Simon was crabby, crabby, crabby. The time change has been hard on him. I finally tired of hearing it and barked "SPREAD JOY" - and I was immediately challenged myself, at the way in which I had presented that beautiful thought of Joy...and I then said in a kind and gentle manner instead..."Simon...choose Joy...choose to be Joyful" - and he immediately changed his disposition, as I had as well.

I recognize that I have been in a period of darkness and winter in my life over the past months. This doesn't mean that I have not experienced many moments of Joy during these months...it just means that there has been an overshadowing sometimes of weariness, etc. It has taken me much, much longer than I would have anticipated to recover from my bout with Mono, but I am so very much better now than I was. I feel like I am at the end of the road with it, and this makes me feel like the months ahead are going to be like a season of New Life and Hope and Joy. I am moving from a period of winter into the new birth of spring.

As I look at the wet earth in our new back yard, I am aware that there are many mysteries lying under the ground in the form of bulbs. I did not plant them, and though Christine (the previous owner) and I spent some wonderful time touring the backyard last fall in order for me to get my bearings...I don't remember everything that she said. The tender green shoots that are peeking up now (pictured above) will in a few weeks time, be bursting with color and fragrance and their mystery will be unfolded. The flowers will have shapes and names and they will be defined. I see this in my life too...definition...things taking shape. The Lord has been gracious and spoken to me in the quietness of my heart these days of late, and I know that Joy is where it's at. I anticipate with much excitement the months ahead.

"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his,

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

...

For the Lord is good and his love

endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all

generations." -Psalm 100:1-3, 5

If you made it this far, well, phew! Thanks for sticking with me as I unloaded my thoughts.

As a P.S. I will add this:

I love the music of Nichole Nordeman. She has so many song lyrics that just line up with different periods of my life, and this song is no exception. It is called Every Season. The words are below, and here is a link to a YouTube version done by someone.

Every Season
Every evening sky, an invitation
To trace the patterned stars
And early in July, a celebration
For freedom that is ours
And I notice You
In children’s games
In those who watch them from the shade
Every drop of sun is full of fun and wonder
You are summer

And even when the trees have just surrendered
To the harvest time
Forfeiting their leaves in late September
And sending us inside
Still I notice You when change begins
And I am braced for colder winds
I will offer thanks for what has been and was to come
You are autumn

And everything in time and under heaven
Finally falls asleep
Wrapped in blankets white, all creation
Shivers underneath
And still I notice you
When branches crack
And in my breath on frosted glass
Even now in death,
You open doors for life to enter
You are winter

And everything that’s new has bravely surfaced
Teaching us to breathe
What was frozen through is newly purposed
Turning all things green
So it is with You
And how You make me new
With every season’s change
And so it will be
As You are re-creating me
Summer, autumn, winter, spring

It's all about fat

2009-03-10T16:50:00.000-04:00

Who knew? Ana and Simon are taking private swimming lessons and I thought for sure that Ana would be the fish once she had some technique. Now, this might still prove to be true (they have only had four lessons so far) but the instructor told me that it will actually take Ana longer because she is absolutely all muscle and no fat...thus it's hard to find her "floating point". By the time she floats - which she has managed to do a couple of times - her body seems so far under the water - it's crazy!

Anyway, they are doing really well and they love their lessons each week! We are excited that they finally have the opportunity to do this and that they can do it one on one. Ana swims without her ear so Simon is the "this is how you do it" guy, which I think has been good for him. He is gaining in confidence each time and it's fun to see.

2009-02-28T20:54:00.000-05:00

I am catching up here a bit tonight as Ana is in bed and the boys are gone. Directly below are some shots of Ana's 5th birthday. I cannot believe that Ana Banana is FIVE!!! She is growing up so quickly...

This was a gift (along with a lot of other fun things) from Aunt Lori and family. I wear a mask to bed every night so this made us all laugh. :)

2009-02-28T20:50:00.000-05:00

Ana had a super first week at her new school. Here she is modeling some of her handiwork from the week. ;) Everyone needs such a hat, don't you think???

2009-02-28T20:45:00.000-05:00

I LOVE this shot of the kids, even though Ana isn't looking at the camera. I think she was checking to make sure that Simon was smiling. :)

2009-02-28T20:39:00.001-05:00

We played some rip-snortin' good rounds of Jenga today with my brother and his daughter as they were in town over the weekend. It was a short visit but as always, great to see them. :) Below are a few pictures from this afternoon.

Simon proved to be a very capable player, and even won a round. He got Jenga for his birthday and we have played several times. It's nice to have something we can all play together...

Ana got one turn. :) As I have said before, sitting still is not her gifting. However, she was able to add to the drama of the event by cautioning everyone to "be careful!!!". In this shot, she simply could not even watch as it was too scary and close to toppling. ;)

2009-02-28T19:58:00.000-05:00

This was taken on Ana's last day at her old school. She didn't actually go to school on this particular day because of her leg (you can see that she is favoring her right one - or maybe I just can because I'm her Mom) but we brought cupcakes to celebrate her birthday and then to bid farewell. This was a sweet little group of children that Ana really enjoyed, as well as the teacher. :)

2009-02-28T19:50:00.000-05:00

2009-02-28T19:45:00.000-05:00

Simon has been enjoying the camera lately. ;) Below are a couple of self-portraits.

An update

2009-02-24T16:26:00.003-05:00

Hi praying friends and family :)

Just a quick note to say that Ana's leg is 100% better! She made a very sudden recovery; having gone from me carrying her everywhere on Friday as we ran errands for her to begin school on Monday, to being totally mobile and ready for school on Monday morning. I could not have been more shocked, except that I knew that so many at our church and friend/family circle were praying for her. As the nurse at Children's (who administered the shot) and our pediatrician both said, she just had a very, very bad reaction to this vaccine. Hopefully by the time she has to have it again in five years time, we will not remember how bad it was this time around. As our pediatrician said, the reaction is better than getting menangitis, which Ana is at greater risk for because of her implant.

All for now,
Lisa

P.S. School, by the way, is WONDERFUL! She seems to love it already so we are happy, happy, happy! No more changes - she can stay at this school and still have a Hearing Impaired classroom for her homebase until she is in 8th grade. :)

Sick Day

2009-02-19T12:38:00.004-05:00

Taken from her sick bed

Ana has not been to school since Wednesday of last week. Here has been our lovely schedule:

Thursday - Lincoln's Birthday - no school
Friday - Staff Development Day - no school

Sat./Sun.

Monday - President's Day - no school
Tuesday - Audiology appointment for testing of current implant. Received one shot in her thigh. Did not go to school.
Wednesday - Excruciating pain from shot received and unusual complications. Unable (unwilling) to walk or move leg even a smidgen. End up in ER last night for five hours after finally receiving a call back from doctors office. Blood tests came back with funny things so...
Thursday - repeat of Wednesday minus the ER and adding a visit to pediatrician.

Sigh

Ana is trying to be a trooper and seems a little better today in spirits - perhaps it's because the big fat cold that also attacked her on Tuesday seems a little better today, but regardless, it's been a rough 48 hours for our little Banana. To top it off, she turned five yesterday but we didn't even tell her because she has felt so lousy. Perhaps tomorrow we shall celebrate...

More transition is ahead for Ana as she is again being transferred to a new school, beginning on Monday. She doesn't know that yet either, as I just found out this morning. We think in the end it will be good that she has been away from school all these days - she simply will not return. It is a verrrrrry long story about why she is being transferred again, but suffice it to say - it's a good move. The school she has been at is WONDERFUL. We love it, love the teachers, the children in the classroom, love the programing, etc. The transportation and hours of school however have been awful. The school is about five miles from our house so it takes a good 45 minutes round trip each way from home - and that is twice a day for drop off and pick up. She has to be there by 7:30 and school is over at 1:30 so it has been a crazy schedule. The new school is about a mile from our home and runs from 9 - 2:45, which is right in alignment with Simon's school, so this is a huge help to us all.

Anyway - just wanted to update on what's going on with her. Please be praying for her as she heals from this shot, and as she begins school again on Monday.

~Lisa

A quick blip

2009-02-10T21:33:00.000-05:00

I know that it's been so long since I've blogged regularly - don't give up on me! However, I wanted to let you all know that we have officially begun the process of getting Ana another ear! She has had one appt. with the surgeon, and has an appt. with an audiologist next week. Someone from Children's Memorial (where she will have the surgery if all goes well) is going to observe her in the classroom of her school in a couple of weeks, just to see how she is functioning with the one implant. All in all we're pretty excited and have been told that this could happen within a month or two. We of course need to see how everything pans out with insurance and are in the process of finding that out, but we're hopeful that it will all be covered. Please pray about that for us if you think of it! We have yet to find that money tree in our new back yard. ;)

Wicked

2009-01-24T01:34:00.001-05:00

This week Kurt took me to see Wicked for my birthday. It was fabulous!!! The show leaves Chicago permenantly next week so we were very happy to be able to get tickets. That's all - just thought you might like to know that little tidbit. :)

Snow in Michigan!

2009-01-18T17:58:00.000-05:00

This weekend we headed to Grand Rapids to meet Baby Jack, the newest addition to the P. clan. He was born late Thursday night and is SUPER CUTE! :) We are glad that we could be there to enjoy the new baby and to be with family for a few days. The weather has been snowy and very cold, but today it was "warm" enough (19 degrees?) to head outside for a little playing in the snow. The kids received a sled for Christmas and this was the first time either of them had ridden on one so it was fun, though short lived as the hill wasn't quite steep enough. They had a good time anyway, as you can see!

2009-01-18T17:57:00.000-05:00

2009-01-18T17:56:00.000-05:00

Grandma, Simon and Ana at the hospital waiting to head upstairs to see Baby Jack. :)

Ana was sooooo excited to go into Jack's room. He was crying and we could all hear him. :)

The two brothers and the next generation of "SON".

Happy Birthday, Simon!

2009-01-08T10:12:00.002-05:00

I'm a little behind on my postings (catching up below with a few), but I couldn't let Simon's 8th birthday slip by without posting some photos. I find it hard to believe that eight years have already passed since that New Years Day in 2001 when he was born. Life seems to go crazy fast since having children in our lives to mark the years. My folks were here to celebrate with us as well and we enjoyed having them here for about five days or so after Eric, Teresa and the kids departed.

This is just about the goofiest looking cake yet that I have made. However, it's made to order in this household and Simon wanted a yellow cake, with blue almond-flavored frosting; 1/3 plain, 1/3 with chocolate chips and 1/3 with red sugar sprinkles. What a boy. :)

I love these bottom two shots as this one above shows Simon opening his Hannah Montana CD. Who knew he'd like Hannah Montana? As you can see from his face - he was delighted. He wondered though, where he would listen to it. Of course we quickly offered up the kitchen player I had received for my birthday as well as the player in the LR. He was satisfied with that. However, his last gift was a CD player/alarm clock - something he has been asking for, for probably a year or so. I love the look of "knowing" on his face below - as he has ripped the paper just enough to read the Sony box inside and know he got his wish. :)

2009-01-08T10:00:00.000-05:00

Mom and Dad with the kids, the morning they left. Ana didn't want to wear her ear until after they departed...perhaps she was in denial that they were actually leaving and did not wish to hear them say "goodbye". :(

A new chapter...

2009-01-08T09:50:00.000-05:00

I am not sure what chapter we are actually on here, since Ana's life has already had so many, but on Monday morning we began a very new and exciting chapter. A new "first day" of school! At long last her IEP was finished just before Christmas break and she was assigned a new preschool. Ana is further from home than we would have liked (almost five miles), but we are giving it a shot. The day starts much earlier than before as school begins at 7:30 rather than 8:30, plus there's the commute and the day goes until 1:30. For now we are driving her and picking her up, but she is slated to be on the school bus route within a week or so. There will be an aid on the bus because of Ana's age so that gives us comfort, but you can still pray that this goes well. Ana is VERY excited about getting to ride the bus, and each day when I pick her up she says "there's my bus!" as we walk past them on the way to the car.

This is her fourth day of school and so far the adjustment has been great. She is super crabby most of the afternoon, but we know this is because she is getting up nearly two hours before she normally would. She can barely eat her dinner at night as she's so tired(she's in bed between 6:30 and 7), yet she's still happy to wake up and do it all again the next day.

The school itself is a magnet school for the fine arts, so there are wonderful "extras" for Ana to participate in that she already loves. Her little preschool is the only section of the school that is for the deaf/hard of hearing and all the kids have implants except one (she loves it that they all have "ears"!), and he wears hearing aids. I'm not sure what next year will bring since this program is currently just for preschoolers and it's a new program, but as the teacher said, since Ana is the oldest and kindergarten eligible next fall, she will blaze the trail and force the school to see what the next steps are in this program.

Anyway, there's always more to share...more to the story...but that's it for now.

Lordy, Lordy, Lisa's 40

2008-12-28T11:38:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was my 40th birthday and we celebrated last night with family, including my brother and his family from Colorado and our cousin Brian and his wife, Kristen. We determined it had been about eight years since we had seen Brian and Kristen and now they're living in Chicago as well so we enjoyed their company twice this week.

40. huh. It's good and a.o.k. :) I remember when my dad turned 40 so it's weird that now I am 40. Time flies when you're having fun I guess. I wouldn't trade it for anything and feel blessed to be right where I am.

2008-12-28T11:32:00.000-05:00

Simon :) His birthday is next - number three for the family! (Eric, Me and Simon)

2008-12-28T11:31:00.000-05:00

We went to the Art Institute of Chicago in the morning. Everyone enjoyed the outing. :)

2008-12-28T11:30:00.000-05:00

2008-12-28T11:28:00.000-05:00

I have so many pictures of Kurt walking with the kids; Ana on his shoulders. The backdrop is always different though and yesterdays walk was no exception. :)

2008-12-28T11:18:00.000-05:00

Sisters and Friends - Syd and Claire

2008-12-28T11:17:00.000-05:00

We had a lovely Christmas celebration. I forgot to get a picture of all of us at the table, but hey, here's the table - HA!

2008-12-28T11:16:00.001-05:00

Dane

2008-12-28T11:16:00.000-05:00

One of the many Santas. :)

2008-12-28T11:15:00.000-05:00

Ana got a princess dress. Wish I had a video of her opening this one. Like her matching socks? HA!

2008-12-28T11:14:00.001-05:00

Claire, Ana, Teresa and Syd waiting their turns for gift opening. :)

2008-12-28T11:14:00.000-05:00

Simon checking out his new space shuttle.

2008-12-28T11:13:00.000-05:00

My brother, Eric. We celebrated his birthday on Christmas Eve. It's been great to have their family here. :)

2008-12-28T11:12:00.000-05:00

We opened gifts on Christmas Day and made a good looking bomb of the living room!

2008-12-28T11:11:00.000-05:00

Ana and Aunt Teresa checking out the new Cabbage Patch doll by the fire.

2008-12-28T11:10:00.000-05:00

We have played some Cranium late at night. My stomach has ached from laughing so much. ;)

2008-12-28T11:08:00.000-05:00

Ana and her cousin Dane

2008-12-22T10:23:00.000-05:00

I LOVE this picture. I caught Kurt and my dad sitting by the fire getting it going and couldn't find my camera so quick snapped one with the cell phone. By the time I found the camera a couple minutes later they were standing up so I'm glad I snapped it. My folks are here for a couple days as they're on their way to Michigan to be with my sister and her family for Christmas. My brother and his family depart today from Colorado to travel here to be with us for Christmas. 'Tis the season and we are excited!

2008-12-12T20:06:00.000-05:00

The worker bees doing their magic (Dad and Kurt). This was about a week or so after we moved in.

2008-12-12T20:05:00.000-05:00

Kurt built this beautiful pantry for us on the "porch", which is four season and just off the kitchen. I love it, except that after he finished he said "that's it! no more building shelves."...hmm, bookshelves in the living room were mentioned in a previous post. He keeps talking about buying some. I can't imagine! He has built bookshelves for us in all of the homes that we have owned, and even in the seminary apartment down the street (they're still there and being utilized!). Anyway, we shall seeeeee. ;)

2008-12-12T20:00:00.000-05:00

How can I NOT post this one? ;) Ana in all her crazy glorious beauty. :)

2008-12-12T19:53:00.000-05:00

This is one of my favorite photos from the Fall. Nothing earth shattering; just a funny "I caught you!" moment of Ana in my coat. :)

Unfinished spaces...

2008-12-12T00:18:00.001-05:00

We certainly still have (large and looming) pockets in our home that are not finished. The tv room, for example. We chose to not have the tv be in the main, big, family room (pictured below) but instead to tuck it into this little den room. As you can see, there's remnant suitcases in this room as well and nothing to sit on. The kids have made due with the occasional mattress, or, in this photo, a travel crib cushion and a bed cozy. The size of the space will limit what we can do with it furniture-wise, but we're going to make it work and make it a comfortable, usable space!

Snow!

2008-12-12T00:15:00.000-05:00

The kids LOVE the snow. :) We, the parents, are still pretty happy about it too. We'll keep you posted on the parents...

2008-12-12T00:13:00.000-05:00

Last weekend our family went downtown to see the big Christmas tree at Bloomingdales, and then to see some of the lights downtown. It was a fun outing for the kids, Violeta and us. :) Have I mentioned Violeta on here before? Perhaps I should have done some catching up on my own blog before starting in again. ;) Violeta is a student at North Park and our surrogate daughter. She graduated from the Alliance Academy last year, so we know her from Quito. It has been a joy to grow our friendship into more of a family relationship as each day passes.

Little by little...

2008-12-12T00:05:00.001-05:00

Another before and after of sorts, though of course the Christmas tree adds a lot! We plan to put bookshelves in this room but can't decide which walls to put them on, thus, all the walls are still bare, as are most of the walls in the house at this point. This is a nice sized room - I may have already said that somewhere else, but it's about 19 feet long by...14' or something - HA! :)