Ulm Family Happenings

We are home!

2010-08-23T09:53:00.005-04:00

We have been home for 2 weeks now. It has been wonderful, crazy, stressful and joyous!! Isaac is a joy. He smiles a lot and is very happy. He is also very vocal in telling us when he is not happy. We are learning more about one another every day. The kids are in love and can't wait for him to wake up!

Isaac is pretty small for his age which we knew would be the case. We will be working closely with his doctor to weigh him regularly and adjust what he is eating. I think it won't be long.

I will try to post more about our trip....later

QUICK and SWEET

2010-07-29T17:12:00.002-04:00

We are leaving tomorrow morning. They called this morning to say we were cleared for travel and God provided the flights!!!!

Will update more later!!!

Got to go pack!!!

My Montage 5/18/10 at OneTrueMedia.com

2010-07-02T10:33:00.001-04:00

WE PASSED!!!!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Good news....bad news

2010-06-23T21:50:00.002-04:00

The good news is that the MOWA letter has been written!!! Praise the Lord! The bad news is that the court lost our file.

So when the two meet up we will pass! Please pray that the file would be found ASAP!

We continue to Trust in the Lord with all our heart!

Resting in His Peace,
The Ulms

NOPE...

2010-06-16T18:22:00.002-04:00

We did not pass court today. We are very saddened by this as we watch Isaac grow and change in pictures and long to have him home with us. MOWA did not have the letter written so we are going for round 3 on June 23rd.....

Please pray! We so want to have him home with us where he belongs. We are trusting the Lord and will continue to praise Him in all things!

Kel

NO GO...

2010-05-27T08:30:00.002-04:00

Well, we did not pass. The good news is that our case looked good. The only hold up was the MOWA. They have to write a recommendation letter that is part of every case. Of course they did not. They don't have a very good record of writing the letter on time so I can't say that I am surprised. So what is next?

June 16th is our next date in court. Please pray that the letter will be there! We are so anxious to bring Isaac home. God is in complete control so I know it will happen and we will hold him soon. Just wish it was sooner....

COURT DATE!!!!

2010-05-04T10:57:00.002-04:00

We are one step closer to bringing our sweet baby boy home!!! We got our assigned court date for May 26th. If all things come together, Isaac will be officially an Ulm!!! Then we will move into the travel stage to bring our boy home!!! Lots of things can happen but God is in complete control and I know that he will be in our arms at the perfect moment!!! Please pray!!!

There are no words!!!

2010-04-18T01:29:00.002-04:00

I am a little behind in posting this on here but.....We received our referral for a 2 month old beautiful baby boy! We actually got the call on April 8th! We were on are way home from vacation. It was really cool because we were all together. Really there no words to describe the feelings that we have right now. We are in of awe of God's plans for our lives and feel blessed that He has chosen us to raise Isaac as well as our other three.

Now we wait on a court date. Once we pass court, we will be able to post pictures and then we will move into the waiting phase of getting ready to travel. We know that he will not be there one more day than he is suppose to be and that God's strong arms are wrapped around our Isaac. Can't wait to have my arms around him too!!

UPDATE...

2010-01-27T17:03:00.003-05:00

It has been awhile since I have posted anything. The holidays were great and very busy!!

Our wait for Isaac has been fairly easy so far. I think Christmas and all the things we had going on really helped.

Today, I found out that we are "on-deck". That is our adoption agency lingo for we are getting close for our referral call and to see sweet Isaac's face for the first time. Still don't know when that will be. Only the Lord does!

Please pray that I don't have a heart attack every time the phone rings!! I think I will be jumpy for a while!!!

Later!

IT IS OFFICIAL!!!

2009-11-13T13:42:00.003-05:00

We are officially DTE!!! (Dossier to Ethiopia) Which means we are on the official waiting list and now we can start crossing off the days till we get our referral and meet our son!!! We are on cloud nine!!!

On the WAY!

2009-11-05T12:54:00.002-05:00

We sent in all our paperwork for the adoption in today...YEAH!! It has me feeling a million different things. Mostly I am at peace. God has been so good throughout the whole paper chase process. I have to say we had it pretty easy compared to some other families. So what happens next?

1.Paperwork will arrive at our agency tomorrow.
2. Two staff members have to go through everything.
3. Papers sent to Washington DC for authentication.
4. Send to Ethiopia!!!!! When this happens this will be our official day that we start waiting. Right now the wait is 5-7 months for a male referral!!!

We will do our best to keep you updated. There will really not be a lot until the referral comes. Then there will be lots of details.

On the home front, we are doing OK. The kids seem to passing around sickness back and forth. We are busy right now getting ready for our big Christmas show at church. It is going to be AWESOME!!

I will do my best to post some more pictures soon.

Later.

Getting Closer...But still a long way to go!

2009-09-21T08:59:00.005-04:00

We are one step closer to our son! I have never been so happy for a check that is written to our government to clear but it did! What does that mean? Not really for certain, other than I can only assume they are processing our application. Basically, we have to get an approval to bring our son home. Once we get this, we will have everything we need in our dossier and can mail it to our agency. Once they are done with it...we will be DTE!!(Dossier to Ethiopia)or officially on the waiting list.

As we near this huge step and milestone in our adoption journey, I have realized that God has also reminded me that it also means a mom somewhere out there is about to make the hardest decision of her life. I don't know what circumstances in her life will be that lead her to that decision but I know it will be hard. I pray that she will be filled with God's peace and understanding and I know that she will always be a hero to me.

Till Later...

A WhirlWind

2009-08-20T14:27:00.010-04:00

Bears about 7 feet away (Mama and 3 cubs)

Lauren's First day of School

A Beautiful View of the Smokies

Family Picture in a Cave

Alex's First Day of School

Wow! What a crazy ride it has been since I last posted. We enjoyed the rest of summer with a trip to my parents and a trip to the Smokies before school started. I think I say this all the time but where does the time go? I really can barely keep up with it all.

Lauren started 2nd grade! She was very excited. She is such an old pro and has been giving Alex pointers!

Alex started Kindergarten. He is going in the afternoon. I informed him that he gets to go after lunch so all morning I hear "Is it lunch time yet?" He is really loving it. He has the same teacher as Lauren and we love her so we are really thankful for that.

Claire and I get to spend every afternoon together!! I have been enjoying my time with just her!! She is so sweet by herself.

Jason and I celebrated our 11th anniversary! HArd to believe!

Adoption Front: Tomorrow is our last Home Study visit!!!! YEAH! Then once we get the completed study from our social worker, we can apply for to Homeland Security. They have to approve us as parents basically and say we can bring a child into the country. That is our last major step!! We have of the other paperwork gathered. We will have to go downtown and get a few papers certified but in the big picture that is just a minor detail. So we hope to be DTE (adoption slang for Dossier to Ethiopia) by Oct/Nov!! WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It does not seem real to me! God is so Good!

Later.

Updates....

2009-07-09T12:54:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to fill everyone in on how our summer has been going. Well, it has been flying! We have had a great time swimming, park dates, riding bikes and fireworks. I need to try to be better at posting pictures.

Lauren went to church camp and was gone overnight for 3 days! She did great and had a blast!! We did ok too because our children's pastor at church was her counselor!!!!

Alex is getting ready for Kindergarten and is a fish in the water. Next week he goes to Football Camp and he is very excited.

Claire is potty-trained!!! Do you hear the choir singing? I do!! She just decided to do it! So I am on a hiatus from changing diapers until brother comes home...

Which leads me to adoption news. We are still working on getting papers gathered and everything has to be notarized. We just started our homestudy. I had to answer 55 questions about myself...NOT FUN!! I think it was one of the hardest papers I have wrote and I had to do a lot of papers in college. Anyway, things are moving along good and we have not had any hiccups so far. Tomorrow we have are doctors appts and that will be the last major letter we need beside the homestudy!!! I am prayerful that our Dossier to Ethiopia (DTE) will be sometime in the late fall. Then we wait!!!! God has been opening doors and faithfully watching over us every step of the way! Thank you Jesus!!

Till later...

Summertime Fun

2009-06-25T13:40:00.003-04:00

Kids playing one of our favorite games.

Lauren at her dance recital.

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T01:16:00.005-04:00

We heard this song at church tonight and it brought tears to my eyes. Not just because we are adopting a son but because it is true...There are No Orphans to God! Amen! God is our Father! Avalon sings this song on their "Stand" Album. Here are the lyrics below... I also added the song to my playlist at the end of the blog.

Who here among us has not been broken Who here among us is without guilt or pain So oft’ abandoned by our transgressions If such a thing as grace exists Then grace was made for lives like this There are no strangers There are no outcasts There are no orphans of God So many fallen, but hallelujah There are no orphans of God Come ye unwanted and find affection Come all ye weary, come and lay down your head Come ye unworthy, you are my brother If such a thing as grace exists Then grace was made for lives like this O blessed Father, look down upon us We are Your children, we need Your love We run before Your throne of mercy And seek Your face to rise above

Food For Thought...

2009-06-18T13:50:00.000-04:00

Why Choose Ethiopia?
• One in six children die before their fifth birthday• One in ten children die before their first birthday• 44% of the population of Ethiopia is under 15 years old• 60% of children in Ethiopia are stunted because of malnutrition• The median age in Ethiopia is 17.8 years• 1.5 million people are infected with AIDS (6th highest in the world)• 720,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS alone•There are 4.6 million orphans in Ethiopia and the country is twice the size of Texas• Per capita, Ethiopia receives less aid than any country in Africa• Drought struck the country from 2000-2002 (first year no crops, second year no seeds, third year no animals)• Half the children in Ethiopia will never attend school. 88% will never attend secondary school• Coffee prices (Ethiopia’s only major export) fell 40-60% from 1998-2002• Ethiopia’s doctor to children ratio is 1 to 24,000

A busy weekend

2009-05-26T10:35:00.003-04:00

Our weekend started out on Friday afternoon with me and a wonderful friend going through about 9 bags of half eaten school lunches. That is right, Lauren got her retainer on Thursday and on Friday she threw it away at lunch!! Needless to say, we did not find it!! On to work at 7pm to work 12 hours...an uneventful night!! Home at 730...slept for about 2 hours then on to the Indy 500 parade. We had lots of fun! The parade is very fun!! Mario Lopez waved at me! (Along with everyone else in the crowd) Home by 3pm. Slept for 2 more hours then off to work another 12 hours....Praise the Lord! At 530 work called and put me on call!! I slept all night!! Sunday we ran errands and planted a garden. Strawberries, tomatoes, melon, and squash. Sunday night we had a sleep over in basement with the kids. We watched Hotel for Dogs! (Very cute) Monday we stayed around home, played in the sprinkler, rode bikes. Our first strawberry from our garden was ready to eat! It was good but the kids were wondering why there was only one!!!

In Adoption news, we officially sent in the paper work today and have to wait to hear from the agency to accept us...then unto tons of paperwork. We are debating names so we can stop calling the baby "brother" So if you have any suggestions I will take them, however don't be offended because I swear Jason can make fun of any name. At least the ones I pick out. I have tons of pictures I took from this weekend so I will try to post them soon!!

REALLY BIG NEWS....

2009-05-20T14:32:00.002-04:00

Our family is expanding!!! That is right!! We are adopting a little boy from Ethiopia. God has laid this on our hearts about a year ago but it did not feel right at the time. Well, here we are a year later and Jason and I both feel at peace about this decision!! It will be a long road and a big process but through God's strength we will bring a baby boy home sometime next year. We are just in the beginning stages of this so right now we are beginning the paper "pregnancy". Our hope is to not only keep you up to date on our 3 beautiful kids but to also to keep you up to date in this process and bring "brother" as Lauren and Alex call him, home!! Please pray for us as God leads us down this path!! It is very exciting but I am sure we will have some twist and turns along the way too!!

God Bless!

2009-05-20T13:47:00.000-04:00

This picture took about 20 tries to get but aren't they oh so cute!!

New Beginnings....

2009-05-18T23:32:00.002-04:00

Wow, I can't believe it has been almost a year since I have blogged anything! Where does the time go? I will tell you where it goes....

It goes to soccer games, church, dance, piano, homework, potty training, bike rides, laughing, playing UNO, taking trips and on and on it goes! I would not trade it for the world. Just wish it would not go so quick!

I won't catch you up on the all the details over the last several months but going forward I am making an attempt to blog more. No more excuses!!! It is really late right now so I won't go on but my goal is to have some pictures posted tomorrow.

10 Years and still going strong!

2008-08-12T17:03:00.002-04:00

Jason and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary on August 8th! WOW! It is hard to believe we have been married for 10 years already! It seems like yesterday when we said I do. We actually won't be celebrating until November when we take a much needed vacation to Mexico! We are so excited and can't wait. I would post a picture of us but sadly have no recent pictures of just us. We have been through so much but I would not trade a minute of it! I think we are having more fun now! Ok, I know I am a little sappy but it is 10 years! That is a big deal!

However, my darling friend Faye posted pictures from our wedding on her blog. Check out her entire site, she is an awesome photographer (some of you may remember the pictures from summer 2007 that she took of the kids.) She is actually in the pictures of our wedding. (last one on the right as you are looking at the picture)I wish I could get married again just so I can have new awesome wedding pictures taken by her.
Here is the link http://fayesommer.blogspot.com/

SLACKER!

2008-07-24T15:24:00.002-04:00

Ok, I know I have been a total slacker in the blogging department. I tell you things have been crazy and I can't even figure out what happen to the summer.

Here is a brief recap of what we have done and I will post some pictures later.

The whole family went to Holiday World in June and I would highly suggest it!! It is totally fun and drinks are free.

Lauren had her dance recital (she did great) and I took her to American girl with Grandma and her cousin.

Alex has been busy playing Legos (new found love) and getting tan as can be!! It is crazy how dark he is.

Claire is growing like a weed and saying new words everyday!! We also had the joy of taking her to the ER in July because she jammed a small square lego up her nose!! Lovely!

Jason has been traveling a lot lately. Houston, LA and Boston just to name a few.

I went back to work sort of! I have been working like crazy to get through orientation, then I will only be working 2-3 times a month in the hospital setting....

That is it!! Not to much going on but enough!

I promise to do better this time!! I have also discovered Facebook so that is a lot of fun too. TO all my faithful readers and people who post, I have been reading yours and enjoy every minute of it!

ALREADY?

2008-04-23T21:35:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to share a few updates in the life of the Ulms. We are back in full swing I can't believe there is only a few weeks of school left.

-Alex started soccer and he is enjoying it! Of course he is the fastest kid out there!

-Claire is doing awesome with her speech therapy! We are hearing new words everday!

-Lauren had a dentist appointment yesterday which does not sound like much until he informed us that we need to pull two teeth to make room for her adult teeth and he will continue to pull two at a time in hopes of making her teeth a little straighter and this will help when she gets braces. Seriously? She is 6 and we are already starting to talk about braces. She will be fitted for a retainer within the next few months! Oh my!! Jason just says we are spreading the money out over time. Lets hope so! So next week we are pulling the first two baby teeth to allow her adult teeth that she has to straighten a little bit and then when those teeth that were pulled come in we will pull the next two!! Sounds like fun!

-Jason is busy as usual at work and is getting ready to do some more travel.

-I am getting ready for a huge Kids Sale that our MOPS group does every year(most of my readers know this since they are in MOPS too and you are the ones who read my blog, but just in case) SO I am preparing to put in about 30 plus hours over the next 3 days! It is a lot of fun and I will be sure to get a lot of great deals!

ALERT! ALERT!

2008-04-17T11:29:00.002-04:00

GRAY'S ANATOMY IS GOING TO BE NEW STARTING ON APRIL 24TH. We will get to see 5 NEW EPISODES!!!

Vacation Pictures

2008-04-14T13:21:00.001-04:00

Lunch with the Princesses!
Can't wait to swim!! Lets GO!
Waiting to feed the Sea Lions!

Good Old Indiana

2008-04-14T13:05:00.005-04:00

We are back from a much needed vacation where we enjoyed 80 Degree temps. Now I have my winter coat on!! That is no fun!

Jason's mom is home from the hopital and doing well. Thanks for all the prayers. They were heard and answered!

Like I said, we enjoyed beautiful weather in the land of Florida. It was suppose to rain all week but we were blessed with only one day of rain that revealed a beautiful rainbow and a good reminder. The rest of the time was great. We went to Disney one day. Sea world one day and enjoyed the rest of the time swimming at the house. Jason also thought it would be fun to play tennis. Has anyone ever seen me in any type of sport that requires a ball? Not a pretty sight but it was fun to be silly.

Odds and Ends

2008-04-03T17:28:00.003-04:00

I much to say and not much time to say it....

Please pray for my mother-in-law. She is in the hospital and we are not sure what is going on. It appears she had a mini stroke and she is also going to be seen by the oncologist for some odd blood work. We drove to Fort Wayne to see her today and she appears to be in good spirits.

We are leaving for Florida tomorrow night for a week of fun in the sun and some much needed time away as a family. Please pray we have safe travels and it does not rain as much as they say it is going to.

Thank you to the cutest blog on the block for my fun background. Shelly, you have started a movement!! Here is the link! http://cutestblogontheblock.blogspot.com/

Spring has Sprung!

2008-03-24T15:21:00.009-04:00

On March 20th, the first day of spring, Lauren woke up in the morning said "It is spring! Where are the buds on the trees?" Well honey, it does not quite work that way although it would be nice if it did! So we did enjoy some time outside!

Where did March go? I had good intentions of keeping up a little better but I failed! Here is a fun recap!

-We removed Alex's stitches which more traumatic than getting them in!

-Alex turned 4!!!

-Claire started speech! She is doing great and is already saying more everyday!

-Lauren started Piano and passed her math test!

-I had my birthday! YUCK!

-We enjoyed celebrating Easter and that Christ has risen at church and with good friends on Sunday. It was followed by the BEST Easter egg hunt ever and now my kids will be forever disappointed if we don't have one like that every year!

Head on Collision

2008-03-03T12:10:00.002-05:00

What Happens when two toddlers running full steam ahead run into each other? One gets a goose egg and one has to get 7 stitches. As you can see Alex got the stitches. It was our first experience and I have to say, it went well. Alex was very brave and he thought it was cool because the ER room had a picture of Peyton Manning! He was also glad that the stitches are blue..his favorite color.

I think the scary part is now until it completely heals. I am so afraid he is going to hit his head and it is going to open up. I just want to give a shout out to our awesome small group who all reacted well and took care of the girls while we went to the hospital! We are truly blessed with great friends!

A Regular Pablo Picasso

2008-02-28T15:00:00.004-05:00

News in the Ulm household is as follows:

1. Alex is not sick anymore and is making up for lost time.

2. Lauren wants a fish. (the poor thing can't have anything with fur so this is what she can get)

3. Claire LOVES to scribble on everything! She has scribbled on Tupperware, the computer screen, books and her lastest is her foot! Classic!

Finding the bright side of things

2008-02-18T15:19:00.002-05:00

So we are all sick again like most of society so I have heard. It has been horrible! Lauren was down for almost a week, then it struck me hard on Saturday and Alex woke up this morning sounding horrible. It has not attacked Claire but I know it won't be long! Jason is in Boston so atleast he is safe for now. I could go on and on and complain about how I feel and how it is horrible to wipe noses and blah, blah, blah! Oh no, not me! I am finding the bright side of this situation and it is the following...

1. Alex is moving at a turtles pace

2. I got to actually take a nap two days in a row

3. My all time favorite is my kids love to cuddle when they are sick! They actually like me and I don't just feel like a maid but a mom. No one can make you feel better like your mom.

So I am embracing the sickness and taking advantage of naps and cuddles.

Anyone else Crazy out there?

2008-02-08T13:01:00.001-05:00

So we usually have full weeks of plenty of places to go and people to see. I was excited last night because I knew we did not have MOPS this friday so I would be able to lounge around all morning before taking Lauren to school at 1230. WRONG! At 840 this morning as I'm cuddling in bed with Alex and Lauren starting to enjoy my leisurely morning, Jason says to me doesn't Alex have school today? Shoot! We fly out of bed, get dressed, stuff some Apple Jacks in a baggy and at 855 as Kathy (we carpool together, thank goodness) knocks on the door I'm putting Alex's coat and shoes on.

Why can't I remember he has school on Fridays? I forgot another week too when I had planned to go on the South Side in the morning.

Why do I call my kids the wrong names?

Why? Why? Why? I'm definately crazy!!

In other news, I just checked my friend, Leslie's blog and the TV strike is over!! Praise the Lord!

Go Figure!

2008-01-30T10:31:00.000-05:00

So if you are like me you worry and you want your children all to be little Einsteins, right? Well, yesterday we started the process of having Claire evaluated for speech. She only says maybe 5 words and those words are not said daily. So at the suggestion of the doctor, I contacted First Steps. Anyway, there is the first meeting where you sign more papers than you do when you buy a house. We set up the actual eval to happen in two weeks. Literally the gal walks out of the door and I say to Claire "we need to go get Alex at school". She turns to the door and says "Alex"
Hello? Where did that come from? Alex is sort of a hard word to say. She said it like 4 or 5 times on the way to get him. Don't get me wrong, I am glad she said it. In two weeks she will be speaking in sentences. Oh Well! Go Figure!

In other news, yesterday was Preschool registration. I sent Jason to do it. He said it was quite the experience. You would think people are lining up to get a million dollars. But hey, it is important stuff right? I am very thankful for the preschool we attend and I did get Alex and Claire in their classes. When school starts in the fall, I will have 6 hours on Tuesday to my self!! All the kids will be in school! Is it to crazy to start counting down the days for that? What will I do with myself. I am sure I will find plenty!

I just have to brag!

2008-01-22T16:52:00.000-05:00

Well, I thought I would take advantage and brag on my kids a little bit. First Lauren, is reading! Can you believe it? I am so proud of her and I can barely believe that she is old enough to even do it. She has been working hard on it for awhile and she has just really taken off with it!

I had parent/teacher conferences for Alex. Now, for those of you who know Alex, you know he is anything but quiet and well mannered. The teacher informed me that he is so quiet that if she doesn't go out of her way to talk to him she would not know he is in the class. Say What? He does his own thing and will occasionally do something silly but nothing serious. Say What? Well at least he is at good at school!! I must say he is growing into a good boy but not quiet!!

Claire is into everything and can certainly dish it out to the others. She is slowly starting to say words. She is a little behind but can you blame her with the other two?

I will also take a moment to brag about me! Since there is NOTHING on TV anymore, I have been exercising and doing bible study. Who knew there were better things to do? I still love my TV and want Grey's back!

New Picture

2008-01-16T21:35:00.000-05:00

Not much new here! We are finally getting over the nasty coughing bug! Yeah!
Check out the bottom of the blog. There is a new family picture.

What can I say?

2008-01-09T10:07:00.000-05:00

Coughing, sneezing, runny nose! Coughing, sneezing, runny nose, clingy child. I wish I had something more to say but really that has been my house for the last several days. So what can I say? AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Hope everyone is having a good week! This to shall pass right?

2008 here we come!

2008-01-03T12:37:00.000-05:00

Wow! It is hard to believe it is 2008! It really hit me when I had to write the date and then had to scribble out 07 and put 08.(I know you all do it, right?) I really dislike January because I get in my mind all these great things I'm going to accomplish and teach the kids then sadly I feel like a failure in February when I have not done one thing. So this year my resolution, for lack of a better word, is I am just going to simpy enjoy my kids. They are growing right before my eyes and everytime I blink they are bigger. With Lauren being in school now it really seems like time is flying. Her favorite thing to do right now is play cards. What happened to playing dress up? Although, I must say I am really enjoying it. I pray that you will all have a wonderful year and that you take time to enjoy it while it is here.

A Glimpse at Christmas

2007-12-31T11:16:00.000-05:00

Making cookies with my parents: A long-time family tradition

Merry Christmas! It was over in less than 5 minutes.

Christmas with the Ulms: The kids all got flashlights to wear on their heads! One of the best gifts ever!

Croup Anyone?

2007-12-23T23:22:00.000-05:00

Well, I think the title may say it all. We have been cursed with the croup again. Poor Alex sounds like an eighty year old man and coughs all night. Last night Claire had 105 temp but just kept smiling away. Jason and Lauren seem to be o.k. and my abs are getting a work out from coughing so hard. Oh well, I guess that is life with kids.

On another note, we had Christmas with my Grandma and Grandpa last night at my parents house. It was a really fun night. My aunt and her kids and grand kids were there too. She brought a box of pictures she had found from my great grandma who has since passed. It was so fun looking at old pictures and trying to find out who was who. We came across my Great Grandma's grade cards from school (she went to school in the early 1900's) and found an old drivers license from 1942. It was some pretty cool stuff. It reminded me how important family is and where we come from. I still miss my Great Grandma Flossie. She was 102 when she passed away 3 years ago. She was such a strong woman who had witnessed and experienced a lot but now she has the greatest experience of all with her Lord in Heaven! Love you Grams!

Where is the Snow?

2007-12-17T15:49:00.001-05:00

I am not a huge snow fan or any cold weather for that matter but there was suppose to be 17 inches of snow and there was not. Now if it going to snow then come on and snow not just this few inches that we got and they cancel and delay everything. I am sure the people in the more Northern states sit up there and laugh at us. Oh well, the kids still had a great time helping Dad shovel the snow. Claire and I stood inside and stayed nice and warm.

On another note, I know yesterday I mentioned the Gingerbread Houses. Well, we don't eat them. However, Claire decided to be a sneaky thief and several times I caught her with icing on her face and candy in her hands. She is such a character! Atleast one of my kids will sneak candy like mommy!

Here we go again!

2007-12-15T22:22:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I love reading blogs and I thought I can do this. And I did it once and then lost all hope because do I really have anything interesting to say and will people even read my rambling thoughts. Well, I know there are a few of you out there who will be faithful. So here it goes.........

I love Christmas! I love the decorations and the activities that we find ourselves doing. We have 5 Christmas trees. I love seeing the excitement in the kid's faces when we open presents (if you know me you know I can barely wait till Christmas morning to open the gifts. Right, Mom?) Here are some pictures of the kids making Gingerbreadhouses yesterday. It was so much fun! We had a mess but it was worth it. Jason trying to put the house together before the icing dried but not letting go to soon so it won't fall apart! It was great.

Some of you may know that I am a huge fan of Go Fish! It is a great kids group that is enjoyable for us parents as well. Anyway, they sing a Christmas song called the The Cross. While all the things I mentioned above are great the song is really the true meaning of Christmas and it has really opened my eyes as to why we celebrate. We have a tradition that we having been doing with the kids every year. We bake a cake for Jesus and sing Happy Birthday on Christmas Eve. Talk about new meaning. I hope you will take time to listen to the song and enjoy celebrating the true meaning of Christmas. I know we will. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtWdg6in9h0

2007-06-25T22:35:00.000-04:00

Hello Family and Friends! I thought this would be a fun way to stay in touch and and update you all on the various happenings of our family!! We are very busy and new things are always going on! I hope you enjoy!!