6 Little Pumpkins, check out our fav...

I waited too long to take these pics, they already started to rot, but you get the jist of it.

Paul won! He carved Sophie & Sage in his pumpkin- pretty awesome!

Happy Halloween!

Weird Wednesday

This mysterious watermelon showed up on our back porch. The vine spread and it blossomed right on our porch, but no one planted it. It must've sprouted from the kids spitting their seeds in the flower bed. That's my way of gardening.

Hogle Zoo. Don't mind the hair. We came straight from school on crazy hair day. By the end of the school day, Josh and his friends all had pink poka dotted hair

Mom mimicking Sage's half smile upper left

Thankful Thursday

Some quick things I'm thankful for this week...

~I'm so thankful that my sister's surgery went well. She's had chronic headaches for so long now and has tried almost everything for relief. They even found a hole in her heart and thought that could be the problem. After fixing it, she still had the awful headaches. She is just returning from Houston where she had her surgery. It's a fairly new procedure (only 5 years) where they go through the back of her neck. They found a flattened nerve, amongst other things. We hope and pray this will be the solution and she will be back to her healthy, happy self! She's handled it well, but has suffered far too long. Wishing you a speedy recovery sis!

~ Autumn! I'ts a great fall season this year, instead of jumping right into winter. The mountains are on fire with all the red, orange, & yellow glowing leaves, and the nights getting cooler. It won't last long so we better enjoy it.



~I'm thankful for Nick (16). Ya, I have a junior already. He's a great kid. Sure, he can be a moody teenager at times, but we always get him laughing and he snaps out of it quickly. And he's such a good big brother. I'm thankful at how responsible he has become. He's doing well in school, getting good grades, and has done well with his car, always a scary thing for a parent. But mainly, now that swim season has started, I'm impressed how he gets up at 4:30 in the morning to get to his practices each day before school. I don't think I was that dedicated at 16. He's up, ready, had breakfast, and out the door before the rest of the family are even awake. Good job Nick, keep up the good work! And great job on your first swim meet today.

~Yahoo, we got our pumpkins carved. It's not my favorite thing to do. It's slimy, messy, time consuming, but fun once you get into it and worth it all seeing the kids faces. The girls were all giggles and grossed out trying to get the guts out of their pumpkin, washing their hands every five minutes, all girl. They enjoyed the carving part and were delighted with the results. The boys searched for the scariest faces to carve. And man, are we arteests this year.

"Ewwww"

Soccer, LaCrosse, & Bee's Game

Sophie and Sage found their favorite sport, for now. It didn't take long for them to catch on to soccer, and start scoring in the right goal :). They played their hearts out and ran to me with a big hug and high five after each goal they made. They also enjoyed being on a team and learned quickly to be a team player and let the boys shine too. Their coach told me, if he had his choice, he would leave S & S in the whole time, then they would win every game. (Of course, that's not what it's all about, it was great to see them have fun, do their best, & learn sportsmanship- win or lose). My favorite comment came from a parent on an opposing team that slammed our team... he asked me if they were my girls, then said "You've got talent there- Double!". It must be the fancy pink shin gaurds they had on under their socks. Go Green fireballs! Good job S & S!

Josh & Trevor at LaCrosse. They had a good season too, especially Josh (top pics). He wants to play full contact next season, Yikes! I hear the injuries with that are worse then Football, at least he'll be in full gear.

Heading to the Bee's Game, Lucky wife/mom to belong to this group

Pumpkin Patch at the Farm...

Uncle Mike joined us

Full moon just for the occasion

Awesome old Victorian farm house

Enjoying the farm- picking pumpkins, checking out the animals, hay rides, hot cider & crisp apples. Love this time of year! The girls always go for the biggest pumpkin they can carry, and Trev found the smallest this year. Mike explained all the farm machinery to the boys, pretty cool. Anyone up for some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and roasted pumpkin seeds?

"I was a boy then"...

When Sophie saw this picture of her (blue) & Sage (white) in the orphanage, she told me matter of factly- "I was a boy in China". They crack me up, and amaze me.

Here they are with their nannies, coloring with their backpacks & goodies we sent them while waiting to bring them home.

I am soo thankful for their nannies, they are much more then caretakers. I believe they really love the children they care for and did a good job, considering the abundance of children in their care. Of course, it can never take the place of a home & a loving family.

I treasure these pictures from the orphanage...

Almost a year ago Sophie & Sage looked at these pictures for the first time, I was organizing the office and we happened to run across them. They were very interested as they studied each picture in deep thought. Then Sophie got real quiet and looked up at me and asked... why did you take so long? (crushed my heart but was glad she could talk about it) She was clearly upset and actually scolded me for not coming quicker (Mom, hurry, hurry!). I explained to her that we came as fast as we could and when we finally received the ok, we took the fastest jet plane to come get her and Sage. Now she enjoys that story and will proudly talk about it every so often. Sage also expressed her thoughts of being alone when she would ask for the same story each night- "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein. When we got to the part of the boy not coming back very often and the tree was sad, she talked about her time in the orphanage and also said I took to long. The conversations were healthy and are seldom now, but I was glad they were able to open up and let me comfort them.

They play different now. As much as they like everything their brothers do- sports, rip stick, scooter, nice cars... they love to get their nails done, take care of their dolls, dance, & dress up in dresses, the fancier the better. They are turning into little ladies, but will always be full of spunk, yae!...

Sweet princesses. Sage pink, Sophie green

Celebrating 19 years...

We had a marvelous anniversary celebration. Paul was ready to treat me to a nice, romantic dinner at a favorite fancy restaurant- Carvers (sounded good and expensive), but he just started a new job a couple of weeks ago, and like most Americans, we're watching what we spend. So we went with plan B my plan and made our own Carvers restaurant at home. After S & S soccer game (way to score girls!), and dinner for them, they went down at 8 o'clock sharp. Paul fired up the grill and cooked the New York strips while I whipped up some cheesy potatoes, asparagus, and fresh fruit salad, with our favorite chocolate layered pie setting in the fridge. It was a delicious, romantic, candlelight dinner with old time favorites playing in the background... the steaks were perfect, potatoes were creamy, dessert to die for and a nice private setting with my sweetheart. Oh ya, the waiters weren't too bad themselves, they were awesome! (Josh & Trevor were so cute & willing to help, they did their part very well. They stayed inconspicuous unless we needed something then mysteriously disappeared- off to bed, thanks boys!). We really enjoyed the Anniversary Inn last year, so why not create our own- fireplace, jacuzzi, and romantic movie on the big screen. We changed into something comfortable and nestled on the loveseat for a great movie- Shadowlands, tear jerker. It was magical, just as good, if not better, had we gone out to celebrate. The only thing missing (should've planned ahead for this) was breakfast in bed the next morning, that was such a nice ending last year. But I let Paul sleep in while I got the kids off to school, since he had to work all day. Happy Anniversary hon! Looking forward to the next 19+ years with you.

19 years today...

From the day we first met
'til this one right now
I'd love you forever
this was my vow.

We were drawn together
from the very start
We became best friends
you stole my heart

You won me over
with your smile, your finesse
treated me like a lady
and even a princess

We took our time
and as our love grew
even in absence
everyone knew

No doubt about it
we were meant to be
Making the promise,
for all eternity

Now years are passing
by like days,
we've been through a lot
in so many ways.

Our family has filled
our lives with joy
sometimes crazy
with 2 girls and 3 boys

But, I love you as much
as I did before,
Could it be possible
I love you even more?

This is the day
you and I became "We"
I love you forever
Happy Anniversary.

Happy 19th Anniversary!
Thank you for being the person you are, for working so hard for your family, for the great dad you are to our children, and the wonderful husband you are to me. I love you more then ever, Di.

San Diego