Sock Hop

Last night Ricky and Greta attended a Sock Hop at their school. They had a blast and looked so adorable in their 50's outfits! Peter loved the loud music and enjoyed dancing to it.

Halloween Photos

Fall Leaves

Sunday we had snow and cold blowing winds. Today is a beautiful sunny warm fall day! Only in MN can you appreciate this kind of weather changes!! Peter loves to play in the leaves and with over an acre of oak trees, we have LEAVES!

We have had a very busy late summer and early fall with kids activities. Taylor just finished tennis team, Hannah finished the volleyball season and then jumped right into hockey. Ricky played adapted soccer in the fall and now starts adapted floor hockey. Greta finished a fun season of soccer and now has started basketball. Peter loves going to all the various games to cheer on his siblings! His passion is hockey, though and he seldom is outside without a hockey stick in his hand. I will be very surprised if he doesn't play hockey some day!!!

We spend as much time as we can outside knowing that Minnesota winter is just around the corner! God bless....

Monster Mash

Peter loves this halloween decoration. When the button is pushed, it plays "Monster Mash." He looks like Frankenstein as he dances along with the music so I couldn't resist buying this Frankenstein costume for him! It's also appropriate for a little guy who wants to eat all day long! The pocket says FEED ME!" He is at such a fun age and we enjoy him more and more everyday!!

One Year Ago...

Wow! What a difference a year makes! Last year at this time we were anxiously awaiting news from Guatemala on when Peter's paperwork might be complete. Although we found out after he came home with us that he was officially our son on Oct. 3, 2007, we were not able to bring him home until Jan. 30, 2008. His paperwork was sitting on someone's desk one year ago while we were waiting and wondering why we weren't hearing anything from Guatemala! He should have been home with us for Christmas (and Halloween and Thanksgiving!). You forget all that however once your child is safely in your home! We are just so blessed to have brought him home at 9 months when so many others are still waiting for Guatemalan officials to release their files so their children can also come home. Please be in prayer for the waiting children and their families. We follow so many of their stories on their blogs and it breaks our hearts to see the pain they feel while waiting so long...it certainly could have been us too!

Peter is almost 18 months! The time has flown by. What a sweet little boy he is. He is all boy too. He LOVES airplanes, cars and trucks....anything that has wheels and makes lots of noise. He loves his siblings and plays so nicely with Ricky, especially! They are roomies and lifelong buddies! It's so fun to see how brothers bond. In a house with 3 girls it's a refreshing change! Peter is a big fan of Barney and Seseme Street. He loves music and does the funniest dances when he hears a song that "moves him"!!! What a difference one year makes. We could never have imagined the joy that this little boy could bring to our family!!!

Update

I don't know how some people do it but they write in their blog every day!!! I obviously get to it quite a bit less than that! I'm not even sure if anyone but my own kids read this!! My plate is very full with 5 kids, each one in various activities, plus a husband who travels alot. We are also in the process of flipping another condo so hopefully that will be done this week and put on the market.

Here are some pictures of the kids first day of school....okay so it was almost a month ago now! They all love school and are doing well. Taylor plays on the tennis team and Hannah on the volleyball team each day after school. Greta just finished soccer on Saturday and Ricky is in Adapted soccer once a week. Once these sports end, Hannah will start hockey (which is a 6 month season!!!) and Greta will start basketball.

Peter is 17 months old. He isn't talking much yet but knows everything we say to him. He goes to a Mom's Day Out program once a week so mommy gets a day off and he gets to be around children his own age. Separation is a very tough thing for him right now! He's a momma's boy!

The last picture is of our newest nephew, Daniel, who was officially adopted by Ed and Martine this morning!!! He is a blessing to their family and to all of us! Daniel is almost 3 months old already. Congrats to them!!!


Fall is in the air. Summer goes way too fast in MN! It is so beautiful outside and we try to enjoy it as much as possible before the snow flies!!

Trip to London

We spent an awesome week in London from August 8-15. Taylor and Hannah came along with Rich and I. Grandma and Grandpa babysat the 3 younger children. We also traveled with my brother Dave and his family...grandma watched his youngest also. We packed so much into one week...here is a summary of what we saw: Day one: double decker bus tour of London. Day 2: Finished bus tour and took a boat ride on the Thames River. Met up with my niece Bonnie who was studying there for a year. Went to Covent Gardens and had a nice pub meal of Bangers and mash! Day 3: Spent most of the day at Buckingham Palace, touring the Queens collection of art, jewels and antique furniture, the palace state rooms and the Royal Mews(the carriages used by royalty). Then we went to Herrods Department store where we realized we really didn't fit in!! They had boxes of chocalates for sale for only $5000!!! (or was it pounds!) Day 4 was spent touring the Tower of London. We also met up with Bonnie's sister Michelle, who was spending a month in Europe so we really enjoyed seeing them. Day 5 we went to the British Museum and more site seeing. Day 6 we took a bus tour out of Central London and went to Warwick Castle. From there we went to Stratford upon Avon and toured Shakespears birthplace. Then we finished up by visiting Oxford University before returning to London. It was a whirlwind day with so much to do and not enough time to see it all! Day 7 we got up early and left for the airport. The trip was great but it was nice to be home!!! Rich picked up the little ones in Pennsylvania and returned home with them on Sunday, August 17.