Month: January 2011
Gracie’s Room
Before Mason came to be part of our forever family, he lived in the Xinxiang Social Welfare Institute. He was so blessed to be part of a program called Gracie’s Room, started by Dianjiang Kids International. In Gracie’s Room, Mason received extra time with his nanny, more physical activitiy, playtime and so much more. Unfortunately, not all these sweet kiddos at Xinxiang get to be a part of Gracie’s Room. The director of Dianjiang Kids International, Moya Smith, has been nominated for a service award. Dianjiang Kids International was started by a group of adoptive parents who wanted to do more for the kids in Dianjiang and that love has extended to Xinxiang. If Moya wins this award, she and the kids at Xinxiang will receive $2500. Please go over and vote for Moya. http://www.serviceawards.org/applicant/117/Moya_Smith.aspx?mid=794
She is awesome and works so hard for our kids!!! I had the opportunity to meet Moya in December at a reception for Henan Orphanage Directors. She was able to meet Mason, just one of the kids who were blessed by her efforts. She actually watched him while I ran to get my camera and he so sweetly shared his snacks with her 🙂
After you vote, scroll down and click on video. It is a short slideshow with pictures from Gracie’s Room at Xinxiang. I watched it and was so excited to see pictures of our sweet guy! Some of the pics I have but others were new. I know that Mason received awesome care while in Gracie’s Room and I have no doubt that all that wonderful care made his transition easier once he came home.
Go vote and watch the video!
The Pets
The dog is not a fan of our newest addition. Unless you count it as food. We are “babysitting” a chinchilla, indefinitely. I think it is actually kinda like “keeping” but I am in denial. Actually this little fur ball is pretty cute and so far, pretty low maintenance. The kids think he is awesome. Jesse does not.
Unless you count it as food.
Winter in Colorado
I know, I know….Aside from the couple of random snow patches, it doesn’t really seem like it is winter here. This season we have had an extremely mild winter. We have only had a few days of snow and a handful of really cold days. The kids would like more snow and I am happy with warmer days 🙂 Yesterday we all enjoyed the weather and headed to Ute Valley Park for a hike. Of course, I took my camera 🙂
Happy Tuesday!
Jennifer
Swimming, Skiing and Friends
This weekend was full.
Saturday afternoon, the kids had swimming lessons. They are taking lessons in Black Forest. It is a haul out there but sooo worth it. Their instructor is awesome and in two lessons I have already seen so much growth and confidence in their swimming skills. Paige started her lessons this week and also did great. It was so fun to see her have such a blast in the water. We spent Saturday evening at the Young’s house. Due to sick kids and busy lives, we haven’t had a chance to all get together to celebrate Christmas. It was such a nice night spent with great friends.
Drive-In Movie
Wordless Wednesday {my babies}
Missing
I had such good intentions of blogging more in the new year and staying on track with all my loyal readers. Thanks to everyone who commented or sent me a message about my blog. I really appreciate all the nice thoughts. I wrote that year in review post last Monday. On Thursday afternoon, while prepping some squash for dinner, I cut off the tip of my middle finger. The funny (or not so funny) thing is that I was using my brand new knives that I got as a Christmas present from my dear husband. The doctors and nurses in the emergency room thought that was hilarious and made sure to bid me a Merry Christmas! as we left. Anyway, I haven’t been posting because, well, I can’t type very well. The nurse that cleaned me up and dressed my finger did a really good job and it took me three hours yesterday to get the bandage off my wound. Now that I am sporting some antibiotic cream and a fancy Dora the Explorer bandage, it is much easier to type. Although, I am going to blame any typos and misspellings on my finger. Just a note, don’t cut off the tip of your finger. It hurts really bad, the bleeding doesn’t stop and waiting in the emergency room during flu season is really unpleasant. Sooo, I am now back and planning to post more.
The kids are doing well and enjoyed the delayed start from school this morning. We woke up to a nice pretty snow this morning. Life is good around here, aside from said finger-lobbing 🙂
Happy Monday!
Jennifer
2010 Oh What A Year!!!
Every year’s past holds so many good memories. The kids and I were reminiscing about all the fun we have had this past year. Some of the toppers were our trips to California and Michigan, participating in the Breckenridge Fourth of July parade and skiing over Thanksgiving break. So here is the recap of 2010. We sure had fun and we are really looking forward to what 2011 holds for us!
January
After a relaxing winter break at home we went into 2010 with a bang. Grandma Peggy and Papa Gary came for a visit and we celebrated Christmas with them. Alice had her 1st grade program, we played in the snow a lot and I really enjoyed my photography class at the Fine Arts Center.
February
This month was full with Valentine’s Day activities and Chinese New Year. We celebrated Mason being home one year. Our bedroom and bathroom went through a mini-remodel. We also took a family trip to the Denver aquarium and a all-church sledding retreat!
March
I love March. We may still get a snow storm but there is a possibility of wearing shorts. Weather in the Rockies! Anyway, our last March was awesome! Paige celebrated her 5th birthday with a Kai-lan bash that included stories, cake and a bounce house that filled the front yard. I started running again and signed myself up for the Denver Marathon. There was no turning back. Fast forward to October for all the details. At the end of March, we took the kids to California for spring break. We had so much fun and really wanted to stay longer. We visited many theme parks including Disneyland, visited old friends and played on the beach a lot. We could not have asked for a nicer week together.
April
This month the weather quickly turned nice and warm. The kids and I got into our summer schedule which pretty much consisted of swimming and more swimming. Actually, along with swimming, we found time every week to craft, go on a field trip, visit the library, play outside and spend time with lots of friends. The kids started a mural on the basement wall. We went yurt camping in Golden. The kids enjoyed a week of VBS at church. Sam started competing in duathlons and we found out that he runs really fast 🙂 At the end of the month, Alice celebrated her 7th birthday with her first ever slumber party and Mason celebrated his 3rd birthday at home. It was an very memorable month, to say the least!
July