Family.........

Everyone who knows our family knows that we aren't a "traditional" family.  But what is traditional now anyway???  I couldn't give birth to children so David and I adopted ours instead.  They may not look like us but they are ours in every way.   Because they are adopted that means our boys have more family than most.  We have Michael and Anthony's siblings Alyssa and Mike in Toledo, and Michael's little sister Madison in Oregon.  It wasn't until very recently that we found out that Jacob had a brother.  So we also have Kyle in Lexington.  And today, well technically yesterday since it is after midnight, we met Jacobs sister Amy, his cousin Drew and his aunt Jenny.  

 

I made arrangements with Jenny to meet them at Parkette for lunch.  On the way we seemed to hit a lot of red lights and Jacob was not pleased!  We got there first and saw them as they were walking in, Jake was trying to look around me so I just got up so he could get out of the booth.  He hugged Jenny then sat back down.  He was unusually quiet while we were with them.  He told me later that he was tired, he was probably up most of the night.  He just doesn't want to sleep at the right time!!   He mostly just sat and listened while Jenny and I talked.  He got to hear a few stories about his birthmother.  After we left he kept telling me that this was the best Christmas ever.  So Jenny and Amy, thank you from the bottom of my heart for making my baby so happy today!!!  And to all the rest of our "adopted" family out there......because you are important to my boys you are important to me.  Thank you for wanting to be a part of our lives.   

 

AND.....I forgot to put the memory card back in my camera so I couldn't use it to take pictures :(  I was very unhappy with myself!!  Luckily my phone has a camera but the pictures don't turn out nearly as clear. 

 

 Drew and Aunt Jenny.

Jacob and Amy

The stockings were hung.....

It Christmas Eve!!!!  We had our annual Christmas Eve lunch at Sapporo.  The food was excellent as was the show :)  After lunch we took cookies to my friend Jody.  I have been giving her cookies since around 1993!!  We had a nice chat, we don't get to see each other often but we always pick right up where we left off.  We came home and watched a few Christmas movies.  David put the boys up to singing the Chipmonk Christmas song like they did when they were little :)  They opened their new pajamas and had a leftover dinner.  David is in the kitchen with Michael and Jacob making ginger cookies and cherry flip for tomorrow.  I am not feeling well so I am just sitting watching Elf. 

 

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas tomorrow!!!

 

Special ornaments

I love Christmas....always have.  My mom loved Christmas too.  She saved every ornament we ever made for her.  We made cookies and listened to her Elvis Christmas album.  A few years after I had left home she had all her Christmas decorations stored.  The place they were stored burned down.  Only one thing survived a small china angel.  All the color burned off and it lost it wings but it survived.  She gave it to me because after that she didn't want to decorate anymore.  I set the little angel out every year, in honor of her.  Parts of her look blue, but she was red  before the fire.

I also use to collect bears when I was younger.  Christmas of 1988 was David and my first year together...this was on our first tree and has been on each year afterwards.

We got married December 14th, 1991.  My cousin Diane gave me this ornament.  I made one that was really cute but it needs put back together, it hasn't been on our tree in years :(  Maybe I will try to fix it so I can post it as well.

 

One of my favorite movies.  Target had these and Elvis ornaments one year for 4.95.  They had sold out of them by the time I got there, they had plenty of Elvis left though.  But I found one on a display tree they had put up.  I took out it off the tree and traded out an Elvis Ornament and put this one in the Elvis box.  So I bought it and they didn't even notice...it was the same price after all :)  I had it for several years then Jacob came along.  When he was two he through a matchbox car into the tree and broke it.  I was very sad.  Then about 7 years ago when Ebay became big, David when on a quest to find it for me.  I think he had to pay like 40 dollars to get it but he gave it to me for Christmas.  He also got another one that he has put away in our closet in case another accident happens :)

 

 

 Like I said, my mom loved Christmas too.  And even though she didn't put up a tree again she bought me lots of ornaments.  This came in a set of three and she bought me two sets of them.  They are Victorian ornaments.  She new how much I loved antiques.  These are still some of my favorites.

 

 

Another gift from my mom.  She gave me two little angels the year I told her we were adopting kids.

 

Jacob's first Christmas

 

I also bought this ornament on Jacob's first Christmas.  I found this beautiful Angel/crystal ornament at Hallmark.  It was so beautiful and to me and Jacob's birthmother was my personal angel so I bought it along with this Santa one.  I put together a little package for her.  The angel was in the box that was to be sent to her.  Our social worker had moved on to a new position so I had to trust the package to another worker.  Well they messed up and called me to say that there was a package there for Jake.  When I went there it was the package that was suppose to have been sent to Angela.  It was after Christmas but I told them to go ahead and send it to her.  She died very shortly after that and I never found out if she got the package.  Jacob insists that he hangs this one on the tree every year. 

                                   This was Michael and Anthony's first Christmas with us!

While shopping at Walmart one year Jacob saw this ornament and said...."Its us, the three brothers!"  So I just had to buy it.  This was before he ever watched UK basketball :)  I painted "Butts" on the backs of the jerseys.

Last weekend was the performances for The Velveteen Rabbit.  Michael was the rabbit and did an excellent job!!  Anthony was the stage manager.  I put together a little reading skit of "Twas the Night before Christmas" that Jacob took part in. 

 

Nursery Magic 

A real tear.

 Recovering from scarlet fever....can't get out of bed.

 

Aren't we suppose to be happy today.

 I have feet and legs...and I can hop!!!

 

 Taking a bow.

 Twas the Night Before Christmas reading.

Blast from the past, all the way back to 2004 ;)

David found this old video for me and put it on my computer so I could upload it to Youtube :)   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc5gvoVtLgg&feature=youtu.be

Love is Louder

Love is Louder!

What a great statement.  Love is louder than hate, love is louder than prejudice.  Love IS louder, I think we all need to remember this .  I was challenged to spread the word.....now I am challenging you!!  Love really is louder.  This is the time of year for spreading love but lets keep it going all through the year.

 

Halloween!!!!!!

 

We took most of the day off of school today.  Anthony went to Northern Elementary with Jeannie to help with a workshop she was doing.  Jacob, Michael and I went to Lexington to get prescriptions and pick up a few more costume parts.  We came home and carved pumpkins.  I cooked a "creepy" dinner.  I made heart meatloaf, cauliflower brain with green slime sauce, and bloody teeth.  We had skipped our creepy dinners for a while but Jacob expressed an interest in having one again.  I kind of missed it too so I happily agreed to make one again!!  It meant we had to skip a party with our friends but we met up with them to Trick or Treat.  We took Brutus aka Diesel with us, he got really freaked out by a huge plastic rat.  It was kind of funny :)  It was rainy and cold but we got quite a bit of candy :)  We came home and watched Halloween and It the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.  This is my favorite time of the year.  Only two months till Christmas!!!!

 

 

 This is slimy!!!

 Casey Anderson

 Mr. Albert Einstein

 

 Casey and Brutus

 

 We all have shirts with this picture of Einstein on it :)

 

 Our dinner of hearts, brains and bloody teeth.

 

Diesel and the rat!

 Anthony's pumpkin

 Michael's pumpkin

Jacob's puking pumpkin