Tis The Season!!

Everywhere I look it is all of the sudden Christmas! I think this season goes way too fast so I like to see things sooner rather than later! Griffin is LOVING all of the decorations that he sees all around. This past weekend I went on an annual scrapbooking retreat to White's Wildwood Retreat in Chippewa Falls, check it out at www.wwretreat.com. It is such a beautiful and peaceful place. I have to say this was most most successful retreat so far, I got more done than any other time. I suppose that had something to do with the fact that I could not sleep. It is such a great time to just forget about other responsibilities and just work on your hobby, enjoy a little wine, good friends and food and a lot of laughter. The best part is that it is so close to home.

Today I am all about making lists; the Christmas card list, the gift list, the baking list, the holiday activities list. I am thankful that I have the time to truly enjoy the season and not get too stressed out!! Tonight we are going on a horse-drawn wagon ride through the Christmas Village in Irvine Park! Should be a great night for it.
Happy Holiday Season to you All!!

So much to be Thankful for!

There is so much to be thankful for. I am so blessed to have married the man that God created for me. It is such a blessing to have a good, solid marriage. My boys are my most prized possession and my love for them is indescribable. I am truly blessed to have many wonderful friends, each one a special gift inm y life. Although my parents have both passed I still feel that my family is blessed because we made it through those hard times and have still managed to stay a family and truly love one another. I am so lucky to have married into such a great family. I am blessed that God gave me some unique qualities and even if I do not realize what they all are today, someday he will reveal them to me when the time is right.

On a different note, we had our first lost tooth this week. And I mean LOST, Carter has been waiting for his tooth to fall out for a couple of weeks and Monday at recess it fell out and was lost. He did not seem to care that he did not have his tooth, he simply used his brain and decided we should take a picture of him and put it under his pillow for the tooth fairy, and it worked, she came!! He woke up in the middle of the night and ran into our room all excited and said the tooth fairy had left him a dollar. If the tooth fairy would have known he could not tell a $1 bill from a $5 dollar bill she may have only left him a $1 bill! Oh well, she will learn for next time!

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Unpredictable!

Children are so unpredictable. That is difficult for somebody like me who really likes to know what is coming next. Parenting has taught me so many things, but the one that I need a lot more work on is going with the flow. Here is why I am writing this today... On Sunday I would have given Griffin to ANYBODY who asked, the problem was with his behavior nobody would dream of asking! I had no idea what I was going to do with him but I was SURE I was failing as a parent. His behavior even brought me to tears, that was the first time with Griffin. Not that he is overall better behaved that Carter was but because I have mellowed out a lot over the past 5 years. Between swearing underneath my breath and praying, I, we got through that day. I turned to God several times to help me in those moments that I was losing it! As always because He is so good, God walked with me. I also love my husband during these times because he always wants to talk about our parenting and how we can make it better. It is very helpful to have somebody who really understands to talk with. So this brings me to today....Today I wouldn't give Griffin up for even a minute!! He has been the most wonderful little boy anybody could ask for. He was so well behaved that I even took him to a little cafe for lunch and he was the best date ever!! I gave him so many praises throughout the morning and he kept responding, "you welcome mommy" man is he sweet! I also spent some time praising God for this miracle in my life and for always being there just as he promised!!

Go enjoy your little darlings or your little s----'s which ever they are today because they are a Gift and we are very blessed that God has entrusted them to us for their time on this earth.

Relaxing mornings

I love the mornings that we do not have to be abywhere before 10:00. Today was my day to pick Carter up from school which means he gets a ride to school. I enjoy not having to get going right away, especially when it is cold. Lately I ave had a cooking buddy. Every time I am making something, Griffin shows up by the counter with a chair and his kitty cookie cutter that he HAS to have with him at ALL times. Today we made pancakes in the shapes of kitties, snowman and gingerbread man, he ate 4 of them. Griffin is also very into his warm footie jammies! I love those jammies, they make the children look so warm and cozy. Do they come in adult sizes?? Carter is too big now, he prefers to just wear underwear to bed. Carter must have liked them a lot at 3 as well because we have several pairs.

This week has been pretty mellow for us which is nice because I see business in the future with the holidays approaching!

Is it really November already??

I cannot believe it is November already and the stores are full of Christmas items. I decided I am going to do more baking this year than I usually do and give those items as some gifts. Both of the boys enjoy helping in the kitchen so it should be fun!

Halloween was really fun this year because both if the boys were into it. Of course the gorgeous weather made it even better. We had a week full of Halloween celebrations, 5 to be exact so we got a lot of use out of our costumes. I made a decision that Halloween was going to be over when they woke up the next morning so we would not have the "I want candy" struggle constantly for days or weeks. It has worked very well, they have not once asked about their Halloween candy. Not that we deprive them of it, we just added it to our normal snack shelf and they can choose a piece for a snack just like any other snack. I also put a lot of it out of site and will use it for stocking stuffers at Christmas!! Hey in these economic times you have to be creative.

On a different and way more important topic, we have a new President, what a ride the past few months have been! Although my vote for President did not make it, I will fully support our next President as I think all Americans should do. All I can do is continue to pray for this great country of ours and all of it's leaders. It was fun to have a child in school during the elections, even though he is only in kindergarten, they spent a lot of time discussing it and learning bout the election process. Of course I learned some things too, I love kindergarten!!

Have a great Wednesday!

36 Today

Today I turn 36 years old, I am no longer in my early 30's and I am closer to 40 than 30, YIKES!! I Love my birthday but am not enjoying this getting older business. So I decided that my favorite age is 25 and that is how I will act, like I am 25! Not like I did when I was 25 because I was single and still a little wild and do not wish to relive those days, I just do not feel much older than that. I know I am more active now than I was at 25 and much happier!! The boys were so sweet this morning, the first thing Carter did when he woke up was tell me it was OK for me to go into his closet where I found a balloon, a gift and a card that he wrote in all by himself. I wont' tell him this but I knew about the balloon because Griffin told me last night, got to love a 3 year old!! I love my boys so much, all 3 of them!!

This past weekend I spent in the Dells with 4 of my dear friends and we were kid free! We have not all be together for years so we had so much fun just hanging out together. We spent some time at a spa and stayed in a very relaxing cabin. Saturday we went out on the town but midnight was all a few of us could handle! I feel so blessed to have so many girlfriends, I love spending time with other women.

This week has already been full of Halloween celebrations with a few left to come. Carter does not have school on Friday and I am really looking forward to having him home, I still miss him a lot!!

Happy Spook Day to you all!!

What a Week!!

Last week was a busy week for us. Ty and I spent Thursday and Friday in St. Paul at our Pre-adoption classes. We got a ton of information an many questions answered. Here is what we know so far: We are planning on adopting a little girl from Korea. We picked Korea for several reasons but most importantly was because the babies are in foster homes until they are adopted and the foster homes in Korea are very well regarded. We have been warned that she will be spoiled when she comes home as in Korea the foster mothers sleep cheek to cheek with the babies. For us that is very different than how we have always been with they boys. We have never had them sleep with us so that will take some getting used to. It is very important so that we can bond with her and she feels secure. Also, they wear their babies all the time in Korea. The agency recommends getting a special carrier like they use in Korea and wear your baby on your back for a while when she comes home. She will be somewhere between 5 months and 18 months; most babies come home between 6-9 months. The process will still take the better part of another year or more but we are moving along which is all we want. We have a lot of homework to do then have to get a home study then it is just waiting! It would be so nice if we had a daughter by Christmas next year. It is all in God's hands!! Ty and I have no doubt that this is what we want to do and that this is what we have been called to do. We will keep you posted.

Griffin turned 3 on Sunday. Three is a big one because the baby is pretty much all gone. Although he is still a baby when it comes to his mommy. On Saturday we took the boys on the Pumpkin Train in Spooner. It was a nice day and we really enjoyed ourselves. It was perfect for Griffin being that he is obsessed with any type of locomotive. On Sunday we had a small b-day party for him with none other than a Thomas cake which was a hit!!

I am heading out to dinner tonight with several of my girlfriends and looking very forward to it. The only bummer is that we are getting together because one of them is moving and that makes me sad-we will all miss her but the move is great for her family!

Enjoy your week!!