Rylan's Journey Home

Rylan LOVES to dance!!!

2010-08-08T08:31:00.003-05:00

Rylan turned 4yrs old on July 15th and he and his brother are the biggest blessings we will ever receive! They continue to amaze me every single day.

Rylan is very excited about the fact that he is going to 4K this year at school! He'll go 2 full days a week, and will ride the bus with Cameron. He is enjoying Martial Arts classes that he just started and is going to be one of those kids that will be good at almost any sport he tries! He can play football, basketball, golf, wrestling, karate, and he loves swimming! In fact, he holds his breath under water for up to 10 seconds and can already so specific swimming strokes!!! He keeps his eyes wide open and will lunge off a diving board! He is a dare devil and that is something I'm not so sure about. : ) Cameron is going into 2nd Grade, which also blows my mind. He just lost his 7th tooth and is doing incredible. He's had a great summer and has participated in some day camps and swimming lessons. Unlike Rylan, he's not a big sports kid, but he loves the Boy Scouts and being outdoors. He's extremely active and loves helping on the farm. He still loves trains and talks about them every day. I think he's found a life long hobby... or maybe a career?

I had to try to get some video posted of Rylan! He absolutely loves to dance, and this child can keep a beat! I caught some quick video of him with my camera. This is pretty "mild" dancing compared to how he normally is. He was kind of tired, but still managed to get in to it. He's playing with a toy he got for his birthday from my parents. Now you'll have these songs stuck in your head like I do!!!

Steamboat Days!

2010-06-19T07:58:00.003-05:00

Rylan enjoying a ride at Steamboat Days!
And we wonder where Rylan learns most of what he does, Cameron and my neice Eryn set REAL good examples for him!

Cameron taking part in his first tractor pull in the 7yr old group. There were some BIG kids in this category! He did a great job and was so happy to have participated.
Here is Rylan in his first tractor pull too! John is in he green shirt standing in front of him. He was SO excited... but do you know what excited him more?
Winning this 3rd place trophy!!! You should have seen his face, it was priceless! The first thing he said when we walked to to the table to register (that had the trophy's on it), was if he could have one. We explained what he needed to do, and he did it! They put weights on the back of these tractors to make them heavy, and our little power house did it! His age group was 4yrs and under... so some kids were nearly an entire year older than him. I was very proud to have seen him participate, and that he also wasn't fazed having been beaten by a girl who took 1st place. : ) But you know what made me even prouder? It was the fact that when Cameron didn't win one, he was still so proud of his little brother and bragged him up! And then Rylan let Cameron carry his tropy around and he even let Cameron take it the next morning to summer school to show to his buddies!. I have to say, that was my trophy! I am so proud of both of them!

Schools Out For The Summer!

2010-06-12T08:38:00.007-05:00

I can't believe how fast time goes by. Seems like I never get a chance at much computer time anymore. There is always something to do, or something going on. Besides the fact that I normally go to bed not long after the kids because we're up so darn early!

Cameron just finished 1st Grade, and I am so proud of him! The year got off to a rough start. Lots of major adjustments for him, and he doesn't adapt to change easily. But by late October we were on track, and he was loving school. So much so that his last 2 weeks of school he almost dreaded. He didn't want it to end. He has a super teacher and loved all his classmates! The last day of school was even a little emotional! But he's now jumped into the summer routine quite well : ) He's all full-time daycare with Rylan, and it's great! One stop for me in the morning too which I like heaven. I get up at 5am now! We did enroll Cameron in summer school, which starts Monday and goes for two full weeks. It's only for 2 hours but he has some other friends going, and besides getting some help with math and reading readiness, they'll be doing some fun things too! He's looking forward to it (so more running for me during the day). Then in July our County just implemented some really cool summer programs. They are offering two choices, same class in different cities.... and it's all about being a PIRATE! So mid July he'll attend this day camp from 12:30-4:00pm. More running, but so worth it! It's getting his feet wet a little for more things like this. Cameron did complete his 1st year of Boy Scouts and loved it! So he's joined for next year too. We hope to get him enrolled in some summer swimming lessons too. He loves swimming, being outdoors, farming with his dad and grandparents and anything that can get him dirty and stinky!

Rylan, well... he's Rylan!!! He's one bundle of energy yet, and still the entertaining kid he's always been! He'll be 4yrs old next month and amazes me daily with his antics. He's sweet, loving, affectionate, and just wants to be included in whatever anyone is doing. But boy oh boy, does he have a temper when things set him off! He is stubborn, just like my dad (even looks like him a bit if you can believe it). He is very excited to be starting 4yr old Preschool this fall. He'll go 2 full days a week, and can't wait to be a big boy like Cameron! Cameron will be Rylan's bus buddy (if I get the nerve enough to send him on the bus). I'm sure we'll take him the 1st week and see how it goes from there. We're also hoping to get Rylan involved in something like karate or wrestling this summer after he turns 4yrs old. He is one solid kid and you should see him move! He's 52 lbs already and can take anyone down! He is all about sports and super hero's. The exact opposite of Cameron. But like Cameron, he loves swimming, the farm, and all the dirt and mud he can get into!

As for us we're staying busy with our jobs like normal and just enjoying every day with the boys. John and I just took a short trip over Memorial Day to Laughlin/Las Vegas and had a blast! I was also in Vegas last August with some girlfriends and had a good time. We love traveling and have many fun activities and weekend trips planned for the summer!

Here's some pictures just recapping the year so far. We're off to a great start!

This was coloring Easter eggs at my mom's house. Creative kids!Each year for Cameron's birthday, I take a picture of him with a train from our vacation the year before, and have something made. When we went to Colorado Springs, I has a picture of him standing on the front of a steam engine, made into a pillowcase. For this birthday, I took a picture of both boys standing on the Chattanooga Choo Choo in Chattanooga, TN! He loved them, and they turned out SO cute! Amazing what you can customize!

Here is the picture I used! Poor Rylan, he gets drug around to all these trains. Good thing that he doesn't seem to mind!

Rylan's true passion is Spiderman! Oh yes, he even thinks he IS Spiderman. He tries climbing the sides of walls, furniture, even when we're in the grocery store he's flipping down the isles on his hands and legs moving like Spiderman does - like he's about to attach someone! Hopefully I can keep with this blog for awhile now. I hope so many more pictures to share!

Burrrrr it's cold here!

2010-02-09T21:29:00.002-06:00

Quite the change for poor Rylan having lived in Guatemala! We've resored to face masks to keep warm here this winter!

Goofy Kids!

2009-12-09T20:39:00.002-06:00

Not sure what Rylan was trying to express here, but he kept saying Beefaroni??? He loves dressing silly and acting even sillier!

Well, a train conductor holding Polly the parrot... and a mix of Harry Potter/magician. Hmmm... they must get their sense of dress from their daddy : )

My 1st Grader!

2009-12-03T18:15:00.002-06:00

We got Cameron's 1st Grade pictures back and I thought I'd share! I love them! John picked out the background of old barn boards. I wasn't sure about it at first whether or not I liked it, but after we got them back it suited Cameron perfectly!
This year he has grown leaps and bounds. He is 97th percentile for height and 55% for weight. He's quite a bean pole! His school year started out a little rocky as he wanted nothing to do with going back. But now... he loves it! He's coming home with 100% on his spelling tests and really giving his best efforts at learning. I can see the independence coming forth and the things he's learning are amazing. I mean, some of this stuff he's learning in 1st grade we did in 2nd or 3rd grade for sure!
Life is never dull around our house though. I'm preparing another post of fun pictures of the boys. They love to dress us in the most creative of ways... I'll let your imagination do the rest until I get the post done : )

I'm Still Here!

2009-10-25T18:11:00.004-05:00

Cameron's first day of 1st Grade! I still can't believe the time has gone this fast. He's doing a great job this year and has learned a lot. Amazing what you now need to know at that age!
A picture from Rock City in Chattanooga, TN over Labor Day. We had lots of fun and always enjoy our family vacations!

Coolige Park in Chattanooga! We walked over the Walnut Street Bridge crossing the river to this neat park. They had an old carousel the boys rode and I had brought their swim trunks with so they could play in these fountains. They were the only ones there! School was back in session there earlier than us, so it worked out kind of nice!
A picture of me with the boys at the Tennessee Aquarium. One of the neatest places ever!
Cameron and Rylan LOVED the penguin exhibit! It was wonderful and a neat way to see them up close!

Rylan's Birthday Party!

2009-08-21T20:04:00.005-05:00

Wow, I can't believe it's been nearly a month since I've blogged! The summer sure has gone fast. Cameron starts 1st Grade on Sept 1st! Rylan, if we can get him 100% out of diapers, can start a 3yr old program at our public school too... but that's a big IF right now. He goes when he wants but isn't all that interested yet unfortunately.

I thought I'd share some pics of Rylan's birthday party. He seems to like so many things, but Pirates are in his Top 5 for sure, so we went with that for theme! As you can tell, he had a ton of fun. We did a picnic at the park and enjoyed a beautiful day! I can't believe my baby is 3yrs old!

And yes... that is a face full of dirt!!!

More Minneapolis Fun!

2009-07-18T15:58:00.004-05:00

I wanted to share some more pictures from the trip with my fellow adoptive mom's to Minneapolis! Looking back at the pictures makes me miss the kids and mom's a lot!!! I wish they lived closer so it was possible to see each other more option. Here are two of the sweetest girls in the world, Lexie and Libby! Instant bonding here!
My son Cameron on the right, with Anna's son Jamison. It didn't take these two long to become two peas in a pod!

Rylan and Lexie checking out the horses at the Minnesota Zoo!

Cameron in the Farm area of the Zoo!

If you look closely at Libby's face (pictured with her mom and brother) you'll see she's crying in terror of the goats!Kayla loves animals and it was hard to tear her away from her new buddies!

We had to make a stop at the park in the zoo where I caught Rylan doing what he does best... climbing up a slide instead of going down it!

Our little Lexie having a good time! This girls is SO squeezably cute!!!!

I love this picture of Libby. I started messing around with the color because the background was dark and this is what I got, a gorgeous little princess!

Wow, there not moving for once! They were all checking out the wolve exhibit!

Happy 3rd Birthday Rylan!

2009-07-15T20:41:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday Rylan! You will always be our baby boy. We are so incredibly blessed to be your parents... and there are no words that can even come close to how we feel about you. Simply put, we love you!!!

Someone Call Security!

2009-07-03T09:00:00.004-05:00

This last weekend a reunion took place that was nothing short of a miracle... and what seemed like would never happen! It was a reunion that's been talked about since the collapse of our "agency" during our Guatemalan Adoptions in April 2007. After receiving that horrible news, we found each other via the internet. From then on out we've stayed in close contact and there hasn't been a week that's passed (or rarely a day to be honest) where we haven't emailed with one another! It's amazing what turned out to be the hardest time of my life, was one of the best too! We came together as a source of support to one another. To try to figure out how we were going to get each and every child home to their families. We talked about our lowest moments, our fears, our love for the kids, and our broken hearts. The love and admiration I have for all of the mom's and their kids is something I can't put into words. A couple of us had never met one another... and a couple in brief passings or visit trips in Guatemala.

I have several posts of pictures I will do, but I wanted to start with one from the first couple hours we were at the hotel with the kids warming up to one another! We were waiting for Michelle and her daughter Lexie to arrive. And oh yes, it was only a matter of time before we had security calling our rooms with a noise complaint at 6pm! With 4 mom's and 6 kids... we were surely out numbered the entire time! In all seriousness the children played together well, and bonded instantly! And I know that I was so happy to see them all. They are the most beautiful children and have the most wonderful mommies! I really hope to make this an annual event!

My oldest son Cameron and Anna's daughter Libby running from the closest in hysterics!
Umm hmm, looks like a ring leader here! More screaming and laughing!

Here comes Sonja's daughter Kayla out!
And my youngest Rylan, not to be forgot of course!

Isn't that a gorgeous smile, full of mischief!?

How many kids can you fit in a closet and what did you do with Anna's older son Jamison?Double Trouble!

Stay tuned because I have tons more pics... after Michelle and her daughter Lexie arrived!

Kindergarden Graduation!

2009-06-20T14:08:00.003-05:00

I am still amazed that we have a graduated Kindergardner! I have to pinch myself just saying he is now a 1st grader! Cameron's been out of school for just over a week. He's off to a good start this summer. He's in a program that is very active. Lots of swimming, sports, and other fun activities. Some days you can tell he is so tired that he can barely handle any more! It's just what he needed though. A good place for all that energy! Rylan is still in an in-home daycare. He gets really mad each morning because he can't stay with Cameron but we told him it's "Cameron's summer school". That's helped him cope with his disappointment in not being included. Cameron is in the youngest group in his summer program, so it will be a couple years before Rylan can stay.
Rylan's doing great too! His words are coming more and more! Just today I counted 5 words he used in a row. Now, the words he used were "mom, take picture my butt". Oh yes, a proud mother here!!! We've been outside most the day playing in the water and mud and just enjoying this gorgeous day! So he wanted me to photograph his naked toushie! That's my boys!!! Running around naked in the country!
Both kids are doing great though! We have a few minor tiffs here and there, a few minor melt downs with some little people trying to assert their independent opinions... but over all much better than even a year ago! Listening skills are always "in progress" in our house, but we do follow through on consequences much better than we had... and that's made a world of difference. I truly believe endless threats are what cause out of control kids.
Anyway, hope you all are enjoying your summer's too! We have lots planned. The first trip is just next week. I'm going to meet some wonderful friends that were a HUGE support to me through our adoption experience with Rylan. We all used the same agency (if you can call what we had an agency)... We've talked every single week, sometimes daily, for over 2yrs now and most of us have never met one another. I am so excited to meet these ladies and their beautiful children! I hope this is one of many, many visits in the future. I'll be sure to post pics when we get back.
Cameron is in the bottom row, far right. The most handsome little guy in the class I might add! They gave several cute performances before we had some cookies and refreshments in the lunchroom! I choked back tears the ENTIRE time. Especially during the slide show!!!

Rylan and Cameron having an "end of the year" photo with Cameron's teacher! Rylan insisted he be in the picture with his brother! He too was really proud of Cameron!

National Train Day 2009

2009-06-03T19:51:00.003-05:00

Oh yes, we celebrate National Train Day at our house! We went to the Amtrak Depot in LaCrosse, WI where they had a little celebration. The depot is not large by any means, but they had cake and refreshments along with door prizes. Cameron and Rylan were pleasantly suprised when they each got a new and free Amtrak hat too at the registration table! They held the celebration so that the tail end was with the actual Amtrak Train coming into the station to load/unload passengers. So we got to watch that, which was really exciting ; ) Adjoined to the depot is an eatery called Train Station BBQ. Yummy food so we ate there afterwards! Nothing is better in our family than a restaurant right next to the train tracks!

The boys had a blast and we had fun watching them. How Cameron came to have this passion for trains I will never know. But I can tell you this... I encourage it! It's a great hobby to have and would also make a great profession some day!

In our summer pictures you can actually see my husbands face without all that horrible winter hair he insists on growing each year!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T07:48:00.007-05:00

A view out our front door looking across our yard.... It's one of those moments where you can stand in awe of how gorgeous nature really is. I just loved the picture and because Mother's Day is one of my favorite days of the year, this seemed to fit well with today! I am so incredibly thankful to be MOM!And I know every day how much of a miracle it is that I have Rylan in my life. It still amazes me that we made it through that adoption, along with every other family who used our former agency. The determination of all these mothers has finally brought each and every child home!
And for Cameron,..... he gave me my first taste of motherhood. It was so wonderful that it brought us to Rylan. His adoption was also a sheer miracle as there were lots and up and downs until we were united forever! I am the luckiest mom ever!
And I am so grateful for my mom (in the white sitting) and for my sister who is a mom (in white kneeling), and for all the other incredible ladies in my life... some mom's, some not yet! Because even if your not a mom, as a woman you are an influence in the life of a child somewhere. Maybe as an aunt, a cousin, or a friend... all pictured with me in this photo!
And to my mother-in-law (on the far left) and my sister-in-law (on the far right), you have set some real examples of what mothering is all about!
And to the mother's out there who have loved our children while we were waiting for them. I wish I had a picture on my laptop I could download of the foster family Cameron stayed with during his adoption process, because they like Corelli were absolutely wonderful! They put their hearts on the line knowing that they were helping to raise these children only to see them leave to their forever families. Something I'm not sure I could ever do.
And to the birth mother's of my children. For their selfless sacrifice to bring these children into the world. My kids will always know these wonderful ladies and how much they loved them. I can only hope that they have the piece of mind knowing that we love these boys unconditionally, and them too! Some day, we will find them again to tell them in person!
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all!

Random Pics!

2009-05-03T08:19:00.005-05:00

Thought I'd share some random photos over the past couple weeks. The boys and I managed to slip in a nigh at Wisconsin Dells with my mom, my sister, and my niece! We got an awesome deal on the room, $39.99, so we could hardly pass it up. It rained the entire weekend, both there and at home... so it was perfect for indoor swimming. We tried one outside activity and took a ride on the Wisconsin Dells Ducks! The kids loved it, even thought it was freezing!!! We brought blankets with for the ride. This "Duck" travels on both land and water and gives you a tour of the area. I so wished I could have got my camera out to take a picture of the most tender moment yet between the boys. Rylan was by the window and Cameron in the middle, I squeezed on the outside of the seat. We were wrapped up under a quilt and about half way through the tour, Rylan started falling asleep. He layed his head on Cameron and just snuggled right into him! Cameron looked over at me to see if I was looking and I just smiled at him and didn't say anything... He sort of raised his eyebrows, but didn't move (or move his brother off him)! Before long, Cameron was snuggling up to Rylan. It was SO cute! There are lots of nice exchanges between the boys but I'd still say not as many as I'd like. They do play without fighting about 80% of the time.... which is huge progress to me! Last summer I'd have rated it at a 30%. Cameron isn't highly affectionate with Rylan though, so this was huge! Almost like the moment I had waited all year to see! Here was my niece Eryn with the boys on the Duck. Before we left the station we had torearrange our seating. It goes fast at times so we didn't want to lose any kids out the open windows!

At the pool, we can always find fun there! All 3 kids love the water and played really nice together!
Brotherly Love, YES!!!!

Sunday when we left the weather cleared long enough for us to stop off at this little railroad. We'd been there once before and Cameron loves the place! It's a miniature railroad and the train wasn't running, but the owners were nice enough to let us look around. Tourist season and most activities in Wisconsin Dells don't start until Memorial Day Weekend.
More hands on looking and touching!
He's turning from cute, into handsome!
An Easter Egg Hunt at my mom and dad's!

My dad giving Rylan some encouragement during the hunt! It didn't take long for Rylan to catch on to finding goodies in the yard!
My mom and dad have this wood tiled floor they've wanted to replace for awhile. The tiles come loose the kids are always ripping parts of it up and putting it back together like a puzzle. Well, after Easter dinner we gave them tools and let them go at it! The next day the floor was getting replaced with laminate wood. The kids has a blast and made a good demolition team!

Sugar Overload!

2009-04-30T19:53:00.004-05:00

This is what you get when you have WAY too much fun at your brother's birthday party! We had all you can eat fresh popped popcorn and blue-rasberry snowcones (we rented machines).... there is no telling how many snowcones he polished off. Throw in the cake and 3 helpings of ice cream I "heard" he was fed. Then one huge pinata that he got plenty of candy from (and ate an unspecified amount while we weren't looking). This is what we had at the end of a fun-filled day!!! I thought these pics were hillarious! You can see that little sparkle in this boys eyes... and this isn't just the sugar. That's all the timE1

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T11:11:00.007-05:00

Just wanting to wish everyone a blessed Easter! Last night we colored egss with the boys and it went rather well. Rylan started off with a tantrum of some sort that I'm not sure even yet what it was about. Eventually he scraped himself up off the floor and came out to the kitchen. Once he saw what we were doing, he loved it! Both kids did a nice job on the eggs, and NO spills! We have a couple cracked eggs... but hey, I expected that. Today we started off our morning with Cameron first jumping into our bed hollering "Happy Easter"! Rylan, whose normally an early bird and up by 6-6:30am decided to sleep until 7:15. Cameron had a LONG 1/2 wait for his brother to get up, but once he did, they were SO excited about the Easter Bunny having been here! Once again, there was no shortage of candy, but the good ole Easter Bunny gets more and more crafty each year! This year some of the eggs were filled with quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies! There were also small gifts like art supplies that Cameron loves and some hot wheels cars that Rylan loves, not mention a few cans of silly string! Way to go Easter Bunny! These were some very happy, non-sugar high, kids!
We're off to my mom's around 2pm for dinner. Turkey and all the trimmings, yum! Then to John's parents for dessert. I have one more day off work tomorrow... YIPPIE! Althoug the boys and I will be going to the dentist for their first appts. I can't guarantee that will be a good time. More pics to follow on that!

Happy 6th Birthday Cameron!

2009-04-04T06:51:00.006-05:00

Wow, I can't believe my guy is 6 years old today! I couldn't sleep last night as I kept dreaming about his birth. I think I'm having a hard time on this birthday because it's a transition from a preschooler to elementary aged boy! I can see him growing up so fast, yet am thankful he needs me yet in so many ways. You won't find me rushing him through these years. I enjoy every moment, even the "pull your hair out" days!
Let me take you back to the days leading up to Cameron's birth. We met his birth mom when she was over months 8 month pregnant. She had picked us from a book of waiting families wanting to adopt. When I received that call from the adoption agency telling us a birth mom wanted to meet us, it was like a rush I've never felt. So many years of unsuccessful pregnancy and loss came down to that moment! Just a short couple weeks later, we were at her school meeting her, her mother, and her social worker. She was just 14 years old. John and I were so nervous that we could barely contain ourselves! Once we met the family, we hit it off almost immediately and conversation flowed well. At the end of our meeting birth grandma invited us to a doctor appt birth mom had scheduled. We were able to meet her doctor and were introduced as the baby's parents! The doctor was very receptive and we were so excited. Cameron's birth mom was very shy. I thought we'd be sitting in the waiting room while she had her appt, but she allowed us in the room.... but we did leave during the "exam". She didn't know what she was having, which was even more exciting! During the exam the doctor let us hear the baby's heartbeat, which was the first time I'd ever experienced anything like that. I couldn't help it, I cried and was barely consolable! It was then that Alicia told us that she intended to have an abortion, until she heard the heartbeat early in her pregnancy. It just wasn't the right option for her. I give this young woman all the credit in the world. She carried this child for 9 very long months, gave birth, and made a responsible adoption plan that would allow her to go on with her life, and for this baby to have his. I can't imagine the ridicule she faced at school for this. The responses she might have got from strangers as she told them of her plans. People not understanding how she could so this. She had a sense of peace with it but that didn't mean it wasn't hard....
Around 11pm on April 3rd we'd received a call that Alicia went into labor. The weather was horrible, there was a sleet storm. They told us we didn't have to come....but this was something that I wasn't about to miss! John and I packed up and got out of the house before midnight. The trip normally would take about 3hrs. That night, it was well over 5hrs of driving in the worst conditions ever before we arrived. We checked in at the hospital desk and took a seat. It wasn't but 5 min before we were ushered back. We stood outside Alicia's hospital room door and watched as our son entered the world! All 8lbs 13ozs of him!!! The nurse whisked him away to clean him up and brought him out to us. I was frozen. She extended her arms to mine and said "congratulations mom and dad, you have a new son"! More crying.... I'm crying now! It was incredible! I got a hospital bracelet to enter the nursery and we were put in a room next to Alicia with the baby. She completely trusted us. John fed him his first bottle, I did his first diaper. We would go back and forth from room to room to visit with Alicia, yet not spend too much time in there with the baby. She was feeling uncomfortable and we could tell. We gave her space and we gave her alone time with the baby. When it came time to do the birth certificate, she told the nurse that we would be naming him. And so we did, Cameron James. Although we felt certain that this adoption would go through, there is alway that possiblity that something could happen. We had issues, that's to the say the least... but Alicia never wavered from her decision. She knew this child was meant to be ours. And so the story goes... you all know the ending!
So today not only do we celebrate the incredible birth of our child, but we honor his birth mother, Alicia. Without her, we wouldn't have this amazing little person in our lives. She gave us the opportunity to be parents! She will always have a piece of our hearts.

Cameron, immediately after he was born... what a bundle!
Bathtime! Even then he knew how to "cover" himself!
Proud Daddy!
Daddy and Cameron all decked out in their Harley Davidson gear!
Some of my favorite pictures of Cameron were taken in this pumpkin patch!
He still loves daddy's boot!
Adoption Finalization Day - Dec 2003
Christmas 2003! What a happy boy!
Swimming Classes when Cameron was about 2yrs old!
Mother's Day pictures at 3yrs old. I cherish this picture!
John and I holding on to our BIG boy!
He loves his trains!!!

St. Patty's Day - From my mom!

2009-03-22T10:52:00.002-05:00

My mom sent me this! Cameron and Rylan thought it was hillarious! It's me and both boys of course with my sister and my niece. Enjoy!!!

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The Caped Crusader!

2009-03-18T12:15:00.003-05:00

Not only does Rylan think he's a warrior, but he's now our caped crusader! We like to call him "Super Teddy".... Not only does he have a new "Super Hero" cape (courtesty of his daycare mom's toy box) he found the perfect teddy bear winter hat to match! He flies around the house waving his cape doing some pretty snazy moves! No one better get in his way as he takes his job very seriously! I couldn't get him to smile for pictures. He was SO serious! This is where my kids are very different. Cameron owns nothing with a super hero on it. I mean that! He's never like them. Looks like we'll be buying a few new toys for Mr. Rylan soon. Maybe these he'll get to be the boss of for once!!!

Nearly a Year!

2009-03-11T17:15:00.000-05:00

I am amazed that we're approaching a year since Rylan came home! I thought it was time for me to share some pictures from his life while he was living in Guatemala. On my visits in both May and December 2007 I left several disposable cameras, along with some that I sent in packages with friends who were visting their children. I realize how lucky I am to have some pictures during the time we missed with him, but in another way... it makes me pretty sad to look back on how they live their every day lives. It almost makes me feel ashamed of complaining about the small things in life here. March 20th we entered the USA with our son, a day I will never forget! But the journey didn't end there... it has only begun.
The above picture is Rylan in the bath/shower. Notice the mold growth surrounding him. When I saw this picture I was sickened. I wanted to seriously go and scrub and disinfect it! I felt sad. Sad that this is their normal. Not only is this not healthy for a growing baby, it's not healthy for anyone.

Here they took photos of Rylan playing with some of the toys we sent over. His foster mom worked at a school, which I think was more of a daycare, so we sent several boxes over for all the children to share. That felt SO incredibly good to do!
And here they were showing us in the clothes and footie pajamas we sent over. We appreciated their effort knowing they were using all we gave them!!! Even as much as I notice Rylan, I notice the backgrounds in these pictures. Not good living conditions most of the time.
This is the bed Rylan slept in, which was a playpen in foster mom's bedroom. It was extremely dirty and falling apart....And in the playpen with Rylan was the lawn mover he LOVED! I took this over on my visit in December 2007 and he pushed it everywhere! We never saw it again, same as all the clothes and toys we sent... but I don't care, I'm sure they got put to use somewhere! I left happy knowing some other children out there were using everything we brought over.Happy boy no matter what the circumstances! Looking back I see major malnourishment and a child who was also in desperate need of a cleaner environment. I had noticed no use of his legs at 10 months old on my first visit and that his color was pale. He would eat, and eat, and eat 24/7 while I was there! After just a day or two together you could see him improving. I'm not by any means saying the foster mom was neglectful. Unfortunately she did the best she could with what she had. Thus explaining why I left a suitcase (literally) full of stuff during both visits in May 2007 and December 2007 and sent other packages and money as I could! It is a 3rd world country and standards of which they live their every day lives are way different than ours. Our foster mom was considered to have average wealth there, here she would have been well below poverty limits. Babies for the most part can't be put down on floors to crawl because they are dirty or made of dirt. They don't brush their teeth or have dental care. The doctor is only used in a near death situation. And food doesn't come easily. Babies are fed beans and coffee leaving their growth stunted. None of it intentional, that's just how it is. An d this is for the average family. Imagine the families living outside in the mountain areas! You couldn't even begin to dream of how difficult life is for the majority of people there. You have to see it. And when you do, it forever changes your life. I'm thankful to have changed the life of one child, and seen the lives change for many more. I don't believe one bit that this is where it ends.... I can feel it just starting!

Our first photo together in May 2007 during my incredible visit! I still can't describe the pain that was left in my heart the day I had to leave him. It was horrible... yet I left so happy! Doesn't he look a million times better on this last day of our visit together!?

All cleaned up after being dropped off by foster mom and the attorney's assistant during my first visit in May 2007. Already he looked at me with those big dark eyes begging me to take him home! I kept wondering how I could get away with smuggling him back!

Rylan enjoying the jumper in the baby room at the Marriott Guatemala City during our first visit in May 2007. His little legs at 10 months old had barely any muscle tone at all. It was obvious he hadn't been given the chance to use them.

December 2007 visit out by the pool enjoying some much needed and nutricious food... french fries! Yum Yum!!!!Rylan during my December 2007 visit just before Christmas. He was such a happy little boy. even then! By this time, he was walking when I came...
Some of you may remember that I traveled with Sonja, who lives near me and I was able to meet before we even considered International Adoption. We also met up with Anna, another family sharing the same agency as both of us. We met her in Dallas, and flew onto Guatemala together. All of us meeting our children for the very first time! May 2007, Kayla (Sonja's daughter) on the left, Rylan in the middle, and Libby (Anna's daughter) on the right. I adore this picture....

This is Anna is with Libby on our first visit! Look how tiny Libby was. As you can see from the picture below, being home with her momma has made all the difference in the world! What a cutie pie! I think I will be shocked going from seeing her as a baby to seeing her for only the 2nd time in person as a toddler! I can't wait Anna!!!!

And above is Sonja with Kayla on our first visit, the first time mother and daughter met! Kayla's a gorgeous little girl with a spunky personality that we love! She's now home and a thriving, happy, well-adjusted little girl, as you can see from the photo below! We get the pleasure of making plans to see one another on a regular basis!
And here is my cyber friend Michelle! We've never met, but have known each other for 2 years! What we thought was the worst news of our live,s our agency collapsing and being exposed for fraud, ended up being just the start of some of the best days of our lives! Little Lexie is gorgeous and I can't wait to meet them both in person! From the photo below, you can see how she has blossomed as well.

And above is a referral picture of the newest member of our "family" to make it home, Abbie! Her family started the adoption process just 3 months before us, and this sweet little girl just came home..... yea!!!!!
Here is Abbie and her momma just last week on the plane coming home. I think Terri is going to have a Diva on her hands! She is such a doll!
I had to put in a picture of Abbie once home, as she joined her little brother Isaiah who was also born in Guatemala! I think these two are going to have some fun together! Congratulations again Terri and family!!!

There were several other families from our agency that we met over the course of our adoptions. Lisa, Wendy, Paula, Dixie, and so many others! All incredible, all courageous, all determined. I didn't want to post pics of them without permisssion. I knew the other above were fine with me doing it ; )

What an amazing past couple of years for all of us! Thanks ladies for always being there for me, especially on the not so good days. You all are incredible mothers and friends!

Warrior Rylan!

2009-03-07T11:58:00.004-06:00

Rylan runs and flips through this house like a force that is not to be reconed with! He is one solid kid. He is always making karate like moves (and yes, sometimes on others). He even imitates the sounds and arm/hand movements! Now, we don't really get into watching any movies like that. None of us are karate experts. No clue why he does it, only that I am convinced he is going to be one power house of a kid! Short and stout!!! That is the one difference in personality I notice between the boys. Cameron is trains, trains, trains. Rylan, he has found a passion for trains too, but he likes a variaty of things more than Cameron ever has. Like monster trucks, being a warrior, and sports! Interesting watching these two develop their like and dislikes.

Fun Pictures!

2009-03-01T07:56:00.005-06:00

It's been awhile since I've been on to blog. Seems like when I'm on lately I'm working on Ebay! I've been back to selling again and trying to deplete my stock.
Since Rylan's accident with the stitches we've been pretty much worry free and healthy again! We are so looking forward to spring coming and being able to spend more time outside. The winter is getting long and drawn out. We had another snow storm this week and school was dismissed early one day. That left one little 5yr old smiling from ear to ear! I picked him up off the bus with Rylan and we got to spend an afternoon home in our pj's! Now that's living!!! I guess winter comes in handy for something once in awhile.
Cameron's really looking forward to summer break from school. This year he'll go to the YMCA and he seems very excited! Little does he understand that in the fall we go back to the same routine of daycare in the morning and then a full day of school in 1st grade! I'm also not going to be the one to tell him right now that he'll be doing this for oh.... about 11 more years at least! The weeks get long for him, but he's doing great! It's amazing how much he's learned. He is also growing SO tall. Most people think he's 7 or 8 yrs old. I think he's going to tower over all of us in this family.
Rylan continues to learn new things every single day. He's very active and spunky and shows is independence a lot! Talking still seems to be a bit delayed from where he should be, but he tries. He is just way more interested in jumping, rolling, and all that little boy rough play! He is a stalky little guy and I think will be built like a brick house as he grows older!!!! He is a joy to watch though. He is very comical and you can't help but laugh at him. The life of the party!
Both kids together are doing extremely well. We have our moments and more of them than I'd like really... but a vast improvement in the past year! Yes, a year!!! Rylan will be home almost 1yr on March 20th. Amazing!!! The two kids believe it or not do share some very tender moments at times. Rylan adores Cameron.... he really does. He is always trying to kiss or hug him and copies everything he does. For the changes these two kids have been through, I am very proud of them. We are very lucky parents to have such amazing, healthy, happy and well adjusted boys! Did I mention though that they EAT us out of house and home. I'm not kidding. It's non stop! WOW!
A couple last notes... A huge congratulations to my friend Terri and her family on completing nearly a 3 year battle to bring their daughter Abbie home from Guatemala!!!! Check out her blog link that is on the right side of mine!
Also, a huge congratulations to Sean and Sonja on completing their re-adoption of Kayla! YEAH!!! I am so happy that you have that one last hurddle behing you.
And to my friends Michelle and Anna, and Sonja and Terri, I am grateful every day that I have come to know you and the others! How I would have made it through the adoption and the trials after Rylan came home, I have no idea! I can't wait to see you both in June and meet all the kids!!!!! I am SO excited!
Cameron enjoying baby food, yes, he still eats it! He just loves the Banana Mixed Berries. He thinks it's yogurt and I'm not going to tell him otherwise. Chalk that up to one healthy thing the kid actually eats!

And here's our Rylan, Mr. Messy himself. And yes, that is chocolate pudding! This is how Cameron used to eat. A vast improvement for one, and a work in progress for the other!
And when you don't use a spoon, this is what how that messy face happens. Or maybe he did use the spoon but decided to try to lick the remains out of the cup?
And here is how Rylan came to me with his coat on the other day. Cameron and I laughed and laughed! At least he tried!!!

Cameron giving us the rear view! John was waiting outside to take the boys in the tractor to plow snow, that's what the hurry was. You know you can't get ready fast enough for that!
And here are some pictures from last weekend and John's parents. We had a chili lunch over there (they live 1 mile from us) and the kids got to enjoy some sledding! It was freezing out but that didn't stop them!

Nope, the cold never bothers Rylan. Coming from Guatemala you'd think he wouldn't have the toughness to take it! Not him though, he's a rough neck I tell you!!!

Happy Belated Valentines Day & a Visit with Kayla!

2009-02-15T12:48:00.002-06:00

Hope you all had a nice Valentine's Day! We thought about going out to eat, but knew it would be incredibly busy... especially with it being a Saturday night. However we wanted to do something being it was also my parents 37th Wedding Anniversary! We decided to invite both sets of our parents here and I made dinner. I served a platter of cold shrimp with cocktail sauce and cheese and crackers, then made prime rib, fried chicken, baked potatoes, creamed corn, rolls, and had two pies... lemon and french silk. We also threw in a 12 pack of bottled Bud Light and 1 bottle of wine! The night was perfect! I'm NO Martha Stewart so I was a bit afraid of what I might do to the food, but it was really good! The pies were store bought, so no going wrong there ; ) Anyway, it was the perfect plan. The kids got to stay in pj's and play, while we eat and talked. Nice and relaxing!
Last Saturday Sean, Sonja, and Kayla came over to our house for a visit. Since Kayla's been home we try to meet up often so the kids can play. They get very excited to see each other! Rylan calls Kayla, Nina. Not sure how you spell that in Spanish, but Nina in Spanish means little girl. He's called her that since we were in Guatemala in Dec 2007! So cute that the name has stuck!!! Anyway, when he saw their car coming down our road he screamed for her over and over. Too cute! It's amazing how comfortable we feel around these guys. Let's just say Rylan and Kayla most especially share some common personality traits! Between the three kids there was a lot of energy and excitement in the air! They ran through the house like wild indians at times, literally! But I LOVE it! They were excited and who can blame them. We're just happy to not have to be embarrassed around this family! They now know what it's like to parent a strong willed child.... and I think they have a very mild version of that compared to my two!

The first picture about Kayla was checking out Rylan's stitches! Then they decided they both needed a hug. And they stood still for about 8.2 seconds for a quick picture on he bikes before they headed in another direction! This could explain why Sonja said Kayla slept until 9am the next morning and took a 3hr nap! Oh, and notice Lucy our dog in almost every picture. The kids had FOOD so she wasn't leaving them out of site.

Fabulous Blog Award (a little late!)

2009-02-02T09:30:00.001-06:00

Fabulous Blog award!!

Thank you SO much Terri, http://abbieandisaiah.blogspot.com/, for giving me this award! It's the first one I've ever received on my blog, so I'm honored! Since I've never got one, it took me quite awhile to figure out how to copy and post it! Hope it comes through ok!

Now here are the rules to receiving this award:

1. You have to pass it on to 5 other fabulous bloggers in a post.

2. You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.

3. You must copy and paste the rules and the instructions below in the post.Instructions: On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them.

So here are my addictions:

1. My schedule. I've seriously become a scheduling freak (hmmm, that's part of my job that's apparently worn off on me). I put everything into my outlook calendar, including appts for the entire family, activities at school, upcoming fun events in the area, etc, etc and check it countless times in a day! Don't get me wrong, I still like spontaneous activities though too!

2. Caffeine. I'm an addict! I have to have some sort of coffee in the morning whether it be regular coffee, a Mocha, a Frappe... whatever! In the afternoon, it's a Coke or Mountain Dew normally. I've tried to cut back some, but it's a must for at least one of each every single day.

3. My Computer. I NEED it! I MUST have it! I need my email, my internet, my Ebay, my blog, my favorite blogs, my forums, my friends! It's got a bit better since Rylan is home, but still, I need therapy for this horrible habbit.... that I LOVE so much!!!!

4. Chocolate. Total must have on a daily basis. Even if it's a small piece of candy. The only thing you won't catch me eating is the disgusting insects covered in chocolate... otherwise, I'm in!

5. My kids. I obsess over every detail of their lives for what seems like most every waking moment. I think I'm above and beyond the normal parenting obsessions I think. I'm not over protective, just over obsessed. I want them happy, but I also want them to be raised as good people. Respectful and trustworthy, happy and healthy, proud of who they are. So when I see them with any upset or worry, or anger or fear... I freak out myself worrying about it!

Now for the 5 blogs that I think are FABULOUS!!

1. - Cammie! I think she is terrific. I had been following her blog for a long time and then coincidentally we were on pickup trips in Guatemala that over lapped one another. We ended up on a tour to Antigua together. She has a beautiful family and I still love following her blog!

2. - Wendy! Wow, what a test of patience and faith she has had. She and her family adopted their son through the same agency we used. They started quite awhile before us and just brought him home a few months ago. They also are adopting a daughter whose case was started after their son's. The adoption started off good and then things went bad. They haven't given up hope, nor have the rest of us who are following their story!

3. - Terri! Well, your the one who gave me the award so not sure if I can give it back, but I follow your blog the most, since we became friends 2yrs ago! What would I have done without you? We helped each other through some very dark and scary days. Terri and her family also used the same agency as us to adopt their daughter, Abbie. They started a month before us and Abbie is still waiting to come home.... although they are finally near the end!!!! Just a few weeks away and we couldn't be more excited for them!

4. - Lisa! I love reading your new blog and following the lives of your children! Your family is beautiful and so is your devotion to them. Lisa and her family also used the same agency as us bringing their daughter home a year ago. They also adopted a son from Guatemala. It's been another incredible journey with the happiest of endings....

5. Considered yourself tagged if you read my blog and have one of your own! Now I will ask a favor. If you do read my blog and have one yourself, leave your blog address in the comments section as I would love to follow you! I know I have lots of readers as I get lots of hits on my blog in a day.... so come on out and introduce yourselves!

4.

Ouch!

2009-02-02T08:59:00.005-06:00

We had our first E.R required accident in our house this weekend for a child! We spent the day Saturday in La Crosse at a Railroad Show. Cameron just loves those things. Well, Rylan got a little impatient with walking through so slowly, so I walked ahead with him. We found on one a table a cute little Diego toy. He loves Diego and Dora! It was sort of like a hot wheels, except that it had Diego and a Tiger seated in the front seat... it was metal and that is why I bought it. They hold up so nice! Well, after the show we were leaving and were walking in the skyway to the parking ramp. Cameron and Rylan ran off ahead of us. Just as I yelled "stop at the doors" we heard a scream come out of Rylan. Our first thought was that he got his fingers in the door. But I knew the doors were extremely heavy and that he couldn't push them open. It's a straight corridor, with a little 5' corner jog at the ends that curves. The kids were just inside the curve when the accident happened. Rylan tripped and fell (which he does 50 times a day). From the best we can figure out, his head slammed into the Diego Jeep! At first I couldn't find anything wrong with him. I picked him up and we scrambled checking him over.... then I lifted his stocking cap. There was a huge gash right by his eyebrow! It was horrid! It began bleeding and a woman came off the elevator with her kids and offered me a alcohol free wipe. So we applied it and headed for the car. I knew urgent care was open, so we stopped there first. They called a nurse and she said it was "way too fleshy" and would require stitches. She walked us to the E.R. Rylan was screaming like crazy at this point... not because of the owie but because he knew where we were! We can't go to a simple doctor appt anymore with him because he thinks he's getting shots. Well, in this case he had reason to scream! We got the ER and the nurse came in. She started putting on a gel right away to numb the wound. The doctor came in 20 min or so later and the nightmare began. The nurse took Rylan from me and he screamed like I have never heard before. So much so nothing was even coming out anymore. They put his arm into this coat like thing that they wrapped around him tight about 6 times. Another nurse came in to hold his legs. He was kicking so bad he threw his shoes off. The nurse told me to sit down and I said I was fine. Then she said "NO, you NEED to sit down". So I did. Right after that I began to feel woozy and I realized why she made me sit down. I was sobbing with Rylan. It was horrible. Thank God it was over in a short time and we were on our way out. Total visit was less and an hour! John was in the car with Cameron. Cameron refused to get out. He would not come in. I found it good that he didn't want to see his brother in pain! Anyway, he's doing better today and is handling it like a pro.... which is scary! This kid will have many more E.R visits I'm afraid. He's just a daring, tough, tank of a kid! Although I am home with him today. Yesterday he developed a deep chesty cough with a fever. That is bothering him more than the stitches!

The Depot Minneapolis

2009-01-28T20:44:00.006-06:00

This past weekend we took the boys on a weekend trip to a hotel, as it was part of our Christmas present to them! We love little get-a-ways like this and the hotel we went to was one we were at a couple years ago. Cameron loved it then and has talked about it since. It's an old train station turned into a hotel. It has a small kiddie indoor waterpark with a train in the middle with waterslides and water geysers coming off it! Perfect for their ages! The old train shed hooked on the hotel was turned into an indoor ice skating rink. Lots of train memorbilia throughout, which of course Cameron loved! Yes, I make my kids wear life jackets in ZERO depth water. And you know what, they LOVE them! That's right, not complaining because I'm a little over protective ; )

Happy little swimmer in his new swim trunks he got for his birthday this past summer!

Here come my little figure skaters! At least one is smiling.... not sure about Rylan, he was on his last lap!

Ummm, yes, he was that mad! He didn't like his ice skates, but he also didn't like that he couldn't be in the ice skating rink without them on! Try explaining that to a 2yr old! YIKES!

I love these little walker type things they give the little kids to help them stand up. I totally would have used one if they would have came in my size : ) It hurt my back to much to stay bent over that long!

He comes our little Guatemalan Ice Skater! If only his foster family could see him now!!! Rylan looked so cute in those little ice skates.

Whoops, we had a crash! I got a little out of order. I think this was about the time he had enough of this ordeal. Just not his thing yet!

As you can see we all really had a good time. We left after the lunch hour on Friday as Cameron had early dismissal that day. We got to the hotel around 4pm and checked in. We spend about 3 hrs by the pool playing and eating pizza. Saturday we look the light rail train/tram system over to the Mall of America. After a long day there, we came back and relaxed again by the pool. Sunday when we checked out the hotel we packed up the car and went back in to ice skate! Rylan liked his ice skates for about 20 min. After that, he was just mad because he wanted to be out by me and Cameron, but with his shoes on! Cameron spent the first hour or so spread out on the ice doing what looked like snow angels... it was SO funny! But after tht he started to get the hang of it. Me, I did much better than I expected. No falls, so that was a plus! John wasn't taking any chances and was the official "picture" taker. Regardless, but Sunday night we were both limping around the house like elderly people! Water slides and ice skating all weekend, we worked muscles that hadn't been touched in quite a few years ; )

Re-Adoption Day!

2009-01-26T06:47:00.004-06:00

Thursday, January 15th, 2009 was our re-adoption day! Most people who know us but don't know much about this process have no idea what this means. The most common response is, your STILL NOT DONE? Can't blame them, I feel the same way! The things that we've had to do are almost ridiculous at times. The court hearing on this day we to basically to cross the T's and dot the I's in the State of Wisconsin. Our adoption was 100% finished and legal in Guatemala. There is a birth certificate on file there with our names on it, and Rylan's. So this formality is to get a State of Wisconsin issued birth certificate with all that same information, and to legally change his first and middle name. Could you imagine us trying to get a birth certificate from Guatemala every time he needed one in the future? I can't! Anyway, we have our post placement home visits with our adoption agency (the local one we used for our homestudy) and they gave us a glowing recommendation as parents. We did nearly the same thing with Cameron too. The only difference this time was in court I took the stand representing John and I. I was sworn under oath and answered a series of questions relating to us loving Rylan and being able to support him. You know, I almost wish biological parents has to go through some of this. There isn't anything that most people don't know about our lives now. We're an open book. You have to be to adopt! But you know what, it was worth it. Every agonizing moment from paperwork, to agency loss, to law changes, to you name it. Both my boys were worth every moment. I only hope that's the one thing they never doubt is how much we love them.

I have to admit, the picture on Adoption Day isn't just what I was hoping for. John has enough hair on his head and face you can hardly see him! Who can blame him, he works outside for hours on end in -30 degree weather! But still, you know what I mean. I felt like I had been drug behind a car. Rylan hadn't been feeling good and both kids were less than cooperative that morning. Rylan looks like he's about to punch the judge if he gets one step closer to us. At least Cameron and the judge look good! Oh well, that's the way it goes!

International Day - Festival Of Nations!

2009-01-23T07:13:00.000-06:00

Friday 10/24/08 Cameron had International Day at school... otherwise known as a Festival of Nations. I took the day off work to volunteer specifically with his classroom. I am SO glad I did! He talked about this for 2 weeks he was so excited. He knew the day would be fun and he was so happy to have me with his class (not to mention he got out daycare before/after school). When we were getting ready to go outside for a short recess he brought me my sweatshirt and "helped" me put it on. Throughout the day he insisted we hold hands whenever possible. At lunch I had to sit between he and his good friend Lydia. Lydia and Cameron have been together at daycare since they were infants, so they know each other well. Everyone who passed by us (teachers and students) were quickly told "THIS IS MY MOM"!
Besides the highlight of getting to be at school with Cameron, the event was great! A local college had around 150 foreign exchange students come to our school (sponsored by the PTO). They set up each classroom to represent a different country. So we visited Korea, China, Thialand, Vietnam, Nepal, Sri Lanka, etc. Then at the end of the day they held an event in the auditorium that consisted of some singing/dancing with a fashion show. The room was packed with K-6th grade students and let me tell you, I have never seen such excited kids! They were interested in everything all day long. The participation was overwhelming to all us adults! While the dancers were on stage, all of sudden the kids started clapping along with the beat of the music! They cheered for every performance with such excitement!!! I was so proud of them all.
Well, the very last performance was a song called "Love in any Language" that apparently all the kids had been learning in music class. You should have heard all these kids! I had tears in my eyes and lump in my throat. Cameron was just belting it out!
You have to understand that we don't live in the most diverse area. There are a couple cities about 30-60 miles from us that are much, much better... but not our hometown. This is such an important age for kids to be taught to love not based on the color of skin. Love should know no language or color. I sure hope this clip I attached works for you all! The further along in the video, the cuter Cameron is!

Karma

2009-01-22T20:17:00.000-06:00

I've been joking that we must have bad karma surrounding us lately... or some sort of ghost haunting us!!! The strangest things have been happening. Let me take you back over the last couple weeks surrounding the holidays.

First, two weekends before Christmas I put our Christmas tree up. We get a fresh one every year! I got the entire thing decorated and went to get ready that Sunday evening to head to Winona. My aunts house was on the Historical Society Tour, so I wanted to help with it. I came out of the bedroom from getting ready and John and Cameron had these weird looks on their face. They just pointed at the tree. I looked and almost every single light on the tree was out! I was SO mad. I really do my tree up so this was no easy task ahead of me! I even put the old, old, lead tinsel on. By the time I got done figuring out what was wrong, it looked like a squirrel had ravaged my tree! URGH.

Got that under control and went to Winona. It was 8pm and I decided I better get home. Went out to my car, it wouldn't start. Unbelievable. Thankfully I was able to take my mom's. The next day after John messed with it we ended up having it towed. A couple days later, a $550.00 invoice! URGH.

So a couple days later it's the middle of the night and I hear this horrible, loud, scary, crash! I jumped up out of bed and ran into the living room. My first thought was a deer came through the window (we live in the middle of nowhere so it's possible). We have an alarm system on and around the house though and it wasn't going off. I flipped on the light and what do I see? My 9' tall beautiful Christmas tree laying on our hardwood floor! I could have cried. John came running out, only because I did, he never heard the crash. So, at midnight we're picking the tree up and trying to secure it. Now on the tree this year I put some ornaments my sister-in-law (John's brothers wife) made for the kids. They were clear bulbs she put paint in. She shook them up and wrote their names on the front. Very cute! Well, one bulb had an excess of paint. Not a big deal, I double hooked all my ornaments because I wasn't sure what Rylan would do with my tree. Well, as John and I lifed the tree he asked me "what's that green slime dripping out of the tree". Confused, I said "I have no idea"! I stepped back and saw this bulb full of paint smashed on the floor and splattered everywhere. Before we noticed it, John walked through it, kneldt in it, rolled under the tree in it and slid himself further under the tree. When he stood up I laughed so hard I thought I couldn't breathe! It looked like someone beat him with a Christmas tree branch full of green paint. Of course he was in his undies so all this is made funnier by the fact we couldn't get the paint off him. What a mess!!!! URGH.

So a few days later that disaster is over. It's 4:45am and I'm up for work. I take my shower at starting getting ready at 5am. I let the dog out and shut the door when all of sudden every single smoke alarm began chirping and squealing in the house! It was the most horrible, annoying noise! Rylan began screaming immediately and Cameron was hollering with his hands over his ears. I was running frantically through the house worried there was a fire! I could find nothing. The best I could figure out as the steam from the garage (being warmer) met the frigid air from outside and set off the alarm in the garage. So I had to get a ladder and take the batteries out of about 15 alarms!!!! I got to the last one in the garage and was up on the ladder, with my bottom literally in the air, in my robe, wet and undressed when I see lights turning around right outside the door. Wouldn't you know it, it was the guy who snow plows the town roads! My gosh!!! I never moved so fast in my life! I got the last battery out and guess what? The alarms went into panic mode because they had been going off so long the battery didn't matter. They are wired into our house. So this has been going on about 20 min now. Finally I found the breaker in the basement and shut the entire system down and got the kids calmed down. What a start to a morning! URGH.

So now it's just a few more days later. We have an LP tank that fuels our home outside the house and we are on an automatic refill. They just come every so often and fill it up. Well, I don't know what happened but we ran out of gas! We woke up at 4am freezing cold! So John ran over to his parents, got our tractor, and hauled one of the LP tanks back to our house. He had to convert them over and we got heat going after about an hour of messing around. In the freezing cold both outside and inside the house!!! URGH.

The next night John is taking Cameron down to bed, as he fell asleep in our room. John falls down the basement steps holding Cameron! Thank God no one was hurt. In fact John did such a good job holding Cameron he barely woke up! I raced down to pick Cameron up and hauled him back to our bed where he stayed the night.... and John layed at the bottom of the steps nursing his rug burned bottom! It was pretty nasty looking and bruised all the way down his leg! URGH.

So now I've had my truck back for about a week or more and it was acting funny. I took it back in only to be told now it had some sort of leaking gasket, blah, blah, blah.... there goes another $470.00. URGH.

So just this past Sunday we came home from Walmart. We put my truck in the garage (it's a Trailblazer) and we unloaded what we bought. We never open just the back window, we always open the entire back gate. I was holding the door and John was carrying a tote in the house when out of nowhere the entire back window in my truck exploded! I mean glass flew all over our 3 car garage! Glass was inside and outside the truck! I've never seen anything like that happen, ever! So, thank goodness insurance did cover it... but there was a $500.00 deductible. URGH.

So that about wraps up most of what's been going on in our world through the holidays. Even with all that said, we had an amazing Christmas. We are so thankful and so blessed! We have our health, we have our family, and we have our faith that things will turn around soon.

It's SO Cold!

2009-01-14T20:08:00.002-06:00

Wow, what else can I say except it is cold!!!! Schools all around the area are even canceled here tomorrow because of the dangerous temperatures. It's now about -10 degrees, without the windchill. Tomorrow is expected to be -25 degrees, and -35 or even lower with the windchill. It's awful. I can't tell you how sorry I feel for anyone who has to work outside. My husband and dad are garbage men, and frankly I think they shouldn't work! But you wouldn't believe how many irrate customers we'd have if we did that. I'd like to tell them to haul their barrels down the driveway to the truck and dump them themselves if they need it that bad. Heck, if they could stay in the truck it wouldn't be bad... but they can't! I also feel sorry for the animals outdoors, especially our cattle. I hope this passes really soon!
I can't believe how the time has passed since I last posted. I have so much to write about! I will have to divide it into posts so as not to start boring anyone!
Tomorrow is a BIG day for us! We have Rylan's re-adoption hearing!!! This means that we are going through the steps of adoption in the State of Wisconsin. We've satisfied all the requirements with post-placement visits, and our social worker submitted a report to the court stating that, and recommending the adopting of course! So tomorrow it all becomes final. His name will legally be changed and a new birth certificate will be issued in our state, with our names on it! I'm so looking forward to having this last step behind us. There are few more minor paperwork details I'll have to finish... but nothing major.
I planned to keep Cameron home from school to go with us. It wouldn't be complete without him! So in a way it worked out good school was canceled. He's had perfect attendence so far this year and I didn't want to see that ruined... yet I didn't want him to miss the day.
We plan to get some pictures tomorrow, and I'll be sure to post them. Wish us luck!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T15:27:00.007-06:00

This is Christmas Eve, my niece Eryn with the boys!

This is day, Christmas Day. Cameron is in the red pj's, with Rylan in the middle, then their cousin Lane on the right!
So CUTE!
Lots of sweetness here.... or little devils in disguise!

Rylan licking uncle Dan's head!

Random Cuteness!

2008-12-23T12:19:00.006-06:00

I got the Christmas picture to enlarge... so check out the previous post for a closer glimpse of the boys with Santa!!!! Just found some pics that I thought I would share that were cute.

Here is a picture of John with Rylan just 9 days after we got home in March 2008. It was at his brother's wedding where Rylan was the hit of the show!

Here is Cameron (on the right) with his cousin Lane. This was outside the church and I must say... two handsome looking fellows! They look so grown up!

Here is a picture of Cameron at his birthday party in April 2008!

And I love this one with his Thomas the Train cake! It was SO cute but way too heavy. It started getting lop-sided!

Here is Rylan at his great-aunts birthday party! He's cute even with a dirty face!!!!
And another of Rylan. Not sure where this was, but it's cute!

Professional Pictures

2008-12-21T20:48:00.007-06:00

Boy, I swear there is just rarely a quiet moment in this house. Let me start out with my first aggrivation which has continued now for months. I've been trying like crazy to get a professional photo of the boys. Doesn't seem like it would be hard, yet Rylan's will be home 10 months in January!

Attempt #1 - The day started perfectly. Bath for the kids. Managed to keep them clean. We got to the portrait studio and were just outside the door when Rylan decided to dive for an electrical outlet on the floor! I quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him up... and at that same time he knew I was coming for him, so he jerked away. We lost the hold on each others hands and down he went. Face first into the tile floor! I scooped him up and his mouth and nose were bleeding, and he has a goose egg the size of silver dollar forming on his forehead. So needless to say that visit didn't end well. Thankfully after a few minutues he seemed fine. Cameron said "mom, you can still do my pictures". I felt horrible but tried to explain we'd reschedule.

Attempt #2 - This time we didn't even make it the studio. Rylan woke with earache and Cameron had a bad cough. I was bummed, but called to cancel. No point in even trying!

Attempt #3 - This was just about a month ago. We made back to back appts with Sean, Sonja, and Kayla. We had "big" plans to meet at the portrait studio and they would do their pictures first. Then we'd bet some of Rylan and Kayla together, then we'd do our pictures. Sounds good, right? Well, Rylan the night before was horribly crabby. He was pointing in his mouth and saying "OWE". And doing the same to his fingers too. I thought he had a mouth sore or 2-year molars coming in. Wasn't sure about the hands though as I couldn't see anything. The next morning we attempted the appointment and he was SO unusually crabby. He got excited to see Kayla, but after that it went downhill. We got him in the studio, then he screamed. He screamed so much that we had to leave the studio! I couldn't figure it out. He was miserable. Well, later that night little blisters started showing up on his hands and bottom. AHHH, I remembered hearing about this. Hand, foot , and mouth disease. A viral things that makes kids miserable... blisters break out all over the place. His mouth was FULL. No eating, no drinking, no sleeping, nothing but lots of crying. Poor kid.

Attempt #5 - Well, the next weekend we all got up. Everyone was healthy, happy, and ready to go! I threw the kids Christmas sweaters on and off to the mall we go. I was determined this time we would come away with something. Even if I had to fork over $15.00 for a 4-6 print! We pumped the kids up for the visit. Cameron I knew was excited and would be no problem. Rylan, I was not sure of. Well, we got there and he "appeared" excited! He was ready to budge to the front of the short line we were in. It was soon our turn. Cameron proudly walked up and hoisted himself on Santa's lap. Rylan, he turned and ran screaming! John took off running after him and brought him back, screaming louder! Me (in a not so proud moment), threw the stroller aside, grabbed Rylan and tossed him on Santa's lap, shoved John out of the way, told Santa not to let go, turned to the photographer and said "take the picture FAST".

Here is what we got!

For the life of me, I can't get it bigger without it being blurry (it's scanned) but maybe if you double click on it, you can? ... anyway you could count the teeth in Rylan's mouth... he was NOT happy! For those of you who think this is terribly cruel.... This was 5-10 seconds of a "not so comfortable moment". Rylan jumped off his lap, the tears were immediately turned off, and turned to Santa and held his hand out for candy! Then the lady showed me our picture and I laughed, and bought it anyway. I showed it to Rylan and said "look at you crying on Santa's lap". He pulled the picture from my hand and marched right up to Santa and holding it out just as the photographer was in the middle of working with another family. I'm not so sure they were happy to have Rylan in their picture! Retake for them, a quick exit from the mall for us.

**Part 2 of this saga continues, as the fun doesn't stop here... oh no, not in our house!**

Sean, Sonja, and Kayla

2008-12-18T12:10:00.000-06:00

The family that we have grown so close to throughout the course of our adoption was just featured on a local news station! In the spirit of adoption in the month of November (since that is National Adoption Month) they wanted to meet a family with a "unique twist to their adoption". Well, this family would be it! Their journey began not just at the adoption of Kayla, but long before that. Those years just led up to Kayla being the miracle that they were waiting for! Please enjoy a few pictures, and click on the links (or copy and paste them into your web bar) to see just a brief look at their journey. Warning, have a box of tissues handy!!!! By the way, what normally is a 5 minute segment with our local station, turned into a 3 part series. I swear, any one of us could have had our journey's made into a lifetime movie! Although this is very, very good.... there is so much more that happened that there just wasn't enough time for I'm sure. I LOVE this picture of Kayla. She just looks like a little princess!!!!
Here is mine and Sonja's 2nd visit trip to see our kids, and the first time Sean met his daughter. This was December 2007!
It's a little hard to see, but here Kayla is having Rylan comb her hair! She knows how to put the men to work right away!!!!
And Sean with his little girl... no more words needed, the picture says it all.

Another one of my favorites! We were out by the pool at the Marriott. I just love this little girl!

http://www.wkbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=9391636

http://www.wkbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=9463583

http://www.wkbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=9509825

Abbie is OUT!!!!!

2008-12-15T18:57:00.004-06:00

***Edited***I had to post this picture on this blog entry. Terri and her husband were traveling to Guatemala for a visit trip with Abbie. She SO graciously took a package for me to give to Rylan and his foster family being I knew I would not make it back there for his birthday. I had just had a visit trip in May 2007 when I met him for the first time. I was so sad that I wasn't going to hold him for his first birthday in July 2007. So not only did Terri take the package, she helped me arrange for our foster family to come to the hotel they were staying at and get the package (instead of having it delivered or leaving at the front desk for them)!!! When our foster family came, they took some great pictures that I will always treasure. This one is obviously of Terri, Abbie and Rylan. PRICELESS! Now that my son has met the two of them, I hope one day we can all meet one another in the USA!***

Oh my GOD, I have to give a HUGE shout out to Terri!!!! Her link in on my blog and if any of you have kept up with her adoption, you'll be pleased to hear that her daughter Abbie is OUT of PGN and coming home! Terri and I shared the same agency and that is how we met nearly 2 yrs ago. She was a huge source of support to me throughout our entire process. She signed the contracts to adopt her daughter a month before us, and Abbie has yet to come home. The lengths this family has traveled to pursue Abbie are unbelievable. No family should have had to experience what they did. No child should have had to go through what Abbie has. There has been incredible heartbreak, roadblocks, disappointments, and the list goes on and on. But the one thing they DID have was faith and determination and unmeasurable love. Abbie is so blessed to be going home to her family, finally. They have loved this child so much. Congratulations Terri, we've been praying for you all non-stop. If there was anyone who could do this, it was you girl!

More Of Cameron's Handy Work!

2008-12-05T17:48:00.005-06:00

Well, found a few more pictures that Cameron took with my camera! These were from Como Park and Zoo in Minneapolis, MN. We were going to the Twin Cities to visit John's aunt and cousins and decided to make a pit stop in the morning when they opened here. It's one of my favorite places actually. They have a new renovated area called Como Town filled with just enough rides to entertain the young kids. The Zoo is FREE, but of course welcomes donations. They've d one a great job remodeling and making the enclosures larger for the animals. Anyway, enjoy the pics, I did! Here is my nephew Lane (it would John's sister son)..... He is SO adorable!!!! He and Cameron are the best buddies ever!

Ok, here's Rylan eating something. I'm sure he will be thrilled with this picture when we present it at his high school graduation ; )
Apparently Cameron wasn't quite done with Rylan. He had to get him with the food in his mouth trying to say "CHEESE"!

Here's me. I saw him with my camera so I at least had a chance to try to look half way descent... minus the fact that it was VERY hot and I wore black! Heeeeellllooooo???

And here I present my husband, I am SO proud! I guess it could have been worse. Cameron and Rylan have been known to pick a few bad habbits up from him!!!
This is John's sister Carol. She was obviously unaware of the fact that her nephew Cameron was lurking beneath her to capture this fabulous picture!!!Here's Uncle Dan in his glory giving Cameron just the shot he wanted!!!Here's our little monkey Rylan scaling a climbing wall. Great picture Cameron and terrific job Rylan!And our little photographer decided to turn the Camera on himself to a nostril shot! Notice the little freckle on the tip of his nose! I LOVE IT!
And here our troop is passed out in the car on the way home. Of course they stayed awake the entire first 2 1/2 hrs home and fell asleep the last 30 minutes! Just our luck.
Don't wake sleeping babies.... that applies to toddlers and preschoolers too!!!

Hope you enjoyed another custom photo session!

Random Photo's

2008-12-01T13:57:00.006-06:00

Just thought I would post a few random photos while at my mom's house of her pets!!! I have to admit, they are pretty cute! Do they get you in the Christmas Spirit? HA!

These might be hard to see, but look at the faces the kids are making (Cameron, my god-daughter Makayla, and Rylan) as Ian (Makayla's dad) comes at them dressed in his Halloween costume! And lastly, one of John and boys! I was so glad he quit field work early that evening to go with us trick or treating. We need to enjoy these years when the kids actually want us with! A day will come where Halloween will be spend with their friends and mom and dad will be home veggin out on the couch!

Sorry these pictures are coming across in a weird order. For some reason this computer won't let me put them side by side. Go figure!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T21:08:00.002-06:00

I couldn't let the night slip away without posting to all! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!! What a great day! I'm exhausted though. I hosted at our home with about 16 adults and 4 kids. Thankfully everyone pitched in on the meal and it couldn't have been nicer. Yummy food & family, two of my favorite things ; ) Many times throughout the day my mind wandered to how thankful I am that Rylan was finally home this year to be a part of it! His 1st Thanksgiving!!! We all have so much to be thankful for!
Although I'm sad to say I won't be posting pics tonight : ( My dialup takes SO long and I've got to get to bed. I'm a Black Friday shopper so I'm hitting the sales very early!
I also wanted to offer my apologies that I've been lagging in postings. I spent every lunch hour last week uploading and developing pictures to send to Guatemala! There is a group of mom's going back in 10 days for a mission trip. Part of the fundraising their doing is taking envelopes on behalf of adoptive families. I was able to send to one of the moms a flat manilla envelope stuffed full of pics! For a small donation our envelopes will be delivered the 1st week of December to our foster families! So I've been putting together one for Rylan's foster mom, Corelli! I finally got it in the mail yesterday. The deadline to get it to them is December 1st so I had no time to waste. I'm happy to say that I'll have a posting this week full of pictures!!!
So Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful day!

Cameron's Photo Studio

2008-11-16T11:13:00.006-06:00

Cameron loves to get his hands on a camera! I never know exactly what I'll find when I download them. Thought you might get a kick out of seeing a fee shots of the ones I found on my camera after Rylan's birthday party!
Here is my dad! Quite unsuspecting as you can see and not too terribly impressed at the little photographer!
And yes, my son photographs beer cans! I am assuming this is my dad's (I can tell by the bigger 16oz size)!Someone's feet. Very nice. Maybe he thought I would like the flip flops?
My mother! Again, not to impressed to see her grandson snapping away pictures when she least expects it!
My best friend, Patty! She is quite the comedian! She has a specific pose you'll see in most pictures and this isn't it ; )

Things that Happen to Us!

2008-11-16T10:45:00.002-06:00

Last Friday afternoon I had off work. John and I took the boys to LaCrosse. John had a doctor appt, and I had schedule flu vaccines for the boys. Rylan was due for his 2nd shot (required) and Cameron was going to try the Flu Mist this year. John was to pick Cameron up and meet me and Rylan in Winona. Well, as luck would have it, he got busy and was running late. Cameron began to not feel well and I'm sure his "hurried" driving didn't help. We ran about 10 min late but thankfully the clinic was understanding. I dropped John at his appt and I stayed in the car with the kids who were sleeping! Ahhhh... well, that is until I parked the car. Cameron woke up. About 20 min later, Rylan was up. We ventured in the clinic and waited for John at his appt. After that, he had to go to the lab to give blood. We waited again. Kids, not so good at that. When we were done we went all the way across town to Pediatrics where the flu vaccinations were to happen, and we had an appt since it was the "flu clinic". Low and behold, the line is a mile long! Appts, don't matter that day. They are short staffed, go figure! So we wait some more. Finally, our turn. The nurse comes in tells me they are out of flu mist... would Cameron consider a shot? By the look on his face, I didn't even have to reply. She went out the door in hunt to find one last dose somewhere! And that was before consulting with us... So we waited. About 20 min later she returned only to refuse to give it to Cameron because he sounded like he had a head cold! I understood, it is a live virus, but we could have skipped the waiting for nothing part. So, Rylan gets his shot (not a happy boy) and out we go. Just to be on the safe side I had them do a throat culture on Cameron for strep throat. It was negative, but I thought why risk going all the way back home (50 min) just to have to come back.
This brings us to the next night, Saturday. We went with my parents to Prairie du Chien and got there around 2pm or so. Cameron was seeming ok, but didn't look 100%. We decided to eat supper around 4pm. Sure enough in the middle of dinner Cameron starts complaining about his ear hurting. We hurried to finish eating and enroute back to home I called the Clinic in La Crosse to see what time Urgent Care was open until. We had to go through that city to get home, figured we might as well nip this in the bud (kind of like I tried to do the night before). Well, Urgent Care closed at 5pm. We got to La Crosse at 5:20pm. It was a choice between once again go all the way home or take him in the ER to have him looked at. At this point he was wanting to go to the dr. So, off we go. I parked the car (with John, Rylan, and my parents in it). I went in and told them the story. By this time Cameron's eyes were looking pink and icky. The girl in admitting told me they weren't busy, so it shouldn't be long. Thank goodness, my family was waiting! We had a seat in the waiting room. We were called shortly to meet with a nurse. She observed Cameron and said "oh, he looks like he's got pink eye too". After she asked Cameron his pain level on a chart. It had a row of faces ranging from happy to very unhappy. He of course pointed to happy.... unhappy might mean a shot. I laughed and said if he was a happy we wouldn't be here! So, after that we go back to the waiting room to be called. We waited 30 min, then we were at 1 hr, then about 1hr 15 min later John called me on me cell to find out what was going on. At this point I was asking that very question. Every single person who came in after us was getting called! So then it's 2hrs later and my blood is boiling! A nurse came out to give Cameron a cracker and apple juice. John called to say Rylan was having an absolute meltdown in the car. I would have walked out of there except you know you keep thinking 10 more min and we have to get called! Finally 2hrs and 20min later were called in... only to be stuck in another room! After waiting nearly a total of 3hrs, I lost it! I pushed the buzzer for a nurse and went off. I told them in a dr wasn't in there in 5 min, we were leaving and filing a report! Well, the dr came. What did he do? NOTHING! He was in the room for about 2 min. He gave a prescription to get filled and told me his eyes were just part of a viral cold. That was it. I could have screamed! Well, I did actually.
Let me tell you what's happened since then. I did call the clinic 4 days later on Wednesday to report the incident. I figured if they don't know, they can't do anything.
The prescription the dr gave us was what they would give an adult! The dose and the size of pills. Cameron couldn't swallow them.
And to top it all off, he did have pink eye! How do I know? My mom woke up the next day with her eyes stuck shut! Rylan had it in one eye this past Friday, then Saturday in both eyes. And the cycle is yet to stop!
Sorry, normally I don't use the blog to vent. But I tell you, I was so disappointed in this clinic. I had better NOT get a whopper bill for that visit or I will go balistic!

New Member of the Family!

2008-11-11T18:15:00.004-06:00

What is harder to get to sit still than two kids when you try to take a picture... how about a FISH! That's right. The newest member of the family is a fish that Cameron somehow talked me into. See the blur in the lower left corner? Oh yes, the guilt trip of "mom, but he's in such a small house now" got me. He was right, those little tiny bowls that they sell betta fish in are enough to make you want to buy them all! After he checked them all out, he selected this one. He's very pretty! We picked out a bowl and of course had to have a sunken pirate ship. Funny story behind that. The sunken pirate ship doesn't fit so well in the bowl. It left room for the fish to get underneath so I had to put enough marble in so that it couldn't wedge itself and get stuck. Well, we let the bowl sit with water for a couple days like your supposed too after getting everything in it just right. We then started slowly mixing the "new" water with the water in the dish the betta was in... so as not to shock him too bad. As the day came to let him free in his new home, I had 3 guys standing behind me and I heard Cameron say to John "I hope mom doesn't kill him". Hmmm, no faith in me! So the next day the fish is great. Third day we come home and I went to the bowl and couldn't find him! I started twirling the bowl, shaking the ship inside, looking under the rock, then I worried maybe he jumped out to his death! I checked the counter, the floor, and heaven forbid the stove! Nothing. Just as Cameron came around the corner to feed him, he slowly swam out of the pirate ship where he must have been taking a leisurely nap! Little does the fish know he cost me a few more gray hairs!

Halloween!

2008-11-06T12:13:00.010-06:00

What did I say, are they not the cutest Harry Potter and Skunk you've every seen? Well, that is of course unless one of your kids dressed as one of these too I guess : )

With weather at 70 degrees in Wisconsin, we loved every minute of trick or treating outside! I'm a traditional person and the only way we'd be indoors is if it were bad weather. I've never actually done that. We've frozen our rears off some years... and oh yes, some years it's snowed! But that is what it is all about. Walking in the crisp, cool night. Hearing all the laughter from the kids as they run door to door! LOVE IT!!!

Here is my unsuspecting little skunk checking out the spooky yard! It was only our 2nd stop and he was still trying to figure everything out. He'd been noticing this house across the street from my mom and dad's... but he needed a closer look. Notice the man walking towards him in the back? This yard had live "gooblins" throughout. It was by far the coolest house in town!Well, it appeared after the goblin tapped Rylan on the back it took him 1.2 seconds to run and scream! See the pumpkin in Rylans left hand. He was in mid toss pitching it right into the guys stomach! The pumpkin and all Rylan's candy was rolling across the yard, he was so outta there!After Rylan made his abrupt exit and daddy calmed him down, he became friends with the only "woman" dressed up in that yard! She was a spooky witch, but he liked her. The minute any of the others would come towards him, he took off down the sidewalk!

We started trick or treating about 5pm down by my mom and dad's. My dad always stays home to hand out candy. So me, John, the boys, my sister and neice, and my mom trucked off with the kids. We walked the entire time and got back to their house around 8:30pm! We had a blast! The kids did fantastic and had such a good time.

And here I am with the boys just before we got started! I cherish these days... I really do. It's so much fun to see them excited and to get to be a part of their lives! They are growing so quickly in so many ways.

Carving Pumpkins

2008-11-05T19:34:00.007-06:00

Thought I'd start out with our Halloween posts by sharing some pictures leading up to trick or treating! We can't forget the pumpkin carving, especially since it was another 1st for Rylan!

So the week of Halloween night we carved our pumpkins we picked with Sonja and Kayla! Oh yes, did I ever mention our trip to the pumpkin patch with them? It was 38 degrees with 35-40 mph winds, and we got our first snow too which caused a white out on our way home! It was FREEZING out. We were shocked that the kids didn't seem to bothered by it! Didn't stop us from doing the fastest pumpkin picking you'd ever seen! After we got that done, we got some carmeled apples and headed to Mc Donalds for lunch! The kids loved seeing each other and had a nice time playing. Rylan absolutely loves Kayla. He gets all excited when he sees her picture or hears her name! And when he knows were going to see her, it's all I can do to keep him settled down. He calls her "Nina, Nina". In Spanish, it means little girl. That's been his name for her since our visits when they both were in Guatemala. Can you see an arranged marriage here? I can! I'm saving a post just for Kayla coming up too. Lots of pictures to share!

Well, the pumpkin carving was going great, that is for about 5 minutes! Just long enough for the kids to make a mess, then run their trucks through it when I wasn't looking, and then thought it wasn't fun anymore once I caught them! So mom got to sit by herself on the kitchen floor for about an hour and finishing. Hmmm, I seem to remember this happening last year with Cameron!?

So, once I was finished this is where I found the boys. They bailed on me and went into the living room to watch cartoons. Don't they look completely enthused to you!? HA! Men in the making I tell ya! By the way, the face Rylan is making is me asking them both to come back and help me clean up. You can just see the "awwww, noooo mom"! Cameron, we'll he was just tuning me out. Go figure!

And here we are all proud to say, is our finished products! Cameron colored the one in the middle. He actually helped me outline the ones that were carved too. My next post will be with Halloween pictures! They boys looked so cute!!!

Ramblings

2008-10-30T19:02:00.005-05:00

I have a post that I've been working on since last Friday that's not quite done yet! I've been trying to post video on it and so far no luck. Not because I don't think it will work, but it takes so darn long that I run out of time during lunch. My not so speedy dial-up at home would probably take days to load! So I promise to try again tomorrow.

I'll leave you with a couple Cameron and Rylan stories for now! It's always something interesting at our house:

So Cameron and I are in bed going to sleep and it's really dark (yes, I still let him fall asleep in our bed, then take him to his room!). Rylan was already out. We're laying there in the darkness and Cameron says, mom, I need a tissue. Me, I ask why? He said, because I was picking in my ear and I have wax on my finger. Me (thinking "oh gross")... but I roll over to feel for a tissue on the night stand. I rolled back and said, Cameron here... So he proceeds to say "never mind mom, I don't need it". Me, what do you mean never mind? Where did the ear was go? He says, it fell off my finger. Hmmm, we still haven't recovered it out of our bed!!!!

A couple nights ago I got into bed and Cameron was almost sleeping. Rylan's playpen where he sleeps (oh yes, he's in our room too) is on the other side of our bed next to the night stand. He was quiet as well, so I quick flipped the light out and got into bed. Rylan started rambling... Mamma.... ummm Mamma.... and I could hear the playpen creaking. The kind of sound you hear when it's getting wiggled. Not uncommon for him. Sometimes he actually rolls around and around in it. So I say, Rylan shhhhh! He quiets for a minute then starts back in for what seemed like forever just mumbling away things I couldn't understand until he finally said... ummm Mamma, stuck. I knew there was nothing near him that would "get stuck". Finally I turned on the light to see what he was doing and found him strateling the top bar of the playpen. He was laying on his belly right down the bar with one leg inside the playpen and one leg out! He must have been getting out when I came in the room and shut the light off then got confused at to which way to roll back into bed!!! Do you have any idea how long he was like this? I'm guessing at least 20 minutues! How comfortable could that have been?Once I flipped that light on he rolled over the edge back into bed quickly! It was pretty funny actually. He didn't even complain. My little monkey man!

Thankful Thursday!

2008-10-23T17:30:00.003-05:00

Since Cameron got the "Wordless Wednesday", I had to give Rylan what I'd like to call "Thankful Thursday"! This is one of his referral pictures. I saw that face and was instantly in love. I had always thought we had a boy so as long as it was an option to choose a gender, we'd go girl. I suprised myself when I couldn't stop thinking about this photo. I have to admit, that was because I always though 3 kids would be the magic number. That we'd go back for a girl. I was convinced to start another adoption even before Cameron got home! Then after he came home, I thought NO WAY! I can't do two kids. I'm not good at it! Well, 7 months later and the thought enters my mind more times in a day than it probably should. Seriously, someone commit me!

Wordless Wednesday!

2008-10-22T19:23:00.003-05:00

Ha! I can finally participate in Wordless Wednesday now that I can show pictures. Do they call it "wordless" because your not supposed to blog? You know me, I always have something to say and I rarely stick to the rules! Anyway, wasn't Cameron just about the cutest thing EVER!

First Experiences!

2008-10-15T18:32:00.016-05:00

How about the first haircut! I have to say he did quite well at the first one with some help from a lollypop. However, the 2nd time I attempted to take both kids alone (without John) and my gosh, it was a nightmare! I had to drag Cameron in. Once we got in, Cameron sat fine and Rylan screamed the entire time. I'm sure the other people there getting their hair done were real appreciative!
Ahhh, yes. My niece's preschool graduation! Remember the little girl on t.v named Punky Brewster? Well, here you have her! Except our punky brewster is going to be a Roller Derby Queen! She is one tough cookie. First carnival ride experience at Winona Steamboat Days! He loved it! The only thing he didn't like was the little kiddie dragon rollercoaster. It started up and he immediately started screaming. Thankfully the man stopped it and left him off!Can't forget his 2nd birthday, at home! This child ran non-stop the entire afternoon and evening. We had such a good time and were so glad our family and friends were able to share in it!

And we can't forget the first messy face photo! Well, technically it's not the first... and not the first at our house either. This child eats like cookie monster. He can have one single chocolate chip in his hand and you'd swear he tried eating an entire bag! MESSY!

First Tooth!

2008-10-13T18:55:00.002-05:00

We had a major milestone today, Cameron lost his first tooth! I still can't believe it. He was sort of complaining a few weeks ago about one on the bottom being loose. I just thought he might have knocked it loose on something. Today when I picked him up from daycare, he was excited to show me how loose it now was. I about fell over! Aren't kids supposed to be like 10yrs old or something when this happens? My gosh, next he'll be coming with a driver's license!

Anyway, we got home and I started making supper. Me and boys ate, then John got home. Cameron showed him the toothe and John of course asked if she should get the pliers! Cameron went into the living room to play and about 10 minutues later he came back with his tooth in his hand. Unbelievable! My BABY. The one who's first tooth I eagerly watched for! I'm now holding it in my hand. Gosh, someone slow down the clock. I'm not ready for this, I'm really not!

Pictures from Colorado!

2008-10-09T16:07:00.008-05:00

Just wanted to share some pictures from our trip to Colorado Springs. We had airlines points to use (we've been saving them for years) and thought we'd better use them before they changed the program on us! We all had free tickets! Anyway, everything went great! The kids loved the plane and were so well behaved on it, the hotel was great, and all the activites we planned went perfectly! The kids could not have been better to be honest! Nothing comes with a meltdown here or there, but really, I was impressed by them. If there's one thing I've learned about my boys, it's that they are at their best when busy.

Ummm, I must mention before I go any further that we did have one problem before the trip really got started. We stayed overnight in St. Paul the night before we left so we could be all refreshed and at the airport early for our 9:30am flight. We got there and discovered a BIG mistake. Word of caution: Read your itinerary closely on any schedule trips to make sure your flying at the right times. There's a big difference between AM and PM flights. We learned that the hard way. Lucky for me and the boys we got on a standy flight just an hour or so after we "thought" our flight was scheduled to leave. John, well, he had to wait in the airport about 9hrs for when the flight was "actually" scheduled to leave because standby was full! This would explain why I got some VERY large charges on the credit card account for the "Cantina" and the "Airport Bar". Needless to say, it was justified and I said not one word! Once we got that major scheduling detail out of the way, all was great!

Here are the boys and I on the Royal Gorge Train. It was great and one of the most fun things we did actually!

Here is John and boys on the suspension bridge above the Royal Gorge! It was amazing! The train we went on was below us in the canyon. It was so breezy and so incredibly high up in the air!

Rylan in this picture is receiving a time out on Pike's Peak Mountain! He was SO mad because I wouldn't let him scale down the mountain at 13,000 ft!!! Mean Mommy!As you can see, Cameron had quite a laugh at locking up his daddy and brother in the jail at Buckskin Joe's! It's an old western town that was really neat to walk through. They even had a little western show complete with a gun fight and hanging! John and Cameron loved it, Rylan cried as soon as the first "gun" and the men were "hollering" at each other. I had to hide out in the candy shop that we were sitting in front of!

Our Dog, Lucy

2008-10-07T20:50:00.004-05:00

We have got the cutest dog on earth, I swear it! Well, all pet lovers I'm sure think that of their dogs, most days anyway : )

Lucy came to us from an animal shelter above Minneapolis, MN. She was about 6 months old or so when we received a call from the Pug Rescue of Minnesota. I had written a letter that I had lost my dog, a very old Pug that I rescued from a family that was beating her. That poor thing had originally came from a puppy mill before that, so she was in bad shape. Her health was poor. Anyway, I loved her so much! Me and Dolly, that is all it was for awhile. When she passed I was heart broken. So nearly a year later I was happy to have found Lucy! John and I with my parents drove a long way for her!

Lucy has the best temperment of any dog I've known. We've had her for about 10 years already and when Cameron was born, she adapted so well! She loved him right away! Rylan, that's been a bit more of an adjustment on his part.... but she's doing great! She knows just how to handle him.

Well, poor Lucy had a near death experience a few weeks ago. She was nearly ran over by our car and I was the driver!!! Never, ever had we had something like this happen. As I was pulling in the garage she ran under my vehicle and tried coming out between my back tire and the running board. Thankfully I was going really slow and just sort of rolled up on her stomach. I knew immediately by instinct something wasn't right (and it wasn't one of the kids toys). Thank GOD I stopped the car and was able to see her enough to back up! It was horrible! She was bruised and battered, but nothing broke and no serious injuries. She's older now so her recovery took longer. She's getting lots of pampering from all of us! Amazing how these little critters become part of your family.

Cameron was so worried about Lucy. You should see him with this dog. He just loves her! Rylan too! I pray we have her around for a long, long time yet. She has alway been Mommy's Girl since day 1. She's with me in the house wherever I go! I'd be as heart broken as the kids when Lucy's days become numbered. How can you not love that face!?

Tidbits!

2008-10-02T19:09:00.004-05:00

Thought I'd share one of my favorite pictures of Rylan in Kayla while in Guatemala December 2007. This was right before I had to give Rylan back to his foster family. Don't you think it looks like the two were dreaming of coming home? I do!

So here is a conversation from earlier today with Cameron.

Cameron: Mom, can you take me to school?

Me: No, mommy has to be to work early. I'd like to, but I can't

Cameron: Mommy I don't like daycare. I want you to do it.

Me: I know Cameron, but it will get better.

Cameron: Mommy, can't Grandma Farm take me (John's mom)

Me: No, she has to milk cows.

Cameron: Well, she could do it anyway.

Me: Not really buddy, unless you think she should sell the cows?

Cameron: MOM! She can't! Cows are important to farms! We need them or no one will have milk. Mom, you shouldn't say that (he's really mad)!

Me: HUH? Well, alrighty then. Daycare it is for awhile.

I swear, the child gets smarter every single day. School continues to go well. The daycare in the mornings has been a huge issue though! He did great the first few days, but then one day insisted he wasn't going. I drug him out the car when we got there, took him inside, set him down, only to have him run out the door and into the car again! Luckily daycare mom is experienced and knew what to do. She came out to get him and held him while in a calm voice said "bye mom, have a good day at work"... I climbed in the car and when I looked back Cameron was screaming and crying and dropped to his knees while being held by her. I cried the entire 25 minute trip to work. It was horrible! I obsessed over it all day. I was completely overwhelmed and I think even a little emotionally distraught myself. I kept thinking - my gosh, I've scared him for LIFE! So, when I get through the day to go back to get him, what does he say when he sees me.... Mom, can we stay 5 more minutes? That was another HUH? moment!

Beside the ulzer that I am convinced my kids are giving me, we're all doing great ; )

Rylan continues to be a breeze most days! He still gets up with the roosters but really, he is so great. He's been home 6 months and I can finally say that we are starting to feel normal. Like we've got our routine down and I am finally enjoying it all. It took awhile. This house was crazy... and I really mean that! It also took quite awhile for him to start to need me. He was pretty independent and that bothered me. I imagine he had to be while in Guatemala. He was used to that. It feels like a major break through now that he really wants me!

I have so much to post, but don't want to do it all at once. Anyone who knows me know I could write a novel.

Welcome!

2008-09-07T20:31:00.001-05:00

Welcome to our new blog! I'm excited that finally I may have a blog where I can post pictures with my entries! My other one was just way too hard to use.

Enjoy some pictures for now, and watch for another post later this week. I'll get to the part from our vacation where we left John in the airport. You don't want to miss it!