tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12239984609851263552024-02-19T09:57:16.895-05:002nd Time AroundDan and Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06563256031550475448noreply@blogger.comBlogger187125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223998460985126355.post-48698122943882179902014-09-13T15:31:00.003-04:002014-09-13T15:31:23.357-04:007 Years<br />
On August 27 we celebrated seven years since we became parents to three little boys from Colombia. Hard to believe it's been that long. At times it seems like yesterday and other times it seems like there was never a time we were not their parents. We went out for ice cream to celebrate. Not a big deal, but an acknowledgement of the anniversary. In the beginning holidays and celebrations were very difficult for them and while that is not the case so much now we have continued to keep our celebrations low key. We talked about what they were like then and watched videos of our first few days as a family.<br />
For us their coming into our family was a joyous occasions. One that we had worked hard to make happen in a short period of time. For them it was scary. Talking to Maicol recently he remembers that he was told about one week before we came that they were going to be adopted and going to America. Juan Pablo remembers being scared and when we watch the video of our first meeting he has a smile on his face, but looks nervous and scared. Andrew remembers nothing, but loves to watch the videos. At two years of age, I'm not sure he could really understand what was happening. They got haircuts and said good-bye to their friends and classmates. They put a change of clothes in a bag to bring with them and were introduced to their new parents who would take them to a new country to live. What a scary thing! But, they have met the challenge and are thriving. They aren't perfect kids (and we're not perfect parents) and they have their struggles - some related to their difficult start in life and some plain old kid things, but it has been an amazing journey thus far. To watch them learn a new language, adapt to a new culture, understand that they are in this family permanently, grow physically, spiritually and academically, see their gifts and talents emerge, and build memories has been something we could not have imagined when we first began this process of growing our family through adoption. What an adventure it has been!<br />
In one more year we will have passed the milestone in which we have been their parents longer than we have not. Another milestone with many more to come.<br />
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Karen<br />
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A "THEN" and "NOW" picture.<br /></div>
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Dan and Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06563256031550475448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223998460985126355.post-34243662040586807532013-07-18T21:37:00.001-04:002013-07-18T22:58:58.428-04:00The Day History ChangedAs usual I am way behind, so here's recap of March, April, May, June and July.<br />
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In April we welcomed two grandchildren! Emelyn was born first. She is a sweet, smiley little girl.<br />
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We had nearly given up on having any snow this winter and then it happened! We took full advantage of it. Sledding and snowball fights and just playing outside in it. For kids who previously thought they would freeze to death when the thermometer went down to 60 they have learned to embrace the cold and snow.</div>
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One project we worked on for school was making marble mazes out of Lego blocks. I'm not sure who made which one now, but it was fun.<br />
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In March we celebrated Andrew's 8th birthday. Hard to believe our "baby" is that old. He is "wearing" his favorite gift. An Angry Birds hooded blanket.</div>
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We also had to have the traditional Easter egg hunt. They may be getting older, but they still begged to hunt eggs. Maybe it was the fact that last year there was money in the eggs? They found a little money in their eggs this year too. :)<br />
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Everyone played baseball this year. We spent many hours driving to practices and games. They all enjoyed it and want to play again next year. Maicol is actually going to play again this fall. He is the one that lives and breathes baseball. He even spent his savings and birthday money on catchers gear. Initially he loved soccer, but now he thinks it is "dumb". They still spend many hours in the backyard playing with each other and the neighbor kids.<br />
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I found this recently on the sidewalk in front of our house. It was hard to get it all in the picture, but it says "Mom I Love You. It was a message from Andrew.</div>
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We took the month of June and part of July off from school. The boys were excited (NOT) to start again this Wednesday. While it was nice not to plan school everyday, they do not do well without structure and so we decided we needed to get back to routine. </div>
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Two of my nephews came for a visit last week. That's a lot of boys in one house! They had a good time together. Juan Pablo is already asking when they can come back. </div>
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Today is an anniversary of sorts. The day history changed for our family and three little boys. This was the day 6 years ago that a committee of people in Colombia met and "assigned" us our sons. I always thought using the term assignment when referring to the referral of our children was kind of interesting. I tend to think of an assignment as something that might not necessarily be fun, but something that you must complete. We have said many times it's like the famous Mission Impossible quote "this is your assignment, should you choose to accept it". And accept it we did. :) I think we would both say that many times it isn't "fun". But how many things that are only fun offer such great rewards? We have been blessed with three sons that are rapidly growing into three young men. There are many times that they make us crazy, but there are so many times that are wonderful. They keep us active, they challenge us, they stretch our patience and they love us even when we make mistakes. What a privilege to watch them learn about so many new things, celebrate birthdays and holidays, teach them to read, watch them grow physically, see them understand the permanence of a family and introduce them to Jesus. We are blessed.</div>
Dan and Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06563256031550475448noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223998460985126355.post-75379482057134149002013-03-10T21:20:00.002-04:002013-03-10T21:20:50.372-04:00March<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I thought I should get a post in before we start with birthday month and the new grandbabies coming. It should be busy around our house in the next month or so. :)</div>
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One of the things I have been longing to be able to do is read "chapter" books to the boys. We have been able to get them to sit still and listen to short storybooks (with lots of pictures), but when we have tried previously to read something without pictures it didn't go very well. I had picked up a book at the library recently to try, but Dan remembered this book series that he read as a child and thought they might enjoy reading it. Amazingly, they really like it! The book is about a family of 4 children and the adventures they have. There are a few simple illustrations, but it is primarily just words. Each chapter ends with a bit of a cliffhanger so they are excited to read the next chapter each night. It's not earth shattering, but it certainly is real progress for them to sit still, listen and be able to follow along with the story. They even stop Dan and ask him what words or phrases they don't know mean. Yeah!! :)</div>
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We thought we had missed the chance to go sledding this year, but we were blessed with a good 4-5 inches of snow this week. We took a snow day and went sledding. Everyone had a good time. Hard to believe that just 4 days later it's in the 60's. Crazy Indiana weather!</div>
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In school we have been studying about volcanoes. That, of course means that you have to get a bottle, add some water, soap, baking soda and vinegar and make a "volcano". It was a mess, but fun. We could have done this all day. We watched a couple of videos about volacanoes and will be doing some writing and worksheets this week.<br />
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This is Andrew doing his schoolwork. Not sure why this pose is necessary, but it that's what it takes for him to get things done it's fine with me. He has some trouble sitting still sometimes. :)<br />
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Everyone is signed up for baseball this spring. So, lots of driving and coordinating things to get them where they need to be. Grandbabies coming in April. Three kids birthdays this month. Always something going on!<br />
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Until next time.<br />
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Karen<br />
Dan and Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06563256031550475448noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223998460985126355.post-4391064782297751762013-02-22T20:41:00.000-05:002013-02-22T20:41:21.904-05:00January/February<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hard to believe that winter will be over soon. We did have one "good" snow that provided several days of fun before it melted. The driveway of course needed to be shoveled, so very reluctantly they took their shovels and got started. When I looked out to check on them they had shed their coats and were working hard. They eventually ended up with a big pile of snow that they then dug out and made a snow house. </div>
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We made a trip to Grandma's in January. It was warm enough to play in the little stream that runs by her house. And of course their were "critters" to bring in and show Mom. We kept these little ones for a couple of days and then let them go. Luckily, I can usually get them to put things back if we take a picture so that we can remember whatever it is.<br />
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We also managed to finally celebrate Juan Pablo's 11th birthday. It was in November, but since he still had stitches in his head and was restricted a little on activity we waited. He had a few friends over for cake and ice cream and we also went to a local place to play games, duck pin bowling and have pizza. Hard to believe this is the 6th birthday we have celebrated with him.</div>
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In January we went to a state park for a 2-night, 3-day vacation. A nice chance to relax, sleep a little extra and do a little bit of what you want to do. That meant the boys watched movies and played their iPods, Dan slept and did a 500 piece puzzle, and I read. This has become a yearly trip for us and we look forward to it. We stayed in a cabin instead of the inn this year and that worked out great. Lots more room, and since we cooked our own meals it came out about the same price.<br />
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There have been many teeth lost in our house in the last couple of months. Andrew has lost 5 teeth and Juan Pablo four I think. Poor Andrew doesn't have any teeth in the front that "meet". He's cute, but is really looking forward to his teeth coming in.<br />
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This is what you do when you fuss about doing your schoolwork and have to stay home and not play with your friends. This is Juan Pablo's contraption. A combination of an old desk top, skateboard, various pieces of metal and plenty of duct tape to hold it all together. He and Andrew rode it down the driveway a few times. I love what a great imagination he has. <br />
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For Valentines day we did heart and Valentine things. We even watched part of a video of a heart disection. At least Andrew and Juan Pablo watched it. Maicol is very squeamish about anything medical. We also played a simple, but fun game called Don't Eat Pete. Basically it's a 9 square grid with silly faces on it. You put a piece of candy or something on each space. One person leaves the room and the other people choose a face to be Pete. When the one person comes back he starts to eat the candy. When he gets to Pete everyone yells "Don't eat Pete!" and he has to stop. The object is to eat as many pieces as possible. We did several rounds with goldfish crackers.<br />
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Not much else to report. We did see the neurosurgeon last week. Juan Pablo had an MRI and it appears that everything is as it should be. He told us we don't need to see him for a couple of years and that if he goes for a full year without a seizure we can stop the medication. Unfortunately no jumping on the trampoline for several more months, but he can play baseball this spring if he wants to (if he wears a helmet all the time). So, I guess it's time to sign up for baseball. </div>
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Our newest grandchildren are due in about 7 weeks now. We are excited to meet them and I know their parents are too. :) </div>
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Karen</div>
<br />Dan and Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06563256031550475448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223998460985126355.post-78148489830927422502012-12-21T15:09:00.000-05:002012-12-21T15:09:59.945-05:00Back to Normal<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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At our home it is "back to normal", or at least as normal as it gets around here. :) School has been happening every day, cooking and cleaning get done and life just keeps speeding right along. Juan Pablo is doing fantastic. We had a follow up appointment with the neurosurgeon and he is doing fine. He will have an MRI in February to check and make sure everything is as expected. He is still taking his anti-seizure medication (which he hates) and can't participate in "contact sports" or jump on the trampoline, but otherwise things are normal.</div>
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Some of these pictures are earlier in the fall and some are later. </div>
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Our grandson Aidan celebrated his first birthday. He wasn't too sure about the cake, but he did eat some of it. He is such a happy little boy and so much fun. In the spring he will be joined by a little sister. He will also be getting a cousin. Our daughter and her husband are expecting a baby boy at the same time. Lots of baby fun and loving coming our way in April!</div>
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Not the best picture, but this is what you do when you have to stay in your room because you were disobedient. Juan Pablo and Andrew took blankets, stretched them across their room and made a "tent". Maicol joined them for a campout in their bedroom. Quite a mess, but lots of good memories made.<br />
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In October we made a trip to the college where Dan graduated (and where we met). The boys had not been there before. The weather was decent enough for us to get outside and show them some of the places we used to go. This is a picture of a lake near the college we spent time at. These are the cliffs where you could jump off into the water. It was too cold for that now, but I was just sure Andrew was going to find a way to get in the water. Miraculously he stayed dry. But I did do alot of reminding to stay away from the edge.<br />
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Way too close to the edge for me. <br />
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They may not always get along, but they love each other.<br />
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One of the adventures the last couple of weeks has taken place in our backyard. Andrew came to me and wanted to know if he could dig a hole in the front yard. Something he had seen on TV. I vetoed that idea, but did tell him he could dig in the garden area in the back yard. I figured it was a good way to get the soil turned and they could have fun. It started out as a little hole and is now maybe 2 feet deep, 2 -3 feet wide and 6 feet long. Kind of coffin shaped. :) They (and several other kids in the neighborhood) have built a top for it with scrap lumber and play out there. I have had quite a bit of mud in my house as a result, but they have had a great time working and playing together.</div>
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This is an inside project they worked on one day. Dan had this set of plastic corrugated pieces that you put together to make big shapes to play in. After they finished it of course they wanted to sleep in it. I did let them attempt it, but they were obviously not going to be getting any sleep and so they ended up in their beds. <br />
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This is football in the hallway. Since Juan Pablo can't play football they figured playing in the hallway and lining the floor with comforters, blankets and pillows would be okay for him. Lots of fun and no injuries.<br />
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This is from our study of earthworms. Juan Pablo had been pestering me for a long time to study worms. I finally relented. We studied about them, did some puzzles and writing about them and then crafts. The first picture is using partially cooked linguine dipped in paint and then dragging it across paper like a worm to make a picture.<br />
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This is eating "worms". Hot dogs cut into thin strips and then notched along the edges so that they would curl a little when boiled. Fun and kind of gross at the same time. Gotta love boys!<br />
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Last night we had snow. Only a couple of inches, but it was enough that they were out the door this morning to play. We're certainly hoping for much more!<br />
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We are looking forward to Christmas in just a few days and all the fun and excitement that brings. We have been doing some advent reading almost every night and have enjoyed that. I think the lighting and blowing out of the candle is the most exciting part for them. Hopefully they are learning a little bit too. :) <br />
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God has blessed us greatly this year and we are so thankful. <br />
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Dan and KarenDan and Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06563256031550475448noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223998460985126355.post-2906977183538601532012-11-05T21:15:00.001-05:002012-11-05T21:15:51.110-05:00HomeIn His great mercy, God has given us the answer to our prayers that we had hoped for. Juan Pablos' surgery was successful, he had a very quick recovery, no complications and no physical or mental deficits. We were able to bring him home today. It is hard to imagine that just four days ago he had the extensive brain surgery that he did and he is now home and essentially the same as he was before the surgery. He has no deficits - except for probably being a little tired he seems normal. The swelling in his face is almost gone. He is eating, playing and conversing normally. The incision was quite large - from above his right eye all the way to his left ear. The stitches will remain for at least a couple of weeks and he is sensitive about people seeing him. Hopefully this will be a good learning experience for him. He has always been very bad about staring at people who have an obvious physical handicap. Now, he is on the other side of that situation. I'm hoping he might gain some insight into how other people feel. <br />
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Here is a picture of him from today. <br />
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Juan Pablo and Andrew with a little friend they found today. They came in and told me they had something to show me. First, they asked me to close my eyes. That usually means there is something alive that they want to surprise (try to scare) me with. Fortunately, I don't usually scream at bugs so it's usually okay. Although, I have learned to not let them get too close with the unknown thing. It was a small praying mantis. After they had pictures taken they were happy to take it back outside and let it go (quit torturing it). :)<br />
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We appreciate all of your prayers on our behalf. We don't know how it could have gone any better. We feel very blessed.</div>
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Dan and Karen</div>
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Dan and Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06563256031550475448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223998460985126355.post-80852167859405535342012-11-03T21:20:00.000-04:002012-11-03T23:19:06.494-04:00Looking to MondayJuan Pablo is doing great. His face is a little more swollen, but he is strong and able to walk around with ease. We were led to believe he could go home today or tomorrow, but the surgeon said he wanted to keep him around 'til Monday. Thanks for your prayers.<br />
Dan<br />
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Here are a few pictures. <br />
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Checking out the IV needle before it is put in. He didn't even flinch when she put it in. <br />
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Ready to head to the OR.</div>
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This is today. Maicol and Andrew came to visit. They may be annoyed with each other sometimes, but they miss each other. His face is pretty swollen, but that should begin to go down in the next day or two. That's his biggest complaint - the swelling in his face and especially the left eye. It was swollen shut this morning, but improved throughout the day. All is pretty quiet in the Peds ICU - except for the one crying baby. :) Juan Pablo is down for the night and I'm about to be too. Thanks for your prayers - this has gone much better than we ever imagined.<br />
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Karen<br />
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Dan and Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06563256031550475448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223998460985126355.post-80882594053926533392012-11-02T08:55:00.001-04:002012-11-02T08:55:04.576-04:001st nightThe night went about as well as could be expected. They had to wake him up about every hour to check on him, but he seems to be doing pretty well. A little swelling of the head and eyes - not a pretty sight. They just told us if he continues to do as well as he is now he may be able to go home over the weekend! They had said it would be a week, so he must be doing very well. Thanks for your prayers! God is good!<br />
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DanDan and Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06563256031550475448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223998460985126355.post-60256897897920965882012-11-01T16:35:00.002-04:002012-11-01T16:35:41.924-04:00In his roomJuan Pablo is in his room and resting well when they let him. He's not in a great mood but I don't suppose I would be either. He's starting on ice chips and will work his way up to other liquids. All is going well according to everyone we talk to. Please continue to pray.<br />
DanDan and Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06563256031550475448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223998460985126355.post-2380132405886860562012-11-01T12:47:00.000-04:002012-11-01T12:47:12.452-04:00Success!!Juan Pablo is out of surgery! It only took 3.5 hrs. Praise God for His mercies! He'll be in recovery for a couple of hours and then we'll be able to see him. Will keep you posted.<br />
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Dan and KarenDan and Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06563256031550475448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223998460985126355.post-39610275209815282242012-10-31T23:15:00.001-04:002012-10-31T23:15:44.304-04:00TomorrowTomorrow is the big day. We have spent the last month planning, praying and waiting and now it is here. Juan Pablo is scheduled to have an MRI at 6:15am and then his surgery will follow. Not sure how long it will take. They have the OR reserved for 7 hours, so I'm guessing it's not a quick thing. :)We will be leaving a little before 5am for the hospital. Juan Pablo is not thrilled with the idea, but seems to be doing ok. His biggest concerns are not being able to play outside with his friends and having a scar on his head. Dan buzzed his hair tonight. Since they will be shaving part of his head we thought we would try to help it grow out a little more even by starting with it all very short. <br />
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We appreciate your prayers tomorrow. The plan is for him to be in the hospital for a week. I will update the blog tomorrow.<br />
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KarenDan and Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06563256031550475448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223998460985126355.post-39271393870940462432012-10-26T22:09:00.001-04:002012-10-26T22:09:53.722-04:00Fall 2007-2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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I took the "annual" fall picture in the front yard last week. You would think that it would get easier to get a decent picture of the three of them as they get older, but it isn't! I must have tried 10 times the first round and probably that many times the second round. Maybe someday they'll cooperate.</div>
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I thought I had pictures taken each fall, but couldn't find a couple of years so I had to substitute a little. While we know they are always growing and changing, it is amazing to look back and see just how much they have grown. It's hard to remember just how little they were.</div>
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2012</div>
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2007Dan and Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06563256031550475448noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223998460985126355.post-58157179600153171612012-10-01T22:31:00.000-04:002012-10-01T22:31:34.586-04:00HomeJuan Pablo came home Sunday as expected. This part of the process could not have gone any better. He seems to be his usual self - although he did sleep 12 hours last night. Being in the hospital makes you tired. :) We are back to our regular routine. School was done with the usual whining, meals were cooked and eaten, baseball was played in the backyard until dark and teeth were brushed before bed. Ahhhh, I love "normal". <br />
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Now we begin planning and praying for the final step - surgery on Nov. 1.<br />
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KarenDan and Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06563256031550475448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223998460985126355.post-60050945386109595452012-09-29T11:51:00.000-04:002012-09-29T11:51:09.892-04:00SaturdayEverything is going exceptionally well. Juan Pablo got some sleep last night. I think I slept a little between 4 and 7 am. :( With the hourly vital and neuro checks, monitors beeping, sirens and the Lifeline helicopter coming and going it wasn't easy. He feels good, is eating good and is just his normal self. No pain at all. He just wants to go home. Maicol and Andrew are here for a visit. I'm going to go home with them and Dan is going to stay tonight. If his blood pressure stays where they want it to he should be able to go home tomorrow.<br />
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Thank you for your prayers. They have certainly been answered.<br />
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KarenDan and Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06563256031550475448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223998460985126355.post-66461417344597376952012-09-28T13:07:00.002-04:002012-09-28T13:07:51.466-04:00Juan Pablo UpdateJuan Pablo had his embolization this morning. He had a hard time waking up from the anesthesia, but is doing good now - eating ice chips and watching TV. He should be able to sit up in a couple of hours and then can have some real food. He is hoping for Taco Bell, but I think we'll start with something a little milder. :) Thankfully they were able to do what they needed to in this one procedure, so he will not need another one. We spoke with the neurosurgeon this morning and have scheduled his surgery for November 1. So for now we are just hanging out at the hospital for a couple of days and watching his blood pressure to make sure it stays low.<br />
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Thanks for your prayers. <br />
<br />
Dan and KarenDan and Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06563256031550475448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223998460985126355.post-53197354058287234302012-09-24T21:19:00.000-04:002012-09-24T21:19:29.105-04:00Juan Pablo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On June 26 Juan Pablo had a seizure. After a trip to the ER and some tests we discovered he has an arteriovenous malformation (AVM). This is something he was born with and we would not know about it until he had symptoms - such as a seizure. An AVM is an abnormal connection between arteries and veins. These can occur anywhere in the body, and Juan Pablo's is in his brain. There are two options - either treat it (if possible) or wait for it to rupture and bleed. Fortunately, in his case it is something that can be treated. After lots of doctor appointments and tests we are now preparing to begin treating his AVM. This Friday he will be going to the hospital to have the first of probably two preliminary procedures. They will be doing an embolization. Basically putting him to sleep, inserting a very thin catheter into an artery in his groin, "snake" it up to his brain and then very carefully guiding it into the AVM. Once they have the catheter where they want it they will begin to put glue into the veins and arteries involved to cut off the blood supply to the AVM. Assuming all goes well it will take a couple of hours and he will stay in the hospital for two days. He will probably have to go back in about two weeks and have it done again. After that we will schedule his main surgery. They will actually go into his brain and remove the AVM. This will be a big surgery and involve a week long stay in the hospital. <br />
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While this is certainly not something we would have wished for there are some blessings in it. An AVM is a very scary and dangerous thing to have. Many of them bleed, but his has not. We are thankful. Many of them are too large or in an area that cannot be treated. His is a medium size and in an area of the brain that is easily accessible. So, while the surgery is not simple, the percentages that he will be cured are good. We are thankful for that. He has had two seizures, but nothing else. We are thankful for that. This has not been an inexpensive thing. We do have health insurance and have almost met our maximum $10,000.00 out-of-pocket amount. After this his treatment will be covered 100%. $10,000 is a large sum, but with savings, our Health Savings Account and what we saved from the adoption tax credit we received last year it will be paid for. We had planned to add onto our house, but Dan felt like we should save part of the tax credit - "just in case" and wait to build. So we have not had to go into debt to pay the bills. We are thankful. Our "big" kids live close and will be able to help care for Maicol and Andrew while we are with Juan Pablo in the hospital. We are thankful.<br />
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We ask for and covet your prayers on our behalf. I will update the blog on Friday after his procedure. <br />
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KarenDan and Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06563256031550475448noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223998460985126355.post-44989194795370511882012-09-12T16:30:00.000-04:002012-09-12T16:30:05.909-04:00Beach!<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Wow, where did the summer go? Swimming, walking, schooling, lots of backyard baseball and the beginning of bathroom remodeling. It's fall and we're still doing much of the same. :) Here are some recent pictures about what is going on at our house.</div>
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Andrew came in with a very cooperative (not very healthy) butterfly one day. He had it on his finger and all over his face. Creepy, but also kind of neat.</div>
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For school we made goop or whatever you want to call it. The most popular version was a yellow-green color that we called fake snot. Gotta love having boys. :)</div>
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No post is complete now without an adorable grandson picture. Aidan is 11 months old and such a sweetheart. We think he's pretty special and smart just like his parents (and grandparents).</div>
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On September 10 we celebrated the 5 year anniversary of officially becoming a family of 7. We met each other on August 27, 2007 and it became official on the 10th of September. Since we were gone for that day we bought an ice cream cake to celebrate.</div>
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We are currently enjoying our fall vacation to Laguna Beach, FL. The weather so far has been wonderful and the boys have done really well. The drive down went very well. iPods and The Little Rascals on DVD were a great help. We also "celebrated" our 30th wedding anniversary yesterday by taking them with us for a steak dinner. Not terribly romantic, but the food was good and there were no food fights. :) We call that a successful dinner out! </div>
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When we went to the ocean yesterday the waves were very calm and it was a great day to see what was in the ocean. Maicol and Juan Pablo are checking things out.</div>
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This is what we saw. There were up to three of them in a group swimming around us. We also saw them jumping out of the water and doing flips. Very cool!</div>
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Here are Dan and the boys. Somehow they seem to be getting taller and more grown up every year. But then, I guess that's what they're supposed to do. We still have days that are difficult, but for the most part things move along smoothly. We do school year round, so they are having school even on vacation. I did try to include more interesting and fun things so it wasn't met with quite as much resistence. </div>
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Juan Pablo will be going to see the interventional neuroradiologist on Sept. 21. He will be doing the embolizations on his AVM and when that is done we will go back and see the vascular neurosurgeon to plan his actual surgery. I would guess that the surgery won't happen until toward the end of October, but we won't know when until the preliminary procedures are done. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. We'll update the blog when we know more.</div>
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Karen</div>
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Dan and Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06563256031550475448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223998460985126355.post-36481674240321967722012-07-21T22:31:00.000-04:002012-07-21T22:31:57.759-04:00Spring/Summer 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Long time, no blogging. Guess it's time to catch up. So, here is the last 3 months or so in pictures.</div>
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We have been trying to get out regularly and walk. Some for fun and some because we're old and need to get out and get some exercise! There are a couple of parks that we really like to visit. One has a nice, paved trail and the other is a wooded area where there are lots of bugs, birds, turtles, sticks etc. to pick up and look at. Dan has had the boys keep a notebook that lists all of the things they have seen there. </div>
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<br />There's nothing quite as cool as the Weinermobile when you're 7. Andrew and I went to see it. Pretty cool, but you couldn't get inside and see what was going on in there. Andrew was pretty disappointed. But, he did have a good time looking at the outside.<br />
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We made a trip to Grandma's. While we were there we got to check out the baby barn swallows. Not very cute yet, but I'm sure by now they are. It was lots of fun to check out the nests in the barn and see which ones had babies.<br />
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We also went to a park while we were there. This is Andrew climbing a tree to try and see what might be inside the hole in the tree. As far as I know he didn't find anything. He sure is a climber tho. He has also discovered he loves to do cartwheels. He does them all the time. Everywhere. While we're walking, playing baseball, doing chores, walking in the parking lot. Everywhere.<br />
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<br />Dan took the boys for their first canoe ride. We have an old canoe that still holds water and have been saying for a long time that we would take them canoeing. They were so excited they could hardly stand it. :) He took them for a 15 minute ride down to our neighborhood swimming pool and then after a little swimming they paddled back. <br />
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Maicol played little league baseball this year. He had only played in the backyard with the neighborhood kids. He ended up being one of their main catchers. He also got to pitch and play 2nd or 3rd a little. We really enjoyed watching him and he had a wonderful time. He is signed up to play ball in the fall too. For someone who had not played organized baseball before he did really well.<br /></div>
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Checking things out from the dugout.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnFG-qEHvAOgi1XAJrdtS3jd9l2ldohN2xKj0vfr9bYkp-gJmErbWjFG6-5FuoAhafj5HTBToEiJEmQAygZ4yHJ8_wNlcDj0qN9EygAbyHLPEgf_A8CAQLsCTjtKny7XYjFJQXl9fi1SI/s1600/046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnFG-qEHvAOgi1XAJrdtS3jd9l2ldohN2xKj0vfr9bYkp-gJmErbWjFG6-5FuoAhafj5HTBToEiJEmQAygZ4yHJ8_wNlcDj0qN9EygAbyHLPEgf_A8CAQLsCTjtKny7XYjFJQXl9fi1SI/s320/046.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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We made a trip to see Dan's dad and spent the night at a state park. Not sure why they're saluting. Just silly I guess. We were out walking and found wild raspberries to eat. Yum.</div>
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Andrew "not" getting in the lake. :)</div>
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<br />Maicol celebrated his 13th birthday. He had a baseball cake and a family dinner. We still need to take him to a Reds game for his birthday gift.</div>
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We also finally did something to celebrate Andrew's birthday. (It was in March) We went to a place that had bumper cars, laser tag, rides, and this neat thing that let you shoot small, relatively soft balls at your brothers. Lots of fun for everyone.<br />
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I love this picture. Maicol may be 13, but he will still grab his brothers hand and walk. In fact, he still sometimes reaches for my hand and we walk together.</div>
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Juan Pablo. About 3 weeks ago he had a seizure. Something new for him. We spent several hours in our local ER and then transferred to another hospital. He has an arteriovenous malformation in his brain. Fortunately, it has not bled and is not causing him any problems yet. We are still waiting to have one test done. After that, a group of neurosurgeons, vascular surgeons and interventional radiologists will meet and they will let us know what the plan of action is. There will be at a minimum some type of minimally invasive procedure done and at a maximum actual brain surgery. We covet your prayers as we wait to see what will need to be done.</div>
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We have also been doing lots of swimming. The boys play baseball in the backyard everyday. Even if there are no neighbor kids to play with the three of them play. </div>
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<br /></div>Dan and Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06563256031550475448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223998460985126355.post-70234592382812347792012-04-07T15:40:00.015-04:002012-04-16T21:31:12.295-04:00The Winter that Wasn't<div>In Indiana we didn't have winter, so no sledding, building snowmen or beautiful snow pictures. :( While I know that most everyone is happy about the lack of winter, the boys and I missed it. They kept asking me when it would snow and I assured them it would. :) How was I supposed to know this would be a no-snow winter? Dan even bought a new sled and we didn't get to use it. So, the winter toys have been put away and we are on to spring. But, we did have Christmas. Here are a couple pictures.</div><div> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9rLIBkVjLpl2ZSySFT96knK9UOmXiP0qCj3ufrxCJVtvmlBo7gT9bwJyZkmxmr6zG81it07bghz0jLeo9je3FEkFL_zBtniYCZ4AHQxonUMee_hrJGxlCZhPNliiy_GH_pXi-cm3IpnY/s1600/DSC06183.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728748916776794258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9rLIBkVjLpl2ZSySFT96knK9UOmXiP0qCj3ufrxCJVtvmlBo7gT9bwJyZkmxmr6zG81it07bghz0jLeo9je3FEkFL_zBtniYCZ4AHQxonUMee_hrJGxlCZhPNliiy_GH_pXi-cm3IpnY/s320/DSC06183.JPG" /></a>Everyone got a new hat for Christmas. Unfortunately, they didn't really need them this year.<br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikEIAT2Dtul3RDZAokWKxnl8wz4K0_rwYvinAQ0Ams0qgpaI0Cs4jNZ0sC6YZl_twRXuCGrS6_Is3Y2k-Qj1_CppD4j9X3fL1nnwT_B6FgOxxm1k4jnmSI8_gZqeCp4Yezhq2gKyFGzjw/s1600/DSC06172.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728748708481005074" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikEIAT2Dtul3RDZAokWKxnl8wz4K0_rwYvinAQ0Ams0qgpaI0Cs4jNZ0sC6YZl_twRXuCGrS6_Is3Y2k-Qj1_CppD4j9X3fL1nnwT_B6FgOxxm1k4jnmSI8_gZqeCp4Yezhq2gKyFGzjw/s320/DSC06172.JPG" /></a>One of the fun things they received for Christmas was boxing gloves and headgear. Jonathan got this for them. What a great idea! They have boxed each other without getting hurt. There was even a boxing demonstration in the living room in their underwear one night!<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLeCERGd5dhhArCG0PmM81T5rFGd_YxtucI4XATZYMMsOezqgMpfm6NnnASGR5wayD5OcOajVETp-9glP77OeYzKZxC8Amq-AtMj5HYTIvPXrxWEEQdtZYMf28eVRdnUbfNW1DfwPfrOI/s1600/DSC06167.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728748534843869170" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLeCERGd5dhhArCG0PmM81T5rFGd_YxtucI4XATZYMMsOezqgMpfm6NnnASGR5wayD5OcOajVETp-9glP77OeYzKZxC8Amq-AtMj5HYTIvPXrxWEEQdtZYMf28eVRdnUbfNW1DfwPfrOI/s320/DSC06167.JPG" /></a>Bethany got them this big, heavy box. They were so excited to open it. They were expecting some great gift, but it was a little bit of a trick. Inside was a 24 pack of orange soda. The other part of the gift was a trip to an indoor amusement center.<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqrpYJlDEIOwXn-oSIS03cU8SoKCbkq9JZUOy8DrnvNzHxArZACBdgCaaJt8coJz-H9A8Dl7vkukAqRwC_WLb4kdXhqB5XZKRX3a74FHWOyGPRxkAoVXsO5Pb9yP6hyphenhyphensarSqapQoqucWE/s1600/301.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728748338019897842" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqrpYJlDEIOwXn-oSIS03cU8SoKCbkq9JZUOy8DrnvNzHxArZACBdgCaaJt8coJz-H9A8Dl7vkukAqRwC_WLb4kdXhqB5XZKRX3a74FHWOyGPRxkAoVXsO5Pb9yP6hyphenhyphensarSqapQoqucWE/s320/301.JPG" /></a>For school we studied about California. The state flower is the poppy, so we made poppies out of pipe cleaners and crete paper. Don't they look cute?<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBGGrcp2WwSE6vwZlwUIwqyXWYC1iE8J-brgLaMiGI92ptl1eN0zAnmqIbgQnIwPsKfQQN3QhXl26iIusWKyYLxmOegEdpJuQOJdGHb5lXZtDzpAntfdlREw0ymY_Cwu8MLGRvmDOPaAI/s1600/055.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728748239828120450" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBGGrcp2WwSE6vwZlwUIwqyXWYC1iE8J-brgLaMiGI92ptl1eN0zAnmqIbgQnIwPsKfQQN3QhXl26iIusWKyYLxmOegEdpJuQOJdGHb5lXZtDzpAntfdlREw0ymY_Cwu8MLGRvmDOPaAI/s320/055.JPG" /></a>Maicol and Juan Pablo.<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9BPB67GIeBei76wBH4tLIrdxR5KaR0j6wN20E9FhiT9MGAF-nrTtuyUpE66Cj7S4CcqwTEScOLAh_SuKUdKD0_u5SxvI6JFKtZELz4nmRinRURYyULJIhqwMnQOA7xf2csT1O-uH7Nts/s1600/063.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728748016527604162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9BPB67GIeBei76wBH4tLIrdxR5KaR0j6wN20E9FhiT9MGAF-nrTtuyUpE66Cj7S4CcqwTEScOLAh_SuKUdKD0_u5SxvI6JFKtZELz4nmRinRURYyULJIhqwMnQOA7xf2csT1O-uH7Nts/s320/063.JPG" /></a>February brought a visit from my brother and his family. My Mom came and stayed with us too. Since it was so nice out we went to a local park and hiked. This is the boys with their cousin. It only took about 4 takes to get a picture of all of them together, looking the same way, holding still, etc.<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFt85ZhIManu_ezR8aZxIctfw04TGgqAUUp7cpEXGGbtrBQwA-BYPIhehR8HakxHgZIdXJeiQjGpvHFbvCkv6VVzlMPx2_ghMoh4mMiJaxTKG1ukUbjdimCKfw7mHNU8dXSXocNA7lq8Q/s1600/012.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728747702029744178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFt85ZhIManu_ezR8aZxIctfw04TGgqAUUp7cpEXGGbtrBQwA-BYPIhehR8HakxHgZIdXJeiQjGpvHFbvCkv6VVzlMPx2_ghMoh4mMiJaxTKG1ukUbjdimCKfw7mHNU8dXSXocNA7lq8Q/s320/012.JPG" /></a>Grandma and Maicol playing basketball.<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_bPn76i1wawAlWwAHTJc-9QF9jy49P_MCcnRrmofIZCnwYh781oY6LNvpkM18oyO6mGBMOICC8BboSQa_PYhIbEBTlcOVsrOwWOCEB_FOa1vSsDr__zhjlmGfR2yiQhHQT24fyalB-JU/s1600/027.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728747385112031378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_bPn76i1wawAlWwAHTJc-9QF9jy49P_MCcnRrmofIZCnwYh781oY6LNvpkM18oyO6mGBMOICC8BboSQa_PYhIbEBTlcOVsrOwWOCEB_FOa1vSsDr__zhjlmGfR2yiQhHQT24fyalB-JU/s320/027.JPG" /></a>March took us to Grandma's for a visit. It was 80 and warm enough to play in the water. She has a little pond that isn't more than 18 inches deep and they had a great time playing there. Of course they were just going to walk out on the log and a little and not get wet. We all know that eventually they would all be in the water. :)<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigMFwp4j2ZKAx7JjapOS0ZlieYHoJ_m84JvTnnl1Dn7DOYMqX8pv0favzFhp_pZTqtfRHWEvB1SZ5fbStb1oDsYQEiMWe-WmcCzoCHx5ZIeOwi2EjZD94iGeg-7VXV2IZV370E4ogKRCA/s1600/028.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728747061605722930" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigMFwp4j2ZKAx7JjapOS0ZlieYHoJ_m84JvTnnl1Dn7DOYMqX8pv0favzFhp_pZTqtfRHWEvB1SZ5fbStb1oDsYQEiMWe-WmcCzoCHx5ZIeOwi2EjZD94iGeg-7VXV2IZV370E4ogKRCA/s320/028.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEss6WLhu59TQ0frYnFjsQH61BIAvi57lAS7FHESyTh3bxqyBzhVwFB3yA9YTiyscgdQbE3rVUmPyRh3G4Yg852iMrKBLOKvhQcl-01pMNh-TLd6AO8ZfhwZGcI4PENZ0GkqjILIcgjHE/s1600/031.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728746645745763378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEss6WLhu59TQ0frYnFjsQH61BIAvi57lAS7FHESyTh3bxqyBzhVwFB3yA9YTiyscgdQbE3rVUmPyRh3G4Yg852iMrKBLOKvhQcl-01pMNh-TLd6AO8ZfhwZGcI4PENZ0GkqjILIcgjHE/s320/031.JPG" /></a>Our dogwood tree is beautiful this year.<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz6nlfb5nBqML6s7ENY1jxXlOSx4FBYPow61r5DT3A3dg0pavJLCbOExuIMRU9snu-DYVbVGanzC57OmpMx0oodn1hxGwkwTHQvvDThG6IGIhZyTRqrA2VPdf2XYuY494mgk5H_fnYs1o/s1600/019.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728746492151848530" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz6nlfb5nBqML6s7ENY1jxXlOSx4FBYPow61r5DT3A3dg0pavJLCbOExuIMRU9snu-DYVbVGanzC57OmpMx0oodn1hxGwkwTHQvvDThG6IGIhZyTRqrA2VPdf2XYuY494mgk5H_fnYs1o/s320/019.JPG" /></a>The new favorite activity this spring has been fishing. Maicol is the leader, but the other two like to go too. They have been mainly catching bluegills about 5-8 inches long. After many days of trying Maicol finally caught a big carp.<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjA_KQ6aZK3vmJZ4b1DUM81hZAyP8dP77up7Y-300d9Z4K4MSfuVbrBTDO13BxNkYNXO8c6ZqZat7Xln1-xWqyF5QhMfoRrb8LL1XJWTEd7Kk-sCXuLXqSNBZqptZ7CedbruVViMIED6w/s1600/005.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728746393368225570" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjA_KQ6aZK3vmJZ4b1DUM81hZAyP8dP77up7Y-300d9Z4K4MSfuVbrBTDO13BxNkYNXO8c6ZqZat7Xln1-xWqyF5QhMfoRrb8LL1XJWTEd7Kk-sCXuLXqSNBZqptZ7CedbruVViMIED6w/s320/005.JPG" /></a>Andrew's 7th birthday was in March. Here he is opening his gifts. Notice the fancy wrapping paper. :) Hard to believe he is 7.<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghuXQu9pku8_ck3LoFD5gl_GVMDyIP8lp1hIgfOD4NbE-KWj702YYHRoSH8f3ByHFDktyruwNjY20nDiwbXHocXtR20q8vyBwMcZbYcw9kBM1_e9-1cxcX88yKSjzlDurP2Q3tRGDxSX4/s1600/003.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728746233071316114" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghuXQu9pku8_ck3LoFD5gl_GVMDyIP8lp1hIgfOD4NbE-KWj702YYHRoSH8f3ByHFDktyruwNjY20nDiwbXHocXtR20q8vyBwMcZbYcw9kBM1_e9-1cxcX88yKSjzlDurP2Q3tRGDxSX4/s320/003.JPG" /></a> "The boys"</div><div> </div><div>Life continues to just fly along here. Everyone keeps getting older. Maicol keeps reminding me that in just over 2 years he will be 15 and able to get a driving permit. Yikes!! School is going reasonably well. They much prefer to play outside, watch a movie, play the computer, etc. You get the idea. :) I'm always trying to design ways to add those types of things into school, but there are things you just have to do even when you don't want to. They all still have their strengths and weaknesses and we keep working on those things. Maicol is playing (for the first time) baseball. His first game will be Saturday, so the next post will no doubt have pictures of that. He is very, very excited. With the good weather we have already started having hotdogs and marshmallows outside. We may go throught a record number of hotdogs and marshmallows this year. </div><div> </div><div>Thanks for reading...</div><div> </div><div>Karen <br /></div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Dan and Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06563256031550475448noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223998460985126355.post-77812723368062684802011-12-23T19:13:00.018-05:002011-12-23T20:59:57.341-05:00October, November and December 2011It seems every time I sit down to blog I can't think of anything particularly interesting to say and so I don't. I think that's good. Life here is certainly not without its ups and downs, but they feel more and more like "typical" kid things. <br /><br />In the last 3 months we have gone from studs to a new kitchen and dining room. We actually reused the cabinets we had - just rearranged them and put them in a different part of the room. Now we have a much larger kitchen, more counterspace, a larger dining room and an overall more open area. Without a couple of walls I can now keep an eye on what's going on much easier. When it seemed it would take forever to get out adoption tax credit refund we decided to go ahead and do the remodeling instead of adding on. We still plan to do the addition, but not until at least next spring. The kitchen still needs a little bit of work, but it's fully functional and we don't have to eat hamburger helper every night and wash dishes in the bathroom sink! Dan did a fantastic job. And we did finally get out refund about a month ago!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIJYo8MgNrEBaeqsbfNcxbnsABXWrHSu_XL9JVC6UU5aWdxugLZM6sTQwDNLmxqTndK8iJlyEVmIY-JYLkGxsxAGg_KVZrZNXUmp2WSWh-Gk-1athmn6zxg4CIXgt-eqUWIsZcr6VZEpM/s1600/006.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5689503312381364802" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIJYo8MgNrEBaeqsbfNcxbnsABXWrHSu_XL9JVC6UU5aWdxugLZM6sTQwDNLmxqTndK8iJlyEVmIY-JYLkGxsxAGg_KVZrZNXUmp2WSWh-Gk-1athmn6zxg4CIXgt-eqUWIsZcr6VZEpM/s320/006.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tukM5Ykx_WCvfunX-fpvwiUNcefOBVAG7x-uAzizv4miRxbuZ5mpBbUVHuWFDCkyM6vasOIvrUaqsau2_reGv7lQnXHi7NdefkNWkfzq7H5JLZxf1iUuKlHhq5mxXpWw8KGTxxU-lj0/s1600/017.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5689503082565880034" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tukM5Ykx_WCvfunX-fpvwiUNcefOBVAG7x-uAzizv4miRxbuZ5mpBbUVHuWFDCkyM6vasOIvrUaqsau2_reGv7lQnXHi7NdefkNWkfzq7H5JLZxf1iUuKlHhq5mxXpWw8KGTxxU-lj0/s320/017.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiokm2n_l0hUrsEk25fEPjjiu3UKMP7xg6JArPTQWjMeaZ_hmNXYLRWA0ANhPKBxj2S8z7cBVSei89j4-1FZtKVd7LHF1XqRXydRICI6K8ZrVnsrg1NGfhjhv1Skg21vJv_JwVA3wrEGP8/s1600/DSC06164.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5689502754403683026" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiokm2n_l0hUrsEk25fEPjjiu3UKMP7xg6JArPTQWjMeaZ_hmNXYLRWA0ANhPKBxj2S8z7cBVSei89j4-1FZtKVd7LHF1XqRXydRICI6K8ZrVnsrg1NGfhjhv1Skg21vJv_JwVA3wrEGP8/s320/DSC06164.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0nFK33VlCvcSi745Gk8o7C2txBAPLajxezHdWJSEDdmF_sbrsB-iNK_nFnRDJrdEd2PvW52wfdv3VDAnE9RxiZonoQaqW8OCYCTCUbvray28f6zoay046i5WP68P35IdyBFQXVDM2wRU/s1600/DSC06163.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5689502551259205282" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0nFK33VlCvcSi745Gk8o7C2txBAPLajxezHdWJSEDdmF_sbrsB-iNK_nFnRDJrdEd2PvW52wfdv3VDAnE9RxiZonoQaqW8OCYCTCUbvray28f6zoay046i5WP68P35IdyBFQXVDM2wRU/s320/DSC06163.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNfULFmFvMPrU8HrQ_Koa-QhXOZFAohcMMvFq0oXlc8WyKyybJEBR65EUrt-tWqmkk3lmRc05Z1Z5b-4iYs201DU-zwHkFm1YcAy8vEnmOmQa0uP24TQiyiMKJBRmcBX-mSKK8yL1VLsU/s1600/DSC06159.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5689502159932965730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNfULFmFvMPrU8HrQ_Koa-QhXOZFAohcMMvFq0oXlc8WyKyybJEBR65EUrt-tWqmkk3lmRc05Z1Z5b-4iYs201DU-zwHkFm1YcAy8vEnmOmQa0uP24TQiyiMKJBRmcBX-mSKK8yL1VLsU/s320/DSC06159.JPG" /></a><div> </div><div>Since the boys came home they have always slept in the same bedroom. They have balked at being split up and so we have just let the three of them stay together. With Bethany now married (and therefore the other bedroom empty) and gone and the boys getting bigger we decided it was time to put Maicol in his own room. He's only a few feet away, but it was quite a big deal for him to not be sleeping in the same room. They have all adjusted pretty well, but Juan Pablo in particular misses having Maicol right there with him. Juan Pablo moved to the upper bunk and Andrew got the bottom. He had been sleeping on a trundle type bed and was very excited to have a bed with a little bookcase at the end to put all of his treasures. </div><div> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgra-5qm_Ri0AaU4bD5srbPN_sKvUB_fc_X0DRnyR86FZ2Q5gKn77gX_dqw01btMrnVJIF4FNNLKFLe3CJMmPjfPI5Q7KzE9y_FBsrpBPY1h9Yo3i0stHgMJP4C8TGnODcTc4uGaXv-Mfg/s1600/DSC06158.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5689488479249535138" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgra-5qm_Ri0AaU4bD5srbPN_sKvUB_fc_X0DRnyR86FZ2Q5gKn77gX_dqw01btMrnVJIF4FNNLKFLe3CJMmPjfPI5Q7KzE9y_FBsrpBPY1h9Yo3i0stHgMJP4C8TGnODcTc4uGaXv-Mfg/s320/DSC06158.JPG" /></a>One of the most exciting things for us has been the arrival of our first grandchild. Aidan Jack arrived in October. Our son and his wife aren't getting much sleep, but Aidan is. :) He seems to prefer to sleep during the day and stay up at night. They would prefer he do the opposite. He is a joy and the boys are very excited to see and hold him.<br /><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhowm0vgB5CxML3YEoPJHWX2-gb9u4mdx4YxKz5zvWg7iwvG7Aty-dq9DObAW6rujHHhawzhqLs2qHp0oSTlVUncRI-RI0cK5eLHq9xJkPKGTmodp2qirEpctXeu4I4idkgpB-FQqJ-koY/s1600/DSC06139.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5689487181874983554" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhowm0vgB5CxML3YEoPJHWX2-gb9u4mdx4YxKz5zvWg7iwvG7Aty-dq9DObAW6rujHHhawzhqLs2qHp0oSTlVUncRI-RI0cK5eLHq9xJkPKGTmodp2qirEpctXeu4I4idkgpB-FQqJ-koY/s320/DSC06139.JPG" /></a>In November we celebrated Juan Pablo's 10th birthday. We actually had to wait a little after to have a cake and go to Chuck E Cheese. Hard to believe he's 10. He was just a little boy of 5 1/2 when we met him in Colombia. He has grown so much.<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpl61-f_fbNmECcyxba961O2iwzsSXOc-_TPQoyq5fT0es1k13ajJb2yiPxVVNL1uNeAGy7foIYbAEEiq7yw1_8L3tz2M8pPyzSCP29D-d2rSuK_zVU4ZkljM980ESQHCbTNWSS1sxSK0/s1600/DSC06144.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5689486993112577986" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpl61-f_fbNmECcyxba961O2iwzsSXOc-_TPQoyq5fT0es1k13ajJb2yiPxVVNL1uNeAGy7foIYbAEEiq7yw1_8L3tz2M8pPyzSCP29D-d2rSuK_zVU4ZkljM980ESQHCbTNWSS1sxSK0/s320/DSC06144.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgobcdCvGTmhh-SNrjxtIlt1hUIkoSqucxGV1wruQ-furWNcUrp7nFvXjhjUcRJ43S_gelP316iHd8nl8QwK-psKnq_yN_SqY4IH4DzWh7aJktpKoHpmbfhveVeyiCsLBViN7xqADu991o/s1600/DSC06137.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5689486648856150370" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgobcdCvGTmhh-SNrjxtIlt1hUIkoSqucxGV1wruQ-furWNcUrp7nFvXjhjUcRJ43S_gelP316iHd8nl8QwK-psKnq_yN_SqY4IH4DzWh7aJktpKoHpmbfhveVeyiCsLBViN7xqADu991o/s320/DSC06137.JPG" /></a>Here are some pictures from this fall. They are growing and changing so quickly. Hard to believe it's been four years since we were meeting them for the first time.<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidZ02XYmYtTBpg0No5w_KSdQyeU1QRtrbA2I4kfZa5fG9EgqOS-qq8Z0O7CEGOdHaaVm7UL073f2QzzxCdQpiBNokGeY3vf_Z1wuZ_9gp8n3zlioYhRhrYGfYjC0fykTF1eGnMwtYM97U/s1600/020.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5689485362602655698" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidZ02XYmYtTBpg0No5w_KSdQyeU1QRtrbA2I4kfZa5fG9EgqOS-qq8Z0O7CEGOdHaaVm7UL073f2QzzxCdQpiBNokGeY3vf_Z1wuZ_9gp8n3zlioYhRhrYGfYjC0fykTF1eGnMwtYM97U/s320/020.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSXVw2-rOIdvK8AhvMQTHJyk9c1mlYFuUJOt9Zl3Gjhd2rUImgsGBhnMzcJdqjfreVPBEx7ME-mPf2xGbduEI6fwSE7tDtjlLRZCG643h1s4ikRPe9DbOwEjRDuy8BP3a1pVpp563wUEI/s1600/018.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5689485100760148210" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSXVw2-rOIdvK8AhvMQTHJyk9c1mlYFuUJOt9Zl3Gjhd2rUImgsGBhnMzcJdqjfreVPBEx7ME-mPf2xGbduEI6fwSE7tDtjlLRZCG643h1s4ikRPe9DbOwEjRDuy8BP3a1pVpp563wUEI/s320/018.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwUEye0pTj2DhX9b4mbX7PubuQ1LGVhuPgamk-vYCeRjf6DGD9YHeiHijsh9a1ZNnqXNueKrizzawie0tuhjVG_HpYCvdjKtwYIr6XGYhLC4Z0xVqo4Ax1oc_4HRZj2H9nlZ2j-QZFlr0/s1600/017.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5689484829652742834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwUEye0pTj2DhX9b4mbX7PubuQ1LGVhuPgamk-vYCeRjf6DGD9YHeiHijsh9a1ZNnqXNueKrizzawie0tuhjVG_HpYCvdjKtwYIr6XGYhLC4Z0xVqo4Ax1oc_4HRZj2H9nlZ2j-QZFlr0/s320/017.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8iFEbv1-tpb-pS8hikxK2RCtx-PkACV_qJZjlzFKlWznkfb1DxBB-ASwwFlS4OVoRCHMVSelHwyTEdSBUAWi0H8OS6uBRPPr6zwl_G86gSRA3iMMk6ePsQ1RaXmEKzw26VTBUpJTZlHQ/s1600/011.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5689483645508479698" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8iFEbv1-tpb-pS8hikxK2RCtx-PkACV_qJZjlzFKlWznkfb1DxBB-ASwwFlS4OVoRCHMVSelHwyTEdSBUAWi0H8OS6uBRPPr6zwl_G86gSRA3iMMk6ePsQ1RaXmEKzw26VTBUpJTZlHQ/s320/011.JPG" /></a>Maicol played flag football this fall and had a great season. His team made it to the championship game, but came up a touchdown short. He enjoyed playing quarterback. Initially he was all about playing soccer and not really interested in any other sports. Now he has completely changed. No interest in soccer - baseball and football are much "better". They all spend a lot of time playing football and baseball in the backyard with whomever they can find.<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdU_7XDZIU2rG-KWAY7z2GUCiqD-seHtqE7AQXo3Qzm7sV222Tg5N5ScJxdcC9nKAVpbgF2Gl1NchGMv9BrnQVilmpQyiyfcafHlnYsyOsT61PHgqjIxmJ_dFQy5EVOBqyyoNL_Ard5b8/s1600/042.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5689482271115209826" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdU_7XDZIU2rG-KWAY7z2GUCiqD-seHtqE7AQXo3Qzm7sV222Tg5N5ScJxdcC9nKAVpbgF2Gl1NchGMv9BrnQVilmpQyiyfcafHlnYsyOsT61PHgqjIxmJ_dFQy5EVOBqyyoNL_Ard5b8/s320/042.JPG" /></a>Dan's mom passed away in November. She had not been in good health, but it still happened quickly. We were able to be there and see her before she died. </div><div> </div><div>School continues to move along. I have changed things a little, but still use the workbox system. It seems to work well for us. They still each have their own individual areas that are difficult, but they all continue to make progress.<br /><div>Only two days until Christmas. The holidays have gotten much easier for them. The first year or two was miserable for everyone, but as they have grown and become confident that they are here to stay we are able to celebrate special occasions. Yeah!!!! </div><div> </div><div>See you after Christmas!</div><div> </div><div>Karen</div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Dan and Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06563256031550475448noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223998460985126355.post-12002988994696233782011-09-22T21:34:00.027-04:002011-09-24T23:26:17.358-04:00Anniversaries<div><div><div><div><div>It's annivesary time around our house. On August 27, 2007 we met our newest children for the first time. On September 10, 2007 we signed the final adoption decree - and they were ours and we were theirs forever. On September 11, 2011 we celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary. And now on September 3 our daughter will be celebrating her wedding anniversary. In four years we have added 3 children, a daughter-in-law, a son-in-law and very soon a grandson. Wow. We need a bigger dining room table!</div><div> </div><div> </div><div> In four years they have gone from three little boys who were a little scared and had no real understanding of what was going on... </div><div> </div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgI_LUudOF3eNoD6Bo-pKetTv2pSeA6d_BKhyHX5TSa8KELVq89pZkbRqdzz7lEzkaIg13uMVQKAQ_Px3qGFwnlq3MpEt26Bi7avRnYk4_1uB6zJ16pFR0yig8fLsIgFeWfpGbYD9Or6A/s1600/064.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655742476231752450" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgI_LUudOF3eNoD6Bo-pKetTv2pSeA6d_BKhyHX5TSa8KELVq89pZkbRqdzz7lEzkaIg13uMVQKAQ_Px3qGFwnlq3MpEt26Bi7avRnYk4_1uB6zJ16pFR0yig8fLsIgFeWfpGbYD9Or6A/s320/064.JPG" /></a><br /><div>...to big boys who have learned to live in a new family and know they are loved.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio70Iv5cpcHrI8co5oTjekYL681mD3Ze-EMQ_OeFU1eESabtLUNxmhAZFP8rAbwPWIobhWr4JnGpTZ7MFmgD7a83ScvGVc6Q7JvKIaIEGFKxO7qnIB34xfZh2Rzg_cXJX9TgLAGI6W66E/s1600/002.JPG"></a><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmPct-LiQml5yod4DO1papmFjXr2PIlwOmGLEFSuMviBk_Evyz9uvWAqS0i4cDuZyaIKWSd-wS4krdOVKiNnGFhcQcsCWSsPrNHa1VBa_RPPWlx5Lru4d-Ze7C_h1F1nz_q8-t-sjAVKY/s1600/004.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655735585304292690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmPct-LiQml5yod4DO1papmFjXr2PIlwOmGLEFSuMviBk_Evyz9uvWAqS0i4cDuZyaIKWSd-wS4krdOVKiNnGFhcQcsCWSsPrNHa1VBa_RPPWlx5Lru4d-Ze7C_h1F1nz_q8-t-sjAVKY/s320/004.JPG" /></a>In July we went to Chicago to the CHI Reunion. It was fun to meet other families in person that we have followed through blogs and some whom we had never heard of. The boys did very well and had a good time. We stayed an extra day and did a little sight-seeing. The boys wanted to ride a train, but we just couldn't work that out. Instead, we rode the bus downtown and went up to the top of the John Hancock building. We also went to the Lincoln Park Zoo.<br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5lNgL37cJfOiIoLpATsln-XgUgFZyNR_YvlFnFR2C2wsBYu0aeMZZFw6lqSnDUGeud1thkneoP5R15vrlwwsO2dSzhY0x3C0I2o6MMa2-lDqjmbyZCrDzqFdrU1CwNgTBVyS62sC0P6o/s1600/027.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655735309572024962" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5lNgL37cJfOiIoLpATsln-XgUgFZyNR_YvlFnFR2C2wsBYu0aeMZZFw6lqSnDUGeud1thkneoP5R15vrlwwsO2dSzhY0x3C0I2o6MMa2-lDqjmbyZCrDzqFdrU1CwNgTBVyS62sC0P6o/s320/027.JPG" /></a>Andrew looking down from the John Hancock Building.</div><div> </div><div>And since we don't have anything else to do - we decided to go ahead and do some remodeling in our house. We took down a couple of walls to open things ups and rearrange our kitchen. Everyone thought it was great fun to take hammers to the walls and tear them up. The cleaning up the mess wasn't as much fun. :( We currently have the kitchen/dining room area completely empty and are ready to start putting things back together. Hopefully we won't be washing dishes in the bathroom for too long. (We had hoped to add a large family room, but it seems it may take awhile to get our adoption tax refund so that is on hold for now.)<br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRm1qk3MMyW6Ysn6nF8NVSSLi1OtE9baNqe9Xk_D51hXpD60TGqzM1-5R6i2agLLOIeAK9V3uU3jQhSf3GTfvhzyowrIOf6VOR_FsXHoFYytBffD3Fbs7aGzTEjsr2iJr450MxiA4-WNY/s1600/042.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655735037781822546" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRm1qk3MMyW6Ysn6nF8NVSSLi1OtE9baNqe9Xk_D51hXpD60TGqzM1-5R6i2agLLOIeAK9V3uU3jQhSf3GTfvhzyowrIOf6VOR_FsXHoFYytBffD3Fbs7aGzTEjsr2iJr450MxiA4-WNY/s320/042.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4AhmmYMxegQBgoXcCnV5wxfBnS5jx8N8xUJHulRkgAtscljtviJ7jQ1mOccjHIJsiXuBAo9mfkCMw6hsBsJpLSDKzTCTJBRUMeIsO82gXER-vRjr9Lp45Q4pyfASZU1M2rmYrTN0rUeM/s1600/043.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655734495671407074" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4AhmmYMxegQBgoXcCnV5wxfBnS5jx8N8xUJHulRkgAtscljtviJ7jQ1mOccjHIJsiXuBAo9mfkCMw6hsBsJpLSDKzTCTJBRUMeIsO82gXER-vRjr9Lp45Q4pyfASZU1M2rmYrTN0rUeM/s320/043.JPG" /></a>Maicol's birthday was in July, but it took us a little longer to actually do the activity he selected - bowling. He invited a couple of friends and they managed to bowl 2 games in 2 hours! I really thought they would make it through more than 2 games. They had fun and my Groupon was put to good use.<br /><div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguga_K6ISfkwvYJcAd64SK96vhExqMmf3V5DHZV9vgcTftYqt0EiX2vwCXk2gWwkmy2ipQbWPsclNg9JRUNu5LKJtKnZVinswKGYuMB8Lm_D5xCCQDQhV8Nw3eaIwM5ezr0ET1lnX9tWM/s1600/050.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655731978148880466" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguga_K6ISfkwvYJcAd64SK96vhExqMmf3V5DHZV9vgcTftYqt0EiX2vwCXk2gWwkmy2ipQbWPsclNg9JRUNu5LKJtKnZVinswKGYuMB8Lm_D5xCCQDQhV8Nw3eaIwM5ezr0ET1lnX9tWM/s320/050.JPG" /></a>One thing Maicol in particular has been wanting to do is go fishing. We had gone once when we were at Grandma's, but didn't catch anything. So, I took them to the reservoir in our neighborhood and we tried there. We went looking for worms, but ended up with only one and didn't catch anything. We were "lucky" enough to find a snake though. Everyone took turns playing with it before I made them let it go. We went fishing last week and Maicol did manage to catch two fish. Juan Pablo and Andrew haven't been successful yet, so I see more fishing in our future.<br /><div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHix3fTrHL7cvRyil9Tc9bkqEpNG1Zw2wABMxUVTBKdW2FnvSphmU8kH1h5bIP50z8EobC4QPhqXwJGK_xzZQh3-HvoXGt3KAu10EHqQh1nFZKSxfAnoppr1SXls-CeZViIq_Faxgdf8c/s1600/080.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655372775398815010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHix3fTrHL7cvRyil9Tc9bkqEpNG1Zw2wABMxUVTBKdW2FnvSphmU8kH1h5bIP50z8EobC4QPhqXwJGK_xzZQh3-HvoXGt3KAu10EHqQh1nFZKSxfAnoppr1SXls-CeZViIq_Faxgdf8c/s320/080.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijd75mwFJesK7ER757FOIQZEsMYGSPbMMUjbDlgMd2bRELdgdis8xlRWjUD6wWlKmTnvm2-FA3fwiABIU0ynPzDAu80Q9M888EohYTpgJq-UZt9bheGHf9k771eW7Kla6L2Dj5sS1tpIo/s1600/081.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655372388481879234" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijd75mwFJesK7ER757FOIQZEsMYGSPbMMUjbDlgMd2bRELdgdis8xlRWjUD6wWlKmTnvm2-FA3fwiABIU0ynPzDAu80Q9M888EohYTpgJq-UZt9bheGHf9k771eW7Kla6L2Dj5sS1tpIo/s320/081.JPG" /></a>We are in the middle of flag football with Maicol. He was the only one really interested in playing. The other boys like to go to games to play with other kids and check out the dogs that come with their owners to watch games.<br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilsh_es-uNbxzc-Wb6UEOcEimbZX3PnE5CTGv2OXqlcmWVORnKXkJcu3DpZ3nKe0LzYVKW_wxOY2bWBC-pJLm25gFhx0hh0e8aLlU6vDNvPFgi7zN_Ixp2JXbmrwD6pqLO6cIwXy0AOMY/s1600/086.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 283px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655369415217021346" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilsh_es-uNbxzc-Wb6UEOcEimbZX3PnE5CTGv2OXqlcmWVORnKXkJcu3DpZ3nKe0LzYVKW_wxOY2bWBC-pJLm25gFhx0hh0e8aLlU6vDNvPFgi7zN_Ixp2JXbmrwD6pqLO6cIwXy0AOMY/s320/086.JPG" /></a>We made it through our daughter's wedding (sorry, no pictures yet). The same weekend we also had a family vacation/reunion with my family. We go to a state park and stay together. Lots of bike riding, eating and playing games. This is my sister and Maicol playing a card game. Maicol obviously isn't doing very well.<br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsmZFdImjElWq5UYz2kXlsq01J5VF2x-TsE51KG6lwFgjTBQcHr4s6vB2GIPxlwIk9EVMclMSU0YrqpN5nN-XMz7qaNX7fO3Lu_kVyhSylqeLxRKxNH5b6Eq3i8v-Y47lW00jXQC8i5F8/s1600/103.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655366853862287026" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsmZFdImjElWq5UYz2kXlsq01J5VF2x-TsE51KG6lwFgjTBQcHr4s6vB2GIPxlwIk9EVMclMSU0YrqpN5nN-XMz7qaNX7fO3Lu_kVyhSylqeLxRKxNH5b6Eq3i8v-Y47lW00jXQC8i5F8/s320/103.JPG" /></a>Andrew and his cousin Catharine saying good-bye. They don't see each other often and really look forward to being together.<br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7vviCPIUcWxBR25fvdQGmVqjq4emL7CrsP8WmE4hASEIMbgCCkszfzeOng0tRWa5X54C0_WlqlkF_D-kl1yN3eevwd-DK1r90KkFXWX_swVFzJ1-FDJkISYdDIf1iOf7jK_ZmvJ0w5Mw/s1600/116.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655366613079146482" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7vviCPIUcWxBR25fvdQGmVqjq4emL7CrsP8WmE4hASEIMbgCCkszfzeOng0tRWa5X54C0_WlqlkF_D-kl1yN3eevwd-DK1r90KkFXWX_swVFzJ1-FDJkISYdDIf1iOf7jK_ZmvJ0w5Mw/s320/116.JPG" /></a>Last week we took our third annual trip to Florida. The back seat passengers watched The Little Rascals and The Three Stooges all the way down and back. I don't know when they have been that quiet for that long. The weather there was fantastic. Warm and sunny during the day and cool and breezy at night. We couldn't have asked for better. We also got to meet another Colombia family while we were there. Kimberly, Yuly and Riza came to see us! It was so great to actually meet them. They brought us some Colombiana and Postobon soda along with some candy. The boys didn't seem to remember it very well, but once they tasted it their memory returned and they loved it! Unfortunately I forgot to take the camera out of my pocket, so I don't have any pictures.<br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJO-PsTRvr5AAhln8FdgeTSsA_063I-FKOswhJ_AwGvvCYqts9IouktB6sI1T27H4NWOjQphIP4EPwoFPSeboM1NCjeVuEKEYRzMxrpjwd0AH9LisG-R8KOQYsY_7_g6G3q7TCaYK24Z4/s1600/139.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655363198846978418" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJO-PsTRvr5AAhln8FdgeTSsA_063I-FKOswhJ_AwGvvCYqts9IouktB6sI1T27H4NWOjQphIP4EPwoFPSeboM1NCjeVuEKEYRzMxrpjwd0AH9LisG-R8KOQYsY_7_g6G3q7TCaYK24Z4/s320/139.JPG" /></a>A little wardrobe malfunction.<br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicbJxomnnNSXo6OwvKhcUeDIzXbVQFYm7znKfD1pYkeey8gLoXz8MfN52MSSP5TCFjgtzi2maQmjR-jKAwTSUFivC_ZD4bVHsRtf404xajscfOaYNsrGZnRNfNw9E-rSYfmQdET9Qe8DQ/s1600/166.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655362783768963698" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicbJxomnnNSXo6OwvKhcUeDIzXbVQFYm7znKfD1pYkeey8gLoXz8MfN52MSSP5TCFjgtzi2maQmjR-jKAwTSUFivC_ZD4bVHsRtf404xajscfOaYNsrGZnRNfNw9E-rSYfmQdET9Qe8DQ/s320/166.JPG" /></a>A jelly fish at St. Andrews State Park.<br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7QSYddUy_e0FfJVq7eJYO5rLoFyIQLxNfoZNc5-r1Rzq4UaZXqmmeLtqB7ri7vTSjvaxmhhHL-RNIUtiXlomsFfA5rxR2jptuSsQoNs_iEa2ijj1J7qX_mEKMJeKcXta8XdsedOhYIOQ/s1600/167.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655362537967423314" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7QSYddUy_e0FfJVq7eJYO5rLoFyIQLxNfoZNc5-r1Rzq4UaZXqmmeLtqB7ri7vTSjvaxmhhHL-RNIUtiXlomsFfA5rxR2jptuSsQoNs_iEa2ijj1J7qX_mEKMJeKcXta8XdsedOhYIOQ/s320/167.JPG" /></a>Maicol chasing the birds. I think they were glad to see us go. :)</div><div> </div><div><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Dan and Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06563256031550475448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223998460985126355.post-6348293793274800952011-07-03T21:14:00.011-04:002011-07-03T22:37:07.804-04:00The Time Just Flies....We made a trip to Grandma's in the spring and had a great time! The weather was good so we were able to get outside and burn lots of energy which is always good. Grandma lives on a farm so we went walking in the woods and fields looking for treasures. One of the "best" parts was finding animal bones. They wanted to bring them home, but I convinced them that they should leave them to dry and we would get them next time we were there. I did take pictures to "remember" them (in Juan Pablo's words). Hopefully they won't recall they are there to bring home. We already have one deer skull in the house - how many does one house need? :)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNSU7snKWPAVzpEV8Aqm6kkv-PmDjfC29I-f4z0VKDO1NvqMQ_YGTfc7H6l1Ef5I0g6fM3vdzvP2190zkkIIOk52Y8pjmSgafNw6AOyyiyu1h1jRfXYk1ERf3-Stk4vh05vA8SjCRe2s0/s1600/002.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625305092377596258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNSU7snKWPAVzpEV8Aqm6kkv-PmDjfC29I-f4z0VKDO1NvqMQ_YGTfc7H6l1Ef5I0g6fM3vdzvP2190zkkIIOk52Y8pjmSgafNw6AOyyiyu1h1jRfXYk1ERf3-Stk4vh05vA8SjCRe2s0/s320/002.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK7Jdciv6d7WmRgnUMc8knfC0I5Yz5c3wckfMRZcNvzHu5gnlAvtsbj_vY4ERrjWaVQ13q-eDxpgwehi4z4uvFV4sxmNuuJyKF4qk-JdGYs39OFtikR9hsSVI2XhTAppbflq3W5Y62y9o/s1600/001.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625304947357973330" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK7Jdciv6d7WmRgnUMc8knfC0I5Yz5c3wckfMRZcNvzHu5gnlAvtsbj_vY4ERrjWaVQ13q-eDxpgwehi4z4uvFV4sxmNuuJyKF4qk-JdGYs39OFtikR9hsSVI2XhTAppbflq3W5Y62y9o/s320/001.JPG" /></a><br />Maicol's new love is baseball. He lives and breathes it. Last year it was football. Before that it was soccer. Next year?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLEINdmTN6oiVKlggQT_qpCNJT28LzXNKfzFEtYHNyozYiP0TyS4arACCfFeT6EIq_fANIGDaXGgPf60P7TMMjCds-kJ2yjWM9hgnjxjwRi8jM1T_9hxaSLfXoeGMV-uY287xhH0cb-rI/s1600/019.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625304706577907442" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLEINdmTN6oiVKlggQT_qpCNJT28LzXNKfzFEtYHNyozYiP0TyS4arACCfFeT6EIq_fANIGDaXGgPf60P7TMMjCds-kJ2yjWM9hgnjxjwRi8jM1T_9hxaSLfXoeGMV-uY287xhH0cb-rI/s320/019.JPG" /></a><br />We found this dead and decaying tree in the woods. The boys spent at least an hour trying to knock it down. They were never successful, but had a great time trying!<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijv5I6-JNBpYuuXwq6qPxElRxKoYUmv9o6lVCzIKdppQATTFboF9k4s44GqQeBWYQIRWJw1XRzQVKbTXzJ2n0V3FMvpxqlhwJf6juJ0kmP1k_6OXnhsjIOxj2oyfrMDNHz4fiCvu-0GEk/s1600/054.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625304331284089394" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijv5I6-JNBpYuuXwq6qPxElRxKoYUmv9o6lVCzIKdppQATTFboF9k4s44GqQeBWYQIRWJw1XRzQVKbTXzJ2n0V3FMvpxqlhwJf6juJ0kmP1k_6OXnhsjIOxj2oyfrMDNHz4fiCvu-0GEk/s320/054.JPG" /></a><br />Bethany is living at home until her wedding in September. The boys have done very well with her being here. In the past having her here has been difficult for them. That whole not liking change thing. This time it has gone very well. Andrew in particular was always stressed when she was here, but this time he seems to be doing much better. He even asked if she would read their bedtime story recently. That's a big change for him. So, of course I had to document it with a photo.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNOmKXNcJ1hKozpppsvAaGvCmkYhR5nt4rz0_k7JUnLJcclyxeVZTyKP5o5GG6uz3CHnTGuFtsM6NWcTNHii-qP_lKwrZGo5FD-9XwpphtYibxwrMogWFTvyUaayF9nFltHl8sqP1oYnM/s1600/094.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625303925329649570" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNOmKXNcJ1hKozpppsvAaGvCmkYhR5nt4rz0_k7JUnLJcclyxeVZTyKP5o5GG6uz3CHnTGuFtsM6NWcTNHii-qP_lKwrZGo5FD-9XwpphtYibxwrMogWFTvyUaayF9nFltHl8sqP1oYnM/s320/094.JPG" /></a>We were able to go to the zoo in June. It was a very hot day, but there was very little whining and complaining. I think we saw every animal possible. We were also able to see Grandma and Grandpa.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgItp6PtSwI4HSwEu9RJiKACVr_jFEpXA2lPm5USTNxLZil5UOT3LYiD31qIIR7WxsMwhV9tYQYm2rnFP_RrJDCLwFDawZSlb_hqXegBvMcVdVZSREezHofhUgZWothLTXL0SyPglfI0zM/s1600/120.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625303617867036098" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgItp6PtSwI4HSwEu9RJiKACVr_jFEpXA2lPm5USTNxLZil5UOT3LYiD31qIIR7WxsMwhV9tYQYm2rnFP_RrJDCLwFDawZSlb_hqXegBvMcVdVZSREezHofhUgZWothLTXL0SyPglfI0zM/s320/120.JPG" /></a> At the zoo. Are you sure they didn't hatch from giant eggs?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA5Gk1eXrjOjoRsHCjYoV5wJQso0zrLv_gUkCGkhPAkYX0QYN1CtdSpedvsC6nj9b6hRagknMfM4goXelQtrN7PjTldWCuusYKGMOTJYpuy-1DMSR0ZDP3OgdxyofKVBpTGQZNW9GKOik/s1600/125.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625301470471231490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA5Gk1eXrjOjoRsHCjYoV5wJQso0zrLv_gUkCGkhPAkYX0QYN1CtdSpedvsC6nj9b6hRagknMfM4goXelQtrN7PjTldWCuusYKGMOTJYpuy-1DMSR0ZDP3OgdxyofKVBpTGQZNW9GKOik/s320/125.JPG" /></a><br />This is what Juan Pablo brought in to me a recent morning. He wasn't quite dead yet. You know it's going to be a long day when you have to say "Don't let that dragonfly loose in here!" at breakfast.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhueUvSGbAqY9E4TU9OVsiXmeHdABXDkIvUtqCp7GXmgCv-ShB-Oe3n8UArLMAzGrt2BMGR1YBK5KqErA7VReIoK6vs68QKofTGHm632ZP7_rXtVYt5LdQugmI8DZ4DjWly-i1Fz8SHtPY/s1600/130.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625301263013254546" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhueUvSGbAqY9E4TU9OVsiXmeHdABXDkIvUtqCp7GXmgCv-ShB-Oe3n8UArLMAzGrt2BMGR1YBK5KqErA7VReIoK6vs68QKofTGHm632ZP7_rXtVYt5LdQugmI8DZ4DjWly-i1Fz8SHtPY/s320/130.JPG" /></a> Last Saturday our friends the Beadles came to visit! Their boys are from Russia and very close in age to ours. We had been to see them a couple of times, but this was the first time they were able to come to our house. We roasted hot dogs, went swimming, the boys played and the Mom's talked and talked. It was great to see them!!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibDflN87lHZQ3iTqyLNHywsTW_2D24eo_7ayC7d3bQQ984jOHvOyov3xrByfSilzdDQFWK3vREXS7_ZSkVG-z2UBjo8VHMPQP44qjoXYW5kM-VABqPP2pFxcMWKCkJ2si-7wwe3fViP1g/s1600/134.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625300991896596418" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibDflN87lHZQ3iTqyLNHywsTW_2D24eo_7ayC7d3bQQ984jOHvOyov3xrByfSilzdDQFWK3vREXS7_ZSkVG-z2UBjo8VHMPQP44qjoXYW5kM-VABqPP2pFxcMWKCkJ2si-7wwe3fViP1g/s320/134.JPG" /></a> Maicol, Dima, Andrew, James, Juan Pablo and Pasha.<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div>We took the boys on their first camping trip this week. We have been talking about going for a loooong time and it finally happened! It was only for one night, but it went very well! They helped set up the tent, went to sleep pretty well, didn't get up too early and just had a great time. They found some other boys to play with. Andrew rode his bike about a hundred miles I think! They also discovered that it's ok to ride your bike in your pajamas when you're camping. At home I forbid that. :) We hope to go again before the summer is over.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQN8nQkm7KzN1Lzlseg0SM_ROcVU0ZJPits-SmP05iyWkn-YmzMQfX598c0BcjXiBn2m0_lkUjhgcK1zdVAa8nfj5CQQ-qnPz_UWfem7P46tGyIYXNDzCSfoI7g2K8i5L6YYGyiIpNqvY/s1600/156.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625300607533357890" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQN8nQkm7KzN1Lzlseg0SM_ROcVU0ZJPits-SmP05iyWkn-YmzMQfX598c0BcjXiBn2m0_lkUjhgcK1zdVAa8nfj5CQQ-qnPz_UWfem7P46tGyIYXNDzCSfoI7g2K8i5L6YYGyiIpNqvY/s320/156.JPG" /></a> We found some berries to pick while we were camping.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_JZO-2pnh6TgaKkw-coU9HsT8ajwu_O6GIVMH1BKnlIu1bDbdlTOfwNQl6t4txQYgSUvP48n2gmkWXNWRpidMmD6mugn7tfM6Rbh7eSs9rs5bbPTfdtYeixm3cwV-Em59-amO-S_-50/s1600/157.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625300403691369778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_JZO-2pnh6TgaKkw-coU9HsT8ajwu_O6GIVMH1BKnlIu1bDbdlTOfwNQl6t4txQYgSUvP48n2gmkWXNWRpidMmD6mugn7tfM6Rbh7eSs9rs5bbPTfdtYeixm3cwV-Em59-amO-S_-50/s320/157.JPG" /></a><br />Dan even helped do the cooking. He makes a pretty good sausage, potato and carrot skillet!<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwjHLPI62qn5O-_ZFtM5aTF7FNHgizpsdwL640lHYN9BYyYKpf09Jz08gefmGUmqoC7yaqD5Xld_HR1bpBQDzMeorYFXW5YXmIWW1NAb4NIP3SEk5l8Zl8UgE_UnXzDYWBBJppLgMrxxU/s1600/158.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625300125733220546" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwjHLPI62qn5O-_ZFtM5aTF7FNHgizpsdwL640lHYN9BYyYKpf09Jz08gefmGUmqoC7yaqD5Xld_HR1bpBQDzMeorYFXW5YXmIWW1NAb4NIP3SEk5l8Zl8UgE_UnXzDYWBBJppLgMrxxU/s320/158.JPG" /></a> The big news at our house is Maicol's 12th birthday. We celebrated today although his birthday won't be for a couple more days. Hard to believe he is 12. It's been almost 4 years since we first saw his picture and wondered what he would be like. In his referral photo he looked like he had "attitude". He does have that sometimes, but he is also a big brother that looks out for his younger brothers. He's quick to learn and just soaks in information. He has a close relationship with his younger brothers. Our little boy is obviously growing up though. He still plays with the little brothers, but he is beginning to leave some of that behind. We knew he would grow up, but hoped it wouldn't happen quite so fast. :)</div><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTWxZrpuVSzx0xCBZ5-FdPVEt989wX3vPY3Pr0Xk0td29lDtPMMIXiFQ2fQxRcVQCLFQJO3WV_schxDFELaDtpdfVREXw6cXUaN41trDgeqKxz-1C-JNVGYb29bhotOhFHxj5W3TKN704/s1600/168.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625299884675034866" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTWxZrpuVSzx0xCBZ5-FdPVEt989wX3vPY3Pr0Xk0td29lDtPMMIXiFQ2fQxRcVQCLFQJO3WV_schxDFELaDtpdfVREXw6cXUaN41trDgeqKxz-1C-JNVGYb29bhotOhFHxj5W3TKN704/s320/168.JPG" /></a> </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Dan and Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06563256031550475448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223998460985126355.post-27808982903362169642011-04-24T22:24:00.021-04:002011-04-25T10:08:12.926-04:00<p>Wow! Where did the time go? Last time I blogged was more than two months ago. Here's what has been going on.<br /></p><br /><p>In February we did a one day study about snakes. My boys just love animals, and so much of our study of science involves animals. The more dangerous and likely they are to hurt or eat you the better! We read, talked, drew, made, did puzzles and pretended to be snakes. For one activity I put them in their sleeping bags and made them wiggle out of them without using their hands. Sort of like smakes shedding their too small skin. <br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQKNo5nZKU_k2L9jqRyyO4ejs8Bq2DZ-87TIsbhb6KgKAYkpUQMZ5EvK2qaiZHCGzTNODOHjq3pEWdBcKDUProTDINAS4DjMhArSBNHJlnlsDiSJtalmddhg_WV-_1Jv_cpWKKl2KOmfI/s1600/003.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599350473912129922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQKNo5nZKU_k2L9jqRyyO4ejs8Bq2DZ-87TIsbhb6KgKAYkpUQMZ5EvK2qaiZHCGzTNODOHjq3pEWdBcKDUProTDINAS4DjMhArSBNHJlnlsDiSJtalmddhg_WV-_1Jv_cpWKKl2KOmfI/s320/003.JPG" /></a><br />Maicol painting his wooden snake.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ckM7qnT6oYTBBaGhC6wHaWqP5u1I4lmCAbmJjX1HOMg-Ffz2JcME5cQ0IGWzsoW37w10dHhFn812P4IEhPwNnsCK4V2jbT-GY1BnQadWc_ewwWKVRVPHixjIanKo5pZxUeS3IMat7FE/s1600/004.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599350207342621154" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ckM7qnT6oYTBBaGhC6wHaWqP5u1I4lmCAbmJjX1HOMg-Ffz2JcME5cQ0IGWzsoW37w10dHhFn812P4IEhPwNnsCK4V2jbT-GY1BnQadWc_ewwWKVRVPHixjIanKo5pZxUeS3IMat7FE/s320/004.JPG" /></a> In late February we went to spend a few days with the Beadle family. We love going to see them! They are our "twins". The boys love playing together and the moms love talking. They let us come and just hang out with them all day. The days spent with them are some of the best of the year for us. Too bad we don't live closer.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcalQbnQqfiZee1HJ4SSWwH-9DkFfu4VrSusjzDnCHDtVTWnmV1FPOfjAXG9-JArwcPnIIJnIsdMXZo3IioBKdUXS2s3ZYZibcO9birR4RA6IfzsWIQhpxuMjD4G159BcLoqYYFOhdfK0/s1600/021.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599349982319720514" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcalQbnQqfiZee1HJ4SSWwH-9DkFfu4VrSusjzDnCHDtVTWnmV1FPOfjAXG9-JArwcPnIIJnIsdMXZo3IioBKdUXS2s3ZYZibcO9birR4RA6IfzsWIQhpxuMjD4G159BcLoqYYFOhdfK0/s320/021.JPG" /></a> We went out to eat together Sunday after church. With their oldest son there that's 9 males and Phyllis and I. That's alot of boy!<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga1Dwzx8PB677uqns-aGW8OAra1TJbd0ecqgOiEpZDLfZkoEit97YUQAWHmLpZBLuTFTfShVopdfw4j0krI-ahKQBT58_B3GWhCfciosxdfud5gTRHEJJAKhkh8D6r01blaWy3wISNMoQ/s1600/018.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599349678305800418" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga1Dwzx8PB677uqns-aGW8OAra1TJbd0ecqgOiEpZDLfZkoEit97YUQAWHmLpZBLuTFTfShVopdfw4j0krI-ahKQBT58_B3GWhCfciosxdfud5gTRHEJJAKhkh8D6r01blaWy3wISNMoQ/s320/018.JPG" /></a> Andrew and Dima.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidGcPhWf2hYx5R5R2Y3LtEplQC_jj0SCqqYv9YMMk4m_w2Pqyef2QtTnkEM4TZbqmCuwLVTSiBmVaIcIXXyvXxNXb66A093LxbWC8xi1t54r9oXV2MLQ19SSdoCKForGNBACGU5_FDlN0/s1600/030.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599349490475623810" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidGcPhWf2hYx5R5R2Y3LtEplQC_jj0SCqqYv9YMMk4m_w2Pqyef2QtTnkEM4TZbqmCuwLVTSiBmVaIcIXXyvXxNXb66A093LxbWC8xi1t54r9oXV2MLQ19SSdoCKForGNBACGU5_FDlN0/s320/030.JPG" /></a> Juan Pablo and Pasha.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNpg-_yL7PwHwAmA05S3QCnkFTsibNyx6TdThMy3EnOaLx1XXPUMyL-GBC3RlF68_SKzo0pZAAYxMrUMNrzgy2ltY9tiYO2p-3t0xdLnLLUEK22oR0Nhew-t8nQCl0eSWwn51pbF0dGoU/s1600/033.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599349150708002818" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNpg-_yL7PwHwAmA05S3QCnkFTsibNyx6TdThMy3EnOaLx1XXPUMyL-GBC3RlF68_SKzo0pZAAYxMrUMNrzgy2ltY9tiYO2p-3t0xdLnLLUEK22oR0Nhew-t8nQCl0eSWwn51pbF0dGoU/s320/033.JPG" /></a> One final shot of all of us.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfLwQ9aM3P7T1CnfOpqDtBMZG_1v-QZXUamc7e0pfPFYjiaXsfJCqqp82VYhgNxY2HVbjPFwJ-TNTFLaTrdQQ8Y4XqCnO9idmvyIUO6rg2ipJTo8p-a7qBzZ_0i0vccjKnoCFU0IzKWw8/s1600/038.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599348935159364914" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfLwQ9aM3P7T1CnfOpqDtBMZG_1v-QZXUamc7e0pfPFYjiaXsfJCqqp82VYhgNxY2HVbjPFwJ-TNTFLaTrdQQ8Y4XqCnO9idmvyIUO6rg2ipJTo8p-a7qBzZ_0i0vccjKnoCFU0IzKWw8/s320/038.JPG" /></a> Got milk?<br /><br /></div><br /><div>We spent a day in March having fun for Andrew's birthday. He still loves Chuck E Cheese, so we went there. Everyone had a good time and the staff were generous in doling out the prizes. We also went to McDonald's for Happy Meals, playing and then off to spend a little birthday cash. It was a nice day off from school for everyone.</div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijI1ucbNjNvsVAWG-0o5Snu2zPxxElEcRhBb8qRwqiF1NvHiwu_IIIqp-Dvg1SG5o_dsHjPDj6oDEhnCaBYgxgC7aYcj3rL58GL3y9ajHhDSf1uDZ4LsNs3uj-FrYXvQiNJ4zEdIQ9zVE/s1600/010.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599348326850007378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijI1ucbNjNvsVAWG-0o5Snu2zPxxElEcRhBb8qRwqiF1NvHiwu_IIIqp-Dvg1SG5o_dsHjPDj6oDEhnCaBYgxgC7aYcj3rL58GL3y9ajHhDSf1uDZ4LsNs3uj-FrYXvQiNJ4zEdIQ9zVE/s320/010.JPG" /></a> Juan Pablo playing the "gorilla" game. You hold onto the two metal handles which vibrate and a little puff of smoke comes out of his head. He and Andrew just love this thing and they always get a few tickets for holding on until the end. <br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicodpH4uHDmx2MGzIiAvPqFzCZcDejnvPu0yGF7_PbiBLS6V3fu7LPYUMmWCDBQryJ7sEzy1Hun8_Kjp-Er9KLWTI0zB8mpomioU3I4M042QT2-tV0K1glAw6RCUEHQ-ke2ACKYvLd8_g/s1600/014.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599347996481371730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicodpH4uHDmx2MGzIiAvPqFzCZcDejnvPu0yGF7_PbiBLS6V3fu7LPYUMmWCDBQryJ7sEzy1Hun8_Kjp-Er9KLWTI0zB8mpomioU3I4M042QT2-tV0K1glAw6RCUEHQ-ke2ACKYvLd8_g/s320/014.JPG" /></a> Andrew and Juan Pablo.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJgKFs2TxWOLdFnRcwrk1hbsTfWe2ep53IQFs7EuQOhG_FYktrGAnqfaOb5ry3xC4MN9WK-P5FVPA0vv8c61rkpms4PWs_6bD_xzgwLs2FTR0UTXLLKlKPzaQNxiNwkAHc1ROFglHYOq0/s1600/007.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599347413295167666" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJgKFs2TxWOLdFnRcwrk1hbsTfWe2ep53IQFs7EuQOhG_FYktrGAnqfaOb5ry3xC4MN9WK-P5FVPA0vv8c61rkpms4PWs_6bD_xzgwLs2FTR0UTXLLKlKPzaQNxiNwkAHc1ROFglHYOq0/s320/007.JPG" /></a> Andrew and his Spiderman cake. He turned 6 in March. I can't believe we are now on our 4th "round" of birthdays with the boys. The big kids came over and we had dinner and cake. Andrew only really likes the icing, so I gave him a piece of cake, but ended up just letting him eat the leftover icing. <br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3u4RYoNddFkESF0W0c1Evwu0z_bBbCYlMkAIVXOzBmloa3fdAfLjEfttsRwoKlfvU89tksnqQrllC7gUPNKgnuStc0BBPkh76C2tJHenpgtL7MIdI1dL_nsRbQTC_GtN_qD9VRYMTO9c/s1600/015.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599346822694533522" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3u4RYoNddFkESF0W0c1Evwu0z_bBbCYlMkAIVXOzBmloa3fdAfLjEfttsRwoKlfvU89tksnqQrllC7gUPNKgnuStc0BBPkh76C2tJHenpgtL7MIdI1dL_nsRbQTC_GtN_qD9VRYMTO9c/s320/015.JPG" /></a> Jonathan and Kristin. Not the best picture of them, but I had to include it with this announcement. We are going to be grandparents! In November we will enter grandparenthood. I thought grandparents were "old" people. :)<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLBTKfVCMFRAhytx4UqjbPAshvLQkOzxR_TURRyjsyPOeydoBFejGnWbnaQneQckHxpWwpxdhaxGNee6E8Vwto2ZLRkgG7Y2Vgh65NkNxGRLn_meZ_vjI-JgCZ1nE0BdJl6BWHyxDH_a0/s1600/014.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599346173160117058" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLBTKfVCMFRAhytx4UqjbPAshvLQkOzxR_TURRyjsyPOeydoBFejGnWbnaQneQckHxpWwpxdhaxGNee6E8Vwto2ZLRkgG7Y2Vgh65NkNxGRLn_meZ_vjI-JgCZ1nE0BdJl6BWHyxDH_a0/s320/014.JPG" /></a> And here is our other exciting news. Our daughter is going to be married! She and Allen are planning a Labor Day weekend wedding. So we're adding a son-in-law to our familiy. <br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQcia12R9auWx1Q6WAhm0CZBgJw8II2yHRTqyzfBjNXLZ5JoqkZWONs7l-Qz1m2OEobSJvAxKMG0tAjeIMq09GcXxfKDKvqQ0lkhKDlH2Fuhx_FaWguo0hpbA8rkc038HSSBeOtwhd59M/s1600/054.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599345758042361970" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQcia12R9auWx1Q6WAhm0CZBgJw8II2yHRTqyzfBjNXLZ5JoqkZWONs7l-Qz1m2OEobSJvAxKMG0tAjeIMq09GcXxfKDKvqQ0lkhKDlH2Fuhx_FaWguo0hpbA8rkc038HSSBeOtwhd59M/s320/054.JPG" /></a> We did the Easter egg dyeing thing yesterday. Whomever thought of using wire whisks to hold eggs to dip them in the dye was a genius! Those little wire things that come in the kits are useless. Only problem is I need one more. Got to have three of everything you know. The boys took turns coloring eggs and playing computer, so it worked out good. <br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Xjiq_KgLjUHMFm6kNqMjNPHTIKmiVJ0B7wK3PJfr8ROfMy1HJjUtf_xMHoKLNUGxpQV3JZ185LOsapkiOr0MAQcdgKrQXZxaKsOhLhmyp9vtw1SHiBlGG12oKbF_4ateRcz5mP51JEs/s1600/061.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599345132531617890" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Xjiq_KgLjUHMFm6kNqMjNPHTIKmiVJ0B7wK3PJfr8ROfMy1HJjUtf_xMHoKLNUGxpQV3JZ185LOsapkiOr0MAQcdgKrQXZxaKsOhLhmyp9vtw1SHiBlGG12oKbF_4ateRcz5mP51JEs/s320/061.JPG" /></a> It has been rainy, rainy and rainy here, so I was not planning on hiding eggs. It did at least stop raining in the afternoon and so after much begging and pleading on the boys' part we did put some eggs out for them to look for. Either we hid the eggs very well, or the boys weren't looking very hard because we had to help them find the eggs. Maicol never did find one of his. Guess it will show up sometime. The big kids came over for lunch and we had a good day.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih2fEHyxZ9ziTMuhTt8in-HSuDr2_kjcjoSo-yz_M1MYL-iRSGxs9PTz_6FuYpYzAYjF75eCU6y_o1dWXPH27huMPuNWvYtaEFCdv8jYRNM36_wv9WTX8iaflthAShcj22NQKr6NVlH_c/s1600/073.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599343254022088034" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih2fEHyxZ9ziTMuhTt8in-HSuDr2_kjcjoSo-yz_M1MYL-iRSGxs9PTz_6FuYpYzAYjF75eCU6y_o1dWXPH27huMPuNWvYtaEFCdv8jYRNM36_wv9WTX8iaflthAShcj22NQKr6NVlH_c/s320/073.JPG" /></a> Checking out the egg contents. We didn't really have much in the way of candy, so money ended up in the eggs. It's at least as popular as candy. :)<br /></div><br /><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWAvgyXbbGr3B8Njau5eQyztmGPNar2_-R3TXaqgT6vOyA2wi6LVUte-gl39Sb5oavDMedFeD3HmQcIqRQ-ri-5J9l_Z4p-D4B7gbOEUw2YBz5gHJCe5RrrkYYkMiSNckY8S21JeoFjTU/s1600/076.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599342560496448322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWAvgyXbbGr3B8Njau5eQyztmGPNar2_-R3TXaqgT6vOyA2wi6LVUte-gl39Sb5oavDMedFeD3HmQcIqRQ-ri-5J9l_Z4p-D4B7gbOEUw2YBz5gHJCe5RrrkYYkMiSNckY8S21JeoFjTU/s320/076.JPG" /></a> Andrew eating his peeps. He was the only one who asked for candy and what he really wanted was peeps. Not my favorite thing, but if you like marshmallows and sugar like Andrew does what could be better? He was on a sugar high for the afternoon!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><br />An exciting thing for Andrew was a visit to urgent care for stitches. He and Juan Pablo were running toward the truck and he ran right into the edge of the open door. He had a good sized laceration and was the recipient of 5 sutures. I took them out yesterday. So now I think each of them have had some type of sutures, but no broken bones. I'll spare you the picture for this one. :)<br /><br />I don't have a picture for this, but it is a milestone at our house. I have stopped rocking the boys before bed. Three and a half years ago when we brought them home I started rocking Andrew to get him to go to sleep at bedtime. With all the boys in the same bedroom it was trouble every night unless he or Juan Pablo were asleep when they went to bed. Andrew was the youngest and easiest to get to sleep by rocking, so that's what I did. Quickly the other two decided they wanted to be rocked too. It had been suggested to us that rocking them was a good thing to do, but I didn't start doing it for bonding and attachment reasons - it was for survival! :) But, as with anything we do with them - if you do it once they think it's a routine and want it to continue. So, for over 3 years I have rocked each of them before bed. Sometimes just for 5 minutes each, but nearly every night. Around Christmas it seemed like we were getting to bed later and it just got to be too late to rock and so we would just hug and kiss them and put them to bed. There was a little fuss about it, but not much. In the past if there was no rocking there was much complaining and attitude. So, we have just let it gradually stop. Dan still reads a book to them alot of nights, but no rocking. I guess that "need" has finally been met. Wow, that was alot of rocking! But, it was something I loved doing with our biological children and even tho these kids were older it was still time I treasured getting to spend with each of them. But, soon there will be grandchildren to rock and so the rocking chair will be put to use again.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Spring is here and that puts us outside to play. We have been jumping on the trampoline and playing baseball. Maicol has been getting some of the neighborhood kids to come over and play a version of baseball. With our three and 2 or 3 others they make two teams and play. Dan and I were saying it's a little like the movie Sandlot. Only there is no "good" player - just Maicol who thinks he knows everything. :) They have fun.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Life just continues to fly by. School gets done everyday. They are learning and growing. And so are we. Until next time....</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Karen</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Dan and Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06563256031550475448noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223998460985126355.post-5217788416378358082011-02-20T19:55:00.007-05:002011-02-20T20:47:26.898-05:00The $80.40 LegoCatchy title huh? This is the Lego arm that cost us $80.40, two doctor visits, crying on Andrew's part and lots of aggrevation on our part. Andrew has put other objects in his ear, but this is the one that we couldn't get out. We tried and we tried some more, but it would not budge. We ended up at the ENT office where it was removed quickly. You would think he had learned his lesson, but no. He has since put a stick in his ear, but we were able to remove it. When, oh when will he stop this?!!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirsoaj9TP_26thrG26g_GeSyf4Bpnd2Lj1X9GUZtl7SJGyXU1wF95TKsRpaUuuwu4FYnT2QUx6dzv2_6Z-UbmFKttMpoXL8Yktpj2bHGT36ZY3DJRtrXiVCGVZeCbJsVT8rHL8YrBItPM/s1600/083.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575943203318985074" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirsoaj9TP_26thrG26g_GeSyf4Bpnd2Lj1X9GUZtl7SJGyXU1wF95TKsRpaUuuwu4FYnT2QUx6dzv2_6Z-UbmFKttMpoXL8Yktpj2bHGT36ZY3DJRtrXiVCGVZeCbJsVT8rHL8YrBItPM/s320/083.JPG" /></a> Lots of fun since our last update. In January we went to a state park for a couple of days. They have an indoor pool and "water park" which is of course the main reason to go. It was nice to get away for a few days, even though none of us felt great. Juan Pablo lost his lunch before we left, I was sick the night before and everyone was a little under the weather, but we went anyway and had a good time.<br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNnx5l9DoD9l73uQ9zvH8ijs-X81he4aurkcTkOmGA1zJMT4I24s5nReLhy5KDkzgQW2Igk9zwy0EY1-LQmCKe1wHTgHmGKtPpP95jd6GxDFbovrks_DlJbtWdkAZbV8S4XIh0qR8VwC8/s1600/001.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575942733565830322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNnx5l9DoD9l73uQ9zvH8ijs-X81he4aurkcTkOmGA1zJMT4I24s5nReLhy5KDkzgQW2Igk9zwy0EY1-LQmCKe1wHTgHmGKtPpP95jd6GxDFbovrks_DlJbtWdkAZbV8S4XIh0qR8VwC8/s320/001.JPG" /></a> Dan and the boys working on a puzzle. Juan Pablo really likes doing them. This was a new puzzle we took to the park with us.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4mSlW_wXc54SFP7KaQxjkOzGi5nXgo6afQhr6BZInXR4cLYYj4Tn6pXw-uuCu7MahDGTrPrxuRW4teHRd6A7fFiI0ox-tfcOLMbUdC8010O3QkZ0ZZD3qb9rr6OeFG4hLyNGXsS9b7p0/s1600/016.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575942489418924130" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4mSlW_wXc54SFP7KaQxjkOzGi5nXgo6afQhr6BZInXR4cLYYj4Tn6pXw-uuCu7MahDGTrPrxuRW4teHRd6A7fFiI0ox-tfcOLMbUdC8010O3QkZ0ZZD3qb9rr6OeFG4hLyNGXsS9b7p0/s320/016.JPG" /></a> Maicol and his igloo. This started as a pile of snow from the snowplow and Maicol worked it into an igloo. He dug it out from the inside and continued to add snow to the outside. It was big enough for him to stretch out and lay down in before it got too warm. The boys all jumped on it to demolish it before it was melted by the sun.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcPn1i9PqwxeGUVUDqnhNOThX0qinHASDe4rIOlH5JSN_5jsXNuRYVReVERv0FFSs-2aPdwj_QO70trfIRbK7ugT8kUd-ZzaMev-DVK7qIFopmz7uOjnaSeJQ7eCOX8VIK03zEbbyj5PI/s1600/039.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575942264140807842" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcPn1i9PqwxeGUVUDqnhNOThX0qinHASDe4rIOlH5JSN_5jsXNuRYVReVERv0FFSs-2aPdwj_QO70trfIRbK7ugT8kUd-ZzaMev-DVK7qIFopmz7uOjnaSeJQ7eCOX8VIK03zEbbyj5PI/s320/039.JPG" /></a> Andrew doing the dreaded "putting the silverware away" job. He absolutely hates doing this job. We don't know why. It's a quick and easy job, but he really dislikes doing it. He will happily do the other boys jobs, but he will procrastinate doing his own job.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5sLC6uTjLB1GtKj-zOC9m5wa-UlaJB419wcqN4iuUjbgKarrUfexDSjpWlQBsJESDzmPmp2nhD0Z7BYeXSoRv0jwyYkSuvywmX9oWJHw_9ECEt6cWfJhyUEKLGEfy5xyMRzZNY1xTC80/s1600/046.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575942066642944050" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5sLC6uTjLB1GtKj-zOC9m5wa-UlaJB419wcqN4iuUjbgKarrUfexDSjpWlQBsJESDzmPmp2nhD0Z7BYeXSoRv0jwyYkSuvywmX9oWJHw_9ECEt6cWfJhyUEKLGEfy5xyMRzZNY1xTC80/s320/046.JPG" /></a> We have had a fantastic warm-up this week and have been able to get outside and play without spending 10 minutes bundling everyone up. We took a trail at a local park, played on the playground and of course had to take a few pictures. It was sooooo nice to be outside!<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9dBUegfUGTNC64CbBa-ZGoXBhOJyhBx7aEBK1mh6X7SMrycsIRf09pPeGAg0eryLJOZK9C2d5Jn6bVsdC9q3WC3SGNqlGChkALpv_MX8_b8wPvYs_V28DtZw-JSqK0Vyc0Q11nPXSkXg/s1600/053.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575941684865988930" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9dBUegfUGTNC64CbBa-ZGoXBhOJyhBx7aEBK1mh6X7SMrycsIRf09pPeGAg0eryLJOZK9C2d5Jn6bVsdC9q3WC3SGNqlGChkALpv_MX8_b8wPvYs_V28DtZw-JSqK0Vyc0Q11nPXSkXg/s320/053.JPG" /></a><br /> Maicol looking very cool.<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIIAaNW63ApZmRUsCg8YkVI4ZND86KFBlwYEnHReAY7L7yj5S5UTcV3HWw5ps8STYLMH3c3t-oMxp8D83e1SK848PxV61NzKfppE_oT-oLAJn3gvCYTvVlbAXoOkKMsAwNXjPXF_jQKMQ/s1600/071.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575941265457134482" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIIAaNW63ApZmRUsCg8YkVI4ZND86KFBlwYEnHReAY7L7yj5S5UTcV3HWw5ps8STYLMH3c3t-oMxp8D83e1SK848PxV61NzKfppE_oT-oLAJn3gvCYTvVlbAXoOkKMsAwNXjPXF_jQKMQ/s320/071.JPG" /></a> Our little "tree hugger".<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn8d7d2JmMiEMG5xZ-1g-RvjpUSWfB9a8nao5Ubs0W4BjY8xsKu7LIOoMLytW6E1wmAfDcJ2DK8Sjq_sm0w3qXtgs_yLH3dkVW_z_UkQ2BCC4p9zkBxfMdRm1yVyne2BT2cv9zewRrikE/s1600/072.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575941068971826562" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn8d7d2JmMiEMG5xZ-1g-RvjpUSWfB9a8nao5Ubs0W4BjY8xsKu7LIOoMLytW6E1wmAfDcJ2DK8Sjq_sm0w3qXtgs_yLH3dkVW_z_UkQ2BCC4p9zkBxfMdRm1yVyne2BT2cv9zewRrikE/s320/072.JPG" /></a> Maicol, Juan Pablo and Andrew.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiToPIFjMvP-eCtyteqMTvYfz9onrAkO60hUaIEl9VjggczLRROQ0KFEAbzYaTPMHOeFegrZ3EOq9iCa7mTfpYJM4iFJr0P3TdLLK5sxkwXyOxkPMcBj23Fdj42URhuq-WZl_TgW7noUjs/s1600/074.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575940732712417058" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiToPIFjMvP-eCtyteqMTvYfz9onrAkO60hUaIEl9VjggczLRROQ0KFEAbzYaTPMHOeFegrZ3EOq9iCa7mTfpYJM4iFJr0P3TdLLK5sxkwXyOxkPMcBj23Fdj42URhuq-WZl_TgW7noUjs/s320/074.JPG" /></a> School is going well. We haven't taken any days off since the first of January and they are doing very well. Maicol is learning to write book reports. Writing and spelling are a struggle for him, so this is quite a stretch and he of course is not happy about doing it. He would much rather do math. </div><div> </div><div>Everyone is doing well. Lots more "Yes, Mom" 's. :) I was talking to Maicol recently and he told me that he now believes that he is here to stay. He has been thinking for over 3 years now that at some point we would be sending him back! He told us after a few months that he knew we would be sending him back. No amount of us reassuring him that we love him and would and could not do that helped. It seems that the passage of time (and maybe the reassurance from us) that has cemented this for him. Whatever it is, I was so glad to hear it. But, how sad that he has been thinking that for so long.</div><div> </div><div>That's it for now. Thanks for reading.</div><div> </div><div>Karen<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Dan and Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06563256031550475448noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223998460985126355.post-83644661070589772422011-01-02T11:30:00.004-05:002011-01-02T11:37:52.753-05:00Family PicturesBack in October we had a friend of our daughter's take some pictures for us. We think they turned out great. Here are a few our my favorites.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlNPhs6e5MXErdCRL-AAdsvwb67tj340KIRgqf-4sobaBtTO9aZhyphenhyphenP6WyFiavlqdimVCvGgRklyMDWZ7yobTytDBSk639bvNJPS8BKJ6fF5rN2Nu0rDx-I_IUa8KZI_QdPub5iGwEY9yg/s1600/76643_462252006260_500836260_6203386_7697777_n%255B1%255D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557628085683050194" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlNPhs6e5MXErdCRL-AAdsvwb67tj340KIRgqf-4sobaBtTO9aZhyphenhyphenP6WyFiavlqdimVCvGgRklyMDWZ7yobTytDBSk639bvNJPS8BKJ6fF5rN2Nu0rDx-I_IUa8KZI_QdPub5iGwEY9yg/s320/76643_462252006260_500836260_6203386_7697777_n%255B1%255D.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju28ov4kdrBBdAmc7uG-lZbVPFb-5oL9d8op37o3n3pw-GN9ADedot3NMLWdlBlKmep_HVNP_IvEGQhQntflosEPDrGuemFWI3BSq5E8cO1NRsfMeEFin0oTAW-tU2KH-yuZqo-mpSY0c/s1600/154910_462252491260_500836260_6203400_6271024_n%255B1%255D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557627883150985634" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju28ov4kdrBBdAmc7uG-lZbVPFb-5oL9d8op37o3n3pw-GN9ADedot3NMLWdlBlKmep_HVNP_IvEGQhQntflosEPDrGuemFWI3BSq5E8cO1NRsfMeEFin0oTAW-tU2KH-yuZqo-mpSY0c/s320/154910_462252491260_500836260_6203400_6271024_n%255B1%255D.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVss-YjSkleH6aAD-8Y1hE3ahA6Vw6p6VlozIzKp2mHeAC0gybu-9scP0EkL8Ykwf44S83NZyxQYU9xH1JFihHBXNioHepnw9lRsaz3dFor85gBqYbmRJ6jBCmlgv-Yk5oYcmLAfoO8YE/s1600/155289_462251411260_500836260_6203371_584426_n%255B1%255D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557627612634383682" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVss-YjSkleH6aAD-8Y1hE3ahA6Vw6p6VlozIzKp2mHeAC0gybu-9scP0EkL8Ykwf44S83NZyxQYU9xH1JFihHBXNioHepnw9lRsaz3dFor85gBqYbmRJ6jBCmlgv-Yk5oYcmLAfoO8YE/s320/155289_462251411260_500836260_6203371_584426_n%255B1%255D.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxY_Tgdn3nJciSl_5ZTnh49KJjLAYQ1r2mS1oGQrSk4SkmIifLChyphenhyphenBUTEl_1ea2FQkaSGHzKnjqg9yavM8Gz6vBsjg2flD7g3TA0BFCIvQtbWYw2Z2ZHag5kAP1pu3niuZ3BNNS371TnY/s1600/76161_462251631260_500836260_6203377_7819676_n%255B1%255D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557627431806461586" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxY_Tgdn3nJciSl_5ZTnh49KJjLAYQ1r2mS1oGQrSk4SkmIifLChyphenhyphenBUTEl_1ea2FQkaSGHzKnjqg9yavM8Gz6vBsjg2flD7g3TA0BFCIvQtbWYw2Z2ZHag5kAP1pu3niuZ3BNNS371TnY/s320/76161_462251631260_500836260_6203377_7819676_n%255B1%255D.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivoJ0Y97z_VPu8uv4Hxq80JSCW1rd5gnY92VquwSY0BT_lud68an7WLa1P4A7ZUfv8zU34YZz8CM9PjW4PXCf_1na3nt9HIpSDAEdzi6QPJgOVxiNaxo4Ahz-mpYppCqmpgia4SHmLTD4/s1600/75809_462251501260_500836260_6203373_2376822_n%255B1%255D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557627351247672978" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivoJ0Y97z_VPu8uv4Hxq80JSCW1rd5gnY92VquwSY0BT_lud68an7WLa1P4A7ZUfv8zU34YZz8CM9PjW4PXCf_1na3nt9HIpSDAEdzi6QPJgOVxiNaxo4Ahz-mpYppCqmpgia4SHmLTD4/s320/75809_462251501260_500836260_6203373_2376822_n%255B1%255D.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK0IA7GEyFJaPIVTEXGuycvMQogzZ9wNH_ljcznraRKv2NP9BFX2HYkzGdpRwUQo7GDIQzxqqKaWh9P632rb1GE7wa2I_OW9zYFptLX-OHY1BqLO33lCvkthdribPEM5oGEr0IlWsZH1o/s1600/75734_462251361260_500836260_6203370_3902901_n%255B1%255D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557627101145854642" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK0IA7GEyFJaPIVTEXGuycvMQogzZ9wNH_ljcznraRKv2NP9BFX2HYkzGdpRwUQo7GDIQzxqqKaWh9P632rb1GE7wa2I_OW9zYFptLX-OHY1BqLO33lCvkthdribPEM5oGEr0IlWsZH1o/s320/75734_462251361260_500836260_6203370_3902901_n%255B1%255D.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG9vsPKM9q32lkfT1a7S4n6TTOSajhV_2Tr06168TQMVld3LgXALkL3k3vUkuaPLrYojTDzlTwozO_y6MCzCGmXBlUYOTV5AUrXtahywQ4GRgFa0NOnFQzKnCtFUoQYqHJWSFkfd3EZkM/s1600/75314_462252446260_500836260_6203399_7273665_n%255B1%255D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557626981843273074" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG9vsPKM9q32lkfT1a7S4n6TTOSajhV_2Tr06168TQMVld3LgXALkL3k3vUkuaPLrYojTDzlTwozO_y6MCzCGmXBlUYOTV5AUrXtahywQ4GRgFa0NOnFQzKnCtFUoQYqHJWSFkfd3EZkM/s320/75314_462252446260_500836260_6203399_7273665_n%255B1%255D.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Dan and Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06563256031550475448noreply@blogger.com5