Those were the days....

Today I am thinking about my housecrew girls! I love you all and miss you tons. Wish that I could be there with you tonight. We had some great times.

I couldn't help but post this picture of me (well, it is my blog after all!). This is one of my favorite memories of living in the house. You may not remember it, but I do. Thanks for the fun and friendships! (p.s. Johnson, that was one sweet silver dress). I had some other fun pictures but decided against posting. You can thank me later.....

Werschky

Adoption Update

Still waiting for Travel Approval.....

Check back next week for more updates.

Bad Hair Day

Crazy Hair Day at Chipeta! Yikes! Sam really wanted a mohawk and Alice wanted 4 ponies. 4 ponies, easy! A mohawk, now that is Daddy's area of expertise.

Paige really wanted to join in on the fun so I braided her hair before bed and now it looks like this! Another Yikes!!!!

I hope you have a great hair day!

Love, Jennifer

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

Those were the first words that I mumbled this morning as I watched the dog run around catching snowflakes on her nose this morning. I am already mourning the beautiful weather that blessed us last week. Back to hats and mittens, heavy coats and boots. The snow is so pretty but man is it cold outside today. 16 degrees....with a high of 24 degrees. I am glad that it wasn't my day for carpool (if you are reading Lana, sorry!).
Well, for those of you who are only here for adoption updates.....no travel approval yet. We are so ready to go!!! Bring it on! Once we receive our travel approval from China we can set up our Consulate Appointment and then ...................we can buy plane tickets! Wow, hard to believe that we are even thinking about that!
On to the past weekend....
We had a busy weekend as usual. On Friday night, Scott and I dropped the kids off at my brother's house for the night and headed to Denver. No, it wasn't a romantic night out for us, which would be nice since we may not get one of those for some time, but a 4 hour parenting class that is required for travel. Saturday we spent the day celebrating birthdays. First, my nephew Zachary's 10 Th birthday at Mr. Bigg's. The kids had tons of fun and actually kept it together pretty well considering they had a sleepover the night before. Then we went to sushi for Stacie's birthday! We were all getting a bit droopy but succeeded in filling our bellies.
Sunday, we played hookie from church and steam cleaned all the carpets. With a crawling toddler on the way, we figured now might be a great time to get that long put off chore finished. All the kids pitched in and helped get everything off the floors of their rooms. I wish that I would have taken a picture of their beds after The Great Bedroom Floor Clean Up! Piled high!
Today I am on the hunt for red envelopes. Any thoughts?

Have a great day. I am hoping to get lots done today and not stalk the computer for TA rumors. Good luck, huh?!?!?

Jennifer

Happy Inauguration Day!!

Alice's only comment regarding the new president was...
"Even Sasha has her ears pierced!" You can definitely tell what tops her priority list.

Sam's class watched the Inauguration today at school and he was really excited when he got home from school. I couldn't remember any childhood memories of watching a President being sworn in. I am sure this is one that he will remember. I know that I will.

Have a great day!
Jennifer

Walk in the Park

Another busy weekend behind us....

I won't bore you with all the details but we did have a great weekend with beautiful weather. The kind of January weather that makes you want to be outside every minute of the day.

60 degrees, sunny....okay, now I am just bragging :)

Scott took Paige on a Daddy Date today and they went skiing. This was Paige's first time on skis and Scott said that she did awesome. Her favorite part of skiing was the high chair (chair lift). Not a big surprise there! Here are some pics of Paige's day out on the slopes.

While Scott and Paige were out enjoying the warm temps and great snow at Loveland, Sam and Alice and I went for a hike in Ute Valley which is just a couple miles from home. We were having so much fun, we didn't want to leave.

Have a great week!

Jennifer

Pretty in Pink

Today Paige and I went to Target and she got to pick out a brand new leotard for ballet class. My sweet baby daughter has a fear of all things new or out of mama's sight. Ballet is one of those activities. She loves the idea of ballet but does not enjoy it unless I am standing right next to her. I made a conscious decision a few weeks ago to bribe her with a leotard of her choice(did I say bribe, I meant reward). She has to earn 10 heart stickers to get a new leotard. To get a sticker, she has to go into class without crying or throwing a tantrum. She can earn another sticker by participating throughout the whole class. Ballet has been so much more enjoyable since the rewards (stickers) have started. I usually remind her in the car about our little deal and she now skips right into class and has a blast. Funny what a few stickers and a little leotard dangling can do.....

Anyway, here she is modeling our new purchase.

Isn't she sweet?!?!?!?

Look mama, I can take your picture too!

If you are laughing because you have just realized that my 3 year old pixie has just duped me into buying her a new leotard, you are totally correct. I fully realize that she has me totally figured out but if it keeps the water works at bay, keep the stickers and leotards comin'.

Have a great day!

Jennifer

Getting ready

We sort of feel like we have been in motion since receiving our LOA. I am making lists and checking them off. This weekend we worked on Mason's room. We moved the entertainment center out of his room and repositioned the guest bed so that it is out of the way. Scott and the kids put together the crib and I started getting clothes in the dresser. It is so exciting and REAL when you start folding those little t-shirts and mini cargo pants. I will post pictures of his room when it is finished.

Everybody got a turn, screwing together parts of the crib. It is so fun for them to have a part in all that we are doing to get ready to bring Mason home.

This afternoon, after church, we took the kids to Build a Bear and they made a bear for Mason. They picked a soft panda bear. It was so sweet to see them kiss three little hearts and put them in the bear. They stuffed it and gave it a "bath" and then brushed his fur so that it was fluffed up. Then they worked together and picked out a Rockies t-shirt and pair of jeans to fit the bear. We all had fun and I know that Mason will love his new bear. Scott and I are planning on taking it with us when we travel.

The kids went back to school last week on Wednesday. It feels good to get back on a routine. Sam was thrilled to go back to karate and Alice and Paige both missed ballet. They have been living in ballet dress up since we have been home. Grandma Peggy~ Paige loves her ballet bag and packed it full of tutus and extra leotards for ballet class last week.

Jennifer

Sledding

Sam got this super cool sled for Christmas from Santa. The only problem was that on Christmas it was 55 degrees and sunny, not a lick of snow anywhere. The day was beautiful and while the kids were opening presents we had the back door propped open and man were we enjoying the beautiful weather. Well, we left for Michigan for a week and that sled stayed under the tree. When we returned home on Saturday the weather still looked nice although we could see the storm clouds looming over the mountains. By mid afternoon the flakes started to fall and they didn't stop until Sunday evening. We got about a foot of snow! It was so pretty around here. I really love all the weather in Colorado, sunny, snowy. So...I bet you can guess what we did. Sledding!!! Wow, I was just tired from getting all three kids is winter wear. We all had a ton of fun and left cold and happy.

Okay....maybe not windy. While we were gone, CS had a bad wind storm and our playground (that is what the kids call it) blew over, broke up and landed half in the ravine. Here is the damage.

Bummer!

Have a awesome day!!!

Today I am pondering paint colors for Mason's room. Wish me luck!

Jennifer

Going to China!

LOA!!!!!!!

We received the call from our agency on the ride home from Michigan! We received our Letter of Acceptance (LOA) on January 2nd. We are so excited because this means that we will be traveling in 5-8 weeks! Wow! We have lots to do to get ready to travel including finishing classes, getting Mason's room ready, tons of paperwork, sending off Mason's 2nd care package, etc. etc.........my mind is spinning! Stay tuned for more updates. Now we are waiting for our travel approval.

Here we come Mason!!!!
Jennifer

We finally arrived home this afternoon after our cross country adventure to Michigan. I have to admit that it wasn't nearly as bad as we had envisioned. The kids did great in the car and kept themselves occupied for pretty much the entire ride. Of course, we crammed their backpacks full of crafts, books, toys and anything else that would keep their attention for a few minutes. We also took the DVD player in the car that that proved to be a life saver when fights were looming or when we all needed some down time. Our week in Michigan was really nice and we really enjoyed seeing so much family. The kids had so much fun hanging out with their MI cousins. Unfortunately, we only get to be with them once or twice a year so we really take advantage of the time when we have it. Sam and Alice even got to have a sleepover with the cousins on Sunday night. BTW, thanks for the Camp Rock CD Aunt Tracy. I can't count how many times we have listened to that since we have been home :) Here are some cute pictures from the week. We took all the kids bowling downtown Flushing at Jack's Place. Scott and I used to bowl there when we were their age! It looked exactly the same.