Saturday Yard Work....Getting Ready for Winter!

It's that time of year. Time to pull the garden out, rake the leaves, chop down the perennials and pull out the annuals! Luckily I have lots of helpers and with enough encouragement, they can really work!

Those earphones of Austin's are sound proof. You can call 'till the cows come home and he can't hear you.  After using his Samaria sword (which I unfortunately didn't get  pictures of) on the fountain grass he headed back to help the girls on the garden.

Here's Kam & Dev showing off their guns! (Yes, Kam came home for the weekend and we put her to work too! No special treatment here!)

The grass just didn't stand a chance against Austin the mighty Samaria sword wielder!

Rylee helped me clear out the flower beds and plant tulips. Alex volunteered to do leaves as he didn't want to touch the rotten tomatoes. Little did he know he picked the worst job. He was complaining that it was "raining leaves" which is was and still is! The joy of having HUGE trees!

The garbage can's are so full with just garden plants and flowers that we still have this huge pile of leaves in the front yard.

Rylee & Alex had fun playing in it. Rylee was completely covered and Alex hollered, "Mom I can't find Rylee!" And truly, you could not tell she was under there. Luckily she had on her "safety glasses" Are you proud James?

She didn't get all the leaves out of her hair until her bath that night!

Grandma's 85th Birthday!

 Grandma, Aunt Deb, Uncle Ray and my mom!

Bouncing Off The Walls!

Save A Child Hosting Program 2010

Although this is this years hosting video, it's actually interviews, video and pictures of the kids that have already been adopted because of the Save A Child hosting program. (The fabulous Ari, put this together!)
Yours truly and Alex are interviewed. (Alex is the very first shot and then you can catch our family at the airport in 2008 around minute 3:30, our interview follows that.)




I know I'm critical, but really, do I always flutter my eyes and look so sleepy? What the heck? And did you catch Devree giving us the cheesy thumbs up?

Twenty Years.....Seriously?

November 2, 1990

Hard to believe it's been that long. There are many really good reasons why I married James, he's honest, he's a hard worker, a worthy priesthood holder, ambitious, strong, smart, handsome, funny, and I could go on but in honor of our twenty year anniversary, here are twenty random things that I love about James. In no particular order....

• He eats the almonds in my Almond Joys (I hate how almonds squeak on my teeth!)
• He is wider than me
• He can kill mice, spiders and clean up yucky stuff without screaming or gagging.
• He will eat just about anything I cook-regardless of how it looks, tastes or how black it might be
• He has really big biceps
• He has taught himself to play the guitar
• He fixes and maintains our fleet of cars - not an easy task
• He can fix just about anything (or break it trying!)
• He backs me up with the kids (and they really listen when he gets involved!)
• He will watch chick flicks with me
• He will let me switch dinners with him when what he orders looks better than what I ordered
• He doesn't care if I'm taller than him with my heels on
• He can fall asleep with the light on so I can read late into the night
• He can still pick me up and carry me around if he wants to-and even if I DON'T want to!
• He has one blue eye and one hazel eye so if I get tired of looking at one color I can gaze into the other
• He is THINKING about taking ballroom dancing with me
• He never very rarely watches sports on TV!
• He could careless about carpet color, drapery color, dish patterns, holiday decor, etc! (But he is opinionated about car manufactures, faucets, the length of the grass and where the mower should be set, and the weight of the silverware handle - not so heavy that if falls off the plate when walking with your plate to the sink!)
• He loves me, despite my faults and shortcomings!

I could go on. I guess I'll have to make a list of another 21 reason's next year!

Happy Anniversary James! I love you.

Our 5th attempt at getting a picture of the two of us on our Photo Booth Mac program. (We had to figure out how to do it - unlike our offspring that figured it out and have oodles of pictures of themselves on it already!)

Attempting - without much success - to minimize our wrinkles

No explanation needed....

Halloween Loot

Rylee with her stash...

Alex protecting his treasures...

Pretending to eat it all at once!

Dev....not wanting her picture taken but do take note of the many FULL sized candy bars! Good grief!

Trick or Treating....

The cousins!

Dev and her girlfrends

Alex and Brach....Brach is an Egyptian guy. Alex went as an elf. 

Carving Pumpkins!

18 Months Ago Today....

I arrived home with Alex.....from Ukraine. 

Six months and 12 days after the day we met him at this very airport when we hosted him, he was finally home!

Here he was in the airplane....

And here he is today....in between trick or treating

The same boy and yet so very different.

If you consider the year and a half home and how much he has learned, it's amazing!

Two Halloween's ago he was here on the hosting program and couldn't say "trick or treat"! He said "chicken-chicken". We laugh about it now. Just like we laugh about so many things that were such HUGE obstacles at one point. Things like:

Refusing to bath.

And when bathing, refusing to use soap.

Then once bathed, putting on the same old underwear he had on before. (gag!)

Now Alex is the poster boy for smelling good. In fact there are days when we all choke a little after he's put on his "man perfume". 

He even gel's and spike's his hair all on his own.

We struggled with homework and studying for months and months, I thought we'd struggle forever. 

Sure he has struggles but he attacks his homework, right after school and he has even confessed that he (get this) LIKES to read! (Insert sounds of angels trumpeting!)

I remember thinking that I would never have a two sided conversation with him and now we joke and tease and he's been able to tell me about his past, and the dreams of his future.

Today, I sent him down for hamburger in the freezer and he claimed we didn't have any. I told him we did and he looked again and still couldn't see it. I told him it doesn't SAY hamburger, just look at it. Still couldn't find it so as I walked down with him, we made a deal that if I could find it he'd owe me 10 kisses. Guess who got ten kisses today? And I didn't let him give them to me all at once - like he wanted to. I took one here and there all throughout the day. I told him that if I gave him a candy bar he could have saved it and eaten just a little all day long...right? That's what I wanted to do with my kisses.

Yep, we still have struggles but we've come so far. (Yes, I said we've. Because truth be told, I've been beside him, behind him, pushing him and dragging him - sometime kicking and screaming!)

I asked him today if it feels like he's been home eighteen months? No, he says he feels like he's been here three years! 

I, myself feel like he's always been here, how could we have been whole without him?

So happy 18 month's Alex!

We're so glad you're home!

Halloween Parade & Sister Witches

Rylee as Carmen Miranda....

Is she sassy or what?

Losing her fruit head piece after being picked up by her Dad....

Dad & Rylee

Alex as the mad scientist (or Colonel Sanders?)

That is his real hair.....plus some white hair spray.

And here I am as Wendy The Witch with my spooks, ready to tell stories to the 5th grade.

Here is a closer shot....

And with my sister.....are we pretty or what?

And just so you get the whole effect.....

Yes, I know.....so hot.....NOT!