The Weather Outside was Frightful...

Snow storms, icy roads, power outages, appointments canceled, tree limbs falling on roads, roofs, and power lines...we had some ugly weather last week!  But in the eyes of a child, it's a magical winter wonderland.  We were sort of trapped at home for about six days, one of those days without power, which was an interesting little adventure.  Also, one of our cherry trees cracked under the weight of all the snow and ice.  It's now cut up into tiny bits in the yard waste bin.  All in all, it wasn't that terrible, and we had a great time playing in the snow.  Just as suddenly as the snow appeared, it also vanished.  The only snow left in our backyard is the remains of a snow cave that Mike built for Kieran.  We were delighted to have some winter weather, and we're glad to see it go.  Come lovely spring!!

Winter is the Time for...

Winter is the time for doing something fun indoors, like painting.

Winter is the time for baking yummy goodies, like
Snickerdoodle Muffins. (Recipe on my Mom Thoughts blog.)

Winter is the time for going for walks in the neighborhood
and then warming up at home with some hot chocolate.

Winter is the time for watching snowflakes fall.

Winter is the time for playing in the snow in your own backyard!

Winter is the time for making memories together as a family.

Catching Up: Christmas 2011 & New Years 2012

Christmas Eve we had a house full of family here with us.  We didn't do a good job of taking pictures though and never got a group shot.  Here are a few cute ones of the kids I managed to capture during the festivities...

Grandpa & Grandma with all of their grandbabies.  We could not get
the kids to all look at the camera and smile.  This was our best try.

Christmas 2011 was Marisa's first Christmas with us, so it was a very special Christmas!  Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousin Haley were all here to celebrate the day with us.  

Marisa unwrapping a gift with Daddy.

Sporting her new towel and dolly.

Kieran got a new train table, which he loves.

Marisa got a play kitchen- she plays with it every day.

New Years Day...we welcomed 2012 with some hot chocolate.  It's the simple things in life that bring so much joy to our little ones.  We were all exhausted from the holidays and getting over colds, so we didn't do anything celebratory but just played board games and put together puzzles that the kids got for Christmas.

This was Mommy's drink...notice the little hand trying
to take it away while I photographed it?  Nice try, Kieran!

Kieran's reaction to being caught attempting to
steal my hot chocolate.  :)  Mike's in the background
doing dishes.  He is my hero for many reasons,
one is because he keeps our kitchen clean.

Happy New Year to you!

Marisa's One Year "Gotcha-versary"

One year ago today we met Marisa for the first time.   My thoughts as I first saw her were, "This can't be real!  Is this finally happening??"  The dream to adopt a daughter from China began shortly after Christmas as we were welcoming in the new year of 2001.  We traveled a long, long road (ten years!) to get to that hotel lobby in China on December 27, 2010.  I will never forget those first few moments with Marisa.  Once they placed her in my arms I was amazed at how light she was underneath those four layers of clothing.  She was precious, so priceless and beautiful, and it was amazing to finally have her in my arms!  As I wavered between awe and disbelief that this was really happening, I kissed her rosy sweet cheek.  What a miracle it was to meet Marisa!  She was obviously overwhelmed by the sudden changes in her life.  I was expecting her to cry, so it was blissful that she didn't.  Daddy's whiskers brushing against her little face did bring about some tears.  We were both over the moon about her!

That was one year ago.  Our sweet baby has grown a lot! She's added four and half inches, and gained 12 lbs!  But the biggest change in her is that she knows us now.  We are her family, and she is our daughter.  There is a beautiful bond that we share that took time to develop.  Today I spent some time just basking in the joy of being bonded with her.  She snuggled up to me and we had some fun together while Kieran and Daddy were busy.  Tonight she called for me from her crib when she didn't feel well.  A year ago, she didn't know who I was.  What an honor and delight to be her Mommy.  Marisa is a spunky, funny, creative, smart, independent, happy, and content little girl.  Mike, Kieran and I absolutely love her!

 Also, I wanted to give a quick "shout out" to the other four families that shared our Gotcha Day.  We can't think about meeting Marisa without thinking of the wonderful people that we were blessed to travel with.  We are thankful that we got to share that special time with them.  All of their daughters are thriving too and we love to look at their lovely little faces on our refrigerator.  Blessings to you on this happy anniversary.  :)

Celebrating the Season

Making cookies: Kieran helped Mommy make peanut clusters. (Super easy recipe for the clusters on my Mom Thoughts blog.)  Kieran & Marisa helped me make over 60 sugar cookies.  Once they were frosted, we had fun delivering them to the neighbors.  

Family is here visiting...more pictures to be posted after Christmas on this topic.  Below: the kids made a train out of their chairs and Mommy & Grandpa volunteered to ride the train.  We also had our last post placement visit for Marisa on this same day.  Now, both of our kids are done with post placement visits!

  

One of our advent activities this past week was to make a snowman.  We didn't have any snow, so Mike and I took the kids on a day trip to the mountains.  It was Marisa's first time to play in the snow! We did a bit of sledding, made a snowman, wandered around in the powdery snow, and had fun throwing snow up into the air and pretending that it was snowing on us.  After our adventures, we drove to the nearest Starbucks and the kids each got a hot chocolate.  (I actually only gave them each half a cup and added a some water to cool it off.)  They managed to drink most of it and the rest was accidentally poured all over their shirts and coats.  :) A great time was had by all!