Addie & Santa

I took Addie to see Santa for the first time on Friday. She actually did pretty well. There were only a couple of families in line ahead of us, but she got to see them interact with the big guy. As we got closer she sort of clinged to me, but when we got to Santa she was willing to sit in his lap. She told him that she wanted a doll for Christmas. I don't think she understands Christmas and present quite yet, but she loves the Christmas lights and decorations. Addison also told Santa what Nathan wanted for Christmas. Nathan stopped being able to sit on Santa's lap after he came down with RSV a few years ago. However, we have no doubt that Santa knows what a good little boy Nathan has been.

I finally have a few minutes to post an update. Nathan has been sick...AGAIN! He had finally gone back to school on the 1st (after missing three weeks) only to get sick on the 4th and the poor guy has been out since. He is finally getting better - we think this last round may have been RSV. Nathan has had it several times over the past eight years and each time it hits him pretty hard because of all of his respiratory issues. Thankfully, (barely) we were able to keep him out of the hospital. I am hoping he will be back in school Wed. and that he won't pick something else up:-)

So we have pretty much been shut in doors the past few weeks. Nathan was nice enough to share his "cold" with Addie and she was sick last week as well. She too is on the mend. We have finally got our lights up, but now we are scrambling with Christmas presents.

Here are a few random pics from the past few weeks.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a healthy, Happy Thanksgiving. Here a few things that I am thankful for.

I am thankful for spending 13 years married, as of Nov. 25th, to my best friend and soul mate.

I am thankful Nathan is out of the hospital and doing well, his strength and determination continues to humble and amaze me.

I am thankful for Addison coming into our lives and enriching it in so many ways.

I am thankful that my sister and my three day old niece, Isabella Rae, are both doing well and are healthy.

I am thankful for my supportive family and all our friends.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have been meaning to update for the past few days, but things have been pretty hectic the past few weeks. Nathan has been sick with a respiratory virus. We had managed to keep him out of the hospital the whole time BUT then he started having some serious side effects from the antibiotics and we ended up having to take him to the ER for deydration. We have been here one night but we are hoping that we will be going home later today. We can usually keep up on his fluids, but they were coming out as fast as we were putting them in. So he had some IV fluids plus every test imaginable and he is doing much better.

We HATE the hospital and try so hard to keep Nathan out. Most of our Drs. understand that we can take care of Nathan much better at home, so we usually work together to do everything possible to keep Nathan out. He is so complicated that most Drs. and nurses are a little "freaked" out by the adorable little guy that there is a tendancy to either overreact or having no clue what needs to be done for him.

The great news is that one of our favorite Drs.'collegue and one of his nurses were working the floor this weekend and they made sure we got our own room!!! Being in the hospital is bad enough, but having to share a room makes it so much worse. They have both been working hard to make sure all of our needs are being met. We are just now hoping, praying and waiting to be let home.

Gotcha Day

One year ago, half way around the world, Addison was placed in my arms. It was a moment that Bob and I had waited for, for a very long time. While we were and are still so happy and proud to be Nathan's parents there was a part of us that still grieved for a typical child. We longed to be parents again and to experience parenthood differently - or more normally. For years we weren't sure if that was going to be a possibility. So many times people have said, "That is great that you saved a child," but in reality Addison saved us. She has filled a void that was in our hearts. She has brought all of us so much happiness, laughter and love. She is so full of life and we take such joy in watching her experience new things. One really important thing that being Nathan's parents has taught us is to appreciate and cherish every little moment and that is what we try to do with Addie. She is an amazing little sister who adores her big brother - she loves to help with his care and is always giving him kisses and hugs. She loves to laugh, dance and just live. It has been a true blessing to see her blossom and thrive this past year.

Adoption is truly a miraculous experience. God brought together a family that was separated by time and distance. Addie was always meant to be our daughter and we were always meant to be her family. There is no question that God knew what he was doing. We traveled with several different families last year and everyone of them have the child that was meant for them. It was a long journey filled with heartache and frustration but this past year has truly shown us that it was all worth it. We are so thankful and so blessed to have Addison in our lives.

I hope you enjoy the video - it is a little long but I couldn't pick between my favorite pictures.

Now if I could only talk Bob into signing the paperwork for our next child.......

One Year Video

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One year ago today my mom, SIL and I landed in Hong Kong. It is so hard to believe that one year ago we were still waiting to hold Addison in our arms. It really seems like she has been with us forever.









Bob was raking up some leaves today and Addie wanted to help.

Happy Halloween

We hope everyone had a very Happy Halloween. Nathan dressed up as Captain Jack Sparrow and Addie was a sock-hop girl. They both looked great! Nathan's school had a Halloween Dance and Addison and I went. At first Addison seemed pretty overwhelmed by the whole thing, but got into it pretty quickly. Later that night Nathan and I passed out candy while Bob took Addie out trick or treating. She made it two house before she was done. Bob convinced her to try it again and she stayed out for about 30 minutes. I don't think she was too sure about this whole Halloween thing, but was a good sport. We kept hearing her say "Not scary."

Shenandoah NP

This past weekend we took advantage of a beautiful weekend and took a drive along the Skyline Parkway in the Shenandoah National Park. The park is about a 2.5 hour drive from us. It is so nice having so many things to do and see around here. I think we picked the best weekend to go - the colors were in full glory. Addison and Nathan loved being out doors. Of course there were some "yucky" things Addie didn't like, but over all she loved it. We saw some deer and some wild turkey.

Enjoy the pics.

A new video

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The weather in DC has been wonderful!! There is just a small hint of chill in the air. Soon we will see the breathtaking fall colors THEN a week later we will be spending our time cleaning up all the leaves.

Last week we went to Addie's craniofacial appt. It is always such a long day. The good news is that her hearing is still normal and her ear tubes are both in. The Plastic Surgeon wants her to come back in 6 months to reavaluate her lip and palate. Overall he thought everything was healing very nicely but we all have some concerns about her ability to produce certain sounds. We will continue to work with ST and see what happens. It wasn't her surgeon we saw but his partner. We may go see her plastic surgeon in Jan. before we see the craniofacial board just to get his opinion. If she needs any additional surgery we want to make sure it is all done before the summer on the off chance we will be moving.

Nathan is doing well. The change of weather is causing some minor respiratory issues, but thankfully he has been healthier than he has been in years past. Addie and I went with his class to the pumpkin patch on Monday. All the kids really seemed to enjoy the tractor ride throught the "Haunted Forest," the story teller, the swings and slides. They all got to take one pumpkin home with them. Addison really enjoyed it while we were there, but last night she ended up sleeping in our room because she was thinking about some of the skeletons we saw.

Hope you all enjoy the fall weather.

Update

A couple of weekends ago we took the kids to the zoo. Addison has been there a couple of times since we brought her home, but she never really seemed interested. This time she LOVED it!!! At first she was a little scared, but we told her it wasn't scary and she was okay with it. She loved seeing the elephants and monkeys!! Nathan always the trooper thought it was great. We had bought Addison a "leash" a few months ago and kept it in the stroller. Addison saw it and wanted to wear it. We kept asking if she was all done with it and she told us know. I guess we became some of "those" parents.

Addison goes back to the craniofacial team on Tuesday. We are anxious to hear what they have to say. We think the skin above her top lip is pulling on her nose. We can see scar tissue that we didn't before. The surgeon did say that he was going to have to build up that area - it just may happen sooner rather than later.

Spelling

Okay - I am sure you have all seen my spelling mistakes:-) Please just ignore them....sometimes my brain just works faster than my fingers!!! You would have thought I would have learned to use spellcheck by now!!

Addison's First Day of School

Addison had her first day of preschool on Tuesday. She will be going for four hours twice a week, however this past week she went for two, then this week it will be for three. They try to make the transition as easy as possible.

Addison has done pretty good. They said the first day that she didn't ask for me or cry. However on Thursday when I went to pick her up they said off and on that she cried and asked for me. I know that she will eventually get used to it and love it. I am really looking forward to a few hours of "me" time.

Nathan's been doing good. He missed part of Tuesday because he was a little "off" but he bounced back. So far (knock on wood) he hasn't picked up any big bugs....though I am sure it is a matter of time.

The slideshow has pics of our trip to Fort Washington over Labor Day Weekend.

Then & Now

My mom sent me this outfit that I wore when I was Addison's age...so many years ago! The funny thing is that it is back in style. I thought I post the pics of us side by side.

Wordless Wednesday

Nathan's First Day

Nathan had a great first day back at school. He was tired though, he fell asleep pretty early. Addison and I visited him at school and got these pics of him with Miss Jill, his teacher, and the two aides in the class - Maria & Susan.

Summer

I can't believe summer is over. Nathan starts back to school tomorrow and then Addie will start next week. I will miss the lazy days of summer and the sleeping in, but I am also looking forward to having a few hours to myself. Nathan enjoys school so much, so I know he will have a great time tomorrow. I made a little collage of some of my favorite pics from this summer.

Northern VA

This past week we were able to take advantage of some cool weather and see some local sites. We first took Addison down to Fredericksburg to the National Civil War Battlefield. Several thousand Northerners were killed when they tried to attack the Confederate Army who happened to be up a hill and behind a stone fence. The Fredericksburg National Cemetery contains the graves of over 15,000 United States soldiers. Most of them are Union soldiers who died in the battles and camps around Fredericksburg. About 100 soldiers are 20th century veterans including at least two spouses. Over 80% of the soldiers are unknown. We also visited Chatham which was taken over as a Union Post during the winter. It was were Walt Whitman and Clara Barton volunteered their services to help wounded soldiers.

Over the weekend we visited Theodore Roosevelt Island. One of Theodore Roosevelt’s greatest legacies was his dedication to conservation. Today, this island stands as a fitting memorial to the outdoors man, naturalist, and visionary who was our 26th President.

Northern Virginia

Sorry it has taken so long for an update!! Nathan finished up his summer school the very end of July. He made it all but 2 days - a great accomplishment for him. Addison is doing well - her speech continues to improve. She is definitely testing the boundaries, but overall she is a good girl.

We took an unexpected trip to Oklahoma the first week of August to attend Brent's funeral (see post below). We were going to send Bob out by himself, but it cost more for one full price ticket than it did for all of us to drive out. Plus it gave the whole family a chance to see family and reunite with old friends. The ride out and back was VERY VERY VERY LOOOOOOOOONG - but the kids did pretty good. It is always nice to be able to see what different states look like.

It was great seeing Lori, Gavin, Landon and Brian. They were so great watching the kids for us when we were at the funeral. They both had a great time. Addison especially liked meeting Elena. Elena brought over dress up clothes and lots of dolls and was kind enough to share with Addison.

When Bob was at OU in ROTC there were 8 guys who were really tight. One of them being Brent. When they all heard the news that Brent had died, they were devastated and said that they weren't going to let anything prevent them from attending the funeral. The families came from all over the country...the first time the gang was all together in 14 years. They were older, grayer and their families had grown. It was amazing that time did not diminish their bond. It was bittersweet for them to be together - especially since one of the gang, Brent, was only there in spirit.

I had never attended a military funeral before (I hope it is years before I do again), it was one of the most moving experiences of my life. Of course it was incredibly sad to be burying a friend and father, but it was so moving to see the support of the community, family, friends and military. A group of Harley Riders volunteered to escort Brent from the airport to the funeral home and then again escorted Brent the day of the funeral. They also stood guard outside of the funeral home with US Flags through out the service.

As we were waiting to go into the service a group of older gentlemen approached the Funeral Director and told him "We are from the local American Legion Chapter and would like to show our support." All along the route from the funeral home to the graveside service people were pulled over standing outside their cars with their hands on their hearts. It made me incredibly proud to be an American and so thankful for all the military around the world who are serving our Country.

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In Memory

Earlier this week we found out that a very good friend of Bob's, Brent Williams, was aboard an Air Force B-52 that crashed off the coast of Guam. It was later confirmed that Brent and five other Airmen lost their lives in the crash. http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/07/airforce_b52_writethru_072308w/

Brent was 37 years old, a single father who leaves behind two children ages 10 & 13. Bob met Brent in college, where both were going through OU's ROTC program. They quickly became great friends. When we were married Bob asked Brent to stand beside him as his best man.

There is something about friends that you grew up with....you could go months or years without seeing each other but then when you do get together it is like you were never apart. I believe Bob and Brent had that type of friendship. The experiences they shared helped shape the men they would become.

Brent will certainly be missed by many.

Please keep Brent's families and the other five Airmen who died in your thoughts and prayers.

Happy (late) 4th of July

We had a nice 4th of July. We took Addison down to the Potomoc to watch DC's fireworks. Unfortunately the weather wasn't the best. The rain held off for the fireworks, but since the clouds were so low we couldn't see the fireworks all that great. Addison seemed to enjoy the first couple of minutes, then she was happy with running around. Here are some pics.