Last weekend before Christmas break

Ben and Ian hanging out watching a movie on the couch during the Friday snow day.

Making Christmas cookies.

Ian helping decorate and eat the cookies.

Cami and Ben at Morgan's swimming birthday party.

Ian ready to play outside.

This weekend seemed to go by so quickly even though we were kept inside by the cold weather and snow.  We finished our Christmas decorating (each year I say that next year I will do more) and spent time organizing and doing a little cleaning.  We also had fun baking cookies and just hanging out with the kids. We took the kids to a swimming birthday party at a hotel on Saturday, which was a nice way to burn off some energy.  Church was cancelled on Sunday due to the extreme cold, so we had a special "daddy" breakfast of strawberry crepes and bacon..YUM! 

One Year...

Today we celebrate a special day, Gotcha Day!  It is a day we celebrate each year with each of our children on the day in which we officially got them and took them into our arms.  While Ian is still small and doesn't remember what happened (nor does he care at this point in his life), we still try to make it a special day.  

We started off the day with Ian up at around 5am hanging out with daddy until mommy got up around 6am.  After dropping Ben and Cami off at school, Ian and I ran some errands.  We enjoyed a lunch of Pesto Cavatappi, his favorite, from Noodles. We had a fun day of playing and also resting. As he grows, he will learn of the journey we took to bring him home.  It was a long

 and difficult wait for us (especially me) as we awaited pictures and finally a travel call.  He will learn of the selfless decision his birth mother made in choosing life for him and choosing an

 adoption plan for him.  He will learn of his wonderful foster parents who cared for him for 9

 months of his life.  He will hopefully grow to know how much he is loved by so many people around the world.  We thank and praise God for this wonderful little boy that has blessed our lives.  

This week we went to see Dora and Diego at East Towne Mall.  The kids were so excited to meet some of their favorite characters.  I also took Amelia and baby Ben, our friends children, to see

 them as well.  We took pictures and then played on the toys, and then finally headed for home.  The kids were exhausted, so they all went down for a nap.  I enjoy the quiet time to collect my thoughts and do some house work or just sit and relax for a while.  Another busy weekend is ahead as we put up our tree and decorate. 

Ian likes to ride on the motorcycle at the mall. Thankfully he does not realize that it will move if you put money in it.

Ian is not so sure about Dora and Diego.  He needs to keep his eye on them!

Ian and Cami anxiously await a balloon animal.