Happiest 7th Birthday on Earth!

Today Natalie turned 

7SEVEN7SEVEN7SEVEN7!!! 

I woke up my big seven year old girl extra early and the two of us headed to the Happiest Place on Earth.  We spent a mommy and daughter day at Disneyland!  

Can you guess Natalie's first choice of rides?  7:15 am?  It had to be Space Mountain!  We soon moved on to the slightly less intense carousel, Peter Pan and It's a Small World.  Later in the morning, we popped over to California Adventure for the new Little Mermaid ride.  

We saw the new Mickey's Soundsational Parade and the new World of Color show.  She took her first ride on Splash Mountain and got a big hug from Jesse. 

 Scott, Justin and Lexi met us at Downtown Disney for dinner.

Natalie got to visit with some of her favorite princesses.

It was a magical day of birthday fun and adventure.  But I have to say, she never looked happier than when she was eating a big ol' messy Mickey Mouse ice cream bar.

Happy Birthday Natalie!!!

Happy Homecoming Day... 3 Years Together

The anticipation has really been mounting for our third Homecoming Day.  More than ever, the kids really seem to "get it" this year.  We've decided to have a campout in our backyard.  Among other things (not sure what) this will involve sleeping in a tent, roasting marshmallows and Scott playing the guitar.  You'll have to check in later to see how it goes.  Specifically, if I make it through the night... on the ground... in a sleeping bag!

Here's a few blast from the past pix.  These were taken in Russia, at the end of June 2008.  Just days before our homecoming.

 I just love how squishy Lexi looks in this picture.  

You may note that she is wearing pajama bottoms because all of the clothes I brought for her were either way too big or dirty. 

Here's Scott, pushing that piece of junk (but a lifesaver nonetheless) stroller through Red Square.  

If you could jump inside this picture and fast forward about 30 minutes you would notice it was getting quite crowded.  Then, you would see AND HEAR Justin throwing a monster kicking and screaming tantrum because Scott wouldn't let him push the stroller through the crowd by himself.  

Okay now, we all know it's bad enough to be "that family" at the local Target... but in the middle of Red stinking Square!?  Thanks for that one Justin!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Alas! Our baseball season has come and gone.  Thank goodness none of the kids were forced to endure another Dodger Blue uniform this year!  

Instead, the girls were quite adorable in orange and black, Go Giants!  

And Justin was thrilled to be on the Angels!

The kids worked hard and had so much fun.

Ahem... some times were more fun than others....

All in all, Justin, Natalie and Lexi learned a lot and definitely improved their skills.  We couldn't have been more pleased with their coaches.  What a blessing to have coaches who are true to the integrity of the game, expect the best from their players, but do it all with so much love and patience.  

Justin and Coach Paul

Lexi and Natalie with Coaches Mike and Chayce

Scott even got to help out quite a bit at games and practices.

The coaches gave Natalie a Sportsmanship award.

Lexi received the Most Inspirational award.

Go Team Mocabee! Love you sweeties!

Losing More Than a Tooth?

The littlest member in the family has moved one step closer to being, well, not so little.  Much to her delight, Lexi lost her first tooth yesterday!  It has been a highly anticipated moment for the last several days.  She has kept pretty much everyone updated on her loose tooth status this week, including: 

Natalie's teacher, aide and principal

Clerk at Target

Lady at the gym

Man at mexican food restaurant

Starbucks barista

Librarian

Molly and Wrigley 

(I don't think she mentioned it to our fish though.)

Oh, and all the stuffed animal friends on her bed, of course.

So, here she is, bloody drool and all.  No fuss.  No tears.  

Just super excited.

It makes my heart happy to see her so happy.
But what's this little pain in my chest?
This slight tightening in my stomach?
She's growing up.
***sigh***
My sweet little Lexi.

I cried when I turned in her kindergarten registration form last month.  Yep, walked out of the school office in tears.

It seems like we just came home!  And now everyone is heading to school in the fall?  How can this be?  Some days, Russia feels only a breath away.

Don't get me wrong, a vast majority of the time, life around here is a tangle of homework, errands, cooking, cleaning, bickering, hurrying hurrying hurrying to this place and that.
But not always.
 
Sometimes.  Every now and then.  There are moments.
Sweet, precious moments I try to breathe in and savor.
Moments, that seem almost fragile.

Lord, give me the eyes to see Your grace and blessing in all of it...
All of it.
The rushing madness of our day to day, as well as those sweet, fragile moments I treasure so very much.
Thank you for the amazing gift of family.
That I may know fullness of joy and a bit of heartache, all at the same time.
May I never take it for granted.... (even though I sometimes do).
Thank you for this love.
Love that doesn't get lost with starting new school years, with passing birthdays...
... or even with missing teeth.

And the medal goes to...

Congratulations to Natalie, who recently earned a third place medal for her artwork!

Each year, the school PTA sponsors a contest called Reflections, where students are challenged to create art inspired by a specific theme.  Natalie placed third for kindergarten at her school.  This year's theme was "Together We Can..."  Natalie titled her project "Together We Can Share the Work."  She drew a picture of the many things she can help her little sister do, such as brush teeth, pick up toys, get dressed and make the bed.  

(You get all that from this picture, right!?)

Would you believe that last year Justin also earned the third place medal in kindergarten?!  The theme was "Beauty is..."
Justin drew "Beauty is Having a Pet To Love."

Good job Natalie and Justin!  We are so proud of you! ( and so is Molly!)

Shiny Happy People *

Yes.
That's Lexi.
She really is the epitome of a shiny happy person.
It takes a lot to ruffle that little one's feathers.  She's generally a go-with-the-flow kind of girl.  Lexi is just happy to be happy.

But, uh, back to the shiny part.
Or should I say... shiner.

"What happened Lexi?"
"I bonked into the counter."
That she did.  Racing through the kitchen.  Took the turn a bit too tight.  Bonk.

But still smiling.

It brought back the horrible memory of... dun dun dunnnnn.... The Moscow Swing Set Incident of 2008.
Let's see.  We were all of 5 days into our parenting journey.  The children had been entrusted to us for less than a week......

No wait!  Hold on!  Before we relive The Swings...
First came...
The Bed.
So, it was the first, FIRST I TELL YOU!  The very first day we got the kids in Krasnoyarsk.  Finally, set free from the confines of the orphanage.  Finally together!  Finally a family!

And then... a couple hours into our bliss. (Wasn't I blissful in Russia?  I'll have to go back and read the old blog posts.)

Anyway.
We had only been back in the hotel for a couple hours.  The five of us were sitting around on the bed.  Next thing you know, Lexi stood up and simply walked off the bed.
No. It was more of a dive.
She landed head first on the hardwood floor.
Scott and I may have locked eyes for a split second.  Then the simultaneous screams heard only in each of our minds,
"I thought YOU were watching her!"

Then came Lexi's audible screams.
Well great.  We've had this kid for 2 hours and have already broken her!

Do I go on to describe how her eyes began to roll back in her head?  How we woke her up every hour that night in case she had a concussion?  Trying to figure out how we would explain this in a Russian ER?  In the end, she had a pretty good size bump on her noggin, but (thank God!) she was okay.

A few days later....
Now we're in Moscow.  As you can imagine, living in a hotel room for days on end with a 2, 3 and 4 year old was about to push us all over the edge.   But then a fellow adoptive family tipped us off about a park.  A park!? Yay!  It was only a few blocks away.  We pushed our rickety double stroller through the streets of Moscow.  Then, we found it.
We found it!
Yes children!
Run!  Run free!
For a bit, all was right with the world.  They chased.  They climbed.  They swung.  Scott and I stood together, watching our sweet, innocent, ahem... non bruised children.

Then, as if in slow motion...
Lexi begins to dash toward the back of the swing set....
There is a little Russian girl already on the swing....
That little girl sails forward....
Then flies back...
The wooden seat...
The metal bars...
Right
Into
Lexi's
Face....

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE WATCHING HER!!!!"

Oh, it looked bad.  It still makes me queasy thinking about it.  She was definitely dented.  Really.  Her cheek was dented.  Her sweet little perfect cheek instantly had a purple indentation.

Seriously.  Who let us take these kids???

So that, my friends, was The Moscow Swing Set Incident of 2008. 

Incidentally, it was also one of our first big lessons on parenting.  Scott and I learned that one of us can play a zone with Justin and Natalie.  

But as for Miss Lexi?

Well, she requires one on one defense.

AT ALL TIMES.

Here are a few of the happier moments at the park.  Pre-dent.

And here's....

Well, you get it.

* Disclaimer:  No children were permanently damaged in the making of this family.  Believe me.  We immediately checked with our pediatrician when we got home.

Anybody out there?

Um.
Hi.
Remember me?
Sooooo, do I just start writing?
Do I ignore the fact I've been blog silent for 6 months?
OR do I give you my lengthy list of excellent excuses for my absence?

That might be fun...

You see, the thing is, well...
I've been on the run from the law.  The library police are after me.  It seems I have enough unpaid and overdue fines to fund the addition they are adding on this summer.  I've had to go into hiding, because if there's one thing I've learned... Don't mess with the librarians.

Wait.  That's not it.

It's the laundry.  Yes, laundry.  For the past several months I've been trapped under a massive pile of my family's laundry!  It started as only a couple of small piles.  Dirty soccer uniforms.  Some folded jammies that needed to be put away.  But soon, those piles seemed to merge with the other piles.  I went in search of clean underwear one day and just never came out.

Filming a reality show?
Waiting in line at DMV?
Got lost somewhere between the 10 pound jar of olives and industrial meat slicers at Costco?
Joined a gym? Ha! (Actually I did. Watch out!)
Took Molly on the road to dominate the Frisbee competition?
Consoling Scott about the Cubs disappointing season?

What?
No good?
Ok.  Here's my all time,  most favorite excuse:

If it's good enough for John Cusack, well, it's good enough for me.
And by the way,
I WANT MY TWO DOLLARS!!!