9 wonderful years!

Yesterday was Monty and I's 9th anniversary. Time really has just flown! I don't feel like I am old enough to be married 9 years. Then again, I don't feel old enough to be almost 31, have a 6-year old, and a 3-year old. The day was pretty uneventful. Both of us felt pretty crummy, so we laid around quite a bit. (After we got home from this weekend and me being sick, Monty got strep on Tuesday. Monty and I both were down for the count the last few days.) We did attempt to go eat lunch at Johnny Carino's, but we both pretty much just picked at our food. We ended our day by going to church and Monty taught bible class. We hope to feel better today and go out tonight. I am very blessed to have such a man of God in my life. Monty is a wonderful man that loves our family very much and is a great Papa to Caleb and Ashlyn.

All I want for Chirstmas is a Front Tooth

We can't legitmately sing "All I want for Chirstmas is my TWO front teeth" - but we can make it for ONE front tooth. Monday night, Caleb has lost his 5th tooth. He currently is missing 3 so he is very snaggle-toothed. When he could turn it almost all of the way around, we knew it was time to pull it. The last three teeth that have come out, Ashlyn has been there to witness, and everytime she insists that she needs hers pulled. This time was no different.

Ashlyn's 1st Christmas -

This past weekend we had our first of several Christmas celebrations this year. We went to my parents house and had Christmas with my mother's side of the family. It all started out really well. We arrived on Friday night and had a great time. The kids stayed up late and loved every minute of it. The big kids stayed up even later playing "Rock Band" and pretty much loved it as well. Then came Saturday... I woke up not feeling just right. The further along in the day, the worse it got. So, to sum it up shortly, I missed Ashlyn's 1st Christmas, due to fever and throwing up, missed hanging out with my grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousin, and siblings. We were suppose to leave to be back home on Saturday night, and there was no way for that. We did make it home on Sunday evening, but just barely. Even today, Tuesday, I feel crummy. (So much for the flu shot.) I just pray that no one else gets it, including my grandmother who is going through radiation. Anyway, enough about me...

Monty and the kids had a great first Christmas. Caleb and Ashlyn both enjoyed opening up stockings and all of their presents. They have played and played since we have been home.

Don't we have a cute knight?

Ashlyn loves offering "chi" (tea) and "suk" (juice) to everyone.

Decorating the tree!

Well, I think that Ashlyn believes that we have totally lost our minds. We put up our Christmas tree a few weeks ago and she just kept looking at it like we are all crazy. After she saw how excited Caleb was with it, she was ok. Putting the ornaments on the tree is always eventful. Even Papa got into the action providing some assistance to the newest family member.


Ashlyn and Caleb both did great decorating the tree. (Of course, all of the ornaments are all at the same height and a lot of them were on the same branch.) Doesn't this branch look good? After Caleb and Ashlyn went to bed, I had to "help" the tree look a little more even.


After Caleb and Ashlyn were done putting the ornaments on the tree, they played and looked lots at the tree. They were so excited!!

More Thanksgiving -

Like others, our lives have been very busy since Thanksgiving. It is so crazy how busy the Christmas season can get. Before we get to far into our Christmas stories, I wanted to write about the rest of our Thanksgiving.

For Thanksgiving, we continued our time with our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and extended families. Caleb and Ashlyn really enjoyed hanging out with all of their cousins.

One of the greatest things about Thanksgiving is that the last few years we get to enjoy our time with some of our dear friends from Russia. Dennis, Natasha, Arina, and Carolina have spent the last few years in America and we really value thier friendship. It is only by the grace of God that we even know them. Our adoption with Caleb allowed us to meet them in Yekaterinburg and we have remained friends ever since. It is one of those friendships that you can see God's hand all over it. When we were in Russia, we were there about four weeks, and these sweet people were our family and only friends while we were there. Now they are here in America, and we continue to have that same friendship. They will only be here in America a few more years and then they will be heading back to Russia. We try to spend as much time with them as possible.

Caleb and Arina are such great friends.

Even Ashlyn enjoyed her new friends. Carolina and Ashlyn loved playing together.

Natasha and Dennis hanging out at Monty's parents house.