Happy Chinese New Year!

 We got this dress while we were in China. I couldn't resist the beautiful green color.

Now it's more like a tunic. She is growing :)

We will officially celebrate tomorrow night b/c tonight Owen had a basketball game. I've had very little time to research and prepare (thanks to 2 days of school in the past 2 weeks), but thankfully she is still so young. Plenty of room to add more traditions as we go ;)

Reflecting Back

On Jan 25, 2013, we saw our daughter for the first time.

 

Much to our surprise, the next day we received an updated picture per our request.

 

14 hours later we said "YES"

We had 48 hrs to make our decision. I will likely never forget those 48 hrs.

Jan. 29, 2013 we received our per-approval, we had been officially matched.

One year later, so glad she is home.

3rd Snow

No school today or tomorrow! Seriously!?!? I was in too high of demand to take better pictures, but all 4 (plus neighbor) are represented and my camera was not ruined.

 He went down once in the sled with Avery and me. The rest of the time he ate snow.

She loved being pulled up the hill more than going down.

Owen couldn't wait to see his sister in the snow. 

She allowed him to take her down in the sled a few times. He pulled her up too.

It was really cold. 18 degrees when we went out around 11 AM. Thankfully the sunny was shinning to brighten my mood :)

Gearing up for another day with my 4, plus basement crew :-/

Full Court

Owen is growing up SO much. It's hard to believe he will be 10 in March. TWO digits!

EJ is the assistant coach for Owen's basketball team. This past weekend, (2 games) he was the only coach. They had so much fun preparing. I love watching the 2 of them. This was at breakfast before the game. EJ is reminding him of a few "plays." Owen had already eaten and probably had his shoes on too :)

It's big time now. Full court. Stat books kept. Foul shots. Plays practiced...

I hardly recognize him out there. He has always been a serious athlete, but now his body is more coordinated. He is a lot more aggressive and stronger. Oh and his face gets as beet red as mine does when I exercise (poor thing).

I haven't gone to nearly enough games. Between nap times and Mason's games schedule. And if I do go I am constantly trying to keep Avery from joining in the game.

Snow Week

Last week was hard, I am not going to lie. I should have stopped assuming the kids would go to school (we only got 2 inches of snow) and plan for them to be home. Instead, I was shocked each evening and had no plan for the next day. By Thursday, no one was getting along and they were constantly asking me what to do. For some crazy reason, they didn't like my chore suggestions ;) Keep in mind it was in the 20s all week.

Thursday evening, I somehow broke our upstairs thermostat while changing the batteries. To make a long story short, our house has heating and cooling issues without 2 thermostats. It was roasting upstairs and freezing downstairs. The kids are sitting on the heat vent in the kitchen after breakfast. It was Owen's idea, funny b/c he is the one wearing shorts and a tee shirt.

 

So while I was really wishing for some more personal space after 7 days of being together, they were all huddled up as close as can be. It looks sweet, but it didn't last long and they were bickering most of the time. Owen was convinced we could manage a game of Apples to Apples with our age range. Didn't happen ;)

Keeping it real!