What a December

At the beginning of the month we celebrated Nora's Adoption Day. It was a lot of fun telling her stories from 6 years ago. Jeff came in for the holidays on the 21st and it's been a whirl-wind couple weeks! Dar and I threw a surprise 30th birthday party and boy was it a surpise! We then had Christmas and last but not least Sam and Richee's Wedding! I was hoping to figure out how to seperate all these photos, and at one point I thought I did, but no such luck.

The Bright Light Show

Downtown Rochester had their Bright Light Show and we went to join in on the festivities. It was a lot of fun and we met up with Papa, Grandma, Uncle John, Aunt Linda, Rachelle, Uncle Kevin, Aunt Dar and Jack. Uncle Brian wimped out saying that it was raining - it was snow!!

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

Halloween

Each year at Nora's school they have a Halloween parade. It is a big deal and the streets all around the school are lined with the cars of eager parents and family that come to watch their child parade around the school in their costume. G.G., Uncle Brian, Aunt Dar, Jackson, Aunt Rachelle, Uncle Mike, Michael and Nate were all there to join in on the fun. Reed's class doesn't join in on the parade but they had a party and then joined watching the parade. The kids have so much fun and so do the parents!

Later that night, my mom and dad came to help with trick or treating. This was the first year that Nora wanted to go out longer. Grandma and Papa took her and her BFF Kendra out for more candy. Reed's friend Ethan (and his parents) also joined us in the trick-or-treating festivities. It was great, windy, relatively warm night and fun was had by all.

Grammy's Visit

Jeff's mom has been visiting for the past couple days. Nora and Reed had a lot of fun playing dominoes, reading books, sleeping with Grammy, and going out to dinner with Grammy. We had a lovely visit and they were sad to see her go.

Nora's Getting Glasses

Nora is getting glasses and she is so excited. I took her to her doctors appointment and as we drove she couldn't stop talking about how she hopes she needs glasses. I tried to tell her that this isn't something that most people wish for, but of course she's not like most people.

The appointment was quick and as Dr. Haba told us the results - glasses would provide her eyes with a needed relief, Nora couldn't hold her excitment back. She had a huge smile and it was as if it was Christmas morning. She tried on many pairs of glasses and she really had so much fun doing it!

Daddy was a kid too!

It's so funny when kids really "get it" that their parents were once kids too. We took the kids to Oktoberfest at Jeff's high school and the kids got a big kick out of being at daddy's school. They got to meet some of Jeff's old teachers, see the classrooms, lockers, the gym where daddy played basketball, and the football field where daddy was the star!! They had so many questions and my favorite was when we were eating in the cafeteria and they wanted to know if Jeff sat at that table and in the same exact spot (where we were) and ate lunch there?

We had so much fun!

Adoption Day!

On October 21st we celebrated Reed coming into our lives. This day brings up so many memories of the first time we met Reed and becomming his parents. I can't help but remember the extremely long flight to Krasnoyarsk (Siberia), the friendly people who took care of all our needs while we were there, the twice daily shots Reed had to get for his cold (and how Jeff was always some how not around when he had to get them!), and of course when the judge declared Reed as a Parker!

We are so blessed that Reed came into our lives. God has our children enter our lives in many different ways and I can't think of my life without him (unless of course he won't go to bed tonight and then he can spend the night at one of your houses!).

Happy Adoption Day Reed!

Boat Race

We have had such good weather here in Michigan. I haven't even complained once! Earlier in the month Brian and I took Reed and his best bud Keegan to the Hydroplane Races at Stoney Creek Park. It was really nice and Reed loved it.

First Day of School

The day has finally come! The day every mom looks forward to by the end of August. The FIRST DAY of school! So far so good, they both say they like it. It's really good for them because they were going no matter what! Reed is in preschool and Nora is in 2nd grade.

Horse Camp

The week before school started Nora went to horse camp. Her favorite part of camp was mucking stalls! Imagine that! The last day of camp was a show and she won 3 First Place ribbons.

Nora turns 7!

Wow, I really think that time does fly by without us knowing. Nora turned 7 on Aug. 19th and it was hard for me! She just seems so much older this year. While we have our moments together, it is a lot of fun to watch her grow and learn. She had a fun-filled weekend of birthday events. On Friday we went to our neighbors for a High School Musical 2 premiere, on Saturday she had her BFF Kendra to sleepover and watch HSM2 again, and Sunday was her birthday party! Whew, I was tired on Monday and she was a little spoiled.

Traverse City

Every year in August we travel to Traverse City and enjoy a nice relaxing weekend with the family. This year we went tubing on a lazy river, jet skiing, dominoes, swimming, shopping and enjoying each other's company.

Locks of Love

Yesterday Nora donated her hair to Locks of Love. She was very nervous as they put her hair in a pony tail and then cut it off. The entire time she was having her hair cut she held her precious pony tail. I didn't think she was going to give it up but she relaxed once she saw the finished product! She now says that she likes it shorter better than longer.