Dressing up....

Just in case you need some ideas yet for your four-legged friends!!

The power of looking back...

Looking FORWARD seems to be the progressive and efficient way to look at things.

Don't dwell on the past.

Keep going.

I, however, find much peace in looking BACK.

Cherishing memories.

Thinking of tiny little toes and scrunched up little faces.

Recalling funny stories, like Nico asking: "Do they play tennis in Tennessee?"

In adoption, there is very little past, or at least very little KNOWN past, and very little TOGETHER past.

Still, I love to look back at our time with Nina. Really, adopting her has not been the easiest thing I have done in my life, even though I have NO regrets.

But looking BACK at our early pictures with her, feeling those feelings of "love at first sight" all over again, are very powerful when I feel overwhelmed and defeated.

It helps me feel at peace, knowing how far we have come. Seeing her grow up, I see how the Lord's arms have carried us this entire time.

I see us as a family...

It's been a year since I took these pictures - It was such a beautiful, warm Fall day, and I love the pictures, as they captured Nina so well.

This afternoon the weather was even nicer, I think, so we went back to the same place (really, just down the street from our house), for a quick "one year later" photo shoot. Now Miss Nina is not as eager of a subject anymore, but I was able to get some CUTE pictures of her. Isn't it amazing how much she has grown???

(I have more pictures, but these are some of my favorites)

Preparing for Halloween....

Not that I like Halloween. Pretty much the opposite (said that last year already, I know, I know...).

But, boy, the schools do. My younger kids have been in overdrive creating bats, witches and pumpkins, and I have two doors decorated with their masterpieces (Alex was a bit upset that I did not hang up his witch, but I just had to draw the line somewhere... )

So, tonight I'm gearing up for our traditional Halloween breakfast, and it's going to be FUN!!!

To give you a little glimpse, just look at my "helper"!

It's going to be YUMMY!!

When you're too old to trick-or-treat...

Anyone else need an excuse NOT to go trick-or-treating tomorrow???
Maybe this will help :-)))

You know you are too old to Trick or Treat when:

10. You get winded from knocking on the door.
9. You have to have another kid chew the candy for you.
8. You ask for high fiber candy only.
7. When someone drops a candy bar in your bag, you lose your balance and fall over.
6. People say: 'Great Boris Karloff Mask,' And you're not wearing a mask.
5. When the door opens you yell, 'Trick or...' And can't remember the rest.
4. By the end of the night, you have a bag full of restraining orders.
3. You have to carefully choose a costume that won't dislodge your hairpiece.
2. You're the only Power Ranger in the neighborhood with a walker.

And the number one reason Seniors should not go (that starts at below 40, right??)
Trick Or Treating...

1. You keep having to go home to pee.

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Please pray for this family...

I came across the story of a family that is really touching me...
Anytime I hear of parents faced with the loss of a child, it just breaks my heart.
We've seen the pain in the faces of friends and aquaintances, but have obviously not had to endure it ourselves.
I don't know this couple, but really have it on my heart to ask you to lift them and their little girl, Kara, up in prayers.
Here is their blog

Hug your kids tonight....

I'm still so young, and have a looooong ways to go :-))

I found this fun site on another blog.....
Life expectancy calculator
Wow, my virtual age is only 19 1/2, and I'm supposed to get to 93 1/2 years old. That's another 55 years!!! Do I really want to live that long?????
Anyway, it's just simple entertainment, just in case you don't have anything else to do (like me who should be SLEEPING!)

What's wrong with this picture???

I have an urgent Birthday post, but I could not resist to show you THESE pictures first.

Consider this my yearly WHINE post. I might as well get it out of my system.
IT'S SNOWING IN WYOMING!!!!!!!
Really, after 14 years in this area, I should know.
And every year it amazes me like it is the first time I witness a full blown snow storm in October.
I was ouf of town for a conference to keep up my certification in sleep medicine (I seriously did have a "career" before being a full-time Mom - interesting, huh!), but I cut it short because of the mentioned birthday and another soccer tournament (that got cancelled due to the weather), and I made it home before it got bad!

The kids are outside sledding, THEY are so excited!!!

Happy Birthday, Nico!

Happy Birthday to a very cool young man!! Nico turned 11 on the 10th (yes - 10/10!!), and he had anxiously awaited this special day. His wishlist had been quite extensive, and we told him for weeks we had already bought him a Barbie Castle, and we were not going to buy him the Lego set he really wanted! He won't really admit it, but I think he was a little nervous about our choice of gift, but in the end, he was pleasantly surprised as he got just what he wanted :-))

Allright, he DID get a Barbie Birthday card, which he claims is not his, but he gladly accepted the birthday money that was in it from the Grandparents. Huhhh??? Anyone else confused?

Gosh, he is such a fun guy to hang out with. Always THINKING, coming up with stuff, curious about life and how it works, and how society works (he really wants to vote too!). Always looking for ways to pull a prank on people (LOVES to scare me! This kid has scared me so badly it made me cry!! Seriously!). He is creative, especially when it comes to LEGOS, loves anything that has to do with planes and wants to be a pilot someday (please - only for an airline that has international flights!!), and still likes it when we lay down with him at night (he has been that way since he was very little). That's when he likes to talk, that's when he really opens up, and those times are very special!

We are so proud of him, and even though it's hard for him sometimes to be the oldest, he has 4 little followers that just adore him. Yes, some of them in a more bickering way if you know what I mean :-))

Since I was gone for most of his birthday and didn't get home from my training until late afternoon, the cake making thing had to happen fast. I think Nico was so happy that he even GOT a cake, he put very few demands on it. Nina had actually been quite concerned about him not getting a cake, so it was a relief for her to have me home :-)). Mike had done a great job celebrating Nico while I was gone - complete with Birtday decorations and a special breakfast. I think this may have been the first time ever that he was in charge of that, and he did great!

So, anyway, back to the cake.... Nico wanted brownies, as he LOVES them, so his little brownie cake was quite tasty!! How could it NOT - it was made with Swiss Chocolate!! Yumm!
On to another year - we love you bud!

Meet Velma!

I'm not sure about this, but I'm ASSUMING my kids are not the only ones who do this.... or are they?

Whenever they have a favorite movie (the one they watch over, and over, and over, and over again.....) - they assign "roles".

For example - Kung Fu Panda - Anya is Tigress, Nina is Viper, Alex is Monkey, Elia is Mantis, Nico is Po, Mike is Master Shifu, and I'm the wise turtle :-))
(Oh, do you want to hear a funny airplane story? On our way back from Switzerland they showed Kung Fu Panda on the plane, and Elia watched, and laughed and giggled.... . Once we were home, he talked about watching the movie, and he said with a shrug: "But it was in a different language"..... that goofball watched the movie in a foreign language, and never said a word. He told me "I know what they were saying anyway!" Silly kid!)

Same went for the movies "Cars", "Over the Hedge" , "Open Season", and so on.

Well, the latest craze at our house is about Scooby Doo. The boys have really liked Scooby for a long time, and the girls are totally into it too. Well, Nina more so than Anya.

To be honest with you, I DO NOT UNDERSTAND... Maybe I'm just not "American" enough (Mike said he grew up with Scooby), but I think this show is so out there. I'll spare you my other opinions about Scooby *LOL*

Anyway, all kids have their roles - again: Nico is Shaggy, Anya is Daphne, Alex is Freddy, Elia is Scooby, Nina is Velma, and Daddy is the Mystery machine *Haha*

And Miss Nina CANNOT stand watching Scooby Doo without her Velma glasses!! It's hilarious!

Here she is!

Amazing!

Here is the latest video I've been working on.
We had a chance to go watch our favorite Big'e Anja train. She does aerial skiing competitively, and although I only have footage of her doing it "on water", she will actually perform her jumps on snow (once there is some).
Let me tell you - standing at the top of that ramp is quite something (scary, freaky, and more along those lines), and I could never, ever do what she does!!
Look for yourself!
(For my "newer" blog readers - Anja is my cousin's daughter from Switzerland, and one year ago she came to stay with us for three months)

This really means a lot to her...

This is so fitting....
This morning I did a little bit of cleaning before the kids woke up, and I came across one of Anya's writings. I will tell you again - I just love anything she writes!
Anyway, she wrote about her last trip to Switzerland, and her impressions of this country that is so dear to her. She would love to live on a farm in Switzerland, she says.
Here is how she sees it (I'm typing it just like she did)

Riding planes is so much work! Here is my airplane schedule. First, we drove to **** (removed for privacy reasons). We took a plane to Salt Lake City. From Salt Lake City to Atlanta. Then eight long hours on a plane to Switzerland. (It was worth it!)

When we got to Switzerland our swiss family was waiting for us. Not all of our family was there though, but soon enough we would see them! So let me introduce my swiss family.

My cousins are Moritz age 13, Rico age 10, Kaya age 7, Loyel age 5, my Aunt and Uncle Hanna and Bruno, and My grandma and grandpa.

Sometimes we spend the night at Grandma's or my aunt's. When we spend the night at my grandma's house, our grandpa takes us for a drive. In his car he has swiss mints. When you take one he laughs and says "toech nuemal enie!" (Take another one!) When we spend the night at my aunt's house we play on their playground. When it's time to go inside we crawl into our sleeping bags, say prayers, then go to sleep. In the morning when we wake up we go down the spiral staircase and go sit in the booth. My aunt has a glass stained table, a wooden bench with cushions, and a hammock.

I have a cousin Anja. My name is Anya as well. Exept her name is spelled A-N-J-A. My name is spelled A-N-Y-A. So when my cousin came we called her Biga Anja. So they called my little Anya. Biga-Anja got along well. When she was here we didn't have a baby-sitter!

We didn't drive that much. We usually walked everywhere we went. At my Aunt's house there is a little pathway that leads up to the woods. When we go there we pack a lunch. Once we hike up there we turn and find what we call Big Rock. We play hide-and go - seek!

School there is very diffrent. You have to go to Kindergarten twice. But here is the good part you only have to go in the morning! The starting of first grade is when you go full time. But you get to go home for lunch!

Here is the part you've all been waiting for... the chocolate part! We never go home without it! Speaking of home it's time to go home!

Switzerland is the best you should go there! It's the best!

Another Swiss Farm impression :-)

This was one of Elia's favorite moments - watching the little piglets when we visited my brother's family.
The scene in the video happened over and over and over. We watched them for quite a while. They were sooo curious, but so skittish, too, and it was plain funny!

There's no place like home...

This was a grueling trip...
I really can't complain, and the kids were as good as they could possibly be, but it's long, long, long!! The overseas portion was a good 10 hours, and no one slept. Then we had a 5+ hours layover, and that was tough, but I made the kids lay down, and they slept for most of that. I spent those hours working on a fun little project that I'll share later (wink to Big'e Anja - yep, it's coming, girlfriend!!). Of course the last flight, which was only a little over one hour, seemed to drag on FOREVER, and after having been awake for 24 hours, I deliriously dozed for part of it. Well, I had some EXCITED kids at the airport!!!
Now, I have to brag about my sweet and thoughtful big girl (and after all, she is only 9!!). She had a little welcome present for all three of us, a welcome at home, and she already had milk poured for Elia and Nina, so when we got home, she popped their cups in the microwave, and had their drinks ready to go. How sweet is that!!
We all slept quite well, and so far this morning we've been digging through suitcases, feasting on Chocolate (who needs breakfast, anyway!!)
It's good to be home...

Zoo!

Allright, this is my last post from Switzerland :-(
Suitcases are packed, full of CHOCOLATE, of course, and other goodies and special surprises for the family at home (sorry for teasing, you "Far-away-ers").
Tomorrow, we'll be on the road by 5:30, and we're home by 9:20pm. I know this does not sound bad, but then please add 8 hours for the time difference - I would REALLY like for all of you to feel sorry for me!! Haha, just kidding, we'll be fine. Tired, but fine (I hope...)
We had another fun day at the Zoo today, and I'll throw some more pictures at you, and then I'm done blogging until I'm on my home turf....

Wild west kids meet Swiss farm...

We had a great day yesterday visiting with my brother, his family, and more family, and more friends :-))
The kids had a blast, and Nina is completely astounded by all those new cousins!! Last night, she came over to me and whispered in my ear: "I have five big cousins, I counted". Of course, remembering names was kind of too much for her, but they even LISTENED to "cousin!!". They played and played, and we went and looked at some neighborhood farm animals ( I have some funny videos, too, but Youtube is down right now), even some goats!! And we ate all day - it was wonderful!!!
I would have many more stories, and late last night on our way home wayyyy past Elia's bed time, his "eyes were not ready to sleep" and he talked non-stop (big surprise, I know), but we had some of the most precious conversations, and I may share about those at a later point.
Right now, I have to get the two sleepy-heads up, and get ready to head to the Zoo with my niece and Elia's Godmother Dina and her hubby....
I know it'r rough being on vacation :-))

Elia sniffing a Swiss manure pile *LOL*Playmobil City!!
Some farm impressions for you!
Cousins, uncles, aunts, and other wonderful people...

Does this look enough Swiss for you???

Here are just a few pictures I took on a daytrip yesterday.
Yes, you may drool - it IS a beautiful country!!
Nice brother *haha*

Swiss kids (after all, they are 5/8th Swiss - no kidding!)

The view from the top of the mountain

And no, they are NOT enjoying the spectacular view of the Swiss Alps, but merely spitting over the wall :-)

On the way down by train

Do you remember this?

Do you remember this post?

I just found this video, and just had to follow up on my own posting *Haha*
Here you go:

Jet lag is a beautiful thing *Haha*

We made it!
Good kids, uneventful flights (no turbulences, thank God!), and now they are SLEEPING! I think Nina and Elia are going on 15 - 16 hours right now. And they are OUT. I've tried waking them up, but no such luck. It's almost noon here by now, and it would probably be good if their day would start sometime soon :-))
Elia was SO excited when we boarded our first flight (in one of those tiny little airplanes). Although this was his third time making this overseas trip, it seemed so new to him, and his eyes sparkled, and he laughed and talked pretty much nonstop. It was this kind of talk:
"Mama, is the plane gonna go fast now? Hey, Nina, the plane is going to go super fast - oh, it's going...... uhhhhhh, this is fun....... ohhhh, this is scary, we're going to die, whheeeeee......, yeah, we're up in the air now..... " all the while his eyes are huge with excitement. He is so funny!
Our "big" plane, leaving from Salt Lake City a couple of hours later, however, had Nina totally stumped. A couple of hours into the flight, while we're served dinner, she asked: "Mama, are we eating dinner just sitting here on the ground? " She seriously did not believe me when I told her we had been flying for quite some time already. Gotta love those big, smooth planes!
Anyway, we had quite a welcome reception at the airport, and the kids were so excited to see the family they love, but see so rarely. Nina was a little shy since she really didn't know anyone except for my sister, her youngest daughter, and Big'e Anja.
She definitely has some fears in her little heart about the finality of this trip. We've talked quite a bit about VISITING , and then going back HOME, but she has made comments about having to stay here. Last time she flew with us, it was a final thing too, and even though she doesn't seem afraid, she has to learn again that she is stuck with us forever (poor thing! Haha!), and we're not going anywhere without her.
They both received some sweet treats from their favorite "Gotti's" (=Godmothers), and that of course won Nina over right away!
Did I ever tell her that in EVERY report from China is said that she loved candy. Boy, that was the truth!
Anyway, I will try to do some blogging while I'm here (Yes, I feel like a total geek now, I traveled with my laptop for the first time ever!), and even though the weather is cold and a bit gloomy (welcome to a Swiss Fall!), I'll hopefully get some nice scenery shots for all of you! If there is something in particular that interests you, let me know!
I'll leave you with a picture of my sleeping beauties - about 15 hours into their "night" :-))

So lame!

I know, I know, you're wondering what happend to us??
Do you REALLY want to know??
Well, here you have it:
Nina started preschool and ballet - loves both.
Everyone else is playing soccer, so - between practices, games, tournaments, swimming, ballet and school, oh yes, and a little bit of work *haha* - I have NO time for anything else.
And guess what - I'm leaving for Switzerland in FIVE days!! Yes, that's totally a reason to cheer (Nina and Elia are going with me), but I have so much stuff to do get done yet!!!
Anyone want to come help???
So, no time for blogging for this girl.
Sorry!!

Last day of SUMMER

Oh, it took a lot of begging, but if I had only one word to describe Alex, it would be PERSISTENCE! He has been begging and hinting and pleading for weeks to go a certain amusement park in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
He finally got his way, and Grandma and Grandpa took the whole crew there yesterday. It was hot, in the 90's (which is very high for this time of the year in our area), so they especially enjoyed the bumper boats and soaked each other good!
I included quite a few pictures in the collage below, so just click on it to enlarge it!
Today is a different story, as it is quite cold (only in the mid 50's right now), so I'm glad we went yesterday.