Here's Mr. Bones:
and the Fierce Knight:
New Dress Up Costumes!
You gotta love the Salvation Army store!! We added to our dress up costumes today (I was there to actually find clothes to use for the boys to be Superman and Batman for Halloween - pictures to follow in a few weeks). And thanks to my mom being a senior citizen, we got an extra 25% off!
Here's Mr. Bones:
and the Fierce Knight:
Here's Mr. Bones:
and the Fierce Knight:
Activity of the Week
Well, I'm back!!!
I realize I have not been too up to date this summer with blogging (never posted anything about our 3 day trip to Green Bay for Packer Training Camp and worse I don't think there's a post about either of the boys birthdays - but hey, I did get first day of school on here!) But I long to make a little bit of time to weekly post on our activities, life, adoption thoughts, and basically anything that might give you a chuckle or an idea to try in your home.
Since I glean a lot of great ideas from other blogs, I want to give some ideas back! So I am introducing "Activity of the Week."
I have some number mats from when I taught preschool. They contain from 4 to 6 numbers and range from easy (1-4) to more challenging (includes numbers up to 12). Then I give the boys counters, which can be anything from plastic beads to fun food items (we used goldfish, mini marshmallows, fruit loops, and chocolate chips). They must count and place the correct number of counters in each square before enjoying their yummy snack. The boys LOVED this activity and asked to do it a second time when they finished. This activity works on counting, one to one correspondence, and number identification (sorry, the teacher in me needs to add all the skills they were working on as they had fun and didn't even realize it!)
Hope you have as much fun as we did!
8/29/11 - Ryan's First Day Back at Preschool
Ryan was excited and ready to start back to preschool this Monday. He is in our district's preschool program and has the same teacher as last year.
New outfit for the first day back:
And not to be outdone by his brother, also a "posing" picture:
Coming out the front door:
Waiting for two school buses:
Here comes Ryan's bus!
We have the same bus drivers again this year - yeah!
And though it's hard to see, there's a little face looking out through the window at me saying good bye!
I thank You Lord that Ryan has the opportunity to be in this preschool program again this year and I praise You for the wonderful staff who will work with him. I ask that you would grow his confidence, his ability to understand, call up, and use this crazy English language, and his smile (if that's possible!). I thank You that Your plans for him are also for good, to prosper him and not to harm him. I thank You that You will never leave or forsake him. Watch over him and keep him and his happy soul in the palm of Your hand.
New outfit for the first day back:
And not to be outdone by his brother, also a "posing" picture:
Coming out the front door:
Waiting for two school buses:
Here comes Ryan's bus!
We have the same bus drivers again this year - yeah!
And though it's hard to see, there's a little face looking out through the window at me saying good bye!
I thank You Lord that Ryan has the opportunity to be in this preschool program again this year and I praise You for the wonderful staff who will work with him. I ask that you would grow his confidence, his ability to understand, call up, and use this crazy English language, and his smile (if that's possible!). I thank You that Your plans for him are also for good, to prosper him and not to harm him. I thank You that You will never leave or forsake him. Watch over him and keep him and his happy soul in the palm of Your hand. 8/25/11 - First Day of Kindergarten
John started kindergarten this week!! And to say he was excited about it would be an understatement!
First day of school new outfit:
(do you kind of get the sense he loves posing for the camera?)
Brothers:
Coming out the front door to wait for the bus:
Waiting for the bus:
Here comes the bus: (yes, I do document everything!)
Getting on the bus:
and driving away:
Please watch over my child Lord as he goes into a new world of wonder and excitement and hurt and discovery and disappointment and imagination. Thank You Lord that Your plans for him are good, to prosper him and not to harm him. Thank you Lord that you will never leave him nor forsake him. Please watch over him and his heart and keep him in the palm of your hand. May he grow and learn and continue to be filled with joy and wonder at this world and all Your blessings!
First day of school new outfit:
(do you kind of get the sense he loves posing for the camera?)
Brothers:
Coming out the front door to wait for the bus:
Waiting for the bus:
Here comes the bus: (yes, I do document everything!)
Getting on the bus:
and driving away:
Please watch over my child Lord as he goes into a new world of wonder and excitement and hurt and discovery and disappointment and imagination. Thank You Lord that Your plans for him are good, to prosper him and not to harm him. Thank you Lord that you will never leave him nor forsake him. Please watch over him and his heart and keep him in the palm of your hand. May he grow and learn and continue to be filled with joy and wonder at this world and all Your blessings! 8/20/11 - 18 Months!
I can't believe it's been 18 months since we stepped off a plane at O'Hare airport and walked down a flight of stairs to see - literally - a mob of our friends and family running toward us!!
But then again it seems like the boys have always been here and I have a hard time remembering what life was like before them. Their arrival and being an overnight Mom to two boys who move has definitely been the biggest challenge but certainly the greatest joy.
The first days home - February 2010:
18 months later - August 2011
Incidentally, now that the boys have been home 18 months - the time frame our international agency America World requires parents adopting children over the age of three to wait - we can think about starting the process over again!! Hmmmm . . . . .
07/13/11 - Puzzles Completed!
Thanks Ms. Doreen for putting us over the top with your donation!! That's 200 dollars the boys raised for the American Cancer Society - WOW!
On the back of each piece is the initials of the person who "sponsored" it - that way whenever we do the puzzle, we'll remember all your generosity!
On the back of each piece is the initials of the person who "sponsored" it - that way whenever we do the puzzle, we'll remember all your generosity!
07/10/11 - Relay for Life Puzzle Fundraiser Update
Well we are certainly blessed and blown away by the generosity this week!!! Thank you so much to Ms. Alison, Uncle Paul, Ms. Judy, Ms. Jan, and Ms. Gloria and Mr. Daniel!!! The boys have raised 178 dollars for the American Cancer Society!!!! And they only have 11 puzzle pieces left each - WOW!!
If you would still like to make a tax deductible donation, please visit our Relay site:
If you would still like to make a tax deductible donation, please visit our Relay site:
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY11IL?team_id=905481&pg=team&fr_id=30667
Simply click on Ryan's name on our team web site page - I don't know why John's name didn't come up but I'll divide any donation between the two!!
Simply click on Ryan's name on our team web site page - I don't know why John's name didn't come up but I'll divide any donation between the two!!
John and Ryan's Relay for Life Fundraiser!
The boys and I are participating in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life in a few weeks! And the boys have a unique fundraiser!!
They are each trying to complete a hundred piece puzzle
and are asking for a dollar donation per puzzle piece. For example, if a dollar was donated, they would add 1 piece to their puzzle. If five dollars was donated, they would add 5 pieces, and so on and so forth. We are going to keep track of the progress here so please check back regularly!
Would you like to make a donation? If so, visit our Relay Team page:
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY11IL?team_id=905481&pg=team&fr_id=30667
They are each trying to complete a hundred piece puzzle
and are asking for a dollar donation per puzzle piece. For example, if a dollar was donated, they would add 1 piece to their puzzle. If five dollars was donated, they would add 5 pieces, and so on and so forth. We are going to keep track of the progress here so please check back regularly!Would you like to make a donation? If so, visit our Relay Team page:
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY11IL?team_id=905481&pg=team&fr_id=30667
If you care to make a donation toward the boys' puzzle completion, simply click on Ryan's name on our team web site page - I don't know why John's name didn't come up but I'll divide any donation between the two!!
Pennsylvania Vacation - Day 9
We highly, highly recommend the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery in Dayton, Ohio!! The museum was AWESOME and not very crowded the day we were there.
The boys did a puppet show; an archaeological dig; crawled through boxes and tunnels; played in two different water sensory tables; climbed a circular rope tube which led to two different slides and two different climbing towers, one of which took you above the roof; used pulleys to send a bag of tennis bags up a level to each other and then dropped them in tubes back down; played with wind and different sized balls; danced in a heat activated color changing wall; touched living things from the ocean; visited the tree house and watched for birds on the many bird feeders; drove a pretend car; played vet with stuffed animals; sorted wooden pictures of recyclable materials and put them in a garbage truck, then pushed a button to move them on a conveyor belt out the back of the truck; sat in and played with a mini crane; visited the zoo with meer cats, a bobcat, turtles, skunk, otters, and reptiles; played with Legos; crawled inside a giant turtle shell; saw jewelry and a drum from Ethiopia; and watched (or rather the boys napped through) a great planetarium show about the night sky. WOW!!!
This was a great way to end the vacation!!!!!!!!!!!
The boys did a puppet show; an archaeological dig; crawled through boxes and tunnels; played in two different water sensory tables; climbed a circular rope tube which led to two different slides and two different climbing towers, one of which took you above the roof; used pulleys to send a bag of tennis bags up a level to each other and then dropped them in tubes back down; played with wind and different sized balls; danced in a heat activated color changing wall; touched living things from the ocean; visited the tree house and watched for birds on the many bird feeders; drove a pretend car; played vet with stuffed animals; sorted wooden pictures of recyclable materials and put them in a garbage truck, then pushed a button to move them on a conveyor belt out the back of the truck; sat in and played with a mini crane; visited the zoo with meer cats, a bobcat, turtles, skunk, otters, and reptiles; played with Legos; crawled inside a giant turtle shell; saw jewelry and a drum from Ethiopia; and watched (or rather the boys napped through) a great planetarium show about the night sky. WOW!!!
This was a great way to end the vacation!!!!!!!!!!!
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