Mommy and Daddy quiz

On Gavin's last day of preschool, we were given a folder full of Gavin's art projects and pictures.  

My favorite though was the mommy and daddy quiz.

My Mom

What is your mom's name?    Kerri

What does she do?   She stays home and takes care of us.

How old is she?   32

What does Daddy call Mommy?   Honey

What is her favorite color?   Purple

What is her favorite food?   Broccoli

What is her favorite movie?   Toy Story 3

How many brothers and sisters does she have?  2 brothers

Where does she like to take you for fun?   The zoo

What is Mom's favorite household chore?  She likes to clean the bathroom.

My Dad

My dad is 38 years old.

I don't know how much he weighs and he is taller than my mom.

His hair is black and his eyes are blue.

My dad loves to relax by watching TV and he likes to wear shorts.

He loves to cook broccoli.

His favorite household chore is nothing.

His favorite TV show is Indiana Jones.

It makes Dad happy when we are going to the zoo.

When my dad goes shopping, he likes to buy tools.

If he could go on a trip, he would go to the beach and he would take us.

I really love it when my dad plays with me.

Mommy's thoughts...

Wow, he actually got our ages right??
I think he was talking about his favorite movie... and that he had two brothers
What is up with all the broccoli?
I don't really take him to the zoo that often
And since we are being honest, the zoo is definitely not what makes Adam the happiest  ;)
I don't like cleaning bathrooms for sure
Adam's hair isn't black
I would agree that Adam's favorite chore is nothing  ;)
I love that he said his daddy would go to the beach and he would take us
...and that his mommy's job is to stay home and take care of him.

This little guy cracks. me. up.

Saying goodbye to preschool

 Gavin had his preschool graduation this morning.  These big milestones really strike a cord for me.  Probably because he was practically still a baby on his first day two years ago.

In other words, he has spent almost half of his life here!  I've been there to see him make his first friends, go on his first field trips, celebrate his special days, get all dressed up for Christmas programs, Happy Birthday Jesus and Jesus is Alive parties... How can he be big enough for kindergarten already?   I think it's especially tough because all his friends are going separate ways now, to separate kindergartens.  And since I'm not a fan of change...

Anyway, here is my little guy with the Nemo fish he made for a camping theme this year.

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All the little fishies...

 Singing songs and signing the ABC's

 This is Gavin's best little friend. 

 They are pretty silly together.

But ohhh the love!

 Gavin's teachers

 Blue jello with whipped cream and swedish fish

Truly blessed to have met some lifelong friends along the way.  When two little boys get along so well and their mommies happen to immediately click too... it's the best!

Fun in the Sun

 My sister just moved so we drove over last weekend to check out her new place.  I brought a slip-n-slide and water blasters, the kids played in the fenced backyard, my sister and I sat in the sun with iced coffee... seriously perfect afternoon.

 They took the water blaster thing pretty seriously.

  I am so grateful for a ten year old niece who can fill up water balloons for everyone!

 These two were chasing each other with water balloons and blasters the entire time!

 

 Wait!  Time out!  Stop!  I surrender!

 Slippin' and slidin'

 What is a warm, sunny day without popsicles?

 So blessed to have best friends in their cousins!

Riding with Daddy

This daddy loves his boys.

And dirt bikes.  

He loves those too.

 He has taken all three boys on little dirt bike rides since they were little...
always dreaming of the day when they would be old enough to go riding alongside him. 

That day was today.

Jacob tried out the new dirt bike first and caught on super fast!

 Doesn't he look adorable all decked out?

 Gavin did pretty good for his first time too.

His daddy stayed right behind him though... just in case.

The best part about this dirt bike is that you can adjust the throttle for exactly how fast (or slow) you want them to go.  This makes it mommy approved.  ;)  I have to say, the look of pure joy on Adam's face as he taught his boys how to ride for the first time... was priceless.

One Less

I first heard this song at Creation last summer and remember thinking how powerful and inspiring it was. This was before we even knew we would be adopting.  Now, it has a whole new meaning and gives me goosebumps every time I hear it.


I got to meet Matthew West in person a few months ago.  My friend won two backstage tickets to meet him and asked me (or I might have begged ;) to go with her!  Not only did I get to shake his hand, but I got to hear One Less and many other amazing songs... live.  Such an unforgettable night.

Here is Matthew West's story behind the song.  (Also gives me goosebumps every time I hear it.  ;)

When you think about the fact that there are 147 million orphans in this world, adopting one doesn't seem like much.

But it's one less.

James 1:27  Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Why Russia?

The first thing many people ask us when we tell them we are adopting is, "Why Russia?"  Well, it all started with a first grader who I was lucky enough to have in my class.  She was constantly drawing pictures and writing letters for me, kind to her classmates, amazingly smart, extremely well-behaved.  After talking to her mom, I found out that she (and her little sister) were adopted from Russia.  I remember being amazed and inspired by their story!  It's four years later now and she still runs to me with the biggest smile every time I see her.  When Jacob was having kindergarten nerves, she sat by him on the bus, walked him to his line, and gave him special treats and crafts she had made in school.

So when Adam and I were first talking about adoption by the campfire, my mind automatically went to Russia.  Then we looked up the statistics...

According to data from the Health and Social Development Ministry, more than 730,000 children in Russia either have no parents or have been abandoned by their parents. Of this number about 200,000 of them live in orphanages and internats. More than 160,000 children are waiting to be adopted according to the state database.  In 2007, 9,000 Russian children were adopted by foreign families. Approximately 4,000 of these went to the United States.

Statistics show that only one out of ten Russian orphans becomes a functional member of society. The others are lost to drugs, crime and suicide. Millions of Russian children are on the run living on the streets or in underground sewers desperately needing basic food, medicine and clothes.


About 15,000 Russian orphans leave orphanages each year, once they are 16 to 18 years old. Of these, 5,000 are unemployed, some 6,000 are homeless, around 3,000 resort to crime, approximately 1,500 commit suicide, and roughly half the girls are forced into prostitution.


Enough said... and that is why we are adopting from Russia.  :) 

Disneyland

Adam recently found out that he was awarded some vacation in May.  So we figured we might as well get some use out of the place he is renting in Southern California... especially if we could fly stand-by and get a military discount on Disney tickets!  We decided to keep this trip a surprise for the boys, since we had to base the days we would be there on flight loads anyway.  Last Monday, everything looked great to leave so we sat the boys down and had Jacob read a little poem I made up.

There's a reason why you're missing school,

and it's really really REALLY cool.

We are flying to the third largest state,

and we have to leave now so we won't be late!

(The excitement starting welling at this point and Jacob starting guessing...  "We are going to Alaska?!")

Tomorrow we will be at a place that starts with a D and ends with a D.

Gavin was there when he was three!

("Begins with a D and ends with a D... Dad?!")

There are rides and parades and lots of fun,

Everyday there will be warm, comfy sun.

Who wants to leave this house,

and fly down to see MICKEY MOUSE?!

(Lots of screams followed by "ME, ME, ME!!!!")
So we distributed Mickey hats and were on the road!

 I have never seen more beautiful views than I did on this flight!  Amazing!

Almost as if you could walk right off of the airplane onto the blanket of clouds!

The next morning, the first thing the boys wanted to do was check out the map with their daddy.

 Then Jacob used the map to lead us straight to Buzz Lightyear!

Pixar Pals!

 The street in California Adventure that seems to go on forever.  ;)

Waiting in line for Pirates!  Jacob and Casey weren't so sure about this ride, but Gavin kept reassuring them that it was just pretend.

 Jungle Cruise!

There were only a few rides that Casey wasn't able to go on so we met some characters and ate frozen bananas... my favorite!

The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ended up being Jacob's favorite Disneyland ride.  Thanks to the child swap pass, Adam and I could take turns with Jacob and Gavin without waiting in line!

While I was waiting with Casey by the Big Thunder Mountain, we spotted Woody and Jessie!  Unfortunately, this was as close as we got since they seemed to be ending their shift for the day.  :(  So sad!

The lines were fairly short and the temperature stayed at 75 degrees the entire week.  May is a great time to go to Disneyland!

Trying on hats!

Jacob especially liked the Indiana Jones one, since he had just gotten off that ride.  :) 

 

We seriously needed a monkey leash for Casey... he just wanted to run around everywhere and one time we almost lost him!

 I didn't realize you could see Mickey anytime you want in his house at Toontown!  So fun!

 Aww...

Goofy also stepped out to give Gavin a high five.

Never too old to have fun on Dumbo!  ;)

Magic, memories, and me.  This is a new nightly show at It's a Small World...  lots of colors, lights,  pictures of kids having fun at Disney that day!

We played at Disney for about nine hours straight this first day!  The boys were serious troopers so we just kept going.  Adam and I were totally exhausted by the end of the day, but the boys were full of smiles and telling us it was the best day ever.   :)