Our Three Gifts

It's Been A Tough Couple Of Weeks!

2010-03-12T23:55:00.003-05:00

Sorry, Its been so long since I was last on here. As some of you may know, we lost someone very dear to our hearts in January. Grandpa was killed in an accident on the farm in Kentucky on January 16th. He was doing what he loved; in the place that he loved. Kentucky was Grandpa's "Heaven on Earth" and he wouldn't have wanted it any other way. We are so blessed to have so many people in our life that love us, we couldn't have done it without them. Like I said, we have had a tough couple of weeks and I am sure there will be more ahead, so please keep our family in your prayers.

Betsy

Happy Halloween!!

2009-10-30T21:53:00.003-04:00

So Halloween is already here! It is so hard to believe! Khoa is dressing up as a Transformer! We don't know if he will be going trick or treating though because right now he has a 100.3 temperature..:-(..

We were sitting in the living room and Khoa walked up to mom and said "Mom, my throat is stuck!" Then he told us that it hurt. So the poor kid has a sore throat, 100.3 temperature, AND ITS THE NIGHT BEFORE HALLOWEEN!!!

Also, about a week ago, our family was in Kentucky and Khoa lost his first tooth! He was sooo excited! For the next two days all he could talk about was loosing his tooth! It was so cute!

Well, I just thought I would update our family status! I will try to post pictures of Halloween ASAP!

2009 IS ALMOST OVER!! AHHHH!!!!

2009-10-02T18:46:00.002-04:00

So its October!! Erin is at college doing well and Khoa is doing great in the first grade...Highschool is a big change for me but I am doing good also. Mom is going back to college to get her degree and she is loving it. Our whole family is so proud of her!

This year has gone by so fast! 2009 is almost over! It's crazy!! Only 84 days till Christmas!! It's amazing how time flies! I hope you are all having a great year!!

I hope to get back into updating this blog but we have been very busy so I will try my best!!!

Betsy!!!

2009-07-15T17:19:00.002-04:00

On July 10, 2009 our Uncle Bill passed away. He was 71 years old and was married to our Aunt Trudy for 27 years. Uncle Bill was kind, loving, caring, and he always had something to say. Uncle Bill will always be loved and missed. We love you Uncle Bill and we look forward to seeing you again!

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-04T18:17:00.003-04:00

We are spending our weekend in Kentucky at Great Grandma's House! We spent the day today hunting for arrowheads and playing in the creek! I hope you are all having a great 4th of July weekend. God Bless!

2009-06-30T20:54:00.001-04:00

Betsy

2009-06-30T12:18:00.002-04:00

Okay, so this is Shelly's daughter Betsy. From now on I will be taking over the blog. Mom started a new job in August and has been working full time so she hasn't had time to update the blog in a long time. So I volunteered to take over. I will try to keep you updated on family events.

How long has it been since I've been on here???

2009-06-17T17:44:00.005-04:00

Man! There is so much to catch up on. Erin graduated from High School as Salutatorian, Betsy graduated from Middle School and got 8 awards at their awards program,and Khoa graduated from kindergarten with a Math Award! I have three awesome kids!

Here is a picture from Erin's graduation. The blonde standing in between Rob and I is Khoa's "girlfriend" Kelsi. He is absolutely in love with her. The funny part about it is that Kelsi is in Erin's class! :-)

I will try to keep you updated on all our family events and I will be sure to add pics!

So much to catch up on!!!!

2008-09-21T17:15:00.008-04:00

It's been a wild and crazy summer around here! Here is a quick view of our summer.....

May 4 ~ Khoa and I drove to Florida to spend time with my sister and for me to do some work for my Brother-In-Law and his company.

June 4 ~ Khoa and I fly home to see my hubby and the girls... My Grandma also died before I could get from the airport to the nursing home.

June 6 ~ Drive with family to Kentucy to visit with my hubby's Grandma

June 8 ~ Granny's funeral

June 12 ~ Drive to Tulsa for Vietnam Reunion with our adoption agency.

June 17 ~ Fly back to Florida with Betsy and Khoa....leaving Rob and Erin to fend for themselves for a few weeks....

June 25 ~ Erin flys to Florida to spend a week with us and Aunt Kelly and her family

July 12 ~ Rob flys down to Florida to spend a few days and then drive Betsy and Khoa back home

July 15 ~ Rob leaves for home with the kids

July 25 ~ I fly home and spend two weeks cleaning non-stop.

August 9 ~ I go back to work

August 12 ~ Rob, Erin and Grandpa drive to Philadelphia to visit a school for Erin!!!

August 18 ~ Kids back in school ~ Erin is a Senior, Betsy is in 8th Grade, and my baby Khoa started Kindergarten!!!

August 19 ~ Give two weeks notice at my part-time job that I'd had for 9 years.

September 2 ~ Start working full-time for the first time in 10 years!!

Whew, that just wears me out typing it! Is it no wonder that I haven't blogged in a while?! I've also managed to lose 47 pounds and am trying to keep it off. It's a battle and sometimes I don't know who is winning.

Daddy and Khoa on his first day of Kindergarten.........

Mommy trying not to cry.......

Look, there's my bus!!

Mommy walking him to the bus.....

The swing.....EMPTY......after Khoa left for his first day of school!

Khoa getting off the bus after school

He had a wonderful day and was ready to go back the next day. He loves school!

Here are a few other pictures from the summer...

Khoa's New Passion.....

2008-04-17T00:27:00.003-04:00

This is what keeps Khoa busy these days. He LOVES the bouncy ball! He follows me everywhere, bouncing! His Daddy came home from work yesterday and picked him up to give him a kiss and Khoa kept his grip on the bouncy ball the whole time! He is such a character.

2008-04-10T19:35:00.007-04:00

This is one of my favorite pictures of spring break!

Anyone seen Rob??

The back of my sweet little niece, Zoe. Isn't she tiny!

Khoa loved his push pop. Good till the last drop!

My nephew Jacob. He was checking out something yucky in the sand.

Betsy and my oldest niece, Holly.

Trevor, could you be any cuter???

This is Zoe. She didn't want her picture taken.

My niece Emma. She's such a diva! :-)

Here is "the end" of the pictures for now.

This is a funny video of Betsy. She thought I was taking a picture, but I had the camera on video. Sneaky Mama!

Easter Pictures

2008-03-26T00:18:00.002-04:00

Khoa enjoying a yummy sweet roll during church on Easter Sunday. He loves giving me that cheesy smile!
Here is a picture of all three of the kids. Again, there's that cheesy smile! The girls were just thrilled to have their picture taken. Geeze, give a Mom a break. It's Easter and I want a good picture of my kids!!!!
Finally!!! Aren't they adorable. Betsy isn't so happy about her picture, but I told her that her fever blister didn't show up that much. :-) Check out that smile on Erin....that's her first Easter without braces in two years!

Hope you all had a nice Easter weekend.

2008-02-18T01:03:00.013-05:00

I've been tagged (about a month ago...but better late than never!) The following list of questions are being answered because Mia's Mommy is a brat! :-) So, here are my answers.....

1. What is your occupation? Full time Mommy and Wife. Part time Administrative Assistant.
2. What color are your socks right now? White
3. What are you listening to right now? The TV. I don't even know what program is on. It's still on one of the channels that Khoa likes to watch. He's asleep on the couch.
4. What was the last thing you ate? Sun Chips....Garden Salsa flavored. Yummy.
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Depends on your definition of "drive".
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Red
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My friend Denise
8. How old are you today? 39
9. Favorite drink? Diet-Pepsi....or if I'm out with just adults...Gin and Tonic with lime.
10. What is your favorite sport to watch? Football
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yep.
12. Favorite reality TV show? Survivor
13. What was the last movie you watched? I don't remember.
14. Favorite day of the year? If we are talking Holiday, I have to say Thanksgiving. Otherwise I would say any day that my house is clean...every room all at once (I'm still waiting on that day to come!)
15. What do you do to vent anger? Eat
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? I really don't remember.
17. What is your favorite, fall or spring? I love fall when the leaves are turning all the beautiful colors. Once the leaves go...I'm ready to go straight to Winter.
18. Hugs or kisses? Hugs (Melissa I promise that I will never hug you!)
19. Cherries or blueberries? Cherries
20. Do you want your friends to email you back? If I've asked them a question
21. Favorite dessert? Can't name just one. Anything with sugar.
22. Who is least likely to respond? Not passing it on.
23. Living arrangement? I live with my hubby,three kids,one dog and lots of dust bunnies (you know how those bunnies multiply....)
24. When was the last time you cried? This evening while watching Extreme Home Makeover. It was a wonderful episode about a family in Louisville, KY.
25. What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes
26. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to? Again, not sending it to anyone. The friend I've known the longest is Denise and she is amazing.
27. What did you do last night? Is it bad if I don't remember?!? Oh, wait I remember. The girls and I went to my Mom's house to scrapbook. Yes, I know...I'm boring!!!!
28. Favorite smells? My all time favoriate would have to be Babies after they've had a bath and gotten all lubed up with baby lotion. A close second would have to be in the summer when it's just started to rain.
29. What inspires you? Beautiful landscapes, flowers, the ocean at sunset, a cool breeze, the sound of my children and husband laughing, patriotism.
30. What are you afraid of? My children or husband being seriously hurt or...dying. I'm also VERY afraid of snakes. I can't even watch them on TV.
31. Plain, cheese, or spicy burgers? Cheese
32. Favorite breed of dog? Mutt
33. How many years at your current job? 8 years
34. Favorite day of the week? Any day that I get to sleep in.
35. How many states have you lived in? ONE...(I know...boring)
36. Celebrity crush? No thanks.
37. Ever driven a motorcycle or heavy machinery? Motorcycle, NO. Heavy machinery..YES A backhoe, and a tractor.
38. Who is your favorite NFL team? THE COLTS.... Manning, Clark, Freeney, Utecht, Harrison, Addai, Saturday, Vinatieri....(see Melissa it's not just Manning and I do forgive you for your answer to this question) :-)
39. Do you have a house phone that is not cordless? Yes
40. 10 inches of snow or 100 degree weather? This answer TOTALLY depends on what my weight is at any given time. Right now I can tell you that my answer is without a doubt 10 inches of snow!!! Now, if I get busy and lose some weight and can stand the thought of putting on a bathing suit, then my answer would be 100 degree weather!

That was fun! Now aren't you glad you read my blog?!?

Here are a few pictures of our new bathroom!!! This has been a work in progress for over two years!!! We've done all the work ourselves (mostly Rob and his Daddy). We enclosed the front porch (which we never ever used) and now I can now say that we have two bathrooms! Yipee! For those of you that have actually been to my house, you know how tiny our other bathroom is.

The walk in shower isn't finished yet, but the sink and toliet are functioning!!! Rob is working on getting the shower completed. I bought a cheap panel curtain and put it up with a tension rod to cover the unfinished shower. I'm hoping that this time next month I will be posting pictures of a finshed shower. Khoa wasn't loving standing in the unfinished shower, but he loved being in all of the other pictures.

I still need to get a few pictures for the walls, but I'm still tickled at how nice it's coming together!

We made it thru the Holidays!!

2008-01-15T00:32:00.001-05:00

Christmas Fun

2007-12-15T11:21:00.000-05:00

This video cracks me up! Khoa was in rare form the day I filmed this. Here are some photos of the past few months:

Checking out the new fish.

Spiderman!

Oh no, not another place to climb.....

Erin and Betsy having fun...together...RARE!

Relaxing in KY

First EVER jumping in the leaves.

He LOVED it!

Christmas tree at Church. Beautiful

A picture of us celebrating Khoa's first "Gotcha Day" Celebration with some yummy ice cream.

2007-11-16T15:48:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've posted. I can't believe how time passes so quickly from one day to the next. I never intend on going so long between posts!! I've had bronchitis and have felt whimpy for a couple of weeks at least! I finally went to the Doctor on Tuesday. The "Z" pack is starting to work and I'm feeling a little more normal. Betsy has also been sick and Khoa has had a runny nose (or his nose is falling down, depending on who you ask). My hubby has had a bought of Gout! Hey, that rhymns. He went to the Dr. and also got some meds. His big toe is feeling better, but not great yet.

This is an apple that Khoa made into a "pumpkin" all by himself! He used the end of a spoon to poke the face into the apple. I thought it was brilliant!!

We had a fun Halloween. Khoa was.....what else.....Spiderman. I must say he makes a cute Spiderman, but there were a billion other Spiderman's. Betsy was a Colt's Cheerleader/Player....not sure which. :-) She was not going to even trick or treat this year, but we gave in and said one more time! Keeping Khoa out of the candy was a nightmare, but we managed to keep him from eating it all in one evening.

We made another trip to Kentucky. It was a lot of fun and we just enjoy our time there so much. Erin had to stay home because of swim practice. It just wasn't the same without her. The next time we go, she will be with us though. She has decided not to swim this season. She is really trying to keep her grade point average at 4.1 and she is taking a lot of hard classes this year. She just didn't have the energy to do two practices a day and then come home and be up until 1 a.m. doing homework. Her grades had to come first, and she was really relieved when we said that she didn't have to swim if it was more than she could handle. We are very proud of her! She is tied for Valedictorian of her class, and we are hoping that she can keep it that way. Khoa had so much fun in Kentucky "fighting" every piece of grass, leaf, or bug that he ran across! He was wacking at something all the time!

Our friends Chris and Michelle made it home from Vietnam last week with their baby girl, Gracie. We met them at the airport and it was so emotional. I really didn't think it would be as emotional as it was. It wasjust one year ago on November 14th, that we found out when our G&R date was to get Khoa. I guess all of those feelings of coming home aren't all that far from the surface for me. It doesn't seem possible that it's been a year almost since he's been with us!

Our G&R date was December 7, 2006. Our 1 year anniversary is fast approaching! I don't know what to do to celebrate. Any ideas??? We want to make it a special day, but I just don't know what to say to help him understand why we are celebrating. I would love to know how much of that time he remembers.

Thanksgiving is next week and I think Khoa will enjoy it! It will be his first Thanksgiving with us and I guess, really his first Thanksgiving. Erin and Betsy sure do love Thanksgiving! We all do. I think that this year will be the best yet. Then, Christmas will be here before we know it. I've started shopping and getting a few things, but I've really got a long way to go before I can say I'm finished.

Family Update

2007-10-23T23:53:00.000-04:00

I've been reminded by several folks that I need to update the blog, so here is a quick update. I thought that I would share some of Khoa's progress using his English. Here are a few phrases that we have found to be quite funny!
Mommy, my nose is coming out = runny nose.
Mom, whats tis? (as he points to his frank & beans) My peenee?
Yea ah did = Yes, I did
Spobby goo = Scooby Doo
I luf hew = I love you
Goplane = Air plane
Doobies = boobies (thanks Betsy! You are grounded...FOREVER)
ting ting = something
goggie = doggie
I see snore = I see more

dry hands? = he wants to wash his hands
Noonea = Narnia (he loves the "talking horse" who says "My name is Phillip")
Khoa was licking his lips and they were getting chapped. We told him to stop and -- His reply was "I can't stop"!
Mommy, see Khoa = Mommy, look at me!

There are a bunch more, but I just can't think of any right now.

Here is a video of Khoa that I took this evening. I thought it would be fun getting Khoa saying goodnight.....sorry that it is so dark, I obviously needed more light, but you can still hear his sweet voice just fine:

A few weeks ago Erin (our oldest) participated in the annual "Powder Puff" football game. Juniors vs. Seniors. She is a Junior. It didn't go that well. They got beat.....35 to ZIP!

Erin is right behind the line marker person. She is looking at the cheerleaders and is standing by the girl with black long sleeves. Hard to pick her out, I know! I didn't get any good shots! Loser Mom!

They all had fun and the cheerleaders were hilarious. Nice outfits guys! Those skirts will never be the same!

A few days ago, Betsy and my Mom and I went for a walk at our local state park. We came upon this very funny looking bench and of course, Betsy had to pose. She's so funny!

We are all doing great and enjoying the fall weather. I will hopefully have some new pictures of at least Betsy and Khoa to post after this coming weekend. We are headed to KY for fall break. Erin has to stay home for swim practice. :-(

Please say a prayer for our friends who are in Vietnam right now adopting their baby girl. They have been told that they may not be ready to come home for at least another two weeks. They have already been in-country for 12 days. They have two precious boys waiting for them back home and they are missing them something awful. Please pray that somehow things would move much quicker than expected so that they can come home soon!!!

Thanks for the prayers.....

2007-09-29T22:35:00.001-04:00

Quick update on Khoa:

Our little man is feeling much better! He is no longer running a fever and is not coughing near as much. Thanks for all of your prayers!

2007-09-25T20:18:00.000-04:00

Khoa has pneumonia. Not sure how the ER Doctor didn't know that, considering he's the one who ordered the chest x-rays and said they looked fine. Thank God that our family doctor took a look at them and called yesterday to tell us that he had pneumonia in one lung. I took Khoa to see our Dr. today and he changed his antibiotic and hopefully we will see some improvement soon. His fever hasn't broken yet. It's been running between 99 and 104 (with the Motrin). We are now alternating Motrin and Tylenol. Hopefully he will sleep thru the night. We've tried two different cough meds and they aren't really doing much. We are now trying Mucinex Cough for kids. He also now has diarrhea more than likely because of the antibiotic.

Erin took this picture of Khoa laying on the floor between our kitchen and dining room. I was making dinner and he plopped down on the rug and waited for me to finish. Poor baby. Please pray that Khoa will feel better soon. He feels terrible and it just breaks my heart.

It may be a long night!

2007-09-23T22:59:00.001-04:00

We are experiencing our little man being sick for the first time. We really don't know what his health was like the first 3 1/2 years of his life. We don't have any other times to compare this to. I feel like a first time Mom and I guess to some extent I am. Khoa has been running a fever of 103.3 and sounds like a chair sliding across the floor when he coughs. He woke up this morning gasping for breathe and crying. I thought maybe it was the Croup. According the ER Doctor, it is not. He has a middle ear infection, a Lower Respiratory infection and a throat infection. What!?! He's had a bit of a fever the last few days off and on, but nothing to indicate what we would wake up to this morning. We took him to the ER since he was having so much trouble catching his breath. It was a little scary, but he did so good at the hospital. He's a trooper! He is just miserable. He's been either on the couch or in his bed ALL day. That's not our little man! He's usually up and going the minute his eyes open and doesn't slow down until he has too!

Please pray that he will feel better in the morning. We will have been able to get about 5 doses of antibiotics in him by Monday morning.

Last weekend...

2007-09-05T05:46:00.000-04:00

We had a nice Labor Day weekend spent at home. It was very nice to get some things done around the house that have been neglected. Like the landscaping. I'm usually pretty good about keeping everything weeded, but since our oldest daughter saw a snake in the flowers, well....I just couldn't bring myself to take the leap and start weeding. I put it off as long as possible. When my mom asked me if I knew the things growing in my flowers were weeds, I knew it was time. Sooo, the biggest part of Friday and Saturday were spent outside, but it was a beautiful weather weekend here in the mid-west so I really enjoyed being outside.

Khoa is doing much better with pre-K. Thank you, God! Last week was tough, but hopefully we are past the crying and screaming and begging not to go to school. I wondered how it would go yesterday since he didn't have to go to school on Monday, but he did great! Went right in just like a big boy. The first thing he said when I picked him up yesterday was that he didn't have to go poopy while he was there! Here is a video of Khoa talking about not going back to school. I know I'm his Mommy, but look at those eyes. Aren't they the sweetest ever!!!

Uncle Dan and Aunt Jo Jo passed along to Khoa this fun little jeep. He loves it and drives everywhere. I'm happy to say that he can now drive it without running into my clothes line post or the swingset! Grandpa put in a new battery and the car can go pretty fast now. He's taken the dog a ride (which I hate that I didn't get on video) and all of his favorite toys.

Isn't his play set and little house the cutest! We've had so much fun watching him play and pretend. Uncle Brad and Aunt Jeanie built the play house for their boys and they had out grown it. Grandpa and Daddy took it apart, moved it to our house, put it back together and then roofed it again. What a great bunch of guys we have! I love the American Flag flying!

If you get a chance, check out the post below this one. I actually posted both of these just an hour or so apart.....maybe I should have just made them one big post, but the post below deserves it's own title!

Yucky with a capital Yuck!

2007-09-02T23:20:00.000-04:00

I'm not one to really freak out about much, but what I saw the other day was eye-opening to say the least. Have you ever given any thought to what happens to the shopping carts when they are not being used? I hadn't. I've been noticing the boxes of wipes that are offered to wash off the handles on the carts at certain stores. I've used them a few times. After what I saw today, I think that I'll have to take my own cleaning supplies to de-contaminate the stinkin' cart where ever I shop! At this particular Meijer, there were two fairly long rows of carts parked very close to where we pulled up to wait on my husband. I was looking out the window of the van and that's when I noticed nasty little birds running in and out of almost every cart lined up. They were in the seat, on the handles and seemed like everywhere in between. I really had never given it a thought that the carts we use to put our groceries and our children in, are being molested by nasty dirty yucky little birds!

EEEEEEWWWWWWWWWW! Birds are full of germs and I can just see a mom with a small baby putting her baby in the seat and of course that baby is going to try and taste anything she/he can get to. Yuck!! Now I understand those new things you can buy to put over the seat and handle of the shopping cart. I have to admit that until now I thought the covers were over-kill, but now..... I think they are a must if you have a baby that can sit-up in the cart.

Again, I'm normally fairly level-headed and don't freak out about too much, but for some reason, little birds using the carts as a playgroud just makes my stmoach turn.

I didn't have my camera with me so I had to use my camera phone to take the pictures. They aren't very clear and you can only see one bird in each picture, but trust me there are at least 10 hanging out.

I've tried to figure out how I can do my shopping without a cart, but I don't think there is anyway I can do it. Soooo, I guess I'll be carrying my own antibacterial wipes with me so that maybe I'll feel safe enough to let Khoa ride in the cart without being afraid that he will end up with some nasty birdy turdy germs on his precious little hands.

What were we thinking?!?

2007-08-27T20:09:00.000-04:00

Khoa's been home 8 months and seems to be doing pretty well. So we had this great idea that it was time for Khoa to start Pre-K. We found a pre-school that is willing to work with me on what mornings he goes to school. Since I work on Monday's and Thursday's I would just as soon have him in school on those two mornings so that I don't have to be away from him on the mornings that I don't work. The only day that he will have school that I don't work is on Tuesday. I can live with that. Gives me a few hours all by myself. Anyway, school started this last Thursday. Rob took off work and we both took Khoa to his first day of pre-school and then I went on to work. He did fantastic....except for one "minor" detail. It's been a while since I've had a kid in preschool and when they said they require the kids to be potty trained, I thought "no biggie". Wrong! Here's where the "minor" detail comes in. Khoa doesn't know how to wipe his little hiney after he's pooped. Guess what? ...he had to poop and when he was done, he hollered for the teacher. Guess what? ....the pre-school teachers do not help the kids wipe (don't blame them). Period! I guess after several minutes of the teacher trying to get Khoa to wipe his own behind and Khoa crying that he couldn't do it by "hisssself" the teacher finally helped him (bless her) and then called Daddy to let him know that Khoa needed to learn that little skill as soon as possible. After Daddy picked him up from school they came to my work to take me to lunch. I was so excited to hear about his morning at school. I asked Khoa if he had a good time and he said, "No.!" "Khoa no go poopy by hisssself. I quied." I felt AWFUL!!! The poor kid has been scarred for life. Well, he had several "opportunities" to practice wiping by himself this last weekend, with much success. I thought that he would do just fine this morning when I dropped him off. Wrong again!!! He kept saying that he didn't want to go to school and that he wanted to go to work with me. I stayed in the class for a few minutes and we couldn't get his attention off of me leaving. Sooooo, his wonderful and patient teacher pried him off of me as he was screaming and crying at the top of his lungs. It was heartbreaking to say the least. As I walked out of the building I looked back and all of the other little kids were sitting in a circle holding their hands over their ears because Khoa was screaming so loudly. I cried all the way to work. I called the school about 10 minutes later and the teacher said that his monkey had saved the day. She got it out of his back pack (she's goood!!)and gave it to him and he decided that he could handle the morning after all. He didn't have to poop today at school, which I think was probably a good thing. He's already saying he's not going to school tomorrow. Oh Joy! I just wonder if his morning would have been different if I he hadn't had the "hiney wipe" problem on Thursday. When I talk to him about the fact that he has been able to wipe himself several times with no problems, he responds that he can wipe at "Mommy's house" and "Gwandpa's house" and at "Church", but not at school.

So what do you think? I hope we are not doing the wrong thing by making him go to pre-K. If he was a child that we had raised since birth, I wouldn't be questioning our decision, but the fact is, this precious child has only known what a family is for 8 months. Maybe I'm pushing him too much. But, if we don't make him go to pre-K now that he's been a few times, are we making matters worse in the long run? Geeze Louise what's a Mommy and Daddy to do!?!

I have a few pictures of Khoa's first day that I will post, but I can't do it right now. I took them with our daughters camera and I don't know where the thingy is to plug into the camera to up-load them to the computer.

The end of summer.....

2007-08-20T20:12:00.000-04:00

It seems like I don't ever blog about our oldest daughter, Erin. She's been working so many hours as a lifeguard that we haven't seen her much this summer. I did manage to take a picture of her the other day while she was on a break.Betsy and Khoa had a good summer at the pool. I wasn't sure how the summer would go since we hadn't had Khoa during the summer before, but he LOVED the pool and we didn't even have to go to the "baby" pool. He loved the "big" pool as long as he had his blue swimmies on. It was a fantastic summer and it went too fast!

We were also fortunate to be able to make several trips to Kentucky this summer. We went a few weekends ago and it was so HOT that we got out the baby pool and let Khoa cool off. Who needs a bathing suit?!? Everyone but Khoa!

Khoa continues to surprise us daily with his antics. He is so much fun and such a good little boy. He is ALL boy though! Here are a few pictures that I took just last week. The last time I saw him he was in the bathroom brushing his teeth. I went to my bedroom to get something and walked thru the Kitchen to find him brushing his teeth with the help of the tongs. What?!

This is how he likes to eat his bread stix & cheese snack. He was pretending that it was candles on a birthday cake. So Cute!!!

Summer Vacation ~ who needs Chevy Chase when Uncle Mark is along!!

2007-08-05T19:09:00.000-04:00

I guess I better warn you, this post is going to be a long one. I just have too many fun things to write about, so grab a drink and get comfy....

We took a week of vacation and headed to Southern Kentucky a few weeks ago. We love it there. We always have a great time. This time was no different.

We have some great friends that we've known forever. Denise and Mark. Denise is the one who went to Vietnam with my Mother-in-law and me to get Khoa. Anyway, we always have the best time with them. We just travel well together and have fun, no matter what happens. Well, they came down to Kentucky later in the week and brought their "new to them" boat and their two youngest boys. We headed to Lake Cumberland for a day of fun in the sun.

Rob and I rented a double-decker pontoon boat with a slide off the back and then Mark and Denise had their fast boat. They were going to go ahead of us and find a nice spot off the beaten path so that we could tie up and let the kids swim and play.

Everything was going pretty good...for the first five minutes. They started having problems with their boat. Honestly, they had it in the water for five minutes at the most and the engine started over heating. I felt so bad for them because they had been so excited to get it on the lake. We went ahead and found a place to swim and Rob and Mark tried to work on the boat. The boat was taking on water....fast. Rob and Mark decided that they better get the boat back to the marina. They tried to get it started and it wouldn't start so we ended up towing the boat behind the pontoon.

Mark and Rob bailed water out of the boat as fast as they could...with 16 oz. plastic cups! I know it's terrible, but it was one of the funniest things I've seen. They looked so silly, but we didn't have anything else bigger to bail water with. Let's just say, Uncle Mark was not a happy boy! They ended up getting the boat started a few minutes before we reached the marina. They untied from the pontoon and was able to drive the boat the rest of the way and get it on the trailer. The boat sat on the ramp and water drained out of it for probably 10 minutes! Luckily, the pontoon was big enough for all of us and we were able to go back out on the lake and enjoy the rest of the day.

While playing in the lake, we discovered a new use for mini-marshmallows. Uncle Mark and Khoa were having so much fun. I couldn't stop laughing, so I'll apologize now for the bumpiness of the video....hang in there till the end.

It's hard to tell in the video, but their were tiny little fish biting at the marshmallows. The more we threw in the water, the more little fish would swarm around to get a bite of the sweet stuff. It was really funny, especially when the kids threw a handfull of marshmallows right at Mark. He got out of the water pretty fast and I can't say that I blame him.

Here are a few pictures that I took during the weekend.

Betsy has decided that she likes taking pictures of flowers and she does a great job. She took the opportunity to snap a few shots of Great-Grandma's flowers. I was so proud of the pictures she took I had to create a slide show of a few of them.

Our oldest daughter, Erin, has been working at our local pool as a lifeguard this summer and that has kept her very busy. She likes making some cashola, but doesn't have much time for anything else. She enjoyed our KY vacation because she was able to relax. She read a book, relaxed and just enjoyed not having to be at work. She doesn't like the camera, so I really don't have very many pictures of her, but I promise she was with us!

One year ago today our world changed........

2007-07-20T10:44:00.000-04:00

One year ago today our world changed...it was the first time that we saw the face of our son!! I will never forget the feeling of seeing his precious face and just somehow knowing...this was the boy God was giving to us. I woke up early this morning and pulled up that first picture of Khoa from our agency Dillon International. We had inquired about three little boys listed on their Waiting Child's list. There were no pictures with the descriptions of the little boys, but they all met the requirements that we were looking for.... The same evening Tami from Dillon e-mailed us pictures and medical information for all three boys. Khoa's picture was the first one we saw..and I knew that was him. Our Son! At the time, we were actually signed up with another agency, Vietnamese Orphan's Relief Fund, and our Dossier was already approved and waiting in Hanoi for us to be assigned a child, but within a week, thanks to the hard work of both agencies, we were officially signed with Dillon International and Khoa had a family! We traveled to bring him home just a little over 4 months from the day we saw his face for the first time!

I can't believe it's been a year. What an incredible adventure we've been on. I have to say I feel like the luckiest Mom in the whole world. Rob and I have three healthy, happy, beautiful children. Khoa has been the perfect addition to our family. He has brought such joy to our family. He is so much like his Daddy that it's scary. He is such a tease! His laugh is contagious and when I hear all three of the kids laughing together, it is the best sound in the whole world! Now, don't get me wrong...it's not been all fun and games. It has been a huge adjustment for all of us to have a now four year old running around. The girls have given up a lot to enable us to bring Khoa home. Betsy sometimes feels left out, even as much as we try to make that not happen, it does. I guess the main thing that our family has to remember is that we will have bumps in the road, but that we all love each other and we all KNOW without a doubt that Khoa is suppose to be ours! With God's help, the rest will fall into place.

One of the other wonderful things that we have to thank for the adoption process is all of the new found friends that we have. When you adopt, it is amazing how you bond with other families doing the same. We've met so many wonderful families from all across the U.S. We had the pleasure of actually getting to meet Nicki and her family last night! They are on vacation traveling from Texas to Michigan. We met them for dinner about an hour from our house last night. It was so much fun to get to meet them and their kids. They returned home from Vietnam in the fall of 2006 with their daughter, Addison. What a cutie. Here are a few pictures from our meeting last night. I must say, we have some cute kids! Our oldest wasn't able to go with us because she had to work and Tony, Nicki's husband also has three kids that were not able to come last night either.

Goodbye Old Friend.....

2007-07-18T14:19:00.000-04:00

Belle was a German Shorthaired Pointer that we shared custody of with Rob's Dad, Wayne. She died on Monday from Congestive Heart Failure. She was 13 years old. Grandpa will miss her the most (not that we won't too). Belle and Grandpa were buddies. She would spend hours with him in the barn while he was fixing this or that. She also spent lots of time with Wayne when he would head to the farm in Kentucky. Belle LOVED Kentucky. She would run and roam and just have a ball. She would play in the creek and follow Wayne no matter where he went. By the end of the day, she was worn out and happy!

Rob loved Belle too. He said that she was the best hunting dog he'd ever seen. He loves telling the story of her pointing a bird, while holding the one he'd just shot in her mouth. Now, how'd she smell that other bird with one right under her nose? She was just a good bird dog!

Coming home won't be the same anymore. Belle won't be in the yard waiting on us to say hello. She was so good with the kids. They've rode her and climbed on her and led her around everywhere and she never acted like it bothered her one bit. Belle still thought she was a "lap" dog. She loved trying to sit on my lap when I would sit on the ground to pet her. She'd kind of back up into my lap and plop down. Funny girl!

Our pets are part of our family and for those of you who have a dear pet, I know you understand!

We will miss you, ol' girl.

A night to remember!

2007-07-13T13:42:00.000-04:00

A few days ago we were blessed with tickets to see Pat Green, Sugarland, and Kenny Chesney. It was an amazing evening filled with great music. We really enjoyed it. Here is a slide show of the pictures that I took. I think that they turned out pretty good!

Enjoy.

Happy 4th of July from Small Town USA!

2007-07-04T21:53:00.000-04:00

Happy 4th of July. We are so blessed to live in America. We are so blessed to have what we have! Here's some pictures to show you how we celebrated the day.

God Bless America!

Another great day with family....

2007-06-30T23:51:00.000-04:00

Today was a wonderful day. We spent most of the afternoon with my brother and sisters and their families. We invaded my Mom's house and had a ball. It was the first time that my Mom had all of her children and grand children together since Zoe and Khoa came home. She is very proud of the fact that she has FOURTEEN grandchildren! Five of those fourteen live in Florida, so we aren't all able to be together very often. In fact, it rarely happens, so when it does...we have to party!

Enjoy the pictures, there are several....and...if there are typos in the titles of the pictures, please forgive me. It's almost midnight and I'm tired.

God Bless.

Very fun weekend!

2007-06-25T21:28:00.000-04:00

We went to Tulsa, Oklahoma to attend a Vietnam Reunion Day organized by our adoption agency, Dillon International. It was fantastic and worth every mile that we traveled! Khoa was able to see some of his Vinh Long buddies and was so happy to especially see his friend Sera. They had a terrific time and didn't leave each other's side most of the day. When we were getting ready to leave, Khoa broke my heart. He didn't understand why she couldn't come with us. He was almost in tears.

We enjoyed getting to meet many of the people that we "knew" from reading their blogs and we were also able to spend some time with one of the families that we traveled with, The Dossers. Alex and Khoa had a great time swimming in Alex's pool and it was so nice for Rob to get to meet them, since he didn't travel with us to Vietnam.

I'm not much in a writing mood this evening, so I'm just going to post some pictures and let you enjoy.

God Bless.

Singing in Church and then Gone Fishing

2007-06-04T00:03:00.000-04:00

Betsy and her good friend Tristen sang in church a few Sunday's ago. They did a great job. Here is a short clip of them singing. I promise, they were not as petrified as they look!

Our neice graduated from High School. We are so proud of her. She was 2nd in her graduating class! She will be headed off to college this fall. Can't believe that she is old enough to be going to college. Seems like she was just a baby....like yesterday!

We went to Leigh's graduation party and the kids got to fish in Uncle Kevin and Aunt TR's pond.
Khoa's first time fishing was so much fun. Even his sisters got in on the fun.
Thanks Uncle Bill for taking off all 22 fish that Betsy caught! Yep, 22 bluegill!!! She had a blast. Erin caught 5 and Khoa, well he helped catch several. Not sure how many.

Here is a video of Khoa reeling in a fish. Watch the very end when he stomps his feet because he's mad. It's so funny. The good news is that he doesn't stomp much. He was just so excited to get his hands on that fish!

Okay, I promise I won't always have tons of videos on the website, but I just love the fact that I can upload them if I choose too! It's so much fun.

Let me tell you what's not fun....Car Shopping. That's what's not fun! I hate car shopping. I really hate it. Why can't people be honest? It's a mystery to me. Do they really think that we won't notice the damage to the front of the vehicle that happened when they hit a deer? Do they really think that we won't notice the bumper that is cracked because they backed into a tree? Do they really think that we want a vehicle that has tires as bald as my husband and brakes that sound like they are gasping for their last breath? Do they really think we won't notice the big deep scratches on the side of the car that they tried to cover with fingernail polish???Geeze!!! I hate car shopping!

Okay, I'm done with the temper tantrum. Please pray that we will find a good dependable vehicle for Erin that won't fall apart the first time she drives it!

Khoa enjoying the Pool.

2007-05-31T21:34:00.001-04:00

Here are a few short videos of Khoa today at the pool. He is too cute!!!

Lots of Good Things happening.....

2007-05-23T23:27:00.000-04:00

We are so excited. We now have an Indiana Birth Certificate with Khoa's full name, listing us as his parents. It's a wonderful piece of paper! He also now has a social security number and we can FINALLY finish our taxes. The courts in Indiana offically recognized Khoa's Vietnamese adoption as a full and final adoption in Indiana also. Which basically means that the Indiana courts agreed with all of the Vietnamese documents and that the adoption is now listed in Indiana as full and final as of December 7, 2006 (the actual day of the adoption in Vietnam). On January 30th, 2007 Khoa's name was officially changed in the Indiana courts and legally has our last name. It is a wonderful feeling and we are so glad that we are done with the adoption paperwork! Praise the Lord.

His English is improving and we can understand most of what he is trying to tell us. Sadly, he no longer speaks any Vietnamese. I really wish that we could speak Vietnamese so that he wouldn't forget it all.

Erin now has her drivers license. Yikes!!! Am I really old enough to have a daughter that can drive? I guess so. She's only driven by herself now two times. It is so scary letting her drive away without anyone in the car. I told her yesterday that it took every ounce of Faith I had to let her leave. I just have to trust that God will keep her safe.

Betsy is so funny. One minute she is so good with Khoa and then the next minute, they are fighting like, well....sister and brother. Okay, since they ARE sister and brother, I guess that makes sense. :-) Anyway, Betsy is so good at teaching Khoa things. She has helped him learn to count to ten, how to sing several songs. She has even some how learned the one and only song that Khoa will sing in Vietnamese. She can sing in word for word and she is the only one that can get him to sing it. So sweet!

Here are a few pictures that describes Betsy and Khoa's relationship.....it's a "love, hate" relationship!

What's in a name???

2007-05-23T00:10:00.000-04:00

I’ve decided that the hardest part of coming up with a blog entry is the Title. I mean if I give it some hum drum title, then the post may come across as boring. Please. As if I would ever write anything that was boring (ha ha…just trying to be funny). Seriously, I really do stress out about what the title of the entry will be…it all started when I was writing updates for our adoption blog. I love reading other blogs with fun titles. I want to have that snappy, eye catching, funny title. I’m sure the most memorable post in the adoption blog was the one titled "God, the Vietnamese Mail System, and a Hoochie Mama!" How’s that for a title! I AM rather proud of it. Okay, since it took me like two stinkin’ hours to figure out how to put the link in above, I’m going to call it quits for now. I hope that my posts are interesting enough that you’ll check back in to read what I’ve got on my mind.