On the 18th of December, we went to Seattle for photos with Santa. While there, we played at Game Works and rode the carousel downtown. On the way home we went to Lalibela for Ethiopian dinner. All in all, it was a great day.
Here is video of us waiting for Santa:
Here’s a glimpse of the action at Game Works.
And here’s a bit of video on the carousel.
Sary-Jo and the boys baked cookies and other goodies for Christmas. The goodies are almost gone now, but they were delicious! David was the photographer so, unfortunately, he is not in any of the pictures. There are some good shots of Sary-Jo and Daniel, though. Click the picture to see more.
No sooner did soccer end than basketball began. The boys are shown in their jerseys that were great gifts from Tyler, Tanner and their parents. We took the pictures the day basketball practice started for both of them. Daniel & David enjoy basketball and are good at it. Soccer remains their passion, but I think they’ll have a good basketball season and learn a lot. Once the games begin, we’ll take some video so be sure to check back. Click the picture to see a few more.
We had a small gathering at our home for Thanksgiving – Joany, Margie and Ruli came over. We have so much for which to be thankful as God has truly blessed us! The boys helped out with dinner quite a bit. David helped Randy make the pies and cranberry sauce on Wednesday (school and work closed due to weather). Daniel helped Randy with the stuffing and turkey. He handled the knife very well and really seemed to enjoy stuffing the bird. They both helped Sary-Jo set the table, get drinks together, etc. And for cleanup it was “all hands on deck.” We enjoyed our pie in the family room and, after everybody left, we watched Disney’s A Christmas Carol.
Click the picture to see more.
The weekend before Thanksgiving brought extremely cold weather followed by a few inches of snow. Last year, we had tried to give the boys a bit of snow experience by taking them inner-tubing, but it turned out to be quite warm so they didn’t really play in the snow. Now they’ve had a bit of experience with it… and they seem to like it. Click the picture above to see more pictures, and be sure to watch the video below.
The boys just finished their first soccer season. They learned a lot of vocabulary, and although they knew the basics, they learned how to play the game. Practices started in August, the same day we arrived from our trip to California for Janel’s wedding. Back then Daniel was sporting a blue cast on his arm and the weather was hot and beautiful. Ahhh!!! Between both teams, we had practices every night but Fridays. It was a bit crazy for a while. Once school started Daniel couln’t go to Monday practices because of Bible Study and David’s team only met once a week. Mom took advantage and spent one on one time with the other kid doing homework, reading, and talking about the day, at least for part of the practice. Then she worked on her homework while that kid got to play. Overall, we only used our big umbrellas two or three times. Last weekend we spent all weekend (6 games) at the Turkey Jamboree in freezing weather! Brrrrr!!! The boys didn’t seem to care if it was sunny, rainy, or freezing cold – they just wanted to play. They both had great coaches and very nice boys on their teams. As newbies, our family was blessed by a very positive experience (except, of course, for all the laundry and very stinky boys). Both Daniel and David say they want to play again next year. We’ll be ready to cheer them on and record their progress!!
As usual, click the photo to see more. Note: Daniel played for the Wolverines and David played for the Rockets.
The boys love to swim so it seemed appropriate to hold their birthday party at the Puyallup High School pool. Because we had a busy month, they had to wait a while for the big party, but it was worth it. We had a great turnout, with friends from church, school and soccer in attendance. In addition to many great gifts given to Daniel and David, our guests donated money to the Adoption Ministry and, specifically, to the orphanage where the boys lived prior to our adoption. We are grateful that we were able to present the ministry with over $750. That blessing goes a long way in Ethiopia. Thank you for honoring our family this way!
Click the picture to see more pictures of the party.
On October 15, we had the privilege of hosting a reception for Janel and Ryan. It was fun to dress up again, and very special to meet with so many friends and family who came to celebrate with us and to congratulate the newlyweds. Heartfelt thanks to those who gave their time and talents to make this a memorable occasion. As you can imagine, it took hours to transform the facility into a “park,” prepare the food, take care of dozens of details, and then clean it all up at the end of the evening. The food, flowers, cupcakes, shrubbery – all were exquisite! Click the first picture to see more pictures of the reception.
Click the next picture to see more pictures of the setup.
NOTE: Some very kind soul(s) left birthday gifts for the boys – two large boxes of Legos / no card. Unfortunately, parenting at this advanced age has had a serious effect on the memory and mom cannot remember who it was. The boys would love to send a personal thank you. Please make yourselves known!
David celebrated his second birthday, turning 8, on October 12. He was recognized as a star at a school assembly (no connection to his birthday). And, once again, we celebrated with dinner at Red Robin. I suppose I should clarify that each son was allowed to choose the dinner location and they both chose Red Robin. We had a great time.
Click the photo to see more.
Injera is the staple food of Ethiopia and it will always be a favorite for Daniel and David. We try to get to an Ethiopian restaurant about once per month. In October, we went to Lalibela on October 9 – between Daniel’s and David’s birthdays. Grammy & Grandpa joined us, as well as Julie, Cindy, MacKenzie and Mason – for them, this was a new food experience. The food and the company were excellent. Click the picture to see more.
