February

New car- 2008 Ford Expedition.  It's really a truck, it's huge

Need a bath time picture

Wacky hair day at school

Celebrating the Korean Lunar New Year

No teeth

Loves his blankie and pacifier

Trying out the pool at the aquatic center

Daddy and his boys playing outside

Fondue- on President's Day!

6:30 pm and it's light enough for the kids to be outside. Still freezing, but spring is coming!

Snow day #10- homemade play dough

Eating the Cheerios bird feeder Julia made

Well, that groundhog predicted 6 more weeks of winter and it's been quite the winter.  Now that it is March 1 we all feel desperately that spring has to come SOON.  This past week we had snow day #10 and then a 2 hour delay.  We're all curious how the end of the school year will be affected.

We are still plowing through the outage and hoping March 14 will be the end.

This month the kids and I attended a foster/adoptive family Valentine's Day party.  We ate food, caught up with other families and made Valentines crafts.  We also went to a Korean Lunar New Year celebration here in Holland.  Julia enjoyed having a friend along that she could show her hanbok to and watch the event with.  The traditional Korean dances/costumes are always beautiful.  The tae kwon do demonstration wasn't quite as impressive this year as it was kids doing the demonstration.  However, my kids are still amazed when boards are broken by hands and heads.

Grandma DeMaster came for 5 days during February.  We all appreciated having her help and company!  The kids enjoyed celebrating Valentine's Day during her visit and made lots of cards for her. Nate was off that evening so we were able to spend time as a family and he could visit with his Mom. I held my rescheduled birthday party that weekend too.  The turnout wasn't as large as it would have been in January, but it was still fun.  It was slightly stressful setting up for the party.  I had jewelry and other handmade products from WAR International.  I didn't realize how much product there was to display and some 1 year old kept walking behind me and pulling down everything I set up!  WAR stands for Women at Risk, and it is an agency that helps women around the world who have been rescued from sex trafficking and slavery.  The party sold $330, nice!  Ruth Ann flew out just in time, flights were cancelled soon after she left.  Winter weather strikes again.  Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of Grandma with the kids, next time.

I helped out with a MARE matching party this month.  MARE is Michigan Adoption Resource Exchange.  The event is for teens who are waiting to be adopted and prospective adoptive parents.  It can be an awkward thing, so we make it fun.  We have the kids and adults play minute to win it games, eat food and just hang out.  The end of the event always breaks my heart.  The adults leave the room and the kids are trying so hard to make a good impression so that they can be adopted.  No child should have to perform so they can have a family. So far, two children have been matched with an adoptive family!  I'm praying there are many more soon.

Julia had two cavities filled this month.  The dentist tried to tell me it was because she ate too many sweets or drank too much juice.  I don't think so.  She has the same diet as the two older boys and their teeth are fine.  Some people are just genetically prone to cavities, etc.  Anyway, the process was quick and painless.  She was given laughing gas and was coherent the whole time, just very mellow.

Stephen is sleeping better at night, not always ending up in my bed at 5 am.  He is still teething, hopefully they will all be in soon.  He says, "ma,da,uh-oh,shoes, and all done."  There might be more words, but I can't remember them at the moment.  He shakes his head 'no.'  He wants to hold his spoon and put the food into his mouth by himself now.  He loves to run and chase with the older kids.  He likes to run away from me when I tell him it's time to get your coat on.  He will also go limp and throw himself on the floor.  Sometimes he arches his back when I put him in the carseat so I have to wrestle him to get it buckled.  Ah, the joys of children testing their independence.  He has developed bad eczema on his legs, not sure where that came from.  Maybe it will decrease as the weather gets warmer.