It has truly been a busy year! I wanted to keep a blog so I could print it out one day for our kids so they could have a keepsake of special events. Well, I failed this year! I was offered the opportunity to work 5 days at the Preschool where I work, so I accepted because I knew we really needed the extra income. Needless to say, it has been quite a challenge to work every day (even if it's only 8:45-1:45) and take care of everyone, and cook, clean etc. I'm not complaining because for many years I worked Full Time and did everything I just listed! However, somethings just don't get done and "blogging" is one of those things. Before I forgot the events of the year, I wanted to go ahead and write them down!
On August 6th we "Readopted" Ava! All that means is that we had to do tons more paperwork and pay a little more money in order to have her birth certificate in English. So now all of her official documents are in English and just like the rest of ours!!
We celebrated Laura's 19th birthday on August 9th by taking her to REI to pick out an ENO and then we went to Kani Japanese Steakhouse.
On August 16th (my birthday) we moved Laura back to college. It's crazy how time flies, can't believe Laura is going to be a sophomore in college!!
October 2014---Christine's Homecoming!! My beautiful girl!!!
Christine went to homecoming with a group of her friends. They ate pizza beforehand and had a great time.
I did Christine's hair, and it turned out beautiful! Her hair is so thick and pretty, it was fun to do an up-do on her!
October 21st was our 2 year "Gotcha Day!" Some people don't like those words, but it's just a phrase people use to signify the day that we received Ava. Whether you call it Gotcha Day, Forever Family Day, Adoption Day, etc, it was a GREAT day! It's a day that has changed all of our lives forever! A perfect day. Two years has flown by!
Happy Halloween from our own little Minnie Mouse! Ava had fun once again going from door to door getting candy!
On Novemeber 20th we sent in our Letter of Intent paperwork to adopt our son from China!! God had been working in our hearts for MONTHS! We knew we wanted to adopt again, we just didn't know WHO, or HOW! God told us WHO, but has told us to trust Him for the HOW!!
We spent Thanksgiving in Pinehurst with Mom and Mike and went to the Pinehurst Country Club for a delicious Thanksgiving Feast!
We always go to the Pinehurst Grand Hotel after we eat for our traditional pictures in front of the Christmas tree!
On the Saturday after Thanksgiving we all gathered at Jane and Ashley's for our Price Family Christmas! We had fun seeing everyone and singing.
Ava fell in love with Jane and Ashley's little kittens! She surely would have brought one home if we would have let her!!
We went to Breakfast with Santa, and Ava went right up to Santa this year and sat on his lap! She told him she wanted blocks!
Ava had her Kindergarten Christmas performance at her school. She sang with the regular ed Kindergarten classes and did great!
Laura was home for her Christmas break so she was able to come to the performance.
This is Ava's friend Sydney.
Christine is ready for her band concert in her formal attire!!!
Merry Christmas!!
This is a little homemade Christmas decoration (Sadie) that my birth mom made for me. At some point something was spilled all over her face. This is special since my birth mom passed away when I was 4, and I don't really have many items or memories of her. It wasn't until later in life that I found out many facts about her. I wish I would have known her more, but she gave me life and I'm thankful for that. And I'm thankful that God gave me a mom very soon after my birth mother passed away to raise me. I know this was hard for my dad, my new mom, and for me. I'm sure that some day Ava will want to know about her birth mother. And unfortunately I don't have any facts about her. We will be thankful for the life she gave Ava, and that she loved her enough to want a better life for Ava. (Or she loved her enough to spare Ava's life and secretly take her to the orphanage where she knew Ava would be cared for.) We will always be thankful for Ava's birthparents, just like I'm thankful for mine.
We hung our stockings this year and our fireplace got smaller! I can't believe there will be 6 of us in our family!!
We had a fairly simple Christmas. We enjoyed each other and played some pretty competitive "Sorry!"
We got Craig a "Dory" fish for Christmas. (we had to get her a few days early) She hid up until Christmas day and then she decided she wasn't shy anymore and started swimming everywhere!
Can you guess Ava's favorite game right now?!?! She's precious!
Once again, Christine is making Nannie's Strawberry Cake for her birthday cake. I posted this on fb and there were a couple comments like "Poor Christine, she has to make her own cake!" Well, to clarify, Christine LOVES to bake and this is just one of her favorite traditions! (I help her very little) It's just rare that we have the time to get in the kitchen and just bake, so Christine loves to do this!!
Christine is 15 years old!
Ava got this outfit from her Aunt Janie and Uncle Ashley for Christmas. We just happened to have the hat:) She's our sweet little panda bear!
Bathtime! Ava usually doesn't like for me to dry her hair, but I insisted this time and her hair was so pretty!
On January 22nd, Ava had to have her bottom two teeth pulled. As you can see her permanent teeth were growing in behind her baby teeth causing them not to be able to become loose. She really did so good. I know she was afraid, but I was able to sit right beside her and hold her hands. The dentist was fabulous and it was over so quickly!
On Feb. 3rd, Ava started her first day at the Preschool where I work. After long conversations with Ava's teachers, her IEP team, other teaching professionals as well as between Craig and myself, we decided to pull Ava from her Special Needs Kindergarten class, hold her back a year and put her in the regular ed 4 year old class at my preschool. At the end of the school year last year Ava was placed in the moderate needs special ed program at a local elementary school. (not where she was zoned) She loved it, but we could tell that she was beginning to pick up and mimic the behaviors of the children around her. Even though Ava is "developmental delayed" its different than being "Special Needs." She had really progressed so much this year that it didn't seem like she was really in the class that she needed to be in. She was pulled daily into a regular ed Kindergarten class for certain things like PE, ART, letter recognition, etc. But Craig and I both felt like she needed to be in Regular Ed classes ALL the time. Of course there are other components to this story, but after being at the preschool for 2 months, we have noticed huge changes for the better with Ava. She is talking more, playing with children at recess, learning to fit in more and learning appropriate behaviors and manners. There's also little things she's learning like having to manipulate the big pottys by herself, and eating a packed lunch. Things that she didn't have to do at her other school. Ava has just needed time to "catch up" and be around other children. Ava mimics everything she sees! So, next year she will most likely go to the elementary school she is zoned for and be in a regular ed class and be "pulled out" for classes where she needs help. If not I will consider homeschooling her until she is ready for that. We will make some decisions along with her teachers in the next month or so! Meanwhile, we have been very pleased with our decision.
Ava was sick off and on this winter. She had every virus out there, as well as the flu.
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