Christmas Recital

Dance as though no one is watching you,Love as though you have never been hurt before,Sing as though no one can hear you,Live as though heaven is on earth.-Souza
We loaded everyone up and headed to Makenzie's Christmas recital.It was a nice show and Logan sat so well through the whole thing with eyes wide open at all the dancers and the 1 boy dancer ha! The babies did not last long as the theatre was dark and they are chatty,so the good daddy Jon is,took them outside to play and stroll around for the whole show until I texted him to pop in fast when Makenzie's group was on stage! It all worked out and was a good Saturday outing for the whole family! Makenzie did a great job,she is a true dancer and enjoys the stage and the team work everyone puts into the show. Now that we moved I need to put her into a dance studio out here..another thing on my "to do list"...gosh the list keeps getting longer and longer...giggle giggle!

Makenzie Gets An Award

Leadership is the special quality which enables people to stand up and pull the rest of us over the horizon. -James L. Fisher

December 2009, Joy School presented Makenzie with the Leadership Award that they give out one time a year for the whole school K-12. She was super proud as we were also. I am always stopped by teachers or people telling me that she is a "adult woman" in a child's body. I must laugh as Makenzie is my best friend,we can talk and talk and hang out and she can shop and hands down out last you the whole day being dragged around stores :) She has a kind heart and others see this. She tells people about her sister and brother from Africa,how yes she has gone through a lot,she is still proud and happy she opened her heart and life for them. It amazes me what comes out of her mouth,where does she get this stuff from?She will say prayer at dinner and talk about a Bible story that relates to the day,she will randomly come up and thank you for the life she has or that we brought 2 orphans into a Christan home and are now a part of our loving family. She boosts you up when you are down,gives you a hug when you least expect and you know you needed one deep inside.Makenzie can feel your heart speak and knows what you need and how to push you to do it.She amazes me daily,gets me up and going when times are rough,and it just makes me feel like OK I can DO IT and I have the drive! I will never forget when she was born in 2003,Jon left 2 days later for Iraq for a year. I was left in Italy,alone and with this new baby.I had no clue what to do,but love and nurture her.We grew so close and bonded,like nothing I have ever felt before.She is special in the sense,we only had each other at certain times in life,Iraq,Afghanistan,etc and we knew what we needed from each other. Makenzie will do amazing things in life,her love for others,God,changing peoples hearts and minds,letting others see past "color" and that people are people.I never knew then what I know now about bringing the babies into our lives,how YES we get comments,bad looks,loss of friends,or people unsure to play with the older kids because of the younger...but in the end,I know my bio kids see that color blocks people and they will stand up and have to face so many challenges and beat the odds and know well OK move on,we at least have family and that is what matters the most.Love,God,Peace and what lies ahead for Makenzie to change the world,I cant wait...I can see so many amazing places she will travel,change hearts and souls.She has a spirit about her that you can feel a mile away and you know she is a Leader,a trusted friend and loved daughter,sister,and best friend. May God always lead her to be the best she can be,to not let the world or "things" cloud her mind and her ability to go forward with her dreams be achieved,may she see past the bad in the world and people and never let anyone put a road block in her way...I pray all my children will be great examples of Gods good work and leaders for the world and future.Blessings xoxo

Logan's First Christmas Show

"Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly

Merry Christmas."-Peg Bracken

Mr. Logan Cole had his first preschool show up on stage. His cousin Mirage is in the same class but on Tues and Thurs so they were on stage together. It was too cute and at first he was doing great up there,and than looked and looked around for us in the huge audience that was jammed packed in the church and could not spot us.So he got nervous,stopped singing and wanted off the stage..poor little man! The teacher was sweet and took him off and Jon ran and got him.He enjoyed the rest of the show with us watching,and after munched on cookies and snacks with his classmates.

Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving,after all,is a word of action"-W.J. Cameron

Thanksgiving was a first for both Aslynn and Bryce. Jon and I flew to get Aslynn right after Thanksgiving 2008,and of course Bryce coming in 2009 at the end of summer. We spend the week moving closer to family and private school..yippee a short drive! We love the new house,I was not planning on bigger,but we fell in love with this one and had to grab it. Crazy of us to move over the holiday, and right before Christmas,it did not hit us until after the fact,ha ha..but it worked out and we spend Thanksgiving at my Uncles home eating and enjoying family.It was nice and of course we found out Bryce loves mashed potatoes and gravy!

November Family Pictures

Call it a Clan,Call it a network,call it a tribe,call it a family.Whatever you call it,whoever you are,you need one. -Jane Howard

November 2009 We got together with my sister and brother and got our families pictures taken. It actually went well for the first official family picture for our Christmas cards and updates of the kids of us getting photos done, and the kids hung in there waiting for turns and enjoying being with their cousins. It seems like every year my fathers frames get changed out with a update of "grand kids"as we keep growing! We took a ton of pictures,so these are just a "few" of my favorites!