Lily ran her very first 5k on Mother's Day!

Lily ran her very first 5k on Mother's Day. She did so well and had a great time. I was very proud of her. She particularly loved the special "decorated" porta-potties provided for this all-female race. :)

Colby turns 7! We love our boy!

A visit to the nature center in Lincoln NE

Happy Easter!

Laney Kate is 3!

Today we celebrated Laney's birthday (it was actually yesterday). She is now 3 three years old and had an awesome day. :) She loved all her presents and had exactly what she wanted for her birthday dinner -- noodles! Spaghetti, garlic bread & strawberry cake for dessert. She was a very happy princess. :)

We are so thankful for you sweet girl! We love you so much and are thrilled you growing into such a wonderful big girl.

Here are a few pictures from Laney's special day...

Landry and her Sweetie...

Two beautiful pictures...

Here is our family visiting our adoption agency CCAI in August of 2007. Do you see the little space on the curb? It was Laney's spot! We couldn't wait to bring home treasure #4. It didn't seem right without her!







Fast forward to February 2009. Our family was able to visit CCAI again this week...and we decided to take another family photograph -- this time with the WHOLE family! =)

Took the two littlest girls to see...

Elmo's new show in Sesame Street Live! It was very fun! Laney was screaming and screaming for Elmo -- (and trying to call him back every time he left the stage). She was a little apprehensive when the other characters would walk by our chairs (we had great seats on the floor of the arena), but overall she had a great time.

Landry loved the show too. The cotton candy was a big hit -- as usual. :)

We went with one of my dear friends, Katie and her sweet little girls (best friends with Landry & Laney). We had a great time!


Here are a few pics from the evening...

Colby won!

Colby competed today in his first Pinewood Derby Race w/ his Cub Scout troop. We were so proud of him and the planning he put into his car. He went with high hopes of winning, but he knew there were nearly 70 cars competing in the competition -- from his whole pack!

Well, at the end of the day, Colby had taken 1st Place in his Den ~ and 2nd Place in the overall Pack Championship! Go Colby!

Landry enjoying her new Wii game...

Merry Christmas!

We have been happily tucked away at our Michigan home for the last two weeks -- enjoying mountains of snow (we have about 30" on the ground at the moment), sledding, cookie baking, and more. It's been a beautiful holiday.

Merry Christmas to all of our friends and family. I have lots of pictures from the day, but here are two quick ones I loaded just a few minutes ago. I'll add more later. Off to make another pot of hot cocoa.

Love to all!


(Laney -- in wonder at everything around her!)


(Colby -- watching his new radio control helicopter in the air...)

More Christmas photos...

Landry & her BoomPa

We studied the book Daniel's Duck this week...

This is a wonderful story! It's about a little boy named Daniel. Daniel is hurt when others laugh at his wood carving, until he learns that being an artist means different things -- and making people smile is a very special gift.

Lily & Colby enjoyed a variety lessons, including an art lesson in carving! They had a great time. :)

Happy Birthday Lily!

My numero-uno child turned 9 years old last week. Lily Jane was officially nine on October 27th. We celebrated all day long. Birthday breakfast and gifts...birthday lunch & more cards...and finally a huge family birthday celebration for dinner. Lily got awesome presents, but her favorite gift of all was a beautiful vintage manual typewriter.

Lily loves all things old-fashioned and she desperately wanted a manual typewriter (just like the American Girl character "Kit" uses in the stories.) She has been happily plunking away...working on articles for her newspaper. She has enlisted Colby to be her cub reporter. He has been working feverishly to track down quotes and sources, as well as sell subscriptions. :)

Here are some pictures from the birthday girl's special day...

Landry -- The Husker Fan