Mid-week Fun

Today we got to have our friends Frances and Lucy over for a short time. This was a treat for the girls and they enjoyed playing dressup, running around the house and watching movies. Lucy is still little and Keara was a great help in keeping her entertained and safe. She is just great with little kids and will make a killing as a babysitter some day.

Lucy is still in diapers and if I haven't told you before, Kailei insists it is her job to change diapers. She always wants to do Sydney's when she is around and Lucy was no exception. This was actually helpful as I struggled to remember the diaper phase and exactly how I was going to change the messy diaper. Together we managed to get Lucy in clean diaper which was ultimately our goal.

Good times.

To Grandmother's House We Go

So we ventured down to Walsh for Thanksgiving. A five hour drive in good weather. Although it snowed both going down and coming home we made it safely. We actually headed down on Wednesday afternoon and made it down for dinner. Phyllis always goes above and beyond what is needed but we appreciate the hospitality. She always has plenty to eat and it has become a tradition to do something fun with girls like building a gingerbread house or making turkey cookies. Her daughter Sue has brought the activities the past few Thanksgivings and it is always a treat for them.

Thanksgiving day I learned how to make peanut brittle. It was delicious and I think I can do it on my own now. Phyllis whipped up a great meal and all the Davison brothers, wives, and children did their best to put a dent in all the food. The cousins played, Kailei and Grandpa were singing and playing the piano, and the brothers made up a game to play similar to Balderdash for everyone to play. Never a dull moment.

We spent a very long day shopping on Saturday but got most of what we needed done. A big thanks to my mom and dad for watching the girls. I know Nic and Sydney went over there as well and Grammy had them help her with decorating the tree. Needless to say, Mom is recovering from everything today.

We set our tree up today. There is nothing better than seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child. It just can't help but make you smile.

29 days to Christmas..... :)

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Makin' Turkeys

Today we make turkeys. Not with glue and feathers but with cookies and candy. I'm not very creative when it comes to crafts but I stole this idea from someone a few years ago and have enjoyed making them with the girls. It makes me feel very domestic and who doesn't love edible turkeys? We generally make a bunch so the girls can take them to school.

Our friend Sam over for a couple of hours and she made turkeys with us as well. Now she will be able to share them with her class too. The girls played dress up amongst other things. Gotta love a house full of giggles.

Zeb is 42!

I'm elated that Zeb is older than me. For some reason it makes me feel good, though admitting I'm 40 is still difficult. Fortunately when I tell Keara her mother is old, she kindly reminds me that I'm not.

Zeb and I are indeed growing old together and I can not think of my life any other way.

Zeb's birthday was on November 7th but we celebrated this weekend together with Grammy. Her birthday is coming up shortly. My mother looks great and I hope that I look as good as she does when I'm her age.

Happy Birthday Mom and Zeb!

Published

Each year an organization called Love Without Boundaries publishes a book called Love's Journey. The book is a fundraiser for the organization that primarily provides surgery for kid's in Chinese orphanages. The book contains lots of photos of Chinese children that have been adopted, stories and poems. It is essentially one's journey to becoming a forever family.

I'm not really a writer of any kind but every blue moon I get flash of inspiration. This was one of those times. Anyway, I submitted a poem and Kailei's picture to the organization a while ago decided to include it in the book so now I'm a published poet. (teehee) The book is now sitting on our coffee table.

I thought I would go ahead and share the poem with you.

Twas’ the night before Christmas and all through the house
Something was different, for me and my spouse

We waited all year, and at times it was tough
But the wait was all worth it, more than enough

The room was all done with such love and such care
In hopes that our baby soon would be there

Never again would our house be the same
For there’s a new addition who we’ve given our name

She comes from afar, near a land by the ocean
Where life was not easy, some say a commotion

Her life was complex from the time she was born
Girls in the family just wasn’t the norm

Her birthparents made the only choice that they could
Their decision is quite often misunderstood

It took them great strength and a whole lot of love
A gift to us all from someone above

Our family was blessed to be “the one”
To raise this little girl for we loved her a ton

She has dark brown eyes and small little ears
And her beautiful smile brings us great cheer

She dances around both our home and our heart
We hardly remember being apart

Our love for this girl could never be stronger
She comes to us now, we are lonely no longer

The love that we have transcends earth, moon and stars
And it will grow even more, for she is finally ours

@2005, C. Archer-Davison

Find your wings

I won!

Woohoo! I won a contest. I entered a contest to have my blog redesigned by Danielle and I just got notice I won. The great thing is that the money I pay all goes to a Chinese charity called Half-the-Sky which is even better.

While I can probably fumble my way through making my blog look better, it is even nicer to have someone with an artist's talent and eye do it for me. How exciting for me! Look for the re-design soon.

The Mysterious Morgan Horse Club Meets Again

Flash back to age 10 when my life began to revolve around horses.

Today we had a reunion of the Mysterious Morgan Horse Club. Mind you, the club members really included me, my sister and her friend Susan. We would occasionally get a new member or two but they rarely stayed. The club was run by Judy Deist who lived down the street from us and really taught us everything we know about horses.

We were an interesting bunch of kids but we had fun. While involvement in the Morgan Horse world often required a substantial amount of money, we so wanted to be a part of it that we didn't care if we had to share horses and equipment between the three of us. We were the pluggers in the Morgan horse community and looking back we just crack up at the things we used to do (like selling turd birds as a fundraiser - yes, they were little creatures made out of horse and goat poop).

I'm a sentimental fool and am a keeper of items that remind me of special moments. So, that said I still boxes of artifacts from the Morgan horse club, ribbons I won at shows, speeches I wrote, newsletters I edited as a national officer and more. It was fun to dig out all of that old stuff. I told Zeb that maybe it was time to let go of some of it, but I still can't do yet. I want to share this special part of my life with the girls someday when they can understand it more. I want them to know their mother had a horse named Tiger who I loved and adored so very much, that I once won gold and silver medals riding him, that I worked hard doing something I loved and really appreciated the support and sacrifice my parents made for me. I hope that my girls find something they love just as much.

Anyway, the reunion was at my sister's house and quite fun. We reminisced and laughed out loud. What a great way to spend a Saturday. Good times.

Keara's Parent/Teacher Conference

So Friday we had an appointment with Keara's teacher. You would think that being a teacher myself would make these easier but instead I get nervous. How is Keara doing? Does the teacher think she is as smart as we do? Do we dare make a suggestion or two? Frankly, I'm clueless about elementary education and so is Zeb so really we are pretty tame and end up nodding our heads a lot.

Ms. Bremer is Keara's teacher this year and while this is only her first year teaching I have been impressed. Coyote Hills is not an easy school. It is very academic in nature. I suppose all schools are but it just seems as if there is quite a bit of work to do for first grade. Keara is taking it in stride this year. With kindergarten we would often have small battles and breakdowns and I just thought that if that kind of behavior continued, we were going to be in trouble. Fortunately, Keara is doing better. We still have the occasional meltdown but it tends to be when Keara is really tired.

Anyway, first grade is going well so far this year. Her report card indicates she is doing great and even advanced in terms of literary comprehension. Her teacher says that she loves to discuss books with Keara. She is in an advanced reading group right now and enjoying it. They are going to put her in an advanced math class and see how she does. If she likes it, great...if not, that is OK too. We certainly do not want to burn her out in first grade.

She has reading, math and spelling homework nightly. We rarely do spelling and let the cards fall as they may on her spelling tests on Friday. We just don't have the time to get to it. Often, we get home, have dinner, do homework and go to bed. There is little time, if any, for play and when she has religious education, the schedule is even tighter.

All in all we are happy because Keara is happy. She adores Ms. Bremer and enjoys school. We can't ask for anything more.

We are very proud of Miss Keara Davison and hope she is as proud of herself as we are. We are lucky parents. Would it be too much to ask for 11 more years of great parent teacher conferences? :)

A Visit to the Doctor's

Why yes, we made a visit to the doctor's again. Thankfully it was just for annual checkups. Keara has been long overdue since her birthday was in February but better late than never.

Both Kailei and Keara are doing fine. Kailei currently weighs 30lbs and is 37" high. She is pretty much average in terms of height and weight for her age. Keara is 53lbs and is 48" high and is in the 75th percentile in terms of height and weight. They are both growing like weeds. I find myself buying pants or shoes all the time. I can't keep up with them. Keara is eating us out of house and home. Kailei does not consume nearly as much unless it contains sugar.

I asked the doctor lots of questions but basically got no real answers. I guess my questions were pretty routine and nothing they haven't heard a million times before. Most of my questions were about Kailei since she is the one with allergies, bloody noses, eczema, etc. I will be getting a referral for Kailei to see an allergist. I think it is more for me than her. I just want to know more specifically what she is allergic too so we can try to avoid those things if possible. We ended the doctor's visit with flu shots. Needless to say the girls weren't too happy but they survived.

I told Kailei tonight that the doctor said she needed to drink more milk. She promptly added, "....so I can eat my candy." I think a dentist appointment is in order next. :)

Just a funny picture

Tracie sent me this picture of her cat. It just cracks me up every time I look at it so had to share. Dobbie, the cat, is having way to much fun riding the pink pony.

Fall Break

Well, after I returned from Hawaii there was still a little time left to enjoy what was left of fall break. Zeb took off Thursday night after a week of watching the girls. While he survived just fine, he deserved some time away so Thursday the girls and I had a slumber party. We played games, watched movies and slept in a tent in the playroom. It was so good to be back and around those giggles again.

Friday we had a playdate with our friend Sam at Monkey Business. Then Mom and I escaped to a movie Friday night. I had been waiting for the movie "Martian Child" to come out for forever so I just had to see it that day. It was great and I loved every moment. We both laughed and cried (OK - maybe it was just me that cried).

Saturday we went to Chinese class where they were also holding their annual holiday sale. I volunteered for a hour and then did a little shopping myself. Britt and her girls also came so we spent some time at the park with them. It was such a beautiful day that later Zeb and I decided to take the girls to the zoo. We had a great time and then went to church in Denver where Britt's family goes. She was in charge of the nursery that night so we dropped off the girls and enjoyed a kid-free mass. We actually got to hear everything that was said. Without kids, it was kinda like a date. After church, we all went out to dinner which was good time for everyone.

Sunday was low key and we just stayed around the house doing some chores. We enjoyed dinner at Mom's house because who wouldn't pass up an opportunity not to cook.

All in all I know I had a great break. I think the kids did too. I'm happy to be home however. While I loved Hawaii, I did miss the girls and Zeb. It is true that absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Keara was very sweet in stating that the best part of her fall break was Halloween. I figured it was because she got buckets of candy but she said it was because that was the day I came home. Gotta love the sweetness of that child.

Back to reality now.

Halloween

It has become somewhat of a tradition that we begin Halloween evening by eating pizza. We used to go out but that can get crazy with a two and three year old so we have resorted to ordering pizza and bringing it to our house.

Tracie and family always join us because trick-or-treating in Kiowa is a challenge with all the homes so far apart. So anyway, we ate and the kids headed out for a tour of the neighborhood grabbing all the candy they could. Keara and Nic always come back and dump their goodies so they can trade candy with each other. I love that they do that because Tracie and I used to do it when we were little. A good time was had by all.

Hawaii Pictures

http://picasaweb.google.com/carcherdavison/HawaiiWeb1007