Christmas 2009 snapshot

Just a snapshot for sure - there are so many great pictures from this weekend and so many fun stories. And some serious exhaustion from the coughing "bug" we have and one accident (Alec fell HARD) just prior to the Christmas eve festivities and of course wishing that Aaron was home...put a little damper on things....but all in all a very fun Christmas.

Ava enjoyed her Christmas immensely. In fact I would say she was our best participant. Especially when anything Dora was involved.
Alec was caught redhanded sneaking cheese from the buffet. But we couldn't discipline too harshly since he had been injured just a short time before! And he was trying so hard to be pleasant.
It helped that we caved on the bottle...which he hung onto like his life preserver all weekend.

There was alot of fun chasing and running after gift opening on Christmas eve.

And lots of laughter.
Korbyn found Christmas morning a bit boring so slept through most of the gift opening. But woke up bright eyed in time for some fun.Ava got her dollhouse and disappeared forever. She really was not interested in anything after opening that! The boys had a blast with every gift.Erin got an amazing gift from her husband who totally surprised her by having it delivered to our house!

Christmas Day afternoon we got all dolled up to go to another party. Ava won the prize for best dressed.

We missed you Aaron!

We started a Christmas Book Exchange which I think will be very fun to continue as a family tradition.

Korby and mommy looking beautiful as ever with some stickers from Ava to add to the festiveness!

the babies definitely stole the show....Little Truman and Baby Korbyn.

Big Sister.
Christmas 2009.

Hope you all had a blessed holiday.

(Stay tuned for more fun photos and some interesting Christmas caroling!)

One Has Come - Christmas 09

Troy and Tara Livesay and their family are missionaries in Haiti. I have followed their blog for years...they are an amazing family devoting their life to their faith and to Haiti. An inspiration to us all.

Sunday snapshot...Ayden

Our Ayden Louiskenson.....

How do we describe this very special man?

Smart...very very smart.

Musical....with an extra wiggle his momma does not have.

Strong willed....or maybe stubborn is a better word?

A little naughty (Ok - sometimes alot naughty).

Loving.

So sensitive....about himself...but also about other people.

Handsome....very very handsome.

Your referral picture.....we fell head over heels in love at first sight.

Such a strong little man.Such a long 19 months waiting to bring you home.

But so worth the wait.

A few facts about Ayden.

1. He hates tags in his clothing.

2. He dislikes winter coats in the car.

3. He dislikes long sleeves most days.

4. He will only wear jeans from Old Navy.

5. He adores machines of any kind.

6. He has a vivid imagination.

7. He forgets nothing.

8. He can run like the wind.

9. He sleeps like a log.

10. His favorite food is bacon.

I could go on and on.

He and I have had our moments....but we have found our balance. And it makes me smile.

I love You Ayden Louiskenson.

And we celebrate...

we runand laugh

and shout for joy....because Ava Grace Jinah's brain MRI was unchanged! What a wonderful Christmas blessing that is for our family. Answered prayer.....no doubt.

That means a repeat MRI in 6 months - but no chemo, no treatments.

In fact her vision has improved - which is a miracle.

Tis the season....to count our blessings.

Sunday Spotlight

The many faces of Ava....

Where do I start?
Funny, spunky, friendly, and sensitive. She "captures" people....wherever we go. Not just by her darling features and beautiful hair....but by her sweet disposition and good manners.
She and I spent the day Friday at Children's....for extensive eye tests and another brain MRI. She is such a trooper and every nurse and doctor's favorite.
Her vision has actually improved....and we are praying for no change on the MRI....

Ava is a girly girl. She loves nail polish, playing dolls, pretending, coloring, playdoh and scissors. She is so smart and is learning her numbers and letters like a champ. She was delayed in "speech" just like Alec is - but not now. She talks our ear off and has a great sense of humor. Her laughter makes us laugh. She loves her brothers...but has no remorse for whatever pain she may inflict....and she is good at defending herself.

She adores mac & cheese, yogurt, pudding, chocolate of any kind (she can smell it on your breath - so no sneaking M&Ms with Ava), soy milk warmed 30 seconds and Trident gum.

She is a joy in our lives....almost always in a sunny mood. She LOVES Dorah and Max & Ruby and could easily become a couch potato TV watcher. But her balance has improved so much...she runs and jumps and dances the day through.
And she is cheesy....for her momma....who loves her so much.

Adoption day!

Ava - impatiently waiting for our turn! Our wonderful lawyer helping keep the kiddos busy. and it is official. Alec James Jeesuk Bryant.One year ago on December 5 -we took adoption day pictures by this very same tree.

Today - we celebrate our son. He is something special.

We cannot imagine our lives without him in it.

We had an ice cream party at Dairy Queen....

And Bi Bim Bop at home....yummy!

We love you Alec James Jeesuk. Your kisses and your darling little voice, and your impatience and your strong will. Your laughter and your excitement.

Your determination and your resilience.

We are so proud to be your parents.

Truman's Birthday!

We proudly celebrate this day as the official birthday of Truman Reed! He made his appearance into this world at 8:10 AM today weighing in at 7lbs. 10 oz. - 20 inches long. Mom and Dad and big brother and big sister are all doing great!

(He and his cousins are going to have such a great time together at family gatherings!)

How hard can it be...really?

to put up the Christmas tree and decorate it? Pretty hard around here. We started this escapade on the 28th as seen in the photo above. That attempt was on a squatty tree that was missing most of it's branches and was shorter than most years. (I forgot to put in a big piece and just kept going anyway for some reason....?) It was wobbly and crooked and the kids put about 10 ornaments on it and we just looked at it all week wondering what to do?? I think I may have even shed a tear or two....there were years when I had 3 gorgeous trees in my house...and this year I have a Charlie Brown tree...or worse....cause it is not even a live tree.

But today - Daddy saved the day and helped put in in the missing piece. We moved around some branches and got out the unbreakable ornaments and went to TOWN!

Ayden is a careful decorator....that is after he broke one of the only breakable ornaments we own....by accident. Not this cow ornament though - she is unbreakable and of great interest to these three.
Ava was by far the best decorator - hanging in there with me till the end.

Don't let this photo fool you. He undecorates as fast as we decorate.

But he was trying to be gentle.

My favorite section. Ava's heavily decorated branch. We all thought it was very beautiful...

and it is.

Today...

Is a special day...for many many reasons.

Today is Grandma Shirley's Birthday - that is indeed a special day and we are excited to celebrate with her Sunday!

Today is the 6 month anniversary of Alec's official day as our son. And today we found out that we get to formally adopt him on December 10...just one week from now. What an amazing, challenging, emotional, exhausting and fufilling 6 months it has been.....

And in two days we celebrate the one year anniversary of Ava and Ayden's formal adoption day. Simply amazing. Time has flown by...and they are growing up so fast. Thank goodness...cause some days 3 toddlers are more than I can handle. Especially when one of them started his day at 3:30AM. Which means I started my day at 3:30AM. ugh.

We are exhausted...

WE ARE DONE MOVING UPSTAIRS! WOOHOO! And it looks amazing. Our furniture is beautiful in the sitting room. And the kids LOVE the room to play and having their own rooms. Ayden's room is huge - it was the master bedroom - so he thinks he is in heaven with room to tumble and run! And park 3 Little Tykes cars and still have room to tumble and run. It is nice. Ava is back in the room she first started in - which she is totally fine with and Alec is in the the tiny room - which he could care less. No pictures yet - we were too exhausted to even think about it and things are still a bit "messy".

Shannon also installed new countertop, sink, faucet and garbage disposal at Sam & Ali's...it looks so great. As soon as we get the cabinet doors hung and walls painted - we will post pictures to show you the amazing transformation!

We took advantage of the gorgeous weather to spend a little time at the park and outside here at our house. What a beautiful weekend. I tried to take some shots at the park - but it was me and the three - so I couldn't get much accomplished with all the chasing involved.

Erin had an insane weekend- week -weekend. She flew to New York last weekend to meet Aaron's family - and had a WONDERFUL time. She said they made her feel very welcome...and she described them as a warm and loving family. Then she flew back to KC -drove to St Louis and left the next day for Savannah, Georgia for a 3 day Southern wedding extravaganza! A good friend of hers had a small destination wedding and Erin said it went off without a hitch and the food was amazing! Today she had Thanksgiving with family and tomorrow she flies to work in Birmingham - then back to St Louis and then back to KC. Crazy!

Ali and I gave a "kid" Christmas photo shoot a try - Alec was being completely non-compliant - so we didn't get any great ones of the 4 - but Korbyn was a hoot and the two older were completely up for it. So - here are a couple of our attempts - which make me laugh cause Alec has gum in his mouth - nice - and Korbyn looks squished. But one sneak peek of her Christmas pics! We got a few really good ones!

My favorite picture for sure!