December news

Ahhhh, Winter in Canada! haha! It actually looks worse than it is. Wayne got out the snowblower to clear the driveway and blew it all into a big pile for Will to have at it. He spent hours working on this thing. Pretty cool, huh?
Aren't they cute? Yes, they are wearing matching outfits. I couldn't help myself and Will is still young enough to go along with it so I better take advantage of it. This will be what they will wear for Christmas.

This is us in the middle of decorating the tree. Shortly after it was taken, the tree fell over. And yes, it's real. So water, needles and ornaments were everywhere. Wayne managed to come up with some McGyver contraption to keep it up - we hope!
Zanna's highly amused to have a tree in our house as Mom is the queen of faux trees. I can't keep anything alive for long (thankfully, I've had better luck with my children). But I can't let go of the fresh pine tree that I only have to water for a month. However, after yesterday's fiasco we may have to revisit that one.
It's kinda funny because Will wants to hang up his ornaments and I can't seem to unwrap them fast enough. But then they're mostly mine anyway - Rachel 1978, Rachel 1981, etc engraved on many of them. He gets pretty disgusted. Zanna did great - I thought she'd be a pain quite honestly. She hung up the ones we gave her (although I had to go back later and redo them as they had all fallen off!) and was surprisingly calm but excited about the whole thing. And as we don't "do" Santa in our house, she's convinced the Santa at Walmart that sways his hips and sings carols is Noah. Too funny!!
Will had an exciting week - he played Joy to the World on his violin at the retirement home and at church on Sunday and did such a good job. This was his idea - I was so nervous for him but he was quite confident. I wish I performed that well and steady! What a lovely way to serve his Lord and use his talents for Him. God bless him!

New pictures

Will and one of the fresh lobsters Dad and Mom brought back with them from Maine. Yes, they were to die for. Will wanted to keep one as a pet!
Will and Zanna doing their schoolwork.
Halloween (Reformation Day in our house!) 2007

One year ago

It was a year ago today we received our referral of Hosanna. All we had were three beautiful little pictures and some basic information that I clung to! I carried her pictures around with me everywhere and would show anyone who feigned interest. I remember the moment - I was at the Wine and Food Show setting up the Sunset Gourmet booth when Wayne called to tell me we got "the call". My legs gave out under me and fell to the floor crying in joy. (yes, people around me thought I was nuts") The information he gave swam in my head. I felt overwhelmed - our prayers had been answered and then some. Wayne and Will drove to our agency right away to get the package of information including her photos and drove downtown to the Congress Centre to show me. I kept thinking in my head "I'm having a baby!"
I guess it's sort of ironic that today of all days she's driving me nuts! She wouldn't nap, screaming is her noise level of choice and nothing will make her happy. Oh, well - it all is part of the package! We love her to death!!
I ran into a women in the grocery store parking lot last week who approached Zanna and me. She too is an adoptive Mom with a son from China. We had a nice chat and as we parted her last comment was "enjoy this Christmas". Funny, because she knew having been there herself that it was something we were looking forward to. Last Christmas while we were anticipating our travel and meeting her, my heart ached not having her part of our festivities! Not being able to tell her about Jesus was hard - a year later her favorite Bible story is Noah and she loves the picture of Jesus in our bedroom. Just wait until the Christmas tree is up and the presents are out - too fun!
I'll have to post pictures later - we haven't downloaded the latest yet.

The Punkin' Patch

When Will had his first Halloween we dressed him up as a pumpkin and took his picture in the pumpkin patch - course he was 5 months old and just sat there wherever we placed him. A 19month old is tricky because she runs away. So I put her in the middle of a pile of pumpkins so she had to climb over them to get out. During her getaway we were able to snap a few pictures. But is she the cutest punkin' or what?

Will and Zanna with our pumpkins!

Pictures

Fun with Uncle Tom

Apple picking with Opa and Oma

Company Coming

We've had a houseful this month! Sister Bekah and her husband Tom came for a visit all the way from the UK. The kids loved fun Uncle Tom who was just one of the kids! It was also the first time they met Zanna. We had a great time with them except they got really sick during their visit. Thankfully, we put them in the basement so the germ factory lived down their with a TV and computer. They'd emerge to get a bite to eat, shower, etc. A few days after their arrival my parents and grandparents drove in. We did fun things like eat alot, visit Upper Canada Village, eat more, play hand and foot while eating, etc.
Will and Oma made the traditional leaf cookies - yummy!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

It's been crazy around here and now it's October! So I'll back track a bit to catch you up. Soccer for Will wrapped up the end of August. His biggest fan was there cheering him on from the sidelines - Zanna's such a good little sister! I had to chase after her a few times as she tried to join the team and run onto the field to play with Will. She does seem to have a natural talent for sports and she's fearless - should be interesting!
We enjoyed the Labour Day Retreat that finished up our summer. We spent the weekend in the Berkshires in Massachusetts with fellow WELS members and had a great time. This year we had a cabin for our family due to Zanna as opposed to sharing on big cabin with the teens from church. Much better for nap time, bedtime,etc. Once again the fellowship was great, the food was yummy and the Bible studies uplifting. We were able to worship on Sunday morning outside by the lake. Very lovely. On the way back home we stopped in Syracuse,NY for the night and spent some family time at the mall the next day so Mommy could get her US shopping fix!
The first picture posted is Zanna being such a girl - she pretends my travel bag is her purse. She slings it over her shoulder and says "bye bye" as she goes "shopping". Too funny!
Will started grade 2 - hard to believe! Zanna is not amused by the undivided attention Will gets during school hours. Here's a picture of her "helping" Will with his schoolwork. She's picking up a few things along the way - she counts to three and sings the ABC's. Will's doing a great job at his work. We've picked up a few new extracurricular things this fall - he's taking an art class with a local artist who agreed to do a class for homeschoolers. Her work is very "fun" and she loves art and kids and Will is loving it! A friend from church has also agreed to tutor Will in French once a week. They play games together and he's picking up basic phrases and words. She's a great teacher and Will is really enjoying it to.
To an onlooker this may look like hard labour we're forcing on our kid - making a 7 year old pull the bike trailer while his parents ride freely. But Will insisted he was up for the challenge and by golly he did it! He's like a horse - it's pretty impressive.

Zanna - 18 months

Hosanna will be 18 months in three days - hard to believe how fast time flies! She's been with us 7 months now. How precious she is to us. Of course both my children are precious to me - Will because he grew inside of me and I was so blessed to have been with him from the very beginning of his life. And for almost 7 years he was our only child and got all of our attention and love! With Zanna it's a bit different - Everyday I look at her and I thank God for her and I feel like the luckiest (blessed!) gal ever because of everything we went through to get her, the time we waited and now the wonderful person she's becoming everyday. With Will it was "easy" - we wanted a child, we were instantly blessed with one and I took a lot of that for granted. Don't get me wrong - I cherish both of them but their are moments I hide in the bathroom wondering why these people don't leave me alone for 5 minutes!
Zanna continues to amaze us everyday. After only hearing the English language for 7 months I cannot count how many words she has in her vocabulary she says so many. She'll hear a word and instantly repeat it - not only that but remember what it means or refers to! She loves to be charming to strangers when we're out by waving and saying "hi" and tends to attract a bit of attention! Her latest obsession has been trying to figure out how the belts on her highchair, bike helmet, carseat and grocery cart work. It didn't take her long to be able to click it together. She hasn't figured out how to unclick it lucky for us but then she screams "help" until we come and undo it so she can click it back together again. Wayne grabbed the backpack carrier to take her for a walk yesterday and all the belts were a tangled mess - he didn't wonder too long who did that! She knows most of the main body parts, the belly button being one of her favourites. She still likes to kick the soccer ball, has a mean throwing arm and has even caught a few! She's fearless as she climbs up our playstructure and goes down the slide (I can't watch). She's turned into a picky pain when it comes to eating - gone are the days when she'd eat whole chunks of broccoli with chop sticks. I have to be tricky now - baking cookies and muffins with apple juice concentrate instead of sugar, adding pureed pumpkin, whole wheat flour, etc. She does pretty good at feeding herself but when rice is on the menu it's one heck of a mess! I find it in different areas of the house for the next week! She likes to read books now which I love! Probably because I usually have my nose stuck in one or Will and I are reading one. And she'll try and go through Wayne's briefcase only to pull things out and declare "Daddy's" just for verification? We're in swimming class together right now and it's been a lesson in patience for her (and me for that matter). She doesn't like to wait in line for the slide, hates life jackets and if there's a ball in the pool, she wants it NOW!
We've had some contact with her foster family and we're taking it slow. I try to ask a few questions at each correspondence to try and "fill in the blanks" and have a better idea of the environment she was in 9 months of her life. It's clear she was well taken care of and loved - the answer to our prayers. Even though there's alot we don't know about her past it's so clear how the Lord was with her every step of the way taking care of her. To be doing as well as she's doing now is such a miracle. The way she anticipates a prayer by folding her hands or saying "A-Moe" (her version of Amen) at the end is priceless. This past week she's started giving real kisses with the pucker and noise - even a bit of suction when it's on my cheek! When I think a year ago there we times I cried myself to sleep waiting for her, I'm overwhelmed by the joy she gives us.

We survived VBS!

We made it through Vacation Bible School 2007! Things went well overall. The kids seemed to have a good time and learn about their Lord. No one got sick, the weather was fantastic and best of all, Zanna was so wiped out by all the activity that she slept like a log for her naps and at night - haha!
We had four helpers sent to us from WELS Kingdom Workers to assist us. They were the same group from last year - they had such a great time they wanted to come back! Unfortunately, one of the guys didn't make it through immigration and was sent home (very weird). Nevertheless, it still went well and we had a great time. One night the girls went out to the movies and we saw "Hairspray" - We had a blast and the next day Laura and Tiffany showed up to VBS with backcombed hair and an extra spring in their step - what a hoot! We also got to hang out at a members pool which we all really appreciated.
By the end of the week we were all ready to just chill out. The group came over to hang out in our backyard and kick back for the evening. We had a great time!
One of the reasons the group wanted to come back here this year was because of the round-about. Last year the 4 of them would go round and round this thing and had the time of their lives!! So for the poor guy that didn't get to come this time they put a "care package" together for him that included this picture of the bunch of us in the middle of the round-about. Crazy I know and did we get some weird looks from the drivers.

A Day at the Beach

After living here for 5 years we had yet to get to one of the local beaches. So we packed up our beach toys and headed to the water. We had a fantastic time. The beach wasn't crowed, the water was a good temperature and the kids had a blast (although the picture of Zanna doesn't really reflect that). Will made his first sandcastle and Daddy buried him in the sand. Zanna waded in the water and "helped" some kids build a sand mound. We met some nice people and had a very pleasant day.
Afterwards, I was sharing with a friend of mine who's a native here what a great time we had. She then shared with me how the locals like herself never take their kids to the beaches which are known for their bacteria content and questionable materials sometimes found in the sand. So much for that!

Wisconsin Trip

After we were home from Calgary for 5 days we got in the van and drove to Wisconsin to see my family for a little over a week. We were a bit concerned about how a 17th month old would do on a 15hour car ride. So on Sunday after Wayne preached in the morning at our church and then later in the afternoon at another, he came home, took a nap and we piled in the car at about 9pm. I gave Zanna her bottle, went through the bedtime routine and put her in the carseat. She was very confused. Both kids fell asleep about an hour into the trip and slept until the sun came up and we went through customs about 5:30am. Then Zanna had a nap about an hour later.
Gas - $3.40 a gallon
money saved on hotels - $200
Coffee for Wayne at Tim Hortons - $6
peace and quiet for 9hours on a 15hr drive - priceless
We arrived at Mom and Dads as zombies but made it through the day. Will continued to have the summer of his life. My Dad took him for rides on their new Harley. And he got to drive their pontoon boat once we got it out.
Both sets of my grandparents were able to meet Hosanna which was very special. We also celebrated Wayne's birthday while we were their. His birthday fell on a Friday which can only mean one thing in Wisconsin - FISH FRY. This would be where we all go to a hole in the wall bar/restaurant and pass around deep fried fish, potato pancakes, coleslaw and sip our Old-fashions. YUM. Could it get any better? Wayne would say yes, it could. For him it got better the next day. My Dad had arranged to borrow a Honda Motorcyle and he and Wayne went for a "Poker Run" Harley ride with 200 plus Harleys (and their Honda - haha!) They had a testosterone filled day and were back in time to make Mom and I our nightcaps.
Watching Sleeping Beauty with Opa

Birthday party for Wayne - cutting the Dairy Queen cake.
So we had a great time at my folks and a wonderful vacation!

Canada Day/Calgary trip

Zanna celebrated her first Canada Day as a Canadian. We hosted the Goetzingers and Schultz family over for the occasion. I usually like to do something for the 4th of July since it's our anniversary but we were going out of town on the third. Anyway, it was a good opportunity to get together and eat Naniamo bars. Need I say more?

We went to Calgary on the 3rd. That night we drove out to Kananaskis to meet up with Wayne's parents, brother Brent and his family, his uncle and aunt and brother Jeff and his family. There are 9 kids on the Halldorson side now and we make quite a group all together! Jake and Fran put us up in the Delta Lodge at Kananaskis where we had our wedding night and our reception had been in the place right next to it! It was neat to be there for our 9th anniversary with our kids.
The weather was beautiful the whole time. Mornings were spent in the spa with the Halldorson ladies (not our typical vacation, I can reassure you). Afternoons the guys and Fran went golfing. We were treated to THE BEST meal I've ever had while we were there. We had babysitters along to help and Zanna had a babysitter for the first time and did great! This was very exciting let me tell you. She did great overall - she was comfortable with all the new faces around her and kept hugging cousin Claire who's just 3 months younger making her topple over everytime. Will had a blast with the cousins playing in the pool, biking on the trails, even making Smores! It was all amazing and we feel so blessed to have had such a "fancy" vacation! We returned to Calgary and Will had a great time on the tractor with Grandpa, splitting wood, roasting marshmallows at the firepit and driving the go-cart.

The last day in town we had a photographer come out to Jake and Fran's and take a family picture. (We all wore white and khaki, that's why we look like Twinkies) The professional ones were all taken outside - can't wait to see how they turned out! Now we're back home for a few days until we leave for my parents in the States. Busy, busy!!

June Update

The playstructure is finally finished - thank goodness!!! The pieces of this thing were hauled from our other place and sat under a tarp all winter. It's finally up thanks to help from my Dad, Wayne's hard work and our friend Dave. A big improvement from the backyard of weeds we moved into last summer.



The rest of these pictures are from our recent trip to New York state. We went for a pastors conference. It was our first trip since we've been home from China and included a 6 hour drive and 2 night stay in a hotel. It went well overall - Zanna managed a nap here and there in the car. She slept pretty well at night but getting her to sleep was tricky. The first night we sat there quietly in the dark while she stood in her crib and waved bye-bye to us for a half hour. The next night we waited in the hall until she fell asleep. Otherwise, it was nice to get together with the other called workers and their families and see some old friends again. It wasn't exactly relaxing, however and before we knew it we were heading home. About 30minutes into the trip we passed a beautiful hotel with indoor waterpart right off the interstate. Long story short we ended up checking into this place and had a great time! The waterpark was a blast and Will was able to go on all the rides. Zanna just wore her cute little bikini and looked adorable occasionally splashing in the water.
The picture with Will and his necklace has a story to it. He and Wayne found themselves in the game room and Will wanted to play the game where you try and control the claw to grab something in the pile of toys and cheap junk that sits there. Wayne thought it might be a teaching moment so warned Will that if he wanted to spend his money on this game it was up to him but in all the times he's played it, he's never won. Wouldn't you know he grabed that chain on the first try? It'll probably turn his skin green but he loves it.
In other exciting Will news - it's finally clicked - Will's starting to read! Very exciting! He'll call strange things out during the day and then we realize he read a sign or something. He yelled out "forgiveness" really loud in the church service at conference - I wondered what the heck got into him when I realized he read the screen up front. I just thought he was really getting into the service - haha!
And on a personal note, I've finally accomplished something I've been trying to do for years - bake a decent loaf of bread. I know, very Little House of me but it's been my quest for years. It finally happened with some freshly ground wheat from a local mill and yeast 2years past the expiry date (I noticed this too late). Didn't matter anyway - It worked!!!
Zanna's volcabulary continues to grow literally every day. It's incredible what a sponge she is. One of her favourites is "good girl" when she's done something really good like put something back where it belongs. Then we clap, of course.

Mother's Day

Aren't those pictures too cute? I was on a search for an Asian doll and found it to be more challenging than originally thought. But Mommy came through and here they are together. It's too precious to see her hold onto "Baby Rou Rou" and pat her back the way we pat hers. When she takes the doll by the hair and throws it into her stroller, rest assured we do not do this to her.
The other picture was taken before her bike ride in the bike stroller daddy pulls. We've taken up a new family pastime now that Will is riding - family biking. For Mother's Day I got a bike - anyone that knows me is laughing their head off right now. But it's true. My only requests were that it be pretty and that the seat be comfortable. I mean really, how is my butt supposed to fit on those tiny things? As it turned out I got my pretty bike (a shade of green) and my seat fits, well - my seat. And then some - this sucker is huge! But it does the job!!!! Anyway, I had a very special Mother's Day with both my kids. What blessings they are.

Cute pictures

Happy Birthday, Will

It's official - Will is 7! Hard to believe!!! My mom and dad came to town for the occasion and we had 6 special days with them. We (I) decided to forgo the big party idea this year for a more quiet family all about Will day. He requested fried eggs, sausages and toast for breakfast. In the afternoon we went downtown to check out the tulips (a birthday tradition). Then he wanted to go Tex-Mex for dinner so off we went for fajitas. The big present, of course was the bike. After much research and shopping around we finally found the perfect bike. He was thrilled. To pick up on the theme of the birthday I made a cake to match. When I became a mother 7 years ago, I was under the impression that I would suddenly be able to do things I'd never done before - Martha Stewart like things such as cake decorating. And so began a yearly tradition of me trying to make the perfect cake for my dear son only to wonder every single time - what was I thinking? This year was no different with the bike cake but it did manage to turn out good enough (it's a good thing I'm not a perfectionist).
I've tried to post pictures of his special day but for whatever reason it's not working right now so I'll have to try later.

Will on his purple bike

Playing at the sugarbush

Zanna and her new doll we call "Rou Rou"

Big Week for All!

Well it's finally happened - just shy of his 7th birthday, Will has learned to ride his bike. This has not been easy and has caused us much grief. We were beginning to think it wasn't going to happen and that we'd have to pull him in the bike trailer until he moves out of the house. My Grandma and Grandpa had purchased a girls purple and pink bike at a garage sale about 2 years back intending it for my little cousins use while she visited. After her visit they sent this bike home with us so he would have something to practise on. His incentive then was that when he learned to ride his girly bike, we'd get him a big-boy bike. In retrospect, we were trying to shame him into learning to ride his (what he refers to) girl bike. In the end, it had nothing to do with this as he is now proudly riding his girl bike all over the neighbourhood. We still intend to keep our end of the bargain - he gets to pick out a bike for his upcoming birthday. This has given him a sudden new found freedom and I'm so darn proud of him as I watch him ride - the colour purple rushing by in a flash.......
This was also an extremely big week for Hosanna. She is now a Canadian citizen. We received her citizenship card in the mail along with a beautiful certificate (in English and French, of course!). Very exciting indeed and I now find myself the only one in this house that's not a Canadian - how did that happen?
Zanna also has passed her various blood work and aforementioned stool tests with flying colours we are thrilled to report. She continues to thrive and develop more personality everyday. At 13months and after only hearing the English language for 3months she says MaMa, Dad, no, go, more, me, shoe, sock, ya, pop, nana (banana), up, ju (juice) to name the ones that come to mind. She also has taken to sign language very fast (as opposed to Will who only learned 2 after trying to teach him for 8 months - I know, I'm not supposed to compare). I'd like to think this is because I am excelling as a parent and now that I'm experienced all this is due entirely to me. In truth, I know it doesn't have to do with me a whole lot. Everyone just develops differently. Oh - and she finally has some more teeth coming in - up until now she's only had the two she came with - haha!

Happy Easter!

He is Risen! He is Risen indeed! We had a lovely Easter. The kids looked for their Easter baskets in the morning. We had a yummy breakfast at church and celebrated our Risen Saviour in the service following.
This picture's a bit blurry - oops

This is what Zanna did to keep busy during Daddy's riveting sermon - haha. Will, of course behaved very well!

The Latest

Some people have asked me how school with Will has been going since Hosanna has been home. Well, I don't want to paint an image that everything is perfect but this picture is pretty close to one of those moments. Will and I are sitting at the table in front of her in this picture. She likes to go over to the bookshelf with all her books. She picks one out and takes it over to this rug in front of the sliding glass doors. Sometimes she'll sit there for 15min or so just closely looking at the pictures. She's not really interested in me reading them to her though! That's OK, it'll come.
Last week we finally had a bit of Spring like weather and we took advantage of this by going on walks and visiting the park. This gave us the opportunity to have her try out the swing for the first time. She immediately loved it - smiling and laughing! To experience those moments with your kids is such a blessing - too cool!

The credit for this picture goes to Will - photographer in training!