Dedication Day

Avé was dedicated at BC today.  Out of the 4 kids dedicated in our service, 3 of them were adopted!  Pretty special.  Especially considering it is Orphan Sunday AND National Adoption Month.

My happy little flower.

Somebody LOOOOOVES her Auntie Kelly!

I could tell Kelly was asking Avé if she wanted to let ME hold her...
and I could tell she was saying, "Ummm... No."  ;-)

Auntie Kelly and Uncle Gyle- so special to us!!!

And so great that we got to be dedicated at the
same time as the Bucks- a family we ADORE!

Pastor Rog even got her to say her name into the microphone.
Now, how many kids do THAT on their Dedication Day?  ;-)

My church family praying for my sweet girl.

Does this one really need a caption???  ;-)

Closest we have to a family photo from today.  

A sweet and happy day.

Go Ahead and ASK.

It's Day 6 of NaBloPoMo and I really don't have anything to write about today.  No- that's only partly true.  I do have things I want to write about, I just don't think I have the mental energy to tackle them today.  This daily blogging thing could get to be a challenge if it's only day six and I'm already struggling!!!

So... let me ask YOU.  What would YOU like to see on here?  

Is there something you have wondered about any of us over here at "3 Continents... 1 Family"?  

Is there a question that has been burning in your soul?  

Or maybe just one that you made up just now?  

Either way- jot it down in the comments and I'll see if I can answer it.  It can be adoption related, parenting related, personal, or on any subject you choose.  But just be forewarned... If you ask about the absolute WORST thing I ever did in college, you WILL be disappointed.  ;-)

A Mac for Mick

I know what I'm getting my husband for Christmas.

An iPad.

Now, if you don't know my husband you probably just thought, "Oh, okay. That's nice."  But if you do know my husband you probably just thought, "Whaaaa???  That is ridiculous!!!  You're just buying that for YOURSELF, Gayla!!!"  Because Mick is probably the LEAST tech-savvy person you have ever met in your life.  Really.  His phone doesn't take pictures and he has never sent a text message.  And doesn't plan on it.  He can email, but if he has to send an attachment I have to show him how to do it every. single. time.

So why would I buy him an iPad?  There are a few good reasons.
1.  His desktop computer is a dinosaur and sooooooooooooooo ridiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiculously sloooooooooooow that it makes me want to scream.
2.   I don't want to spend the money to buy him another desktop nor a laptop right now.
3.   I'm tired of him wanting to borrow my macbook all the time.

If I buy him an iPad he can spend hours looking up all the things he likes to look up on the internet every night.  Things like green building techniques, rammed earth houses, solar heating, water conservation, and how to build your own canoe out of a solid pine log.

Yes, I am married to the Australian Grizzly Adams.  We are, as the Aussies say, "Chalk and Cheese," which means that we are total opposites.  There are honestly times when we look at each other and say, "How on earth did we end up together?"  But together we are.  And if the apocalypse ever happens, all you need to do is get yourself out to our land in Skiatook and Mick will have us all taken care of.  He'll be growing our vegetables and hunting deer, building everyone cabins out of dirt and putting up windmills to get water out of the ground.  I'm not even joking.

But he won't be looking up more information on how to do those things on my macbook.  Not after Christmas, anyway.  ;-)

Throwback Thursday

Is that a bird sitting on my head?

Halloween '10

So... she was Spiderman for her school party, but for the actual Trick-or-Treating she decided to go with... 

drumroll please...

A dinosaur!!!  

A dang cute dinosaur, but a pre-historic reptile, none-the-less. 

"Mommy!  Do I look SCAWY???"

So, let's just keep it between us that it looks like
I painted a butterfly on her face.  K?

And next, of course, there is Lord Vader.

I wish you could see how serious
his face is behind that mask.

If you are feeling asthmatic, it's because Darth Vader
is using his "Force Choke" on you right now.

Jack was struggling b/c he couldn't find the vampire teeth he wanted to use to be a bat or a zombie or a (huh?) vampire, so I had to punt for him at the last minute.  Someone told me about this idea and it seemed fun and easy.  He's a Windy Day.

The costume is fun... but I think it's his facial expressions that
really make it work.  Where DOES he get that expressiveness from??? 

I wondered if Avé would really understand what was going on, but really... what's NOT to understand about walking up to people's houses and getting candy?  Like everything else she has been introduced to, she just accepts all this new craziness as her new normal and goes with the flow!  It was a fun night, but as always, now I am left with a problem...

How do I steal ALL the Butterfingers out of my kids' bags w/o them getting wise?

Advice???

Book Character Day

...also known as the school's excuse to let the kids dress up but keep it educational.  ;-)

So last Friday my boys dressed as Brian Robeson- the boy in the wonderful book Hatchet.  (if your kids haven't read it- get it!  they will love it.  especially boys.)  I've never created an easier costume.  Wear your regular clothes- something you would wear outdoors- and I'll just make a hatchet from cardboard and aluminum foil.  Yeah!!!

  

So for all these years I've been dressing Cowboys, Dinosaurs, Dragons, Zombies, Bats, Aboriginals, Punk Rockers, Super Heros, Dogs, and other random scary beasts and monsters... and then THIS YEAR!!!!  This year I have a GIRL to dress!!!  So! Fun!

Avé didn't have Book Character Day, she just had a straight up Halloween party at her school.

And she decided to go as.... SPIDERMAN!!!  Can you believe it???  My first year w/ a daughter and she just wants to be one of the boys.  Oh, well.  She sure is an adorable Spidey!!!!  I even tried to pitch Spidergirl or Spiderlady or Spiderwoman... NOPE.  She was having none of it.  A little sparkley spider web drawn on her face?  NO.  Just Spiderman.  

She was determined to get that Spidey finger move down, wasn't she?  

I think it just reflects that she really loves, admires and respects her brothers and wants THEIR approval over anyone else.  

So... maybe next year I'll get her to be Fraulein Maria.  ;-)  

It's NaBloPoMo, People!!!

That's right!  It's National Blog Posting Month!  Which means you have to (if you wanna) (and if you have time) (and if you can think of something interesting to say)... you have to post something each day for a month.  Wanna give it a whirl with me?  I've never done it before and I've been blogging for, geesh... 5 years now, I think!  (started over on Xanga...)  

I like being organized, but I don't thrive on it.  So if I actually post something every day it will be a wonder.  But I may as well give it a shot!  Who's with me???

(so this counts for today's post.  i'm saving halloween pix for tomorrow so that it will count for day 2!  ;-)