Amazing..

How quickly time goes. The last time I posted was December. So much as happened since then. I will try to go in order.

In January, Chad and I made the decision that it was time to lose weight. It began with a harmless bet between Shannon, Ben, Andy, Elaine and ourselves- and it has turned into a full fledged obsession. Chad was able to lose lamost 50 pounds and I have lost 40. It is hard work - but worth it. The four of us head to the gym several nights a week - and I am working out with a trainer 3 times a week. Chad loves to go for bike rides, and I am training for my first 5K run which will take place in June. It is still amazing to me because up until now - they only place I have ever ran was to the bathroom!

On February 22nd - I had the amazing privelage to deliver my nephew - Liam Thomas Moore. Kara was in labor for only about 90 minutes - and the midwife was not able to get to her in time. Brian and I worked as a great team - and it was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. Kara was so strong - and did a beautiful job.

In March we celebrated Hope's 4th birthday. We had a great time at The Bouncy Place with all of her friends, and celebrated with family on a couple of different occasions. It's hard to believe how big she has gotten. She is so smart, and clever and her favorite thing to do is sing along with the Mama Mia soundtrack!

In April we went to Arizona to visit Andy and Elaine. We had a great time enjoying the sun, swimming and being with Grandma and Papa. Isaac, Hope and Mommy all wanted to relocate to Arizona - but Daddy isn't too keen on the idea. Only time will tell...

Shortly after we returned from Arizona, Isaac lost his first tooth! His grown up tooth is very visible and it is an obvious reminder everyday that we should start saving for braces NOW!

Isaac is doing so great in school - he is reading and doing math at the second grade level. It's hard to believe that we will soon have a 1st grader.

In April we also got a new puppy. We named her Sadie and while she was adorable and sweet - she was not with us long. After 3 days, Sadie died of unknown causes. It was devastating to all of us - but especially hard for Chad who had to perform CPR to try to resusitate her. Unfortunately - the woman who sold Sadie to us - sold her at too young of an age. Sadie really should have still been with her mom. As kids do - Isaac and Hope recovered and we went and picked out a new puppy. We named her Bailey - and we went weekly to visit her until she was old enough to come home. We brought her home last night - and we all had great fun. It will be quite and adjustment for Max - but I think Bailey will fit in well.

First Snow

Okay Okay...so it's been a while since my last post.

The last couple of months have been insane! Life is so busy! The kids are doing great - Isaac is doing so well at school. He is part of the advanced reading group which includes one other little girl. These two are reading at 2nd grade level. It is so amazing to watch his progress.

Hope was just in her Christmas Concert. She was an angel - and she did a fabulous job yelling...I mean singing. :)

On December 7th - we celebrated Christmas with Katharina and Nadira. We woke up early and exchanged gifts so that they could experience some of our Christmas traditions. It was great fun and the kids really liked having an extra Christmas.

This morning - I took Katharina to the airport. She is flying to Florida to meet her parents where they will vacation for 3 weeks before heading back to Denmark. It was hard to see her go. We did some really fun things when she was here. It is amazing to me the way we discovered Seattle again. We take so many things for granted. We have lived here for so long, and we forget what an amazing state we live in!

Last night after Hope's concert it snowed. This morning Isaac, Hope and Chad built their first snowman. Enjoys the pics!

Time Flies!

Wow! It has been a long time since my last blog! I am not sure that I can type everything that has happened since mid September ... Here are some highlights.

At the end of September and begining of October, our exchange students Nadira and Katharina arrived at our home. We were a little nervous about hosting students - but God has truely blessed us with these girls! They are so sweet, helpful, trustworthy, fun etc. etc. It is an absolute joy to have them in our home! The kids really love them as well. It has been a little tough to get used to the schedule - but we are hanging in there!

Isaac got his cast off on October 14th. He was so happy, and we were thrilled to find out that he doesn't need surgery.

October 15th was my last day working at the kids school, and on the 20th I began my new position at Vulcan Inc. This was a tough job to get - 6 interviews, a background check, credit check and a background / reference check done by a private investigator! Chad and I feel blessed by God's provisions for our families!

Things change...

We went back to the Dr. yesterday so he could check on Isaac's foot. I was under the impression that he would be moved into a walking cast. Unfortunately, the prognosis isn't that great. Apparently, the bone that Isaac broke rarely repairs itself and usually requires surgery. We don't want to jump the gun - so the Dr. put a cast on and has referred us to an Orthopedic Specialist. We will check in with the Orthopedist in a couple of weeks and go from there.

Isaac is getting much better at the crutches. Yesterday was his first day back at school, and I think he really enjoyed the attention. His posse of friends (Caleb, TJ, Aaron and Kobe) all were fighting over who could help him, sit by him etc. I am sure the novelty will wear off soon, but for now I am grateful that he has such a great bunch of buddies. I am attaching a photo of Isaac getting his cast on, as well as one of him without the cast - if you look closly enough - you can see the bruising on his foot even in a photo!

In other news...we found out yesterday that Green River CC didn't assign us a 2nd Denmark student as we thought. This is frustrating because we have been rushing to remodel our upstairs to make a 5th bedroom to accomodate a second student. After expressing our frustration with this, we were assigned a student from Indonesia. Nadira will be arriving on Friday and will remain with us until the Spring. Katharina (from Denmark) will join us October 2nd to make for a very full house! Please pray for us!!!



More updates later....

A crazy life!

So much can happen in a week!

On Wednesday night at school - Isaac fell and broke his foot. It is a huge bummer for him because it looks like he will not be able to play football this year. He is on crutches, and for now is not allowed out of his recliner. We will go back to the doctor for an evaluation on Monday. Right now - he is enjoing this because he gets to play alot of Playstation - but I am sure the boredom will set in soon enough!

On October 2nd we have two students from Denmark coming to stay with us. They are part of the International Program at Green River Community College. We are really excited to have them here. They will be with us until December 13th. I am attaching a photo of Katharina - she is a 17 year old who loves to swim and teaches swim lessons to children.

I have been interviewing for a new job. I am expecting an offer today from a company that I would really LOVE to work for. I will keep everyone posted. Please pray for this!

Isaac turns 6!

Today, Isaac turned 6 years old!
As I went about my day, it was hard to believe that 6 years ago on this day, I was doing something TOTALLY different! For those who don't know - I am extremely sentimental about the day Isaac was born. Not only was it amazing to me that I was finally a mom - but I am so grateful to God that He allowed me to have the birthing experience that I did. Everything about that day was so phenomenal to me - and I love that I still remember it so well! Anyway, Isaac was born at 8:17am - so at 8:17 this morning I shared a long hug with my very tall 6 year old, and I cried. Time goes by so fast. It is so exciting and yet a little sad at the same time.
We had a great weekend. Saturday night we had the whole family over to celebrate. I am including some pictures from that; and then on Sunday, Chad took Isaac to the Seahawks game (we lost 33-30 in overtime) and then we met them at California Pizza Kitchen - which is Isaac's favorite restaurant. Then it was off to Target to spend his birthday money - (don't want it to burn a hole in his pocket) - wait....did I just say that????? Whatever - he has been saving for a huge Indiana Jones lego set, and he recieved enough for his birthday to add to what he already had from weeding to make the purchase. He is very excited, now he just has to wait for Chad to put it all together!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUD!!!

This has been a crazy week!

Well, we survived the 1st week of school. I am not sure that I have ever been so glad to see a Friday before! I asked Isaac is he liked his teacher, Mrs. Howard. He isn't sure yet. I asked him if she has alot of rules - "Mrs. Howard only has one rule; No problems!" (sounds good to me!!!)
There is no rest for the weary - Saturday the 6th was Isaac's birthday party. He got to invite 6 friends over to watch Indiana Jones and have pizza. Wow - was that insane. I think the boys only watched about 20 minutes of the movie. They did have a pillow fight, a sword fight, and then Chad finally marched them uphill to the park to get some of their energy out. This morning, Isaac asked if he could have all those friends over again (No WAY!!!!) because "that was the funnest birthday party." That's all I needed to hear - the party was a success! But next year his party will be anywhere but at my home!
Sunday the 7th Isaac starts Flag Football. We will send out pictures when we have some.