Geez...I am soooo behind! We've been staying busy this summer having fun at lots of new places. I'll start with two weeks ago and try to work my way forward.

We spent the day at Belmar beach in New Jersey. It was weird to have to PAY to go to the beach (they all seem to do that here) but the beach was nice, clean, and PACKED. It was a gorgeous day, in the mid 80s, but the water was a chilly 69 degrees. The boys have been asking to go to the beach all summer so they could build a sand castle like Curious George. They had a nice one built, but high tide rolled in just before we left and took the whole thing out. They laughed about it, because it's exactly what happened to Curious George's castle.

We can't wait to go back again. This time I'll be sure to be more accurate in applying sun block to MYSELF, though. I missed a patch on my back and got the mother of all sunburns...ouch! The good thing is now the boys don't argue with me about sunblock anymore, after seeing my nasty burn!

Here are some pics from our day:

Happy 4th of July!

We had such a good time on the 4th!

We went into town (North Wales) to catch a parade. It was a tiny one but just enough to keep the kids entertained with fire trucks, police cars, candy catching, kids on bikes, motorcycles, etc. We then followed the parade to the park where they had an old fashioned get together. No blow ups or high tech games. There was a bean bag toss, sack race, three legged race, greased pole climbing contest, pie eating contest, water balloon toss...the boys participated in nearly everything! They received tickets at each event that they could trade in for prizes like little flags, gliders, etc. It was so much fun! I didn't even realize that there WAS a party after the parade, so I didn't have my camera on me. Next year!

That evening we went to a nearby town for fireworks. It was raining so that delayed things a bit, but in the end it was a great display. Happy Birthday, America!!

A sad, sad day.

I feel like I sold my soul to the yankees. LOL. Today I (well, Andy) put PA plates on the car and I got my PA driver's license. I really enjoyed being the only Texan on the road. Sigh.

72 As a 1930s wife, I am Superior Take the test!

I am soooo behind...my apologies!

Here are some pics from our Memorial Day weekend trip to Washington, DC. We really had a good time. I found the most fun hotel to stay at, the Hotel Helix, which is decorated with this crazy retro pop art theme and has Austin Powers answering the phone line. There is so much to see in DC...we can't wait to return! When Obama wins the election I hope to be in DC again to witness his historic swearing in ceremony! :)

Here are some pics from our trip. I will add more ASAP! I took over 400 pics, plus my brother took some, so it's hard picking my favorites! The mud pits at Vulcano Solfatara. This volcana is at the base of the hill where my grandmother's home is, and I feel like I grew up with this volcano! The boys loved it (but it was stinky)!
The main vent of the Solfatara smoking.
Running through the steam.
At a small park with my cousin and her daughter, Martina.
Dominic and Martina with a swordfish head, at the Pozzuoli fish market.

Casale Nunziatina, where we spent 5 nights in Sorrento. This was such a beautiful place!!
One of the public paths in Herculaneum, a city destroyed with Pompeii in the Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD. So much of the city was so well preserved!
The Amalfi coast. We stopped here to picnic before walking down to the beach at Positano.
On the isle of Capri, with the Faraglioni in the background.
With my cousin Angela & her three kids.

more pics to come!

Saluti da Pozzuoli, Italia!!

We have been in Italy for two weeks now and have one week left. We're cramming a lot of visits to family and shopping into this last week. :)

It's just the boys and I...Andy couldn't join us this trip. Dominic is a natural Neapolitan and is having a blast hanging out with my cousin's kids and playing soccer with the neighborhood children. The language barrier doesn't seem to bother him and he's picking up a fair amount of Italian. Christian is still pretty clingy and nervous with all the new things and people he's encountering but is still having fun. He looks forward to getting gelato in the afternoon!

I wish I could upload pics but I'll do that as soon as I get home. We got to spend a week with my brother who flew down from Germany and we spent several days in Sorrento. The boys really enjoyed visiting the city of Herculaneum and hunting for skeletons. hee hee. They point out Vesuvius everytime it's in sight. They LOVED the beach at Positano and got soaked in their clothes. I had to buy a towel and dry clothes there. They enjoyed the trip to Capri and riding the funiculare and the bus over to the Marina Piccolo where we watched the huge waves (there was bad weather that day). Since returning to Pozzuoli we've mostly been visiting my relatives and getting caught up with them. I took them to the Solfatara, a volcano at the base of where my grandmother's home is, and they LOVED it. Not so much the volcano (Christian and I both got a little scorched when we got to close to one of the vents...ouch!) but climbing the smelly hills of sulfur, running through the steam clouds, and throwing rocks in the mud pits. Quite a unique experience! I can't wait to upload the pics!

Tomorrow we're going to a market because I got carried away today and bought some larger items and now have to buy another suitcase (I only brought one medium and one small one). I also want to take the boys to the fish market in Pozzuoli as I know they will LOVE that since most of the fish and other critters (especially octopus) are still alive and swimming in tubs! I also still have two uncles I haven't seen yet and another cousin I want to visit so we'll squeeze those visits in to the few days we have left.

I'll be home on the 29th and will share pics when I'm not sleep deprived anymore! LOL!

It's amazing how prayers get answered in unexpected ways. I'm still running into little problems that make me want to stick my thumbs in my eyes BUT I am feeling so much more positive thanks to the little messages, packages, e-mails, and phone calls I've received. It reminds me of how lucky I am to have such a wonderful support system in tough times. THANK YOU!

On to happier things. Here are some pics from our fun trip to the Dixie Dude Ranch this Spring Break. yeeehaw!!!!

Ugh. Do you ever feel like you're being kicked when you're already down? The last two weeks have just sucked, which isn't even a strong enough word to describe it. The only highlight has been a nice but too short visit back home, but all kinds of other crap has been going on, and I just got home to find more messes I have to try to clean up. As if I didn't already have enough to worry about. I know things will get better, but I can't believe how it all seems to happen at once. It makes it hard to focus on the good things that are going on. I'm just venting. If you believe in prayer, I could certainly use some now. I don't know what I did wrong but there is some rotten karma here right now.

I am so very blessed!

Overcoming bullying with friendship

Dominic is an exceptional little athlete, and because he is so good at soccer his coach suggested moving him up to the 6-8 year old league (he's been playing with 4-5 year olds). Last night was his first night with the "big kids".
Dominic did great with all the drills and seemed nervous but OK until the last drill. They dribble the ball till coach says "freeze", then they have to stop the ball, leave it, and run to another ball. Dominic ran to a ball and was waiting for the coach to say "go". An older boy (he must have been 8 but was VERY tall) came up to Dominic and put his foot on the ball and got in Dominic's face. Dominic kept his foot on the ball and it looked like he said "This is my ball." The kid got real close to Dominic (in an obviously intimidating way) and took the ball out from under him. Dominic stood there, looking upset. He usually doesn't back down so I half expected him to slug the kid. Instead he walked away and I pointed him to a new ball. I was LIVID and wanted to walk out on the field and say something to the kid, but didn't know if it would make things worse. I decided I'd just tell the coach about it.
Coach called a water break so I figured I'd tell him then. But Dominic came over to me with tears in his eyes so we went to talk. He was SO upset and said he hated it here and didn't want to play with the big kids. I felt so awful for him. After the water break he REFUSED to go back in, and sat out the rest of practice. I finally managed to get him off my lap long enough to go tell the coaches why Dominic was sitting out.
They handled it wonderfully. They talked to Dominic and told him that he could come to them with any problem and they would help him. After practice I saw them talking to the boy in question, which I am happy about.
What really turned things around was a sweet little boy named Matthew. He kept coming over and asking if Dominic was OK and ready to come play. He was so sweet and persistent. At the end, when the kids huddled & said good-bye, Matthew came over to us and asked Dominic if he would like to walk with him to the huddle and stand next to him. Dominic tried to look very non-chalant and said "sure" and walked away with him.
Kindness and friendship are so powerful! Dominic finally stopped talking about "the mean boy" and the whole ride home talked about his new friend Matthew and how he would play with him next week and that he wasn't afraid of playing with the big kids anymore. When we got home he told his daddy all about his new friend Matthew, and didn't even mention the bully. Thank goodness for little blessings like Matthew! Fingers crossed that things go well next Monday!

I have been meaning to blog about Jesus and the Power Rangers.

I put up a small nativity scene (presepio) for Christmas, consisting of Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus. The boys were drawn to the figures and were very interested in them.

One morning I came downstairs to find the baby Jesus on the floor, surrounded by a circle of Power Ranger figures. I overheard Dominic providing the voices of the Power Rangers, and they were saying "Jesus, I'm hurt, can you fix me?"

Apparently Jesus is a medical doctor, too. :)

Last night was the YMCA's Holiday Party. I didn't even find out about it till last week when my boss asked if I was going. I went, not knowing it was also a staff recognition dinner. Each department director chose one member of their staff to receive a "Director's Choice" award, and I was chosen as the recipient for the Family Services Department of my branch!

I was SO shocked. I had no idea! I was given a VISA gift card for my award. I really missed working, and I was just happy to help out, so I'm really touched to have been recognized like this. Thanks for letting me share. :)

Merry Christmas!!!

Weekend in Lancaster

We had planned to head out to DC last weekend, but a nasty ice storm (which wound up being just a small snowstorm) changed those plans. Instead we headed about an hour away to Lancaster, PA, and had a great time!

We stayed in a hotel that was shaped like a steamship. It was super cute, and we had a room near the indoor pool, which Dominic was thrilled about!

While we were there we checked out the Christmas Museum. It was full of lots of wonderful displays with Santas from around the world, train tables, and nativity scenes. As we were leaving, one of the docents asked Dominic what his favorite part was. After thinking for a moment he replied, "I saw Jesus." Awwwww!

We also visited the Hands On Museum which, while a bit small, was nevertheless entertaining for the boys, who had been a bit frustrated with the previous museum where they couldn't touch anything! They loved being able to manipulate the various activities, build things, and dress up.

The following weekend we also visited Byer's Choice, which is practically in our backyard. We had no idea this wonderful exhibit was so close to us! We went to see La Befana, but were enthralled by the Victorian town and all the displays. Even the boys said they wanted to come back again soon!

So, despite the fact that it's FREAKING COLD here, we're managing to stay busy. :)

Adoption Ornaments and Personalized Ornaments

I had fun making this one!! I hope it's a big seller!

Available here:

http://www.cafepress.com/forthischild/4248671

Snow already?

Thank goodness I've been working away at purchasing sweaters, snowsuits, and snow boots, because the white stuff is here!!

We woke up on December 1st to find everything covered in a white blanket of snow. It wasn't much, but enough for snow angels and snow ball fun.

Then today it started snowing again. There have been flurries for the past few days, but nothing sticks. Well, today it's sticking! The boys are beyond thrilled. They've been asking about snow ever since we moved here, and now their wish has been granted. All I have to do now is buy a sled!

Christmas is around the corner!!!!!

I have been working away at this adoption fundraiser project for awhile, and the site is finally up. I will be tweaking it and possiblyadding more products, but please bookmark the site and post it onevery single board you can think of! E-mail it to all your friends,too!

http://www.cafepress.com/forthischild

To give you some background, the project began forming when I fell for a little boy in Armenia named Davit, who is waiting to beadopted. Not being able to adopt him at this time, I wanted to dosomething, anything, to help him find his forever family. Thus theonline shop. 100% of profits will go to Hopscotch Adoptions to formgrants to assist in the adoption of Davit and other special needschildren. I absolutely trust Hopscotch because the executivedirector, Robin Sizemore, was an integral part of our own adoption.

To learn more about Hopscotch, Davit, or other special needs orphanswaiting for their forever families, visit

http://www.hopscotchadoptions.org/ and

http://www.reecesrainbow.com/otherangels.htm

Thank you for your support and helping to spread the word!!!!