Merry Christmases

We have had an incredible time this Christmas season!  It is amazing how much joy Luci can bring to an already joyful celebration!  As I look back on the past year, I am simply amazed over how our life has changed...not only does our house look different (several family members have commented on this fact...toy explosion), but our whole focus is different!  I won't talk on this for long, but I do feel the need to mention it as I know several families playing the adoption waiting game this Christmas.  Last year was...difficult...We had been on the waiting list for a referral for a little over 6 months when Christmas rolled around.  This was about the average wait at that time and I was starting to get anxious/high-strung/depressed/testy/fill-in-your-own-adjective.  A teddy bear under the Christmas tree to "Jason and Heather's baby" was enough to send me into hysterical sobs and that just isn't like me!  I write all this to say...for those of you waiting, just when you think you can't take it anymore, good news arrives!  A mere 2 weeks later, we had a referral for our precious baby girl!  I couldn't help comparing this Christmas to last...we were no longer missing a member of our family!  She is here and she fills our lives with such joy!  She is our perfect gift and I am so thankful that God picked me to be her mommy!

On to the details of our Christmas celebrations...

We began the season with a Christmas date, just the three of us.  We went out to dinner and then took Luci down to the square for a pony ride and cupcake.  It was such a fun evening and we found out that Luci LOVES ponies.  The pictures speak for themselves...check out the absolute delight written all over her face!  She squealed and giggled the whole time.  Other parents weren't even watching their own kids...they were fixated on our joyful one!

  

excited to be riding my pony

  

close-up of the excitement

The next weekend, we went home and had Christmas with Jason's family.  It was so much fun to see Luci open her gifts and play with all her cousins.  Allie's birthday was also that weekend so we had a double dose of celebration!  Since the pony had been such a huge success, her Uncle Kerry took her to the barn so she could ride the mule.  She loved it as well!  The girl is fearless!

 

LOVE my new frog!

 

Betsy helping Allie open presents

 

The movie basket was a hit with Grace and Dylan

 

Allie and Luci resting on the frog

 

riding the mule

We had Christmas at our house a few days before the 25th.  It was fun with just the three of us too!

  

unwrapping presents with daddy

 

reading in my new chair

 

As soon as she opened one of her new books, she rushed over to my lap to read it 

Our last Christmas celebration was with my side of the family.  We spent the holiday out at my parents' new cabin.  It was very relaxing to get away and just focus on our family!  We were so pleased (and surprised) to find that Luci had 2 big boxes of gifts from Korea!  A friend of my Uncle, who lives in Seoul, had sent Luci some beautiful gifts!

 

modeling my new coat from Korea

 

really getting the hang of this unwrapping stuff!

 

I'll even help everyone else unwrap their gifts!

 

vacuuming up our mess...they should figure out how to make a kid-sized vacuum that really works.  The owner of that patent would be rich!

We came home the day after Christmas to find that we had gotten a little snow...it wasn't the 6 inches the weather forecasters had promised but it was enough for us to get out briefly and play around in.  Luci loved to walk in it but it was so cold and windy that we couldn't stay out for long.

 

exploring...so cold and crunchy Luci's feet won't even sink!

 

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and will have many more blessings to come this New Year!!!  God has most definitely been good to us in 2009!

Luci LOVES Cleo

Wanted to share a series of pictures that depicts an almost daily occurrence in our household.  Luci absolutely adores our bulldog, Cleo.  Cleo loves Luci too...in her own way.  Poor Cleo.  The first 11 years of her life were very peaceful!  Don't worry...no babies or animals were harmed in any of the following pictures!

 

  

 

It's OFFICIAL...

Luci is legally a Kindall!  We finalized the adoption this morning in court.  The process only took a few minutes; Judge Martin signed the papers and then we went out to celebrate!!  (Interesting to note: both our lawyer and the judge have adopted children so the process was painless.)

 Waiting for The Judge...don't really know what's going on!

Luci had an entourage this morning, which she thought was funny!  Grandpa, Grandma, Pops, Nana, Grandad, and Nanny all came to cheer us on! 

 

 Luci's entourage

 

Mr. Morrison, Jason, me and Luci, Judge Martin

 

Is is almost over?  I'm so tired...5:30 a.m. was very early!

Following the ceremony, Luci went to Wilson Park, one of her favorite places.  She swung; she slid; she climbed; she thoroughly wore all four grandparents out!  (They said they went home so Luci could take a nap but I think they went home so THEY could take naps!)

 

sliding with Grandpa and Pops with Grandma looking on

After the park, we went to our favorite Fayetteville establishment...Hugo's and then home for some celebratory cupcakes!

 

Yummy!

 Feels so good to have this step out of the way!  As of today, it is official...she is, and forever will be, Luci Kate Da In Kindall!  Just a few more pieces of paperwork to file and then we are FINISHED!!!

so happy!!!

 

Thanksgiving and the First Christmas of the Season

I know Thanksgiving was over a week ago, but things have been a little crazy around here!  So it took me a while to recoup from our trip and find time to go through our pictures to pick out the ones I wanted to post on the blog.

As is our tradition, we went to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving.  We always have Thanksgiving on Thursday and Christmas on Friday while we are there.  This year, we didn't know how it would go since we were planning to drive (11 hours) and Luci isn't the biggest fan of the car seat.  We weren't too excited about the possibility of her screaming for hours on end (she doesn't cry herself to sleep) so we decided to try driving through the night.  Yes, we would be exhausted, but if it was easier on her then it would be easier on us!  We left Wednesday night right after her bath.  She immediately went to sleep as we had hoped.  She didn't wake up until Kansas City and then it was only briefly.  She woke up for good about 10 miles away from my grandparents house!  SUCCESS!!!

Luci helping Grandma cook

We arrived about 7:30 Thanksgiving morning, ate some breakfast, turned Luci over to all the willing and waiting babysitters, and went to take a nap.  Luci was such a trooper!  She entertained everyone and found some new favorite toys.  She absolutely loves her toys and stuffed animals, as you can see from the following pictures.  Grandma and Grandpa have a giant stuffed bear that Luci absolutely adored.  She could be found often lounging in the arms of the bear. 

Hello everyone!

 

 Riding my trike

As I mentioned previously, we had Christmas on Friday...Luci's first one of the season.  She had a blast tearing open the paper and seeing what was inside!  She also had a great time playing with her cousins Kyle and Kaitlyn.

 

Tearing into my presents

Had to immediately read the books!  A girl after my own heart...makes a Momma proud!

 

Fun with Kaitlyn!

Reading Outdoor Life with Kyle

We left Saturday night around Luci's bedtime again for the trip home.  She did even better the second time around.  Driving through the night is definitely the way to go until she gets a little older.

I absolutely love this time of year and it is going to be even more fun sharing it with Luci this year!  Enjoy the pictures of my favorite holiday season!  We all have so much to be thankful for!!!

Playing with Daddy at the park

We see these faces often after she touches Cleo...she LOVES her dog and squeals with delight!

Telling Uncle Ryan good-bye...he headed back to Arizona