Whose Been Naughty and Who has Been Nice

The girls and I headed for Forest Lake Wal-Mart today to do some Christmas shopping. It is great fun to shop with them - they have so many great ideas about what to get their mom and brothers. We started in the toys - mostly looking for them - then moved on to the food stuff - where you can always find something good to wrap up; and then back into electronics and then off to toys again to wrap up. The whole thing takes a couple of hours - and then is always capped off with a trip to McDs to eat and play.

We had a good day. Katie started the day as a pirate.

Santa Day

One of our holiday traditions has been the annual Imation kids Christmas breakfast - they do a really nice job of serving a great breakfast - catered by the Lake Elmo Inn and have photos w/ Santa, caricatures, decorating ornaments and other fun stuff. Today was no exception - but for the first time - we only had 5 of the 7; Daniel and Andrew opted to stay overnight w/ their friend Zach - so missed the festivities. We had a great breakfast, saw where daddy worked and played in his office and also had our picture taken with Santa - after that - we shopped for 2 hours for shoes - and bought 3 pairs of boots and 3 pairs of new tennis shoes for 3 little girls.

What are you thankful for?

We made a spur of the moment decision - actually a few days ahead of time, but for us - 72 hours counts as spur of the moment. My brother and family were going to be at mom and dad's for Thanksgiving and we did not have any firm plans here, everyone was healthy and it was supposed to be Sept nice - so we decided to load everyone up and make a trip to IA for Thanksgiving. We had a great time - and we are so thankful for our family and all that we have been blessed with.

When we came home last night - Katie wanted to do some drawing - so she sketched what was on her mind. This is Nana, Poppa and Katie. Most days, Katie is a handful from sun up to sun down - but there is a sweetness about her and a recognition that she was thankful for her grandparents. Once in a while she talks about her Baba in Ukraine who would see her and give her bananas and crackers. I am so thankful that she and Emie are part of our family as well.

Pepper

Our son David asked us (about a month ago) to start calling him Pepper - instead of David. We are trying to get converted - and in fact today, we started a jar - if we call him David or Davey instead of Pepper - we owe him a nickel. He has picked up the habit of saying "Duh" - so we charge him a nickel what that word is spoken - (a little too much for a 4 year old to end his sentences with a "duh" - so that is how it goes.

Today he went out with Sam and Mom to the great land of Target and came home with some nice "Pepper-wear".

Enjoy the winter Pepper!!

A Royal Wedding

This past weekend we had the privilege of being at Kates' wedding. We have known Kate and her parents since she was about 8 or 9 years old. She was one of our best babysitters - when we lived in Wahpeton. We could always count on Kate; and we knew our kids would be in great hands and we would not have to worry.

Kate got married this past weekend and our own Miss Annie got to be in the wedding. Here is a picture of our little princess with Kates' sister Kelsey - who was the maid of honor. Annie was a flowergirl and did a tremendous job of carefully dropping her petals down the aisle as she walked with her buddy Maddie.

It was a super fun weekend and we wish Kate and Kyle the best of times and a life of happiness and blessing together - and we thank them for letting us be a small part of their big day.

Lunch @ Lincoln

The girls hosted me for lunch today at Lincoln Elementary School. I dined on chicken strips, carrot stars, tator tots, applesauce and cookie - which had to be split four ways. It was a great chance to see the girls in action. They navigate their world really well and there are always some great helpers to watch out for them too.

The girls bring their lunch (usually) and dined on sandwich, mandarin oranges, Go-gurt and strawberry flavored milk.

It was great fun to be with them for lunch and they were very excited to have their dad visit them in school today.

I also got to see them on the playground and they get around really well - up and down the slide and on the monkey bars and could not wait to get outside and play - which is great.

They have a great set of teachers as well - for which we are thankful.

School Conferences

This is the week for school conferences. At WBL - the teachers ask that the students also come to conferences - so on Friday, Karen and I went with Katie, Emie and Annie to their conferences. We took pictures of Katie and Emie at their desks. We send Katies' mom and dad in Ukraine a photo of her sitting in her desk, which in Ukraine never would have happened. They are thankful that Katie is safe, has a loving family and has the opportunity to go to school.

All three of the girls had good reports and are doing well. Monday night we go to Sams school and see how he is doing in 4th grade. We are expecting a good report. Sam is working really hard on reading - they have either 1,000 minute or 1,000 page challenges; which keeps him busy.

Til next time.

From Orphanage to iPad2

The world was reminded this week by the death of Steve Jobs that life is short. We are placed here for a short time to give glory to God, honor Him and serve people. Jobs - whether he knew it or not - was a profound philosopher; one quote that rings true now more than ever is,

"No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new."

Also interesting to read things that were not as well known before his death; Steve Jobs was also an adoptee, given up at birth and raised by an adopted family, he found a biological sister later in life.

Anyway, I found these photos of Katie, Emie and David playing with their iPad irresistable. Whether you like or don't care for Mr. Jobs - he created some great products; which have and will continue to touch, enrich and change our lives for years to come.

Sleep Study - Round 2

After Annie had such a great sleep study in January - now it was time for Emie to have hers. We did the same routine - Thursday night - in case the night is a disaster - at least there is only one work day to get through :). However, Emie did great; she was primed, had her bag packed, her jammies ready, movies and snacks all picked out. We drove down to Maplewood Mall and picked up her new glasses first, then went to St. Paul Childrens Hospital - for the study. Great staff, very caring and professional and after about 45 minutes of hooking up wires, probes, threading wires through jammies and other hooks ups - she was ready to go. She watched Princess Stories for about 20 minutes - then it was time to turn out the lights. I sat by her for about 10 minutes and she was out; didn't hear a peep from her until about 6:00 AM the next morning. And her results came back favorably too - no apnea or weird breathing - for which we are thankful.

Pergoooooooooooolllllllllllllaaaaaaa

Rhymes with the Ricola commercial. This was a summer of building. In addition to building a pergola at our house; we finished off the tree house at the cabin; but that is the subject of another post.

Karen had a vision of what this thing should look like, so she sketched it out; we went to buy wood and I put it up; during the week that all the kids were with Melinda & Julie. Amazing what can be accomplished when there is a little time to focus.

Here are the results - still a bit of a work in progress - we are experimenting with wood treatments, and eventually want to get either some lattice or vines or something to shade the west side and top a little bit; but it is up, functional and no wind will knock this thing over!

The Grand Finale

The last one to officially start up was David. He is at First Discoveries pre-school run by Eaglebrook Church. He had a great first day; second day was full of tears on the front end - but quickly turned around - and now he says he is excited to go. From the pics you would think that he owns the place - but even for a four year old - going off on a new adventure can be scary. Yellow boo-boo has been with him when needed.

Another First Day of School

This week - Daniel and Andrew started their HIGH SCHOOL years. I absolutely cannot believe that my first two children are starting high school.

They are at a homeschool coop, so are taking core classes at the coop: algebra, physical science, study skills, history, piano and grammar and composition - so they are going to be busy; but busy hands are happy hands - and we want them to be very happy.

You can see from their faces - they are happy about school and also even happier to have their picture taken on the front porch @ 7:30 in the morning by their dad.

Another first day of school

This is Sam, on his first day of school. Sam started at Otter Lake Elementary as a second grader; he had the experience of being the 'new kid' and handled it great. Last year he successfully navigated through all the details and risks that a third grader faces and this year he is climbing towards the top of the elementary school heap. He is a fourth grader. His teacher is Mr. Green, who we are all excited that he has. Mr. Green has come back from teaching in Malaysia for 2 years. He is a 20+ year teaching veteran and we are looking forward to a great year for Sam. Sam also had a reading challenge this summer from his third grade teacher. He was challenged to read 1000 pages during the summer; which he did! So far, we have sent: Anne, Katie Emie and Sam off to school. Daniel and Andrew start on Monday - bright and early and David starts preschool on Tuesday - then the whole family will be covered with 'first day' posts. Stay tuned - 2 more to come.

Time flies

We have been reminiscing about the fact that 3 years ago (just a few days after coming home from 6 weeks in Ukraine) - I went down to the Twin Cities to begin a new role; leaving Karen at home with 7 kids - two of which were adopted and really knew nothing about life in a family. They would cry when it was time for supper; 'til they got their food, they would get into things, they wouldn't sleep, they would act up . . . lots of adjustments for their little minds and bodies. It did not take too long to realize that they needed some good solid structure and we got them into a pre-school. Now - Katie and Emie - along with Annie headed off to first grade this year! They have their own desks, Katie and Emie have the same teacher; Annie is in a different class. They left in their yellow school bus this morning and came home 9 hours later, a little tired, very hungry and all indications are the girls had a great first day.

At the fair

Rumor has it . . .

After an extended vacation - rumor has it the blog is going to fire up again. Lets get past Labor Day and then we have to share highlights from:

Davids Birthday
Emies Birthday
Annies Birthday
Katies Birthday
Summer at the cabin
Canoe trip to the wilderness
MN State Fair
Pergoooollllllllaaaaa!
First Day of School

Yep - that should about catch us up. Stay tuned.

Happy Birthday Emelia Anastasia Shervheim

Here is one of our first pictures of Anastasia (aka Nastia).


Emie (4) & Karen - Ukraine - July 2008


Here is Emie - celebrating her 7th birthday with us!! Emie has had a big week - she helped her little brother David celebrate his 4th birthday, has had Nana & Poppa here all week and they were able to attend a birthday party at her school this week and today has been - breakfast in bed, presents, a puppy cake from Kasey, chicken nuggets & french fries for lunch, Cinderalla in the afternoon and now pizza for supper (and of course - more presents).

Karen and Emie - 5 March 2011.

Emie has added so much to our lives - happy birthday Emie - and many more . . .

Love,
your forever dad

I’m 4 years old Daddy!

 

Papa helped me eat my Penguin cake, but we saved you a piece!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love breakfast in bed!

 

 

- David

Nearing the end of two handfuls

This is what Sam informed us of - as he was turning 6. He was now two handfuls. In his mind - ages 1-5 can be handled by just using one hand - so the magic of turning six was that now two handfuls were needed.

Despite what he says - the last 5 years have been a great joy. Sam is a wonderful son and has a mind that never stops. He is always thinking about a new invention, or how something works or a question that no one has ever thought of before. He keeps mom and dad on our toes.

Sam celebrated his 10th birthday yesterday. He had some friends from school over for a sledding party, Wii tournament and pizza and root beer floats; it was a fun day.

Sam - Jan 29, 2001 (hard to believe - this was before we had a digital camera).


and fun on the sledding hill;



and afterwards a cup of hot chocolate tastes sooooo goooood. . .



and playing Wii with friends is fun. Sam won his own Mario Kart tournament; but that is no surprise - because he usually beats all of us too.


and ending it all with pizza and root beer floats.

Happy 10th Birthday - Sam - we love you.

dad

Boy Genius . . . .

OK - when you are the 7th kid - sometimes the photos are not as frequent and the notoriety not as great - we are determined NOT to let that happen to David.

Here are a few photos from recent days of our little genius.

First - he has a shirt that he wears around that has a picture of Elroy Jetson and says, "Boy Genius"



But the past few weeks - he has been to the science center to climb on stuff.


Been to the Mall of America - to look at the latest Apple iTouches




and today used his brothers electricity set to build his own creation; (not smoke or fire).

He was a little frustrated when the lights, siren and motors did not come on - just a few basic rules of circuitry were broken in the process.

We love our Davey!

- Lee

How to do a Sleep Study (or zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz)

Annie and I had the privilege of doing a sleep study on Thursday night (she did the study); I was the adult supervision. A sleep study for a 6 year old goes something like this.

Gather: Teddy bear, purple blankie, butterfly pillow, snacks, Little Mermaid DVD, Little Mermaid book, nighttime CD packed all in a ladybug backpack.

Drive down to Childrens Hospital at 7:15 PM. Arrive and follow the blue stars to the Childrens ICU unit; find the sleep study room; it is quite small. A hospital bed, chair/bed for dad to sleep in, dvd player and two cameras that record every movement.

Then hook up child to much electrical equipment. Oxygen sensor on toe, 2 probes on legs, two on chest, one on back, 5 on the face and about 5 on the head. Each has a small wire attached to probe; then route all wires through the back up to the head and put a sock with a small face hole - so that patient can rest comfortably.

Watch Little Mermaid until subject gets tired; turn off Little Mermaid, get scared so dad has to crawl in bed with patient. Wait for patient to fall asleep - maybe 15 minutes, carefully try to sneak out of bed to go to his own chair. False alarm once, false alarm twice - ahhh then I get to go to my own chair.

Patient awake at 11.00 PM - calling for daddy; patient awake and 4:00 AM - all tangled up; patient awake at 5:00 AM - time to go home and see mommy. Dad encourages another 60 minutes of sleep - no go. Out the door into the chilly MN January air; just to be met by a couple coming in for a baby (that brings back memories). . . .

Home at 6 and everyone slowly waking up here - and just in time to put Little Mermaid on again; dad showers; we have strep running in the family we load everyone up for a quick trip to the clinic and 3 strep tests (all negative) and then drop everyone off at home and at work by 8.45 AM.

You have to see it to believe it.

Lee

What is Average . . .?

We are just getting back to our 'normal' routines after 2 weeks of traveling and vacations - and I started thinking - what is 'normal'?

According to the statistics.

• Average (or expected - read that normal) number of kids / parents is 2.09
• Average number of TV sets / household = 3
• Average house size = 2,300 sq ft
• and in Chad, Africe - the average number of years that a child goes to school is 3.9.

OK - now for us.

We have 7 kids (above average)
We have 4 tvs, 6 computers, 2 iTouches, 2 cell phones . . . way above average
House is bigger than average (but that follows 7 kids) - our previous house - was, well very average.

and over the past 2 weeks - we have:

1. Traveled to Iowa to visit family and have an early Christmas.
2. Traveled to South Dakota to visit family for late Christmas and New Years
3. Had a great Christmas at home
4. Been swimming
5. Gone to the Science Museum to see Hubble
   
6. Spent time at the library
7. Played lots of games
8. Went shopping
9. Watched movies
10. Played for an afternoon @ McDonalds Playland
11. Had lots of late nights
    
12. and miraculously enough - this year; no one has been sick.

We got a book called Radical from my sister for Christmas - and I am very anxious to read through that in January - I have a feeling there is not a lot of 'normal' in that either.

We never claim to fit the mold - and one last proof. David on the potty - holding the kitty hostage with a pistol - nothing normal about that.


'til next time . . .


- Lee