Finishing up '07

November & December was very busy for our family. It's nice to have a slower pace for the month of January.
On November 21st, Heart for Orphans ministry brought back "The Old Russian Shoemaker" play for 2 weeks accompanied by 17 orphans from the Ukraine. This is the same venue that brought our boys to the States in December 2005. This year we were BLESSED to host Losha and Sergaey in our home. Losha & Sergaey are two young men from Kiev who are responsible for the sound & lighting for the play. Our boys had established a deep friendship with Losha & Sergaey when they traveled and performed with the Shoemaker 2 years ago. The love between all of us was incredible and I now feel like we have two more sons from across the pond. NO... we are not going to adopt them, although if they weren't 30 years old we might have considered it!

The month of December was a lot of fun with lots of activities. We started going to a different church in October and really enjoyed celebrating the birth of Christ with our new church family. We hosted an annual Christmas party with close friends which is always a good time. Tommy & Tobi joined us for 4 days at Christmas and spoiled the kids rotten! They gave the boys a "Wii" and and 3 games and it was a huge surprise! We have not allowed the kids to have any video games here but decided to give it a try because it is interactive and the entire family can join in the fun. Right now there is a fierce competition on who is number one in bowling!

Elliott ran indoor track. He's really fast and as much as the coach wanted him to stay for outdoor track, he decided to move on to soccer. He is also playing basketball with the Rec league, which he loves! Nicky became obsessed with skateboarding and has become quite good. He tried out for the school play and made it. He has several parts including a solo. The every night rehearsals are interfering with his skateboard time! Ty continues to play the trumpet, play with Brennan and is obsessed with growing his hair!

FUNNY TY & NICKY STORY: Nicky THOUGHT he needed a new skateboard as his old one has taken a lot of abuse, however he lacked ten dollars to be able to order one. He tried hard to talk his Dad into loaning him the money but to no avail. Next he started working Ty(Mr. Money Bags)who likes to save his money. After several days of pleading and trying every angle, Ty finally conceded and gave Nicky the 10 bucks. We were all anxious to hear about the transaction. Nicky gave Ty his two gift cards (worth $25 that he received for his birthday)from Barnes & Noble in exchange for ten dollars cash. Ty loves to read and Nicky doesn't so they both thought they got the better deal! I know everyone else in the house was glad it was over!