Joshua - Four Years Ago!

Joshua has been home four years ago today, March 1!  His adoption experience was so

 incredibly different than Isaac's, most noticeable by his absolute terror and tears.

We were a day late getting to China because of  airplane difficulties in trying to leave Tucson, which

meant that we missed our international flight out of  LA to get to Hong Kong. We truly

thought it was the end of the world...............

However, because of that three hour late flight, we met the Rhoden family in Los Angeles!  Courtney

and Rachel had been blogging friends with Cassie whose family had also adopted from China.  

They came to our rescue when they heard that we were stuck in a hotel for 24 hours before we could

board another flight to Hong Kong.  We spent a lovely day at their home and enjoyed meeting

these new friends!  I am still amazed at how God worked all of that out!

Theresa, Nicole, and Cassie (who is getting married this spring, by the way!)

Our good Nebraska friend, Lesley came with us on this adventure!  Rachel stayed home to care for

Isaac, and it was so nice to have another pair of hands to help Courtney and me through this two week adoption trip! Lesley is now married and has two little girls!

Whereas Isaac was sad and shed silent tears, Joshua screamed, sobbed, and desperately

tried to get away when they brought him in to us.

It was so heartbreaking to see, and there was not much I could do to comfort him.

Once we got back to the hotel, he fell asleep, dripping with sweat in his four layers of
clothing that reeked of moth balls.  But there was no way he was going to let me take those off!

But, once he woke up he loved his bath and smelled ever so much better!

We had a great rest of the time in China, even though Joshua didn't want much to do with me!

Once we got home it was smooth sailing!  Joshua and Joe hit it off immediately from
their first meeting at the airport,  and.......

..............these two?

Brothers from the heart from the moment they met.  They are very different, yet
compliment each other tremendously.  Even with their mischievousness, they liven
up our home and give us many laughs a day!!

We love you, Joshua!  Happy fourth "Gotcha Day"!!!!!

Basketball !

Isaac has really been having fun with the basketball hoop!

He tirelessly practices shooting hoops.......and he is amazingly good at it!

He asked me to take pictures of him, so I gladly complied -

then.....Joe, David, and Joshua all started to get in on the game!

We all enjoyed a much-needed restful day and beautiful weather!

And to end the day with much excitement (and tears) Isaac lost another front tooth!

Here's hoping the tooth fairy *remembers* to come visit tonight.

A banner day for sure!

Snowboarding at Zugspitze!

Well, lest you think that Joe and I have taken off on a WILD and CRAZY adventure....

this post is an update on Jonathan!

He and his buddy, Jeff, who is also from Arizona by the way, went

 off to Zugspitze, the highest point in Germany. 

 According to Wikipedia, "the Zugspitze, at 2,962 m above sea level,

 is the highest peak of the Wetterstein Mountains as well as the highest mountain in Germany."

That's 9,717.8 feet above sea level.

Beautiful pictures of the Alps!

Unfortunately, their trip was cut short with Jeff breaking his collar bone!  They wanted to get back to the Army base to be seen by the doctors there.  Jonathan said Jeff is bandaged up with an "X" strap!

Poor guy.

They're Back.........

Yes, once again, the lovely field across the street from us is filled with bleating sheep!  This happened last year about this time, and it is so fun to watch them run and hear their 

noises when we are outside.

The minute they spot us, they go running so it's hard to get a decent close-up shot.

I feel so blessed to have this gorgeous view out my living room windows!  It is

so peaceful and brings contentment to my soul.

Time to bring out the movie, "Babe".

Five Years Ago Today!

February 1, 2010

An Xin Ming 

became

Isaac Christian Krause

Five years!  What a joy it has been to be this little boy's mama!

The love of a family makes all the difference in the world!

Ten Years Ago Today...........

January 11, 2005 was a momentous day for our family.  That was the day that we got in the already-loaded van and truck in Lincoln, Nebraska, and said good-bye to the 13 inches of snow on the ground and the sub-zero temperatures, and headed towards a new life in Arizona!

This was not a decision that was made lightly.  We were all so tired of the bitter cold, and my migraines, because of weather systems, were debilitating.   We had made several trips to Arizona in 2004 and loved the dry air and warm temps.  It was an exciting adventure!

But several things had to happen before we could move.........

We celebrated Christmas!

Courtney got her braces off!

What a beautiful smile!

Rachel had her violin recital.......

The homeschool choir had their Christmas concert.......

We had spent the month of  December packing and organizing.

We had only moved locally before, but this time every little thing had to go!

We had a good number of friends that helped us load the ABF truck several days before we left.

Joe, the master engineer, had everything measured, labeled, and mapped out so that there

was not an inch to spare in the truck!

                                  The grand piano was the greatest challenge for sure!

Good friends we still stay in touch with!

Little David - five years old!

So after the truck took off,  we said good-bye to frozen Nebraska, and with great excitement headed straight south.  The weather was horrible all the way through Kansas, and I remember Joe talking to my dad in Florida who was watching the radar and giving us updates on the snow and ice storm.
 Ha Ha - that was before smart phones for sure!

(the ABF truck is still here in this picture obviously!)

Jonathan, and Buffy the dog, rode with Joe in the truck, and I had both girls and

 David with me in the van.  David threw up before we had even left......

how do you find clean clothes when everything is packed and who knows where?

So David traveled to Arizona in Rachel's pink sweat pants that were much too big!

Here we are in New Mexico buying a bag of dried chilies that I think 

lasted us for about six years!!!

I guess Courtney had the bag of chilies over her head for the rest of the trip!

We arrived in sunny - and oh, so warm - Arizona without mishap, just in time

to celebrate Courtney's 14th birthday.  Presents and ingredients for a special birthday

meal were packed in the van so we were prepared for her big day.

The ABF truck had arrived a day after we did, and we had some new friends that so

graciously helped us unload.

Even Buffy, the dog, loved soaking up the warm Arizona sun!

So that's a quick recap of our big move to Arizona!

It's been a good ten years with lots of ups and downs along the way.

We miss some of our really great friends from Nebraska, but what a blessing to 

meet so many wonderful new people here!  We love the beautiful weather and yes,

my headaches are much improved!

We moved to the farm (which was a whole new adventure in itself!) and added

Isaac and Joshua to the family!
Wow!  It's been quite a ride for sure!

Happy Ten Year Anniversary, My Dear Family!