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Sunday, December 20, 2009

Christmas in the Desert


This is me and my deployed family as we get ready for Christmas.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Happy Birthday Nate!












We were delighted to celebrate Nate's Third Birthday! We are sad that Dave couldn't be here, but Dave was able to Skype in and join in the fun of singing Happy Birthday and watching him open the special Nate sized uniform that Dave sent...complete with his name tape and chaplain cross and the fourwheeler!

Happy Birthday Nater Tater! We are so delighted to be able to finally celebrate a birthday with you here!!!!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Our Christmas Greeting




We are kind of scattered this year, so instead of sending out cards, we wanted to share our new family portrait with you on the blog. I used a company called portrait2000.com They do the work cheap and well, but its kind of scary. They have gmail accounts and you have to trust them. I think it was worth the risk.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Checking in

We are still alive. Just terribly busy. It is hard being the only parent on island. So we are making it...with the bare minimum requirements.....thus blogging is not happening. The kids are doing well, but miss Daddy. Nate told me yesterday while we were in the car. Daddy home airplane. I told him that Daddy wasn't home and that it wouldn't be today. He said, "No Daddy back home!" He is missing Dad and wanting him home. That's a great thing. We were concerned that he may be forgotten with the long separation. There is no forgetting Nathan's Baba!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Video for Ba Ba


Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

Saturday, September 12, 2009

I'm a bad blogger!

Sorry! I have been busy at my parents for the last 3 weeks. We are packing up and trying to head out to California in the morning and hoping for a nice direct flight back to Guam. I'm trying to get the re-adoption paperwork filed with the attorney before I leave. Hopefully I'll be a better blogger when I make it home :)

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Meeting Papa Pat and Nanny Carol










Friday, August 28, 2009

Updated Tattoo

....Do you think Nate is liking his G&G?
Here is the updated tattoo. I added the dragonfly for Nathan.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Meeting Papa Sugar

Unfortunately I can't find the video of meeting Grandma Sugar. I am sick over it. I guess it must be user error. The girls are delighted and making themeselves at home at G&G's. Nathan is loving having a Grandma and Grandpa. He is enjoying a new Uncle Brian, Aunt Krystal and cousins Kyndall (Timmie) and Bryson.


Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Life's Changing

We are still busy, busy. Dave was supposed to leave early on Friday morning and the kids and I were going to try to leave as soon as we could after he did. Just 18 hrs before his flight, his itinerary changed. He was able to stay all weekend with us. It was a great birthday present. The kids and I will try to fly to CA in the morning and then drive up to Oregon. If we get out, we'll be leaving just a few hours before Dave, and if we don't get this flight, we wait until after he leaves and then we'll continue to try to get on a flight. Things are almost all packed. I'm trying to pack extra light knowing that I have three kids...one being a two year old and a carseat in tow.

Sunday, August 09, 2009

Busy, Busy!

I haven't slowed down to post in a while. It has been so long, that Dave posted! We are busy getting thing ready for Dave's deployment. He leaves in 11 days. I know I'm not ready, but never will be. I've been busy with making cakes...about one a week or so. The kiddos are as cute as ever. I'll try to get more pics up soon!

Saturday, August 01, 2009

Homecoming

Friday, July 10, 2009

Happy Anniversary Air Force Style

Dave is in Australia for our 15th Annivesary. Thanks to the USAF for an all expense paid trip. However they forgot one thing....ME! I celebrated by cooking dinner for 20+ people (it's Thursday) The girls were very kind and thoughtful. They made me breakfast in bed and were extra helpful with Nathan. I received 3 new potholders (from Miranda's weaving loom) a pack of playing cards,a handpainted panda and handmade cards and no bake cookies! I have great kiddos. I'm sure he wasn't just relaxing on the beach in Australia. He is there working. He must have been busy because he called for only about 10 minutes. Dave and I will celebrate when he returns.

Sunday, July 05, 2009

Happy Independance Day!




We had a wonderful Independance Day. We are so blessed to live in a free country! We are even more blessed to have a new little citizen to enjoy it with this year.

Introducing Meow!



Here is our newest addition to the Leonard Family!
As you may have guessed, Sunshine had surgery and was damaged badly enough by the car that he wasn't able to sustain life.
McKenzie has picked out this fun little white kitty that she has named "Meow" in Nathan's honor!

Friday, June 26, 2009

Sonshine is perking up

We went for a visit last night and he wasn't happy to see us and turned away when we talked to him. He had a cone on, IV, catheder. He wasn't looking good.

We went in today and Sonshine had another x-ray and was so much more energetic. He was up and exploring a little on the table. The dr said that there are several possible scenarios. If the ureter is broken, his chance of survival is minimal. It may be that he is simply swollen and the swelling needs to go down so that he can go to the bathroom. Let's continue to pray that it is the latter scenario.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Pray for Sonshine

Sonshine has been vomiting most of the night and had some screaming in pain episodes. I called the vet to see if this was normal. They made an appointment and I took him in at noon. They admitted him to "kitty hospital" and said he was dehydrated and a low body temperature. They will try to warm him up and put fluids in him and hopefully he will be back to himself in a couple of days. I have my doubts...I think the vet does too. Please pray for Sonshine and the Leonards!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Mommy ran over the cat!

Yep...You can strip me of the award for Mom of the Year! The girls have threatened to revoke my license. The kitty ran out of the house and I didn't know that he wasn't inside. I backed out to run to the gas station. About 30 feet down the road it felt like I had hit something and I looked up and saw an orange kitty streak for the house. I thought there was no way that I really hit the cat. I didn't ever see him on the road, but thought that I should turn around just in case. I went back to the house and didn't see Sonshine hiding in his normal outside hiding spot and opened up the door and asked if Sonshine was in the house. Nope...Oh-No! I asked Dave as calmly as I could to come outside--NOW! I told him that I thought that I may have hit Sonshine and we needed to find him. Just a few moments later we heard him screeching/howling/suffering! Dave finally found him in between the neighbor's garbage cans. He immediately scooped him up and we hopped in the car. There was no visible bleeding. After hopping in the car and rushing out the gate, we realized that Dave had no shoes and no ID. We hadn't told the girls yet. We called our helpful neighbors and they called the vet and found one that was open and let them know that we were on our way. Sonshine climbed under the seat and I thought that he was not going to make it to the vet alive.

McKenzie called to tell us that Sonshine was outside and that it was raining and she couldn't find him. This is when we felt it necessary that she know that we had him. She began to cry. We knew we were going to have a mess on our hands. Kenzie is crying and she is supposed to be our babysitter. We called our good neighbors to come look in on the kiddos. We called the girls again to check in and they were all crying and Nathan was yelling "MEOW" over the top of all of them. The neighbors were able to calm them down.

Sonshine made it to the vet and had the exam and looks like he should be fine! O thank you Jesus! I didn't want to be the responsible party for killing the cat! He in on antibiotics, got a pain killer shot and his ears cleaned. We'll take him in for a follow up next week. We arrived home with a sore, drowsy kitty and three happy kiddos!

Dave wanted me to mark today on the calendar as the worst day on Guam. He had just returned home from a difficult memorial service. Being the amazing husband that he is, he purchased a half dozen roses for me on the way home (He listens to a little too much country music and a dozen roses were out of the budget). Dave and I decided that there would have to be a pre-set spending limit on the cat. We set our limit before we arrived at the vet and it didn't even come close!!!! The flowers that he purchased were more than the vet visit...even better!

Thursday, June 04, 2009

Happy 13th Birthday McKenzie

Happy Birthday Kenzie! What a wonderful and amazing young woman you are. I have no reservation about having a teenager, knowing that you are a God-loving teen! I enjoy every day with you. It only makes me sad that you are another year closer to moving out. Let's not think about that...on to the fun part...the party!
McKenzie misses the snow SO much! She decided to have a WinterWonderland in Guam.
her igloo cake...
penguins in attendance....
snocones from Dad....
Mom and Dad with their scarves
The introduction of the kitty!

Is that really for me???

McKenzie is thrilled with her new kitty. He has done well. You'll be happy to know that he has not maliciously bitten anybody yet :) I'm not quite sure what to do with a normal kitty!

Can you tell I have a 2 year old? It has been over a week since McKenzie's party and I am just getting the photos up. I don't have nearly the amount of time that I used to!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Village Outreach

This is a short video I put together for church on Sunday. This is a glimpse of our village outreach just outside of the AF base gates. Some of the homes do not have electricity or running water. The community got together by word of mouth and donated LOTS of food and TONS of clothing. Oh, how we are blessed and what an honor to be a blessing to others. At the end, you can see Dave's 40th birthday present. This is what he asked for....a new basketball hoop for the village. He is not going to be here. He will be in Kuwait for his 40th birthday :( God is working on me right now. If you have leftover PowerLab supplies from last year's VBS, please let me know ASAP....I think He's calling me to use it with this village.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Nathan's Dedication



We had Nathan dedicated at church today. It made for an extra special Mother's Day! The kiddos and Dave were extra good to me as well. Dave purchased a new jewelry box for me and lots of fun hand-made gifts from the kids! The one thing that I have been asking for, we still haven't done. I want to have nice photos of all of us together at the beach. The girls moan and complain about the thought of it and Nathan still doesn't look and smile at the camera on command and Dave is just too darn busy with his job. Hopefully next week we can get this done! I want to have a really nice one for Dave to take and have it painted on canvas!

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Lots to catch up on

Nathan continues to be a wonderful addition and blessing to the Leonard Family! The girls are still enthralled with him! We all need a break from each other at times, just like a normal happy family :) He is understanding so much and saying new words daily. I think the best example of this is when he says yucky and uses it in the right context...who knew? That's a hard concept to explain to a little kid and he uses the word appropriately each time. However it sounds like yuck-eye.

Today I was driving up to Dave's office and we got out and he shouted "BaBa!" He knows this is his Daddy's office! When asked who his best friend is, he'll proclaim "BaBa!" Last night one of the children was being reprimanded by Dad and Nathan snuck right up beside him and placed his hands on his hips; just like dad was and continued to "help." I quickly removed him and the guilty party was not aware :) It was REALLY funny!

The biggest news weighing on our family is that Dave will be deploying in August for 4 months. It could be much worse and I am reminding myself that if Dave doesn't go, it means somebody else will and my situation isn't any different than many other families who have to be separated from new babies and leaving new mommies behind. We'll do just fine. God will be right here with us. He knew long before we did. I was just hoping that it would come after Nathan had been with us for a little longer. Dave will miss his first birthday with us, his first Christmas with us and Dave's 40th birthday will be while he is in Kuwait. We'll make adjustments and probably postpone Christmas and use the web cam a lot!

We are also getting a free little get-away. Our bathroom tub has never drained good and it has become a problem. The girls can't finish a quick shower without the water almost overflowing. We learned that the tub will have to be replaced and then last night were told that we would be moved out for 4 days to have the pipe jack-hammered out. So, we called and were able to get a room at the PIC (water park resort on island) at the expense of the AF! I think God was giving us a little break from the news that we had just received. What a great diversion! I can't wait to go pick up the girls from school so we can go play!

Here's proof....we were all greased up with sunscreen and ready to go. Nathan still doesn't have a grasp on looking at the camera and smiling. Hopefully soon!

Here are a few pics from our visit with Lily. I have many more from the last few days, but the internet is fighting me. I'll have to do it later, as the little man is now awake and hungry!


Friday, May 01, 2009

Has it already been a week?

I was hoping to stay more caught up on posting to the blog, but it looks like a week has slipped by and I didn't post! Nathan has been home three weeks and he is doing great! I took him out to Navy on Tuesday to have his other impacted ear dug out and my fancy work (along with the ear drops) has cleared up his ear and he didn't have to go through the cleaning out process! Yeah!!!! We are scheduled on Monday to get his eyes and hearing tested at Navy. Thursday we went in to get his first round of immunizations. The Dr gave us the go ahead when I took McKenzie in. She has had the flu the last couple of days. She is feeling better and back to school today.

Nathan is a brave little cookie! He was stuck 5 times! I was almost in tears. He did cry, and was grouchy the rest of the day, but I would have been too! We don't have to go back for more until the end of June.

McKenzie is entering her science project in the all island fair next weekend. The grand prize is a fully paid trip to the NASA space camp! She would LOVE to go! That means that I better get in gear and get her passport! I need to have the girls get theirs before this summer, just in case we do try to come home. If I do, we are going to take the "less traveled road" through Japan. There is a flight every Thursday from Japan to Seattle. It would make scheduling our trip a little easier. The details are only in my head. Dave needs more leave, is crazy busy with work and I don't want to bring Nathan home without him.....so it's just a wait and see kind of thing.

Nathan is doing a little better with eating, but YO-Gurt is still his favorite. He is starting to branch out a little and try new things. He has to be in a good mood to do it though. Dave and I took him to Vietnamese food after his appointment on Tuesday. He LOVED it! It was really funny to watch him. He didn't over eat, but you could tell that he was delighted with the familiar tastes and smells of his younger years :) I try...I just don't seem to get it right!

Nathan and I are settling into a good routine at home. I am finally getting showered and out the door before noon. It is so much like having a newborn home. It really surprised me that adoption and birth were so similar. He is getting more used to us and understanding a LOT of what we say. He isn't picking up too many more words, but we are getting along pretty good with the communication. We get frustrated with each other at times when we don't understand. If we don't understand he just whines....that makes it difficult. We'll get through this phase soon.

We had our friends over for dessert on Monday. They have an adopted daughter from China and have been home for 9 months. I see how well she is doing and how much she says and know that Nathan will be well on his way to 2 year old communication very soon!!!!

I'll try to get photos up here soon, but they are still in the camera and he is sleeping....that means I need to be sleeping!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Picking up more words!

Last night I took McKenzie to church and needed to go hang out somewhere with Nathan for a little bit, so we headed to Wendy's. I ordered some french fries and a frosty. He wouldn't touch the frosty...he still doesn't like anything cold except for an occasional drink of dad's smoothies or yogurt. He does eat french fries....with a spoon. We did resort to our hands; he's a funny kid. He poured out his french fries on the tray, looked in the box and without any prodding announced "all gone!" That's right...he's picking this English thing up! Miranda taught him "jump" today and I'm sure there are other words...I am just too tired to remember.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Bees and Wax

Nathan had an appointment at the audiologist today at the Navy Hospital. The pediatrician wanted him to have his ears, eyes and teeth checked by specialists. I knew that he had ear wax. We had drops to clear it out and even syringed it the bathtub last week. The audiologist took a look and said that he wasn't hearing us, except at a whisper tone because of all of the wax and that she couldn't do the test until he had this cleaned out by the ENT. So the ENT agreed to see us immediately....so nice! We trekked upstairs and Nathan was not too thrilled with the "straight jacket" sheet. He did allow the doctor to finish the left ear. We have to go back for the right ear next week. Unfortunately, this isn't enough time for Nathan to forget the experience!

So, not that getting ear wax dug out was enough for one day...We took Miranda to her Karate lesson and Dave picked up Nathan for a hug and Nathan began to scream and clutched his arm. I took a look and saw a small red spot. I looked at Dave's back and he had a bee on his shirt. He was stung by a bee! Luckily, it was a honey bee and not a boonie bee...they're B A D. So in a week's time he has had 5 viles of blood drawn, strapped down for ear wax removal a bee sting and will start immunizations when the blood work returns. It's pretty traumatic for these little guys coming home. He is such a trooper. The great news about all of this is that we can tell his hearing is better (we didn't know that it was bad) and he has repeated 5 new words today! Randa, Kenzie, yogurt, cracker and be nice!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Nathan's First Trip to the Beach!









Shouting out to his peeps!




Dave had his CTO today, so we took Nathan to Gab Gab Beach. He didn't understand that he had water shoes that were supposed to go in the water :)

Don't let the goggles fool you. He let us put them on, but don't get them wet!!!