Life is good...

when you have friends like these. Friends of ours were in town for the Christmas holiday, so we all went out to paint the town red. Lots of fun and lots of laughs!

Merry Christmas!

Wow! What a wonderful Christmas holiday! We have been so busy celebrating with family and friends that I haven't had much time for the computer. We spent Christmas Eve attending mass at our church and the girls were also in the Christmas play that evening. Maggie was the Virgin Mary and Isabella was Angel Gabriel, while Katie Beth volunteered as a shepherd to help the younger kids. All of the girls did an excellent job, especially Maggie and Isabella who had to memorize their lines. Since Isabella delivered the Good News, she had three long speeches!

We celebrated Christmas Eve with Blake's family. We ate lobster and prime rib. It was delicious! The girls had the best time (or not) trying to get the meat out of the lobster. What an experience!

On Christmas Day, we awoke to discover that Santa had visited! (For some, his visit was "iffy"-LOL!) We then drove to my parents' home and celebrated the day with my family. The girls love my parents' farm because there is so much for kids to do! And, of course, they get to play with their cousins! Katie Beth received a digital camera for Christmas, and she did a great job taking pictures that day. (Thank you, Katie Beth!) The cousins played on the farm, and we played a new game that Grandma brought home.

Tommy and Will

Papa K is one cool dude!


Kennedy and Me


Playing Games with Grandma K

Running out of time...

Every December is busier than the one before. I still have so many things to do. The one thing that's really bothering me is that I have not made Christmas cookies yet. The last couple of years we have gotten together with my sister and her family to make cookies together. This year, we could not find a weekend that would work for our two families. So, no cookies have been made. The girls and I have bought ingredients for Puppy Chow and Oreo Truffles--our two favorites.



This weekend Katie Beth sang at our town's Christmas Festival with three other girls. They were wonderful!



I also took pictures for our Christmas card. (Yes, I know I am cutting it close!) I think they turned out fabulous.

December so far...

Fall 2008

Awesome Gifts

God blesses us with gifts everyday. Yesterday, I received a fabulous gift--an update and pictures of our little man! How exciting! I immediately sent it on to Blake. I cannot stop looking at the pictures. He is absolutely gorgeous!

Here are three of my greatest gifts: Katie Beth, Maggie, and Isabella with a couple of friends on Halloween.

The Queen Rocks!

No, not the Queen of England (although I think she's pretty fabulous too). I am talking about our self-professed queen, Queen Isabella.













Things I Love about Isabella...
1. Smart
2. Sweet
3. Mischevious
4. Sensitive
5. Rule Follower
6. Hard Worker
7. Super Funny!
8. Great laugh
9. Loves to shop (so does her mom :))
10. Confident
11. Takes care of business!
12. Fabulous Soccer Player




Isabella was Student of the Month in October


"Rockin' it out at her birthday party.


GOAL!!!!! Isabella is a "go-getter" in soccer!

Yikes!

Yes, I know. I have been a terrible blogger. It has been so crazy this fall that I have not had a chance to update this site. I will try to be better...

The best news in our lives is that we are adding to our family. Yea! We have decided to return to China and adopt another child. This was not planned, but once we saw his picture (yes, it's a boy!), we knew he was meant to be a part of our family. Our paperwork was logged in at the CCAA in China on November 6, 2008. So now, the wait begins. We expect to travel sometime in March or April. Please pray for our family, especially our little man, waiting for us.

In August my parents celebrated their 50th anniversary. 50 years! That's a long time for two people to be together, committed to one another in good times and difficult times. They are role models for their children and grandchildren. Family and friends from around the state and country came to celebrate. We had mass on a Saturday evening and then afterwards dinner and dancing. What a fun evening! The theme of the party was the 1950's. We all dressed up in our 50's gear.

The Darby Family


The Happy Couple

August also brought the start of the school year. The girls were all pretty excited--Katie Beth (6th), Maggie (3rd), Isabella (2nd). Yikes! They are getting so big!