Justice at Last!

Justice finally came today, that was 1 1/2 years too late. A lovely woman, Linda Neely, was murdered in cold blood in October of 2006, by none other than her husband.

Who was Linda Neely you ask? Linda was a mother of two teenage children who loved her very much. Linda was a sister, daughter, friend, neighbor and community volunteer. Linda was the person who had the biggest impact on mine and Dan's life aside from our direct family, she formed our family. Linda was the adoption coordinator at our adoption agency, New Life. She was the person who called me on May 24th, 2005 at 10:25 am, like she had called sooo many other very happy people in the past, to tell us " Tina, I've got your daughters picture right here in front of me, and she's gorgeous!" I will never forget that day and I've never known such joy in my entire life! She gave me that joy!!

When I told her we wanted to adopt a special needs child, she was so thrilled that we would be adopting again. Her heart was dedicated to helping children who had been orphaned, find their "Forever Families". It seems so tragically ironic, that the person who had been responsible for forming soo many happy families, was so devastatingly unhappy in hers. The last time I heard from her was an e mail I received on my birthday, a few days prior to her murder. She never knew we chose to adopt Max, as we decided November 1st, just a few short days after her passing, but I know she would be delighted that another child found a home.

I know today, many people are thankful that justice has been served. Her husband, who fatally stabbed her in the heart, that fateful day in October, was convicted today of her murder after 1 hour of deliberation. He will face sentencing at the end of February and faces 25 years to life in prison. Even if sentenced to life in prison, he still has life, unlike the beautiful person he took from this world.
Rest in peace Linda.

Chinese New Year Party and the four amigos!

On Saturday, January 26th, our adoption agency held their annual Chinese New Year celebration. It is not really a "traditional" Chinese New Year party but the children have a great time. All of the children were given little goodies by the staff of New Life and they were a huge hit. Every little girl was walking around and proudly showing off their chinese purses and beads. The boys were given traditional wall ornaments.
I was pleasently surprized at the amount of boys that were there. I was supposed to meet an adoption friend, who I met through University Hospital's staff. I have only talked with her on the phone and via e mail but I was so hoping I could meet her in "real" life. She has 3 adopted children from China, two girls and one boy. She had stated that it wouldn't be hard to find each other as there would be few boys. I would say about 1/4th to 1/3rd of the children there were boys! Needless to say I was unable to meet her. I hope I can meet her at the next get together. Anne, if you are reading this, I wish we could have met! Hopefully next time!

After dinner, the D.J. played music that the kids loved and they danced their little feet off, especially "Maxie, the dancin' machine" I've never seen a kid that likes music and dancing so much! As you may have seen in the videos, he's a little bit country and a lot of Rock n Roll (Oh and rap.... and princess music.... and classical and....)!

Throughout the entire party, the four amigos were pretty much inseparable. The four amigos being Sonja, Max, Drew and Luci. You would think that being cousins, brother and sisters, they would want to hang out with others but NO WAY! Drew was, as always, such a sweetie pie. She and Sonja were together the entire time. Drew, the "little Mommy" was constantly taking Max by the hand and taking him where ever they went. She just LOVES Maxie, and Sonja too! I think she will be the best big sister if she gets a little brother. Luci and Max also hung out together and were frequent dance partners. Luci was tired and would occasionally take a break by getting off the dance floor and doing what looked like calestenics and yoga, "down dog" being her favorite position! It was pretty funny.

Sonja wanted Daddy to take a picture of her new purse!
"Little Mommy" Drew with the peanutheads.
The four amigos doing their circle dance thingy. I can just imagine what this summer will be like with them all camping together!

Speaking of camping, Dan and I bought a fifth wheel camper. We don't have it yet, as we had to order it because the one we wanted wasn't available. We expect it to arrive sometime in February. For anyone who's into that kind of stuff, it's a Keystone Montana Mountaineer 345 DBQ. We picked this model because it had four bunks in the back with a wall that separates it into two areas, giving the kids their own separate space and also a half bath. The wall that separates it has closet and drawers on each side. They also have a flat screen T.V. in there! I don't think they'll ever come out!!! Their bathroom can also be accessed from the main living area instead of company needing to go into mine and Dan's bedroom.

My mom even said she might go camping with us now as we'll have plenty of room for her. She never wanted to go up to our camp because it was in the "booneys" and we had no running water. We have a chemical toilet there but it's just not what she's into. Being close to seventy, I guess I don't blame her! I think it will be good for her too. Dan's parents frequently go camping and they are friends with my mom, so she will have others besides Dan, I and the kids to hang out with. I'll post some pics when we get it. I have pics of the one we saw, that's pretty much the same as the one we ordered, that I'll post in my next posting.

Anyways...back to the party!

Sonja and Drew. They absolutely love each other!

L to R. Drew (with back to camera) Sonja, Sarah (Drew's Hunan sista!) and Luci (back to the camera) all having a little pow wow.

Max and Sonja hangin' out near the D.J.

Max with Uncle Deano!!

Drew showing off her new purse!

"CHEESE"!

"CHEESE TOO"!

Sweet little Luci being held by her mommy, my sister-in-law, Becky. I should say sweet little, big Luci! She is taller than the three others and she's the same age as Sonja! She, like Max, loves dancing and music too!

In the background of this picture is Art (Daddy to Sarah), Golda, attorney for New Life adoption agency and Colleen (Sarah's Mommy!)

The kids were so pooped out they slept all the way home!

A good day spent.

Until next time....

Dancing machine!

Max just can't stop dancing!!! He's a dancing machine!!! :-)

The "Ballroom" dancers vs. The Jitterbuggers!

Max and Luci "Ballroom" dance while Sonja and Drew look like they are doing the "Jitterbug" at The Chinese New Year party!

Sunshine, cattle rustlers and the little joys of everyday life!

We recently had contact with some relatives, who live in the far reaches of Northern Canada. Sunshine and light is somewhat scarce these days there. I was telling Sonja that her Auntie who lives way up near Santa ;-) says that they don't have very much sun right now. An hour or so later Sonja, as usual, wanted to do crafts (even though we did them earlier in the day) and I told her she could. She decided she wanted to paint (no surprize there, paint markers, all the fun messy stuff). I asked her if she wanted to paint a picture for this particular Aunt and she said "Sure!". Above is the picture she painted. It's a picture of "Aunt Suzi and her fadder" but they are both sun's.

Aunt Suzi complete with sparkles!

Aunt Suzi's "fadder". He too is complete with sparkles!
I'm sure this isn't the sun you miss so much Aunt Suzi, but maybe it will still brighten your day!

P.S. Give a little sunshine to Uncle Skip too!

Max and his "masterpiece"! I think the forehead paint is a look he seems to be into these days!

Max's incision line is healing well but I have noticed a thickening to his left nares and also the left side of the lip suture. I know scar tissue is ging to form there. I only hope he doesn't form a nasty keloid. I apply mederma to the incision line and massage it as directed by the doctor. I know in time, any scar tissue that forms will relax and stretch. If there is any keloid formation, he will more than likely have to undergo more surgery when he gets older to revise the incision. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, things are going great! He's verbalizing much more than before the surgery both coherent and incoherent. It's almost like he's seeing what he can do with his new lips etc! He's making little noises we've never heard before. Another thing he's decided he'd take up is whimpering like a puppy. He does this while crawling on his hands and knees and will take his hand and "paw" you like a puppy begging for something. I wonder where he picked that up from?!? It couldn't possibly be Sonja!

Anyways.... below are a few pictures of Maxie.

Well, our sprayer on our kitchen faucet wasn't working very well so Dan decided to see what the problem was. He thought initially that it was something in the sprayer itself but that turned out not to be the case. We went to the hardware store and bought a new faucet and sprayer set. I love it and the sprayer seems to have much more force but it's a much better set than our previous one. Here Dan does a little handyman work while Maxie helped with the tools.

Passing tools to Daddy is tough work and the kids seemed to have worked up an appetite. Oreo cookies, as you can see, was the snack of choice.

"Here Daddy, You're working hard" "Eat Papa Eat!!!!!!"

While I was sanding down the walls in the bathroom, Dan kept the kids busy. I came out to find Sherriff Sonja caught herself one bad ombre' ..... Dangerous Dan, the cattle rustler. Sherriff Sonja had the situation totally under control and Dangerous securely behind the baby gate!

Here you can see her tough steely looks.

Dangerous Dan is foiled again. Wha....wha....wha.......

Dangerous Dan's sidekick, "The Nibbler". Don't let the baby faced looks fool you! He's known best for his deadly secret weapon.........knock out diapers!

Until next time.......

Today (Jan 17th), I met with Max's treatment coordinator and speech therapist to discuss how Max is doing and what changes are needed to help Max progress further.
Max has been getting therapy at home for less than 4 months. In that time, his scoring has increased 6 months overall!!! His receptive language had increased 7 months and his expressive 5 months.

Currently, Max is only getting therapy once a week. We discussed an increase to 3 times a week and hopefully, that will be implemented very soon. I'm hoping that the increase in therapy will help Max to progress at a faster rate than having it once a week. Let's hope that's the case although I'm pleased with his progress thus far!

In other news......

Max, as you all know is two. He decided a few months ago that he was going to take full advantage of the whole "terrible two's" thing. He loves Sonja but loves to agitate her even more! Yesterday, they had a bath after craft time, due to Max being covered with paint. In the bathtub, Max kept grabbing things from Sonja's hand. Every time she had something, he would take it. Sonja kept her cool pretty well for a while, but after several items were taken, Sonja, in frustration says "Maxie needs to go back to China!" This coming from the same girl who was so happy to see her little brother after his surgery. I told her that I wish she wouldn't say those things. I told her that I would cry very hard if Max or she, were to go back to China. After a few seconds of silence, Sonja said "I think I cry too Mommy" I thought that was pretty introspective for a 3 year old.

Since I'm on the subject......
The other night, we were all at the dinner table. In the background, the T.V. was playing in the other room and it was audible in the kitchen. Dora was on and was, of course, using and saying Spanish words. Dan asked Sonja and Max "How do you say Hello in Spanish?" After a few seconds, Sonja responds "Ola"! Then I asked Sonja "Well, How do you say goodbye in Spanish Sonja?" She thought for a few seconds again then said "How do I know. I Chinese!" (O.K. ya little smart Alec.).... I guess she told me! I'm not sure why she said that as she does know how to say goodbye in Spanish. She'll often add "Muchachos"(sp?) at the end, I guess to jazz it up a little. I can't believe some of the things that come out of her mouth! Where she comes up with some of it is beyond me.

Oh.....I just remembered this..... not quite insightful, but pretty hilarious! First a little background....
Sonja and Max have quite a few toys. Well, to be honest, they have too many toys (as most kids in America do these days)! I have tried to maintain some sense of organization but it is challenging at times. I keep little zipper bags from pillowcases, sheets etc and use them for smaller toys that may go together such as doll clothing, furniture etc. Sonja was given two sets of cabbage patch minis and the pet care center from Aunt Becky and Uncle Dean, which Sonja loves. Well, to keep it all together, I put them all in a zipper bag and they just barely fit in but they must be arranged just right. After Sonja was finished playing with them and started to play with a different toy, I told her she must put her other toy away. She tried and tried and tried but just couldn't quite get them all in. Finally, when she thought she couldn't do it she brought it all over to me and said "Mommy can you help me?" I said I would and proceeded to put all of the items in the bag and zip it up. Sonja then took the bag from my hand, wrapped her arms around my neck and said "Mommy, You're a genius!!" Wow!!!! Obviously, it doesn't take much to impress her! She may think that now, but in a couple of short years she'll think I don't know a thing! I guess I'll savor this time while I'm still "a genius" (what a kid).

The Man with the "magic" hands!!!

This is Max's craniofacial pediatric plastic surgeon, Dr. Tatum. I can't say enough about what a wonderful job I think he did. This picture was taken about a minute after Dr. Tatum removed the "button" sutures from Max's nose. Max tolerated the removal very well.

There was a Chinese intern observing Max's post op evaluation and then left immediately after, giving us a wave goodbye as he left. I wonder if he is learning so he can return to China and hopefully help children like Max? I certainly hope so.

Max will see Dr. Tatum again in a few months when he returns for a team evaluation. The team will evaluate his speech, dentition, facial structure and symmetry, hearing and social-emotional development among other things.

After Max's appointment, we went to the mall to get a bite to eat and, of course, ride the merry-go-round. I did a little shopping for the kids and then we all headed home.

Max is healing well and is looking better every day.

I would like to thank everyone who kept Max in their thoughts and prayers. It's appreciated very much. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful families and friends!!! WE LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

Boogie woogie Maxie boy

Maxie dancing like crazy only 3 days after hiscleft lip, palate revision and nose reshaping. You just can't stop him!!!!

Max is home!

Sonja comes home to see Max for the first time since having his cleft lip/palate revision surgery. I edited it to cut down on the "dead air" space (yes, there was more!)

Max's surgery!!!!

Well, I know you are going to go straight to the bottom of the post to see the pictures of Max's new little smile......Go ahead....I'll wait......
La dee dee......tee dee dumm......raaaa......daaa.....deeeee.....baaa....baaaa....badedummm......

Oh... you're back!!
Well, what do you think? He looks pretty good huh? I think he looks handsome. Just as handsome as he did before but different. He seems to like it too!

Anyway... we started out Wednesday packing Sonja's bag as she was going to be staying with Grandma and Grandpa (Dan's Mom and Dad). You would think she was going to stay a month by what she wanted to pack!! After weeding out what I could without a huge protest, we ended up with 4 outfits, 2 sweat outfits, 3 pajamas, about a dozen pairs of unders, one large dolly, one cabbage patch baby, one stuffed easter bunny, toothbrush and paste, comb and slippers. I'm sure I forgot to mention something....
On Thursday, I finished packing Mine and Max's bag and double and even triple checking just to make sure I had everything Max or I might need. I ran a few errands and as luck would have it, every store I went to had huge lines and the wait time was very long. Oh well...what can you do. So when I finally did get home, I still had to do the last minute house check and all the other things we all do when we may be gone for a few days. I took a couple of picks of the kids as we wouldn't see Sonja and I also wanted some with Sonja and Max and his cute wide smile.
We brought Sonja to Gram and Gramps house and said our goodbyes and Sonja was really good about it. I think she very much looked forward to it as she had Grandma and Grandpa to herself....no sharing with Maxie boy!

We drove to Syracuse and settled into our hotel for the night. Although it was comfortable and very nice, my mind was racing about what the next day would bring. As a matter of fact I made up a poem about it. Want to hear it? Here it goes...

Twas the night before surgery
as I lay in the bed
All kinds of thoughts racing,
going through my tired head.

With Dan in his shorts and I in my sweats
we'd just settled down for our evenings night nap.
When all of a sudden I rose like the mad hatter.
Dan jumps up from bed and said "What's the matter"
I said "I am worried I can't even sleep"
He said "There'll be plenty time for that. Just try counting sheep"

Anyway....that's as far as I got before my mind went into overdrive.

I finally fell to sleep.

The next morning Dan and I got up and got ourselves ready for the day while Max slept. I woke Max up just in time to get his teeth brushed and his coat on as he was going in his pajamas.

We arrived at the hospital at about 6:20 and registered then headed up to the floor. The nurses settled Max in his pre op room where there was a little stuffed Hershey's kiss waiting there for him. When Max had his palate surgery in June, they had a beautiful handmade afghan for him all wrapped in ribbon.
We eased Max out of his jammies and into theirs and the nurse, Brian, did Max's assessment. Max liked him and didn't make strange or fuss. After the assessment, vitals, etc. were done, they gave Max some "happy" medicine. Max started getting pretty clumbsy and silly so we had to watch him very closely. They came to get him at 8:00 and I got in the surgical "bunny suit" so I could walk down to the O.R. with him. Once there, they asked me to lie him down on the gurney. They taped the oxymeter to his finger and applied the blood pressure cuff to his arm. Then, they put the mask on his face that would deliver the sleeping gas. I told him how very much I loved him and he just smiled his sweet little smile at me. I couldn't hold back. As a cried, I could see the smile on his face fade and then I knew he was in a different place. I asked God to take good care of him and whether by chance or not, the nurse said "We'll take great care of him don't you worry". I turned and left and once in the hall I really let it go. The circulating nurse came over and reassured me and I got my composure. I went to the waiting room to find Dan.
I saw Dan sitting there and as I looked at him I saw that he too was teary. He said "Are you O.K.?" I told him yes and let him know what had transpired. Now the tough part..... waiting....


" Get your mitts on Maxie! It's pretty cold outside!"

Brushing his teeth like a big boy.

Tigger gown on and waiting.

My little sweet face.

The nurse beeped us on our pagers to let us know that Max was in recovery and that one of us could go in to be with him. I went in and saw him lying there semi awake. As soon as he saw me, he started trying to sit up and fussing. I asked if I could take him and the nurse said "Sure". As I held him, he wimpered, still groggy from anesthesia and from pain medication. He soon settled down and rested. After some time, I asked the nurse if she could let Dan know that everything was o.k. so he wouldn't worry. A little while later, Dan came in.

I noticed they had the Soft Sipp bottles on Max's stretcher and when Brian came over I asked him when they got them at the hospital. He said that a patient (Max) had them on the floor some months back and gave the website to the nurse there. After he saw them he ordered them for the O.R. I told him that that patient was Max. He then saw Max's arm restraints and asked "Where did you get those?" I told him on the internet and he asked what the name of them were. Do you think I could remember? After going through a couple of letters of the alphabet, I said "I think they're called "Cuddlewraps" He went and looked that up and he came back and said "That's not it. Those are a type of blanket wraps". I sat and thought a little while longer, again, going through the alphabet. Finally, the name came to me "Snugglewraps! Look that one up!". He did and printed the info up and said "I'm gonna get them for our department. I love them" I'm so happy that Max's experince has and will benefit many other children in the future, as did those before Max that helped him.

The nurse got us to the floor and Max's I.V. wasn't working. They messed with it and it still wouldn't go. I thought for sure it was blown. As they kept monkeying with it, Max kept pointing to it as if to say "Get that thing out!" Of course, it had to stay in (even if a new one had to be started) so I didn't really respond to his fingerpointing too much. When his pointing didn't work with me he started showing Dan. He too didn't respond only to say what I did "Sorry buddy, you need that there" He then started looking like "Hey! Doesn't anyone know what I'm talking about here!!!!" They eventually got the I.V. running. Poor Maxie Boy. I felt so badly because he didn't quite understand why this was happening and more so, why we weren't really helping him as far as he was concerned.

Max just after arriving to the surgical floor still under some of the affects of anesthesia and having some discomfort.

Later in the evening the day of surgery Max's diet was upgraded to a clear liquid from NPO. He drank some pedialite, juice and beef broth without any problems whatsoever. Although he was still uncomfortable at times he was visibly feeling better than earlier. After the nurse gave him his bedtime meds and treatments we both settled into the bed. I was fortunate this time to have Max in a very large bed with siderails, more like a crib. It took some time for him to get to sleep but at about 11:00pm he was snoozing. I, on the otherhand couldn't and decided I would read, do puzzles and watch some T.V.

At about 3:30 -4:00 am Max woke up and was ready to go! Happy, giggling and playing peek-a-boo with his very tired but grateful mommy. I was so happy to see my little guy getting back to his usual sweet self. We played for a while and I changed him (which BTW, forgot to mention, he soaked through to the bed and onto my clothes a couple of times during the night from him having the I.V.). The nurse came in and gave him some regular Tylenol and checked his vitals. We played a little while longer then Max fell asleep again. At about 5:00am I was awakened by a young male voice saying "Mommy!". It was one of the resident interns coming to check Max out. Did I mention it was 5:00am!?!?!? Anyway they checked his lip (by shining a very bright flashlight in his eyes and then after a minute they left. I wanted to give them a little taste of "Nurse Tina" but when Max returned to sleep shortly there after, I decided I'd let it slide.

At about 7:30 Max woke up and was ready to go. They brought in a clear liquid tray and he drank everything on it!! THAT"S MY BOY!!! Daddy came shortly after the breakfast tray was brought and thank God he had a coffee for me!

Mid-morning we were told Max would be discharged but it would be a little while before the paperwork would be ready.

I was able to take a shower and change my clothes (so glad I packed a bag for the hospital too!) I returned to the room and started to get everything packed, cleaned and ready for the ride home.

About 45 minutes later the nurse came in with the paperwork and then waited for the transporter to take us downstairs and out the door.

We were finally headed home! Max watched a DVD and then slept until we drove in the driveway.

Max and daddy playing while waiting to be discharged.

We are finally home!!!

As soon as Max got his coat off he went into the livingroom where our cat Snowball was lying on the couch and tried to kiss him! Thank God Snowball moved away quickly as I really didn't want Max to have cat hair on his incision!! YUCK!
If you are wondering "Hey! Why don't they wipe that bloody goop from his face!" Well, I would LOVE to but we are not to touch it except to apply antibiotic ointment and dab any large amounts of drainage that may travel down onto his lip. We are under NO circumstance to remove the tape. If it falls off after a while, then that's o.k. (which BTW happened Sunday night).

I called the doctors office in the am Monday to schedule a follow up post op appointment. I told them about the tape falling off so soon. They said just leave it off.

Sonja showing her solidarity with Max by wearing tape on her lip, just like little brother.

Max with Daddy 3 days after surgery.

3 days post-op and his incision is looking FANTASTIC!!!! I couldn't be happier!

The doctor did and excellent job! I'm so surprized at how little bruising he has. His nose is fairly swollen but it will resolve in no time.If your wondering what that goop is on his nose and lip it's antibiotic ointment. Max also has to take oral antibiotics and ear drops. The little things on his nose are sometimes referred to as "buttons" (which help shape the nose after surgery). The button sutures go through to the inside of his nose.

His new little smirk!

You can see here the amount of swelling to Max's nose particularly.

Max playing with Daddy. We are so very pleased with Max's surgical outcome so far. The incision line is very fine, even so soon after surgery. He may form some keloids ( as Asians tend to form them for whatever reason) or varying degrees of scarring but only time will tell.

I will post a video soon.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!

Wow!!! Busy, Busy, Busy.

We have had a lot of things going on and I just haven't had much time to get caught up on the blogging thing. Oh... and if you haven't noticed I haven't dusted off the ceiling fans in a while either.....YUCK!!!! ( kind of hard when they're 20 feet in the air!) Just try and focus on the Christmas tree instead...or better yet.... do the cross your eyes thingy while looking at the tree! Remember that one!

Well, I guess I'll start with the most important news to share

Max is scheduled for his surgery this Friday (January 4th). He will have his lip repaired, some work done on his nose, a P.E. tube placed in his right ear, and possibly a little touch of work to his palate.

I must say I'm more nervous for this surgery than I was for his first! There is a lot riding on the outcome of this surgery and his future. He has an excellent craniofacial team so I know he's in good hands but being the worry-wart that I am, I'm of course, still worried.

We expect Max to stay overnight at the hospital and if he eats and drinks well and his pain level is managed, he will go home Saturday!!! Some children stay for a couple of days but I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Could you keep Max in your thoughts and prayers?

Well, in other news.......

The kids have been getting busy and making some Christmas gifts for Grandma, Grandpa and Nana. They absolutely love doing crafts and look forward to craft time everyday. Sonja will say "Mommy..... is it "cratts" time yet!!!

Anyway..... here are some of their priceless works of art!!!

Here Max uses some red paint to the piece of egg carton which will soon be transformed into a beautiful flower pot. Notice his brush stroke technique! ( hehehe) A little bit here.....

....and a little bit there!!!!! Wallah! Zee body is zee best canvas Oui Oui!!!!

Sonja uses the " stick out the tongue as you paint' technique! A very difficult move! :-)

and.....Wallah!!!!!!!! Perfect!!!!!!

After they finished painting the egg carton piece and it dried, we glued in a piece of floral foam and covered that with peat. They each picked out the type and color of flowers they wanted to use and with my help, inserted the stems into the floral foam along with some miniature pine cones. They were so proud of them and that evening, we took them over to Grandma's and Grandpa's house ( they couldn't wait for Christmas). Nana will get hers for Christmas.

The next gift project was "boxes of love". They each painted a jewelry box (I had laying around collecting dust) and let them dry. After they dried, we glued small metallic confetti hearts to the outside of the box and also put a few inside (even though they are not meant to be opened but sometimes the recipients get a little nosey :-) Glued a grosgrain ribbon around it and attach the following poem with some string.

This is a very special gift

That you can never see.

The reason it's so special is,

it's just for you from me.

Whenever you are happy,

or even feeling blue,

you only have to hold

this gift and know

I think of you.

You never can unwrap it.

Please leave the ribbon tied.

Just hold the box close

to your heart,

it's filled with love inside.


They were a hit with the grandparents.

On the 23rd, we had Christmas at Dan's parents house along with Deano( Dan's brother), Becky and their girls Drew and Luci.

The kids enjoyed themselves and then came home with their little goodies.

OH NO!!! Emergency!!!! Sonja has some paint on her elbow!!!!! She has to have it washed off and quick!!!

She is so funny about getting dirty like that.

Max getting right into it with his paint brush. Painting the box and......

again.....painting himself!!!!!!

The two peanutheads snuggling in for a little nap on the couch..... well at least until Sonja says " Mommy he's laying too close!....... I Can't sleep!" in a whiney little voice.

Outside enjoying the snow and bundled up like little Michelin men!!!

Christmas eve day we made Christmas cookies....for Santa of course. They love to help cook and especially love to mix the ingredients together.......FOREVER!!!!! This year, I opted to get the pre-made cookie dough. They both wanted to roll it out ( in some areas it was so thin you could see through it!) and took turns doing so. Sonja was really good at using the cookie cutters while Max on the other hand, only managed to successfully make one lonely maple leaf cookie, but most importantly, they had a ball!

Max is more of the "quality assurance" type of guy. As you can see above, he checks the palatability of the dough. I think it passed the test because he checked it several times!

Ahhhh...... and "don't forget the sprinkles Mom" Sonja says.

Yeah..... lots of sprinkles..... and frosting too!

On Christmas eve night, we went to my sisters home to celebrate with her and my niece Ana.

Dan was the camera guy for the evening and he caught this one of my Mom, which she was so upset. She didn't want it taken because she said she was in her "bummy" clothes. I love her regardless of what she wears!

Here Sonja and Max help set the table and put the food on the table for Aunt Vicky.

One of Sonja's gifts was a Hannah Montana" wig. She couldn't stop looking at herself in the mirror. I think she was curious to see herself as a blonde.

One of Max's gifts was a little peoples ride on bus. He is CRAZY about it!!! He rode it all over Vicky's house making it play the little song.

Chase, Vicky's boyfriend son, pushes Max around the house on his new ride.

After all of the fun at Aunt Vicky's house, we took the loot and headed home to get ready for Santa. After the kids had their bath and got into the P.J.'s, they posed for a few pics.

Check out the little ham bones.....

Sonja could hardly wait to get the Santa dishes and load them up with Santa and reindeer snacks.

Sonja and Max's letter to Santa.

Sonja was so excited to leave Santa some cookies and milk she and Max made along with a note to him. She also left carrots for the reindeer.

Max recently started going through this little phase where he doesn't like people to sing. Sonja and I were singing a song and here you can see Max yelling " AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" Go figure! I didn't think my singing was that bad!

Max and Sonja had their own Chritmas trees in their room which they helped decorate Here is Max's little Charlie Brown tree. It's one of those little fiber optic ones el cheapo, but Max likes it.

Sonja had a white tree in her room. She just loved it and didn't want me to take it down. After Christmas, she pleaded with me to keep it up.

A few days after Christmas, we had an evening outside playing in the new snow.

Draggin' 360's on Grandpa's slippery driveway

Max locked and loaded for his redneck ride!

Daddy and Max

Little gigglehead himself

Max and Sonja with their semi-homemade "Yo Gabba Gabba masks.

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and have a wonderful New Year!
I would like to ask all of you who see this to keep those people who are separated from their loved ones, have lost a loved one, the lonely, the elderly, and all those who haven't family to share this beautiful season with, in your thoughts and prayers.