Kirsten, Chance and friends before the Masquerade Ball.

Here is Chance with his mask on that he got at the ball. I think he looks adorably creepy!



Kirsten's hair after it was done at the salon. I think it looks beautiful! (Still miss my blond haired daughter!)


Kirsten, Payden, Rachel, Jennifer and Chance at our house before the prom.

Ooops! Kirsten's 17th birthday pictures.... July,2009

Bridget.....it is hard to believe that she just had her 11th birthday at the time of this posting! Where does the time go?

Walt (trying to look like he WANTS to have his picture taken!)


Have no idea why I am making that face. Oh, well.......


Chance being his usual self! (Wearing his favorite hat!)



I can't believe that she is getting so old! In 12 more years, she will be the same age as me!!!! ;)

Changing my blog.......

Chance on July 4th, 2009

Well, I think that I am going to start turning this blog into a family blog and not just about Bridget. She will have been with us for a year on Oct. 18th and I think that most everyone who has been following her can see that she is adjusting. Plus, there just isn't that much to talk about with just her. AND I don't want to leave my others kids out of the picture!

My son, Chance, is going to be 16 in October. He will be getting his permanent driver's license. Although he has had his temporary license for a year, I am still not ready to let go and allow him to drive by himself when he wants. Is that too controlling?;) (Now I understand why my parents didn't let me get my license until I was 18!) It's scary! He drives great and I know that it is just me and my paranoia kicking in! (I think maybe I need some therapy for that!) He is also going to be joining a group called CAPS....which stands for Civil Air Patrol Service or something like that. It will help him to be ready for military life if he chooses to go into the Air Force. He does want to be a pilot and has talked about being one for a couple of years now. About 3 weeks ago, he and his dad got to go ride in a small plane. This friend of my husband actually let Chance fly the plane! Course, it only reinforced what he has been talking about. Anyway, I am relieved to see that he is getting focused on what he wants to be when he grows up (I'm still working on that part myself!) O.O I think that he is going to be a wonderful addition to the adult world out there.(and good looking if I do say so myself) He is starting to resemble Hugh Jackman (Wolverine in X Men) who I think is quite good looking.

My favorite time of year......

Bridget wearing a "net" of lights.

Well, Halloween is almost here and Christmas is just around the corner. I think that this year is going to be so much better for Bridget than last year. She has more of a child-like attitude now. It has only been the last 3 months that she wants to watch kid shows. She absolutely LOVES Spongebob now and is starting to acquire a taste for Scooby Doo! So, poor Spongebob might be on the way out! :( I'm still going to get her a SB pillow for Christmas! I caught her playing with Kirsten's old dish set a couple of days ago, so I am thinking that I am going to get her a nice little china set of her own. It is going to be really hard to not spoil her! I know spoiling a child is not good for them or the parents! As for Halloween, I am really looking forward to this year because it falls on a Saturday and Walt won't have to work! I don't think he has done trick or treating with us but once the whole time we've been married! Course, Kirsten and Chance won't be with us because they are going to be with their friends this year. I won't be sad though because I will get to have my hubby with me! Not sure what I will let Bridget dress up as though.

This picture was taken a few days ago. Kirsten put makeup on her and a fancy dress just for the fun of it.

We just got done with our last homestudy. So, I guess that means that she is officially ours? It's hard to believe that it will be a year on October 18 that we have been home. Where does the time go? She is getting taller, but not putting on as much weight as I was hoping she would so that it would be easier for me to find her clothes. Good thing that someone created elastic waistbands!!!

Walt and I on July 4th

Well, just thought that I would say I don't advocate tanning! I didn't realize I had gotten so dark, but it is just a farmer's tan. I try to protect myself from the sun as much as possible, but don't always remember. I spend a lot of time outdoors in my garden and with my flowerbeds. My husband, on the other hand, could care less about getting too much sun! I nag and nag, but all he tells me is that I would be a rich widow!!!! O.O Hello........but who would I get to nag?

Flower Girl

Bridget in a field down the road from our house. I can't believe how tall she is getting. I just wish that she was putting on more weight. She continues to eat like a horse, I just don't know where she puts it!!!

Back to the Future!

Not sure what these were! We came across this building on our way to the cinema. There were several old buildings being renovated.


This was 2 blocks away from our apartment. I almost expected to see a knight jousting or something!


This steeple was our landmark. Our apartment was not far from it.


This is just one of the towers that were in this city. At the center of the market is a tower that was probably used by guards way back when to protect the castle. It was so odd to see it with a McDonald's right next to it!




There was such an odd mixture of very old with new in this city. I truly felt misplaced in time. The cobblestone streets that you could almost here the horses' hooves echoing on the stones, yet the only horse power was in the cars driving on the streets. There were also several "entrances" to side streets or maybe even a whole new universe! We would turn a corner and there was another doorway to a tunnel or stairs that led waaaaayyyyyy up to another part of the city. It was all so surreal.



This is my favorite building. The picture doesn't do it justice. It was just so awesome to be standing in front of! I almost felt like I was in Russia!

Life goes on.........

Family picture taken this Spring.

It's been 8 months since we brought Bridget home. I am really looking forward to taking her to some of the waterparks around here. We do have a trip to Wonderland Park in Amarillo, Texas planned in August. I took my other 2 kids there when they were little just because it was a place I use to go to when I was a kid.

Bridget has been getting better as far as learning our language. She still can't pronounce words that start with w or th. She might end up having to go to therapy for those letters!. But, I do think that she will be able to get it eventually.

Better Late Than Never!

Well, I guess I should put up pictures of Bridget's birthday! I look at the older pictures on here and am truly amazed at the difference I see in her in just 7 months! I just wish that she would start putting on more weight! She is getting taller, but can barely wear a size 8! She got a bike for her birthday, but I think that she was more interested in the ball than the bike!

More pictures

Well, at least I had 3 bars that day! ;)Okay, if your dyslexic, it makes since! lol (No clue what they were looking at!)


Kirsten and Bridget on a bridge over nothing.


This was taken in our swing in the backyard.


This is our "store" room! Ignore the mattress!


Isn't she just soooooo cute?

Can you believe it's been almost 4 months?

Time is just really flying by here. We arrived home on October 18th and it is now into February already. In many ways it seems like she has always been a part of our family. She is blending in so well. She has picked up many new phrases. I think that by next Christmas she will be speaking English not just understanding it. We don't know for sure how much of our language she does understand. She says okay a lot when we talk to her and we THINK that she is understanding but we find out later sometimes that she didn't understand what we were saying. Then there are the times when she makes it really clear that she isn't understanding us. She has this face that she makes and then shrugs her shoulders at the same time. It's too cute!

Walt and Gina


Bridget

Tucker

Kirsten

Chance

One of my favorites of Bridget.

Bridget playing her guitar.


We got her a guitar as she seemed really interested in Kirsten's. We also got her a "computer" that hooks up to the tv. She really likes to be on the computer so it seemed fitting that we get her one of her own. I like the one of her standing by me. She just looks so pretty in that one, even with her messy hair! I dread when she gets to be a teenager. I think that a convent might just be a good idea or a cabin in the woods where no one lives around us for miles!

We got a couple of kittens during Christmas and they pretty much destroyed my tree. By the time Christmas morning arrived, the tree was leaning and many of the branches had been pulled off and had to be put back on. (fake tree) I could NOT keep them out of it! So, we did have to throw the tree away by then end of Christmas. Course, we needed to get a new one anyway. It was pretty old. I just have a hard time wanting to spend money when I just know that we can get one more year out it! ;)

Merry Christmas!

First, let me wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I hope that December has been good for everyone at this point and not stressful. We are having a simple Christmas this year. It will be just us at home with our new daughter so it will be peaceful and enjoyable. We were able to be with our church family yesterday with carolling and dinner at the church. We truly enjoy our time spent with them. Bridget was actually trying to say Merry Christmas, thanks to Uncle Mike!!! ;) On the way home from the church, she kept saying Merry Christmas as loud as she could! I don't know if she is understanding Santa Claus or the tree or the lights,but she is sure enjoying them. We took the kids out a couple of nights ago to look at the lights and she was trying to say pretty when she saw homes with lights on them. I am so looking forward to Christmas morning. I am determined not to overwhelm her with presents because I read that it is not good to do that. I think Walt may have to take the checkbook, debit card and any cash away from me!!!

I thought that I would share some pictures of Thanksgiving with my friends and family. The first one is of Bridget helping with the cleaning before Thanksgiving. Don't ask me why she has the swimming mask on, but she has been wearing that thing on and off for some time now. The 2nd one is of Bridget and Chance finishing off the sparkling cider we had and the 3rd one is of Kirsten and Bridget horsing around.

Miss B

Well, we decided to take Bridget trick-or-treating. We were going to wait until next year so that she wouldn't be scared by any of the costumes that she might see or decorations. However, after getting to know her a little more, we decided that she would be fine. She likes to scare us and likes to be scared! We didn't get her costume until Halloween so there wasn't much to choose from and that is why she is dressed as a witch. She started out looking a little confused as to what we were doing, but as the evening progressed she got the idea and was constantly pulling on Kirsten to hurry up and get to the next house. It was really fun to watch her.

I would also like to say that I have decided to change my nickname for her from Miss B to.....drum roll please.......Noodle Girl! To stress my point, she just came to me and asked for mac and cheese for breakfast! I have never met anyone who has such a fetish for noodles!!! Everytime I ask her what she wants for dinner, she wants noodles! Her favorite, so far, is cold mac and cheese! EWWWWWW!!!!! So, Kirsten fixes a HUGE pot of mac and cheese once a week so that Noodle Girl can have them for dinner when she wants to. (Kirsten loves to cook! There is a God and He loves me!!!) ;)

As for how we are adapting, Noodle Girl has taken to living with us as if she has never lived anywhere else. We are learning her language more than she is learning ours I think! She has a strong personality. She is a bit of a tomboy though. She LIKES to watch football even when she is by herself. She LIKES to watch monster trucks even when she is by herself. She actually turns the tv to the HISTORY channel when she is watching tv by herself and can watch cartoons if she wants to! My son, Chance, has always loved watching the history channel so it works for him that she likes it too!

We have learned that we have to be VERY, VERY careful what we say and do around her. She picks up things quickly! Too quickly! The other day we were watching the Cowboys play and they fumbled the ball and I said "Oh, Man!" just as she was coming out of her room. She looked at me funny, laughed and then went up the stairs repeating, "oh man!". Kirsten was messing with her and gave her a puppy dog look with her bottom lip sticking out and now Noodle Girl does that to us when she wants something and we won't do what she wants! It is too cute!

This is at the same water fountain in Tartu just before our court appointment. We had about an hour to spend some time walking around and seeing how beautiful the city was.

This is my favorite picture of Bridget. She fell asleep while reading her dad's motortrend magazine with her play glasses on. She started putting them after she saw her dad put his on!

This is Igor (pronounced Egor). He was our contact/guide for everything we had to do over there. He was truly a blessing.

This is a picture of Bridget and the woman who has cared for her for 7 years. It was very heartbreaking to split these two up. I did hug her several times and try to get her to understand that Bridget would be well taken care of but I know she was heartbroken.

This was at the orphanage at dinner time. Bridget is on the end in the black dress.

This is their version of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, also located in Tartu.

This is a water fountain in Tartu which is were our court was. It isn't very far from Elva.