2006 FIFA World Cup

Randy In Goal
Randy "In" Goal
Paul In Goal
Warm Ups
Hip Hip Hooray

The 2006 FIFA World Cup starts today. I never have really been that interested in soccer but with the boys around it has made it a little more exciting. Paul and Randy had their first game last week representing the "Yellow Team". They had a great time and Randy even scored two goals ... they were on his own teams net but he was just as excited either way. They slept well that night ..........

Mother Day - Belated

Mothers Day has come and gone ... and I missed it .... I am out at a conference in Banff, Alberta and Wendy is home with the boys (and her mom for help). This is the first time I have been away for this length of time and it feels really strange. It is a nice break and I am really enjoying myself but I definately miss them. The mountains are just beautiful ... I'm sure someday when the boys are a little older we can all come out here as a family and enjoy the surroundings.

Mothers Day Is Coming

Sometimes you get discouraged
Because I am so small
And always leave my fingerprints
On furniture and walls.

But everyday I am growing
I'll be grown up someday
And all those tiny handprints
Will surely fade away.

So here's a final handprint
Just so you can recall
Exactly how my fingers looked
When I was very small.

Love,

Paul

Eagles Nest

This is really cool ... can't stop watching it for some reason. Its amazing that I can sit here in our kitchen with a laptop with no wires connected to it and watch a live video feed of an eagles nest from Hornby Island in B.C.

http://www.infotecbusinesssystems.com/wildlife/default.asp

Their site claims that they are getting 10,000,000 hits a day.

Steve

Go Fly A Kite

A beautiful weekend weather wise. Just the way I like it ... not to hot and not to cold. Lots of sunshine. We went to the park this morning and flew a kite. Wow, I have not done that in a while. Will probably go out for a bike ride later. I had to work yesterday so I am taking tomorrow off. I'm looking forward to some time for myself. Not sure what I will do.

Paul's Proboscis

Wendy and I got a call at work today from daycare asking us to come in to take Paul to the doctor/hospital. According to Paul, Alex P. inserted a bead into Paul's nose. Wendy took Paul to the doctor and luckily the doctor was able to extract the 1cm diameter bead from Paul's right nostril.

I didn't measure Pauls nostril but I am fairly certain that normally it is less then 1cm wide. It turned out ok in the end ... but Paul was very concerned for a while that the bead was going to be stuck there forever.

Our Supermen

Paul and Randy with cousin Charles (on the Left)

Happy Family Day

On March 21st, 2005 the four of us started our permanent journey together as a new family. The year has gone by very quickly. In some ways it seems like just yesterday but in others it seems like they have always been with us. We celebrated today ... we made a collection of pictures for the boys as a reminder of all the things we have done in the past year. We also had chocolate cake with ice cream and candles. I took off work an hour early and picked up the boys to spend some time together. Its nice to have this extra special day to share as a family .... we hope that it will always be an opportunity to talk about how the four of us were able to come together for all our benefit.

Just Us

Weekend of Fun

Paul, Riley and Randy

Pauls Tie

Paul and Riley

Randy, Braedon, Paul and Riley

Paul, Riley, Braedon and Randy

A fun time was had by all this weekend. The boys had their best friends over for a sleepover. They all had a great time. I am sure that there will be many more times like these over the next several years. They seem to get along really well. Paul dressed himself this morning and decided to where a tie for the special occasion.

Happy Valentines Day

Our first valentines day with the boys. Lots of fun ... Randy and Paul both exchanged valentines with kids at school and daycare. It was "twins" day in Paul's junior kindergarten class and Paul and his friend Riley were to dress the same for the day. Wendy took them out shopping last night and they both got Superman shirts .... Paul came home exhausted and wanted to go straight to bed. We managed to keep him up until after supper but definitely no arguments from him trying to get him to sleep. I think he had a busy day.

Skiing at Horseshoe

Another great day on the slopes at Horseshoe. The boys are loving it and doing great. They moved them up a level today. They can turn and slow themselves down (a good thing). They have absolutely no fear. It was such a nice day to be up there.

A Few Words from Randy

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We Are Done

Everything with the adoption is now final ... kind of anti-climatic to say the least. We thought it was going to be this big day where the four of us went to the court house and had to speak in front of a judge. As it turns out, we went to get the mail and found an envelope with two signed adoption orders in it .... Randy's was finalized on December 13th, 2005 and Paul's was done on January 6th, 2006.

For me it felt strange to think that some people somewhere had considered our relationship with the boys up until that point an interim one. They were a permanent part of us from very early on (sometimes I think maybe the connection was there before we even met them). If someone had tried to take them from us before it was finalized I would have fought them to my death.

I love the boys so much and couldn't be happier that we are now an "official" forever family.

Winter at the Cottage

We were up north on the weekend ... everything looked so nice covered in snow. We had a great time and the boys enjoyed time with Grandma and Grandpa. Happy Birthday to me :)

Twas The Night Before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the house
People were sick
And Dad left the house

Our stockings are hung
by the Chimney with care
Filled up with presents
that we will pay for next year

The kids are all snuggled in their beds
Ya right .... dreams of suger plums will come
after midnight when they lay down their heads

Kids awake at 4:30 to see who's been here
Dads up till 2 wrapping presents and drinking beer
Tomorrow is Christmas
A great time of year.

Instead of snow storm
Its a raining tonight.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Love ... Steve, Wendy, Paul and Randy.

Sick Again

I can't believe it ... we are sick .... again! We were down in Leamington on the weekend for Wendy's family Christmas gathering. There are 13 neices and nephews on her side of the family all around the same age. The boys had a blast ... especially playing outside in the snow. I felt fine most of the weekend including Sunday night. I went to bed Sunday at my regular time and woke up early to empty the contents of my stomach ... I stayed home from work yesterday and felt terrible all day long. Last night Randy was sick too ... so far Paul and Mom are ok. I'm going to stay home again today. Hopefully I can go back to work tomorrow. I feel much better this morning than I did yesterday.

Itchy Itchy

Randy got the chicken pox ..... a week goes by .... Paul gets the chicken pox ... another week goes by ... Daddy has the chicken pox. Paul and Randy were both ok. So far I am all right but the doctor says that chicken pox can be fairly serious when you get it as an adult. I'm sure I will be ok.

Christmas Concert

Last night we went out to Paul and Randy's Christmas concert for daycare. They were both so cute and did a great job. Randy sang the Antler Hokey Pokey and Paul sang Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer -and- The 12 Days of Christmas. Paul was so tired that he almost fell asleep on stage .. it was a school day for him and no nap ..... so staying up until after 9pm was a little hard on him. After the concert we went to Tim Hortons for hot chocolate with Shawn, Tammy, Braedon and Riley.

On a whole though the evening was very stressful and bittersweet. Paul and Randy's foster parents were up visiting for a week. We saw them at our house for a quick visit on Thursday night and that seemed to go ok. We ordered pizza at home and played a few games together before the boys went to bed. We invited them back for another visit so that they could see their Christmas concert.

It was a big rush to get everyone organized and out the door. We all went out for dinner at a Chinese food buffet place and then rushed off to the school for the concert. To be honest I really didn't want the foster parents to be there at all .... its selfish I know but I resent the fact that I have to "share" them with anyone. I'm not convinced that it is in Paul and Randy's best interest to have on-going contact with them. They are going to have enough trouble understanding how at birth they were taken from their birthmother ...

I don't think they need the added burden of feeling like they were taken from their foster homes (especially since we were the ones doing the taking). Randy seemed ok with the visit (I don't think he even clearly remembers them). Paul on the otherhand had a difficult time and it tears me apart watching him struggle through it.