Ski Trip: December 27 - Jan. 1

On December 27, our entire family headed to Park City, Utah to ski at our favorite resort, Deer Valley.  This was Will's and Lena's first time to fly since bringing them home from Moldova.  Packing for the trip was a major undertaking!  We arrived at night and driving through Park City from Kimball Junction was beautiful.  They really had decorated for Christmas and against the backdrop of the snow, the lights sparkled on the trees.  

It was extremely cold during the week but the snow was great!  Will and Hope attended ski school.  Hope did very well and was skiing greens without any problems except going too fast!  This was her second ski trip where she actually skied.  Will did really well for a beginner but his instructor said something about "not listening" very well.  Hmmm.....seems like I may have mentioned that a time or two to him as well!  We were not up for Lena going to ski school - just wearing the boots would have done her in but maybe next time!  They all three really enjoyed the snow and being out in it!  

A special thanks to some great friends who let us use their amazing home while we were there.  We even had a theater with a climbing wall!  We had a beautiful view of old Park City from the den and kitchen and enjoyed all the lights at night!

Hope after her first day of ski school

Beth with Will and Hope

Will, Lena and Hope making a snowman ( a little droopy though)!

The cold didn't seem to bother the kids - they loves it!

Beth, Hope and Dow

Will on his first day of ski school

December 2015!

We celebrated our second Christmas with Will and Lena!  It was a little less foreign to them this year; I was surprised at all they remembered from their first Christmas as Birchfields.  Lena amazed us all in how quickly she learned Christmas songs and how she remembered them from last year.  Will, of course, amazed us at how many questions he could ask!  Fortunately, Hope actually enjoyed answering his endless questions about Christmas.

Hope enjoyed singing with her class at John Knox!

This year they got to participate in the live nativity scene.  Will and Hope wanted to be shepherds so they could be with the animals.  Lena wanted to be an angel.  It rained on the night of the nativity scene but they got most of their hour in.  They loved it and want to be a part of it again next year!

Hope and Will as shepherds

Lena as an angel!

            Hope and Will entertained everyone by singing The Twelve DOGS of Christmas at the Colees on Christmas Eve!

The annual picture of the Birchfield and Colee children.

Will, Lena and Hope love Mr. Chip!

Will with his new bike!

Hope with her new bike!

Christmas morning was filled with lots of excitement and squeals and lot of "I love this!"  It was a good morning and fun seeing the excitement.  Will and Hope got their first bikes with breaks but adjusted to them without any problems.  We were so glad the weather was clear outside and they could ride on Christmas morning.  Andy recited the Christmas story and we enjoyed singing Happy Birthday to Jesus and eating Birthday cookie!

Lena with her new stroller and Itty Bitty twins with new outfits!

Having fun playing a game with the cousins on Christmas night!

Catching Up - November 2015

Will finished his first season of soccer with Eastwood School.  He loved playing and his coaches were terrific!  He also got to attend some day camps with Coach Bruno at FC Montgomery.

Hope enjoyed learning about Squanto during the month of November.  Her class read the book and then had a special Squanto Reading at the end along with a party.  Hope had the privilege of welcoming guests to the Reading.  Hope loves Ms. Ford and 2nd grade!

Hope welcoming the guests!

Lena continues to love K4 and Mrs. Barganier's class.  They get to do all kinds of fun things in K4 and K-Plus.  She is learning about so many different things!

We also had a good Thanksgiving week being at the lake and then a visit to the farm.

The kids also got to help PawPaw Tony pick some carrots with lots of big, bushy leaves!

October Happenings - 2015!

A lot has happened in the Birchfield house over the past month!  Lena lost her first tooth.  Will actually pulled it and I don't know who was more excited - Lena or Will!  She has another one very loose so she is doing a lot of wiggling of it!  Will is anxious to pull it too!

Lena lost her first tooth!

Lena continues to love school and her teachers.  She has mastered the monkey bars which is a huge achievement for her.  She enjoyed having pajama day at K4!  She loves all of the different activities that her teacher for K4 and KPlus plan for her class.  She is getting to experience and learn so much!

Will continues to take guitar lessons from Jason Givens who by the way is a great teacher!  Will is progressing and has learned so much in the past year!  Thanks to Jason who is so patient with Will and me!

Will and Jason

Will enjoyed his first ever Olympic Field Day at Eastwood.  He and Hope were on the Spartans and their team won the most Christ-like Award!

Will proudly carrying the Spartan flag!

Will and Hope pulling hard at Tug of War!

Hope having fun with the sack race!

Hope enjoyed Olympic Field Day also.  She and Will both did very well with all of the games and I was very proud of them both in their physical ability and attitude!  Hope continues to paint with Mrs. Nedra who she adores.  Below is one of her favorites.  Notice she has her own little way of doing her signature!

Wolf howling!

Hope also got to spend a day at Camp Chandler with her class.  The guides were great and made the activities so fun and educational.

Hope is just to the left of the guide!

Halloween was big fun!  Beth came home and she and several friends took the kids trick or treating.  Will was Captain America; Lena was Hello Kitty and Hope was a fox!

Lena, Will and Hope

Happy 5th Birthday Lena!

Although Lena turned 5 on Friday, September 11, she started celebrating her birthday when Will celebrated his on Sept. 7.  She actually got to celebrate a little all week.  When I ask her what was the one thing she wanted, she said a doll that talks.  I thought that would be an easy task, but finding a cute that talks proved to be a bit challenging.  The doll she ended up with is a Baby Alive which eats and drinks and makes messes in her diaper.  However, Lena does not know this, so shhh help me keep it that way.  Of course that was the first thing Hope said when she opened it up, so I gently put my hand over her mouth!  Who wants to buy diapers and food for a doll!  Anyway, Lena loved it and the doll talks all of the time.  With one slight push of her wrist, she goes on and on and on.  This is just what we need in our house - more noise!

Lena had a great birthday and was well celebrated!  She loved her Dora cake and other gifts and cards!

I also have to add that when she went for her five yr. old check up she didn't cry for the finger prick or her shots.  She said she was going to be brave and she was!

Her Dora birthday cake!  Chocolate - just like she requested!

One of her great gifts from g'parents!

Opening her last gift!

Yes, it is the Baby Alive minus the food which I had already removed!

Happy 8th Birthday Will!

Will turned 8 years old today!  He said this was his second birthday but he did have one in Moldova.  Of course, he is talking about parties!  It is sad that he only remembers one birthday in Moldova!  He has been over the top excited but for those of you who know Will know it doesn't take much!  He spent the day swimming, riding on the boat and even skiing!

Priceless look!

Lena (Hello Kitty), Will and Hope with Gigi (great grandmother)

He is "crazy" about the Avengers and especially Captain America, so he had a Captain America cake.  One of his favorite gifts was a Captain America costume.  Dow, Beth, his grandparents and even great-grandmother were able to share this special day with him.

The Birthday Boy skiing!

Opening his Captain America costume

Summer 2015!

Our summer started off with me buying school supplies on the second day of summer vacation!  That gives you an idea of how summer started from my perspective!  We are still facing challenges and some days this summer were extremely difficult.  None the less, I think the kids had fun and that is what this post will focus on.

After a trip to the beach, Hope and Will attended Vet Camp through AUM.  They loved it and loved their teacher.  The week ended with a pet parade.  My wisdom of taking one dog instead of all three prevailed over the cries and pleas of Hope and Will, so Max was the only dog to experience the parade:).

Will and Hope with doggy Max

Then Hope had the wonderful privilege of going to The Little Mermaid at the AL Shakespeare  Festival with her Mimi Carole and beloved cousin Matthew!  Hope also continued with her art lessons with Mrs. Nedra.

Hope loved the play!

An example of Hope's art work!

Will continued with guitar lessons this summer with Mr. Jason and continued to make progress.  Will's big accomplishment this summer was passing his swimming test at Wynlakes and being able to go down the big slide.  Will also was fitted with hearing aids in June and we have seen a great improvement in his hearing and in his speech.  He also had three cavities filled and three pulled all in one trip to the dentist and didn't miss a beat!

Will receiving his band for passing the swim test!

Will getting ear mode for hearing aids.

Lena was able to attend St. James UMC K4 program this summer three mornings a week.  She loved it and I can't say enough good things about St. James' program.  While she didn't learn to swim, she did get very good at going under the water!  Hopefully, next year will be her year to learn.  The three kids spent a lot of time at the Wynlakes pool and our sweet friend, Katherine Rowell, often volunteered to take them.  Thanks Kat!

Will, Hiope and Lena with Kat!

I finally got to pull those school supplies out when Eastwood started on Aug. 13 (Yay!!!).  Lena is in K4, Will is in 1st and Hope is a big 2nd grader!  We are so thankful for Eastwood's leadership and the Christ-like teachers!  We are looking forward to a great year!

Will, Hope and Lena on the first day of school!

Hope's 8th Birthday!

How can it be?  How can Hope be 8 years old?  But it's true!  We have always described her as watching a flower bloom and at almost 40 pounds (yay - almost into a booster seat), she continues to bloom beautifully.  It is hard to put into words how God used Hope to change our lives and I am not sure she will ever fully comprehend her impact.  God has already used her in mighty ways for it was through Hope that God spoke to us about a church orphan ministry which resulted in the launching of Children's Hope (www.chilrens-hope.com) in 2010.

For those of you who know Hope, you know her life is all about animals.  In fact, one time I had to seriously ask her if she knew she really WAS NOT a dog!  She eats, lives and breaths animals.  We are often looking up answers to her animal questions on the internet (I have learned so much actually). This constantly reminds me of God's creativity, because did you know that a narwhal's tooth can grow up to 10 feet!?!?!  Anyway, for her birthday, the only thing she asked for was a stuffed baby lion that didn't look like Simba, so of course she got this!  Guess what she wanted to name it?  Simba!  I said absolutely not, because she has about five different size Simbas already!

We have gotten away from giving many toys to our children, so we gave Hope a trip to the Montgomery Zoo and the Atlanta Aquarium!  She could not have been happier.  Of course, Lena and Will were thrilled with her gifts as well because they got to enjoy them.  They thoroughly enjoyed their trips to the zoo and aquarium and we even threw in a ride on the ferris wheel in downtown Atlanta.

To top her birthday off, her Mimi and Pawpaw gave her tickets to see the Little Mermaid at the Shakespeare Festival next month with her favorite cousin, Matthew!

After a morning of swimming at the lake, Hope received her longed for baby lion

Receiving her gift for a trip to the Aquarium

A jungle them birthday cake - no princess cake here

Getting a little fishing in before her birthday dinner of "rare steak"