Kingdergarten Kids

Yep, the time has come for Madison to venture out into the world and then starts with kindergarten. We registered last week at Forest Creek Elementary and it was great. Believe it or not, I didn't even hyperventalate. You should have seen us with my massive collection of paperwork. I wanted to be ready for anything they could possibly want - shot records, SS card, adoption papers, you name it!

Maddie's friend from the cul-du-sac is Halee and her other friend is Emily, from Emerson Academy. Hopefully, they will be in the same classroom. Kim and I joined Emily's mom, Kim, and Halee's mom, Erica, for a tour of the school. We watched the children play in the gym, sit in classrooms, and go to the cafateria. All 3 kids thought it was very "cool". Well said.


Maddie is looking forward to kindergarten and we are relieved. Neither one of us have very positive first day of school memories, so we'll keep our fingers crossed.

Rollie Pollies

I have no idea how to actually spell Rollie Pollies, but you get the idea. They are McKenzie's new obsession and she spends everyday in search of them. Her new classroom at Mt. Sinai (long story, call me for details) is studying bugs this month, so her teacher, Ms. Debra, suggested McKenzie bring a few of her favorite bugs into the classroom to share with the class. Brilliant idea, Ms Debra! So, here is my baby hunting rollie pollies this morning. I want all of you to think of me when I drive to school tomorrow with a giant cup of bugs in my cup holder.

Thank you, Moncheire

Many thanks to client and new friend, Moncheire, who shared some beautiful hand-me-downs with the girls. Moncheire has 4 beautiful daughters who are always photo-ready when they leave the house. She was kind enough to pass on some beautiful dresses that I can only imagine were lovely Easter frocks or even flower girl dresses. Madison thought she had died and gone to heaven when I opened the bag of clothes. Here they are modeling for me and Kim.




The next day was Sunday and I was somehow able to talk Maddie into wearing something a little low key to church. Here they are looking beautiful.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I cannot believe it is already March! The month has flown by in part to my new job. I started training at a call center for Starwood Hotels on March 3. The training is 3 weeks long and I am looking forward to graduation on Friday. In an effort to be kind to myself and implement some balance in my life, I have taken this job. I am still running Signature Journeys, but on a smaller scale. I worked myself into the ground last year and realized that is no way to live. My girls (Kim included) deserve better. I deserve better. So, I spend my mornings with Signature Journeys and my afternoons with Starwood. I absolutely love the Starwood family, who owns Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridian, the W, and many more. The Austin call center has been here for 24 years and I am amazed with the number of people who have been there about that long. I feel good when I walk in the building and I feel appreciated. This is a brand new experience for me.

The training schedule has been difficult because I don't get home until late. I miss having dinner with the family and even the night time routine. Kim is doing an awesome job. We definitely appreciate the weekends more than ever. We are getting to know our incredible neighbors and we love them! There are two children on our street who will start kindergarden with Maddie. Kim organized a Cul-du-sac Cookout Saturday night where every family brought meat for Kim to grill in our driveway. We sat outside until we couldn't see each other anymore and then moved inside. The kids rode bikes and played games. The adults sat in lawn chairs in our driveway while the kids ate dinner on a huge quilt in the yard. The last person left our house at 10:30 Saturday night. We had so much fun! We have new neighbors from London and we enjoy their lovely accents! I've never experienced such great neighbors!

It was in front of all the neighbors that Maddie had her first crash landing on the bike. Here she comes down the hill at break neck speed and crashes. Kim throws her plate of food and starts running. Our neighbor Allen, who turns out to be a nurse, starts running. Erica, mother of 2 from a few doors down, starts running. Me? I covered my face with a napkin because I couldn't bare to see the blood and teeth and skin that would surely be on the pavement. Believe it or not, she didn't even bleed! She screamed like a banchee (sp?) until someone brought out a popcycle and she was fine. Scary!!

I finally took the time to scan the picture Maddie drew of her family. You will notice Kim has the spikey hair. I have a big smile. There are 2 dogs - one with only one eye. I love this!! Enjoy!

The New Pink Ladies

My children are hysterical. I know all parents say that, but just let me brag on my own for a minute. Madison and McKenzie love to take a bath together and last night after their bath, they watched the movie Flushed Away for the 247th time. If you haven't seen the movie, check it out on HBO on Demand for kids becuase the slugs, who sing doo-wop songs from the 60's, are hysterical. So here they are singing and dancing with the movie, waiting for me to comb hair. In case you're wondering, Maddie has a towel on her head and she is sporting her new glasses.




This is Maddie pretending to be me. Note the ear piece.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Make a free ecard - it's easy!

Baptism

McKenzie Kathryn Rasmus-Ford was baptized on Sunday, January 20 at Metropolitan Community Church. I am ashamed to say we didn't take enough pictures. We had a big party at the new house on Saturday night to celebrate the housewarming, baptism, adoption, and my birthday. We had over 50 friends and family members here! I felt so loved! It was fantastic. I only wish I had remembered to take more pictures. Julie, don't shoot me. Here is my new baby with my Daddy.



Aunt Julie sent a box of goodies to celebrate every possible occassion. The girls were overjoyed to discover lip gloss AND finger nail polish inside their new purses. Here is Aunt Gail painting finger nails.



Connie was here for the weekend (from Mississippi) and it was so good to see her. I miss Connie to pieces. She always blends into our family so easily. Here she is napping with Maddie.




It was a great weekend, although exhausting. I was in heaven with my family here. I only wish Carl and his family could have been here. And Kathy, of course. I am so blessed.

No tonsils / New glasses

Here she is - Madison - without tonsils or adenoids. She is sleeping like a baby and no longer sounds like a trucker snoring. This was her first day out of the house with the Moms for lunch at Olive Garden. Note the new purse from Aunt Julie.



She did so well with the operation. I cannot possibly say enough about the Dell Children's Hospital. I have never in my life experienced such wonderful people. Maddie was awesome and she was immediately eating popsycles after the operation. I wish we had done this earlier.

Maddie is also sporting a new pair of glasses for looking at the blackboard and watching movies. She is so cute!!



Of course, guess who wants in on the action?

God Bless the Dogs

For anyone who has known me for more than 8 years, you know I have never been a dog person. Of course, falling in love with Kim meant falling in love with Noah and Jordan. In the beginning they seemed like small ponies rather than Golden Retrievers; however, they are the best dogs in the world for my children. For example, something sparkly caught my eye today as I walked through the living room with a basket of laundry. At close inspection, I discovered McKenzie "doing" Jordan's hair. Many thanks to Aunt Pat for the sparkly headbands.




Noah and Jordan were recently given new beds. Noah is loving life in the new bed. Jordan too. We found her laying in front of a piece of art work sitting on the floor in our bedroom. Life imitating art.

A Judge, A Daughter, and a Microphone

Well, it’s official! We signed on the dotted line today, making McKenzie a permanent member of our family. I was extremely emotional this morning with a few tears shed as I prepared for the day, but I was all smiles when we arrived at the court house. Judge Hurley was the presiding judge who processed my adoption and Kim’s back to back in a matter of minutes. When we adopted Maddie, Kim went first and I had to wait almost a year. Judge Hurley processed several adoptions during her lunch hour, swallowing a sandwich whole (I am guessing) between ceremonies. She even granted Maddie’s big sister wish of singing a song into the microphone on the witness stand. Thank God Maddie went with Twinkle Twinkle rather than Shake Your Groove Thing! While other families were waiting, my children were given the opportunity to perform. It was awesome! Many thanks to Nanny for the beautiful dresses!

After the ceremony, we went for ice cream sundaes and then a nap at the new house. It has been a very special day. Stay tuned for celebration details coming in January. I don’t think I can do one more thing in the month of December!

We sold the house!

Praise the Lord! Our house sold last week while we were at Mom and Dad's! We can finally move into our dream home. I still can't believe it will be ours next week, but it is. We took the girls over to the new house yesterday in preparation for the walk through with the builder tomorrow. I heard Julie Holmer's voice in my head reminding me to take plenty of pictures. Of course, the house is empty, but you can get the idea.

We close on the new house next week (December 5). Kim and I are planning to paint a few rooms on Thursday and Friday and then hopefully move on Saturday. We have a garage full of boxes and yet there is still more to pack - ugh! I will send out the new address soon. I am waiting to find out if we can keep our phone number before I send out the new info.

We asked the builder to paint the front door and the shutters because I just wasn't crazy about the color. Here is the way it looked a month ago.



Here is the update with the new color. I love it!



When you walk into the house, this is what you see




The dining room is to the right and leads into the butler's pantry which leads into the kitchen.





The living room is downstairs with a gorgeous fireplace.



The master bedroom is off the living room and has a huge window seat.



The master bathroom is awesome with the biggest closet I have ever seen!



Upstairs are the bedrooms, playroom, my office, and a bathroom. At the top of the stairs is my office.



Across the hall is the play room. Yes, it is gigantic! 19 x 23!



The girl's bedrooms are much larger than the ones in this house. And both have huge closets.




We can't wait for you to come visit! We have plenty of room now! Please keep us in your prayers as we make this move. I am starting to feel overwhelmed by all that has to be done!

Thanksgiving 2007

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. As most of you know, this is my favorite holiday of the entire year! My heart is very full today, having spent last week with my family.

I flew into Austin from Miami on Friday, November 16 in the afternoon. I did laundry, packed my suitcase again, and all of us went back to the airport on Saturday morning to fly to Nanny and Pa Ford's house. This was McKenzie's first time on an airplane and she was awesome! I am so proud of her! Of course, Maddie is already an old pro. While Maddie watched movies, McKenzie colored, played with toys, and slept. She even carried her own backpack!

We had a wonderful visit with Mom and Dad before Carl and his family arrived on Wednesday. Maddie celebrated her 5th birthday with Nanny and Pa. Mom let her help with baking a birthday cake and Dad supervised birthday pancakes. Grandma Rasmus sent Maddie her first digital camera and Maddie nearly wet her pants with excitement. She is always asking to use mine and now she has her own Fisher Price camera. She has taken about 7 million pictures of nothing, but it's her camera!






My Dad truly came to life when all the grandchildren played together. Maddie and Quinn (age 3) pciked up where they left off last year and had an absolute ball together. Riley (age 1) and McKenzie will learn to love each other. They seemed to have a communication problem. Riley is used to playing with her rough and tumble brother. McKenzie is slightly more delicate and wasn't too sure about the wrestling with Riley. They were a hoot! Quinn can't pronounce McKenzie correctly and his best attempt sounds like MisKenzie. I think I like his version better. The kids had so much fun. Pa played football and baseball in the front yard. They played on the swing set in the backyard. Nanny took pulled them in the wagon. When Pa asked Maddie how far they walked, Maddie replied, "Far enough." What a mouth!







My mother is always prepard to entertain children and of course she had balloons for the kids. No helium - just balloons. They loved it! McKenzie wouldn't let hers go and used it for a variety of things, including playing baby-in-my-tummy!





The weather was gorgeous the first half of the week, but turned very cold at the end of the week. We were bundling everyone up and trying on each other's coats and gloves and even hats ...



We even dressed the kids in their matching pajamas (courtesy of Nanny) to have their picture taken with Santa. It was a lot of fun and I am sure the mall will not soon forget the extended Ford family.



As I write this, I am listening to Faith Hill sing Where is Christmas. Christmas and Thanksgiving are wrapped up in my family. My heart is so thankful for the many blessings in my life, the greatest being my children. Until the day I die I will be thanking God for my babies. I love them so much and I cannot imagine my life without them. And I am thankful beyond measure for the ladies I haven't met but can never forget who brought those babies into this world.



I am also blessed by an amazing brother who I love so much. His children remind me so much of us. I see myself in Riley's eyes and Quinn is 100% Carl Ford with my mother's blue eyes. They are so precious and I love them so much.



And let me not forget the love of my life. I don't always know why she loves me like she does, but she does anyway. I can't imagine life without Kim. I have spent so much time building my business and not nearly enough with the one who made this family possible. It was Kim's dream for a family that brought my babies home and I will never stop thanking her for making that dream come true.