Pre-School Pictures

1. Elizabeth gets to put a feather on the turkey












2. Elizabeth pays attention to Mrs. Parn













3. During play time, Elizabeth (or should I say Dr. Hagan) plays doctor with Jasmine and Gracie. Gotta love those glasses :-)

Pre-School Fun

1. Can you guess what Elizabeth's favorite subject is??? Recess, of course!! Here she is pictured with Emily and Gracie










2. Swinging is a favorite, too.














3. The next favorite thing at Pre-School...Snack Time :-)














4. Elizabeth and Cassidy playing with the doll house during play-time

Happy Gotcha Day!

Can you believe it has been 2 years!?!?!?!?

November 15th marks the day we got to bring Elizabeth from the orphanage 2 years ago. WoW! How our lives have changed. Elizabeth continues to be a happy, joyful girl. She is always smiling and continues to make those around her smile. She has a great imagination and it is always interesting to see what her little mind is going to come up with next. She has touched many lives and I thank God for giving us the opportunity to have her in our life....we have been truly blessed!

To celebrate the day, Elizabeth and I went to Sawyer's Creek and shopped, she rode on Santa's sleigh, we ate lunch, she fed the fish, we got our nails painted. Later we made Borsch (beet soup - which is a soup common in the Ukraine.) Tom and I ate that several times while we were there. It's a lot better than it sounds - even if you don't like beets, you really can't taste them. I got the recipe off the internet, but if anyone wants the one I used, I would be happy to share it.

Tom and I have been reliving our experience by reviewing the blog from 2 years ago. This time of year with the change in the season always reminds us of our time in the Ukraine - so many memories we'll never forget. We share these experiences and pictures with Elizabeth. She knows we came in an airplane to get her, that she cried when we met, that she LOVED bananas, soon she loved playing with us, and one day we got to bring her home with us in an airplane half way around the world. She gets excited when we talk about the airplane she rode in, so she also got a Little People Airplane for Gotcha Day.

Gotcha Day was a great day, but really...every day with my family is a great day. Tom, Elizabeth, Christopher...God is great and He has been good :-)

Elizabeth's First Manicure

On Gotcha Day, Elizabeth and I got our nails done in Hannibal to celebrate. I'm not sure how well you can see them, but they are painted pink with a white flower on her thumbs and big toes. (You can click on the picture to enlarge it). Some may think it was an elaborate waste of money to have a 3 year olds finger nails painted, but we plan to make this a tradition every day on November 15th on Gotcha Day. Elizabeth LOVED the attention of having her nails done :-)

First day of Pre-School

Elizabeth started Pre-School at Paris with Mrs. Parn (Aunt Holly) for one day each week. She LOVED it. She fit right in with the other kids and they were quick to help her find her way around.

While she is there I help Holly and Mrs. Peterson (Bonnie) with the other kids. Wow! They have their hands full with 14-20 kids ranging in age from 3-5 years old. I have great respect and admiration for Holly and Bonnie and all teachers! What a fun and rewarding job (but in no way is it an easy job, either)!

Happy Halloween ~ 2007

Happy Halloween Everyone!!

1. Elizabeth and I carved pumpkins, then colored the eyes, lips, hair, etc. She named one "Elizabeth" and the other "Daddy." Can't you see the similiarity? Chad, Kim, and Makenzie Hays were nice enough to give us the pumpkins.

2. This is "Spooky ~ The Kitty" (aka Elizabeth). She loved being a kitty and talked about it for weeks before Halloween. Funny though, while we were driving around trick-or-treating, she was already thinking about Christmas because we were listening to Christmas CD's in the van :-)

3. Spooky the Kitty and Princess Danielle

4. Elizabeth with Kent and Jeanne Cheek

Playing dress up

Playing dress up is another favorite thing to do. In the top picture she's all wrapped up with a colorful string, slippers and sunglasses. The second picture she has a cute hat Aunt Holly got for her and a boa.
























Elizabeth with her PaPa. She loves music -- singing, playing the piano and drums, and listening to tapes and CDs, and of course dancing. PaPa is playing with her pony tail :-)

Fall has arrived!

Look at the beautiful fall leaves. As you can see Elizabeth and Mollie are both growing up (Mollie now weighs more than Elizabeth) We are going for one of our many walks with Aunt Holly and GrandMary.








Elizabeth has learned to swing herself and it's one of her favorite things to do!














Elizabeth with PaPa

Weiner Roast at Uncle Gary and Aunt Karen's

"Canines for a Cure" Walk

We had a beautiful day to walk and support the "Canines for a Cure" in October. Some of the proceeds went towards a cure for Breast Cancer. There were many people walking dogs, but we left Mollie at home, she's only 5 months old, and still on the hyper side :-) Holly, mom, Karen, Machelle, Stephen, Elizabeth and I walked while Danielle rode her bike.

It's a Birthday Party!

Elizabeth and her 'babies' have a birthday party :-)











2. Elizabeth riding on the tractor with her Daddy while PaPa Joe unloads the combine

Always a happy girl!

1. Can you see the kitty in the tree? Aunt Holly helps Elizabeth pet GrandMary and PaPa's kitty.












2. Elizabeth with her kitty Boots















3. Elizabeth reading to her 'animal friends'














4. Elizabeth showing off her new pierced ears

Summer time fun :-)

1. Ahhhh -- my kids...on Christopher's 19th Birthday!










2. Elizabeth posing in her dance outfit -- Can you tell she likes dance class?





















3. PaPa Joe shows off his outfit to Elizabeth...silly PaPa!

Her first dance class

Today she had her first dance class with Rhonda Woods. Ever since I first asked her a few weeks ago if she wanted to go to dance class, she has been so EXCITED about it. Last week when we went in just to register, she was very disappointed when she found out she didn't get to dance than night. She LOVES wearing her tap shoes because of the noise she can make with them :-)

Tonight before we got there, I explained she would need to be a big girl and do what Miss Rhonda told her to do and Mommy probably wouldn't be able to stay with her. She said, "It's okay, mommy, I'm not scared, I'm going to dance!" All the way to town she had a smile pasted on her face. As soon as class was over, she kept saying, "That was fun!"

These beautiful girls are Danielle Pfanner (Danny and Machelle's daughter), Mia, Nora, and Ava Gottman (Jamie and Megan Gottman's daughters) and Elizabeth ~ we had a get-together at Mark and Carol Hagan's and the girls stopped playing long enough to pose for a picture.

More progress on the grain bins...

1. This picture was taken on Sunday...
2. This picture was taken on Monday afternoon...as you can tell the bins are coming along. They are each 48 feet in diameter.










3. PaPa Joe shows Elizabeth the bins (we stopped by after dance class and she still has her leotard/tights on)













4. Daddy and Elizabeth