Kitchen remodel

Yep, that's what we have goin' on for the next couple months. We are still working on the layout and picking out cabinets, appliances, counter tops and flooring. Any suggestions? Robb and I are having a hard time picking out pretty much everything. It sure is a good idea we are not trying to build a house! Anyway, I love kitchens and really want a lovely space since I spend so much of my day in that room. Don't worry, I will get some before pictures up shortly. It is going to be a giant mess for awhile, but I can hardly wait for the end result!

Another year older

On December 23rd I turned 32. Turning 30, two years ago, was a little difficult for me, just because it seemed as though I was entering a completely different phase of my life and I didn't quite know how to approach it. Honestly I still felt 21 and wasn't sure if I was acting it too! :) After the initial adjustment into the thirties, it has been great. The girlfriends trip that Heidi Jo, Carrie and I took last summer to celebrate our thirties only made me feel younger. We laughed like we were teenagers and talked until the wee hours of the morning. Of course we came home to a house full of kids, which quickly set us back into reality. I know that this decade will be extremely busy with raising kids and such, but so many rewards go with that also. I don't know at what age I will feel 'old' but right now I am enjoying this stage of life and look forward to each year of my thirties!

Doin' the Happy Dance!

FINALLY! Today was the big day that we sent all of our adoption paperwork off. It is a huge relief to have everything done. I have been staring at these papers for months, making sure all I's were dotted and T's crossed. On Christmas Eve we received the final paper in the mail that we had been waiting for. We then had to send everything off to the state capitol to get state certified. We received the papers back today and I had to make 3 copies of everything and send the originals plus 2 copies to our agency. The agency puts the papers through what's called a bundling process and then every paper needs to go to Washington DC to be authenticated. All of this will take approximately 3 weeks and then off to Ethiopia they go! Yay! After that we just wait to be matched. We are told it could take any where from 2 to 9 months to get the referral. We're praying for God's perfect timing and can hardly hold back the excitement as we get closer to meeting our 4th child. We all went to town this afternoon to send the papers off UPS. When I got back in the car we said a prayer that the papers would safely, and without delay, make it to Ethiopia. Hopefully everything is done correctly and things will go smoothly from here on out. This in a huge step closer to our baby girl! This how my desk looked today as I was organizing all of the papers. This isn't even all of them! It's been a long process but all so worth it to be blessed with a child at the end of it all.

New glasses for the New Year

On Friday night we discovered that Hunter wasn't seeing as well as he should be so we took him to the eye doctor on Saturday and discovered that he needs glasses. He was pretty sad at first, but is excited about his glasses now. We just picked them up today and he thinks he resembles Simon, the chipmunk, a little. He keeps quoting him and doing his moves. We've been laughing a lot! I think he looks pretty handsome, what do you think?

Favorite Photo Friday

While making Christmas cookies last week Hunter made this and said, "Hey look, I made the three wisemen following the Christmas star."

Christmas Highlights

Favorite Photo Friday

I had to capture the pure joy on Robb's face as he helped with the Christmas cookies. :-)

Christmas Programs

Brylie as a quiet Mary and Hunter as the vibrant Christmas Star!

Mary and Joseph The Christmas Star with the Wisemen The cute Christmas outfits under the costumes. :-)

Hunter's program at school. (he is in the 2nd row from the top, the 7th one in)

We are not compatible

As I was going through our adoption paperwork, I came across the results of the couple's personality test we had to do. It was a 300 question test we had to take to test our compatibility. It made me laugh once again. (some of you have maybe heard about it because Robb likes to share the results) Read on and you'll know why!

These two profiles show both similarities and differences in these individuals' personalities. Three of the scale scores are very similar and four are quite dissimilar. There is a considerable difference between their scores on the Nervous scale. The relationship may be adversely affected unless Teresa is able to counteract and reduce Robb's level of stress or tension. (WHAT?) Robb and Teresa have similar scores on the Active-Social scale. Compatibility on this scale is an important factor in the success of most relationships. The similarity in this couple's scores is a positive sign. (oh good!) The difference between their scores on the Sympathetic scale suggests that Robb may need more understanding and acceptance from Teresa. Improvement in this regard will enhance their compatibility. (are you kidding me?) The couple's scores differ on the Subjective scale, Robb is more objective, and Teresa's judgment and logic are somewhat more likely governed by feelings or emotional influences. (this is no surprise) Their scores on the Self-Disciplined scale are quite different. This difference suggests that Robb's tendencies to be more impulsive and disorganized than Teresa may cause serious problems in the relationship and may be difficult for Teresa to cope with. (I think I can handle it)

Well, there you have it. Aren't you all surprised that we have been married for 11 1/2 years and have no plans of separating? Luckily or social worker didn't take the results very seriously! I told her it was no surprise that Robb and I are VERY DIFFERENT. That doesn't mean that we aren't compatible. Obviously we have figured out how to live with each other. :-)

Merry Christmas from our family!

Happy Holidays! Once again the Christmas season is upon us and here at the Arnold house we are decorating, baking , shopping and anxiously awaiting the celebration of the birth of our Lord. Hunter is 6 and enjoys kindergarten. He goes all day every other day. At conferences his teacher told us he was at a second grade reading level. We are very proud of him! She also told he has a really hard time sitting quietly in class. We’re working on that one. He will tell you he really likes school he just wishes there wasn’t so many rules! :-) Right now he is really into inventing things. His latest invention is the ‘Mouse Trap 3000’. Hunter brought his drawing to his dad and asked him if he could build it, explaining exactly how it all works. His imagination is endless! Brylie is 4 ½ and is in preschool this year. This was a hard adjustment for her, because she is so shy, but absolutely loves school now. She does a great job writing her letters and is always making pictures for everyone in the family. Brylie loves everything girly and is quite a little mom to Gage. Gage is 2 ½ and is the busiest child I have ever known! He loves to climb and explore and test his boundaries. He is the silent, mischievous type. :-) Gage is the comedian of the family and often has us laughing hysterically. He is all boy and has no trouble keeping up with Hunter and his friends. We are anxiously awaiting the 4th addition to our family through adoption. Last April, after some prompting from the Lord, we decided to pursue an international adoption through China. After many months of being told the wait for a child from China could be increasing to as long as 5 years, we prayerfully considered another country. We have just finished switching our paperwork over to adopt an infant girl from Ethiopia. There are 4 million children in Ethiopia in need of forever families to love and care for them. If all goes well we should have our little girl by next Fall. The kids are thrilled to be getting a baby sister! Another big change in the Arnold family involves a move. We are very excited to be moving into the farm house that Robb grew up in. We love our home, but we simply have run out of room. The farm house is much bigger and it will be so convenient to live right at the farm. Before we move in we are going to completely remodel the kitchen, which we plan to start after Christmas. We should be moved in by spring planting time. (fingers crossed!) Robb had a very busy year on the farm and we were blessed with good crops. He stays busy with farm work, selling Golden Harvest seed, and being a really fun daddy! He always finds a little time to enjoy hunting. He will also be doing some refereeing for basketball this winter. Robb will put his handiwork to the test this winter with the remodel. With 2 kids in school this year, I do a lot of running. I take the kids to and from school, as I am not yet ready to send them on the bus. :-) I have also been going in during Hunter’s lunch and counting his carbohydrates and doing his insulin pump. It gives me peace of mind to do it myself and I love seeing him midday! I stay busy cooking for the farmers and delivering their meals to the field. I also did a little grain cart driving during harvest this year. The kids and I love helping out where needed. This letter is getting so long….I apologize. For some of you this is the only communication I get with you throughout the whole year. I pray that you are all happy and healthy and enjoying this blessed season where we get to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year! Love, Robb, Teresa, Hunter, Brylie, and Gage

Holiday Home Tour

Heidi Jo is hosting a Holiday Home Extravaganza. Here are some pictures of our home decorated for the holidays.

I can hardly wait to get the tree up every year. (this year I didn't do very well, I put it up mid November) :) It is my favorite Christmas decoration. The kids always enjoy helping me decorate it. We have garland, lights, and candles on the entertainment center. Snowmen on top of the gun cabinet. My hutch with Christmas mugs, a gingerbread house, snowmen plates, and a beautiful hand painted Christmas plate I got from my mother-in-law last year. I got this lighted snowman in a barrel at a craft show last year and I absolutely LOVE him! I put him out in November and leave him out until the end of February.

Favorite Photo Friday

Blankie washing days are pretty tough around here!

Adoption Update

We are quickly getting all of our paperwork switched over to Ethiopia. So far it has been very little trouble, just a little extra time. The main paper we are waiting for now is the INS approval for Ethiopia. It took us 2 months to get this document approval for China but we have been assured the new approval should take a lot less time, since we have already been approved once. Our goal is to have everything done and sent to Ethiopia by the end of December. Our hope is to have a referral (be matched to a little girl) by summer and have the court date by September before the Ethiopian courts close for 2 months for 'vacation'. After receiving information about the girl we have been matched with, our agency takes care of getting the birth parent's rights relinquished through the courts. This court date has to take place before we get travel approval. If this is not done before the courts close in Sept. we have to wait until the first of December before they open again, pushing us back quite a bit. We have been praying for our baby so much lately, as we believe she is probably in the womb. I pray for peace for the mother who has to make the decision to give up her child so that she can have a life. I can only imagine how difficult the process is for her. Robb and I are preparing our hearts since we will have the opportunity to meet the birth parents, if they are still alive. This will be very difficult, but so necessary. They are blessing us with a priceless gift that we are forever grateful for. All of this to say that things are moving along, never quick enough for me, but we are making progress.

Let it Snow. Let it Snow. Let it Snow.

We got 6+ inches of white, fluffy snow on Saturday. It was so cold and windy that the kids just watched it from the window until at last, at about 4:00 the snow and wind stopped. I bundled everyone up and they had a blast jumping in the fresh, fallen snow. To kids there is nothin' better than the first good snow of the season.

Hunter was diving head first into the snow and loving every minute of it!

Brylie just ran around the yard laughing and giggling!

Gage spent most of the time in this position. The snow was so deep that his little legs had trouble trudging through it. :)

While the kids were sipping hot chocolate, I had to deal with this mess. Ugh!

New camera frustrations

Well, I got a new camera last week. It is nothing fancy. Our camera died on us and left me with great anxiety. Isn't it true that you find all of these great photo opportunities when you DON'T have a camera? We found a good, not great, camera at T*arget and so far I am happy with everything except getting the pictures onto the computer. I'm thinkin' I might need to read the book. Ugh! It is very similar to our old camera so I thought it would download the same....I was wrong. Oh, in case you are wondering, we got a Canon Powershot A720. It has 8.0 mega pixels and a 6X optical zoom. (whatever all of that means) Anyway, all of this to say that I have some great snow pictures that I was going to share with you, but they are stuck on my camera. :-( Hopefully I'll get them up sometime today. Hope you had a good weekend!

Favorite Photos Friday

Christmas Picture Out-takes

Gage being Gage

Gage still the issue

Getting better

Mass chaos

STAY TUNED FOR THE ONE THAT MADE THE CUT !

Your Christmas is Most Like: A Very Brady Christmas

For you, it's all about sharing times with family. Even if you all get a bit cheesy at times.

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like? I think this is pretty accurate. I love getting together with family and yes, we are a bit cheesy.

The difference between boys and girls.....

Parent Teacher Conferences: Brylie's teacher: "Brylie is such a good girl, I just can't get her to talk." Hunter's teacher: "Hunter is very smart, I just can't get him to sit quietly in class."

I love the Christmas season!

The Christmas season is upon us and I am THRILLED! I absolutely love this time of the year and look forward to it all year long. It makes me happy to walk into a store and see beautiful Christmas lights all through the aisles and hear Christmas music playing in the background. I love the shopping, the baking, the parties.....all of it! This time of the year warms my heart and reminds me of the true miracle of the birth of our Lord and Savior. He is the reason for this magical season!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Preparing for Thanksgiving

A yummy treat!

My mom has the best popcorn ball recipe that we use so often this time of the year. They are out of this world delicious! I thought I would share the recipe. (don't count the calories on this one!)

*****Popcorn Balls***** Pop approximately 8-10 cups of popcorn and set aside. Melt 2 sticks butter, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 large pkg of miniature marshmallows together. Pour over popped corn and form into balls. (they are messy to make, but oh so good!) ENJOY!

OH NO YOU DIDN'T

OH YES I DID!

Favorite Photo Friday

This picture was taken yesterday when my monkeys decided it would be fun to climb a tree. :) As you can see, it is a little chilly here in SD nowadays. Of course the cold doesn't stop the kids!

Thankful Thursday

I’m thankful for: A loving husband, healthy children, friends that keep in touch, a close family, a warm house, a Savior who loves me so, life in the country, beautiful sunrises and breathtaking sunsets, a wonderful church, the opportunity to adopt a baby girl, all 4 seasons, the awesome responsibility of raising my children, my daily fill of hugs and kisses, a safe community to live in, food on the table, and of course my blogger friends!

Don't ya hate it when.....

You open your son's backpack and find this letter: Dear Parents: We are sending this letter to all parents to increase head lice awareness so that you may take steps at home to help prevent your child from being infested with head lice. We do suspect that head lice is present in our school.

I'm back....I survived!

The week is over and I survived. All went very well with the hunters and we finished up with harvest. (HAPPY DANCE!) It feels great to be at this end of the week. I am going out to supper tomorrow night with some friends to relax a bit......a much needed break.

Here's a picture of our hunters at mealtime. My groceries are quite depleted around here. I am always amazed at how much food several men can consume. They were very appreciative of everything and we always enjoy their visits. They went home with two deer and a lot of fun memories. We can't wait to have them back again next year.

Well, I told you last week that I had some adoption news to share, I'm sorry I kept you waiting. To make a really long story short, we have decided to switch countries. After a lot of set backs with China and so many unknowns, with the waiting time extended to 3-5 years, we decided to pray about it and felt led to look into other countries. We feel really good about choosing Ethiopia. We were brought to tears when reading about the conditions people live in there. We have all heard about starving children in Ethiopia, but to read the statistics was literally sickening. Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world with a per capita income of only $110 per year. Four million children are orphaned, nearly 1 million die of AIDS. One in 4 women die in pregnancy or birth. Only 6% of births are attended by a skilled health professional. Only 18% of children reach grade 5. It is obvious there is a TREMENDOUS need for families to adopt these babies that may never see their 5th birthday if they aren't taken out of this type of environment. We didn't have to contemplate this decision for very long....we know there is a little girl there that NEEDS us to survive. We have a great peace about this decision and if all goes well, we will have her in our arms by this time next year!

Sorry....I gotta take a little break.

This week is going to be a little crazy at the Arnold house. This is our last week of corn harvest. YEAH! Since the guys can see the end they are working longer hours than usual. Like 5:30 am to 12 am, so sleep is very minimal around here lately. I am very excited for the harvest to come to an end and to relax a bit before the holiday rush. Also, we have friends from Colorado rolling in today to stay with us for a week deer hunting. They have come every year for several years and are very easy to have, but there is extra cooking involved, (a group of men can go through an insane amount of food in one week!). I'm on my way to town this morning to grab some last minute items. So, all of this to say that I won't be doing a lot of blogging this week, but look forward to sharing some Arnold Family Happenings with you next week. I have some adoption news that I will update you with also. Have a great week! Stay warm!

Favorite Photo Friday

Happy Halloween! (glad it's over)

For a parent with small children, Halloween is an exhausting day! There are school parties, trick-or-treating, and the harvest party at the church. Here are a few pictures to highlight the day. (I discovered at the end of the day that my camera was on the wrong setting so my pictures aren't that great...bummer)

Bibleman, Pocahontas, and Buzz Lightyear This is Brylie's preschool class. The Kindergarten class.

Gage got to enjoy the party with the preschoolers.

Aunt Kim did the face painting at the Harvest party. Hunter and Sage, the Pirate

These are my nephews, Alec, Ethan and Noah.