THE WINNER IS...

Every Thanksgiving I try to think of something new and different that I am especially thankful for. The only rule is that it cannot be my family. My family kind of trumps everything so they unfortunately get taken out of the mix... Some years it is about some event that happened. Other years, it is a person. Once in a while it is even something.

This year, the winner is the circle of friends that I have been so graciously blessed with. I can't tell you the times that I have been pulled out of "the depths of despair" by the encouragement of one of my friends. From a kind word in passing to a sit down get-it-off-my-chest marathon...my friends have been such a support to me this last year.

I have friends that have known me so long that they can just look at me and...just know. There is an understanding that comes with aging and a shared history. We all experience accomplishments and struggles. Things we are proud of and other things we are ashamed of. We understand the bittersweet feelings of letting our children go. We forget how old we are...until we catch a glimpse of ourselves in the mirror! To my longtime (not old!) friends, I sure do love you. You accept me with all my warts, bumps and bruises and keep inviting me to coffee. Thanks for not giving up on me. I am thankful for you!

Then...there are my new friends. Adding three children to our family has widened my circle of friends in ways that I never imagined. I have met many new friends through basketball, baseball, tennis and school activities. I'm sure the list will get longer as our youngest kids work their way through their school years. Among my new friends are other adoptive moms. There is a special understanding and a special bond that I feel with these ladies. Just when I think my issues are unique and no one could possibly know what I'm talking about...one of my special friends shares a similar story. They will cry with me. They will laugh with me. I always feel better after being with them. To my new friends - I don't know how I might have managed this last year without your encouragement and love. You are very dear to me!

All in all, I have been blessed with such a great support system of friends. They give me perspective, hope and lots of reasons to laugh. They help me see the big picture and have helped me to experience God's grace over and over again. Anyway, to all of you...and YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!...YOU are my Thanksgiving winners this year and I thank God for bringing you into my life! HAPPY THANKSGIVING to YOU!

TENNIS ANYONE?

My last two blog entries are about the end of both cross country and swimming. This fall we added yet another sport to our athletic schedule. Roselyn was on the CIHS tennis team and she did such a great job. It was especially remarkable considering the late start she had. She started hitting the tennis balls early this summer and was burning up the court by the end of the season. I love learning about this sport. It is very relaxing to watch because you don't have crazy people yelling across the court. There is usually a small crowd and although there is an occasional "shout out" or smattering of applause, it is pretty calm. It reminds me a little of watching golf....shhhhhhh...the players need to concentrate. The other thing I love about tennis are the little outfits the girls get to wear. That might even be my most favorite thing. Who cares how they play because, well... they all just look so darn cute! That sounds a little shallow, doesn't it?? Think what you will, but Roselyn looked darling out there on the court and she played like a pro. I am looking forward to next summer and more tennis. I may even get out there on the court with my daughter and give her a few pointers!! Just kidding. Good job, Roselyn!!

CONGRATS, KRISTIN!!

Yesterday, while Allen and I were cheering on the Bluejacket Swim and Dive Teamt...Kristin was running the regional cross country meet in Grinnell, Iowa. There were 27 teams and Kristin finished 16th overall! She had a fabulous race! We were texting back and forth with Peter (her boyfriend) to

get the details on the race. I was on pins and needles just waiting for each new text. I was surprisingly very emotional as I sat there wishing I could be in two places at once. We learned today that Kristin was one spot away from qualifying for the National Meet in Cleveland next weekend. As disappointing as that is, I know that she will be back next year, running like a crazy person :) in hopes of being the best runner she can be. I am confident that next year will be even better than this one.

We are not quite sure how Kristin manages school, work, friends, a long distance boyfriend, AND cross country, but she does. We LOVE watching the meets, and will be there next fall chasing her around the course again. Here are a few pics that I took this fall - some of Kristin running...some of her fans trying to catch her!! Good job, Kristin! We're proud of you!

HURRAH FOR STEPH!

Yesterday was the section meet for Steph's swim team. The team finished 2nd and seven girls have advanced to the State Meet which will take place next weekend. Steph swims in one of the two relays that gets to go! It was such an exciting race! I can't even tell you... I was sitting next to Lindsay and it was just SO EXCITING! My heart was racing when it was finished. We knew that they had a chance to qualify for State, but anything can happen on the day of the race. The good news is that it was the FIRST race of the meet. I think that the girls were relieved to get it out of the way right away! The other exciting thing was that they broke the school record! Good job, ladies!

I am really proud of all the girls who swam on Saturday. Swimming is a very strenuous sport and (somehow) after a long, hard season, they all managed to drop time. I believe that they all did their very best. I love that Steph is a part of this team. These girls are very supportive of each other and they like to hang out with each other outside of the pool. So much...that the section team spent the night at our house. This morning, we had 20+ girls plus Mr. Sholund for breakfast. Very fun and such good memories for all of us! Congrats, Steph and Congrats to the CI Swim and Dive Team!!! We're proud of you!

NOVEMBER 8, 2009

THE ONE YEAR HURDLE

Guest Writer... and My Best Friend! - Allen Mork

I have been granted an opportunity to post a blog entry and because I love this blog (and it's author!), I will do my best to not mess it up!

Overall, I see this past year as one of tremendous growth-growth for each of our kids, our family and for me personally. Growth can be very exciting and fun - but it also means change... which can be challenging and sometimes even painful. With that in mind, I've listed a few of my memories from this past year.

*STITCHES: 3 daughters times about 22 years - none; Rodrigo - 6 hours, Romeo - 3 weeks!

*FISH HOOKS: used frequently this year on the river and at the cabin; we all dodged a few except for one Rapala which found flesh on Romeo's forearm.

*BEDTIME: my favorite time of the day - reading books, telling Fibber Jibber stories, talking with Roselyn, back rubs for Steph.

*TWINS BASEBALL: a shared love for the team and the game.

*HEAD TRAUMA (to me): hit by baseballs, snowballs, basketballs, a canoe paddle, elbows, light sabers and swords!

*DAMAGED GLASSES/SUNGLASSES: See above.

*THE WEDDING: Amazing! Beautiful bride/family! Great ceremony, reception and square dance!

*RICE: Not thrown at the wedding but we certainly eat more of it!

*HOMEWORK: A lot of it, but I think I finally understand Algebra!

*NOISE: There is more...a lot more!

*LAUNDRY: See above.

*FATIGUE: See above.

*DISCIPLINE: We have great kids but this remains a constant challenge for us.

*CARS - THE SOUNDTRACK: heard perhaps a couple of hundred times this past year!

*SMELLY SOCKS: Brings back (unpleasant!) memories of my brothers!

*STAR WARS: The battle rages on!

*JOY: I saved the best for last. The most lasting memory I will have of this year is seeing the look on one of our kid's faces as they "snuggle" in with their mom to read a book, watch a movie or go to sleep.

Having a bigger family is definitely more stressful and tiring than I could have ever imagined but is truly the most rewarding and meaningful thing I have ever done. I love being a dad and I would not trade our crew for anything! Thanks to all of our family and friends for your love, support and prayers. We could not have made it through this year without you!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I have always had mixed feelings about Halloween. I don't like the dark side of this holiday with all the witches, scary stuff and dead people. Why would anyone want to celebrate evil? On the other hand, it is so much fun to dress up and roam the neighborhood in search of goodies. It's all about the trick or treating, isn't it? We thought we had moved beyond the carving and costume stage a few years back but I guess we were wrong.

Carving pumpkins was really quite fun this year. As usual, Allen was in charge of the carving operation while I made the pumpkin seeds. Seems like a good deal to me! Roselyn, Romeo and Rodrigo did a fine job creating their scary faces...Kristin and Steph added their pumpkins to the mix later. All in all, a fine year for Jack-O-Lanterns.

Costumes of choice this year - STAR WARS STORM TROOPERS! We have NEVER had Star Wars ANYTHING! so this was kind of a rare treat. It was definitely a boy's Halloween this year... and well... it was a refreshing change from the endless years of princess costumes!