Vacation in Florida

We just returned from an amazing vacation in Florida, to 17 degree weather and lots of snow! The first few days of our vacation were spent at the Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando where we visited the Universal Studios Parks and visited with some wonderful friends. The kids loved the zero entry pool, and I was happy to be outside in the sunshine!

The second day of our stay, we were joined by my friend Marcy who also adopted two of her children from Guatemala. It was so nice to visit with them, made our stay even more special!

Three of our Guat tots:

The kids enjoyed the water taxi we took to City Walk where we visited the restaurants and theme parks:

Sela had lots of fun in the store trying on wigs:

We watched a wonderful show at the Universal Studios theme park which showed lots of animals from the movies and the various tricks they did. Here is Sela posing with the pug from Men in Black and a bird from a recent movie:

Leaving the Hard Rock Hotel was sad, but the kids cheered up as soon as they saw Bubie and PopPop!

My "things" (from the Cat in the Hat) at the Kennedy Space Center:

Too bad we are missing the actual shuttle launch which doesn't happen until Feb 7 at 4:39 am.

The next day, we went to Disney's Magic Kingdom, where Sela had a makeover at the Bippity Bobbity Boutique which was a late birthday present. I hope she loved the whole experience, even if a bit overwhelmed. She is my beautiful princess!

Posing with Cinderella's evil stepmother and stepsisters:

We went on rides, and Bubie loved it!!

PopPop had a great time too, even though Sela could barely see over the steering wheel!

We visited lots of princesses:

And, finally ended the day with dinner in Cinderella's castle complete with fireworks out the window after dessert!

The hair and some makeup held up overnight, she was still glowing the next day!

Finally, a trip to the Nature Center with Bubie and PopPop rounded out the trip.

We had a wonderful time, enjoyed our friends and family and are now glad to be home!

Happy Birthday to my beautiful Princess

I have not been keeping up with my blog the way I would have liked, but it has been a busy time for us. I could not however let this special occassion pass without writing about my beautiful princess' birthday. On January 9, Yisela Mari turned 4. She has such a good heart, is very smart, creative, imaginative and is incredibly loving. Sela loves to sing and dance and often has conversations with her stuffed animals. On her report card which was issued yesterday, her teachers noted that she always comes to school with a smile and is eager to learn.

For her birthday, Sela asked to have a princess spa party. She invited some friends from school and from ballet class to come for manicures and pedicures, then have hair and makeup done before changing into princess clothes. Once in their beautiful dresses the girls had pictures taken then sat down for cake and pink milk. The party ended with a princess pinata. Thanks to the help of Aunt Sherry, cousin Becca, Miriam, Amy and Aunt Teri, the party was a huge success. Here are a few pictures from Sela's special day:

Chanukah 09

It has been so busy here with all the holiday preparations, partying and holiday celebrations! The kids are enjoying Chanukah and I believe they are starting to understand the spirit of the holidays. They have enjoyed their gifts and spending time with family and loved ones.

Here are a few pictures from our holiday celebrations:

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Sela's Thanksgiving Feast & Nathan's Report Card

Sela had a special celebration in school this year for Thanksgiving and I was so lucky to be able to attend.

Here is my beautiful girl dressed as a Native American: With Mommy:

With Morah Ellen:

and with Morah Amy:

Nathan received his report card this week and got very good grades. I also had my first parent-teacher conference of the year and was overwhelmed by all the teachers who came to Nathan's classroom just to meet me and tell me how special my little boy is. I have always known my kids are special, but it feels great to hear that others feel the same way! I am an incredibly proud momma!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Gifts arrive in Guatemala

Thanks to the help of my parents, sister and of course my beautiful children, we used our proceeds from our annual garage sale to send a backpack filled with school supplies, toiletries, clothes and gifts to each of our three sponsored children in Guatemala. For more information on sponsoring a child in Guatemala, and Mayan Families, please go to their website at: http://www.mayanfamilies.org/ It is always such a joy and an honor to see their smiling faces and to know that you are helping to make a difference in someone's life.

Halloween 2009

The kids were so excited about Halloween this year. They picked out their own costumes and both actually wore theirs! Sela loved trick or treating, but I am not sure which she enjoyed more: the walk with PopPop, the treats she received, or the fact that everyone told her that she was pretty!! Nathan had enough of the trick or treating after about 6 houses so we returned home to be with Bubie and give out our candy.

Sela was a fairy princess ballerina mermaid and Nathan chose to be a police office from the swat team. Sela wore high heels with this outfit and walked very well. In the middle of trick or treating, I asked her if her feet were ok to which she told PopPop that she walks better in heels than her mommy does....so true!!

And my little fashionista with her new boots from Auntie Mary before going to the Disney on Ice show with our cousins Seth, Bret and Becca:

Catching up...

The kids have been sick for over a week and our lives are beginning to get back to normal, until the next big disruption! This past weekend, we enjoyed celebrating Aunt Sherry's birthday and seeing family, the beautiful weather outside on Sunday and spending time with Uncle Rick after he ran the Marine Corps Marathon with cousins Larry and Josh yesterday.

Happy 60th Aunt Sherry!

Mom with Baby Hollie

Sela enjoying the party:

Mom and Dad:

Nathan found a friend to play with - Simon Says with Brian:

Impromptu photo shoot with kids outside Sunday:

Visiting with Uncle Rick: