2007 Bullet Hill Boo Bash

Saturday evening found us at the annual Terrill Halloween party. It was a blast. The following morning Julia slept until 10:00 a.m.!!!!! Scott's haunted hayrides have been proclaimed "the best ever." Christopher can't believe that he got his very own flashlight. The stress of the pumpkin pinata almost got to Julia but she made it and filled her bucket with tons of candy. The party was a great success and everyone had a great time. The food was great, the decorations were really scary (I heard there was a werewolf in the woods) and the company was awesome. Thank you Chryse and Scott for a great time.

Mark Cooper our First Selectman (like a mayor for those not in New England)stopped by to offer a proclamation to Jim Hartman, who is leaving this week for Iraq. So my blog friends please keep him and his wife, Tammy and their children in your prayers. It was a moving moment and we wish him well and pray for his safe and quick return home.

In true Alice fashion, I took what seemed like a hundred photos. Of course, my camera was on some weird setting so half of them came out all dark and blurry. These are the shots that you can actually see.

Two Years!

Below is the e-mail I sent home the day we met Christopher. Although his "gotcha day" isn't until March 1, this was our first meeting and the day he was born in our hearts. It's been a great two years and you've come so far Christo! We love you and we're happy you picked us to be your forever family...always, Mommy, Daddy, Julia, Barney XO

"She gave us Slava's official referral and then had us sign a large ledger. We then went to the orphanage. They are renovating the building so it smelled of paint and construction. We went to the Director's office where she asked us a few questions and then she read us information on Slava. She told us that he is "quite a character and quite active." mmmmm does that sound like any one else we know?

They brought him to her office. He is really cute. He was so frightened of us that the whole meeting he was actually trembling. It was heartbreaking to see how upset he was. We offered him toys and he was pretty unimpressed. He did take the crayons from me and do a little coloring. When the caretaker asked him if he wanted to stay or go he wanted to go. Before he left he shook our hands and then I blew him a kiss and surprisingly he blew one back. That's when he had me. He was really frightened. We were only allowed to visit for a little while. We then went to a toy store to buy a big truck which the director said would impress him. I'm thinking about candy at this point. Hopefully, as the week goes on he will become a little more comfortable with us. We'll let you know hot the truck goes over."

October Already?

I cannot believe one month of school is already done. At this rate, I will blink and my Beauties will going off to college. Please someone make time slow down! The first month has been great. Both Julia and Christopher have adjusted to their new schools beautifully. Julia loves her new school and her new teacher. She especially loves riding the bus. Christopher is also doing well at his school and assures me he is being good on the bus. He comes home with great artwork everyday. It's already starting to get darker earlier grrrrrr. The leaves are really turning but it is HOT. It is so strange you look out the windows and it looks like it should be chilly. The leaves are bright oranges, reds, and yellows...then you walk outside and it's 85 degrees. We still have our air-conditioning running. This is not what fall is supposed to be like in New England. Everyone around here has a theory and most of them are just not good. I over-heard one woman say that the winter will be especially bad because the squirrels are collecting the GREEN acorns. I'm curious at how she knows what acorns are being collected but nevertheless I hope she is wrong.