A final goodbye....

I have thought about this for quite some time now and getting to this point hasn't been so easy, but it is obvious that I have not made keeping my blog up to date a priority like I have keeping up with my family, and enjoying them and their activities in the day to day.  So, it is with a bit of sadness that I say goodbye to my blog.  It has been a great outlet for me to share my thoughts with you and to allow you a brief glimpse into life as we know it.  I appreciate every one of you that has followed along with us from day one, as well as those of you who found us somewhere along the way.  I am working on having my blog printed so that we will always have it in our hands to flip through and enjoy.  Thanks for allowing me to share our journey with you! 

With love and best wishes,
Kristen

Summer vacation!

I have not intentionally been neglecting my blog, but it just seems that when I get busy with life, the blog is one thing that is easy to toss aside and come back to another day.  I guess with the infrequency of my posts I've been busy!  I love having the kids out of school and home with me all day now and we find it very easy to fill our days with whatever sounds fun! 

We did enjoy a wonderful family vacation on Lake Michigan a few weeks ago.  The weather was absolutely perfect for a week on the beach and we spent all 7 days on the beach.  We all had fun playing in the sand, building sandcastles, swimming, boogie boarding and body surfing.  Lots of fun in the sun!  Here are some pictures of our fun. 

I hope you are enjoying your summer as much as we are.  Can't promise when I'll be back, but hopefully it will be soon! 

Love,
Kristen

Beautiful ballerina

Marina had her spring ballet recital last night and did an awesome job.  She is such a graceful ballerina and a beautiful girl.  I love to watch her dance.....



Alexander's Adoption Day

Sometimes I find myself getting completely caught off-guard by how quickly time seems to pass.  It is on days like this one where I am reminded all over again.....

It was SIX years ago that we stood in a courtroom in Krasnoyarsk, Russia and added a son to our family.  Six years ago this sweet baby boy brought his smile into our lives.  Six years....and yet it feels like just yesterday. 

We had a great day celebrating Alexander's Adoption Day yesterday.  We had his favorite meal for dinner....spaghetti and meatballs...and ended the meal with a yummy chocolate cake.  We gave him an official Russian soccer jersey for his gift and he loved it!  In fact, he is wearing at school right now!  He was supposed to have soccer practice last night, but it ended up getting rained out, so his activity of choice was to challenge me on the Wii.  It was fun!  I love celebrating the amazing way our family came together, and even more, I love celebrating just how much I LOVE my amazing kids!  Happy Adoption Day, Alexander!!   



Proud mommy moments....

I am going to take a moment to brag about share my daughter's recent accomplishments with you.  Just this week, two awesome things have happened for Marina.....

On Sunday Marina auditioned for the local ballet performance of the Nutcracker.  I am proud to announce that Marina will be dancing in the production as a "party girl" in November.  She is really excited about her role, and I am proud of her for auditioning.  I was told by one of the judges at the auditions that they will make a part for everyone that tries out, but I am still really proud of her! 

I volunteer in Marina's classroom on Thursday mornings and all through the months of January, February and early March the 3rd graders were working very hard on writing and illustrating their own stories for a literary contest that is hosted by a local college.  Marina's teacher told me this morning that Marina won the best illustrator award for 3rd grade in Calhoun and Eaton counties!  She had not shared that with the class yet while I was there, so I was not able to "celebrate" with Marina while I was there, but I can't wait to see that smile on her face when I pick her up from school today.  She will be SO excited!  Anyone that knows Marina well knows that she truly has a gift in artistic ability, so it is really exciting for her to be recognized for her talents.  I am one proud mama today! 

In other news, Mike and Schnabel jetted off to Germany yesterday to spend a day and a half with a supplier and then fly back home on Saturday.  If only all of his business trips could be this quick...... :O) 

Alexander is off to a great start with his soccer season.  He scored 2 goals at his first game last Saturday, and I am anxious to see him play again this Saturday. 

Thanks for checking in on us!  I hope you stop by again soon!
Love,
Kristen

Easter 2012

Happy Easter!  I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter weekend.  We had a great weekend with Mike's family.  We were able to see Mark, Kelly and Harper on Saturday and then lots of extended family on Sunday.  Fun!  The kids loved coloring their eggs and having an Easter egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa's!  

 

I know I haven't been posting much lately, and I'm sorry!  We have been really busy with our everyday activities and I hadn't pulled the camera out in quite a while.  Mike's been traveling a bit here and there and the kids keep me busy with piano, ballet, horseback riding, soccer and soon baseball, softball and golf.  Whew....it's going to be a busy (but FUN!) summer! 

We are going to spend Memorial Day weekend down in Atlanta with the families that we traveled to Russia with in 2006....and we can't wait!  The last time we all got together was 2 years ago in Nashville.  It's so much fun to get all these kids together to see how much they have all grown and changed and of course, it's wonderful to catch up with all of these amazing families that we are blessed to call friends. 

And all of us are really excited for summer.  The kids were kind of dragging this morning as they were getting ready to head back to school after a week off for spring break.  I think they are ready for summer break!  Hoping it will be here before we know it! 

Thanks for checking in on us.  Again, sorry for the lack of posts.....I'll keep trying..... :o)

Love,
Kristen

Schnabel's next big adventure...

...starts today!  He and Mike are off to Europe this week, and we just received our first picture from the world travelers.  They haven't made it very far yet...just to the self check-in at the Detroit Metro airport. 
They will soon be flying the friendly skies though, and we can't wait for photographic proof of all the traveling they will be doing this week.  Three countries in 4 days!