Family photos

Because our whole family will be together this weekend our goal is to get a good family picture for our Christmas cards. Because I am the "photographer" in the family it is my job to take these pictures... it's quite the ordeal but we make it work. Anyways I was looking for some ideas for these pictures and these are some of my favorites.

There is the everyone jump in the air which is over used and rarely looks good because of course everyone jumps at different times... and then there's the small problem that heather Krista and I all have a problem jumping (we're lucky if we can get 1 inch off the ground)...
And of course you can't forget the thinking pose. This is always a good one if you want your family to look smart...

And of course the pile up. The pile up can be done in so many different ways. Below was a way I liked it says "we're close but we don't want to squish each other. Perfect for that sister picture... just hope no one has lice!

I bet you can't wait to see how our family pictures turn out! I can't either but I guess we'll both have to wait!

Saskatchewan

A couple of days ago I heard this song on the radio and my first thought was that would be perfect for my blog!

O boy

O boy... will my life ever slow down??? I got back from Bulgaria on Thursday, Started working on Saturday. Worked 4 days straight... that's right 96 hours straight. I got off this morning and tomorrow morning at like 5am Heather and I fly out home. I feel like I just want to go to bed but that is not an option becasue I have to pack, do laundry, bake, get winter tires put onto my car, pick some things up in town, clean my room, clean out the car... and that is just the beginning of the list. Well I better get going or I'm not going to get anything done. Talk to you all from home!

The Murse

Definition Murse: a man's purse; a male nurse.

I'm talking here about the first part of the definition, the man's purse. When I was in Bulgaria I saw one to may murses. During a 30 min lunch at McDonalds I saw over 10 murses. I just have to say that I don't think that murses are attractive in any way. Guys if you need to carry a bag do just that. There are really masculine bags out there... murses are not masculine!

I'm home with pictures galore

I'm home! The trip home went fairly well. Aiden is a great traveler... when he is on the plane... he doesn't so do well in Airports. Well here are the pictures for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Time to go home

We're onto our last night here in Bulgaria! I have really enjoyed this trip but I am ready to get back home to my bed, my car, my computer, you know the normal can't wait to get back to stuff.

Let's see where did I leave off??? I think it was our last trip to the zoo. Boy do I have lots to share, but I will try to keep it short tonight cuz I need to shower and get a few hours sleep.

Tuesday: We went shopping at the City Center mall. This mall has 6 floors and lots to see! However after lunch at the food court Aiden decided shopping wasn't really his thing. He was taking all the clothes off the racks and putting them on different racks. Then he decided that he was going to sweep the floor. Lets just say he didn't really enjoy standing there with us looking at the clothes. We did end up getting a couple things but then we decided it was best to leave and we went for a walk and found a park. Then we went back to some of the old buildings we had been to the day before to finish buying our souviners. Aiden found a puddle there and played in it while I shopped.

Today: We decided that we were done with shopping and old places becasue Aiden clearly doesn't like them so we decided to go back to the zoo! I love the zoo, not sure why but I find it so fun! So we spent 3 hours there, took a bus (we weren't really sure where we were going) to a McDonalds for a late lunch/early dinner and then went to the groacery store 1 last time to pick up some more chocolate! After that we got a taxi back to the hotel here and we met with Alex and Nelly, they are the adoption people here in Bulgaria, and we got all of Aiden's papers we need so that we can go home tomorrow!

So there it is the small version of our last 2 days. Now I am off to get ready for bed so I can be up at 4:00am. We're flying out at 6:20am Thurdsday and we'll be back home at 4:30pm (or atleast I will mom and Aiden will be back at 3:30) still on friday. Nice short flight eh? See you all back in Canada! and I promise pictures will be coming soon (I have about 500 now).

Pictures!

ok so there are only two pictures because I can't put pictures off my camera onto this computer. These pictures are from when we poicked Aiden up from the orphanage, one of the staff took them and emailed them to us.

A tiger tried to eat me

But because I love you all I am more than happy to share with you my adventures from today!

This morning I managed to sleep in until 9am! I was so proud of myself... this might not seem that great of an accomplishment but yesterday am I was up at 3:05am. And we all got ready and headed up for breakfast. I got cheese on toast with tomatos again, it is very good! Then we came back to our room, finished getting ready and headed out for our adventure! We started the day by going to the zoo. The zoo is awesome! and cheep! It cost mom, aiden and I all about $3cnd in total to get in! So you're probably thinking what a dumpy zoo it much have been but nope it had everything zoo's should have (except for giraffes). I have to say it was the best zoo experience I ever had! You could get within 3 feet of a tiger! Lets just say canada takes lawsuites more seriously than bulgaria becasue I could have easily got into any of the animal pens! Aiden seemed to enjoy it he especially loved the tiger and the llamas.

After ther zoo we took a little walk (really we were trying to find a taxi!) and I thought I was going to die! Not becuase of the area of Sofia we were in... though it was a little sketch. But rather becasue people decided that the sidewalk would be better used to park cars then to walk on. So we had to walk on the road and I'm not sure if I mentioned this before or not but the people here drive CRAZY! Well we decided, finally, that we should just get a bus so we did just that! Turns out here the busses are free! We got off when we saw some taxi's parked on the side of the road and we were driven to St. Alexander Nevski Cathedral. It's a beautiful church that was built in the late 1800's. Aiden was scared of it so mom and I took turns going into it. The right across the road there was a little market so mom and I did some shopping! We got a few things to bring home as gifts and a few things for ourselves. By this time it was 3 and we hadn't eatten so we decided to find a place to eat and we did just that! We found this little pizza shop that you can order pizza from the outside and they serve it to you on a piece of cardboard. After pizza we decided it was time to get some "grocery's" and by "grocery's" I mean, chocolate, cookies etc. All those wonderful things you need to bring back with you when you travel. I have to tell you about this grocery store. In Sophia at busy intersections rather than having cross walks you walk down stairs and under the road, smart eh? Well under the roads there are also stores! So yup that's right we bought our grocerys from an underground grocery store! Ok so after grocerys we got a taxi back to our hotel... There's another story but I will save it for my special taxi blog! Once we got back we relaxed a bit, went to the restarant for dinner and then back to our room to get ready for bed/for computer time. Well that is where you find me now. We're not sure what our plans are for tomorrow or for wednesday... that's my next task, to find fun things to do! talk to you all tomorrow!

blogging is sooooo hard

because blogging is so much work I have decided to give you a connection to what yesterday had in store for us here in Bulgaria. kenofamilyadoption.blogspot.com
Enjoy!

We're here!

Hi! I would say it in Bulgarian but my bulgarian is limited to chow (bye), sock (juice), bravo (good job) and ne (no)... but really cut me some slack I have only been in bulgaria for 20 hours.

CANADA:
So I flew out of Regina at 10:55am on Thursday. Mom and I met up in Toronto at 4:30, she flew in from Nanaimo, and we boarded a plane at 6:00 for Frankfurt. In Frankfurt we would have 2 hours to eat/find our next plane and we would be on our way... well that was the plan. We were about 3 hours into the flight, heading out over the atlantic when I noticed the little plane on the tv screen (you know the one that tells you where you are in the world) was turning around... NOOOOO... a min later the captin came on and informed us that due to a medical emergency we had to turn the plane around and go back to Newfoundland. No biggie right? an hour added to the flight... nice try it was more like 4. needless to say we missed our connection to Sofia and therefore had the opportunity to spend an afternoon in Frankfurt Germany.

GERMANY:
As soon as we got to Germnay they had us booked on another flight to Sofia but becuase of the lack of traffic between Fankfurt and Sofia we weren't able to fly out until after 7pm... so we made the most of that opportunity and took the subway/bus thing to down town and spent a few hours window shopping, buying mom new shoes (she wore heals and was in a bit of pain), siping starbucks and taking pictures. It was really nice but we were definatly ready to get to our hotel...

BULGARIA:
We arrived into Sofia just after 11pm. We cleared customs (of course) and picked up our luggage... or should I say my luggage... mom's took abit longer to get here (it arrived this afternoon). The guy from the hotel was there waiting for us and brought us to the hotel. We are staying at the some hotel as last time mom and dad were here, Hotel Jasmin.

After a great much needed sleep we got up had a quick breakfast of cheese on toast with tomatos and we were off to pick up Aiden. The translator and driver we had were the same ones mom and dad had last time and let me tell you I was born into the wrong country. I love the driving here! they go anywhere from 100-140km/hr. They pass whenever they want... even if they are passing a police, they don't really follow the lines you know the normal non north american driving. We got to Aiden's home at 12:30 and he was there all ready to go. He recognized mom right away and he calls her momma mary... then they told him that I was his caca (big sister)... nt sure how I feel about being called caca. All the staff at the home showed him so much love! They showered him with kisses and hugs. I have to admit I don't remember much from the drive to the home or back (8 hours in total) because I slept... but there was one point when we stopped for lunch and Aiden found a hose... turns out he LOVES hoses. The gas station guy even turned it on for him and he watered EVERYTHING he could find. The grass, the garbage can, the sidewalk, the wall, the road... everything. Since the drive we've just been hanging out at the hotel. WE had dinner here and watched some cartons. and Aiden has been melting everyones hearts. He makes friends with everyone and tells them that we are taking him to canada! When we told him we were going to stay in sofia for a little while he told us taht he would rather go right to canada.

Well I should go see what mom and Aiden are up to... talk to you soon...
Andrea

And we're off and running

Tomorrow I am leaving! I fly out of Regina at 10:55am and will land in Sofia at 1:20pm Friday! I was just talking to mom and we're not 100% sure what to expect. Here are the things we know:

1. When our flights are, there and back
2. That we will be coming back with one more suitcase and one more body!

Yup that's about it! We don't know when we're picking up Aiden, we don't know where we are staying, we don't know how long we are going to stay in any location, we don't know what exactly we are doing. But surprisingly this isn't putting a lot of stress on either mom or I. We are both very excited to go and those other minor details aren't a big deal.

Reading this I seem so calm... I am now but 3 hours ago I was feeling anything but calm. We were trying to get our tickets in order, we couldn't find mom, I didn't know how I was going to get to the airport, and I was VERY determined that I was going to be leaving tomorrow as I had to take some time off work and the last thing I wanted to do was to have to take more time off work. This trip works out really well as far as work goes. They are more than happy to let me give my 3 scheduled shifts away and I will be back a day and a half before my 24 hour shifts start! God is Good, his timing is perfect!

O boy I should be going... no time to sit here and type... I'll see you all in a week!

Europe here I come!

In the next two weeks I will be boarding a plane to Bulgaria! My mom got the word today and Aiden's paperwork will be all ready Wednesday! We'll have more details tomorrow!

Thanksgiving (7)

Happy Thanksgiving Monday! Heather and I celebrated thanksgiving with some of our school friends yesterday, it was wonderful! We only had 1 set back... the power went out for just over an hour so our gigantic turckey wasn't cooked when we hoped it would be but whatever it got done and then we ate! So today I am very thankful for my thanksgiving family!

Thanksgiving (6)

Whoops... I got a few days behind on my thanksgiving entries... o well I added a couple extra in there a couple of days so I think I'm ok. But I will give you one for today because today is thanksgiving Sunday. Today is also the day we are celebrating thanksgiving with friends... so today in my blog post I want to honnor my friends.

I have been blessed with so many amazing friends over the years! I absolutly love my friends!

Thanksgiving (5)

I realized today how thankful I am for summer! Today we got our first real snowfall and I am not too impressed... I worked from 6:45am-3pm then I had to go do some arrands and when I got out of superstore it was starting to snow... by the time I got gas and drove home (20 min) it was really coming down and even worse it was sticking. Now we have a white yard :( So though I don't appriciate the snow I appriciate the summer even more now!

One thing I absolutly love about the summer is hanging out with my sibs Mom and dad got to go and meet Aiden this summer I love the beautiful sunsets on the Island RODEOS!

Going to the lake is a great way to spend a summer day...

or evening...But even better than going to the lake is going to the ocean

Thanksgiving (4)

I'm thankful that when God he made us he gave us the ability to laugh. I love to laugh and I couldn't imagine my life without a good laugh every now and then. Well here is something heather showed me that gave me a good laugh...

Thanksgiving (3)

What is thanksgiving all about? Giving thanks for the harvest (and other blessings) and what's more harvesty then wheat? In Sask. nothing!!!

Thanksgiving (2)

Ok so today isn't a why I'm thankful post but it is a thanksgiving one! I LOVE pumpkin pie! I love pumpkin pie blizzards, pumpkin steamed milk... if it tastes like pumpkin pie I love it! So I'm going to give you my favorite cheese cake recipe for a pumpkin pie cheese cake.

NO BAKE PUMPKIN PIE CHEESE CAKE

You'll need:

• 1 pkg cream cheese (8 ounces)
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp pumkin spice
• 1 tub cool whip
• 1 graham cracker crust

How to Make it:

• Make a 10" graham cracker crust, set aside
• Beat together softened cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar and pumpkin spice with a blender until smooth.
• Fold in 2 1/2 cups of cool whip.
• Pour filling into the graham cracker crust.
• Top with the rest of the cool whip and
• Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

It is so easy and it is amazing! Enjoy!

Thanksgiving (1)

I have sooo much to be thankful for so I figured rather than having 1 post for thanksgiving I would de a whole weeks worth of posts! Ok, my plan is to post once a day on something I'm thankful for or something about thanksgiving or along those lines. Like I said this is my plan it doesn't mean it will happen but I'll give it a go! Where to start... where too start... O I know!

I know this is a really clique one but I'm thankful for my family. I think I have the best family ever! I know lots of other people think that too but I don't know if you could top my family!

I have two parents who love Jesus more than anything else, love each other and who love all of their kids no matter what! They are suportive and they seem to always know when to let us make our own mistakes and when to step in and give us a hand. Both of my parents have taught me sooo much from how to shoot a gun (thanks dad!) or how to clean an oven (I should use this skill more often) to how to care for people who aren't able to care for themselves. LOVE YOU MOM AND DAD THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING!

I have Amazing bialogical sisters who are my best friends. We, or maybe it's just me, often wonder why we are so close. is it because we are almost exaclty 2 years apart? Is it becuase we home schooled? Is it because we had to choice but to get along? Or were we just blessed? Whatever the reason I am so thankful that I have two sisters who will always be there for me whether I need a bit of extra money or if I just need someone to hang out with. I could never ever imagine life without the two people I am closest to. LOVE YOU GUYS!

I guess next in line comes Brent. How could you not be thankful for someone who is so incredibly special? I absolutly love the fact that God choose our family to adopt brent (Jenn, Karl, David and Aiden too)! He is always, well almost always, there to give you a huge smile and a hug. He's a great shopping buddy, and loves just hanging out with his big sisters. He's a constant reminder of what true joy looks like. LOVES BRENTY

Jenn and Karl... Most people thought it was a bit weird that the week I was graduating from high school I was getting a new brother and sister. Whatever it was one of the best gifts I have ever recived! Jenn and Karl are always willing to hang out with their not so cool big sister. They are great campong buddies and if you want to go see a kid movie who better to bring along? I love getting to spend time with them, it's one of the things I look most forward to when I'm home. I've heard people say that when you are adopted into a family rather than born into it you aren't ever going to really be a part of that family. I say that is CRAP! Jenn and Karl are as much a part of my family as any other member and I wouldn't trade them for anything. YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING!

David, Wow! What to say about dave. David is not always the easist child, actaully most often he is the most difficult one. But then there are times when you just can't d it any more and he gives you a big hug or he says your name for the first time and you foget why you were even frusterated with him. David has blessed our family in so many ways he has tought us how to be patcient, he has shown us how the smallest things can give you joy and he has taught us how to love uncondiatianally. David may not always be an angel but he is truly a gift from God. LOVE YOU

Adien. I haven't even met Aiden yet but he has already taught me so much. Maybe not him persay but his adoption. It has taught me that God will provide, we may have to work really hard and go without but God won't leave you high and dry. I have learned that things may not happen in our timing but they sure do happen in Gods. And I have learned that God is never done using his people to do amazing things. AIDEN I LOVE YOU ALREADY AND I CAN'T WAIT TO MEET YOU. COME HOME SOON.

And last but not leas Kaila! Ok I know that Kaila isn't legally or bioloicaly a part of my family but really are those things important? I think not. Kaila has been a gift from God to not just me but my whole family. She has stepped in to the voild Heather, Krista and I left and has become a big sister to our little sibs while we aren't there. But in all honestly Kaila is so great becuase she's herself. She's not always happy when she's around, she's not fake, and she's always ready to have fun! MISS YOU KAILA!

Peanut Butter Brownie Pie

I Love to bake! I would bake daily if I could. So I decided that I want to start sharing some of my favorite baking recipies. Almost a year ago at work I had peanut butter brownie pie for the first time and it was love at first taste! It is one of the easiest recipies there is and it looks fancy.

Step 1: Make the brownies.

Melt 1/2 Cup Butter

Mix into the butter 1/4 Cup Coaco

Set aside

beat 2 eggs

add 1 cup sugar

and 3/4 cup flour

DON'T STIR YET

Pour coaco/butter mix on top and stir

Now these need to be baked. I like to make mine in muffin tins so I get mini pies but they can also be baked in a pie plate.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 min or until a tooth pick comes out clean.

Step 2: Make the filling!

Mix together

1 pack vanilla pudding

1 1/2 cups milk

1/4 cup peanut butter (I usally add a bit more)

1 cup thawed cool whip

Step 3: Put it all together

Once the brownie has cooled scoop out the middle of it so it's like a crust and set the middle aside.

Fill the brownie with the filling

Crumble the brownie you scooped out over the top.

Melt 1/4 cup of peant butter and drizzle it over top of the brownie.

Step 4: Eat and Enjoy!!!