The Richardsons

I am taking down the fragile Christmas decorations. If I don't we will have to keep the pumpkins up as decorations next year. I mean really how much superglue can one person buy? We have had a great and eventful week and a half and through it all Emmanuel did amazingly well. He really tried hard and it is such an effort for him. We met with his teacher today and quickly have realized he needs to get back to his structure and lay low for a bit though. One of the highlights of the past few days was meeting Scott's cousin Lynn. One of Scott's other cousins lives nearby and bravely had a bunch of us over on Saturday morning. Scott has always raved about Lynn and every time we talk about him says, "you've never met him have you?" Lynn and his wife Kristine adopted two boys from Russia. Kristine and I found each other quickly and found we speak the same language and compared stories. It doesn't matter what country, adoption brings you into a unique...

We had a really nice Christmas. The kids got up about 7:20 which was not too early. We opened presents and were off to church by 10:30. Here are some highlights. Quotes From Annie: A: Mommy, kids are luckier than Moms. M: Why do you think so? A: Because kids have Grandmas and Grandpas AND Moms and Dads AND cousins and Aunts and Uncles.

T he Turner Family: Front row, Chase English (4), Annie (4); Second Row Cameron English (6), Grandma Marian, Grandpa Chuck, Owen English (8); Middle, Abegail (8), Emmanuel (5); Back Row; Auntie Caroline, Uncle Mark, Zoe English, Scott, and Sue We arrived home from DC on Monday safe and sound. I actually split up from Scott and the kids because we got stuck in DC. I had to be at work that afternoon and they couldn't get us all back at the same time. So Scott was stuck with the three kids and several multi-hour layovers from noon until 11 on Monday night. Emmanuel did remarkably well on this trip. But by the end you could tell he was itching. He had been fairly patient, even enough so we got a family photo in, and it was all too much. By the time Scott reached Atlanta a full melt down was brewing and overflowing. One look and Emmanuel just couldn't take it anymore. For an hour Emmanuel tried to get it out of his system until Scott finally got him calm. Then both exha...

Here it is!  Sue's annual family video!  Enjoy!

We are having a great time visiting with my family in DC. Yesterday we went to cousin Owen's school to see him perform a poem and have a Christmas party. All the kids got to make snowflakes and E-man found the reading corner. Last night was Sundae night, a big hit! Then a game of Santa Says... Abegail and Annie wake up happy A game of make a snowman blindfolded, even Grandma Marian plays. Best Buds, Annie and Chase

We have arrived at my sister's house in Washington, DC. We are doing fairly well. Emmanuel got through the flight well and he even did a good job at his first movie with Grandma and Grandpa. So tonight Santa made a visit to congratulate his good behavior and of course see the other kids. Here are some highlights! Meeting Alexandra I was able to go see my friend Sophia and meet her new baby girl, Alexandra (born 10/30). She is beautiful, such a miracle.

Scott says I'm crazy. I don't deny it, I just refuse to stay home because of what Emmanuel might do. For one, I'm not going to keep Annie from those fun memories and I just never think its going to get that bad. That's until I'm in line for Santa in the furniture department of Macy's (because the line is so long) holding 800 coats and E-man's sweat suit, saying Emmanuel every three seconds, don't touch, stay with us. EMMANUEL! E-Man! The man behind us comments, "wow he never gets tired of hearing his name." I generally come home from things like this and vow never to leave the house again (some time I will write about grocery store Emmanuel) but then I recharge and go again. Although I will admit, I do not take the kids swimming quite as often as I used to. Last night I decided if we didn't go see Santa, we wouldn't have time to go before Christmas. Also, I had covered Macy's Christmas display, "A day in the life of t...

Emmanuel was a shepherd in his Christmas program at Mt Hope Lutheran School where he attends daycare. He was a very spirited shepherd and we had fun watching him Thursday night. The kids are fascinated with how many times E-man's name is referred to this time of year. I told him, do you know it means 'God is with us?' (oh yea, God is definitely with us!)