Happy Halloween

Today Tori celebrated her first Halloween. Tori had a small party at her school. Then we carved her pumpkin when she came home. She seemed interested and was kissing her pumpkin. Lately, Tori kisses just about everything...pictures in books, photographs, puzzle pieces, and many other odd things.

Tori was dressed up as Raggedy Ann. I had these overalls made for her and I even found the doll and book about Raggedy Ann. Kailee was dressed as a pumpkin!

We only made it to three houses when Tori fell asleep in Mike's arms at the third house as we were chatting. This was odd since it was only 7:00 and she normally is up until at least 9 pm. I guess the excitement of the day tired her right out.

Visit to the Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch...


"Boy this is heavier than I thought!"


This one is just Tori's size!


Ashley helped Tori pick out the perfect pumpkins!


This is Tori's safe spot...


One very strong girl!


Tori's first horse ride. She kissed his mane and said "Nice".

One Year Ago Today...We Got The Call

One year ago today, we got the call from our adoption agency and they sent us a file with these referral pictures of Tori. In the first one, she is three weeks old and in the second one about two months old. It is hard to believe that she has been in our hearts for a whole year. We can't imagine life without her. She has truly been a special gift to our family.

Tori Applied for her USA Passport

Yesterday we applied for Tori's USA passport. We had to give them her original Certificate of Citizenship and our Adoption Decree. We get them back with her passport. We will be on pins and needles until they come back since they are our proof that she is our daughter and it won't be easy to get new ones...especially her Vietnam Adoption paperwork. We were told it will be about 3-4 weeks. Then we can do some traveling outside the US. We are planning a trip to the Bahamas for Spring Break.

Nick Pitched the Tournament of his Life So Far...

Nick is playing on a fall travel baseball team called the "Stars". This weekend they played in a tournament where Nick pitched a total of 10 innings and had 20, yes 20!!! strike outs during the three games he pitched part of. What an amazing accomplishment for him. His team won the tournament also as they went undefeated.

Finally...Pictures of the Inside of the House

Many of you have been asking to see pictures of our new home...Here are a few...

Main Hall:
Family Room:
Dining Room:
Kitchen:
Back Porch:

Tori's Playroom:
Master Bedroom:
Master Bath:

Tori at the Beach...Designed by Ashley

Ashley had fun playing around with this photo of Tori at the beach. It looks like a photo you might see on a greeting card. Great job Ashley!

Eating Can Be So Much Fun

Don't worry folks...Dinner is on ME!

Baseball in October...How Cool Is That

Nick is playing on a fall baseball team her in North Carolina. This weekend they had a tournament in Raleigh, NC and the weather was 81. How hot is that! We sure are loving that part of living in the south! Mike was teaching Tori how to run the bases just in case she wants to play softball some day.

Tori & Mike are in the News...

Recently Mike's Hospital had a grand opening for its new wing and Tori and I went. A picture of her and Mike was in the City View Magazine in Fayetteville. There's a very small piece of me behind them.