THE KURTZ FAMILY........OUR ADOPTION JOURNEY

The other night I was putting Sam to bed and we were having a conversation...it went something like this. Sam when you get up and get dressed tommorrow for school, don't forget to change your underwear. Sam responds.....I did already.....I say "when"...his response, 3 days ago!!! After I chuckled I told him that it was a good idea to change his underwear everyday...it's good hygiene. His response "WHAT!! how about I change them on the weekends!!!!!" I still haven't stopped laughing...boys gotta love em!!

This year on December 27th we started a new tradition. Years ago my family (as many as could make it) used to get together at christmas every year and celebrate together. We played floor hockey opened gifts etc. Those years were some of the best memories I have. We decided to bring back that tradition with a few changes...the point of it though is reconnecting and being together with family.
So on December 27th we had the first Verity Christmas classic. It was held at our house this year. We had such a blast!!! We started the day off with some old fashioned outdoor hockey. The weather was perfect...it was the only nice day we had amongst the -25 degree weather we had before and since that day. Those who didn't play hockey went sledding...the girls thought this was great fun. Denaye even had a good time. Last year she only went once before she said she was too cold to continue. After the outdoor activities we headed back to our house for chilli and pizza and then lots of baking. We had a chinese christmas gift exchange that was a lot of fun....next year we are going to have a theme for that part. We then played games and had lots of visiting time to catch up with what everyone is doing. We learned that my cousin Chad is getting married next year and so is his brother Jeremy....what wonderful knews. Jeremy only just shared this knews with us after the event. We were sad that some couldn't make it, but there is always next year.....we all agreed that we will continue on with this tradition as it was so much fun. We have some great video footage that maybe I will post if I get around to it. It was good to reconnect with extended family and we all agreed that this is one tradition worth doing so mark your calendars for December 2009....................it is going to be a blast!!!!

Team picture

Waiting to get downstairs to see what Santa had left them....

Sam woke up at 4:30 in the morning and wanted to get started on opening gifts......I sent him back to bed. He finally did go back to sleep, but I had to wake him up later on. The kids were very excited to get their day started. We opened presents first thing in the morning and the kids opened their stockings and then we headed over to Jody's house for bagels and friut. It was very loud and full of excitement...just how it should be when kids are around. We had christmas dinner at our house.....my mom made the turkey this year.....it was wondeful. We spent the rest of the day putting toys together and then playing games. We all went to bed early that night...we were so exhausted. It was a great day with family.

Santa has arrived.......

We went to church Christmas Eve and then headed back to our house for our annual Christmas Eve party. We enjoyed an evening full of food, family and friends. The kids each got to open 1 gift as usual before they went to bed. Denaye and Maya knew what to expect this year so they really enjoyed all of the festivities. They played a mean game of Risk and I believe Eden won...she has no mercy. My kids love Christmas Eve and this year we had a great time. It all came so quickly, and it is over so fast, but we all love this time of year. The magic of christmas and all that it represents......God sent hope that night.........Blessings to all of you!!!Playing Risk.....Eden was the youngest player, but she won.