We got THE CALL!
8 years ago
It has already been 2 years since we first met Denaye and Maya. So much has happened and changed for them. They have become part of our family....we don't remember life without them anymore. We are officially going to celebrate 2 years on September 6th. that is when they arrived in Edmonton and we became a family of 8. I am in the process of putting a video together of their life over the last 2 years, but for now here is a link to when we first met and brought them home. http://dkurtzfamily.blogspot.com/2007/09/our-adoption-journey.html
Sam trying to escape getting hit from the water balloon....he failed
Hiding behind his dad's car
Sam getting ready to fire
Brody and Zach getting ready to launch their balloons....
The other team firing back at Sam's team.
Sam's team firing back......it was so much fun to watch.The water-balloon fight that Sam had for his birthday was a huge success. Sam had 10 friends over and they split into 2 teams. They picked their base-camp and then the teams got together and made a plan. It was so much fun to watch the boys having a great time. Rod and I filled 550 water balloons....it took 4 hours to fill them all and about 30 minutes to use them all up. After the balloons were all gone they got out the buckets and the water-hose....Rod even got in on the fun. We had 2 injuries....not bad.....one was one of the boys tripped over the planter and fell into the tree and scrapped his back up. He was sad for about 2 minutes then he was back in the game. The other injury was Rod got hit in the head with a hockey stick by Sam......Sam had a pinata and he went to hit it and missed and got Rod instead.....now Sam was blind-folded so he had no idea....he felt really bad. Rod was o.k., but he had a soar ear for a little while. The weather was a perfect 29 degrees outside. We had pizza, pop, chips and birthday cupcakes. Sam said it was his best birthday ever......until next year!!!
I look at Sam and wonder where have the years gone and then other times it seems like yesterday that we were wondering if this precious baby boy was going to survive. Sam is now 9 years old and when you look at him you would never know that he almost never survived. He was born with a heart defect that went undetected until right after he was born. I have blogged about it so if you are interested in his story you can check it out here http://thelifeofsam-dkurtz.blogspot.com/
We are having his birthday party with his friends on the weekend. He wanted to have a giant water-balloon fight.......so Rod and I are going to fill up about 400 water-balloons and turn them loose. The weather here is beautiful...high on Saturday is supposed to be 28...so it was the perfect choice for a 9 year old boy who loves anything that involves a fight.....friendly fight that is. They are going to split into 2 teams and then stake their territory and last kid standing wins!!! It should be fun and loud and full of activity.....just what boys like the most.
Sam and I are very close......I know it's because I have always felt very protective of him because of his rough start in life.
Tears sting my eyes everytime I see his scarred body from all that he went through to survive. He is truely a miracle and I thank God everyday for the blessing of being his mom. Sam is a sensitive kid who loves to play hockey and loves his family. It is so beautiful to watch how his older brothers treat him with such love.....they were old enough to remember what Sam went through, so I think it has impacted how they treat and feel about him. Believe me they still fight and they all find Sam annoying at times, but the tenderness that I catch them showing their brother is so wonderful to witness. Sam would be lost without his sisters....they have grown very close. Sam loves his role of being a big brother....I think he enjoys the responsibility.....Anyway Happy birthday Sam. You are so loved and may God continue to bless you as he always has.
Sam going down the tube ride
Maya making her way up the hill to the top of the tube ride
Sam in the Rapids!!!
Emily and Denaye...look at the fear on Denaye's face.
Emily and Maya taking a break.....
There's this great place in Red Deer called Discovery Canyon. It's a place to swim and it also has a tube ride...the tube ride is down a river. It really is a lot of fun. We spent the day there with my sister and her 3 kids. Denaye was her usual cautious self. Cousin Emily took her down the tube with her, but she was far to scared to do it again. Maya and Sam loved it and they played all afternoon. Summer is quickly coming to an end and so these last few nice days we have are being spent enjoying the outdoors...between loads of laundry.....
The view from our cabin....beautiful
Mornings were spent drinking coffee on the deck...just enjoying being somewhere else.
The kids swimming in the lake...it is so clean...very nice
Sam, Mathew and Kyle...they hung out together....
Playing on the boat....the girls loved being to gether.We drove down to Coeur D Alene, Idaho for a quick holiday. We love it there....it has the best of both...a beautiful lake and shopping. We met up with my brother Don and his family...Shauna, Matt and Kendal. My mom also travelled with us...she loves to shop in the states. We stayed in a cabin this year which was new for us....we loved it. It had 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms a full kitchen. It was near the lake so the kids went down the hill and jumped off the dock and went swimming....the lake is crystal clear....beautiful!! The girls were so excited to see cousin Kendal again and Denaye was so sad to have to leave her. They are the same age so they played great together...Maya was just glad to have another girl to play with. Sam and Kyle hung out with Mathew and they had a wonderful time. We spent our evenings BBQing and playing Pit...what a loud, but fun game. I don't have that many pictures as they are all on Kyle's Camera which he takes everywhere with him. I am going to post more when Kyle lets me upload his pictures to my computer. We had a fabulous time and we are already talking about next year.....the cabin is for sure...when we go back.
We are going on a bit of a holiday this week...just a short trip. We are heading to Coeur D Alene, Idaho. We love that place.....it has a beautiful lake and I get to do a bit of shopping. the kids are very excited to get going, but not looking forward to the long drive.....oh well that's life.
It is also my birthday today....I've reached an age where I have stopped telling people how old I am! I just enjoy life...and really what does it matter how old I am.....I think age only matters when you have nothing to look forward to....just my opinion. We had a wienor roast at my sister's house yesterday to celebrate. Life is good, God is good....so much to be thankful for.
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