Our Kiddos in Pictures

I don't quite understand it...but our kids have this strange way of ending up in the newpaper or on brochures. Since our move especially, it seems to happen A LOT. So much actually that we get comments about it here~ "Did you see your daughter in the paper...AGAIN!" It's funny to me, since we haven't lived here long and won't be living her much longer. ;)

Katryna was in the paper last week when they collected cans for the food bank and then made "can-structions" with them afterwards. Her and her friend made a pyramid with cans and jello boxes. Clever. Katryna was also in the paper last month a couple of times for other Girl Scout pictures that had been taken.

Mia had her picture taken yesterday while we were picking up Girl Scout cookies from the Fairgrounds. She's not a Girl Scout, but ironically she was the one photographed because she was running around "helping" people, like only Mia can. ;) I went to pick up a paper today to see if she was in it and there she was, right on the front page.
Mia was also all over the Kool-aid days brochures this year too, before we even moved here. What is up with that??? I guess it was because she had that big red Kool-aid mustache!

I couldn't find Sofia's picture, which is in the Nebraska Tourism Book this year. It's a picture of her and the back of Katryna giving the Kool-aid man his first drink of Kool-aid to kick off the festival.

So instead I took her picture with her "Wildcat of the Week" picture, which was just taken when she was chosen for being a student with good character at her school. We were very proud. ;)

This year for Tulip Festival, even Mommy made the brochure. Only because of Bazzy I'm sure...but if you look at the far right picture you can kinda see Baz and Mommy waving to people in the parade (taken last year at the festival obviously). I think he's the cutest little Guatemalan-Dutch kid you've ever seen. :)

SO, will the VZ kids make it any more publications before we move Home...or is our year of "fame" over? We shall see. I'm pretty sure they only get photographed because they're the loudest and most dramatic wherever they go. Just my opinion. LOL!

Just Because He's Cute

I had to get out my camera and take some Bazzy pics today...just because he's so stinkin' cute.

He kinda looks like trouble, aye? :) He was waiting to be tickled and the anticipation was just TOO much! What a goof ball!

"Why must you constantly take pictures of me, Mom?
I know I'm cute, but come on! Do you think I actually enjoy this?"

"Well, I guess I could make a funny face for you. Since you took the time to waddle all the way over to get your camera and everything." (Yes, I am waddling these days.)

"I SUPPOSE I could give you ONE fishy face. If that makes you happy."

"Yeah RIGHT! Whatever, Mom! I am NOT performing any more for you. I know it's about nap time and it's not like you're going to give me candy or anything at this point. I'm done with you now."

*I'm pretty sure the last picture is one I will be seeing quite a bit when he's a teenager. ;)

American Idol~ Wow!

I LOVE American Idol. I really do. Maybe I should be embarrassed to say that, but it's the truth. Every year there seems to be someone who is so truly talented that it's hard to believe. Tonight, Kris and I were completely blown away by David Archuleta. Imagine is one of the best songs ever written and David's interpretation of it was amazing. He voice is so pure and it's hard to believe he's only 17. Wow! In case you missed it (or just want to watch it again!)~ here it is. I want him to record this version and sell it and send the money somewhere where people are hungry and need hope. It's SO good! :)

Why So Windy?

We're trying to be positive, but I'm pretty sure that showing a house with 4 kids at home is some sort of torture. We had our second showing tonight. I worked all day to make the house look beautiful again. It looked great, but it is SOOOOO windy again here (and freezing and blowing snow) and our house does not do well in the wind because it's right at the edge of the field. I'm sure the people who looked tonight were thrilled with the rattling roof and ridiculously loud wind that ROARS along the sides of our house. Ugh! :( I put pretty music on to mask the noise, but who knows if that helped. Oh well...maybe there will be a miracle and they are people who LOVE wind. I can always hope, right? :)

It's Official and Walls

It's official. Our new house finally has a SOLD sign in the front. Negotiations are over (thank GOODNESS!) and as long as our house here sells, we should be moving in sometime this summer. Yippee!

We went to visit our friends from church (who are also our new neighbors) and I took a few pictures just for fun. It was really wierd to be standing next to what will be our new house in a few short months. I wanted to get a picture of the back and the park that's behind our house, but we were running late for Playhouse Disney Live and we needed to scurry on so we didn't miss anything. We'll be back in a week with my parents, so I'll get pictures then. ;)


While I took the little ones to see Mickey (which was SOOOO fun, by the way!), Kris took the older two girls to the condo to see if anything new had happened. He was totally surprised to find out that WE HAVE WALLS!!! Woah! I went back to see it after the show and we were both relieved that it still feels somewhat "big" even after having walls up. It's not a big place, especially when you have 5 kids, but it will be very comfortable for all of us and even a few visitors...so yay! :)

This is the view from the door~ looking in. The kids bedroom/guest bedroom is on the left and ours will be on the right.

This is looking into the kids room. I know it makes no sense at all, but hopefully my family and the people who have been inside will have some idea of what I'm talking about. ;)

This is the girls pretending to be eating ice cream at what will soon be the counter/table in the kitchen. We decided to do a really long counter top, since there really isn't space for a table. We can easily fit 5 kids and a couple adults at the counter, so that should work too.

Behind the girls is where the couch and TV will be and the big window that overlooks the Old Market. I hope they keep plugging along at it so that we can stay there SOON!!!

An Early Evening Visitor

When I went to untangle the dog leashes outside, this is what I found. This was one BIG possum. I quickly got Mia so she could see him and we tried to walk a little closer.

Our visitor was not too excited about us approaching, so he quickly showed us his backside and started heading out to the field.

Then he actually started to RUN. We must be very frightening to a possum.

Mia decided to give up the pursuit at this point, but I wanted to try to get a little closer to get a picture of his face. I'm not very fast right now, but neither was the possum. ;) When he realized I was still there, he decided to get all "scary possum" on me and turned around and gave me this mean possum look. Ooooooooo, scary!

Mia was standing by the door yelling "Get out of our territory you possum!" I didn't even know she new the word territory, but it was funny to hear her trying to drive this critter off of our land. I think we've maybe been in the country a little too long!

Playhouse Disney Live

Mia, Sebastian, and I are very excited to be going to see Playhouse Disney Live this weekend. Sebastian is mostly excited about "Don-a-duck", but I'm pretty sure he's going to love the whole thing. Especially Handy Manny. I love the fun and excitement of these little kid shows. :) I think we are all going to drive to Home-aha (LOL) and then Kris will find something fun to do with the older girls while we are at the concert. We have another house showing on Monday at 5:30, so it just seems to make more sense to keep everybody OUT of the house, so that it stays clean. Seems like a good plan, right?

I saw the people show up to look at our house today. I was driving past, down the street, so I could see that they actually came. ;) I don't know how long they stayed, cuz we went to Sonic to get a shake (YUM!), but I'm hoping and praying that they liked it. Who knows. Kris and I were proud of the fact that "you would never know 4 kids lived here" when we had finished cleaning and walked out the door. Phew!

Is it warm where you are? My girls are outside with the neighbor kids on the trampoline. It's BEAUTIFUL outside! Come on SPRING!!!

Frantically Cleaning and the OB

Our house was listed yesterday...and we already have someone who wants to come see it TOMORROW! At 2 PM!!! AND~ there's the possibility that there might be another looker tomorrow or else it will be on Monday. This is GOOD....BUT we were not planning on showing it for another week and we are not ready yet. So the frantic cleaning frenzy begins. I'm much slower than normal, so this is going to be quite something to get done. I had someone come clean this morning for us, so at least the bathrooms and everything are scrubbed and pretty. I just need to work on de-cluttering a few areas and organizing a few more closets/cupboards and then things should be pretty good. I guess just say a prayer that this person might be "the one" and we can just not have to worry about showing it anymore for the next few months. That would be SOOOOOO nice!!! :)

I just got back from my OB appointment and thankfully everything is still just as it should be. Lulu is staying put and I'm especially thankful for that today so that I can continue to waddle around the house and try to make it look pretty for tomorrow. Oh my GOODNESS!!!

Blowing Stuff Up

Katryna is now a proud member of her school's Science Club. We were excited that she wanted to join (you had to apply and be "chosen"), because she loves animals, rocks, planets and all the science-y stuff. Before her first meeting, which was today, she asked Kris if he thought if she would get to "blow stuff up." Kris had no idea. When I picked her up from Science Club today she said "Guess WHAT? We got to blow stuff up today!" I at first was thinking what kind of science club is this, but then she told me that they each got to make a volcano and have it explode. FUN!!! She was all smiles and can hardly wait until the next meeting. I wonder what sort of interesting career/hobby this may lead to in the future. Yikes!

Cupcakes and Haircuts

Mia wanted me to take a picture of her with one of the cupcakes we made for her preschool class today. It's funny how they understand this whole blogging thing. ;) I actually LOVE to make cupcakes, so since it was our turn to bring a snack today, cupcakes were the obvious choice. Mia was tortured by the fact that she couldn't eat one until it was preschool time. :)

I also managed to give the Baz-man a much needed haircut this morning. He's had a terrible fever the past few days, and it probably wasn't the best time to attempt such a feat, but it turned out fairly well and he was at least willing to smile for a picture.

Then he wanted me to take ONE more, with Lighting McQueen in it of course. ;) You can tell a little more in this picture that he has the watery/sad eyes from being sick. So far he hasn't had any more than a bad fever, so hopefully he won't get the nasty flu that Sofia just had. I'm totally ready for warm/ non-flu weather to come SOON!!!

Flippin' Awesome!

I know every parent thinks their child is talented...but I'm amazed by Sebastian's ability to flip/somersault. We never taught him to do this, he just watched his sisters and now he LOVES to "flip" and even tries to stand on his head! I cannot WAIT to get him in gymnastics!!! :)

Bazzy Talkin'

I LOVE to listen to Sebastian talk. He says and repeats everything now and it just cracks us up! He is just the funniest, sweetest little kid I could ever imagine and I'm so thankful he is our son.
His favorite thing right now is the movie CARS. He talks about "Lighting Queen" and says "Ka-chow" like in the movie all the time. He also has nicknames for his sisters (which you'll see in the video.) Katryna is "Nina", Sofia is "Fia", and Mia is just "Mia". He also says "Lulu, mommy tummy" now. Too cute! Enjoy hearing the Baz-man speak and ignore the messy room we are standing in. We've started organizing/packing so we can show the house and things are bit messed up.

For Adoptive Parents

YOU KNOW YOU'RE AN ADOPTIVE PARENT IF ...

1. The fact that there are 143 million children without a parent to kiss them goodnight has made you lose sleep.
2. You realize DNA has nothing to do with love & family.
3. You can't watch Adoption Stories on TLC without sobbing.
4. The fact that, if 7% of Christians adopted 1 child there would be no orphans in the world, is convicting to you.
5. You spend free time surfing blogs about families who've experienced the blessing of adoption.
6. It drives you crazy when people ask you about adopted child's "real" parents.
7. You've been "pregnant" with your adoptive child longer than it takes an elephant to give birth.(2 years!)
8. You'd no idea how you'd afford to adopt, but stepped out in faith anyway, knowing He'd provide. (& He does!)
9. You've taken an airplane half-way around the world with a child you just met.
10. You believe God's heart's for adoption.
11. You realize that welcoming a child into your heart & family is one of the most important legacies you could ever leave on this earth.
12. You know what the word "Dossier" means & you can actually pronounce it correctly!
13. You've welcomed a social worker into the most private parts of your life.
14. You shudder when people say your child's so lucky that you adopted them, knowing full well you're the blessed one to have him or her in your life.

A few more from the zoo...

Katryna, smiling while trapped in the vines.

Mia, doing her favorite thing in the jungle~ swinging from the vines.


Baz wants to do EVERYTHING Mia does, but he needed Daddy's help to swing from the vines, cuz he's still kinda short. ;)

This is how the otter felt about my photographing him. I don't think he was having a good day.

Mia was apparently worried that she had been left, trapped behind the scary bamboo poles overlooking the waterfalls.

Our Trip to the Zoo

We had so much fun at the zoo last weekend. It was a bit chilly, but the kiddos stayed tough and it was great to visit one of the places that we miss so much from our old/new/again home town. ;) Here are some pictures from our day at the zoo...

Sebastian LOVES the fish. Can't get enough of 'em. Sof and Mia are telling Bazzy all the colors of the fish he is pointing out to them. I think he would stay in the fishy part for an hour if we let him. ;)

It was "Teddy Bear Hospital" Day at the zoo. If you bring in your stuffed animal, the nice pretend hospital staff at the zoo will fix up your buddy and bring him back to you good as new. We didn't know about this, so we didn't bring any stuffed friends, but Mommy did pony up 25 cents to make a craft. Yep, that's me...BIG spender. Bazzy and Mia made a little plaster animal magnet and had a grand time coloring and decorating it.

When did Sebastian start to look so grown up??? Really! Sometimes I look at him, my BABY, and I just can't believe how big he looks. I forget he'll be 3 this summer. :( Ugh! Again, he's my BABY. He should be tiny and needy and NOT running and talking and looking so grown up!

Here's the whole gang (minus photographer/mom) overlooking the waterfall. What a crew! :) I still can't quite imagine another little girl in this picture. I am guessing that she'll be just as goofy as the other 4 kiddos though!

This is Katryna, trapped underwater in the penguin bubble. :)

"LuLu's" First Valentine's Day Present

So we are NOT revealing the actual name of the newest girl VZ....but we've been calling her by several nicknames secretly for awhile now and Kris surprised me with this beautiful fuzzy blanket for Valentine's Day...so Lulu has been "immortalized" in blanket form now.

So how did Lulu come to be? We started calling this new little one Lee Loo a couple of months ago...because of the movie The Fifth Element (one of me and Kris's all time favorite movies.)

The girl in the movie is called Lee Loo (for short), and because this baby was a CRAZY surprise, we were jokingly calling her our fifth element. Wierd, I know...but that's how we roll. SO~ Lee Loo soon evolved into Lulu and the actual name we are pretty sure we are going to use (obviously we're not commiting) seems to somehow work with the nickname Lulu. Now don't go and think you can figure out the name easily ... because it's not "Lucy" or something that really makes sense. If you want to drive yourself crazy, go for it. Until then, the munchkin will be referred to as Lulu. :)

The girls were in love with Lulu's new fuzzy blankie...


...and Bazzy helped Daddy pick it out and get it embroidered while Mommy was in Omaha visiting friends. (Friends- this must have been what Kris meant by "guy time." :) ) So sweet! I can't wait for her to be here to use it. Sebastian is a BIG fan of his blankie, so I think he understands the importance for baby sister to have one too. I don't think he'll be ready to share his quite yet. ;)

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentines from the VZ gang. The girls are all very excited about their Valentine Parties and Katryna even made a crazy Coconut Monkey Valentine Box to enter into the "Weirdest Box" contest. I'm hoping my Coconut Monkey returns in one piece. ;) I hope you all have a fun day celebrating all the LOVE in your life! :)

In Progress

I made it down the stairs. Yay! :) The mornings are always a TON better.

We went to check on the progress of the condo this weekend and they are really moving along. All the framing is up and they leveled the floor so they can put the wood flooring in. It's been fun to watch it come together. Having never built a house, all the decisions with this were very overwhelming. I'm not sure building a house would be a good option for us because I think my head might explode. ;)

It obviously is not at all possible to tell what you are looking at here...but it's the bathroom area on the right and where the kids are standing is the living room area by the windows, which is in front of the kitchen. Could you tell that? ;)

The small ones in front of the window.


The wall to the left of the window is where the bottle cap "toucan", and another art piece that will be done by Mom (me) and the girls, will be hanging.

This is Mia pretending to be trapped in the shower in the model of our building. This shower and bathtub is almost exactly what ours will look like (tile and all)...and I was shocked to see this because we designed ours before the model and I think they stole my idea! I should get paid for that, right??? ;)

Katryna hamming it up in the lobby. We had already been to the zoo and they had walked a TON, so everybody was pretty worn out. Me included. I worry that my walking days are "numbered", so I'm trying to get them in as much as I can. Even if it hurts.

The next time we go back, we might have actual walls and a floor. Yippee! I want it to be done so we can come back on weekends and stay there before our official move. We have been told it could be finished in the next 60 days. I'm hoping that is true!

Great Song and Siatica

I was going to try to post some pictures tonight of the condo and our Saturday at the zoo...but I just don't think I can do ONE more trip up and down the stairs. Pathetic, but true. I had Siatica with all three pregnancies with the girls, and I remember my OB telling me it gets worse with every pregnancy...but I don't think I truly understood what that meant until recently. All I can say is OUCH!!! Every step the last couple days has been so painful. I was going to try to explain what Siatica is, for those of you who are lucky enough to have no idea what it is, but I decided to just copy and paste what the good 'ole Mayo Clinic has to say about it. The good news is that it will go away in about 2 months when this little lady decided to make an appearance. Thank GOODNESS!!!

Signs and symptoms

Sciatic nerve

Pain that radiates from your lower (lumbar) spine to your buttock and down the back of your leg is the hallmark of sciatica. You may feel the discomfort almost anywhere along the nerve pathway, but it's especially likely to follow a path from your low back to your buttock and the back of your thigh and calf.

The pain can vary widely, from a mild ache to a sharp, burning sensation or excruciating discomfort. Sometimes it may feel like a jolt or electric shock. Sciatic pain often starts gradually and intensifies over time. It may be worse when you cough or sneeze, and prolonged sitting or walking can also aggravate symptoms. Usually only one lower extremity is affected.

In addition to pain, you may also experience:

• Numbness or muscle weakness along the nerve pathway in your leg or foot. In some cases, you may have pain in one part of your leg and numbness in another.
• Tingling or a pins-and-needles feeling, most commonly in your toes or part of your foot.

OK- so I'm done complaining about my aches and pains. I promise to post pictures VERY soon. We had such a great weekend in Omaha. We got back last night, just in time for the Grammys...but I ended up mostly fast forwarding through a lot of it. I really enjoyed Alicia Keys and the Gospel music montage they did. I hadn't heard Israel and New Breed before, but they were amazing. I'll post my favorite song so far below so you can hear them too. I'm sure others already know them. I'm probably just out of the loop.

I'm off to reheat my "heat bag" to put back on my ouchy nerve. How can such a tiny little human wreck such havoc on a full-grown woman?