Happy Holidays!!!

Wow, I cannot believe it has been almost 3 months since my big trip down south, and almost 3 months since I last posted! We have had great things happening: Geoff graduating from nursing school, his getting a great new job, and I have been busy with great clients. The boys are doing very well in school, and in swimming.

We are about ready for Christmas, and are just now getting our holiday cards and letters in the mail. I thought I would share our card here! Enjoy.

Photos from Louisiana trip 2007

OK, here are the photos you have been waiting for! Or maybe not... Either way, here are the photos from my trip to Louisiana, follow this link: http://www.sindea.org/NOLA07/

Also, these are mostly all in both B/W and color, so there are a ton of them. If anyone wants copies, let me know!

A few descriptions:
Toilet in NOLA airport, funky and kind of cool seat covers
Brick apt is my aunt's new home
Blonde lady with watercolor is my Aunt Virginia
Photos of vehicles is to show the lovebug fest that was going on
Photos of Madisonville Jr High reunion... (want names? let me know)
Photo of a bunch of ladies gathered around the computer: watching my cousin Wes propose to this fiance, in a link online!

Funny photo info about Deanna and I (close up with other blonde chic): look and you can see tears in my eyes, I kept having major giggle fits and we had a terrible time getting a decent photo because of me...

Photos with my friend Jason and his wife Jennifer

Bridge photos are just as I got on the Causeway, crossing the lake, world's longest bridge
Various photos around NOLA, some of places being re-built, and some showing the state of things not able to be improved or re-built.

Photos with Clay's best friend from high school in La. -Patrick and his family

Photos of my awesome friend Julie and her son Christian, who put me up while I was in Madisonville...

Photos of Uncle Jude and Mama Lou at their home, in front of their display using the inside of a piano (red);

The grave stones are of my brother, my grandparents, and my uncle. I was sad that they had weeds and grass grown over them, so did a before shot, and then cleared them as best I could while sweating and being covered in lovebugs!

Trees following that are covered in Spanish Moss...

Sites around Madisonville, La...

Gotta love a walnut shake and roast beef po boy from Badeaux's!!!

The first set of above ground graves are in the old Madisonville Cemetery.

Photos of all kinds of homes, some were just beautiful. Some I photographed to show either damage, or to show how they have been put up high on stilts in case of another horrible storm.

Empty lot with chain link fence is where my grandparents home once stood. Just after that are the homes right next to where it was, raised up high...

More sites around town, and then you see Covington High- wow! A serious remodel.

Then there is Jason, Captain of the fire department- way to go!

More bridge crossing photos, then hanging with my good friend Jennifer and her awesome family! (yes, I do like to photograph food)

More photos around the city, then onto the French Quarter. Did I mention that hot sauce REALLY stings when touched to an open cut? OW!

Last above ground graves are in NOLA...

Full set of photos from Illinois trip...

Hello!
OK, so here is the entire set of photos from my trip to Illinois. Follow this link: Illinois07
and you will see all kinds of photos. There are many that are similar, and a large portion of them are in both B/W and color, and some may be in 2 different types of B/W...

A few descriptions:
Me, the dark blond
Brother Clay, tall guy with goatee
Brother Phil, tall redhaired guy with mustache
Grandma Mae, 98 year old lady next to us
Cousin Julie, cute redhaired bride
Nick, the groom
Uncle Barry, tall skinny guy with glasses
Aunt Dee, redhaired lady with glasses
Cousin Chris, guy with short blond hair

The old high school is where my dad went to school over 52 years ago.
Gotta love a Barney Fife car.
The big cross was near where we stayed, and while I am not into crosses, a 200 ft cross made out of aluminum siding is fascinating.

The flag looked cool with the slice of moon next to it.
The arch is the Peace Arch in St Louis.
White Castle, just because (sorry that the pic of Clay eating is dark).
The truck covered in mud, because we could not resist.
Sky was the view flying from St Louis to New Orleans.
Enjoy!

Enjoying NOLA

This is my brother's friend and family (well, he is my friend too! kind of like another big brother...) Ashlyn, Jennifer and Patrick.

Aunti-Gin aka Aunt Virginia and my favorite of her work.

My best bud from high school, Jesyka.

I saw signs like this around town...

And these are all over...


Patrick , Ashlyn, and Sindea...

MJHS part deux

Sindea and Nyckie...
Linnette, Sindea, and Nyckie with Connor heading out of the picture...


WOW- talk about some serious bugs!
Sindea, Jason (friend from High School) and his wife Jennifer.

Madisonville Jr High reunion!

My 'sister' Nyckie's adorable son, Connor.

Deanna and myself. After a terrible giggle fit on my part, we finally were able to get a decent photo.

What a fabulous reunion!! Sindea, Linnette, Nyckie, Nicole, Tricia, Mary, Julie (back row); Lindy, Deanna, and Robin (front row).

More Illinois...

Sindea and Clay go to White Castle!



St Louis Peace Arch

View from the plane...

More from Illinois!

Sindea, Clay and Phil at the wedding...

Julie and Sindea

Phil, Clay,Sindea, and Uncle Barry (dad of the bride)

Sindea and Uncle Barry

Clay and Grandma Mae

Southern Illinois part deux

Sindea and cousin Julie aka The Bride.

Nick aka the Groom, Julie and Sindea.

Julie, Sindea and cousin Chris aka brother of the bride.

Hello from Southern Illinois!

I am having a fabulous time in Illinois with my family. This is my dad's side of the family, most of whom have not seen much of each other in years... So, here are a few photos from the trip so far. They are from my point and shoot camera, nothing fancy, and those not taken by me or my brother may be a tad fuzzy! Enjoy!

This is: Clay (brother), Grandma Mae, and me, Sindea... Grandma Mae is 98!

We went to Grayville, IL to see where the Horste Market was and to the graveyard where our dad and grandpa are buried. The first headstone is Grandpa Ralph's and the next is our dad, Philip Sr.


This is where our dad went to high school over 52 years ago!

Cool old Barney Fife police car...

A few more of the kittens in a cup...

Kittens in a cup!

What is more cute than kittens in a cup? I mean really? How CUTE are they? These are the kittens at 6 weeks old...

Kittens at 2 weeks...

Sorry to not be posting, I have been so busy with work! But wanted to stop by and post some fun photos... The kittens were about 2 weeks old here. The little girl is Teegan's best friend Samantha... (for some reason these images look wonky, so this post may be edited again!

Want to see some kitties?

Want to see some of the cutest kittens ever? Here they are! These were taken yesterday, when they were 1 week old. Their ears are perking up and they are getting really active. And they are so darn sweet! Their mama is also doing well. She is so patient and so sweet to watch with them. Now, say it with me: Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww...

We love Nikki & Luke! (wedding)

Recently some dear friends of ours got married. I (Sindea) was at a birth and not able to make it, so I sent my point and shoot camera along with Geoff and the boys. Here are the results of a beautiful ceremony and day!
Nikki and Luke tie the knot

Meow!

We are the proud kitty-grandparents to 2 tiny white-ish colored kittens! Luna (my kitty I got for Mother's Day) just had her kittens tonight. So far we are pretty sure 2 is it. And they are very active, loud, and crawling all over their mama. One keeps trying to escape... We think they may be twins, they look identical so far. But who knows!

The mama is doing quit well, purring and looking pleased with herself.

Woohoo! Exciting news to share!!!

We wanted to share the exciting news we received today: we have been officially approved to adopt a baby! We are very excited. What does this mean? It means that we have been cleared, accepted, approved, and are allowed to pursue adopting. It also means that we are spreading the word, in hopes that by sharing our great news and hopes of a baby, that maybe it will not be an incredibly long waiting process.

We are planning to adopt a newborn domestically, anywhere within the US. So, if you know someone, who knows someone, who might know someone who is looking for a family to place their baby with (big brothers are hoping for a little sister), then feel free to share our info.

We are working with LDS Family Services in Renton, but they can help us work with potential birth parents across the nation. We are open to a child of any race, we are not concerned with race and such, we just know that our child is out there somewhere, and said child may or may not be of any one particular race/culture/background!

Our online profile with our agency is not quite up yet. But if you want to stay tuned, or have someone who wants to learn more about us, then feel free to share this blog, or you can subscribe to updates here.

Thanks and take care-

Sindea, Geoff, Raiden, & Teegan (along with various pets)

One step closer, and other updates

We had a great 13 year anniversary yesterday! Woohoo! Lucky 13!!! Our caseworker came over for our home visit, the final one before our approval (or we assume our approval!). It went well. And she said it should only be another week or so... We are not in a rush, but it sure will be nice to know we are well on our way to adding a new family member to our clan.

The boys are away at camp for a week. It is really nice and peaceful around here - and weird. Yep, weird. They are great kids with lots of great energy, so it is weird to have them both gone at the same time. Teegan was a little nervous the week before going (his first time at camp), but when we started packing on Saturday, he got excited.

I had to attend a birth (went quite well!) on Sunday, so was not able to go up with them. Geoff took the camera and the borrowed video camera we still have in our possession, and was able to keep me in the loop. They were both SO excited to be there. And the weather is gorgeous for it as well.

Last time Raiden went to camp, we were having fun sending him funny messages that said we were renting out his room to a polar bear, and that the polar bear had made a mess in there with stinky fish. When he returned home, he found a photo of the bear on his bed, literally ON HIS BED. I had found a great polar bear photo and photoshopped (is that a real word?) the bear onto a photo of his bed... He now has that photo hanging in his room.

Well. This year we sent a not saying the bear was back. And then we sent a note to Teegan, saying Raiden's polar bear had brought a friend, and that there is a Grizzly Bear hanging out in Teegan's room. It is now time to search for new photos!

Our anniversary? Well, we went by the hospital where Geoff will be doing his RN preceptorship to get his ID, and as we got off the elevator we ran into my clients from this past birth! That was cool. Then we did not get his ID, because the ID security guy could not find Geoff's paperwork...

We wandered and enjoyed Whole Foods- what a wonderful place. I need one next door. Then we wandered Bellevue Square for a few hours. The Discovery Channel stores are closing! ACK! Real bummer there. We were amazed at how many things there are really freakishly over-priced. Ah well. Then onto the Cheesecake Factory for the yummiest pesto pizza ever. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

What else? We went to Target, I now am the proud owner of a drying rack! No more hanging my shirts on the backs of chairs! Yay for me! We then went over to the mall here in town, and reserved the latest Harry Potter for Raiden's birthday. And we ordered dessert to go from Macaroni Grill. The bummer is that the cake was supposed to have this great whipped topping and they forgot it! Grrrrrrrrr...

And then we went to bed on time. A serious shocker.

Update on adoption status...

We met with our caseworker on Friday, and all went well. She liked our photo profiles (see post from earlier this week), all of our paperwork is complete, and she is just waiting on our 4 letters of recommendation, then the file is truly complete! We have our final visit, the home visit a week from tomorrow, and then, in theory, we should be approved pretty soon after that...

Our Niece's High School Graduation

So, on June 1, 2007 our niece graduated from Jefferson High School in Jefferson, OR. Here are the photos of the occasion- they are not fancy, just snapshots and have not had any editing done. Ah well.
Jennifer's Grad

Our Photo Profiles, what do you think?

So, the adoption agency said to keep these simple. They will go along with tons of paperwork that tells all about us. Any feedback?