A New Deck....

Another few weeks, a few more changes at the Wright household. Here's a quick rundown.

* We have a deck. As of last week we can now enjoy the beauty that is our back yard. Well... we don't exactly have much of a yard, which is exactly why we wanted a deck so badly. It's already proving to be everybody's favorite part of the house.




* Bella is staying with us. For now, at least. After meeting with a few families that were interested in adopting her it became more and more apparent that we might have overreacted a bit, especially from the standpoint of the behavioralist we worked with. Bella is not perfect. But she is a part of our family. We decided we would commit to continuing to train her and to crating her more often.

* I am taking a creative writing class at the Indiana Writers Center in Broad Ripple. Entitled "Novel Ideas," it focuses on how writers come up with ideas for novels and how to develop the stories. It has been fun and enlightening, but also incredibly challenging. If I actually get something of substance down on paper, I'll share a few paragraphs on the blog just for fun and let you be the critics.

* My beautiful wife got me an awesome Father's Day gift. She got me a plane ticket to visit my buddy Benny Boy Helmers and his wife Michele in Florida in late July. The agenda is already being set and I can't wait.

* Speaking of my lovely wife... she's two months and three days from turning 30. Just in case you were counting.

- Adam (some more pix just for fun!)

Truth

I was struck by the following when reading a blog entry from the pastor of the church I grew up in.....

"David Henderson, a pastor in another Indiana community, points out that most couples enter marriage carrying in their minds a picture of the perfect partner. When reality sets in, they have two choices. They can either tear up that picture and accept their partner, or tear up their partner by holding on to that picture."

What a beautiful reminder to love our spouses as they are and not what we want them to be.

Blessings,
Katie

My Boy

Strawberry Picking

Avery, Brady and I, and some friends, headed out this morning to pick strawberries at a local you-pick. We had a great time picking AND eating. I hoped to snap a photo of Avery upon our return home, but she was so covered in strawberry juice I had to take her straight up to the shower to clean off before we had strawberry stains all over our house.

After we were all cleaned up, we came downstairs and ate some, freezed some and sliced some up to take over to friends.

Rainy Days and Nights

We have been spending more time inside than any of us would like lately due to a string of thunderstorms that have come through Indy in the past week or so. While being outside suits all of us better, we have all found some fun things to pass the time. Eating, cuddling up on blankets and playing with Avery's new chest of dress up clothes in her "big girl" room. We can't seem to get her to want to sleep in the new room but we are all logging some serious play time in it.

Avery Turns 2 And A Whole Bunch Else

This past weekend we celebrated Avery's 2nd birthday. A small and very chaotic gathering of family and a few special friends. Needless to say, there was little chatting and a whole lot of chasing as all those in attendance tried to keep track of and more importantly, keep happy, 6 kids under the age of 2. We celebrated at a nearby park with cake and ice cream and, of course, a few gifts for the birthday girl. My personal highlight, Avery suggesting we repeat "Happy Birthday To You" with an emphatic "more, please."



In addition to the family celebration, we ha a few other major life moments over the Memorial Day weekend as well...

* Adam, thanks be to God, still has a job. Adam's company laid off over 1,000 sales people last week and we had a "wait-by-the-phone-to-see-if-you-still-have-a-job" day, like you only see in the movies. Thankfully, he was unaffected and we have been praising God for our good fortune as some of Adam's friends and fellow co-workers weren't so lucky.

* This weekend also featured a rare visit from one of Adam's closest high school friends, Mike Krejci. Mike has been down in Nashville, TN for about 6 years now and has become quite the singer and songwriter. He and his girlfriend, Becca, performed two nights in Zionsville and they were wonderful. Adam and I took the kids to his first performance Friday night and had a blast watching him. If you haven't heard of Mike, check him out here.

* Adam and I, unfortunately, made a very tough and stressful decision to "re-home" (as it is now called) our sweet Bella. Its become evident to us over the last few months that all our family changes have been really stressful for Bella and have changed not only her behavior but her temperament as well. After enlisting the help of a dog behaviorist, we collectively decided that finding Bella a home without children might be the best thing for her... devastating for us....but good for her. We are looking into a few leads here for a permanent and close placement for her, but if those don't pan out, we''ll be going through the Dachshund Rescue organization. Remembering that Bella was the first addition to our family right after Adam and I got married makes it even harder to think about not having her around, but I am certain we are doing the best thing and have been reminded that sometimes the best thing isn't the easiest thing.

*On a much lighter note, I received a wonderful gift from my sweet husband this weekend as well. No, not diamonds or jewels, but in my world just as cool... a vacuum. For those that know me, you know this is a gift right up my alley as I am obsessively neat and clean. The Bissel Healthy Home sucks like no body's business and I think I have vacuumed my carpets at least 7 times since receiving it. Please, please, please, don't hesitate to call if you would like me to come over and clean your carpets :).

*This weekend also afforded us the opportunity to do a few chores around the house. We dug a bed in our front yard for some foundation plants and got a small, but mighty vegetable garden planted in the back yard. Both were priorities for me and I am geeked their done.

*Oh, and last but not least, we finally decided on and bought a new camera. Here are a couple recent pics of the kids.





Blessings to you,
Katie

Hand, Foot and WHAT?????

I can finally say that after almost two weeks of misery.....we are finally on the up and up. Unfortunately, Avery caught a case of Hand Foot and Mouth Disease from our neighbor, Abby, and somehow managed to pass it along to the entire Wright crew in some form or fashion. Furthermore, this heinous sickness morphed into a few other things and we all ended up in immediate care (unfortunately, on different days) being treated for ear infections, upper respiratory infections, and sinus infections. Needless to say, we are all on antibiotics and about $300 dollars poorer. But, I am pumped that we're on the mend as we were self-quarantined all of last week and I am ready to be SOCIAL again.

Couple of things from this weekend.....

1. We had a lovely visit with Nick, Liz and Stella Miesen who were in town visiting us and their friends, the Beckmans.

2. Our camera broke..... so we are going to be on the market for a new one.... hopefully in time to snap at least a collective 20 pics of Brady before he's walking.

3. Adam bought me 5 beautiful boxwood after losing a bet to me (doesn't he know by now never to make a sports bet with a girl- they are always bound to win). I planted them a couple of weeks ago and have been beaming ever since when I look at them because they look kick ass. Unfortunately, this weekend, however, I noticed that the new growth isn't looking so hot (browning) and I am panicking. I am literally stressing that they are all going to die. So say a prayer to the garden gods for me in hopes that they'll rebound.

4. Adam and I watched 8 episodes of Brothers and Sisters Season 1. I absolutely am hooked, Kevin is my favorite character, and Rob Lowe is soooo likeable. Thanks SIL for the recommendation.

5. I did the winter/summer swap- you know, where you put away your winter boots and get out your shorts and t-shirts. Of course, I would then wake up this morning to a whopping 56 degree day ahead. Indiana weather sure leaves something to be desired.

Big, big weekend for us, huh? :) We wrapped things up with a sweet bath with both of the kiddos. I had moments where I thought Avery was going to lay on top of Brady in his bath seat, but it sure was fun.


Blessings,
Katie

Mr. Musaki and the World of the Kite Runner

Just Keeping Up...

It seems to be about all we can do just to update the blog with a few pictures. Even that is tough, as I couldn't get the ones of Brady to upload correctly tonight. Oh well, I apologize about the lack of insight, cleverness or profound words, but instead offer you some cute photos. Avery is showing off her new spring dress (and a matching one for her baby) from our dear friend Kate Murphy. We also have pictures from an awesome weekend visit from our great friends Mike & Gail who are themselves expecting a new baby in August. So, they got a little practice with our crew! And then some classic Avery moments...