Keelan is Off to High School

Ten years ago, this cute little boy started pre-school.  

And this year he is off to high school.

Sigh.

Puddles and Sunflowers

We have actually had good RAIN two days in a row!  Yesterday a storm blew up around dinner time, and after it was gone, we decided to take a walk.  We ended up at the school playground, a couple of blocks from the house.    Caylie decided it was fun to splash in small puddles with bare feet!

She was happy to put this jacket on.  (She's happy to put ANY new item on!)  I bought it months ago, so it's fun to finally see her wear it.  :)

Jumping in the puddle!

Keelan rode his bike on our "walk", as he likes to do.  Caylie gets very worried when he rides out of sight and always CHEERS when she sees "Kee-an" again.

The school has a garden in the summer time.  We decided to take some pictures in front of their pretty sunflowers.  

Sweet girl!

Sweet smile!

There was a beautiful sunset over the mountains, and I wished I'd had my real camera.  This is taken with my phone, and zoomed, so it looks especially cruddy, but perhaps you get the idea.  Or not.  Haha.

Two Months Home

Two months ago today (which was a 38-hour day for us!) we flew from Hong Kong to San Francisco where Caylie became a U.S. citizen.   This is a photo taken just after we went through immigration, and were begging the lady at the United counter for an earlier flight to Denver.  (She got it for us.  Guess we looked especially pathetic, or Caylie looked especially cute!  Haha.)  Anyway, today marks two months since that day, and we still have not received her Certificate of Citizenship.  (Sigh.)  Lest you think we are done with the waiting, red tape, and expense, alas, we are not.  We cannot get her U.S. birth certificate (which will be a certificate of foreign birth) or complete her Colorado adoption (yes, we must do this, too, complete with more forms and fees, ugh) without her COC.  So yes . . . more waiting on government agencies!  

But in the meantime, Miss C is doing very, very well.  She learns more English words all the time and is more and more comfortable with our family.  She will now kiss and hug freely, and will sit on my lap while watching tv.  Attachment is definitely happening, although it is a process that will evolve over years.  

She has loved Toy Story since she came home, and has watched all three movies many times.  She calls it "Buh mm Woo ee" (Buzz and Woody), which we will be very sad to see go when she stops saying it that way!  However, I think she's moving on now, as over the last several days, she wants to watch "dance", which means Despicable Me.  She LOVES to dance at the end of that movie.  It is hilarious.  Perhaps I will eventually figure out how to get a video off of my phone and onto this blog!  

Here are a few photos from our week!

Found this cool CU Buffs hoodie for $3 on a Walmart clearance rack.  She was excited to put it on, although it was 90*.  And like I said before, when I ask her to smile, this is what I get.  Haha.  

New toys and books in the mail are always fun!  (Thank you!)

Fun at the reservoir with brothers and friends.

Waiting for a yummy Mexican lunch with Baba.

Goodbye, Friends.

In October 1996, a young family moved from Anderson, Indiana to Aurora, Colorado.  They had no family or friends there, but God knew.  He brought them to a little church where there was an abundance of family and love.  This family was welcomed with open arms and quickly made their own "family" with several families in this church.  A few years later, one of the families moved away.  Then a few years after that, other families did.

  But the Altmans and the Johnsons remained family.  They celebrated almost every holiday together.  They celebrated many, many birthdays.  They welcomed new family members through birth, marriage, and adoption.  They laughed a lot and prayed a lot.  They saw other people come and go, but always thought they would be together.  Mark called us the "Altsons".  Sandy planned for where the four of us would live after all our children were grown.

But God knew.  He knew things that would be different from what we had planned.  He knew that we would have to say goodbye long before we wanted to.  Our dear friends are moving away today.  Far away.  My heart is broken at the loss of our family being right here, as they always have been.  When we started our adoption process, I had a vision of what things would look like; a large part being the "family" we have here to support us.  But God knew.  And now I need to keep my eyes and heart on Him and what He has for us now.  He is bringing the Johnsons into a new season as He is us.  He is faithful.

Below is a sort of timeline of photos of the "Altsons" through the years.  It has been fun going through them and remembering fun times.  (And these are just a tiny, tiny fraction of all the photos I could have included, haha!)

The girls and their brothers.  Little did they know they would be getting more brothers!  Erin & Nathan; Brittany & Taylor - Summer 1997

Halloween 1997.   Erin, Brittany, Taylor, Nathan, with Katie and Andrew Maurer. 

Sandy and baby Keelan at the church carnival.  1999

Brittany and Erin at Brittany's birthday party.  1999

Erin and Brittany on their first day of church camp.  1999

Taylor and Nathan at Chuck E Cheese - Taylor's birthday party. 2000

Sandy (and Graham!) with Keelan at the church picnic.  2000

Nathan and Taylor.  2000

Sandy and Keelan.  2000

Keelan and baby Grahamy.  2000

 Erin and Brittany with some really big Disney suckers.  No clue what that was about, haha.

Graham and Keelan on the day Justin was born.  2002

Mark and baby Justin.

Brittany and Erin.

 Graham and Keelan.  2003

Graham, Justin and Keelan 2004

Keelan and Graham.

Taylor and Nathan on their first day of church camp.

Brittany and Erin at one of their first freshman volleyball games.

Graham and Keelan

Joy and Sandy - musta been my birthday.  :D

Jim, Sandy, Graham and Keelan.  Looks like another birthday!

Keelan, Graham, Justin doing what they do.

Jim and Mark.

Graham, Keelan, Justin in our little pool.

Erin and Justin.

Justin and Mark.

Erin and Brittany at the Rockies game.

Keelan and Graham at Erin and Brittany's graduation party.  2008

Brittany and Erin before graduation.

Graduation party!

Halloween 2008.  (I think.)  Hilarious.  :D

Erin and Brittany doing what they do.

Taylor and Nathan doing what they do!

Erin and Brittany and Elitch Gardens.

More Elitch's.  

Taylor, Nathan, Graham, Keelan.  Don't remember the occasion!

Jim, Sandy, Joy.  Looks like another birthday.  Probably mine.  It's summer, and Jim is handing out the cake.  ;)

Graham when he was in my 3rd grade class. 
 2008-2009

Justin, Erin, Brittany.  Christmas Day, 2008.

Trip to Echo Lake on a f-r-e-e-z-i-n-g December day.  All of us - the Altsons.  :)

Super Bowl!  Sandy, Mark, Keelan, Nathan.  2009

Keelan's birthday at Chuck E. Cheese.  Justin, Keelan, Graham.  2009

Just one photo of many in the Johnson/Altman style show, starring Erin and Brittany.  Summer 2009

Don't mess with these guys.

Graham, Keelan, Justin.  Spring 2009

Taylor and Nathan sporting more awesome outfits.  2010

 Graham, Keelan, Justin at Aurora Reservoir.  2010

Joy and Sandy at the reservoir.  

The crew at the reservoir.  

Keelan and Graham at Meadowood Christian School field day.  2010

Mark, Joy, Jim at the Rockies game.

Bocce ball on Christmas Day.  2010  Nathan, Erin, Brittany, Brad, Sandy, Lucy, Jim.

Brittany, Erin, Sandy on Christmas Day 2010.

Taylor and Nathan - Christmas.

Erin and Brittany - Christmas break.  January 2011

More classic Taylor and Nathan.

 Erin and Brittany at Brittany's wedding shower.  Spring 2011.

Nathan's birthday, May 2011.  Graham, Keelan, Taylor, Justin, Nathan

Sandy and Joy at Taylor's graduation party,
 May 2011.

Erin and Brittany at Brittany's wedding.  May 2011

Keelan and Graham at the Rockies game.

 Brad and Nathan at Erin's wedding.  December 2011.

Nathan and Justin.

Justin and Graham at Erin's wedding.  Yeah, that last one was not in the right place, LOL

Brittany and Erin at Erin's wedding.  Dec. 2011

Brad & Brittany with Wes & Erin at Brittany and Brad's apartment.  Christmas Day 2011.

Sandy and Justin 2012

Graham and Justin at Math Olympics, 
Colorado Springs.  2012

Taylor and Nathan - Taylor's birthday at Red Lobster.  2012

Thanksgiving 2012.  Brittany, Brad, Jim, Justin, Keelan, Taylor, Mark, Graham.  

Skyping with Nathan on Thanksgiving.

Brittany and Mark at Country Buffet for Keelan's birthday, March 2013.

Justin, Caylie and Graham at Aurora Reservoir, summer 2013.

Goodbye, sweet friends.  We love you.  

We are family.