Many faces of Sam, February - April 2010 (5 years old)

Sam going to a "Prince and Princess" Birthday party for his friend, Ivie.  Of course, he is Prince  Charming. (Feb 2010)

Of course, there is nothing that compares... I love my sleeping Sam.  Why?  Not only is he the cutest, but it is the only time I get to relax! (March 2010)

All the following are Feb 2010:

Sam drilling holes, nothing else, just holes.  By the time he was done with this piece of wood it looked like swiss cheese.

Just Sam. 

"What you talkin' about, Willis?"

This kid loves fries!

Practicing Tae Kwan Do with his brother.

Showing me he can balance himself on the wall, no hands.

What a goof.

Sam and Ivie

Just making sure the eyeballs are still there.

Sam's cool moves

Sam and I

Thumbs up... all is well.  I've got my fries!

April 2010:

Isik’s entertainment

Isik will always find away to entertain himself…. even if it is in the dental chair.  I'm not sure which was more entertaining for him, taking the pictures while the dentist was playing in his mouth or sucking the gas.  

Sam learning to ride his bike

Sam loves to ride his bike. No matter what it is, as long as he can move his legs and be outside, he really is a happy kid.  Notice the "mechanics" gloves... they are his and he uses them frequently.

 

Isik and Sam

Sometimes there is nothing greater than some good father / son time.

We all have wishes

Isik wishes this was his… that's all I'm going to say about this.

Sam’s and Gymnastics

His first medal, I'm sure of many.

This picture is Sam doing the rings. He really did amazing!

Sam is a VERY active kid, always wanting to challenge himself and always very busy. We thought we'd see how he liked gymnastics. He did amazing, he enjoyed going, and he did very well; however, 1 ½ hours of the same activity for a five year old didn't work so well. We will have to wait until he is older and maybe we will try again.

Isik's family

Isik went to visit his brother in California and found this picture.  We don't have many pictures of him when he was little, only two or three, so it is always a treasure when he runs across some.  This is his mother, him (in the stripped shirt), his oldest brother, Dogan, his father, and his 2nd oldest brother, Ziya.  The thing that always strikes me when we find pictures of Isik is the fact that Sam is his twin.  I love that Sam looks just like Isik.  

Not fair and Incomprehensible

Children - the most innocent, perfect, unconditional, forgiving, resilient, tender, funny, and helpless of all.

I cannot comprehend nor understand why horrible things happen to such perfection! Why do children get terminal illnesses, why does abuse happen... it makes me so angry! It is not fair!

Rest in peace, perfect Emma and all the other perfect children whose mortal battles have ended!

I love you Austin and Sam!!! Thank you for letting me hug you a little tighter. Thank you for letting me be your mother. As I always tell you both, I AM THE LUCKIEST MOM, because you picked me!!! I'm honored to go with you through your journeys of life. You make my heart dance! Thank you!

Emma

I have been following this blog of Emma. She is three years old and has a fatal disease. The journey she has gone on along with her mother, father, older brother and sister, is one that I would believe to be unbearable. However, Emma's story has reached around the world and has resulted in a charity that helps families. Every minute is now a minute more they have with her. My heart hurts for her mother and her father. Sometimes you really have to wonder why such awful and agonizing things have to happen.

One thing I have never, and never will, take for granted is the health of my children.

http://emmadunnam.blogspot.com

Winter F-U-N

Our friend Dave has made a “luge run” out of his yard.  We have so much fun spending our Saturdays with them and having winter F-U-N!!!

 

Joni!  She has the best crashes of all!!

Isik tagged Joni.

Austin

Fixing the track

 

Sam wiped out

Dave

Joni tied a pillow to her behind… she thought it might cushion the bumps and crashes!  She makes me laugh!

 

Sam’s Gymnastics

Immediately after Sam started Gymnastics he was moved up to the 6-7 year old class because he exhibited all the skills necessary.  Once a week for a couple months and then we had to make the decision to pull him out because after the first hour of class he lost all interest.  We are going to try again when he is a little older.  Because again, he really is a natural.

Which one of these is not like the others??

 

Blog updates and 2010

I didn't get everything from 2009 posted, but am still working on them. Isik gave me a full-day of Photoshop training while I was off the last week of December. Photoshop is awesome! I spent two days organizing almost 1,000 pictures from the last 6 months of 2009. That's a lot of pictures and I'm so happy I don't have to pay to get them developed! I spent another full day posting some of the events and will hopefully get everything done by the end of this week.

Our holidays were great. Austin spent one night at my brothers and played games with his cousins until the wee-hours of the morning. Sam spent the following day with them, while Isik and I enjoyed lunch and a movie. My kids loved being with their aunt, uncle, and cousins. Sam was exhausted by the time he got home. Thank you John and Wendy for being so good to my children and loving them! We spent several days with our friends playing, laughing, and eating. We went to a couple of movies with John and Wendy, which we don't get to do very often, and we are definitely going to make an effort to do that more. I saw more movies in a week than I have in almost all year.

I'm looking forward to the holiday fun we had continuing in 2010! Here's to a fabulous and prosperous New Year!