I'll be home for Christmas...

Well, he did make it home! A few days before Christmas, Adam flew into town and it was more excitement than you could imagine. It felt like I could finally breathe. He was home. Finally. We picked him up at the airport and drove him home to see his house that he had never lived in before. It was fun to tell him about all of the updating that I had done to the house. And the kids couldn't leave him alone. They were all over him...literally. What a special guy. He makes our world spin. We were so grateful that he made it home, even if it was only for a couple weeks.
The kids got to him first. They almost went through the security! I had to wait in line in order to get my hug and kiss. I guess I should be used to it by now.
And I love this picture. Ellie couldn't take her eyes off of him. It was like a celebrity sighting. So cute. She sure loves her daddy.

A big thanks to our wonderful friends, the Rockenbachs, for meeting us at the airport at 10:00 at night to be our photographers and help us welcome Adam home. We are so blessed to have wonderful people consider us their friends.

With that we were off. We had quite an agenda to accomplish before he left us again. Maybe TOO MUCH of an agenda, but you can't change the holidays, right? More to come on our holiday fun...stay tuned.

The Three Weeks of December

What did we do? We got ready for Christmas just like everyone else.

Fisher Kids To Do List:
Carol to Neighbors
School Parties
School Field Trips
Church Parties
Christmas Concert
Make Gingerbread House
Visit Santa (Except for Luke...he is too old for that don't you know.)
Bake Sugar Cookies
Sariah To Do List:
Everything on the Kids' List Plus...
Attend Various Functions
Buy Gifts
Hide Gifts
Wrap Gifts
Ship Gifts

Adam's To Do List:
Get out of Korea and COME HOME!

Adam tried to help me as much as he could from afar, but it was hard doing Christmas prep all by myself. I guess it gave me an idea of what next year will be like since Adam will be gone for all of the holidays next year. I learned that I will have to start earlier! Anyway, he was my online shopper. He would find gifts online for me that were a good price and had free shipping. Before I knew it a package would show up on my doorstep. It really was a nice help. All in all, December went fast for us and it was good thing because it made Adam's arrival come even faster. That will be our next post!

I'm still alive...

Okay, I realize that it has been over a month since I last did a post. The problem is that we have had so many events that once I got behind, it just seemed impossible to catch up. Well, the procrastination has come to an end. As tempting as it would be to just skip all of the things that I have missed and start with the present, I can't allow myself to do it. There were some big events in our lives and they are definitely blog worthy. So, if you want to get caught up with our last month keep checking back. If not, give me some time to get them done and then you can know what we are up to for 2010.
As I looked back through pictures yesterday I realized that 2009 was filled with fun events and great memories for our family, so we have our work cut out for us this year. We will do our best to make 2010 a great one!

Things to be thankful for.

With being in Korea for a while we have not had the opportunity to see our family much. Luckily we got the chance to see them and catch up a bit in the past week. My parents got to come and stay with us for a few days. I quickly put them to work with playing with the kids, making a big Thanksgiving dinner a day late, going for runs, Christmas shopping, and helping me decorate our house for Christmas. They were a great help and a wonderful distraction for the kids. It was nice for my Dad especially to see us all again since it had been about a year and a half since he had seen any of us. The visit seemed too short like always, but we were grateful for the time we had with them.



My parents also got Luke an A-10 model for his birthday. Grandpa and Luke had some great boy bonding time putting it together. Luke was so patient, and Grandpa was too. :)

Only a few short days after they left we got to have half of the Fisher clan stop by for a whirlwind lunch. Their crew were all vacationing down in Orlando and were nice enough to go out of their way to see us on their way back home. Adam's parents, two of his brothers, their wives, and their kids all made it up here to eat lunch with us. It was great fun, but it went WAY too fast. I feel like I didn't even get to sit down and have a full conversation with any of them. But, what do you expect with 17 people in my house for only a couple hours? I especially loved seeing my nieces and my two new nephews. Well, I guess they aren't that new anymore, but since I hadn't met them yet, they were new to me. I had a great time sneaking them M&M's so that I could steel some cuddles out of them. :) I wish that everyone lived closer. I think we would have a great time together. Anyway, good food was eaten, hugs were given, the potty was used, and I sent them all on their way with a travel treat from Aunt Sariah.

Thanks so much for coming! We miss you all and can't wait until next summer when we can have our Fisher Family retreat. Oh what fun it will be!
Last but not least, here is me Thanksgiving Day with my other family. Well, she may as well be. This is Rita, my best friend in the world. She has been through thick and thin with me and she is still hanging in there. It has been such a blessing to be able to move back to GA to be closer to her. Love ya Rita. Thanks for always bringing me back to reality and helping me get my "to do" list done even quicker. I don't know what I would do without you.

I really have so much to be thankful for this time of year and always. I think that my top three things have been and always will be my testimony, my relationship with Adam and our four amazing kids, and my wonderful family and friends. What more could I ask for? With those three things I can handle anything else that comes my way.

Luke Adam Fisher

Luke is sure growing up fast right before my eyes. He played soccer again this fall and did great. He sure loves sports. And it helps that he is actually good at them too. It is fun to watch him play when he is always one of the stars of the team. The other star happened to be his best friend Matthew. What can I say, he knows how to pick friends. :) They always happen to be smart and good at sports, just like him. Luke also recently had another birthday so he turned 8. Birthdays are all around us in the fall and his is the last one, so it becomes a double celebration. Celebrating for him, yes, but also for the mark of the end of cake and the start of the holiday season that we love. Here are some recap pictures of the oldest in our Fisher clan.Luke's team was undefeated and he scored an average of two goals per game I am sure. He is at least a head taller than most of the kids his age, but he is still coordinated and can even shoot the ball with his left foot. I hope his love of sports continues for years to come.
I guess "being cool" starts at the age of 8 for boys. At least in our case. Luke was so concerned about having a party that wasn't for "little kids". He was worried about silly games, singing happy birthday to him, and having the right kind of food. We talked a lot about what he wanted to do for the night and I think that in the end we succeeded. Lasagna, junk food, and video games. Nothing baby about that! It made the planning much easier and I think everyone had a good time. Happy birthday bud. :)

Luke...

smart as can be and a very good reader.

great big brother.

very organized.

loves sports of all kinds.

loves babies and holds any baby he can.

very sweet spirit and the peacemaker in all situations.

great helper to mom.

encourages his siblings to do the right thing.

takes pride in his work.

is alwasy seen as the good kid at school.

very good at putting things together and following instructions.

shows his love to his brother and sisters often.

I sure love you Luke and appreciate the good example you are to your siblings. I love the way you smile at me and want to show me things and tell me things about your life all of the time. I hope we can always stay close friends. You give me the best hugs. You are sure getting big and "I love you to pieces." Happy Birthday!

~Love, Mom :)

It's beginning to look a lot like....

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The house is almost ready, the shopping is almost done, and Adam is almost home.

The Spirit is in the air. Christmas will be great this year! The reason for the season is very close to my heart and my testimony of Christ has been strengthened even more.

Love you babe, here are some pictures of scenes to look forward to on the home front. :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!