Starting Summer 2013

It has been brought to my attention that my blogging has been, well, somewhat lacking in the last few months. I will admit, I got a little caught up in life and, maybe as importantly, got a little lazy. Anyway, it has been since Easter since I did an update, and that is simply too much boring ole everyday life to catch up on. I think it significant to mention though that yesterday was the TEN MONTH ANNIVERSARY of bringing home Ethan, (how is that possible?) and tomorrow is Troy's and my SEVENTEEN YEAR anniversary (again, how is that even possible?).

It may seem hard to imagine, but after close to a year, we are just finding our comfort zone. Ethan is bonding, feeling safe and comfortable, and therefore he is starting to show some, how do I say this? Attitude. A lot of it at that. Aiden, the exemplary big brother in China, decided at some point that having a sibling is not all it's cracked up to be. Don't get me wrong, a majority of the time I think they love each other. Some of the times they like each other. They still make it a challenge most of the time! It is, though, a wonderful, fun, interesting, albeit exhausting challenge.

Take, for example, the simple task of family pictures. Ok, I just snorted at the adjective "simple." That word is misleading if not an outright lie. God bless Sara Sandbulte. She did an amazing job and did it with a servant's heart. I guess that should be no surprise. Here's how this photo session came to be; here's the message I received on facebook shortly after New Year's.

"Hey Diane! I'm not sure if you follow my photography page or not but the past couple weeks I have been receiving nominations for a free family session and CD of those photos from people who know of a family that would appreciate a gift like this.
This is what I had posted on my photography page:
'The Olivia Act, named after one of the children killed in Newtown, Ct., was started by a photographer who wishes to remain anonymous. Olivia’s family had family pictures taken a short time before she was killed. Those pictures are precious and now priceless to them. Upon hearing this, this photographer was moved to give away a 30 minute family photo shoot and has challenged other photographers to do the same. We go about our daily lives and sometimes we don’t take the time or have the resources to have family photos taken.'
Your family has been nominated and I am writing you this message because you have been chosen..."

What an amazing blessing. So, not only does she display a servant's heart, she also displays amazing talent! We've only seen one picture, but the fact that she got one is nothing short of miraculous. Between the distractions of the geese and ducks, the throwing of the rocks, Aiden's forced smile, the inability to sit still.....You get the idea. These two were a handful. And then some! Here is the sneak peak we got though.

We can't wait to see the rest. Even if we only got this one, though, we'd be happy. SO CUTE!

Next up on the Sturgeon Blogosphere -- my anticipation of my trip to NYC -- or rather, probably an a look back. I'm not so good at the timliness anymore. Suffice it to say, in all my tiredness, crabbiness, whininess about the craziness of my life with my boys, I am stressing / crying about leaving them for four days. From the day we have been blessed with their arrival in our life, I have not spent a night separated from them. I am freaking out! In brief: my generous-to-a-fault husband told me to go ahead and use my frequent flier miles; my well-contected friend is getting us tickets to one of the hottest Broadway plays, The Book of Mormon; and a dear, and might I add BRAVE, high school classmate friend is boarding us for the duration of our stay; therefore, I essentially get to go to my favorite city in the world for the cost of food!!!! Oh. My. GOODNESS! How could I pass that up? More later...!!!