Adoption update

Just as they told us - International Adoption is unpredictable.

I just thought I'd give you a quick update. Our adoption agency has upped the estimated wait time for a referral to 6-9 months. That puts us at getting a referral anytime between early February and early May. Families who are getting referrals right now have been waiting approximately 7 months, so, we'll see how that fluctuates as we get closer to getting a referral!

They have also increased the time to travel after referral to 4-ish months, although, they did say that they are hoping/anticipating a decrease in that wait time. We'll have a LOT to do between referral and travel, so be it 3 months or 5 months we'll be busy! We are holding off on doing anything to the baby's room until we get a referral so we can make it gender specific. And I will say, it is very hard to prepare for your first child when you have no idea the age, weight, gender! So, yes, we will have much to do after we get that phone call, whenever it may be!

Christmas...

Well, our last Christmas without kids came and went! We spent the majority of our time in Frederic with Aaron's family which was fun. After the big snow we went out hiking in the woods. It was BEAUTIFUL out there - it seemed like a scene from Narnia! It was nice to spend some extended time with the Peterson clan.Christmas Eve night went to Coon Rapids and spent the night and Christmas day with my family. My dad's sister and her family were in town this year, and Aaron was able to meet my uncle Tim and my cousin Jake for the first time (considering the fact that I have a total of 3 uncles and 7 cousins, that is a big deal!).

We came home to 10+ inches of snow - but we have the BEST neighbors - they cleared our whole drive way, our porch, our front walk, and a path from the garage to the house. It was nice to come home and not have to deal with clearing the snow. Now if it would just STOP snowing for a while, that would be nice....

What I REALLY want for Christmas

posted by Aaron:

It's almost Christmas! I love the whole Christmas season as I'm sure most of you who read this do too. One thing I do dread every year though is the "gift list." I've never had a real easy time coming up with a list of things I need or want. I'm don't really need much and most of the things that I would LIKE are things that I'd either rather just get myself, or are completely ridiculous to put on a gift list (ie a new furnace). Creating this years gift list went something like this.....

Katie: We need to get lists together for my family to do some Christmas shopping.
Aaron: Oh, ok.
Katie: I already made mine three weeks ago.
Aaron: Oh. How long did it take you to make yours?
Katie: 3.5 seconds
Aaron: Oh.
Katie: You say "oh" a lot."
Aaron: Ok. I can't really think of much that I want...
Katie: How about some new shoes or a gift card to DSW? You could REALLY use some new shoes.
Aaron: Ok
Katie: How about a new chair for your office?
Aaron: Ok
Katie: How about a gift card to Menards or Home Depot for some stuff you could use in the garage.
Aaron: Ok
Katie: How about a popcorn popper?
Aaron: Ok. Oh - and how about some neckties? Mine are getting old.
(and I wear ties probably 2 times a year, so this is a pretty big need in my life)

So there you have it. Katie came up with about 80% of my gift list this year. Now to the main point of my post. What do I REALLY want for Christmas? Something unique....something.....practical.....I've got it!

Chuck Norris Action Jeans!

From the ad: "Developed by Chuck Norris for stunt fighting in action movies, these great looking western style jeans have a unique hidden gusset which allows greater movement without riding or ripping."

Perfect.

I suppose $19.95 in 1980-whatever dollars might be a bit much for people who are buying on a budget (they're probably $60 now). Maybe something that doesn't cost money...something like....

A recount of the 2000 election.

For the last seven years I just keep thinking "what IF?!"
If Al Gore had won the election I wouldn't be debating right now if I should add on a central air unit to my furnace. Global warming would have been taken care of and I could have avoided those long, hot and dreaded three weeks of summer in Duluth. Not only that, but who knows where the internet would be today had he had 8 years to lead us into the technology of the 21st century. Oh well.

One last idea.

A game of catch with Fidel.


As most of you probably know he was quite the baseball player back in his day and according to this picture it looks like he still keeps on top of his game. He may not be around next Christmas, so if you're really going to take me up on any of these ideas, this is probably the most time sensitive one.

There are some ideas. If you get me one of these please try to keep it a secret until Christmas Eve if you're in the Peterson family, Christmas Day if you're in the Flavin family or until at least Sunday the 23rd if you're not actual family. I'd like to enjoy a little suspense as I wait to see who might get me one of these things.

Updates

It's been a while since we updated this thing! Here we go...

1. Aaron and I are officially empty nesters. Jen and Buddy moved out on Monday. The last 4 or so months FLEW by! It worked out really well to have Jen stay with us while she finished school. Page now has free reign of the basement again and she has been looking for Buddy down there. Jen may be back up in Duluth depending upon her job search; we'll see what happens!

2. Amp 11 rulz. Aaron's band's show at Beaners last week was awesome! They did a GREAT job (I am slightly biased, I know, but I really would have no qualms with saying they stunk. Just ask Aaron). Amp 11 had by far the most groupies of the night. We'll keep you posted if they have any more shows - or if they sign a record deal. This picture is a little blurry, but the lighting was bad for photo ops at the concert. You get the general idea. (Thanks, Heather!!)3. Adoption...nothing new. We're still waiting. It looks like our wait for a referral may be longer than the 5-7 months we were "quoted" back in August. I'm checking with our contact person at CHSFS and we'll let you know. Just for reference, we will be waiting for 5 months on January 8th.

4. Zubaz. I read in the paper today that the guys who created zubaz are re-introducing them. You can only buy them at www.zubaz.com, which is an interesting website...it almost seems like a joke but I think they are serious. Check it out, it is weird.

That's all from the Northland.

silver bells, wedding bells

Congratulations, Jesse and Jodi, on your engagement!
Jodi - we are excited for you to be an official part of the family!
**and yes, that picture is a picture of the actual engagement!**

Beaners concert!

Posted by Aaron:

For those of you who are in Duluth and are interested my band is playing at Beaners next Friday night (Dec. 14 @ 8:00pm). There are 3 bands playing (we're first) and we'll be playing for about 30 minutes. IF you care you can check out some of our music here: www.myspace.com/amp11music

Also, if you want more info on Beaners or the other bands playing that night you can check out their site @ www.beanerscentral.com

Hope to see some of you there!