A time for everything

Christmas story by the Kerrigan kids

2012-01-09T15:03:00.000-08:00

Christmas project #2 - Cookies!

2011-12-09T16:17:00.000-08:00

Our friends Piper and Simon came over this morning to do some cookie making with us. can you believe that Megan has only been working for about 1 minute...yet is all covered in flour??

And has also eaten a decent amount of cookie dough!!

Simon and his gingerbread man

Okay, so side note. There are two types of suger cookies unbenownst to me..a suger cookie AND a suger cookie CUTOUT. Yep, I made the first...so those good looking cookies down there....they ended up looking like big blobs of nothing. ahhh good times....

Buttercream frosting made by Piper

We went all out this year and decided to do some real decorating, it took a bit longer than your dip and spread variety but they turned out really good!

Wreaths for you Dad!

They are all wrapped up and ready to send to Moody for their Christmas party! Thanks Piper and Simon!!

Christmas project #1

2011-12-04T18:32:00.000-08:00

Ready in our awesome new aprons, to make gingerbread houses!

Who's excited about candy??

Heaven on earth :-)

Megan's final product

Ian's was a whole other story....

Multiple rooms and even smoke coming out of the chimney!

The builders and their dream homes :-)

Trial run

2011-11-30T13:42:00.003-08:00

Well I am clearly not the pro that Aunt Shirley is, as I couldn't even figure out how to do more than one picture on a slide :-) But here goes ....

Personalize a free digital slideshow

Fish please?

2011-10-29T22:38:00.000-07:00

So last night as I put Megan to bed she wanted to do her praying first, so she closes her eyes, folds her hands, and prays:

"dear God, thank for food, please help mommy and daddy to feel better (we are not sick, she just learned that one from cousin Joel :-)), help mommy get fish, help daddy get fish, and help meggie get fish. aaaamen."

I guess I don't need to tell you she is very excited about getting a fish at some point. She is currently saving up pennies in her Monkey Bank to buy a 28 cent goldfish at walmart, as she says "to hold in mine hand".
She is 3 cents in at this point...she gets a choice of candy or penny when she goes potty in the toilet :-) In her defense... she isn't much for going to the potty yet :-).

Time for change....

2011-10-14T20:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not blogging all summer...here are some catch up pictures.

Our family picture at Green Bluff

Mom and Dad, and Molly and Eric visited for the pumpkin festival.

Tractor ride!

Playing in the mud is better than picking pumpkins!

To say Megan has a love for animals is a severe understatement. She is ecstatic to spend any time with animal and loves to ride horses.

Kitty face!

Hanging out with Daddy while he works, eating carrots out of the garden.

Shooting guns with Joel...he picked up a gun and Megan immediately ran to get her trusty can of tomato paste to shoot with.....hmmmmm odd :-)

Watching "Cars" with their Moncheechees. Thanks Mom!

Visit from cousin Micah..oh and Molly too :-)

Now...for the change part of this blog. Due to many tangles and tears, I decided to cut Megan's hair. It was sad to say goodbye to her beautiful curls!

First cut...

The bottom is done...

Then I made a BIG mistake and cut way to short on one side....

So we called in the professional...Thanks Liz for coming to the rescue!

Finished product...So short but it will be easier to handle.

Bath time....cleaning up their bath crayons.

Snuggle bear

Thanks Aunt Shirley for the cool kalidiscope picture of Megan kissing the pony!!

Berry Picking

2011-07-20T15:54:00.000-07:00

Our first adventure into berry picking! Which means to Megan, pick them out of Grandpa's bucket and eat them :-)

She did her best to pick...well any of them red or green.

We called her our "quality control' as she would take one bite and them return it to your bucket :-)

I don't remember being this cute while picking berries :-)

A little fun in the sun later that day :-)

Waiting.....

2011-07-01T11:06:00.000-07:00

I find that waiting to be picked for a baby is the hardest part about adoption. There are so many doubts and worries that creep in during this time. I work really hard to focus on God's perfect timing and try to enjoy each day as we have it! So here are a few pictures of our enjoyment of each day as we wait!

Planting our front flower bed

Learning to make sweet tea

Camping trip at bowl and pitcher

Family dinner

Hanging out with cousins

Hiking around

Hanging on the bridge

Experiencing some ash/dirt

How we eat while we are camping...total relaxation :-)

I guess she was hot :-)

Thank you all for your prayers for us!!

Order now!

2011-05-26T15:26:00.000-07:00

We are putting in our t-shirt order this next week, so order now so you can get the size and color that you want!!

CHOSEN

2011-05-13T11:26:00.000-07:00

A little over two years ago, Ian and I got the amazing phone call that we had a little girl waiting for us. Pictured above is the first time we got to hold Megan seconds after she was born, she was -and is- such an amazing blessing to us!!

7 months later, Megan officially became a part of our family. God has given us the desire to continue to care for the orphans and we are embarking on another adoption journey this year.

We will be working through the same domestic agency, as we did with Megan, and are in the waiting period to be picked as a family. As you may know adoption is fairly expensive and we have been blessed by SO many people who have helped us with our adoption journey's. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

This time around we decided to do something exciting and try selling some adoption t-shirts.

We have designed this t-shirt to symbolize how we feel about the orphans and how God views each one of us, as Chosen children, not unwanted or unloved, but chosen.

The Gray/Burnt Orange t-shirt comes in all sizes of the unisex shirt.

The Black/Blue t-shirts comes in all sizes of a more fitted women's shirt, as shown.

The t-shirt inscription says:

Chosen

I will hear the orphans cry Ex. 22:23

All t-shirts are $25.00 each

If you feel so inclined and you want to donate WITHOUT receiving a t-shirt, please use the Donate button below.

Projects and Easter fun

2011-04-26T10:58:00.000-07:00

After 5 years of redoing our horrible sprinkler system EVERY year, I have finally found the solution to having money left for my plants. Buy before we turn the sprinkler system on :-) So this year I redid a couple of beds in our yard. This first picture is under our new garden window, you might notice that nasty piece of work out equipment is FINALLY gone!! Planted some new plants that I had not heard of, helleborus, I think they will be really nice right there.

I also planted some new rhodedendrins..pretty sure thats not spelled right. They are one of few plants that can handle the hot and cold over here.

Inside the house, I took down the big quilt hanging up and went for a more modern look with a family picture tree. I think it turned out pretty good.

Megan's yearly Easter picture with her basket and duck, can you believe two years ago she fit in that basket?

Easter afternoon turned out beautiful and was sunny and nice, we had about 5 families over for lunch and an Easter egg hunt. Thanks to Ian for doing a great job of hiding eggs for all age levels!

Waiting for the hunt to begin....

Megan loved it and ran around collecting eggs, until due to tripping she spilled her basket and an egg popped open revealing candy...so she plopped down and started eating and that was the end of the hunt for her :-)

The airplane swing is back in motion and a huge hit for all the kids.

Megan's new sand/water toy thanks to Great Grandma Williams!!

Bedazzled hair :-)

2011-03-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

So I needed a few hair things for Megan but they are VERY expensive to buy, so I decided to start making them!
Here are a few of my first ones, of course I love gerber daisies so that was an obvious choice :-)

Then I needed some for a wedding that Megan will be in.. yes her debut as a flower girl, so I tried to match the wedding flowers, I thought it turned out pretty nice.

I love putting them with a pony tail, they just look so cute!!

25 cent sale

2011-02-25T14:39:00.001-08:00

Yes, you will all be jealous, but I found these books for 25 cents today and I am SO excited about having them! A childhood memory

Visit

2011-02-24T19:13:00.000-08:00

Thanks Dad and Mom for coming and visiting us!! We had such a good time with you both!!! Unfortunatly I didn't get any actual pictures of you :-) Sorry!!
But I am so excited about the warm and cozy and personal pillow cases!

And the lovely bug salt and pepper shakers! Thanks for letting me open my birthday present early :-)

The cookies -- those I don't share.

Megan very much enjoys her early birthday present from us, of her very own desk!!

Thanks for visiting! We love you!

Bugs

2011-02-13T21:11:00.000-08:00

Cute as a bug in a spring dress

Little poser

Her newest facination..searching for bugs to touch and hold and squish

Ready for summer!!

Old friends, new friends

2011-02-04T16:39:00.000-08:00

My old roommate from California came up and visited this past weekend, and we introduced our almost twin like daughters, they are a couple months apart. They mostly enjoyed say "no" to each and then telling on each other " momma, she said no". We tried not to laugh!
We had a great time together..here are a few pictures...

stuff

2011-01-20T10:54:00.000-08:00

Megan playing dress up with her reflection in the oven door

My amazing Christmas present from Ian, he made it! I love it!

Megan's all time favorite pasttime..having tea :-) Especially with real water!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-13T16:23:00.000-08:00

Kerrigan Cousins

Cookie making and eating at Papa's and Mima's

Coloring in the playroom with Essie

Dolls and lollypops..does it get any better?

Sledding :-)

Hmmm..more lollypops :-)

Tripping accident on New years..fixed by a popsicle!

Road Sledding!

Sorry for the few pictures...we got MUCH slower internet and it took 15 minutes to get these on..I will have to be more on top of my pictures from here on out!

Happy New Year!

Gingerbread houses...sort of :-)

2010-12-14T12:22:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, we went to the Davenport Hotel downtown and looked at their amazing gingerbread houses. The theme this year was Disney, I believe, and there were some crazy ones. The rule is that everything you see has to be edible...to someone anyways :-) it was a lot of fun, though we missed them working on them by like 5 seconds..the finishing bell had just rung when we walked in..maybe next year we will go a little earlier.

Pirate ship

Winnie the Pooh

Ian and Megan enjoying the sights

Aladdin's castle

Tiki hut..yes those are shredded wheat

Cinderella's castle

Megan doing her first decorating of our charlie brown christmas tree :-)

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-09T13:12:00.000-08:00

Memories

2010-12-09T08:25:00.000-08:00

Making Christmas light memories with Daddy!

She is always so helpful and happy, despite it being dark and cold out there!

Her new favorite pastime, playing under her blanket :-) The walking under the blanket gets a little dangerous!

Decorating an ornament that she got in Sunday School, very serious about it :-)

Advent

2010-12-04T08:42:00.000-08:00

Finished product of our new advent calendar! Thanks Aunt Shirley for your wonderful craft stuff and Bethany for helping make it look...whimsical?? :-)

Megan LOVES taking the box down to get the candy and so far has listened really well to the advent story! Thanks Mom, for sending it in square form!

But...this is the favorite of the season, she has spent more time taking off and putting on these window stickers than I have ever seen her do anything else!! Can you think of a place to get year around ones??

Thankgiving and snow

2010-11-28T20:05:00.000-08:00

Sipping hot chocolate while watching Ian fly his airplane on ski's

Selah, Essie, and Megan ready to compete in sledding :-)

Wait..wrong way....

...little speed demon...

Practicing for snow racing with Joel....sorry about the face plant :-)

Papa teaching on snow ball fighting

Professionals

Essie and Megan off to see the ducks..can they get any cuter than that??

Learning how to collect eggs...sorry about the broken ones :-)

Annual axe throwing contest

Craft time with Mima

Trying out the Kerrigan sledding hill

Fall into Winter

2010-11-22T10:12:00.000-08:00

Big helper when it comes to raking and putting away the leaves!

All done!

Getting in the mood for winter with a movie with the cousins

Some yummy holiday snacks!

First real snow experience!

Helping to shovel the driveway :-)

Figured out she could eat the snow...

So happy to be outside in it all!

Happy Winter!

Pumpkins...just like everyone else :-)

2010-10-27T11:20:00.000-07:00

Searching for the perfect pumpkin at green bluff..this particular was too heavy for her, but I missed the picture of her falling over with it!

Perfect!

She enjoyed playing in the dirt more than anything!

helping push the pumpkins!

Tractor ride!

Cleaning out the pumpkin with Papa!

Carving with Daddyd

Washing seeds with Mima

Good night pumpkin!

Under the table fun :-)

seasons change...

2010-10-13T16:12:00.000-07:00

As the seasons change here we come into the time of heavy jackets....

....and lady bug galoshes....

...and indoor playtime with new (old) dolls and beds :-)...

..wait..who said this bed was just for dolls??? I fit too!

..and, of course, our first jump into a pile of leaves..

last of all...helping turn off the sprinklers...yes, winter is coming!

Fall begins....

2010-09-30T10:07:00.000-07:00

Since the sun is lower now, it just shines through our new window SO nicely in the morning...yes, believe it or not, I am enjoying it :-)

A little soccer time out in the backyard, enjoying the 80 degree weather and a nice fall breeze!

This is for you Ryan :-) See what a mess I made trying to make that bruschetta? My second batch came out less soupy and it tasted great but...I forgot to get a picture of that :-)

Bruschetta Soup...its the new rage :-)

September fun...

2010-09-27T16:23:00.000-07:00

Spokane County Fair!

She loves animals!

Bunnies were a favorite

Though the turkey was especially interesting :-)

She has no fear with the animals

But her all time favorite was the goats for sure!

Trip to Portland

Wrestling with Elijah, thanks for being so good with her!

OMSI fun - 5 minutes in the sandbox

5 minutes in the water area

1 min driving - after pushing out a much bigger boy :-(

5 minutes running around the nature area..

loves those stuffed animals! 30 seconds looking at fish..

they went everywhere with her :-)

2 min at the airballs...note the raccoon tale she is still holding :-)

Joel dumping water on his mommy..he is happy :-)

Mom's new eye...scary Mima :-)

watching a new movie

Cute overalls that Mom made, they clearly love them!

First adventure into the hot tub!

Watching their favorite singing video

We finally hung up the new airplane swing in our backyard!

Sigh.

2010-09-01T16:34:00.000-07:00

You know what they need to invent? A little digital reader that you can swipe on your child's head, I would call it the grocery-shopper-reader. It would plainly tell you whether or not it was likely that your child would erupt in the middle of shopping, in loud screams, and throw things - including anything that she could reach in the grocery cart. Mostly chips of course, though you have to laugh when she tried to life the milk carton that was sitting next to her. Anyways..it would say : unlikely to be a problem or she will smile the whole time or DO NOT TAKE YOUR CHILD SHOPPING TODAY!! Don't you think that would be helpful?

Big helper

2010-08-27T15:58:00.000-07:00

Cleaning off a chocolate cookie beater...

Getting ready to work in the kitchen

Helping peel and dry apples...okay maybe more eating them and wearing the peelings around her neck!

washing the table / bench..

sweeping the kitchen

Throwing away trash - and unfortuantly anything else she deems necessary :-)

Helping vaccum, though its a little to heavy for her to do alone.

Picking beans in the garden! She loves to take a bite of each one and then put it in the bowl!

Random

2010-08-26T10:44:00.000-07:00

Megans first experience with playdo

Megan's new swing

The party planners

Ian's big win for his 30th birthday

July

2010-08-06T09:56:00.000-07:00

I am so far behind on posting so I am just going to do a picture post. Pictures will be from the family camping trip, our window project and the airshow...with maybe a few others thrown in :-) Big update...Megan learned to walk!!

August....here we come :-)

Happy 4th of July!!!

2010-07-05T14:34:00.000-07:00

Summer Playing

2010-06-29T19:39:00.000-07:00

Finally the sun has come to Spokane!!

Wait am I supposed to be playing with a shovel in the pool??

NO! I need a sandbox....

what is that blue thing in the background.....

Could it be a Bolivian hammock??

YES!! (Kari you better be reading this!!! )

And, of course, the new backyard swing!!

Yeah for garage sales!!

We went out to Hayden Lake on Saturday and Megan LOVED the water! She crawled in and then later walked with me up to her shoulders...didn't even flinch at the cold temps!

Ian needed to have some fun too....so he learned how to fly a sea plane!!

He passed his check ride today!!!

Alaska

2010-06-25T17:49:00.000-07:00

We began our trip to Alaska at 3am. When we arrived at the airport, we found out that our second flight was canceled so we ended up have 3 extra hours to wait in Seattle...should have been a sign that our traveling would be crazy that day!!

Once we arrived in Anchorage, we drove an hour to Palmer and then got on another plane - much smaller :-) to fly to Homer, Alaska.

We packed Megan and her new friend, Ali, in the back and headed out!

They slept the whole way!

Once we arrived in Homer, we headed out in a boat to Halibut Cove

It was now about 9pm and Megan SCREAMED when we put a life jacket on her...not happy at all!

We arrived safe and sound to a small cabin in beatiful Alaska.

I took this at 11:30 outside our cabin before we went to bed.

View from the cabin

Outdoor, but warm, shower..excellent view :-)

Out on a hike the next day by the ocean

Matt's parents babysat for us while we went out for a hike!

Megan petting her first horse!

Getting ready for some Hobo stew out at the campfire outside the cabin.

Some down time in the evening..trying to calm Megan down for bed!

Out combing the beach for dead sea lions and starfish...we found both! The girls weren't impressed :-)

On the boat again.....

Heading back to Palmer.

Flying up to the next cabin in Sheep Mt.

Little scooter ride to the hanger...

The famous Alaskan bush wheels..rather large :-)

All set and ready to roll for another day out!

In front of two glaciers...yes they are receding...yes that is normal :-)

Megan couldn't take in all the sights...she cashed out in the backpack

Protecting everyone from the bears :-)

Clearing the runway...seriously!

Still sleeping.....

I love flying!!

Can you believe this is their window view, NOT a picture!!

On the glacier

It was beatiful!

Out again...this time she got sunburnt! oops!

Hot dogs and marshmellows on the edge of the glacier.

Heading back home...

Rocking baby Ali :-)

It was a fabulous trip and very nice to get out and hike around! What a beatiful place!!

Visit

2010-06-03T16:25:00.000-07:00

Molly, Micah and Vicki came for a visit today! It was fun to see them all again. Megan is still not quite sure what Micah really is....

...but was willing to help comfort him while he was crying....

...finally resorting to giving him a kiss :-)

So cute in their matching red outfits! Thanks for coming up!

Dress up...

2010-05-30T16:25:00.000-07:00

Megan seems to really enjoying putting things on her head and around her neck....especially clothes!

I walked out of the room for a minute and when I came back, Megan had tried to put on all the clothes I had laying out :-)

I found this to be a good way to entertain her while I am getting ready in the morning!

A nigh out

2010-05-30T16:19:00.000-07:00

For the graduation class at Moody and for all the staff, we got to go on a dinner cruise on Lake Coure' D'lane. It was a little cold but we had a great time!

Projects

2010-05-18T15:20:00.000-07:00

Project #1 - washing the car

Learning about bubbles...

Project #2 - building a shelf for my flowers

She was very concerned about where Ian was :-)

..and what he was doing...

Side note: see my teeth???

Finished result!!

Project #3 - new sprinkler system

Ian and his dad started very early in the morning..

Megan came out later to help! She danced and chatted out there finding rocks for us to see :-)

Loran came over to help and give the kiddos lunch! Thanks!

And the sprinkler system works!! Maybe this will be the last year we will do major damage to our lawn by working on it.....or maybe that is too much to hope for!

Project # 4 - trimming our big maple tree

Not pictured ...to worried about people falling out to take pictures :-)

Thank you Scott for helping us out!

Project # 5 - fixing our garage door that broke

..ironically falling the moment Ian was beneath it, onto his back!! He survived! (and we lauged a bit :-))

found out ALL the screw were loose...on the garage door! :-)

Broke completely off...luckly Ian knows how to weld!

Megan was our most helpful tool provider!

Note the black grease around her mouth :-)

Grease Monkey!!!

The rest of the weekend we partied with Scott and Bethany...sorry I forgot to take pictures of that!! Thanks for coming to visit!!!

Mother's Day

2010-05-11T08:34:00.000-07:00

For Mother's Day, my sister-in-law Loran, got us all seats at the Davenport Hotel Mother's Day Brunch in Spokane. I have never seen food like that! It was amazing! Ending with, of course, a huge chocolate fountain with strawberries and pineapple and marshmellows to dip in it!!! Maybe next year, Mom??

We all ate until we popped and then went home and napped!

Ian and Megan got me some beautiful gerber daisies. Ian said its my last chance to keep to keep them alive..so far, so good :-)

Riverfront Park

2010-04-23T14:54:00.000-07:00

First we took a ride on the Carasol..not sure how to spell that :-)

Then we fed ducks and had lunch ourselves....

Then we took a ride on the Skyway to see the falls...

Megan and Dane really liked it!

Alot of water running right now!

Then Megan and Dane learned how to fly an airplane....

And of course finally the slide, which Megan loves to go down..even by herself.

Side story: While riding on the Skyway, we started to smell the scent of urine..after looking around we realized there was a used baby diaper under the seat. We were rather grossed out that someone would do that, so when we got back, Leslie proceeded to tell the attendant that it was in there when we got in and it smelled so he should maybe remove it before the next guests. We went from there to the playground and after playing around for quite awhile, I noticed that Dane's pants were all wet (he had overalls on) and mentioned it to Leslie. As she was taking him off the slide, I said "does he even have a diaper on?" Imagine our surprise when we checked and he had NOTHING on. We all started to laugh as we realized that somehow while we were ALL sitting in a small booth over the river, Dane managed to get his diaper out of his pants and put it under the seat without any of us noticing!! Yes, we were the nasty people who left a diaper on the Skyway.....how embarressing :-)

Garden time!

2010-04-20T15:42:00.000-07:00

Look! I picked a dandylion!

Gotta keep hydrated!

Did you say something?

I love dirt! Yeah!

Easter

2010-04-14T15:26:00.000-07:00

While I was out of the house on Sunday morning, Ian surprised me by setting up the table for dinner, he did an amazing job!! Each plate had a special napkin creation too!! Thank you, Ian!!

Happy Easter everyone!

Thanks for coming :-)

1 year old!!!

2010-04-14T15:18:00.000-07:00

Our little Easter miracle!!

Visit to Portland

2010-04-14T15:14:00.000-07:00

Dad and Megan reading the Easter Story

Mom and Dad graciously babysat Megan for us so that Ian could take me out and celebrate my birthday!

We went and saw LadySmith Black Mombosa, they have been around for about 50 + years, and sang some songs with Paul Simon back in the day. They were Really good!

Megan's precious cell phone!

Before the shower..Where's Megan ??Can't quite tell who is having the most fun here :-)Exhausted after a long trip and...the stomach flu!!

California

2010-04-14T15:05:00.000-07:00

Visiting Grandpa & Grandma Williams in California!

A day at the beach, Corona Del Mar Sand is yummy.....I think :-)

Megan and cousin Cody

We got in the splash zone at Sea World!Megan actually really enjoyed it!

Easter Surprise..one year later...

2010-04-03T15:29:00.000-07:00

Megan is about 2 days old in this picture in my Easter basket

1 year later...she doesn't quite fit!

But we are still SO blessed to have her in our lives!

Enjoy this day of new life and resurrection!

Kitchen

2010-03-31T16:02:00.000-07:00

Finally, after almost 5 years, we got a real cabinet for our kitchen!! Our friend who made it, finished it in a hurry this past weekend so that Ian could put it in while I was in Portland (picture to come of that ). I LOVE IT!! So far I haven't had time to organize it but it really cleans up our kitchen quite a bit. Megan has only pinched her fingers in the drawer once :-)

Here is where our microwave was..I think it is looking better already.

The past couple weeks just plain wore Megan out..yesterday she simply fell asleep on her stuffed kitty while Ian was doing dishes :-)

Some things.....

2010-03-14T15:49:00.000-07:00

.....are impossible to resist! For me, pansies on a balmy, spring day here in Spokane :-)
So refreshing!!

Stages...

2010-03-13T12:37:00.000-08:00

Standing...

Walking...

Sitting...

Riding....

Hiking

2010-03-13T12:34:00.000-08:00

Megan's first springish hike in Spokane!

She really enjoys riding in the backpack!

It was such a beautiful day out there by the river!

And of course..forgot our Christmas present and had to take a by hand picture of the family :-)

2010-03-13T12:32:00.000-08:00

So cute... almost getting her front teeth...

Her new skill is pointing at EVERYTHING, but she especially loves her Noah's ark figures in the bedroom. Thanks Mom for helping me repaint them!!

Her first Oreo...quite messy but she loved it :-)

New sleeping arrangement with her dog..well actually my dog - Ian gave it to me on our first Valentines day when we were dating!

Muffins

2010-03-13T12:28:00.000-08:00

So I decided to try something new...sweet potato muffins! Just shred them up...

and cook :-)

It only used egg whites, so I decided to cook the yokes for Megan. For those of you who hate the smell of cooking eggs - like me - I found out that its only the whites that smell...who knew :-)

Final product..they were delicious!

Teeth brushing

2010-02-12T16:25:00.000-08:00

She loves to brush her two teeth...

..sometimes she needs a little help :-)

I can get up on my knees!

new love of graham crackers....

check facebook for a new video :-)

New skills

2010-02-11T16:27:00.000-08:00

Trying SO hard to kiss my big teddy bear on the face!

Eating delicious frozen blueberries that Mima and Papa picked for us

And yes, Kari, it happened right after we talked on the phone..she learned to stand up in her crib! Gotta keep up with cousin Joel!

I'm crazy about you!

Flowers

2010-02-04T13:23:00.000-08:00

So its true....I have the most amazing husband in the world. He brought me the most wonderful, happiest bouquet of flowers the other day. So they sit on my table to make me smile. Not to mention the HUGE candy necklace that he gave me so I could have a delicious bite each time I felt down.....may not have followed that to the letter as it is already long gone :-)
Thanks, Ian, I love you!!

Shoes

2010-02-04T13:05:00.000-08:00

So Megan has a slight obsession with shoes..she makes a "run" for Ian's closet every time our bedroom door is open so she can grab his shoes. She huffs and puffs as she tries to carry them around :-)

She also loves her own shoes..they don't require as much energy.

But the real prize is Mom's boots, those are worth hours of entertainment. The funny part it, there is no method to her love of them..she just picks them up and down :-)

Someday this will be an expensive habit..........................

2010-01-30T11:27:00.000-08:00

I Love Monkeys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-01-30T11:26:00.000-08:00

She loves looking out the sliding glass door...and licking it!

Learning to love bathtime..don't you have a picture of Molly like this, Mom?

I love not having clothes on!!

2010-01-28T19:07:00.000-08:00

A few cuddles with Aunt Molly

Big smile for daddy with her little teeth showing

Megan is famous for her "posing" which she does constantly..especially when she has made a big mess :-)

Just really starting to pull herself up on everything...looking mighty proud of herself here :-)

Kitchen Time

2010-01-07T09:20:00.000-08:00

So Megan finally figured out how to open the drawers in the kitchen.

She was super happy about it until she got her legs caught under there :-)

She's got a great side mohawk going on too :-)

So I played around with my mother-in-laws new Cricut machine and made my own vinyl wall hangings. Thought this was a funny one for my kitchen :-)

Christmas and New Years!

2010-01-01T21:30:00.000-08:00

Christmas with Mima and Papa

Going to the theatre for the Best Christmas Pageant Ever!

Megan's first stocking

Blocks for Christmas

Waiting patiently for dinner :-)

Off to do some Christmas caroling in the neighborhood....COLD!

Sharing special legos with Asher

Dad's (Kevin) surprise birthday dinner

Megan had just spit her binky across the room because a waiter walked by with a plate of shrimp and she grabbed for it :-)

She loves to give kisses now

The whole family

Dad and the granddaughters

Mom's and daughters

Hope you all have a surprisingly good 2010 :-)

Butterfly's and Ladybugs

2010-01-01T21:26:00.000-08:00

Finally finished Megan's room...found some cute idea's at Pottery Barn and recreated them :-) Thanks for the help on the ladybug Bethany Lynn!! Thanks Mom for helping me do them! I think they turned out great!

2009-12-30T21:29:00.000-08:00

Trying to post a video of Megans's skills :-)

A day in the life of Megan

2009-12-15T16:27:00.000-08:00

Trying to sneak a peek in her stocking.....

Hanging out with all her toys...

Watching the fire....

Hanging out with Daddy....

Bath time.....

Trying to decide what to wear..... :-)

Helping mommy clean her room......

...and, of course, posing for pictures.... :-)

Hope you are all having a wonderful snowing day!!

The weather outside is frightful.... :-)

2009-12-08T09:37:00.000-08:00

So today in Spokane, it looks like it might be warmish.............

......but its definitly NOT!!

It was below zero earlier this morning but its up to a whopping 2 degrees now!!

So we dress for the occasion ;-)

She can't really move that well in that outfit!

We still managed to go out and do some ice skating last week despite the cold temperatures..

Megan fell asleep watching :-)

Its beginning to look alot like Christmas....

2009-12-01T09:14:00.000-08:00

On our way home from Portland we stopped by a yummy store..and they had Santa and a reindeer outside. Megan could have cared less about him but she was VERY excited about stealing a candy cane from his bag...but we missed that picture :-)

Putting up the big tree!

Not quite to the ceiling but it looks wonderful, and Megan loves it! She was taste testing the pine needles this morning :-)

She was helping me unpack Christmas boxes

Thankgiving!!

2009-12-01T09:07:00.000-08:00

We have so much to be thankful for this year and one of many is to be able to spend time with our family!!
We had a great time in Portland this last weekend, to celebrate Thanksgiving and then get right into the Christmas season!!

Here is the whole gang!

Selah and Essie did some serious nail painting

Don't worry, they will get better with practice :-)

Lots of good food!

Playing peek a boo with the babies

Playing the Wii

Sadly, my camera died during the Thanksgiving meal...so I jump straight to Christmas Lights!!! WOO HOO!

Our excellent chefs!!

Getting ready for Christmas tree shopping :-)

Megan found a tree just her size!

We found the perfect tree!

Government work: two guys to talk about how to cut it down, one guy doing the work :-)

Wrapping the tree for the drive home

Finally some football watching!

Megan and Joel

not sure why Joel is cut off...guess I am not the good photographer :-)

Thanks for such a wonderful time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The rest of vacation.....

2009-12-01T08:38:00.000-08:00

As the week went on...the picture taking became less :-) Here are the last few pictures...

I don't know what I was doing...but the background was cool :-)

Megan Monkey and her monkey friends in the background, okay so she slept through a fair bit :-)

Creepy bats...

On the safari

It was pretty cool for those of us who had not been on a real safari in Africa :-)

Ahhhhhh..... she didn't seem to mind being eaten :-)

First time down a slide..not sure what to think :-) I think her chubby legs slowed her down!

Learning to drink from a fountion

Exhausted after a long day of excitment!

Family Reunion

2009-11-21T19:55:00.000-08:00

For the next couple days in Florida we had a great time meeting the entire Kerrigan Crew. We had group pictures, good food, and fun games! There were 58 people there, and we each had a shirt that numbered us, in our order of becoming a part of the Kerrigans.

Megan and cousin Asher playing early in the morning

Getting ready for pictures!

Mommy, can I lick the pole while we are waiting?

Sure.

Asher, Megan, and a second cousin Simon.....Megan is actually younger than both by a couple months :-)

Beach Volleyball

Watching Daddy play

The next day we had a Kerrigan 5K race...we were obviously in the stroller category :-)

The judges..Grandma and Grandpa Kerrigan and Dad

Yes, Loran is amazing!

Finally some relaxing pool time..Megan LOVES the water!

Megan and Grandpa

She loved the little fountains

First time with her head under the water..she didn't mind at all.

hmmmmmm.....nice thought....but.... :-)

We went to downtown Disney that night..can you believe this is made entirely out of small legos?!

Next: Animal kingdom........

Florida, Family, and Disney World!!

2009-11-19T13:05:00.000-08:00

The whole Kerrigan family went to Florida this past week to have a huge Kerrigan Family reunion and to visit Disney. We had a blast and I don't think we stopped moving for the entire week. Nothing like having 8 kids under the age of 2 in one house :-)

The kids were anxious to leave Spokane for Florida...who needs the parents anyways :-)

Megan travels like a champ...and pretty much manages to sleep anywhere!

First day there : Magic Kingdom! It was actually very chilly, but only this first day.

Megan's first ride...gotta love Dumbo!

Not sure what I think about this song.....guesses anyone??

Yep, its a smallllllll world... :-)

Interpretation: Mommy, I am way overstimulated..can we go home now? :-)

Day two...coming soon.......

Family time

2009-11-03T08:45:00.000-08:00

So earlier this year, Ian and I made a compromise. You see, I like to go on walks to spend time with Ian but he doesn't like just walking and talking, he wants to have a purpose or goal at the end - imagine that :-) So he got a small remote control plane and now we walk to different parks and then he gets to fly his plane and I get to talk and walk. It works out quite nicely :-)

Getting ready for our wintery walk to the park

Watching Daddy fly his plane!

It was a beatiful and cold evening..ending in an amazing sunset!

It wore Megan out...and she slept through the walk home.

SNOW!!!

2009-10-29T09:32:00.000-07:00

Yes, today we had our first snow of the winter! It seems to be rather early this year, but we enjoyed the light dusting nonetheless. Megan seemed to enjoy her first look...

....though I am not sure she knew what she was looking at :-)

Snow in the fall :-)

Trip to Portland and Seattle

2009-10-29T09:27:00.000-07:00

This last weekend we went on a trip to visit family in Portland and Seattle. We had a wonderful time!

Apple Juice on the plane ride over....

Mom and Molly making crafts

The craft table, it was SO fun!

Aunt Bethany Lynn having some fun with Megan Lynn

Visit with Michelle

A day with the Smiths!

See...doesn't she look disappointed :-)

October 23, 2009 - Finalization Day!!

2009-10-29T09:19:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the courthouse and officially adopted Megan Lynn Kerrigan as our daughter! We waited outside the courtroom for awhile, as they are amazingly busy :-)

We were blessed to have a few friends and family come and witness this special occasion with us! And we know that there were others who wished they could have been there! Thanks for all your support!!

We finally made it in the courtroom and sat before a judge who had the final say as to whether or not Megan would stay with us forever. Megan was quiet all day until the judge started talking and then she promptly pulled out her binkie and started "talking" :-) I think she had an opinion on this one :-)

2009-10-27T14:35:00.001-07:00

Cousin Elijah and Megan

Busy week

2009-10-20T09:05:00.000-07:00

So Megan was really busy this week...

First she got sick :-( A high fever from the shots..so she got to lay on the couch with her toys and watch a little bit of You Tubed Baby Einstien.

...then she got all tangled up in her diaper bag and had no idea what to do about it :-)

...and finally.....she found her tongue! So she looks just like this....all the time now :-)

The Theatre..

2009-10-18T18:39:00.000-07:00

This weekend we had a family get together and went to see the play, The Pirates of Penzance. It was very funny and entertaining! If you ever have the chance to see it, it would be worth your time.

Here is the whole group outside the Civic theatre.

Sister-in-laws!

And of course all the little cousins got some play time too :-)

Ladybugs

2009-10-16T11:40:00.000-07:00

Did you know that ladybugs are the Chinese symbol for adoption? Before we knew that we had already started decorating Megan's room in ladybugs!

Last week Megan's Aunt Toni brought over an absolutely adorable Ladybug outfit for Megan. Megan loves it! In fact a I had a hard time taking pictures because she kept wanting to put the outfit in her mouth :-)

6 months later....

2009-10-14T12:27:00.000-07:00

Well..here we are six months later and hopefully in a couple weeks we will go to court and finalize Megan's adoption. It has been a long six months of fear and waiting and of Gods perfect timing for everything to happen. But we have had so many good times with family and friends and have been continually encouraged by everyone! Megan has truly been a blessing to us and we enjoy every minutes of our time with her...especially when she started sleeping through the night :-)
Here are some pictures from the last few months since she came into our lives!

Adoption

2009-10-14T11:07:00.000-07:00

After much pressure, I am finally attempting a blog!

Many of you have asked about our adoption story so I will start with telling about that amazing experience.
In December of 2008, Ian and I decided that God was blessing us with the opportunity to adopt. We were excited to begin the process and finally move forward with starting a family. We proceeded to check into many different agencies and finally decided on a private one in Spokane.
In January 2009 we started the mass amounts of paperwork that is required for adopting!
By March we had completed two individal biographys, a couples biography, fingerprinting, background checks, finacial statements, a long application, and 25 page profile of our lives.

As we turned in the last of the paperwork and attended a final seminar we settled in to waiting 6 months to a year for a baby.

But God had different plans for us, and on April 1st (ironically :-)) we got a call from the agency saying that a birthmother had picked us! We were totally in shock but super excited too!

On April 3rd, 2009 we got a call from the BM telling us she was in labor and she would like us to be there for the birth!! In an amazing way, God allowed us to be there for the birth of our daughter, Megan Lynn Kerrigan. So in a matter of 2 days we became parents to a beatiful little girl! We laughed as I looked to Ian in the hospital and said, " I guess we better go get diapers and a car seat!"

Moments after Megan was born

First family picture!