September

Back to school this fall has been great. The kids all love their teachers and are having a great time getting back into the swing of things; seeing old friends and meeting new ones. Life is good....except a wee bit busy(to be honest).

(pictures of their 1st day of school)

(pictures of Kwame's 1st day of preschool)

Besides school, the girls are taking Norwegian dancing and all five are playing soccer- I am even coaching Fia and Kwame. Stop laughing! I guess if I ever had any question before, I am truly a soccer mom now, whether I like it or not(which I do,so it's all good). It is so much fun to watch them play and have fun with their friends.

In the middle of the month, I got a chance to get away with some ladies from church to a Women's Retreat at Cascades Camp. We had such a great time and I am so thankful for these ladies!

One last highlight was when my cousin, Kari, and her family came to visit for a few days. We had fun getting the kids together, hanging out, going for a hike, and showing them around our neck of the woods. The kids all had a blast and there is nothing better than being surrounded by family who know and love you.

Ghana

Click here to view this photo book larger

Our Adoption Agency

I know I have a link on the side of my blog, but in case you were curious and haven't noticed it before, the adoption agency we went with to bring Fia and Kwame home is Adoption Advocates International. You can find them at www.adoptionadvocates.org and they are commonly referred to as AAI. Right now, they are starting up three new programs, called pilot programs, from countries they haven't worked with before. If you are interested in adoption, this might be of interest to you. Check out their blog post (here) about all their new programs.

The Shoot

sidenote: for those that need history as to why Toyota sent a crew to our house, it is mostly because of making it out alive from our accident back in February(click here). I also wrote something little about it on the 'adoptionmama' blog I do for the stores Hot Mama-( see here). Then, the kids wrote thank you notes to them and the President of Toyota responded to Greta's(click here and here) ...and that should bring you up to speed.

Today was super fun but exhausting. The crew showed up at 8am and they were ready to roll-literally! I think there were at least 4-5 cars that came, including the truck below, so it looked pretty exciting on our street. Everyone was so friendly and the kids had a great time with their new 'friends.' The girls especially had fun getting their hair and make-up done! If you see them, I am sure they will love to tell you all about it. Justus and Daron weren't too excited about this part, but they obliged and looked great. Actually, Justus was lucky enough to get away without make up and I am sure he will tell you that too.



After the hair and make-up, they took turns interviewing most of us about ourselves and the accident. The kids did a great job, even though it could have been hard to relive everything, and they seemed to focus on the positive so it was neat to see. Greta, of course, was in her element, so it was no surprise there that she had the longest interview of the kids.


Justus had fun checking out all the cameras and the gear. They had fun learning about everything and really just enjoyed the experience.

Ella and Fia also did a great job and they had fun looking at the footage after the fact and seeing themselves on camera.

Throughout the day, they also got footage of us doing everyday stuff in the kitchen, at the table, playing outside and then going for a walk downtown. At lunch, we took a break and they treated the whole crew and our family to take-out from a favorite restaurant in town-that was a nice bonus.

They ended up calling it a wrap around dinner and heading out. The footage will most likely just be used at some in-house gatherings for the company, but they plan to send us the footage and the final project. We really had a great time and what was most important was that we got to thank the company that made a car that really did help to save our lives. And for that, we are grateful!

3..2..1...Toyota is in the House!

So, you thought I was being mean by not telling you more about who was coming to our house, but honestly, I didn't really know much about what it was about until today, as I got minimal details from my husband. So, most of you guessed it either here or from the link on my facebook page, but yes, Toyota sent a group here to do a small video for one of their company meetings. A group of four came to our home today to scout out where to do the shoot and meet us. They probably needed to make sure that we weren't crazy or something and we must have fooled them because they are still coming back in the morning with the rest of the crew. The group that came today was really cool, ya know, from New York cool. Very laid back and I think we will have a lot of fun tomorrow. I will have to let you know how it goes. I guess they just want us to act normal (easier said than done) and they are going to film around us. They asked what kind of food they could buy us to have us BBQ when they are here. Between you and me, I am in the dog house for this. I just said hamburgers or something.....oops, I guess my family thinks I should have said salmon-that is our favorite to grill, but I just didn't want to push it. I felt bad already saying bacon, blue cheese burgers. The rest of the day I think they are just going to interview us about our accident and our experience with Toyota. Then, I think they are using it for a segment later in the year when some of the car dealerships get together at some convention or something. They obviously have needed some better press now and we are definitely big fans of them, so I guess our family fit the bill-we are excited to do this for them, as we really are thankful that they built such a good car that helped save our lives. We did have to break it to them that we didn't buy a Toyota and they were bummed about that. Of course, if money grew on trees, I would get another Sienna or Sequoia possibly; Daron would even love a Tundra, but it is what it is, and for now Big Red is working well for Daron and the Suburban fits us well(I just miss the difference of filling up our van vs. the burb)!

Gotta Get My Swagger Back!

Guess who's coming to visit the Jag family next week??!! Hmmm...what should I wear? Do I need an agent? Maybe I will finally be discovered as a mom of 5 and rounding my 30's. Haha! Just kidding...I mean really, I don't want the fame anymore. Got enough paparazzi in our town already! Have you seen how many pictures Grandma takes?? ;) Stay tuned. We are having some visitors on Wed/Thursday that I will have to write about.


P.S. Should I get my haircut first? Color? I want to look cute and all. Nevermind the rest of the family, they look cute already (this is one of the most recent pics of me with some of my bestows on our girls trip last month).

P.P.S-If you need a hint, check out the label below...

The Farm: Summer Roadtrip Part 3

A very special time of our trip was going to the farm in Minnesota where Daron grew up and his parents still live. This farm has been in the family for over a century and now his sister, Sarah, is starting to work alongside her father to take over the farm eventually. I am truly amazed by her and it was so fun to go and be there with all of them for a week!

This picture cracked me up. As soon as we almost got to the farm, the little ones started plugging their noses! Unfortunately, a large pig farm opened up near the Jag farm, so depending on the wind and the heat, you get a pretty awful stench. It literally stinks, because all you want to do on the farm as a kid is be outside and now the pigs have moved in! Luckily, after a day or so, you get used to it.

There are four girl grandchildren on this side and four boys so far. Granted, five are our kids, but who's counting(except for me)? The littlest one is cousin Ida and she is Sarah and Brooks' daughter. She is such a sweetheart and the kids all LOVED playing together. It won't be long though until her brother and sister arrives and she will have a permanent playmate on the farm.

It can't be all play on the farm, so there was definitely work involved, and the kids loved hanging out with Grandpa and Grandma while they worked in the barn or the garden. Justus even got to drive the tractor by himself for the first time. He is getting so big!

Three generations of Jag men in the barn working...

The other kids all loved getting to help grandma in the garden. They LOVED it!


Isn't Ida just so precious?? I kept trying to get her to warm up to me, but she was more interested in the kids for sure! I love this little girl!

We also got a special treat in having one of my besties come and visit us at the farm. She hadn't met Fia and Kwame yet, so it was really special to me to have her come and spend time with them and us. She is the best. Love you Kristina!

With all of the 10,000 lakes in MN, we only made it to two this trip. The kids loved their time at the water either kayaking, swimming, tubing, and Daron even got to water ski. It was a fantastic and the weather was fabulous for being outside.

Greta couldn't help but love on her cousin every chance she could get!

Ella loved getting any special time with Sarah. She also got her to go play volleyball with her a bit and give her some pointers, as that is what Ella says she wants to do next in the sports world.

We had two celebrations at the farm when we were there. One was Mary and Maynard's anniversary, and the kids and grandkids treated them to a 'fancy' surf and turf dinner of shrimp scampi and steaks. The kids served them with handmade place mats and menus. They did an adorable job and I think Grandpa and Grandma liked it too.

The other celebration we had was for Justus's birthday, so we had all the second cousins in the area come over too. The kids had a great time and Justus got his favorite, a dirt cake, for his dessert.

Another fun thing we got to do was spend time with Grandma B., Mary's mom. She only lives a few minutes away, so we got to play some games of UNO Moo and SkipBo. Can you believe Ella in the picture below?? What nerve to do that to your sweet and unsuspecting great grandma!! ;)

All the boys on the farm got to go to the Twins game in the cities one day. They had a blast together and it was one of the highlights for Daron and Justus to go to the new stadium.

Justus, Grandpa, Uncle Brooks, Uncle Mark, and Daron: we really lucked out with these Uncles for our kids-they truly love our kids and are great role models (most of the time-I don't want them to get too big a head if they read this).

The rest of the trip, we just played with our favorite Doctor, Aunt Kathy, and continued to have more water fun. It was such an amazing time and special for the kids to spend so much time at the farm and with most of the Jagodzinske family that is around. Thanks also to Aunt Char for opening up their home to us too-we loved every minute we got to spend with her family too.

HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY JUSTUS!!!

Just look at that smile, isn't that the best? I am so thankful for this guy that we have in our lives and can't believe that today we are already celebrating his 11th birthday. Wow-time really does go so quickly! This is going to be his last year of elementary school and next year he will be off to middle school. I also told him that in 4 years I will be practicing driving with him and he will get his license in 5. He said, I bet you are going to be nervous! I, of course, told him no, as the cool mom I am trying to be, but ummm-yes-nervous is an UNDERSTATEMENT!

Justus is such a GREAT kid with an amazing heart. He is the best big brother and most of the time looks out for his siblings-ha! Of course he tries to get under the skin of his sisters, but what normal brother doesn't?? He also sometimes forgets to clean up the pasta that he drops after cooking himself an extra dinner(right, Justus?). But besides that, I can't complain. He smiles and melts my heart. I LOVE this kid! I have so much fun watching him with friends, playing sports, being compassionate, and goofing off with his dad. He is one of a kind and I am so thankful to be your mom, Justus. Happy Birthday!!