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Category: Family

2006 – A Year of Dramatic Change

2006. Wow.   There is no way to summarize last year. 2006 contained more change than any year I’ve ever experienced. 2006 was a year that was filled with the happiest and yet the hardest times in my entire life. When we look back we tend to want to focus on the worst… and yet, even in the midst of extremely difficult times, it is good to remember that God never fails to bring joy in the midst of suffering… if we take the time to look.I started this blog, kidologist.com, in April of 2005 when I went on sabbatical in order to chronicle my adventures during those fantastic six weeks, but I’m so glad the habit stuck. Any time I am down and wondering where is (or where was) God, I can simply click through the archives of my blog and am flooded with memories of great times and great memories, super friends and special kids, especially when I miss most of what was once my daily life. Indeed, 2006 brought a lot of changes, and at times, more than I could handle, and I failed miserably in keeping on top of everything, and yet in that brokeness God…

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Snowed in Colorado Style

As if having a White Christmas wasn’t wonderful enough, we are now trapped in Colorado Springs due to what the media is now calling “The Holiday Blizzard of ’06… Part Two!” I know many of you feel our pain and suffering, especially our friends back home in wet Chicago. Please remember us in your prayers… our next flight is scheduled for Saturday when the “Part Three” of this blizzard is being predicted after a projected break tomorrow. Seems we may end up beginning the New Year still trapped in Colorado. Here are some of the pictures I took this morning. Enjoy the VIDEO at the end for even more. BONUS: All pictures in this post can be clicked on for much larger resolutions. You can see just how miserable I am. Poor me. As soon as the snow started falling, my dad got me out of bed and we headed out to take pictures. Our destination was a local park called Palmer Park, a surprising large park in the heart of Colorado Springs. It has three separate entrances, none of which intersec to prevent through traffic. In the picture above you can see across the valley that divides the two…

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No Need to Dream, White Christmas is Here!

I’m not dreaming of a White Christmas, because a White Christmas is HERE! Officially named the “Holiday Blizzard of ’06” by the news media, snow has arrived here in Colorado. (And I hear it is raining in Chicago, my poor friends and family) So I decided to go for a nice snowy walk this morning… These people are in for a surprise when they come out their front door or try to pull out of the garage!The snow is pretty deep in some places, even an SUV would risk getting stuck! I even spotted some wild life! and dared to approach! The wolf with its prey, a flattened basketball! He looked hungry, so I slowly moved on. Here are my feet in the snow, almost up to my knees! The holes my feet left to see how deep it is! Hard to tell? I tossed my gloves down the holes to show the depth of the snow. Having fun with colors, reminds me of the song, “I’ll have a blue Christmas….” Just another picture from my walk. MERRY CHRISTMAS! from Karl, Sara and Luke

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Luke’s Big Day in Court!

YES – it is true, Sara and I are now the proud Mom and Dad of Luke Given Bastian! This was one looooooooooooooong day! I am so exhausted as I sit here after midnight to type, BUT we had so many people praying for us, and I got soooo many e-mails asking how it went that I just have to tell the story before I go to bed. Not that I could sleep now anyway, I am so excited! Here is the story of Luke’s Adoption Day, of course, with pictures! We will be printing out all the e-mails we have gotten and putting them in a book for Luke to read someday so he can see just how many people all over the country we praying for him during his adoption! What a blessing you all have been to him! (e-mail Luke link) Served by a Sherif? Face a Judge? What did I do?!?! Here is Luke this morning, wide eyed, when I explained to him that we would be traveling downtown Chicago today and that he would be served by a Sherif and then appear before a judge! It was a COLD day and our day took us…

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Luke’s First Flight and Adoption Update

Well, it was OFF TO CALIFORNIA for THANKSGIVING! Unfortunately, my digital camera got stolen (along with my iPod and a ton of other valuable stuff in a movie theater) so I lost all my pictures of Luke’s first flight, first time in the ocean, and other sweet pictures, but fortunately, Sara’s camera had a few pictures on it, and we too some more on the flight home. Luke almost didn’t make it through airport security when I admitted that he is known for carrying high levels of fluids! But he made it through the x-ray machine with only a wimper! We lucked out on both flights to have an empty seat between us, and Luke took to it right away not minding the seat belt at all. He was so content, and never cried on the flight there or back, 4 hours each way! We thought travel would be hard, but I think he looked at it as he got four solid hours of undivided attention, which is all he wants all the time anyway! Luke simply LOVED looking out the window! He is very drawn to lights, and when we flew into LA at night the lights as far…

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Which is better: Powerful Jedi Knight or Rodent?

YOUR VOTE IS NEEDED IN COMMENTS! Well, it was Baby Luke’s first Halloween. While we are not huge fans of Halloween, we do enjoy the dressing up and, of course, giving and getting candy. And, as first time parents, we have been looking forward to, and enjoying all of Baby Luke’s ‘firsts’ so why not have some fun dressing him up? PROBLEM: What do you do when BOTH mom and dad buy the little guy a costume? Well, not only do you trick or treat twice, and have two separate photo-ops, but you take the issue to your blog readers and ask them to vote! YOUR DECISION: Which costume was better? The POWERFUL JEDI KNIGHT, Luke Skywalker (not forgetting Luke’s NAME is “Luke”) or dressing him up as a rodent of unusual size? Please VOTE in the COMMENTS for JEDI KNIGHT or RODENT. Here are the pictures to aid in your valuable vote decision…. CHOICE ONE: The Rodent (aka Mickey Mouse) Here is Sara with her little adorable mouse boy. Is he simply adorable, or what? Em, Eye, See, Kay, Ee, Why? Em, Oh, You, Es, Ee! Did you say “Candy?” Oh, wait, I have no teeth yet! You’ll never…

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