Our Olivia

We've decided to save some paper and ink and publish our holiday letter online this year. Here are some 2010 highlights:

Lisa continues to babysit during the school year. Olivia really enjoys having kids to play with during the day. Lisa really enjoys the extra cash!

We completed a homestudy update in March. We are still waiting for our second child, with no end in sight, but we trust that God has a plan to send us a sibling for Olivia in His time.

This year, we reconnected with Olivia's birthmother, Samantha. In May, on Mother's Day weekend, Olivia "met" her for the first time since birth. We have visited with her about once a month since then, and Olivia enjoys her time with "Miss Samantha". Overall, this has been a positive experience for all of us. Olivia doesn't yet fully understand her relationship to Samantha, but as she grows and begins to understand the concept of adoption, we think an ongoing relationship with her birthmother can only be helpful.

In June, we went on a family vacation to Branson, Missouri with Joe's parents, siblings, nieces and nephews. Olivia enjoyed spending time with her cousins, and we all enjoyed a lot of fun shows, good food, and family time together.

In the Summer, Joe and Lisa took two trips to Omaha, Nebraska for further evaluation and treatment of Lisa's endometriosis. We worked with Dr. Thomas Hilgers of the Pope Paul VI Institute. He uses a unique surgical technique for treating advanced endometriosis which drastically reduces the recurrence rate and post-surgery adhesion rate. Lisa's symptoms are much improved, and we feel blessed to have been in such capable surgical hands.

While we were gone to Omaha, Olivia enjoyed some quality time with the grandparents. She loved camping with Grandma and Grandpa in their new camper. She enjoyed lots of time at Black Buggy and the Children's Museum and the library while staying with Grammy and Grampy.

Holiday World was a staple in our Summer experience. Olivia fell in love with the stage shows this year. She made friends with the cast of Real Country, Vinyl Daze and Rejoice. She also spent a lot of time at several favorite waterpark attractions, especially Kima Bay.

Olivia started religious education this year in our parish's preschool class. We are trying to give her some classroom opportunities to get her used to sitting still and paying attention. It doesn't seem to be working, but she does enjoy the classes. Thankfully, she's not the bounciest kid in the class. Not usually, anyway.

She also started gymnastics in October. SHE LOVES IT. This was another attempt to work on her listening and attention skills, as well as a way to try to give her an outlet for her constant need to climb. She has a hard time focusing on the task at hand, but she is learning some things. She has been practicing her headstands constantly for the last week and she's getting very good.

In November, we had a bowling birthday party for Olivia and some of her little friends. She LOVED it. She seems to share her Daddy's love for bowling.

Speaking of bowling, Joe continues to bowl in the Knights of Columbus league in Jasper. He enjoys his weekly bowling night very much, even when his team doesn't bowl as well as he'd like.

Over Thanksgiving, we re-floored our living spaces. We have new laminate in the living room and dining room (to replace carpet) and new vinyl in the kitchen. We love it! We couldn't have done it without Lisa's Dad, who was our project manager for the whole thing. Thanks Dad!

And now, a year (of Olivia) in pictures: