Shen's 5th Birthday!!

What a great day! Our little man turned 5 years old today and we think he had one seriously great day! He awoke this morning, and immediately was asked, How old are you? With a huge smile, he held up all five fingers of one hand and said, "FIVE!"
We had a low-keyed party with our good friends, the Wards, and Shen shared his birthday cake with everyone. The birthday boy made out with some great presents too. He got a "Henry" and "James", for his Thomas train set, as well as the Sotor bridge. He also got a big coloring book from Grandma and Grandpa, as well as a Kindergarten learning book, a race car kit from big brother (Connor), some new clothes, and a Holloween costume of "Optimus Prime" from the Transformers. But, the real treat for Shen was Mommy's idea of a Smart Cycle. It hooks up to the TV and he can bicycle away, while learning words, coordination, etc. It's pretty cool!! In fact, he rode it for an hour-and-a-half this afternoon after receiving it.
We took Connor to his rehearsal for his big Chorus Concert tomorrow night!
All in all, a pretty incredible day, and we are just incredibly for God's unbelievable favor on us by giving us Shen. This past 13 months has been life-changing for all of us.
All our love,
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen (all 5 years of him)

A Great Fall Weekend

This past week has been a full one! But, over the weekend, Shen has been able to get some great playtime in during the aweseom fall activities held in our community. He got to experience two differenct activities, one a Fall Harvest Festival in Alonguin and the other a fall celebration held at the First Baptist Church in Crystal Lake. At the Church, Shen played all kinds of games but he LOVED sitting in a real fire engine. You can see how much fun he had in the pictures.
Then, we went to the Algonquin Fall Festival and, again, he played games and made a "haul" in prizes. But, the most fun that Shen had at the Fall Festival was playing on the big bounce game where he raced people, large and small, from start to finish. He didn't want to stop and, by the end of the afternoon, he was exhausted.
Summer sure went fast but Shen is now asking how long before it snows....Needless to say, mommy, daddy and Connor are not in a big rush for snow!!!!
We hope all of you are well!
God Bless,
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen

Richardson Farm - Year 2

Recently, Connor, Shen and daddy, along with our neighbor, Colin Ward, went to the world's largest corn maze, at Richarson Farms. It is over 11 1/2 miles of corn maze. You can go back to October, 2008, to see our pictures from last year. This year was a beautiful day, with the exception that it had rained for several consecutive days. Thus, the corn field was VERY muddy. Connor even slipped once and fell, but we all had great laughs!!
We had a great time as you can see from the pictures. We spent about an hour in the muddy maze, then in the petting zoo, the slides and go carts. You can see Shen hanging on to one of the gliders and Colin is pushing Shen in the go-cart.
We hope you enjoy the pictures and we pray that all of you are well.
Love,
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen