A Merry Christmas to you!

It is Christmas time and there is such excitement in the air at the Rikkers!  It looks like a beautiful winter wonderland outside and Santa is on his way!

We "believe" and it is really magical!  Judson told me the other day, "Mom, did you know not everyone believes in Santa?"  I said, "That's true.  How do you feel about Santa?"   Judson said, "Well, I know that even if they don't believe in Santa, that Santa ALWAYS believes in them".

Judson says he is hoping for "spy gear and a guitar" this Christmas.  Drew wants a "power ranger game and a superman talking car".  Jack, well, he doesn't really get it just yet, but I think this year he will start to understand what all the excitement is about!

We feel so very blessed with love of family and friends this Christmas.  Much love to you and yours.

Merry Christmas!!!

Snow Day!

Today was one of those beloved snow days....no school and lots of snow fun!  The boys and I had a great time sledding with our neighbors in our backyard!

Message from Swaziland Debut Show!

My art series "Message from Swaziland" debut at the Freeport, IL library gallery!  The works look amazing in the space.  I am very proud of the message they hope to inspire and hope the viewer will feel something when viewing them.  It is my hope that this will be the first of many shows for this series.  

My parents and Auntie Cheryl came into town for the debut.  This made me feel very special on this special night.  Many of my friends from Monroe drove down to Freeport to see the show which was wonderful to have their support.  It is a great venue for the work and I hope many will learn and feel inspired when in its presence! 

To see the series up close, go to my website www.jenniferrikkers.com

Changing Seasons

One week it is autumn in our yard playing in the leaves....the next it is catching snowflakes on our tongues!

The Rikkers head east

Oh my...life has gotten away from me and I haven't been documenting it!  Well, I will try my best here to share from photos.    We are all doing very well...and as Thanksgiving approaches are very grateful for the blessings of love, friends and family in our lives.

In October we had a chance to go out East to visit Dave & Sandy and the cousins, Garret, Brooke and Megan in the Boston area.  Then we headed over to Newport, Rhode Island to visit our dear friends, Angie, Art and Parker (age 19 months).  We even celebrated Halloween and Jack's 2nd birthday while visiting out east!  Juddy was Darth Vader, Drew was Iron Man, Jack was a Fireman, PArker was the cutest little shark, Ang was a dog and yes, I was a Gecko.  Good times!

The Power of Cheese!

How very "Wisconsin" of us....our weekend was full because of Uncle Bing's U.W. celebration, Cheese Days and Flag Football for Juddy. 

 The "Power of Cheese" photo of the family was at the Cheese Days Parade.  The kids absolutely loved it!  There was so much to see that Jack stayed awake in his stroller despite it being way past his nap-time.  Juddy and Drew were on a mission to collect as much candy as possible.  Darn, now my candy jar is full again!   Andy and I went out on the town for Cheese Days.  The square downtown was full of the sights and smells of people drinking beer and eating cheese curds.  It actually was a fun night to see people out and enjoying our little town.

Juddy had a great 1st flag football game!  Here in the photos you can see Juddy running in his very first touch down.  He was so proud!  I was too!  Now this is my entry into an interest in football!

Andy and I also celebrated Uncle Bing's career as Chairman of Surgery at UW-Madison with a black tie dinner.  Now that doesn't happen everyday.  Despite my very high heeled shoes killing me, we had a great time and looked great too! No photo to prove it!

Adoption Update

Recently we have heard from our adoption agency, Children's Home Society & Family Services, that the referral time has lengthened.  I had a strong feeling that this may be the case and so I contacted our social worker.  I don't know why, but when I would tell someone that we may get our referral this winter it felt like it might be premature.  Well, my instincts were correct and the wait on the "list" is at about 12 months from the time you submitted your dossier.  Our dossier was submitted on April 17th....so that puts us at April for the referral and then we would travel 12-16 later.  So, this summer we could be traveling to Ethiopia to be united with our daughter.  I am trusting that god, the universe, is constructing this journey just as it should be to unite us with our daughter.  And the more I think about it...maybe Jack will be that much easier by the time she arrives.  Heres hoping!  That's where things stand today...September 17th!

Oh, side note....I am headed to Chicago for an Oprah taping tomorrow!  YAHOO! Can't wait... it is a Dr.Oz show on gender differences.  Should be lots of fun!

Life with Jack...who is almost 2

Life with Jack....who is almost 2, is so many things.  It is Jack finding trouble at every turn, it is a messy face, drool soaked shirt, sticky hands.  It is wet socks and pants from stepping and playing in the dog bowl.  It is a toilet paper in a bunch in the bathroom.  It is babbling and laughing.  It is giggles as he runs outside.  It is sweet cheeks and chunkiness.  It is a strange noise from the other room.  It is crawling out of his crib.  It is toddler-proofing.  It is sweet hugs and messy kisses.   It is curly soft hair.  It is his head on my shoulder when he is tired.  It is wanting to play with the big boys.  It is asking why?  It is we love, love love you not-so-baby Jack.  Your almost 2!

First Day of School

This year Judson is in Ms. Skattum's 1st grade class at Northside Elementary.  Drew is in the 4-K program at Monroe Preschool with Mrs. Minogue.  What big boys I have.  They are both excited to be back at school.  Drew loves that his best friend Charlie is in his class.  Juddy is equally excited that his friends, Lily and Logan are in his class!

Labor Day fun!

Tyler, Bekka, Grace, Jonah and Baby Eliah all came for a visit to Monroe.  We had the most beautiful weather and a great time together...even the toddlers found a way to play together on the swings.  When not playing together sometimes Jack and Jonah would have a "no match", you know one person is in one room shouting no and another in another room responding with "no!".  They have mastered that game!  As you can see Auntie Bekka have Jack a haircut just like Jonah's.... he was really needing a full haircut and it is too cute.  There was lots of swimming, playing and s'mores by the campfire.

Thank you to Tyler and Bekka for making the trip....we love having our family visit!

Jack in a corn field

Today Jack and I took a long walk.  I am so glad I felt the urge to bring my camera along because we stopped at a cornfield and got these fun shots!  Jack ran through the corn rows giggling!

Visit to MN

Fun at "Good Ole" Yost Park in White Bear Lake, MN

e  Jonah age 2

Mama Bekka and Baby Eliah...6 weeks old

The boys and I had a great week in MN with my family.   We had an Anderson family reunion, time with Nana & Pops, and visiting with our cousins.  It is always so wonderful to have such concentrated time in MN with our family.  Unfortunately, Andy was not able to come with us because he was on-call....I swear my Anderson side of the family doesn't believe I am even married these days!  Mom and I  had all kinds of fun art...I have accomplished 5 new pieces for my new Africa series inspired by Swaziland!  Yeh!  I love it!    A big highlight of the trip was meeting my new nephew, Eliah, who is 6 weeks old and being able to hang out with Bekka (who is on maternity leave) and the kids.  Eliah reminds me a lot of my boys at that age.  Enjoy the photos!

Jack at breakfast

Jack at breakfast....the sun shining in the kitchen is one of my favorite things!

Summer time fun at the pool!

 The boys have had ALOT of pool time this summer, but this week we ventured to the recreation park pool so Juddy could show his diving.  Then all the boys went down the slide and Jack had his first afternoon at the "Ducky pool", perfect for his age.   Summer is flying by....and we are having a great time!

Art Show Debut!

Today was a very exciting day as an aspiring artist~  I set up my first public showing of my art work!  It is in a wonderful coffee house in Freeport, Illinois (30 minutes south of Monroe) called Higher Grounds.  The space is beautiful and perfectly accent my pieces!  Or I should say, my pieces are perfectly accenting the space!  It was amazing and emotional to see my work on someone else's walls.  To top it off my three dear friends, and fellow artists, Debbie, Marcie and Jackie all accompanied me to help set the show up and to acknowledge this moment in my life.  My art will be at Higher Grounds for the month of August.  I am so happy to share a little piece of who I am with each piece of art..and now that is out there to see.