Pumpkins, Colored Leaves and a New President

Hello everyone, I hope you are all doing well and recovery from Election Day. Mark worked the polls yesterday for two local candidates and we celebrated the national democratic victory last night. I know everyone today is glad the election is over whether your candidate won or lost. This seemed like the longest campaign in history, it went on and on. I know I could use a break from the emails, phone calls, mail and knocks at the door. However for the first time in my adult life I understand the difference that, emails, phone calls, mail and knocks on the door made. I think the very best thing that came from this election was that people realized their vote matters. The best thing for me knowing my 6 year old through out her life will say “I remember when the first black president was elected”. It truly is a historical national event.

On a different note we have been busy with usual life things, Zoe, Sophia and I walked with and supported our friend Ashley who is a diabetic. The girls had a great time at the JDF walk, radio Disney, bouncers, make your own cookie and hair dye were the highlights. Our friend baby Anna turned 1, complete with a barnyard and a pumpkin cake. Sophia had her very first pony ride that afternoon and Zoe showed off how well she sits in a saddle. It was a beautiful afternoon to celebrate Anna. Zoe had open house at school and we got to see all the things she has been working on. Zoe is also taking guitar lessons at school now and will start basketball in a few weeks. Sophia had a little set back at school she was attacked by one of the biters and bitten in the middle of the back. She was a little reluctant to enter any room he might be looming in for a few weeks after. I have to say though since she was attacked she hasn’t bitten Zoe, so I guess you can find good everything!

Trick or Treat this was a great Halloween the weather was perfect and the kids had a great time. Zoe was Hannah Montana and Sophia was the little mermaid; Halloween has changed a lot since my trick or treating days. This year Zoe drove her Barbie car around the neighborhood from house to house with Sophia as her passenger. Some people even came out to the curb so it was drive by trick or treating. I remember when we had to go house to house climb steps in costumes that were too big and you couldn’t see out of. I wonder what it will be like for Zoe and Sophia’s kid’s will they just trick or treat on a social networking site and email pictures of the candy so nobody has to go outside or get fat! Anyway it was a good Halloween and it has been a nice a fall, looking forward to the holidays.

Celeste

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September

Well we managed to squeeze a little more summer in before school started. Zoe had Tessa sleep over and they topped it off with a craft class at Joann’s. We got to visit Grandmas work for family day; this was very special because they won’t have another family day for 15 years! We celebrated Labor Day by marching for the firefighters in the Pittsburgh Labor Day parade. The girls had a great time and even got a photo with Franco Harris and “no” we didn’t see Joe Biden. Zoe turned 6 on August 21st, it is so hard to believe and it has gone by so fast. Zoe had three things on her wish list, Steeler tickets, a surprise party and a trip to China. Well she got 2 out of 3, Zoe attended her first Steeler game with Mark and she had a wonderful surprise party!

Zoe is loving school she gets off the bus everyday and when asked how her day was she says “Perfect”! Sophia is loving preschool, she is taking a 2 day a week class for 2 year olds and she is quite a bit ahead. It could have something to do with the fact that the teacher was her babysitter all summer! She is also very smart and very much enjoying tagging along with her big sister.

Mark and I are doing well; he just received his graduation papers in the mail this week. It can not come soon enough for me, it’s been a tiring 2 years and I’ll be glad when he’s done. Hope this finds you all well.

Celeste


http://picasaweb.google.com/enchanteddestinations/SeptemberBlog#

Web Album

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http://picasaweb.google.com/enchanteddestinations/BlogWebAlbumJulyAugust08

Summer has come and almost gone.

Hello everyone I hope you are all enjoying the summer, we are, but I think this has been the busiest summer ever! June and July have sped by in a complete blur; I don’t even know where to begin. Zoe’s time with the best Pre K teacher in the world has come to an end. Fortunately Miss Sandee’s room is right down the hall from Kindergarten and Zoe can get hugs anytime she needs them. Our summer has been filled with bible school, bug camp, art camp and horse camps. Sophia has loved her summer dance class and yes we found tap shoes to fit her little square feet. We have enjoyed many birthday parties this summer and swimming with friends. Work has been very busy for Mark and I this summer, Mark has just a few months left till he finishes at Duquesne. We have had great help this summer, Sharon our babysitter has become like family. Sophia will go back to school with Sharon in the fall, she teaches the 2 year old program at day care.

We just had our Relay for Life at Norwin in memory of our friend Grace Ekis. I don’t have any words that can describe how hard it was to carry on without her. Grace’s family led us this year with their unwavering courage and poise. Our children showed us at every turn that life is beautiful and that it is all about this moment, the moment that we are in right now! It looks like the “Amazing Grace” Team will donate $10,000 to the American Cancer Society this year in memory of Grace. I’m so proud of each and every person who participated with us all 170 of them, 40 families! It’s hard to believe the summer is winding down so quickly. We will spend the rest of the month preparing for kindergarten, uniforms and school shoes wow that went fast.

I have to add one final thing most of you know Butterscotch the virtual horse was a very popular toy in our house. Well Butterscotch met with a small mishap in June her tail was broken off! So we called Santa’s workshop (Hasbro division) and asked how to get it repaired. Well, we were told there was no way to repair the tail, we would have to follow the Butterscotch return policy. Ok so what did we need to do, we were told we had to decapitate our beloved Butterscotch and send her head back in a box that they would provide for us! Let me just tell you how much fun Mark had with that one. Please see photos! We had to put Butterscotch’s headless tailless body out for the trash, many cars slowed down as they went by our house that morning! We are also still waiting for our new horse to arrive because they don’t make Butterscotch anymore, so we are waiting on a new black and white pony. I think Hasbro’s return policy falls under the cruel and unusual category for sure. Well good bye until next month.


Please see web album photo's.

Waiting for Spring............

Hello everyone, We are still waiting for spring here in Pittsburgh, we see small glimpses of spring but it disappears quickly. I'm starting to think it is just going to go from 40 to 90 degrees, no spring. April was our month for cake, we have lots of friends who celebrate their birthdays in April and we enjoyed sharing in them. If you ask Sophia where she would like to go she says brthday prty, eat cake! It is very cute. Zoe has officially retired from cheer leading, it's bitter sweet. She hasn't started any summer activities yet but she wants to take karate, so move over kung foo panda here comes Zoe. Sophia will be starting a dance class the 1st of June she can't wait, we just have to find tap shoes that will fit her barney rubble feet. She wows us at every turn, she now counts to 15 and spells her name, she is also in the 95% for height and weight. If she didn't look like my clone I might think we brought the wrong one home. I'm in full Relay for Life mode, our team "Amazing Grace" is preparing for the upcoming event in July. It will be a hard day for us all without Princess Grace to lead us, I hope we honor her well. Mark is doing well, work, school and the kids are keeping him hopping. Well check out our photo's I didn't have that many from this month. I was more hands on this month and I didn't get to step back and take pictures. Until next time. Be happy, be healthy, be positive.


http://picasaweb.google.com/enchanteddestinations/AprilMayPhotos

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Looking Forward to Sunny Days Ahead

Well, I have to say the last 8 weeks have felt long and dark. It seems like spring hasn't sprung here in the burg yet. February brought, Mark double ear infections and ruptured ear drums; February brought me the Flu, yes the actual Flu! We were lucky the kids just had minor colds through the month. March we rallied, Zoe and I went to see Hair Spray and she had her first limo ride from the restaurant to the theater. Zoe lost her 2ND tooth and had her first friend officially sleep over. Sophia, is doing well, loving day care, loving her big sister and life in general. We are loving the fact that she is potty training. Please see this months photos and goodbye until next month. Thinking Spring!

http://picasaweb.google.com/enchanteddestinations/MarchAndApril2008

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Saying "Goodbye"

I wanted to let you all know we had some sad news today, we found out this morning that our friend Grace Ekis had gone to be with God last night. Many of you know that Grace had been diagnosed just over a year ago with a very rare tumor in her brain stem. We will spend this weekend saying “Goodbye”, please keep the Ekis family in your prayers for their loss is so great.

Hug your children extra tight tonight, let them sleep in the middle, and remember each day is a blessed gift even the hard ones.

Grace is an angel who was true to her name; she touched everyone who met her even those who met her just once. Knowing Grace and the Ekis family has taught us so much, one mom I know even has a name for it she calls it the "Glory of Grace". You call on the "Glory of Grace" when your kids are being difficult, your days been to long or you feel that snippy side rising up. Then you remember a family, a child who through the toughest of times, showed amazing courage, generosity, humility and composure. Grace will be missed.

May her memory be eternal

The web album is a little tribute to Grace:

http://picasaweb.google.com/enchanteddestinations/Grace

Christmas 2007 brought, sparkly cowboy hats, butter scotch the virtual horse, tumble mats, and Zoe's 1st loose tooth. Sophia turned 2 on December 30th, and I can hardly believe it. A friend just said to me this weekend once you have children the days are long and the years are short. Oh how true that is.

January was a pretty busy month for us; cheer competitions, birthday parties and school activities keep us on the go. We took the girls to see the Lion King musical Sophia’s first stage show; she loved every minute of it. Thanks to grandma, Zoe even got a back stage tour from the performer who played Nala. She hasn't stopped talking about it.

January turned into February in the blink of an eye, February 1st we were off to Sandusky, Ohio for another cheer competition. The Nickolas family joined us and we had so much fun exposing them to the world of competitive cheer. Zoe's team took 1st place in the two day competition, she was so excited.

Zoe and Eleni got their 1st pedicures, Eleni showed her cheer spirit and got Steel City All-Star colors and so did Zoe. Michele got pedicure envy and made an appointment for the next day; Michele opted not to show her cheer spirit and went with a rich red. It was so great to spend time with our God children. Zack and Sophia really bonded, all we heard from the back seat on the way home was "where Zack"? in that cute 2 year old voice. We all loved the water park, but I think the adults liked the out door hot tub the best. I'd say for Zack and Eleni it was body surfing and for Zoe and Sophia the wave pool. Here is the link to this months web album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/enchanteddestinations/KoutavasBlogFebruary2008

copy and paste it into your address bar to then click go at the end to see photos.


Well good bye until next month.
Love, Celeste

Happy New Year 2008!

January is named for the Roman god Janus (or Ianus), a deity of gates and doorways, of beginnings and transitions. Janus has two faces, one looking backward and the other looking forward. He sees not only where we have been but also where we are going.

In honor of the month of January I'm starting the Koutavas Family blog I will post at the end of each month and also include a web photo album. So we can share where we have been and where we are going.

Every year I say I'm going to do a Christmas letter and archive the year but I just don't seem to get to it so this is my solution. I hope this will keep us close to all of you out there that we don't get to see and talk to enough.

We wish you a Happy New Year,
Mark, Celeste, Zoe and Sophia