We're Alive... ( We Think)

Okay, Okay we apologize for our lengthy delay in posting anything on our family blog. We won't lie, it has been a rough few months at the Hawley household, but better days are here. The children had some intense adjustment issues from about September until January but things are on the upswing and we are happy to once again have good things to say!
We had an absolutely wonderful Christmas together and the kids enjoyed spending time with family and friends. They were incredibly happy that Santa Clause was able to find them in their new home even though we all completely forgot to leave cookies out for him. Next year perhaps we will be more seasoned parents and not forget such important things. We spent Christmas Eve at home, alone together and Christmas day with the Peters family. The kids really enjoyed being a part of such a large family gathering and they really liked their first Danish Christmas dinner.
We were also fortunate, between snow storms, to be able to visit with our good friends down in Castle Rock. We had a wild and crazy sleep over down there and it was really fun to watch our friends build a nice sledding spot for the kids in their backyard. We could not have asked for a better first Christmas together but we have yet to decide whether being stranded in the house for several days due to excessive amounts of snow was a good or bad thing.
Over Christmas break we took the kids bowling and to the Nature and Science Museum. We were also able to visit a candy factory with the Ward family and we received more snow than should be allowed. Although not as much as upstate New York right now. We had a great time as a family.
The kids are doing great in school and they are all about to start playing soccer again (which Ricky and Ana played in the fall and absolutely loved). Things are beginning to get back to normal. Is there such a thing as normal?
Joe and I are still adjusting to our newfound parenthood, but we really are enjoying it. We were fortunate enough to get special permission to let the children sleep over at my mom and dads last month so we could have an entire day and night to ourselves. It was a really nice break for us and we just don't know what we would do without our family (and friends) and their support.
We promise to update this site in a more timely manner from now on. The actual legalization of our adoption should be forthcoming soon. We will keep you all posted...