Adams Family Adventure

Ola!

2007-10-25T23:28:00.000-07:00

We are still loving it here. Kevin is swamped with mid-term work, paper, and exams and I am still "moving" in. I actually organize things, and then re-organize things in attempts to find the must "functional" way possible to manage the house as we are iin 800 sq. ft with four kids. If I ever finish (my sights are set on the beginning of the New Year) then I will post some pictures. Today the boys went to the Palo Alto Kids Zoo & Jr. Museum and topped it up with soup and breadsticks at the Olive Garden with their friend (babysitter!) Rebecca. I wish I could have gone but alas, I was home..organizing!!!...and got some good quality time in with the babes when they woke up. Kevin is still studying, and I am catching up on life, which is what I usually do after the dumplings are in bed. Buenos Noches!

Life here...

2007-10-01T23:30:00.000-07:00

I shouldn't be posting this late but I just wanted to say that life here is really, really, really great. I can't begin to describe how wonderful it is to be here and how many amazing opportunites are a doorstep away. I wish I could write a nice long post but I need to go to bed! Good Night! PS - Sorry that the photos on my last post arn't showing up....hmmmmmm....

The Journey

2007-05-29T21:29:00.001-07:00

Well, this Saturday, June 2nd we plan to head across country in a rented RV (sleeps 7) with a U-Haul trailer behind it pulling our belongings. We'll begin in Albany, NY, head down to visit friends in both Connecticut and Washington DC, then drive down to South Carolina to visit Kevin's Uncle Tom & Aunt Melinda on Calawassie Island as well as his former GE co-worker Stephanie. We'll proceed from there to visit Pastor Timmy Straight in Lousiana and follow that up with going through Houston, TX to visit my cousin Melanie and her family and maybe a visit to NASA where she overees space shuttle launches. Then begins our long hot drive through Texas until we reach southern California where we plan to get a CityPass and go to San Diego Zoo, Sea World, Universal Studios, California Adventure and....DISNEYLAND (Chandler can't wait for Disneyland)! After that we will drive up to San Francisco and then to Palo Alto where we will put our stuff from the U-Haul in Storage, look around the school, drop off the rv, rent a van and head up to Washington. Halfway through that last leg of the trip we hope to visit our friend Sabrina and her family in Oregon. So that is the adventure we have planned...we'll just see if it all works out "just so". Hmm...I am actually avoiding watching the movie "RV" with Robin Williams because I think I might change my mind about our plans if I do so!!! If you think about it, say a prayer for us! I think we'll need it with the four kids, Kevin's mom and Kevin & I! Having two babies in an RV...challenging...but not as challanging as in a van! At least there can be feedings, changings, and naps without having to stop every single time!

A Budding Photographer

2007-05-29T21:18:00.000-07:00

Chandler has turned into a camera junkie! Any time he has a chance, he grabs our digital or regular camera and takes a few shots. Here are a few of his recent beauties! Do you like our family TV selections?!!! I think I may either get him a kiddie camera, or donate our other cameras to him as they are getting old (6 yrs) and both seem to be loosing their edge (getting blurry, etc.) We may have to use them for the rest of the summer, we'll see...with our cross-country move beginning this weekend...it's a little hard to find the time for camera shopping!

PS - Do you like the TV? It is Kevin's parents...and for some reason it has more sentimental value to me than to him! I am not much of a sentimental person, in fact in our move, I am not keeping much stuff...the most sentimental things to me are pictures/albums, Kevin's courtship letters & gifts/cards, Christmas tree ornaments...and...a few of my kids things..OH..and need I forget (!)..the bathing suit that I fit into on my honeymoon!

Three Brothers

2007-05-29T21:14:00.001-07:00

The three boys after the older two used all their fisher price animal to create a zoo. They have been inspired by their multiple visits to the Bronx Zoo in NYC. Their last visit was in April and they are beginning to know the place like the back of their hand. They look at their maps almost every day (we have about 20 of them which have been taped up about a zillion times becaue of the usage on them)! We are looking forward to broadening their repetoire of zoo experiences with our upcoming planned visits to both the San Diego Zoo and Sea World!

Chasers!

2007-05-29T21:09:00.001-07:00

Sweet Caroline

2007-05-29T21:04:00.000-07:00

She just keeps getting prettier and prettier!

I've been accepted at the Stanford Graduate School of Business!!!

2007-04-16T10:40:00.000-07:00

Well... I hardly know where to start!

I guess (if you don't mind) I'll back up a bit and start at the beginning...

Ten years ago I was an undergraduate student at Rensselaer (in upstate New York) studying Civil Engineering and working at GE Energy designing power plant foundations. Over the year-and-a-half that I interned at GE I discovered that I have a much greater passion for business than for engineering. Because of this interest, I managed to shift my internship from engineering into the mergers and acquisitions group of GE and absolutely loved every minute of it.

I decided that I wanted to obtain an MBA (Master's of Business Administration) in my future and planned my career accordingly. Over the next five years I continued to focus on my professional development, relocating from Albany to Atlanta to Albany to Los Angeles to Boston and back to Albany. I managed to close more than $750 million in contracts over this period and was blessed with rapid promotions and job advancement.

At this point I had begun to prepare for my MBA when the Lord spoke to me (five-and-a-half years ago) through prayer to focus on leading the youth ministry at my church, causing me to shelve my dream for graduate school. Over the next two years Anne and I invested heavily in our church as volunteers while I continued to work at GE. Three-and-a-half years ago I resigned from GE and went to work at Cornerstone full-time in obedience to what I believed the Lord had spoke to me.

Two-and-a-half years ago I began to think about school once again. In fact, I couldn't take my mind off of it. I prayed about school. I dreamed about school. I day-dreamed about school. And all the while I felt guilty for my obsession, wondering why I was focused on school instead of the ministry that the Lord had called me to. Finally, after a long season of prayer and waiting, God spoke to me and confirmed my desire to go to school. I felt very clearly that God told me that I would go to school and that I would move forward into my progressive dream of investing my career into the field of economic development (working to increase the standard-of-living of people living in poverty throughout the world).

However, over this same period of time, my church went through a season of crisis resulting in the eventual resignation of our senior pastor (a year ago). Because of the church's needs I again shelved my desire for school and gave 100% of my time and energy to supporting the church. Following the resignation of the senior pastor I stepped in to fill the gap and led the church for several months until Pastor Mike Servello, a very experienced and capable senior pastor, agreed to act as Cornerstone's senior pastor and I, subsequently, acted under him as the lead pastor on a local level (Pastor Mike is based out of nearby Utica - about 90 miles away).

Anne and I entered a time of serious prayer - seeking God for direction and guidance. After about four months of prayer I came to a definite conclusion that I am not called to be Cornerstone's senior pastor and shared my heart with Pastor Mike. He encouraged me to apply to school and so I began working until 2am virtually every night of the week studying, writing, and working on school applications.

On a related note, the field of economic development is very difficult to get into, requiring a top-shelf academic pedigree. Because of this I decided only to apply to top schools (which scared me because these school are VERY hard to get into). The number one school I wanted to attend was Stanford University.

In the business world Harvard and Stanford are the top two schools. There is a world of opportunity available to graduates from these schools. Graduates are guaranteed amazing job opportunities, incredible starting salaries and signing bonuses, and are members of an elite alumni base for years to come. However, Harvard and Stanford are incredibly difficult to get into. Stanford, in fact, is the most selective business school in the entire world (about twice as hard to get into as Harvard). This year Stanford received in the ballpark of 6,500 application and only 370 or less are accepted. This means that about 6,100 applicants are turned down! The acceptance rate is about 5% - an incredible hurdle to say the least. I didn't think my chances were that great (I'm a pastor for goodness sake!)

Anyway, to wrap up this longwinded story, I was accepted at Yale, Dartmouth, and Stanford and am planning to matriculate at the Stanford Graduate School of Business this fall!!! Anne and I are absolutely excited - Stanford is a dream come true. We are guaranteed on-campus housing - meaning that our family will all be together while I am in school. Additionally, I have been accepted to Stanford's public policy program and will be getting a master's degree in both business (MBA) and public policy (MPP). I am also considering studying at Harvard for the public policy - although I won't know for sure for another year or so. We are so excited to move forward into another season of our lives and so grateful that Cornerstone is healthy and has great leadership to carry it forward in the years to come.

Lastly, Anne and I are planning to move back to Seattle over the summer for a much-needed rest and for some much-desired time with friends and family. We will probably be arriving in Seattle around the middle of June and staying until the end of August.

Anne and I are SOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!!! God has done a miracle for us! Also, another cool thing: I was invited to interview with Stanford (only about 25% of applicants are even invited to interview) on the same day that Caroline was born - confirming that God was bringing both of my dreams (having a little girl and going to school) to life on the same day. I still can't believe it. The Dean of Admissions at Stanford even hand wrote me a note, saying "Your faith will enrich the Stanford community, we are so excited that you and Anne will be joining us." It is a real dream-come-true and a miracle that I've been accepted at the most elite business school in the world.

Thanks for reading all of this (assuming you made it this far!) - we love you guys!

-Kevin

Forthcoming suprise...

2007-04-09T19:07:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone - Kevin here!

I just had to post a quick note that I am sooo excited about something, but, unfortunately, I have to keep it a secret until next week!

Anyway, I have secretely been working on something for the past year and I can finally tell everyone on Sunday (and I've been dying to tell)!

Anyway, stay tuned, and I'll fill you all in soon!

Kevin

Good News!

2007-04-08T20:30:00.000-07:00

Kevin and I are so excited...we haven't been back to Seattle with our family for years so we are very excited to be taking a trip back "home" for the summer...we are going to travel down the East Coast, visit Seseme Street, DC, Kevin's friend as well as his Uncle Tom in South Carolina, head over and see our friend Pastor Timmy Straight out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, possibly visit a cousin of mine in Houston, head over to San Diego to visit the Zoo and Sea World and up to LA to visit Disneyland, head up the coast to SeaSide, Oregon and then to Seattle! Isn't that cool? We hope it all works out (we are planning to take an RV so we can drive without having to stop for bottles, diaper changes, walks, food, etc). Chandler is VERY excited about our "house on wheels" and going to Disneyland! I am excited just to see my kids blessed!

The Older Brothers

2007-04-08T20:26:00.000-07:00

Chandler and Chase are such good boys...Kevin and I just look at each other sometimes and say "we LOVE our family". Its a good thing, don't you think? There are those moments however...where we just wish we could fast forward into sanity, when they are all asking, in one form or another, for assistance from us!

Our Cole-bug

2007-04-08T20:20:00.000-07:00

We love Cole! Our little 'Bug" as we call him...somehow we started calling him that and it just stuck! He is our happy-go-lucky in the middle and we love him! He is a great balance to his little sis' Caroline who packs a sweet little punch (much like I expected due to the nature of my pregnancy with her). He is currently teething again, and will be adding two more teeth to his current set of four...the better to eat more broccoli with!

Caroline - A Beauty Evolution

2007-04-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

Here is Caroline at one week and Caroline at two months! When Caroline was born she was the quietest baby...I kept on thinking...is she okay??? Seriously, she didn't even cry at birth...while the ladies baby next door was screaming for dear life after it came out. I kept on expecting her breathing to be abnormal (she was born 3 weeks early by a scheduled induction) because Cole was born just a half a week earlier than her and had to be in the neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU) for 2 and 1/2 weeks. I was sure that she wouldn't even be coming home with us (I didn't even bring a infant car seat with us to the hospital) and really wrestled between delivering her early and waiting it out...but since we had lost our baby girl before at 37 weeks, we just couldn't stand the thought of losing another girl, although the probabilty was in favor of not having a repeat incident of what we experienced before in losing our baby. I didn't want to give birth to a baby who would have to have a machine pumping air into its lungs so they wouldn't collapse like we experienced with Cole, who bless his heart, fought for his dear life. I was naive to the effects that a premature birth could have on a baby, maybe my doctors just didn't want to freak me out, but this time they told me, and I felt paranoid and paralyzed in the decision making process of what to do with Caroline's birth. Kevin felt firm on delivering early and almost every pregnant woman in their last month wants the baby out and wants it out...NOW! At least that is the feeling. Fortunately for us Caroline was born absolutely perfect and healthy at over 7 pounds which makes me thinks my dates were off because of how much she weighed at 37 weeks. Thats all on that!

Sorry, No Pictures

2007-03-18T16:07:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't have any pictures to post because I can't seem to place the cord to our digital camera...it's around here somewhere though! I know it is much more fun to read a blog when there are pictures along with it! I am finally getting the hang of having four kids and beginning to figure out the best schedule for all of us...Caroline slept 6 hours last night which is great for her, Cole is just a joy ALL the time, and I am employing Chandler and Chase as little helpers...bringing a baby a dropped bottle, replacing a binky, playing with a younger sibling to keep them occupied, etc. Kevin, after watching all four kids for the day while I was at a women's conference, remarked that running a home, and doing a good job at it, is like being a general manager at a company...so true. Just want to say, I am so thankful for my two new little baby toys...a baby bjorn carrier and a peg perego double stroller so I can take a walk with my three younger ones while Chandler is in school and after it warms up (we just got 2 feet of snow yesterday!)

Hair Frustration

2007-02-16T19:06:00.000-08:00

There are alot of deeper things to write about but those aside, I am really frustrated with my hair situation. It seems I can never get them (the hairdressers I've had) to do what I want them to do. I go to the very best salons here in Albany and I still can't quite get it right. Next Wednesday will be my third time going in the past week and a half...last time they put highlights in that were too light (barely visable), this time I came out looking like a slightly diluted version of Christina Aguilara (not a favorite look of mine), so I am hoping for a happy medium this time around! Ahhh! The hairdresser is really sweet though...so we'll see. By the way, I have been so frustrated about it (totally superficial, I know but then again...when I look in the mirror and see Christina...) that the house is a disaster because I have't cleaned up any of the messes that my four children have made! By the way, Caroline is doing great!

Baby Caroline

2007-02-10T10:09:00.000-08:00

Caroline Madison Adams was born on Monday, January 29th at 2:22am. We were very blessed that she was born healthy and we were able to take her home from the hospital with us. God's grace has been with us as my parents were out for two weeks to help followed with Kevin's mom coming out for the week following. Fortunately, Kevin and I were able to rest and get refreshed during the past few weeks as the grandparents held babies, made dinners, changed diapers, cleaned bathroom floors and did loads of laundry! Thank you so much Moms and Dad!!! We are ready to break out and be the parents of four on our own...I think! Well, it doesn't actually matter if we are ready or not does it???

A New Year

2007-01-05T09:35:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

The boys are still enjoying all the fun things they recieved for Christmas and Kevin and I have pretty much gotten rid of all the "Christmas Clutter" that fills up the house during Christmas other than the tree. We are enjoying the sweet smell of drying needles just a few days more before the tree is removed and the house is clear of all evidence of Christmas. This year has brought us only 3 inches of snow...which is nothing...the outside is completley devoid of all signs that it is winter in New England except for the lack of leaves on the trees. I have been enjoying it as this has been the first winter since moving to the Northeast where my feet are not cracked and dry...I had almost forgotten what it feels like to have nice feet in the winter!

Cole celebrated Christmas by getting his first tooth, and number two followed shortly thereafter. Kevin's major project that he has been working on for the past 5 months (late into the night almost every night) is finally coming to a close in the next 5 days which will free up much of his time. Fortunately, he spends much of his time working at home so the boys and I don't miss out on having him around!

January 27th will mark 6 years of marriage for us, which we normally celebrate by taking a vacation but it will have to forgone this year but with good cause as we will be at the hospital with the hopes of delivering a healthy baby girl during that time frame. My parents are coming out to help out with the boys and it will be nice for them to be able to spend some time with the boys as our kids only see their West Coast family once every one to two years!

As Kevin and I enter into the 7th year of marriage and life together, I am hoping that 2007 will mark the beginning of a season of fullfilled dreams and rest filled with the joy of new experiences! We truly hope for a happy and new year for all!

2007-01-05T08:41:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-25T11:22:00.000-08:00

Thank you to our family for the wonderful presents (Grandma Adams, Grandpa & Grandpa Steward, Uncle Corey, Uncle Zach & Aunt Kim & Boys)...we are very blessed! We are posting the best of the shots...although the selection of good photos was slim. Chandler loves his games! Chase loves his dinosaurs...Cole loves sleeping & drinking his bottle as he is down with a fever today! Merry Christmas!

Happy 5th Birthday Chandler!

2006-12-16T18:24:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Chandler!!! Well, Chandler was really blessed today to have his friends come over and celebrate his 5th birthday, especially his friend George from school! Personally, I had been dreading party planning (just because my motivation right now is low...pregnancy related) but I really did want to bless Chandler...I handed out his invitations one week ago...talk about late notice especially during the holidays but we had a good turnout!

Happy, Sleepy Boy

2006-12-16T18:13:00.000-08:00

Chandler's Christmas Concert

2006-12-16T18:02:00.000-08:00

Here are the boys on the way to Chandler's first live performance ever! Little Cole has a mohawk, compliments of his father. When we entered the school and passed by a couple of teens, one of them exclaimed to their friend, "Did you see that baby had a mohawk?!!" I guess we will always be pushing the boundaries especially with Kevin as the head of our home! Chase is really excited and Chandler was really proud of himself because Dad kept telling him that he did a great job. We celebrated by going out for ice cream afterwords!

Chandler's First Chapel

2006-11-20T11:33:00.000-08:00

Here is Chandler at his first chapel ever. He attends a private Christian preschool and they have them dress up for chapel. I was searching around the house for dress up style clothing because we have never dressed Chandler up for church or anything before! Here he is with his favorite preschool friend George who is wearing a tie as they are encouraged to do...however, we don't even own such a thing!

One Good Walk!

2006-11-20T11:04:00.000-08:00

Today I went for the best walk I have ever had during our time here spent on the East Coast. When I have gone for walks and runs before, they are through neighborhoods and busy streets and I never had the peace and joy that I felt when I used to go for walks back in my home in Seattle. I loved walking around my home in Seattle because the air felt so fresh, there were trees everywhere, and there were hills...theres something about me that I just really love walking or running hills. I know it is funny to blog about this but I am really grateful for it! We have been blessed with nice sidewalks and flat roads in the different places we have lived but that is just not my thing! I remember running the sidewalk with a friend along the coast of San Diego and even though it was beautiful it didn't have the same joy as running up and down hills in the mountains. So that is what I am grateful for this Thanksgiving! Seriously. Kevin has been consumed the past 4 months with working on a time sensitive and intensive project that the major push of came to a close this past week. That has freed us up to begin to have more of a regular schedule where I can begin to get some exercise again. I hope I can keep with it through the winter here...it would really help to keep the weight off which I really need to do after having Cole, not losing any baby weight and then getting pregnant 7 weeks later! The reason I finally went for a walk like this..the country road is right around the corner from our apartments...something about walking around our apartments just doesn't do it for me. Just to let you know, I made sure to take my cell phone with my and call Kevin and let him know where I am. I plan to time it all out so he knows where I am at different points in my walk and give him a call at the halfway point just to be extra safe...but our community is known to be one of the safest in the nation so it should be good. Happy Thanksgiving!

Chase, Chandler & Cole and thoughts on Change

2006-11-15T07:28:00.000-08:00

My boys loving hanging out in their pajamas! Actually now that Chandler has started preschool which is everyday from 8am-Noon he doesn't get to hang out in the pj's as much. It is a laid back lifestye that we somewhat enjoy but is brought on by my being pregnant. If you want to think about it, I have been pregnant 6 out of the 6 years Kevin and I have been married so there are alot of mornings where I am sick or slow or sour (!) Is that okay to say??? I am finally potty-training Chase and he is doing great although we have had our fair-share of accidents. Alot is happening in our lives behind the scenes right now that I am not at liberty to completly share as of yet. It seems our life changes ALL of the time. We have major life events that seem to happen bi-annually.

I don't know what you grew up having your life like but I grew up with alot of stability although I didn't recognize it at the time. For the first 25 years of my life we lived in the same house, went to the same private school k-12, parents were happily married, went to the same church 4th-college. The only stresses we really ever had were the financial challenges of my father being a self-employed contractor/engineer who at times was out of work but that was it although it felt stressful at the time. After Kevin and I were married, we moved to Boston and lived in hotels, I became pregnant one month later, we moved back to Washington as his Dad passed away, we then moved back to Boston to an apartment, I took a job, had the baby and one week later began commuting 3 1/2 hours every weekend to do youth ministry in Albany. We then moved to Albany, 6 months later I became pregnant with Chase. We had Chase, then 10 months later miscarried on Christmas Day, was in the hospital, 7 days later we had my parents out and moved from our apartment into our new house that we had just built. We took a month off work, went to Hawaii, organized our house and Kevin went to work full-time for Cornerstone as the Youth Pastor. A year later, the children's pastor resigned suddenly and Kevin took over being Children's Pastor in addition to his responsibliities with the youth. Our church planted two churches and Kevin then took over the responsibilities of the website as well as refinancing the church's debt. Our church then experienced a crisis as our Senior Pastor took a time off for personal issues and then resigned and during this time Kevin spent much time "firefighting", assumed eldership responsibilities and took the role of Lead Pastor after the resignation of our pastor and continued leading the youth while I oversaw the childrens ministry. Oh, and I forgot to mention but a year after our miscarriage, we delivered a stillborn baby girl at 37 1/2 weeks. Oh and I forgot...6 months we sold our house and are living in a tri-level apartment for now.

I am the type of person who likes to have everything together...I like my house perfectly organzied with everything in its placed (in its labeled place!) I like to be on top of birthdays and presents and all my e-mails and do a great job with ministry at the church. I want to be fit and in shape and cook healthy meals and live off a structured budget. It seems I have failed on every one of these things that I have valued...sometimes failing them all at the same time, sometimes failing at most of them and sometimes failing in just one area (although that is the exception).

I don't know when or if I will ever have all of those things together...it seems I keep holding my breath for some stability in our lives to settle down and really get all these things in sync. It's not that we don't do any of the things we value, it is just such an erractic lifestyle without much consistancy. Our one constant is family time. We really prioritize spending time together and communicating. I know through all this change, our family has remained a tight unit and our boys have not suffered for attention and love.

We are joyful, excited and relieved (I am relieved) that we are having a baby girl in February! We have always wanted a girl but totally love our three boys! This pregnancy has been the roughest of all and will most likely be my final one so it is good news that we are having a girl! This is Kevin's girl that he has been hoping for...the one he hopes to walk down the aisle some day!

Through all these changes, we regret not having been a more consistant part of each of your lives because we value each of you, especially across the miles. You are in our hearts!

Another shot of Baby Cole!

2006-10-28T10:45:00.000-07:00

Here is one of Cole playing with his favorite toy. He LOVES this thing!

Welcome To The Adams Family Adventure!

2006-10-28T08:42:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Kevin & Anne Adams family blog!

Hopefully we will get it up to speed in the near future and keep it maintained.

For those who have been waiting, here is a close-up shot of baby Cole!