Travel to Katerina & Beyond

Friday, May 04, 2007

Muscoot Farm 4/28/07

Our first FCC Westchester/Bronx outing since reviving the chapter was at Muscoot Farm in Somers. Not a spectacular turnout, but enough to have a lot of fun. I'm hoping we'll build enthusiasm and support as we continue to hold fun events.

We had some camera-shy girls hiding behind a tree

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Tess & Katerina - Best Buds - April 22, 2007

We stayed overnight at Chris & Kate's the night of his 40th birthday party and Katie's Mom babysat for Katerina & Tess. They have such fun together. In the morning we went to a friend of Tessie's birthday party at the Little Gym; afternoon at the playground, followed by some grilled hamburgers & hotdogs. We are so lucky that we have such good friends with a daughter Katerina's age and more importantly the fact that they love spending time together. More than any other friend, Katerina really plays and interacts with Tessie.

A little morning biking to get those juices flowing

Fun at the playground

And then there was Finn . He can't wait till he can play with the big kids.

Getting this picture was like herding cats

The lovely Loftin family

We couldn't get Katerina to cooperate

Christopher's Big 40! April 21, 2007

Christopher turned 40 and Katie threw him a big party.

You Haven't Changed a Bit after 34 Years!

Constantin's childhood friend, Nikos, came to visit. They haven't seen each other since they both left Greece at the age of 18; Nikos to Sweden and Constantin to the U.S. They've kept in touch on and off and more regularly now with Email. It was a treat for both of them and they had a great time catching up and reliving old times.

Birthdays - Church & Schmabe

In early April we celebrated both Church & Schmabe's birthdays - March 22 & April 9th. I bought special birthday hats and Katerina loved them.

There's a New Puppy in Town - April 17th

George & Deb got a little yellow Lab puppy last week. Leo is 9 weeks old in this picture.

Homeward Bound - April 12th

After 3 months, Constantin's parents headed home to Greece. We've had a lovely visit and Katerina will miss them terribly. I can't even imagine how much they will miss Katerina. The tears were flowing as they left. The good news is they will be back next year and hopefully we'll plan a trip to Greece in between.

Easter - April 8th

This year Greek Orthodox Easter and Catholic Easter fell on the same day. It was cold and rainy on Good Friday evening so Katerina and I did not accompany Constantin & his parents to church; much of the service is a candlelight procession outside. Saturday we made Easter eggs; pastel colors for western Easter and a batch of the deep red for Greek Easter.

Katerina's first Easter Basket

After opening her Easter basket, we went to George & Deb's for a wonderful meal. Deb's family was there, Bill & Paulette and Church & Sue joined us later.

Katerina was happy that Paige was there as well

Who will get the Killer Egg??

Katerina & Paige face off

Katerina's egg prevails!

It's been a long day

Monday, March 26, 2007

Baptism - March 18, 2007

Katerina was baptized into the Greek Orthodox church on March 18th. It was a lovely ceremony. Even my mother, who was horrified at the thought that Katerina would be naked, thought it was lovely. In addition to the baptism, Katerina received First Holy Communion and Christmation - (anointment with holy oil - comparable to Confirmation in the Catholic religion). All three sacraments are done at the same time in the Greek Orthodox religion.

Oh goody - a bath....where's my rubber ducky?

Little Angel

Look at proud Uncle Bobby's face in the pew behind Katerina!

The Godparents - Nonos and Nona

also known as George & Deb

God Bless Katerina

Little Darlin'

Mom and Uncle Lou

It was incredibly special that John & Sue came up from Florida to join us.
They were the last Jet Blue flight that landed in NY on that Friday due to the snow storm. Their Home study is complete and they are working with Great Wall of China agency to adopt Katerina's cousin!