Cool New Trick!

I've had a lot of fun learning to digital scrapbook. I've also discovered a lot of other fun things you can do with Photoshop. The following are some optical illusions I've created. The frames were created by Elisabeth Weaver.


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Home 5 months tomorrow!

Can you believe it? The past 5 months have gone so quickly. In just 2 weeks, Kaden will be 9 months old. Wow! Kaden had a minor surgical procedure on Friday. He absolutely amazes us. We were expecting him to be in pain and fussy for several days, but he acts like nothing happened! He has always healed quickly from any bruises or scrapes. I wish I had some of his health!

Here's a scrapbook page I created of our day at the hospital:



Bulletin board by Kellie Mize, bent photo frames by Jennilyn Designs, Prescription & staples by Tracy Collins, Notepaper & Red circle by Tracy Blankenship. Fonts are "Rebecca's Printing" and "J.D."

Kaden's First Snow

We just had our first "real" snow of the season this weekend. I'd been waiting to get some pictures of Kaden out in the snow! He wasn't entirely sure what to think of it, but we got some cute pictures:


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Here is a scrapbook page I created as a Creative Team assignment for http://www.scrapamoment.com. The kit is called "Frolic & Play":

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Whoa! It's been awhile

Sorry I haven't posted in so long. Kaden is an active 8 month old and the only time I get on the computer is while he is napping. With house chores and other responsibilities that come first, my computer has been missing me lately!

Can you believe Kaden is 8 months old already? Boy time flies. In just a few days, he'll have been home for 5 months. Before we know it, half a year will have gone by. Then Kaden will be walking, and he'll turn 1. Yikes!

Here's video of Kaden's latest set of "tricks". He has perfected the "Give Five" that he has been able to do for awhile and has added waving and clapping to his list of achievements. We're still working on the fine details of clapping, such as using both hands and not just hitting one with the other!


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Please be in prayer for Kaden next Friday. He will be having an outpatient procedure done. Nothing big, but he will have to have to "go under" and he won't be feeling well for awhile. Actually, Mommy & Daddy are probably the ones that need the prayers the most!

2006 Scrapbook Pages

Now that the year has drawn to a close, it's time for me to hurry up and crank out some more scrapbook pages! I still have a lot of Kaden's first 4 months home to do, but looking back, I am amazed at how much I have already accomplished. You can view the pages I've completed and see the credits at Dropshots.

I also did several pages in 2006 before Kaden came home. You can also view them at DropShots as well. I put them on January 4.

Any know anything about Blogger?

Anyone here know anything about blogger? Ever since they switched to the new beta version, my sidebar is no longer a sidebar. It's at the very end of the page, which is not very useful. I'm assuming it's because my posts are too wide, but I can't figure out how to change it in the HTML.

Did you know......

that you can download pictures and videos from our Drop Shots site? All you have to do is right click on the picture and say, "Save As". It's the same process for videos as well. Make sure you have your pop-up blocker off.

You can also order pictures and products straight from Drop Shots. I know you're all just dying to have a Kaden T-Shirt, right? Hee...Hee..

Anyway, I didn't know if you knew about these features so I thought I'd spread the word. In other news, Kaden went to the doctor yesterday. He is now up to 20 lbs., 9 oz. He'll be 8 months old on Wednesday. My how time flies! Kaden has a bad cold, but the doctor says we just have to let it run its course. He is too young to medicate. Ryan, however, is not too young, so the doctor gave him medication. It's funny, because he didn't even have an appointment - he was just there with Kaden!

Happy New Year!

Wow! Where did 2006 go? On New Year's Eve, we celebrated two events: The dawning of 2007 & Kaden's 4 months home anniversary! I can't believe that he will be 8 months old next week. Boy time flies!

Our entire household is suffering from colds, so we haven't taken many pictures since Christmas, but I promise we'll start taking more soon.

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

Merry Day After Christmas! I hope everyone had a great time of celebration with friends and family. We had a great day, and enjoyed our first Christmas as a family.

There are TONS of cute pictures of Kaden's First Christmas over at our Drop Shots site. Be sure to hop over there and check it out! E-mail me, rat898@juno.com, if you need the password.
Here is a picture of Kaden with his bounty of gifts:

Kaden Meets Santa

Hi! We just got back from a week long trip to Indiana. It was great to see all of Ryan's family. Kaden had a wonderful time with his Mam Maw & Pap Paw, Aunts, Uncles, & Cousins. While in Indiana, Kaden got to meet Santa Claus. He wasn't sure what to think of him.

Kaden's ABC Book

I got a really great deal from Shutterfly. If I spent $10, they gave me a $30 Storybook for FREE! Well, I needed to print Christmas cards anyway, so I took them up on their offer. I'm so glad I did! The storybook turned out great.

You can view it by clicking on this link:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/project/1Bas2bdu0YuTg/landing;jsessionid=8054E1CEF69B9D7518F6E4F2E1F1607D

7 Month Update

Can you believe Kaden is 7 months old already? He is growing and changing every day. Two more teeth have broken through and will be visible soon. Some of the worst drooling and sleepless nights are behind us now!

Kaden's latest "trick" is that he has figured out how to get off of the couch by himself! I've attached a video below. We are still working on teaching him how to wave. He mostly just waves at himself!

Kaden still prefers the "B" syllable. He says "Buh" and "Baa" when he chatters. He does say "Ma Ma" but only when he is hungry or mad. I don't think he has really associated that sound with me yet. We've yet to hear him make a "D" sound, but Ryan keeps working hard with him.


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It's terrible being sick

You'll notice there hasn't been much activity on this blog lately, nor has there been many new pictures added to Dropshots. That's because the Oren household is not feeling well. Kaden has a runny nose and slight cough, and I have a sore throat, stuffy nose, and major head & body aches. Ryan mostly just feels achy and tired.

It probably didn't help that we sat out in the cold Sunday night in a live nativity. But, honestly, I think the colds were already starting before then. We'd appreciate your prayers as we have a busy week ahead of us!

Ooops, I've been MIA

Wow, it's been awhile since I posted! I hope everyone had a very happy Thanksgiving. We had a great time with family. Kaden tried mashed potatoes for the first time. He DID NOT like them! He took one bite and then spit up. Oh well, we'll try again some other time!

Sunday night we put up our Christmas tree. We wanted to capture Kaden's expression the first time he saw it, so we set up the video camera, turned out the lights, brought Kaden in, and then turned on the Christmas tree. His response was not what we expected! We had hoped his eyes would get wide, he'd smile in wonder, and then reach out to touch the magical tree. Actually, his reaction was more like, "So what?" You can see it below:

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Christmas Pictures

We had Christmas pictures taken at Portrait Innovations. We were very pleased with the results. Here are a few of our favorites!

Kaden's DMSA Scan

Yesterday was a long day! As many of you will remember, Kaden had a Urinary Tract Infection while he was in Korea. The hospital there did a DMSA scan and found a large cortiol defect in his left kidney. They recommended that we do a follow-up scan once he was settled here in the United States.

So, yesterday we left town at 5:00 a.m. We got to the hospital at 7:00 and got Kaden settled into his room. At first he had a great time playing with the toys, being weighed and measured, etc. But then he had to get an IV. That was no fun at all. It was even hard on Mommy & Daddy! Once that trauma was over, he settled down and was content to be carried up and down the hallways of the pediatric corridor until he got hungry. The poor little guy had to let the dye they injected circulate his body for 2 hours before being sedated, and he could not have anything to eat or drink.

At 10:30, they took us downstairs and Kaden was sedated. That was hard too. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and it was terrifying for Mommy & Daddy. They did the scan, and by 11:45 we were back in his room. We won't know the results of the scan for a couple of days, but to our naked eyes, it looked like both kidneys were fine! At 12:30, Kaden woke up, took 4 oz. of pedialyte and a 6 oz. bottle of formula, had his IV removed, and we were on our way home by 1:30. He slept all the way home, was up for 3 hours (and took 4 oz. of formula every hour!), and then slept the rest of the day/night until 5:00 this morning!

We hope he will quickly adjust back to his normal schedule and will forget the trauma of the day. Please pray with us that the scan will not show another defect. The pediatric urologist thinks there is nothing to worry about and ordered the DMSA scan to appease Korea's requirements for our adoption.

UPDATE on 11/30: We got the results of Kaden's scan - he's a perfectly healthy little boy!

God is so good!

I just need to take a moment to praise God for His goodness. It's amazing to me how He knows our needs and then orchestrates through to his people to see that our needs are met. We've had some amazing things happen this past week that can only be credited to God's goodness. He saw our need and provided. In some cases, He has even gone above and beyond our needs and provided a few "wants" as well. God is so good!

One Active Little Guy

Kaden is wearing me out! He is now 6 months old and is constantly on the go. He's officially crawling and has now discovered a love for pulling himself up on things and climbing on things (mostly me). I am constantly on the lookout to make sure he's not trying to stand up using something unsteady. I also have to be careful to make sure he's not going to whack his head on anything if he falls after pulling himself up. It's a constant battle! On Friday, I spent a majority of my time playing interference between the fireplace and the telephone stand.

Where has my baby gone? I'm not ready for this much activity yet! Plus, he's taking much shorter naps, so I'm finding it hard to get anything done. I guess that's motherhood!



Sometimes he crawls right out of his britches trying to get to the cats:

Oh, and by the way, Kaden weighed in at 19 lbs., 9 oz. at the doctor's office today and he is 2 ft., 2 1/2 inches tall.

Special Weekend With Special Guests

Ryan's parents came to visit this weekend, and they brought a surprise with them. Actually, they brought five surprises: Tom, Melissa, Cassi, Mabrey, & Brody! This was Kaden's first time to meet his Mam Maw & Pap Pa, Aunt & Uncle, & cousins.

Although the weekend was short, we all had a great time. Kaden also got to have a lot of first time experiences with them. He went in a swimming pool for the first time and got his first haircut. A few pictures are below. You can see a lot, lot more on our DropShots site.

Home 2 months

Can you believe that Kaden has been home for 2 months already? Where has the time gone? He has changed so much since his homecoming.

I made this quick video of pictures encompassing the past 2 months. The song is "Labor of Love" by Steve & Annie Chapman.

Photo and video editing at onetruemedia.com