Sunday, November 15, 2009

Joshua


The kids have been begging us to open up our home again to take in foster children.
We have been kind of licking our wounds and taking some time to heal from our loss of Christian.
We got a call from DHS last week regarding this little boy who just needed respite care for 5 days.
It seemed like a good way to get back into it, so we took him in and loved every minute of it.
He was so sweet and polite.  Montana really took to him quickly and they played together a lot. 
They made up games, read stories, rode bikes, and colored.
It was a good experience for all of us.




Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Halloween 09



When I was a younger mom, I was all about "happy" halloween costumes.  My first born's costumes consisted of pumpkin, clown, fireman, cowboy, football player, duck fan, etc.  My daughters would dress up as a raggedy ann doll, bride, cheerleader, princess.

Every year they would beg to be the character from Scream with blood squirting down their faces.  (what is the appeal with that costume anyway??) Every year I said no. 

Over the years, I guess my resolve has weakened.  I have slowly given in to the scary, gory, and ridiculous.  I still don't like it, but I've decided it's not quite the big deal I used to think it was.  It's one night (or two or three, if you count the school spooktacular and the church harvest party!) of dressing up and if it makes them super happy to be a freaky looking vampire or a witch, let them have their fun.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Christian's Slide Show

This is a slide show that Reed and I put together. It's a little glimpse into our time with Christian.

http://www.youtube.com/user/irishbigboy87#p/a

P.S. So I guess "they" (youtube) muted the audio because it was copyrighted or something. It kinda takes a lot away from the feeling of the slide show, but you can just pretend you're listening to "I Wish You Peace" by the Eagles, "Beautiful Boy" by the Beatles, and "Goodnight, My Angel" by Billy Joel.

P.P.S.  Update:  Reed was able to get some audio back on, but we weren't able to use all the same songs we had originally used.  I guess it's better than no audio.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Catch Up

Things have been kind of crazy around here and I haven't posted very much about our summer.  Here are a few random pictures to try and catch up (in no particular order)

Grandpa and Reed went fishing at Diamond Lake
We had a friend take some family pictures
We rented a boat and took the kids tubing
We celebrated the 50th anniversary of Hank's parents at a family reunion
This is his parents with all 10 of their children
 
We visited family in Utah
These cousins call themselves "Team Jelly"
(It's a combination of both their names)
This is "Team Kaylemad"
Reed was practicing his photog skillz. 
He told us just where and how to pose.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

It Only Hurts When I Breathe

I went running yesterday morning on this lovely bike path by the river.  It was a cathartic experience.  I was listening to my ipod when a song by Shania Twain came on.  I wasn't expecting the emotional response that came with it.  She talks about someone who is no longer in her life and starts the song with "Hope life's been good to you since you've been gone."  She had me right there.  I started crying.  Then she goes on and says "I'm over the worst and I feel so alive...I can't complain...I'm free again..."  Then comes the ironic part.  "And it only hurts when I'm breathing....my heart only breaks when it's beating..."
Here I was running down the path with tears streaming down my face.  I passed several people who acknowleged me and I tried to offer a hello and a smile, but I'm pretty sure they thought I was crazy.
I've never experienced anything quite like this pain before.  I've lost both of my grandpa's, which was hard.  But they were both older and it was almost a relief when they passed on because they were moving on to a better place.
With Christian (I'm using his real name, I'm such a rebel) it's like he died but he didn't go to a better place.  He went to live with an ex-felon who has a history of domestic violence, alcohol/drug abuse, has *EVIL* tatood onto his hand, and likes to brag about the size of his ______.   He won't allow Christian to have any contact with us whatsoever.  He took him to live in California and that's that.
It's been so hard to deal with.  I've grieved a lot, and just when I think I'm all cried out, something will trigger a huge emotional response.  I worry so much about how he's doing and what he's feeling, and whether he thinks we've just abandoned him. 
If you're the praying type, would you please offer up a prayer for him today?

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Our Little Starfish

I'm sure you've heard the parable of the starfish.

One morning a man was walking on a nearly deserted beach. He came upon a woman surrounded by thousands and thousands of starfish. As eagerly as she could, the woman was picking them up and throwing them back into the ocean.
Puzzled, the older man looked at the woman and asked, "What are you doing?"
She responded without looking up, "I'm trying to save these starfish."
The old man chuckled and said "There are thousands of starfish here. What difference can you make?"
Holding a starfish in her hand, the woman turned to him and, gently tossing the starfish into the water said, 
 "I made a difference to that one!"
Little Guy's permanency hearing was Thursday.  The judge ruled in favor of reunification with his biological father.  They picked him up on Friday morning to take him down to California.  We are devastated.  He was with us for 2 1/2 years and we love him like our own.  We were hoping for a different outcome, but we have faith that this is the Lord's plan.  We can only pray that he is in the Lord's hands and that we somehow were able to make a difference.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Grandma Dorothy

On the way to our family reunion in Bear Lake, we stopped in Ontario to visit my sweet Grandma Dorothy.  We don't get to see her often and it was so great to spend some time with her.
I'm not sure if she knew exactly who we were.  She never called us by name, but she knew that we were related to her somehow and I hope she felt our love for her.
We certainly felt her love for us.
What a wonderful lady.
LOVE YOU GRANDMA !!!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Surprise Visitors

We were pleasantly surprised this evening by a visit from our cousins who were traveling through town on their way home from a wedding.  They live in Boise and we don't get to see them very often.  We were so glad they stopped by to say hello. 
Their son Keaton is the same age as Reed.  They have both always been off the growth charts.  They have traded back and forth growing spurts and it's always fun to see who's taller each time they see each other.  Keaton was definitely taller this time.  He has passed up Reed by a couple of inches. 

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

He's a Little Teapot

Little Guy invited me to his preschool a few weeks ago for a Mother's Tea. Little Guy and his preschool friends performed some of the songs they have been learning this year and presented us with a few homemade gifts, like the beautiful flower I'm wearing in the picture.


Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Montana's Three B's

Birthday



She requested a triple layer plain chocolate cake
It was a breeze to make compared with previous cake requests

Bishop's Baptism Interview


Baptism Day