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.

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.

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?

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.

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 !!!

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. 

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.

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

We got Bass

There is a big pond at the end of our street.  Every afternoon this week, Reed and his friend Kameron have gone fishing there.  In fact, they have been fishing this pond for a couple of years without any luck. 

They fish for 3-4 hours at a time and come home empty handed

Until last night.  We got a call around 8:30 pm that they had caught a 4 lb. bass.  I send Hank down to the pond with the camera.  (As it turns out, the fish wasn't quite 4 lbs, more like 1-2 lbs., but that's how it is with fishermen.  They get a little carried away with their estimates.)  But just look at the excitement on their faces.  All their hard work finally paid off.

Little Guy Turns 4

Little Guy recently celebrated his 4th birthday. 

He really wanted a "Mator" cake, so I did my best to oblige.

He LOVES his new "cars" scooter

It was a bittersweet day for us, because we know it may

be the last birthday he gets to spend in our home.

We would have never guessed we would have him this long.

He's been with us for his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th bithdays.

Hopefully we'll have many more with him.

His permanency hearing is next week, so please keep us in your prayers!