Thursday, December 31, 2009

We Survived 2009!

It's the last day of 2009 and I have to admit I am OVERJOYED to be done with this year! Yes, there were high spots in the year, but overall it really stank!
I don't want to come across as a complainer, but here are the reasons why I am glad to be kicking 2009 to the curb:
  • In late 2008 we bought a new house and moved into it. Tried to sell the old house, but the housing market crashed. Couldn't sell it. Spring of 2009 we moved back to the old house and I know manage the new house at the "Teddy Bear Lodge" for vacationers. I rent it out and clean it etc. It's helping us stay afloat, but it is exhausting and a full time job.
  • January 2009, Gerry's knees started killing him. He couldn't take the pain anymore and decided it was time to have knee surgeries. He had a birth defect that finally got to the point he could hardly walk. He held off as long as possible. April 2009 - one day after moving back to the old house, Gerry had his first knee surgery and six weeks later his second. Thankfully the surgeries worked and he feels better than ever!
  • Oct 2009 the highlight of the year - finally getting our baby girl assigned to us! Yeah - after 2.5 years on the waiting list!
  • One week later Gerry lost his job. Now I must add that this didn't entirely suprise him. He worked this job for almost 20 years. This was our family business and thankfully we sold it 2 years ago. He has been managing it for the new owners. When the economy took a turn for the worse, so did the business. Finally the new owners decided to manage it themselves to save money. We were just hoping he could continue working there until we got the baby home. But, sometimes new jobs = new growth.
  • Thankfully he got a job 2 days later, but making substantially less. But, in this economy we are thankful to have a job.

So, here we are the last day of 2009 and "WE SURVIVED!"
I know there are lots of worse trials we could have gone through, we've had many of those in the past such as Gerry's brother Rob's accident which left him with brain damage, losing my dad, my mom's stroke and other health problems, etc. Thankfully our kids are healthy and overall happy! They were overjoyed to move back to the old house - next door to their grand parents.

But, this year has left me completely exhausted in almost every regard.

I'm only setting a few goals for 2010 as I'm afraid I'm still going to be very busy with the lodge and blogging on my websites to supplement our income. I'm trusting in God that he knows our situation and will help provide the way to accomplish these goals:

  • Getting our baby girl home and having the bright spark that only a baby can bring to a home!
  • Hopefully being able to sell the newer home.
  • Completely unpacking and getting pictures, etc. back up on the walls of the home we live in to make it a piece of heaven once again.
  • I hope to work smarter and not harder.
  • I would like time to exercise 5 days a week.
  • Time to play with the kids and actually get the laundry put away.
  • 10 minutes a day of spiritual renewal.
  • Dinner made every night with a plan for dinner each day by 10 a.m.

Can you see a theme? It revolves around finding more TIME for the important things. I want us to enjoy life and not just survive in 2010!

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Documents are On Their Way

Our documents have been state authenticated and have been through TECO. They are now at our agency and are being Fed Ex'd to Taiwan today. Hopefully we will start the court process soon and be able to bring our daughter home in the Spring!
I wish I could show you pictures from our December update, but I am not allowed to until she is legally ours. I must say, she has lots of hair that sticks straight up. Makes me want to put a great big bow in it!
We did get this personality update "she is so cute, and a good eater, she loves to suck her thumb, and interact with others. She is very curious, loves to see picture books. She is active."

Friday, December 18, 2009

A Fun Christmas Song - Enjoy!

"Silent Monks Singing Halleluia"

Monday, December 7, 2009

Introducing Our Baby Girl (Referral)

We are happy to announce the referral of our daughter. Tonight we received word that we are finally have orphanage approval and can now announce her to the world.
She is a healthy little bundle of joy and we can't be more excited.
Our referral came on October 23rd. We started this process in January 2007, so it's been a long time coming!
Anyway this is how the referral happened. I was on my way to Denver for a girls weekend with 5 of my girlfriends. We were all meeting at one friend's house loading everything up when I got a call on my cell phone. I was told of a referral, but that there was some conditions. We were able to meet the conditions and it was so exciting! My friends thought something terrible had happened as I was bawling uncontrollably. Fortunately I was able to have pictures emailed instantly and I ran into my friend's house to view them with all of my friends.
Then Gerry called. He wondered what was going on. Our adoption agency called him, but wanted to talk to me. I had no idea they hadn't told him anything. So we shared the moment by phone. Not how I imagined, but exciting anyway! As you can imagine I was a bit distracted all weekend.
So, we went from being so high to my husband losing his job the next week. We pretty much only had a couple of days to get a new job in order to continue the adoption. We prayed and worked like crazy and had a major miracle of being able to get a job in such a short amount of time. Praise the Lord! We have been blessed so much!
Now this family of boys is about to have their world changed forever with the addition of a sister! The timing can't be better as it's Parker's birthday tomorrow. What a beautiful birthday present! Parker is turning 4 and says all of the time, "When is Princess Lea coming home? I can't wait any longer!" I agree and now we know she's on track to come home.
It will take a few months to get through the court process, but we will keep you informed of our progress!
Update- I didn't realize I can't post photos until the adoption is finalized or give out any personal info., so no pictures.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

My Thankful List

Happy Thanksgiving!
As I reflect back on this past year, wow I must say that it's been the most trying year we have had in many ways! It's can be easy to look at all of the problems and get depressed and discouraged. Yes, we've done some of that, but we are moving forward. However, it could have been worse and I realize we have a lot to be thankful for. So, today here is my thankful list. It's a great reminder to me to count my blessings. I'm thankful for:
  • Being married to my best friend and wonderful husband.
  • Four incredibly smart, strong -willed boys (wouldn't trade them for anything)
  • Thankful that wonderful husband has a job. He lost his job a few weeks ago and thanks to some wonderful connections he was able to get another one quickly.
  • A nice extended family network.
  • Great friends that keep us grounded are are always there to lift, encourage and share good times.
  • Thankful that the house we bought and then couldn't sell our old house (now a vacation rental) is getting some nice ski traffic. This is a big help financially right now.
  • Thankful we are getting wiser (aka don't buy another home until you sell the old one first.)
  • Thankful that wonderful husband's two knee surgeries this year were a success and that he is no longer in pain. :)
  • Thankful for my belief and faith in God. Don't know what other's do without it. God is amazing and I have blessed beyond measure!

I have so many more things to be thankful for, but wanted to remind myself of some of the big ones!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Motivational Thought

A dear friend of mine gave a talk in church a few years ago that really has stuck with me. The basis was "You are only as good as your recovery!" When life gives you lemons what makes you strong is how to react to the situation. Do you let it discourage you or do you brush yourself off, make a new plan and move forward?

This year has been one of trials and we've gone through many hard times. We are doing our best to have a "good recovery." We keep praying that we are learning all of the lessons we are supposed to learn in order to not repeat them. Sometimes God puts people in your life at different time to help you through the hard times. We have wonderful friends and family and are thankful for your prayers in our behalf as we feel them and they give us strength!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Louis Armstrong In the Making

Tonight we were privileged to watch Christian's band concert. Not only is he is the band, but he is also in the special Jazz band. He favored us with a solo part in one of my favorite songs "Jimmy Buffet's Volcano". We are very proud of him. Not bad for just his second year playing!

Friday, October 16, 2009

Two and One Half Years and Waiting


If you will notice the above ticker date, today marks two and a half years of waiting to get a referral. I can't imagine that it will be much longer, but wow, I never envisioned such a wait! Good thing I have plenty of distractions to keep me going. So, here's to wishing upon a star and hoping our little Princess will find her way into our lives soon!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Michaels Coupon

For those of you who love to craft, today I discovered a printable Michaels coupon to save you 45% off one item. Although it does have some restrictions like- excludes custom floral arrangements, custom frames and materials, and Cricut products. Coupon ends October 31. Anyone up for a trip to Denver?

Monday, September 21, 2009

Free Adoption Digital Scrapbooking Kit

I don't know why I have wasted so much time over the years doing traditional scrapbooking. Last year my sister-in-law Jennifer told me how easy it to do digital scrapbooking. I bought the
Memory Mixer version 2 (I believe now there's a version 3). I finally pulled it out this last week and it's amazing.
I used it to create a scrapbook page to turn into the header on my Tall Snob Blog. Then I saved the scrapbook page to my computer, uploaded it to Picnik (free photo editing). I needed to crop and resize it to the right size. I loaded it into my blog and it was incredibly easy.
Anyway, I didn't realize how many websites give away free digital scrapbooking elements. Today I found this free Journey of the Heart Adoption Scrapbooking Kit. I had to register as a free user to be able to download it. It comes with a couple of free put together pages that you can drag your picture into. I noticed that the same company has some Asia themed scrapbooking kits that you can purchase.
Here is a big list of free digital scrapbooking kits and elements on About.com.

Friday, September 18, 2009

I'm On My Soap Box

Pardon me while I jump on my soapbox. In case you missed the Sean Hannity Show last night on Fox news, you may want to watch the video about the water situation in California. I've been watching this situation for a while and I can say that it frightens me deeply that the government can take the water from the farms and divert it to areas that it chooses.
Having grown up in a family that raises fruit, I know the value of water. Without water, crops die and then where are we supposed to get our food? I don't live in California, but I do know that these kinds of governemental actions affect all of us. The food supply affects all of us. If you haven't been paying attention, more and more food is being imported while the United States is producing less each year. Our dependence on other countries causes higher inflation and less ability to control our futures.

Another soap box - How healthy is our food?
We went camping in November and that was the last time we used our motorhome for the Winter. In March we went to use it again, and I discovered a loaf of bread that we had not thrown away. Upon examing the store bought bread, I noticed it was not moldy and was perfectly preserved. I could not believe that there is that many preservatives in one loaf of bread that in 4 months it would not go bad. Seriously, how good could this be for our bodies? This was a huge eye opener to me and we are really trying to eat better and do a lot more cooking from scratch so I can see exactly what I am feeding my family.

Support your local farmer's market. We have spent the last 2 nights canning peaches. Although it takes more effort than buying already canned peaches, it is so worth it! Aren't they gorgeous?

Friday, September 11, 2009

Surviving

I realize I haven't written a whole lot lately as life has been crazy. We are still here. This is a little of what we have been doing.

Summer ended and it seemed to pass all too fast. The kids are back in school. We didn't really go anywhere very far, but did go camping a couple of times. Our highlight of the Summer was having our best friends/cousins Tim and Annette and family come and visit us for an extended weekend. We had the best time just visiting and hanging out with them. We miss them dearly!

We are still waiting for our baby girl referral. I never imagined that what we thought would be an 8 month wait would now turn into almost 29 months of waiting. It's got to happen soon. Right? I am learning patience (SIGH) ...and trust me that is something that I lack greatly!

We are spending our time finishing off the last room in this house for a bedroom for Jeremiah and working like crazy. Keeping up two houses is hard work! We are also praying like crazy that the other house (the one we lived in for 6 months) sells and that we can be done with that chapter of our life. In the meantime we are just trying to survive financially and the vacation rentals are a bit slow right now, but I'm sure (or I pray) they will pick up for the Winter season. Football season starts soon and we will have two boys playing, so I'm sure that will fill any left over time we have.

I enjoy keeping up with everyones Taiwan adoption blogs. They are very inspiring and we hope to be joining you in the next step of the journey very soon.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Strange Dream

This weekend I woke up in a panic after I had a strange dream. I dreamed that my local homestudy agent was retiring and I was worried that I won't be able to finish my post-placement adoption appointments, etc.
Well, tonight I got a call from my homestudy agent. I haven't talked to her in months. She was passing through and needed a place to park her van and sleep for the night. Could she sleep in our driveway?
As I visited with her, I flat out asked her if she was retiring? Her jaw hit the floor. Sure enough she had been contemplating it this weekend. I told her my dream and she responded that that was the same day she had felt directed that it was time to retire. We both got goosebumps and she told me that the dream confirmed to her that she should retire. Coincidence? I don't think so.
Anyway, she reassured me that she would finish up with the current adoptions, etc. that are in place, but would not be taking any new clients. It will probably take her a year to retire. Phew! She said 2 families she deals with got babies this week and they weren't expected to get babies for 3-4 months. (domestic adoptions). So, she feel optimistic that our referral will happen soon. Let's hope so! The wait is driving me crazy!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Hair Frugality


This weekend I did something I have never done. I colored my own hair. This was a huge step for me as my hair is my splurge. I am sick and tired of feeling like I'm getting ripped off every time I get my hair done. The hair places where we live charge an arm and a leg. I have thick hair and they always charge me for double color. So, I pay around $250 every time I go just for a cut and a color. I can the same thing done in Utah for around $80 and the skill level of the hairdressers seem about the same to me.

Some people would say, just skip the coloring. No way! After I had my first child at age 24, my hair all of the sudden got gray spots. I think it may have been due to a 42 hour long labor. Maybe my body got so stressed out that it turned my hair gray. I don't know, but that's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

So, I have been coloring my hair for a long time and I'm not ready to look like an old lady. My friend told my that she uses "Nice and Easy" hair coloring and I must say it was nice and easy. I think I did a great job matching the color and I'm happy with the results.

This year we are financially strapped and we are challenging all financial purchases. We hardly ever go out to eat anymore, and have cut back in every area possible.

Speaking of hair, I cut all of the boys hair and my husbands. I figure this saves me $75-$100 every time I cut their hair. I have no training other than just by experimenting. They got some pretty scary cuts at first, but I must say that now I'm pretty handy with the scissors.
I'd love to hear your money saving tips and ways that you are cutting back financially.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Typhoon Morakot

We still have not received our referral, but are waiting anxiously for news at any time. I want to post a few pictures of the devestation Typhoon Morakot left behind. It is a very sad situation. Most of the children that our adoption agency places are from the southern Taiwan area -which suffered the worst devastation. The children already in the orphanage are safe. Since we have not received our referral, I often wonder if the typhoon will somehow affect our own child. Perhaps sadly, it will create more orphans, or perhaps her family or extended family might have been affected by it. I can only pray that the relief agencies will be able to help out as much as possible in a timely manner!
So, here are a few pictures, so I can keep them for her scrapbook.

An aerial view of flooding caused by Typhoon Morakot in Chiatung, Taiwan

A man carries a baby as a family is rescued from flooding brought by Typhoon Morakot in Chiatung, Pingtung county, in southern Taiwan, on August 9, 2009.

A hotel building leans before falling in a heavily flooded river after Typhoon Morakot hit Taitung county, Taiwan, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2009. The six-story hotel collapsed and plunged into the river Sunday morning after floodwaters eroded its base - all 300 people in the hotel had been evacuated and uninjured, officials said.

A girl is carried out from mudslide caused by Typhoon Morakot in Chiashien, Kaohsiung county, in southern Taiwan, on August 10, 2009.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Four-Wheeling Dinner

Tonight we decided to take a four-wheeling ride up the road. Gerry's knees are finally well enough to go riding. We turned off the road to a remote place that we knew had a fire pit. We didn't know we would have company for dinner.
There was one bull that checked us out for quite a while. We were a bit nervous that he was going to charge us, but finally he went up the hill to join his harem. Whew! They left us many pies - and not the good kind. Eww!

We cooked our hot dogs, and had a great time.

It's great to be riding again!

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Guess the Songs

Lately, I've been noticing funny songs that my kids have sung incorrectly. See if you can guess the songs:

"Cheese my cherry pie." - sung by Ian, Jeremiah and Parker.

"Rock the Cashbox." - sung by Jeremiah

"Give me the BEACH BOYS, and free my soul...." - sung by Jeremiah

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Miss You Dad!

The best day of my life (my wedding) was followed the next day by the worst day of my life (the death of my dad). I miss you Dad. You were my hero and my strength. I take comfort in knowing that we will see you again someday. Until then, you are never forgotten.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Happy 15 Years of Marriage

I thought I loved you when we got married 15 years ago today. Now I know it was just the tip of the iceberg of how much I love you. I still get giddy when I know you're coming home. Together we have 4 beautiful boys. We have suffered a few blows, but have had many successes and have come through everything stronger. You are truly the greatest husband and the best daddy.
I love you "Rose Man" - you are truly my Handsome Prince.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Summer Randon Pictures

I haven't written in a while. I always feel like I need something grand to write about, but we're just having a plain old normal Summer.
Baseball took up the first part of the summer. The three oldest boys played and it was so much fun to watch them.
We spent the 4th of July weekend in Salt Lake City. Here is a picture of Gerry with my Mom, our 4 boys and my brother Kameron's 4 boys. My younger brother Devan is standing up behind them. It was my Mom's birthday so we all went out to dinner. The waiter wasn't even scared with having to serve 8 boys age 14 and under- he grew up with five brothers. :)

We got to see the Jonas Brothers at the Stadium of Fire.
We had nosebleed seats and could see them better on the large screen t.v.

We had fun anyway!

My sister-in-law Emily got to sing in the choir. We were surprised when we saw her on the big screen. She is to the left of David Osmond.

Beautiful fireworks.

Changing subjects: It's been a lot of work to keep up two homes and trying to market our other home as a vacation home. Some days we are very hopeful, some days it's very discouraging. One day while driving up to the other house, we took this cool picture. It looked like a window coming out of the clouds. Our town used to be called "Hole in the Sky" by the Ute Indians - believed because it had better weather than the surroundings towns. Often bad weather will skip over us.

This reminds us of "Hole in the Sky".
Our town does something cool every year for the annual town celebration called "Gypsum Daze." They turn this park:

into a rock concert. They built an outdoor stage and bring in a big country band every year. In the past we have hosted "Rascal Flats", "Sawyer Brown" and I can't remember the others. This year we had "Little Big Town." and the "Charlie Daniels Band." Thousands of people attend the concert.
We've also been attending the free Friday night movies in the park. It's like a drive in without the cars.
In other news: nothing on the adoption yet. Gerry is finally finished with all of his physical therapy on his knees. We are looking forward to camping and four-wheeling soon.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

26 Months Waiting, But Who's Counting?


I haven't written much about the adoption lately as basically there is nothing to write. Are we the only ones who have waited 26 months and still not gotten a referral? I know China tends to have waits this long, but for Taiwan this is totally baffling me. So, we wait and continue to hope that it ACTUALLY will happen. It's pretty discouraging lately.

My birthday is this week and a referral would be an awesome birthday present! Hint, hint!

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Knee Surgery, A Little Crabby and Donuts

Today was actually a really nice day! After such a tough week we needed a day to rest and recoup. Gerry had his other knee operation on Monday. The weird thing is that one of our best friend's - Mark had back surgery the same day. It was like a scene from a comic movie when both of these crazy men were walking down the hospital hall holding their i.v.'s and walking towards each other. Karie and I laughed so hard. Here's a picture of Mark visiting Gerry. They were almost roommates, but the hospital wasn't that full, so they got private rooms.

Once we got home, we have dealt with a couple of sick kids this week. Not fun. I may have to take the two oldest to the doctor tomorrow.
So today Gerry stayed home with two kids and I went to church. After church we had a scrumptious meal of crab legs, baked potatoes, corn on the cob and strawberry shortcake. Yummy! Grandma and Grandpa and the missionaries enjoyed it with us. This is what happens when you eat too much crab- you turn into a little crabby!

Then tonight Gerry felt good enough to make homemade donuts. It you make them with half whole wheat, they are not bad for you.. right?


It's hard to believe that Denver had tornadoes today when the weather was pretty nice on this side of the mountain. Pretty scary!

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Trying to Make Lemonade

We feel like we've been dealt an extra load of lemons this year and so we are doing our best to try and turn them into lemonade.
Where do I even start?
Last October we purchased our dream home and moved into it. It was only a 2 mile move, but still the same amount of work as if moving 2,000 miles. A week after we bought the home, it seemed that the economy changed overnight. Up until that point we had been pretty immune to it in our area.
Anyway, our old home that we put on the market wouldn't sell. People wouldn't even come to look at it. The price began to drop on our old home. Several other things happened and all of the sudden it seemed like the perfect financial storm. After lots of prayer, our answer was to move back to the more affordable home and try to sell the new home.
So, after living in the home for about 6 months, we packed up and moved back. The day after we moved all of the heavy furniture, Gerry had surgery on his knee. That left me finishing up the move, etc. I was totally overwhelmed. Thank heavens for great friends and family that helped me through it!
So, we put our dream house on the market and have not been successful in selling it yet. We're even giving away a trip to Hawaii to whoever will buy it, but still no success. In the meantime we are turning it into a vacation home rental. http://www.teddybearlodge.com/ I am busy trying to get it furnished etc. Hopefully, this gamble will pay off.
I know we are very blessed and can't complain as many people have been hurt far more than us with the economy turn. At least we still have a job. We are just doing the best we can and praying that everything will work out the best way possibly.
As far as the adoption, I have not heard anything new in months. We hope we hear something soon!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Our Frugal Spring Break


This post is only two months late, but I figured better late than never. My kids keep begging me to write about our Spring Break. We were supposed to go to Hawaii, but our economic situation dictated that we had better stay close by and go cheap. So, we went to White Sands with plenty of sand, just no ocean.

However, we had a blast. We love to go camping in the motor home, or "rocket turd" as my kids call it. White Sands is a little known National Park close to Green River, UT. Our friends took us there a few years ago and it has quickly become one of our favorite places. It is hard to find as you exit off of I-70 on a ranch exit dirt road for about an hour. Once you arrive it looks somewhat like Moab. There are hills of sand dunes everywhere. Driving there takes us about 4 hours from our home. On the drive there the wind was blowing so hard that we about got blown off the road. By the first morning the wind had stopped and the temperature was in the low 60's for the entire four days we were there. We put on our jackets and climbed every sand dune we could find, including some that were hundreds of feet tall. The boys love the freedom and I do too!
One of our favorite games was "follow the leader" with the four wheelers. Every day we would take a morning trail drive. The scenery was spectacular- red rocks, wind blown rock formations, beautiful canyons and more. Usually I or Gerry would switch off leading the trail ride. The kids would be in the middle and the opposite parent at the rear. Then we would come back to camp for lunch. The afternoon and evening were spent riding the sand dunes.
I must say that I have become somewhat of a dutch oven chef. Normally I don't enjoy cooking, but I sure do when we are camping! Perhaps it's a change from the normal every day cooking, I don't know, but I enjoy it. The boys beg to have frito chili pie every time we go camping. Dutch oven carmel apple crisp has become my specialty.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

I Love This Mother's Day Poem

One of my best friends- Annie is an amazing woman. She has 4 children and one of them is a special need's daughter. I admire her positive outlook and she has inspired me greatly. Annie's oldest daughter wrote a special Mother's Day poem that is in a contest. I'd like to share it here:

The Desired Career
by: Katie Riley

Oh, what I desire most,
to have that wonderful job,
The proudest job there could ever be,
I hear it has the best of pay,
and lots of benefits.

I don't see why everyone thinks,
it is so horrible,
sure they clean and clean,
and clean some more,
but that's not all they do,
what about all the smiling they do?
Sure there's ups and downs,
but don't all jobs have that?

I dream and dream,
of what it would be like,
to have that job when I am old,
how wonderful it might be,
as well as it is not,
but I don't linger on the negatives,
just on the positives.

All the proud moments,
from reading a fairy tale,
to watching one come true,
from watching inductions,
to watching graduations.

Oh, what I desire most,
to have that wonderful job,
The proudest job there could ever be,
I know it has the best of pay,
and tons of benefits,
but what job in the world,
would I have in mind?

Not one that pays a billion dollars,
the one that pays a billion smiles,
not one that keeps me away from home,
the one that keeps me at home.

I want to have that wonderful job,
where I get to be called "Mommy".
Isn't it great? If you love this poem, you can vote for it by clicking here: and vote for #29.
With Mother's Day coming up, I thought I'd share with you one of my favorite videos called "The Ultimate Mom to Do List Song" by Hillary Weeks

Friday, April 24, 2009

Pandemic Prep

Over the last few years, we have been building up our food storage supplies. I feel pretty confident that we could take care of ourselves for quite a while if for many reasons we may not be able to purchase food.

One thing that is often overlooked is building up supplies in case of a pandemic flu outbreak. Today there is a new threat of the "swine virus. " I'm not trying to spread panic, but I have been following pandemic news for a few years now and it may not be this flu that causes a huge pandemic, but most experts agree that there will be a widespread pandemic at sometime in the future.
It reminded me to order more N95 masks. The N95 masks are certified to block flu viruses. If there is ever a worldwide pandemic, I want to be prepared to protect myself and my family for a few months at a time. I have slowly been buying supplies of masks about every other month as they are not very cheap. I found that Emergency Essentials has the adult size masks on sale. I have looked for child size masks for some time and the best I can find so far are from Med on the Net. I haven't received these child masks to see their quality yet, but I want disposable masks and not resuable ones, as to not spread the disease.
A website that I recommend for learning how to deal with a pandemic is call The Totally Ready Blog.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Happy Birthday Jeremiah

Today is Jeremiah's birthday. I can't believe he is now 10. He is one sweet boy and I'm so thankful to have him as a son.
Last night we went out to dinner and to see "Mosters vs. Aliens." This is the rundown of his day. We attended church in the morning. For lunch I fixed him his favorite meal - ribs and corn on the cob. Then hanging out all afternoon. This evening we went over to Grandma's house for cake and icecream. This included a party with the local aunts, uncles and cousins. One funny note, we gave his his own super size can of Pringles chips. He giggled so much. Jeremiah is a salt addict and was just as happy to receive a can of chips as any other present.
It may not have been the most eventful day as we were trying to celebrate, but still honor the Sabbath Day. However, tomorrow is a day off of school, so they just may have to breakout the four-wheelers for a ride around the yard!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Look What "The April Fool" Left Us


Ever since I can remember "The April Fool" has been putting breakfast on our tree on April 1st. This morning his left us chocolate milk and pop tarts. Other years he has left us yogurts and spoons. It's a fun morning!

Saturday, March 21, 2009

I'm a Proud Mother

The last few days have been amazing. My kids have really done great and now it's time to brag on them a little. First off, Ian was an awesome "Billy Goat Gruff" in his fairy tale plays at school!

Next we had the the Pinewood Derby. Jeremiah raced a green camo hummer. Locally, he won 1st place in our cub scout troop.Then today, he went to the District level and won 1st place for his age group and 3rd overall against all the age groups. Next month he is going to the Council Race.

Christian was awarded the "Creative Mind" award during his school award's assembly for excellence in Science. He must get it from his dad, because I never enjoyed Science.

We found Parker practicing to be a store window display.

I love my boys and am proud of the great young men they are becoming!

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Our Mini "Amazing Race"

Saturday night was our friend Yvonne's 40th birthday party and it was a riot! We had a scavenger hunt with husbands vs. wives. There were 6 couples. We drove around our small town for 1 hour and 15 minutes completing the tasks. We had to take pictures everywhere we went. The husbands won. Dang it! The women finished on time and the men decided to go for style and creativity, thus gaining them more points.

Task- I can't believe we all fit. Can you believe 6 guys got in an outhouse, while we chose a pizza booth?

Task- Take picture in front of a road sign. We picked the same sign.

Task- picture with someone in a uniform - no police. Team Dudes chose a prisoner. Team Chicas nabbed the Domino's pizza guy.

Task- Spell out a word with your bodies. Team Dudes spelled out "40" for Yvonne's 40th birthday. Team Chicas spelled out "Hi".
There were so many more fun pictures, but these were the best! I think that was one of the most fun nights I have had in my life. Picture 6 men or women running through the grocery store to weigh in 4 lbs of lemons. Or, team Chicas chasing down someone in an old car to have them pull over so we can take our picture in the old car. Team Dudes went to a junk yard and got in an old smelly car and took their picture and then had to speed away as the drunk owner of the junkyard came out after them.
Team Chicas also broke into some one's back yard to take a picture on a trampoline while wearing Burger King crowns. The owners didn't answer their door, so we snuck around to their backyard for the good of the team. Lisa, a lawyer was a bit leery of this as she can't practice law if she gets a criminal conviction. (Small sacrifice).



By the way, can you see that Batman is taking this picture?
After "The Amazing Race" we prepared a fondue dinner. Then we went to the Ritz Carleton in Beaver Creek for a specially prepared cake! It was an incredible night with some of the best friends anyone could ever have!

Friday, March 13, 2009

Updating Our Homestudy

The news on the adoption front is that we are still waiting. I am hopeful as our agency has told us to get everything in our home study updated. This is good and bad news. Good news in that perhaps we are getting closer to a referral (child assignment). Bad news in that updating everything is a tremendous amount of work. So, basically I am working overtime to get the required doctor visit documents, finger prints, child abuse background checks, police clearances done and much, much more. What a drag!
It is estimated that we will receive our referral within 6 months. It better. I never dreamed we would be over 2 years when we started this process. Adoption is not for wimps!

Saturday, March 7, 2009

We're going to see the Jonas Brothers!

We just bought our 4th of July tickets to the stadium of fire in Provo, Utah. I know it's early, but the Jonas brothers are performing and this will sell out quickly. The tickets went on sale last night and I forgot to order them until today. We are sitting in the nose bleed section, but are just excited to be going. Last year they had Miley Cyrus and it was a blast! My boys are really excited.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

22 Months of Still Waiting

Yes, we have made it to the 22 month mark of waiting for a referral and still nothing. In fact, I feel like I know absolutely nothing as far as where I am on the wait list or have any idea of when a referral might occur. Hopefully some people out there are getting babies so that we can move closer to the top of the list!

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Wishing you "Aloha" This Valentine's Day


Gerry sent my this gorgeous Hawaiian flower arrangement for Valentine's Day. Hawaiian flowers are my favorite and this stunning! What a sweetheart! We're getting ready to go snowmobiling with our friends in a few minutes, but now it is snowing a blizzard. Hopefully thoughts of Hawaii will keep me warm for a few minutes.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

"Mommy, You Were Amazing."

It's time I get my buns in gear and get rid of my extra Winter layer of fat. I've spent too much time working on my websites and not enough time working out. So, today I turned on my favorite "Firm" workout with weights and starting working out. My 3 year was amused and starting doing it too. After a while he just watched me. These are some of his comments.
"Wow, that was easy for you."
"Mommy, you were amazing."
"Mommy, I love your hair."
I sure love that boy. He deserves a trip to the toy store!!!