Well, as 2011 comes to and end I have to say it's been one to remember! As many of you know, we've added 2 girls to our family and going from 2 kids to 4 has been quite the challenge to say the least. I constantly have my friends asking me if I'm "okay?" I must seem insane, or appear to be going crazy or stressed out...so I'm grateful for my friends for caring so much! (LOL). Kayla is in her final year of Jr. High (and and wants to remind me, she is technically a freshman now). There is no "shortage of guys" hanging around our house now..it seems..with her. IT's weird to have teenagers at my house constantly..when I still have toddlers...(there's such a span in age)...what were we thinking? Anyway, she still enjoys being a cheerleader at her school and hopes to try out for highschool too. She will be headed to Spain, to study aboard with her school in the spring and is very excited about that. IT's a neat opportunity for her to study the Spanish culture, and be with her friends and have an experience of her lifetime. Right now, I don't think she can get any busier though, with cheer, school, tumbling and a dance class on a weekly basis. Chandler has a "long time" girlfriend in his school (they've been going out) since 1st grade...he is so funny about it. He walks her to her car too. He also started pee-wee football this season and has fallen in love with this very physical sport. He is a little on the "short" side, but hopefully he'll grow taller soon. He is now playing basketball and has a real talent for that too. He is enjoying going to scouts and going on the hikes and building things. I'm grateful for the scout leaders helping him earn his badges..because I just don't see where I have the time to help much! :) Ashlie (almost 5) is in preschool now (her 2nd year) and she is really learning alot...she knows how to write her name really good and enjoys the social aspect of it. She makes friends very easily..and is NOT SHY..at all! You can always hear her voice no matter where she is. She is also taking a dance class and LOVES that. I asked her what she wanted to be when she grows up..and she said a cheerleader like Kayla...and she's got the loud voice for it, for sure! Aubrey (my 3 yr old) is my shy one..and my most mischievous one. OH MAN! She loves to break and take apart and peal or rip anything in front of her. I don't understand it. She is also very tall (off the charts) for her age. She is as tall as her sister, Ashlie. They wear the same size in clothes and shoes (makes it easy to shop). Everyone asks me if they're twins...and sometimes I reply ..."yes" they are! We hope everyone has a great holiday season!

Adoption Finalized

Well, this week we finalized our adoption of Ashlie and Aubrey. They are officially in our family now forever. We love them dearly and we're glad they came to our family which filled up quickly..and faster than we thought. And yes..to all those who are wondering? YES, WE ARE DONE having kids! I find myself so incredibly busy all the time, it's hard to even get a breath in some days. Ashlie is 4 yrs old and is going to start preschool again this fall. Aubrey(my baby) is 2 and she'll have to wait another year to start preschool. They have adjusted well to us as their new family..and 2 weeks into staying with us, have called us mom and dad. We are still bonding as a family. The minute after we adopted them, we took them to Lagoon, for the first time. They loved going on the rides. Aubrey, (my tentative scaredy-cat) one had no fear on any ride! I have great video and picture's of them. They loved it and we absolutely wore them out (they slept in until 8am..which is rare!) I welcomed it of course! We are working on getting some pictures from their parents of when they were babies (since I have all the time in the world to scrapbook these days!) :)

Our Family is Complete...

We are so thrilled to announce that we have set an adoption date for our two new girls. In just a couple of months, we will finalize their adoption! There's alot to do before then, but the date has been set for June of this year. It's been a very quick (almost too quick) process. This is not normally the way it happens, with foster care, so we feel very blessed and realize that this must have been the way it was suppose to happen for these girls and for us. We are still adjusting to many things, with 4 kids now still. We will be painting the girl's room and getting them bunkbeds to share. They love their new home and they're adjusting very well. They've both made a lot of friends and love learning what each holiday means. (They didn't ever celebrate holidays before). We think they're theme song ought to be "A Whole New World" from the Little Mermaid movie! It fits perfectly!

Our 2 New Additions to our family

Well, many of you have already heard, but those of you who haven't..in early September we were blessed with 2 little foster girls in our home. We have always wanted to adopt one more child, but when we got the phone call about these girls and their situation, we knew we couldn't split them up and decided to have them in our home. Their names are Ashlei, age 3, and Aubrey, age 2. They are sisters, and are 15 months apart to the day!

As you can tell, I've not been good at posting, because my hands have been full going from 2 kids who were self sufficent to now 4 kids and I feel I am being pulled in every direction. It's been quite the transition to say the least. My friends have told me they've never seen me so stressed out before. It was the hardest thing to have two little kids set foot in our house, and have to get used to the mess, the diapers, the potty training, and just getting acclamated to each other and try to get along. Many times Tyler and I have said.."What the heck were we thinking?" But as time goes on, it's getting better, and we love these little girls and hope they can be part of our family for good.

It's been fun having them for the holidays. They are not used to having a Christmas tree, decorations, new presents, going trick or treating, or going on any fun family outings. Both of our families have been so great to them and treated them just as if they were our own already. I never saw myself doing "foster care", in fact many of my friends remind me that I told them.."I would never do foster care"..and well..here I am..a foster mom of 2 girls. I guess when something is meant to happen, you're led in a way that might be out of your comfort zone and then you realize that it's not that bad "stepping out of the box" sometimes so to speak. I will post pictures of them (via email) for anyone who wants to see them, but I don't want to put their pictures on our blog just yet, until we know more about the outcome.

Thanks to all who have been there for me, with bringing in meals, babysitting, giving us cute clothes, and toy donations. What a great neighborhood we have!

BACK 2 SCHOOL

Well, Kayla and Chandler both started school last week and 1 kid is EXCITED and the other is not. I'll let you decide who is and who isn't. :) The other night, Tyler was listening to Chandler's prayers and afterwards, he said.."dad, I'm worried about mom" and he said "why?" and he said.."Because me and kayla are in school all day long and mom is here by herself, and I know she cries all day." Funny..huh? Although, I miss them, I'm enjoying the freedom I have here at home and running errands without kids! I'm enjoying the "loneliness" for now, but I don't think it will last too much longer...

So far, Chandler really likes eating his lunch at school. He thinks it's cool and has liked everything they've fixed him except for fish sticks. (Don't blame him there). His first assignment was to collect insects, so I'm thinking (ants, spider, maybe a rolly-polly bug) but no..he brings in a plastic container TWO BEES (that are alive still!!) I asked him, how in the world did he catch those..and he said with his container and hands. I could have died! I told him they might have stung him and that although bees are insects (I think?)...we better find some that won't fly around and sting his classmates when he brings it in to show n tell. GEEZ...this child continually surprises me...!

Kayla is starting up her busy schedule with cheer practice every day after school and is putting together a dance for her squad to perform at the 1st pep rally coming up. There are some "boys" that she thinks are cute...but she is soon learning how immature 8th grade boys are. (It's only the beginning my dear daughter!)...

Summer Trip to Jackson Hole, WY

I had been boasting to Kayla all week long that when we go to Jackson Hole how great the outlets are up there. Well, after we arrived we soon found out that there were no outlets there any more. They were all ART GALLERIES (not my fave), ART STORES, and Indian and Cowboy Jewelry Stores. So, needless to say, we didn't do a whole lot of shopping. Tyler went there for work, so we just sat by the pool, rode the alpine slide, took a lot of scenic drives, more swimming, and took a boat out on Jenny Lake which is the most beautiful lake, with the Grand Tetons reflecting off of it. We took a 1.5 mile hike up the mountain with the kids to see the Hidden Water Fall and it was worth it. Sooo beautiful! It's a nice place to visit and a great place to go river rafting which we told the kids we would do when they're older, but I don't think I could live there. (it's too small!) We had fun though and of course chandler loved it because it was all cowboy and indian stuff. He loved watching the "shoot out show" with the cowboys and indian's. It was definitely his scene for sure! He ended up finding some "Ninja throwing stars" to throw against a piece of wood (or our deck). He loves doing that and has only sliced his hand twice! (Yah..this was not my idea to buy them, but because Tyler had them when he was little..it was just calling to him to buy them for his son!) BOYS WILL BE BOYS!

Well we finally have summer weather here. YIPEE! This is my favorite time of year. I love gardening (diggin' in the dirt) and creating projects in my yard. We are heading up to Jackson Hole in a few days. Tyler has to go there for work, and we're just tagging along. It's my birthday on Tuesday and I'm not happy about the age I will be turning! YUCK! I don't feel this old at all! We'll be doing some shopping and swimming at our resort while we're there and probably stopping by Lava Hot Springs on the way back.

Kayla just returned home from Cheer camp today. She learned so much and they helped them with their jumps, their tumbling, their lifts and how to do cheers and dances. They won the "spirit stick" (which is the coveted stick by all cheer teams, and if you drop it (EVER) then you have to re-earn it...so it's passed on to each girl "Very" carefully of course. They also won the award for best Team, Unity and Spirit. I was so proud of her!