Happy Valentine's Day!

Max in May 2008 and now Feb 13, 2009



WATCH ME WALKING!!!! Sunday will be Max's 9 month anniversary of his adoption day!!!! Look at how far he has come. He is doing so amazing! Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

Busy month

Wow! It's been a while. Here's the updates in a nutshell: Tia has mono and strep and has only been to school 2 half days since before Christmas Break. She had a fever of 102+ for 9 days!!! A few nights ago her tonsils were so big she had a hard time sleeping on her back. (Got steroids for that.) Max is on breathing treatments a few times a day for a respiratory virus but is finally finishing that up I think. I really hope the mono and strep do not spread through the house. The new puppy is cute as can be but...a new puppy. He nips and pees and poops and chews etc. Tyler seems to be the only one in good health right now. He just has a chronic case of Stubborn-itis. Holy moly that boy is stubborn!

Now for the good news:
We had a wonderful Christmas. The kids had a great day and just watching them enjoy it was fantastic.
Our family was made a forever family on December 26 and it was beautiful! I will post pics later.
Tonight Max took 10 STEPS!!!! He's been stuck at 4 for a while now but tonight he did 10 followed by several 8's. He is so proud of himself. (Not unlike his mom.) It was so great! I hope to video it and put it on here.

Gifts of Christmas

Christmas is quickly approaching.  I am almost done shopping.  This year I was able to give a fun surprise to my husband.  He mentioned a few weeks ago that he really wanted a puppy.  We have a 2 year old dog and of course, 3 children so I laughed at him!!  I told him he should get me some newborn twins while he was at it!!  Well, he searched the internet to find breeders in our area but found none for the kind of dog we have and want.  (A Cavapoo- Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Poodle mix.)  He was ready to spend way too much money to have one shipped here.  Well, I mentioned this to a friend of mine who told me her friend, just 5 miles away, had a litter of Cavapoos right now.  The exact breed we are looking for!!  I couldn't believe it.  I called her and sure enough, she had 4 puppies left.  I made an appt. at 5pm to come see them and pick one.  I told my husband I needed him home at 5 to take him to see a playset someone was selling for really cheap.  A few hours later he called me from work to tell me he was reading the paper and found Cavapoo puppies for sale just 5 miles from our house!  He had called the breeder and set up a 7:30 appointment.  Oh yes, the same breeder.  It was great!  I called the breeder to let her know the 7:30 appt was my DH and we had a good laugh.  She had told him there were 3 puppies available because she already promised one to me.  She hadn't realized it was my DH who called.  So, we drove to go see the "playset" and he stressed on the way there about how he was going to move a playset and put it back together.  As we pulled in to the house, I thought he might recognize the address but he didn't.  We went to her backyard with her and I could see Kevin scanning the backyard for the playset.  We turned a corner and there were the kennels with all the puppies.  He glanced at them and continued to walk.  I said, "Honey, incase you haven't noticed, there is no playset.  We're here to see the puppies.  This is the breeder and I am the 5 o'clock appt."  He said, "NO WAY!"  He was totally surprised and I let him in on the whole story.  It was great!!  Anyway, since I couldn't beat him I decided to join him.  So, the day after Christmas we will pick up our new puppy, Gus.  I don't know which made Kevin happier, getting the puppy or the relief of not having to put a huge playset together!  I think it was definitely the puppy.  Too fun!

On another wonderful note, Max is now official.  His name has been changed and he is now readopted in the U.S.   I am SO happy that is done.  Now we can bless him at church and have him become part of our forever family.  It is a really special thing in our church to take your children to a temple and have a ceremony to become a family unit forever and not just for life.  We will do that the day after Christmas!  What a special day it will be to have all my children there together.  I know I will feel Braxton's love on that day.  My children will all dress in white and it will be beautiful.  

Halloween Pictures-- Finally!!!

Computer issues

So, I wanted to post Buddy Walk pictures and Halloween pictures but my computer is on the fritz.  I am using my husband's laptop but I can't get the latest photos.  I'm not exactly computer literate!  I have to tell you though that Tia's teacher was telling me last week that one of her sight words is "come", which Tia knows and usually doesn't hesitate to say in her list of words.  Well, last week Tia was in a teasing mood and when they got to the word "come", Tia said, "dot com"  When the teacher looked at her funny she said, "It says Sesame Street dot com" complete with a smirk on her face.  So funny!!!!  When I was 6, computers were non existent, now I need my 6 year old to teach me how to work it!  LOL

Also, my friend Joyana Jensen is coming to town from CO for Thanksgiving.  She is an awesome photographer and would love to set up some shoots while she is here. So, if you live in Mesa or Gilbert and haven't gotten your Christmas card photos done go to her website, check it out and call her  to schedule an appt.  http://www.treasuredphotosbyjoyana.com  She does an amazing job!

Just Pictures

Max playing with his car. If you click on it you can see his tongue out making the "bbbbb" car noise.
I just LOVE this boy!! What a smile!

Tia riding Abu the camel at the zoo. Tyler wouldn't do it.

Zoo Hugs. Is there ever a bad time for hugs? Too cute.

Camping and Court

Tia with her Mac-N-Cheese
Click on the picture and you can see the fish Tia caught!

Here's the set up. New tent and everything.

Here are some pictures from the Daddy-Daughter Camp out our church does. Let me tell you Tia was one excited girl!!!! She thinks tents and s'mores are about the best thing ever! I don't know who's child she is because I HATE camping.

So yesterday was totally crazy. We got an appointment with the social worker for tomorrow to do the post adoption follow up. So, we thought the court date would be continued another day. Well, at 9:45am I was walking out of the lab from getting Max's blood drawn for thyroid levels (never fun) and my phone had 5 missed calls from my hubby telling me they want us at the courthouse at 10am! So, I drove there not knowing which building it was in. My husband rode his motorcycle to work so I couldn't call him to get directions. After carrying Max into 3 different places (with a broken toe), we found it. We sat there with our attorney for almost an hour. I felt bad because neither Kevin or I was dressed to be in a courtroom for an adoption. After waiting for so long the judge decided he wouldn't hear our case until all the paperwork was present. Sigh! I guess what happened was that the attorney asked for the case to be rescheduled and then called later and asked that we be allowed to do the testimony part of it and just be mailed the certificate when the paperwork was complete. The attorney from the District office told our attorney that the judge was new to adoptions but that he himself has done many and that is the way it works. Well, the judge did not do that. The worst part is that they rescheduled our hearing for December!!! Good grief. It will be ready next week and just sit there until December. After that I had to run home, feed the boys and then go to the school to get Tia for early release. Today was also the day to pick up the cookie dough for the school fund raiser. So, I got that, drove home and realized they forgot some of my order. So, I drove back to the school and completed the order. Then came home, showered and headed off to parent teacher conferences back at the school. Those went well.

Tia's teacher really likes having her in class and is surprised how well she is doing. Her writing is coming along well and she is doing great in reading. She has never missed more than one on her spelling test. Tyler's teacher says he's stubborn and funny and doesn't talk much at school. He cracks me up. He talks a lot at home so I don't know why he doesn't at school. His favorite funny word right now is "Buns". Every time he is drawing a picture and I ask what it is he says, "Buns" and laughs hysterically. It is so funny that I can't not laugh. His laugh is SO contagious. We are in trouble with that guy! Some day I will have to record it so you can see how funny he is.