The Christian Crew

 Our kids had so much fun seeing Santa this year. We had him all to ourselves for 45 minutes and He was wonderful with each one of them. He also invited us to do some charity work with him on Christmas day so, the big girls, Brandon and myself will be helping some families in need! God is good and I do believe Santa is a good symbol for Christ.  Here's a great book talking about the symbolism in it all! ENJOY the pictures and ENJOY your Christmas and New Years too!  

I have witnessed many situations of parents Loving and Supporting their children when they find out that their child ( of any age) has gotten unexpectedly pregnant. These great parents have been through thick and thin with their now adult children as they figure out how to make sense of " Now what do we do?" Where do we go from here?" and I commend you wonderful parents for loving your kids, grown kids and other people's kids who are involved in now making a decision to either parent, place or abort. So, with that said- I have some advice for the Opposing/ Unsupportive parents out there who are also dealing and swimming through those above ?'s " Now what do we do?" Well, first off- LOVE YOUR KIDS - love them as GOD loves them and embrace and support them, even if internally you are Freaking Out! This is going to be an extremely hard time or already is, and you are not making it any better by RE-ACTING out of FEAR or being worried about YOUR FAMILY ...

I can't believe they are growing up so dang fast! The FALL is in full swing and we have some interesting weather here. One day its 60, the next it's snowing! We have been enjoying it all and the wildlife eating our left over pumpkins and elk bugling. The girls are busy practicing Songs for Christmas and the Winter Sing that the school holds and this year they will be in a Holiday walk/parade on the main stage. They are so excited. Life is busy but, great most days and when it's not, I try and remember- things could always be much Worse. Brandon likes to remind me that We could live in a third or second world country where people are Really suffering! It's humbling to think about and my Girls are gearing up for Christmas and getting ready to tell Santa to send their toys/treats/food to the orphanages this year- Again! They have such huge hearts! The boys are staying busy with preschool , library, play dates, trips to the children's museum and more!  They are...

We had a fun trip a bit ago to Anderson Farms, in Erie! We tried our hand as a family, at the big Corn Maze  and it was a challenge. I think we only made it through half the maze too! Coming here brought back Memories of my older childhood and playing in the Maze at Lattin Farms, In Fallon NV! And the History I have with the Wonderful Family that ran this great place.... ( flashback to 1998 or so...) I played Soccer on the Fallon HS team and enjoyed being active. Although, I wasn't the best, I had some great plays and awesome memories with my team mates and coaches. And our team had some pretty cool coaches- Nate Waite and Lance Lattin.  I played a bit on the club team as well so, I can't remember what game it was but, I remember seeing Laura Lee( lances sister) a lot. Her little sister, Leann played on the team as well. Leann was a small girl but, a spirited fighter and a great player and person! One day, while sitting on the side lines during half time, I asked Laur...

         our front porch bench   We are having fun getting ready for Halloween! This is Brielle's Favorite Holiday ( at least until Christmas) She does have a sweet tooth and is interested in Tim Burton films! Any who, Our family has been getting into the mood by decorating a bit, wearing fun clothes like pumpkin/ jack-o-lantern shirts, witch wear and more! We have put up some décor but, still need to hang our ghosts, orange lights and set the stage with even more cobwebs! Frightening, I know! Slade is always GOOD for a DIRT bath and his BOO is scary in the cutest way possible! ( more costume cuteness to come!)           Mr. Bones is very friendly and loves to wave at the neighbors as they go to collect their mail! We make every Holiday as fun as possible and this year we are hosting a party with our friends too! This weekend we head to the pumpkin patch for even more fun, corn mazes, hayride...

I'm not sure if you have noticed when looking at people's adoption profiles or not but, lots of them start off with the Basics on How great of an Option They are and how grateful they are for you looking at their profile, taking time to read their letter, how hard this choice is for the expectant parents and how courageous you( the expectant parents) are etc. The rest of the profiles of some are almost like a beauty contest- Pick Me, We are the typical Ken and Barbie, or We are the Most Fun and we Travel but, what I am seeing is a huge void of  Honest, open, Vulnerability! MANY profiles are wonderfully Open and honest and I LOVE THOSE ONES! Putting your family out for the world to see and to be judged is one of the Hardest things adoptive couples have to do. Not even counting the super nosey evaluations, background checks, credit reports, blood tests, financial records, psychological interview and personal references we have to Endur...

We had a Very Long vacation and it's best to divide it up based on our travels. SO, this last summer we left at the end of July and went to my mom's place, in a little town called Fallon, NV! It was pretty cool to drive down memory lane but, as I get older, this is less of my town and more of the past. This town holds very special memories and some sad ones as well. Like performing as Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof, helping out with the Local ARC with the special needs adults and students, meeting some of my Best good friends here, singing at the Christmas tree lighting, swimming at the pool, playing at the parks I played at as a kid, passing by the schools and soccer fields I once frequented and so much more! I will always have a love for little Fallon and the great people I know from this town who helped me become the woman I am today! We got to see a few friends and the zipped off to June Lake and Mammoth , CA to visit my grandma's gravesite and walked again down Memory...