Bingo....RIP

This blog post is a little over due. I have not been able to post about it for some time now, due to every time I start, I cried.

January 2010 we had to say goodbye to Bingo. Bingo had been the most wonderful, loyal and loving dog a family could ever have.

Curt brought Bingo home one day after we had suffered a miscarriage. He knew I needed something to love, to be my baby...I needed someone or something to need me like I needed it. He had been working at the Local Animal Shelter inspecting the Fire Alarms. He always hated to do it because all the animals pulled at his heart strings. This day he was inspecting and came across the skinny ball of hair that had a tag on its cage. He knew what it mean-this little ball of hair was due to be euthanized the next day. He found out that she was a puppy of approx. 5 months and that she had been abandoned out at Lake Lowell and left to die. No one had claimed her and her time was up. He looked at that little fur ball and brought it home to me.

Now, at first I tell ya...I love animals, but I had always been more of a cat person. Considering we lived in a trailer park with a small 2 bedrooms, I did not see where this little furry thing was going to fit into my life. I pet her, she licked me and I was done for.

I worked at a school doing OT/Pt and began having the dog come visit me on Curt's days off. The kids fell in love with her and helped us name her B.I.N.G.O. after the song. It stuck.

Bingo was our first 'child', our first 'adoption' and she lived thru 4 kids, many cats and birds; camping trips and road trips to Wyoming, Montana, and Washington. She LOVED car rides, car washes and taking showers with us.

In the end, Bingo was our baby for 18 years. She gave loyally and loved us and the kids tremendously. Over time she became blind (at about 7 years of age) and then deafness took over. In the end, she had given all she could give. We thanked her by saying goodbye and burying her near the house she spent so many years in, where my granny and papa live now. A wooden cross marks her spot along with a deep love from 'her kids' and 'her mom and dad'.

Happy Anniversary

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, to the man I married 19 years ago today. We have been thru ups and downs, and have managed to beat the odds of a couple who met when they were 14.5 years and 16 years old. Love you Forver babe!

Thou Art With Me

Have you ever had a moment or two in your life when you were just SURE that there was a God? I have always KNOWN there is a God, but the other day, he placed his hand on me and let me know that he was in the passenger seat with me as I drove.

I was driving home from work on the freeway. Fairly easy drive, not a lot of traffic, moving at regular 65 mph pace. I came up behind a truck pulling an enclosed trailer with construction items in and on it. I was following him and no one was around us, he was going the proper speed limit, my exit was coming up very soon and things were smooth.
I got the overwhelming urge to pass him. There was no reason to pass him...no REAL reason at all. I turned on my blinker and looked in my mirror....as I merged into the other lane, one of his ladders on the top of the trailer shot off the back and right into where I had been 2 seconds ago. The ladder whipped straight out (where the driver side would have been) and then shot sideways out behind me as I continued to slow down and pull over. He saw what happened and slowed to pull over as well. He asked if I was ok, which BY THE GRACE OF GOD, ONLY, I was.

I cannot express the amount of praying and thanking I did right then, and the rest of the night. I could have ended up a crazy accident statistic with a ladder in my face and chest...... THANK YOU MY LORD AND SAVIOR!!!

Amazing Accident....

I saw this accident happen right in front of me on the way home from work last week. The Good Lord put me, once again, in the right place at the right time. I was able to climb into the back seat and secure the womans airway as well as hold C-spine until the paramedics got there to cut her out.


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So Much Going On

We have had so much going on in the last month and a half and I am finally trying to sit and blog about it. 1. It is NOT ALL my fault that I have not written anything for a while....computer at home has been down-the video card was bad. Curt's computer really stinks at surfing the web so the only computer time I got for the last month and half was at work (not all that conducive to blogging if the boss is there..hehe)

We have finished up basketball times 2 boys. Have some pics I need to post of them here for all to see. We have not received BooBoo's official team pic yet, but we did for C-Man. He looks like a little MAN in them, NOT an 8 year old boy. Made me tear up some....curt looked and he did the same, where has the time gone?

Roo is in full fledged Cheer season, with performances or practice every Saturday. This month (March) we have several performances and a Spring Fling to perform in. Should be exciting and fun for all the girls.

I have pictures I need to post with certain blogs, so I will get to these in the next few days. So much to update and so much to say and show, that it may look a lot like blog-o-rea! ;-)

Amos Story - Music Video - Aaron Ivey

LOVE this song. Aaron wrote this song to show the waiting Adoptive parents go thru for their kids. Thank the good Lord, Amos and Story are home, as so many other Haitian children have been blessed with being united...we are NOT done yet, soon ALL the orphans spoken for will be home.

Progress

I have been pleased to see that progress is being made for the kids in Haiti and their adoptive families in the U.S. and Canada. I still have 1 family that I am working with that needs their teen daughter Daina home....they are so much further in the process than many out there that have been traveling and I think the frustration is getting to them. I can't say that i blame them...you wait and wait and still no word on if YOUR child gets to come home.
I do believe the logic is that the babies and toddlers are more at risk than the teens are...the younger they are, the more at risk for death due to disease, malnutrition and dehydration. Adopting an older teen, this child has shown they can survive Haiti (although scarred) they will not be the first to go in death or to their new life.
I pray for the family, who have tried to remain faithful in their wait, but also respect their frustration growth as nothing is happening for them...PRAYING J & M for you!

The scenes still coming out of Haiti are so mixed for me...Aaron Ivey said it correctly when he wrote his album 'Between the Beauty and Chaos'http://aaronivey.com/ . I think he hit the nail on the head. Aaron and Jamie also received word that Amos was on a plane and now have him home...WOOT!

I see how media is leaving, Haiti will go back to anonymity for them, but for many of us it will still be real. The Doc's who are helping who take 5 minutes to cry over what they have seen, the Haitian people in the streets who sing Hymnals praising a God that many think have forgotten them, yet they believe. Yesterday, 11 days after the quake, a 23 yo man was found ALIVE and barely scratched from the quake. He was buried in rubble and sipped a soda to keep himself going....a soda and prayer...what an odd combo that maybe only Ange would understand..hehe

I will post items here to the blog to preserve them for my kids and to share the triumphs and memories.

I Learned A Lot This Week

I feel like such a louse. I Pray non stop for Haiti and the people, for Humanitarian Parole, for adopted kids to pour into airplanes and go to their Forever Homes and still my heart hurts. I go to FB and post, spreading the word, CNN and MSN and the TV News and look at pictures of horror that every face reminds me of my own children, and then I read it...one of the teens IN the quake, Living thru this hell on earth, prays that the Non Christians around her and the neighbors of the Pension come to know that God Loves Them...thanks him for everything good and bad....then I cry, because I am a safe and here and I begged for something like this never to have happened, and they see it as something to bring their neighbors to God. I have learned alot this week.

Quake Hits Haiti-Catastrophic Consequences

I have so much that I need to update and write. So many Happy and good things to report...they seem so trivial today and in life in general.



MANY, MANY Haitians have lost their lives over the last 2 days. 1-12-10 @ 4:50pm Haitian time, a 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti...the epi-center hitting Carrefour (Kaw-Foo) near the Capital of PAP. I have been thru Carrefour, it is where the new New Life link Orphanage is located. It took until midnight to receive word that Dr. Bernard, Claudette, Guest House staff, Creche Staff, children and HFC staff and children were all alive and well. Buildings have been badly damaged, but are not down.



Word from Dr. Bernard was this:
DEAR CHRISTIAN FRIENDS, THANKS 1000 TIMES TO EACH AND ALL OF YOU MY DEAREST FRIENDS WHO SEND US EMAILS ABOUT THIS DISASTER. THANKS 1,000,000 TIMES FOR YOUR CONTINUED PRAYERS. WHAT WOULD WE HAVE DONE WITHOUT YOUR FRIENSHIP, PRAYERS, AND FANANCIAL SUPPORT.PRAISES, GLORIES, AND POWERS BE TO OUR ALLMIGHTY SAVIOR AND LORD JESUS FOR SAVING MY LIFE FROM THIS BIG EARTHQUAKE WHICH MIGHT KILL THIS AFTERNOON THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE. IT WAS ABOUT 4:50P.M, I STEPPED UP INTO THE MAYOR'S OFFICE ON MY WAY BACK HOME FROM WORK. AS I JUST ARRIVED ON THE 2ND FLOOR, THE BUILDING COLLAPSED ON EVERYBODY WITHIN SECONDS . THE ROOF CAME DOWN OVER OUR HEADS. I WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO DESCRIBE THIS MIRACLE.I WAS ONE STEP TO DEATH, BUT PEACEFUL, TRUSTING THAT MY LIFE WAS IN GOD'S HAND. MY MIGHTY GOD GOT ME OUT SAFELY. AS I JUMPED FROM THE 2ND FLOOR INTO ALL THE DEBRIS, I GOT HURT ON MY LEFT SIDE.HOWEVER, I AM SAFE AND SOUND...IT IS A LONG LONG STORY.WHAT A MIRACLE! WHAT A GOD THAT WE ARE SERVING! HE SURELY IS NOT DONE YET WITH ME.WHEN I GOT HOME, CLAUDETTE AND THE OTHERS WERE FINE, BUT THE GUEST HOUSE SHOOK UP SO BAD THAT THE WATER COOLER, BOOK SHELVES FULLO OF BOOKS, AND CABINETS FELL ON THE FLOORS.AS I AM WRITING THIS EMAIL, THE HOUSEIS STILL SHAKING UP. WE WILL SLEEP OUT SIDE, UNDER THE FRONT PORCH.ALL THE CHILDREN AT THE ORPHANAGE ARE FINE. BECAUSE TELEPHONES ARE OUT OF SERVICE, IT WAS ALREADY NIGHT AND THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN PORT-AU-PRINCE WERE IN THE STREET, MOURNING THEIR TRAPPED AND DEAD FAMILY MEMBERS, THERE WAS NO WAY I COULD GET TO THE NLL BUILDING OR HAVE ANY NEWS. EARLY TO MORROW MORNING, I WILL GO THERE. OH ! HOW I PRAY THAT ALL THE CHILDREN AND STAFF ARE SAFE.THE SITUATION IS AWFULLY AWFUL, TERRIBLY TERRIBLE. PLEASE, PRAY FOR THE GREAT NUMBERS OF FAMILIES WHO HAVE THEIR LOVED ONES STILL UNDER THE RUBBLES WITHOUT MUCH HOPE TO SURVIVE. PRAY FOR HAITI, AND THE CHURCH OF CHRIST.I WILL KEEP ALL POSTED.WE ARE SO GRATEFUL TO GOD TO HAVE YOU ALL IN OUR LIVES.Blessings,Jacob

Bon Fet Dr. B

A WONDERFUL BON FET TO DR. BERNARD!
We miss Dr. B and hope to tak the kids back to see him some day soon. Dec. 31st was his 29th (hehe) birthday! We tried calling but could not get thru....LOVE YOU DR. B!

What's Up Pussy Cat

We have had many ups and downs the last month. A great guy from our church was hit by a VERY drunk driver, while he was on his way home from work. He was on a bicycle so he took the hit pretty hard. When he was hit, he fell and went head first into a fire hydrant. OOHHH...the pictures are enough to make you gasp. I am happy to say that he is recovering well at home now with his jaw wired shut for a broken jaw, arm in cast from broken wrist, and leg wrapped due to torn ligaments. God is good, no more surgery is needed and he is recovering faster than expected-good thing, I believe his skate board and new bike are missing him.



Mitch went to the Pediatric Gastroenterologist. She has had so many problems with her belly and her main Doc and I were out of ideas. We have her on a great med that is hopefully going to clean out the back log of...well..and then she will be on a maintenance dose for 6-9 months. Good thing for Curt and I, is that we now know it is not behavioral, but more of a defense system from things in her past. This has allowed us to remove the blame from ourselves, treat her accordingly and help her heal the correct way...AMEN!!!

We are enjoying life and getting Christmas shopping done slowly but surely. We are glad that most of our family has decided not to do Christmas gift drawings, since that really isn't the meaning of Christmas anyway, and we will all just get together and visit and eat-WONDERFUL, less expensive plan! ;-p

AS this time of year comes up, I often think of things I want to accomplish for the next year.
Lets see if I can name a few and possibly add to my Yearly Bucket List: (in NO order)
1. Lose weight and KEEP IT OFF
2. Pay off some bills
3. Get a new tattoo
4. Go on a REAL vacation as a family
5. Pray more
6. Attend Church more regularly (gotta get the I can'ts out of Sunday's)
7. Organize my home and life to run smoother-see pray more..hehe

Sure there is more, but tired and can't think of them right now.
Off to read and hit the hay for the weekend kid activities!

We will NOT be the Scrooges

Well, since Thanksgiving is done, we were anxious to get some lights up for Christmas. We have not decorated inside yet, but lights out side were important to get going so we blended in with the rest of the anxious neighbors and we didn't look like scrooges...hehe
Each kid took a turn taking lights up to Daddy on the roof...Mitch is to small, so she got to stand on the ladder for a photo-as not to be left out.

Halloween 2009

Kids dressed up this year and went around the neighborhood with Cousins Caitlyn and Sara Beth, Mommy, Cousin Emily and Great Aunt Linda-All had a blast!

BooBoo as 'I am NOT going to smile for this picture'

Roo as Hip Hop Girl

C-Man as Batman

Mitch as a Good Witch without her hat

Juggling

I have never been good at juggling. I am on this down spiral of trying to juggle home, work, kids, personal life etc. I feel like there is no time for anything and that I am just running around chasing my own tail, never catching it.
I am so thankful for the job, it has helped catch up on bills and keep us afloat during the recession and provided less stress money wise in many aspects. It does however put a damper on personal time and time for kids. I find that I blame myself for a lot of things that probably are not all my fault, but I am the mom, which I believe alot of times is synonymous with the word Martyr. :-)

I have a kid whose grades are sliding, a choice that I believe that the child is making because they are becoming older...how do I NOT blame myself for the choices my child makes? Doesn't it reflect on me as a parent? It is hard to let go and let the child take the reins and responsibility of their own choices they are making, VERY HARD!

I need to reflect on what my ideals are and what is important. I have always been OCD with my house....it MUST look presentable (read spotless), at least downstairs where people may come by and see it. I fear that if they come and it is cluttered I will be deemed a crappy housekeeper, mother and person...not true more than likely, but my thoughts none the less.
I need to remember to stop and smell the roses with my kids, something that I have had alot of difficulty with since I began working outside the home. It has been a year and today I told Curt that I felt that our kids were suffering some for my need to work, but there was nothing to do about it since I need to work so we can keep our home and keep up on bills.
I blame myself for one child's difficulty learning in school. Even though this child has been in Haiti until the age of 3 and had little to no stimulation until they were home...a little bit of a late bloomer and a desire to be the baby forever is also happening I believe. It is hard, this juggling game I play. Some days I wish that I could just close the door and curtains, turn off the phone and just call into every ones work and school "NO, we are having a family day today!"

Prayers for me as I struggle with this, I know I am not the only one doing 500 things at once. I am thankful beyond belief for the ability to have a job when others do not have one to be frustrated with....I need to remember to be THANKFUL and Embrace the Grace more often.

A poem that hangs above my desk that I have looked at alot lately:

The 'things of Earth, the 'stuff' that gets to you
Will grow strangely dim in the light of His Glory and Grace

Learn to accept God's Grace
That is what His son died for.

3 Simple words: EMBRACE THE GRACE

H1N1 or Not?

Over the last couple of weeks all of us (minus healthy Curtis) have had one form of the flu or another. It started with Hunter and his cough, fever of 103* and sleeping all the time. Moved to Demi and her cough, low fever of 100* and sleeping and then a rash on her face. Nikaya chimed in with cough, sore throat and fever of 101* and sleeping and finished up the kid cycle with Kai and coughing, sore throat, fever of only 99-100*. Cough is hanging on with Kai, Demi only if she giggles to hard, but all in all we are recovering. I decided to take my turn last weekend (soooo glad it chose a weekend for me so I could waste my time on the couch..hehe). I 'meditated' on the couch (what the kids call it if I fall asleep watching T.V.) and had a low grade fever of 100*. My head and body hurt so bad I was in tears, whining or just being a big baby most of the time. Curtis has remained healthy as usual....stinker!

We are glad we are recovering and were able to attend Church today. I went to fights on Friday (didn't work these, just watched for once) and Cheer, grocery day, lawn mowing day for Sat. and Church and B-day party at the neighbors for today. Busy weekend, but I managed to meditate a little today while the kids were gone..hehe
Friday fights are coming up on Oct. 23rd and I will be Medic for those. Anxious to see the guys and who is fighting who this time...praying for nothing serious injury wise and the ability to care for them as necessary.

Had a great moment at church today when I was able to explain why we take Communion and true salvation to Hunter. To see in his eyes a little of what it truly means was wonderful. I think it is an analogy I will use with a couple of my friends to see if it makes more sense to them.
Imagine, you committed a horrible crime (robbery, murder) and the cops came for you but your friend said THEY did it instead. The cops take your friend and decide that the best punishment for the crime is torture and death- your friend takes that punishment for you even though you did not deserve it, YOU were the criminal, not your friend.

I loved seeing the lights totally come on for him and will try to begin the explanation for our other children. We have always taught them about God, Church and Faith, but to see true understanding of THE SACRIFICE that was made was wonderful to me. Whenever we have Communion I am often over come with tears as I imagine the hugeness of what was done for me. I begin to feel overwhelmed at the feeling and have to think happy thoughts as not to fall into tears and lay in the aisle bawling that I am yucky and glad he died for me anyway...not really a good scene I think...hehe

I hope this finds everyone well, recovering and just enjoying life, until next time-Embrace the Grace!

Chugging Along

Well, I have been at the weight loss/Walking game again for 1.5 weeks...weight has stayed fairly much the same, but I am working up tot he 3 miles a day I was doing before my hiatus. I am hoping to get a few lb's off here soon and get back to 1-derland instead of 2-much weight that I am at now...hehe

Kids are doing well in school. Mitch is loving school and enjoying the bus ride. Bad thing is that public school can sometimes expose the kids to things you wish they didn't have exposure to, but the flip side is that they learn that not everyone is nice in the world.
Mitch came home the other day and told me something on the way home. It was so hard not to be angry and giggle all at once.

Imagine if you will, my little Mitch sitting in the backseat. Whenever Mitch talks it is cute, she has this under bite that is hereditary and when she says certain things it just looks cute/funny.

Mitch is the 'Polite police'...this is what we call her at home, since she is often the one who tells everyone if they are saying or doing something that is neither nice nor appropriate...yes, she says appropriate...
Anyway, she tells me that two boys were fighting and she told them that it was not nice to fight and that they should be friends. One boy looked at her and said "mind your own business you stinky butthole" At this point I was glancing in the child mirror I have and could see her face....I had to watch myself so I would not giggle (her jaw jutted out and the look of absolute disgust as some little kid called HER a stinky butthole) as I told her that indeed, that was mean and inappropriate and she should have told a teacher. She said she did and the kid had to go to the Principal's office.
Now, I am NOT mother of the year, but I was not pleased someone called my sweet Mitch a stinky butthole, but, I just have not heard this b-word for so long, was flabbergasted that a Kindergartner said it and the look on her face, I had to giggle and be angry at once...I just hope she didn't see or hear me and will not need therapy for it later on.

Issues

There have been many issues involved with the Orphanage I have worked with in Haiti. Accusations of abuse, both sexual and physical. While I do not know the whole story, I have heard MUCH of it from both sides. I have learned that one of my children had been physically abused by their caretaker, and still shows the mental scars today.
I do not pretend that Haiti is perfect, the Orphanage I work with has been perfect, or the man whom I help is perfect. What I do know is that in Haiti many say 'T.I.H." This is Haiti...

This last week there was a HUGE blow-up on a yahoo group that is full of families that have adopted, are adopting, or otherwise support this orphanage. I myself, became involved with the angry banter, not that I am proud of it, but I had said some not so nice things. We have had one or two on the group that even though they are well versed in the Bible, tend to live their life higher than others and point it out in full force while quoting the Bible as the backup to their nastiness.
Now, I am usually not one to judge peoples relationships with Christ. I, myself, stumble every day and know that I am not in the right place with God as I wish I was. I see to many things in life that out weigh my ability to serve him in full.
I also want to note that while adopting our 2 youngest, I had to take a Psychological Evaluation test that pulls out your characteristics of your personality......I scored CLINICAL on Social Justice. What that means is that if I feel like someone is being treated unfairly, I tend to respond 100% to the extreme to redeem that person or thing and will not rest until I feel like I have been heard.
Now, I am not trying to use this as an excuse, but when I hear people say something that they state is 100% truth about someone, not knowing that persons 100% truth, motives etc. about the situation, I will go off like a grenade. (I have to say it is nice to know there is some technical/psychological thing for this since my family always thought I just liked to start fights..hehe)
Anyway, I responded to someone angrier than I should have and feel bad that the others involved may have missed the point I was making. I hope that people begin to realize that we are dealing with sensitive issues such as children's lives and the reputation of a man who has given his life to these orphans.
I hope all that are involved are healed, find themselves right with God and do not tarnish one mans life to so-called heal another.

Addiction

Lately I have followed as some of my family members have battled with addiction. Addiction is a disease that you must fight by choice. I have members on 2 different sides of my family that suffer. Once side suffers more than the other since I can pin point that every member of this side has an addiction to one thing or another, whether it be food, booze or pills/drugs. It is hard to put in writing the way it makes me feel. I, myself suffer from addiction and have to fight it every day.



My bio father was Bi-Polar as well as an Addict. He suffered from this every day of his life. Sometimes I handled it OK, other days I wanted to pretend that he didn't exist and I didn't have to deal with it. Most of my life I was the parent in the relationship and he was the child. He passed away 1 year ago in March at the age of 53...we buried him two days before his 54th B-day. He passed from a massive heart attack. More than likely it was due to the years of abuse he put his body thru. I watched him fight with himself and often think of him when I fight my daily fight against whatever is getting to me. I miss him terribly and fell angry that my children were robbed of a grandpa that loved them very much. Even with his bad back he would get on the floor to give pony rides or bend over to pick them up. They always understood Grandpa was sick, grandpa was in the hospital etc...but they never understood why. The day I told me oldest two was a hard day for me, to tell them honestly about what ailed grandpa Rick and the hope that it never happened to me or anyone else they knew.



I spoke to my Cousin T this weekend. He has spent some time incarcerated as well as in rehab. He continues to make bad choices even though the right ones are staring him in the face. I want so much to help him and don't know how. It really is a decision that he has to make for himself. He and I discussed his 'Disease' called addiction and how he cannot control it. I reminded him that I have an Addictive past as well and every day is a fight for me to make the right choices. His girlfriend and baby have left him due to his drinking and addiction to sex and he is lost, no belief in any higher power or way to get himself out. I fear that one day we will get a call that he is gone and wonder what we could have done to help him. I know that some in my family would think it was good riddance to bad rubbish; but he is a human , a relative, a loved one...how can we turn our back on him. Maybe I think that way because I fear that one day I could be the one they turn their back on because I have made the wrong choices as well.



I now have another cousin K that is fighting a pill addiction. When I hear how far down the spiral she has gone it saddens me. I want to heal her as well, but once again know that only she can make the decision to heal and want to be healed. Her mother and father have no way to help her as she suffers from this pill addiction. It has cost her her job and is costing her her family. She sleeps all the time, neglects her family and is lost as well. She has said she would go to out patient treatment but she has not. Once again, I fear that we will get a call that she has OD'ed....a very real fear since she has accidentally done it once already.... my fear is that the next time she cannot be saved.



Me, my addiction is food. I hide myself in it, find pleasure in it and know that sometimes I eat when there is no physical hunger, just emotional hunger. I am not sure I am hiding from any 1 thing, maybe many things. I have always been friendly and tend to make friends easily. I am the fun one of the group, telling jokes and making the crowd have a good time...is that me, or is that me hiding..I do not know. When I have had surgery in the past I always get my prescriptions and give them to my hubby. Not that I know I will take them to much, but that I FEAR that I might. He doles them out and is my enabler in a different sense....enabling me to be safe. He and I have spoken many times my fears of being Bi-Polar, Addiction etc. One of the reasons I am glad we adopted-deepen the gene pool a little in that area..hehe

It is a standing order in the area of addiction that should I ever become addicted to pills, drugs, booze etc, to the point that I am incapable of making the correct decisions that he will instantly find me help no matter how much I beg, promise or plead. Until then, I fight the every day fight of weight and food and hope that I find the balance I desperately need.

Ceus Boys

This summer we had the privilege to meet C-Mans bio brother J. J is 11, C-Man is 8. These two boys knew who each other was instantly. The similarity between them was amazing. To take 2 kids who have never spent time together and put them in the same room you would have thought they had been best buds forever. Toes with the same creases, same facial expressions and dimples, same head shape (Jimmy Neutron...hehe) giggles that were alike and the same orneriness and charm that ooze from them.
J lives in Oregon, about 7 or so hours from us. His family is wonderful. It was great getting to meet them and see who this little guy was...amazing time.








Ceus Boys




















Jumping on the Trampoline

My Crazy Clan plus Juneau and his Brother Jackson. ( I am NOT trying to marry Jackson off before his time, he is a tender 17 almost 18, but ladies...he is going to be an awesome God loving, kind man soon!) hehe

Our Daddy

Daddy with one of his Princesses

Christmas Pepsi Mug

Die Hard BBQ Fan....even in the rain!

I wanted to take a few minutes to write a few lines about our daddy. Our daddy is the greatest daddy of all. Sept. 5th marked our daddies 39th b-day...he is quickly approaching the 40 year mark, but we will not mention it out loud in case it makes it come sooner!

WE LOVE YOU DADDY!!!!!!!