SUMMER SENSATIONS !

Well, since it is "almost" summer- even here in Colorado - I should start getting ready for our summer vacation next month to California. We will be going to the beach for a week and then going back up to Bakersfield to see some old friends & family. We will go to Disneyland, Legoland & I will be taking the girls to Magic Mountain one day as well. The kids are so excited to see friends and familiy, plus going to the theme parks will be an added treat too ! Some highlights of the past month have been the end of the school year, getting a pass to the zoo here, taking swim lessons & working out at the gym as well. We have had visits from grandparents and have helped some folks out by letting them stay with us for a bit until they got back on their feet; we look forward to what God has in store with house-buying, schooling options for the kids and what the new job for Steven has in store for him ! We also had some family photos taken which I will try and post -they turned out lovely ! Have a great May and stay safe ! XOXOXOXOXOXO

APRIL ADVENTURES

I have recently started doing a morning bible study and have come to the realization that although I have done well in improving my daily schedule and getting the kids where they need to be and get there on time, part of my struggle has been leaving the smaller details to linger. So as not to dissapoint myself down the road for not keeping up, my new committment is to update this blog once a week; perhaps if I can keep up with it, I will feel more committed to keep up with other "small details" I have forgotten more recently....although I must say, I am very thankful I haven't forgotten a kid or a "large scale item" ever, period. Perhaps my mind isn't going as fast as I thought it was !!
We have had quite the interesting weather to speak of here and though I love a change of season, I must admit the prospect of having all four in one day doesn't do much for me! The kids and I have suffered sinus problems, coughing, runny nose, etc...due to the rapid change in temp. on a daily basis. Perhaps stock in "kleenex" is next for us! The mountains are lovely; the people are great and the kids are on the mend from various illnesses, surgeries, etc.

Some tidbits from out lives in the past weeks:

Grammy & Grandpa Ray came for a visit and we went to the dinosaur museum one day(though the kids liked it, it wasn't as big as I thought it would be!), the famiy fun center another day, and Grammy took the kids on various outings in pairs plus Briana got her own day out with Grammy to celebrate her birthday. They went to the art museum, out to lunch, shopping a bit, etc......and she got to miss a day of school for that, so she was happy ;-)

Spring break was the last week in March and Joshua was down for most of it due to having his tonsils & adnoids out the previous week. Though he had a hard time the first few days; he was an easy recovery with no complications so now everyone is done with surgeries - praise the Lord !

Easter weekend was busy but blessed indeed. Briana sings in the traditional choir at church and they were involved in all Easter weekend services, so we attended a Good Friday service that night, Easter egg hunt Sat. morning (put on by middle & high school kids) then I drove my mom to the airport to fly home. Briana had practice Sat. afternoon for the Sunday morning services and then sang in all three services. Steven and I ushered and I helped in the nursery during the late service. Steven made dinner for Easter Sunday and we enjoyed some much needed time at home with out anyone having to attend any birthday parties, no one had to work and no one was sick - yeah !

Briana turned 12 last week and already I have more grey hair to prove it! I'm not sure how long I am expected to handle her hormone and mine, but my patience is dwindling quickly !@ Though we were supposed to go out of town overnight for a girls activity alone, our plans were quickly shot down by the blizzard that swung thru town and hit the day we were to head out. Alas, breakfast with mom, a movie by herself with dad and having a blue cake didn't improve her mood as much as we thought it should but having an unplanned snow day added to a long weekend already (kids had off MON & Tue) well, it was interesting to say the least !

Steven & I were blessed to go and see two famous Christian artist who were here in town last week; Steven Curtis Chapman & Michael W. Smith.......WOW - what awseome men of God they are ! I even got my t-shirt ! How life changing to see Christian artists who are so talented team up and sing each others' songs, give testimony about love and loss, etc.....they have been friends for 20+ yrs. but finally now have taken the time to tour together. What a blessing for everyone who gets to see them !

With that, I realize it's 7AM and I must wake up offspring for school to be on time ! I hope this finds everyone having a great week and a great Spring! Be thankful, be giving, speak good things and help those in need. This is what God has commanded me to do and I hope you will do it, too. XOXOXOXOXOXOXOOX

Spring Time (Sort Of)

So the past few months have gone by in such a whirl that I have hardly had time to come up for air ! Alexis was in the hospital back in Februray and I am so happy to say that she has been doing much better since coming home - not even an asthma attack to mention ! Praise the Lord ! March was a month of busy-ness including a visit from Grandma & Grandpa, spring break & more evaluations & appointments. Joshua had his tonsils & adnoids out so that makes six out of the seven kids with no more tonsils ! We have visited the dinosaur museum, the local family fun center, focus on the family, mcdonalds, gotten kindergarten shots & been to our first birthday party for a girl from our Sunday School class.

Taylor got baptised at church this past Sunday too ! It was so exciting to see her make that committment! What an awesome thing to witness & participate in!

I will try and post pictures of all the various events soon - it was lots of stuff in a short period of time !

Here's hoping you have a safe & blessed springtime !

GRAMMY TIME :-)

Grandma and Grandpa Ray are here ! We recovered from Josh' surgery just enough to enjoy Mom and Ray coming to town for a visit -- it has been fun to see them lead there grandparents everywhere to play the Wii, pretend to be monsters, etc......Grammy is also planning alone time with the kids in pairs and Briana gets an evening out alone since her birthday is coming up in a few weeks.....
Grandma has also helped out a lot with dr. apts, shots, etc.........to leave a few kids at home with Grammy and take some others with you for apts. is much easier then taking everyone !
We have had spring break this week and so far, so good. Kids have enjoyed the lax schedule and jammie days work for me! Though I will never get caught up on laundry and perhaps my ear plugs will be used more this week; it's nothing a good game of Hi-Ho-Cherrio or Princess Uno won't solve !!!

Steven and I went to a foster care training class last weekend and learned so much about foster to adopt kids and stable enviornments; we didn't realize how many kids there are that are just left to fend for themselves. I can't imagine not having a place to come back home to after turning 18 and venturing on my own.......*sigh* perhaps one day, I'll win the lottery so I can adopt them all ;-) Have a safe and productive week !

Blessings on your Easter Break !

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DR. SEUSS

So, all the kids celebrated this "momentous occasion" in their classrooms this past week and all came home telling stories of sampling green eggs & ham, reading books by the author, playing silly games and so on........however the icing on the cake was the "Cat In The Hat" Hat that Joshua made at school. It was such a unique activity to do at school and bring home to show off ! I was quite impressed with it until I asked him to put it on so I could take a picture. You'd have thought I told him he was getting a shot or something! The look on his face was worthy of a photo op contest with prize money ! I will try and post it on here as well.

I am thankful that for now anyway, there is no sickness or contagious disease to speak of running it's course in the house and we are feverishly trying to put the breaks on outside activities so we can make time at home to go thru boxes and get rid of things we no longer need or use. We would love to buy a home this summer and hope God provides a way to do so - we would like to have stability and consistence for the kids, especially the two older girls who have been thru more moves in their shorts lives then most folks go thru in a lifetime. Our prayer is to secure a home with some acreage so we can have some room to spread out and perhaps, one day, get some farm animals or a horse,etc......well, that's all for now - take care !

Loving life, Loving God and Loving You ! Have a great day !

The Bowling Blogger

As you can see, from my last post - we finally broke down and took the kids bowling! We were so relieved to have Lexi out of the hospital, have the family under one roof again and have everyone recovered from their various sicknesses - that Sunday afternoon after church, I wanted to do something with the kids. Just to get them out of the house as a family seemed so important to me for some reason, so after noticing a few other posts from other HOM parents, I decided to try the bowling outing as a first with the kids (seeing as they thought it would be the same as Wii bowling, I was happy to change that prospective !) ....needless to say, Julian didn't find his mark, Taylor pouted about not winning, Briana's speciality was gutter balls and Alexis shocked everyone with her 8th frame strike to win the game!@ We went to a local family owned bowling fun center since they have Family Sunday's where you can have shoe rental and two games for 5.00 pp....not too bad when you are looking for "cheap" fun for the kiddos.....we also got some snacks and a pitcher of pink lemonade for the kids to share.....I, myself needed a beer to keep everyone under control (for me not the kids !)
Overall, it was a successful outing and tho there was some whining at the end of the day -- I felt like we had fun and the kids listening decently plus an added bonus was that due to the colder weather and later afternoon time, the place was nearly empty! Another feat tried, tested and mastered !