Life is flying

I did not mean to take so long to write again. I did not want to leave such a sad thing for so long. Life is just going by so fast and I feel like I am aprinting to keep up.

Our new little girl is almost three months old. She had a check up and is doing really good. She is 12lbs and very healthy. We are having so much fun with her. Things have become more normal and we are all adjusting to the changes. She is also sleeping a lot better so that makes everything a lot more tolerable. She smiles so much. From about 8:30pm to 10:30pm is her happy time and she just smiles and has a great time with us. It is when the other kids are in bed so it is nice one on one time with her.

This weekend my husband is taking the two older kids with a friend and his kids to go to the beach. They are so excited and I am looking forward to some time with just me and the baby.

Other news around here:

I got my hair cut short. I think I like it but it is short.

My son is going to go to school next year. We are all excited about it and we have found a really good school for him.

I moved some things around in our house and made a play/art room and it is so nice. The kids love it and they are not making such a mess right in our living room.

My alergies are getting really bad and I am dreading the month of May even though it is the best weather here.

I made it to the gym one time this week, which was one time more than I have in the past few weeks.

I am really looking forward to summer ( swimming, no school, vacations, and BBQ's)

I do not really have a point for this post but I wanted to put something a little more light hearted up. We all miss my grandma but she is so much happier now.

My kids have been counting down the days for a long time to their trip tomorrow and now it will finally be here. They sure have a great dad.

Luella Marker

My great-grandma passed away yesterday. I know that it was amazing that I even knew my great-grandma let alone had her as a big part of my life. She had three great-great-garandchildren before she died. I wish that I could put into words all that she was to my family and all who came into contact with her.

She was the oldest of eight children. Grew up in Oaklahoma, on a farm where life was hard. She helped raise her brothers and sister. She married at the age of 16 to a man 12 years older. At 18 she had her son. They lived through the dust bowl and the depression. Through wars and many hard times but it did not make my grandma bitter or hard. They moved to the Bay Area during the depression and stayed there until just the last few years of her life.

My grandma was never able to have more children but God blessed her with a lot of children in her life. Her son gave her three girls that she had a big part in raising. Then those girls gave her 8 great-grandchldren who have so many fun memories of her. And then I had three great-great grandchilden who loved her so much. My oldest daughter is named after her and she is proving to be continuing on the name. She is a lot like my grandma already.

Some of the memoris that I have are:

-playing dress up with all of her clothes and jewlery

-she always had special treats for us

-she was the best story teller and had great stories to tell

-she could stay up so late talking that she always out did us

-she loved almost everyone, even those who were hard to love

-she loved my grandpa so much and missed him dearly when he passed away

-she never seemed like an "old" grandma she was willing to accept the changing world, she read a ton, and wanted to kno what was going on in the world.

-she taught me a love of live theater

This list could truly go on forever. This is just a peek into her life.

She was 91 years old even though she told us he was 88. With her age did not really matter. She was 20 at heart. She lived a good long life. She will be greatly missed. We have all cried for our loss. My kids have cried and that is hard. They will miss her. My youngest will not remember her but she did meet her and we will keep the memories alive. My grandma was ready. She was ready to be with her Lord.

I know that she is in heaven dancing with my greandpa and happy as can be.

We will miss her but we will see her again and she will be ready to have a big party with us, like she always was.

My little settlers

Happy Easter ( a little late)

I am so behind in writing. There are things that I want to write about but it is so hard to find the time. I am almost always holding the baby so it is hard to type with one hand. When I am not holding the baby I am helping one kid or another or spending much needed time with them.

So, happy Easter. We had a very low key day here at our house with my parents and sister. We went to church, came home and ate, hung out a bit and then they left and I took a very long nap. I am sick. I think that it is a sinus infection. I seem to get one almost every year at this time. I am trying to fight it off myself but I usually end up at the doctor getting some antibiotics. I hope I can fight it.

Today was one of those days where I felt so bad and sick that it was asking a lot just to get through the day with all three kids. My husband had a meeting out of town so he was gone all day. Lets just say that we watched a lot of tv and layed around a lot. But we did make it through and I am hoping that with a good nights sleep things will be looking up tomorrow. We have a field trip that the kids are really looking forward so we will be doing that. It is to Sutters Fort and they will be dressing up. I will post pictures because I think they look really cute.

The best news for us though is that we have a date for our adoption hearing. It is July 12th. We are so excited. We had been told that it would most likely take a lot longer but God has really blessed us and made everything go very smoothly.

It has been a long week and things have not really been going so smoothly. There have been sicknesses with friends and losses. There have been hurts and frustrations but in the end God will get the glory and there will be light.

I read a friends blog today and learned that her son wanted to pray and ask God into his heart. These things make my day a little brighter.

Sister love

Mom To Three

Things in our house have changed. A lot. A real lot.

I am now the mother of three. It seems weird to even say that. It sounds like such a big number. It sounds like someone with a very established family. It sounds like the beginning of a very different life for us.

So far I have just noticed the little things that have changed.

That it takes at least twice as long to leave the house.

That there really is not moment when at least one of the kids does not need something.

That our house feels a lot smaller.

That I need to drink twice as much coffee.

But most of all that there are now three little ones that I love with all my heart and they love each other so much. It is a very special thing.

Our new addition is now six weeks old. She is a perfect little gift. She is the most cuddly child I have ever held. She just melts into your arms. She sleeps pretty good, eats well, and seems to be adjusting to the change very well.

It is amazing to me that we have only had her in our home for 11 days and it already seems like she has always been here. The kids have adjusted pretty good and love to do little things for her. Like get her a blanket or her pacifier. They like to hold her and help with her baths.

The biggest thing that I am going to have to get used to it the fact that it is just not that easy to leave the house anymore. Part of that is having a newborn, part is having three kids. It is 2:30pm on Tuesday and I have not left the house since Sunday night. That is not normal for me but I am ok with it because I am enjoying just being home and being with my kids. I am also so tired from the lack of sleep that getting out of the house just sounds like to much work.

Life will get "normal" again but normal will be different than it used to be. We are excited about our new family dynamic but learning the ins and outs all over again is a challenge.

It is a new adventure and I am sure there will be stories to tell. But just look at those three kids and tell me how it could ever not be worth it.

The end and the beginning of our adoption story

To start at the beginning for us. The first day that we heard about our little girl was on Wednesday the 7Th of March. We set up a meeting to find out more about her on Thursday morning and they said that we could go and pick her up on Friday morning. It all happened really fast at the end. We spent a crazy, haze filled day getting the last minute supplies that we needed. It was a good thing that we had things to do to keep us busy. We hardly slept that night before. We were so excited to meet her and hold her. We had seen pictures but had not met her yet. We tried to get some sleep and then on Friday morning we dropped off the kids at my mother-in-laws house. It was so nice that we did not have to bring them with us. It would have been a little crazy.

So, we drove to the foster mom's house who had been caring for her since she went home from the hospital, two days after she was born. She was so beautiful. I do not even have words to describe what it felt like when she opened the door and there was our little baby. She let me feed her while we talked. It was just unreal. The foster mom was such an amazing woman. Her and her husband have raised five children of there own and now this is what she does. She only takes babies and only one at a time so she had been taking really good care of her. She was such a blessing to us. The name that we had picked for her middle name ended up being the same as the foster mom's middle name. That made me so happy. She will always have a little part of her with her.

We came home and got settled and then my husband went and got the kids so that they could meet their new little sister. They were so happy. They want to hold her all the time and give her lots of kisses.

Things have been going really well since she came home. She is a very easy, happy baby. She eats well, sleeps good. Although she eats about every two hours all the way through the night also so we are getting used to the broken sleep. My husband has been able to take some time off of work so that is making it all a lot easier. The kids are having a bit of an adjustment but that is to be expected. We are getting used to having a newborn in the house again but it is just such a joy. I am in awe that God blessed us with such a wonderful little girl. We are truly blessed.

Thank you to everyone that has been praying for us during the waiting period. God had a reason and we know that but we needed all the prayers. We truly feel that all of our prayers have been answered.

Please welcome Ruth Lucia to our family

She was born on Febuary 6, 6007

She came home with us today March 9th 2007

Today was a long awaited day and we are so blessed to have a beautiful little girl join our family through adoption.

The Beach Makes Everyone Feel Better

It's a winter wonderland!

I just got back this mornig from a great weekend in Tahoe with a good friend of mine. It was supposed to be a girls weekend with some friends from highschool but one got sick, one could not make the flight here, and one was worried about the weather. So it was just the two of us but we had a great time. We did not do a whole lot but that is kind of the point. We read, watched movies, went in the hot tub, and ate.

We were planning on leaving Sunday afternoon. Packed up and on our way we got to the main road and saw that the cars were not even moving. It was snowing, and had been all day. So we went back to the condo and thought we would wait a couple of hours and try again. We did that and got in the line of cars that were still not moving. Good thing we were prepared. We poped a movie in the computer and watched it while we were stopped. About every 15 minutes we would move a little and then stop again, watch some of the movie, and then move a little more. We did this for three hours and where did we get? To the freeway which was about 20 miles. That's right. Three hours, one movie and 20 miles. Once we got to the freeway things were only looking worse. The freeway looked like a parking lot. Nobody was going anywhere and there were a lot of cars.

At this point we decided to head back to the condo, get some sleep and try again in the morning. With the alarm set for 6am we tried to get some sleep. After both of us tossing and turning all night we woke, packed again and were on our way. Things were much better. It was still snowing really hard but there were not nearly as many cars on the road so we were moving. It was slow going but we were blessed to have a good car for the snow. It was a big adventure and we were happy to be home. I was so glad to see my kids. I was gone longer then we were all expecting.

It is always so sweet to be welcomed home by my kids. They make it so much fun.

My Daughters Prayer Last Night

Thank you God for Mama's food, daddy's food, and my brother's food.

And thank you for IKEA.




I am not quite sure what to think of this...

Lent, Teeth, BBQ, Kids, Life....

There are so many things on my mind lately. I blame it on having to stay home and rest for way to long. I know everyone is tired of hearing about my teeth but I have just one more update. On Tuesday I was still in a lot of pain so I called my dentist and he said I should come in and be seen. So, I take the kids thinking it will just be a quick pop in and I will be out of there. Boy was I wrong. He sits me down while the kids are playing in the waiting room and takes a look. Ends up I have the very dreaded dry socket. This is the thing that I was most afraid of, that I was very careful to avoid. I had been eating only liquids for almost a week. Well, what's done is done and needs to be taken care of. He numbs me up REALLY good and cleans it out OUCH! Then packs it with this stuff that smells and tastes horrible. Then sends me on my way. The kids were great but just did not really understand what had just happened to me so they just acted like they always do (asking a million questions, wanting lots of food) It all worked out ok and things are great now. I am still on the liquid diet but today is my first pain killer free day and it has been exactly one week. I feel bad for my family. It was not supposed to take this long to get better. My husband has had to take up a lot of the slack and I just have not been myself on the medicine but today is much, much better. I think things are going to be looking up from now on.


We as a family have decided to give up TV for lent. I have never done anything for lent before but my friend mentioned that she is giving up coffee for lent and I thought it was a good idea. The same thing happened when my son turned three. He developed a one track mind for television. It is not that I am against it, it is just that there are so many other things we can do with out time and my daughter has developed the same one track mind. I think a break for all of us will be good and it is good to talk to the kids about lent. We made a list this morning of things that we can do instead of watch tv and we came up with quite a few. Now if the kids ask to watch it I tell them to go pick something off of the list.

Me and the kids went to IKEA today to pick up a couple of things that I needed. They had all their new outdoor furniture and BBQ stuff out. It made me get really excited about the upcoming warm weather and then the excitement which is summer. I do not think I have looked forward to summer as much as I am this year. I do not know why but I am so excited about having people over for BBQ's, going to the river and lakes, swimming, parks, the beach, picnics, the list could go on and on. While I was at IKEA I picked up some cute summery napkins and a big beach bag. Let summer come quickly.

As a last little note I did a crazy thing today. I have been talking about cutting some bangs because I have been bored with my hair. I have been going to the same girl since before I had my daughter so almost 4 years. But today I went with my kids to Super cuts and had the girl cut my hair. Just some random girl and I just did it. So, I will post a picture so you can all see the crazy thing I did. I have not gotten used to them yet so I am not sure what I think.

This is a pain, literally

So, I thought that I was recovering really well and then last night was not so good. I woke up at 1am and it took me until 4:30 to fall back to sleep because this one tooth spot was hurting so bad. I took pm pain medicine finally and then I slept until 9am. My family came home today and it was not how I had planned it. I had wanted to have everything in order so that when my husband got here there was nothing he needed to do and I would be totally refreshed. I was so sad that I was not doing better than I was. I have this fear that I have a dry socket which is my worst nightmare but I talked to my dad tonight and he does not think I do. I think it is just healing and painful in the process. So I will continue to take the strong pain medicine and hope that it passes soon. I feel really weird with the pain medicine and antibiotics but I feel worse with out the pain medicine so that is that.

Now that I have totally bored you with my update I will write a few points that are things that make me happy in hopes to get my mind off of the throbbing pain on the left side of my mouth.

1. A great big hug from my girl after not seeing her for way to long

2. The pure joy that my son expressed when telling me all about his ski lessons and how well he did

3. I am thankful that I really like soup since that is about all I have been eating for days

4. Friends who are so sweet and bring me flowers, magazines, and soft foods

5. A husband who enjoys being with his kids and does not make me feel bad about not doing much lately

6. Sitting and watching Nanny McPhee with my daughter which is what I am going to go do right now

Wisdom Teeth

I survived the dreaded teeth pulling. I went in yesterday morning and am doing really good. I think I got myself to worked up about it. It was not as bad as I was thinking it would be. I have an amazing husband who has taken the kids for the weekend to Tahoe so I can rest. It is weird to not be doing anything. Usually when I have some time at home without the kids I have projects that I want to get done. This time I have been warned time and time again that if I do anything today I risk getting really sore and getting dry sockets which I really do not want. So I have had the perfect excuse to just lay around and do nothing.

I have some really great friends that have brought by flowers and soft foods and mind less magazines to read. It is like a mini vacation with a sore mouth. I am just hoping that I feel better tomorrow and that it does not get any worse.

I am really glad to have it over with. I have been putting it off for awhile and now it is just done and I do not have to think about it anymore. My husband is getting his done next month so it will be his turn to get a break with a sore mouth next.

I am going to go and enjoy every minute of this time because an excuse like this only comes around so often. The problem is that I am already missing my family.

Happy Valentines Day

The day of hearts and candy and remembering the ones that we love the most. I LOVE Valentines Day. I have a soft spot for it and I do not really know why. I like it when the stores get all the pink and red stuff. I like to think about what I will do for my husband to show him that I love him. Now I get little things for my kids to and they love it. I know that some people do not like this holiday and think it is just a dumb made up holiday so that the card makers can make more money but I like it. I also know that it can be a time of year that people feel lonely but I think that it is an opportunity to make those people feel loved. Who says that we cannot give a friend some sugar cookies or send a card to a friend far away.

I like having holidays to help us stop our regular days and think about other people. We went to a friends house yesterday and had a sugar cookie baking party. It was a lot of fun and a good excuse to have a party. Tomorrow my kids will wake up and have a little hunt to where there card and small gift are but more than that we will talk about how much we love them and that is what they will remember down the road. Then my husband and I are lucky enough that my parents will have the kids that night and we are going to go on a double date with another couple. I am really looking forward to that.

It might be silly but I think that in February when it is cold and everything is dead and it seems like it will never be warm again it is nice to have some bright happy colors around and some pretty flowers and enjoy some cookies or candy. I makes me have a brighter day and I hope it does for other people also.

My kids have been having a couple of hard days. I am not really sure why but this morning we talked about how when you wake up you choose what kind of day you are going to have. So we sang the song

It's a good day and I thank God for the weather
It's a good day cause I'm living it for my Lord
Living each day by the promises of God's word


I hope that is helps them come out of their funk and I am looking forward to seeing them smile as they see that we went to the trouble to set aside a day to say I LOVE YOU.

Can you say throw-up?

I have been living in the world of throw-up for the past couple of days. Not me but my family. On Friday I went to visit my great-grandma. My girl was acting kind of funny but I just thought she was tired. That afternoon I am sitting there having a conversation with my mom and grandma with my girl on my lap and all of a sudden we are all covered in the lovely stuff. Poor thing. We got it all cleaned up and were sitting on the couch. She was on my lap still and here it comes again. I know this is to much information but really. How often does someone actually get thrown up on unless you are a mom or dad. So we stayed the night she slept good and was fine the whole next day. We came home later that afternoon to find my husband making runs to the bathroom himself. Let's just say it is a real blast at our house right now. My girl was good all day Saturday, all day Sunday until we went to church. We go to church at 4pm so she had been good for almost two whole days. My husband took her to her class and then she threw up there all over him. Fun, now we are even. He took her home, they got cleaned up and then again all over both of them. My poor little girl. The hard thing with kids is that there is no warning. They are just sitting there and then they are throwing up. So, it is Sunday night, she is in bed and seeming to be pretty good. I hope that was the end of it and that the rest of us can stay well.

Doesn't that make you want to come visit us?

Another Bit of Wisdom That I Have Learned From A Book I Just Finished Reading.

I just finished this book called Life Is So Good about a black man's life who is 103 years old and learned to read when he was 98 years old. It was such a good book. He has so much wisdom and had seen so many different things in his life time. At the end of the book the man interviewing him asked what he thought was wrong with families that kids are shooting each other in schools and things like that. His answer was that he felt like it was the grown ups and this is why

He said some people grow kids and some raise them. He said that people grow hogs by feeding them, giving them somewhere to live, and making sure they do not get sick. He said that raising kids is a whole different thing. That to raise them you have to teach them, be there for them, love them, meet their emotional needs and so on.

I thought that was so well put. Some people see it as growing kids and some see it as raising them. I want to raise my kids. I thought it was well put.

He also said that a lot of people think that 100 years is a long time to live but that to him is seemed short. That time went by fast and that life just keeps getting better.

If you get a chance it is a great book to read. He is an amazing man and I learned a lot from the book.


As a side note, I am sure some people are wondering what is going on with the adoption. The fact of the matter is that there just has not been anything to tell about. We are just still in the waiting stage and there is not a lot going on. It has been hard to be patient but we know that it is going to be in God's timing. Also we know that at this point all we can do is wait so that is what we are doing. I promise I will post any news as soon as there is any. We are still 100% excited about it and ready for our new addition we just do not know when that will be. Patience is that word of the day around our house.

Happy Birthday Princess!

My sweet little princess,

Can it be true? Did you really turn three today? You are no longer a baby but now you are a girl. You have changed so much the last couple of months. You are talking so much now and so clearly. I can have actual conversations with you. You got a real hair cut and it made you look so much older. My little girl is growing up and it is a good thing but I miss my little baby sometimes.

This year you asked for a pink, princess party so we did it up with the pink and the princesses. You informed me that my shoes that I put on this morning were not princess shoes and picked out the ones that were suitable. You were so excited about your party and kind of got overwhelmed with all the attention. We had a family party and you loved having everyone at our house. You thanked every person after each gift that you opened and showed pure delight at each and every gift. The ones from your brother were extra special to you. He made and wrapped them all by himself. Then we feasted on pink cupcakes and you were in pure heaven. As the party died down you kept asking if it was still your birthday and were happy to hear that it still was. Now you are sleeping in your bed a very tired little girl but one who knows that she is very loved.

Things we love about you right now:

That you say happy burbay for happy birthday

That your response to most questions is " of course"

That you are such a girl and love girly things but you can play rough with the boys and are much more tough then you let on

We love to watch you in gymnastics and swimming lessons. You do everything with your whole heart.

That your teachers at Bible study get a genuine grin on their faces when they see you coming. You are truly a ray of sunshine in everybody days that is so blessed to spend time with you.

That you suck your two middle fingers and hold your stuffed kitty's tail just under your nose in just the right way, it brings you such comfort.

The nights that we let you and your brother tell each other stories before going to bed.

The way that you love all of us. Our lives would not be a fun of joy without you. You make us laugh and feel loved every single day.

Happy Birthday Princess.

We love you more than we can tell.

Movies from New York

My son started realizing while we were in New York how many movies and books he had read and seen where from New York. So we started counting them and noticing even more. There was the central park zoo and grand central station from the movie Madagascar, the plaza hotel where Eloise lived, the swan from the book trumpeter of the swan, the newspaper stand at times square from the book Harry kitten and Tucker mouse, Stewart Little drives his car through central park and the list goes on. We had a great trip. It was freezing but we still had a lot of fun. We stayed at the Embassy Suites and I think the kids favorite part was that we had breakfast there every morning and they could pick all their favorite things. My husbands meetings went really well. The kids were great travelers and we did not have any of the incidents that we had last time with kids getting sick. We felt very blessed to be able to spend great time together as a family.

Winter New York Trip