Spring Break

I know, I know, I say I'll try harder and it is even longer. See what you get when you complain? A procrastinator!!! Well, yes I am! Anyway, there hasn't been too much going on other than the daily busy, busy, busy. Matt actually posted the pics of Amelia's sealing, so I really have been a slacker. After we had her sealing, we had lunch and blessed her. She did have a little name change. Her new name is Sarra Amelia Anderson. It's kind of fun because she will go by her middle name just like Christian, and I have a great-great grandmother Sarah Amelia Britton, so it is a family name too. But she still goes by Amelia, which is the name her bio-family had given her. I loved it because like Christian, it kind of honors everyone. Mom and Dad had gone into the MTC on Feb. 1 so we really thought they would miss the sealing, but, the Lord knows how to work things. They had made a mistake on the court date, so the adoption ended up being sooner - like really quick, on the 2nd. We thought it would be the 17th. So when we found out if had been moved up, they got permission to come to the sealing, because the adoption was final on the 2nd. So, anyway, Mom & Dad got permission to be there and then to be in Texas a day later, so they got to come home and then go with us to the sealing, and do the blessing that afternoon, and then they headed down the road to Texas. We are so excited for this mission. We know they will do great!

After they left, we just got to hang for a couple of days. It was just that busy daily living. Than we had some fun and excitement. Matt had a little surgery. He had to have a hemorroidectomy. What a fun few days for him!!! He is still trying to recover. That poor man. Needless to say, he didn't feel like he could sit for a week to go on vacation with us. I don't blame him.

Then later that week was our beautiful McKenzies wedding! It was so fun and gorgeous. She was so beautiful. They really did a great job on the wedding. It turned out beautiful! Isn't she gorgeous?






And soon after that we were off on vacation!! And, whew was it busy. It was like that seeing 14 countries in 3 days. We had planned a little driving, but I forgot it was California, not rural Utah. Most of the days it was just like 100 miles. Should've been no big deal, a couple of hours, but it was more like triple that. Crazy of us to forget that.

Anyway, we went to San Francisco first for 2 days. - We got to do a bay cruise. This is us heading under the Golden Gate, And Mom and Les on the boat. The other pic is Klynton seeing how the harbor seal feels. And of course Miss Amelia at the pool in her cute strawberry shortcake suit. Isn't that face just precious?













After we were done in San Fran for a few, then we hit Monterey bay, and the aquarium. This is the kids in the giant clam shell, and then touching the rays. Jullian was feeling picked on because they were fast, and he couldn't get a good feel. Then we got to watch Diver Mike feed the fish down inside the big tank. It was kind of exciting because he had one of the big fish who was really hungry knock the food bucket to the bottom. Both he and the guide said that had never happened to them during one of the shows. He had to be a little more careful after that.















Then on to Pismo Beach, and Solvang (the real reason for the trip) - Mom had always wanted to see it after Dad had been there, but never got to go. He got sick. So Les and I decided we had better take her before she had such a hard time getting around that it wouldn't be enjoyable for her. This is the kids all in a shoe. Isn't that cute? They were all actually semi-agreeable. Somewhere early on the trip I had the kids say "Cheese & Potatoes", so every time the camera was out Christian would keep saying it. It was so stinking cute! And, I think that's what she's in the middle of saying. The other pic is Klynton and Christian on the statue of Hans Christian Andersen. Kind of Christian's namesake. So, I thought I'd better get a snap of them together, for posterity.




Mom even got in the hot tub at Pismo - COOL!!!! Well, hot for her - she loved it! She loved Solvang! She said that was definitely the highlight of the trip for her. Then we drove to Vegas for the last night. Stayed at the Orleans. Not too bad. Smoky though. It was kind of fun, because they were having a rockabilly weekend. So, everyone was dressed in the cuffed jeans, and they all had their hair done. Guys were slicked back, and the women actually had coiff's. They were wearing the form fitting dress, with their hair up, and the bright red lips - It was so fun to just look at the people!

Then we took the kids out to an old west town with a petting zoo the next morning. It was kind of cool. Here is my little cowboy in his new sherriff's hat. And, it wouldn't be complete without the saloon girl and the cowboy hanging out.

It will be a fun place when they get the rest up and running. It is an older place, but has been closed, and re-opened a few times. There is a train too. Called Bonnie Springs.

Amelia sealing!!

Here's a picture of the day we sealed Amelia to our family. Shortly hereafter, we blessed her, and sent Rod & Judie to Texas! Big day- lots of tears.

Time to catch up

Okay, so I know I'm a total slacker. I only really have time to catch up every once in a while. I am in the office today, and I had a few minutes between work and home stuff, so I thought I'd write a little bit to catch up.

Matt has been working hard in the garage to finally get things organized. He hung some cool storage up on the ceiling that you can crank down and keep stuff stored up high. He hung the bikes up, and the stroller. It is awesome, because I might actually get to park the car in there sometime before--SPRING! That might be a really exciting thing!

I have just been adjusting to 3 kids. Crazy. Things are going along, but some days my patience runs out before the hours in the day do. I have enjoyed the kids though. They do some cute things that make me laugh. And there never seems to be enough time. I don't know why but this winter has seemed interminably long. Most winters are great, but I just can't seem to get spring and summer here fast enough. I think it has something to do with kids trapped in the house.

Jullian has been doing well. The honeymoon is over, and some days are tougher than others. It is hard some days, and I can definitely see the difference in children that you have from birth versus children you have to start over with. Sometimes I assume he knows certain things, and my frustration rises when he just looks at me and asks, "What do I do now?"- Know what I mean?

Christian is well, and cute as ever. She has really gotten good riding a little scooter her cousin gave her, and she gets booking on that thing. She had a little visit to the ER the other week. Matt was getting his shoes on, and she fell somehow underneath him. He doesn't know if she hit her head on the shoe cubbies, or just the floor. She was holding her coat, and he is not sure if it was on her head, or around her shoulders, or what, but the upshot is that she cracked her noggin open. We had to go and get three "stitchies". She was such a trooper. She had quit crying before we even got to the car, and she only cried when the doctor stuck the needle in to shoot the numby stuff. She got a blanket, a stuffed animal, and some candy. She came out thinking that wasn't such a bad place. This is a pic you can kind of see the stiches.

Amelia was the same way that same week when we made her visit to the ER too. She had been barfing the night before, and cried most of the rest of it. So, when 7 am rolled around, we finally decided we needed to take her in. I thought she may have swallowed something because I found a partially eaten piece of stick. Just my luck she would've done it too. She's at that stage where everything gets put in her mouth. But, they did X-rays, and found that there was nothing there, and then the doc says, "Can I check her ears and throat?" I said sure, and he proceeded to see that she had a double ear infection. He then told me that would definitely be the cause of the barfing, and the crying. He asked if she had had any kind of a fever. I told him no, and that neither baby has gotten fevers either with ears, or teeth coming. I am always the lucky mother that way. This pic is the little O2 saturation thing. They had to put it on her toe. I thought it was so cute.

The funniest/worst part is that I took Amelia in on Tues., then Mom fell on Sat. and by Mon. I had to take her in to the ER for her broken foot - fun for her - and then on Thurs. I was back with Christian for the head. What a week or so that was. We had a great Christmas, and as soon as I get pics downloaded again I will tell you more about that. Otherwise, I know I always say it, but I will try to keep posted. Take care!

Adjusting

I have been stuck in the office for the last few days, getting bills and payroll done, so I have had a few minutes here and there to see how things are going, and decided to give an update for the last few days.

Jullian is doing pretty well. He survived his first day at school, and I didn't have a call from the teacher. Things must have gone okay. He came home and did his homework, and that went great too. He is sure a cute boy.

Home life adjusting has been going pretty well too. There has been a pretty big adjustment for Christian. She has done super though. There is of course the tattles, and the "She's touching me.", but all in all, things are going swimming. We will definitely see more as time goes on. This is considered the honeymoon period, so things can change as time goes on. I hope not too much though. I would love to see Jullian have a chance at having some normalcy in his life. Well, have a great day!

A new addition

I know, so if life isn't crazy enough, we've just added to the mix. We are happy to announce that we have just taken in another foster child. His name is Jullian. He is 7 years old, and what a cutie! We are really hoping that all goes well and this could turn into a permanent adoption. He is such a cute boy. The girls love him already, and he is pretty excited about being a big brother. He seems to be falling into place, and we will keep our fingers crossed.

Things have been crazy - as you might have guessed. We got decorated for the holidays just before Thanksgiving, and had most of the fam here. It was so much fun. I just love getting everyone together. We hung out and ate way too much. We picked up Jullian on Wed. right before Thanksgiving, and then went down to St. George on Sun. to take him home. We stayed the night, and then just headed straight back home on Mon. Just have been feeling like we've been on the road for a few days straight. I know this time of year, a lot of people feel the same.

The girls have been great. The dang things just keep getting bigger, and bigger. These are some pics I just took tonight. I wanted to show off Jullian, and the other two were just so cute. Christian actually said, "You take my picture mommy." I told her to smile and she actually did.






- AMAZING!!!


And Amelia,
man isn't there just something so cute about her looks? They are sure dolls.

Life...happens

Life has been kinda crazy, and it just seems to get crazier. I was looking at my schedule for the next couple of weeks and I might just have to hire a new brain. If I make it through Thanksgiving weekend and the next few days, I will be better, but then I think I just need to start planning for Christmas. Crazy, crazy, crazy - does anyone else feel this way?

Well, here are a few pics of lately.

Matt and I had the chance to go to New York! We had a lot of fun saw some fabulous shows, ate some great food, saw the cool sights and just overall had a great time together. Then Matt was sweet enough to come home and take care of our beauties (mostly all by himself :)) while I went on a cruise with his sister. He did a fabulous job! I had a good time, but missed my babes (All three) terribly, and was so glad to see them.

This pic was us on the Staten Island ferry just after passing the Statue of Liberty, coming back to the harbor at Battery Park. I thought it would be a lot more scary in the city than it was, because I've just kind of been a small town girl all of my life. It wasn't too bad though. We got around easily enough. We even rode the subway! I have to tell the funniest thing though. We were in Central Park, just checking things out, and we had been walking through for a bit. We had probably been there 30 minutes. We had seen the big fields, and were just finishing seeing the Belvedere castle.(It's a local weather monitoring spot now, so you can walk clear to the top), and as we were leaving, there is a bunch of scrub oak, and local vegetation with paths running through it. I finally looked at Matt and said, " You know we can see this kind of nature right where we live, lets go back to the buildings." He looked at me and laughed and said, "You're right, it does look like the hills, just with mown grass too." So we promptly left and got surrounded by the buildings. We decided we had more than enough nature at home, we were here to see the fascinating city sights. I told Matt as we were walking out that I could see why people love it so much though. To have a big park like that in the middle of a city that big was a cool thing to see - we just didn't need to spend a lot of time there.

Things are getting closer to adoption with Amelia. We have a couple of court things to do, then the state has to meet, then we might be able to get a court date for just after the new year. Hopefully all will go smoothly, and we can all be one big, happy family, and have the adoption done. That would be a very nice thing.



Amelia is full on walking (running) now, and is so cute! This is a picture of her first real steps in multiples. We were outside and finally got her to walk across the deck. It was awesome!







Amelia got a real haircut. Her bangs were looking really straggly, and we just needed to do something. I could just picture her with this cute little haircut, so we did it the other day. Isn't she a doll?









This pic of Christian was so cute. Matt was out working on Gram's van doing something and Christian decided, "My help Daddy", so she just crawled right under, and helped out. Isn't this just adorable though?








Halloween was fun! We dressed the girls up like Bo-Peep and her sheep.



Amelia was the lamb, and Christian also had her "lamby", that she has to hang onto all of the time.

They turned out so cute in their costumes!




Mom even found herself a BEAU! Isn't he the cat's PJ's? I think they are such a match!












This is also a pic of Daddy with his babes. Aren't they all precious?

Last little comments - If Christian isn't the funniest. She has too go to bed with "Lamby", "Lopster" - a little red lobster I brought her from Boston, and her "Night Moon" book, and to top it off, her "Sheep in a Jeep" book - crazy , huh? But cuuuuuuute! The bed gets a little full. She won't let you read the books once she is in bed either. She says, "My read the books - you no." She kills me she is so cute. Amelia has just started the last few days to really say, "Yeah" and nods her head. And when I say nod, I mean it. That little head bobs so hard, you would think it was getting loose. But still the cutest.

Well, people, it's been fun but I'd better get to bed. I've got a lot to do tomorrow. Loves yas!

Longest post ever...

Okay so there is not a lot of time and I can't seem to get these pictures labeled, or moved to where I want them - any clues or tips? There are pics here from the spring,(the kids playing outside with Matt), our summer (4thof July), Amelia's birthday party, Family Home Evenings, ( here and at Dave's and Lyn's). Our new puppy Scarlet, and our trips to the zoo and the state fair. Also, the new addition on the shed. Notice the one of Christian asleep on the changing table. I went upstairs one morning to get the girls up to go somewhere, and seriously found Christian up there asleep. She had crawled up there sometime in the night, and gone back to sleep. What a scary perch to sleep on! I had to take a pic for posterity. I am so sorry this was so long coming. Let me know if you have a question. I will try to be better in the future, and not wait so long. They are kind of out of order time wise but mostly together from when they were taken (except FHE at Lyn's - for some reason they are all over). Enjoy, and I will really try harder to not go so long.

Colton - this is for you! - love you!!!