It's hot!

loving this weather....ok that will probably get me shot most normal people do not enjoy the high temps mixed with equally high humidity but I love it! Love the heat, do not like the cold! So anytime the temp is above 40 I am so very happy. Today we are in a heat advisory...guess I won't be able to run, or ride my bike or mow the lawn, aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh darn. (not that I would do any of those activities on a mild temp day) planning to be lazy. now let's see if it works.
last night I walked out to the fairgrounds for the Relay for Life...I'm always humbled by the turnout and efforts put forth by so many. I think the best time is at night when all the luminaries are lit what a sight that is. Fun to connect with so many people I rarely see...and yes I did say walk...what was i thinking?????
well best keep this short, Rose is explaining to me (crying) why a nap isn't part of her plans for the day....naps are so wasted on little people...someone wouldn't have to tell me more than once to go take a nap.
enjoy your weekend...will try to post pictures as soon as eblogger decides to let me.
Edited: go figure the time I try to post a pic it finally does it of course this pic has no relevence to this post..it was suppost to go with an earlier post...but enjoy! this is rose age 1.
Deb

trying not to shock anyone

by posting twice in one week....goodness what happened?

She is 1....Rose that is. A little over a year ago if you had told me I would have a newborn in my home I would have laughed and then looked really scared. We had wondered if there was a Rose, for a few months before the actual announcment but chalked it up to rumor. About a month before she arrived the county confirmed that there was a baby, but I think at that time everyone still believed the parents would leave and therefore no baby to place. The call came the day she was born saying mom was in labor and the a placement would be imminent. I think throughout that time I just didn't believe it was possible (mental block, or denial if you will) but reality hit home later in the afternoon on July 7th when the call came saying it's a girl (somehow I knew that, the few things I had purchased just in case were all girl things) (so much for denial)
we were told to be at the hospital on the 9th to pick her up. ok nothing, and I mean nothing can prepare you for a newborn, it really doesn't matter if you have raised 3 children of your own, or that you have taken care of countless babies/children..... a newborn is simply amazing and exhausting. (there is something to being pregnant for 9 months honestly it does prepare you for no sleep) Waking up one morning to a newborn well, it isn't pretty, exhausted didn't begin to describe how I felt, did i mention I didn't take any time off, kept right on working...let's not forget the other 5 children in our home, no none of them took a break from needing us. Yeah it really was an amazing ride. We have weathered much this past year, adjusting to visits with her birth parents, adjusting to life with 6 kids, just simply adjusting. And through out it all in the back of your mind is the question will we still have her at 3 months, or 6months, or will we celebrate her 1st birthday. Well here we are a year later, we have reached those milestones and so many more, celebrating Rose's 1st birthday was an amazing event, made more special just simply because she was still with us. She has woven herself into the framework of our family and enriched our lives in ways I can't begin to count. She is unlike any other child and yet compliments us so wonderfully. We still have uncertainity, will we see her walk, will we celebrate a 2nd birthday... those answers I don't have, but I plan to keep enjoying what I do have and that is the time right now to be with her, the rest we will know when the time is right. no matter the outcome I am always grateful that at this time in my life I have rose. life is truly good.

and a few more pics :)

anthony and Kevin riding the ferris wheel at the county fair. Anthony loved! the rides, Yahaira was a bit reluctant at first but after finally riding one ride she was totally excited about it. Rose loved all the farm animals as did Anthony and Yahaira and Daphne.
and a pic of Yahaira modeling her new sunglasses from Kelly.

Beckie and Cassandra's busy month of July...

Bekcie is now the proud owner of a car yikes! A necessary purchase and one she handled with a lot of maturity...(when did she grow up?) She bought this car on her own, what an exciting day that was for her. Paying for the car insurance wasn't such a fun thing, and I have heard her mutter about the cost of gas :) welcome to the world of a car owner.
Cassandra had an incredibly busy month of July, we hardly saw her, she began with dance camp in Iowa for 4 days, home for 2 days and then on a bus heading to San Antonio Texas with our youth group from church, she was there for a week and had a blast. It was nice to get her home, missed her a lot!

more pics....

I am playing catch up today, finally getting pics from various summer activities uploaded. We attended a MN Twins game early in July, we had all 7 kids in attendance, Linette and Kevin, Gracie and a friend also joined us, the twins won! Yeah. all in all the little ones did quite well.
also a pic from the 4th of July...Rose loved the fireworks, no fear in this baby at all. We had a BBQ at our home, then headed out to Memorial Park to watch Attitude perform and ended the evening watching the fireworks over ST. James lake.

Pics from Rose's first Birthday....

for some reason blogger isn't let me load pics...here is one that finally worked. yes that is a new face on the left...her name is daphne she has been with us since the end of June, she is also 1, actually she is two weeks older than rose.

It has not been a month

Since I last posted. Honestly you blink and time flies. (it is not an age thing, or at least I refuse to admit that)
So where have we been? Just trying to live life as normally as possible. I have tried hard to not focus on the unknown. Waiting for this decision by the judge is by far the hardest thing I have had to face. As I looked at summer and all the events that would be happening, I truly did find myself wondering, will the kids be with us when we reach the 4th of July, will we be celebrating Rose's 1st birthday? And so on and so on. As we reached each milestone/or event I found myself simply thankful for being able to share one more thing with them. Trust me we weren't always upbeat and cheerful, often it was quite different, as you let uncertainty slip in...Some days it was quite easy for me to slip into quite a miserable place. Thankfully we are surrounded by amazing family and friends. People who often unknowingly pulled us back, and stayed positive for us when we weren't able to be that positive. We did receive a ruling from the judge yesterday. Custody was not granted to Grandma. As with everything in this case there are many unknowns. But this is a positive ruling. So for now we focus on that. I think I am learning that nothing with these children will ever be just a clear cut decision. There will always be more just below the obvious. What does the future hold? aahhhh to know that answer would be the best feeling ever...But I can speculate, and in that I believe we will be beginning to travel the road to adoption...How long will it take? No idea. Will it be a smooth road...Ok that I think I can answer quite firmly.... No! I imagine we will still face many bumps along the way. I hold on to my faith, God did bring us here, and thru this he will be there...I look at the people who have traveled this path so far with us, offering support and strength...With them how can we not make it? And perhaps these three little ones won't be legally mine in the time frame I want, but ultimately if they are ours some time in the future, that will be a good thing. For now I am going to just keep loving them. Enjoying each moment granted us, celebrate each milestone. And simply thank god for bringing them to us,and for putting so many amazing people into our lives who have supported us.
I will leave you with some of the activities we have enjoyed during the hot days of summer... The fourth of July, Rose's 1st Birthday, (she was completely unimpressed) Cassandra's trip to San Antonio, Beckie's new car. I trust you are finding some fun in your summer too.
Edited to add: no pictures attached see later posts, eblogger was being difficult today and not allowing me to upload pics. I finally got them to work later in the day.

Hello....Hello (that would be an echo)

Yes I am still alive.... And honestly busy just sounds so lame...So I will give no excuse for not posting more frequently.
today is Railroad days in St. James....Just waiting for the kids to get up from their naps to head up and take in some of the activities. Last Monday night was PowWow in Mt. Lake, it is an annual tradition for us to attend the parade there, and also enjoy a corndog or two. This was Rose's first parade and she loved it! Especially the loud sirens and horns....Not a bit scared. Imagine that! Anthony finished swimming lessons on Friday...He has improved so much from the first time he took lessons...Still uncertain about the whole jumping of the diving board thing, even with the bribe from me...I promised to take him to Pamida and buy him a toy...He was torn...Next time I think he will do it.
Last night we did family pictures...Yeah what was I thinking 6 kids and two adults...Crazy!!! Everyone had some attitude during the 30 minute session, but we did capture some great pics. Despite all that attitude. Here is the link if you would like to view the photos online www.quality1hrfoto.com click on Haycraft,D and enter this password: 12658-1 enjoy! (you may need to look by date, that would June 23rd, 2006.
Well time to head out to take in some railroad days fun....Until next take care.
Debbie

Happy Summer,
we are enjoying the warm weather and sunny days completely. Our lives have moved outdoors, the kids love spending all waking moments outdoors. Last Friday night, in fact we moved the videos outdoors and watched movies by the fire pit and under the stars...Anthony was so excited, he asked the next morning if we were going to do it again. We have ushered in the no school routine with some fun activities, at the top of the list swimming, we haven't made it to the outdoor pool yet, but the kids have been splashing in their wading pool. We also visited the Minnesota Zoo, in Apple Valley, and even tho it was "hot" we had a great time. They have a new exhibit this summer called summer on the Savannah, how cool it was to see Giraffes, and Zebras. Coming home was interesting, Yahaira got sick just as we were leaving the cities, just as you can imagine that was a icky job, she of course was completely happy after. Tomorrow I begin my Friday's off for the summer. I'm excited and so ready for a long weekend. Planning to take Anthony and grace to see "Cars"...gotta love Disney movies. Will try to post more frequently, hard to do when we are outdoors so much, another good reason to get a laptop. :)
hope you are enjoying your summer...Enjoy the sun!
Debbie

Happy Mother's Day....a day late

but at least I posted :) spent a quiet day, a tea at church with Anthony, end of sunday school/mothers day celebration. cleaned my scrapbooking area, tried to organize it.... I always seem to be rearranging things to find the best use for my space. Went to eat in Fairmont at El Marachi restrauant, Linette and her family joined us, along with Linda and her family, Betty also came with us, it was quite a group, I think we stressed out the waitress. Home to organize some more....amazingly low key for our household :)
Checking blogs lost night and on Karen Russels site http://www.karenrussell.typepad.com/ she has been running a fund raiser for women to women international. check here http://www.womenforwomen.org Karen had lined up some giants in the scrapbooking industry who agreed to do a 2 page layout for the winners, as this progressed companies also joined donating prize packages. by the end of the two weeks over 200 prizes were being awarded. The grand total she raised was 12,484.22 amazing! last night as I read thru her blog, scanning the list of winners I almost fell off my chair when I saw "my" name on the list. I won a package from Chatterbox, how cool is that????? I was so excited, of course my family didn't hardly glance my way asI sat in front of the computer freaking out I was so excited! can't wait to see what I won, and feel good I donated to a good cause all around everything is good.
Tomorrow the trial begins for the kids, keep them in your prayers, this would be for grandma's custondy request...trying to remain positive.
I will leave you with some pics, of Yahaira's 2 year photos will post another day about the white dress from her grandmother that Yahaira hated...quite a story there...
enjoy your monday,
Debbie

Where have I been...

Busy, imagine that....Honestly I think I met myself a couple of times this past week.
this weekend was the perfect topper to an overly busy week, Saturday morning was Gracie's dance recital, pics to come once I get them fixed, Saturday night was prom, I never imagined all the work involved in getting a daughter ready for prom...But she looked beautiful and so grown up.. Sunday was Beckie's speech at church, she did awesome, completely comfortable and confident in front of a crowd, that she doesn't get from her mom :) Sunday afternoon was pics of yahaira at Nichole's these were her 2 year pics, she did quite well....Until we brought out the trike then she didn't want to get off the trike...Go figure...Sunday night was Yahairas birthday party, josh surprised us by coming home for it. We grilled hotdogs over the fire pit and enjoyed being outdoors, Yahaira loved all the bubble toys she got, (so did everyone else) will post pics once I get them loaded. All in all a great weekend...but I sure am glad that it's Monday.

Bubbles....

every spring I am reminded of the joy of bubbles, you know the little bottles with the wand inside which lets you blow millions of bubbles, which float on the breeze and leave little rings on the car and many other surfaces. We had the bubbles out this morning and it was so amazing watching the kids create their bubbles...Each approaches this task in a different way, the older, more wiser (4 year olds) know y oh can't blow too hard or you get no bubbles, the younger ones stick the whole wand in their mouth in their quest to blow bubbles, of course they still mange to create bubbles, but perhaps not in the traditional manner... I love watching the excitement as their bubbles float on the breeze, to hear their laughter as one "pops" on them. The games they make up, who can blow the biggest, the most,who's will float the furthest before it breaks... My heart melts as an older one takes the time to show a smaller one how to blow the best bubbles....I love being surrounded by bubbles as these little wind machines create bubbles to rival a bubble machine. The sound of the babies giggles as bubbles float within her reach, and of course the out of control laughter as the dog tries to catch the bubbles, leaping thru the air and growling at the bubbles... Bubbles what a great way to while away a warm spring morning.

I think

My motto is going to be where does time go....Good grief I had great intentions of posting, but somehow the weekend slipped away and now here it is Tuesday.
Yesterday I turned 42, there was a time that number would have freaked me out, there was a time I believed anyone over 30 was ancient....Of course I thought I knew everything and was completely right all the time, I was in my teens and truly believed I owned the world. Ok, so I no longer want to own the world, pretty content with my piece of it, I realize I don't know everything, but I'm still completely right all of the time :) Sometime people will ask wouldn't you rather be a different age, sometimes I think ummmm would I want to be younger again? Definitely no to teenage years, once is truly enough, 20's ? Well on my 24 birthday I had two little ones under the age of two and I was pregnant with a third so my 20's were a blur of exhaustion and babies, and I don't see much difference in 30's and 40's life is still busy, balancing family work, and life is still a challenge so I can say now, that no, I like the age I'm at, I've worked hard to get to this point in my life, and I'm comfortable being 40 something.... There's a balance and a calmness in my life now. 42 is a good fit, I won't mind wearing it for the next year. And really isn't age all about attitude? You truly are only as old as you feel. There was a time I would have laughed at that comment, now I appreciate the value of it. Enjoy your day,
Debbie

Happy Birthday Josh!

On Monday April 20th, 1987 I become mom to a son, my second child, at the time I pictured the changes in life thru eyes that were young, I imagined the extra work in caring for two children under two, and the ups and downs of raising a boy, what I didn't picture, and time unveiled to me was what an incredible gift I had been give, sometimes I just stare at him in wonder and think "where did you come from, where did you get the big heart, the generous nature, that smile, and sense of humor, now I see thru older eyes, I treasure the gift given to us, I look forward to the years ahead to see what next you do, and I thank God often for sending you to us 19 years ago. do I feel like a mom to a 19 year old, Uh! NO! and why does the comment "it seems like yesterday" become so prominent as they get older? Josh arrived into this world on his schedule, (2 weeks to the day overdue) and has been layed back and calm ever since. He is easy going and even tempered, sleeping thru the night by 1 week. He has put up with too many women in the house his entire life....and survived! I admire his determination, his strength, his kindness. He inspires me with his outlook on life. Happy Birthday Josh, being your mom is one of my greatest gifts.

It's the middle of the week?

Where does time go?Had a beautiful Easter, the weather was great, the youth breakfast (we were one of the families in charge) went well, remind me next year it is ok to say no.We celebrated Josh's 19th birthday (yikes!) on Sunday, his actual birthday is the 20th. I don't even want to comment on "where does the time go?" good grief. It was nice having Beckie and Josh home for the weekend, they both got here on Wednesday, the house was full, but it was great, a preview of what summer will bring :) And it turns out we didn't have to take both Beckie and Josh home on Sunday, so that made the day a bit calmer.
Kids went back to school yesterday, it was nice to be back to our "routine". Getting outside has made a dramatic improvement on attitude. Everyone is just happier.
It is apparently too early for me to string intelligent words together so I will post some pics from Easter and call it a go. Just realized the pics from Easter are still on my camera...Don't start, I am so behind this week, so you get pics of the kids coloring eggs, and I forgot about the pics I took of their feet. Kelly said when she was viewing my pics on Kodak she got to the one's of the feet and wondered what? Happened, "why is she taking pics of their feet, has she slipped backwards to that time when she was cutting of heads in her quest for photos?" nope wanted exactly the shot I got...Love the different sizes and such of all those feet that occupy our home. Expect wordy, thought-provoking comments from me sometime in the future. :)

Whew it's Monday....

what a beautiful weekend, warm temps, sunny skies....Just so refreshing after the long days of winter. Saturday was the egg hunt for the daycare kids, perfect, weather, in 15 years we have never had weather this great. The kids had a blast, the food was awesome, (we do a potluck and everyone brings the best food) the only cloud in the sky? We had to guard the eggs....There is a home two doors down that has many children living in it, and I realize that all those colorful eggs was probably very tempting, but after the first time of chasing them away and then "telling them" to not take any eggs...You would think that would have been enough, but no, 3 times we had to chase them off our yard, they just got more and more creative, it was becoming quite maddening... Finally we ended with people just standing all around the yard to prevent them from taking more eggs, they then started to yell and taunt those that were standing outside. Some peoples kids are learning no respect for others...It's kinda sad really.
Yesterday we did pics at Nicholas with bunnies and ducks they turned out so great....Love them!
With all this warm weather it is becoming more and more difficult to get the kids into the house at night, I thought we may end up sleeping outdoors on Saturday Yahaira was so determined to be outside...She loves the outdoors and it so fun to watch her run and play and be so normal. Enjoy your Monday, we are heading back outside to enjoy the sunshine and warm temps...Until next time,
Debbie

Annual Easter egg hunt

Saturday is the annual Easter egg hunt for the daycare kids....Which means all those eggs (500) needed to be filled, which is what we did last night. Kevin and I along with Anthony and Yahaira worked on this task, it took a couple of hours...But I think we could have been faster if we wouldn't have been laughing so much. Yahaira's help consisted of "unwrapping" the chocolate and eating it...Our laughter was her reaction each time she "unwrapped" the chocolate her surprised look at the candy waiting for her....She completely didn't get that there was chocolate in every wrapper...Her face says it all....Can't wait to see her reaction to actually hunting for eggs.
Anthony loved filling the eggs...Matching the color of the wrapper to the color of the egg, what an amazing kid he is....And baby rose was most fascinated with all those eggs, even trying to stand to reach into the container...What a big girl she is becoming.
Well let's hope that tomorrow brings sunny skies and warm temps...It makes the hunting for eggs so much more fun...Have a great weekend everyone.
Debbie

Finally

Feeling like I'm not in a fog...Broke down and took cold medicine, scary since it knocks me out, completely. Of course the baby has been up a lot again lately, another new tooth appeared Sunday morning. Saturday was a tough day for her, fever most of the day, with it raising on Saturday to 102, we ended up with a visit to the ER and found it wasn't just teething but strep throat...So on antibiotics again. She is much better now except for the not sleeping at night thing...Up every two hours is a killer. I hope that every tooth won't be so challenging.
Anthony is loving swimming lessons...They even have them jumping off the diving board, he will jump with the instructor, more brave than I .
Gracie's birthday gift has caused quite a stir, I know have 6 people who want to make their own treasure box...Who would have thought it would be so popular?
Weather here is beautiful, sunny and warm, what's not to like? We are outdoors and loving it.
Time change, is a horrible joke in the spring...Who says I want to lose an hour of sleep????? Fortunately it hasn't affected Anthony, Yahaira or Cassandra's schedule. Baby is making up for them :)
have a great day enjoy the spring weather...
until next time...
Debbie

Swimming lessons

Anthony began swimming lessons this week, he loves them. Yesterday I was able to watch for the first time..He is quite a fish, trusts the instructor completely and is jumping of the edge and putting his face in the water for her...He wouldn't do that for me of course. A little scary when she took them to the diving board, my heart almost stopped, he watched and watched but wasn't ready to venture up on the board at this time, it's ok not sure I could have handled him jumping yet.
Yahaira is still not feeling well... Not sure what is wrong since she won't or can't tell me...Wish I understood whine the language. :) Didn't take her to school which left an open night wow! I honestly didn't know what to do...Tried to watch a movie, nothing interesting, tried to watch TV...Again no interest. Thought about doing paperwork, got no further than thinking, cleaned up a bit...So settled in to read magazines, of course yahaira helped, it seemed the page I was on was not the one she wished to read.....I am learning to read fast......Another skill I can add to a job resume.
It's Friday, glad the weekend is upon us...Have fun enjoy your space and do something fun.
Debbie