Thank you!!

Prayers were answered today! Reunification was TERMINATED!!!

We are so excited, the social workers weren't expecting that, they expected continuance so we're very happy.

Next date: Dec 12 to terminate rights.

Looking Better

We just got word from our social worker of the county workers recommendation for the babies. 

She is recommending terminating bdad's reunification on Aug 29th. Two weeks ago she was still telling us it was too early to know what to recommend. So now that that's on paper, we'll see what happens on the 29th.

We were told that if bdad's attorney contests, they could continue it. Hopefully termination will happen and we can move on to the next step, terminating rights.

Safety In Numbers

I've already mentioned that Matt wrecked his car, and he's fine.

We got home Sunday night from our Monterey trip. Monday morning Matt got in the van to go to work and as he tried to drive out of the driveway, noticed he was driving on the wheel, the tire had gone completely flat. He put the spare on (which was also lacking some air) and took the tire to the shop at lunch. It had a 2 inch gash on the inside of the tire, faulty tire. Nothing we did. We cannot believe it went flat in our driveway after driving all over the place all weekend!

Monday morning (same day as flat tire): My kids don't watch that much tv. I let them watch a couple shows of cartoons during the summer mornings and they usually have to earn them with chores. Well this day I got tired of them watching tv. I remember growing up that our days were spent outside in the woods or running around with our friends (granted we didn't have a tv so that wasn't an option). I was frustrated that the kids weren't spending much time outside so I sent them out. Michael went outside (or stormed out actually) and sat in the top of the fort screaming and crying that he didn't want to be outside. This went on for a while, I felt bad for our neighbors who hopefully were inside. I started thinking of what we could do to get his imagination moving.

Tuesday morning: I decide to take the kids to Pioneer Park. It has a little playground but mostly it has woods around it. I got there and told the older kids to go play in the woods and I stayed on the playground with the babies. Now, these are not the woods I grew up with. These are trees, in sand. So there's also Red Ants in the sand. Luckily we did not have an incident with red ants. After a few minutes of trying to find frogs to catch, Michael came running back to me complaining about how bored he was. I told him to go out and find some sticks to build a fort with. He disappeared for a while, then guess what?! He came running back carrying all these sticks and he was so excited! My boy found sticks!! Yay!! He and Aliyah worked on a fort for a while, then it was time to go get Matt from work. Because his car is still in the shop. The kids pile in the car, I go to back out and crash! I hit something! I thought it was a car but there was nobody around. It was a power pole! The problem with this park is they have power poles in the middle of the parking lot and nothing around them for protection. Michael and Aliyah were both drinking from water bottles so they got soaked, Aliyah cut her lip & I immediately felt pain in my neck since I was turned around and then hit. Good thing I'm married to a chiropractor!

So while our life has been speckled with numerous "incidents", "crashes" whatever you want to call them, we have been kept safe. Through it all we're healthy besides some runny noses and we're all ok. We have been very blessed and are so grateful for our safety.

A Weekend Getaway

This summer we planned a couple of short trips rather than a long vacation. It was easier with the babies to just do that rather than get court approval to go out of state & worry about breaking up visits with bdad (which haven't been happening anyway).

Last weekend we went to Monterey. We've lived here for 9 years this month and we've never been to Monterey other than driving through! I decided it was time to go. 

Our first day we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium:

These jelly fish were really cool!

Lunch at Bubba Gump!

Michael wearing Forrest Gump's shoes. I really wanted that Box of Chocolates

This octopus was awesome! He was all white and the info said when he gets mad he turns colors. I jokingly told Michael to tap on the glass to get him mad. He did, and the octopus immediately started changes colors. Quite the temper he has! haha

Day 2: San Jose Children's Museum (best children's museum I've ever been to)

 Brock is always finding his way to the drivers seat! He's so enthused over trucks so this was a special treat for him.

 The bubble maker - Michael

 And he found another one!

 They have a Clifford exhibit right now, last time we went several years ago it was Curious George

 The water room was really fun, and those gowns didn't help much

Our artist, always happy to be creating something

Day 3: Dennis The Menace Park & Carmel

 This red slide underneath was rollers that you go down

 The unfortunate part of this park is the kids don't know who Dennis the Menace is. 

We'll have to fix that.

 Paddle boat was a fun end to the park. We took turns since we didn't want to take the babies. 

Carmel

 It's so beautiful here!

 Pebble Beach Golf Course

I love this picture. Not because of me but this is what Avery does, she points at everything exciting and babbles.
So cute!

 We have beautiful beaches but this sand was white! It was finer than ours also. Matt said that must be where they get the sand for ash trays. lol

 Our kids, always digging in the sand

You've got to check out the house between the trees if you can see it. Look at the roof!
We found several houses like that.

Matt is our photographer and he took over 200 pictures of our weekend. They all turned out great! (However I should probably steal the camera next time to get some shots of him.) It was nice to get away and have a break from all that's going on at the house. The kids favorite part of the vacation? The hotel swimming pool of course. Why do we bother??

It's Raining!

Ok, not literally. Because it is, after all, July in Santa Maria and we just don't get rain in July in Santa Maria. That won't start until later in the fall.


"When it rains, it pours" is what I'm referring to. I'm not sure if we're in the raining phase or the pouring phase right now but it's at least raining kinda hard.

1. It started dripping last week in our garage from our upstairs master bath. This is the 2nd time it's done this so we called our insurance to get it figured out. I currently have (and have had) 2 men in my garage ripping out the ceiling. After not being able to do laundry all weekend (keep in mind there's 6 of us) because they'd covered right up to the washer/dryer with plastic, they called me this morning and said they were coming to rip out the ceiling above the washer/dryer, pulling them out and pulling out the cabinets above. yay. So I had 1 1/2 hrs to wedge myself between the plastic (which is heavy and taped down to the floor) and the washer to try to get some laundry done before they actually unhook the appliances, for who knows how long. I dried what I could but washing was most crucial so I have several wet loads of laundry laying around in my living room trying to dry.

They say they'll have to rip out our master bath and shower to get to the subfloor. Again, yay (with as little enthusiasm I can possibly muster). Did I mention this is what I woke up to on my birthday? Yes, Matt came in and said, "Happy Birthday, the garage is flooding".

They've hooked up these drying units in the garage and in our bathroom to dry out the wood and everything. So we've been sleeping to the constant hum and sometimes stir of the machines. I have to tell myself it's like a fan in a hotel and work myself into a sleep.

2. Yesterday I got in the car after church and got a text from Matt. It said he'd been in a wreck but he was ok. Suddenly I became a wreck, and so did the kids. He really was ok. He'd swerved to miss a deer on the road, spun the car several times then ran through a barbed wire fence and high centered the car on a hill. He was out for several hours waiting for the tow truck to come so he came home very sunburned and exhausted. It was scary for all of us and we're so thankful he's ok. His car... well it'll take some work. He joked that he was going to trade it in for a truck. If you don't know my husband, let me just say, he's a car guy. I've always wanted him to get a truck but he likes the fast sports cars...which is what got him in this predicament I suppose. So no, I don't see a truck in his future but hopefully just a more cautious driver and hopefully less of a need for speed.

Like I said, I don't know if it's raining or pouring right now but I'm hoping it stays steady for a while. Hopefully we can get a handle on all of this before moving on to life's next challenge. Keeping us on our toes! :)

A Stroll Ahead

You know when you have a baby and you have 9 months (or 8 or whatever) to prepare? People throw you a baby shower and you shop and shop and by the time baby gets there you are pretty well set?


Well it doesn't work that way for us. We get a call and get a baby a couple days later, or in this case 2 babies. And then when we get those babies, we understand very completely that we may or may not get to keep them. 


There's no baby shower. I did have a friend offer to throw a baby shower when we got these babies, because we really did need stuff for them (like another crib that a friend graciously gave us), clothes, etc. But here's the deal. Would I want a baby shower for these 2 babies, only to have them return to parents in 6-12 months? Then if we fostered again, another shower for another child? Different age/gender perhaps so we need more stuff? You can see why this can get a little sticky. Plus, having a shower feels very attaching. Like I "had" (or adopted) this baby and I'm keeping it.


So given that situation, how many of you would want to spend a lot of money on those babies? I mean, lets get real. Of course they need clothing and necessities, and you want them to look cute but if there was a chance you couldn't keep your kids (which aren't technically yours), how much money would you actually spend on them?


When we got the babies I really needed a double stroller. I wanted one I could attach the infant seat to since Avery was just 2 months. I really wanted a nice stroller but didn't want to spend the money because, once again, who knows? So I went to the local 2nd hand kids store and bought the only double stroller they had. I was very fortunate that it absolutely met my needs and has been great. However as the kids have grown a little this year, I continue walking them (and the dog) to the park often. I pull that stroller in and out of the car often, I crash into aisles, doorways and sometimes, unfortunately, people with my long stroller. Now, I also have an umbrella side by side stroller that a friend loaned me before I got the double long. That one is much easier to pull in and out of the car and set up. With the long one I have to remove both seats before I can fold it so it's just a couple extra steps. With the side by side I struggle even more to get through door ways and then the kids are spread across the aisle in the store so they can both reach out and grab things.


I've always been a stroller person, just ask Matt. We used to have at least 3 strollers for Aliyah because each stroller served a purpose. Big & comfy, smaller & more compact, and umbrella. I want a stroller to handle well, even with one hand if possible so I can walk the dog with the other, grab a running child, take a drink or whatever. I told Matt that in August if things go our way in court, I'd like to buy a nice stroller that fits all my needs {wants}.


Well towards the end of June we started to realize that things were looking really good for us with the babies...and I started to stroller shop. After all, we're taking some mini-trips this summer and a good stroller would be awfully nice.

Here's what I found:

This stroller has the "footprint" of a single, the 2nd seat can actually be removed to make it a single stroller AND I can leave the seats on when I fold it up. (I could go on and on about all the cool stuff this stroller does but I won't bore you with the details)

I have butterflies in my stomach even as I write this because I'm letting a part of me relax a little and look forward to the future with these babies. Certainly buying this stroller was a big step for me and it still makes me nervous to just let go and accept that we will most likely, hopefully, maybe be able to adopt these babies. I can't completely let that go and feel comfortable until August 29th. But in the mean time, we'll be strolling more comfortably.

Father's Day 2012 Video

This is the Fathers Day video I made for my dad this year.