Fall Photo Shoot: The Three Stooges

It's always a challenge getting the younger ones to hold still and smile. Using natural sunlight without any sort of flash on my camera makes it even more important that they hold still. Katie was almost impossible to get a good photo of. Kevin spent most of his time laughing and trying to blow spit bubbles. And Shane just doesn't know how to smile naturally when a camera is pointed at him. So I had him shout out the vowel sounds and then took a picture right after he stopped. It worked great.

Bath Girl!

We're continuing the tradition we began when Danya was a baby when we have bath time. We sing to the old Batman t.v. show theme song, "Na na Na na na na Na na.... Bath Girl!" and then we wash each part of her body singing, "This is the way we wash our ____, wash our ____, wash our ____. This is the way we wash our _____ so early in the morning!"

Katie loves the singing and it helps her be calm about having water poured over her. It also helps to teach her the names of her body parts. Then we pull her out and wrap her up in a towel and call her our "baby burrito". She loves having play time right after her bath with Daniel. He's much more fun than I am because I'm afraid of dropping her. She is so adorable. I'm going to miss this when she's too big to need our help with a bath. I keep thinking this is the last baby I'll ever sing these songs with... but then again, someday there will be grandbabies!

Daniel By the Numbers

34 birthdays
1 wife
6 kids
4 girls
2 boys
28 fostered
2 adopted
15 years in telcom
4 years in Colorado
14 years married
68 inches tall
2 sisters
1 brother
6 nephews
8 nieces
One lucky guy

HeartWarming HouseWarming

We had our house warming party for our new home the weekend of Daniel's birthday in November. We've had house warming parties before in our previous homes, but usually no one but our family members would show up. That's why I was so touched and surprised when so many of our friends from church came with their families to celebrate our new home with us.

We just had snacks and dessert and talked while the kids played downstairs. It was so much fun giving a tour of my new home. I've never owned a home that I've been more proud of.

We told everyone that our party was going to be a "light party", so they were welcome to bring a light snack or dessert and, if they wanted to, a "light" gift. Some things we received were a night light, a candle, light syrup, and bubble bath because bubbles are light. Also, a beautiful purple serving platter that I love because my favorite color is purple. We are making such amazing Godly supportive friends here, and I am so grateful to God for them!

Crystal Clear

Danya has been working in a new science book this year called "Properties of Matter". For the first time ever I'm allowing her to work through the book entirely on her own. She reads about molecules and compounds and then writes notes and draws pictures in her science journal.

I'm amazed at how well she's understanding the concepts and able to express them in her own words in the journal. There are also lots of little experiments that she does without any help from me. She's learning to take control of her own education, which is a useful skill, since as we all know, when you're an adult no one is going to knock on your door and ask if they can teach you something that you need to know.

In November she was working on experiments to see which combinations of materials make crystals and which ones don't. She had several bowls going at once and was very excited when she finally got positive results.

"Dummy!"

Katie is sooo confused. A few months ago she would call Daniel and I a generic "DaddyMommy" because she didn't seem to know which name went to which person. If we ask her to point to Daddy she can do it, and she can point to Mommy. But when she first sees us walk into a room or any time she's very excited she can't seem to remember which word to use.

So now she has started smooshing the two words together to create a lovely new title for us. "DUMMY!" I can't explain the hilarious and shocked looks we get in public when she yells this as she runs toward us, arms wide open.

Flying Kids

This year, totally unplanned, we ended up with some sort of flying Halloween costume for everyone. Our four girls were fairies, Shane was Ironman and Kevin was Superman. So we took posed pictures of them seeming to fly. In reality, I just had them jump and then took their photo while they were airborne. The kids loved the results.

On Halloween we brought them to a local Fall festival in the high school parking lot. They played games and won prizes. Shane was doing terrible at the dart toss until Gloria told them to put the dart in his left hand. Then he popped the balloon every time. Brianna won a bottle of pop at a spin-the-wheel game and got Mt. Dew "because it's Daddy's favorite" she said.

Later we canvassed the neighborhood meeting our new neighbors and bringing home a massive haul of candy. Daniel took the younger kids home early to get some sleep and to warm up while I went stayed out an extra hour with the older girls. They were all happy to feel like "big kids" and thought it was fun that we all had wings (since I wore an angel costume).

Double Fun Birthday

Gloria's birthday is on October 28th and Brianna's birthday is on November 1st, so this year we decided to have a double party when they turned 9 and 8 years old. Gloria desperately wanted a horse riding party and Brianna wanted a mall party and they both wanted to have a sleepover with their friends. So we did all three.

The horse back riding was a lot of fun. First the girls got to groom the horses, Rose and Dash, and a pony named Kallie. They even put bows in their hair! Then they got to ride each of the horses and lead Kallie on a lead rope. We only had one accident when Gloria and Danya fell off of Rose while riding her together. Gloria really got the wind knocked out her because Danya landed on top of her. But she was tough and got right back up to ride again.

Then we took the girls to eat and shop at the Flatirons mall in Broomfield. They ate chinese food and tried on sunglasses and took photos with the giant stuffed animals in the Disney store. Then they bought candy and silly bands and went home to finish out their sleepover party with cake, presents, nail painting, and giggling down in the basement. All in all I'd say it was a success!

Corny Kids

Daniel and I enjoyed taking just Kevin and Katie to a pumpkin patch while the older kids were in school. It was actually Gloria's birthday that day. We had taken Danya and Gloria to this same patch a few years ago.

They both had so much fun playing on the giant playset with a tire swing and slides. We took pictures of Kevin by the pumpkins, although we didn't get any of Katie with a pumpkin. They had the most fun playing in the box full of corn kernels. Katie wasn't sure about the idea at first, but when she saw Kevin scooping the corn over himself and Daddy pouring it through his fingers, she got excited about it. She had fun shoving her fingers in and helping to bury Kevin up to his waist. It's not often we get to do something special with just our youngest two. This was a really great day!

Martha Stewart, Eat your Heart out!

The day we moved into our new home I got a little manic about the idea that we HAD to have the kids' rooms painted before we could move their furniture into their rooms. So I had all the paint and supplies purchased before we arrived. Then I spent pretty much a day and a half painting with only short breaks to help carry boxes into the house when we started to get a log jam. Danya and Gloria's neopolitan room ended up being last on my list, so they spent several nights sleeping in the basement family room.

I think the results turned out nicely. Daniel and Grandpa Wayne hung the princess border in Brianna and Katie's room. I still haven't gotten around to taking a picture of Shane's Spider Man room, yet. We have 5 kids' rooms, with 3 beds in Brianna and Katie's room, 1 bed in Kevin's (although we could easily add another), 2 in Shane's room, 2 in Danya and Gloria's room, and 2 in a guest room. The girls' rooms are as big as the master bedroom. It's strange having so much space, but we're loving it!
Anyone who know me knows that I'm terrible at all that Martha Stewart type stuff. I'm just not creative in that area. But I'm trying my best to decorate our new home in little ways. This year we used the pumpkins we got at the pumpkin patch as a display in our living room. Hopefully, over the years we'll add to our collection of decorative items. In the meantime I'll try to remember that "friends and family are the ornament of a home".

Our Birthday Pumpkin

Our former foster daughter, and daughter of our hearts, Lina, turned 10 in October. Since her bio family doesn't really do anything for birthdays, we picked her and her big sister, Molly up and had a little family party for her. It's still strange to think that when she first came to us in October of 2008 she was only 7 years old, worried about spending her 8th birthday with strangers.

We went to McDonald's for lunch and had cake and presents at the house. Then we went to the pumpkin patch where we rode the hay wagon, ran through the hay maze, and even watched a live cooking show on how to make things like smoothies from various squash. Lina, Danya and Gloria were called up to be assistants!
Then we went to a pie social at church and played at the park, followed by a Dennis Jernigan concert that was a trip down memory lane for Daniel and I. We used to go to his monthly Friday concerts in Oklahoma when we were teens. We still sing lots of his songs in the car with our kids.

I think Lina had a nice birthday. She's such a good natured kid that she does an excited happy dance over the littlest things. She'll kick her legs out to the sides singing, "I got a dollar! I got a dollar!" or do her hysterical impression of Gollum from the Lord of the Rings when he finally gets the ring back. I'm so glad that her dad allows her to continue to be a part of our lives and of our family. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LINA!

Sarah's College

We met Sarah almost exactly 4 years before these photos were taken. She was our brand new next door neighbor in our apartment complex, who was nice to our kids and kept asking if she could hold our newborn, Kevin. I informed her that I didn't feel safe with her holding him since she was only 14 and our son was barely 2 months old. Much to my surprise he ended up saying, "Sar-dah" before he learned to say, "Mama". She has been like an oldest daughter to us, and almost a second mommy to my kids over the years.

Now here she is starting her Freshman year of college at Denver University. She was so proud to show us her campus and her dorm room. We are very proud of her. It's been wonderful to see her grow into a gentle spirited, super smart, tender-hearted, loving woman of God. She is so faithful and reliable both for our family and at church. She is almost always there helping out in the nursery. Katie looks forward to seeing her each week and often won't take a nap with any other nursery helper. She was our rock during Katie's birth and all the complications surrounding that and my broken leg at that time. I know she is going to have an amazing future helping others and serving the Lord.

Message from our Kids

While we were in the process of moving into our new home, with the help of Daniel's parents, the kids told us to look out the upstairs window. This is what we saw.

Even though their parents and grandparents were caught up in the frantic race to get all 5 storage units unloaded, moving the boxes from the U-haul truck to the garage and then into the house, and their mom was foolishly trying to get all the kids' rooms painted in one day, our kids took a moment to acknowledge our Creator's hand in bringing us to this wonderful new home.

We went from 8 people living in 1100 sq ft to 3200 sq ft, from 5 bedrooms to 6, from a basement with only 2 fire-safe exit windows to a walk out basement, from 2 bathrooms to 4, from a 1975 home to a 2004 home. They are absolutely right. My Jesus is All Mighty! He gives us exceedingly abundantly more than we could ever hope for.

The Waiting Game

What do you do when you've got the keys to your new home but aren't allowed to move in yet?

1. Vacuum the WHOLE carpet on all 3 floors
2. Wash all the windows
3. Scrub bathrooms
4. Measure every room for furniture placement
5. Roll on the floor and yell, "MINE, ALL MINE!"

The Suite Life

When we sold our old house we were only supposed to be spending 3 days in a hotel suite before closing on our new house. We sold the old one on Monday and were closing on the new one on Thursday. That got pushed off to Friday.

Then after we signed all the documents on Friday and even got the keys to our new house, we were told the bad news. The money to purchase our new home had been delayed due to a paperwork issue and was currently stuck in a bank in New York. It wouldn't process until the following Monday. So the former owners were afraid to let us move into our new home over the weekend, because if the money somehow did not go through, they would be stuck with a family of 8 squatting in their home.

That's why all 8 of us ended up squished in one room with two queen size beds and a fold out couch for a week. It made me feel really bad for families who have to live long term in a hotel. But it was a little like child birth; painful, uncomfortable, longer than you ever think it will be, but worth it in the end to get a beautiful blessing.

Fence Follies

Just before the sale of our home was supposed to come to completion, we hit a snag. The home inspection had gone off without a hitch. But then the person who was sent by the bank to do an appraisal noticed some flecks of white paint on one little section of our fence beside the house.

He reported it and said it could be lead based because our home was built in the 70's. So we had to replace that one section of fence and remove any and all flecks of paint on the ground among the dirt and small rocks. You know, in case the future owners plan to allow their 6 and 8 year old daughters to spend hours each day sucking on the fence or licking the dirt. I said that was silly. Just because parents decide to let their kids suck on the fence and lick the dirt, doesn't mean they'll choose that particular spot. There is plenty of yummy unpainted fence around the yard, after all.

So, in observance of the lunacy already begun, we allowed the kids to help put up the new fence boards. They thoroughly enjoyed it and we were only out approximately a hundred bucks and a day's worth of time.