Perfect end to a perfect summer

We finished up our summer with one last camping trip of the season. We went up the rim near Clint's Well. I do not think I have ever gone camping on a holiday weekend and oh man, it was busy. We left early Fri morning, and I am so glad we did. We had friends meet us Fri night and they said there was a 10 mile back up coming into Payson. We had a great time as always. We love the fellowship and food with friends. We love making these kind of memories for our children. We did come home Sun afternoon partly because it rained most of Sat. night and Sun morning, and to avoid traffic. Now I am up to my elbows in muddy laundry but would not change a thing! I added a bunch of pics so enjoy a bit of our weekend!

PS Asjiah did great this weekend! By Sat. AM she did not complain once about pain, I think getting away was exactly what she needed. I will update more about her after our appointment next week.

My super cute hubby dubby!!!
This is how we found him Sat. night when we went to bed...hysterical!!!

This was the highlight for Jacob!

He had so much fun exploring the forest.

Sweet girls!

Yes, I played a round of "baseball", I laughed really hard running the bases.

Such deep thought...wonder what about?

Update

We went to the surgeon this afternoon and everything looks really good. He is pleased with the blood flow, infact it is still bleed at the nail bed and he says that is great! She has a fancy purple wrap (her choice) and the thumb is looking so good I do not need to do anything as far as dressing the wound until we go back for follow up next week. God is so faithful!!! She is doing better than expected and I did get about a 45 min nap! Thanks for the prayers! Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Pray for Asjiah

Asjiah had to go to the emergency room last night, we got home a few hours ago. She was hurt as I was on my way to pick her up at daycare. Her right thumb was slammed in a door and she has what they call a partial amputation. The tip of her finger from the nail bed out was basically severed. They were able to stitch it up in the ER but we will have to go to a hand surgeon either today or tomorrow. There are no garrentees that she will keep the tip of her finger, it is all dependant on blood flow. She is bandaged up and actually her thumb looks pretty normal so it is just a matter of time and healing at this point. My biggest prayer request is just for her and her fear. I cannot imagine how scary something like that is to go through without her Mom. She has such a tender heart and I know God is using this to bring her and I closer...I can see that already. She had to rely and trust me and I know this will be good in the long run. So, just keep her in your prayers as she heals...I would love for her to be healed completly and back to normal, but if not God is good and He knows the why and how for the future. Thanks friends!

PS Pray I can get a nap today! Shane is going to try to come home at lunch.

Fort Self

Some of my favorite memories growing up was when my brother and I would build a fort in the house using chairs and blankets. We would set up a tiny black and white TV, bring our toys and sleep in the fort. Those were some fun times...so I decided I would build one for our kids this past weekend. It had to be significantly bigger to accomidate all the kiddos but it was much more sturdy as I used zip ties to attach the blankets to the chairs. The babies did not sleep in the fort, but Shane and the big kids did. I rented them a movie, they stayed up late to watch it then all crashed. I was lucky enough to spend the evening with a friend and when I got home after 11:00pm I took the "sleeping" pictures.

Asjiah is burried under there somewhere...hahahaha!

Precious!

Pure joy and delight!

Our kids love Organ Stop Pizza, Shane's parents take them there several times a year. We wanted to do a fun family evening last night and decided to take the kids. My Mom came along and we had a blast. Asjiah and Ayana had never been there and to see their faces was pure joy and delight. I saw smiles I have never seen and the fun and silliness was exploding from their bodies. They danced in the isles and truly enjoyed every moment. It again reconfirms our purpose in fostering...to give these children love, joy and new experiences. What a blessing!

Toe Art....self pampering made fun

Copying my dear friend Suzy...I love my toes! It is the small things in life these days that bring a BIG smile to my face. HeeeHeee!

Exploring the world...

Such a cutie! He had more fun exploring with the hose and water than swimming! It is amazing to see the wheels in the brain turn as he tries to understand the how and why.

Always in the middle of the night!

My image of our God is changing slightly, I think He must be a practical joker...seriously! "Why" do you say, well let me tell you! As part of the certification for becoming a foster parent there has to be fire alarms in every room. Most new homes this is standard, but our home is just a bit older so we added them to each room. Last night, it happened again!!! The dang thing started beeping, you know when the batteries are just about gone, it beeps to let you know "hey, homeowner, you need to change the battery". Again, many of the new homes have their units wired right into the electricity so some of you may never experience this wonderful beeping. Anyway, it only beeps in the middle of the night! I swear, only the middle of the night, regardless of when you change the battery, it decides to make itself known in the 12:00am hour. Now, if it happened only once, fine, I can handle that, but NOOOOO it has happened every single time this same way. So, me, chipper and fabulous when I am woken up by this crazy beeping, begs my hubby to take care of it. He slowly begins to move, or shall I say stumble in the dark to check which wonderful fire alarm needs attention. After disconnecting the unit he comes back to bed. I was still in that great mood and sat up and said "Darn thing, I am going to have to blog about this in the morning." We both broke out into laughter at that point. Don't we just love to be able to vent ridiculous frustrations on this fabulous thing called the world wide web? So, to wrap up, since all these things were installed at the same time I am expecting it to happen again very soon, or maybe I should just have that hubby of mine change all the batteries and avoid the disruption to my beauty sleep!

What every Mom waits for...

So today is a very special day in the life of Nathan and I. Those of you that know him know that he is in this phase where he is constantly saying "Mama, what's that?" and pointing. (He of course does not say it that clearly) So today, we were driving back from taking the girls to preschool and he pointed in the air and said "elicoper". I turned around, smiled and said "yes, good word" and only as he can, he smiled back at me and said "Mama, I love you!" It was so clearly understood, sounded just like it is supposed to. Tears in my eyes even now...I said "I love you too baby!" This is a day I didn't know I was waiting for until it happened. He is as much my baby as Jacob and Samantha, and that fact that he was "born" in my heart is so special and overwhelming at the same time.

Thank you LORD for the ability to love this boy with a wholeness I never imagined was possible. Thanks for the gift of Nathan and everything his is now and will become. He is your baby, and you trusted me enough to love him with my whole heart, my cup runeth over!

Day with Sydnee

I got the privilege of spending the day with my sweet niece Sydnee again. She is so funny! I have to say, it has been a couple months since she's been here and she is way more work! She crawls all over the place and is curious about everything. She tried to keep up with the big kids, but they move pretty fast for her. Nathan is totally in love with her and I have to remove him from here space over and over...he just wants to love on her with kisses and hugs! Thanks for the fun today Syd!

So long pacifier

My dear sweet paci,

our time has come to an end.

You served me well,

but I 've out grown the trend.

We shared many dreams,

our time together is over it seems.

I am now a big boy,

thanks with love and joy.

First Day of 1st Grade

Jacob is off and on his way to his first grade year! He has several of his friends from kindergarten in his class so he is even more excited to get going! Have a great year of learning son!

Photography 101

Thanks to my dear sweet friend Joy, she sent me a blog of here favorite photographer and I have spent too much time searching and getting inspired by several amazing photographers. Now, I have this intense need deep down to CREATE! Here are a few pictures took in Seattle that I changed to B/W or saturated the color to intensify! I am hope to take some photos of Samatha this evening as I cannot sit here much longer...time to get creative!

Our Samantha a "STAR" someday?

So we all know Samantha can be amazing and say the funniest, most embarrassing things I have ever heard a child say. Even from the time she could barely talk, interesting things would come out of her mouth. As she is getting older, her use of vocabulary and her understanding of these words continues to amaze me. She is getting more funny though...take yesterday for instance. We were at Target spending some of Jacob's birthday money. She had been doing this "spontaneous singing" all day thanks to Suzy and this great microphone from Peter Piper Pizza which makes her even louder. Well, the singing continued into Target with the exception of the microphone. She would add verses to her songs based on which isles we happen to pass at the time. As we were finished paying and headed to the doors to leave, she flips her body around, extends her arms straight out, does a little bow and proceeds to say very loudly, "I am here all week!" As if her whole audience in Target was coming to her show! Where does she come up with these things. I am laughing again as I replay the images over and over in my head. She is a funny girl!

Party Pictures

Happy 7th Birthday Jacob!

Back Home, More Pics, and Wrap up

Well, as with all life these days the trip went by fast. I have to say that so far the weather is what I miss the most. I had no idea just how beautiful it was there. Having a brother in art school and my new camera, we took quite a few creative liberties with the scenery. It was fun to experiment with such a fantastic canvas the God created just to please us. Enjoy a little more of my trip...thanks Rich!

Can you believe I actually found a boat with his name on it? And I had to take a picture!
We went to the beach not to far from his place...the water was cold but it was quiet and peaceful.

Experimenting with some features on my camera!

We ate lunch at this cool crepe place in the farmers market. Everything was made fresh, and I mean fresh! They cut all the veggies, fruit and cheese as they made your crepe! Hmmmm...delicious!

Seattle Day2

Another beautiful day in Seattle! Here are a few pictures, more to come in the days ahead!

This is the harbor just outside of my brother's place!

Kerry Park, a very high end neighborhood with the best view of the city!

Of course a Mariners baseball game! It was cool and fun to see the game from straight away center field. Thanks for the fun Dad and Maryann!

Hello from Seatle!

Ok, so I want to move here! Maybe coming in the peak of AZ summer is a bad idea! It is gorgeous here...50 degrees cooler at least. It was raining when I landed but woke up to clear, beautiful blue skies. I have included a few pics from this morning. Since we are in the downtown area we ride the bus to get around. I will send more when I have more. Rich has planned a party at his place today so I can meet all his friends. Love to all for now...

Fresh fruit, veggies and flowers fill the Pikes Place Market...the smell was pleasantly intoxicating!

Anyone up for an adveture...I think this is squid

Deadlist Catch anyone...Alaskan King Crqab legs

My brother waiting for me at the airport with a sign...this put a big smile on my face!