Saturday, January 01, 2011

Happy New Year!!! 1-1-11

Happy New Year Everyone!

Last year was a pretty great year, and I am really hoping this one is EVEN BETTER. As a matter of fact I know it will be!

So what did we do in the last year you ask...
Well since the last time I updated my blog was around Easter I will catch you up!

I started doing emergency foster care. Basically that means that I do foster care for children when they are first taken out of their home. I prefer to do little babies (newborn) as they don't really know what is going on. They usually stay with us for one to fourteen days, but I have had them as long as 22 days. Over the summer I took a break from emergency foster care to just hang out with the kids. We spent a lot of time going to the pool, the boys went to skateboard camp for a week, and we spent some time down in Orange County with my family. All in all a pretty great summer.

The boys have really gotten into skateboarding. I looked and looked on for a half pipe for them that we could get and put in our back yard. Most were too expensive and if it was free it was not in our area. Finally I found one on craigslist that was free, and right around the corner from us! It took Shannon and Adam the better part of two days to take it apart, transport and put it back together, but I am happy to say we now have a mini half pipe IN OUR BACKYARD!!!

In August school started again (WooHoo)!!! Skyler is in third grade and David is in first. I help out in their classes on Monday mornings. They both really like school and have great teachers. I enjoy helping in their classes. It keeps me in touch with the teachers and they love having me there! (the boys, and the teachers). Skyler is in a class that is taught by two teachers, one at the beginning of the week and one at the end and they switch off Wednesdays. I thought this might be a problem for him, but he has done quite well with it. One of his teachers has a working cattle ranch and so we got to go out there as a family (the whole class got to do this) and have a hike and lunch. It was a lot of fun.

David's birthday is in the beginning of October, and he decided he wanted to have a roller skating party. It was a lot of fun and the boys really liked roller skating. They recently started doing roller hockey on Monday nights at Rollerama. Skyler is a born athlete! He seems to be good at whatever sport he tries. David is good too, but he is a couple of years younger...you know... he will get better as he goes along (and has gotten better!)

Hallie is such a cutie!!! She is 18 months old and really a lot of fun. I am enjoying having a little girl. It is so different than having boys. She is really a good baby, happy and good natured. She currently repeats everything you say (good and bad) and is learning lots of new words each day. The boys seem to really enjoy her and are such great big brothers! The most exciting news about Hallie is that WE GET TO FINALIZE OUR ADOPTION ON JANUARY 14th!!! Less than two weeks away. Let the countdown begin.

We had a wonderful Christmas. We drove down to my sister Amy's house in Orange County, took our fifth wheel and spent the week down there. Christmas Eve was at Amy's. We had a wonderful dinner (as always Amy and Brock are such GREAT hosts!), and then it was on to the gift opening bonanza. The kids all got a lot of presents and were SO EXCITED! Christmas dinner was prime rib at my parents. It was so, so yummy!!! We got to spend time the rest of the week playing and enjoying our cousins, Aunties, Uncles, Grandma and Papa! We went one day to the Discovery Science Center which was really interesting and the boys really had a lot of fun. We were intending on staying through New Years Day to be able to eat some really great Korean food, but came home a couple of days early as there was a threat of SNOW on the Grapevine. We will have to go back down in a few weeks and pick up our 5th wheel.

So today is a NEW YEAR! Happy 2011. May you all have a Happy and Prosperous year filled with Joy and Blessings!!!
Love Ya,
Shell

ps: I hope to get some pictures up here this afternoon! Oh and send out my Christmas cards this week!!!