Our Christmas History

Christmas 2004

Christmas 2005

Christmas 2006

Christmas 2007

Christmas 2008

Christmas 2008

Logan's new dipes....

I used cloth diapers on Justin, but when I had three in diapers I got a little overwhelmed and went back to sposies. Now that Savanna and Justin are almost done potty training, we have gone back to cloth prefolds with a snappi. This time we added a wool soaker cover over top at night and he NEVER leaks any more.

We're almost there!

We have some good news from Bethany. We have gotten the OK from the state to adopt and now we are just waiting for the date. It has been a long road for us and we are so happy to become a "forever family" with all of the children. One of the things that makes it extra special for me is that my sister chose me to be by her side when each child was born (the first by emergency c-section and the rest were planned c-sections) so now that she has died, I am the only person on Earth who was there when each child entered this world. I view that as a great privilege and it makes it just as special in my mind as my children that I gave birth to!

This is a picture of how little Isaac and Olivia were when they first came to live with us. She is about 22 months old and he is about 32 months old. They look so young here.

Here is Isaac, Olivia and Justin Christmas of 2005.

Here is the night when I first realized that our lives had changed forever. Katie had passed away on this day October 23, 2006. It was such a terrible day. At the end of the day I realized that I no longer just had one baby to put to sleep but two. It was very bittersweet. I was about 6 1/2 months pregnant with Logan in this picture as well. This was two days before Justin's 1st birthday and Savanna was 15 months old. I will never ever forget this day.

Halloween 2008

Halloween 2008

We had a lot of fun trick or treating. We only went to about 10 houses because Olivia was tired and Justin didn't feel good. His picture about sums up how he felt all night.

October 2008 updates...

Justin's 3rd Birthday cake. He wanted a "John Deere party" because he and Logan are obsessed with tractors. Mom made his cake which is nothing fancy, but it was a tasty carrot cake.

Justin

Justin got a lot of really nice presents and lots of TRACTORS!

The girls have a "girls only" day with mom. We went shopping in late September and had a lot of fun. The girls were so happy, they sat in the back seat singing to the Dixie Chicks the whole way.

Pumpkin picking in our garden.

July Pictures

Logan and Savanna putting gloves on their hands and feet.

Savanna and Olivia at the birthday party.

Justin and Logan sleeping together on the couch.

Justin and Logan at Savanna's Hawaiian birthday party.

Olivia goofing around with rubber gloves.

Savanna's 3rd Birthday!

Savanna with her coconut cream cake.

Savanna and Olivia. Savanna with her new baby and sling "Like Momma's"

Grandma Shane told her to show us the back of her dress
and she posed like this. Isn't she beautiful!

Savanna wearing her Hawaiian dress.

Savanna turned 3 today. We had a great time and she had a fun day. We decided to have a Hawaiian theme since it's summer. We had chicken and beef kabobs with rice pilaf. We also had a giant fresh fruit salad with a pineapple and coconut creamy dip. For her cake I made a coconut cream cake. She got a lot of nice presents and a ton of Dora stuff.

July 4th

We had a great time on vacation. I had major camera problems though. Bummer. First my media card was full at 417 pictures and Walgreen's couldn't seem to handle that many pics at once. I bought a new card, but when I went to use it on Saturday the batteries went dead. Ugh. We only got one picture before my camera died and the kids ran off to play in the sand. Isaac was still sleeping at 10AM from being up to late and that's why he's not in the picture- plus he wouldn't wake up.

Logan's Leg

Logan had his first mishap this week. He has been limping since Thursday after falling in the garage. By Saturday night he would hardly put any pressure on the foot. Sunday morning I took him in for X-rays. It doesn't show any breaks that they could see, but kids his age don't have all of their bones fused yet. Also they have a large amount of cartilage in their foot. He clearly has a bad sprain at the least, so they decided to put a "soft cast" on it. We have to see the pediatrician this week to see if he needs a hard cast.