SNOW DAY!

Who knew snow could be so exhausting? Everyone loves a snow day, right? The kids are all here and having a great time. The girls were out last night building a snowman and a snowdog until late. As soon as the sun was up, they were back outside playing with the little girls next door. We now have a snowman, dog and an igloo in our front yard. The kids are so glad we have such a steep driveway to sled down. But, a steep driveway meant lots of snow and ice and I could not get to work. So, the kids and I have a day off. Zac came over from his mom's house. He is having fun with Megan and Camille in the snow.

We had an exciting and busy weekend. William, Megan and I went up to Portland in Thursday. Meg had a appointment with a doctor at OHSU. Everything went perfect! She is healthy and growing as she should. It was a blessing to hear that from the two doctors she saw. On Friday we drove back to Eugene to see Camille perform in the All-State Elementary School Honor Choir. It was a choir of 5th graders from all over Oregon. It was amazing how well they did after only being able to practice for 1 day together. Immediately after her concert, we drove back down to Central Point, just a little south of Grants Pass, to see Zac and his team in a basketball tournament. The team came in 3rd but they all played well.

We were sad to get the phone call from Troy's mother about the passing of President Hinckley. What a wonderful man. I felt a little like my mom must have felt when President McKay died. He has been the prophet for most of my adult life. When I told the girls of his passing, they were concerned about what would happen. Camille took the news especially hard. She is such a spiritual little person. She has such a tender heart. We look forward to the new prophet and what he will bring to us. It's a sad and interesting time for church members. I forgot that this is the first time the kids and William have experienced a change of the prophet. It will be a learning time for them.

Well, it feels about time for a nap! I think I'll turn on the electric blanket and curl up while I can.

Peace and Quiet

Finally, I have the house to myself. It's been a loud week. I have been "watching" 2 of Zac's friends for the last couple of days. I think that 3 middle school boys are harder than 3 two year olds! They are louder and eat so much! It's been fun. It was the best when I sent them out the door with William to go to a basketball game tonight. The girls are off to friends houses to stay the night. So, it's just me and Simon. I will take a breather before another crazy weekend. My nephew Peyton is coming from Denver. The kids are stoked! We only have 3 basketball games tomorrow. It is better than when we had 4 soccer games in 3 different towns. The kids are excited for the 3 day weekend. I will work on Monday, so William get's to try it at home for a day. Do you think that maybe he'll take the Christmas tree down? He figures that as long as it's down by February, he's ahead of the game.
I got a fun phone call today. I had decorated a dentists office a couple of years ago. Well, another doctor saw the office today and asked for the name of the person who did the work. He wants me to do his new office. It will be a little strange. I have only decorated for people I know. Never for strangers. We have a planning meeting in the morning. I am a little nervous.
William and I met our case worker for the first time today. In case you didn't know, we are considering adopting a child. We have thougth about it for years. We thought about having a baby of our own. We have talked to doctors about it. It is possible, but would be quite expensive and a long process. I am not up for In-Vitro. I don't even know if that's how it's spelled. The kids are old enough that we don't want to start over with a baby. So, adoption is a good choice. We will go through the classes and do a home study. Then we can start officially looking at the bulletins to see if a child is available that fits our family. Our case worker let us take a look at one of the binders today. It was really uncomfotable. They have 3 large, 4" binders filled with profiles and photos of children waiting for placement. They each have a few paragraphs telling about them and how they came into the system. It was sad to see so many children without permanent homes. We had to put in our "request" for the type of child we wanted. It was such a strange feeling. As we looked through the pages, we wondered if any of these children would be available when we were ready and approved to apply for adoption. It has been neat to share this with our children. The first thing that Zac said after school was, "Did we get a baby?" I laughed and told him that it was not a store full of kids. Every one in our family has to fill out a questionnaire and tell a little about them selves. Zac is so anxious to get his done. He is SO excited about getting a little brother. We have explained to the kids that we are going to start the process and take it one step at at time. We may find that after all of our classes that another child is not what our family needs. It takes so long to go through the process. We don't want to wait for a year and then decide that we want a child immediately and have to start the process then. Our home study will be good for 2 years. We can make a final decision if we want placement anytime in that 2 years. At lease we'll have the option. Plus, we need to find the right child for our family. We are very specific about what we want and don't want. Anyway, it's exciting but very scary. We'll see where it takes us.
Camille is very excited for spring break. She has been invited to spend 9 days with a friend at Disneyland. She can hardly wait. Megan is excited for summer. She will be attending a camp at USU in Logan for Young Women. It's not church related, but is spiritual. It's about becoming your best self. My niece, Kiersten will also be going. I think the name of the camp is A Retreat for Girls. I don't know what Zac's plans for spring break or summer are yet. William and I want to get away somewhere soon. Prefferably, to a white sand beach, waves and a little guy who carries your chair and gets drinks! We'll see. I guess I better go tanning just in case we win the lottery and can take a trip! Here's hoping for Bon Voyage!

Pride

Pride, it's a bad thing right? Well, I have some in myself today. I guess I'm going down. I figured out how to take the pictures from our various cameras and put them on my laptop. I am so technically illiterate that this deserves pride! It snowed again this morning. The girls are outside playing. COLD! I took the girls with me to get our nails done this morning. Camille refused to get color and won. But Megan and I both got ours done. So cute. Megan wanted black. Really? Okay, whatever. We went out to brunch and ran into Zac and his mom. It was good to see him. He is going to Sacramento for a week. He is so excited to use his new snowboard tomorrow. The weather is bad so I hope they arrive safely. The house is somewhat back in order. I just need to take down the tree. New Years is coming. The girls are staying with friends and William and I are going to a party. Maybe we'll just stay home. We never have the house to ourselves. We'll see.

The Aftermath

Boxing Day? I should say so. The house is appropriately trashed. Sign of a good party I suppose. The garbage can is overflowing. Laundry is piled higher than Camille. I am exhausted. Can I be getting sick? I woke up with zero desire to hit the stores. I must have a fever. Christmas was wonderful. Full of friends, family and too much food. William even took work of Christmas Eve. That is a very rare occurrence. Usually in order to get him to take a day off, I need to take him out of the country! It was so nice to stay up late Christmas Eve and talk while we were getting everything ready. It was six years ago that he proposed for the first time. That's a story for another day. I can't believe it's been 6 years since we found him and Zac. The girls and I are so blessed to have them. My life is full. The kids all loved their presents. Zac got a new Ipod. His old one was, as he put it, dumb. Megan freaked when she found her first "blue box" hidden down deep in her stocking. She's tried 50 times to re-tie the bow as it came. Camille has not put her DS down. We are blessed. I think college will be the cheaper years. Zac has informed us that it is time for us to start looking at a car for him. Um, no. We are having fun teaching him to drive. It snowed this morning and then promptly melted. Maybe next time it will stick. I am looking forward to having this week off of work. I will get to do some fun things with the kids.