Slap on the Wrist!

It has been half a year since I've updated my blog.  I didn't think much of this until today, when a couple of good friends let me know that they are tired of checking my blog only to find it stagnant.  I apologize to them and anyone else who feels let down by my blogging neglect.  I promise to try to do better in the future.

Rather than try to include everything that's happened over the last 6 months, I will talk about a few of the highlights today, leaving some info. as subject matter for future blog posts, thereby encouraging me to update my little blog more often.  Enjoy!

First of all, 3 of my kids have had birthdays.  Most notably was Mikey's 1st birthday in March.  The poor kid had to eat his cake with no teeth because he didn't cut his very first tooth until the day after his birthday!  It didn't seem to bother him, although I couldn't be sure how much of it went inside him compared to how much of it ended up on the outside!

OK, so we took a trip to Long Beach for Spring Break this year and it was a lot of fun, but it was COLD!  We spent most of our time indoors, either shopping or watching the thousands of clamdiggers that converged on Long Beach for the opening weekend of razor clam season.

In June we took off again for a Johnson Family reunion in Lake Tahoe where we camped for a week and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the lake.  I especially enjoyed the 3-1/2 hour paddleboat cruise we took that was very fun and informative.  While we were there, Me and the kids also toured some old mansions on the lakeside and learned a lot more about the history of the area (I love that kind of thing, and afterward even the teenagers admitted that it was cool.)  We did some shopping, hung out with distant family members, and had an all around good time together.

Cruises aren't so exciting for Tom.  He takes a boat to work and back every day!

Too much for Hannah!

Emerald Bay - the 2nd most photographed place in the US.  If you look carefully, you'll see Allan, Leanne, and Kira in the foreground next to the waterfall.

After a week at Lake Tahoe, we headed to Utah for more adventures.  We did a lot there and I have lots of pictures to download before I can write about it properly.  Hopefully it won't be 6 more months before I get around to doing that!

New Year Reflections

January 1st, 2010.  I can't believe it when I see that date in print.  I remember being a girl of 9 years old and looking forward to the future.  I remember thinking that the year 2000 was SOOOO far away!  I was born in 1970, so the year 2000 represented a lot to me.  First of all, it was the year I would turn 30 years old - I was pretty sure I wouldn't live that long, I mean, not even my parents were THAT OLD!!!  Also, I thought of all the things that would be different in the future.  Technology (we still had 8-tracks when I was a kid), cars (I wanted a hovercar so badly!), and I thought food would be made in "replicators" (I watched Star Trek and Battlestar Gallactica alot back then).  It's fun to think back to how things used to be (remote control?  Microwave oven? VCR?  What are those???) compared to how they are now (I'm typing this on my laptop via WIFI connection).

In my wildest dreams I could never have imagined my life today.  Although I have always believed in God, (I used to call "prayer lines" advertised on TV and have them pray with me - it was free back then), I didn't belong to any organized religion until 1984 when I was 14 and joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Arguably one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life.  That decision has guided me to every good thing and blessing in my life.  First of all, I not only survived to the age of 30, but I will be turning 40 a mere 2 months from today (God willing!).  Also, I have learned how to be more Christlike.  I value service to others, kindness, honesty and faith in God.  I served a mission at age 21 and learned a lot more about the Gospel and about myself and others.  I was married to Tom, my best friend and eternal companion in the Seattle Temple in 1995 and we are now the proud parents of many beautiful, intelligent children.  I am especially blessed with the opportunity to be a stay at home Mom to them.  We had 2 babies of our own, are in the process of adopting 2 more, and for the past year, we have been foster parents for several newborns who, unfortunately, have been born affected by drugs or alchohol and must be protected from those influences until a safe and permanent home can be provided for them.  Our family has been very blessed by this service to others, and sometimes I wonder who is getting more out of this; the babies, or us?

It's not that we haven't faced challenges over the years.  To the contrary, we've had our share, it's just that with the Gospel in our lives, we have the tools we need to deal with them.  We learn and grow from each tragedy, heartbreak, and disaster.  I have learned to be grateful for the challenges in my life because, even though they are difficult to deal with at the time, their true value lies in their ability to make us better, stronger, and more prepared not only to deal with future challenges, but they also prepare us to help others in unique ways.

That being said, I hope that everyone who reads this has a very happy and healthy new year.  I hope that you will accomplish all your goals and receive every good thing you hope for throughout the year.  I know that I am excited about what the year will bring.  Our 15 year wedding anniversary (I still love you, babe!), a milestone birthday for me, a milestone birthday for M (he'll be 1 in March!), a child entering high school/seminary and being old enough for Youth Conference and Church dances, and hopefully 2 adoptions will become final during this year, which will be the biggest blessing of all.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 

Christmas Party!

We went to several Christmas parties this year, but my favorite one was the Ward party at our church.  I swore off mall Santas several years ago after deciding it's not worth waiting in line for 2-1/2 hours with cranky kids, only to find, when we finally get our turn, that they gouge you on the picture prices, and Santa doesn't really have time to listen to what your kids want for Christmas (why else would they have waited so long to talk to you?  Do you think THEY care about the pictures??).  They just snap the picture and herd them through as fast as possible.  No, thank you!

It may be less formal, but I sure do enjoy the atmosphere of the "church Santa" so much more than the mall version.  It is WAY more memorable for my kids, and I am allowed to stand close enough to hear what they are asking Santa for.....(Just because I like to know).  Plus, I always know who's lap my kids are really sitting on, and that's a comfort to me!

Aren't they cute?  Another great thing about the church party this year is that Tom cooked all the food, and he did such a great job!  We had pork loin and roasted baby red potatoes, along with a yummy veggie medley, salad, and freshly baked rolls (Those were ordered in).  Everyone raved about the food.  It made me so proud of him.  He's still got it!

I didn't get a very good picture of Mikey this time, so I'm hoping my friend Dani got a better one, since she was taking pictures of all the kids on Santa's lap that night.  If she did, I'll try to update this.  Danny sat on Santa's lap, but didn't want me to take a picture of it, so I can't post it.  Teenagers are strange that way, aren't they?  Not too old to sit with Santa, but too old for anybody to have proof of it!!

Thanksgiving in Long Beach, WA

So we went to Long Beach this year for a week over Thanksgiving.  The weather was beautiful, if chilly, and we had a unit facing the beach and boardwalk, so we had a beautiful view from every room of the condo.

We didn't get to explore too much of the great outdoors, but we did get to spend 6 hours in the ER at Ocean Beach Hospital in Ilwaco one day because baby C was pretty sick and we were very worried about him.  The ER Dr. said he had a cold and sent us on our way.  We found out a few days later (when we got home and took him to his regular Dr.) that he had RSV and we spent 3 days in the hospital observing him until he started to get better.  It was scary!

So we spent a lot of time indoors, but Tom and I did manage to get away a couple of times to go Christmas shopping in Oregon (tax free!)  Thanks to our family who watched our 5 kids for us so we could do that!  It was nice to be with Tom's parents, and his 2 sisters and their families over the holiday.  We played a lot of games, and watched a lot of movies, and most of the kids went swimming everyday, except the ones that were too sick (we all ended up sick before all was said and done).

In the end, we had a nice time, and we remembered to be thankful for our blessings, which is the most important part, and it was nice to hang out without schedules and meetings, and everyday responsibilities for a change!

Settling In

No pictures today, because I don't seem to have time to take pictures until after the kids are in bed, but by then there's nobody to take pictures of!  I do want to say that we are settling in with our new family.  Boy, I NEVER pictured us having 5 kids, but right now that's what we have.  Luckily, one of them is temporary, although he's a sweetie and I would probably keep him if I could.  Having 2 babies is certainly interesting.....I always wanted twins, so I guess this is my chance to see how it feels.  The second hardest part is trying to go somewhere.  On Friday we went to Target for more baby gear, and we had to put both babies in their carriers in the double stroller while putting the 3 year old in the cart.  Luckily there were several of us to help push them around the store.  The hardest part, though?  Sleep deprivation.  I'm not complaining.  I am very blessed to have all of them in my life.  Just stating the facts.  With that being said, I'm off to bed while I still have the chance!

A Visit from Bell's Palsy

On Sunday we were at Church, very much enjoying a special Stake Conference where Elder L. Tom Perry spoke to us, when Dan noticed that he couldn't close his left eye.  Assuming it was some kind of muscle spasm, I told him we'd put a warm compress on it when we got home.  But before we left church that day, he realized that the paralysis had spread to all the muscles on the left side of his face.  He couldn't smile or raise his eyebrow, etc.  Me, being the kind of overprotective Mom that I am, decided that a nerve is being pinched by a brain tumor and rushed him to the ER to get it checked out before it could grow any bigger.

3 Hours later, we left the ER with the comparatively wonderful news that it was "not a tumor" (remember:  Kindergarten Cop), but Bell's Palsy instead.  Whew!  That's a relief!

For those of you who don't know (as I didn't) about Bells Palsy, here's an article that describes what it is:  http://www.bing.com/health/article.aspx?id=articles%2fmayo%2f518713b29d2fbf1977e844bca6524327.html&br=lv&q=bells+palsy&FORM=K1RE1

The Dr. prescribed 3 medications (an anti-viral, an anti-inflammatory, and an ointment to moisten the eye that he can't close) and told us not to worry.  We are expecting a full recovery within the month.

Sorry there is no picture to post, but Dan didn't want me to post one while his face is still paralyzed (can you blame him?).  Thanks to all our friends who helped us through those first few hours of uncertainty and dare I say terror before finding out his diagnosis. 

Miracles Happen

One month ago we posted about our two little foster kids who left us to go and live with a relative.  It was a very sad time for us.  On Thursday we found out that they are coming back to us.  Miracles DO happen!  We have really missed these little guys over the last 4 weeks!  We wish they had never left, but sadly, it wasn't up to us.  Now they are coming home and hopefully it will be for good this time!  Of course, the judge has to rule before they can move back in with us, but in the meantime, we will be able to spend time with them, like taking them to trunk-or-treat at church tonight!  They'll be spending the night so we can take them to Church tomorrow as well.  We are grateful to have had these two angels in our lives and we are especially grateful to know that we will have them in our lives again soon.  We love them so much!