The World of Mother Goose!

We went to the Nashville Public Library and saw "The World of Mother Goose" puppet show. These 2 ladies did an amazing job entertaining the kids and they put their own spin on the nursery ryhmes. It was hilarious and a MUST SEE if they do it again next summer.

Jonathan looking cute!

LoriAnne and Emily (cousins but they are more like twins)

They are inseperable and always looking out for eachother.

Robyn, Jason, & Carly

The threesome! Jonathan, Jason, & Michael

Fun in the Sun!!!

This year we decided to get a smaller pool then the one we had last year. The kids love to go swimming in it!

Jonathan trying to check out the water.

Robyn was nice enough to help Jonathan into the pool. Apparently that is not what he wanted. He liked touching the water but not being in the pool.

Carly trying to run from the camera unsuccessfully :)

Jason chillin' on the bike.

Hansel & Gretel Marionette Show

We went to the Nashville Public Library with my sister to see the Hansel and Gretel Marionette Show. The kids had a great time.

The girls sitting in the front patiently waiting for the show to begin.

LoriAnne, Emily, Carly, Robyn

Jason, Jonathan, Michael before the show

Jason, LoriAnne, Emily, Michael, Robyn, Carly, Jonathan

This is after the show...do you see jonathan off to the side crying again. He actually did stop during the performance. he was definitely not having a good day. Life is tough when you are 2!

While walking back to the car the kids enjoyed this area of the side walk that had air blowing up. These kids are easily entertained.

Baking with Robyn!

The title of this should actually be "Robyn's first time baking on her own". Robyn put her apron on and said she wanted to help me in the kitchen. Then that led to her wanting to make something on her own. So I pulled out a box of brownie mix and was ready to help her. However, she did not want any help. Robyn read the instructions and made them on her own. This girl was born with being independent! She successfully made and baked the brownies on her own. Dave was the guinney pig and tried them first. :) Robyn did an amazing job without any assistance. Way to go Robyn!

Can you see the brownie mix on her upper lip? I guess she already learned that the chef has to test it out before it goes into the oven :)

A Fun Day with Aunt Becky

My sister took my girls to Jump Zone so I could have a few hours to clean my house. It is amazing how much stuff I can get done in a few hours with only 2 kids. Thanks Becky!!!!!

Just Because...

We do not have church on Sunday until 1:00pm so I have been enjoying doing hairstyles on Robyn that take longer to do. I really liked the way the one for today turned out. I didn't take pictures until after dinner tonight but is held up pretty good all day. My pictures are not that great but I wanted to remember what I did for future times. I think this is one of my favorites.

All "Tuckered Out"

My kids seem to like to fall asleep anywhere but their beds. Lately I have had a hard time getting Jonathan to go to bed. This is our conversation everynight.

Me - Jonathan, it is time to go to bed
Jonathan - No it's not good night time it's good morning time

Unfortunately, since it is staying lighter later he thinks he should not have to go to bed until the sun goes to bed too.
So the other day we came home after swimming at my sisters house and I found Jonathan sound asleep on the steps that leads to his bedroom.

He looks so sweet just sleeping here.

"Update" on Adoption Update

I just spoke to the boys social worker and the birth mom never came by to drop off the "supposed" important documents she had. So now we will patiently wait for the August hearing when the parental rights will be terminated.

Interview w/ Robyn

1. What is something mom always says to you? Don’t kiss anybody

2. What makes mom happy? If I clean my room

3. What makes mom sad? If I lie

4. When does your mom laugh? when i do funny things

5. What was your mom like as a child? I have no idea

6. How old is your mom? 35

7. How tall is your mom? Your not tall

8. What is her favorite thing to do? Go to your sister’s house

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? Clean the house

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Working out

11. What is your mom really good at? Jazzersize

12. What is your mom not very good at? swinging

13. What does your mom do for her job? workout

14. What is your mom's favorite food? apples

15. What makes you proud of your mom? Working out

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Hannah Montana
17. What do you and your mom do together? Buy clothes and shoes

18. How are you and your mom the same? We have the same hair

19. How are you and your mom different? We don’t have the same clothes

20. How do you know your mom loves you? When she hugs me and kisses me

21. What does your mom like most about your dad? Kissing and hugging him

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? Jump Zone

From Robyn's answers you can tell what her answer would be if they asked her what she did all summer....I went to Jazzersize with my mom. We have done other things...

That's "our" LoriAnne

LoriAnne is spending the night at my sister's house tonight with Emily (Carly is here spending the night with Robyn). I just got this e-mail from my sister with these pictures...
"Orange and red paint from Carly's paint set that was under Carly's bed. I told her that she should only color on paper and she asked "Why?" :)"

Adoption Update

I love this picture of the boys...it is from last summer. This is one of the first times that they played together. They have become such good friends. Jonathan (although he is younger) is the one who takes charge and has Mikey do whatever he is doing. I am really enjoying watching their personalities as they continue to develop.

So now for the Adoption Update. We had a court hearing last week to re-instate the termination of parental rights. Just to bring everyone up to date with everything...originally parental rights were terminated last August. The mom had 70 days to contest it and on day 70 the mom's lawyer submitted papers to the court to contest the termination of parental rights. The grounds for this was the mom insists that Jonathan's birth father belongs to a Native American Tribe. Because of our very disorganized social worker who could not find all the letters that were submitted to the tribes to show that Jonathan's "supposed" father did not belong to a tribe...they did a reversal of termination of parental rights in February. So new letters were sent out to all the tribes. Our social worker (this is a "new" organized one) called the beginning of May to let us know that he received the letters back from the tribes and none of them had Jonathan's father registered as a member of their tribe. Also he received a letter from Sacramento stating that the information that has been received has been sufficient to go forward with the termination of parental rights. Sooo that leads me to the e-mail we received from our social worker today with the court update....
"The mother reported to the judge that she has essential information verifying their American Indian heritage. The mother was ordered to provide it to me today, I have not yet received. Court is continued until 08/03/2009."

I am trying to not let this get me down. When the boys were placed in our home almost 2 1/2 years ago and we were told it would be 6 months before the adoption would be finalized I never thought we would be where we are at today. I know we have been so blessed over the past couple of years. Just the fact that the courts gave us permission to leave the state of California before parental rights were even terminated was a blessing we are so greatful for. It is looking like the adoption will finalize in 2010 (3 years after placement).

This is one of the times that I wish I could see the "Lord's Big Plan" for our family. I am ready to have more children placed in our home to adopt but unfortunately because of our special circumstance adoption we can not have any more children placed in our home until the adoption is finalized. I know when the time is right everything will fall into place.

I know it is times like this that brings me closer to my Savior because I rely on him to bring me the comfort that I need...I need to have faith in Him and trust Him...
Ether 12:12 "For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them..."