I'm Back...(Hopefully for more Frequent Updates)

As for me, I am loving having two babies, even though it is like having twins. I have started getting out more with them and have set up good routines to follow, so long as the kids don't sleep in too late. LOL I am trying to find time to spend as "lila time" and have been in a little better mood lately because of it. I can't stay on top of laundry, dished, vacuming, and cleaning the bathroom, but I do my best most days to put at least a little dent in it each day. I also have decided to go back to school and have been accepted into the BYU-Idaho Online Business Degree. I will take an introductory class in the fall and then starting in winter I will get going on the class. I am excited because I feel like this is something I can accomplish that will make me feel complete.

C-Baby has been growing like a weed. I can't believe how big he is getting...i swear everyday he is bigger! He has started doing the cutest things, like acting shy when someone is talking to him, talking more (saying Mama, baba, ect), learning how to do new things, clapping, waving, going up and down the stairs, eating real people food, and most importantly, not being on formula anymore. For about two weeks we have been working on getting him on Whole Milk, and I think it is safe to say that we are 90% there! We haven't had to use formula at all, but I do have to water the milk down (2oz water 4oz of milk)...the funny thing is though that he will not take his milk in a sippy cup yet. We are working on weeing from the bottle, and we finally found a sippy that he likes and will drink from without fussing...but he will only drink juice and water from the sippy. I am going to try adding a little bit of chocolate to the milk in a sippy to see if that will start the process. I think it is so much fun giving him "real people" food now. Whenever we go to a resturant to eat I always want to order him a little sometime..Joel thinks I am silly, but I think it is so fun! I have turned a lot of our leftovers into baby food portions and froze them so that we can always have something to feed him. So far it is working great! I think he is getting closer to walking, but I just don't know when he will take the plunge and get going. I hope he walks before we head to Oregon next month for C-Baby's first birthday bash. My parent have a large dog and I think C-Baby would be in a little bit of a pickle if he isn't walking by the time we get there...cross your fingers...one month to go!! Speaking of which, can you believe my little baby is almost 1? I am so excited!! We are going to have a party for him in Oregon (two actually). On his actually birthday we are having a dinner with his birthmother, her family, and friends in Portland, and then the next day we are hosting a shindig with all our Oregon friends! I am so excited to go home...visit the coast, eat at my favorite resturants, and see my favorite people! I am working on a wish list for C-baby's birthday and am contimplating registering somewhere so that people can just send gifts our way instead of buying them and us having to deal with getting them home, but that is just a thought, nothing more right now. C-baby has 7 teeth and one more slowly working its way up....he pretty much sleeps through the night now and he loves to go on walks. We have put baby locks on all but one of our cupboards in the kitchen, and we have also put a lock on the oven (which he gets very mad about most days). We have yet to lock our drawers, but that is soon to follow...he loves pulling my cook books, paper plates and anything else he can get his hands on out into the kitchen and then soon after all through the house.

Here is a little picture of N-Baby. I figure i can probably share a picture or two from time to time of her for your viewing pleasure. Adjusting from one to two has been fun for me (except at night when I really want to be sleeping but have a grumpy one awake preventing me from doing so) N-Baby is very sweet, smiles often, and has a cry that is so percing it makes you want to claw your ears out! LOL It is brutal! She has been having a very hard time sleeping and up until last night, we have been catering to her screams (even when we have done all we can do to help her)...last night however we decided to start letting her cry it out because it worked pretty well with CBaby. We moved her into C-babies room and had C-baby sleep with us in our room. After about an hour of crying, she was out. She only woke up twice during the night, only one of which i went and gave her a bottle. I think she really enjoyed sleeping in a crib and feeling like she had a place to herself. We have ordered her a crib, and just have to go pick it up. Once we get it set up we are going to attempt to have the babies in the same room and see how that works, after-all we don't have an extra bedroom until next month sometime when Levi will be heading home to serve his mission. Sure there is a lot of wondering surrounding this idea of putting the babies in the same room, but people do it all the time, and if they can get use to each other at night then i don't think it will be too big of a deal....we will just have to see. I am prepared for some late nights and trying to get them sleeping in the same room for at least a week..if after a week they aren't working well together, then we will adjust. We don't have many details on her situation, but we plan to have her at least until September. She is 7.5 months old now, has 4 teeth and two coming in, she is eating solids ok, and she is starting to figure out how to roll over, although i have only seen her do it twice. When we come to Oregon we will not be bringing her, and she will be staying with another foster family during that time. C-baby and her get along very well and have fun together.

The Green River started flooding last week and has progressively gotten a lot higher as the days of rain continue to fall here in Wyoming. It looks so awesome and is super fun to play in. I did a family photo shoot yesterday down at the river and Joel was a little jealous, so when he got home from work we headed down there with the kiddos and went for a fun walk. It really is cool to see...but the city is going to have to rebuild their levies after the water goes down. lol
Joel is still loving his job and is staying busy. He has found a new love on the internet...watching the A Team episodes. We watch one a night most nights.


This summer is going to be pretty pack with different activities and I hope to be able to keep you guys updated with pictures and such...this coming weekend we are meeting the Clark family (from Oregon) in SLC and will be going to the zoo as well as the new temple open house...amoung other things I am sure. Next weekend it is back down to Utah for two wedding receptions, then for the 4th of July we will be heading up north to Worland to spend that time with Bryan & Heather as well as making a visit to see Joel's uncle, aunt and grandma....mix life inbetween all that and you will be able to tell that we are going to be heck-a busy! Woot Woot

Getting Caught Up!

Sorry I am such a slacker! I mean really...I am rarely on this blog anymore and when I do come here, I am usually just looking at friends and family to see what is new with them. It seems like over the last week, a lot has happened. I turned 25, my mom came to visit then went home, she bought us plane tickets to come visit in July, we decided to start saving for a big screen TV (not quite sure yet how I feel about it though), I have started getting clients for photography, and we have a new addition to our family through Foster Care. Sunday we got a phone call from DFS and so now we have a 6 month old little girl as a possible "long term placement." She has two older siblings, but the are living in a different foster house...but that house is two down from our house, so they have come over to visit everyday thus far. I probably will never be able to post pictures of her, but if you are lucky you may meet her someday...somehow. It has definitely been a little crazy trying to juggle two kids around who are close in age, but hopefully by next week we will have a hang of it. CBaby loves having a new friend around and he is constantly trying to give kisses and hugs to her...the only problem with that is that he sqwishes her, so I have to be careful on that one! Our new baby, we will call her N Baby, gets scared and screams a lot when CBaby cries or makes loud noises....again, hopefully we will all adjust sooner than later! She sleeps VERY well and is just starting to eat solids. I have had to borrow some baby girl clothes until I can get a supply built up for her, but luckily there are people around willing to help out with that. We have our first big trip with all of us this weekend as we will be traveling to Boise for a family sealing....hopefully we don't go crazy! haha

Another one of those update things....

Here I am...having to write up another update thing because I am not a great blogger these days and am lucky to put up a new post once a week. Sigh, oh well....no one really has been making comments anyway, so I guess no one really misses me. RIGHT?! Yeah, thought that was the case. If I had a laptop, I might be able to blog more often because most of my days, infact i would say about 80% of it anyway is spent chasing C-baby around or just supervising as he explores and plays with his toys in the living room and kitchen area. On a not so good day, I am also chasing him up the stairs, running around to shut the doors to the bathrooms and picking up random crap that seems to like to find its way into C-baby's mouth. Being a mom is hard work. I think a lot of times Joel takes what I do for granted because quite frequently when he returns from his 8-5 job, I try to hide or get some "free time" to relax, but Joel isn't always a fan of that. He sometimes thinks that I don't believe his job is stressful and hard, which I know it is and I understand completely, but parenthood is a 24/7 gig and I don't get good enough time away or breaks. I am not quite sure what it is, but sometimes the appriciation department fails at their job. I am trying to give incentives to get that area geared up and running, but it is something I think guys in general have problems with at times...do you agree? What are your thoughts on that? Am i completely off the mark there? Anyway...that was kind of a tangent there, but hey, we all have those from time to time. Let's get to updating!!!

Nothing new! HAHAHA Did you actually think I had something exciting to tell you? Well, I don't. We are completely certified foster parents now and are just waiting for a phone call letting us know that a baby will be coming into our home....i honestly didn't think I would have to wait very long, but it has been two weeks and I am very sick of waiting already. It is probably good that we have to wait (for my sanity) but at the same time, it sucks! I have waited too long in my life to have kids...yes pluralized there...so waiting for me isn't fun. I want to buy baby clothes, but that really isn't necessary yet. I have everything that would be needed for a baby boy, but if we get a baby girl in our home, well then I am pretty much going on a small shopping spree and hoping that I can find some sweet deals on Craigslist and some yard sales. The joys of it all....although really I am excited...just sick of waiting.

My birthday is just around the corner and I am super bummed because I can't have a celebration as big as last years! Wasn't that fun?! The best birthday ever!! This year I really don't know what we are going to do. Probably nothing....we never do anything fun anymore....or so it seems. NERT!! We will just have to see...

We are anxiously waiting for our tax return to show up in our checking account. Everyday that I wait for it, I get more and more depressed. lately I have been feeling so depressed over our debts....even though there isn't really anything too crazy there....just little things that add up fast. As soon as we get our tax return back, we will be able to pay off 8 of our debts, leaving only 4 (house, truck, school loans) remaining! Isn't that wicked awesome? I am very excited for a chance to start over and to get a hold of our income again. We have a large wishlist that we would like to fullfill, but if we are lucky we will get at least one of those items taken care of....that would be food storage/72 hour kits. Other items include a new washer/dryer, laptop, tv, basement compelte, trip to Oregon, etc.

Okay...now, for some participation from you, my readers! LOL I was thinking that it might be fun to have a question/answer type of thing going on every now and again....the way it would work is that you ask ANY QUESTION that you might have had or do have about me, my family, my life, adoption, fostering, whatever...and I then post about that question and help you get to know me a little better. Are you game? If you are, then just post your question and I will answer it....promise. Even if it is a little questionable, I will address it...that is of course if it is rated PG-13 or below. hahaha Alright, get to askin'

PEACE

More C-Baby and Life...

When I am behind on my blogging, you can guarentee that once I start updating things, C-baby will be the highlight of it all....I wouldn't want to disappoint anyone, right?! LOL

Yes, it is true, C-baby runs my life and my camera, what can I say? If he wasn't so freakin' cute, maybe the camera wouldn't love him so much....NAH, that is a big lie....no matter what, the camera will never shy away from any one of my babies! It will be weird for me to be a foster parent because I will definitely take lots of pictures of the babies we get in our home, but because of confidentiality rules, I will not be able to post them. If we end up adopting a baby, then I will just have to post the scrapbook pages of their life to catch you up I suppose. Isn't that weird? I think so. Speaking of foster care, today Joel and I finished everything we needed to do on our end to be legally eligable for fostering. We did our CPR class and fingerprinting today. We were told that starting tomorrow we will be on the list and could recieve a baby at any time. That kind of freaks me out a little because there are so many factors that we wont know about until the baby is here....almost sounds like what we had to go through with thoughts on adoption, but this time we know we will be getting a baby soon, we just don't know what we will need. If we get a baby boy, we will only need to buy diapers, newborn bottles, and that is probably all...BUT if we get a baby girl...........we will have to buy the works, like clothing, hair bows, etc. I have a few connections here in town with friends who are going to hook me up with their baby girl clothes, but that is only once their babies grow out of it...and well, that could be a while. haha We are both very excited and a little nervous about this new adventure in life, but I know it will be worth it. We feel so good about this decision that there is no backing out. Yes, I will be tired again, and yes, I might have a few moments of freaking out, but hopefully I will have an excersicing program set up where I get to go work out for at least an hour a day at night while Joel plays super dad....and of course, I have friends who I can go to for help if I need it. What a blessing that is! I am planning on still working while we do foster care unless it becomes too hard on me and the children, but I think we will be good. I am currently in the market for a good pack and play, a double stroller/jogging stroller, and some bottles. If you have any that you would like to shoot my way, let me know and I can arrange payment for shipping!

Before I go, on a totally unrelated topic....my birthday is in month. I am going to be 25 years old!! WOW...oh and I GET TO CELEBRATE MY FIRST OFFICAL MOTHER'S DAY! I can't wait! Do you have any fun party ideas for me?? I am running on empty in that category....

Exit March...Enter April

Holly cow batman, where in the flippedy-dippedy did March go?

On Saturday March 28th I worked for almost eight hours. Joel was at home with C-Baby for the entire day, by himself...although not technically because Bryan and Heather were here visiting. I was so upset that I had to work eight hours...the night before I cried myself to sleep over it...how pathetic, I know...but it literally broke my heart that I had to be away from C-Baby. UGH But on the plus side, work wasn't really work at all because I was being paid to go through archery training to be an archery instructor. BOYAH! This summer I will be working some during the summer camps, and because of that, I was selected by my boss to help teach the children, K-7th grade how to shoot a bow and arrow. Honestly, I SUCK at it...I scored the lowest in the games we played and was lucky to get three of my five bows on the target. We might start training once a week or so soon so that we can show up any kid that attempts to challenge us. We will see how that goes.


In other news, I got my camera back!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So excited about that, seriously...not only can i take super cute pictures of C-Baby, but I can also start looking more seriously at doing pictures for friends/family/references, which would be great. I have had my eye on many different areas in Green River, and I just need the people to practice with.














C-baby is working on his first tooth. It is a cute little white spot in his gums right now, and it occationally gives him a hard time and he cries. Most of the time however, he just chews on his fingers and is content. He still refuses to eat regular type foods and is in love with the baby food products we give him. Hopefully someday he will get the chewing thing down and be a pro at eating Mommy and Daddy's french fries, bread, soup, meat, ect.

My Mind Feels Like it is Going a Mile a Minute...

Today, you get me expressing my thoughts so that 1)i can have this to look back on in a few weeks/months/years and 2)so you can feel like you know what is going on in my life, beside having the cutest baby in the world. Brace yourself, because I don't really know how long this is going to be, and I am honestly just planning on typing everything that is on my mind...the good and the bad.

Last week I had a strong impression that it is time to start looking at fertility options again. Last year, before we were really getting into the adoption thing, I was given the name of a doctor that is a top rated fertility specialist in Utah by my grandfather. He knows this doctor personally, and has seen how great he is and the results he has had. At the time, we lived in Oregon and getting to Utah for fertility treatments wasn't really part of the cards...there were many who were offering to help pay for plane tickets and what not, but honestly, it was next to impossible to even consider. We moved forward with adoption and up until this time, I have been content with the choices that my life has given me. There have been times when I am staring into Baby-C's eyes, that i just break down because i love him so much and because I still wish I could experience pregnancy and the miracle of creation. Last week, as I let my mind float into random thoughts (during church actually..more specifically during the sacrament and talks following), I found myself in a place where I knew what my next step needed to be...I spoke to Joel about it that night, and I am bracing myself for whatever may come. To say that I am scared, would probably be an understatement because in the past, everything I have done to try to tackle this issue has caused me extreme emotional hardships, among other things. This new decision in our life will give us direction...it will either work or it wont. My plan is that if my body struggles, the doctor confirms that I am broken, or the only possible way to even try to get preggers in invetro, then, no questions asked, I will do what I need to do to get my uterus out! The pain and the effects on my body are not worth living through if there isn't an end result that will give me the chance to grow a baby inside my body. I know that the miracle of adoption happens, and I know that it will give us the opportunity to be parents, so I am not concerned.

We are still going through with fostering, and will use this method (for now) as a chance to hopefully adopt again. We are ready for this commitment, and there is so much good that will come of it once we jump into it. Next week will are having a home visit, we have to get fingerprinted, and get CPR/FirstAid certified, then we are IN. I suspect that as soon as we get the go ahead, within days we will have our first placement. There are so many senarios that will come up, but thanks to the classes and the support from friends, we are ready to handle them as they come. Even if being "foster parents" doesn't end up working, I can still do daycare for foster families, do temporary care for foster children, and be an advocate for fostering. No matter what, we will always be involved from this point on.

Lately, my biggest mind trail has been work. I hate to work...i hate being away from Baby-C, even if it is only 3 hours, I hate feeling like I am causing others to postpone their daily lives to help watch him, and I want to have a normal schedule in my day where i can go for long walks/runs and not have to worry about being somewhere at a specific time. With that being said, I know things could be worse, and I am lucky enough to have Jody, my sister-in-law, as Baby-C's main sitter. Unfortunately, I kind of need to work, so that we aren't living in fear of the overdraw and to help a little where I can. I have been offered a position working with the after school program next year as the Head Instructor over an elementary. Right now I just show up when I am needed and just go with the flow, but if I were to take this position I would create the program, from the moment the children come to when they go home. It is very exciting to me, because I know I can make a huge difference in the lives of these kids, and I can help create order and activity that is encouraging growth. Only problem is that I would have to commit to at least 3 days a week working, possibly more...which would mean that Baby-C would have to have a stable place to go, so that he could be watched as well. I am not too concerned about this, because I do feel that it is good for him to be away from mommy and learn how to socialize with others, but again, it is that burden thing that worries me. How much is the going rate for 2.5 hours of childcare now a days anyway? By working often, I will still be bringing in enough money to help, and I work the school calendar, so I have holidays off, ect. I am leaning more towards taking this position, but at the same time, I feel hesitant. UGH! I can still do this work while doing foster care...so if we had a baby, i would just arrange to have he/she watched as well, probably at a foster parent's house though. (Confused? it is okay, i understand how it would work out. ) Did I mention that by taking this job I would get a raise too...not by much but I think it would be a dollar or more....which is nice.

Other than all that, I am still finding it hard to stay on top of all my household duties. (shame on me!) But, I think I am getting better. LOL

Oh, one other thing...I am working on a business idea to open up a baby consignment/donation center around here. There are a ton of kids around, and really no where to get used goods...I think it would be a success, I just have to spend more time creating the idea and working towards a business plan, ect. Fun times, huh?.......................................

I think it is probably time for an update....right?

Welcome back everyone! I am glad to have you reading this post, and I hope that it is a refreshing treat for you, since I am lucky to blog once a week now a days. I don't really have an excuse not to blog, I really don't....but lack of motivation to do ANYTHING plays a big role in that.

As of late, i have still been pretty sick. For those of you who don't know, about the middle of January I had to go to the doctor because my tonsils were so swollen that I was basically suffocating on them...it was the scariest thing I have had to go through for sometime....I was gasping for air and had to be careful how I took in breaths because if I took too deep of one, then I would gag and choke. I went into the doctor and he confirmed that my tonsils are the problem and he put me on antibiotics. Well, two weeks later I ended up getting a really bad ear infection and my throat still killed like no other, so I went back in. My doctor put me on a different antibiotic and said that if this doesn't kick the infection then he would send me to an Ear, Nose, & Throat specialist. Those antibiotics made my stomach feel like it was being eaten from the inside out, so I decided to stop taking them a few days into the cycle....mistake, because the next week my throat flared again...so about a week ago I got back on them, knowing that I still had 7 days that I could take it and that it might help things get a little better, except they didn't. On Tuesday I started to feel like crap, and I mean the gross stinky/runny kind that no one likes to deal with. It got progressively worse and now I am sitting here trying to recover from this awful sickness, while still having a throat that burns, head that throbs, sinus pressure that kills, and a cough that is painful. I will try to get into the doctor sometime next week to see if there is any hope to the end of this sickness stuff. I would venture to think that if I can get the tonsils out, then I would be miraculously cured because I have been sick and been known to get sick for a very long time....I am always sick...ALWAYS! If is isn't something dealing with my infertility, it is something that is dealing with the flu, cold, sinus infection, strep, etc. Needless to say, my week has been pretty miserable. So that is me....

Joel is doing great. He loves his job still and is finally starting to do claims on his own now. He still has lots of questions, but he can go on a job and get what is needed and be coached on the rest when he needs it. He travels a lot and will be leaving me for two weeks this Sunday to go to claims school in Bloomington, Illinois. I AM NOT EXCITED FOR THIS AT ALL. I use to enjoy a few nights away for a little breather, but now, with our babe, it is a lot harder to be flying solo all the time. I might be officially insane by the time he returns...haha But once he returns, I get him for a day, then he goes to Colorado for a few more days. UGH! I kind of feel sad for Joel though because Calvin is at his peak stage of starting to crawl right now, and when Joel returns from all his business stuff, Calvin will be a mover for sure!

Calvin is growing by the day. He started doing the one armed army crawl a few days ago. I have been trying to get it on video, but so far, no success. He doesn't do the crawl all the time, but each day he moves more and more. It is so fun to watch, but it is definitely showing us that we have a lot of baby-proofing to do, and FAST! I bought a cheap baby gate at WalMart the other day, but because of our stairs, we are going to have to figure out what other options we have....we need a baby gate that will bolt to the railings or something like that and latch to the wall. I am keeping my eyes out, but if you know of any, please let me know. Calvin still doesn't sleep through the night and it is driving me crazy. We are working really hard at trying to get him to sleep but nothing so far is working. I have tried the "ferberizing" method, and I don't mind that, but when Calvin has a cold or a cough I don't like him crying a lot because he chokes...so as of late we haven't been working on that...just waking up when he does, giving him a little bit to drink and then praying that he sleeps longer than 2 hours at a time. He is still a chunk, but is only in 9 month clothes (unless you bring up the gerber white onesies because he is in 18months for those...NERT) Now a days, if you are around Calvin, besides the moving, you will also notice that he is a talker. He loves to talk....baby talk of course, but he is always saying something. It is pretty adorable. We continue to do sign language and are working on expanding our volcabulary so that we can teach Calvin more as the time progresses, but at this point we get reactions from Milk, Eat, Jump, Mommy, & Daddy. We are signing drink, boy, more, play, cereal, and ball as well, but those are newer to him, so he just thinks I am a goof. I know it will pay off, so that is why I don't mind if he thinks I am a goof! No teeth yet, but I am sure they are working their way out....there have been many a night when there is no soothing possible unless you use the teething tablets and orajell stuff. Hopefully those little buggers will stop moving under the gum and start poking out. I am also trying to help Calvin learn how to feed himself with his hands. He isn't very good at those rice puff things and he always chokes on them, so the other day a friend suggested that I try to soak them in water first and then offer it to Calvin. I did, and there was no issues...I break the little puff into about three littler sizes so that he can figure out the chewing thing. Next week I might start giving him a whole one and seeing what he does. He loves to eat squash, sweet potatoes, peaches, and as of yesterday prunes. He had been a little backed up, so I thought giving the prunes would be helpful....umm, yeah, they sure were...all down his leg to his foot helpful! YucK! He can eat the peas now without gaging, but only half a serving at a time. He still eats rice ceral too, but I am going to move to oatmeal soon. I bought an abundence of rice cereal, so I am going to try to see if I can exchange it for the oatmeal instead...we will see how that works.

I guess that is the update I have for you right now. I will try to be better at blogging, but no promises right now. Life is going to be alittle crazy for me the next few weeks....Imight even try to escape to Utah for a few days if my friends will have me....we will see how that goes! Whelp, hasta-pasta!

Catching up With Life!

Do you ever look at my blog and hope that I would update you guys more frequently on what we are doing here in Green River, Wyoming? You know, like day to day activities, or just something other than updates on Calvin? Well, fear not, this post is specifically for those who are wondering, "I wonder what is different in their lives now that they have moved.." or "I haven't heard anything about a church calling, are they even attending church anymore?" I am always excited to answer any questions that any of you guys have, so please, if you are wondering something, anything really....leave a comment or shoot me an email and I will answer it as honestly and truthfully as I can. Deal?!? Good....then let's get started!

Q: Has our lives changed at all since moving almost two months ago?
A: YES and no. Yes because we are hardly ever seen outside of the house. Occasionally on a weekend we will go get a geocache or drive around some uncharted area, but mostly, I would have to say that we are homebodies now. Don't get me wrong though, I love love love leaving the house and doing something fun, but there really isn't a whole lot of options around here. Plus, if I left the house during the day, chances are that I would wonder up to Rock Springs to go through some stores, which is just enouraging unnecessary spending, which at this point we are trying very very hard to watch every penny that is spent or else we wouldn't be able to have the joys of food, a house, internet, power, ect. :o) Our lives haven't really changed because we are still the cool cats....we love to have people over (although the only people who have come over to date to hang out are Jody and Cody, but we love every minute of it!!), we love to joke around, and play with our little love-bug Calvin.

Q: Do you like living in Green River?
A: I get this questions almost every time I meet someone new....funny that everyone asks, but still, it is a valid question, however I can really only speak for myself on this one. I assume Joel likes it because he never complains about it, but maybe we can get him to express his feeling about our life change sometime soon...but for me, here is the truth. I like living here for a few reasons....there isn't a lot of traffic, most people are pretty friendly, when I look out the window at night I can see all the stars, including shooting stars on occation. To drive to the grocery store it only takes one minute (literally). I live in a house that I "own".....I get the chance to become better friends with family members on Joel's side that I haven't before. The things I don't really like about living here is the fact that nothing is open past 11pm, so when those late night cravings come we can't go to Jack in the Box, Sharis or any place like that. The only two hamburger joints in town are McDonalds and Artic Circle...I haven't had an "instant friendship" with anyone yet...I have to try very very hard to make friends around here because most people that i have met are either a lot older than me, or major homebodies...they just don't want to leave and do anything fun. (although on a side note I did hang out with Becca yesterday and was very excited to feel like I fit in with a group of women....)

Q: Are you going anywhere for Christmas? What about Thanksgiving?
A: Nope. We are spending our first offical Christmas alone this year....although we really wont be alone at all. Joel's cousins, Josh and Becca, live in Rock Springs and have invited us over to spend some of the holiday with them since most of their family will be visiting. Calvin will get to meet his Great Grandma Strasser, and that is very very exciting to me! We have also been invited by our neighbor to join their family for Christmas Dinner...that will be nice. Because Joel doesn't have time off work and we don't have any money to travel, we are going to enjoy our first Christmas with just our little family. We are however going to Utah for Thanksgiving. My parents and brother/sister-in-law are driving down to Sandy and we are going to have a combined family Thanksgiving at my Grandparents House!!! I am SO EXCITED! Not only because I will get to see my family, but just to be around civilization...a target, costco, and traffic! YES!! We are also going to spend some time with one of Joel's old mission compainions who lives in SLC. It will be a blast!

Q: So are you inactive or do you just not talk about church?
A: HAHAHA! We actually just received calling in our ward (finally) and are very excited about them. Joel has been asked to serve as a sunday school teacher for the 12-13 year olds, and I have been asked to serve as the Primary Chorister. (if you have any fun ideas for the primary calling, please please please let me know....I am always in need of some good ideas!) We will offically start our assignments next week! Our ward is so small that they have the junior and senior primary together during the third hour, so I will have my hands full trying to teach the sunbeams a song while the valiant 12 kids get grumpy at me for making the song "too babyish". But, I am SUPER SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THIS CALLING!

Q: When will your adoption be finialize?
A: Hopefully (we are praying extra hard and could use your prayers too) that it will be finialized by the end of the year....if it is offical December 31st, I don't care, just as long as it is done by then I will be a very happy camper. If we can get everything finalized by the end of the year then we can claim our adoption costs on this year's taxes and we will be able to claim Calvin on our taxes using his social security number rather than trying to get him an identification number.

Q: What is next for your family?
A: We are currently working on our paperwork to start infant foster care in our home. We decided that we wont accept any child older than Calvin. I think our end goal with this is to adopt a baby through the state, although I am not really sure how frequently that happens here. Other than that, we are trying to get use to our new lifestyle and move forward in life!

A "Shotty" kind of a day....

Now before you go getting all offended by the title of this blog, you need to know that there is a reason for the title......today, I went and got two shots for my new adventure in life, being a substitute for the after school programs that are held here in Green River working with kids from kindergarten to eighth grade. It will help keep me sane and give me variety until we are able to get finalized for fostering. I can work as little or as much as I want and am lucky enough to have Jody living close so she can watch Calvin while he plays with his cousins. I am also going to be helping out with a "Mommy and me" type of class that does allow me to bring Calvin. It should be fun, and much needed since I am pretty much going crazy here because I have practically zero friends and am trying desperately to avoid depression (although somedays are better than others). Those shots that I got hurt, and they will for the next few days....but you got to do what you got to do.



Today I got a box from my good friend Heather....she has recently lost 40lbs and counting, and looks AMAZING I might add!!!! She had quite the build up of clothes that she no longer fit into, so I graciously offered my assistance in helping her forget what she once was. It was perfect, really...I have been living with two maybe three pairs of jeans (although I only really wore one of them) the rest of the time I just kicked it in sweats or pjs all day long....now, I have an abundance of pants and can wear a different pair every day of the week, plus a few days....HOW AMAZING IS THAT? Seriously, Christmas has come early for me! I promised her that I would do a fashion show sometime, and so, in a few days, I will probably post a few pictures of me in my new, super cute, clothes! Really, i am so excited!


In other news, Calvin turns 4 months on Monday! Can you belive it?? I mean really, 4 months already?!?!! He has his check up on Tuesday, which means he will have a "shotty" day as well...I think he is due up for 4 shots, poor fella! He is very active and will be starting cereal very very soon. He has out-grown most of his 3 month clothes, and I have found myself putting him in 6 month sleepers for bed because he is so long that the 3-6 sleepers are pretty tight on him. He loves bath time, jumping in his jumper, playing with himself in the mirror, reading with daddy, and screaming....

As for Joel and me, we are both doing good. Joel still loves his job and is starting to learn more of the ropes. He has been traveling around a lot going to claims and will be on his own in no time. I have created a chore chart for myself to try to stay on task everyday...it only works some of the time, but I know it will work great once I get a little more motivation behind me pushing me forward. We are going to be traveling to Utah next week for Thanksgiving to see my parents, brother/sister-in-law, and my grandparents. My parents and brother are drive to Utah for the holiday. I am very excited to introduce Calvin to my grandparents, as he is the first great grandbaby on their side. How fun!!! We will spend a few days down there and then return home....probably to snow.

And finally, please participate with me in MaNiC MoNdAy...it is so much fun to see everyone's pictures, and once it gets going, I think we will have a good amount of people playing along....so tell your friends and get them involved to!! (to find out more about manic monday, go to my label cloud on the right side of my blog and select it)