Destina's Turn

Here is Destina's video from her first Christmas home.





The other day we were all cleaning up the house everyone had a job. Once they finished a job I gave them another one to do and we all worked together for about 45 min and the house was clean. Every time I gave one of my children a job it was immediately followed by grunting and moaning and stomping around, but the job got done. When I gave Destina a job she would cheerfully do it. Scott asked her why she was helping so good and not complaining her reply was, "In Haiti I had to clean up poop all day, so these jobs are not hard to do."
Can I send my other child to Haiti for a week to live in an orphanage and then when that child is asked to take out the garbage maybe they won't complain!

Remember When

I came across this video taken  a little over 2 years ago Christmas 2010 their first Christmas home.  She is growing up so fast I keep telling her to stay little but she doesn't listen.

She's in Love

Avrie came home from school yesterday with this cute flower necklace and the words "I Love you" written upside down on the paper. She was so excited to tell me that a boy in her class, who shall remain nameless, made this for her. She giggled and laughed when I told her that she can't date until she is 16 and absolutely no kissing.  Then she showed me the back side of the necklace....

You have to look close but she said that is what she wrote back to him. She wore the necklace all day long and wanted to wear it to school today but I convinced her that she should save it some place safe.

Happy 15th Birthday!

Happy Birthday Ryan! There was a reason he was the last baby I actually gave birth to, he weighed 9lbs 7 oz it was like giving birth to a 3 month old. He was also our "surprise"! He was a week late and I was as big as a house, and couldn't move.  We let McKenzie be present for the birth, she was 7, which at that time I thought was old enough, and I thought she would stay up by me. She learned really fast where babies really do come from and she vowed that she was NEVER going to have one. But she fell in love with her little brother instantly and was like his second mother.  Of course, once he was old enough he drove her and the rest of us crazy. But when she was away at school he was the one she missed the most. They are pretty good friends now and he is almost out of the driving us crazy stage, it has been a long ride on his crazy train but we love him!

Not sure what he was doing with this picture but he got to miss school and go skiing for his birthday, maybe he is showing off his Christmas/Birthday/Valentines/Easter gift! We are really glad that Ryan was able to sneak into our family, he is a good kid making good choices and he has been a pretty good big brother and does well being stuck in the middle of this crazy family.

3 Years Ago Today

It is hard to believe it has been 3 years since the earthquake in Haiti. It is not something that we think about daily but when I do think about it my emotions go right back to that day 3 years ago and how we felt not knowing if our girls were alive or dead, and the stressful weeks that followed wondering if we would get to bring them home. I am grateful for a husband and the other awesome people that would drop everything and figure out how to get there and bring our kids home. I am sad for the lives that were lost and the conditions that still exist in Haiti I think about the wonderful people that are still there working hard to make life better, they are in our daily prayers.

I was so happy to see the girls looking healthy and at least one of them smiling. We have come a long way the last 3 years and these 2 girls mean the world to me. I love that scowl on Avrie's face and the way she is holding her hands, she still does that. (Destina just saw this picture and said, "I remember that day, Avrie was mad because she didn't want dad to put her down she wanted him to hold her all the time.")

Today their life is full of fun, school, sports, chores, friends and family. Avrie has no memories of Haiti and Destina talks about it once in a while but chooses to focus on her life now. They love each other and they are a joy to have in our home. Avrie came up to me this morning and told me she was having a dance party in her room with the music blaring, I caught Destina sitting in my favorite reading spot actually reading.  It is nice to be 3 years down the road.

Sometimes They Just Don't Listen

A couple of months ago Tim and McKenzie dog sat for someone and fell in love with their dog. I tried telling them not to get one, they are not ready for that yet, they are expensive, and now when they go to move they will have to find a place that allows dogs, and in Bellingham it is hard enough to find a nice place to rent. But they did not listen. McKenzie came over with her new puppy, Mya, a Shiba Inu it is a breed from Japan. She is very soft and she loves to play with our puppy, and so far, it has been a week now, they have been good puppy parents.

80 Degrees

The weather in Hawaii today was 82 degrees, 80 degrees warmer than the 2 degrees she is living in now, somehow she will adjust.  Katie made it safely to Utah with dry roads and good weather the whole way. She got moved into her apartment, met her roommate, and applied for a job all on day one.  We sent her off with some cold weather clothing but not enough blankets, she almost froze her first night. She is super excited to be there, and ready for the adventure even if it is too cold!

And They Are Off...

They left today, it was sad to see them go, we have had a lot of fun getting to know Jeremy, hopefully he survived getting to know us as well. The sun came out for a few days to dispel his belief that it rains all the time here, it started raining about 2 hours after they left.  Life is an adventure and it is fun (most of the time) to stand back and watch the adventures unfold.