Morning Thoughts

I've been praying a lot lately that God would show me the right path to take for the girls and their schooling. Ethan is in pre-school and because of some of his delays, I think he's in the best place possible right now to meet his needs. I don't feel the same way necessarily for the girls though.

The school they are going to is in it's second year of being open and has so much potential for success! Last night while watching the news though, a commercial came on about a website where you can find out the grade of your school in Colorado. I went on out of curiosity and while I know I should keep a very open mind because there is only one year of data to report on, the school received an F. I do believe some of that is because they do only have one year of data but it was still a shock. It just gives me one more things to consider in the big grand scheme of things.

Another reason I am a bit hesitant though is because we do plan on continuing our foster care license and are hopeful that we will be able to open our home to another placement in the spring sometime. There are benefits to having the girls home while doing foster care...it means being able to take the child if possible to their school they have always been going to if it's in their best interest. It makes it easier to have some one on one time with them during the day which then gives more time after school to a foster child placed with us. One problem I could foresee though is getting to any required meetings that might be held during the day if the girls are home with me. That would be where building a support system would help...and that will come!

I think way too far ahead and really need to take it one step and one issue at a time though. If you wouldn't mind, I'd ask for any prayers that God continues to guide my family as we figure out the best options for us.

Reece's Rainbow Adoption Ministry

This organization was recommended to me a year or so ago. I've followed them on Facebook and wanted to spread the word about them. They work very hard at advocating for children with down syndrome but also for other children with special needs. Children are typically overseas living in orphanages. I'm still learning about how to help but I have learned that even if you can't adopt, they are always looking for someone who is willing to pray for a child. I've looked at the photos of these kiddos and I wish I could just bring them all home with me! But, obviously that isn't possible. There is also an option to donate money to a specific child to help cover the cost of their adoption. It's all tax deductible as well.

I just wanted to share a little about this organization and help spread the word!

Cervical Cancer

Something that I find is near and dear to me is cervical cancer awareness. In April 2001, I got a phone call that changed my life. I was called and told that my pap smear from my postpartum check-up had come back abnormal and I needed to come in to the clinic to discuss the results. I received the call on a Saturday morning and although the nurse reassured me that I did not have cancer, that did not make me feel better. I was 21, living in Japan with a brand new baby and had all weekend to obsess about the phone call.

My journey with frequent pap smears and biopsies lasted until after I had Kodie. I was lucky...mine always remained low grade and was labeled as CIN 1 and CIN 2. What that means is it was something to keep an eye on but nothing to be too scared of. I only realize now, 11 years later, just how lucky I was.

I was lucky because I had regular pap smears and when you have them regularly, it often times means any changes will be discovered early. I was lucky because I had insurance...women without insurance often times do not have yearly pap smears and when they go in, they sometimes get results back saying they do in fact have cervical cancer.

What has been discovered is that 99.7% of the time, abnormal pap results are a results of HPV. Some strains of HPV are described as high risk and are more likely to cause cervical cancer. There is an HPV vaccine out there now that is recommended for girls to receive. It's a personal choice when deciding whether to let your daughters and even your sons for that matter receive it. From my stand point, I have a different view of how the HPV vaccine can be beneficial. I'm looking at it from the perspective of having lived through being scared that I could end up with cervical cancer.

January is cervical cancer awareness month and I just feel it's so important to bring awareness to something that can sometimes have a stigma attached to it and also to bring awareness to it because it is so preventable.

Getting healthy

I like to watch the Biggest Loser each season. Some seasons are better than others I think. This season the theme is "No Excuses" I like that idea! Because let's face it, sometimes it's pretty easy to come up with excuses to not work out or to get take out for dinner because it's more convenient.

I have struggled with my weight for quite awhile. It really did not become a problem though until after I got out of high school and had a family. I wasn't thin in high school but I also was not over weight...although a doctor wanted me to think so when I weighed about 5 pounds more than the recommendation for my height. Honestly, to be told that, it hurt my self-esteem but I didn't really realize it at the time. It's something in the last few years that I've realized had a impact on my perception of myself.

I am overweight and it's a hard thing to admit. For now, I am in good health aside from being overweight but I know all too well that it can change for the worse quickly. I go through spurts where I do really well and wake up early to work out, eat more healthy and cut out sugar for the most part and then something happens and I am back to my old ways of not getting up to work out. I make excuse and do not make myself a priority.

I have friends who are naturally very thin and have good genes that help them and I have friends who are like me who struggle. I wish I had good genes on my side. I wish it was easier to lose the weight because it sure was easy to put it on!

A lot of my family struggles with their weight and I don't want to see my kids have the same problem. In our family, we talk about being healthy. I do not want the girls ever thinking they are fat. I think they are far from it. They do not have to be a size zero to be pretty but in this media obsessed society, if you aren't a size zero then the perception is you are not. I want them to be proud of themselves for who they are and not for what they look like.

It's hard to set a good example and I do try. I have stopped having pop in the house and drink more water or tea now. We eat out less often and the next big step is going to be making a commitment to working out again. I wish I had a friend here who could go to the gym with me. I used to go years and years ago before work and it made me feel really good afterwards.

I've just let so much get in the way and I've lost sight of myself and making myself a priority. I want take that all back so I can be around for a long, long time.

Something more positive

Okay...my last post was a bit of a downer right? How about something more positive...I wanted to share an organization that I really like. The girls and I picked out different items to buy before Christmas and they had fun doing it.

It's called Samaritan's Purse. It's a Christian organization that helps those in need. Have you heard of Operation Christmas Child? I would like to do this, this year. You use a shoebox and fill it with little toys/objects and candy that is then sent to a child in need all over the world. I've had friends who have already done this and I know it was a rewarding experience for them.

What the girls and I did was look through an online catalog and pick out different items to donate. We had many different options. Some of them to name a few were:

1. Teach a child to read and write

2. Build a school or impoverished children

3. Life-saving mosquito nets

4. Clean water for a thirsty community

5. Sheep

6. Baby chicks

There are so many more things you can purchase/donate. We decided on an amount to spend and then picked different things. I think the thing they got a kick out was being able to donate money for baby chicks for a family!

We look forward to doing this again this year and I just wanted to share this great organization with you all :)

Funk...

The last few days I have just felt like I was in a funk. Not sure if it's the lull after the holidays or if it's the fact that today after a three week break from school the kids went back. Although, Natalie spent the day home since she was sick early this morning.

I made a post on Facebook last night about taking a break. Sometimes I wonder if I am on there too much. Sometimes I wonder would I honestly be missed if I just shut down my account. I know I would by some but to be honest, I don't think most would even know. I'm not trying to garner sympathy or anything like that just stating what is pretty darn obvious to me.

To me, Facebook is a bit like high school and I was not really good at the social aspect of high school. I am, I think, a bit socially awkward. I have a hard time striking up a conversation and putting myself out there for fear of rejection. High school is not something I would ever want to experience again for various reasons and now, Facebook makes me feel awkward like I did back then.

Don't get me wrong, I love being able to stay in touch with friends and family....I think the problem for me, is seeing people respond to anyone and everyone except for me. I never expect anyone to respond to everything I post but when I hear that people are so busy that they just get on real quick but then see their posts to others, it's hard to not take that personally.

But I suppose the same could probably be said about me. There are probably times too where I don't post or reply to many people so I guess it's a bit ironic really. Hmmm....is it ironic? I always forget how to use that properly.

Anyway, this has just been weighing on my mind and felt the need to put it out there. Please take no offense because I cherish each person I know...like I said, I think I am just in a funk right now. Hopefully with getting back in the routine of things will help out!

To homeschool or not

Some of you may know I have contemplated whether to home school my kids instead of sending them to public school. Lately, I have been feeling pulled towards keeping them home and homeschooling. It is something I really need to research more honestly though.

I worry that I would not be able to stick with it. I worry that I am not smart enough because let's face it, everything is taught differently now than it was when we were in school. I often wonder if it would be easier to do if I had a support system here of other parents who also home schooled. And I think the hardest part could just be getting started.

Everyone seems to home school for different reasons. For me, it's appealing because I don't feel the education system is as great as it could be. There is less funding going towards education these days and as a result staffing is smaller, class sizes are bigger and there are less programs offered.

My girls seem to be the ones who get caught in the middle. They are not the kids who excel and are above grade level but they are not behind enough to not be on grade level. There are some areas they struggle with more than others. There used to be programs to help kids who struggled but because of lack of funding most schools do not have them and if they do, they are only offered for kids who are not on grade level.

I also feel class sizes are way too big now. At the school they are currently going to, there are 28 students per class. I have a lot of respect for teachers because I cannot imagine trying to teach a class that big with less resources every year but I have to wonder are students now getting the best education possible and enough one-on-one help? We have had some wonderful teachers and we've had some teachers unfortunately who were either just not the right fit or really should probably not be teaching.

Anyway, it's something I still ponder about often and eventually I really need to figure all this out.

Disclaimer

I wanted to say thank you for the positive responses I've received so far. I think some blogs that I'm sure are to come will end up being therapeutic for me....so I wanted to add a disclaimer that I am far from a writer and while there should be no spelling errors I can almost guarantee there will be grammatical errors. In school I just never could wrap my head around where commas went or when I needed to end a sentence and start another one. Also, my entries will be candid at times and I hope to not make anyone uncomfortable but I just write the thoughts that very quickly run through my head. I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the future!

Ethan

We adopted Ethan on December 14, 2011 here in Colorado. He was born on November 7, 2008 in Anchorage, Alaska. It's kinda hard to talk about this because while we are proud he's a part of our family and I want to share every little detail, I also want to be respectful to his birth parent's.

Early on in my marriage to Steve, I knew I wanted to adopt a child. I wanted to do an international adoption and to be quite honest, to this day, I still do but we will see if that path is ever presented to us. The path that was presented to us though was to adopt out of foster care.

We were asked if we were interested in adopting him in December, 2009 while we were living in Germany. We had been asked before but we weren't sure and prayed about it. So when we were asked again, we did not hesitate that time and in January, 2010, the state of Alaska asked us to find a social worker to start our home study. I got working quickly because we were given the impression that Ethan would be with is in February or March...and this would not be the first time we were told one thing and then have it change drastically. I found a social worker and we started the adoption process.

What we learned with foster care, is that you have to expect the unexpected. There are no certainties about anything and it requires a lot of patience...I would assume with adoption you would require a lot of patience but with foster care, many children are not legally free to adopt when you start the process. The entire point of foster care is to reunify children with their parents when they've been taken into custody. I could not agree more wholeheartedly that reunification should happen if it is at all possible and if it is safe for the child.

Once March came and went, we were told to expect to have Ethan in May or June and we continued working on our home study and other adoption paperwork. Then it was decided they would not send him until parental relinquishment had occurred. It was difficult for all of us. On the one hand, we were excited but there was sadness too. It was scary because if you open yourselves up and then you don't adopt this child, you will have a broken heart.

Parental relinquishment happened in July, 2010 and we were expecting to have him hopefully around September but again, there were more delays with getting his passport so he could travel. By the time Alaska was ready to send him to us, it was mid-November and we were getting ready to leave Germany for Alaska. So we ultimately decided it was not in any one's best interest to uproot Ethan for Germany and then uproot him again 6 weeks later.

We arrived in Alaska two days before Christmas and had Ethan placed with us while we were living with my parents. What we found when we were finally stateside was that we'd have to have Ethan in our physical custody for 6 months before they could proceed with the adoption. The point is to make sure the child adjusts well to your family and the family adjusts well to the child. What made the situation challenging was that we did not know if we were staying in Alaska permanently and if we weren't, when we would be moving.

In January, 2011 some questions were answered because Steve was offered a job with FEMA here in Colorado and he had a start date of February 28th. You would think that would make life a little easier but in fact it complicated it even more because our case then became an Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) case. We were given permission to take Ethan out of the state of Alaska and bring him with us to Colorado.

We arrived here in Colorado and had to wait for a caseworker in the ICPC office to get in touch with us so we could start the adoption process all over again and start a new home study. Home studies are only good for one year and if you move, they need to be updated or redone. Thankfully we had a great caseworker here and she was quick to respond to any questions we had...which let's face it, we had a ton!

So we started more paperwork and trainings that were required in order to be licensed foster parents. We were given two options when we moved here. We could either proceed with the adoption after having Ethan for 6 months or become licensed foster parents and then proceed with the adoption. Children in foster care are put on Medicaid when they enter the system to cover their medical expenses. They are able to keep this if they are adopted until they are 18. Some children even qualify for adoption subsidies to help with their care once they are adopted. The subsidy is based off of their needs. The state does not pay you to be their parent but the state wants to make sure if they have extra needs, they are able to be met. In order to qualify for a subsidy, you have to be a licensed foster parent receiving a monthly stipend because otherwise they have nothing to base the subsidy off of. We chose to become licensed foster parents because Ethan does have some extra needs but also because we are interested in pursuing foster parenting beyond Ethan.

Our adoption and licensing process was long and it was partly because Steve was gone quite a bit once we moved here due to all of the flooding in North and South Dakota. We managed to get everything done though and have our home study finished over the summer. The next step then was Alaska accepting our home study and our foster care license and entering it into their system.

Once Alaska accepted our license we were able to finally be paid a monthly stipend. Because up until September 2011 we had not been licensed, we had not be compensated for Ethan's care. It wasn't a big deal but it was nice to finally receive something. Then the process of deciding Ethan's IV E eligibility had to happen and what that meant was trying to decide whether his subsidy would come from the federal or state level. If they are IV E eligible the money comes from the federal level and if they are not, the money comes from the state level. Our caseworker here was pushing hard for an adoption hearing for December, 2011 and everything was figured out by the end of November. It was a relief to finally be to the point where we were really ready and able to proceed with the adoption!

On December 14, 2011, we as a family all went to the court house and finalized the adoption. The girls were very excited..we all were! Ethan is now 3 years old and in pre-school. He loves playing with trains, cars and dinosaurs and LOVES to dance to music. It's a whole other world again having a toddler in the house and it's been challenging but we would not change any of it!

The reward was so great in the end!

Kodie Ann

Kodie was our unexpected blessing. She was born on November 5, 2003 in Wichita, Kansas and weighed 8 pounds 9 ounces. She was given the name Kodie Ann Rebecca. Kodie's name is a tribute to my sister who is Mary Anne and I also have an aunt named Mary Ann :) I loved the name Kodie from the beginning regardless of whether we were having a boy or girl but we did want to feminize it a little so we changed the spelling and added Ann to it. Steve was not too convinced though so we talked about other names and considered going with Hailey but a week before I was due, I kept having a dream about naming her Kodie Ann Rebecca and that was it! I found out I was pregnant with Kodie when Natalie was 2 1/2 months old. I have had a history of abnormal pap smears and the doctor wanted to do a check but I was told they could not do certain procedures if I was pregnant so I took a test and got the surprise of a lifetime!

I had a bleed early on in my pregnancy and it caused concerns for the doctors so they monitored me closely with ultra sounds. By 20 weeks though, it was very apparent she was fine and we found out we'd be having another girl! Again, like my previous pregnancies, this one was pretty easy and again, I would end up being induced two weeks after my due date.

While I was pregnant with Kodie, we packed up in Japan and moved when I was almost 35 weeks pregnant with her for Wichita, Kansas. We visited Steve's family after our arrival back to the states and his brother Sean helped us drive Steve's truck that he'd been keeping for us and we again packed up with Steve's truck, our new van, all the adults and our two girls and one safely secure in my belly. It was a long two days but we were very happy to be able to get settled before Kodie's impending arrival.

We decided to buy a house in Wichita figuring we would not move again before Steve retired from the Air Force and we looked at tons of homes in our first few days there. We thankfully found a home that we were able to close on about a week before my due date.

With my pregnancy with Kodie, I found that I did not stress about certain things like I had with the previous two. I was in no hurry to have her so long as she was safe. The doctors offered to strip my membranes to help me out but as I learned with Natalie it did not always work and I was not in any hurry to have her so we just let things progress on their own. I must have a wonderful uterus though that my children find it nice and cozy in there because she was induced two weeks past her due date.

Since we were new to Wichita, we had no one to care for Emilie and Natalie so our wonderful realtor offered to help us out. I loved the obstetrician I had for my last few visits...because of how quickly my labor with Natalie went, they decided to wait to break my water and increase the pitocin slowly. I had an epidural with her but this time, I think it worked perfectly because I was not in pain but I was able to feel everything I needed to. My labor was 5 hours long...not too long but long enough that things went smoothly. Unfortunately, the doctor did not get there in time to deliver Kodie so the student resident did but everything went perfectly!

One thing I noticed after I had Kodie was something just seemed off with her. She was extremely sleepy. So much so that she didn't want to eat. From my past experiences, that was quite unusual. I also remember thinking she was not a cute baby and worried others would think that too...don't get me wrong, I thought she was beautiful but some of her features were just different then what I was expecting. Her eye lids were swollen, she seemed like she had bug eyes and just extra skin that was not quite filled in. I felt terrible feeling that way but no one wants others to have nothing nice to say about their brand new baby.

About a week after we had brought Kodie home, we received a phone call from the pediatrician letting us know she had congenital hypothyroidism. We were told to go pick up her prescription and start it right away and then to make an appointment with a pediatric endocrinologist. The first time we met the endocrin doctor, one of the first things he told us was out of everything a child could have wrong with them at birth, this is a good one because it is extremely manageable and as long as she received the synthroid daily, the long term effects would either not happen or be minimal. Congenital hypothyroidism is one thing they test for in the newborn screening. I had never heard of it up until that day.

I have felt and some days still do feel guilty that I could have caused this to happen to her. I worry that because my pregnancies with Natalie and Kodie were so close together it was my fault but it is what it is and all we can do is move forward and just manage her care.

Kodie is a combination of both Emilie and Natalie. She has got a stubborn side to her but she is very gentle and kind as well. She was my one daughter who actually had hair before she was two years old and that was always a lot of fun! She is in second grade and is doing really well these days.

She just turned 8 and it's just the saddest yet most exciting thing ever.

Natalie

Natalie was born December 2, 2002 and weighed 9 pounds 6 ounces. Her full name is Natalie Eleanor. I had originally wanted to name her Eleanor but we ended up just using it for her middle name. Eleanor comes from my great aunt Eleanor. I have very fond memories of her teaching me how to sew a button onto a shirt and just believing in me. Women I have known with the name of Eleanor always remind me of strong women and for Natalie, I think that will ring true. She has a strong spirit about her!

I found out I was pregnant with Natalie on my 22nd birthday. As soon as Emilie turned 6 months old, I was ready to get pregnant again. Natalie took a little longer to conceive than Emilie did or as I would find out, Kodie would. My pregnancy with her was extremely easy. I walked daily and ate much more healthy this time around. I was nervous to be adding a second child because most people I spoke to made it sound a bit terrifying.

My mom and aunt came to Japan two weeks before my due date to be there for Natalie's birth. Natalie however had different plans. Natalie was in absolutely no hurry to be born. My aunt left to go back to the states and I was still pregnant. I spent the day after Thanksgiving for a non-stress test at labor and delivery. I was 4 cm dilated but the doctor sent me home. I left very frustrated because I had been told up to that point that once I was 4 cm they would induce me but what I came to find out that every doctor has a different opinion and no two doctors do things the same way. As we got ready to leave I told Steve I was not coming back to the hospital unless it was my induction date or my water broke...this had not been my first visit to labor and delivery so I was feeling a bit irrational at the time. The doctor overheard me and tried to reassure me and told me to come back if I had contractions. The problem was, I was having contractions but not enough to make me dilate more. My mind had been made up though, I was having Natalie at home before going back to labor and delivery unless my water broke.

Thankfully, I did not have Natalie at home...I don't know what I was thinking! I made it to my induction date. My mom and friend Brandy stayed home with Emilie and Steve and I went to the hospital. The induction started at 8 am and I had decided I wanted an epidural again. By 9 am, the contractions were strong and I was 6 cm dilated so they called for the anesthesiologist. That doctor was in my room within 5 minutes and I had quickly dilated to 8 cm so they told me no epidural but they could give me something else and again, 5 minutes later they decided to check me again because I was in a lot of pain. They quickly realized that I was ready to push and it was now too late for any medication. That's right, in all of 10 minutes I had gone from 6 cm to ready to deliver our second daughter.

Some of my delivery is a blur because it happened so quickly but what I do remember is Natalie being born to a room full of what felt like a ton of people because everyone had been paged to come deliver her at that point. No one thought my delivery would be that quick considering my labor with Emilie was almost 72 hours. Natalie had also passed meconium so they had paged the pediatrician's too. One thing I do remember clearly were the comments of how big she was. We were all shocked when she was weighed and we saw 9 pounds 6 ounces!!

Steve called my mom shortly thereafter and my mom thought for sure he was playing a practical joke until she heard Natalie crying in the background. This delivery was so different from my first. I felt very connected to her and I felt great afterwards. I was able to get up once everyone had taken care of everything and walk around where with Emilie I was stuck in the labor room because the epidural left me not being able to walk for a couple of hours.

Natalie is now in 3rd grade. She is spunky,energetic and a funny kid. She has kept me on my toes that's for sure and sometimes I worry about the teenage years with her because of her strong-willed spirit. She is a child where you never have to guess how she's feeling. She reminds me of myself sometimes. I remember being dramatic at times as a kid and I see it in her.

I think Natalie could lead to some interesting blogs!

Emilie

I thought for my second post I would introduce my kids to you. This will be all about Emilie!

I had Emilie on March 8, 2001. We named her Emilie Marie and she was 7 pounds 9 ounces. She received her middle name because it is my middle name and it is her paternal grandmother's middle name. Then there was the added bonus of it being Steve's sister, Susan's middle name and my paternal grandmother's middle name.

My pregnancy with Emilie was pretty easy until the end when I started having problems with high blood pressure. I look back now and I was so clueless about how my life was about to change. I felt very alone because I was newly married, I was 20 years old and was in a foreign country. We were living in Japan at the time and still getting used to being there. Steve and I were still newlyweds and while he was excited and I knew I could count on him, it was hard having no family there. Thankfully I had a friend who I had worked with in Alaska who also got stationed in Japan shortly after we had moved there.

The day before my due date I went in to labor and delivery because I'd had a headache all day and just could not get comfortable. They checked my vitals and my blood pressure was 170/100 so the doctor decided it would be best to induce me. I was so not ready for what was to come! My labor lasted almost 36 hours from start to finish. Thankfully Steve was there the whole time and my friend, Brandy showed up and was there for the delivery...although, thinking about it now, I have no clue at what point during labor she did show up. She had been at the hospital for something not related to me and had the thought to see if I was there.

I was thankful for a healthy baby girl but I felt very disconnected from everything at the time. During my labor with her, I had an epidural because sitting in a bed for two plus days is just not comfortable and I hit a point where I needed rest. For me, the epidural worked too well and I felt nothing and for me, I think not being able to feel anything at all did not help with feeling bonded right away. It's something that's hard to discuss because every mother wants to feel that immediate bond with their brand new baby. I didn't...I loved her greatly but it felt at times that I was just going through the motions. After a few months, that bond was created but I felt guilty for quite awhile and felt like an awful mother. I have come to find though, that many mothers feel the same way it's just not really openly discussed.

Emilie is and always has been my easiest child. She has a sweet, kind and gentle spirit about her. She is now in 5th grade and growing into a beautiful young lady. She informed me recently that she is more than half way there to being an adult and moving out. That is exactly like something I would say or did say growing up to my own mom. I remember telling my mom when I started high school that until my youngest sister, Maggie graduated she'd always have some in high school. The similarities between parents and children is amazing sometimes!

I look forward to watching her grow up and seeing what awaits her!

Introductions

Okay, my very first post to a brand new blog! I wanted to do a blog mostly because sometimes I think I have interesting things to share...or at least I think they are interesting. I'm not quite sure what I might blog about exactly yet but it will most likely center around my children, life here in Colorado, our recent adoption perhaps and anything else that might pop into my brain!

To start off, I was born in Arizona to two wonderful parents. While we lived in Arizona, my parents had two more children, Mary and Brian. My dad was in the Air Force and when I was around 3, we moved to Alaska for the first time. We spent five years in Alaska and while we were there they had two more children, Jason and Kevin. We moved to Utah next and then spent I think around two years there and they had my youngest sister there, Maggie before we moved again. It was at that time my dad retired from the Air Force and we spent a few months in Arizona until my dad found a job which brought us all the way back to Alaska. My parent's have been there ever since and most of my siblings are too. My parent's also about a year ago adopted my youngest brother, Eric.

I got married at 20 years old to a wonderful guy who just happened to be in the Air Force. We met through my sister and her husband when I was 19...who would have thought that a chance meeting would result in 11 years of marriage and counting, traveling the world and four wonderful children?

We got married very quickly because Steve was getting ready to PCS (move) to Japan and we didn't want to do a long distance relationship. We spent three years there and I loved it...although, I don't think we saw enough of it because being there produced two children with one more on the way when me moved. We did make one trip to Cairns, Australia but shortly after booking the trip I found out I was pregnant with Natalie. So, Steve and Emilie had a wonderful time and I slept quite a bit in the hotel :)

After Japan, we moved to Wichita, Kansas. We had our youngest daughter, Kodie there about seven weeks after we moved there. I will tell you one thing, I can be very motivated to get things accomplished to try and get normalcy back into our lives if I have to. In that seven weeks, we bought a house and had a baby. We bought a house figuring we would not move again but then an assignment to Germany popped up and it was just too good to pass up!!

So, we packed up and jetted off for more adventures to another country. We took advantage of being in Europe and traveled a lot. Some of my favorite places were Holland, Prague, Poland and many more but those topped the list. While in Germany, we also started the process to adopt. There is so much to share about that so I will leave it for another time.

Anyway, in January 2010, the Air Force started making quite a few changes and one was to change how long active duty members could stay in and because of this change, it resulted in my husband being forced to retire earlier than we expected. We left Germany in December 2010 and moved to Alaska to stay with my parent's while Steve looked for a job. I have to say that I was terrified of the future but had faith that we would figure all of it out and ultimately thankful that my parent's were willing to take us in in the meantime.

We were one of the lucky ones and Steve was offered a job in January 2011 to work for FEMA here in Colorado. He'd been also offered a job in Georgia but for us Colorado seemed like the right fit. We left for Colorado in February and within three days of being here, we found an apartment to live in, signed a contract to have a house built and got the girls enrolled in school...which would make this their third school in just one school year. They are such troopers!

We spent six months cramped in a three bedroom apartment while waiting for our home to be built and one thing I learned is I am not cut out for apartment living!! We closed on our home in August and moved in very quickly. We are unpacked and slowly adding our own touch to our new home. The girls are enjoying their school and learning more everyday. To end the year, we finally were able to finalize on the adoption of Ethan. He is three years old and full of spirit, laughter and stubbornness...but we would not have it any other way!

We are thankful for the new year, being settled and just waiting to see what the year holds. One thing is for certain is it will not be dull!!