President Barack Obama

We officially have a new President of the United States. This is an exciting and special time. It makes me tear up whenever I hear a man swear in to this office. May his words be honest and his intent be true. Work hard President Obama, we need help and we are depending on you.We support you and we thank you for this great service you are embarking on. May your family be protected and strong. God be with you.

What a month!

Here's the readers digest version.

Washer stopped agitating; We got two more kids from CYFD; The two new kids went home; Microwave started creating little fires each time it was turned on, figured that wasn't good-moved it outside so I would stop using it; tv went on the blink (we just have one); Computer died; got a new washer and dryer (new to us); got a new microwave (lack of fire in appliances is generally a good sign.) Wayne's Grandma died; We packed up Christmas and took it to Blanding, Utah; Did Santa for the first time for Allori, as Wayne's family does it and well Santa couldn't really visit some of the kids and not the others right?; Funeral related activities including viewing (which still throws me off guard just a bit-in my family we do not do that at all. There is no checking out the dead body. And certainly no kissing it-a phenomenon I cannot comprehend, and also lots of reminiscing about grandma and hearing stories of her life. This was truly enjoyable as I really loved and admired her.); I pulled the kids around the Blanding streets-they were on sleds, I was on my brother in law, Ryan's four wheeler. This is a tremendous amount of fun. I even got Taya, my dog to hop on the four wheeler with me. Sherah ran next to it and kept up at 18-20 mph without over exerting herself; Issy got way sick and was excreting green goop from most orifices on his face. 2 ear infections and a sinus infection. He got an antibiotic shot and an Rx for a strong antibiotic, along with some eye drops which he seemed to think he was being put to death every time I put them in and screamed loud enough to alert everyone on the block; Packed up and trekked home; Within moments of walking in the door and seeing Allori burst into tears and inquiring, she said, "I just missed this house!" Boy am I glad she feels safe and good in our home. I love her so much!; Wayne kind of got one of the computers working again. Thank you love!; Issy's dad freaked out about Issy not being taken to the Dr sooner (apparently I should be Able to foresee him getting sick and take him in so the Dr can psychically tell us what medicine he will need. That would actually be pretty cool..but alas I have let my subscription to psychics Weekly lapse; My brother in law, Craig came down to work Luminarias with Wayne and their other brother, Adam; We had some friends over; Learned a new game (thanks Craig); And a partridge on a pear tree.

I don't know what that means but it seemed like a good way to end. As you can see it has been tremendously eventful. Several of these thing probably deserve a post of their own, but I just don't see playing catch up in the near future game plan.

Wayne's family does Christmas VERY differently than my family does, than I do. So although it was fun to be there, it was a reminder about why we generally stay home for Christmas. AS a for-instance....they do not prepare a Christmas eve dinner or a Christmas dinner, or special breakfast. All of which we do. I think the sitting down to eat and preparing the meals together is part of the family togetherness-bonding experience. Otherwise it seems like it really is all about the presents.

This year however I was very different about gift giving. I tried really hard to make gifts meaningful (quality versus quantity) and I reminded myself constantly that the reason we give gifts is a reminder of the greatest gift we have been given....Jesus Christ and the Atonement.

I hope each of you had a magical Christmas and a fun new year. I learned this year that New Years day is one of the days you are supposed to fly your flag-if you have one. So I flew mine. It's one of my favorite things that I have. A reminder of the blessing it is to live in the United States of America!

Our first taste of snow.

Today Albuquerque got its first real taste of snow this year. We don't get tons of snow but just enough to remind me of the single thing I do not miss about living in Logan, Utah.

I remember winters when Iw as in school as I walked the short distance from the parking lot to the art building and it being so cold my nose would run and my eyes would cry - then it would freeze! Oh, there is nothing fun about that!

But isn't it a beautiful city?

Today...

my sweet friend Carrie taught me how to make Chocolate covered cherries! Yum! It was very fun, except I don't think I was very good company, I wasn't feeling so great. But it was fun for me! It would be fun to insert a photo here, they came out very pretty. I need to get going on other fun Christmas treats. Makayla makes a fabulous caramel. I'd like to make those but am not sure how serious I am about them and since you age several years while making them...haha...we'll see.

How about that?

Hmmm. Well, perhaps CYFD does do the right thing occasionally. (Nothing about this thought is intended to mean that children should not be removed from abusive or neglectful homes.) These two kids that got here Friday night went home to their dad today. Although CYFD says all (most) kids come in on a 48 hour hold I have not heard of any that went home that quickly until now. The mother was the one who was drunk driving, but stopped to brawl in the street wtih her sister. So pleasant. This 6 year old said her dad was at home, I wondered why she was not jsut taken home to her dad to begin with. Apparently the mother was so drunk she couldn't even tell them her husband was at home and could care for the children. Anyway, she was sooo excited when I told her she was goign to be with her dad. (She also said her mom was really mean but her dad was nice, he even lets her watch tv first and he will watch it second, after they watch their shows. lol)

Anyway, I have been really irritated with CYFD in days of recent so it is nice to see something work like it ought to.

And now I know I can handle 3 babies...you know if I ever had triplets or something.

One more thing

or two more things.

Allori: Angela?

Angela: Yeah?

Allori: I love you.

Allori always tells her friends (Like Andrew, Don and Isaiah) that she loves them. It is so stinking cute. Theya re all little and generally they tell her that they love her back and it is a moment of pure Heaven for me every time I hear her. It makes me proud that she is so sweet. It makes me proud that she is so loving. And it makes me proud that she is my daughter.

Today Allori and Angela were in the back yard and she comes bookin it into the house and hurriedly says, "Mom! You know the green house? Taya (one of our dogs) jumped high...high...HIGH (hand motions showing me high, high and higher-she is a hand talker which I LOVE about her) and jumped right over the fence to nino's house!" The fence happens to be like 8 feet tall so surely the dog did not jump over this fence, right? Nino is the little boy who is particularly --well I think mostly he's not social...due to lack of opportunity? That's my guess-- who lives int he house behind ours. Our back yards touch. As an example he wills tand at the back fence and try to talk with us, in Spanish (That's why Allori things his name is Nino, because when he talks with us, his family comes out and tell him to get in the house that we are monsters. Ha! Bet they woudl be embarrassed if they knew Wayne wpoke Spanish and knew they called him a monster. Hehehe. Funny to us though, cause Wayne is so friendly looking, dont' you think? Anyway...) and I will always talk with him but I dont' go up the fnce close, I guess I don't see much of a point in it. But he can sometimes lure a child over there. Sounds friendly for him to want tot alk with us right? Well one of our experiences..he lured Jena over tot alk with him. I believe he was buck naked. And Jena went up to him (after she ran in to tell me he was naked of course) and then he POKED poor unsespecting Jena right in the eye. Yes! Through the chainlink fence he stuck his finger through and poked her eye. One time he grabbed her fingerand wouldn't let go. Anyway, it's a tiny bit funny to me.

Back to our previously scheduled story. So both Wayne and I hop up and head out to see if our dog truly jumped the fence. Sure enough Taya was over in Nino's yard. Huh. How did that happen? And how do we get her back? LOL

Wayne went closer to inspect and found that she had dug her way through...right under the fence. I called her (from the back door) and she tried to get back into our yard. Wayne had to help her a bit to squeeze through and then he blocked the hole temporarily. Crazy mutt.

Today

We've been finding some good Christmas movies on tv. I guess I generally don't look for them. Until this year. I would definitely recommend Silver Bells being shown on WE and The Christmas Choir showing on The Hallmark Channel. Today we found one that wasn't a Christmas movie but seemed watch worthy. It was titled Front of the Class on a local channel. It was quite good. I cried like 6 times. Ok, maybe 3, I'm not sure really...the last 4 times kind of ran together covering the last 1/2 hour. Horomones? Yeah I think so too. Then I was reading blogs and as I was reading my friends blog I called Wayne over to show him the feature pictures. Nearly right after that, I messaged my dad that I loved him and the tear ducks opened again making way for the flood. I don't know why. I pointed out to Wayne that I was obviously on the weepy part of my cycle. He looks over and says, "Are you crying cause Rasband shot a deer?" It sounded so ridiculous that I laughed hysterically...and yes...more tears. Happy ones this time! but tears none the less.


Trisha: Um someone named their blog (xxxx). [I found it interesting, name left out to protect the guilty-not Kristine, thought I would mention that since her blog is referenced above.]

Wayne: What is the name of your blog?

Trisha: These days...

Wayne: [From kitchen] That was the best you could come up with?

Trisha: Ummmm, yeah I guess so. [squinty eyes at his inquiry]

Wayne: [silence, though not an unusual response from Wayno]

Trisha: What would you have called it? [If he can judge, he can add imput. lol]

Wayne: Wayne's blog.

Trisha: Good idea but in order to have your name in the title, you might actually have to have something to do with it....like reading it. [Thinking I am clever cause to my knowledge he has never read it. I have asked if he wanted the address once and he declined. lol]

Wayne: [silence again but since he returned to the livingroom, I scould see his incriminating smile]

Trisha: [Stunned] You've read it?.....when did you read it? How did you find it?

Wayne: [Silence and silly smirk]

Trisha: [Lots of questions, still feeling stunned] You read it?

Wayne: I've read it.

Trisha: huh. Well good thing I don't talk bad about you.

Wayne: Except that one time.

Trisha: [wondering if he really ever reads it although as you know I don't talk poorly of him...on here...hehe. kidding. Hmm.]

Today at church it was a little bit crazy. Three babies 17 months and under missing their naps makes for grumpy babies. Because our babies are all too young to attend nursery on their own and taking three babies to sunday school with only four arms between us isn't a great idea we will go to nursery and just stay there and help out a bit. Anyway today we were having singing time lead by my sweet friend Kristine (who's blog was referenced above) and we were singing lots of fun kid songs.

Now I know the song, "Where is Thumbkin." I sung it as a child and know all of the words...I thought. I had NO idea it had 5 verses. I only knew one. Unfortunately in the middle of Church Singing time for small children (under 4) I was struck with a sudden bout of juvenile humor. Now I have a few friends who I haven't seen in a while but who, when we hung out, juvenile humor was rampant. So when we started to sing verse two, "Where is pointer..." I was surious and interested...this was all new to me. I followed along pretty well. But then verse three started. "Where is tall man..." I just could not contain my laughter. I don't know ok. I obviously am not in control of my emotions (when am I?) and I laughed...out loud...several times. No one laughed with me. LOL. Still though, funny, right? I thought it was good times and hey, now I know. Wayne and I just sang a round of verse three. He apparently enjoyed it as well. As did the kids in the video. So they are 8....good times, right?

By the way, I do not flip people off...even when I am driving. I just thought it was funny that we were all waving our "tall men" around and singing. My friend Cammie-her dad used to say that I was simple. He's right. I am. And I am glad. I hope to find joy in simple everyday things more often.

Better get to bed soon...tomorrow Wayne leaves at 7:00am. He has his ultrasound on his hurting gut at 8:00 which means it will be my first day alone with five kids. Angela is in Kindergarten but she doesn't know what school she goes to and CYFD hasn't figured it out yet. So no school tomorrow. Might be interesting loading 5 kids up early enoguh to get her tos chool everyday. I wonder how thats going to work. I have gotten pretty good at having 2 babies on my hips (which are plentiful..ahhahahahah) at the same time. I don't think though that there is room for another one. I did however hold all three of them on (or near) my lap my lap duirng Sacrament. There was a lack of young men to pass the Sacrament so they asked Wayne (among a handful of other men) to pass it. He looked at me with a cute questioning smile. I gave him the go-ahead nod with the wish-me-luck look on my face. Josiah and Issy are jealous and generally want to be held when the other is being held, etc. And Leland wants to be held every waking moment. And that is no exageration. He cries constantly unless I am holding him or he is asleep. That's not really going to work well. Hopefully time will help.

By the way when we adopt Josiah, we will alter his current 4 part name to a 3 part name and will be calling him Porter. We have always called him both Josiah and Porter. I think because I felt right away we might get to adopt him. Nothing is ever certain with CYFD, but we hope to be able to adopt him next year. Porter is part of his four part name and although we will leave Josiah as his first name, we will call him Porter which will be his middle name. There are a couple of reasons we would alter his name. First I would want him to feel like he is our son in every way possible including having a hand in choosing his name. I think Porter is a very strong handsome name and is more unique, like I like. Also, Wayne goes by his middle name, did you know that? All of his brothers and his dad go by their middle names. Even one of his two sisters goes by her middle name. (Not sure why the other sister's name pattern got switched up.) I am not sure that I love the going by your middle name thing but I do see the value in doing special things in making an adopted child feel as much a part of our family as possible. This is something they can share, a similarity.

What do you think about a name change? In theory I think its wierd. But....I think my reasons trump that opinion so that's our plan.

I have a friend who just adopted two of her foster babies. She changed at least one of their names. It was kind of funny to me because she kept calling him by both names to me, for months, and finally I got the idea she was doing that for my benefit so I told her it was fine to call him whatever she wanted.

I get where she was on that though because at home we call Porter, Porter most of the time. But when we are out around others who have been introduced to him as Josiah, we call him that. How do we solve this dilemma? One of Wayne's brother's heard us call him Porter when we were recently in Blanding and asked why. I told him. Basically what I just told you and from then on he and my sister in law called him Porter. I thought it was cool. Cool, meaning I felt he stepped up and was very respectful. I might not have expected that. I know it seems like a simple thing...I guess he saw the value in his name and the value in him being part of OUR family, being part of his family. (I don't find it offensive or anything when others still call him Josiah after hearing our plan by the way, I think its a funny situation.) Anyway, share your thoughts.....

And goodnight. Sleep well....