Amber's debut performance at a recent Kindergarten program at school.

We recently had our portraits done - and we got some great shots! The poor photographer had a time with J&J - it was hard to get them to smile on cue...but a lot of "boinking" himself on the head seemed to do the trick :)

I call this one "monkey boy."

It is rare to capture Jacob's smile on camera!

Amber's new Easter dress - she and I had a blast searching the mall for just the right look!

Granny Onia's cane was a big hit when my parents visited - and the funny faces are courtesy of our friend, Mr. Potato Head.

Eggstravaganza 2008

We went to our first Easter egg hunt together - and mommy organized this event for the entire Southwestern Seminary community! The kids heard an Easter story (the Christian one :), hunted for eggs, got their face painted, ate cookies & cupcakes, and rode on a miniature train. It was a fun day - but very cold!

Cat for sale...good for hours of family fun. Ages 4 & up.

So we put up Mark's old fish tank...Yoda DEFINITELY noticed! There have been no injuries or deaths reported...YET.

The new fish have NO Star Wars names (only b/c Mark didn't name any). We have added: Ashley (Amber's choice), Ashton (Jason's choice), Mickey & Minnie (the have a mouse shape on their tails), and Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum, I, Smell (Jacob's choice - the kid loves the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk and Goliath from the Bible, which he thinks are the same giant) :)

FIRST FISH!

Okay, this is the one Mark is most excited about...the kids all caught their first fish on a recent trip to the local park pond. It was everyone's first time fishing and the sunfish were biting! Amber must have hooked 15 fish on her own. She caught on to the whole casting and reeling thing. Jason often couldn't reel fast enough to prevent the fish from getting away, but he did get the hang of it after some time. Jacob mostly watched, but did get to reel in a live one with some help from Mark.

Playin' in the Mud!

Well, I went to get Jason and Jacob to come in from outside for lunch the other day and this is what I found...2 VERY muddy boys! Covered head to toe, with watery mud pouring out of their boots. Mark was ticked, but I thought it was pretty adorable. :) He said, "Don't ever play in the mud again."
"Unless Mommy says it's okay," I added! Sometimes, you gotta let boys be boys - even if you're stuck with the mess.

Christmas at the Ranch
We headed down to San Antonio the day after Christmas to spend time with the grandma, grandpa, Uncle Dave, Aunt Kir, and Uncle Tom. The kids loved the farm. They got to ride on the tractor with grandpa, the cart to "check the fence" and deliver hay and other feed to the cows, and feed the donkey carrots. We also took a trip with grandma to the botanical gardens, where we went to a "Dora and Diego" adventure. We had a blast and the kids can't wait to go back!

Christmas 2007

Our first Christmas together :)

We spent the day together at the zoo on Christmas Eve, then later that evening, we had a meal of honey glazed ham, sweet potatoes, and more. We followed that with opening our family gifts. Amber, Jason, and Jacob "racked" up from the Denning family - I think it was quite overwhelming, but in a good way! Christmas morning, the kids woke up to Santa gifts. We actually had to go get them, because they had never had Santa visit them on Christmas morning (they had Santa in the past, I'm just not sure how it played out). The biggest surprises were bicycles for everyone (well, a tricycle for Jacob), a train set for the boys, and "pet shop" toys for Amber. We spent most of that day outside with our new bicycles - even though it was cold!

Can you find the cat?

I wish I could keep her out of the tree, but Yoda just loves to climb in the tree, find her favorite ornament, knock it down, then play with it.

Christmas is Coming!!!

We are settling in nicely. Once we got a routine down, things have gotten much easier :) Amber is doing well in school, other than being a little overly dramatic from time to time! She knows all of her letters and their sounds, can make predictions, and excels in artistic endeavors. Amber helped me make a beautiful gingerbread house (see picture above).

Jason has made the most progress - although he was testing us the most! He loves to go the zoo - and everytime we go, he has to see the alligator. He helped Mark put up the Christmas lights outside this year (picture with the green jacket).

Jacob, despite the pouty picture, is really becoming quite a jolly kid. He is completely fascinated by the cat and Diego. He is saying a lot of new words and sentences, but my favorite phrase is..."thank you mommy." It's adorable!

***OUR NEW FAMILY***

I know it's been a long time since our last blog, but I didn't want to post info and pics without protecting the children's identity. So...here are Amber, 6; Jason, 4; and Jacob, 2. They came to live with us on October 26th, and life has definitely changed! For those of you who don't know, they were taken into foster care because of neglect by a drug abusing mother and father. They were in foster care for 2 years with a relative, a step-grandmother, who did a wonderful job of raising them. That fact has made the transition SOOOO much easier.

We are settling in nicely, there are daily struggles with obeying, sharing, being gentle with the pets, being respectful of each other, but all normal stuff. Amber is full of life and energy. She loves to sing and play. She is a good helper around the house. Jason has a smile that can melt your heart. He loves to sing too (didn't I find the perfect kids?) and enjoys going to the playground at the park. Jacob is very loving - he loves to be held and cuddled (which is great, since it's the closest thing to a baby I'm going to get :). He is learning to talk and will repeat whatever you say. They all love the pets - I don't think the feeling is mutual, but the pets are tolerating it all!

Will write more later!

Jennifer