Prayers Please!

As most of you know, we are licensed foster/adopt parents.  We are hoping to help some kids and hopefully adopt someday.  We are still waiting for our first placement, so I have been looking at other kids around the country that are already free for adoption.  And I found two that we are interested in, one little boy we are really interested in.  So, if you guys could find it in your hearts to pray for us that we will know Heavenly Father's will concerning if either of these little boys are supposed to be in our eternal family, and if so that we will be able to bring them home soon, we would greatly appreciate it.  Every little bit helps!!

Uggghhh...

I've been MIA for a little while because I've had the flu.  This was one of those kick you in the butt, knock you over, then kick you some more types of viruses for me.  Which is interesting because Cierra had it a week ago and snapped out of it pretty quickly.  I was not so lucky.  I think I'm finally getting over it.  I actually got into normal clothes today!  Yay!  Now, If I can survive a trip to walmart to get some milk (we've been out for 2 days!) then I will be grateful.

Caught up!

So so so so sorry for taking so long to post this stuff.  But, I'm caught up now.  I did it in chronological order, so you'll have to go down quite far to get to the start of the new stuff.  Enjoy!

The Perils of Winter

Having a trampoline in the winter is a lot of work, especially when you don't think about it and leave it under an eave so that when the snow starts to melt off of the roof it drips onto the trampoline and then freezes.  Then you end up with a huge ice mass in the middle of the trampoline that is threatening to end it's life!!!  So, we had to break it up to get it off.  Bryan lowered down jugs of hot water, and I poured it on the ice to break it up, then I threw the ice over the safety cage, or shoved it through the entry opening if it was too  heavy to throw.  Wow was that hard work!!!  Then we moved it out from under the eaves.

Christmas Morning

Cierra's Triceratops.  She has wanted one for so long, and it was her favorite toy of the day!

Woo Hoo!  Gavin got a train!!!!  He did a dance the night before when he opened extra train track from Ashley!

Ashley got baby dolls and a play pen and stroller for Christmas.  She loves it, and is such a little mommy!  The baby's name is Jakey!

Cierra got Ponyville stuff, too.

Playing with the mounds of stuff after it was all put together.

Here's Gavin's train set all set up.

Thanks Papa and Sweetheart!!

And for this, too!  And for Ashley's Tutu dog which somehow I didn't get a picture of!

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

And Santa dumped his sleigh!

Our Christmas Present

I was so excited when I got this.  We bought this present for ourselves.  I went to Costco about a week before Christmas, and guess who was there???????   Greg Olson!  So, I bought one of the smaller paintings and had him sign it, plus he even dedicated it to our family on the back.  I was so excited!!!!

The School Christmas Sing

It's really hard to see her because I was sitting so far away, but Ashley did awesome in her school's Christmas Sing.  She is in the middle with short blonde hair.  You can see her better in the picture below.  Great job Ashley!

Cookie Time

At our house, Christmas means Grandma Brown Cookies!  So, this year, after a couple of hours of shoveling snow, we got out all of the ingredients, and the kids helped me make them!  

"Helping" roll out the dough

Using our brand new cookie cutters

Adding the sprinkles

Enjoying our hard-earned cookies!

This year I tried something new as a topping - Crushed candy cane!  It was pretty good, but the icing topped ones were definitely the crowd favorite.

Snow....

These are some pictures of the first good snowstorm that we had this winter.  The twins love to "help" shovel the walkway.

Gavin has a rake!

Cierra "shoveling" the walkway the best she can!

They are just darling!

Ashley the Red Nosed Reindeer!

Gingerbread House

I've never made a gingerbread house before, so when I saw this kit at Costco I thought it would be a great activity to do with the kids.  

Finished Product

A day or two later after the twins got a hold of it while I was in the shower!

Ashley Turns SEVEN!!!

Sorry, the pictures are backwards!  But, I'm sure you can figure out the timeline.  Ashley had her birthday party the Saturday before her actual birthday, and boy did she have fun!  There were about 15 kids there.  The party had a princess theme (of course).  We started out with a treasure hunt with clues from all the princesses, then did presents, had Pocohontas dirt cups, then the kids all went outside to jump on the trampoline while they waited for their parents to pick them up.  All in all, it was quite a success!

The kids on the trampoline

The Pocohontas dirt cups!

Present time!

During the treasure hunt

Starting the treasure hunt

Thanksgiving

I don't have any pictures of actual Thanksgiving dinner, although it was great food and great company (Tom was hilarious with the whipped cream).  But, here are some pictures of our time in Hurricane for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Ashley and her carrots!  She planted them in PaPa's garden last July when we visited.  She was so excited to see that they grew, and tasted good, too!

Everyone hanging out at PaPa and Sweetheart's house.

And thank-you to Papa and Sweetheart for putting up with us for a couple of extra days while we waited for our car window to be replaced.  Man, our van doesn't like to leave Northern Utah!

Belt Promotion

Ashley had her first belt promotion in Karate the week before Thanksgiving.  We didn't get to sit too close, so the pictures aren't the best, but hopefully you can see Ashley.  She is the blonde one with ponytails.

Ashley getting her new white/yellow belt!

Walking back with her new belt

Great Quote

I read this quote today, and I really need to remember it...

"everywhere in nature we are taught the lessons of patience and waiting. we want things a long time before we get them, and the fact that we wanted them a long time makes them all the more precious when they come." joseph f. smith

I've been having a bit of a hard time with waiting for a placement, and I know that everything is in the Lord's time, and that when our placement comes, that will be the placement that we were supposed to get, but sometimes that doesn't make it easier.  Until I get reminded of it again in a slightly different way, like I was today with the above quote.  It will happen, and yes, I am learning patience, the hard way.  Maybe the only way, but it is hard.  I just have to hold on and keep praying, and we will get a baby in our home.

Gorgeous!!!!

Ashley Pugh - November 2008 (Almost 7 Years Old)

Just had to share...

A funny story from being Gavin's mom (and yes, I promise to get all of our Christmas pics up soon).  Gavin has been doing rhyming words a lot lately when describing things.  Such as the "crasher-basher" for a construction-type truck.  So, today the twins are playing with some of the baby dolls that we have around, and Gavin brings me a plastic container that is supposed to be play baby wipes, and announces that it is the "cleaner-weiner".  He didn't even know that it was supposed to be wipes.  And, hey, I guess it's appropriate!