Fall 2016

We had a great time last night just watching a movie.  It seems like it doesn't matter much what we do anymore, it's a party.  We were watching The Chronicles of Narnia, which the kids liked.

Easton (11 mos) is sure letting his personality shine.  We get a lot of noise when he wants what we are eating.  He is also quite the cruiser, Andrew had a hard time keeping track of him at church this week, without fear he headed down the hall and beyond. He is teething, I think we will get another 2 top teeth any day now.  He is such a sweet snuggler and is so much fun.  I relish every moment with him.

Brynlee (4 yrs) is as funny as ever.  You ask her to do something and she always responds with an enthusiastic and sincere "Sure!"  She is pretty obedient and upbeat.  A very happy girl.  She is always singing something, sometimes it is made-up sometimes pieces of songs she remembers.  Her version of Chicago's "Don't Stop Believing" is pretty funny.  I need to be sure to get a video of it. She is also very social, I never will worry about her making friends, I am more worried about her being quiet when she's supposed to :D.

Maverick (6 yrs) is very sweet.  It is crazy to believe he is the same kid we picked up.  He has come a long way and is doing much better in school.  We have to remind him to keep working hard and not giving up, he wants to do that a lot.  He brought me breakfast in bed the other day, and will regularly make me toast or do sweet things he think will make me happy.  He practices the "Plianyo" and is pretty good at it.  He loves fishing with dad and the idea of hunting.  We told him that dad shot a deer and he immediately got excited and said "I need to go help him get it out! I will probably get blood on me!"  His teacher also told me a story about the first few weeks of school that he went up to the teacher and pointed out a girl alone on a swing.  He said "you see that girl, she looks lonely, I think I'll go give her a push."  I have been approached a few times now about him playing with his food at lunch.  He mixes all kinds of crap together and makes the kids laugh.  It has become somewhat of a problem, they might have to move him.  He loves being goofy and making the other kids laugh.

Elizabeth goes by Lizzy now.  She is in my class and has been very interesting to watch.  I have found that she is quite smart, but doesn't always pay attention.  She gets nearly perfect scores in math, and would do better in reading if she cared more, but there isn't a great interest.  She is friends with everyone.  I watch her at recess and she is rarely playing with the same people every day.  She will sometimes switch groups throughout one recess.  She is thoughtful of the others.  She is also competitive. When she wants to be chosen for something she goes for it and aggressively goes for it.  She is short for her grade.  She is also one of the youngest.  I think that may be part of why her reading isn't up with some of the others.  She likes to sing too.  She has even taken well to some advice I gave her to opening up her throat and sounding less nasal-ey.  She plays that piano too.  Grandma Lee is giving the kids lessons.  It is so fun to hear her giving them praise.  It reminds me of why I always want to tell her everything, she was always great about giving praise.  A lot of enthusiasm :D.

Andrew just started a new job.  He works for a Intermountain Wind and Solar.  He is a salesman and gives peoples bids.  He likes it.  It has been a little slow getting started, but he has a sales team he works with and goes to meetings.  The socializing has been good for him.  He rarely had a chance to get out and talk to people with his other jobs, besides over the phone.

My Name

Our ward is encouraging us to write some things about our family history.  They asked us to write about how we got our name.  My initial namesake comes from my Uncle Dean.  He and my mom were pretty close growing up and he named his daughter Aubrey Lauren, Lauren being after my mom, Loraine.  Uncle Dean was always pleasant.  He took pictures, showed his caring for family and was a stable person in many peoples lives.

He was named after Lucy Caroline Dean, my great Grandmother.  I loved learning about her.  She was quite bright.  She was sought after to attend Ricks college and studied education.

AAAAAND Breathe

I did it.  I finished my masters degree.  It is really weird thinking that tomorrow I don't have any articles to read or any homework to do.  No class, no discussions, no papers to write.  I think I will get some things done.  I have a list.  There is a lot I want to do.  Some for fun, some are things that I have been wanting to get done for a really long time.  Dust that has gathered.  I have already cleaned out the storage room, did some touch-up painting, started sorting through Easton's clothes and getting them cleaned out.

Brynlee

Brynlee sitting next to me. 

B: (to herself) "go sports team!"

B: "oh he is so cute you should take a picture of him"

B: "oh mom look at this!" "You should take a picture of Gavin because he's so smart.", "look mom he is so smart."

B: (to herself) "gooo sports team!"

B: " oh! this one says 'Brynlee I love you', that is so good cuz I love her too"

B: "gooo sports team!"

Summer days!!

This little cutie is always smiling.  When you ask her to do something it is always with a positive ok mom.  She seems to like to dress really warm even though it is almost 90 degrees outside.  We went shopping today and had a great time with just the girls.  Even strutted our stuff with all sunglasses on.

It is fun to watch the kids get creative and play together.  The trampoline has many purposes above and below.  Maverick is in this picture to, just hiding back there.

The kids decided to watch a movie together.  It was so cute seeing them huddled together under the same blanket. 

Brynlee loves Shasta.  This happens quite regularly.  Shasta seems to like it too.

The kids were so dirty I decided they needed to take a bath upstairs with adult supervision.  I scrubbed them by hand.  I also let them play with bubbles and turn on the jets which was quite an adventure, especially because they are banned from baths downstairs because of the ample water left on the floor after.

Her facial expressions are amazing.

More and more house projects.  We are working on the front porch.  We had a nice root from the tree in the way.

This little face.  I could cuddle all day if I didn't have to do things.  This little man is starting to grab things and find them fun.  That includes my fingers and having my fingers and hand clutched by his mini fat ones are one of my favorite things.

I finally finished a drawing that I was supposed to do for the neighbor last year.  They helped us bale some hay and asked for this in return.  My masters degree has taken up so much time it took me a while to get it done. 

Thanks Jenny.  She sent me this to help cook some rice I bought from her.  I still don't really know how to use it.  She will have to show me how!

This little guy is becoming quite a fisherman with Dad.  He caught this one all on his own.  He LOVES being out with Dad and has really embraced the outdoorsman lifestyle.

Alishia invited me down to do some painting.  It was really fun!! 

Seriously, I can't get enough of this beautiful baby.  He is such a good baby.  All smiles and cooing.  Unless he's hungry or tired we pretty much don't here many cries from this happy boy.

Summer

Summer is finally here and I have been longing for this chance to have an extended break.  I find myself today immersed in a two week writing course that is quite intense.  My opportunity for a break has been delayed until the end of these two weeks.  I gratefully have only 4 days left and then feel like I can breath.  Last week I stopped at the Doctors to see why this sore throat isn't going away.  He said I don't have strep and it is possible that I have mono.  This would not surprise me.  I have had it before and I have been pushing myself to quite an extreme.  I hope that the end of these two weeks will prove to be a relief to not just the workload, but this illness that seems to not want to go away.

Saturday we celebrated Elizabeth's 8th birthday.  I was a little surprised at the emotion that snuck up on me when her party guests started to arrive.  I was realizing that she was growing up and that friends were a big deal.  She is growing into such a big helper and becoming more inquisitive to life around her.  She now is embarrassed by the self-selected nickname Farty McMarty and realizing that it may not be desirable.  I will forever love how she owned it without shame as a 4 year old.  We had a plan to play outside in the sunshine with water balloons and a little pool etc.  It rained instead.  Not just a little, but quite a lot for June.  After 2 weeks of above-normal temperatures that thermometer dropped and we had an inside party.  She had about 8 guests, all but one were either former or future students of mine.  Even two boys from her class accepted the invitation.  Half of the fun for her was making the cupcakes by herself and then mostly the frosting with a little assistance.  I frosted them for her and she topped them off with sprinkles.  She got a lot of nice gifts.  Today we will finish off the last gift, which was to get her ears pierced.  The backs to the bunny earrings I gave her are already missing thanks to the curious Brynlee.

Yesterday was Sunday.  I am loving how my family is large enough that we are the party now.  We don't need to invite anyone over to have a good time.  We had a popcorn-smoothie night.  It was interrupted by our friends the Findley's.  Darian invited us to their family celebration to being a united family.  Darian and Demetrius were the foster boys we had in our home when Maverick and Brynlee.  They were able to go with the Findlay's (who used to be our neighbors) with their two sisters.  The four of them are getting adopted and we are feeling content that all worked out as it should and that both of our families are complete.

Mothers Day

I am thinking about my Mom on Mother's Day and I thought it would be good to write down some of my favorite things about my Mom.

She loves toys.  For as long as I can remember mom has always bought toys in sets and Mom collects the WHOLE set and keeps them with their names and accessories in neat containers and packages.  SHe  got me the Addy American Girl doll after months of  me saving my money for her and then spent hours making the outfits to go with her and even made me and Addy matching pajamas.  We had the whole set of Strawberry Shortcake dolls.  She bought every Chevron car.  When she got me my first Precious Places house, it was followed by years of collections of all the others.  There was a pet shop, the mansion, park, baby house, ballet studio, church and more.   She bought me paper dolls, all of them that were in a particular collection.  I have even added to it since then.  

I remember when she was pregnant with Alishia and I was starting kindergarten the next year.  I sat o n the bed with her as she showed me how to write my name in a notebook.  I remember months later sitting with her in the rocking chair (the same one that attacked my fingers between it and the floor).  She read all those little books with me.  I remember thinking that I would never be able to read.  Fast forward a few years and I remember reading Harry Potter with her in the car.  She read while I drove because I got carsick and she had road rage (:D).

Mom made birthdays and holidays special.  She always cooked our favorite meals and took our requests for cake or pie for dessert.  Everything tasted better when she made it.  I'm sure it had to do with the extra cream and sugar she would add.  She had a thing for butter.  It was no doubt that she made the best foods because she loved butter.  Growing up on a farm, she never had any problem with bacon either....and whole milk.

She planted petunias and geraniums and I'm sure many others, but those are the ones I remember.  She bought a few flats of violet petunias one year and we planted them along the corner of the house.  They grew into beautiful mounds and looked so pretty all summer long.  She made everything pretty.  The house was always nicely decorated and clean.  She knew how to match patterns and colors well and was able to make each space comfortable.  When she would set the table for dinner, she always set everything just right.  She had us place the knife, fork and spoons in the right spots.  We always set them all out, even if we didn't need all of them.  The goblets of water were above the knife pre-filled with ice and water in addition to the glass pitchers on the table. Mashed potatoes and gravy were served in nice bowls with spoons.  When she started working, I remember I was supposed to make rice and get things ready for her, when she got home she would whip up some chicken gravy in 10 minutes and we would still eat a hot meal.  Dad took credit for instigating it.

Mom was always more adventurous than Dad.  It would always surprise us when we would see her doing things my Dad wouldn't.  She took a bunch of us kids on the Desperado.  The tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world (at the time).  Dad took Alishia on a different "ride".  We would watch people on the roller coaster after we got off and all our stomach dropped as if we were on it ourselves.  I remember mom moaning with a little laugh every time we watched the cars drop from higher than a 15 story building and then underground.  She wasn't afraid to try the redneck water slide and fly down the hill with all of us kids.  Dad watched.

She always gives you the reaction you want.  I still, as an adult, want to tell her things because I know she will give me the reaction I'm looking for.  The right enthusiasm, the right praise, all the attention you are hoping for :D.  I smile even as an adult that she will edit my papers or take care of me.  One day before we had Easton, she and Dad happened to be over and I came home from work.  I had a little headache, but after a minute I felt awful.  I threw up a few times and my body was shaking.  Mom fed my kids, laid me down, brought me medicine, and put a blanket on me.  She stayed far longer than she meant while I fell asleep on the couch.  I really appreciated that day.

There is so much more I could say, but I feel like I want to be with my own kids.  Hopefully I will be as good as my own mom.

7 Weeks

We have 7 weeks of crazy before things will calm down.  7 more weeks of this semester and I can just work and go home and be with my family and take care of things.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my time when I don't have to do some kind of reading or assignment.  Just kidding!  I know exactly what I am going to do!  Be with my kids and do nothing.....well as much as you can do nothing with 4 kids.  I am really looking forward to the summer when I can pull working out of the mix, I will also have only 3 classes and then I can graduate!

I'm feeling quite content right now.  I just had a really great dinner and enjoyed it with my little family.  I don't have to invite others over to have a party, my clan is a party.  It was also satisfying because it was an Elk roast from Andrew.  Wheat rolls that I ground the wheat and made myself.  Homemade jam, potatoes, gravy.  It was really great.  We plan on brownies with raspberry sauce and ice cream later.  The only thing that would make it better is if someone else cleaned up all the mess and I had more energy to finish cooking it.

We sure have fallen for our little guy Easton.  Andrew has grown more and more attached.  It feels good to see him happily holding him.  I'm looking forward to smiles.  He is a pretty big chunk.  He just past 6 weeks and is out of newborn clothes.  He has this adorable chin quiver that I keep trying to get on video and it really just looks like I'm trying to torture him because he's crying the whole time

Hearing

I don't really have time right now to write, but I am feeling pressure to get down some of the current events before I forget them. 

Easton was about 2 weeks old and we were so in love when we had Brynlee's hearing for getting rights to adopt and revoke birth father's rights.  We got to the courthouse feeling nervous, but less than last time.  Birth Father, his wife and grandmother were there.  The court had only scheduled us for an hour, but our attorney Dustin, plugged away.  He gave his opening testimony stating that birth father had failed to meet the requirements to obtain Brynlee and be considered a parent in Utah and that we requested his rights to be revoked. 

They called Chelsea to the stand and Dustin very thoroughly went through many many pictures and posts showing that she had made significant efforts to give Birth Dad a chance to be a part of her life.  His original argument was that he didn't believe she was his.  Chelsea ordered a paternity test and paid for it all on her own.  She also visited his family very consistently and people would comment how much she looked like him.  Chelsea did a very good job at stating the facts and not getting upset when they questioned her.  At one point she laughed at the fact that they had submitted some evidence showing that he not only GOT her phone number, but never called.  She said mockingly "HE submitted this"?  It only helped our case.  Their attorney questioned Chelsea as to why she didn't offer to have Shane take both Brynlee and Maverick.  She claimed that he didn't want Brynlee it would be asinine to see if he wanted Brynlee AND Maverick. 

They asked Andrew up on the stand to help establish that there is a relationship between us and Brynlee.  He was asked to describe their relationship, he said she is "my little girl".  Their attorney cross-examined him and asked what he would do, hypothetically, if his daughter was taken from him and the mother was trying to keep him away from her.  (This was my favorite part)  With conviction Andrew answered that there is not a world that exists that I wouldn't see my daughter, I would do everything it took to see her.  Don't we live in a modern world with technology?  Don't we have cars? Phones?  I would see her!  They asked me to state my relationship with Brynlee and I said she was my little girl and sweetheart.  Gratefully they didn't cross examine me.

When Birth Dad got up, they tried to show Chelsea to be negligent to be hiding Brynlee from him, but there was so much evidence to the contrary it really didn't stick.  He claimed that he didn't know she was his, that Chelsea moved around a lot, that every time he tried to see her, Chelsea would take her away.  He also contradicted the information that was given to the court that his family would have let him know where she was if they had known.  Later in his testimony he said he had a bad relationship with his family and they wouldn't tell him where she was.  Dustin, our attorney cross examined him and asked him why all the documents that he submitted had Brynlee's name spelled wrong on it (trivial, but interesting).  He asked how to spell her name.  He tried and failed 4x.  He said that he didn't call because his phone had bad service, his car wasn't working, his family wouldn't tell him where she was etc. etc.  When Dustin asked him what his relationship was with Brynlee, he said she is my birth daughter. 

When all was said and done, we were grateful that the judge was ready to rule.  It seemed as though he had made up his mind in the beginning, but respectfully heard the testimony.  He said that it was disturbing that he would allow the relationship with him and his family to stop him from seeing his daughter.  That he blamed Chelsea for not allowing him to see her, but that it wasn't Chelsea's responsibility to make that happen, it was his and there was no evidence in anything submitted or heard that he took any initiative on his own to show effort to be the dad.  He stated that he could tell by the look on Birth Dad's face that he had made the right decision and how much he loved her. 

We were in tears and victorious inside.  We got to keep our sweet little girl!!!  When the judge ajourned, they took off and I turned around to see my whole family in tears and smiles.  We were all so grateful to have our Brynlee with us.  She had already touched our lives in so many ways, we couldn't bear to see her go.  What a RELIEF!!!  My anxiety for months started to subside and I was anxious to go home and give her a big fat hug!  We quickly let the family know that couldn't be there how great it was.  We felt so validated. 

We celebrated with everyone at Pizza Pie Cafe afterward.  Chelsea had gifts for all the kids and was able to have a moment with them, she cried.  She was so happy to have everything over with too.  We ate and celebrated and hashed out the different points that we had witnessed.  Retold our favorite parts.  It was a great night, we were so happy. 

Welcome Easton