Well we finally found out what is going on with Julia. It is a xanthoma, but all her tests came back within normal limits. So the Dr. thinks it will be an isolated growth, but still wants her to be followed closely by her Opthomolgist. I never did get a reason why. So that is all good for now.

Birth dad did not appear in court last week, guess they were having trouble tracking down what jail he is in to get him transported, so they rescheduled for later this week or next, they couldn't remember.

Hockey is making me crazy, Jake had to try our for mini mites, and he made the second string, all good until we found out that they don't get to play any games. they get to play one team, one weekend, the entire season, and we have to pay the full hockey price. I would at least think they would knock off some money, because all our kids do is practice, might as well be in the learn to play hockey program for half the price. Just had to vent, it frustrates me, and makes no sense.

Josh is taking the learn to skate program, he is still using the walker, but getting better and stronger. I hope he will get the confidence to let the walker go yet this season. And now I am thinking out little Julia will be playing hockey in the near future. Yesterday I put a Wild jersey on her, and the first thing out of her mouth was; Do I got a game? She showed everyone her shirt and told them she had a game. Wishful thinking on her part. She sure looked cute in it though and I could see her out on that ice skating with the boys.

Oh, if anyone out there in the St. Cloud area, that has adopted from Guatemala, we are having a Valentine's Party on Feb. 14. from 1-3 at Rainbow Systems. It is being hosted by another family and if you are interested I will get you connected with them. There is a $15 charge for each child. It will be a lot of fun, so come and join us.

Well the Jake is home from school and wants me to play Star Wars on the Wii with him. So I had better do that and find out how is day was today.

Our little Julia

So, two weeks ago I took our 2 yr old into the dermatologist to have a little cyst looked at on her forhead. The Dr. said it needed to be removed, so help to hold her down while they did what neede to be done, good thing I have had a lot of experience doing this so not so hard on me. It was still difficult to watch as they took it cyst)out, but it needed to be done. Last monday, the dr called, so I knew that the results weren't good, she said it came back a papular xanthoma, I really don't know for sure what it is yet, so we went to the eye dr. the next day to see if she had any tumors in her eye, she found nothing!! That was the best news I had, had in a couple of days. And now today, she had to have her cholestrol checked, I guess that this tumor(cyst) can be an indication of high cholesterol. Now we wait some more to hear what the results are. I haven't had a good nights sleep in almost 2 weeks. So eveyone keep her in your thoughts and prayers that it turns out to be nothing.

On a happier note, our foster baby, had her last visit with her mother last week, and court is today for the father. OUr social worker and gaurdian are pushing for termination and to move straight to permanency. Which means we could start the adoption process on her. so hoping to hear form one of them today, to give us some news. Having been in this situation before, I am not counting on anything to move really fast, it just doesn't happen with the county. We already call her by the name we will give her, as it is easier for the kids to adjust too.

Yesterday, we celebrated Josh's 4th birthday with all the little boys in his Sunday School class. All 7 boys turned 4 within a few months of each other, so we went ot Godfather's for lunch and then to the bowling alley, we were going to spend the day at the sledding hill, but do to the weather we went bowling instead. It ended up to be an all day affair, but the boys loved it.

Hope things warm up a little so we can go out and enjoy the snow.

Christmas is Over

Well, we made it through Christmas. The kids made out like bandits and I'm not sure what Santa was thinking, he brought a drum set for our middle son. He should of remembered to bring earplugs for the rest of us:0) Josh is loving them and I guess that is the important thing.
Christmas Eve was spent with my parents, and due to some crazy mentally unstable sister-in-laws, my two brothers and their families did not attend. So a very quiet and intimate Christmas. I know know what it feels like to be an only child, it is highly under rated. My kids got so much attention as did I. Very fun for us all. If this crap with the sister-in-laws continues, I will be an only child, it is really a sore spot with my dad, and he has talked about disowning some family members. This could get very interesting. I keep my nose out of it unless it is brought up by my parents. 2009, will be a year of many changes.
Christmas Day was spent in the cities with Russ' side if the family. The cousins had a blast playing together and the adults enjoyed our time visiting.

Yesterday we got another 10" of snow, the boys were outside all afternoon playing. It is so pretty. I look forward to our next snowfall.

I have been busy working on my Christmas 2008 scrapbook, will post a link to share with all. I digitally scrapbook, which is the only way to scrapbook with a busy life. This past March, I became a personal publishing consultant for Heritage Makers. If any of you are interested in finding out more about this wonderful company, check out my website; www.creatingmemoriestoday.com and if you have any questions, you can e-mail me privately at; rjjnav@hotmail.com

Our New Year's will be spent quietly at home together with our family. I am sure the kids will be in bed early and Russ and I will watch a movie and ring the New Year, if we actually both can stay awake during the movie. Such an exciting night planned. But we still haven't found a sitter that will watch our 4+ kids, or should I say, one that I feel comfortable enough with to leave my kids. I guess I am a bit over protective when it comes to the kids. But I wouldn't have it any other way. We will have time to go out and party when they are a little older.

New news on our foster baby. The courts have terminated her rights. YEAH! Now we just have to wait 3 months til the court can do the same for the father. it may happen sooner, if they can find court records on his other children. And you want to know something crazy about our system? This particular man committed murder in 1991, pleaded down to 1st degree and was released in 2005, and he still has rights to this baby! Because it has been more than 10 years! Its a messed up system. We are anxiously optimistic and will keep you posted.

Merry Christmas

Been rushing around the last two days getting all the last minute shopping done. thank goodness Russ is home in the mornings. We made it a family outing. Russ would drop me off at the door and then circle the parking lot, while watching for me to emerge from the store, and then he and the kids would pick me up at the door. It was wonderful! I would have never asked this of him, but I had knee surgery a few weeks ago and found out I have arthritis in my knee to the point of needing a knee replacement. It has been very painful and locking up on me, so I have just had some injections in it to try help with it. So that is the only reason I have a personal chauffeur. I did a little shopping for my mom, who just had double knee replacement 3 weeks ago. It apparently runs in the family. Thanks mom! Now all I need to do is get some last minute wrapping done, and appetizers made for Christmas day.
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

this is something I want to share with all of you, it is from our agency, it is very sad news, please keep Miriam and her family in you prayers this holiday season. thanks


It with a great deal of sadness that I inform you that Miriam, our lawyer...your lawyer has experienced a terrible tragedy.We learned yesterday that her daughter and son-in-law and their two children (7 & 8) were brutally murdered in their home along with a little girl staying with them that was being adopted by another agencies family(5 years old.The police are investigating two leads and are hopeful they will have some conclusions soon.I knew these people as very prayers at this terrible time.For those of you that wish to read about it you can use this link http://www.prensalibre.com and click on the front page looking icon on the left titled Edicon Impresa and it will take you to the pdf page of the pageWhile I am sure that Miriam will appreciate each of HER families knowing of this loss, I doubt seriously that she wants it all over guatadopt, adoptionforums, etc. I would ask that you please respect this request.
Jim
close and personal friends, I ate dinner in their home a number of times, I played with their children and recently attended their daughters 7th birthday party. I spent a great deal of time with little Jocelyn who was two weeks out of PGN after almost two years in process. All that was needed was her new BC and she would have been coming home to her adoptive family in the US. My heart is broken and I ask that each of you keep Miriam and her family members in your prayers.

For those who do not go to GuatAdopt - here is the blog of Josi's family here. I'm sure they would appreciate a message on their blog.http://azhderianfamily.blogspot.com/

Dance

Last night we attended our daughter's first dance recital. She was a little overwhelmed to say the least. For the most part, she just stood there looking around the bleachers at all the people, probably trying to figure out where we were. She did manage a couple of wiggles and a squat or two. It didn't matter, she looked cute just standing there. Afterwards, Santa came to visit them and give out treats, that was the highlight of the evening.

Today, our oldest, Jakob has hockey and then the rest of the day is ours. YEAH! Because our Christmas is so busy with travel and extended family, we are planning on having our family Christmas today. This way we have all day with them and nowhere to go. The kids are very excited, this will be the first time we have tried this, but I think it is going to be fabulous. Not so rushed and crazy.

1st Blog

Well, I have decided to attempt this blogging thing. I enjoy reading others, so want to give it a try. I know that the hard part will be keeping up with it.

I will introduce ourselves; my name is Jody, I'm the mom, Russ is my husband of 9 years, and we have three beautiful children; Jakob - 7, Joshua - 4 brought home from Guatemala, July 25th, 2005. and Julia - 2 adopted through the foster care system. I am a full time stay at home mom and foster mom. We take in mostly newborns and occasionally an older toddler. Right now we have a 3 month old baby girl that we brought home from the hospital. She is doing wonderfully and we are hoping to make her a permanent addition to our family. I will keep you posted on that.

Well,today it is a very snowy day,we are expecting 4-10 inches before it is all said and done. A good day to curl up with the kids and enjoy some Holiday movies. But our 2 year old daughter, Julia, has a dance recital this evening. I am secretly hoping that it will be postponed. Hubby picked up a snow blower today, so I know that he is itching to go outside and play.

I am looking forward to meeting new people and hearing from you. I will be attaching some pictures later so you can see who I am talking about.