Foster Care Update...........

One miracle has already taken place for this little guy. Extended family was looking into getting him and working on background checks and we were just waiting to hear back about it but it was taking forever. So in the mean time back in May we had a special family fast that everything would work, according to Heavenly Father's will, if Luther could stay in our family and be safe and happy. So the caseworker came by later in the month for her monthly visit and said that they finally got things back but the family never followed up on any paperwork and things just kinda fell through. I just got a big smile on my face. A prayer was answered! The caseworker said she knew I would be happy to hear that.

 So it's been a waiting game with this little guy but we are still hopeful! Everybody asks us is it looking like adoption?? The caseworker says that's where it is headed.......but we just don't want to get our hopes up......we have heard to many horror stories. But his biological parents have both finally gone through their pre-trials after a few missteps because of lawyers and paperwork etc., etc. So we finally have a date for trial which will terminal the parents rights on June29th. Both lawyers are trying to get them to give up their rights before trial but we will see if that happens. Usually a trial means the state has enough solid evidence against the parents for their rights to be terminated and the caseworker keeps telling us that we shouldn't have anything to worry about. The judge has the final say. He could give the parents another chance, its happened before....so that's why you don't get your hopes to high. But good things have happened already and we keep holding on to hope and keep praying! Things have been falling into place so far so we just have to wait and see!

First Dip in the Pool........

Since its summer and the kids are always dying to be outside we bought this but with a little help. Luther has social security money that comes to him. We got a call from the caseworker and he had some saved up in an account and so we had to spend some on him and buy him whatever we thought he would need or enjoy. So one item was this nice big pool.

Luther actually didn't want to get in at first and was really scared but once he walked around the pool and touched the water and saw it was okay and he was safe he got the hang of it. Jane became his best friend for the day. She would help walk around the pool with him and just play with him. The kids had a blast and kept nice and cool!

Nature Hike.......

To start of summer break we set off on an adventure. Kasey knew of a little hike up behind the Draper Temple easy enough for all of us to do. So we started out early and went. It was mostly stairs for the first little while which was tough for the little ones but we got there eventually. It was pretty cool to see a waterfall at the end and be able to rest.

Christian and Caleb had a blast playing near the water trying to divert the water with rocks and sticks. And they could help themselves but go off and climb on all the rocks behind us. It was hard to not let them go off and play but it was loose, shale rock and not very safe to play on. The girls were content on trying to get close to the waterfall and take pictures and trying to stay dry!

Christian's Pre-school Graduation...........

 We are so proud of Christian! He has worked so hard this year and has done so well in pre-school! In the beginning he was super shy with his teachers and friends and by the end of the year he was shouting out answers and could at least answer his teachers if they asked him a question. But he had a great little group of friends. It was so fun to see him interact and talk with them.

 I wish I could post the video on here of this song...but he has some of his dad in him for sure. He was shaking and moving his leg around and couldn't keep still while singing this song. He was on beat and be-bopping along. It was hilarious! It was awesome to see him really get into and actually sing and dance along!

 Getting his diploma from teacher Jen. Teacher Jen and teacher Season got a kick out of Christian. They also said he followed the rules and was so kind and helpful to the other kids in class. He would encourage them if they were having a hard time or needed help. It was fun for them to try to get him to smile or grin because he wouldn't say much. He knows all his letters and sounds and has even started learning some sight words.....next stop learning to read! He is great with math...adding and subtracting numbers already. And he is pretty good at writing his own name. He has learned a lot and will definitely be ready for kindergarten next year! WAY TO GO CHRISTIAN!!

Julia's 1st recital..........

 Julia started taking piano lessons in January and has loved it. She is a fast learning and picks up the music quickly. She has a fabulous teacher that knows just how much work to give her and just how much to push her. She takes 3 lessons per week and then on the 4th week they have a group class where they play a piece in front of the group to work on playing in front of people (genius!) And then they also talk about a different composer each month, what type of music they played/composed and interesting things about them. Her teacher gets them excited about music!
Julia did a fantastic job. She said she was a little nervous playing in front of so many people but she did great. She played and played her piece at home constantly and really did have it memorized. It was Winnie the Pooh, a Disney classic. It was also great to hear all her students play and to see what level they were at. We look forward to Julia continuing on with lessons and getting even better! Way to go Julia!

Spring Flowers...........

Lilacs are one of my favorite flowers...they remind me of my Grandma Shirley. She use to have bouquets all around her house cut from her own yard. I have planted some bushes in my yard and hopefully after a few years will get blooms as gorgeous of this.

Sunday Selfies........

Luther is such a happy boy. He loves to smile and laugh. He loves to look at pictures on my phone and take pictures. So we were just sitting around having fun and decided to take some pictures.We were laughing so hard by the time we were done. Luther was just cracking us up.