ChChChanges...

That's all I can say right now.  We putting our application on hold for awhile.  Changes are good but I really don't enjoy change.  We'll revisit these changes once they are made. ;)

Accepted & Received

You like the ripped piece of paper covering my address, don't you?  

I should have used a pretty color or something better visually but instead I rip paper.  

We received our initial approval email last week & today the packet arrived!  WooHoo!!  Started going through & may of had a moment of panic.  I REMEMBER vividly ALL the paperwork that is involved.  The sweet part is I already knew what I had to do & most of the forms are ready.  I think the best part of all this is that we've done it before & have a pretty good idea of what to expect.  I LOVE that part!!

We are going to Colombia!
&
I have told the family not to ask about a time for at least 3 years. lol.

What will 2011 bring?

Lots of paperwork.

Why??

Because we are sending in our initial application to CHI to adopt 2 siblings this week.  Let the roller coaster ride begin!

Past 6 months in pictures

New kitten we thought was a her but was really a him.

Roundup in October

Confident rider at the ranch on his 5th birthday

Lost a good agent 

Lazy days in alfalfa

Branding sheep

Shearing plant

Picking cotton

New additions our family, David and Goliath. David would like to be a rodeo bull and Goliath wants to be a dog. Did I mention we acquired 2 rabbits??

7 puppies

Best thing about 2010...The newest cousin was born!

Merry Christmas (late)

From our family to yours,

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Numb

I have been absent in my blog for a long while.  This year has been a very hard year emotionally for me and though life goes on, my heart just hasn't been in it.

We moved our family out to the family farm to give my grandparents an extra hand.  My grandmother was ill and we wanted them to have peace of mind in their older years.  It's not too far from where we were living before.  Shortly after moving out here my grandmother became ill and almost lost her life.  Thankfully, I was here and was able to get her to the hospital in time.  (I hate to talk in code but I'm trying to explain without exactly saying what it was.)  In May, my grandmother went in for a minor surgery to reconnect what was disconnected in late summer of last year.  She did awesome during the surgery and came home from the hospital the end of May.  After about 10 days out of the hospital, she just couldn't breathe.  I took her to the doctor where they admitted her back in the hospital where we spent a month trying to find a medicine that her lungs would respond to, she never recovered.  She left this world on July 1st, with her husband, children and a grandchildren by her side to surround her with love and prayer as she went to meet the Father.

My mother had me at a very young age and that made her a young grandmother.  My grandparents are like an extra set of parents and I tend to fall into a grey line where my aunts/uncle can be more siblings than peers.  I wasn't ready to let her go but don't know if I ever would have been.  I lost my best friend, confidant and partner in crime.  Here we are almost six months later and I miss her.  I cry as I write this.

I REALLY miss her.

My emotions have been all over the place these past months.  I feel pretty numb these days, trying to find what my new role is.  I've gone from taking care of my sister's children for the past 4.5 years to having them almost all in school and time to concentrate on my own family.  Caring for my grandmother on a daily basis to loosing her.  I'm looking forward to putting 2010 behind me and welcoming 2011 with open arms.   2010 has been a year of heartbreak, loss and more changes than I like to handle.  I don't mind change but I like the good kind.

Gotcha Day #2 CELEBRATED!!

Two years ago today...

There was a Grandmother, Uncle, Aunt and 3 Cousins

that made a special trip all the way from Arizona to Colombia.

We all spent a week in Mendihu@c@ (aka Survivor Island).

(It was very pretty but far away from everything)

A brother and sister had a moment.

We met some R-E-A-L-L-Y cool people.

and this adventure...

was all about HER.

(and it still is most of the time)

Today we celebrated with ice cream not once but twice!

Talked about our first meeting and how much fun we had during our stay in Colombia.

Words cannot express the joy and love we have for this girl that God blessed us with.

He knew what was needed in this family and he provided.

Miss Avi Luz was MORE than worth the wait we had to endure for her to physically be a part of our family.