What a CRAZY year!!! Here is January! :)

Ok, so... since I have taken a LOOOONG hiatus from blogging (and honestly, not by choice, there has just been nonstop life going on around here!) I am back. I am going to get caught up, and try to put dates on here as best as possible. SO, without further ado, please sit back and enjoy the pictures, stories, and a look into what has made this such a crazy year!!

1/2/10  

We went to visit Papa G and Gramma K for a baby blessing tomorrow.  And, while we are here, we get to enjoy our time with lots of family.  :)  I love these times!

Sister holding her cousin...

Diggy with her new nephew.  

Enrique with some of the kids playing a game (sorry it is SO bright)...

Master E playing with the wisemen.  ;)

And now Diggy holding her niece.  Such sweet babies!

1/3/10
Today we had my new nephews blessing!  It was such a great day!  He is such a sweet little boy too!  Here are some pictures from the occasion!  :)

Chantal was soo sweet and came with us too!  She is one of our new exchange students, but she came earlier than the others.  I hope she enjoyed her time with us on this trip!  :)  

It was such a great day!  I am so lucky to have such a great family!

1/9/10

We have new students in our home! :) We love when this happens!! We have Chantal from Switzerland, Fio from Panama, and Bia and Julia from Brazil. We took them to a Mexican restaurant and they loved it. :)

Here they are taking pictures of each other here. Fio is in the back looking on, and Chantal wasn't with us this night. Bia is in the yellow, and Julia is in the brown. :) These are not great pictures since they came from my phone... so sorry! haha

And, then Missy was being crazy as usual! haha

1/10/10

We decided to have some friends over for dinner to share the wealth! ;) We always try to treat the exchange students with a turkey dinner so they can experience what it is like. It always is a treat for them, and tonight was perfect!

Such good food, and great company! We even had our friend sing for us, and the students were in awe (not that I blame them, Mr Tenor is amazing! ;). It was a great night!

Sister also lost another tooth!!

And the girls have this weird thing of making a fort at night on their bed, and they did tonight. It is really cool! I know their room is a mess, but... posting it anyway! hahaha

1/14/10

Happy Missy with her cookies and milk! ;)

1/15/10

Bia really likes putting together towers with cards. It is fun to watch her just keep trying to get it bigger and bigger. And Cman is now trying as well. ;)

We also had some of the neighbors host children over as well to play games. My friend looks like she was in a really serious discussion too! haha It was a fun day!

Here is Edward and Joao.

1/16/10

More card buildings... and a little block building as well! hehe

1/19/10

Cman got his Bobcat today! I am so proud of him!

1/21/10

One of our students from Brazil is leaving so we took them out for dinner one last time to their favorite restaurant.

Here is Fio and Chantal.

Talk about BRIGHT!
You can see the man in the rocks!! We were watching the show. Julia is caught in the headlights! hehehe

1/22/10

Today is Julia's last day. She is going home for a job, and we are going to miss her. You can tell it has been a rough morning (even with make-up, I look like I am just sad).

Us with all of the students together!

Just me and her at the airport... it was a hard morning. I love Julia and wish her all the best! Such an amazing young woman with LOTS of great things in store for her in her future!

1/23/10

We started the year out with a BANG! Enrique, Cman, Sister, and Diggy all tried out for the musical The Music Man. It was SO much fun, but took up a LOT of time. Looking back we really wish we would have had Missy try out too, but, she still came with us to our rehearsals, and they were very kind about it!

Here are some pics of the first practice.

1/24/10

Our last day with Bia! And, I am not sure where Chantal is... but, here is mostly everyone. It has been so hard this year (it really has gotten harder and harder each year, and I miss my host kids that have left from previous times more and more)!! I am going to miss my girls!!

1/26/10

Here are some practice time pics, at least of what Diggy got. (Sorry they are blurry too... it was with Diggy's phone, which isnt all that great!)

1/28/10

Missy and I went to go visit a new niece/cousin that we had, and she is a doll! We also played with her brother and sister, but, for some reason, I managed to not get pictures of them! Sheesh!

1/29/10

Then Missy and I went to a funeral for part of my birth families grandpa. It was sad, but we were glad to be able to be there! I got to see 2 of my birth brothers, and my birth sister and their dad, his wife, and their dad's family.

Missy took this picture... she did a pretty good job!
Uncle Ty and Auntie Tish
And, Uncle T felt very left out! haha
All of us together. :)
Then we got together with some friends and family to celebrate Enrique's Birthday (Happy Birthday!!!), and Sister decided that she was going to be beautician for a night. haha (Sorry, once again, blurry shots with Diggy's phone, but only the first couple! ;)

Now onto the festivities!

A kiss from his brother...

And I love how the kids were shaping their lips like they were blowing out the candles too! hahaha

Then Enrique thought he could get away with taking a TEENY bit from the side...

So, even though you can't see this, his bro decided to help him by pushing his head into the side when he had to take a second bite.

And, Sister's work with the hair is absolutely amazing! We are taking appointments for any who are interested!

Then Missy felt like her talents were going unnoticed, so she had to help a little as well...

The finished product was something never seen before, but it was fabulous, and everyone agreed!

Happy Birthday Enqrique, we love you!

1/30/10

While some of my birth siblings were here, we needed to get together, and that we did! :) Here is Sissy...

Missy was telling her Uncle Ty about her big fish story...

And, they got a good laugh from it! hehe

Then, Cman gave Uncle Ty a good old back kicking.

And then there is Uncle T.... a little nutty, if you ask me!

Uncle Ty then decided he wanted to show the girls how riding a unicorn was as easy as 123.

You done good Uncle Ty! ;)

The kiddos enjoyed their time with their Uncles and Auntie... it was so fun to see them all together.

Enrique being tickled...

My turn!

Sissy thinking she is smooth... I knew better!

You put that finger there, I will bite it! Although it kinda looks like she is picking my nose! haha

And then her going in for the kill again. And missing AGAIN! hahaha

Little stink!

Going in for the kill, AGAIN!

Success! Miss Sister, you will get it some day!

Just chatting...

Uncle T, all by his lonesome.

And, me loving all of this.

There is always a season for everything, and a season for goofiness! ;)

And, a time for goodbye! :`(

I have never had all three with me in one place, so, this was so nice, even if it was for the funeral. Love you all!

1/31/10

We have 2 new students with us! We have Fio and Chantal here, and we are all ready to watch the AMA Michael Jackson tribute. :)

And, that folks, was our January!! We hope yours was just as fun!