Friesen adoption update-November 2011

I've been meaning to sit down for quite some time and write a quick note (ya right...you know me; it's not gonna be quick!lol) to update you on our adoption process.....haven't written anything in ages so I'll try and sum up what the last 6 months have involved and what we are leading up to. Please be patient with my scatterbrained way of writing...as I try to squeeze six months into a few paragraphs! ;)

Ok. So last time I updated we were in contact with our resource worker and received even MORE paperwork to fill out and read etc.etc. Just when we thought we were done with the paperwork and then there is even MORE!!! But it's all good. To be honest the paperwork has been the best thing for us because we sat on it over the summer. Miss. D (our resource worker) said something to us in our first meeting that we took to heart. She said "this process can take a long time and can be pretty wearing on a family; so really enjoy your family as it is right now" So we did!! We made some pretty fantastic family memories in DISNEYLAND in June....what a blast! and then all summer we enjoyed alot of family camping time. We just really soaked in what we have and it was so good for the kids. Brett especially, was having a bit of a hard time with the whole 'change' aspect of adoption. His personality tends to be more cautious; doesn't necessarily embrace new things and changes. But once he is doing it he loves it and does really well. But our delaying the process over the summertime allowed Brett especially to settle into the idea and embrace it a bit more:)

So where are we now? We have completed what we think is every last bit of paperwork and self assessments.... everything is handed into Miss D and now we wait for her to have some time for us to come and do our home portion of the assessment. This probably won't happen until January 2012 because she is swamped. It is unfortunate because we would really like to see things move along; but we truly believe it is all in Gods timing. We know he has children picked out for our family already; so whatever the timing is to get those kids here, we will wait.

In the meantime, when going through our reading and discovering the different needs that our new children (have I mentioned that we signed up for siblings??!!) are going to require as they settle into our family....as well as the extra needs of our biological kids as they get used to our new family dynamics; we realized that we cannot necessarily maintain this extremely busy lifestyle we live day to day. So we are assessing our schedule, and our life in general and making some small changes. "No" is really difficult to say when there are needs; but our family comes first right now and 'no' is necessary. So the biggest change for me so far is that I have decided to step back from leading worship at church for awhile. If you know me well, you know how hard of a decision this was. I was passionate about leading music/worship. I have led for 16 years without any breaks (not even more than a few weeks to have babies!) But after much prayer, I felt it was time to step back and take a break. I didn't realize how busy this one area kept me; but since stepping back mid-October I feel like 1000 lbs have been lifted off my shoulders and it still feels like the right decision (even when the church now has a baby grand!!) oh how tempting.....;) I feel like I had lost some of my passion in this department and taking a break is allowing me to gain some passion and 'fill my tank' again. :) it's a good place to be.

The last few weeks we have had some really neat connections to some really neat people. I believe God is moving and guiding us through this whole process and that meeting these folks are nothing but Him opening some doors to show us a bit of His direction. We have been in contact with a foster mom who has two little girls in her care at the moment. The birth mom is unable to look after her babies and signed them over for adoption. Anyway, they are looking for a Christian family for these girls and through various people they were led to us. Cool huh?? So at the moment Brad and I are praying like crazy before we actually meet this foster family and the girls. (ages 2 and 4) We ask that you would pray with us to help discern where to move with this decision. Basically the birth mom has a say in choosing the adoptive family and if we choose to move forward with these particular children then we will meet and have visits etc. Once we meet and as long as the birth mom wants to choose us then we would be considered a direct placement. There are different family dynamics involved with the girls and things that we need to find out regarding family history etc. so we really are trying to figure out where to go from here. MORE things to pray about!!

So that's where we are at right now. Who knows, maybe we will be a family of 7 early in the new year! crazy heh? We still have our 5-seater car....but will definately be needing to make a change there as well. It's all good as long as we don't get a minivan! (One of Brett's requests in the situation;)...the boy just doesn't love or understand the convenience of the minivan world!)

Through this process, Brad and I have this amazing peace about it all. Even these big decisions aren't that scary because we believe God has got everything under control and planned out. We are not naive to the many problems and 'baggage' that we could be welcoming into our home by adopting children with somewhat unknown histories etc; but we truly believe that God has children chosen for our family. We know that we can handle all things given to us because we don't rely on our own strength; but His. If we have the opportunity to extend only a portion of the love that God has extended to us (and I mean all of us!) to our children...and to our new children we will be living out some of Gods purpose for us on this earth. We are called to make a difference in this world and that's what we intend to do! Can't wait to see how it all unfolds...

So to review things you can pray along with us for:
-for our kids to continue to get used to the idea of our family growing
-for Brett to embrace the changes
-for our BIG decisions involving the right matches for our family
-for our in home assessment (home study) to continue in a timely fashion!
-for us to rely on God's strength; not our own.

Thank you so much for taking the time to catch up with us on this. We covet your prayers and your thoughts for our family. Drop us a line anytime if you have more questions.

Signed by: the mom who is overwhelmed by Gods love and grace and is anxiously anticipating meeting our newest additions!!
Dana:)

Show me the love!

I have alot of people asking me where we are in this very slooooowwwww process. Did I mention how sloooooowwwwww this is???!!! Seriously! wow. I was joking around that I wasn't even praying for God to give me patience lately....because usually when I pray for patience; He gives me extreme amounts of circumstances that require just that. PATIENCE. So now......I find myself praying for it and I am happy to be giving you an update that perhaps has things moving:)

Here's where we are at. Finally last week(after waiting for over a month!)we received our pile of papers from the fostering resource worker (Miss P) to fill out....applications, criminal record checks, health checks etc. While I was picking them up she mentioned that she was going to fire off an email to the adoption resource worker with our names. Because our long term goal is to adopt; we would need an adoption resource worker to do our homestudy. Miss P. told me that they are so busy, so don't expect anything to happen too quickly (surprise, surprise!)So, that's fine. I took the papers, and dealt with the fact that again....I was going to require extreme patience. Disappointed? yes. Prayed some more? yes. Well guess what?

Two days later Miss. P sent me an email that said 'good news'. My heart lept with a tiny bit of excitement and anticipation as to what her email might say, so I opened it quickly. She said that the adoption resource worker (Miss. D) wanted us to contact her right away for an adoption info session coming up on the weekend. So I called Miss. D right away and explained that we couldn't do the weekend session due to Brad working all weekend; and unfortunately the next one wouldn't be available until the fall. BUT! She said with no hesitation "I would like to have a private meeting with you then so I can go over all the information with you both and get the homestudy started" !!!!! really? Yes, of course! We set up a meeting for the 18th of April. Cool heh? So all of a sudden things are going to move. (Thank You, God!) I really think He set up our private meeting with Miss. D. No doubt about it.

Over the last few weeks we have heard stories about children in need etc. I was scrapbooking with a lady who calls herself the 'baby pimp'. She laughed about it; but it is so terribly sad. Her husband has a biological sister who is a meth/cocaine addict down on the East side in Vancouver. She keeps having babies (addicted babes) and they are trying to find homes for them year after year.
We heard about another set of girls whose parents are also addicts; same mom different dads. Babies were cocaine babes at birth; and are currently in foster care and will possibly be up for adoption soon. 1 year and 2 and half years old. Healthy little girls.....but they are in foster care because their parents can't keep it together and get healthy enough to keep their babies! It would be easy to judge these parents.....and 6 months ago, I would be the first to judge. Now my heart has changed....

After learning more about addictions while going through our foster care sessions I understand more. Brad and I have had the opportunity to work with the coffee cart ministry a tiny bit through our church. Our youth pastor sets up a tent, coffee and muffins in a less fortunate area of town in an empty lot. People come who are hungry. Not only hungry to fill their bellies; but hungry to talk to people. Hungry to be heard. Hungry to change but feel stuck. After talking to various men and women, we have learned to not judge; but to love.

Many of these people who are now on the streets or close to it.... have addictions; they have a past. Many of their pasts include growing up in families who struggled with addictions and they as children were raised in and out of Foster Care. Who's going to break the cycle? We need to reach out to these people! We need to show them we care when no one else cares. We need to show them hope when they feel they have no hope. We need to adopt these waiting kids in BC so they have a chance to grow up to be thriving, happy adults who are not addicted to drugs and alcohol. Take them out of the system. Give them a family.

Miss. D asked hesitantly "so I have to ask. Why do you want to adopt when you already have three kids of your own?"

How can we not? We see the need; we want to be a part of changing broken, hurting lives; there is no doubt that this is what we need to do. What we want to do. It's not for everybody, we get that. But God has impressed it upon OUR hearts and we are excited to obey.

Maybe we should just buy a 15 passenger van now....cuz let's fill'er up! Perhaps not a 15 passenger...but we might end up with more than 1 child.....

There's our lengthy update for now. Please continue to pray for us as we prepare our home for the home study etc. Please pray for our kids as they transition and wrap their heads around adding permanent siblings to our family. Thank you for your continued support!

I have posted a link below that is a video showing a bit about what the coffee cart is all about. It shows some of the people who come....it shows their eyes. Take a look at their eyes; they say alot. Next time you walk by a homeless person or someone who doesn't have 'it all together'; take a look into their eyes and don't be so quick to judge. They have a story too.
May God bless you with grace, mercy and love:)

Dana

(copy and paste this link to go and take a look at the video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkkgliHTFh4&NR=1

don't forget to turn on your volume....there's a good song to go with:)

COMFORTABLE much?

I sit here in the comfort of our warm, cozy, big house....listening to our kids watch a movie on the big flat screen while they are all snuggled in their pyjamas. They still have wet hair and they smell good after having a nice hot bath. Their tummies are full from dinner and all is well in their world. Comfortable right? yup. We are sooooo comfortable.

Road to Fostering Part 2!

Brad rushes home from work, I slam a container of dinner in his hands and say goodbye to the kids and tell them to be good for Granny...... we're off. Butterflies? yes. Not really sure what to expect that first night of our pre-service foster care training...not sure who's going to be there etc. Not sure if we are ready to hear what they are going to tell us...just not sure in general. But here we go! "Remember Dana...I am with you!" (that was God....and He has to tell me that alot!) So we take a deep breath and walk in.

This would be the largest group that the social workers have seen in years for foster training. A group of 24 adults seems to really encourage the ladies running the session. Awesome! We recieve our binder of modules to work through; everything looks good. Lot's of bedtime reading it seems....  A few sessions in; we begin to meet the real foster parents and they tell us many stories of kids in care that they have had. One incredible special woman who ran the session has had over 400 kids in and out of their home in the last 20 years. Wow-a. She is the most selfless, beautiful, tender hearted woman who saw a need and ran with it. When listening to her true life stories of children coming into care, I had to bite my lip to try and stop the tears from dribbling down my cheeks. It didn't work. Not one bit.

I know that the world can be bad and that there are awful people out there; but I have kept it at arms length....I have kept it 'comfortably' away from my heart so that I didn't have to do anything about it. I didn't want to know too much about these kids in care; because we were 'too busy' to do anything about it. And let's face it; life might become less 'comfortable' for us if we ventured down this road..... uh huh. But then she tells us about kids in her care now who are waiting to be adopted....kids who aren't given a single chance. GET YOUR TISSUE NOW - A girl who is so damaged emotionally; because she was tied to train tracks as a toddler....the same girl was hung out over the side of a bridge by her legs. This girl is so angry and sad and needs a family to love her. Or the woman carried on to tell us of two little brothers who came into care; eventually a judge ordered their home 'safe' to go back to and two days later the ministry had to pick them up at the hospital with cigarette burns covering their abused little bodies. THIS IS REAL LIFE FOR SOME KIDS! Comfortable? Nope.

This isn't the movies; this is our city....our own backyard. I could go on about stories of children; or teens who abuse drugs because that's the only thing they've been taught. I could tell you about the young woman who was stabbed with a needle before the age of ten by her 'john' so that she too would be addicted to drugs and would be forced to prostitute alongside her mom and her grandma. This too is real. This is in our city. This is unacceptable. But we are to love; we are to go beyond ourselves and take care of the orphans...take care of the teens who are just looking for someone to have hope in them; someone to encourage them and to love them. We are to take care of the babies who cry endlessly for days on end because they were just born from the womb of their mother who was addicted to alcohol and drugs. Not so comfortable sounding anymore is it? Jesus wasn't comfortable either.....

The Foster Care system in BC is all about "Fostering the Family"- meaning their goal is to help the family get their lives back together so that they kids can come home.  The ministry encourages foster homes to allow the blood parent(s) into your home to teach them how to parent....to show them what a functioning, healthy home looks like. I'll be honest. This is a part that we struggle with a bit right now. With our kids being the ages they are...we don't want to bring any risk of any sort into our home. That being said, we do have some choices as to where visitations are to be held etc. I understand the whole idea of fostering the family; and I agree that ideally we want the kids to be able to go back home with their parents to a healthy, happy and loving home. But we have some praying and decision making to do regarding this issue...not sure exactly how open our door actually is.

All in all the sessions went by pretty fast. They were jam packed with information with how the system works...how we work with the system. The social workers invovled were very open and helpful with any questions we had; pretty encouraging really.

Now our next step is to fill out a pile of paperwork, criminal record checks etc....and then the home study will begin. For Brad and I; our long term goal would be to adopt so our route might be a tiny bit more involved than a normal home study. We would go on the 'foster to adopt' list....I'll tell you more about that soon!

Thanks for reading; and I'll ask you just one more question to consider.

"How comfortable are you?"

Signed by: an extremely blessed, happy woman who sits in her sweatpants with the crumpled up tissues that dried up her tears as she wrote......still excitedly anticipating the meeting of her next child. sooooo excited. ~sigh~

The road to fostering and adoption....

A friend of mine suggested that maybe I could write on the blog about our fostering/adoption adventure to keep everyone updated; but also to inform people about what the process looks like, what it takes to get started etc.  Perhaps this would help people not be scared of the whole idea and consider it for their own families. I totally agree with her! I think this is a great way not only to inform....but for me; putting my thoughts down in writing is often revealing and clarifies things go'in on upstairs ;) So stay tuned for each step up of the way and a few thoughts from Brad and I as we walk this adventure together...I have the best walking partner by the way! Here goes noth'in.....

HOW DID THIS WHOLE IDEA OF ADOPTION/FOSTERING START? Wellllllll...for years and years Brad and I have always thought that the idea of adoption was interesting and something we would like to pursue eventually. But that being said never thought about it much lately because we are in the middle of raising our family. We felt very content with our family just the way it is. Quite frankly, 3 kids keep us pretty busy...their activities, our activities, work, play, volunteering etc. Sometimes it just feels like we yearn to stay home for an entire day/evening and chillax with the family. We often brag about starting out having kids while we were young and will benefit from that when we are in our forties. Empty nesters.....time to travel, and adventure together while we're still 'young'....sounds good right? That's all fine and dandy until you feel some prompting in your heart.

One day, in the fall of 2010 I was enjoying a discussion with some wonderful ladies at bible study. We were talking about all the good causes we could help....needs in Africa; needs in Cambodia to help young girls stay off the streets and to not be bought to come and prostitute here in North America by sleezeball 'businessmen'. (don't EVEN get me started!!) And somewhere in our discussion one wise woman (same girl who prompted me to write:) simply asked the question: "what about the needs in our own backyard??" What about the poor here in Kamloops? What about the kids who go to school hungry in the morning who sit beside my own kids at school? What about the child longing to go to school to get away from verbal and physical abuse on a daily basis?  I could go on and on. The needs in our cities are enormous....so I found myself asking "Why don't we take care of people in our own city? why have we looked beyond our 'backyard'?"

This got me thinking. Adoption came quickly to my mind and soon engulfed my heart. I kept quiet for about 2 months just continuing to think about it and pray. I didn't bring it up to Brad yet because I didn't want to scare him with my crazy thoughts! Because seriously, reality is that we don't need any more kids! Our plates are full! right? LOL

So December was soon approaching....driving around the city running errands, dropping and picking kids up, shopping for Christmas; I spent alot of time in the car listening to the radio. I kept hearing one radio advertisement for the Dave Thomas foundation for adoption over and over and over. It seemed like every time I turned on the radio; I would hear that familiar voice. I took note of the website and one day decided to look it up and see what this foundation was all about. I left it there, thinking to myself that when I had some more time I would sit down and investigate a little bit more.

A few weeks later over our Christmas holidays; Brad was on facebook and came across an interesting article that a friend of ours posted from CNN. While I was doing my hair one morning; he came to me and said "You have to read this article; it's very interesting". So I asked him if he could read it to me while I was getting ready...cuz let's face it; I don't 'wait' very well and I was now extremely curious! I am posting the article below for you to read as well. This article was one of the key things that made us think God was trying to tell us something......
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/23/my-take-why-my-church-rebelled-against-the-american-dream/

Over the holidays it seemed again like everywhere we turned there was either a special on t.v. regarding adoption.....or another on the radio. I began to look into what was involved exactly with adopting in BC. We were giggling to ourselves because it seemed so CRAZY; yet just. so. RIGHT. to pursue this thought further.

At this point adoption was forefront on our minds. We liked the 'permanence' of it for our family....but a wise friend said to me..." don't rule out fostering all the way yet; just think about it....because if a child can come into your home and be a part of your family if only for 3 months. That just might be the best 3 months of their lives and it could be something that changes them forever."                    Oh boy. How could I disregard fostering so easily when she says something like that?

So to make a loooong story a tiny bit shorter! heeheehee.....after discussing adoption with our boys, they weren't particularly comfortable with the permanence of it. They were having a hard time grasping the idea that a child (not necessarily a baby) would just come and be a Friesen just like that. But for some reason, they could see the need much easier with fostering. So we decided to look into both. I contacted Interior Community Services to find out what our first step would be to both fostering and adopting within BC. We were quickly signed up for an 18 hour information session that would help us make some decisions.

I will go into a few details of this on my next post.....thanks for reading! Stay tuned for a bit more of our craziness!

Signed: An extremely blessed woman, wife, mom, child of God who's heart grows increasingly bigger each and every day anticipating the meeting of our next child.

Do you believe in miracles? Meet one!

Have you ever witnessed a miracle? I have to honestly say that I have been ever so blessed to see tons of miracles over my 'short' lifetime. But some people would say that miracles don't exist and I am posting this to show you your first one! Lucky you:):)

Today is a VERY special day; and I'm pretty sure I'll be in happy tears all day just thinking about it! Here's the story:)

 Payton.....( by the way.... Payt is my nephew and I am one of his very lucky Aunties!) This little boy in this photo just turned three; it's actually his birthday the day this photo was taken. That little sad face breaks your heart doesn't it? He's sad cuz he doesn't feel well....he had been diagnosed a few weeks prior to this with Leukemia and was being treated with alot of chemotherapy and various other drugs at the time. He was starting to lose his hair and his gorgeous long dark eyelashes; strange things were going on with his little body that he just didn't understand (nor did his parents) but they just had to trust the doctors and let them do what they thought was the right thing to do to help him. Who knew that the road of Leukemia would be over 3 years???!!! Seriously; did you know that?
Who knew that he would endure spinal tap after spinal tap, and take chemo every day for well over 1000 days of his life? Who knew that he would require steroids that make his brain think he might be a 15 year old boy that is starving all the time; but then told he can't eat because it would be too close to taking his chemo?Who knew that at any inclination of a fever; his mom and dad would have to rush him to the local hospital for blood tests and IV's to make sure he didn't have an infection. His body couldn't fight infection at all on it's own due to the chemo killing all of his immune system day after day.  Who knew that God would scoop Payton up his big might hands and carry him through the next three years of treatment and keep him safe? Who knew that this little boy would melt the hearts of every single person he came across?? Well. We all knew that; look at him!

Along the road of treatment, Payton did amazingly well. He often had that big smile on his face; and if he wasn't smiling, it didn't usually last that long. That has alot to do with the next people you will meet!

This handsome guy is Ryan. He wins an award for being a FANTASTIC big brother. Wow. Ry has travelled this road with his little brother; being frightened for him, feeling sad when Payton didn't feel well. Travelling back and forth to Vancouver all the time. I can't even mention all the things that Ryan has been for Payt cuz the list is too long! All I know is that this family is exactly as God planned it to be for a very good reason. They are meant for each other.

Now.....meet the most amazing parents EVER!

Remember your wedding vows? "For better or for worse; through sickness and in health"? I always thought that through sickness meant our own sickness; either my husband or myself. It has a whole new meaning now. Something like this can tear people apart. These guys watched it happen to other people throughout this process; it's not an easy road and can be very stressful on a marriage. But Steve and Kerri made it! They love each other more now than they did 3 years ago.... and it shows. They are pretty darn amazing and I sure love them alot!!....(here I go with those happy tears again! ) They have endured heartache, worry, stress, bucket loads of tears. They have put their lives on hold for three years to take care of their baby. They have done it all with extreme amounts of grace and dignity. Their faith never waivered for a second. They never second guessed God; they just went with it. Trusting Him, knowing that they would be ok. "On Christ The Solid Rock I Stand". AMEN!

So today, February 1st, 2011 is A VERY EXCITING DAY! This is the last day of chemo for Payton. (happy tears again!) Our kids were saying their bedtime prayers last night and were thanking God that today is the last day. And we joked around with them saying they could take Payt to school for their show and tell. They could say "My show and tell today is a miracle. A living, walking miracle. My cousin Payton has survived leukemia!" Not only survived it; but 'laid a lick'in on it!'   AMEN AGAIN!

 (tears again!!! It's gonna be along day:)
So.....now that you've witnessed a miracle with us............ Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your support. Thank you for your thoughts and kind words. THANK YOU for taking this journey with Steve, Kerri, Ryan and Payton. Keep praying! Even though he is done is chemo today; his immune system still needs to build up for the next few months; and then we pray for no relapse of the leukemia over the next year or two.

If you haven't experienced the trust in God that I talked about above and you would like to know what that is like or know more about it; please don't hesitate to ask me or someone else you know who shares the same trust. I can't imagine living this life without God. Payton can't imagine his life without God living in his heart either; and he could tell you all about it too! It's simply a free gift......

Thank you for sharing this day with all of us! Bless you and let's celebrate together!

Grandma Sales' 80th birthday!

Well.....the time has finally come; party time for Grandma! I can't believe that she is 80 years old already. wow. She looks fantastic...still drives a car and rides her bike with her helmet hang'in off the handlebars (cuz that doesn't look cool you know!) ;P She's a spunky old gal and we sure love her. We transformed our kitchen into a special dining room with pretty decorations for a pretty lady. It was a nice evening; but boy am I pooped! I think all the girls are pooped too! Thanks everyone for all your help:)

 Tara 'one' has such an eye for decorating....she came up with this wonderful idea of making these beautiful puff balls out of tissue paper and hanging them at different lengths from the ceiling. It looks really pretty in here!

 the birthday girl! Our menu for the evening was.....a dry roasted roast with a yummy paste on the outside, ginger lime carrots, bacon/corn dish, roasted potatoes, garlic mashed potatoes, salad with vinagarette dressing and homeade buns. mmmmmmmm!

 The Sales' Clan.....Auntie Sherel also joined us to celebrate with Gram. They have been friends for years and years and years. It was nice to have her here:)

 Gram and the great grandkids. I can't believe these guys all belong to us! And that we are old enough to have all these kids. What happened??

 Tyler, Linds, Gram, Me and Jeff

 Dad, Gram and Mom

 I made her a scrapbook album of the last 80 years...something she can look at once in awhile. We also all wrote her a letter telling her why we love her; our favourite memories etc. Sometimes we just don't say stuff like that enough to one another.

 Time for birthday cake! Tara 2 made a delicious black forest cake....we put all 80 candles on that baby and wow! Once they were all lit; it was quite the flame.......

 Things got a little crazy....Grandma was lifting the decorations so they didn't start  on fire!

 bahahahaha!

 No boyfriends.....80 candles and no boyfriends??! something seems suspicious here.....

We sure love you Grandma. Hope you enjoyed your party:)

Love, Dana

Celebrating 80 years!

In August, we had the privelage to get together with our extended family to celebrate Granny's 80th birthday! It was a surprise to her because her birthday isn't actually until next January but we celebrated early so that we could also celebrate her older brother's 80th as well. Great Uncle Ambrose had just turned 80 for real earlier this year. St. Germain's hosted the event in their beautiful, spacious backyard and opened up their home, their pool and their hospitality for us all to share a great day together. Thank you guys! You're terrific!

This lady is f-a-b-u-l-o-u-s! Meet Dolores....my Granny. Dear and near to my heart, she is one of the most special, lovely people I know. You would know it too; all you have to do is meet her once to figure that out. She is a wife, a mother of 6, a grandmother, a great grandmother, a sister, a friend and amongst many other fabulous traits, she is also a survivor. She beat breast cancer a few years ago and is simply an inspiration. I love you very much Granny! And I know everyone else does too:) we sure are blessed to have you in our lives and celebrate your special birthday with you.

Meet Uncle Ambrose.....this man; small in stature, but huge in personality and heart also celebrated his birthday. It was truly a very special event to do this together and for him to enjoy the day with his friends, family and loved ones because only a few days later Uncle Ambrose had a sudden heart attack and passed away. He will be truly missed by many.

This is my Poppa! Yes.....we are a little nuts; but in a good kind of way! He is also a very special man who over his lifetime has worked hard for a living, grown to appreciate his family more than ever and has been a wonderful husband and caretaker worrying about and taking care of Granny endlessly when she was sick. The glasses just make for a good laugh:) Love you Poppa!

Mom and Granny...I hope that I am loaded with these genes! pretty wrinkle free!! Beautiful ladies.

It's not just me.....Darcie is a camera lover too!

Great Uncle Barry and Dustin.....uh....does anyone else see how much they look alike here???

Auntie Marcia (mom's twin) was one of the hosts for the "name that tune!" game. She may have been 'bust'in a move' here.....

Pretty Auntie Deb.

Uncle Bill was the other host of the game......in the glasses. :)

She cracks me up! so cute!

the kids wallopped the piniata around. Cameron has her very serious hitting face one here.

The kids spent alot of time in the pool playing around. I loved my fast camera for this!

All in all it was a great day hanging out with everyone.....not long enough, but super nice. Pretty blessed we all are!