Our little elves wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and happy New Year! Can't wait to wrap up the year and see what 2014 has in store for us.
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Happy Halloween!
This spooky holiday is one of my least favorite but Calvin decided he wasn't afraid of it so we got into it a little more than other years. We decorated the house a little with some homemade crafts and some decorations great grandma and grandpa no longer needed.
We carved our pumpkins at Grammie and Pap's. Calvin made a "goblin" jack-o-lantern, Caden drew on his, and Daddy made a Minion pumpkin. Mommy took pictures and tried helping along the way. We saved the seeds so we could make seeds the next night.
On Halloween I was able to aide in Cavlin's classroom where mom's helped decorate the room with spider webs and other fun decorations. It was a whole Halloween themed day. Calvin and I helped the class make safe cookies for him and his classmate to eat at their party. At the end of the day, the school had parade for all the kids to dress up and walk around the school. Great Grandparents Dennison came since they were in town the night before as well as Aunt Karen. It was a very busy and fun day at school.
Finally after a long, long time of waiting after school it was time to go trick or treating! Calvin and Caden quickly got into their costumes after dinner. They were so excited it was so hard to get a picture of them together where they were both looking at the camera. We all decided to go out this year and were about about 45 mins before we came to a house that was a bit too much for Calvin. The lights and music did him in. So we headed home and he loved handing out candy to the kids. Caden had a great time. He walked most of the time and held his bucket the whole time! He didn't get candy at every house and even tried giving his candy away when he went up to people.
I forgot to add while Calvin and I were getting pumpkin seeds ready to be baked, Caden decided it would be the perfect time to react to his snack. He is eaten it dozens of times before. Not too sure what caused the reaction but even with Benadrly in him, he wasn't going to miss out on Halloween.
We carved our pumpkins at Grammie and Pap's. Calvin made a "goblin" jack-o-lantern, Caden drew on his, and Daddy made a Minion pumpkin. Mommy took pictures and tried helping along the way. We saved the seeds so we could make seeds the next night.
On Halloween I was able to aide in Cavlin's classroom where mom's helped decorate the room with spider webs and other fun decorations. It was a whole Halloween themed day. Calvin and I helped the class make safe cookies for him and his classmate to eat at their party. At the end of the day, the school had parade for all the kids to dress up and walk around the school. Great Grandparents Dennison came since they were in town the night before as well as Aunt Karen. It was a very busy and fun day at school.
Finally after a long, long time of waiting after school it was time to go trick or treating! Calvin and Caden quickly got into their costumes after dinner. They were so excited it was so hard to get a picture of them together where they were both looking at the camera. We all decided to go out this year and were about about 45 mins before we came to a house that was a bit too much for Calvin. The lights and music did him in. So we headed home and he loved handing out candy to the kids. Caden had a great time. He walked most of the time and held his bucket the whole time! He didn't get candy at every house and even tried giving his candy away when he went up to people.
I forgot to add while Calvin and I were getting pumpkin seeds ready to be baked, Caden decided it would be the perfect time to react to his snack. He is eaten it dozens of times before. Not too sure what caused the reaction but even with Benadrly in him, he wasn't going to miss out on Halloween.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Respite while we wait
Every time my phone goes off and it is Amanda, our licensing worker, my heart skips a little. Now I have realized when it is a text that does not me a little girl but for respite care. We get the honor of having another little one stay with us for a few days in mid November. She is one and I don't know if that means a new one or a closer to two one year old. They don't seem to be big on details and I am learning to be okay with that. This will be our first respite care with just one child! We were asked to watch a little 6 month old baby but Calvin came down with pneumonia and we didn't want to share those germs. I joked with Bryon that God was preparing us for 4 children since we seemed to get respite phone calls about 2 children. He says I am crazy but you never know. ;) It will be fun to see how three will be.
Other than respite care, we haven't heard of any possibilities from Amanda. We are officially on the adoption registry and she is searching hard for us. We know that everything is in God's timing but the other day Calvin asked what I wanted for Christmas and I said I would love to have sister join us to celebrate Christmas with us. Maybe a bit hopeful, okay VERY hopeful but maybe, just maybe my wish will come true.
Other than respite care, we haven't heard of any possibilities from Amanda. We are officially on the adoption registry and she is searching hard for us. We know that everything is in God's timing but the other day Calvin asked what I wanted for Christmas and I said I would love to have sister join us to celebrate Christmas with us. Maybe a bit hopeful, okay VERY hopeful but maybe, just maybe my wish will come true.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Happy 4th Birthday to Super Calvin!
Happy Birthday Calvin!
Bryon surprised Calvin and took the day off. He made him pancakes and bacon for breakfast. Calvin requested a candle and for us to sing to him. He is a Dennison when it comes to celebrating his birthday. (Dennison- my mom's side of the family believes you are royalty on your birthday. Really, is there any other way to celebrate your day?!) After breakfast we got ready and we were shocked to find out Calvin wanted to go to the mall for his birthday. We walked the mall stopping at the Disney store, Lego store, puppy store, and Build-A-Bear. After searching and searching for something special, Calvin decided he wanted to make a bear at Build-A-Bear. His selected a black bear wearing an obi one kenobi outfit and light saber. He named him Darth Vader. :) We ended the day at the mall in a photo booth. We had so much fun taking pictures and even Caden got into making faces. For dinner we ordered him his first cheese pizza from NYPD Pizza. (They offer a vegan pizza that is safe for him.) I wish I would have brought my camera with me to the mall so you could see his sweet face when he was creating Darth Vader.
Calvin celebrated his birthday super style this year. We had all things superhero from snacks to outfits and games. Calvin had a great time celebrating with all of our family. Calvin helped pick out his super snacks he wanted to have and even requested chocolate cupcakes. I went searching for them and luckily found some to make. We were watching a show on Disney Channel and someone came on and made hummus and turkey cucumber wraps. His little face lit up and said I want those for my party! I couldn't resist after seeing his face and every ingredient was safe so we made them and he wouldn't eat them. Go figure :) He sure did enjoy the cupcakes though.
Bryon surprised Calvin and took the day off. He made him pancakes and bacon for breakfast. Calvin requested a candle and for us to sing to him. He is a Dennison when it comes to celebrating his birthday. (Dennison- my mom's side of the family believes you are royalty on your birthday. Really, is there any other way to celebrate your day?!) After breakfast we got ready and we were shocked to find out Calvin wanted to go to the mall for his birthday. We walked the mall stopping at the Disney store, Lego store, puppy store, and Build-A-Bear. After searching and searching for something special, Calvin decided he wanted to make a bear at Build-A-Bear. His selected a black bear wearing an obi one kenobi outfit and light saber. He named him Darth Vader. :) We ended the day at the mall in a photo booth. We had so much fun taking pictures and even Caden got into making faces. For dinner we ordered him his first cheese pizza from NYPD Pizza. (They offer a vegan pizza that is safe for him.) I wish I would have brought my camera with me to the mall so you could see his sweet face when he was creating Darth Vader.
Calvin celebrated his birthday super style this year. We had all things superhero from snacks to outfits and games. Calvin had a great time celebrating with all of our family. Calvin helped pick out his super snacks he wanted to have and even requested chocolate cupcakes. I went searching for them and luckily found some to make. We were watching a show on Disney Channel and someone came on and made hummus and turkey cucumber wraps. His little face lit up and said I want those for my party! I couldn't resist after seeing his face and every ingredient was safe so we made them and he wouldn't eat them. Go figure :) He sure did enjoy the cupcakes though.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Caden 1st Birthday Pictures
Seriously I never posted pictures of Caden's first birthday?! Oops poor second child. I logged in to finally post Calvin's birthday and realized with all the certification classes and getting things going with that I never posted. So here is a photo montage of Caden's special day.
Friday, August 16, 2013
Escaping the heat
We escaped the heat the beginning of July to Sedona with the Bewley Family. Bryon's parents were staying the week so we all went up to enjoy some cooler weather. We played in the pool, the game room, the creek and of course with nature's finest rocks, leaves and sticks.
Caden enjoyed the week trying to eat leaves and rocks.
My handsome boys
Calvin enjoyed seeing the wildlife up close
"The Super Heroes"
Planning their next move
with Grandpa and Grandma Bewley
A stick just like Jack Frost
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Happy 4th!
A very Happy 4th of July!
He wanted it on and Calvin was more than happy to help him.
We spent the day poolside at Katie and Nick's. Calvin is getting quite daring in the water and is becoming a better swimmer every time he is in the pool. We hope everyone had a wonderful day.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Anxiously waiting
This adoption journey feels like a pregnancy journey some days. I feel like I have been on an emotional hormonal roller coaster crying over the silliest of things. We bought her a doll to give to her when she arrives left me crying in the toy aisle, getting a text saying we were certified to foster- crying in the aisle in the grocery store, hanging up things in her bedroom again crying... the list goes on and on.
In my pregnancies we had 10 months to prepare for our children to arrive and now we may have a few weeks, months and worst case a year or so to wait for her to arrive. We are transitioning the boys from their playroom into it being sister's bedroom. We are trying to get rid of some of our extra toys so we can fit all the things she will need into the house. But yet we are left not knowing what to get rid of. Do you keep the bouncer? The swing? How about a tummy time mat? The unknown is so hard some days especially when I want to have control over everything!! (Me needing control?!)
We received our first phone call! We didn't tell people we received the phone call because unfortunately the situation did not fit for our family. It was a sibling set and as excited as we were and encouraged to be receiving a phone call already, we want to bring in one child at a time into our family. We have decided to tell people because it is the number one question we get. "Did you hear anything yet?" We know that everyone is so excited for us and excited to meet our future daughter, we decided to share.
Where we are right now in the process of paperwork-
It is hard to believe that we have completed and submitted ALL of our paperwork!! Yoo-hoo! Like we posted before we are officially certified to be foster parents. What we didn't realize is that we weren't certified to adopt. We thought it went together and we were just going to fill out the other paperwork to be put on the adoption registry. Luckily the adoption registry paperwork was the same to get certified to adopt! I made a scrapbook of our family so if we get selected as one of the "possible" families the caseworker can look through it with the rest of our information to see if we would be the best family for that child.
Until we get certified to adopt we are only eligible for a child within our agency. Once we get certified to adopt then our information will be shared throughout all of Maricopa County opening us up to more children in need of a forever family.
Thank you again for all of your continued prayers and encouraging comments!
In my pregnancies we had 10 months to prepare for our children to arrive and now we may have a few weeks, months and worst case a year or so to wait for her to arrive. We are transitioning the boys from their playroom into it being sister's bedroom. We are trying to get rid of some of our extra toys so we can fit all the things she will need into the house. But yet we are left not knowing what to get rid of. Do you keep the bouncer? The swing? How about a tummy time mat? The unknown is so hard some days especially when I want to have control over everything!! (Me needing control?!)
We received our first phone call! We didn't tell people we received the phone call because unfortunately the situation did not fit for our family. It was a sibling set and as excited as we were and encouraged to be receiving a phone call already, we want to bring in one child at a time into our family. We have decided to tell people because it is the number one question we get. "Did you hear anything yet?" We know that everyone is so excited for us and excited to meet our future daughter, we decided to share.
Where we are right now in the process of paperwork-
It is hard to believe that we have completed and submitted ALL of our paperwork!! Yoo-hoo! Like we posted before we are officially certified to be foster parents. What we didn't realize is that we weren't certified to adopt. We thought it went together and we were just going to fill out the other paperwork to be put on the adoption registry. Luckily the adoption registry paperwork was the same to get certified to adopt! I made a scrapbook of our family so if we get selected as one of the "possible" families the caseworker can look through it with the rest of our information to see if we would be the best family for that child.
Until we get certified to adopt we are only eligible for a child within our agency. Once we get certified to adopt then our information will be shared throughout all of Maricopa County opening us up to more children in need of a forever family.
Thank you again for all of your continued prayers and encouraging comments!
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
It's official!
We heard from our licensing worker today that we are officially licensed! We are so excited to see God's plan unfold. We can't wait to get the phone call whenever the time comes to welcome her into our family.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Fun with Crayons
Calvin decided he wanted to make Daddy a picture. Since Caden wants to do EVERYTHING his big brother is doing, he wanted to draw a picture too. We have tried crayons and they go straight to his mouth and I wasn't going to dare try the markers Calvin was using. In searching through our art stuff I found our Crayola twistable crayons. Even though Caden managed to put it up his nose and in his mouth nothing was eaten or ruined! :)
Caden had the best smiles while coloring so I took out my camera and both of the boys hammed it up!
Caden had the best smiles while coloring so I took out my camera and both of the boys hammed it up!
Brother don't come near me, I am coloring!
hahahaha Mommy saved me
Ooooh look at me :)
If she keeps making me look at her I will never finish.
This doesn't taste like my food.
Oh it's a crayon
So this is how it works!
Such concentration
His beautiful picture for Daddy.
Getting ready to make silly faces at me
Once he starts.....
he just keeps going....
and going....
:)
Friday, May 17, 2013
Now the waiting game begins...
We finished class 10 on Tuesday night and our paperwork was officially submitted on Wednesday afternoon! We thought it would be about 2 weeks to get certified but now it is looking more like 4 weeks. Which gives us a little more time to prepare. The past five and a half weeks have been so hectic and the kids have been amazing through all of it. We are going to take this time to just relax and enjoy our time with the boys.
What is going to happen next?
This seems to be the most popular question lately. It will be one of two situations: 1st situation we will accept emergency removals which means will will know the basic information on a child (age, gender, race) and nothing more. We would probably be placed very quickly with a child, possibly the day we are certified. VERY fast process. The 2nd situation we will probably have to wait longer, but we would say we want a child whose rights are likely to be severed from their birth parents (they will likely be put up for adoption). More information is known about the child since they may have been in the care of another foster family.
Both situations have their pros and cons so we are still deciding what is best for our family. We are also going to sign up for the adoption registry as another way of receiving a child. She will still come from Maricopa county however she may be in a foster family's home that is not with our agency.
If you have questions please don't hesitate to ask us. We are pretty open about our journey as you can see.
Just a quick little story about Calvin regarding is future sister.
For the past few years Bryon's squad has participated in Cops and Donut shops to raise money for Special Olympics. We went again this year to donate and hang out with Bryon for a little bit. Bryon was giving junior officer badge stickers to the kids as they showed up. Calvin saw the stickers on the table and took a couple. Not knowing what he was doing, I said you only need to take one for yourself. He quickly said this one is for Caden and this is for my sister. I pushed back the tears just thinking how proud he is of her already and he doesn't even know her. He has the biggest heart and I can't wait to see the bond he will have with his sister one day.
We will update you more when we get information. As for now we are slowly starting to decorate her room. We thank you for your continued prayers and well wishes.
What is going to happen next?
This seems to be the most popular question lately. It will be one of two situations: 1st situation we will accept emergency removals which means will will know the basic information on a child (age, gender, race) and nothing more. We would probably be placed very quickly with a child, possibly the day we are certified. VERY fast process. The 2nd situation we will probably have to wait longer, but we would say we want a child whose rights are likely to be severed from their birth parents (they will likely be put up for adoption). More information is known about the child since they may have been in the care of another foster family.
Both situations have their pros and cons so we are still deciding what is best for our family. We are also going to sign up for the adoption registry as another way of receiving a child. She will still come from Maricopa county however she may be in a foster family's home that is not with our agency.
If you have questions please don't hesitate to ask us. We are pretty open about our journey as you can see.
Just a quick little story about Calvin regarding is future sister.
For the past few years Bryon's squad has participated in Cops and Donut shops to raise money for Special Olympics. We went again this year to donate and hang out with Bryon for a little bit. Bryon was giving junior officer badge stickers to the kids as they showed up. Calvin saw the stickers on the table and took a couple. Not knowing what he was doing, I said you only need to take one for yourself. He quickly said this one is for Caden and this is for my sister. I pushed back the tears just thinking how proud he is of her already and he doesn't even know her. He has the biggest heart and I can't wait to see the bond he will have with his sister one day.
We will update you more when we get information. As for now we are slowly starting to decorate her room. We thank you for your continued prayers and well wishes.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Family Pictures
Family Pictures!!! This was the first time I don't think I was too stressed out for family pictures. The boys were easy selecting shorts and shirts and Bryon had everything already in his closet so that only left me running around trying to find a blue dress. I thought it would be so easy but it gave me a run for my money.
Mary did our pictures and I love how they turned out. Little Caden wasn't big on smiling but that's okay. My parents set up the time to do pictures since Kevin was in town visiting from his recent deployment. We were going with a gray, blue, and green theme but blue turned out to be the favorite of all of us. Which is really close to black and that is our usually go to color when doing family photos.
Here are are few of my favorites:
Mary did our pictures and I love how they turned out. Little Caden wasn't big on smiling but that's okay. My parents set up the time to do pictures since Kevin was in town visiting from his recent deployment. We were going with a gray, blue, and green theme but blue turned out to be the favorite of all of us. Which is really close to black and that is our usually go to color when doing family photos.
Here are are few of my favorites:
Look at those cheeks!
Saying "Jenna" brought out the best smile
So proud of Uncle Kevin
Argh Calvin let go of me hand!
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Half Way There!
This week puts us over the half way mark in our classes! Class 6 and 7 this week, making it less than 2 weeks left of classes!!
We had a busy week last week with the state coming and doing our safety inspection. We knew we would not pass due to the guns not having trigger locks but the state inspector found a few more things we weren't planning on. Good news it was nothing big and our agency worker can sign us off when she comes on May 14th. We needed to purchase a carbon monoxide monitor since we have gas in our house and not just from the boys (I couldn't resist), a larger fire extinguisher, and lock up our cleaning supplies and my nail polish remover. And as luck would have it, our neighbor was cleaning out her garage and found a carbon monoxide monitor that she didn't need. Bryon found trigger locks at work and installed them on the rest of the guns in the house that needed it, and we switched the bedroom doorknob that has a lock for the one in the storage closet and now my cleaning supplies are locked and secured. One more trip to Lowe's to switch out the fire extinguisher and we should be set.
Last week in classes we learned about how a child would feel coming into our home. It was a big eye opener because we are so excited to meet our future daughter, we forget the trauma they have endured to be placed in our home to begin with. We also learned about the behaviors a child might have coming into our home and how to discipline appropriately. There is NO spanking allowed so we set a new family rule that if one can't be spanked then no one will be.
We have until the 14th to think about what kind of child is right for our home and what we are willing and not willing to accept in a child. This is the part I am not looking forward to. I hate the idea of refusing a child, but at the same time we have to make sure that the boys are safe.
So as we near the 14th and look at all of the possibilities a child may face, please continue to pray that God puts our mind at ease about all the decisions we have to make as a family. We know He has already selected her for us and just waiting for the perfect time to bring her home to us.
We had a busy week last week with the state coming and doing our safety inspection. We knew we would not pass due to the guns not having trigger locks but the state inspector found a few more things we weren't planning on. Good news it was nothing big and our agency worker can sign us off when she comes on May 14th. We needed to purchase a carbon monoxide monitor since we have gas in our house and not just from the boys (I couldn't resist), a larger fire extinguisher, and lock up our cleaning supplies and my nail polish remover. And as luck would have it, our neighbor was cleaning out her garage and found a carbon monoxide monitor that she didn't need. Bryon found trigger locks at work and installed them on the rest of the guns in the house that needed it, and we switched the bedroom doorknob that has a lock for the one in the storage closet and now my cleaning supplies are locked and secured. One more trip to Lowe's to switch out the fire extinguisher and we should be set.
Last week in classes we learned about how a child would feel coming into our home. It was a big eye opener because we are so excited to meet our future daughter, we forget the trauma they have endured to be placed in our home to begin with. We also learned about the behaviors a child might have coming into our home and how to discipline appropriately. There is NO spanking allowed so we set a new family rule that if one can't be spanked then no one will be.
We have until the 14th to think about what kind of child is right for our home and what we are willing and not willing to accept in a child. This is the part I am not looking forward to. I hate the idea of refusing a child, but at the same time we have to make sure that the boys are safe.
So as we near the 14th and look at all of the possibilities a child may face, please continue to pray that God puts our mind at ease about all the decisions we have to make as a family. We know He has already selected her for us and just waiting for the perfect time to bring her home to us.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Happy Birthday to Our Chunky Monkey!
HaPpY BiRtHdAy CADEN!!!
Mommy, Daddy and Calvin love you so much.
I honestly can't tell you where the past year has gone. My sweet baby boy is no longer a baby. We had his birthday party last weekend and he had so much fun. He was without a nap and once he got his second wind, he stayed awake playing with Calvin and his cousins until 9pm!
Tuesday Caden had tubes put in his ears. The procedure was so quick I didn't even have time to get too nervous while in the waiting room. Yesterday, day 2 of the tubes, I noticed a HUGE difference in his speech. He was "talking" all day long which isn't like him. I am so glad we did the procedure. He seems so much happier!
We go to the doctor next week to get his check-up. I will post his stats and birthday party pictures then.
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