Anthony Update

Yesterday we received our first letters from Anthony, and then just as we were about to go into church for Masters Club he called! We ended up sitting in the parking lot for about a half hour talking to him. Which was nice because when Pastor pulled up he got to give him some encouragement too. (Our pastor is retired army, so a great support for Anthony!) In the letters he seemed up and down. Positive one day, discouraged the next. But on the phone he sounded really good. He was very happy that they had been moved out of the processing phase to where they will stay for the rest of boot camp. Also, they had been issued their guns earlier in the day, so they all seemed pumped up from that! He had done the Victory Tower earlier in the day too and did really well. Please keep praying that he stays positive and just keeps moving toward the goal. Also, he is supposed to be coming home for Christmas, but in a company of 50 guys if one of them does something stupid they will all lose their leave. (I needed one more thing to worry about!) Please pray that he gets to come home! For everyone that has been praying for him, a huge answer to prayer came in his letters! He is finding a lot of comfort in reading his Bible and went to a church service. Praise God!

Birthday Girl

October 30th was Johanna's 3rd birthday and her first U.S. birthday! She had a fun "princess" day. We started off with a princess dress and crown that she wore all day, then had a princess breakfast. Which was really only cereal, but it's more fun when you are dressed up like a princess! We did crafts, baked a cake and made a special dinner. We also had a time of remembrance and said a prayer for her birth parents. Here are a few pics of our day.

He's Official!

Today we drove up to Boise to meet up with Anthony and see his swearing in for the army. He had been so nervous about all the testing, but he did really well and chose a great job that he is really excited about. Very strange feeling to have one of your kids becoming a soldier!
Here are a couple of pics from the swearing in.

We had a Chinese food night at our house this week. Laurel and I were pleasantly surprised at how good our food came out. Johanna insisted on using her little pink chopsticks, so I made her and Jonah the "kid" chopsticks like they do in the restaurants. The meal took twice as long to eat, but they had a great time with them.

Our First Snow!!

We had our first snow! It was much earlier than usual, and Laurel, Jonah, Johanna and I are probably the only people in the entire area who were excited! They were still at the tail end of their winter when we moved here in June and now snow in Oct. But we had a great time! I had to make sure I told Jonah to come in to eat, otherwise he was outside playing in the snow all day and skipping meals. (Who has time for meals with so much excitement?!) He even tried talking us in to taking our meals to the table outside. I didn't like the snow that much! The female goats Blossom and Emma didn't mind it at all, but Larry Boy, our big baby, tiptoed around in it like he was being tortured. Chuck was caught off guard with snow so early, and had to get right to work tonight after work building a real shelter for the goats. (Hopefully Larry will approve! Hee hee!)

A Fun Day Trip

Yesterday Chuck took us up north a bit to show us more of the area. It is just beautiful up there! We stopped at a couple different lakes along the way and played in the water a little bit. We stopped at a restaurant in the cute little town of Stanley for dinner and sat at their outside tables that reach out over the river. What a great day! Here are a few pics.

HEY PAPPY! I CAUGHT MY FIRST FISH!

Surgery Was A Success!

Thanks for all the prayers for Johanna during her surgery! We are back in Idaho sooner than expected, and she is recovering nicely. The doctor was very happy with how surgery went and we were very happy with the wonderful surgeon that we found and the care that we received at Cedars Sinai! We know that the Lord led us to a wonderful doctor and we are so thankful. Johanna had her strange reaction in recovery again and they ended up moving her to the pediatric ICU instead of her regular room. But once again, she snapped out of it in the middle of the night and we were able to take her home to my parents house in the morning. We are now through with the major surgeries, so our next step will be speech therapy. Well, first a long recovery with no solid foods. Johanna is NOT happy! Have you ever seen a kid refuse ice cream and beg for a saltine?! Poor little thing. Please pray that the next 6 weeks fly by quickly for her. And if you have any creative recipes that she might like please let me know!

Surgery Update

Today we finally got confirmation that Johanna's next surgery will be July 22. We will be traveling to my parents house in LA where the other kids will stay while we are in the hospital with Johanna. This will work out nicely because the kids and I can stay at my parents for as long as Johanna needs and Chuck can get back home to work. We will head home when Johanna is up to traveling. Ashley our oldest has graciously offered to stay at our house while we are gone to take care of our animals. It will be fun for her as she did most of her growing up here and will get to spend time with old friends. Please keep Johanna in your prayers! It is heartbreaking to see her go through these surgeries. In my opinion she is at the worst age to have them done. She is old enough to be aware of what is happening, but not old enough to really understand why this must be done. I just have to keep reminding myself that Gods timing is perfect and she is in His hands.

Kids and, well..kids!

In Texas we purchased our goat milk from a farm. But in Idaho, as in many states, it is illegal. They spray our fruits and veggies with pesticides, pump our meat full of hormones and antibiotics, but tell us we can't buy pure fresh milk. HUH?? Anyway, since we can't buy our milk anymore we bought the whole goat! We decided on mini's so that our milk production is not too big and to keep feed costs down. Our goal is to save money by raising and growing what we can at home. So we have purchased two females and a buck. Thats the little brown and white one. He's so cute! The kids absolutely love him. He follows Jonah around the yard like a puppy. He is still bottle fed and today Johanna fed him all by herself. One thing about goats, they create a lot of laugher and "precious moments."

Update

Just in case you thought we had fallen off the face of the earth, we are still here and safely transplanted in Idaho. We are all doing fine and are just busy unpacking and getting to know our new area. We finally got to start the church that Chuck had found for us when he came up here and we are all enjoying it. It was freezing when we first arrived but the past few days have been warm and beautiful. The kids are absolutely loving being on 5 acres and I can hardly get Jonah inside anymore. We are able to walk to the end of our street and out into the open. It is great exercise for all of us, including the dogs. Hogan gets to run free and is really building up his muscles. He is as happy to have the open space as Jonah is. As much as we miss our lives in Texas, we are really enjoying being free of the humidity and love being outdoors more. Below are pics from our trip to Idaho through Fathers Day.

Enjoying a beautiful Father's Day

The "Joe's" enjoying their new yard.

Aunt Shelly came for a visit to help with the unpacking. Johanna speaks with sign language and calls her Aunt Silly.

Chuck gave us a tour of the area the day after we arrived.

Some of us enjoyed the Texas to Idaho drive more than others- lazy boy!

Mothers Day With My New Mommy!

Surgery Update

Johanna had the surgery to repair her lip on April 2. The surgery went very well, but then she had a difficult time in recovery. After 6 hours she was finally moved up to a room, but we had to monitor her oxygen through the night. Sometime in the night she just sat up, asked for her toys and water and was ready to play! So we were able to take her home Thurs. morning. She is doing very well now and we are seeing constant improvement. She is just getting frustrated with not being allowed to eat her regular foods. Poor thing. Please keep her in prayer for a speedy recovery.

Johanna's Pre-Surgery Pictures

San Diego

Laurels First Job

Laurel is reaching all sorts of milestones this week. Today is her first day at her first job. I don't know who is more nervous, her or me! Here is a picture of her on her way to work.

Thanks For The Prayers!!

Just wanted to say thank you to all of you for praying for us the past two weeks! My eyes are almost completely healed and I definitely will be able to make my sisters wedding! Woohoo!

Laurel's Sweet 16

I can not believe that Laurel is 16 today! She had decided to get up very early and go the the DMV first thing to get her license. (Sorry, not DMV in Texas. D-something.) Her is a pic of her with her temporary license. And some misc pics of her on her special day. Of course, when the Juniors see her getting her picture taken they want to be in it too!