Learning to Love

Yeah, yeah, it's been a while.  Call it life; call it chasing four kids and three dogs around, staining a house, plowing snow, building a fence, helping at school, throwing birthday parties and keeping tabs on a husband who's schedule is as variable as the weather...it is what it is.  However, "IT" keeps me from being able (mentally or physically) to plant my butt in front of the computer for more than a few minutes at a time.

But, as this is a record for my family more than anything, I gots to get to it!  So, here goes...

First of all, an update in pictures of our doings for the past few months...

Exploring the Green Goblins of Sandwash Draw

The Wild Horses of Sandwash

Wyatt Turns 9 and has a SPOOKY Party!!!

Nana and PopPop Visit!

Halloween

Yup, He Made It To 7!

First Snow!

Three Eagles in Our Tree (can you find them?)

Birthday Barbie Turns 4!

Hundreds of Helpless Underwear and Socks Lose Their Lives To the Loveable Four-Legged Terror

Okay, you can stop there and go check your email if you just wanted an update on the family.  If you're up for something a little deeper, get yer waders on and follow me...

I have debated how to write this entry for quite some time...simply because of not knowing how to relay my thoughts in a manner that wouldn't be misunderstood or taken the wrong way.  It is something very close to me though, a struggle that I want to write down to perhaps help me, and perhaps others sitting in the same shoes, to see it clearer. Adoption is often treated like this warm and fuzzy fairy tale and no one wants to hear--or admit to--the nitty, gritty.  Only happily-ever-after's allowed, thank you.  But the truth, the terrible, awful truth of it is that adoption can really suck.  Seriously.  But, you have to realize, pregnancy and childbirth aren't always a bucket of fun either!  The creation of a family, whether through biology or adoption or a mixture of both, is simply tough--and sometimes sucks--no matter how it occurs.  It is a roller-coaster ride of epic proportions made worse by the fact that you can never truly see the curves or stomach-flopping drops that are coming.  The key element which helps us parents keep it together through the hundreds of poopy diapers, crayon graffiti on the walls and temper tantrums in the checkout lane is the unconditional, blinding love which is born within us along with the child.  When that child is not born of you, that love may come in a different manner and maybe even on a different chronology...but it comes.   And when it doesn't, you have to make it happen.

I'm at the "make it happen" stage with my adorable-to-the-world 4 year old. 

It's no secret that Colt and I have had our struggles with Queen Ro--she's a tough nut to crack.  I have slowly come to the realization that, after 17 months home, my difficulty attaching to her is not her problem.  It's mine.  She's just a normal, ornery, know-it-all mule-headed preschooler, with a few extra issues to spice it up.  She does have some attachment issues influenced by her past...how can she not?  But her reaction to her life as it is is very typical of her emotional age (we're sure that she is older, but emotionally and physically she fits her legal age perfectly).  Rodas views the world as revolving around her (typical of the age) and struggles with trying to control it (typical of the age) and all those in her immediate world.  While her sister often bends over backwards to please Colt and I--something I am quite sure sadly stems from her trying to assure that we will not send her back or abandon her, Rodas continues to literally and figuratively spit in our faces (rarely in front of others, mind you) when she doesn't get her way or is admonished. 

Worse than that, she can change her affections at the drop of a hat in a silent but obvious (to us) way that we know she has yet to truly care for or trust us.  She can give you a look full of ice and daggers one minute and want hugs and cuddles the next without skipping a beat.  We don't switch that fast.  It is a constant push and pull and it is exhausting.  I watch her with family, friends and strangers and see her time and again gravitate towards those bewitched by her--she will latch on, lavish them with dimples, giggles and affection, and leave them without a second thought (and often not even remember them later).  This even includes close family.  It is a common adoption/attachment issue; a way of assuring or procuring someone to take care of them should Mom or Dad leave.  People think it's adorable.  It makes me cry inside because I know she doesn't feel secure.  And I know that it is partly my fault.

Noah was a tough toddler and I wasn't sure I'd survive him.  Looking back, I know it was those soft moments when I'd find him sleeping peacefully in some crazily contorted position on his bed or watching him offer Dad the last precious Cheeto out of his little bag without hesitation that got me through.  Those moments continue to bolster that powerful love that I felt when he was born, helping to restrain me from wringing his neck when he pees on a dog or hides his carrots under his dresser.  I watch other preschoolers and, seeing their tantrums include whacking Mom, throwing toys and simply being a pill, I think "that kid would drive me nuts!"  But I know how they put up with it.  It's that love and those moments that get them through.  It lets them take it and keep coming back for more.  It's our job and it's why that love was sparked within us.  Otherwise, the human population would have died out centuries ago...(0:

When you adopt a toddler, you are adopting a child at one of the most challenging stages of life (keep in mind, none of my kids are teenagers yet...).  Wrap into that the fact that the child has likely been through a traumatic life situation dealing with loss of parents or caregivers--or simply never knowing either of those--and you've got a condition ripe to produce a challenging child.  Now, add to that the fact that you don't even know this child--have never met him or her--when you decide to parent them.  That's a situation ripe for attachment issues.  There's a love you feel when you decide to adopt a child--and it is STRONG...similar to the love you feel for the babe growing in your womb.  You haven't met them yet, but you KNOW them...you know that they are meant to be your child.  Then when you meet them, that love metamorphoses and you learn to love the child that they are--and with adopted ones, all the emotional baggage they have already collected in their short lives--and let go of the child you imagined them to be.  It is the true love, but so much harder.

With our girls, we have missed out of years of growing this love and getting to know them.  You just have to jump right in and put that learning to love on the fast-track.  And it does get put to the test...right from the get-go.

I had unconsciously expected it to be a two-way street, where we all work on learning to love each other.  I was wrong.  A wonderful speaker said something at church last week that slapped me upside the head.  He said we have to teach our children how to love.  We have to be the example for them to follow.  We have to show them love for them to know it and give it back.

EEK!

I've been expecting for Rodas to meet me half-way...and I certainly haven't been teaching her well.  She doesn't want for anything--I take great pains caring for her hair, clothing her well, reading books to her and playing games with her...but I don't think I'm showing her love well in a way that she understands.  Every child--and adult for that matter--speaks a different language of love.  For some it's through affection, some words, some gestures and some time spent with them.  She speaks affection...and I don't do affection well, especially with a little girl that can cut me to the bone at any second.  I see her affection lavished on others with no discern, so I have discounted the affection she gives to me as superficial.  I also hold back, waiting for the flip to switch in her where she'll turn the cold-shoulder and defiantly disregard me.

I need to show her affection.  I need to accept affection, even if it is superficial.  And if I don't want to, I need to do it anyways.  I've always known that, the books preach it.  I do it to some extent...but not as much as I know that I need to.  It just is finally, truly sinking in.

But it is hard.  I find myself unconsciously avoiding her eyes because she will smother me or hurt me when I find them.  I eat my lunch fast because she will talk to me incessantly and ask absurd questions and never finish her lunch if I sit with her too long.  I don't play Barbies with her because...well, I really just don't like to play Barbies.  But she does.  She loves it.

And you may shake your head at it--because she's so adorable and just asking to be loved--but I'm thinking if you had to be on this journey with her 24/7 for the last 17 months as I have, you'd understand.  I have not had the years of building and bolstering love with her...the little unguarded moments that get you through the tough times...and in fact, they probably won't come UNTIL I learn to love her.  She will not show those adorable moments of true self until she feels totally loved and secure.

We all can show our love to another better.  We all can step forward and love in another's language, without expecting them to meet us halfway.  It is how we teach and how we, in turn, learn to love.  So, I need to cowgirl up and work at love a whole lot more...

Wish me luck...

Happy Holidays!

Birthday Surprise!

There is a good reason why there's a new post so soon after the Giant Twinkie one...we have BIG news (actually, it's quite little, but don't tell him that!)!  Wyatt got an early birthday surprise on Monday that has the whole family laughing, growling, howling, amassing band-aids, googoo- and gaga-ing and cleaning up pee.  Let me give you a hint:

Meet Jasper Jax, the coolest little dude on four white paws.  He is 150% Jack Russell Terror and we have all fallen head over heels for him--well, almost all of us.  Sage is a wee bit grumpy with the bundle of over-abundant energy, but give her time.

You know how sometimes the best things in life are those that aren't planned?  That's Jasper.  Colt and I have been discussing getting a puppy within the next year or so as Sage is getting older and we wanted a bridge to help Silver deal with her loss, when it comes.  Plus, Wyatt has been pleading for his very own dog for years, and we figured he would be ready for his own four-legged buddy by then.  So, it has been in the thought process for a while, but wasn't meant to be put into action for months.

But life doesn't follow your planner, does it?!  Let's just say, we saw an ad in the paper and both Colt and I felt the pull to follow-up on it.  Wyatt's birthday is in two weeks and once we met Jasper, well...

Three big dogs is too much, so we have been looking into big dogs in little dogs bodies that could keep up with Wyatt on a run and deal with Sage.  Jack Russell Terriers are known to be:
* Extremely Intelligent
*Assertive
*Sturdy, tough and tenacious--one JRT was reported to have lodged himself in a fox den for two days, refusing food or water until the quarry came out.
*Seriously fearless and assertive.  Case in point: In 2007, George, a JRT in New Zealand, defended five children from two pit bulls just long enough for the kids to escape to safety.  He doggedly refused to let them get to the kids--especially the little 4-yr. old, and ultimately lost his life doing so.
*They were bred to bolt foxes and ground-dwellers from their dens, so they are hunters and like to dig...everywhere.
*High Energy and athletic
*Vocal
* "It is not uncommon for these dogs to become moody or destructive if not properly stimulated and exercised, as they have a tendency to bore easily and will often create their own fun when left alone to entertain themselves."  (Wikipedia)

Yup.  We're in for it!  But since when have we ever done things the easy way???

The Day of the Giant Twinkie (Schoolbus)

Well, it came and went. Without too great of a ripple, and only a few tears (Rodas missing brothers and sister). The first day of school was much anticipated in our house--it being not only a new school year but a brand new school and brand new set of teachers. Even Rodas had her first day of preschool, and marched in like it was about time she had her turn (picture her with her hand on hip wigglin' her upper body and waving her finger with what I call "the sister swag"). She sent Mom on her way with only a slight quiver to her lips, but quickly recovered as she knew she was now, truly, a big girl.

Now, let's just get those pull-ups off at night! (0;

All the kids enjoy their teachers and seem to have received the right one for them. Tsegereda Rosalie's teacher is a very fun and loving woman that Tse just adores. She is the perfect successor to the AWESOME Mrs. C who gave our girl such an amazing start last year. Her class is a mixture of second and third graders and she seems to fit in very well. Tse has lots of friends and it seems her glossy braids and chocolate beauty have brought her more adoration than ostracism--almost to a worrisome level. It is something that we saw in Price and we try to temper at home, but I'll leave dealing with "The Ethiopian Princess complex/exoticism" for another blog entry....

Wyatt's teacher has a wonderfully dry sense of humor and doesn't seem to let much rile her. Wyatt's best new buddy is another Wyatt M....seriously. He has slipped into his class and seamlessly blended in with kids that have been together since preschool. That's Wyatt.

Noah has had a rougher start. Academically he is very strong, but socially he has struggled....and he's the one I usually don't worry about socially. Go figure! It seems that he is so used to kids gravitating towards him that when they didn't here, he was a bit lost as to what to do. Instead of trying to ingratiate himself, he sort of did his own thing hoping someone would come and join him. I noticed it at recess one day when I was helping in class and began asking him questions about it. Then Wyatt and Rosalie mentioned a few instances where kids had actually been picking on Noah and not treating him well. Mama Bear came out in me and I coached all of them about dealing with bullies and having each others' backs and working at making good friends. Suddenly Noah realized this was a great thing to play up for extra attention, so he began coming home every day with a "woe is me, I have no friends" attitude. That lasted a few days (and a talk with the teacher to find out more of the story) and he soon got no sympathy at home and I told him point blank that if he didn't like it then he had to work to change it. Go and ask someone to play, and then play what they're playing. And choose your friends well. I have always told my kids that it is not the quantity of friends that matters, but the quality.

So, the next day, he had a new buddy and all is well.

Hopefully.

Anyways, overall we really like Hayden Valley Elementary. Academically they might not be as strong as what we came from, but they more than make up for it in how well-rounded their program is. Music and PE everyday is a reality and the kids love it. They also allow a morning snack and afternoon snack (must be healthy) and their school lunches are wonderful and include lots of fresh fruits and veggies and the rule is you must try everything and eat at least 50% of what's on your plate. Most classes have 15-19 kids and I have been impressed with every school employee that I've met.

The longer school days -- catch the bus at 7 and get out at 3:35 or off the bus at 4:40--make for a little crazier schedule, trying to get kids to dance lessons and boy scouts, etc. on time and also complete homework due each day. I've also been asked to be the new Webelos boy scout leader, which is a good sized time commitment for only two kids. I'm a bit frustrated with that, but I figure it's a right of passage for any mother of boys. Yippee.

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So, that's the past month in a nut shell. Fall is here, the trees and weather are finally joining in on the change of season, and my buck antelope has survived one hunting season. I'm not against hunting, as we are all hunters of one sort or another--whether you had an elk steak, a burger or broccoli salad last night. Everything eats something else to live. But when you see the same animals wander in and out of your life...you get sort of attached. I selfishly hope he makes it, not only to keep passing on his gorgeous genes, but because I like seeing the guy lazing about in our back pasture. Simple. As. That.

Happy FALL!

The Descent of Summer

Okay, so I'm way late on this blog entry...I simply, truly, REALLY cannot believe that it is almost September. ARGHHHH! I know that I'm echoing the sentiments of Moms everywhere as I wonder "where does time go?"

So, as school approaches like a sledge hammer (my kiddos first day is September 6th) and summer slips from our grasp, I guess I'll journey back a little and figure out what we've been doing as the summer has slip-slided away...

Although the move and crawling out from underneath boxes has hovered over most of our undertakings this summer, we did manage to squeeze a few fun and "normal" summer escapades in. The boys did soccer and swim lessons, and Rosalie did swim lessons as well. The girl is a fish and passed three swim levels in one class (it was just her and another girl in the class so the instructor had the time)! She is now just one level behind Wyatt, my super-pro swimmer. Noah did really well in his lesson as well and can't wait for next year. Rodas wasn't quite ready for lessons this year--she LOVES the water, but wasn't ready to let go of Mom's hand quite yet. She's headed to Preschool in a few weeks, which I know she will embrace and love and will help her to let Mommy go a little easier. My only regret is that I'm not handing her off to the BEST preschool teachers in the world (Miss Racquel and Miss Gwen!), but I am hopeful that her Hayden Elementary teachers will be the next best thing. She goes to Primary at Church okay, but grumbles going in (although she's always smile's coming out). Her dance classes, which she loves, also help her learn to trust that mommies do come back.

One thing we have enjoyed tremendously this summer is living five minutes from Elkhead reservoir. Many mornings we have paddled our sea kayaks (yes, the WHOLE family in two Kayaks!) along it's shores and nearly had the whole reservoir to ourselves. I often take the kids and mutts to a quiet beach for the afternoon where they swim and play in the sand while I attempt to tire out the dogs with fetching and swimming. It is wondrous and I LOVE this little piece of heaven and can only hope that the secret doesn't catch on because I love having it all to ourselves! Colt recently organized a triathalon up at the reservoir for anyone on his fuels and fire crews that wanted to participate. He did a great job organizing it and, great father that he is, made sure his boys could participate too (his girls preferred playing in the sand). Wyatt beat ALL runners (and these are some fire-tough firefighters he ran against) and Noah ran the whole 2.2 miles (not easy miles either)--his first race ever! This blew me away (literally and figuratively) as this is the kid that I practically had to pry out of the backpack carrier when he was three and, when prodded to use his own two feet for hiking, would walk five feet and announce he was done!!! He's suddenly had this drive to run and bike with Dad and Wyatt, and he's actually starting to keep up!

It's also been fun living close--but not too close--to Steamboat Springs. It's a fun, little tourist town and we've enjoyed a balloon festival and some yummy dinners there. The Howelson Hill alpine slide was a fun excursion for the whole family for my birthday! Yahoooooooooooooo! Colt's excited to do some downhill skiing, snowboarding and telemarking again this winter.

We have also enjoyed being closer to both sides of the family and have been able to spend time in both Vernal and Grand Lake. We went to Buffalo BBQ Days in Grand Lake and Wyatt, Mom and Dad ran the 5K there. Wyatt came in 40th out of 200+ runners and took first place in his age group (0-10 yrs.)...WOW! I finished 60th...and I'm simply proud that I finished! If you want a tough 5K, try one that is more uphill than down and is at 8000 ft. elevation! Whew! The kids enjoyed playing in the frigid waters of Grand Lake and helping Nana release the endless stream of ground squirrels she relocates away from her flower beds (warning to moose and ground squirrels: don't mess with NANA!). Just recently, the kids and I were treated to a wonderful weekend with Nana (my Mom) and my sister Debs in Denver where we visited the Denver Zoo (Tsegereda got to see her favorite animal, the flamingo) and Waterworld. We all had a blast, and it was a wonderful vacation for the kids, who deserved "a summer vacation."

We have also added a new member to our family...well, sort-of. Clementine/Bob, our new Bobcat tractor, was finally purchased after exhaustive research and watching of classifieds. We girls call her Clementine, the boys and Colt for some odd reason feel the name "Bob" better suits her. Hmmpphh. She is sooooo not a "Bob." She came with a mower for keeping our huge lawn trim, and a bucket to dig us out of the plentiful snow that we have been promised will come. I'm reminded of the wonderful childrens' book "Katy the Snowplow" that dug out her whole town one winter. We've been warned that Craig gets a lot of snow, and we have a lot of driveway to plow, so a Katy (NOT a Bob!) is what we need! Colt is like a kid in a candy store with her, the kids think she's the next best thing to a four-wheeler, and she's easy enough to drive that I can move the bucket up and down AND go forward AND mow at the same time! (0:

Over the summer we've continued to enjoy the blessings of our new home...and all the furry visitors that enjoy the land as well. Routinely we have a beautiful buck antelope, a family of bluebirds, and a doe with her twin fawns that drop by. Another single doe (Daisy) is also a frequent muncher of our alfalfa. [Note in the photo the bluebird at the bottom and the antelope buck at the top of the picture] The mowing of our fields--which resulted in 13 huge circular bales--didn't seem to deter them and, if anything, they can find the succulent alfalfa even better now that the waves of waist-high grass are gone. Some marmots have taken up residence in our far back pasture, and I had a hoot watching them cuss-out a bald eagle hanging out on one of our cottonwoods. They shut up and hit the dirt when the eagle decided to take flight and come in for a closer look (yes, they're fine, and still cussing out anything that even comes close to their pasture). I LOVE my wildlife. The kids are enjoying it as well, although Noah and Rodas could do without the plentiful mosquitos. Noah, after a night on the trampoline in Vernal, found out that 14 mosquito bites makes him look like he went a round or two with Mike Tyson!

The kids are excited and nervous about school--as any kid usually is this time of year. Colt and I really feel good about their school (Hayden Valley Elementary) and I am ecstatic that they will be getting music and PE every day, as well as weekly art classes! The school also has it's own chef who loves to introduce the kids to wonderful new and HEALTHY foods (finally!) so I'm really diggin' it! Check out next month's blog entry to see if it all is really too good to be true. (0; Most importantly, though, the school will have new friends for my lonesome four. They are still heartbroken over friends they left in Price. The older two have made a few friends through church, but, as I've told Noah, school will provide an opportunity for all of them to hopefully find that special someone who's turn it is now to be a part of this adventure in the tale of his life.

I am praying that they will be as blessed with wonderful teachers and friends here as they were in Price.

To Love A Dog...

A dog is the only thing on earth
that loves you more than you love yourself.

~Josh Billings

Some of you might not understand what writing about dogs has to do with a blog about family, but, well, I guess that's the point of this entry. My brother suddenly had to say "good-bye" to his best buddy yesterday and it has caused me to reflect on how these furry mutts journey into our hearts and entrench themselves so deeply that their loss creates such a piercing pain and hollowness within us.

Some people understand, about truly loving a dog. Some people don't. For those of us that understand, it's hard to explain to those that don't because it simply just is. It is inherent in some, it is brought to the surface in others by the love of a dog, or it just is never going to happen in others. It's hard to explain because I think it has to do a lot with how one is brought up and one's experience with dogs. For me, we always had a dog that was part of the family. I was bitten in the face by a large dog when I was young, and bitten on the ankle while riding my bike by another, so by all rights I should not be a dog lover. However, having family dogs that I loved and who loved and protected me...well, the bad experiences did not turn me away from all dogs. There are bad apple dogs, and usually on the other end of the leash is a bad apple human. And sometimes accidents just happen and nice dogs bite nice girls.

To many, a dog is simply an animal, meant to work or be an accessory to human life. That is what they know and that is the extent they will allow the relationship to develop. A dog's life is expendable and replaceable, something to be held at arms length. To others, a dog is a member of the family, often with near equal footing to the human members (even trumping the two-legged ones on occasion). (0:

If you are raised one way it is hard to understand the other's point of view. I naively thought that everyone loved dogs, or at least understood how another person could love dogs, for way too long. We dog-lovers often impose our mutts on others, never thinking of it as an imposition because, well, the dogs are part of our family (sorry, Mortensons!). On my side of the extended family, it is not rare to have six to eight dogs under one roof during a family get-together. It is understood that they are welcome and although it makes for added chaos and accidents, it works for the most part. When I moved to Utah, I brought that mentality with me and it took me a while to realize that not everyone shared that view. I owe my in-laws an apology for inadvertently making them accept our dogs in order to spend time with us.

I have since learned the lesson and try to be more sensitive, but it is hard. My dogs are not just these four-legged creatures with wet noses who eat and poop a lot. They literally are and have been some of my best friends. When I was sick for so long, Smoke knew when it was really bad and she would curl up on the floor right next to me and would not leave me until I could stand. Silver does that now, staying at my bedside or on the floor next to the toilet with me until I'm better. At our Price and Eden homes where the bedrooms were on the top floor, Sage would leave her comfy bed in our room and sleep each night at the top of the stairs when Colt was gone for long stints.

Why do we love them so? Because of that...because they have this capacity for unconditional love and understanding that a human does not. If you're having a rotten day, they are there with free hugs. They'll take your grumps and grumbles and still smile and come back for more. They will still love you if you forget to feed them (they might drive you crazy reminding you, but they will still love you) or are too tired to take them for a walk. They love you no matter how you look, no matter how you change, no matter if you're having a good day or a bad one. They hear all your complaining, venting and pity-parties and answer with a slobbery kiss. They will follow you to hell and back and lick your burns. There are no conditions to their love...they require no explanations or excuses.

Unconditional love.

That's what and why.

So, if you're not a dog-lover and have struggled to understand we wacky people who are, maybe this helps explain it a little better. Our dogs are part of our family and we might forget that you don't feel the same...but please don't hold it against us. We're the victims of slobbery unconditional love.

Hello, Colorado!

Or should I say, "hello, again, Colorado!" I was born and raised on the Front Range of the Colorado Rockies and Colt worked and lived in Rifle, Colorado for a time, so I guess we aren't exactly first time Coloradoans. We have not lived in Craig, however, and Craig is definitely not Fort Collins or Rifle--although it has similarities to both. For me, our home in Craig echoes with many memories of growing up in Fort Collins (or what Fort Collins used to be) and LaPorte~the sweet, lilting song of the meadowlark as the sun rises over rolling green hills. The smell of fresh cut hay. Wide open spaces. Deer in the back pasture. Wind that whistles and makes tall grass move like the green ocean waves. Elbow room, with a few houses and fences sprinkled along the way.

I love so many things about our new adventure. I love the acreage and once-again being able to see wildlife everywhere--this house is literally situated where the deer (back pasture) and antelope (front pasture) play. I love the sound of the Elkhead River as it slices through the backyard and the throaty calls of the sandhill cranes in the morning. I love the green, green and more green. I love change, and I love to re-design, so moving every five years means I get to re-decorate my house that often. The actual moving part with boxes sucks, but once the pictures start going up on walls it feels like a sort of rebirth that is, well, refreshing. 'Course, I'm still waiting for the refreshing period to arrive as there seems to be no end to the boxes and my big picture hanger-upper is fighting fires in Florida! We are still surrounded by boxes, but I'm wading through it. I am growing to love the house, although there are a number of new things that we will have to get used to. Water from a well that smells like sulphur and tastes nearly as bad. [Thank heavens for reverse osmosis!] Waking up to no water because the pump decided to take an extra long coffee break. Mosquitoes the size of birds that are EVERYWHERE, just waiting to descend upon you in a bloodthirsty swarm! Busting our little push mower after a few swipes at the tall grass (that move like green ocean waves with the wind...) and realizing that we really do need a little mower/tractor.

The community has been very welcoming so far, and reminds me so much of Price. The people are very accepting of the girls and a number of times I have had people go out of their way to help me (entertaining the kids while it took me 30 minutes to get a new driver's license) or make a positive comment about them and their good behavior (hah! They obviously had not seen Noah five minutes before as he was poking his fingers into burger packages because it made a cool sound...). I am used to the extra attention, as our colorful family tends to engender it, but it has been overwhelmingly positive and the comments have mostly included all my children, not just the girls. I think we are going to be just fine here.

The kids miss their friends, but are being positive about things. They've met some kids at church and we've just started soccer and swim lessons so that should help things as well. They aren't the only ones who miss their friends...I miss my neighbors and dear friends and wish I could have packed them up in some of my boxes. They helped so much during our move and continue to help as we leave a vacant house in need of attention. I don't know how we can ever thank you all enough...just know your help has been so very much appreciated!

Colt enjoys his job so far and is looking forward to the challenge of being the fire management officer for all of northwestern Colorado. The Craig paper did a nice little article on Colt and two other new guys--you can take a peek at it at http://www.craigdailypress.com/news/2011/jun/15/blm-craig-adds-new-officials/ The print version added a little more of Colt's comments (beyond Hawaii...). (0: As we're still pretty green and much of the southern half of the U.S. is burning up, he left on Friday with his Interagency Type II Team to fight fires in northern Florida and figures he'll be gone the full 14 days. Please keep him and all the firefighters pounding the ground out there in your prayers.

I've included some pictures of our new digs and the move so you can live our adventure vicariously through my blog. Yippee.
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Love and peace to all!
K