We have been cameraless for about six months.In most cultures a personal camera is a luxury but in the U.S.I think it is almost considered serious neglect not to take daily pictures of your kids. We do love our kids even though we are lacking in the photography department and love all those great parents who habitually photograph theirs. We have avoided any major purchases lately but saw a great deal at costco. I am so happy. and I plan to be a better blogger now that I have the proper equipment.
This has been a crazy year for me and I never got around to sending out my Christmas cards and the ones I did send I addressed to myself by mistake! It was good for a laugh at least.
So here is 2008 for the Fullers.
We have had some major changes this year, but looking back, 2008 has been a pretty good year with much to be grateful for. Here's a look at our year...
Sam- Sam finished first grade and started second. He loved it and really enjoys reading now. His favorite books include, Captain Underpants, Diary of a Wimpy Kid Little House on the Prairie, and My Life as a Big Foot Breath Mint. He is taking piano and guitar lessons and is very good at both. He enjoys swimming and climbing the rock wall with his dad. He is a great kid but is growing up way too fast. He will no longer hold my hand and informed me that snuggling will stop at 13. He loved driving Grandma Line's golf cart when we visited Ohio this summer.
Jake- Jake started kindergarten at New Horizons Elementary Dual Language School. They teach in Spanish and English and Jake is learning quickly. His accent is dead on and he has a large Spanish vocabulary. His most exciting day was when a boy brought tamales for his class snack. He also loves to swim and has no fear while climbing the rock wall. He climbs all the way to the top! He loves all of his new friends but is most excited when Sam comes home from school.
Mike- Mike FINALLY turned 30 in February. It is nice to be in the same decade. He was busy as always with work and finishing up his Master's Degree in Education Reading. He started his PHD work before he even graduated and will possibly be done with school for good in a few more years. He loves to play racquetball and read in his spare time.
Kerry- In August we went to visit my Mom in Ohio. My grandmother died while we were there and it was such a sweet experience to see her one last time. I was able to stay an extra day to help my mom with the funeral. Mike flew back with the kids to get them off to school and I was home in time to see them get home. Right after our trip I had a major MS attack. I was unable to drive or walk unassisted for about six weeks. I am feeling better now and can drive and walk with a stiff limp. I had a lot of wonderful help from friends and family. I had a great garden this year and my sister Heather helped me can all of my tomatoes since I was pretty sick in September. I am taking a Master Gardeners course in February and I am very excited to improve my gardening skills.
We made a difficult but necessary change to our family. I was unable to care for Ally during my illness. The Department of Health and Welfare has rules that require people to be licensed to care for a foster child. We were having a tough time coordinating all of Ally's care along with that of our own kids. We had a very spiritual confirmation about placing Ally in a new adoptive home. She is with a family that can care for her special needs in every way. We miss her but have felt so much peace with our decision. We are content with our little family and are happy to have helped Ally progress to a point where she can be adopted. We visit her often and are becoming friends with her family. We hope to always remain in her life. Her little sister Jessica, who lived with us for two months, is now in permanent custody of her Father. We are done doing foster care but have a special place in our hearts for the children we took care of.
Despite all of the setbacks, this year has been wonderful. We love all of our family and friends and wish you all a merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
3 comments:
Yea! You are back on! Your background makes it hard to read what you have written but I love the pictures of the kids! Ah! I just realized I can click on "show original post on the comment page and read it all! Yes! Hang on, going to read...
OK, I'm back...I'm so sad about Ally! I'm grateful for the opportunity to have met her this year. I'm happy you are at peace with the decision, which makes it only slightly easier though.
Completely agree about the camera thing especially when family is spread out and you wouldn't get to see the kids otherwise. I see it as a necessity!
Sam, Weston and Braedon have very similar tastes in books. Diary of a Wimpy kid is their favorite right now. I'm still wary of Captain Underpants though, it makes them read and laugh hysterically so it can't be too bad.
You know what jumped right out at me while reading right? MASTER GARDENER COURSE! Yea! I'm so happy you are doing this! I absolutely love being a Master Gardener especially with all of the volunteer opportunities (as a Virginia M.G. that means working in the historic gardens which I love doing! My 40 hours fly by each year when I do this). The opportunities to teach others is another huge plus to the program. I love the people I meet who also love talking non-stop about horticulture and no one ever gets sick of hearing about each other's experiences. You will love, love, love it! It will be so nice to have my sister-in-law doing this since my sisters think I'm a complete horticulture dork (but all they talk about is scrapbooking...so which is dorkier, hmmm?)
You have to be sure to e-mail me (if you don't want to post on your blog about it) while you are going through the course. If I were closer I'd sign up with you so we could go together!
glad to see you're back!
I'd love to learn how to garden and I have a great backyard here that's just mud to plant in!
Master Gardener sounds wonderful. Used to be....everyone had to be out of necessity. I had huge gardens....they never were too pretty...but I managed enough to raise and can food for the big family. Grandpa McMillan loved his garden ....and his father, my grandfather Joseph McMillan really was the master gardener. Wonderful stories of how he'd order out of the seed catalogue each year and always try new things... Mom said their dirt cellar smelled better than any produce department she ever was in (that was where the veg. & fruit was stored in the winter).
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