Saddleback mountain covered in snow

It is not often that we have scenery that looks like a real change of seasons here.  Isn't this a beautiful picture of our area and the mountains? It has been in the 50's here lately and I love it! 

Sisterly love

Lily really loves her baby sister, Emily.  She kisses her every chance she gets.  It is so cute.  They are wearing matching Baby Gap outfits.  They have truly blessed our lives.  

My Colorado Thanksgiving

What a wonderful visit I had with Rachel, Andy and Tyler.  Tyler started sitting and scooting while I was there.  He is so cute and reminds me so much of how Rachel looked as a baby.  We had so much fun hanging out, shopping, eating, and playing.  

Tyler here comes Grammie!!

Hi Tyler,

Grammie is coming to see you tomorrow!!  You better be ready for lots of hugs and kisses.  We are going to have so much fun.  I love you so very much!!

Love,

Grammie

Mary comes to town!

Mary and her birth mom came from Illinois to visit her family last week.  Larry and I were invited to come to their hotel for a short visit.  Mary has grown so tall and looked great.  She remembered us but was reserved.  We could only visit for twenty minutes because Lily was very tired and pretty much had a meltdown while we were there.  It was so great to see Mary and we hope to remain in touch with her for many years to come. 

Food Poisoning, flu and eating issues

Wow! What a rough weekend we had. Larry and I came down with food poisoning Friday night and were sick until this morning.  We were hardly able to move and still had to care for Lily and Emily.  Lily had the flu which included fever, diarrhea and not eating well.  Emily was throwing up her bottles.  Things are looking a bit better this afternoon.  Lily's fever is down, Emily drank her last 2 ounces without throwing it up, and Larry and I are mobile.  In addition to that, Larry's sister's house was in danger with the fires yesterday. The fires were only 1/2 mile away from their house.  They were watering down their roof last night.  These fires are so scary!

My first Halloween!

We dressed Lily up as a pumpkin for Halloween and took her around to a few of our neighbor's homes to "Trick or treat". She seemed to have fun but is still a bit young to really understand what was going on. Her sister, Emily, came along but we didn't dress her up. She was content to just be in our arms and look around at the ghosts and goblins.

Wecome to the world Baby Emily!!

Lily's baby sister, Emily, was born on 10-16-08.  She is one week old today. She weighs 5 lbs. 8 oz. as of yesterday and is 19 inches long.  Lily is not too sure what to make of her new baby sister, and is definitely showing signs of jealousy.  Emily is with us because I felt that keeping the sisters together is the right thing to do.  We are not sure how long we will have the girls, but we are enjoying them while they are here. (except for my lack of sleep at night) I took them to the doctor's yesterday for check ups and I am so pleased to say that Lily is now in the 50th percentile for height and weight. She isn't walking yet but real close. She turned 13 months yesterday.

The Pumpkin Patch

We took Lily to the Pumpkin Patch last weekend.  It was so hot there so we didn't stay too long. Lily looked so cute surrounded by the pumpkins. 

Carter & Lily

Lily and Carter are really beginning to interact with one another now. They play peek-a-boo with each other and follow each other all around the house. Lily is still taking most of the toys away from Carter, but he doesn't seem to mind yet. Carter is pulling himself up to a standing position while holding on to furniture. He will be eight months old in a few days. Lily is ready to walk but is afraid to. I find her standing on her own and then she sits down. Soon she will be cruising around on two feet instead of two knees!

The past remembered

I came across these pictures of Rachel and myself the other day.  I just had to post them, she was the cutest baby girl and so happy all the time.  These were taken in 1980. Rachel was two years old.  Larry thinks I looked like I had a Farrah Fawcett hairdo...it is truly frightening!  Thank God the styles have changed.  Wonderful memories of the two of us though. 

She's Baaaaaack!!!

We got a call from Orangewood last night that Lily was being taken from her home again.  She is back with us and we are so happy!  She was exhausted and dirty when her social worker drove up to our house with us. We gave her a bath and bottle and put her to bed. She was very upset and cried for quite a bit.  Larry rocked her and she finally settled down and went to sleep.  Her dad had her up until 10 PM each night I guess.  Her main food there was Gerber Graduates Puffs.  It will take a few days to get her back into her schedule but we know that she will adjust soon.  We are just really thankful that Lily's social worker was really looking out for her.  

Bye bye sweet Lily!

This morning we returned our foster baby, Lily, to her birth dad.  We had such a wonderful time with her for the past three months.  She is truly a wonderful little girl.  While she was with us she learned to crawl, eat with her fingers, stand up and cruise around holding on to furniture, three baby signs (fan, lights & gentle), speak three words (moo & duck, and uh-oh), play with puzzles, lego's, and beads and raise her hands when Larry asked her to in German!  Not bad for just three months. We are awaiting our next foster baby who is one and half years old and a girl.  We should probably have her in our home next week sometime. 

Mary's 3rd birthday party

Mary celebrated her 3rd birthday last Sunday with lots of her family in Illinois where she and her mom moved to recently.  It sure looks like she was having fun.  The cupcakes sure look yummy! Her mom sent us some great pictures in the mail of our last visit with Mary before she moved.  We sure miss her, but we do talk to her still on the phone from time to time.  She is always excited to hear our voices.  

Lily's buddy, Carter

Today I was watching my childcare baby, Carter for the first time in about a month. I really missed him and I think he missed me too!  He and Lily are about the same size and they are about 4 1/2 months apart.  Lily is short for her age.  They had a fun day except for when Lily was cranky because she got 5 shots yesterday.  She is going through a little bit of jealousy lately.  She does not like it when I pick up Carter.  Lily will be 11 months old in 2 days.  She may go back to her birth dad this coming Monday.  We have really enjoyed having her with us for the past 2 1/2 months.  

It was a wonderful visit

Rachel and Tyler headed back to Colorado yesterday.  We had a great visit with them.  Tyler is such a cutie and was so good.  Rachel was able to see so many of her friends while she was here.  

Our last day with Mary

Today we got to spend a few hours with Mary after not seeing her since February when she was returned to her birth mom.  We met at Boomer's and had a blast!  She and her mom will be moving to Illinois in a few days.  We will miss her terribly but at least we were able to see her this one last time.  

Rachel and Tyler are here!

Rachel and Tyler arrived two days ago and we are enjoying them so much.  We had family over on Friday night and an Open House yesterday for Rachel's friends and teachers that she taught with here in California to meet Tyler.  

THREE MORE DAYS TO GO!!!!!!!!

We are so excited and counting down the days until Rachel and Tyler's arrival.  Larry and I can't wait to spend time with our daughter and grandson. Larry had a vacation planned during part of the time that Rachel would be here but he decided to cancel it so he could be with Rachel and Tyler longer.  Gee, he is not a proud grandpa or anything is he?? Larry's family is coming over to see Rachel and meet Tyler for the first time on Friday and they too are very excited.  We can't wait to see you Rachel and Tyler!!  Get ready for major hugs!!  

We get to visit Mary next Sunday!!

We got a call from Mary's mom yesterday while she was at the park with Mary.  Mary was talking to us while she was going down the slide.  It was so cute.  We get to see Mary next Sunday afternoon for the first time since she went back to her birth mother.  Excited does not even come close to how we feel about finally getting to see her.  Her mom, Shana,  says she talks about us all the time.  Shana wants to move with Mary to Illinois to be closer to her family, and to have a better support system.  They go to court this Thursday to see if the judge will grant her request.  We will miss her dearly if she moves.  Until then, we will get to see her and give her lots of love.  This picture of her was taken recently by her mom while Mary played in the sprinklers with a friend. 

Play buddies!

Lily, our foster baby,  just loves to play with Carter, my childcare baby, when he is in the exersaucer.  She grabs all the toys that he holds and he never complains!! She will enjoy having him as a buddy when I start watching him four days a week beginning in September.  Two great babies to love and care for....what a great life I have! 

Giddy up horsey!

I took Lily to the Irvine Spectrum today to ride the Carousel.  She was a little frightened at first but soon had a huge smile on her face as she went up and down on the horse.  We went to the awesome baby store called Bellini.  The young girl that worked there was so sweet.  When I told her that Lily was my foster child,  she told me that she had a daughter that was in foster care for awhile and she was so thankful that she got her back.  She gave us a 30% discount on some sandals for Lily!! She also gave Lily a free stuffed bunny that was regularly $25.00! It is amazing how many people really appreciate the work that we do with our foster babies.  We are so blessed to meet such nice people whenever we venture out with our little ones.   

Date Night......YIPPEE!!!

Last night Larry and I had a "date night".  We hired Bree, one of Larry's students, to babysit Lily.  She has been so wonderful with the foster babies when we need her to watch them so we can escape!  We went to the Irvine Spectrum and had dinner and then went on the ferris wheel.  It was a blast! We were up so high and the view was spectacular.  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RACHEL!!!

Rachel in 1978

What a special day it is today! My gorgeous daughter is turning thirty years old today. It is so hard to believe so many years have gone by since the first time I saw her face after delivering her in Newport Beach, California. I will never forget the feeling of suddenly being a mom. I was so ready and loved every day I spent with her watching her grow and learn about her world. Today she is the most wonderful mother to Tyler and wife to Andy. Thank you sweetheart, for thirty of the happiest years of my life as your mom. You are amazing.......can't wait to experience another thirty!!

Love you,
Mom

Rachel and Tyler in 2008.

Ribbet, Ribbet, Ribbet..... Froggy Pool fun!

Larry set up our new Froggy pool yesterday for Lily to play in.  She loved kicking her feet and splashing with her hands in the water.  Isn't it the cutest baby pool?  I just wish it were bigger so I could join her!

We get to see Mary soon!!

We are so excited because we got a call today from Mary's mom.  She said that we could see Mary as soon as she gets the court papers in the mail.  She has told us that this day would happen for some time now and we were beginning to wonder if she really meant it.  Needless to say we are so thankful that she called and that she wants us to finally see Mary.  As most of you know, Mary was our foster child for thirteen months.  She went back to her birth mom on February 29th of this year.  We haven't seen her since.  We were supposed to be part of her re-unification plan but the social worker said we could not see her.  Come to find out, the social worker was not following the normal plan of re-unification by leaving us out of the whole process.  During this time Mary's mom would talk to us on occasion, keeping us up to date on Mary's progress.  We miss her terribly.  We cannot wait to see her again soon.  It is indeed wonderful news for us!!!

What a beautiful day!

It is so beautiful outside today.  The sun is shining but it is not too hot with a slight breeze. I am watching Carter today and he is five months old.  He loves to swing and hang out with "Auntie Susan".  He is such a happy baby and a delight to take care of.  

Happy Friday to all

We had a busy day today starting off with taking Lily for a visit to see her parents for two hours this morning at the Social Services building in Orange.  Lily's mom was falling asleep in the chair during part of the visit......guess she had a rough night!  Lily got real tired and whiny towards the end and her dad said to me that she was wet but did I think maybe we shouldn't change her because she would just continue to cry if we did? Hello???????? I had to explain that if she is wet then she needs to be changed.  So I plopped her down on the blanket that I bring for her to play on and changed her so that she would be dry for the ride home. After Lily took a nice long nap at home we took her to the Irvine Spectrum.  We visited the Carter's outlet and a specialty baby store that was so cool.  We decided to have dinner at Red Robin.  As Larry and I gobbled down our meal, Lily was very loudly doing her new impersonation of a lion.  Needless to say the older people at the the table next to us thought it was NOT funny. Where is their sense of humor for goodness sake? I thought it was hysterical and I joined in with Lily and became a lion too. Next time I will take her on the merry go round that they have there.  We had a great time and will go back again soon.

Our current foster baby, Lily.

Doesn't she look like a Cabbage Patch doll?  She started crawling the second day that we had her. Now she is pulling herself up on furniture, etc.  She is nine months old and a good baby most of the time.  She smiles so much. 

I owe a big thanks to my daughter, Rachel. for getting me started with this blog.  I had been scared to attempt it on  my own for so long.  I feel so "state of the art" now! Hopefully we can update everyone on some of our family news from time to time now.