Just some extrea pictures!

Just a few more pictures for you - back to school and such! Don't miss my blog below!!!!

I'm BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow! Summer has already come and gone and no updates from me. Well, with three kids and random stepkids throughout the year needless to say I have been busy. I'll take you through the last through months as best I can remember..... which unfortunately is not what it used to be. June was half over before the kids even got out of school. Gotta love the schools over here - they start late and get out REALLY late with about a million unnessesary days off in between. Cameron went back to Casper to spend the summer with his mom and Chance came here to spend his last summer with us. He turned 18 on July 7 - and official adult! One down, 2 to go huh? Actually he was great this summer. I really enjoyed spending time with him and seeing how he's grown up into a pretty impressive man. He's in his senior year now and getting everything in order to go off to college next fall. He's recieved letters of interest from MIT, Harvard and Yale - SMART kid!

Elly also had birthday in July. She turned 5 on the 20th - and ever since has been asking when she will be 6! My crazy little girl had a small birthday party with a few friends and then later on in the summer her and Madyson got to enjoy a pool party that I purchased at our annual MOPS auction.

The last week of July was our "vacation". With gas at $4 a gallon it was much of a trip but we did get to spent a fun week in Montana. We went to the water park with Grandma, visited Terry's relatives in Butte, went up to the lake, and took some time to just relax. I had to give Terry a hard time when I would wake up early in the morning and he was nowhere to be found. Turns out he was down at Liquid Planet with his laptop getting "a few things done"! Work, work, work........... he deserves a break.

Chance went back to Casper in August to start football practice and Cameron was supposed to come back here. Well, he ended up convincing his mom that he should stay with her. Against our request she decided that she was going to keep him. It is so frustrating putting in all the hard work and then see it just slip away. She made many promises regarding his behavior and help for him. We have yet to see any of them put into action. Please keep Cameron in your prayers - he needs some stable role models in his life and it appears that we are not supposed to be them. He's a good boy, just getting a little lost right now. He is 12 right now and I fear for what is to come when he is 16 or 17!

Chase has been in the Wyoming Boys home for last few months. I think that most of you knew about this. If not, surprise! Just kidding. It was actually a strange answer to prayer. He had gotten in way over his head and at that point this may have been his only way out. We have been worried about him for so long! Terry received a letter from him a few weeks ago and he sounds so different. We are optimistic, yet realistic. We do realize that it is easier to say all kinds of great things than it is to actually do them. We are just hoping and praying that this change is real and that we get to see the "old" Chase again. The boy is so full of life it is devastating to see him so empty. He too can use all the prayers he can get. I will update you on his progress when I get more news.

So here we are, into September alreay. Actaully, it is almost over! WOW how time flies. The girls started school a few weeks ago. Madyson is now in 3rd grade and Elly started kindergarten. We had intended to do one more year of preschool for Elly but finances and the price of EVERYTHING continuing to go up just made that impossible. I enrolled her into a half day program at a different school since our school went to full day kindergarten this year. She is doing really well and not struggling as of yet. We intend to have her complete this year and then go ahead and put her in the full day kindergarten next year. We feel like that will be much easier on her and that she will not even feel like she is "repeating" the year as she will be at a new school (Madyson's school) with all new friends. But then again, maybe she turn out to be a super genious and just sail through this year and go staight on to high school. You never know!!! :)

Little Jordyn is doing wonderful! She's starting to talk up a strorm, repeating everything that you say. You gotta be REALLY careful theses days! Ha ha! She still pretty small - she'll be 2 in January but only wearing mostly 12 mo. clothes. She my little mini! She's healthy and strong, just petite say the doctor! She brings me incredible amounts of joy! I'm been stressing a lot lately and she seems to know just the right moment to come wrap her little arms around me and say "squeeze"! My kids are the best!

I'll be heading to Dallas on Wednesday for 5 days. I'm attending the MOPS conference and leaving Terry and the kids alone. I don't even let myself think about what they will be dressed in or what they will eat for dinner - I just want them all to be alive when I get home. I love my husband dearly and I know he will do fine, he's just not me..... But hey, so what if it's McDonalds and pizza for a week - as long as they are there to hug me when I get home I could care less! And there are worse things in the world than mismatched clothes and dirty dishes!

Hope this update finds you all happy and well. I miss you all and think about you often in my crazy, busy, wonderful life! LOVE YOU!!!