Portland Anyone?

Pray Pray Pray....Today Will is interviewing in Portland for a firefighting job. Even though we LOVE it here, we are money chasers. It is a great oppurtunity for him and maybe an even better opputunity for us. It would be so nice not to be so strapped. I have total mixed emotions about leaving SS. This is an awsome community and I love that my kids can wander around from friends house to friends house and be no more than a street away. I have an Elementary, JR. High, and High School all in walking distance. Our park will be done this summer and the state will finish our new freeway connector this fall. Did I mention we have a Walmart opening next month? Then there is the basement the carpet we replaced, the painting, and yard we just finished and we finally feel like we can spend money on a vacation rather then a home improvement project. Why now? There is so much that goes through my head when I think about moving. Will I be lonely? What kind of school will my kids go to? Then somehow, 600.00 in plane tickets later, I think Will is doing the right thing. It is now or never. I just hope that we will know what to do if the decision has to be made. I think it would be a great adventure for our family and it is beautiful there. I would love being so close to the Ocean and my skin would love the humidity. I will keep you posted. We should know by the end of April. Good Luck Honey.

Sometimes I feel Like a Speck

Sometimes I feel like a speck. Even though there are so many houses around me, I feel like mine moves as much as Who Ville. So what is going on in our little speck of a house?
Well we have an amazing Dad who works two jobs, goes to school, does boy scouts, spends time with five children, attends foster meetings, and does my house projects, exercises, and even makes time for "needy me".

Cora is really taking off with her reading! Tonight she read one of the American Girl books to me. "Meet Samantha" She has been playing with her Samantha doll all day. I just love helping her change outfits and fixing her up. I secretly wish she had some barbies so we could change their clothes a lot and brush their hair. Yes, I like to play with dolls still.

Jonas is seeming closer to four everyday. Sometimes he has the deepest thoughts and he shares the most interesting dreams. He adores Ila so much that he clenches his teeth when he goes to kiss her. My favorite thing he does is invent weapons and weapon holders. Yesterday he used one of Cora's headbands to hold all his swords. He loves preschool and sunbeams. He always tells me the songs they learned and the "works" he did that day.

Ila is a nonstop talker. She is telling Jonas what to do all day long. We call her the little boss. She is obessed with Lady and the Tramp and wants to watch it several times a day. She is also becoming very independent. She strips and tries to use the toilet, pushes up a stool to wash her hands, and even fed the fish. We had a nice rainbow of goldfish food all over the girls room. It was everywhere and all over the new carpet. Anybody have any ideas how to get rid of the smell?

Then there is me..."If Mom's place is in the home? Why am I always in the car?" Foster care has been the most amazing experience. It has made me both a better person and a better mom to my children. I don't like living in the car and I have been figuring out how to do that less. My time with my biological children has become more meaningful. I work harder to stop what I am doing and treasure small moments alone with each one of them. I love having my girls around to help me see life in different lights. Even though I have never been so busy, I would never take it back. It is an experience that is never understood by others. I can say that I do see people stop and stare sometimes and there are a lot of ignorant people who ask me things they shouldn't. Foster care is made up of this interesting subculture of wonderful people. So many of them have taught me invaluable parenting skills that I will use all of my life. As for my children , they love having teenagers in the house. How do I know? They tell me. And if they are gone, my kids always ask when they are coming back.

The hardest part is letting them go. I have never had such an empty feeling. I have never felt so hollow. As I left the courtroom a few weeks ago, I cried. One of my girls was leaving my home. I always hope they remember what I taught them, but mostly I hope they know how much I love them. Goodbyes are always hard for me and I usually try to avoid them. Another foster parent told me writing about it helped them. I guess I am trying it. I hope that I will get better at it because I have more goodbyes to go.

So back to the speck. Last Sunday, someone told me everyone is busy when I told her I didn't know if I could handle my calling anymore. I guess she was right. No matter how busy you feel everyone is busy in their own life. You have time to do stuff, but you choose what you do with your time. Each household is their own speck and probably everyone feels like their house is a Who Ville at times.

What I learned today

Today I went to a safety training for the internet. I learned some things I already knew and somethings I didn't ever think about. The trainer worked for some company called Symantec Corporation. The company created Norton and the presenter was very informantive. So here it is in a nutshell

• How much am I worth this year? This is what your information goes for...
  lAccording to the Symantec Internet Security Report XIII Feb 2008
  
• l1 Bank Acount ($10-$100)
• l2 Credit Card ($0.40 - $20)
• l3 Full Identity ($1-$15)
• l4 Ebay Account ($1 - $8)

Validating security certificates

Click on the lock and make sure that the sight you are looking at has its name in the certificate
Complain if your bank does not allow you to enter your login information on a secure sight
The more important the information the more important this check is

BEST PRACTICES
Always use anti-virus
Always use anti-malware
Always use anti-phishing software
Always update software / operating system
Always check security certificates when entering personal information
Always assume someone is trying to scam you

WHAT YOU SHOULD NEVER DO

Never click on a link from within an email (especially if you cant read the link or it says javascript)
Never enter your credit card number on a non secured web page
Never give personal information you want to keep personal
Never assume that because it says it is from your bank it is from your bank

This was a really informative training. The biggest mistake I have been doing is opening email links in my email. He said these are usually viruses. I also learned about secure sites and found a whole bunch of tools to track my computer sites. I loved this conference.

A few Randoms

The first picture is of Ila painting. She made me fill up the water in the sink and then went to town with her water paint coloring book. The cat pajamas are what she lives in. Even though there is still light in the sky...she will bring them to me and ask me to help her put them on. She loves those cozy things and freaks out if she has to wear any other pajamas. Most kids have a blanket...she has her cat pajamas.

The second pictures are of Cora's hard work. She loves to organize her bed and stuffed animals. She makes me so proud when she cleans her room. She wanted me to take a picture of her. Notice the dragon on Squakers' beak?

Happy Birthday Tara?

Who's Birthday is it? Yes this is hilarious to me, so I had to post it.

My (Will's) defense-I was tired. I just got home from work. I tried to stay awake. I really did. I was just so tired form serving people for 48 hours straight that all that breakfast making and diaper changing and...wore me out. (Yeah all you mom's out there-48 hours-if I had a nickel for every mom who told me about taking care of kids 24 hours a day...I'd be filthy rich...your work day is only 24 hours and my work day is 48. You will never win with me.)


Oh it is my birthday. Will made me the best omelets and Ila helped me with my juice. The best gift of all was my dinner. Ribs, that I didn't have to make!

Cora made me a really cute card and they even got me my coveted Pot Rack and hardware for my kitchen cabinets. I have wanted a pot rack for so long. I cannot wait to see it all hung up. There is never enough cuboard space right? It was a great day.

PS My birthday was in January...I am still catching up on my blog.

Hyperbaric Medicine Anyone?

I took the kids in to see Will at his other job in the hyperbaric chamber. It was really cool! I think the kids thought it was even cooler.

Getting ready to dive with daddy.


Us playing with the moniters and seeing what it is like to watch from the outside.

Inside the chamber.

Will is showing us how he breathes oxygen while coming up from the dive. He says that the chamber is secretly a fountain of youth and that he stays the same age on the days he dives.

The kids with Spock himself...leaving the Enterprise.

Will-I have pictures from the brochure (moi included in the pics) that show people being treated in our chamber. I can't get them to load. See this link to see the chamber with chairs and hoods people wear. They are the glass jar head looking things on the chair. The green rubber dam ring goes around/over the neck and the bubble sits on it so patients can breathe 100 % oxygen.

https://secure.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705255291,00.html

New Years Eve Party at Cassie's

So, I finally found a solution to my camera problem and got my pictures off my camera. (A Card Reader) If I would have known about this easy fix, I would have bought one a long time ago. It hurts to be so behind the times in computer knowledge. Anyway, I have a lot of catching up to do with all my posts.

We went to my sister's for New Years Eve. The kids love the candy bar game and look forward to it every year. It is kind of like a white elephant, but you use candy bars instead. It is really fun and as you can see, Jonas is patiently waiting for his turn. But, I think Ila was even more eager to get her candy than Jonas.

Cora tried to open some rootbeer by herself and the two liter ended up giving her a rootbeer shower. So, she had to borrow some pjs from her cousin. The best part was all the different foods. They really know how to put on a party.

Happy New Year! Kids...Can anybody tell that it was way past bedtime?