Here is a miraculous story that recently happened to our family. Here goes.

On the 14th of Nov. 2008, two days after I wrote the post about us no longer pursuing adoption, the Harneds, dear friends, informed Mom of a baby girl named Jenna who was being cared for by her grandparents and was up for adoption. The grandparents wanted to be grandparents rather than care for her as a parent would. So, they searched for a family that would meet their criteria. The grandparents were willing to care for the little girl if they couldn't find the family with the same goals, but they really wanted to step into a grandparent's role.

On the 18th of Nov. they came over for an afternoon visit. Our two families were amazingly like-minded.

On the 20th of Nov. they called and informed us that they would be delighted if we would pursue adopting Jenna. Of course we said that we would gladly adopt Jenna!

Both of Jenna's parents had not relinquished their rights, which meant that she was not legally free. This was a major step that needed to be accomplished in order that Jenna could be adopted.

On the 24th of Nov. we made the 1 1/2 hour drive to their house, which is beautifully located on the side of a mountain. We had a great time talking, playing instruments, and getting to know Jenna.

On the 3rd of Dec. the birthfather signed all the papers releasing Jenna for adoption!! We were excited as this meant that only one parent was left to relinquish rights.

On the 5th, the birthmother relinquished her rights by not showing up at her court
appointment! She had also chosen to not participate in Jenna's life prior to that court date. This left Jenna free to be adopted!

On the 11 of Dec. the Krouses came over for a visit and Grandma and Grandpa Fraley flew in from Utah, so we were able to get family pictures with Jenna! It was a lot of fun.

Today our family enjoyed having the Harned's over. Their mom was shopping in some stores near our house and instead of going shopping, Michelle, Matthew, and Brett voted coming over to our house to play! :) Us kids didn't mind in the least!!:) We spent a couple hours playing Capture the Flag. It sure added a fun dimension to the game in trying to run through deep snow! The game seemed to be going in my team's opponent's favor, but at the very end, my team won!!! After that exhausting but thrilling game, we headed in the house to eat and play "in-house" games. Corbin, Brett, and Calvin played Risk which Corbin won. Kayla won the rest of us at a game of Monopoly.

Later that day, we went outside to feed the animals and brush the horses. They didn't have much icicles on their back, but their feet were sure packed with ice. I tried a while to get it out of our smallest pony with not much luck. The bigger ponies were a lot easier.

We had a great time with you....please come again soon Harneds!!!! :)

Here are some pictures that will hopefully be able to give you an idea of what it looks like around our place!

We are getting dumped on. It is kind of hard to know how much it snows, because where we live, the winds blow a lot and drift the snow. Yesterday the snow was approxamently 1" to 1' high. Today it is 1' to 3' tall!!!

Wow! It sure has been piling up snow today, even though the forecast only showed flurries. Well, I suppose even the 'Forecasters' are wrong sometimes! We have been 'enjoying' freezing temperatures and having to fill waterbuckets up by hand. :P I am sure thankful thought that we have wood heating and hot water to warm us up with!

Corbin had a wonderful birthday on Dec. 5th. We went 2nd hand shopping and Dad met us at Costco for lunch. We were able to quite a few things at the stores. Then when we were done shopping, we came home and Corbin received his gift. It was money to get a pistal. Corbin is very excitedly shopping around to get the best pistal to fit his needs!!

Dad celebrated his birthday four days later. He had to work, since it was a Tuesday, but when he arrived home we played Monopoly. Corbin won!


My Grandpa and Grandma came up on Wednesday to celebrate Corbin's 16 birthday, Dad's birthday, and an early Christmas. They live in Utah, so we see them about 3-4 times a year. We have had a great time shopping, playing cribbage, talking, and working together.