My little genuis....

Don't we all think our kids are genius's????

Aadric carved his own Pumpkin
Oh and he's really handsome too.

Michael Christopher Ross..

A couple of weeks ago we got a call from our foster care placement specialist. She said they had a boy for us. We were pretty excited. We have been licensed for 2 months now, and we were not use to waiting for a child. In Tennessee we were very needed. But we are also whats called "therapeutic foster parents",which means we get the 'hard to place' youth. In Arizona, they try to keep kids with their own families as much as they can. For example, they will put a therapist in the home if they can. But Meth is a huge problem here, so in that circumstance they come into foster homes.

Michael is 4,we have had him for a week and we have seen huge improvements in him already! It has been a long and tiresome week. But the consistency, structure, routine, and food to count on, seem to be positives for Michael. We only had teenage daughters in TN, so this is different. Michael (husband) says he likes the fact that we don't have to make sure he's not sneaking to use "My Space".

Here is a pic I took this week of him and his Mom at the dentist.

This is a Lady from a new program called "Meet me where I am team"
She will be coming in daily for a while to see first hand behaviors,etc and we'll come up with a plan together on how to help him. Also in the picture is Libbie,Aadric,Ellie,Logan and Ryder(2 boys I watch). You can imagine I was grateful for the extra help:)

Marley...

What a dog!
I love the story about how we got Marley... About 2 years ago, Michael went on splits with the missionaries. Marley was a young pup but only 2 months old. He was inside a crate in a small apartment. Michael commented on the handsome dog to which the owner proceeded to plead with him to take him off his hands, because it was a source of contention between he and the misses. Keeping his own misses in mind, he explained that if he took the dog then he would have a similar problem. But being a man who follows his feelings, he couldn't let the dog starve in the apartment. Michael was very nervous to come home and explain why we now had care over yet another. Knowing we were full at our house with 4 kids,1 dog,1 German exchange student.......
Long story short we found out he was the best dog ever!

Creepy story....

So... Just minding my own business,sleeping peacefully in my own bed. When a sharp pain to my leg woke me up. I screamed, then said to Michael, "I think there's something poky in the bed,turn the light on!". He thought I was crazy, then when I came to my senses, I realized it was not something poky but maybe some critter(we have allot of those around here). So Michael pulled back the cover and found a giant desert centipede...that's right a GIANT desert centipede...on my leg, in my sleep.
It started to swell so of course we were searching Google to see if it was poisonous. Only if your allergic. So I waited to see if I was dieing..nope,not allergic, just creeped out. Oh and by the way, Michael never did catch it.

We moved 4 houses down!

I know.. I KNOW, no one can keep track of us. But we are only four houses down. Although I liked the other house. There were multiple reasons that we said "YES!" when our friends who own this home said "will you rent it,we are moving to Washington?"
The Address is the same just the first four digits have changes 3186 is the new address.
I LOVE this house. It was built 3 years ago so it has the modern conveniences and is really nice! We have soft water, wood floors, tile counter tops,lots of logical space,walk in closets, a huge back yard with a gorgeous view(we still get the view). When I clean it feels so satisfying because it looks clean when I'm done. The AC works fab, there are ceiling fans everywhere. It has a split flour plan so kids are on the other side of the house..nice:) Open flour plan so the living, dining,and kitchen are all connected and a formal living room. I LOVE IT! and since we know we will be here for a while it is nice to love where we live.

Michael's Magic....

We had the weekly "Homeschool meeting/hangout" and Michael did a show for the kids. He has always loved magic and has gotten back into it lately . He has has performed for 3 different groups this week. It's been really fun. We will be posting some videos on youtube in the near future.

Annette Allan

Annette Is one of my all time favorite people!
She is Michael's oldest brother's wife, for those that don't know.
She is real, never fake, she is who she is.
She is loving and an extremely supportive wife.
Her cute ,smart son Canyon is a product of her mothering.
She is nice to hang out with because she is so mellow.
She doesn't mind telling it like it is,its refreshing.
She has no tolerance for whiners,but is empathetic
when you go to her with a problem.
She is very devoted to her own family and extended.
She has so much creative talent that I hate her.
She is so much fun to be with and keeps me cracken up
with jokes only her and I get!

I won't say what Michael said to get the smiles so big, its not appropriate ,although Winslow would probably appreciate it:)