HoMeCoMiNg!

Tyler Kelsey asked Jayde to Homecoming! This was so cute!

YES... we answered with a real fish...but I think it already went to fishy heaven!

JAYDE HOMECOMING DANCE!

We had tons of help getting Jayde ready!

Tyler & Jayde

Jayde had so much fun at the homecoming dance!  They went paint balling for the day date and then they were off to dinner and dance! Did I mention how gorgeous she looked! I have so much fun with these teenagers, but I also hate how fast my kids grow up!!!

Bugged!

I get so mad every time we go to court for Joses case.  We just do circles round and round.  Our legal system is so messed up it makes it hard for me to have faith that everything is going to work out!  The prosecutor is a you know what and the Judge isn't much different.  Big important people say they want to help but when it comes down to it no one does!!!  I am ready to scream and shout....well I have done that several times in the privacy of my own home.  Something has to happen and quick because if I feel this way then I can't imagine what Jose is going through!!  I just needed to vent a little and feel sorry for myself.  I realize their are others going through worse, but sometimes I feel like my heart is literally going to break in two!

Sterling!

As fathers day approaches I can't help but think how lucky I am to have married the love of my life and have 4 wonderful children with this amazing man!  He has always worked hard for our family and I am forever grateful for his dedication.  He works with lot's of teenagers!  A job that not just anyone can do and I have always said it is like hes a father to hundreds!  On fathers day his phone rings off the hook (which anyone who knows him it does anyway) but on this day it is calls of appreciation from lives that he has touched and changed for the better!  I wanted to beat everyone this year and tell him what an amazing father he is!!!  Individually our kids look up to you with so much love and respect.  Thank you again for always being the best you can be I appreciate and love you more than you will ever know!  XOXO

Pressing forward.

How come it is so hard to just keep pressing forward through life sometimes???  I really am trying to be an example to my children that when life throws you lemons...make lemonade,but they also need to know its not easy to keep making lemonade. This crazy thing with Jose has me up most of the nights which does not make it easy for me to be happy and a nice mom or just even someone nice to be around period.  But I am trying and I have decided that sometimes it's OK for our children to see that we are not just parents we are also human, we make mistakes we can learn from, life is going to throw us lemons we just have to do the best we can and keep pressing forward.  It's nice to know we don't have to go through it alone and I realize now more than ever how important it is that we communicate as families and I feel blessed that I have that relationship with my hubby and children and I hope that they will build on that with their own families someday!

“When we have sampled much and have wandered far and have seen how fleeting and sometimes superficial a lot of the world is, our gratitude grows for the privilege of being part of something we can count on—home and family and the loyalty of loved ones. We come to know what it means to be bound together by duty, by respect, by belonging. We learn that nothing can fully take the place of the blessed relationship of family life.”
- President Thomas S. Monson

Family...

On May 9, 2001 Our family adopted a 17 year old named Jose Lyman.  We had known him since he was 14. He is Hispanic and  has gorgeous blue eyes!  He was orphaned in Mexico from the time he was 3 months old and adopted and was living in abusive home so he ran when he was around 9 years old.  He ended up crossing the border into the United States, but didn't realize it.  He said he recalled it being amazing and that people spoke differently than he and was so fascinated he just kept walking not realizing what he had done, but soon it became dark and he was hungry and the coins he had in his pocket wouldn't work to buy food.   Unfortunately this was the start of learning how to survive on the streets, desserts, oceans and mountains for Jose. He doesn't like talking about his pasts because of the horrible reminder it is and it is something he is not proud of.  I know their are many details about his early life that I as his mom will never know and never understand how a little boy at only the age of 9 could have lived the way he had to just to survive.  At age 14 he found his way into Utah not knowing where he was.  He was picked up and put into my hubby's program.  His Judge saw something special in him and so did my husband.  Jose was placed with us and excelled in everything he touched he graduated high school with a 3.7, lettered in Wrestling, graduated Seminary and attended University of Utah.  Jose has a very special spirit and was baptized as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints and served an LDS mission.  Somewhere in the middle of all of this our family fell in love with him! We adopted him and was sealed in the temple as an eternal family.  It's not always been an easy task being Jose's mom he suffers from Reactive Attachment Disorder also known as RAD and other disorders, so as you can imagine it is hard for him to trust anyone.  The hardest thing for him is that even after being adopted he couldn't become a citizen of the United States even after many attorney's, Judges, letters to Senators etc.  He as never been able to experience TRUE freedoms and now after 11 years of being Jose's mom they want to deport him and take him away from the only family he has.  Right now as I write he is sitting in a Jail cell to await his fate.  I ask myself how can our country be so cruel this is just a little boy who was lost through the cracks of the system and now has a brother and sisters that are trying to understand but really their hearts are breaking. Jose is not perfect, but none of us are. He has suffered so much that today I pray that he can find some kind of comfort where he is at and that we will get through this as a family because that is what we do!  He is my son and will forever be no matter where he has to live!  I also pray for a miracle that he gets to come home and truly start living his life.  Yesterday was his birthday and he turned 30 years old.  Happy Birthday Jose and know your family loves you and prays for you everyday. 

Mc...

I am so proud of this little guy!  He was in a talent show last night!  He did an amazing job and I really think he wasn't nervous once!  He sang and danced a Justin Bieber song! Mc you have a wonderful talent I hope you continue to use it!  It is so much fun watching you!  Love you little Rock STAR!