How many monkeys jumping in the bed?

Triplets?! We joke that when Rylan is over with Addie and Annibell that we have triplets. :) They are all similar in age and the same height...even though Addie is 6 months younger, she has her parents genes for being tall. Surprisingly they all love playing together, climbing the stairs at the same time while screaming for joy and picking on each other too. It's fun....

Change...but good change

As of Friday of last week, Chris and I have ventured into the Foster Parent world. It happened overnight to tell you the truth but it feels right. Shelby, who has been coming to Young Life for the last 3 or so years, has a 15 month old daugher, Annibell. With the passing of Shelby's mom in May, she has been bouncing from house to house. After club on Thursday, her social worker picked her up to start her in foster care since she was kicked out of her last place she was staying. I am not sure why, but Chris and I have always had a special place in our heart for Shelby and Annibell...for those who know us well, Annibell was the baby we almost adopted before we found out we were prego with Addie. Seeing the pain Shelby had with being taken away, Chris and I went into a 10 hour thinking period of what it would be like to have them with us. As I said, it felt right so here we are. It's been a sweet time with the girls. They are beauitful, smart and need love. We aren't sure what God has in store with this whole situation but we are taking day by day. We are basically the short term care until a permanent place is found but who knows if we will be that place. So, I ask for your prayers. Please pray for this transition for Addie...she has been really needy whenever Shelby and Annibell are around so we are trying to give her that. Pray for wisdom for us as we now are "parents" to a teenager...WHAT?! And above all, pray that Shelby and Annibell experience God and his love in a way they never have before...may they know him. Thanks friends and family!

Vacation in Cancun

Can we go back?! We had a great time and really cannot begin to tell about all the funny stories. We went with the Hamons and Cranks...both amazing friends that are basically like family. Jack-Jack and Josie were the other kids on the trip and we have some memories for sure. Between screaming kids during every meal, teeth through the lips, getting sick and others, we will always remember the fun we had.

Addie had some "first" while we were in Mexico.
-She LOVES Mexican men! Everywhere we went, she would laugh and wave at them. :)
-She learned to crawl steps while we were there.
-She got her first tooth there...really fun.
-She got her first black eye...fell off the bed onto the hardest floor ever invented.
-She learned to say Jack
-She ate more new foods than I can remember
-She loved flying...and being in our laps the whole time. She was great!

As for us, it was a joy to just "be" with Addie and not have computer, phones, etc distracting us. Chris and I went dancing (yes, I said dancing and Chris in the same sentence) one night with Mel and Jeff while the Hamons watched the kids. It was a blast! I don't think we've done that since our wedding. I got stung by a jelly fish the last day and we were probably more tired when we got home than when we left but it was worth ever second!

Halloween!

What a fun night! We had all our friends over for a healthy meal of mac-n-cheese and hotdogs then we ventured out for candy. As you can see, Addie was a Wacky Spider, Chris was Chuck (skit character from YL club) and I was Candy (another YL character). After we put the kiddos to bed in cribs and playpens, all the parents enjoyed some wine and wii until midnight. We haven't spent a late night together since the kids were born so it was a blast!!!!

YL Halloween Club

There are so many fun things we get to do while being a YL leader...seeing your friends and kids dressed up in the most ridiculous outfits is just one of them! We had a costume club this past Thursday and had a great time with all the kids. Here are just a few of the pictures...


The Leaders
Shiloh...horribly funny 80's jazz girl
Chuck (Chris) and his guys

Cute smile and more hats