Finally, an update!

I am Finally updating our blog! I typed up the blog and then tried to add the pictures to the corresponding places but that didn't work so the pictures are out of order.
Riding trains with Aunt Ali, Aunt Amy and Ethan, Carter, Logan and Collin.

Lots of Cousins and others and Cousin Logan's second birthday party in CA.

Value quilt I made for girls camp this summer. There is a picture of a temple drawn on the middle square but it is hard to see in the picture.

Jared is the Weblos leader for the boy scouts. Spencer and I went along with the scouts on a fishing trip. We didn't catch anything but it was still fun.

The planter's day parade in Woodland, Wa.

The 4th of July parade with Aunt Rosie and Cousins Kaylee and Lily.

Frank and Elaine Wade (Jared's Parents) celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary. Way to go guys!

Our trip to the beach in May.

The last few months have been pretty busy. In April we decided to become Foster Parents. We did all of our foster care training in May. In June we passed our home inspection and our interviews. Now we are just waiting for my background check to be complete (Jared's passed in June) and then we will be licensed for foster care. We are only going to take one baby at a time between the age of 0 and 1. We were originally told to expect a baby in August but since my background check is taking so long (I had to get refinger printed) it might take longer. We are excited about getting a new baby (although I am not looking forward to night times with a new baby, it has been great sleeping through the night).

We have also had some adventures over the last few months. In May we took Spencer to the beach for the first time. The weather was beautiful at our house but was cold and cloudy at the beach. He had a lot of fun playing in the sand. We also went to a party celebrating my in-laws 45th wedding anniversary!

In June we went and saw my sister, Chelsey, graduate high school. She is such a hard working beautiful young woman. I can't believe I have another sibling all grown up. It was fun to celebrate with her. I know that she is prepared to face the challenges that come with being an adult. I am so impressed by the way my parents prepared her for this time in her life and I hope I can prepare Spencer likewise. We also went to the Planter's Day Parade in Woodland, WA. Spencer really enjoyed that. I was asked to make a quilt for girls camp. At camp they tie 10 quilts and the girls who help get their name put in a drawing to keep a quilt. I made a young woman themed quilt. There was a square for each value and then squares with power stars made up of all 8 values.

For the 4th of July Spencer and I went to a parade. Jared and his parent's were in the parade. We also went to the 4th of July celebration at the park here in town. They always have booths and fun things to do. We also watched the City firework show and had a BBQ at my in-laws with Aunt Rosie, Uncle Todd and Aunt Karen, and there kids.

In July we helped my parents dig a french drain. A large number of people from church also helped them. I was touched by all of the people willing to help. Jared got to use a mini excavator and enjoyed that. It was fun to visit my family. I am so glad we only live 2 hours away so that we can see them at least once a month.

For my birthday in July, my Mom and sisters, Emily and Tess, came to visit. They took me out to lunch and then we went to the spa for pedicures. It was a lot of fun and I am so glad they came. My in-laws also threw me a family birthday party. My sister-in-law, Rosie, cooked a wonderful meal and made a delicious cake with fresh strawberry and ice cream filling.

In July we also went to California for a week. We had a great time visiting Jared's family and friends. Spencer has two cousins in California that are his age and four others that are close in age. It was so fun watching them play together. The cousins are all little blue eyed blond kids. People often ask us where Spencer got his blue eyes and blond hair, but if they saw him with his cousins they wouldn't need to ask. Spencer and I both got the stomach flu while we were down there but otherwise it was a great trip. Spencer also got to meet two of his great grandma's and we went on a short train ride.

August is off to another busy start. The last few weeks Jared's work has really picked up (which we are so grateful for). I have also been busy with work. It feels like most of the day is spent with Jared and I running in and out switching who is taking care of Spencer. That has been tiring. I have been in court a lot over the last couple months and I have learned a lot being there. I have two more court hearings scheduled next week and then I am hoping to cut back for a little while. Spencer has been a trooper. He has adjusted pretty well going back and forth between Jared and I. He has also accompanied me to the courthouse a couple times (just to file things, he doesn't come along when I am in hearings). I don't have to walk through security at the courthouse anymore and the security people extended that luxery to Spencer (which I really appreciate). On top of all of that I was made the young woman president at church.

Each day I pray for the ability to know what is most important to accomplish. Life is so busy I hope that I will not lose focus on the things that really matter.

This Sunday is our 6th wedding anniversary. I am so grateful that I married Jared. I loved him so much when I married him and somehow that love has just grown each year. He is a wonderful husband and father and I know marrying him was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

Here are some newer pictures.

Easter, Earth day and the rest of Apri

We are dogsitting Rusy again and Spencer couldn't be happier. Spencer had a great time at Easter this year. On Saturday we went to the primary easter egg hunt. The leaders limited the number of eggs each child could find so once the older kids found their limit, they helped Spencer find some eggs.

On Sunday we went to Frank and Elaine's (Jared's Parents) for dinner and another Easter egg hunt. Jared's brother, Todd, and his family were also there. It was a fun night.

This Easter Spencer discovered that Easter eggs contain candy and choclate. He loves both of those and the first thing he did in the morning was go straight for his easter basket. He was so excited with the choclate eggs that he didn't bother unwrapping them before he took a big bite. He bit me really hard trying to get the foil out of his mouth. It was a lot of fun watching Spencer enjoy easter.

This year Jared had a booth at our local Earth Day Celebration. Him and his nephew, Conner, stayed all day giving out coupons. Hopefully we will get some business from the event.

While Jared and Conner were working the booth, Spencer and I enjoyed the rest of the fair. It was a neat event with a small planetarium, Ronald McDonald, an African music playing band, and a petting zoo. The petting zoo was Spencer's favorite part. I had a hard time keeping up with him, he was so excited to pet the animals.

Cake and Chiropractor

A few days ago Spencer did the cutest thing. He found a box of cake mix. The box had a picture of a piece of cake on it. This very smart little boy brought the box to me and was trying to open it. I opened it to let him see what was inside and he was very confused. He looked at the bag of cake mix and then looked in the box and back at the picture on the box. He repeated this a few times and even stuck his hand in the box to make sure there was nothing else in there. I realized he thought there was a piece of cake in the box. It was adorable.

The last couple days Spencer hasn't been feeling well. He is cranky and has been pulling at his ears. My chiropractor had mentioned chiropractic care can help ear infections. When I realized Spencer was running a fever today I decided to try the chiropractor. Spencer went in for his first chiropractic adjustment today. He did very well. The Doctor also used one of those ear looking in things to look in his ears. His ears were red and irritated. She then recommended some vitamins and ear drops to help him. On the way home we stopped at the store to get the stuff. The lady at the store gave Spencer a sample of a child's chewable vitamin. He choked on it and then threw up all over both us. It was not a fun trip to the store and we didn't buy the vitamins. The ear drops seemed to help him but he threw up again after we got home. I hope he will feel better tomorrow. I am interested to see if this chiropractic thing really helps him or not.

Toddler

It has been a long time since I have done an update on here. I keep meaning to download pictures but that is not going to happen tonight. Over the last month and a 1/2 Spencer has been growing and developing at super speed. He no longer looks like a baby, we seem to have a full fledged Toddler. This month I took a wonderful parenting class based on the Love and Logic approach to parenting. One of the things the instructor told me to do was to start giving Spencer some responsibilities. I was amazed to realize he is capable of helping out. He has started helping pick up his toys after his bath, he kind of helps me do the dishes (mostly he just plays in the rinse water), and he has started helping me cook by dumping in the ingrediants after they are measured. Spencer has also been responding to us in ways that we know he understands. It is amazing watching him try to communicate with us. Lately he points at things and says "That" when he wants something. He has also started trying to say other words and he gets frustrated when he can't say what he wants to communicate.

This last month Jared has been getting more work which is great. I also started teaching basic estate planning classes to the community. I had my first class this month, it is a two night seminar and the participants go home with a basic will, power of attorney, and health care directive. I have three more class scheduled. The first class seemed to go well and I came away with some ideas on how to improve the class. My next class starts next week and I hope it will also go well.

Overall we are happy and healthy!

Update

This last month has been busy. Right before Christmas the batteries in our camera died and I didn't have any others so I don't have many pictures. The week before Christmas we got a lot of snow, over one foot! That was unusual for this area. We spent Christmas day with Jared's family. The sewer had backed up and two of his brothers couldn't get there due to the snow so Jared and his Dad spent most of the day working on the sewer problem. It was a unique Christmas. The day after Christmas we flew to Boise, ID for my brothers wedding to Brittany. The wedding and reception were both lovely. It was the first time I got to meet Brittany. She is so sweet and I am excited to have her in the family. On the 28th we flew home and had our real Christmas celebration with Jared's family. The following weekend we went to my parent's, opened gifts, and attended Mike and Brittany's second wedding reception. The week after the wedding reception our we were hit with flooding. Thankfully our home did not flood but a lot of roads in the area flooded and part of our city was evacuated. The weather has just been bizarre this month. I also received a lot of work (which I am grateful for but am also trying to figure out how to balance my time). Jared has been a trooper, stepping up and watching Spencer a lot for me so I can meet with clients and work. I am so grateful for his help and teamwork. Spencer continues to grow and to just amaze us. The other day he figured out how to drink through a straw. He also likes to try to sweep the floor and help in any way he can. Below is a picture of him helping sweep and of his first full haircut. Jared cut his hair and did a fantastic job. We hope you are all doing well!