Christmas Is Here

As stressful as this year has been, the holidays are still my favorite time of year. We continue to do our best to make the best of the situation because we do not really know what to do. Sandra is living here and Luis is joining us again this Christmas, and the kids are really excited to see him. We tried to plan a trip but no one was cooperating so we made the decision to go away on our own to Pinetop and let the kids all stay home and enjoy time together. We need a break and this seems like our best solution!

Time for Soccer Again

It is time for another soccer season for Ingrid, and she loves playing. I don't have any good pictures, but Juan played soccer for Odyssey for the first time also this year and enjoyed it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It is that time again and although it has been a year of challenges, we are thankful for all God has blessed us with. We definitely went into this with blinders on and all we can do is our best to parent the kids and figure it out one day at a time.

Angie's 17th Birthday!

 Angie enjoyed having a few friends over for her 17th birthday and going to Westgate. She loves Frozen so that was her theme. Unlike Ingrid and Juan, she cooperated for pictures!

Take Your Child To Work Day

Honeywell offered a take your child to work day, and Ingrid was super excited to go. She spent the day with Dainis at work, learning first hand what he does. I think she had a great time and know it was a great experience. Ingrid thrives on one on one time so that was an added bonus!

A Start of a New School Year

It is time to start school again and Sandra has asked to come and live here and finish out her senior year! She planned to come to GCU and liked the idea of being her earlier. Maybe it will help! So, Sandra will be a senior, Angie will be a sophomore, Ingrid in eighth grade, and Juan in seventh grade. All four kids are still at Odyssey. Life is definitely a struggle right now with the kids so we will see how things go with school. The biggest blessing with Sandra here is she will drive them to school everyday! We have read a lot of the adoption books, but the kids are very opposed to any counseling. They need coping strategies and help but for now we continue to just be in survival mode and do the best we can.

Ingrid and Juan's Birthdays

Ingrid turned 15 on July 10th and had another pool party with friends. She loves dolphins so that was her theme. Juan turned 13 on July 27th and also had a pool party with some of his guy friends. He loves soccer. Neither cooperated for pictures so no birthday pictures this year. 

Juan's Band Concert

All of the kids continue to participate in band at Odyssey, and we are very glad. Angie plays the flute, Ingrid the clarinet, and Juan the trumpet. This picture comes from Juan's spring concert. 

Happy Sixth Gotcha Day!

We continue to do our best to love the kids and stay as positive as we can, but we have definitely hit attitude central. Lots of emotions all the time and hard to get good pictures. This is the best picture we got for this Gotcha Day. Some days are one day at a time.

Colombian Picture

When we have all five kids together, we always try and go and get a professional picture taken. Sometimes we do Colombian t-shirts and sometimes soccer jerseys but try and match everyone.