21 Months Old

5 days ago Ellie turned 21 months (18th)........
Matt and I were just talking about how fast time has gone!

Some of her current favorites:

• Elle's enjoys being read too.  Her current favorite book is 'Mama Mama Papa Papa' that her auntie Erika gave her and 'Animals on the farm' (a flip book) from her auntie Becca.   
• If it's not pouring rain you will find us as the park or in our back yard- The slide at either place is Elle's favorite place to be.  Her brothers taught her how to climb up it, how to slide down on her stomach, feet first, side ways...........I'm not sure if it is park etiquette to allow the 'climbing up' (or the rocks she likes to put down the slide)- :)
• Pancakes or waffles smothered in butter and syrup, blueberries, oranges (the citrus will still give her diaper rash if she eats to much), sausage gravy, Chicken and Biscuit crackers, and raisins are her favorite foods (this changes weekly)
• She loves riding in the car, riding in her stroller, riding in her bike.......and loves being out and about 'people watching'

Things we are working on:

• For some reason, when Elle's sees a child about her age that is wearing a pony tail, she never fails to not pull that pony (the poor child on the receiving end).........We're working on not hair pulling (hee hee.......for some reason that last sentence cracked me up)
• Not throwing food off of her plate (or high chair tray) when she is done (it took Ajax and a scrubber to get all of the dried food off of the wall and floor around her high chair)
• Biting........

Growth:

• 21 pounds
• 29.5 inches long
• A head full of some of the most adorable curls you have ever seen
• Wears size 4 shoes (some brands she can wear a size 5)
• 12-18 month size clothes (Gymboree)
• Size 3 Diapers (Huggies)

Ellie Marie you are an incredible blessing, a treasure, and so very loved!

Jayme and Ellie (Jayme is 2 months older)

Marriage vs. The Apostolic Decree

Our Bible Study at Church is going through James right now.  We are just at the beginning of the study (Started last week).

This week one of the things we learned about Jesus brother James was that he was the initiator of the Apostolic Decree (or also known as the Council of Jerusalem).  In a nut shell and without a bunch of Theological (saving that for the pastors) explanation the Apostolic Decree was a short list of rules created to help 2 groups of people, the Jews and Gentiles, show respect and unite under the umbrella of 'Christians' after Christ died on the cross.  The Jews and Gentiles had very different cultures, different beliefs, just differences in general and refrained from associating with each other.  When Jesus came to earth, died on the cross, rose from the grave (AMEN!!) He did away with a lot of the rules, customs, and belief systems religion in general had.  He set a new standard of inward instead of outward (meaning instead of having to make a physical sacrifice (sacrificing a lamb, cow, bird,etc) for sin to become clean you could repent in your heart and ask Jesus to forgive you and you would be clean from your sin.  Jesus also shook the religious community up by saying that the Israelites (Jews) AND the Gentiles (Acts 15:14) were God's Holy People- Chosen- A treasured possession (Before, it was only the Jews who were the Chosen).  The Apostolic Decree was one of the first steps taken to help bridge the gap between the 2 cultures......................

Yesterday afternoon I was taking a break from being in my germ ridden home (flu flu and more flu is still going around).  Elle's was down for a nap, Eli was sleeping on the couch, and Ryan was doing home work.  I was outside in our front yard taking out some ivy that has overtaken one of our planters- As I was pulling the ivy out I was thinking about the Apostolic Decree- the merging of the 2 cultures and how awkward and difficult that must have been for that first generation of Jews and Gentiles.......They had never seen it done and were pioneering some new ground- They were relying a lot on not only the Christian Leaders of their era but on the Holy Spirit (John 14:26) that indwelled within them (a new concept for them also).  At some level only two thousand years later and over seven thousand miles separating I understood what the Jews and Gentiles felt like.......

Marriage..............

As my thoughts were turning from the Jews and Gentiles to my marriage Matt happened to walk up

'Hey Babe, do you realize how much you and are are like the Jews and Gentiles?  If we lived back in Jesus time you would have been a Jew and I would have been a Gentile........We would have been in that first generation that was asked to merge our cultures and back grounds....blending together so much so that we become one'

When the Lord brought Matt and I together 20 years ago He was asking us to bridge some gaps- over come some cultural differences- accept about each other what may have seemed unacceptable (not sin but simple personality traits)

Matt is full Dutch with a strong heritage in the Orthodox Presbyterian Faith.  He comes from a lineage of no divorce- His family enforced a strong work ethic with an emphasis on practicality.  Matt's family has the gift of cleanliness- I do not say this jokingly.........I would drink the water out of my mother in law's toilet (it is that clean!). 

I grew up in 'divorced' family.  My mom became a Christian when I was 8 years old and we started attending a Non Denominational Christian Church with a bit of a 'hippy' feel.  We were a family that lived out loud the emotions we were feeling.  My mom was all about having fun.......we believed that practicality was for the boring and weak in 'fun' spirit.  We are surface cleaners- just enough so that we can go hang out with people or do something else that is fun and not feel guilty about having a dirty house waiting for us at home..........I had a lot of fun growing up but did not have a practical/hard working bone in my body............I wouldn't drink the water out of my mom's (or my) toilet for any amount of money :)

Over the years Matt and I have had both fights and petty disagreements over our 'differences'- It has been a sorce of some signifiant frustration for both of us.  At times in our marriage it has seemed so overwhelming and impossible (not impossible to stay married but impossible to 'get along').

Going back to the Apostolic Decree- One of reasons for this rule change was so that Jews and Gentiles could associate with each other and not be offended.  The Jews would have been horribly offended if they went to a Gentile's gathering and meat sacrificed to idols would have been served (this would not have been sinful for the Gentile but the Jews would have considered it sin)..........1 Cor 8:9 says 'Be careful that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block...'

What struck me yesterday and why the title of this post is Marriage vs. The Apostolic Decree is the same applies in my marriage (for Matt and I it is rules that need to be set up based on cultural and personality back grounds- things that Matt may see as wrong that are completely fine with me and vise versa- again, not talking sin here but Matt's freedoms vs. my freedoms).........

It is offensive to Matt if our house is not clean............ I need to do my best to keep it clean
It is offensive to me if Matt keeps his feelings all to himself............He needs to push himself to share more openly about the things he is thinking and feeling
It is offensive to Matt if we do not have a budget that is well beneath the means of what he makes
It is offensive to me if the budget is so tight we can't do fun things

Your getting my point....

Just like James and the other 'Pillars' of the early church saw a need to set up boundaries and rules for these 2 people groups to merge so it is true about my marriage (and maybe some other marriages too).  I love how stories in the Bible never loose their universal application- How the Lord arranged it so that learing about the Apostolic Decree could be used to better and more understand marriage .

Passing Out & The Park

Well..............
Eli Ben you gave daddy and I a scare last night.....I think it scared your daddy a bit more than me because when I went running up the stairs at 3 a.m. telling him (Dad) that he had to get down stairs because 'Eli passed out and is not doing good' he thought I said 'Eli passed out and is not breathing!'
I'm getting a head of myself- let me back up and start from the beginning........

I've mentioned a few times over the past month or so that the head cold/cough/fever flu has been going around our house (the type of flu where the Dr. puts the long q tip in your nose and takes a swab- you wait 10 minutes for the result and they come back with a 'POSITIVE') First me, then Ryan, then Matt, and last night Eli started coming down with it.  Thanks to my sis loaning me her Braun Thermoscan ear Thermometer I've been able to keep tabs on what the boy's (and Matt's) fever has been....103.5 has been the standard norm with this flu. 

Eli's body has never handled medium to higher temp's well- When he was just over a year old he came down with RSV.  In a matter of an hour his temp went from a low grade fever to 104- Shortly after it reached 104 he had a seizure.....The hospital reassured my mom (who was with me when it happened), Matt, and I that although this is very scary it had done no harm to Eli and was actually not uncommon for kids to have a seizure when their temp spiked. 

Last night, just before I went to bed I checked on Eli, who had decided that he wanted to sleep down on the couch in our living room that has our TV- He had a slight fever and was more achy than anything.  I headed to bed and started talking to Matt.  We had been a bit on each other's nerves all day....smile... so when we started talking while laying in bed we were just getting on each other's nerves more and more (not a full blown fight but def a super annoyed tiff).  In an annoyed huff I grabbed my pillow and headed for the couch in our 'other' living room (the one that you walk into when you walk in our front door).  Our 2 living rooms are separated by a small hallway and our kitchen.  At 3 this morning I woke up to a strange sounding thud-  Mommy instincts know things before we actually see what is going on........I knew instantly that all was not well with Eli.

He had gotten up fairly quickly to go to the bathroom- While standing at the toilet he passed out and hit his head on the wall- When I ran into the bathroom Eli was on the ground but had 'come to'- I helped him up and was guiding him back to the couch.  He was a bit out of it but still able to walk- He said he wanted to go to the kitchen and as he made his way there I was still trying to help him- He passed out again only this time he was out cold- Because of the ways his eyes and body reacted to passing out I could not tell if he was having a seizure (thankfully he was not).  As soon as I got him on the ground I ran for Matt...............

When Matt got to him he (Eli) had come to and was very confused- Matt was amazing (I love you babe) at not only keeping calm but figuring out if Eli needed to go to the hospital.  Eli was really warm so I took his temp- It was almost 104.........After taking Tylenol and drinking a lot of fluid we deemed that he probably passed out because his fever had gone from slight to significant in such a short amount of time- Matt slept on the chair right by Eli for the rest of the night- I started out on the same couch (Eli sleeping sitting up and me sleeping curled up at the other end) and then moved back to the couch in the other living room for the rest of the night..........

This seems to be a week long flu (a true 7 days) and Eli is on day 2 of it................AWESOME!!! 5 more days..............Sorry Eli Ben :(

In other news- Ellie really enjoyed playing at the park tonight........but.........explaining how she giggles when she swings just seems so slight when we just did all this talk about passing out- Maybe a story for another time

Hope you all had a great St. Patricks Day

My sis Jodi and Eli (2005)

Blasted Flu! Poor Ryan

This past Mon. night Ryan came home from swimming with my mom and said his throat hurt- I sent him to bed and told him he would feel better by morning.....the next morning the sore throat turned into a 103.5 consistent fever, body aches, stomach ache, and dizzy.  Poor Ryan had not attended school since Mon.  Around here we will usually let something run it's course but by the wee morning hours this morning I knew that Ry needed to go to the doctor.
His appt. was at 2:20 p.m.- We were sitting in the waiting room shortly after arriving and Ryan's Dr. happened to be walking by.  He took one look at Ryan and said that he wasn't sure without doing a 'nose swab' test but he would guess that he had Influenza- 10 minutes later the test showed a positive  and we were off to the pharmacy to get the recommended (and fairly expensive) 'Tami Flu'....

Blast!!! It is the flu- Sorry Ryan, mommy hates to see you so sick :(

Here's to praying it does not spread around our family.....

2 Years Ago- Evacuating for a Tsunami

An interesting blog post from 2 years ago today- one I wrote while we were living in Hawaii:

Friday, March 11, 2011

Tsunami Warnings- getting ready to evacuate- UPDATED FRI MORNING!

- 10:11 p.m. Thurs. March 10, 2011: The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has issued a Tsunami Warning for the Hawaiian Islands.

I decided to blog while I am waiting to evacuate our house. The Tsunami Warning was issued due to a large earthquake in Japan that may send a Tsunami to the Hawaiian Islands. I'm going to blog my way through this cause honestly.....I look forward to reading it after this is all over :) If my writing comes across as babble it's because I am going to keep this real and raw and not edit after I finish- So bear with and I will take you on this journey with me.

For those of you who have not been to visit us here in Hawaii we live right on the ocean- we can not see the ocean from our house because of a small knoll in the way but what we lack in sight we make up for in sound. It has been my chronic habit to sleep with a second source of noise because frankly, hearing the waves crashing freaks me out.

Our weather here tonight is partly cloudy and a bit breezy- We just filled our vehicle with gas (from jugs here at the ranch), the boys have packed a few things, and I am getting ready to grab what I consider the things I can not live without: make-up, chi flat iron, and Coco Chanel perfume........no just joking! I'm going to be bringing a bin of keep sakes that I store under my bed, Oklie, my boys, and some food/water. We have our cell phone's charging and our local news (by way of TV) buzzing.

Poor Matt has a horrible cold- took NyQuil and is snoring soundly by me- such peace from my man. I will be waking him up as it get's closer to midnight.

Our plan tonight is to evacuate about midnight (Hawaiian Standard Time) and head to the top of the hill (see This Blog Post). We will stay at the top of the hill, listening to the news by way of our car radio until we get the 'all clear'. A positive to going to the top of the hill is I may get to hang out with Kelly- she is one of the Trust Member's daughter-in-laws that is visiting the ranch right now who I've enjoyed getting to know. She will obviously have to evacuate also- so Kell- wanna hang at the top of the hill?

As I watch the news on the Tsunami that hit Japan my heart just aches for the people. May God Bless and keep the people who are affected by the earthquake and tsunami. Our news caster on KHNL can not get in touch with his father who lives in Japan- I can not even imagine. Our news is announcing to limit our calls on our cell phones because of heavy traffic on the lines. Last year when we had the Tsunami Warning I remember my cell phone not working (It would get a busy signal when trying to call out). The estimated arrival time of the first projected wave is 3:07 pm-

10:40 P.M. I am going to sign off for a bit- will post another blog update soon

P.S.- Just learned that Kauai, Hawaii will be seeing the Tsunami first.

Thank you so much Lord Jesus that you have this complete situation under control. I lift up every single person affected by this. I also ask for strength and wisdom for all of the people both here on Hawaii and in Japan. I ask for peace- no matter what happens. I trust in you and Love you Lord Jesus.
_______________________________________________


11:55 p.m.-

Checking back in....in the last hour the news has reported that there were 3 small earthquakes on the Big Island (Hawaii)- the largest of the quakes being 4.5- They do not believe that it has anything to do with the earthquake in Japan. From what I could understand the earthquakes were centered in an area that see's frequent earthquake activity due to one of the volcano's.

Matt's still sleeping soundly so I think I'm going to wait to wake him up until 1:00 a.m.- the tsunami is still scheduled to hit at 3:07 a.m.- Our News Casters are assuring us that they believe a tsunami will be hitting (that it is not a 'maybe' anymore)- I think they say they believe from the data they are receiving from the buoy's reading out in the ocean the wave it will be about 2 Meters high or converted to feet- 6 ft.(http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/117783848.html)

I keep hearing that Waikiki Hotels are (Oahu) evacuating their guest's up- meaning that they are going to higher floors in the hotel instead of higher ground. That just settles weird with me. I think I would prefer higher ground as opposed to swirling water around me as I watch from a man made structure- I don't know, our situation, living so remote we do not even hear the tsunami sirens plus being right on the ocean may settle weird with the guests standing on the 6th floor of their hotel in Waikiki watching the tsunami swirl around them.

The News Caster that reported earlier he could not reach his father who lives in Japan (his father lives 50 Meters from where the earth quake happened) still can not reach his dad. He said that he is starting to get concerned. The good news is that his dad lives on high ground so probably was not affected by the tsunami- but may have been affected by the earthquake.

I will give one more post before we head up the hill- signing out for now
__________________________________________________________

March 11, 2011-12:45 a.m.

Thank you so much to all of our friends and family and our Trust Facilitator who have called both from the Main Land and from Hawaii to let us know about this Tsunami Warning- It is so so so so nice to know that you've got our backs :)
I will not have access to the internet again until after the projected Tsunami has hit Hawaii.
Of course I am optimistic that the tsunami will not cause damage- If, in fact, it does create more damage than projected please know (this is especially for our friends and family) that we will be on high ground and completely safe. Also, if for some reason you can not reach us via cell phone- We will call as soon as the lines open up and we get reception.
All the estimations for this Tsunami are the same- set to hit Kauai at 3:07 a.m.- If you are looking to follow what is going on I would recommend either the local Hawaiian station KGMB or The Star Advertiser

I'm bringing my computer with me and will continue this blog as things unfold- will post as soon as I have internet access again
_________________________________

2:45 am

Sitting at the top of the hill (have been gabbing with Kelly!!)- Getting news in that at the Mid Way buoy the wave measured 6 ½ feet. The good news is that the wave was supposed to hit Guam before it hits us and it has not hit yet. People in Guam are a little nervous to resume normal life because of the strong aftershocks still hitting Japan.

Weather up here is nice. Still just light cloud covers but thank goodness no rain. We watched a cruise ship head out of port- fully lit. We are assuming that is was going out to sea to ride out the wave- I consider this equivalent to going ‘up’ in a hotel instead of going to higher ground- Thank you very much I will just stay here in port before I would step foot on a cruise ship during a tsunami (I don’t care if it is safer).

My boys have a full blown bed set up in the back of our car. Unfortunately they are not sleeping but instead annoying each other and fighting- boys- enough already!

I have a consistent mixture of flying bugs landing on my screen and even one smashed on it- gonna sign off until after the exact time the Tsunami is supposed to be hitting.

3:06 am

You should hear all the tsunami sirens going off as the time the wave is supposed to hit is so close. The radio is saying that the wave has not hit as of yet- the 3:07 am that it is supposed to hit (right at this minute) is only a estimate not an ‘actual’ time.

The biggest thing on my mind right now is the poor people in Japan who have had so much devastation- And from what I hear on the radio, Japan is having strong aftershocks-

3:40 am

It is weird that it is completely pitch black- not being able to see the water and relying on the radio and news cast’s that friends and family are watching. Right now, from our radio announcer, we are hearing the first wave has hit Kauai but it was not as big as what they had thought. My friend Deb just text and said that the news is saying the wave measured .5 Meters at Pearl Harbor- I am thinking that .5 Meters is about 2 feet? The radio is playing ‘red red wine you make me feel so fine…’ The bugs are still crawling all over my screen- and my calm husband is sleeping again……..Geez babe, how much Nyquil did you take J

6:25 am

The sun is not quite coming up but dawn is breaking……….LIGHT!!!! There is something about being able to see what’s going on- I can’t quite see down to the beach we live on and have not seen the news or been on the internet since 12:45 am- but from updates I have gotten from family and friends and from the constant updates that the local radio station is giving I understand that our island is still getting small tsunami waves- A gentleman called in about an hour ago and said that a wave came in and covered a parking lot-

I am not going to harp on the obvious but it’s been a long night. I am grateful I am not homeless having to sleep in my car cause this just sucks- My knees have been jammed into my steering wheel and I ended up putting my pillow on the ground and wrapping my feet in it cause I am freezing (it’s in the 60’s here).

Just getting in info that the Big Island just reported a fairly large wave hitting the island?

Will check back in with this post in awhile…Tired, feeling a bit sorry for myself, but feeling worse for Japan

______________________________________________________________________

7:45 am

Just got down graded from a Tsunami Warning to a Tsunami Watch- going home

Ran by the beach (Bath tub) down here at the ranch- It's just weird- The waves can't seem to make up their mind what they want to do.

It's kind of unsettling being this close to the beach- The nice thing is I'm completely tired so I won't dwell on the weirdness for to long before I fall asleep. I took some pics that I will post later-

Thank you so much everyone for the prayers.

Goodnight

First Light 3/11/11- This is the view from where we evacuated to

This is one of the beaches on the ranch- If you look close you will see
how far out the water is- It receded this far in a matter of 60 sec, I
personally have never seen the tide out like this before.

This is the other side to the pic above

I shot this pic about a minute after shooting the original one above-
Show's how far the waves are coming in after receding

Showing the waves coming back in after receding- I noticed that the fire depart.
helicopter was checking out the waves as I was shooting this picture- They were to the right
so are not visible in this pic

Another beach here at the ranch- The water reached past the green
vegetation you can see on the right hand side. SO MUCH DEBRIS!

This pic was taken about an hour ago (1:20 Hawaiian Time) and shows
not only the debris washed up but also how far the tide is still out....is this normal??

A closer look at how far the tide is out.

The water went to the vegetation

It's hard to see in this pic but this area is usually a beach area- The water
has a current equivalent to a strong stream- The waves that washed in this morning went up past
the embankment and into the trees- My dog Oklie was completely fascinated with all the water.

Showing the 'strong stream' area from a different angle- If you notice the tree's in the
background, the water was up in those trees.

3/12/11- I did some checking to find out anymore information on the newscaster's dad that lives in Japan that could not be reached- I could not find anything on KHNL's website regarding it so I am assuming that he was able to get into contact with his dad after all. If I hear anything different than this I will make sure and post.

Not Just Old But As Good As Dead :)

There are just 'things' that are thought about differently when you are an older parent........Having spent a great deal of time in my late teens and early twenty's either pregnant or parenting 2 small children, the unique opportunity of comparing that experience to parenting an infant/toddler in my late 30's has been bestowed upon me.  While my boys will know the excitement of napless days and late nights, our Ellie will know the stability of the same nap/bed time pretty much every day (12:30 and 7:30)- This change in parenting did not happen because of a miraculous awakening in the 'structure' department but solely for the fact that this old mare needs a 15 minute power nap in the middle of the day and to be in bed by 9 p.m. every night- Exhaustion seems to be looming at the door if this routine is broken......Hence, more structure-  Oh the list could go on in comparing but that would take away from what I am really looking to blog about............

I was reading Hebrews 11:11-12 the other day and literally busted up laughing out loud (LOL!!)

If you read between the lines in the two verses above it is brimming with God's sense of humor.........A sense of humor that I would not have grasped had I not been parenting a toddler at my age.......

Hebrews 11 is known as the 'Hall of Faith'- It is commending those Christians (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, the prostitute Rahab, etc.) that have gone before us whose faith in the Lord was tested and found true......A very serious and inspiring Chapter of verses that have spurred on many in their Walk. 

But back to verses 11-12..........Here is what they say in the NIV version of my Bible:

'By faith Abraham, even though he was past age- and Sarah herself was barren- was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.  And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore...'

It was not at the first mention that Abraham was old that got me laughing- It was the second time........ 'he as good as dead'.............A nugget tucked away for those like me who are parenting wee one's and because of our age are exhausted by mid day (all the parenting is such a blessing but it can still be exhausting- Yes, age does play into the exhaustion!!)- Abraham and Sarah had a baby when they were Old....past age........and let's not just leave it there- let's put the icing on the cake, the cherry on the sundae.......Let's really drive this home........He was so old HE WAS AS GOOD AS DEAD!!!!!!!!!! AHAHAHAHAAAA!!! Then let's all of us older parents throw back our head together and bust up laughing.............hee hee hee!! Just goes to show that we are never to old to have wee one's around and it goes to show you that God's got a great sense of humor :)


Happy Tues!



Speaking of 'as good as dead' ........I took this pic of Elle's and I a couple of weeks ago during a bout of the flu-  I laid on my couch for an entire week with it and then spent the next week coughing up a lung-
Her smile is just too cute in this pic not to share!

An Update From Our Birth Mom Heather...

Several times a week I will get asked about Ellie's Birth Mom- Who is she?  Where does she live? etc...  As most of you know, we have an open adoption and have stayed in contact with Heather (Our birth mom) on a regular basis.  In July/Aug. of last year Matt, Heather, and I opened the door for questions about anything adoption related (to read all 6 posts click on these numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).  During this question time Heather answered the question a reader asked Matt and I 'Are you ever worried that Ellie's Birth Mom will want her back' (to read Heather's answer click on link 5 above).  This time around, I sent Heather a message with the top 7 questions we get asked about her personally (nothing to do with adoption).  See our conversation below:

From Me to Heather

Hey :) Have been meaing to ask you if you would feel comfortable doing an update on my blog- I get asked at least 3 times a week one or more questions about you and how you are doing. Basically what most people ask is

• Where you live?
•  How you are doing?
• What you are up to?
•  How is Caiden doing? (side note to this question: Our Ellie was Heather's 3rd child.  Ellie has 2 older biological brothers named Caiden and Justice (Joshua).  Heather placed Justice just after birth with a forever family, she is parenting Caiden (whom she brought out to Oregon), and placed Ellie with our famiily. 
• Are you and Rex still together- if not do you have a boyfriend (side note to this question: When Heather flew out to Oregon to deliver Ellie she brought her boyfriend Rex- Rex is not Ellie's biological father but is Heather's middle Son Caiden's father- Ellie's biological father Arthur and Heather broke up very soon after Heather became pregnant.  Rex came back into the picture shortly after Heather and Arthur broke up)
•  What do you do for a living, what do you do in your spare time?
•  And funny that this comes up so much but I get asked if you want more kids?

From Heather:

• I live in Georgia
•  I'm doing far better then I have ever done! i can geniunely say I'm happy- which I dont think I have ever been.
• Rex and I are not together. we were together off and on till caiden was 3. I think I have grown quite a bit in this last year and we will nver get back together. lol
• I am dating someone(a lot more casually then I have in the past!) he is 9 yrs older then me, has an excellent job and does not party or drink (much different then anyone ive ever dated before)
• Right now, I work as a housekeeper at a hotel and floor guard (referee) at the skating rink. both jobs I really like.
• For fun I play roller derby. I started in october. I didnt know how to skate at all and I was the only new girl (out of about 20!) to make the team. I'm pretty proud of that. (Caiden is REALLY good at skating now too ; ) )
• Do I want more kids? thats a tough one. I have lived a life of a complete irresponsibility. Things were always very chaotic and none of my 3 children were planned. the last year has built stability and accountability in my life. A part of me wants another child at home. For caiden to have a relationship with a sibling that he is missing out on with the brother and sister he has (altho he sees his brother every few months and will hopefully have more of a relationship with ellie as she gets older). I certainly have alot more growing to do and need to focus on Caiden right now. (and maybe even find the right man ; ) ) but, i dont see a child in my near future, if ever.

Thank you for being willing to share with us Heather- You are an amazing person and Matt and I are so proud of you!
We love you!!

Heather and Caiden 2012