Happy Birthday to Sophia! 8 years old!!!

Yesterday was Sophia’s 8th Birthday-It hardly seems possible that she is growing up so fast. She is loving, funny, smart, compassionate, kind and beautiful. We have been so blessed to have her as a part of our Eternal family.

She loves animals, her brothers and sisters, drawing, painting, she is even trying her hand at writing. She is a great little reader. She surprises me at when we have family Scriptures- she can read better than most adults. She is at the stage where she wants to pick her own clothes and do her own hair.

We love her so much and couldn’t imagine life at the zoo without her.

Happy Birthday Sophia!

Yesterday we went to look at a new rental and then it was her choice for dinner-so Little Caesars pizza and a cake the kids helped me make with chocolate ice cream. She said it was her best birthday ever- She will be getting baptized on Feb 4th- We are so proud of her. I will be posting pictures soon.

Our beautiful Sophia

Bella took this today when the kids where outside playing in the snow. I am going to have to hide my girls from the boys.

My beautiful Bella.

I am so lucky to have Bella as my daughter not only is she beautiful on the inside but she is a looker on the outside. Boys cover your eyes! She was put in a difficult situation a couple of weeks ago but did the right thing even when it was hard. We love you and are so proud your our daughter.

Happy New Year!!!! 2012

Well since we are such party animals this is how our new years eve went….

Mom and Dad going to bed early….Dad tired from working all week….Mom….migraine.

Kids sleeping in the family room…..not making it till midnight

Earlier we had our normal date night…..kids get McDonald’s…parents….Chinese…..

This past year has had a lot of ups and downs…..

UPs…..Dad got a new job and we moved to Junction City Oregon
Mom’s book The Amulet got picked up to be published by Whiskey Creek Press
We got licensed to be a full time foster family
We found out Jaxson is doing well with his Kidney
The kids are loving it up here….happy and thankfully now healthy
Dad has lost over 60 pounds and is feeling great!
Thanks to Harrisburg Gleaners we now have close to a 2 year food supply

downs…3 kids hospitalized
Roman for asthma
Ava for severe Flu
Jaxson had a severe, severe UTI-very scary
Mom found out that she has to have surgery for ademyosis

Let’s just say that hospitals have not been our friends. Here is hoping that this next year is better. Mom has to have surgery on Jan 25th. I am praying for a quick recovery. I have to fly to SLC for a check-up with the other insurance doctor and a depo with their attyn the same day.

I just wish that they could look at my life and see the daily pain that i deal with. Just because i have been living with it because i have a family to take care of doesn’t take away from the pain i suffer. I am praying that 2012 is a much better year.

Christmas 2011

We had a great holiday with our family. Earlier in the week we went to St.Helens and saw Twila, Destiny, and Alisha. We were hit by major snow but it was worth it.
On Christmas we got up let the kids have their stockings and went to church. IT was a beautiful service.

We headed home and then opened presents. Then hung out and Elder Maxfield and Elder Meldrum spend the evening with us. It was a great day.

Great Giveaway

Go check out @Pixel Lounge at www.blog.pixel-lounge-studio.de & enter that we are having an awesome Giveaway

Blessed, whether I remember it or not.

Right now is a hard time of year to remember all of the blessings we take for granted. We get so caught up in trying to make this time of year all our kids want instead of need. Our family is continually blessed by those angels around us. On Sunday we arrived home from church and on our doorstep was a bag from “the snowman”. It was addressed to Roman. Inside was a new super warm coat. The Friday before he had come home from school with a bag of new clothes for all my kids. It’s easy to want the bigger better life. I was reading back in our blog when Ava was born. Just short of 3 years ago. I remember the stress of having Grant been laid-off his job. I then flash back to Monday night. We went to his company Christmas dinner. It is so apparent how happy they are to have him working for them. He is happier then I have seen him in years. I am so grateful for that.

This week I signed on with Whiskey Creek Press. They will be publishing my book The Amulet. I am now working on the cover art and all that goes with publishing. It’s really scary and exciting at the same time. We are finally all approved for foster care. So now we wait for a placement and figure that all out. I found out that I will be going to SLC at the end of January to see the defendant’s doctor and to do my deposition. Sometimes i wonder if it’s worth all the fight and then i spend hours in pain and know that it’s because of something I didn’t do and it strengthens me.

I have been doing a lot with Harrisburg Gleaners. I was put in charge of the tree lot. It has been doing really well. But I look forward to it being done.

The kids are all doing really well. It is so rewarding to see them so happy. I constantly catch Bella singing to herself and when I pick her up from school she talks a mile a minute. All signs that she is blissfully happy.

I promise that i will continue to try to focus on all the good in my life and not the holes in my clothes and shoes and be glad that my kids have all the need in life.

It happened again.

Yesterday after a extremely long day with Gleaners and kids, i checked my e-mail. There waiting for me was a e-mail from another publisher wanting to publish my book! I had sent it to them the same time i sent it to the last one that ended up not working out. I was secretly hoping for this publisher because they do print books. They also do e-books. They offered me a contract and it looks really good. I have done quite a bit of research on them and it sounds like they had some issues in 2005 but that they have worked thru the bumps and now have a great following and success rate.

I guess that someone really wants my book published. I still can’t believe that this is the third publisher that likes it. So hopefully things will be happening soon.

Sneak peek

If you go here…..

http://www.wattpad.com/user/hollyzitting

you can read more of my book and get a sneak peek on my second book.

Picture fun

Here are a bunch of pics from Thanksgiving and since- one trip to Portland and our Christmas tree.