Christmas and Birthday

Let it SNOW!

So its been a really busy couple of weeks for us. Because of the snow and road closures, we didn't get to go cut a tree this year. Instead we hit a local tree lot, it was still only about $20 (a tree permit is only like $5). The boys had fun decorating it.

I bought the boys Lightening McQueen light-up stockings when they were on clearance in July--they were a big hit too. With all of the excitement (and expenses) over the last few weeks, we decided to keep it simple this year.

Chris and I didn't exchange gifts or have stockings (although a couple of anonymous stockings arrived on our doorstep on Christmas Eve from a "friend" perhaps Santa). We gave the boys new PJs and fleece blankets. Santa brought Dallon the toy he begged for for months--the "Mater and the Ghost Light" Screamin' Banshee! Santa brought Jace an army helicopter, jet, and flight crews. It was soooo nice to keep it simple this year. So much less stress about how much we spent, or when we could get to the store and back without the kids seeing!

The boys also got some great gifts from family members. Jace is a dino lover, and also enjoyed some books, stuffed animals, and cars. Dallon got Handy Manny stuff! He is a Handy Manny fan (from Playhouse Disney on the Disney Channel).

The day after Christmas is of course Dallon's birthday! And boy was he into it this year! This year I really reflected on the year he was born. It started snowing just before Christmas, which we spent in Pendleton over the mountains from La Grande. Then on Christmas day we took a very long (2 hours instead of 45 minute) drive home on the snowy roads. I was in labor by the time we got home! He was born on a Friday, and his bday fell on a very snowy Friday this year.

We invited a few friends and had a snowman theme. We decorated cookies, made a craft, opened gifts and the kids played for a while. It was only about a 1.5 hours, and I'm so glad the weather and the holiday didn't keep us from having a good turn out. We had 8 kids and several parents there. I can't believe that he's 5! Where did the time go. He got more Handy Manny stuff, and lots of other great gifts from family and friends. Thanks to everyone who sent him a little something extra for his bday!

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We've settled in nicely with Bianca. The first couple of weeks were filled with "testing." We've been trying to be really consistent, and it seems to be paying off. We went tracking a couple times since the weather has improved, and yesterday she did great. I'm still getting use to having a dog follow me around the house. She and the cats are doing alright--only a few not so pleasant run-ins. Generally things are going really well.

So Happy New Year to all of our family and friends.

May this year bring you all great challenges and blessings as 2008 did for us! We're hoping to be able to travel a lot more in 2009--gas prices are much better, and we're no longer fundraising. So hopefully we'll be seeing many more of you in the months to come!

Dallon got to meet Santa!

On our last day of practice at the mall in Ohio, I decided to take Dallon to see Santa. I wish Jace could have been there, but he was already home in Oregon with Chris. Dallon was very excited, but of course had difficulty answering Santa's questions about his name and age. I don't think he told him what he wanted for Christmas, but we got some very cute pictures out of him!

Trying to tell Santa how old he is.

Santa gave him a little stuffed dog, and Dallon quickly named it Bianca. This was the first time he's gotten a chance to see Santa at a mall instead of a ward Christmas party. It was fun, and surprisingly we didn't have to wait in line that day--which was why we hadn't gone with both boys before Jace and Chris left.

We are finally home and settling in, although it still seems a little unreal to think about all we've done in the last 3 weeks. Since we didn't have a computer with us in Ohio, we were unable to update our blogs. Coming home less than 2 weeks before Christmas made it even more complicated for me to get to the computer and try to tell the LONG story of our adventure. So this is a watered down version starting from the beginning.
Dallon and I flew out of Portland on Friday Nov 28th, the day after Thanksgiving. We arrived late that night (very early on Saturday). After a little rest, and with it being a nice day out, we decided to head to the Columbus Zoo.
The zoo was massive! I heard later that it usually takes more than one day to see it all. We only hit about 1/3 of the exhibits before the crowds started pouring in for their nightly "wildlights". The zoo was covered in Christmas lights and playing Christmas music. Once the crowds came in, it was too much for Dallon, and we were pretty tired from our travels anyway. Above is a picture of Dallon with the world's largest python named Fluffy.

Dallon eating the cookie he got to decorate in a building where they had model trains of all sizes set up in little villages.

He loved the aquariums that we got to see, and this alligator snapping turtle especially caught his eye.

On Monday night Chris and Jace arrived, and early Tuesday we headed to 4 Paws for our first day of training, and to meet Bianca! After what seemed like forever, it was finally our turn to meet our new dog. She came out happy to see anyone with treats. Dallon really enjoyed being the treat giver. She didn't get much time with us before it was lunchtime, but after lunch we did our first obedience work with her. The first day was not what we expected! We didn't realize that we actually needed to build a relationship with our dog before she would willingly listen to us. That's where the treats came in handy.

We did take her back to our room with us that night. And we had a great time playing with and getting to know her.

Each day was a little different. The first couple of days were all about obedience. On the third day we started tracking and going to the mall for our public access work. It was quite a scene to see our group along with all of the kids and 11 dogs in the mall!

Jace being a show-off in the mall play area. He's such a ham!

We also continued our obedience work each day, some in the morning at the training center, and we were required to practice on our own each night. It was amazing to see the change in Bianca once she got to know us. She bonded with Chris really quickly, and soon was picking our Dallon and Jace in a crowd.

Tracking was an experience. It was cold, wet, warm, windy, you name it we did it at least once. One morning while we were waiting it was snowing, and each snow flake was so perfectly formed, we had to take some pictures. It was beautiful, but I don't know about living in that unpredictable Ohio weather all year!

Waiting to go tracking. The boys weren't too sure about having the dog squeezed in with them in the back seat. She would get SOOOO excited about tracking--which is what we want, so we didn't discourage the over-excitement when she would get really anxious waiting for our turn.
Jace and Chris had to head back to Oregon on Dec 10 because Chris had to be at work on the 11th and 12th. So for the last 3 days, I had a couple of volunteers come to training with Dallon and me. It turned out to be a great test of Bianca's tracking skills. Since she didn't know the volunteers, we knew for sure she was tracking Dallon's scent those last couple of days--and she pulled hard and knew what she was looking for!

Graduation finally come on Dec 12th. We did our public access test at the mall and got ourselves ready to go so we could head to Columbus after graduation was over. We did the final paperwork to make Bianca officially Dallon's certified service dog and waited for everyone else to complete their paperwork. It was very hectic, but we survived.

More graduation pictures.

On Saturday morning we got up early and headed to the aiport. Our flights were long, and extra cramped with a dog at our feet. But generally it went very well. We arrived in Portland at about 1pm and after being picked up with Chris' mom and dad, going to his grandparent's house to pick up our car, getting packed up and fed, we were on the road a little after 2:30pm. We made one quick stop, and as we were driving into Hermiston the heavy rain turned to snow, and it hasn't really stopped since!

This is our 3rd winter in Hermiston, and 2 of the 3 have had a significant amount of snow--which is not that typical for the area. Dallon went to one day of school this week, and the rest of the week was cancelled. In total we've gotten over a foot so far, and it is supposed to start again on Sunday and continue until Wednesday.

The boys and dog have been loving the snow, and it really makes it feel like Christmas. We did a little shopping, but not much since we've received so much already this year! We are in the Christmas spirit, and have gotten our tree up and decorated and are happily awaiting a beautiful white Christmas this year!
Happy Holidays, and a huge THANK YOU to everyone we know and love. We are so blessed to have known and been connected to such generous people.
God Bless, and Merry Christmas!

We are home!

Yes we made it home, and Bianca is with us. We are still busy getting life back together at home, so I don't have much time to post. I'll try to get a post with some picts together in the next few days. Just know that we are safe, healthy, and happy with our newest family member. We traveled well with only a few small mishaps and nothing major.

It is shocking to suddenly be home with only 10 days till Christmas! We have much to do, and adjust to. We'll try to stay in touch over the next couple of weeks, but I don't expect life to feel normal until well into the new year.

Happy Holidays, and Merry Christmas, and thank you for all of your love and support!