Christmas Eve

This year for Christmas Eve, Brokton cut his finger pretty deep with a box cutter while Steven was at work. Brokton was trying to open the back of Chantelle's old watch to see if he could find out why it would not work. So after 2 hours of running around, trying to see if it needed stitches we ended up back at home with a bottle of iodine & liquid bandages . We then attempted to make our traditional Christmas Eve Pizza. Once that was all done the Harris kids presented the Nativity Scene in their own special way. We then moved on to our yearly Christmas Pj's Party.




This was a Christmas Picture that we had taken last Sunday.



These were Chantelle's wonderful red Silkie Pj's.





This was Daddy's. P.S. Good news Steven's size large pjs were too big. Ok truth be known it was packaged wrong. Size lg top with a XXL bottom. Can't imagine how well proportioned that person would be!





Brokton Got his Red Snowman Pj's. (FYI the bloody nose he was experiencing had nothing to do with the color of the pjs.)



Evelyn & Jenai Got Matching nightgowns with scrunchies. (do you like the girls hair?)





After all was Quiet & ma was in her kerchief & I in my cap & all of our kids were settled down for a very short winters nap.( & I do mean NAP) We got to all of the wrapping & i don't mean the "musical" kind either.

Oh What a Party it was



We are so Close to being done & it's only only 2:31am



Ok it's now done



We thought about just sleeping underneath the tree, we were so exhausted & our kids were going to be up in like 2 hours anyways. We finally got to bed after showers & such at about 3:30am wow I feel tired just writting about it. I am sure it will it will all be worth it right?

Cute Kids

JH Being her normal Cheesy self


EH & JH Got new dresses from their aunt



this is our new Cat Gilbert named after Caillou's cat & that cat absolutely Loves BH

Red Flyer Wagon

BH & I worked on an old red flyer wagon, it was old rusted & falling apart i sure wish I had a picture of it before we started the project.



BH really loves his new wagon



We sanded,scraped,painted, bought all new screws bolts & put her all back together modeled after lightning McQueen of course.

So What Exactly Have We Been Up To?

Looking at our Blog you would have thought we had abandoned our efforts to keep everyone informed as to what we are up to on this end of our world. Rest Assured we have no abandoned our blog instead we have updated it to include for pictures & other fun features. Last time I posted was Oct 11th our lives have been anything but boring since then. As you can see from the slide show we have been working on our house & trying to have fun in between. We were going to have a Halloween party this year but EH got sick the morning of so we moved some of he party events up a few days. As you can see JH is trying so very hard to get that apple.



BH is showing off his skills at grabbing the ghost peep with no hands



EH is playing the music for the family Harvest Festival



Momma is showing how much fun she is having, yummy want some?

So What Have We Been Up To?

looking at our Blog you would have thought we had abandoned our efforts to keep everyone informed as to what we are up to on this end of our world. Rest Assured we have no abandoned our blog instead we have updated it to include for pictures & other fun features. Last time I posted was Oct 11th our lives have been anything but boring since then. As you can see from the slide show we have been working on our house & trying to have fun in between. We were going to have a Halloween party this year but Evelyn got sick the morning of so we moved some of he party events up a few days

October News Letter

Steve & Chantelle Family,

The last few months have been busy as usual. We have been filling our days with kids, school, and keeping the resident dirt monster in the house at bay. BH is doing very well with home school this year. I got a comprehensive workbook for him. The week before school BH and I sat down and put together work packets of about 4 worksheets. As I had just gotten a new stapler he was very excited about he wanted to staple them. So we made a deal. If he stapled them he was agreeing to complete the work. This has been a wonderful tool to call on when he gets 1/2 a worksheet from finished and wants to quit. BH is also improving in his behavior overall. Although we are entering our hard time of year with him he is trying very hard not to "go off the deep end" with anticipation for the upcoming holidays and events. (Every year we have major problems from the time they set the Halloween stuff out at the stores until they put the Christmas things away.)

EH is in public school for Kindergarten and loving it. She is a perfect little angel at school. I was worried that she would get bored with the work as we did kindergarten with her at home last year. I only put her in to get her more acclimated to sitting and listening to learn. Instead of getting bored when she is done with her work she helps other kids. I think she is so excited to be in school that she hasn't noticed that she isn't learning anything new. That's ok with me.

JH is going through the following directions stage. You know the stage where they don't know if the should do what you tell them to. It is very disheartening for me as I had so enjoyed having one child who just wanted to follow directions. I'm sure this will work its self out. I just have to try and be patient in the mean time. She has so many cute qualities it is pretty easy to be patient. She has been making up cute little songs about everything. It is so sweet to hear her sing.

As for the whole family we had to take a shortened family vacation this summer. Steve had the whole week off but I had agreed to watch the daughter of BH's first teacher here the last week before school started. So instead of a week vacation we just went camping at Chippokes planation for 3 days. It is the longest operating farm in the country. We got to collect seashells and swim in the James River. We have some pictures posted of it on our blog. http://sorryumissedit.blogspot.com/

Steven has been busy as a bee with work. Then when he gets home the kids want 110% of his time so we have been staying up late just to get some time together. It has become almost a sacred time. The few hours you get to have and talk without kids saying "I want...(insert anything from the necessary to the ridiculous.)

Steve and BH refinished an old radio flyer wagon and painted it all up with a lightening bolt. They had a lot of fun at that. Steve also had the opportunity to go to the hospital and give a baby a blessing a few weeks back. There were twins born here and placed for adoption. The adopting family is an LDS family from Utah (Steve actually happened to have worked with the wife in SLC at the call center.) One of the twins was able to go home with his family but the other was sick still and couldn't leave. So Steve was called to give him a blessing. That was about a month or so ago. This Tuesday we got a call from the relief society president who the lady had stayed with saying the baby was dying and could he please assist in giving a name and a blessing before the baby died. So he went to the hospital to bless him. The relief society president's husband was the other one there. The r.s. president's family had gotten quite close with the mother as she stayed with them for 2 weeks when she came to pick the healthier baby up. The relief society president held the baby after they took all the cords off of him until he went home to his heavenly father. This was quite an experience for everyone involved. We were grateful to be a part of it, and were touched by his short little life.



As for me I'm just plugging away. I've been enjoying reading some political/economic blogs and commenting on them. It helps me feel like I have a link to the outside world. The one I like the most is by the guy that sent out the plan about the economy bail out. We are hoping to take a trip out west this next spring so we can see all of you.

Gluten Free Smores

Step 1: Smile really pretty and say "MO MASH MAWWOWS PEAS"


Step 2: Give marshmallows to Daddy to place on roasting stick aka skewer.


Step 3: Watch anxiously as the marshmallows are cooked to order.


Step 4: Inspect for proper level of doneness.


Step 5: Add cocoa pebbles, sit back and enjoy. (Spoons are optional)

P.S. To be more specific these are gluten (wheat, barley, rye, oats,) milk, egg, soy, nut free smores. But who's counting? :)

Vacation at the James River

This is the trail down to the James River. We were right across from James Town. BH is the orange speck you see down the trail 100 feet. You'll just have to imagine me as I am on the other side of the camera.




Shells!


Shells (I told him to show me his shell so he struck a pose!:)


Shells! EH loves every shell she found so I took pictures of the prettiest ones.


Shells!



and yes, MORE SHELLS. This river is brackish water which means part salt and part fresh. It is actually not very deep until you get quite far out. We all swam in it and had a ton of fun. Sorry no pictures of swimming something about cameras, water and really white skin just doesn't mix together well.

Summer is over School starts

We finished the summer off with a bang. We went camping at Chippokes Plantation State Park an hour away from here. It is the oldest continuously operating farm in the country! It is on the James River just miles (and a fairy ride) away from Jamestown. We got to drive our car onto a fairy. I was going to post pictures but we are having memory card issues.

Evelyn started kindergarten in public school. BH started 2nd grade homeschool. We are adjusting well. I will post pictures as soon as we get the kinks worked out.

 
So I tried to cut my hubby's hair. When I tried to touch up I was distracted (aka kids) and ended up doing some cutting with out the blade. Luckily I was able to fix it.

Aug family News letter

Alright it's time for another episode of the Harris Family news letter. THE END

So I guess I can't just leave it at that. Since the last news letter we have gotten our adoption approval!!! Our profile is now online: we could be chosen as a family for a new baby at anytime & from any state. Our profile is located at: http://www.providentliving.org/ses/birthmother/viewsingleprofile/0,12272,2133-1-9516,00.html


We have also updated our Blog recently http://harriseastcoastadventures.blogspot.com

We are getting read the new school year. We have decided to send EH to public school for Kindergarten (Chantelle's still not sure.) We think she will be able to get some of the good social skills that she needs. EH is very excited about having the chance to go to school, she talks about it almost everyday. This will also give Chantelle a chance to work with BH more one on one. BH has been getting home schooled this year. We have wondered all year if we were teaching him everything that he needed to be able to pass first grade. We got the chance to have him tested by his teacher from kindergarten (the one we liked) Mrs. Hodgins. He did very well in math. His reading & writing however needed a little bit more work but it was good enough to pass first grade, and continue with home schooling which is what he needs. JH is now 3 years old. For her birthday she got herself a big girl bed, she is very excited that she gets to sleep in her very own bed. She actually had to "earn" it by taking her naps when she was supposed to in her crib for the 3 months prior to her birthday. It was amazing she just operated on the faith that she would get it if she just did what we said. So she graduated from her crib on her birthday. On July 26th we had a party at our house for JH & Steven, we had a BBQ & a Mexican fiesta. Chantelle made homemade refried black beans, mom's recipe of Spanish rice, and we grilled fish for fish tacos. It was a hit and a lot of fun. We had about 39 people in all. We also got a kitten on the same day as the party. Now we have a new member of our family.

Chantelle's news of the month is she got a Cuisinart bread maker with a GLUTEN FREE setting on it (you have to do the breads a little different.) Shaunna found it at a yard sale for a buck! When Chantelle used it for the first time she realized the reason it was so cheap. The second part of the knead cycle wasn't working. So resourcefully she called Cuisinart after saying a prayer and sure enough they offered to send her out a brand new one to replace it. It was still under the warranty! So tonight we had some delicious Gluten, Milk, Egg, and Soy free bread. (It was also corn and nut free but luckily we're not allergic to those.)

That's about all for now. Wish we could travel out to see you all but three words stand in our way money, money and money.

RIDDLE

What do you get when you have 4 sensory kids, 1 princess, 2 crazy moms and water? A giant WATER FIGHT!

We had the kids out in the pool (except those that were grounded) and they kept splashing the princess who didn't know that she could splash them back. So finally this mommy got tired of the princess crying because she was splashed and the splashers never getting splashed back and took action. I helped the princess get a bucket and pour it on the instigating splasher. Well of course I got wet so I just jumped in with my clothes on and helped the splashers all get really wet. Then the other mommy joined in. Oh, and those who were grounded from the pool suddenly were ungrounded just for a free for all.

Just picture it two mommies in their 30's, a giant water obsessed 7 year old, a lanky 5 year old, and a not so giant water obsessed 5 year old, a 3 total sensory year old, and a tired almost 3 year old. With cups buckets, a hose, oh and did I mention that the pool was only 6 feet wide and 18 inches deep.

Needless to say we were all soaked and had a ton of fun!

Happy Birthday to Steven

So Steve turned 31 today. We had roast for dinner with potatoes and carrots. Katrina made him cake and a gluten free peach cobbler for us. She is sweet and always helping us out.

Jenai is sitting here playing that her naked water baby doll is her cousin Kiri. It is cute! Of course little does she know that as soon as I click post she is off to her bed.

We are all doing well and the summer is moving along swiftly. It seems like we get up eat, do some school (we go year round 3 days a week), eat lunch, have quiet time or some other activity eat dinner and then go to bed.

I just wanted to do a quick post to update so Steve can't say I never do it. (Now Jenai is saying that Steve is Uncle Brian and she is Josette. She of course convinced Daddy that she needs to cuddle with him instead of going right to bed.)

Time to tuck in! Have a good night all!

Harris Family June 2008 news Letter

Steve & Chantelle Family,

This couple of months have been busy and fun. Brokton finished his first set of hooked on phonics books. He did it in just under 2 months! He is making a ton of progress with good behavior and respect. He is listening more and I am finally feeling like we are doing it right!

Evelyn has also started reading. She will be kindergarten age this fall (the cut off here is Sept 30) and we plan on home schooling her as well. She is kind sweet and fun to be with.

Jenai is getting bigger all the time. She loves to hear stories and have me read books to her. Her favorite time of day (and ours) has become morning cuddle time. She comes in our bed and cuddles and watches Little Einstein’s or Wonder Pets.



We are all excited that our adoption process has come very far. We had to redo our background checks because of them being time sensitive but the adoption committee has approved us on everything. So once we get them back (any day now) we will be fully approved and able to be presented to birth moms/dads.

Steve has been sooooooooooo busy with work. It seems if he's not working he's sleeping or playing in the garden or trying to hide from Brokton who seems to think the two need to be inseparable and always in a "project". He enjoys his job and is learning a lot. If you haven't gotten to check the blog Steve got to go on a short cruise on the navy ship our neighbor Troy is commissioned on. He left about 5 am and got home around 6 or 7 pm. Troy's wife Katrina wanted to go to so that meant I got to brave 5 kids with varying needs 7 and under for the whole day. It was like having 3 sets of twins. Jenai and Anika (2 1/2 months apart), Evelyn and Collin (7 months apart) and Brokton who counts for 2 himself! :)

The subject of being BRAVE brings me to my adventures. We did a 3 day trip to Richmond, VA in May. We got to see the capital building which was designed by Thomas Jefferson. It was amazing to be there and see the history. Even more amazing though was our trip to the St. John's Church where Patrick Henry met with the other founding fathers in the second Virginia Convention 23 March 1775. There were 120 delegates present from the territory of Virginia. The delegates at the convention seemed as if they were voting against declaring independence when Patrick Henry got up and delivered the final speech for freedom ending with "I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death." Being in that room and hearing those words resonate made the hands of time fly by and you could almost hear the cries of hope and feel the Lords hand on them. It was amazing to be there. One thing I didn't know was that those for independence were 63 and against 58. Imagine what would have happened if Patrick Henry didn't say what God put in his heart. (Sorry I love history and I'm in the richest part of the country just had to share!)

The biggest BRAVE thing I did this last 2 months was take a 13+ hour road trip with the 3 kids by myself to see my brother graduate on June 4 in Dunedin FL. We left Tues am at 9 and by 10:00 had only made it to Jacksonville. I tried to stop for the night but I guess it was not supposed to be. The first hotel that Steve booked on Priceline only had a room with 1 queen bed and I didn't have a good feeling about it. So we drove on and got a room on the side of the highway somewhere to sleep. Well, no sooner had I pulled the little dears from the car to the beds than they were wide awake. So we paid $50 for a room that we used from 11:30 to 2:45. (The kids get to earn $ to pay for that one!) So I would drive for a while then slept then drove again then slept. We finally made it to Josette's house at 10:00 on Wed (the 4th.) The graduation was hot and the drive home was long but I would not have missed it for the world. It was great to see my family (my mom was there) and get to see my sweet little brother triumph the odds and graduate.

That's it for us. Hope you all are well.

Steve, Chantelle, Brokton, Evelyn, and Jenai

Steve & Chantelle Family,



This couple of months have been busy and fun. Brokton finished his first set of hooked on phonics books. He did it in just under 2 months! He is making a ton of progress with good behavior and respect. He is listening more and I am finally feeling like we are doing it right!

Evelyn has also started reading. She will be kindergarten age this fall (the cut off here is Sept 30) and we plan on home schooling her as well. She is kind sweet and fun to be with.

Jenai is getting bigger all the time. She loves to hear stories and have me read books to her. Her favorite time of day (and ours) has become morning cuddle time. She comes in our bed and cuddles and watches Little Einstein’s or Wonder Pets.

We are all excited that our adoption process has come very far. We had to redo our background checks because of them being time sensitive but the adoption committee has approved us on everything. So once we get them back (any day now) we will be fully approved and able to be presented to birth moms/dads.

Steve has been sooooooooooo busy with work. It seems if he's not working he's sleeping or playing in the garden or trying to hide from Brokton who seems to think the two need to be inseparable and always in a "project". He enjoys his job and is learning a lot. If you haven't gotten to check the blog Steve got to go on a short cruise on the navy ship our neighbor Troy is commissioned on. He left about 5 am and got home around 6 or 7 pm. Troy's wife Katrina wanted to go to so that meant I got to brave 5 kids with varying needs 7 and under for the whole day. It was like having 3 sets of twins. Jenai and Anika (2 1/2 months apart), Evelyn and Collin (7 months apart) and Brokton who counts for 2 himself! :)

The subject of being BRAVE brings me to my adventures. We did a 3 day trip to Richmond, VA in May. We got to see the capital building which was designed by Thomas Jefferson. It was amazing to be there and see the history. Even more amazing though was our trip to the St. John's Church where Patrick Henry met with the other founding fathers in the second Virginia Convention 23 March 1775. There were 120 delegates present from the territory of Virginia. The delegates at the convention seemed as if they were voting against declaring independence when Patrick Henry got up and delivered the final speech for freedom ending with "I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death." Being in that room and hearing those words resonate made the hands of time fly by and you could almost hear the cries of hope and feel the Lords hand on them. It was amazing to be there. One thing I didn't know was that those for independence were 63 and against 58. Imagine what would have happened if Patrick Henry didn't say what God put in his heart. (Sorry I love history and I'm in the richest part of the country just had to share!)

The biggest BRAVE thing I did this last 2 months was take a 13+ hour road trip with the 3 kids by myself to see my brother graduate on June 4 in Dunedin FL. We left Tues am at 9 and by 10:00 had only made it to Jacksonville. I tried to stop for the night but I guess it was not supposed to be. The first hotel that Steve booked on Priceline only had a room with 1 queen bed and I didn't have a good feeling about it. So we drove on and got a room on the side of the highway somewhere to sleep. Well, no sooner had I pulled the little dears from the car to the beds than they were wide awake. So we paid $50 for a room that we used from 11:30 to 2:45. (The kids get to earn $ to pay for that one!) So I would drive for a while then slept then drove again then slept. We finally made it to Josette's house at 10:00 on Wed (the 4th.) The graduation was hot and the drive home was long but I would not have missed it for the world. It was great to see my family (my mom was there) and get to see my sweet little brother triumph the odds and graduate.

That's it for us. Hope you all are well.

Steve, Chantelle, Brokton, Evelyn, and Jenai

Uune 2008 Family News letter

Steve & Chantelle Family,



This couple of months have been busy and fun. Brokton finished his first set of hooked on phonics books. He did it in just under 2 months! He is making a ton of progress with good behavior and respect. He is listening more and I am finally feeling like we are doing it right!

Evelyn has also started reading. She will be kindergarten age this fall (the cut off here is Sept 30) and we plan on home schooling her as well. She is kind sweet and fun to be with.

Jenai is getting bigger all the time. She loves to hear stories and have me read books to her. Her favorite time of day (and ours) has become morning cuddle time. She comes in our bed and cuddles and watches Little Einstein’s or Wonder Pets.

We are all excited that our adoption process has come very far. We had to redo our background checks because of them being time sensitive but the adoption committee has approved us on everything. So once we get them back (any day now) we will be fully approved and able to be presented to birth moms/dads.

Steve has been sooooooooooo busy with work. It seems if he's not working he's sleeping or playing in the garden or trying to hide from Brokton who seems to think the two need to be inseparable and always in a "project". He enjoys his job and is learning a lot. If you haven't gotten to check the blog Steve got to go on a short cruise on the navy ship our neighbor Troy is commissioned on. He left about 5 am and got home around 6 or 7 pm. Troy's wife Katrina wanted to go to so that meant I got to brave 5 kids with varying needs 7 and under for the whole day. It was like having 3 sets of twins. Jenai and Anika (2 1/2 months apart), Evelyn and Collin (7 months apart) and Brokton who counts for 2 himself! :)

The subject of being BRAVE brings me to my adventures. We did a 3 day trip to Richmond, VA in May. We got to see the capital building which was designed by Thomas Jefferson. It was amazing to be there and see the history. Even more amazing though was our trip to the St. John's Church where Patrick Henry met with the other founding fathers in the second Virginia Convention 23 March 1775. There were 120 delegates present from the territory of Virginia. The delegates at the convention seemed as if they were voting against declaring independence when Patrick Henry got up and delivered the final speech for freedom ending with "I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death." Being in that room and hearing those words resonate made the hands of time fly by and you could almost hear the cries of hope and feel the Lords hand on them. It was amazing to be there. One thing I didn't know was that those for independence were 63 and against 58. Imagine what would have happened if Patrick Henry didn't say what God put in his heart. (Sorry I love history and I'm in the richest part of the country just had to share!)

The biggest BRAVE thing I did this last 2 months was take a 13+ hour road trip with the 3 kids by myself to see my brother graduate on June 4 in Dunedin FL. We left Tues am at 9 and by 10:00 had only made it to Jacksonville. I tried to stop for the night but I guess it was not supposed to be. The first hotel that Steve booked on Priceline only had a room with 1 queen bed and I didn't have a good feeling about it. So we drove on and got a room on the side of the highway somewhere to sleep. Well, no sooner had I pulled the little dears from the car to the beds than they were wide awake. So we paid $50 for a room that we used from 11:30 to 2:45. (The kids get to earn $ to pay for that one!) So I would drive for a while then slept then drove again then slept. We finally made it to Josette's house at 10:00 on Wed (the 4th.) The graduation was hot and the drive home was long but I would not have missed it for the world. It was great to see my family (my mom was there) and get to see my sweet little brother triumph the odds and graduate.

That's it for us. Hope you all are well.

Steve, Chantelle, Brokton, Evelyn, and Jenai

Graduation Trip

Well, my kid brother Phillip just graduated from high school. I am thoroughly amazed for several reasons. First at how he pulled through and made it to graduation despite the odds. Second at how time flies. It seems only yesterday he was Brokton's age and being "Sound effect man" as I called him. (I guess all the noises are just part of being a boy.) The last reason I am amazed is that I actually took my 3 kids and made the 13 1/2 hour drive to Dunedin FL. Okay so that was the DRIVING time. That doesn't account for the kid delay. Let's just say it was a LONG trip there and back.

On the way there I decided to stop at a hotel. I was going to stay in Jacksonville but the hotel we booked on priceline only had a room with 1 queen bed and no roll-away anything! So I continued on and stopped at the Budget Inn on the side of the highway. They had a room that would accommodate us so we paid for a SECOND hotel room. No sooner did I pull my sleeping children from the car and put them in the bed than their eyes popped wide open, and they were ready to run. Surely this can't be happening to me I'm exhausted every part of my body hurts. I'm so tired my finger nails and hair hurt and they want to talk and play. No sooner had they laid down than I hear dear little well intentioned Evelyn say "Mama I don't feel safe here. The spirit is telling me not to stay here." I assured her it was safe. We prayed and thought it was taken care of. Everyone lays back down, we close our eyes and along comes the train which apparently runs about 200 feet from the room! Then I hear the others join in "It's not safe we need to leave." Every noise the heard their chorus started again. This was of course in between kids bouncing up and down, changing sleeping arrangements, and Brokton accidentally giving Evelyn a bloody nose when flopping on the bed.

So

USS James E Williams

On May 30th 2008, I had the wonderful opportunity of riding on the USS James E Williams; from York town VA to Norfolk VA. I was invited to go by my neighbor Troy Loyd, Troy is an officer aboard this ship. I had an amazing time, I got a full tour of the ship. While aboard the ship we tried on some of the fire fighting gear that is used in an emergency. While on our cruise we saw a demonstration of the big 5 inch deck gun. Taking this trip really made me want to go on a cruise. While we were out we came across a submarine & a Naval cruiser out there was out to sea.





Below are Some of the other things we saw & did while on our way. We got a chance to see how they play electronic war Games with other ships, as well as how they would handle things if they fell under attack. It was very windy out on the deck, they took the ship up to full speed @ 35 knots. We got the chance to meet some of the teams that work anti pirating & drug trafficking. This group boards ship to check cargo & make sure that everyone on board is supposed to be there.