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