tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48721117445357125942024-03-04T20:02:42.987-08:00Adventures Of The Chellson FamilyI'm a mom blogging about her daily adventures and survival in raising 2 boys and a husband! Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845378458318433437noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4872111744535712594.post-75207294100830238442015-02-07T20:11:00.000-08:002015-02-07T20:11:50.906-08:00Update Time<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">Why, hello there….soooooo… as you can see this post is about 6 months over due….Life has been so busy, it’s wonderful and crazy and I wouldn’t have it any other way!! In my last post I talked about going to court and being named parents to our little girl “Baby C”…Well good news we passed court on August 14th and brought out sweet girl home September 4th!!! I know I had promised a name announcement for “Baby C” so without further waiting here is:</span></div>
<div style="min-height: 13px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Madeline Amelia Chellson</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju9Lewd4v4Q9hdCO_R4qjqiDFTjdhn18Xd7a8yk8h9SJR_XT4K0038ATcbknBKQaIUGERvpQuVyW7PE67zcheDrXy0l0Z2XBZFA48Hu6W38Jp6biJG4knaO-ZPMnAIZuzxaq0RFG5TDHgo/s1600/10600553_10204527706732105_5350573978443065912_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju9Lewd4v4Q9hdCO_R4qjqiDFTjdhn18Xd7a8yk8h9SJR_XT4K0038ATcbknBKQaIUGERvpQuVyW7PE67zcheDrXy0l0Z2XBZFA48Hu6W38Jp6biJG4knaO-ZPMnAIZuzxaq0RFG5TDHgo/s1600/10600553_10204527706732105_5350573978443065912_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 13px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">This little girl is awesome!!!….She has grown so much since being home and continues to show us what she's got on a daily basis. She is sitting up, army crawling like nobodies business, and working on pulling to a stand, as well as, wrapping us around her little fingers on a daily basis. She has learned how to fake cry for attention, which makes me laugh every time she does it, she is talking up a storm and we will hopefully have some speech therapy going in the next few weeks….The last few months have been filled with lots and lots of family time for us and in the new year we’ll be working on getting her to meet more of our friends but for right now we are adjusting and enjoying our family of 5!! </span></div>
<div style="min-height: 13px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I would love to write this long recap of our last few months but honestly I’m not sure I can totally remember…I can say life is good and my heart is filled with loads of love, laughter and happiness on a daily basis. In exchange for a not so lengthy recap, here are some pictures of our little family over the last few months…Happy looking and have a great week!!! </span></div>
<div style="min-height: 13px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">Love, </span></div>
<div>
<div style="font-family: Zapfino; text-align: left;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Melissa</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Zapfino; text-align: left;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkJGNkELPtmmi0aw5rWKIDhmcKGeSyamWgt9f0F58TU2ihn5er_91Ks6MjZvWxqELcBnPwGOOBQZcmwTSNw9pHQ5An2gMG6PG1-6R5G4kdqwmodxCypOuGt0hvFuYaQYIfMc96GSCMSITm/s1600/10712728_10205426719806870_8815409132891237731_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkJGNkELPtmmi0aw5rWKIDhmcKGeSyamWgt9f0F58TU2ihn5er_91Ks6MjZvWxqELcBnPwGOOBQZcmwTSNw9pHQ5An2gMG6PG1-6R5G4kdqwmodxCypOuGt0hvFuYaQYIfMc96GSCMSITm/s1600/10712728_10205426719806870_8815409132891237731_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">They love each other so much!!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUG3pQ9RIWRr3jGPWwDJAif3VDF95TOkab_TNRWlE10Gh7cdTC7VNNKeAs0ehDuQYU2s5CNLVsi-uRtmLVR1bz4QY9VCQrF4DO3Q_MCjE2mDAAigGfT6PPGUoFFXFsrlp5RO9Ul-o_Dpaw/s1600/10666072_10204914816409605_221690351671944355_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUG3pQ9RIWRr3jGPWwDJAif3VDF95TOkab_TNRWlE10Gh7cdTC7VNNKeAs0ehDuQYU2s5CNLVsi-uRtmLVR1bz4QY9VCQrF4DO3Q_MCjE2mDAAigGfT6PPGUoFFXFsrlp5RO9Ul-o_Dpaw/s1600/10666072_10204914816409605_221690351671944355_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">~My average weekend nap partners~</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGyDzFIULMRn_BDZVKvsZlG8yP2_AYQVOR0tb-XYrv2qIXBTXWewYTQD7hy6T-ohiglgotjq2dX6OoQrEJisS8owZTGHZZHAa5qbTCOaWMXn2brWzJb8tKLme7hkqMJShFZJiDV7Dn6Sq/s1600/10665727_10204881574538579_5073935124793179068_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGyDzFIULMRn_BDZVKvsZlG8yP2_AYQVOR0tb-XYrv2qIXBTXWewYTQD7hy6T-ohiglgotjq2dX6OoQrEJisS8owZTGHZZHAa5qbTCOaWMXn2brWzJb8tKLme7hkqMJShFZJiDV7Dn6Sq/s1600/10665727_10204881574538579_5073935124793179068_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Misha lost his first tooth in the past few months!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiclUu7IKdWdicUWlJq-TRTYlDLzfVDu37jjEng4BQJ4MEhNXwgaX2Bvx_poGs8bKRvJ-EKqXiGXlhuqYiK2DauubGJ1EW44klPZVMxf5pcRpump7wP3GZ4nx49vjcEkjbrZVBnnmQLFfnP/s1600/10378314_10204559265081044_3509397766134823322_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiclUu7IKdWdicUWlJq-TRTYlDLzfVDu37jjEng4BQJ4MEhNXwgaX2Bvx_poGs8bKRvJ-EKqXiGXlhuqYiK2DauubGJ1EW44klPZVMxf5pcRpump7wP3GZ4nx49vjcEkjbrZVBnnmQLFfnP/s1600/10378314_10204559265081044_3509397766134823322_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">~Ryan & Misha's First day of 4th Grade and Kindergarten~</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpcfx_E1np3Nn17V7nrUOLupCHXElU1UOIODeg7uA6amyRcwixH5_NOIkb4F2MPdJkSnnPeaKN-rtJYfA5CbpEc191VJ1Wvmj9H7yTJCvfdJXGriLlIl8KQ2HR-iDOo5hqFtRRSpCAV1nJ/s1600/10409526_10204895752373016_6493100789790431518_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpcfx_E1np3Nn17V7nrUOLupCHXElU1UOIODeg7uA6amyRcwixH5_NOIkb4F2MPdJkSnnPeaKN-rtJYfA5CbpEc191VJ1Wvmj9H7yTJCvfdJXGriLlIl8KQ2HR-iDOo5hqFtRRSpCAV1nJ/s1600/10409526_10204895752373016_6493100789790431518_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Date night with my favorite guy!!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9V0hVCu8PvPFlB7FfZOdhDi6IT_wnjEGcFP48_WqAn5jhEWuaHhNWVGJGPKNGcXm0BWgqfy7OfQxvhJ4FU2Z-OVt9d2GH6z4I6bkH0xv5CVLe_BY77khnbeMv93q-aH2h9F2EvpRbqifj/s1600/10450746_10205115204579184_2207114131525980105_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9V0hVCu8PvPFlB7FfZOdhDi6IT_wnjEGcFP48_WqAn5jhEWuaHhNWVGJGPKNGcXm0BWgqfy7OfQxvhJ4FU2Z-OVt9d2GH6z4I6bkH0xv5CVLe_BY77khnbeMv93q-aH2h9F2EvpRbqifj/s1600/10450746_10205115204579184_2207114131525980105_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">~Madeline's 1st pumpkin patch visit~</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHVu4xnPZG0q4bMQxXUHoRBZndHcjB9L58ArREAYjXWM7EZJ5AF9Z-hmaPu-vKQkze0nH2NTBses01rvWkLvCiUf9uvZCzbj-1X23LN_A0zn8v0Ke9TZCuk5jxek9u2lWAm0c1J6gnJXs/s1600/10610668_10205305473415786_27886897019305959_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHVu4xnPZG0q4bMQxXUHoRBZndHcjB9L58ArREAYjXWM7EZJ5AF9Z-hmaPu-vKQkze0nH2NTBses01rvWkLvCiUf9uvZCzbj-1X23LN_A0zn8v0Ke9TZCuk5jxek9u2lWAm0c1J6gnJXs/s1600/10610668_10205305473415786_27886897019305959_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> ~I ran my 4th 1/2 marathon~</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwWOtyeoSrtyDsWd0ShIBhkBjpQ9xiy2CNprWhyphenhyphenwH8HFGjJASt7X4n0f-U6l3Vb8UTzG6Dk3bZ1Ner5eD7dGIWztKUQQe2SUEOQ6b4-qRVQKHlzfqKGH58xlPBRYZvcOmAxhS-FmQM1je6/s1600/10639383_10204735750573071_704428150728778720_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwWOtyeoSrtyDsWd0ShIBhkBjpQ9xiy2CNprWhyphenhyphenwH8HFGjJASt7X4n0f-U6l3Vb8UTzG6Dk3bZ1Ner5eD7dGIWztKUQQe2SUEOQ6b4-qRVQKHlzfqKGH58xlPBRYZvcOmAxhS-FmQM1je6/s1600/10639383_10204735750573071_704428150728778720_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">~Ryan loves his sister~</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh04vqhgNUelTJjC9b4hqs2tK_sN2xBTvlBWAWx1DxgX-E_xsscCoMYD-AkI2Ld455OQMKzpBLibCJyXEQv3rualz-Od5qyogRkvPRFEzyjrBCstW_HR51Ga3C-4CbnVu1sxmFYH_UjECbU/s1600/10290667_10204943489646418_4226966791096708848_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh04vqhgNUelTJjC9b4hqs2tK_sN2xBTvlBWAWx1DxgX-E_xsscCoMYD-AkI2Ld455OQMKzpBLibCJyXEQv3rualz-Od5qyogRkvPRFEzyjrBCstW_HR51Ga3C-4CbnVu1sxmFYH_UjECbU/s1600/10290667_10204943489646418_4226966791096708848_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">~Working on their sharing and play skills~</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkD5TfW8V3v8pYde9VdQdmwRB7GfmDKLGhkgkr6N4tOjS48CqHvmbWkHiH2f2A9FxjQZKtsas_muROFhTq_H4QiIoG8-BS1wPaoFQStddJG3JS8qCLwUpgn0cAg3bUmQ_chAe0Srd5nUQ2/s1600/1901705_10205142726867224_3551535649999801550_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkD5TfW8V3v8pYde9VdQdmwRB7GfmDKLGhkgkr6N4tOjS48CqHvmbWkHiH2f2A9FxjQZKtsas_muROFhTq_H4QiIoG8-BS1wPaoFQStddJG3JS8qCLwUpgn0cAg3bUmQ_chAe0Srd5nUQ2/s1600/1901705_10205142726867224_3551535649999801550_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">~Mommy-Son date to watch the Oregon Ducks Play~</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2LT9PcoyUQbmmWveMrw6sQwpciB6Q4uIS5UUlF4C_G4td3wW1WR1rqvvhmGCXg1Dd5EjaIho3N9UXJtBvPBT8iuS_KSc0DIUIwEscGL7EZrqBCofYjhm_47oKE5_Bno7Lt3yXhfYJiKTj/s1600/1496637_10205412946102536_6567300819213730014_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2LT9PcoyUQbmmWveMrw6sQwpciB6Q4uIS5UUlF4C_G4td3wW1WR1rqvvhmGCXg1Dd5EjaIho3N9UXJtBvPBT8iuS_KSc0DIUIwEscGL7EZrqBCofYjhm_47oKE5_Bno7Lt3yXhfYJiKTj/s1600/1496637_10205412946102536_6567300819213730014_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Someone can get herself into the sitting position without help!!!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAAr5E2BDGS_3IOk-utFnp18Izw2B8do8zmMC8SR42xhiTJTUSXSc6SA9aXP0PlEZm-xlfxIbZ-3dkEB1kT7-1TdnIhuUMWtN5b6op4DDtR-BEbuCQQw9qUY2XywNj5y6WgsurZGox7Jr3/s1600/1487323_10205310578543411_2616013309999286128_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAAr5E2BDGS_3IOk-utFnp18Izw2B8do8zmMC8SR42xhiTJTUSXSc6SA9aXP0PlEZm-xlfxIbZ-3dkEB1kT7-1TdnIhuUMWtN5b6op4DDtR-BEbuCQQw9qUY2XywNj5y6WgsurZGox7Jr3/s1600/1487323_10205310578543411_2616013309999286128_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> ~First trip to Disneyland~</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Z6OeOuaCfySxdYh848A7Wr8YOSds4u4uGZcSz1qkYFNRueWfYxOUz9KeI_RKlfPFdtDEfVrBpIbx7v_cKt-faOVcdsK0pFsvqf-NiFoblwS0yVRaNlV0xrhdVq4N8rSlKLEoBWruYf6J/s1600/934871_10205315634109797_2240202955660949195_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Z6OeOuaCfySxdYh848A7Wr8YOSds4u4uGZcSz1qkYFNRueWfYxOUz9KeI_RKlfPFdtDEfVrBpIbx7v_cKt-faOVcdsK0pFsvqf-NiFoblwS0yVRaNlV0xrhdVq4N8rSlKLEoBWruYf6J/s1600/934871_10205315634109797_2240202955660949195_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Happy Holidays~ Love, The Chellson's</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845378458318433437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4872111744535712594.post-61298689069189709112014-08-13T10:19:00.001-07:002014-08-13T10:26:23.710-07:00Just Another Wednesday Post....<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hello, Hello, Hello Everyone!!! I hope this blog finds you all doing well. The last few weeks have been kind of crazy since we were not able to visit with ‘Baby C’…well I have exciting news!!! On Monday we started our visits with our Little Miss!! Monday we visited for about 2 hours at the hospital because really two weeks of being told “tomorrow she’ll be back at the orphanage” was enough!! While at our visit we were informed that our girl would be headed back to orphanage in the morning and we would be visiting there tomorrow. So for the least 3 days we have been falling so in love with our little girl!! I love my boys more then anything but there is something so magical about getting to add this little lady to our family. She is beautiful, sweet and silly. Tomorrow we have court and we officially announce her name as well post her picture!! Right now we are trying to keep everything low key but tomorrow once we pass court I will post away!!! So what’s next you may ask….Well Saturday we fly home to get our boys back in the school routine and then I head back the following Saturday to finish up the process and bring our girl home!! Hopefully by Labor Day weekend we will be home with our daughter and enjoying our family of 5!! :)) </span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 13px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So now that I’ve brought you up to speed I’ve got a quick little fundraiser for you….About a week ago I was asked by a sweet young adoption advocate if we needed any more funding and I thought we were good. BUT then I realized when I calculated our funding I left out some of the fees (i.e. Visa and medical appointment) we have to pay when I come back to finish our paperwork to bring ‘Baby C’ home. So we are about $500 dollar short….This same advocate has offered up doing a small matching grant to help us get to being totally funded….So here is the fundraiser: For every </span></span><b style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">$5</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> you donate your name will be entered into a drawing for a </span></span><b style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">$25</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> gift card of the winners choice!! We are running this fundraiser between tonight and Sunday evening OR once we reach </span></span><b style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">$150</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">…whichever comes first!! If you donate please comment here OR on </span></span>Facebook (once I post it there) and I'll add your name to the drawing!! Here's the link to donate: http://reecesrainbow.org/70626/sponsorchellson-2</div>
<div style="min-height: 13px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I hope you all are having a wonderful week!! </span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 13px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Love,</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="font-family: Zapfino; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Melissa</span></div>
Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845378458318433437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4872111744535712594.post-88090350387129253942014-08-02T11:58:00.000-07:002014-08-02T11:58:25.531-07:00Time for an update<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Happy Saturday Everyone!!! I hope this post finds you all doing well. I want to first apologize for my lack of blogging…Things have been a little crazy and sitting and writing hasn’t come to me like it did in our last adoption travels. In my last post I wrote about an Instagram auction and the fact that we have got our travel date. So as you can guess we are currently in country finalizing the process of adopting Baby ‘C’…We got here on the 23rd of July and have been going ever since. We had our appointment to get her referral on the 24th, which went well, and went back to pick up the referral on the 25th. Unfortunately we weren’t able to go over to the orphanage that afternoon because the director was on vacation and wouldn’t be back until Monday…so we played tourist all weekend (I’ll post pictures below) with another family and had so much fun!! Monday came and we were picked up around noon and went off to the notary office to have some papers made up and then headed to the orphanage. Here’s where it gets a little wild….When we arrived at the orphanage we were told we’d be going over to the hospital since Baby ‘C’ had been taken there that morning for “rash” caused by her dermatitis/eczema. Before we went to the hospital we met with the director, social worker and our facilitator…we were given all her medical information which overall is good. She’s had heart surgery, has dermatitis/eczema, and few other minor needs….she weighs around 17lbs. and has some serious meat on her bones. Which makes this mommy’s heart happy. After we found out all the family and medical history we were whisked off to the hospital to meet her. Y’all (yes, I’m using my southern twang here…haha) we are soo in love with this girl it’s not even funny!!! They brought her our and she was more amazing then I could have ever imagined!!! She has SUPER blonde hair, and big blue eyes and just beautiful. We cuddled with her for about 10/15 minutes before we had to give her back to the nurse and we gave the absolute YES we are for sure adopting her!!! The only downer to all of this is we can not visit until she is out of the hospital…she will be back to the orphanage sometime this weekend and we’ll hopefully get the go ahead to visit monday morning. :)) Over the last week we’ve been exploring and enjoying this amazing city 2 of our 3 children are from and I am falling more in love with this place then I did in our first adoption. Thursday we met with our facilitator to sign some papers and were given a run down of what was going on….our facilitator is trying to get the same judge we had for our first adoption BUT she is going on Vacation on August 11th….so this means if she says yes we could have court as early as FRIDAY!!!! The only iffy part is the paperwork they submit to the Ministry or Adoption (I’m not totally sure if that’s what it’s called…but it works(: ) typically takes TWO weeks to finish…IF we have court friday we would need the Ministry to finish our papers in ONE WEEK AND TWO DAYS!!!!! This would make us the fastest adoption ever to be done here in this city and would cut a HUGE amount of time off our finalization process!! So, if you have a second please say a prayer, send good vibes, think happy thoughts or whatever you may do to allow this to all happen fast and easy!! We’d be forever grateful and thankful if this played out the way we’ve been told. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So now you’re all caught up to speed!!! Once we start visiting I’ll have more to write about and once we find out some news I’ll update!! We hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!! </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Love,</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Melissa</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Pictures from our outings...</span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The remaining encampment from the recent revolution.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYK1jXTlFLGMptt-zZVTt2Kv_NmL7AXjqakEBVpyv6Vz5z_otl1VCBkF-ca9pBy_G6KWgfbX2tCKJ5HZLoOkE5rFXLqXxbE-zbVxh9OQVllog7EXHfuuUqLbJ8iwJh_4XBYOxjNVad9ZPf/s1600/10401393_10202369264452566_6677184379777368345_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYK1jXTlFLGMptt-zZVTt2Kv_NmL7AXjqakEBVpyv6Vz5z_otl1VCBkF-ca9pBy_G6KWgfbX2tCKJ5HZLoOkE5rFXLqXxbE-zbVxh9OQVllog7EXHfuuUqLbJ8iwJh_4XBYOxjNVad9ZPf/s1600/10401393_10202369264452566_6677184379777368345_n.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> One our favorite places to eat.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNO8XBEdgRFrCFe9gydw1OtmzyOFPsFJ36j5eXNiZNhh8rZqOypnXDP-QLFvh01qqYDD252IuJX-OwGZG3o-gj-NHzhQSUvXvl1L1bDOGTcLmeW3bL4W9WTA7jurN-M2fLZTi1O7OWuD1/s1600/10423749_10202373783885549_2438065566020923813_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNO8XBEdgRFrCFe9gydw1OtmzyOFPsFJ36j5eXNiZNhh8rZqOypnXDP-QLFvh01qqYDD252IuJX-OwGZG3o-gj-NHzhQSUvXvl1L1bDOGTcLmeW3bL4W9WTA7jurN-M2fLZTi1O7OWuD1/s1600/10423749_10202373783885549_2438065566020923813_n.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> The entrance to the SCARIEST elevator ride I've ever taken at our first apartment.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgAv-Hd2l7gyoJKqzi017K46glVnTlMiZH5-J-KLBHK33o0tusIBzNvHq9pKGaqgRVcBrBqcD-TR2ULI1lUn9ZihAXPHLfN7Hy2xnrwMbVJdzKXyjVawojQtmIBXXIL53W4tYcAm9qxsZN/s1600/10489733_10202373784765571_2293921374387279314_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgAv-Hd2l7gyoJKqzi017K46glVnTlMiZH5-J-KLBHK33o0tusIBzNvHq9pKGaqgRVcBrBqcD-TR2ULI1lUn9ZihAXPHLfN7Hy2xnrwMbVJdzKXyjVawojQtmIBXXIL53W4tYcAm9qxsZN/s1600/10489733_10202373784765571_2293921374387279314_n.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Our favorite crepe place.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi04HCY3R8arKvSVNNen2SSlza-S7KRcSXbC16LtXuBX5t1EP_yrV_EB2AV2gTrBeIsmGlSNIH34lCoBdf4Na42qqAnu0igu5svlVtd9otfkrD9pnQqA8u1TItat-rqkvP5y5ZEdJ4sc6Cm/s1600/10501717_10202369266132608_8219830902814077972_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi04HCY3R8arKvSVNNen2SSlza-S7KRcSXbC16LtXuBX5t1EP_yrV_EB2AV2gTrBeIsmGlSNIH34lCoBdf4Na42qqAnu0igu5svlVtd9otfkrD9pnQqA8u1TItat-rqkvP5y5ZEdJ4sc6Cm/s1600/10501717_10202369266132608_8219830902814077972_n.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> "Lady on a Stick" as she is know around here..</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic8bLrcJ2DlrqYP6WzEPuyf2LQJV0olYq3gCW7O9wkCDOucORkcGFMVFXz4d-SL4FXXeV_jXzuQfbLhdbX3DHl1tRnu8mBqJbikGJR5WxSy-NCVl0d7IOvDhg-OVDb0qcZ-xeu9ouZdSg4/s1600/10505371_10202369260492467_6299854032935862823_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic8bLrcJ2DlrqYP6WzEPuyf2LQJV0olYq3gCW7O9wkCDOucORkcGFMVFXz4d-SL4FXXeV_jXzuQfbLhdbX3DHl1tRnu8mBqJbikGJR5WxSy-NCVl0d7IOvDhg-OVDb0qcZ-xeu9ouZdSg4/s1600/10505371_10202369260492467_6299854032935862823_n.jpg" height="320" width="154" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> St. Andrews Cathedral...so beautiful!!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidKZHU6kyTPSA3KZU0edk8B6vnLdczpcU_Vs6HnLdPWz-qZhJni7eq8J2qEhyphenhyphenCn_Wp25f6XlIBXQNY4GUnE_gAMG_Tk7WUpE1R0DpNl2_ohbP4qVU9fG2om_Ul0WNwz_AewW43c0wvP0RE/s1600/10568835_10202366991555745_40808771548685790_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidKZHU6kyTPSA3KZU0edk8B6vnLdczpcU_Vs6HnLdPWz-qZhJni7eq8J2qEhyphenhyphenCn_Wp25f6XlIBXQNY4GUnE_gAMG_Tk7WUpE1R0DpNl2_ohbP4qVU9fG2om_Ul0WNwz_AewW43c0wvP0RE/s1600/10568835_10202366991555745_40808771548685790_n.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845378458318433437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4872111744535712594.post-5281577174098780042014-07-13T14:37:00.002-07:002014-07-13T14:37:30.052-07:00BIG NEWS!!!!!!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">HAPPY SUNDAY!!!!! I hope this post finds you all doing well!!!! We are doing amazing!! Do you wanna know why we are doing amazing?!?!! Welllll….we have a date!!! That’s right, we’ve got a date to travel and go meet our girl!!!!! How awesome is that?1?!! We are super excited and running around like crazy trying to get everything ready to go. We are also making a big push to raise our final funds. We have saved and raised and are still little bit short on being funded. We are having a Instagram Auction until tomorrow morning to hopefully help take care of some the funds we need!! Stop by and take a peek here: <a href="http://instagram.com/bringingbabychome"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">http://instagram.com/bringingbabychome</span></a> I promise you will love the items we have!! We hope you’re having a great weekend and the count down has begin…</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">ONLY</span> </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAsIeygRQe8YrQUhfei586ama1gJ2vLdMfzlfZXe_mPHT9iYljc8Ei4feODv3D3IwRW7avDJHRzflGQllqAtRRI6mRzL4qQ6gukzcI2yBTh8_dkYLb3bqHVCFSTOy2mrDEjGIAWWKiQZXR/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-07-13+at+1.52.43+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAsIeygRQe8YrQUhfei586ama1gJ2vLdMfzlfZXe_mPHT9iYljc8Ei4feODv3D3IwRW7avDJHRzflGQllqAtRRI6mRzL4qQ6gukzcI2yBTh8_dkYLb3bqHVCFSTOy2mrDEjGIAWWKiQZXR/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-07-13+at+1.52.43+PM.png" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-size: large;">DAYS!!!!</span></span></span></div>
Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845378458318433437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4872111744535712594.post-37053034549673407282014-06-24T22:05:00.000-07:002014-06-25T12:16:29.392-07:00~Fun T-Shirt Fundraiser~<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hey, Hey everyone!!! We are at it again with another fun shirt fundraiser!!:)) Since our last one was a huge success and we’ve had some people ask about ordering them we thought we’d take another go at it!! :)) The shirts will say "Keep Calm Its Only An Extra Chromosome" and will come in two colors Deep Marine and Sapphire blue with yellow writing...we figured it will pull together the colors for Down syndrome Awareness AND it fits with the country colors from which we are adopting from. There will be adult sizes (XS-XL) and kids sizes (XS - XL)...the price per shirt will be $14.00 once we sell 280 shirts the price will drop!! $5 from every shirt will go toward our adoption and bring home our sweet baby girl!! This fundraiser starts Thursday June 26 and runs until Friday July 11th at 6pm PST. </span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here is a preview of the colors...(we are working on getting shirts made up for you all to see.)</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibP3hnLY7jrN4-m19lSdLcvj0FiBfFGmJNkBhENrdFbM4Fw1L7SVPszyckq2K2ExB0elqhz50BYJn8zeRcGGHO51ezfL-wlPDmYsruDHo5UnQqbMqdb3qBhwN1ctC0hGgby7QWqzdn_OwD/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibP3hnLY7jrN4-m19lSdLcvj0FiBfFGmJNkBhENrdFbM4Fw1L7SVPszyckq2K2ExB0elqhz50BYJn8zeRcGGHO51ezfL-wlPDmYsruDHo5UnQqbMqdb3qBhwN1ctC0hGgby7QWqzdn_OwD/s1600/unnamed.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ordering Details: Email: <a href="mailto:keepcalmdsshirts@gmail.com"><span style="color: #021eaa; letter-spacing: 0px;">keepcalmdsshirts@gmail.com</span></a> to order and specify size (Youth sizes XS to L ~OR~ Adult sizes XS to XL) and color (Deep Marine OR Sapphire Blue)....Each shirt is $14 and an invoice will be sent within 24 hours of ordering and payment needs to be made by Friday July 11th, 2014 at 6pm PST. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">*If you have any questions feel free to email me at: </span><span style="color: #021eaa; letter-spacing: 0px;"><a href="mailto:keepcalmdsshirts@gmail.com">keepcalmdsshirts@gmail.com</a> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">and I'll be more then happy to </span>answer your questions!!*</span></div>
<br />
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845378458318433437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4872111744535712594.post-56450119411119843182014-06-06T11:38:00.000-07:002014-06-06T11:38:29.498-07:00CHECK IT OUT!!!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Happy Friday everyone!! We hope you have a wonderful day and weekend BUT first check this out </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt4NqYpSa7x1WSOMbmlrPK8AL9QiwJe_NxAkOqvGB0AUq4JcpIUjE5MIdzr9kD0x0Kb_igK2DkKY8J-O4Uce9OBVrBd5uIwBgFXvJxzdWDCoAE5Ek1quwtEKM72yl_I5yA7gjxj3oQMSBD/s1600/10446691_10204002796449676_3294313198683728594_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt4NqYpSa7x1WSOMbmlrPK8AL9QiwJe_NxAkOqvGB0AUq4JcpIUjE5MIdzr9kD0x0Kb_igK2DkKY8J-O4Uce9OBVrBd5uIwBgFXvJxzdWDCoAE5Ek1quwtEKM72yl_I5yA7gjxj3oQMSBD/s1600/10446691_10204002796449676_3294313198683728594_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
That's right everyone our paperwork was submitted yesterday and now we wait. What do we wait for you ask…we are waiting for a date to go meet our baby girl!!!! That's right folks in a few short weeks we will be given a date and then it's off to Eastern Europe to go meet and bring home our sweet Baby C!!!! This also means we have to do a huge push to finish up our fundraising…we are close to being funded but still need some help. I'll be posting about another Instagram auction next week and I still have some puzzle pieces left to sell…I'll post all about that stuff later this weekend but for now we are soaking in the fact that we are so close to bringing home our baby girl!!!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
In other exciting news <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">we officially have a 4th grader and a kindergartener in the house!!! Ryan finished out 3rd grade on a great note and I think this was his best school year yet!! He’s looking forward to a summer filled with bowling, baseball, swimming and relaxing. Misha worked hard this year at our local special ed. preschool and has come so far and is headed to Kindergarten next year. He has learned tons of new signs and is</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> saying a few words and </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">has his modified PECS system down!! This summer will be filled with working on potty training, mastering Misha’s PECS system even more, and lots of swimming!!! Both boys will also enjoy sleeping in (and so will this mommy!!). This school school year flew by so quickly but you know they say “time flies when your having fun”...and this last year has been filled with loads and loads of fun!!</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">We hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Type to you soon, </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Vandyke; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Melissa</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845378458318433437noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4872111744535712594.post-43265810859840353952014-05-28T14:50:00.001-07:002014-05-28T14:51:24.938-07:00~WooHoo...Happy Wednesday~<span style="font-family: inherit;">HAPPY WEDNESDAY!!!!! Today has been a awesome day so far and you all are about to find out why!!! So I posted the other day about our fundraiser and how we were waiting on one more piece of paper well it arrived sometime this morning and will be headed with a family to Eastern Europe this weekend!!! I can't even begin to say how excited I am….it's like the freaking out with happiness excitement!! This also mean fundraising will be in over drive for the next few weeks until we have hit our fully funded mark!!! We are so close to bringing home our baby girl that I can't even believe it. :)))</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I hope you are all having great week!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Write to you soon,</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Vandyke; font-size: large;">Melissa</span>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845378458318433437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4872111744535712594.post-11386604547076925622014-05-26T19:57:00.000-07:002014-05-26T19:59:08.684-07:00~A Quick Post After The Long Weekend~<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Happy Memorial Day Everyone!!! This three day weekend was much need after our big fundraiser...We kicked this weekend off with a bang with our fundraiser on Friday night. The fundraiser was a success and we enjoyed the evening surrounded with people who are just as excited as we are to bring our little lady home. The evening also brought us a HUGE step closer to being full funded!! We still have a little bit of fundraising left to do but I’m still riding cloud nine and feeling thankful for the support we had on Friday night. Now I would love to post pictures from the evening buuuut I didn’t take one single picture with my phone or camera. I know some friends took some with their phones which I’m thankful for but I feel so lame for missing out on pictures but at least I have the memories. :)) </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So now where do we go from here you ask?... Well we have one last paper that should be coming in this week and hopefully we’ll be submitted next week (fingers crossed for that) and then we wait for a date. And now its a push to finish our fundraising...we are working on setting up another Instagram auction which was a HUGE success when we did back in January. Our friends have plans to hold another fundraiser for us towards the end of June and hopefully these things can get us to our goal in time to travel. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So other then that news it’s still the same old craziness around here. Baseball is finally winding down and we are in playoff mode for Ryan’s team...I have signed up to play softball for the next few tuesday’s which has been fun and a reminder of just how old I am getting. LoL We are also just 10 short days away from the school year being finished and then we all get to sleep in again!!! Yay for sleep!!!! :))) This week we have some special littles coming to visit while their mommy and daddy travel to meet their new brothers and I can’t wait to hang out with them!!</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I hope you all have had a wonderful holiday weekend and remember to thank those who gave all so we could live free!! </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKxuZfSLxyphDDMst_Y26dTNeGaC31yDiDE_Bu6ULRxNgLoKgQE1iPxwhsLPxlLTqjY5M_tWY33dbUpAnMuPZoUo2jTFffO4INljFw15CSHNIdFS4Q2WEy_DWIIc29upCo7APArTBj6YtJ/s1600/10402578_10203926408380022_7348481486819213702_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKxuZfSLxyphDDMst_Y26dTNeGaC31yDiDE_Bu6ULRxNgLoKgQE1iPxwhsLPxlLTqjY5M_tWY33dbUpAnMuPZoUo2jTFffO4INljFw15CSHNIdFS4Q2WEy_DWIIc29upCo7APArTBj6YtJ/s1600/10402578_10203926408380022_7348481486819213702_n.jpg" height="256" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Write To You Soon,</span></span><br />
<div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<div style="font-family: Vandyke;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Melissa</span></span></div>
</div>
Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845378458318433437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4872111744535712594.post-5885585713052166222014-05-01T11:49:00.000-07:002014-05-01T11:49:17.399-07:00~Just A Little Something For Your Thursday~<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Why hello...long time no type. I hope this blog post finds you all doing well. Our house is in full blown busy mode...baseball season started in February for Ryan and we have been go, go, go since day one. And when we are not doing baseball related things we are doing therapy for Misha and when we are not doing that we’re plugging along at finishing up our adoption paperwork. So life is keeping us busy but in the best possible way. :))</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So a little update for everyone. Our dossier is <span style="font-size: large;">DONE</span>...and off to Baby C’s country!!! I am still in a little bit of shock at how fast it all went....when we adopted Misha is took 3 months for our home study and about 4 months to complete our dossier papers, that's a total of 7 months!!!....this time it took just 2 months to finish everything this time around!!!! It’s amazing what a little experience and help can get you accomplished. Sooo now we wait and fundraise!! :))</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Paperwork finished and sealed with a kiss and off the Baby C's country!!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWsyAEfgjRi2uEh1cttBoyL2ObB2yPAvzZaq9SC5Q2g_iF4tELuKyXgQ1JuO_c711UiKyjlMn1uS6Xj2toZFEZR5vI_k9sjdP2D0_LHIypqZXnu7Y4uNqHTUNwXUmvnU0NCXwmFF4tAKS1/s1600/10310658_10203720267826637_909735018583605231_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWsyAEfgjRi2uEh1cttBoyL2ObB2yPAvzZaq9SC5Q2g_iF4tELuKyXgQ1JuO_c711UiKyjlMn1uS6Xj2toZFEZR5vI_k9sjdP2D0_LHIypqZXnu7Y4uNqHTUNwXUmvnU0NCXwmFF4tAKS1/s1600/10310658_10203720267826637_909735018583605231_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Speaking of fundraising, we are gearing up for a pretty amazing evening of celebrating Baby C while enjoying the company of our amazing support network of family and friends on Friday May 23rd. We are calling Cinco De-Laney it is going to AMAZING!!! It’s going to be a fiesta filled evening with great food, cool drinks and great friends, along with raffles, auctions and so much more!! Tickets are on pre-sale for $25 (includes 2 drink tickets) and will be $30 at the door (and include 2 drink tickets). </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We can't wait to celebrate with everyone!!</span></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBKz_f121AoKbJ3OyIr-_hhEun4MVHhLqfyOvu3FrpshcJLsG5oVUjo-WIvBfvZEKRVl08qmtiUVDlXkb1fWPP_O7aYkrI0mzNCyhvETRSZ8CGc6gXFeuznaXpo-sfYo4TeFmFAU4TGchl/s1600/013001a.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBKz_f121AoKbJ3OyIr-_hhEun4MVHhLqfyOvu3FrpshcJLsG5oVUjo-WIvBfvZEKRVl08qmtiUVDlXkb1fWPP_O7aYkrI0mzNCyhvETRSZ8CGc6gXFeuznaXpo-sfYo4TeFmFAU4TGchl/s1600/013001a.gif" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and thank you for stopping by to read our update!</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Love,</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Vandyke;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Melissa</span></span></div>
Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845378458318433437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4872111744535712594.post-70470546201835952762014-03-04T15:32:00.002-08:002014-03-04T16:01:57.560-08:00It's A Date<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hey, Hey, Hey Everyone!!! I hope you all are having a wonderful week, I know we sure are!! I have VERY exciting news for you all!! WE HAVE A VENUE FOR OUR FUNDRAISER (and a NEW date)!!! "Cinco De-Laney" will be on FRIDAY MAY 23rd at the Saturday Club of Vacaville…we are super excited to have a place to hold our big event and can't wait to see everyone come out enjoy a little fiesta time while raising money to bring our sweet Baby C home!!! Tickets will be $30 and each ticket includes 2 drink tickets. We will have a delicious Taco bar, chips~n~salsa, and all the other fiesta fixings!! We will also have a bar with Margaritas & Beer…along with non-alcoholic beverages. Their will be a silent auction </span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">with gift baskets, 2 one week vacations to surprise locations (locations will be reveled at our event), and may other wonderful items!! We hope to see you there for ALL the fun!!! </span> </span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirhZGlB8Qy3vyY5veeuo0ASY_StxhZ8oSdbKBdeRa5E6jLrsaWm9k5veFHHmeQVekNR4iMKZeFS_HR5Gwh_XpL1GIcO5WEoKM-M4YHZVkiurCrhwEzl5FaAqOFoS5K2ETjO-NsYmaMqLMl/s1600/013001a.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirhZGlB8Qy3vyY5veeuo0ASY_StxhZ8oSdbKBdeRa5E6jLrsaWm9k5veFHHmeQVekNR4iMKZeFS_HR5Gwh_XpL1GIcO5WEoKM-M4YHZVkiurCrhwEzl5FaAqOFoS5K2ETjO-NsYmaMqLMl/s1600/013001a.gif" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845378458318433437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4872111744535712594.post-39535966732018470392014-02-27T20:43:00.000-08:002014-02-27T20:43:27.295-08:00~THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU~ Oh, and an update!!<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Well hello there...So it’s been a while and I apologize for my absence...but I am back to write a AWESOME post about some great news and an update!!</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m sure most of you remember the awesome shirt fundraiser we had going on...well, we sold OVER 500 shirts!!!! How awesome is that?!?!! I want to send a BIG, HUGE, GIGANTIC thank you to Shannon for doing this fundraiser for our family!! And another BIG, HUGE, GIGANTIC thank you to ALL of you who participated...you all have brought us a lot closer to bringing home our sweet Baby C!! I can’t even begin to tell you all how blessed we feel by your generosity and support. Not only have you helped us become closer to getting our baby girl home but you are also willing to raise awareness about Down syndrome!!! We are sending you a big hug and thank you for all that you have done to help us make this fundraiser successful!!! </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now I get to follow that exciting news with a happy update!! We have sent our paperwork in for our home-study update and should hopefully have that finished by the end of next week!! I will also be sending sending off the first part of our dossier in the next week and will be working super hard to get that finished and hopefully sent off by beginning April!!! I can’t believe how faster this process goes the second time around!! </span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So that’s about it for tonight's update...again a BIG, HUGE, GIGANTIC thank you to everyone who bought a shirt and helped us get closer bringing our baby girl home!!!</span></span>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845378458318433437noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4872111744535712594.post-35758742491920934292014-02-08T21:39:00.003-08:002014-02-08T21:39:40.885-08:00Just a Little Bit of Awesomeness!! <div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hey Everyone! I hope you all are having a great weekend!! I just wanted to pop in real quick and give an AWESOME update to our shirt fundraiser!! I received an email today letting my know we have sold almost 250 shirts!!!! How awesome is that!?!?! Our goal was to sell 100 and he have clearly knocked that number way out of the park!! I’m wondering if we could sell 321 (in honor of World Down syndrome Day) or maybe even hit the 400 mark?!?!!! What do you think? OH and I almost forgot the best part, now that we have sold 100+ shirts the price goes down to $12 per shirt!! So what are you waiting for? Send and email to <a href="mailto:321awareness@gmail.com"><span style="color: #2100ab; letter-spacing: 0px;">321awareness@gmail.com</span></a> with your order information or any questions you may have. Thank you again for helping us get closer getting our sweet Baby C home!! </span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Love, </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Zapfino; letter-spacing: 0px;">Melissa</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Zapfino; letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here is a peek at what the shirts look like...</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3MglTJ-g0kP7itmI8Mt_-sK-6vgI7oYDSbfFA-cOO4ivtPjDwOgizCbkxF8uRZtkDtLWP_RTiw41LM_XF8R0V9u9kCrGBHIu8ARc6ItkLwIpuNGzgTHibX4OlxyvkHzQ1tzX_PncPVn8d/s1600/77179_10203076901702886_928233846_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3MglTJ-g0kP7itmI8Mt_-sK-6vgI7oYDSbfFA-cOO4ivtPjDwOgizCbkxF8uRZtkDtLWP_RTiw41LM_XF8R0V9u9kCrGBHIu8ARc6ItkLwIpuNGzgTHibX4OlxyvkHzQ1tzX_PncPVn8d/s1600/77179_10203076901702886_928233846_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Zapfino; letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: start;">To order email: </span><a href="mailto:321awareness@gmail.com" style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #2100ab; letter-spacing: 0px;">321awareness@gmail.com</span></a><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> and specify your size (2T, 4T, 5/6, YS, YM, YL. Adult: XS, S, M, L, XL AND XXL) and color (Grey - as shown, Purple w/dark purple print, Pink w/dark pink print, Blue w/dark blue print, Green w/dark green print). The shirt are $20 a piece BUT once we’ve sold 100 shirts (which I’m guessing we'll knock this number out of the park!!!) the price will drop.....$5 of every shirt will go towards our adoption of our sweet Baby C and the adoption of the other family bringing home a sweet little boy with Down syndrome from Hong Kong. When ordering PLEASE leave your name, address and whether you will be paying through PayPal or by check. ALL ORDERS HAVE TO BE MADE BY FEBRUARY 25TH. Invoices will be emailed after your order is </span></span>received!<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">! :)</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Zapfino; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845378458318433437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4872111744535712594.post-6852715576078173752014-02-03T21:23:00.002-08:002014-02-03T21:23:41.071-08:00~An Exciting T-Shirt Fundraiser~<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hey, Hey, Hey Everyone!!! So I’m popping in quickly to tell you about an awesome fundraisers that an amazing lady is doing for us!! </span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A few days ago a few friends voted for us to be part of a t-shirt fundraiser an amazing lady named Shannon was wanting to do for an adopting family. And lucky enough she picked us and another family to do the fundraiser for!! We are again so humbled and excited about this fundraiser. The t-shirt is not only helping us raise money for us and the other families adoption but bringing awareness to World Down syndrome Day!! I’m </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">guessing you’d like to see a picture of the super amazing t-shirts...well, here you go!! :)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrtoPz_P6R7ooA4cgAxHLiRkGnYdgSSJbPwL_E5PWxkT9fOpYfKuWD30R0jWyzeLH1B-HE8mLOdHstsLbE_3dXMu4IZQkSgbNbUlXmXFUy7Ix7Rn5EP6wONAHq0c2JD53uObiHsP7KWWDF/s1600/77179_10203076901702886_928233846_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrtoPz_P6R7ooA4cgAxHLiRkGnYdgSSJbPwL_E5PWxkT9fOpYfKuWD30R0jWyzeLH1B-HE8mLOdHstsLbE_3dXMu4IZQkSgbNbUlXmXFUy7Ix7Rn5EP6wONAHq0c2JD53uObiHsP7KWWDF/s1600/77179_10203076901702886_928233846_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now that we’ve seen these super amazing t-shirts here’s the ordering information: </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">To order email: </span><a href="mailto:321awareness@gmail.com" style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #2100ab; letter-spacing: 0px;">321awareness@gmail.com</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;"> and specify your size (2T, 4T, 5/6, YS, YM, YL. Adult: XS, S, M, L, XL AND XXL) and color (Grey - as shown, Purple w/dark purple print, Pink w/dark pink print, Blue w/dark blue print, Green w/dark green print). The shirt are $20 a piece BUT once we’ve sold 100 shirts (which I’m guessing we'll knock this number out of the park!!!) the price will drop.....$5 of every shirt will go towards our adoption of our sweet Baby C and the adoption of the other family bringing home a sweet little boy with Down syndrome from Hong Kong. When ordering PLEASE leave your name, address and whether you will be paying through PayPal or by check. ALL ORDERS HAVE TO BE MADE BY FEBRUARY 25TH. Invoices will be emailed out after we hit 100 orders!! :)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>
<br />Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845378458318433437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4872111744535712594.post-65760148241387780762014-01-29T21:53:00.000-08:002014-01-29T21:53:06.420-08:00A little Update…<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hey Everyone!!! I hope this post finds you all doing well. We've had a VERY busy last couple of weeks and I’m excited to share with all of you!!</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A few weeks ago I wrote about some fundraisers we had coming up and let me tell you they are/were amazing!! Our dear friend Shelly started a puzzle fundraiser and it is going great. The wonderful part to this fundraiser will be the awesome picture puzzle of Baby C we’ll have to hang up in her room as a great reminder of all the wonderful people who helped us bring her home!! I also talked about our online auction that my friend Beth was putting together for us. Well, we started it on a Saturday and closed it on a Monday morning and it brought in over $1600!!!! This far exceeded our expectations and we are so extremely humbled by the support of everyone who participated!! I am still in awe of the complete kindness we have received from complete strangers...We are working hard on nailing down a place for our big fundraiser and should have that ironed out next week!! We really can’t wait to celebrate Baby C!!</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The other week we also celebrated David and Misha’s Birthday!!! It’s crazy to think our sweet Misha is 5 already!! He has blossomed and grown so much over the last, almost, two years and next school year he’ll be in Kindergarten!!! I can’t believe the little boy we brought home from Ukraine is getting ready to head to off to big kid school!! We decided to keep birthdays low-key this year and do a joint birthday dinner and cake for Daddy and Misha, which worked our perfectly for us. During this time we also found out our oldest son, Ryan, made the minors division for little league. We are so proud of him and can not wait for this baseball season to start...only a little over 5 weeks until opening ceremonies and games starting...but who’s keeping track, right?! ;) </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Other then that we are hard at work with adoption papers and planing our big fundraiser!! Oh wait , I almost forgot...Something else that happened of the last few weeks is we were finally talked about in a anti-adoption forum ran by trolls!! Hahahaha...I’m sure some of you are thinking “What the hell, how can you laugh at this” but I can it’s almost like a right of passage when adopting..we had some trolls leave nasty comments during our adoption of Misha and I am expecting many more this time around. And to be honest the things they say are so far from the truth it’s hard not to laugh...I welcome them talking about us because all it’s doing is getting the word out about our adoption...And just in case the trolls swing in to read this post I have to let them know, our adopted son DID NOT damage/ruin/hurt our family in any way, if fact he has made us closer as a family, he has brought the best out in all of us and has blossomed into the most amazingly wonderful little boy....I’m not sure what went wrong in your lives that you have to bash others but just remember Karma is “B” and she’ll find you in time!!...And here’s something I’ll leave the wonderfully lovely trolls with: William Shakespeare once said~ “Love me or hate me, both are in my favor...If you love me, I’ll always be in your heart...If you hate me, I’ll always be in your mind.” So to you trolls, thank you for reading and giving us a good chuckle!! </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I hope you all are having an amazing week!! I’m off to work on our home-study and dossier papers!! </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Love Ya,</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Zapfino; letter-spacing: 0px;">Melissa</span></div>
Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845378458318433437noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4872111744535712594.post-79916501836611824852014-01-13T11:59:00.000-08:002014-01-13T11:59:41.964-08:00It's Fiesta Time!!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">WHO’S READY TO PAAARRRTTTYYY????? </span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwrh_-ihWf0hpSg2ThuJmYQ7e36dOracNX0lGaJXNthtwEryiYFlHMqd2Hda0E8IlUpTm7XKjML6-hzVD1DMHpSGgVIjEFYXhl4PjOqQXgwOLgMlrKVnFqU1mELqWIvnsH06Ox0mG4mZ6K/s1600/013001a.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwrh_-ihWf0hpSg2ThuJmYQ7e36dOracNX0lGaJXNthtwEryiYFlHMqd2Hda0E8IlUpTm7XKjML6-hzVD1DMHpSGgVIjEFYXhl4PjOqQXgwOLgMlrKVnFqU1mELqWIvnsH06Ox0mG4mZ6K/s1600/013001a.gif" /></a></div>
<div style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">GREAT NEWs</span></span>…<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">.We have a date for our BIG, HUGE, AMAZING fundraiser!!! Save the date for MAY 10th 2014!! We will be having a “Cinco De-Laney” themed fundraiser...we have plans for a taco bar, chips~n~salsa, margaritas & beer (along with non-alcoholic beverages), and loads of fun to be had....tickets will be $30 and include 2 drink tickets. We are planing a wonderful silent auction filled with lovely gift baskets, week vacation to a surprise location, and may other wonderful items!! We are still working a location and will hopefully be decided on one within the next week or two...Tickets will be on sale soon and if you’re local to the sacramento area we’d love to see at our fiesta to celebrating bring home Baby C!!</span></span></div>
Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845378458318433437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4872111744535712594.post-9231814047649175232014-01-09T20:10:00.001-08:002014-01-09T20:10:24.179-08:00A little something about some AWESOME fundraisers!!! <span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hey, Hey, Hey Everyone!!! I hope everyone is having a wonderful week, I know we sure are!! I also hope that if you reading this from one of the states that is dealing with the crazy cold weather that you are staying warm and cozy and out of the cold!! This week has been a busy one...the boys started back to school and David started some of his “honey do” projects that we’ve been talking about getting done. But that’s not what I writing about tonight...this past week I have seen the true kindness, generosity and support come in from complete strangers and some of my closest friends and I blown away by it all...If you are new to the adoption world the first thing you should know is most adoptions are funded through fundraisers...some are financially able to adopted without raising funds but we are not one of those lucky few...our reality is we do not have 20 or so thousand dollars sitting in our back pocket just waiting to be used...we need help to bring our sweet Baby C home and this is why we have to fundraise. This past week, two of my dearest friends have begun to start and plan some seriously awesome fundraisers for us. And these ladies are so amazing for taking the time out of their busy lives to help us get our girl home!!</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So here is the FIRST actual fundraiser of our adoption....One of my dearest friends Shelly Ray (whom some know is the reason we adopted Misha</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">) has started a puzzle fundraiser...$5 dollars buys you a piece to a puzzle she has had made up for us and she will write any message on the back of the piece from you to our sweet Baby C....once it is completed and placed in Baby C’s room we will have a beautiful reminder of how much love was put into her coming home!! :)) If you would like to participate in this fundraiser here’s what you do: FIRST click here--> </span></span><a href="http://reecesrainbow.org/70626/sponsorchellson-2" style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;" target="_blank">Our FSP</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> (it links you to our Reece’s Rainbow page where you can donate)</span></span>…<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> Second click here--> </span></span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/shellywallaceray?fref=ts" style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;" target="_blank">Shelly's Facebook</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> and send Shelly a quick note that you donated to our FSP (the link from Reece’s Rainbow) and whatever message you want on the puzzle piece. Thank you in advance for helping us...it means more then words can express that we have your support!! </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our SECOND fundraiser is being put together by Beth Herrington (whom most will remember was my partner in crime while we finalized our adoptions in Ukraine together and is family to us.). This auction is set to begin next Saturday the 18th @ 9am...it will be an online auction (via Instagram) and has some seriously AMAZING handmade/made with love items...For example a wonderful lady has made and donated fabulous scarves, hats, dresses for girls and outfits for boys, and the list of her goodies goes on...and I literally just received a text from Beth of a photo from another amazing lady who is making a hand-stitched sign with one of my favorite sayings (*hint..it has to do with Ohana). The way this auction will work is we will post pictures to a specific profile on instagram and each picture will be listed with a starting bid and it will be a bidding war until the auction closes 48 hours after it starts!! Once the auction closes we will send invoices to all the winners and once the invoices have been paid the item will be sent to you. I will post the link to the auction here on the blog aaannnddd on my facebook page here --> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/melissa.chellson" target="_blank">My Facebook</a> . </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The THIRD fundraiser we are working on is going to be a BIG one....our plans are in the beginning stages still buuuut clear a space you calendar for the BEST Cinco De Mayo party you’ve ever experienced!!! Our plan is to hold it on either the first (5/2 or 5/3) or second (5/9 or 5/10) weekend in May. We have ideas of a taco bar, a bar filled with beer and margaritas, chips-n-salsa, and all things Cinco De Mayo related!!! Definitely stay tuned for more details in the next few weeks!!! </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">I want to thank you all for taking a few minutes out of your night/day to read this and a BIG thank you to anyone who participates in our fundraisers... your help can not just be summed up with a simple thank you, it means so much to us to have family, friends, and complete strangers helping us get our sweet Baby C home to her family who is very excited for her arrival!! Your generosity truly is wonderful!!</span><span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Love, </span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<div style="font-family: Zapfino; font-size: 12px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Melissa</span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845378458318433437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4872111744535712594.post-44885705529080275842014-01-02T12:12:00.000-08:002014-01-02T12:16:58.100-08:00Happy New Year….and a kinda big announcement!!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!! We hope you had a wonderful time ringing in the new year, as well as, a wonderful Christmas!! We hope that 2014 is full of happiness, love and good-times for you and yours!!</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Our Christmas was very relaxing and spent with both our families. The boys enjoyed being spoiled by the grandparents and David and I enjoyed just relaxing and of course eating!! David and I brought in the New Year with a date night to celebrate our ninth wedding anniversary, a </span></span>great<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> way to close out 2013!! A big thank to you my in-laws who gave up their night to watch the boys who had so much fun playing games and watching movies!! </span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">Now that 2014 is upon us David and I are looking forward to the excitement that is ahead of us. Misha will be turning 5 in a few weeks, Ryan will be turning 9 in a few months (his last year in the single digits), lots of little league games coming this spring and summer fun to be had!! I am so looking forward to the fun times 2014 has in store for us!! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">OK...</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Are you ready for the kinda big </span></span>announcement??...Are you sure??...Ok, here it is:</b><br />
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">David, The Boys and I have someone VERY important we’d like you all to meet. For right now I’ll refer to her as Baby C (until we decided on a name)...her listing name on Reece’s Rainbow is “Chava” but that is not going to be her forever name. Baby C is 4 months old and has Down Syndrome and is currently stuck in an orphanage in Eastern Europe. And the BEST part is she is going to be joining our family sometime this summer!!!! We are super excited to be adding another child to our family and I am excited to bringing a girl into my world full of boys!! </span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuRzNSEsFutuu1lz3g5by3-tUWWasTUlMSWUcd4Z5WYc7ebgFlkqLbaSsy-BCMAETMmZP24KCAviKN8WjBzdXp0IDKBm8805xORBj9afgTXr2UFqRdxqGZyz1Sunuywchr7yakmPpoSqZj/s1600/Image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuRzNSEsFutuu1lz3g5by3-tUWWasTUlMSWUcd4Z5WYc7ebgFlkqLbaSsy-BCMAETMmZP24KCAviKN8WjBzdXp0IDKBm8805xORBj9afgTXr2UFqRdxqGZyz1Sunuywchr7yakmPpoSqZj/s320/Image.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We hope you all will join us on our exciting journey to bringing her home...I know we sure are excited to get the adventures of 2014 started!!!! Happy New Year Everyone!!!</span></span></div>
Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845378458318433437noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4872111744535712594.post-77623552640012144892013-12-26T22:38:00.000-08:002013-12-26T22:38:00.025-08:00Year in Review<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">Well hellooooo there...I hope this blog post finds you all doing well and having a wonderful holiday season!! As you can tell it has been quite some time since I posted last but life has been crazy busy in the best kind of way possible. Some of you may be thinking why is she posting now, it’s so out of the blue? And my response to that is you are soooo right but I’ve been wanting to write a post for awhile but haven’t really known where to start. And tonight as I was playing around on Facebook and looking at “See Your 2013 Year in Review” on my page and thought, it’s perfect..I’ll write a year in review post (with LOTS of pictures) and get back in the blogging world once again!!! </span></div>
<div style="min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So without further ado here’s our year in review:</span></div>
<div style="min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">January 1st we started the year out with celebrating a late Christmas with my mom…</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: 'Noteworthy Light'; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: 'Noteworthy Light'; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf-vyGHNHZHmKj1q0gHIlAGZuWppFoZ14zoYQRicD1oT4oepiiOKLXeR3pY94EEm7wvXMo1KOkbQKqGuku_5xbf16QGMRiTuIi_U6U1t6BBPVMvzvpaZ9TZ-I9A2EWp77UmZoBcC4IKwZB/s1600/407895_10200376873163572_1522192335_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf-vyGHNHZHmKj1q0gHIlAGZuWppFoZ14zoYQRicD1oT4oepiiOKLXeR3pY94EEm7wvXMo1KOkbQKqGuku_5xbf16QGMRiTuIi_U6U1t6BBPVMvzvpaZ9TZ-I9A2EWp77UmZoBcC4IKwZB/s320/407895_10200376873163572_1522192335_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Noteworthy Light';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">At the end of January, beginning of February we celebrated Misha’s 4th birthday with his first birthday party EVER. And what made the day even sweeter is we did a joint birthday party we our dear friends The Herrington's...you might remember them, we lived together in Ukraine while we both finalized our adoptions of Misha and their daughter Olivia!! The party was HUGE success and so much fun and a truly wonderful moment being able to celebrate with wonderful people who helped us bring home our babies. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: 'Noteworthy Light'; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: 'Noteworthy Light'; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: 'Noteworthy Light'; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3yKx79XjdS1Z_jWTNM7XUIIGrRar0D2IyDtktI6SCO0PA6H91XKUe3UoI65Nazvm9eSnJ3cMWAjJus5k0ZI5D99Z_l8R9LWRIT1UwoKbnlDYoa63uXkVAOWe6edvdpLe5KMDt8nYP0MoX/s1600/282654_10200714916141060_194653097_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3yKx79XjdS1Z_jWTNM7XUIIGrRar0D2IyDtktI6SCO0PA6H91XKUe3UoI65Nazvm9eSnJ3cMWAjJus5k0ZI5D99Z_l8R9LWRIT1UwoKbnlDYoa63uXkVAOWe6edvdpLe5KMDt8nYP0MoX/s320/282654_10200714916141060_194653097_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Noteworthy Light'; text-align: center;">
~Misha at the party~</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: 'Noteworthy Light'; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwRMQlF7zaDgQwmPN5ybhm-uJyV0x59P-qkOaMgLU5Vpma8UHx5Sp37STmFcqr13cn_XVmbZXNR2Mjkip3z34Wa5vlNEfHFWDP9Ba_rh1WgxXn9B_1TIGE-SZvM_Eky7tCevWsgFXY5pVZ/s1600/150427_10200989012553299_1807096563_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwRMQlF7zaDgQwmPN5ybhm-uJyV0x59P-qkOaMgLU5Vpma8UHx5Sp37STmFcqr13cn_XVmbZXNR2Mjkip3z34Wa5vlNEfHFWDP9Ba_rh1WgxXn9B_1TIGE-SZvM_Eky7tCevWsgFXY5pVZ/s320/150427_10200989012553299_1807096563_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: 'Noteworthy Light'; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">~Misha & Olivia's personal cakes~</span></div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: 'Noteworthy Light'; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">February was a very fun month for our family as we headed to Disneyland for a run-cation..yes you read that right, a run-cation. My mom and I ran in the TinkerBell Half Marathon and David and I figured why not stay a few days after the run and enjoy a little family vacation. My mom and I ran the half in 3 hours and 40ish minutes...not bad for a girl who was battling the flu. Oh, I forgot to mention that part..we’ll the day I was suppose to head down with my mom, Misha woke up with high temp. which lead to the flu..and not the stomach kind of flu, he had the “he’ll need Tamflu” kind of flu..so we drove down Saturday and and by the day of the race, Sunday, I woke up battling a fever but I didn’t go all the way to Disneyland for nothing. Plus I had a very amazing little girl, Chloe..I wrote about her here: <a href="http://chellsonfamilyadventures.blogspot.com/2013/01/inspiration.html">inspiration</a> ...cheering me on from her hospital room...so I ran the half and finished!!!</span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'Noteworthy Light';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTSSGi0pHOEN93I8wB-RTVAOpFDhFcT-gvJf5d_zniiw4-9BT1fnlR2HB_SJEcXXpO7iVVQGCfz0D-DXdJj0HX8DeyhHmdpE4OcyXGVa9XDAdm45RHP3VvXCu6fDT7pkLFn6BsRJywpxxG/s1600/537440_10200500021162195_1450164799_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTSSGi0pHOEN93I8wB-RTVAOpFDhFcT-gvJf5d_zniiw4-9BT1fnlR2HB_SJEcXXpO7iVVQGCfz0D-DXdJj0HX8DeyhHmdpE4OcyXGVa9XDAdm45RHP3VvXCu6fDT7pkLFn6BsRJywpxxG/s320/537440_10200500021162195_1450164799_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
~The Before and after of our 1st half marathon~</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQTaZbx0dMGey9CytB6lW0NRp0VQd1k1XAShWIpMjpyyKqVXRKy6cQAU_qD3khs7p94uPhc0YJV_7kAMGeorQoXMBw6F_HAGe12BpaKJQOUnXFK4bWotkvCy8zkkiS8G9x6-WlmGTC_vsN/s1600/64201_10200501772765984_1969423488_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQTaZbx0dMGey9CytB6lW0NRp0VQd1k1XAShWIpMjpyyKqVXRKy6cQAU_qD3khs7p94uPhc0YJV_7kAMGeorQoXMBw6F_HAGe12BpaKJQOUnXFK4bWotkvCy8zkkiS8G9x6-WlmGTC_vsN/s320/64201_10200501772765984_1969423488_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
~Misha is NOT amused by his new shades, but I was~</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirZvFBJvLW8wjkW2SAEJcHT-NdtT0qhbI1AfAZDucY2Ikq8J61GyRVJPgDBcpW-K1kL5ZaLGMtYY2oIbfARkaHOCvqLY740sZuL9ieiNMGVW5O0OIydjCYVNuQqr3Hqbwg4BrJx3EsOO-w/s1600/485977_10200536235347527_655304841_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirZvFBJvLW8wjkW2SAEJcHT-NdtT0qhbI1AfAZDucY2Ikq8J61GyRVJPgDBcpW-K1kL5ZaLGMtYY2oIbfARkaHOCvqLY740sZuL9ieiNMGVW5O0OIydjCYVNuQqr3Hqbwg4BrJx3EsOO-w/s320/485977_10200536235347527_655304841_n.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">March brought on the beginning of baseball season in our house..which meant Ryan was eating, breathing and sleeping everything baseball!! And thank goodness baseball is a favorite sport for this family so we truly enjoyed every moment of Ryan’s baseball season. He was placed on an amazing team with some wonderful families who we’ve become great friends with...oh and the cake topper was Ryan’s team won the Championships for his division...I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t ready for next season, because I am sooo ready to see my little man out there doing something he absolutely loves and lives for!!!</span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'Noteworthy Light';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy0eE-s1X-jkJOq196926tzANpgxiufX2ySKbEY_gxXgqmvYj7wYIiT6MPYx1y1I8z5eAQcUltvPz6OLgs-voUlrj19Z6JmrBlB76z4dg8QTyJC7FpFWmRBdnWM2yS5qfrCwyPrV4-Kz6d/s1600/163586_10201048372710929_2056453916_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy0eE-s1X-jkJOq196926tzANpgxiufX2ySKbEY_gxXgqmvYj7wYIiT6MPYx1y1I8z5eAQcUltvPz6OLgs-voUlrj19Z6JmrBlB76z4dg8QTyJC7FpFWmRBdnWM2yS5qfrCwyPrV4-Kz6d/s320/163586_10201048372710929_2056453916_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
~Ryan at bat and his awesome team~</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqzmjdD29LiT1NXX_tcAeof39KJByUMuTpoIBZxkeXU9E6Qxf7tXlRH0v7pmRHxqmT0cK66lkDkqBFJi29JXiZTAymnTdRXAAAptrDyG3jmfelvKEuZg-cZfQN4jduLnCTx6M6lOnTL6xD/s1600/972335_10201307963240530_1592849734_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqzmjdD29LiT1NXX_tcAeof39KJByUMuTpoIBZxkeXU9E6Qxf7tXlRH0v7pmRHxqmT0cK66lkDkqBFJi29JXiZTAymnTdRXAAAptrDyG3jmfelvKEuZg-cZfQN4jduLnCTx6M6lOnTL6xD/s320/972335_10201307963240530_1592849734_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Noteworthy Light'; font-size: 12px; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">Baseball took up a big chunk of our time which was good for us...Misha learned about cherring on his brother and towards the end of the season would actually give a loud shout when his brother (and his teammates) was at bat!! But we did make time for me to walk at my graduation from college!!! That’s right folks, I AM A COLLEGE GRADUATE!! I walked the stage in May with most of the class of 2013 but didn’t actually finish my classes until August 25. None the less, walking across that stage was a beautiful moment, and something I’d been working towards for the last 8 years. It’s wasn’t the easiest road to finishing but sticking to it really paid off and I am proud to say I am so proud of myself!!</span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'Noteworthy Light';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-DWjI42Z2dOTWVGMSvVjqII0hhIuA73HVXjl6h87KvirmYutErJE2AgJYM1VJxylbih-5sCtiCE2o3bnE7oLRpGR21CnMdcEBScjoRW83U2O1Kdfoc1AP50aPN1VQ5J2KL9nCGVodboFq/s1600/1013679_10201555900198511_1728817968_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-DWjI42Z2dOTWVGMSvVjqII0hhIuA73HVXjl6h87KvirmYutErJE2AgJYM1VJxylbih-5sCtiCE2o3bnE7oLRpGR21CnMdcEBScjoRW83U2O1Kdfoc1AP50aPN1VQ5J2KL9nCGVodboFq/s320/1013679_10201555900198511_1728817968_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Noteworthy Light'; font-size: 12px; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">June gave David and I a chance to get away to one of my favorite places in the world..Hawaii!! It was a much needed get-a-way, with some serious sunburns, so there are not many pictures of the two of us buuut trust me when I say it was a blast and so nice to reconnect with my husband and enjoy the time together. Visiting one of great friends Megan was a bonus to the trip!! Love you Megan!! :)</span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'Noteworthy Light';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuDPgvZP95fhLoU4TLiOTj9vNaY-0eCBKgAKr0eDHZu3KvF8WfSEtfJ7Xbh-zFnWnr-A8J6GYFzZd5YFzmenaZIvugD1otnAe7ApU3y5WDLWW-fNV3j_5HR-t_Qa6PtXhJJGQjaRJqoZg9/s1600/1005699_10201336633157260_440162886_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuDPgvZP95fhLoU4TLiOTj9vNaY-0eCBKgAKr0eDHZu3KvF8WfSEtfJ7Xbh-zFnWnr-A8J6GYFzZd5YFzmenaZIvugD1otnAe7ApU3y5WDLWW-fNV3j_5HR-t_Qa6PtXhJJGQjaRJqoZg9/s320/1005699_10201336633157260_440162886_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
~The inner surfer came out while paddle boarding~</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
~ life on a boat with a drink in my hand may be in my future~</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9GEkj4SgSECDegr5iN-_cnd9GlvIdmpBIlnOnuha-E62YjclkE0-C47qVkoIpUrI-UHWENhtZ6w7xn5AFkt03-KbBIuqTWP-ctiEdkfR5YGe5sDJc8xP8aHwd37bpc_s2rwRTOZf92-96/s1600/970849_10201343646012577_1636260038_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9GEkj4SgSECDegr5iN-_cnd9GlvIdmpBIlnOnuha-E62YjclkE0-C47qVkoIpUrI-UHWENhtZ6w7xn5AFkt03-KbBIuqTWP-ctiEdkfR5YGe5sDJc8xP8aHwd37bpc_s2rwRTOZf92-96/s320/970849_10201343646012577_1636260038_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Noteworthy Light'; font-size: 12px; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">July we celebrated the 4th with a baseball game on July 3rd and then with our friends the Herrington's. on the 4th.who are really more like family and we had a blast swimming and eating!! July was also fun because I was able to attend the National Conference for Thirty-One Gifts...oh what’s that, you didn’t know I was a Thirty-One consultant...well, surprise I am..I’ve been a consultant since July 2011!! I had a blast and made a life long friendship with 2 wonderful ladies and I am so excited to go to the 2014 conference and catch up with those lovely two ladies!!</span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'Noteworthy Light';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDeIuE_wNBS2LklUOAksLxOR7_aSaKPgVCeen-rjeiB8mILDGoHvhLxieHOLmSA8BGRmGfCzu4vpCh7p_SQpEWC_fDd0DjVtKEVHgj9CTJiYYUyyYqEiPrDp4aKjVzn7O1kSksLBFw0Fnj/s1600/1004002_10201487141039863_89037681_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDeIuE_wNBS2LklUOAksLxOR7_aSaKPgVCeen-rjeiB8mILDGoHvhLxieHOLmSA8BGRmGfCzu4vpCh7p_SQpEWC_fDd0DjVtKEVHgj9CTJiYYUyyYqEiPrDp4aKjVzn7O1kSksLBFw0Fnj/s320/1004002_10201487141039863_89037681_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Noteworthy Light'; text-align: center;">
~Baseball Game siiliness~</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDlzFYGq7uV3rW5zMuNMXb1vMqjYJGi8LHJM7oMqVeqsylHNZL6_PVvweiaZAcWQYbHQR1vccTFx0i-p57I1WzGTYCGZI-EvAzmLPHReuaFS0zE-KSIWRQee7Dg9rYWEnjwoWmKLpSy9En/s1600/1014110_10201694697468356_336823256_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDlzFYGq7uV3rW5zMuNMXb1vMqjYJGi8LHJM7oMqVeqsylHNZL6_PVvweiaZAcWQYbHQR1vccTFx0i-p57I1WzGTYCGZI-EvAzmLPHReuaFS0zE-KSIWRQee7Dg9rYWEnjwoWmKLpSy9En/s320/1014110_10201694697468356_336823256_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
~Swimming on the 4th~</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDPKRlQtv_GT_IsJfZueYJ89hkkEeTqHozauSO7TIOx_NI-6OcoSV2FpxXC3qKCGQnQQVQzkgMkeZhrFSnDVVh7_GbErzyKBS9TsEvaOmzxLT1wv7oYVjAsB75H7g1DVy_EymfyzoEVhd8/s1600/7973_10201694696388329_1477895797_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDPKRlQtv_GT_IsJfZueYJ89hkkEeTqHozauSO7TIOx_NI-6OcoSV2FpxXC3qKCGQnQQVQzkgMkeZhrFSnDVVh7_GbErzyKBS9TsEvaOmzxLT1wv7oYVjAsB75H7g1DVy_EymfyzoEVhd8/s320/7973_10201694696388329_1477895797_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
~Thirty-One National Conference~</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhLGxNtXRd5fdlCtbkptffMvtmqW0AkNRK-YfyUmvGJ8TCFFHxpwk1GNxxj5Bhb_P1dXMES0NTUmHr4TCH184e1wUE88Drvn2DkA27j850L6b_aab6Fe5mjlFtoht6-QRdRFQvxbtvR2Ef/s1600/Image+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhLGxNtXRd5fdlCtbkptffMvtmqW0AkNRK-YfyUmvGJ8TCFFHxpwk1GNxxj5Bhb_P1dXMES0NTUmHr4TCH184e1wUE88Drvn2DkA27j850L6b_aab6Fe5mjlFtoht6-QRdRFQvxbtvR2Ef/s320/Image+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">August was eventful since school was ending for me and starting for the boys...Ryan started 3rd grade...I’m still in denial my baby is in 3rd grade...Misha started his last year of preschool, which is also hard to swallow because that means he’ll be in Kindergarten next year. Both boys are doing great in school and are now enjoying their winter break. I finished school officially in August and have never felt more like laughing and crying all at one time like I did the moment I pressed send on my finally paper!! August also brought on “Fall Baseball” which should really be named End of Summer Baseball since there was NO kind of fall weather with 100+ temps!! None the less we had fun and I learned I enjoy watching Ryan play baseball from the stands and not from the dugout as a coach.</span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'Noteworthy Light';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0BuZgz5d1NR-eAW8XwK0MFnaOzBhuawIqJtgr3Ze0BKEvIU0jAAIWnzL0gJpktufwhdhnYQjqh6p8FjFb4lA_o7UfxWSTcDx3XuaCuSRnq7EYuB8DvyiFDTIVpjLnKkuyfN_N5ovZRCcn/s1600/16261_10201786499723643_624842562_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0BuZgz5d1NR-eAW8XwK0MFnaOzBhuawIqJtgr3Ze0BKEvIU0jAAIWnzL0gJpktufwhdhnYQjqh6p8FjFb4lA_o7UfxWSTcDx3XuaCuSRnq7EYuB8DvyiFDTIVpjLnKkuyfN_N5ovZRCcn/s320/16261_10201786499723643_624842562_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
~Growing up too fast and I FINALLY finished~</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj76E3wfa39wmOlxottvt4aSmc7PQrteSXc-X10u3zAh1iGEVRj352wJKJfSVclwF4BsMYkcZTvZSwG14QwHem8JhFChR2ya_ZV1Xvz0YeVJ202zDHJxxcrVvAgPPgNtSuS3jjY3DV61NoT/s1600/545917_10202068317608914_1732856420_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj76E3wfa39wmOlxottvt4aSmc7PQrteSXc-X10u3zAh1iGEVRj352wJKJfSVclwF4BsMYkcZTvZSwG14QwHem8JhFChR2ya_ZV1Xvz0YeVJ202zDHJxxcrVvAgPPgNtSuS3jjY3DV61NoT/s320/545917_10202068317608914_1732856420_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Noteworthy Light'; font-size: 12px; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">September began with another trip to Disneyland for another run-cation....David, Ryan and I ran the family 5k on Saturday and then on Sunday I ran in the Disneyland Half marathon with my mom and good friend Mandy..we had a blast despite the heat and humidity...we finished and beat our last time with a finish in 3 hours and 32 minutes!! September also lead David, Ryan, Misha and myself to run family 5k with the Neon Splash Dash which was so much!! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAXv6zDvbrK1TsYlUN3AVioJF5qzpv_0FPlBeFn8o95mtmvirC73AXqEuSApXC5b26BG7VSxyvnwdO5q9pIVRAFba_hp99kwGiYpuru62WIeACx3vVUKpcrmyMwz4TkOz2UrTBmGvtvZ8Z/s1600/1173683_10202116462492218_651114600_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAXv6zDvbrK1TsYlUN3AVioJF5qzpv_0FPlBeFn8o95mtmvirC73AXqEuSApXC5b26BG7VSxyvnwdO5q9pIVRAFba_hp99kwGiYpuru62WIeACx3vVUKpcrmyMwz4TkOz2UrTBmGvtvZ8Z/s320/1173683_10202116462492218_651114600_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
~Running is the best when shared with family and friends~</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1naAR5aJhi7QJ5WHFO7-WfsVfl_Ohwl-fjzSCp0tu6DIpK7u-HjH1A7cTTlT_G_Q69psF5wYKZYxJ4m7UM-UdE0bf4o6teiFlYLNzijZjqfIiOp_an1TJruxniyn9X9yAZnhrOTP_yGJU/s1600/1175661_10202128634036499_2085956339_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1naAR5aJhi7QJ5WHFO7-WfsVfl_Ohwl-fjzSCp0tu6DIpK7u-HjH1A7cTTlT_G_Q69psF5wYKZYxJ4m7UM-UdE0bf4o6teiFlYLNzijZjqfIiOp_an1TJruxniyn9X9yAZnhrOTP_yGJU/s320/1175661_10202128634036499_2085956339_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYl9l0M9hr8qW6_aG2QME_QX7flQBlGjJt1XuYUV0mgOX4gDwmICh6rY5ZTj9jHUS_GEA5TcAq05wMuNq98mpL8W9JP-mXg603Ivm7TeY9_7nJapiHln5oy77dCLLNiwiomVtkJZd-wHmt/s1600/1229978_10202125970729918_187711873_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYl9l0M9hr8qW6_aG2QME_QX7flQBlGjJt1XuYUV0mgOX4gDwmICh6rY5ZTj9jHUS_GEA5TcAq05wMuNq98mpL8W9JP-mXg603Ivm7TeY9_7nJapiHln5oy77dCLLNiwiomVtkJZd-wHmt/s320/1229978_10202125970729918_187711873_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
~Disneyland Fun~</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBKKilAbdCT96ugYmziDeOaRja0_mRa6K-ASAVFKSoFyBJkN-e7_1e_G9fY33zh2sxPp_3UlKeSuTwqhtLAX660DJ7iBk3wSFyIYrTFj-uuHMComWAuqhnii7_Kf5oWJjjU_246NcUhyYX/s1600/1174800_10202147291662928_510851782_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBKKilAbdCT96ugYmziDeOaRja0_mRa6K-ASAVFKSoFyBJkN-e7_1e_G9fY33zh2sxPp_3UlKeSuTwqhtLAX660DJ7iBk3wSFyIYrTFj-uuHMComWAuqhnii7_Kf5oWJjjU_246NcUhyYX/s320/1174800_10202147291662928_510851782_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
~The Neon Splash Dash~</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsoD9kjEU01ax6NAGElBqe5jxEW6lUKodob8spZBTe2O_p93AVVkU7hLYddIio4-dE4lgk6zr04ncy5STtzcYEg__rm6wE-_dH7B01XTpczAL9jirzkBpA15H89PBoHMQArQRsAZ5ovNZO/s1600/999607_10201955893718387_1660650911_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsoD9kjEU01ax6NAGElBqe5jxEW6lUKodob8spZBTe2O_p93AVVkU7hLYddIio4-dE4lgk6zr04ncy5STtzcYEg__rm6wE-_dH7B01XTpczAL9jirzkBpA15H89PBoHMQArQRsAZ5ovNZO/s320/999607_10201955893718387_1660650911_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Noteworthy Light'; font-size: 12px; min-height: 19px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">October was a down month for us...after finishing school..coaching Ryan’s fall baseball team and our month of running...we laid low and just enjoyed the month and Halloween with our S.W.A.T. guy and fighter pilot</span>…</span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'Noteworthy Light'; font-size: 12px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_x2_YEBGr8LXi55gVKzbuAtPSzbAxs0CA-5arW2MJZbkJZH7mPkRjvFNoJTUXetqnNJvc89Vt6QcvON5n6-ogduPn1UhY8J1dFGawrwGdO5slxSEcM-D_ksd9C4GjYvvpYcoZTwch1Ojs/s1600/1395833_10202347860557313_619357662_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_x2_YEBGr8LXi55gVKzbuAtPSzbAxs0CA-5arW2MJZbkJZH7mPkRjvFNoJTUXetqnNJvc89Vt6QcvON5n6-ogduPn1UhY8J1dFGawrwGdO5slxSEcM-D_ksd9C4GjYvvpYcoZTwch1Ojs/s320/1395833_10202347860557313_619357662_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">November brought on another half marathon for me..but this time it was in Las Vegas. Which meant David and I got to have another little get-a-way...and although we enjoyed our time this half marathon left me a lot sorer then the others BUT I did beat my last time of 3:32 with a 3 hour and 20 minute finish!!! Thanksgiving was spent surrounded with family and lots of laughter. We also celebrated a VERY big birthday in November</span>…My little sister Elizabeth turned 17!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
~1/2 marathon #3 in the books~</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi30Lt7Rs7APIg08e3FF3Y01z2sfPf3GcmEgj6x6X0__EiWdlTab7hPw4ihF3VLL0jV8eq1TvnP_-0xbtMRLY3eUQs-jHRMq8tQfy1FKL7r8eP47DW4AG6yx3eUhQS5DxL5g8Tz9WjFTmbN/s1600/1469937_10202514787370379_133433737_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi30Lt7Rs7APIg08e3FF3Y01z2sfPf3GcmEgj6x6X0__EiWdlTab7hPw4ihF3VLL0jV8eq1TvnP_-0xbtMRLY3eUQs-jHRMq8tQfy1FKL7r8eP47DW4AG6yx3eUhQS5DxL5g8Tz9WjFTmbN/s320/1469937_10202514787370379_133433737_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
~I LOVE her to the moon and back~</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFfvQZi1VWMfghA2OHUH0Cx7HNA2ffgnyg_lUMxRx_lIF5tQOxEWOwerf_vVDGNIs25zUQJfPCR4hS9_v6DX_0ss8Z8oadWDpKhqpPz21yfI_nf5AuDdkdG7IxPIXUyQAzCE5iqzNMdUdF/s1600/1476620_10202608797400571_1154671705_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFfvQZi1VWMfghA2OHUH0Cx7HNA2ffgnyg_lUMxRx_lIF5tQOxEWOwerf_vVDGNIs25zUQJfPCR4hS9_v6DX_0ss8Z8oadWDpKhqpPz21yfI_nf5AuDdkdG7IxPIXUyQAzCE5iqzNMdUdF/s320/1476620_10202608797400571_1154671705_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">That brings us to December...this month has simply flown by in the blink of an eye....I’m not sure how I feel about only having 5 days left in 2013 but I can say this past year was crazy, fun, adventurous and I am truly blessed to be having so much fun with my best friend and our children!! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: 'Noteworthy Light'; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihED27zGnODCgS0VS8z0WUiaZOewzKbP_-GCuEoQX1lhA3Hm3BQV1piJgPmNM05gJntrJ_LYD635Ug3XRmXsVOpLCXfYPF5ZLCSl1nSU9KEaqd_FSphtYpjm6GoCOOfb9L__FH54bykMyX/s1600/1544369_10202800596835437_826511760_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihED27zGnODCgS0VS8z0WUiaZOewzKbP_-GCuEoQX1lhA3Hm3BQV1piJgPmNM05gJntrJ_LYD635Ug3XRmXsVOpLCXfYPF5ZLCSl1nSU9KEaqd_FSphtYpjm6GoCOOfb9L__FH54bykMyX/s320/1544369_10202800596835437_826511760_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: 'Noteworthy Light'; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Noteworthy Light';">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span>I can't wait to see the exciting fun that is to be had in 2014 for our family!! Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year!!!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Love,</span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Zapfino; letter-spacing: 0px;">Melissa</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Zapfino; letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">P.S. Here are some other pictures of our good times from throughout the year</span>…</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Bx03A0Mg1Ko26obwAzOKOBW5JfsAHnIZAORlrZ0sq9ylt_8HvbPpTH-3BZZyeuwSkm-UiNPO9BO02KM20XqcG3gGy90sg8UKIJWvSx_svBvg3InR2-ZDJVdURtkaYKwG09kQ2gG79OBq/s1600/1491785_10201146214477081_860290850_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Bx03A0Mg1Ko26obwAzOKOBW5JfsAHnIZAORlrZ0sq9ylt_8HvbPpTH-3BZZyeuwSkm-UiNPO9BO02KM20XqcG3gGy90sg8UKIJWvSx_svBvg3InR2-ZDJVdURtkaYKwG09kQ2gG79OBq/s320/1491785_10201146214477081_860290850_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Noteworthy Light'; font-size: 12px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYEyvOxQq9CdbHJRX7Ezc4Z4l93DI8fiIh8UA2U6zzyjsQRuQ09YW5P1N0aONAzbNSbeBLZ3jlRkZGCAkJg83q8Mj9spiwibzqnr2draxV0RTGzrWmn4G26J65uWlwehFEmBUom-YVkLc6/s1600/1006236_3156659491269_734547483_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYEyvOxQq9CdbHJRX7Ezc4Z4l93DI8fiIh8UA2U6zzyjsQRuQ09YW5P1N0aONAzbNSbeBLZ3jlRkZGCAkJg83q8Mj9spiwibzqnr2draxV0RTGzrWmn4G26J65uWlwehFEmBUom-YVkLc6/s320/1006236_3156659491269_734547483_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhztXj7krYhw6VxlVCG_uDGZmNv-ofcsl8F7qPV8S1wjLD5KQDU-RsRYPKG-tzhFPpnHANdch1y6k2CxPMPo9CpoB8eRroqJ5TA8X_Z7t4ZY1YZWPTkLuWV8kY-vjIlAwLwci3MuoIfcCiH/s1600/1379808_10202365386635454_1150889803_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhztXj7krYhw6VxlVCG_uDGZmNv-ofcsl8F7qPV8S1wjLD5KQDU-RsRYPKG-tzhFPpnHANdch1y6k2CxPMPo9CpoB8eRroqJ5TA8X_Z7t4ZY1YZWPTkLuWV8kY-vjIlAwLwci3MuoIfcCiH/s320/1379808_10202365386635454_1150889803_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGx_TSeVzDFAuWt9oKdS5OVGDTyimbq3ut0YDATnzwgTxLc5rzFfyGT47vUGxJK0lpza9SeDdSflmg3-UFZcoIqJFvmLJBUjMFXXodFtCQSkje03f-X9o8EsKMuNc3ypQDNlhqUW0tusoy/s1600/579354_10201256380430992_672749882_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGx_TSeVzDFAuWt9oKdS5OVGDTyimbq3ut0YDATnzwgTxLc5rzFfyGT47vUGxJK0lpza9SeDdSflmg3-UFZcoIqJFvmLJBUjMFXXodFtCQSkje03f-X9o8EsKMuNc3ypQDNlhqUW0tusoy/s320/579354_10201256380430992_672749882_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845378458318433437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4872111744535712594.post-68497547292544122352013-05-15T10:59:00.002-07:002013-05-15T10:59:51.740-07:00One Year Home!!!!<div style="font-size: 14px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Well helloooo again...can you believe that on Sunday (Mother’s Day) we celebrated Misha’s one year home with us!??! How crazy is that? The last year has been a true whirlwind and I can’t imagine our lives without Misha. He has grown and come so far in the last year we are constantly amazed by him. He has experienced so many new things (like: Disneyland, Halloween, Christmas, First Birthday Party, just to name a few) in the last year and I am so grateful we got to be by his side for all the new adventures!!His personality is beginning to really form and I know he is going to be a little ham when he grows into his words and gestures. Everyday with Misha we learn something new and it has really showed us as a family to enjoy the moments, not matter if it’s good or bad. Life is beautiful and we are so happy to have Misha as our son and can’t wait to see what the next year holds for him and us as a family!! Soooo with that being said here’s a little video with pictures of Misha’s last year at home with us!!</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 14px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Love, </span></div>
<div style="font-size: 14px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;"> Melissa</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/9M_AMX8Mx-o" width="480"></iframe>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845378458318433437noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4872111744535712594.post-57951285429525544592013-01-06T22:46:00.000-08:002013-01-06T22:46:03.351-08:00Inspiration....<br />
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script'; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="font-size: 18px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Inspiration comes in many forms...for some it’s reading, seeing, hearing something that motivates them to do something creative...however sometimes it’s not what someone says, writes or does that is inspiring...sometimes it’s the person themselves that is an inspiration....well in my last blog post I wrote about running a half marathon....I have always wanted to run one and after hearing some news this summer I found my inspiration do it....I want you all to meet someone very special....</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi51CFVhzI0SBD5G_aRB_GgAS8jECUZFI_35QdQeGBohaBLR-nTxz5NImvo-TkQD-14RHQEd3ZiKKn1_7GfE1D5wcHcZqcUgeUkUD3JuD7dkzruUtG9i07HWUeymzgDEzueuDzETxsk1ft8/s1600/524210_3857089099470_178097682_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi51CFVhzI0SBD5G_aRB_GgAS8jECUZFI_35QdQeGBohaBLR-nTxz5NImvo-TkQD-14RHQEd3ZiKKn1_7GfE1D5wcHcZqcUgeUkUD3JuD7dkzruUtG9i07HWUeymzgDEzueuDzETxsk1ft8/s320/524210_3857089099470_178097682_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script'; font-size: 16px;">
</div>
<div style="font-size: 18px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">This is Chloe</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 18px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">She is the daughter of our dear friends Beth and Lee Herrington....Chloe is two and half years old and has Down syndrome. She is the life of the party and a true shinning star.....This past summer it was confirmed that Chloe has Leukemia....when I heard the news from Beth, I thought how in the world could this be?! Chloe reminds me so much of my little sister and I see the same fight, determination, spirit and sassiness in her that my little sister Lizzy has. Knowing that the road ahead of them would be long Beth and Lee jumped in head first and Chloe started Chemo in August...she has completed 4 out the 6 rounds and is headed in this week to start round 5.....she has pulled through every treatment with flying colors and leaves the doctors stunned constantly...the days they expect her to be feeling her worst, they walk in her room to find her dancing to a ‘gangnam style’ video or many of her other favorite pop songs...(Chloe does have her yucky days but they are nothing like what they were told to prepare for)...Chloe’s story has touched so many people and she inspires people daily....and she IS my inspiration for running.</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 18px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEULVx6Ui_OwZJBwNUef4Cbliyu1AlzyphfHCVj05OqBxMPNkp4a-zp3VJfbaIaGegE1IH3WOcYhj5_MUeXIXEUA3AGkzLetstoTX_YXLxYBEQXEjE7UASsEdLZvhzXuOCitcSaZoNSXKE/s1600/409532_4494926405004_14008598_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEULVx6Ui_OwZJBwNUef4Cbliyu1AlzyphfHCVj05OqBxMPNkp4a-zp3VJfbaIaGegE1IH3WOcYhj5_MUeXIXEUA3AGkzLetstoTX_YXLxYBEQXEjE7UASsEdLZvhzXuOCitcSaZoNSXKE/s320/409532_4494926405004_14008598_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="font-size: 18px; min-height: 21px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span>(Here's Chloe at home for Christmas with her family....A true super start in my book!!)</div>
<div style="font-size: 18px; min-height: 21px; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-size: 18px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Thanks to Chloe I have run further then I ever thought I possibly could and every time I want stop to walk I think about the fact that Chloe has only one choice and that's to fight and this keeps me running on.....So on January 20th at theTinkerBell Half Marathon I will be running for Chloe...I won’t be alone in my run as my mom has been training to run this half marathon with me......I am so excited to do something so amazing with my mom by my side, to be able to show my boys that all it takes is a little inspiration and you can reach any goal. I have Chloe to thank for showing me that if a two and half year old can fight cancer with a smile on her face then I can run 13.1 miles with a smile on my face!!</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 18px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I hope you all find something that inspires you and makes you a better person. Thank you Chloe for showing me that life isn’t about the material things, it’s about the strength we have within us and the will to live each day to the fullest!!</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 18px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">~Melissa~</span></div>
<br />
<br />Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845378458318433437noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4872111744535712594.post-25816955260299500062013-01-03T01:38:00.000-08:002013-01-03T01:38:08.485-08:00Happy New Year...<br />
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script'; font-size: 18px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Happy New Year!!!! I can’t believe that 2013 is finally here!! I have made it may resolution to dust off my blog here and get to blogging more..my goal is once or twice a week.....(but I know me and it may really take some reminders, but reflecting on our amazingly fun life will be worth it!) This last year was such a blast and I can’t wait to see what 2013 has planned for us. We have been a very busy family since our last update in July...YIKES, I guess I need to do some serious catching up! So here goes....</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script'; font-size: 18px; min-height: 21px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script'; font-size: 18px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Misha is doing wonderful and growing and learning so much everyday. In September we went on a family vacation to Disneyland and it was awesome to watch our little boys eyes light up with every little thing at “The Happiest Place On Earth”. October was a very busy month for Misha...we had his very first IEP (individualized education plan) and he started preschool at a wonderful county program for children with special needs. Misha also experienced his first Halloween with a fun festival at school and a very rainy night out trick-or-treating with his big brother. November was a month where we saw so much growth in Misha. School has been so amazing for him and he is learning so quickly. Again Misha had another first with Thanksgiving and let me tell you this boy LOVES him some candied yams (I think it was the brown sugar and marshmallows that was in them)!!! He enjoyed all parts of our turkey dinner but he was signing ‘more’ like crazy when he got to the yams. December was full of school and the most magical time of year for us....Christmas!! I can honestly say I have truly enjoyed experiencing every first with Misha since he’s been home but Christmas takes the cake! There is something so magical about this time of year and, for a little boy who spent too many years alone in an orphanage, watching him experience every part of the holiday made it even more magical for our family! And that brings us to today....Misha is happy, healthy, loved and sleeping peacefully in his bed as I type! </span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg77NsRXl3VXApps2qgGqVNE3owZqy7ELV0666yYCFIbELUqn4VvXmMDyTVFuC9lm5W4fG72cVVG4awrD_w5ZpTNP0zegQcg4JXmbGfrE4R4BA8IKV3lNa7pDBKGWOdzoHYGjNKaGYiWyP2/s1600/487053_4985745760867_1699962875_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg77NsRXl3VXApps2qgGqVNE3owZqy7ELV0666yYCFIbELUqn4VvXmMDyTVFuC9lm5W4fG72cVVG4awrD_w5ZpTNP0zegQcg4JXmbGfrE4R4BA8IKV3lNa7pDBKGWOdzoHYGjNKaGYiWyP2/s200/487053_4985745760867_1699962875_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjkXIIDyVozDn3MEsY7XEDJWBAChZ6snAIRxwQKiLiPnLGMGNvwmugOiym5JEztdMnPY0b87zmZYUS8icg1MClvz0n1oAdA43wmrQwFSlBnkHhDr7-tz3kp2hb-psx2N31RA3wmKgKv2D4/s1600/644070_4888872099086_1058495673_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjkXIIDyVozDn3MEsY7XEDJWBAChZ6snAIRxwQKiLiPnLGMGNvwmugOiym5JEztdMnPY0b87zmZYUS8icg1MClvz0n1oAdA43wmrQwFSlBnkHhDr7-tz3kp2hb-psx2N31RA3wmKgKv2D4/s200/644070_4888872099086_1058495673_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span><br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script';">
</div>
<br />
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script'; font-size: 18px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><-----Enjoying his candied yams!</span></div>
<br />
<div style="min-height: 21px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="min-height: 21px;">
<br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 21px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 21px;">
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script'; font-size: 18px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script'; font-size: 18px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script'; font-size: 18px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">trying to escape while mommy did the dishes! </span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script'; font-size: 18px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">-----></span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 21px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script'; min-height: 19px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script'; min-height: 19px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script'; min-height: 19px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script'; font-size: 18px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Next up is our big boy Ryan. He started 2nd grade in August and I think this was the hardest year yet watching him go off to school the first day. My baby boy is no longer a baby he is becoming a wonderful, kind, sweet, and caring young boy and makes me proud everyday. He spent the summer playing baseball and continued that into fall baseball. He has real passion for baseball and is a natural at it...and no I’m not just saying that cause I’m his mom, (well maybe a little)....but he really is good for his age. His new love is football and thanks to his mama he has become a HUGE Oregon Ducks fan and is following his buddies footsteps in liking the NY Giants....I’m sure next year he’ll ask to play football in the fall but I don’t think I’m ready to watch my baby take hits from other kids....I wonder if I could talk him into flag football...hhhmmm, I guess I better get the seed of flag football planted now!:) Other then his sports he is working hard at being a great student and is a wonderful big brother. He loves Misha and is so sweet with him. He too is enjoying showing Misha lots new things and sharing in “Misha’s Firsts”. David and I are truly proud of him and couldn’t ask for a more sweeter, kinder, caring boy! </span></div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7KGKUMFSISX7p3jMZWGlQ1pgvFBbOKXThI8lvucQ0VD51d3IG7sKDPpeVMAWudvZR9scFSsiozullP_UlM_rrANDDxosTmmbwrQXQ_GArP-N4977vxtV0fjtx0Uti7zqb_8tObAUtwiFs/s1600/DSC_0580.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7KGKUMFSISX7p3jMZWGlQ1pgvFBbOKXThI8lvucQ0VD51d3IG7sKDPpeVMAWudvZR9scFSsiozullP_UlM_rrANDDxosTmmbwrQXQ_GArP-N4977vxtV0fjtx0Uti7zqb_8tObAUtwiFs/s200/DSC_0580.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvFQJQimllYpWkfFynW_KohGUuKK1nXH6-imwkB1x8ZsyqSOx2vic25IB00CsxExgvtUJLuGNoQswTJQA6D2cl4xKySH4dkp9gRcP8VLfZSwges0V4ffYb9oNIG1DzmRHnq_3REd3k9QJy/s1600/DSC_0164.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvFQJQimllYpWkfFynW_KohGUuKK1nXH6-imwkB1x8ZsyqSOx2vic25IB00CsxExgvtUJLuGNoQswTJQA6D2cl4xKySH4dkp9gRcP8VLfZSwges0V4ffYb9oNIG1DzmRHnq_3REd3k9QJy/s200/DSC_0164.jpg" width="133" /></a><br />
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: 0px;">Getting so big!! -----></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script';">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script'; text-align: left;">
<br />
<div style="font-size: 18px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> <-----Enjoying Disneyland in September!</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script'; font-size: 18px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Up now is David and I.....besides being busy parents of two boys....we just celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary and are looking forward to many more years together. David is still working hard at the Sheriffs Department, as well as, the National Guard. I can not believe how blessed I really am to have a husband who loves and supports us the way he does! I am still plugging along at school...I thought I would be done in May but I need to take a few more “filler” classes to meet my credit requirements...sooo it looks like this time next year I will entering my final classes and graduating with my bachelors degree in multiple subject teaching!! I can’t begin to say how excited I am to see the light at the end of this road...it’s been long and full of stops but I am finally getting to the end!!:) So besides school and kids, I have also been working hard at checking a item off my bucket list.....that item is running a half marathon...Haha...Just typing that made me laugh...yes I am just that crazy that I have created a goal like that with my busy life...I guess I like the challenge! But this challenge only happened because I was reminded of how precious life is this summer (I’ll write more about this in another blog..maybe tomorrow) and that it’s time to start living life and showing my children anything is possible!:)</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script'; font-size: 18px; min-height: 21px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script'; font-size: 18px; min-height: 21px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So as you can see life for the Chellson’s has been anything but slow and 2012 truly was an amazingly awesome adventure.......we really can’t wait to see what 2013 holds for us and we hope that you (and hopefully more new followers) will be along for ride with our adventures!</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script'; font-size: 18px; min-height: 21px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script'; font-size: 18px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Thanks for reading and check back soon for a new post!</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script'; font-size: 18px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Happy New Year!!!!</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script'; font-size: 18px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">~Melissa~</span></div>
<br />
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script'; min-height: 21px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiTPMVHim9E8Vb-G_LWlyHM9RliJXgUSB6PvKjo2eEHFsJquL4dlNyzScGpJgd5BYVlmNmayVnrNAQUc-ZVZMTeI4d_qghXuLakwsHEZNjNu67HQl_2tysXkZkfj-5JbAZSSVtc12hZ2s-/s1600/599669_10200246672668929_104849431_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiTPMVHim9E8Vb-G_LWlyHM9RliJXgUSB6PvKjo2eEHFsJquL4dlNyzScGpJgd5BYVlmNmayVnrNAQUc-ZVZMTeI4d_qghXuLakwsHEZNjNu67HQl_2tysXkZkfj-5JbAZSSVtc12hZ2s-/s320/599669_10200246672668929_104849431_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script';">
<br />
<div style="font-size: 18px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">~Christmas Eve Movie Night~</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0hPbb3227B0OKWp9l4LP_-Vzd6pIdP-BO7_g1YzPhZSv322JoQBCOaGTzqHNZPIsBO2XsBOrazXJIhUlH_cqv4x8228qGW2MLBECXiDsV4e0SINGx9hFaaVRQXy_tcEYqg2dED0nYikpo/s1600/603326_10200200043623232_414797514_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0hPbb3227B0OKWp9l4LP_-Vzd6pIdP-BO7_g1YzPhZSv322JoQBCOaGTzqHNZPIsBO2XsBOrazXJIhUlH_cqv4x8228qGW2MLBECXiDsV4e0SINGx9hFaaVRQXy_tcEYqg2dED0nYikpo/s320/603326_10200200043623232_414797514_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script';">
<br />
<div style="font-size: 18px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">~Brothers and Friends Forever~</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj487pDk1hERaxYbVY53Mv73xkpxqQB9JLBztQwc1racJVbVy5fWT2-sej286kSHiz7LDAiwu1jnJLF_YN2ocu3pY8TwwHrYOILauJQOuWqsZI8uZUlle1fxABNDD0AGZo_yxPr9yDw9bys/s1600/281637_10200219251623420_758355400_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj487pDk1hERaxYbVY53Mv73xkpxqQB9JLBztQwc1racJVbVy5fWT2-sej286kSHiz7LDAiwu1jnJLF_YN2ocu3pY8TwwHrYOILauJQOuWqsZI8uZUlle1fxABNDD0AGZo_yxPr9yDw9bys/s320/281637_10200219251623420_758355400_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="font-family: 'Nanum Pen Script'; font-size: 18px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">~One more of our silly boy~</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845378458318433437noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4872111744535712594.post-73347785583481066182012-07-28T11:51:00.000-07:002012-10-14T22:34:26.215-07:00Finally an Update!<br />
<div style="font: 13.0px 'Noteworthy Light'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
</div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Hi everyone!!! Well it’s been awhile since I blogged and I figured I should give an update on how life is going since we’ve been home. We have been home for almost 3 months and it honestly feels like forever...I guess the best way to describe it is a lot like having a baby.....you know when you leave for the hospital with just one child and come home having two kids...life didn’t stop it just keeps going and the new baby just fits right in...well that’s how it’s been for us...although I didn’t give birth to Misha it feel like he’s been with us forever. Some days have been tougher then others but that’s mostly because this mama doesn’t really ever stop and take a break. I think if I did stop, I’d end up sleeping for six months!! Haha.. Overall life has been great and busy for us.</span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Since Misha has been home he’s experienced many “firsts”....his first ride in a car seat, his first (of a million) trips to Target, his first baseball game, his first swim in a swimming pool (yeah, didn’t go as smooth as I had envisioned in my mind..haha), his first over night trip to Grandma’s, his first McDonald’s chicken nugget (which he LOVED and ate 6 of!!!), his first time feeding himself, and of course TONS of many firsts with foods.... I don’t think everything is new to him but I do believe that he was not exposed to much more then soup, bread, veggies, and fruit....he’s also has his first bedroom that is his and only his and of course he has toys that are just for him and only him for the first time in his 3 years of life. So as you can see we have been busy experiencing many “firsts” and we have been enjoying every minute of it!!</span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We have started the process for getting Misha into therapy and when school starts in just a few weeks he’ll be headed to the special education preschool that is provided through our school district. We have watched him blossom like crazy since he’s been home and I can’t wait to see what he will do once therapy and school starts!!:) So that’s about it...we have been taking full advantage of summer and enjoying every minute of it and trying to give Misha the “all American summer”!:) </span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 20px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We hope you all are having a wonderful summer and thanks for sticking around even though I haven’t been so great at updating since we’ve been home!!:) </span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 20px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Before I go I’ll leave you with some pictures!! Enjoy!!:)</span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bqygtvpyxyfl_m4oZ4r5_ozocWYnrUogThINHdMHKUE1FlM20EDOg9kHnXRPCnUqEPjnKwau43PLN8_OqTp3nOoJBeRiN3ON9CFpcb32U-BPata3jirRnsSnyPBMkhSefPvFd-FgLG3a/s1600/181295_4164870759217_1207570208_33962270_127401202_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bqygtvpyxyfl_m4oZ4r5_ozocWYnrUogThINHdMHKUE1FlM20EDOg9kHnXRPCnUqEPjnKwau43PLN8_OqTp3nOoJBeRiN3ON9CFpcb32U-BPata3jirRnsSnyPBMkhSefPvFd-FgLG3a/s320/181295_4164870759217_1207570208_33962270_127401202_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Misha’s first baseball game...</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfOLrQ2agw84lP0WEgdASdB0nIxd4d5ri8Nu0OdJ-3PLNrtxQ9ZetTLb5bIDbI0itJIMvriQM8tDvNyVg_yRjMsVbtBF9aGP5Qj-Cn-O-6XfDCVVE22q8rllRpcOUNwHlI4bA6BXSehgmu/s1600/543204_4196447948915_1642473661_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfOLrQ2agw84lP0WEgdASdB0nIxd4d5ri8Nu0OdJ-3PLNrtxQ9ZetTLb5bIDbI0itJIMvriQM8tDvNyVg_yRjMsVbtBF9aGP5Qj-Cn-O-6XfDCVVE22q8rllRpcOUNwHlI4bA6BXSehgmu/s320/543204_4196447948915_1642473661_n.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Chalkduster;">Giving the camera smile while watching Ryan’s baseball practice...</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRo9YwFaoM6fvyioe17DvqPZRcs2gJIBrXg9L_AtNXM8Q4FK9QcqwNNmFKnJbXEvRTPdknCukXZc062TQb6-VSgLM4CTN30YC2c8mI8RNPLkq4oiSwmLotuRZjbypndP-EEopijiVwbJBo/s1600/545043_3366195193284_2138338346_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRo9YwFaoM6fvyioe17DvqPZRcs2gJIBrXg9L_AtNXM8Q4FK9QcqwNNmFKnJbXEvRTPdknCukXZc062TQb6-VSgLM4CTN30YC2c8mI8RNPLkq4oiSwmLotuRZjbypndP-EEopijiVwbJBo/s320/545043_3366195193284_2138338346_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Ryan loves being a big brother!!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrfZKDcHSvgSGqD42BJMC_F5va0hYv7vENlbcMl5wFO64wb2V2L3vAPuLSimI4Esuzt60CW9bMVpu_wzgvrvnTexCjXcC99xckKlQfC4RcCi1K17vfjKbmaWqANztGx5oZil0Hg-d_T0Hq/s1600/580100_4100377667218_1801864801_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrfZKDcHSvgSGqD42BJMC_F5va0hYv7vENlbcMl5wFO64wb2V2L3vAPuLSimI4Esuzt60CW9bMVpu_wzgvrvnTexCjXcC99xckKlQfC4RcCi1K17vfjKbmaWqANztGx5oZil0Hg-d_T0Hq/s320/580100_4100377667218_1801864801_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Relaxing with dad in Grandmas backyard after a BBQ!:)</span></div>
<div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6X5KaomzKd0c7qu69_QlV4e0pVWNgK_6TwbJQqlRp07AI2zQ_AmTuLis2GC_1vs9j4tqJxh8NFUUIsG-JOTyv4MhAbfEI5rYgdcIwLLPBd54obej4ilwyUA76ajayC6jTSO_PxIiTvFjp/s1600/603082_3640694849749_1495491634_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6X5KaomzKd0c7qu69_QlV4e0pVWNgK_6TwbJQqlRp07AI2zQ_AmTuLis2GC_1vs9j4tqJxh8NFUUIsG-JOTyv4MhAbfEI5rYgdcIwLLPBd54obej4ilwyUA76ajayC6jTSO_PxIiTvFjp/s320/603082_3640694849749_1495491634_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Three orphans no more....so lucky to be able to watch these three grow up together!!</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOfsi67gzjOgZIA-eIfmB1TDcE-JS8Gn_ee_0OPjTszc0BTglXniLdXnMU4JIoeMN6ZY2ouu_iG5uhFu7IOEdqKDd9LSBnyypR-INn7Af9oWIYrXhgmHXa7ZQGiySuUNQv5-3-HeDUc8G9/s1600/484227_4174807687922_841557415_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOfsi67gzjOgZIA-eIfmB1TDcE-JS8Gn_ee_0OPjTszc0BTglXniLdXnMU4JIoeMN6ZY2ouu_iG5uhFu7IOEdqKDd9LSBnyypR-INn7Af9oWIYrXhgmHXa7ZQGiySuUNQv5-3-HeDUc8G9/s320/484227_4174807687922_841557415_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I could watch him sleep forever!</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDJ4s5yEhxhgH6xhSyblknGnN4rRD8TOJBbDNZ5uRSyQZHXHUMdULIwRsB6OpxlxW8_iwxn9EDVshVHrjHl-Pyhogct6plELXw7-1kHH6F3Fb8nkyAx8sCCSrmugbw38HjyEtA-fqB8_pw/s1600/543201_4018083689920_554888273_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDJ4s5yEhxhgH6xhSyblknGnN4rRD8TOJBbDNZ5uRSyQZHXHUMdULIwRsB6OpxlxW8_iwxn9EDVshVHrjHl-Pyhogct6plELXw7-1kHH6F3Fb8nkyAx8sCCSrmugbw38HjyEtA-fqB8_pw/s320/543201_4018083689920_554888273_n.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">His very FIRST trip to Target!!!</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH25uYQdoYYtsmXs1h8lIheHnLyM0_r-4VzQvQ2fvZb8_dNEcuX8wl5MOPp7D0tXy6NmnDJYBA3_nV-eJC2gNrmbcPtkK0HJsnHQbLE_bxv0Rbf7DASgcHx60BIA7mhxmbkKYeS51BaiAi/s1600/553255_4276279264648_874044487_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH25uYQdoYYtsmXs1h8lIheHnLyM0_r-4VzQvQ2fvZb8_dNEcuX8wl5MOPp7D0tXy6NmnDJYBA3_nV-eJC2gNrmbcPtkK0HJsnHQbLE_bxv0Rbf7DASgcHx60BIA7mhxmbkKYeS51BaiAi/s320/553255_4276279264648_874044487_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">He’s one cool kid!</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNS67u4Q7eZ68pJOrpfMgvJGMCltDkFxWybghfq2wUTKIZ5p4OnU-I0aHDT-n8IBOsfcvHxaWQZv8Tk9NTKyu-Wt_X4IO08cRkbpfN9WhwRv5-wDyQo_raEJs2C0UVNVODiL2lXJO_EwXM/s1600/553773_4297754001503_964628716_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNS67u4Q7eZ68pJOrpfMgvJGMCltDkFxWybghfq2wUTKIZ5p4OnU-I0aHDT-n8IBOsfcvHxaWQZv8Tk9NTKyu-Wt_X4IO08cRkbpfN9WhwRv5-wDyQo_raEJs2C0UVNVODiL2lXJO_EwXM/s320/553773_4297754001503_964628716_n.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Happy 4th of July from the Chellson Boys!!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNXrzo0JVgTlAr92ew4ra5y4_lfZrJ5vTxd7haoaxpyXgQoc5-l70e8PJ5TtKRsrhEiSJvqGwciFnDLWXjvyaXCYV-GgijYwcXiwTEqV3-0rGv0ao0h7I_syLZbzFwQqzNok7fJmm2XLPK/s1600/575876_4170508860454_843771411_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNXrzo0JVgTlAr92ew4ra5y4_lfZrJ5vTxd7haoaxpyXgQoc5-l70e8PJ5TtKRsrhEiSJvqGwciFnDLWXjvyaXCYV-GgijYwcXiwTEqV3-0rGv0ao0h7I_syLZbzFwQqzNok7fJmm2XLPK/s320/575876_4170508860454_843771411_n.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Feeding himself his favorite food... Mac & Cheese!!!!!</span></div>
<br />
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">P.S. I'm still working on the welcome home video...hopefully I can get done this weekend!!!:)</span></div>
<br />Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845378458318433437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4872111744535712594.post-47986812393667008112012-05-18T22:44:00.000-07:002012-05-18T22:44:16.122-07:001 week of freedom!<br />
<div style="font: 12.0px Chalkduster; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">HI everyone!! I just wanted to check in real quick and let you all know we made it home safely!!! A week ago I took Misha out of the orphanage forever, we flew home Sunday and have been enjoying our first week at home. Our travel home went much better then I had expected and Misha did amazingly well....he only had a little meltdown right before our last flight home and honestly I was expecting it to happen way before that point and it wouldn’t have taken much to send me into meltdown mode at that point either. Overall travel was great and the flight staff on all three flights were AMAZING!!! We were met at the airport but our family and a small group of friends and it was the perfect homecoming for us. On Sunday it will be one week that we have been home and it all seems unreal still. We are all adjusting well and still getting caught up on sleep and the time change. I am working on collecting homecoming photos and will post them all soon. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and will post pictures soon!!:)</span></span></div>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845378458318433437noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4872111744535712594.post-40150221422633578312012-05-11T14:50:00.000-07:002012-05-11T14:50:51.089-07:00GOTCHA.....<br />
<div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">HERE IT IS.......ENJOY!!:)</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/VO-qMPU-rzM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Thank to everyone who said a prayer, donated and supported us emotionally! Without all of you we would have never been able to make it through this journey. And thank you to my amazing husband...you are my best friend and I am so lucky to have you walk next to me on this journey. Our kids are so blessed to have you as their dad...I love you forever and always!!! Thank you again to everyone....Misha and I are headed home on Sunday and I am so excited to share the next chapter of our lives with you!! </span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Love,</span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Chalkduster; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Melissa</span></span></div>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845378458318433437noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4872111744535712594.post-69869806117174500502012-05-09T12:44:00.001-07:002012-05-09T12:44:47.228-07:00TWO.....<br />
<div style="font: 12.0px Chalkduster; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">TWO....only two more nights that our little boy will sleep in an orphanage alone without the love of his family!!! And only 4 more nights of being here in Ukraine!!! I can’t believe this journey has come to an end...my feelings are so bittersweet about our going home...I will have lived in this country for exactly 6 weeks once I get on that plane headed back home and, although there is a MAJOR language barrier I can say this has become home for me and it will always hold a very special place in my heart. I have also had the privilege of spending these last (almost) 6 weeks with two people I am so happy to call my family now. Beth and Lee, I am so honored and grateful that we have been able to walk this journey together. We are forever bonded from this journey and I couldn’t ask for better friends for life!!:) Thank you for showing me the picture of our sweet boy almost a year ago and getting me in touch with the Ray family. God truly placed all three of our families together for a reason and I know these ties will never be broken!! There is a special place in my heart for the Herrington and Ray family and for the country that has named us the parents of our beautiful boy! And as t</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">his chapter of our journey is coming to end and I am so very thankful for all of you who have clicked on the links and followed our journey. Without that support and encouragement we wouldn’t be where we are today. So thank you again for reading our blog and following our story, it means a lot to us!! </span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Chalkduster; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Chalkduster; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Before I go and share pictures....on friday keep your eyes out for a special video about our gotcha day!!:)</span></span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Chalkduster; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Chalkduster; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4bNFHB8vOxRus0Fh74evBLYKUkP7-nKBx8AmAZEJLIbSodKQUEiCPDLcX15JpLB4xD8x_4WcmaVraz28CeWEjxwo7ySls-e5Dl8mRZxUwcR1cJqGmytm4LJCW1sG1tu6DkMYb0mTiBS8/s1600/DSC_0185.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4bNFHB8vOxRus0Fh74evBLYKUkP7-nKBx8AmAZEJLIbSodKQUEiCPDLcX15JpLB4xD8x_4WcmaVraz28CeWEjxwo7ySls-e5Dl8mRZxUwcR1cJqGmytm4LJCW1sG1tu6DkMYb0mTiBS8/s320/DSC_0185.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Chalkduster;">Looking at where he should start with the removal of the toys...</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNYjhJaKk6ciC316lzSRgaUhRg8_Pfstg2wrAs_cjfXqGdPRSXn-sGpYAPd3hU-jFNK768oGbSplThGEd020-IZD3hBAJh-E-LizcrolBvXgNIkRGcVkzPoB5XPsVvaz69y6j7Sg2YmYyJ/s1600/DSC_0186.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNYjhJaKk6ciC316lzSRgaUhRg8_Pfstg2wrAs_cjfXqGdPRSXn-sGpYAPd3hU-jFNK768oGbSplThGEd020-IZD3hBAJh-E-LizcrolBvXgNIkRGcVkzPoB5XPsVvaz69y6j7Sg2YmYyJ/s320/DSC_0186.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Chalkduster;">Still looking...</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNrG6OM3M_BCeHbU-iKKU9xTYD83NAzY67DYIIR9zkAO-Z1uwVYc7GY2BrX57iBItV5MWEL_T-zlrx0bd-w-uhuVa_Vk7cJhyphenhyphenq5f4lM6cm9JqzDyUQ46Bdi5EPr5LPGZ5hZQ17uAm8HAt_/s1600/DSC_0194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNrG6OM3M_BCeHbU-iKKU9xTYD83NAzY67DYIIR9zkAO-Z1uwVYc7GY2BrX57iBItV5MWEL_T-zlrx0bd-w-uhuVa_Vk7cJhyphenhyphenq5f4lM6cm9JqzDyUQ46Bdi5EPr5LPGZ5hZQ17uAm8HAt_/s320/DSC_0194.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Chalkduster;">He loves to make</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Chalkduster;"> the curtains move....and this mama already has an idea for how to create this safely in his room!:)</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIdoS0a6g3uKwe-sS2ZqNwCZmA7upPvdX_w8htnzfehKa7a_18-n6qJeOvXSj-50db5iNU4vf9H-K-YUwcSa_lqLqKtm60bUbQFXxOWxUaD3fc_kjtCY37G5t-SL-jM69ygH1DA5FaZsiw/s1600/DSC_0207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIdoS0a6g3uKwe-sS2ZqNwCZmA7upPvdX_w8htnzfehKa7a_18-n6qJeOvXSj-50db5iNU4vf9H-K-YUwcSa_lqLqKtm60bUbQFXxOWxUaD3fc_kjtCY37G5t-SL-jM69ygH1DA5FaZsiw/s320/DSC_0207.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Chalkduster;">Trying to get into the cubby hole....</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKlZEugwTH4X_Tdbbo_Jyngv1xBsu99VFCJkjuGE5ZQ11aYs55-B7iWkWVL_i8_d8t_UvNzw9_-qUuVmI1i14u6h9bYVloT3sAJ4ZWRcvm6FP2hHj84h75ofkDuV20X7Cv64fTc1z6Y97z/s1600/DSC_0208.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKlZEugwTH4X_Tdbbo_Jyngv1xBsu99VFCJkjuGE5ZQ11aYs55-B7iWkWVL_i8_d8t_UvNzw9_-qUuVmI1i14u6h9bYVloT3sAJ4ZWRcvm6FP2hHj84h75ofkDuV20X7Cv64fTc1z6Y97z/s320/DSC_0208.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Chalkduster;">Still trying!:)</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrSp6roDX0o8lXkzGXhHXfWFBZNLiTHDWpDX3wszvadPTUeoX-XhipoPxADjWrYOG-kOSh6PSYaoZqLog2MV1sRgKNE1oZnwKKwnQipApTtabIbg0Sqodkt5RbxJZ69GnIzdy5czIIjSBy/s1600/DSC_0211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrSp6roDX0o8lXkzGXhHXfWFBZNLiTHDWpDX3wszvadPTUeoX-XhipoPxADjWrYOG-kOSh6PSYaoZqLog2MV1sRgKNE1oZnwKKwnQipApTtabIbg0Sqodkt5RbxJZ69GnIzdy5czIIjSBy/s320/DSC_0211.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Chalkduster;">On the move...I'm going to be in trouble at home!</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiDGYZLNduXeNczs1fjJ91IRFztdcuouZFDHcpH2MSTkJaCblyuus8fXZUbDW-xaBd0Ns9hG4d7SI1qP5qfUIHWodqF5QN5H0VoHslj7vnuC2oR5h5M6UEOTW4qGi7gT8JQf_ys_MJpHDP/s1600/DSC_0213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiDGYZLNduXeNczs1fjJ91IRFztdcuouZFDHcpH2MSTkJaCblyuus8fXZUbDW-xaBd0Ns9hG4d7SI1qP5qfUIHWodqF5QN5H0VoHslj7vnuC2oR5h5M6UEOTW4qGi7gT8JQf_ys_MJpHDP/s320/DSC_0213.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Chalkduster;">Having a staring contest with the horse!:)</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Chalkduster; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Chalkduster; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845378458318433437noreply@blogger.com1