I can't wait to meet everyone!

Hello, my name is Marissa. I am 1 and half years old. I love to smile and chase my big brothers and sisters. I love to pinch Landon when he is busy playing the Wii. I love to chase him and I especially like it when he tickles my tummy. My sisters hug me to death and are very fun to play with. I love it when their friends come over because they just carry me around. My Daddy gets jealous easily because he is not hogging me all to himself. Mommy loves it because I am out of her way and not getting into her stuff. I love to make messes in my room and the TV room. I love to get in Daddy's way when he is trying to watch TV! I love to watch Isaac play the piano and I dance to it. I recently met Grandma and Grandpa and they were a lot of fun. Nana was also a lot of fun to be with. I also met Uncle Matthew and he bought us donuts. We have two dogs now and they are fun to tease when they are lying down. Tiki lets me lay on him and take his food away. My favorite treat is the new from Trader Joe's Peanut Butter cookie for dogs! You should try them, they are better than Nutter Butters!

Easy to say NO

We all want to give every thing our kids want to them. The cell phone, movie money, and a car. We sometimes slake our lionizing that if we give them everything, they will become great kids and maybe....listen to us better, respect us as parents? We would not want to damage them and make them take their lunch every day in high school or wear the same pair of shoes for six months straight.
PERSPECTIVE.
Keep things all in perspective. If we all had a child with less, and we gave to that child it would be easier to tell our child no when they say, "I want a cell phone Mom", or "mom, I need the highlights in my hair", or "I need an X-box, even though I have a PS2".
Go With Out, NO...Go with Less...
I do not think that we should deprive our kids or that our society should be an Utopia. I hardly think that that is what I am saying. I know that when our children see children with less, they appreciate what they do have more, and understand a little more about luxuries.

http://wednesdayschild.adopt.org/find_a_child

Timeless

We had another great visit, this one from Grandma and Grandpa Urmston. They look timeless. It seemed forever since we had saw them last. I was not sure what to expect. Would Grandpa have less hair? Would Grandma not be able to see over a flap of skin? To no surprise, they look amazing, they have not aged in four years. Granpa still has just as many jokes as he ever does and grandma loves candy just the same as she ever did (she made us some of the christmas toffee candy, delicious), She also was busy making the girls and ME hats! I love them just the way they are. The kids had a blast and Marissa loves having Grandma and Grandpa visit.

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year 2010

We have been blessed beginning this year with seeing Cameron. He is living with his mom and went home on Dec. 20th. What a nice Christmas gift. While he may not get a lot of Christmas gifts, he got his mom back this year. He has been through a lot of mayhem for the last two years. I hope that he will remember the time he had in our home. When we saw him tonight his mom said, "Cameron, is Landon your best buddy?" and Cameron said, "NO, he is my Brudder, and that is my sister and my othdder sister and brudder and sister and my baby. He is a tall four year old. He still has our picture album and memories. I hope we can always be a positive influence in his life. The kids had a good time, all except Marissa. Cameron's mom took a comb to her hair while we were there. The African's are not Gentle in their combing technique. Comb, and pin, squeeze with the legs. Infact, I think the more tears, the better. Marissa will cry if she sees her again. Everyday is an experience, isn't it. Well, We had a good start to 2010 and look forward to all the many changes for 2010.