Sunday, we had two of our adopted kids over for dinner; Brianne is my cousin who came down from Alberta to Dixie State College to do pre-dental hygiene. She didn't know a soul and we have had so much fun having her in Southern Utah with us. We are going to miss her terribly as she is not coming back :(. I have loved having her to visit when I go to St. George and we will all miss having her over for Sunday dinners. Love ya Bri!
Dean (far left in the picture below) is a friend of Devon's who I met while I was tutoring math at the high school. His Dad left his family when he was 6, and then he and his sister got taken away from his Mom from Child Protective Services when he was 12 because she was giving them methamphetamine and marijuana. He has been in foster care ever since. I remember not sleeping at all the night I found out what his life had been like. I knew there had to be something our family could do for him. As we have gotten to know him better, he has just become one of us. He is so fun to be around and has overcome incredible obstacles to get where he is at. One morning I heard the Holy Ghost whisper that there was a reason his name started with the letter D like all of our other boys. Anyway, we claim him as our own and are better for knowing him!
Last night we went up on Cedar Mountain to a fun cabin for Ryan's young single adult ward Family Home Evening activity. It was a gorgeous evening, and hiking up in the mountains made me ache to someday have a place like that for our family to gather..
Last but not least, another critter has joined our family. Tori and her friend, Alli, did Kool-Aid stands to earn money to but this lovely Chinese water dragon. They actually make great pets. We had one about five years ago, and they are pretty hardy - Tess, at the age of 3, decided to refrigerate it for four hours unbeknownst to us, and it survived the trauma! :) Let's hope this one doesn't have to go through any similar lizard abuse!
