Running

I have started running. I run in the dark. Usually after work. Enough said.

Picture Time!

1st row: Jocelyn

2nd row: Sierra, Claire, Matthew

3rd row: Anthony, Zoey, Brianne, Grammy, Stacie, Linda

4th row: Cam, Jake, Kenzie, Julie, Sandy, Jolaine

Jolaine, Kenzie, Zoey and Brianne



Brianne and Zoey



Kenzie and Zoey

We got together as many of us as we could :)

Have you?

Have you ever received a call from a voice you haven't heard in ages, yet as soon as you hear that voice, you smile, your heart opens, and you can't wait to catch up? I took one of those calls yesterday, and I CAN'T wait. There is so much I want to hear, and so much I want to share. Soon, my dear friend, soon.

Someday is slapping me in the face...

I love my job, I really do. I love my job as a mother, I love my job as a wife, and I love my job as a dispatcher. Some days are harder than others though, and when it comes to work, this was one of the hardest...

Taken from KHSL TV, Channel 12 at www.khsltv.com after receipt of the Paradise Police Department press release:

Paradise Homicide

Crime, Arrests, Police news
Police are investigating an unthinkable crime in Paradise; The death of an eight year old child and the beating of her eleven-year old sister. Police have arrested their adoptive parents for murder and abuse.

Officers responded to a home on Crestwood Drive at one Saturday morning where the eight year old had stopped breathing.

Emergency personnel performed CPR and revived her, but she died on the way to the hospital.

Investigators also discovered an eleven year old child with major injuries who was rushed to Sutter Memorial Hospital in Sacramento. Seven other children were removed from the home. Officers say six of the nine kids were the biological children of Kevin and Elizabeth Schatz. The three others, including the deceased and the injured eleven year old, were adopted.

Sgt. Steve Rowe from the Paradise Police department is still unsure of a motive. "I think they were disciplining the children and went simply too far than what they should have done," Rowe stated.

Neighbor Elisha Barlet says she is shocked to hear the allegations. "They've always been sweet people and I know they're very God-loving and they're caring and considerate."

The children were being home schooled. Officers say the parents had no prior history of abuse. Both Kevin and Elizabeth Schatz were arrested and remain in Butte County Jail. The seven other children have been placed in protective custody.


This is the town's third homicide in three years.



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As horrific as this case is turning out to be, I cannot even begin to put my emotions to words on this page. It is to fresh, to raw. I can say, however, that it has rekindled the spark for foster care and adoption that has long smoldered in my heart.

Honey, we need to talk....

Time to Catch Up!

I know I have been horrible about keeping the blog up to date these past two months. I apologize. Let's see if I can come up with any meaningful explanation so we can get caught up...

November:

The leaves seemed to fall continuously from the oak trees in our yard.




Not that I minded. I love to sit and watch the leaves fall. While the birds run, twittering through the yard looking for any seed I may have spread for them while Zuni stands at point, ever so watchful.



The months seems to stretch on for the school children, knowing a school break was coming but unable to get there fast enough.



Then at the end of the month, four birthdays and Thanksgiving, all crammed into six days.



It must be the rememberance of that last week that makes the whole month seem to fly by.

December:








http://www.v2v.net/v2v/events.php?id=2685&participate=2

Halloween at the PD...

One hot Granny!




Charlie's Angels

Happy Belated Birthday to Jocelyn!

This post is the only part that is belated. We celebrated Jocelyn's 7th birthday on Saturday, with a party at our new house. We played games with classmates new and old, family and friends. After a little running around in our new yard, games, cake, ice cream and presents, followed by more running around, the friends and classmates were picked up by their parents, and the family was left to BBQ dinner.

A great time was had by all. Jocelyn is enjoying all the Hannah Montana items she received for her new room, and the toys she will be able to play with there. Pictures will follow as soon as I can get them up.

Happy 7th Birthday Sweety!

A quote from Claire...

We have been working on getting the old house ready to put on the market, cleaning, painting, redoing the walkway, putting the hand rail on the back deck..... After filling the trailer with another load for the new house, I headed home with Claire and Jocelyn. If you had been lucky enough to witness our conversation in the car yesterday, this is what you would have heard.

Claire: Mommy....Mooommmmyyyy
Me: Yes, Honey?
Claire: Gwink?
Me: I'll get you a drink when we get home. Okay?
Claire: Kay.
Claire: Mommy
Me: Yes, Honey?
Claire: Gwink?
Me: I'll get you a drink when we get home. Okay?
Claire: Kay.
Claire: Mommy...Mommy!
Me: Yes, Honey?
Claire: Gwink! Gwink!!
Me: I know your thirst, I'll get you a drink when we get home. Okay?
Claire: Okay.
Claire: Mommy
Me: Yes, Honey?
Claire: Gwink?
Me: I'll get you a drink when we get home. Okay?
Claire: Kay.
Claire: Mommy....Mooommmmyyyy (the long drawn out dramatic version)
Me: Yes, Honey?
Claire: Gwink!
Me: I'll get you a drink when we get home. Okay?
Claire: Kay.
Claire: Mommy
Me: Yes, Honey?
Claire: Gwink?
Me: I'll get you a drink when we get home. Okay?
Claire: Kay.
Claire: Mommy...Mommy!
Me: Yes, Honey?
Claire: Gwink! Gwink!!
Me: I know your thirst, I'll get you a drink when we get home. Okay?
Claire: Kay.

(This continued for the whole 10 minutes it took us to get home.) As we happened to be borrowing my brother-in-laws car, I could watch Claire in the baby mirror over the rear view mirror. Claire had a very serious look on her face during the whole conversation, intent on not letting me forget just how thirsty she was. I, however, could not keep the grin off my face as I made eyes at Jocelyn in the baby mirror. Jocelyn was trying not to laugh at me, and at Claire and her serious endeavor.

And now, the headstones...

When you move into a new place, and know it was lived in by many before you got there, you might expect to find 'treasures' in and around the house. When we found the cd's and and the folding knife on the top shelf of the birdhouse room (the walls are institutional brown, and there is a wallpaper border at the top with birdhouses), I was not too surprised. We knew the house had been a foster home for boys and the knife explained the strange marks in the ceiling of that room. I was also not too surprised to find the prescription bottle that still contained pills. I was a little surprised at what we found in the HVAC vents; a b-ball hat, two baseballs, a 'Happy Meal' toy and assorted garbage. (That was all in one vent!) Then there was the vent full of cigarette butts and ash in the master bedroom. YUCK! I thought we had found most of the treasures; the mixer, cutting board and sippy cups still in the kitchen cabinets. Then we started watering the thirsty yard... What would you think if you moved into a home once used as a group home for 'wayward' boys, and found these...

The first one shown above, was broken into two pieces with the piece on the right being found upside down near the hose spicket and the larger piece being about 7 yards away under the master bedroom deck, also upside down. Cam found the smaller piece while using the hose, and at first thought it was a stepping stone, but then it was just to perfect. He turned it over and found the name 'Rose' inside a heart. After that grim discovery, he began to take a closer look at the other stepping stones in the area and located the top stone in the next picture.

I had a better picture of it, but can't seem to locate it. The smaller headstone is very detailed and for a 3 month old infant, Brianna Arlene V*****, born September 16, 1994, and passed away in December of 1994. (That one was a little to close for comfort for me.) Cam contacted the local cemeteries to see if any were missing these headstones. We are still waiting to hear back from a couple.

A few days later, my Mom and I were walking through the backyard discussing ideas for the landscape. While looking under the back deck, I located the larger piece of the headstone in the first photo. Cam came out and removed it from under the deck and turned it over to confirm it went with 'Rose'. Once again, he contacted the local cemeteries, this time with the last name for the larger stone. While he was in on the phone, my Mom and I continued to look around the back yard. I began to take a closer look at the step in to the large shed. It just seemed to perfect; nice crisp edges and corners... I dusted off the corner, and could tell by touch that it was NOT cement.

Cam came back out and I helped him maneuver it out from under the lip of the shed. It was definitely another headstone! This time we had found one that would have sat up on a base with a curved top. We muscled it over to check the other side. Thankfully there was no engraving or anything on either side. That is when we began to suspect if maybe one of the old residents of the house was a stone engraver. We have still not received an answer from two of the local cemeteries. I pray the headstones we have found in our yard are 'mistakes' and not stolen from someones loved ones.
....................................................................

No, it's not a ghost...


The last two pictures are just for fun. While I was trying to take a picture for the blog, one of our boy cats thought it would be fun to walk in front of me...twice.

Zuni and the headstones...

No, it's not the name of a bad rock band. It's an update of life at Alexis House. (Still working on a good name for the new place.)

We have added a new member to our family. His name is Zuni, and he is a love.



That last photo was taken while Cam was ready the nightly stories to Jocelyn and Claire.



I will have to write about the headstones later. Sorry...