Finally, the extra room will get some use...

Lots of change at casa de garcia. We've been making all of the necessary preparations for our roommate to join us.

Meet Dorothy

Adoption adoption adoption. I seem to be consumed with finding out as much about adoption as possible ever since we received our calling to adopt. So I research, I research country rules, agency rules, financing and then I get totally overwhelmed and surf....one day while surfing the net I came across this awesome website. A family who is adopting their little girl Dorothy from India is doing some creative fundraising. They're probably not the first to try to get some of their adoption funds together this way but it was a genius idea to me. Truth be told I truly hope the mom will be able to share her secrets to successful fundraising when she's done getting her funds together and has her beautiful little girl home in her arms. But for now, there are important things for me to do, like spread the word. I can help with that! Do you have $10 you could chip in toward bringing Dorothy home? A portion of the proceeds will be shared with Shendoah's Hope, another group I firmly believe in. Check it out!

Cold Feet?

Are there places in your home that are just colder/warmer than others? I don't understand why everytime I am on the computer, I have Icy Toe phenomenon. I can be wearing wool socks and still be feeling frostbitten. I think it's a conspiracy to keep me off the 'net.

Has it been a year yet???

um ok...time to post...especially if I plan to link this blog to my facebook page. Yikes. I looked back at the last time I blogged and I was still recovering from surgery. Wow, how depressing.

Let's see, what's new?

Kai's sniffling on the other side of the bonus room. He's five and will not blow his nose unless reminded. GROSS.

Xochitl is obnoxiously chewing on a bone like she hasn't eaten in a year and yet we know that can't be right because the vet said she gained five pounds at her annual check up. She's never gained weight. It might be time for ME to get some exercise!

Diego is laying in front of MY space heater absorbing ALL of the heat. He also has gained weight, but that's to be expected, he's my cat and well....I don't take him on walks either :)

Xavier is making the most of this precious "stay home day" and sleeping in.

We've made a commitment to follow Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover and eliminate all debt from our lives. Ok, we'll start with the credit card debt and see how we feel after that, the mortgage might take a while! We're regularly attending Summit Christian Church and have found a home there. Which is AWESOME because this time last year we didn't have a church. And, we're looking into International Adoption in Ethiopia. That's the biggie! The challenge is that we both feel called to make this a priority and know that there is financial assistance from the government and Henry Schein in the form of Tax Credits and Grants respectively, but how will we come up with the funds for the adoption in the first place? And how will we pay for MORE daycare? DOUBLE YIKES!! And all when we're supposed to be paying everything off, not spending more.

So, I'm making the moves to gather the paperwork. There is a LOT of paperwork. I can't have all of the answers. I'm not spending money frivolously anymore. I'm following my commitment to pay down my credit debt and God will have to point me in the right direction to help everything else fall into place. It's so much bigger than I can figure out right now. I'm just not equipped.

Stay tuned and I will try to share how the story unfolds.

Guess who is working on becoming a "big boy?"

For as long as I can remember, Kai has used the two middle fingers on his right hand as a pacifier. Being a first-time parent who knew better than anyone else, I was dead set against a pacifier for him. I'd seen a four year old at a baseball game walking around and talking with the pacifier in her mouth, and there was no way a kid of mine would be doing that. It's amazing how perspective changes things. It's so tough to see him struggle to break this habit, but so far the bribes are helping! We'll keep everyone updated on his progress, but for now his habit has decreased tremendously.

Kai, I am so proud of your will power and determination to do what is right. You'll thank us later, I promise!

Check out my Slide Show!

Check out my Slide Show!

SNOWDAY

Early in January...We had a big storm. Snowmen were built on either side of the cul-de-sac, followed by sledding and ultimately a snowball fight. We had a great time.

An Update...

Great news. For his birthday, Kai is getting the same camera that good friends Jacob and Joshua Kahumoku got from Grandma Gail for Christmas. Maybe Kai can record something interesting on his new camera for me to talk about!! In the words of Natalie K, "good grief!"

Happy New Year!!

Surprise! Only I can outdo myself with the length of time between blog postings!
6 weeks? That was nothing. I have so much to fill everyone in on, but please be patient, I will be organizing my thoughts over the next few days to ensure an interesting, entertaining update for all. XOXO, JG

Farewell Debbie

I look at life as a gift of God. Now that he wants it back I have no right to complain.
---Joyce Cary

On October 10, 2007 at 2:30pm, my mom lost her battle with Scerosis. If you know me, you know that I have a blended family of people I have chosen to surround myself with.

Hey, there I go ending my sentence with a preposition again!
It's my blog, DEAL WITH IT!

Anyway, Debbie and I have not spoken in many years.
Thanks to my sister Katie, who made sure I was in the loop about the nature of her condition. I was given the opportunity to say goodbye. For two days, I tried not to be bitter, or angry, or sad and just remember the good times my mom and I shared.

Sometime after 2, the day she died, I finally got over myself, and I loved her and that I wished her "peace," just before she passed away.

What a month....

I feel like a month has passed since I added to my blog...no wait it's been 6 weeks! Thanks to those who still patiently check to see if I've added anything...

Let's go back as far as I can remember....

October 1st through the 5th, Xavier went to "AFLAC Flight School" in Las Vegas. From what I understand, this is somewhat like a rookie training, but there were some seasoned reps there as well, to brush up their selling skills.

That week, I took advantage of Xavier being out of town by driving his car, got his tires rotated, oil changed...broke the cd player, hey wait, I didn't break it, it broke itself...but that's another story. I also got the car washed and vacuumed, let's just say I was proud of myself for doing all the stuff he simply hasn't had the time to do. Friday night, I noticed that the carpets didn't look as clean as they could, there was this incident with a doughnut...so I took the car to the carwash for a quick vacuum. It was a brisk 40 degrees when I hopped out of the car, music jammin' unlocked the doors and went to the passenger side to tidy up the carpet. $1.00 in quarters later, and I was done. Imagine my surprise when I tried to get back in the car and my door was L-O-C-K-E-D.

As I chilled outside in the brisk weather and entertained Kai through the window, I wondered how I allowed myself to get into this predicament and WHY oh WHY did the doors lock themselves? Xavier says there is no way the car could do that and in fact, that is the very opposite of what should happen when the keys have been left in the ignition, and in any case, I couldn't get the phenomenon to repeat itself in front of him. Thankfully, there was a car was atttendant on duty (with a cell phone,) and I called one of the few numbers I have committed to memory and someone who lived about a block away, my friend Jeannette.

Jeannette called AAA and came to keep me company while we watched Kai try in vain to let himself out of his car seat, or unlock the door. Of course I've never taught him either of these things!!

So, about an hour later, the tow truck driver "saved me," in the words of Kai, and I was on my way. Thanks Jeannette and Mr. AAA. The best part is, whenever we pass that car wash (at least 5 times a week) Kai reminds me how he was rescued when I locked him in the car. Aahh, from the mouths of babes.

Daily blog?

It's interesting how a week can get away from me so quickly. In my first post, I noted my plan to blog daily. Woops, hope you weren't too dissapointed :) I guess I was just waiting for something interesting to happen.

Xavier is still busting his hump to get some commissions rolling in. It's Sunday and he has another follow up appointment. So, looks like the 8th day in a row he'll be getting dressed for work, what a drag. On a happier note, I tried my luck at garage saleing yesterday and found him some good as new dress shirts in his size and bought 10 of them!! That should keep him outfitted for a while.

We're eagerly anticipating our visit from Grandma at the end of the week. She'll be passing through on her way to a week-long visit with family in New Mexico. Kai keeps telling me about all of the things he's got to show her while she is here. I hope she's ready for a share fest.

Kai what a great kid!

Today, Kai and I went to the store to exchange a Thomas the Train Set, because he had received more than one for a gift. The thought of re-gifting something that had recently made headlines for lead poisoning children...even though this one is plastic, not painted wood, I wouldn't give that gift of fear to another mother. So, off to Wal-Mart we went to exchange this toy for another. Setting out, Kai knew that he wanted a helicopter. He loves the helicopter that his good friends Jacob and Joshua have.

The lady at Wal-Mart scowled when I said I didn't have a receipt, but what did I care, I was on a mission. Bad news, the bar code was not in their system so I was out of luck. Kai suggested that we go to Kohls, but I decided to drive across town to Toys R Us.

Confidently, I walked into Toys R Us to make my exchange. No receipt, no go! Seriously, not even a gift card. I guess I'll be posting that treasure on EBay!!

Do you think I could explain this to Kai? Do you think a kid should even have to understand something like this? Heck no, he's a kid, he should have no worries. So, off shopping we went.

I pointed him in the direction of several different helicopters, my efforts were in vain.
When it comes to toys in the store, he has a one track mind. Needless to say, we came home with yet ANOTHER Lightening McQueen!! OMG.

Fall is here...

Ok, so the calendar and my husband may not agree with me, but I believe there are several signs that fall is here. The first is the start of the NFL Season, the second is the fact that I am making choices which will make me healthier...? I don't understand it but every year, around labor day, I start excercising and eating better. Wish I would keep it up year round...maybe this is my year. The final fall indicator for me is seeing the beautiful balloons taking flight over the Truckee Meadows. This year, Xavier, Kai and I set out to see the dawn patrol. We missed the mass ascension by 10 or 15 minutes, but stuck around to see the beginning of the "fox and hound" race. Xavier took some awesome pictures. I've included one of my favorites here.

Finally, I am online!!

For someone who considers herself at least a 7.5 out of 10 when it comes to being computer saavy, I had another thing coming when I decided to try to create a family website. I asked around, took advice, and in the end was just plain FRUSTRATED. Thank goodness for my buddy Natalie (more on her later) and her suggestion to create a blog. Three easy steps, 3!!! What was I waiting for? Thanks Nat!