Happy Birthday James

James got a fishing pole for his birthday.  For his birthday, he wanted to cook with his dutch ovens. 

We had a lot of fun with friends.  I have an awesome husband.  Not only does he cook, but he cleans too!

 

One year in court

Right after our wedding, James and I submitted a request with the courts to have the custody agreement changed.  Even though he had moved, the children's mother was not willing to let them come to our home in Alexandria.  It was not prohibited by the custody agreement, but she simply wouldn't allow it.  We had a court date in February where the judge set up a temporary agreement to transition the children into more time with us.  It's been more money than I imagined, and a lot of stress and uncertainty.  But, we finally got close to a normal custody agreement.   We will have the children every other weekend (Sat - Sun), and two weeks over the  summer, and alternating holidays.  It will be so nice that the children will finally have a chance to meet some of their Aunts, Uncles, and cousins. 

 

We spent a fair bit of August getting ready and personalizing the rooms.  The brown room is now yellow and has two twin beds instead of the queen.  There are bunkbeds downstairs for the boys.  They fit snuggly in the space, so it was a little challenging to build and fit it in.  But, it's been a lot of fun, and I'm glad that visits are finally back to a more normal situation.  The 10 - 12 hours in the car every other weekend was definitely taking it's toll.

 

 

 

Just Another Day at the Park

I didn't get any good pictures of the water rocket in action, but we had a lot of fun setting it off.  The kids took turns pumping it up, and the rockets shot to an impressive height.  (Over 100 ft???)  It was fun to get together with a few other families from the ward, and have them meet our kids.  Our hope is that all goes well in court the end of the month, and they will start spending the night with us, and attend church here every other weekend.  This activity gave them a chance to meet some people in advance.