Day in the Life

Five years, two kids and two houses ago, Dallas Child ran a Day in the Life feature on our family.  It was a fun endeavor!  The magazine recently contacted me about doing an update, but we don't live in their circulation area anymore... so, no go.

But, I still thought it might be fun to do a bit of sharing!

Our life has changed so much since then.  We live in a small town, walking to school would be a 15 mile journey, I have a beautiful little girl, I don't change diapers and we now play sports!

I don't think life has become any easier or harder, but it is very different - although, I apparently still wake up and go to bed at the same time! (and I definitely still have a caffeine addiction, despite many attempts at breaking it)

6 a.m. - alarm goes off and I head to take a bath and get dressed for the day
6:30 a.m. - Heath wakes up and gets the kids awake
7 a.m. - I'm dressed and ready to go and the kids are starting breakfast - from here they get dressed, do morning chores and get ready to start their school day
7:40 a.m. - leave for school
8 a.m. - drop kids off in carpool because they now refuse to let me walk them in.  I park and head into Anna's class to help the teacher get the day started by organizing lunch boxes and stapling papers
9 a.m. - head to Stone's class to help with running reports
11 a.m. - back home to do laundry, clean kitchen and wipe down all the bathrooms (daily task when you have three boys!)
noon - do a bit of blogging and answer comments over at A Fine Parent
1 p.m. - check in with a few clients on projects and send out a couple of invoices
2 p.m. - pack lunches for tomorrow and make dinner for tonight.  Staying one step ahead saves my life
3 p.m. - get kiddos from school..  It's a beautiful day, so we head to the park with some friends
5 p.m. - back home to do a bit of reading for homework
5:30 p.m. - Daddy is home and dinner is served.  We spend the rest of the evening playing a few games, finishing up art projects and getting wound down for baths and bed
7 p.m. - Daddy reads the kids stories (Harry Potter-book three is their current read-aloud) and I tidy up the kitchen, finish any laundry and set out clothes for tomorrow
7:40 p.m. - lights out for kids.  Heath and I spend the evening watching a show, making sure we are ready for tomorrow, and I may sneak in a bit of work
10 p.m. - I'm out!

Of course, every day is different.  I often help at my husband's store getting invoices entered or doing filing.  I'm also up at the school a lot to help with tutoring or to play the role of lunch lady.  There are also days I purposefully stay home to cook and clean.

In the Dallas Child article, they also listed an "All About Brit" section.  I thought it would be fun to answer these questions again as well:

What I'm Reading:  I love reading blogs... you can check my Things I'm Reading posts to see a few of my favorites.  I do my Bible reading through She Read's Truth, which is a great app for delving into different topics.  I'm not working on a specific book right now, but Heath and I did just finish listening to Gone Girl while on a road trip.  Spoiler:  CRAZY book!
Favorite Indulgences:  Kombucha - yum!  And a fair amount of dark chocolate
Can't Miss TV Show:  Parenthood all the way - I cried when it ended!  Heath and I also love Law and Order SVU and Chicago PD
Nicknames for Kids:  Collectively, snug-a-bug or babe... Stone:  Stoney Bones, Cash:  Rooney, Holden:  Holds, Anna:  Annie or Anna-Banana
Favorite Family Outing:  I love to hike and we happen to have a lot of great places around our home to do that!
Meal I'm Known For:  It's still Spaghetti Carbonara!
What's in My Handbag:  I actually don't carry one anymore - wow!

Hot off the presses...

You can find the Dallas Child article about our family here!

I haven't seen the actual print version yet, but am sure it looks great as well. They happened to mix Cash and Holden up in the about us section, so if you know us, that might look a bit weird. No biggie, I mix them up all the time!

Also, I have an awesome trip planned to Kroger this week with my coupons. Can't wait to show you what I get, so stay tuned!

Enough about me... what about you?

I recently started tracking hits to my site, mostly because I was curious. It was interesting and eye opening... you guys come from all over. Really, will the person from Qatar please stand up?

I love blogging and it is my hope and prayer that somehow something I say can help someone. It might be something specific to the foster-to-adopt process or a tidbit on how I (not so effectively sometimes) parent a child with PDD-NOS. I know some people are interested in our "hippy diet," and still others just want to know what a house with three boys aged three and under looks like (it's not messy, because I'm a bit of a neat freak). Regardless of why you're here, or how you got here, I'm glad that you can be a little part of our lives.

As I sit here, type, listen to babies sleep on the monitor and stuff my face with veggie chips and hummus whilst drinking a Dr. Pepper (did I mention I'm not perfect), its hard not to look back in utter amazement at the way my life has changed in the past two-and-a-half years. We gained three kids in 18 months, have learned to be advocates for kids in foster care and have navigated the tricky and bumpy terrain that comes with having a child with special needs. We were, in all honesty, prepared for none of this, but God has provided for us through all of it.

Our support system is amazing... friends, family, random strangers. Since I'm a bit outspoken (maybe, a lot, I'll let you be the judge), I've had the opportunity to witness other families as they are built through adoption. There is a bond between families that are built through adoption, there is an even stronger bond between families who have been built through foster care. It's not a pretty journey, but the end result is a dream that I never thought I would realize.

And, I'm the fortunate one. The one who gets to live this snotty nosed, spitty, poopy adventure everyday, and I couldn't think of anything better. I'm right where I'm supposed to be, and I pray that you are too. I pray that our story can be a blessing to you!

So, enough about me (and "us" by default), what about you? Leave me a message in the comments and let me know:
1- How you got here
2- What you want to hear about, and
3- Your favorite part about this blog.

What's in it for you? I'm so glad you asked! In honor of my totally rocking new blog design, I'm hosting my very first give-away! Wanna win? Leave a comment* using the outline above and we'll do a random drawing to get the winner. Comments will be closed on Sunday, Sept. 27 and the winner will be drawn on Monday the 28th.  For two chances to win, mention my blog give-away on your blog with a link and we'll put your name in to win twice... just be sure to let me know in the comments.

Up for grabs is a pair of BabyLegs. Now your child can be a rock star like Holden.

* Anyone can win (yes, mom that includes you), you don't have to be a first time commenter and nepotism isn't an issue. Comments posted on Facebook don't count.  Head on over to http://www.chambersadoption.blogspot.com/ to get the full story.  Good luck!

Family Mission Statement

One of the first things that was covered in our initial parenting class at Gladney was providing your family with a mission statement from the very beginning. It was an idea that really stuck with me - part of my job in PR was writing and editing mission statements for companies as they grew and merged, but I had never thought of one in a personal setting.

In the corporate world, everything is (should be) checked back with a mission statement, from new hires to corporate press releases, a company should always reflect the same values outwardly and stay true to their mission statement.

For Heath and I, the mission statement has been a wonderful tool for how we parent, what we teach and model for our children and how we want them to grow. We've added to it as E. Stone has gotten older, and I'm sure it will grow and change as we encounter new challenges, but here it is for now:

"It is our goal to raise our children in an environment that is peaceful and faith-filled. We pray that our children will be generous and gracious, while understanding and accepting of others needs, backgrounds and abilities.

We will strive to serve as a family of disciples, actively spreading God's word and following in his principles, while parenting in a fashion that mirrors His love for us. We vow to protect God's creation by being frugal in our living and recycling and reusing all that we can."

In the next couple of weeks, I'm also working on specifying a verse for each child. I, of course, pray specific things for my children daily, but I wanted to get a glimpse at each of their personalities before I placed them with a verse. I would LOVE to someday have the scriptures as wall art to place above each child's bed. I'm still saving for that!

For now, I have to come up with the verses, stay tuned to see what emerges for each child!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

It would be a big challenge to find a better daddy than ours! Happy Birthday to a wonderful man, amazing husband and outstanding Daddy!

Thank You!

Thank you all so much for the prayers for my mom. She's home now and stll recovering, but doing good. She gets her staples out Monday and will see the oncologist soon.

A lot of you have asked what you can do for her and I was at a loss until today when my good friend Kara asked if she could send a card. My mom is like me, she LOVES mail - although I don't ever remember her stalking the mailman.

So, if you would like to send her a card, just shoot me an e-mail and I'll send you her address, I know she would love them!

Colbie's Wedding

My sister was married on Saturday night and it was a beautiful ceremony. Colbie and I were both fortunate in finding the perfect spots for our weddings. Ours was at a vineyard and Colbie was married in the Old Red Courthouse downtown. Colbie and her new hubby Jake are both lawyers, so the courthouse was perfect. Colbie is also addicted to the color red, so the red was perfect. They aren't old, so I'm not sure how the old part fits in, but two out of three ain't bad!

My sister looked amazing and I was honored to stand by her side as matron of honor, although matron is an awful word! Holden attended the ceremony, but E. Stone and Cash hung out with Heath's mom so we could have fun and not worry about schedules. I would have let Holden stay as well, but let's face it, he would have starved! On a side note to that, nursing in a bridesmaid's dress is very difficult!

The photographers who covered the event were great and have put some sneak peek pictures on their blog. Right now, Colbie and Jake's wedding is at the top, but I'm sure that will change as they continue to cover weddings. The same photography group also took some amazing engagement photos for them. Enjoy!

First photo as a family of five...

It took us a while, but here it is! We're all pretty cute, huh?

Praise God!

Today was a day for good news. I found out that the amazing foster family who had Cash before us just now received a new baby girl! She is only a week old. What a blessed time for their family. I know how loved this little girl will be because I can look into my son's eyes and see how loved he was while he was in their home. And, I know how loved he still is by this amazing family. We constantly feel their prayers and support. Praise God for this amazing family and the chance they have to plant more seeds in this child's life.

I also had the wonderful chance to meet a new friend this evening who is involved in the foster-to-adopt process. In October or November of this year, their family will grow from a family of three to a family of seven. Can you imagine? What love they must have to take this giant step of faith. I'm in awe of them and could see the amazing love they already share for these kids even before they have arrived home.

These children are such a blessing. Often, we are told what a blessing we are to our boys, how wonderful it was for us to take them. I don't see it that way. These boys have given us much more than we could ever give them. They have taught us to love in a way that I couldn't even imagine. They have given me strength and courage that I didn't know I had, and they have brought our family together - they are what made us a family.

I know that these two new families will be blessed in the same way and I praise God for continuing to bestow such rich blessings on us.

Questions

I went to my sister's bridal shower this weekend and was asked the same questions several times, so I thought I would share here. Maybe you guys are curious as well?

1. How/where do the boys sleep?
E. Stone and Cash both sleep though the night, typically from 7:30 to 7ish, so about 12 hours. Cash still takes 2-3 naps a day, but E is down to one. Holden's days aren't specific at all - he typically nurses every 2-3 hours during the day and 4-5 at night. Holden sleeps in a cradle in our room and Cash and E have their own rooms - Cash is, of course, still in a crib and E sleeps in a bed.

2. How many diapers do you change a day?
With all three still in diapers, we go through 20-30 diapers in a 24 hour period. About half are Holden's.

3. How do you find time to blog?
Right now I'm hunting and pecking one-handed while nursing.

4. You aren't still trying to work, are you?
Uhh, no way! I can't even find time to pay the bills or do laundry...

5. How do you do it all?
With a lot of help, support and prayers!

If you have a question, feel free to leave it in the comments. I'm sure I'd have lots of questions for me as well, but since this is my life, it just seems normal to me!

Last Day of School!

I remember when I was little, how much I looked forward to the last day of school. Summer was on the doorstep, not to mention all of the treats I got to eat at the end of year parties that seem to go on and on and on...

Now on the mother side of things, I'm excited about the school year ending this year because it's E. Stone's last day of Mother's Day Out and my last day at work for a long while. I can't wait to spend some quality one-on-one time with my little boy!

Of course, what End of Year celebration (even a Mother's Day Out program for a one-year-old) wouldn't be complete without some sort of school program? E. Stone twinkled his little star with all of his might at the program today - who cares if that's the only song he participated in? He gave it his all!

E. Stone with his buddy and stroller mate Emily as they prepare to make the parade walk down to the program. He thought he was pretty big stuff!

E. Stone with the entire class of infants. Since he only goes three days, he doesn't actually have class with several of these kids, as they rotate in and out. His big buddies are Graham (looking down in the back of the middle stroller) and Emily (in stroller next to him).

I thought this was too cute not to share. E. Stone's school is called The Ark, so some of the teachers painted the schools logo for the program. If you look close, you will notice that the rainbow is all of the kids hands. E's is in purple toward the very bottom.

So roll out the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer... we're ready!

I've been tagged!

My good friend Amy tagged me, so here goes!

Favorite person (outside family)? All of my friends who are just like family to me, I really can't name them all, but don't know what I would ever do without them!

Favorite food? I love hot tea and am really missing my wine drinking days. Also, Mexican food!

Quirks about you? I have to have everything neat and hate when things get moved around. My amazing husband deals with this well, but I wind up getting angry often because things aren't in their place. I wish I could let it go... believe me I tried!

How would the person who loves you most describe you in ten words or less? Hopefully as supportive and caring as well as a good mother.

Any regrets in life? Not going on a study abroad trip. When else will I ever get to spend months on end backpacking through a foreign country?

Favorite Charity/ Cause? Anything that has to do with family violence, but specifically CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates).

Favorite Blog recently? I love reading all of my friends blogs and keeping up. Also, I completely addicted to http://www.celebrity-babies.com/.

Something you can’t get enough of? (I'm going with Amy on this one) Time with my family ... and sleep!

Worst job you've ever had? I'm lucky in this department, I've pretty much liked everything I've done, although there were a few families I would have rather NOT nannied for.

What job would you pay NOT to have? Cleaning public restrooms!

If you could be a fly on the wall, where? Martha Stewart's kitchen. Does she really make all of that stuff?

Favorite Bible verse right now? Psalm 119:109, "God's word is a lamp under my feet and a light onto my path." I often struggle with God's timing and this reminds me that he's always with me and his timing and plans for me have no flaw.

Guilty Pleasure? Taking an afternoon nap when there isn't too much work to do, and the aforementioned http://www.celebrity-babies.com/.

If you HAD to spend $1,000 on YOURSELF, how would you spend it? Vacation with my husband.

Favorite thing about your house? That it's one story and spread out.

Least favorite thing about your house? That it doesn't clean itself.

One thing you are bad at? Taking time away.

One thing you're good at? Writing

If you could change something about your circumstances, what? If you would have asked me a year ago, I could have given you a long list, but right now, there isn't anything.

Who would you like to meet someday? My husband's grandmother - the original Nanny, who I have heard so much about and who set a precedent of love that continues through our family.

Who is your real life hero? My husband - who holds down a job that I know he'd rather not do and has supported me through every hairbrained idea that has come up.

What is the hardest part of your job? (I agree with Amy) the balancing act.

When are you most relaxed? With my family, when we don't have a lot of plans. Also, when I'm walking. Being outside makes me slow down a bit and relax.

What stresses you out? I listed it above, but when things aren't where they belong or put away. Clutter in general really makes me stressed.

What can you not live without? A central family calendar, order and my family and friends.

Why do you blog? It started as communication to let others know about our adoption process, now it's an outlet for me to share thoughts and a way to communicate with friends and family.

Who Am I Tagging? Amanda, Jennifer and Jenna

Why I love having a little boy... and a few prayer requests

My sweet E and I were on a walk at the lake house this weekend and he did the most amazing thing. As we were walking, he pointed to some wild flowers and started saying "mama." Of course, I bent down, showed him the flowers up close and said, "flower, yellow flowers." He insisted on saying "mama," no flower, then he got a little uncomfortable in the stroller and started yelling to get out. Since we were on a country road, I let him out to inspect the flowers up close. He pulled one with his little hand and gave it to me saying, "mama." He wasn't calling the flowers "mama," he was trying to say that I should have them!

So, we pulled them (probably a federal offense) and took them back to the house to put in a vase. I love this little boy!

Now, onto the prayer requests... We saw the ENT on Tuesday and Ethan-Stone is all scheduled to have his adenoids and tonsils removed on June 18th. We're nervous about the surgery, but know it will make a world of difference with the breathing issues he's been experiencing. We love his doctor and know this is what's best, but an overnight hospital stay is a little scary!

We also received a call from CPS that a referral has been made on Ethan-Stone's biological brother. While this is something that Heath and I knew would come up eventually, the situation is a bit scary in that E's bio-mom is now on the run with the baby. We don't have a lot of info, just know that the baby is in danger and that there are drugs involved. Please pray that this little boy is found safe and that he is provided with a new, safe home. As I said, we don't have a lot of details and will pass them along as they come in, but the safety of this little one is top of the list - I believe he was born in late January, but am not sure of his exact age, but too little to fend for himself...

Oh my happy feet!

What a wonderful Mother's Day surprise! Ethan-Stone and Heath gave me a gift card to a great spa down the road to have a reflexology foot massage. I've never had one of these before and now was the perfect time to try it out. My feet seem to be literally bearing the load of the pregnancy and every night before I go to bed they just ache. I know, I shouldn't complain because this is really my only "pregnancy problem," but nevertheless it's no fun.

My sweet husband was listening and was kind enough to indulge my need for rubbed feet! I left Mapleshade Spa on Saturday afternoon feeling refreshed and am hoping to save up some money to go back at some point to relieve the pain again.

I hope you all had an amazing Mother's Day!

It's the weekend, where's my DiDi?

It's funny to me that I have such a "scheduled" child. I don't know what else I should have expected, look at me - I'm sure it has to rub off!

Ethan-Stone now goes to school on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. This last week, he went on Wednesday and not Tuesday due to a meeting I had, so he was a little "off." On Wednesday I found him standing next to the gate yelling down the hall for his Nanny (Heath's mom). Nanny always picks him up on Thursdays so they can spend some time together. I think he was confused since he had the day before off. He seemed a little upset that I was there and not here. I got MaMa? (with the question mark after it) like, why are you here?

This weekend was also the big race weekend here in Dallas. Heath loves Nascar and goes each year with his dad. It's great bonding time for them. He left Friday evening after E went to bed and then returned late Sunday afternoon. Ethan-Stone woke up on Saturday and ran back into our bedroom looking for his DiDi. Of course, he wasn't there, but it was Saturday and he was supposed to be! We really threw him for a loop!

Maybe DiDi is under the bed? It's worth a shot!


I had a great weekend with my little boy. It's fun sometimes when it's just us, without a lot of plans. We spent pretty much all day yesterday outside. We had picnics for lunch and dinner, which was a lot of fun!

Check back to the blog on Thursday evening - we have a doc appointment on Thursday to find out if we're having a boy or girl! I'll be sure to post the results!

Oh, and I'll also post new pictures soon. My camera is broken, so I've been using a disposable until we figure out what we want. I've actually got to take the camera in for the photos to be developed and put onto a CD - now when's that going to happen!

Tithing away...

Warning, for those of you reading this who are in my Sunday School class, stop. Spoiler alert!

Our church is currently building a new sanctuary, so we're in the midst of a building campaign. As all of you church-goers know, that means a constant need and ask for money. As part of the ask (I guess the need too) our adult Sunday School coordinator has requested that all classes participate in a study on tithing and they provided the book, Fields of Gold, to facilitate the study.

Heath and I don't normally teach Sunday School, but our regular facilitator has been out for a family emergency and I felt a call to lead this. As many of you know, finances have been an important part of our lives in the past year, so I thought reading one more book on stewardship couldn't hurt. The book is great and serves more as a study of trust than stewardship.

So what's trust got to do with it? I was thinking along the same lines, so let me expand a bit. God promises to provide all of our needs (needs not wants). If we don't give of our wealth, if we hoard for ourselves, does that mean that we don't trust that God will provide?

Now, you're talking to an avid saver of money. There are many months that we go without certain things so that I can put my correct amount into our savings account. We do tithe, and we tithe in the Biblical sense (10 percent). I've never thought about going above and beyond that.

To add to the tithing predicament, Heath and I have recently discussed and agreed to the move for me to go to stay-at-home momdom. Financially (even with our current save/tithe plan) it's doable - probably not comfortable, but doable. I mentioned this to a neighbor recently, a stay-at-home mom with four kids. I told her I knew we could do it, but that we had gotten used to some things and that would be rough. She agreed and brought up some scripture that I never referenced to a financial situation before - Exodus 16:11-14. In these verses, God provides the Israelites with manna as sustenance. The manna arrives each morning and they learn to trust that God will provide for their needs. Nowhere is it written that the Israelites start fighting over and hoarding the manna, stuffing their pockets full of the stuff so they would have enough for tomorrow. Now, really, what would we as Americans do?

I'm not saying that we're going to drain our savings account, I'm just thinking out loud here. I never thought of my saving, or my tithing, as a trust issue. It's an interesting way to look at it and an interesting case study into yourself.

I've been tagged! ...and other news

We're finally back to full health and everyone is doing much better! Poor baby was so sick and I just had the hardest time knowing that he wasn't himself. He had a bit of a hard time heading back to school, but now that he's been in a week I think we're over the hump.

Next week is spring break, which I am SO looking forward to! We're going to Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine and Heath is off on Friday afternoon for some family time.

Last Sunday, we held the first anniversary bash for Ethan-Stone's "gotcha day." Gotcha day's are typically more celebrated in international adoptions because the child's birthday and home arrival don't match, but it works in our case as well. We celebrated this year with friends and family at our home - with lots of cupcakes!

Here's E with one of his many sweets of the day. He was actually pretty neat with his cupcakes:

Photo credit here goes to my amazing friend Amy, who not only served as photographer for the afternoon, but also wrote this amazing blog entry about Ethan-Stone and our family. So sweet!

Now, on to the tagging. Courtesy of my friend, neighbor and fellow blogger Jennifer:

What I was doing 10 years ago?

Graduating from high school - and thrilled to be getting out of the big "C"! I was actually just in the beginning throws of my first semester at UTD, since I skipped out of high school before my actual graduation date.

Looking back, this was a big year for me. I was living away from parents for the first time and also met my great friends Kara and Lauren as well as my future hubby! Wow, has that been 10 years?

5 Things on To Do List

First up is a press conference this afternoon where all local stations are slated to attend. It's actually a great story, one of the residents at a nursing home in Dallas (which happens to be a Kula Group client) is turning 114 today, making her the oldest Texan, second oldest American and third oldest person in the world! Watch 4, 5 or 8 tonight for the story!

Other things on the list aren't as pressing, need to create a media list, clean out closets at the house and reorganize the bins for attic storage. Lastly, I have some thank you notes to finish up from the above-mentioned party.

My Favorite Snacks

Unlike Jennifer, I love snacks! I could snack all day long and never eat a meal. I love cheese-its, goldfish, anything with cream cheese on it... not sounding to healthy now that I write it out!

Things I would do if I were a billionaire

I would, of course, be generous but first would be paying everything off so that Heath and I could be home with our kids. I'd probably wind up adopting quite a few more kid-os and maybe even having a few more. I'd love to fill my house with children, but right now there are some budget constraints to that plan!

3 Bad Habits

1. Aforementioned eating

2. Holding grudges

3. Making snap decisions

5 Places I have Lived

I'm pretty boring in this category: Corsicana, Richardson, Denton, Frisco and Plano

5 Jobs I have had

Babysitter/nanny, PR consultant, adjunct professor, freelance writer, mom - the last one being the hardest, yet most rewarding positions.

Tired days

I'm beginning to feel the full force of the tiredness. It makes for longer days, but I'm still really lucky to have not been sick and feel pretty good throughout the week. I know cutting back would help a lot with the tired end of things, but everything seems to be getting busier. My boss for the company I have been working for went MIA, while owing me some money. He says I'll get the money (we'll see), but in the meantime, I've gone back to work in the office at The Kula Group while E is in school. I enjoy the work much better there, because it's something different every day, but it does leave me more tired - simply because there is more to do!

When summer rolls around, we'll go down to three 1/2 days instead of four, with a couple of weeks off in-between, so I promise, I will get some rest in. I'm looking forward to Monday off this week, but hit the ground running Tuesday, finishing up the last of the house project I started in October. It's been fun, but very demanding.

E's sleeping now after a fun-filled church morning, so I think I'm going to take advantage! Sorry no sonogram pics yet, still trying to learn the ins and outs of the scanner, but I promise to get them up soon.

What's in a heartbeat?

Heath and I went to the OB/GYN office today for our 8-week ultrasound. The baby's heartbeat is strong and mighty and we feel so blessed to be able to hear our sweet little one growingand thriving. I can't think of the last time I took the time to actually listen to my heart beat, but when you stop and think about it, it's an amazing thing. To know that God has breathed life into our little one, given him/her fingerprints and already marked the baby as His, is one of the most powerful things I can think of. I think I should take some more time out each day to center myself and listen to the powerful heart beating within me, a heart filled with God's love for me and my family.

Merry Christmas

Christmas cards are going out today and we've included our blog address once again as a conduit for our yearly update. For those of you new to the blogosphere, this has been a great way for us to connect with friends and family, share pictures and update on the adoption process, and now the daily happenings of one Ethan-Stone Chambers.



This year has been full of blessings and unexpected surprises. On March 1, we were thrilled with the arrival of our first child. Ethan-Stone continues to amaze us as he grows and learns new things daily. He loves to sort and stack and is "all boy" when it comes to rough-housing and digging in the dirt. I was blessed to be able to stay home with him for the first 6-months, until he was almost exactly a year old. He is now in a Mother's Day Out program, which allows me the flexibility to work on freelance projects from home and still keep plenty of time with our little E.

Heath is still with E-surance in Addison and enjoys the friends there. He received a promotion recently that has him on his toes through the transition, but he seems to enjoy the work behind it a bit better. He's dealing more with lawyers now than the actual people who were in the accidents, so I think emotions are running a bit lower and overall everyone is a bit more level-headed. His work schedule still skews earlier, so he's back home by 4:30 p.m. to play with E and allow me a quick break to re-check E-mail and cook supper.

We spent lots of time at the lake house this summer. Heath squeezed in as much wake skating as he could with a little one. He's been a trooper through the whole adoption process and volunteered to sell his boat, car and pin ball machine to pay off the lawyers fees and keep everything afloat with me only working part-time. Since Ethan-Stone was a surprise baby (read back in other posts), we were not able to use Gladney as a service provider through the process and had to pay our own wonderful lawyer out-of-pocket. So, baby number two will be a Gladney baby since the money is still all there.

We threw in a few trips to the beach with Heath's family and E had his first plane ride in October. The first six months he was home, we had to stay in the state of Texas with him, but we stretched it to the limit going from Gainesville to South Padre Island within one week! In 2008, we will head to Colorado for some snow boarding with the Godchildren and to California to catch some sun. We're trying our best to show E as much as we can and are hoping to take him abroad as he gets older.

We've had several friends and family ask about our cousin Scott who stayed with us quite a bit last year. Scott is living with his grandparents and doing great. He continues to grow and each time we see him he surprises us with new skills and talents. He loves music and is finding creative ways to get into every nook and cranny of the house that he isn't suppossed to!

We are supremely blessed with friends and family who have prayed for us and helped us along this journey. Ethan-Stone truly is a child of God, his father in heaven. We feel unworthy of the gift to raise him and watch him grow. The wonderment and joy that he brings to our lives daily is beyond words.

For family pictures, updated regularly, please visit our photo pages at www.chambersadoption.shutterfly.com. The password is ethan-stone (all lower cased, with hyphen).

May God bless you and your family this coming year and always. Merry Christmas and Happy 2008!