Just sayin' (volume 1)

Okay....seriously,

I went to the Navy Exchange on December 30th
and they were putting out
stuffed animals for Valentine's Day.

I think that's crazy -  (*Just sayin')

Somebody
somewhere
stop the madness

Are we so consumer crazy that we shop for Valentine's Day
at the "After-Christmas Sale"?

And summer clothes at Valentine's Day?

and Halloween at the 4th of July sale?

And Christmas at Halloween?


It appears that we are.

Personally, I am really trying to scale down.
(*for the record, I was at the Navy Exchange getting Michael's contacts,
not shopping for things I don't need)

Who remembers "Little House on the Prairie"? 

Remember......they got a new dress for Christmas that their mother made by hand
and they wore it every Sunday to church?

And ...they also got a peppermint stick?

What happened to being
happy 
and grateful 
for every day needs being met?
For having food on your table?
And a roof over your head?

If you gave most American kids clothes for Christmas -
they would probably throw the box back at  you.

They expect that they can have a new name-brand shirt
every week
when you go to the mall.

So...my bottom line is this:

As you clean out closets and dressers to make room for all
your Christmas loot -
seriously consider the difference between need and want.

If you have things to get rid of -
please consider giving them to a shelter / children's home
of some kind instead of a re-sell shop.

There is need out there.
REAL need - 
not want.

Three of our four foster children had never slept in a bed
before they came to live with us.

Think about it.

Just sayin'

HEAD'S UP!!!

Starting in 2012,  I will have a new blog theme called,

"Just sayin'

You know,

Don't beat around the bush

Say it like it is

Plain talk is easy understood

You are playing the devil's advocate

and my personal favorite - Just sayin'

My friend Megan would beat me to it sometimes,
when I was on a little rant about something -
she would add to the end of my rant, "just sayin"

Yeah - JUST SAYIN'

So....you don't have to agree with me.
I'm cool with that.
But don't be snotty either.
(not cool with that)

I'm American and I still have free speech
If I don't like the President, I have the right to say so
(that's just an example)

Although, apparently, (if you didn't hear)
You can't say you don't like the Governor of Kansas.
You can read that story here....


I could rant about that story for a while....
but I'll save it for the boring,
post-Christmas days
of January

JUST SAYIN'

Meleah - 5 months

We have been so blessed to have this little angel in our home for the last five months.

She is rolling over - tummy to back
eating a little food
taking baths in the tub,
(instead of the sink!)

weighs almost 15 lbs

wears 6-9 month clothes

gets up once in the night for a bottle

takes super, short power naps during the day

has the nickname of Smiley Cat
(from her Halloween kitty costume)

so happy and smiley
                                                                                    so loved and lovable!!

First airplane ride - Saipan - Thanksgiving 2011

Chil-laxin' by the pool

Taking a dip 

First time in the ocean - yeah, she's got rolls!!

And we were thrilled to be a part of her first Christmas.

Special stocking handmade by Nanny in Michigan

Christmas jammies!

Sadly, however, we are not going to be able to adopt her -
and she will go to live with grandparents after the next court hearing on Jan. 24th
(*provided all their paperwork is in order)


We aren't going to pretend that everything is alright.
We are going to cry our eyes out (more than we already have)
and miss her dearly.

But we are going to do our best to focus on
and be thankful for the time we had,
not the time that we don't.

Thank you all so much for loving her and including her in your prayers.
For your love and support of our decision to be foster parents.
Please continue to pray for us as our journey continues.

Head on over....

to the December Daily* Christmas Blog
(*December Daily is a scrapbook idea by Ali Edwards)

if you feel like you have missed any big news -

Here are a few things worth reading / remembering.

If you are struggling with something this Christmas season


every kid needs a home for Christmas....


CHOCOLATE!


Thornton family news

Swim meet

Michael and Zion did well at the long course meet.

They both swam the 50 free and the 50 back.

Both boys took off time and continue to get faster.

Great job guys!

All-Star Soccer game

The two middle school soccer teams at McCool voted on the top eight players
from each team and formed one team for an All-Star game on Tuesday afternoon.

The boys looked good and I wish this group of boys would have played all season together.

Of course, I admit, I am competitive like that......I don't care if we lose a game or two,
but I think it's hard to be on a team that NEVER wins -

In Michael's soccer "career" - of probably 70 games,  his combined team wins is maybe 10.
Seriously.....it's just hard as a parent.

But he still loves soccer and still wants to play, and I keep hoping that one day -
he will be on a really, super team.

ANYWAY....photos below!

Blog-A-Mania

I might be a freak....

but I have a lot of blogs....

not because I think I have a lot of important things to say -
I'm certain that most things coming out of my mouth are wasted oxygen.

BUT....because I love to scrapbook

and because I type faster than I write

and because uploading pictures and typing a story is WAY faster than scrapbooking

and because my secret fears are:

1)  I'll never get around to scrapbooking the photos later
2)  I might forgot the stories if I don't write them down now
3)  the stupid movers will lose the scrapbooks that I spent hours on

Those are the reason that I have:

A family blog
a blog for each son
and a Christmas blog

I am sure that cyperspace is here to stay....
so my great, great, great grandchildren can google their great, great grandpas name
and see photos
and read all about our crazy family.

Maybe I have put too much thought into all this....

I told you - I might be a freak.

So here are the entries into "December Daily"
(*week one)
if you are searching for some Christmas cheer
and wondering what that might look like on Guam.

December 1st
December 2nd
December 3rd
December 4th
December 5th
December 6th
December 7th

Happy Birthday!!

A special birthday wish from Guam to MY MOM!

Happy Birthday mom!!!

We love you and we miss you!!

                                                                       Traditional

Disney version

Stevie Wonder

Out-takes -

HONOR ROLL

The Thornton boys rocked the first quarter of 4th grade / 6th grade and 8th grade.
They all made honor roll and we are very proud of their hard work.
Keep it up guys!

4th grade doesn't do an assembly - no photos of Zion, but we are still proud.

Mike went to the 6th grade assembly to support Isaac because Meleah had visitation.
(*thanks babe)


Here is the Blackberry version of his progress.

And Michael's assembly -
because, for some crazy reason they can't do them on the same day.
Although, this time, worked for me since I had the previously mentioned appointment.

Parents:  
I encourage you to pay attention to who you kids hang out with.
I think it's a good sign if your son's friends are on the honor roll.
You can't be a complete loser and still make honor roll....just sayin'

So - here are a few shots of Michael's friends -
which I won't name just in case they are in a witness protection program-
Guam would be a good place to hide from bad guys-
no one would want to fly 20+ hours to come find you.....again, just sayin'

The BEACH?!

Oh yeah!

The beach on December 4th -


I hate to be cold 
and I hate snow.

(*Just so you know that about me.)

GabGab with friends is the best Sunday afternoon spot!

Zion (in the water) and his buddy John.

The crew 

Love this baby!

 and this one too!

Fun times!

Seahawks Soccer

I won't lie - I still have a few more Saipan photos and a couple cool videos...

but since life has moved on,

and I am back to the laundry pile

the mom taxi

and the Christmas season is in full swing ....

I'll skip it for now.

Maybe I'll use them for a Friday Photo Flashback when life is uneventful.

ANYWAY -

Michael and Isaac missed a soccer game while we were in Saipan,

so the photos below are from their 3rd game.

The score wasn't pretty -
so bad, that I can't bring myself to type it.

But all the boys played hard and didn't give up when the chips were down.

I mean,

WAY.

DOWN.

Warning:
Shameless personal bragging on my own kids below:

This boy is on Tsunami swim team with Michael
but out of the water - they aren't teammates
so - I have some satisfaction in Michael burning him on this one
I know, it's not good sportsmanship, but I'm honest

More bragging:
Michael ROCKED the timing on this header
The ball was going RIGHT in the top of the goal
and he jumped up and headed it over the top
ONE LESS SCORE - it was ugly enough anyway

FINALLY - a couple good shots of Isaac
This is probably his last game
The ALL-STAR game will be mostly 8th graders I am sure

He saved it from going out - got it turned around

and back in the direction of our goal

GOOD JOB BUDDY!

So proud of my growing boys - trying not to think about Michael playing soccer in HIGH SCHOOL next year....

GO SEAHAWKS!!

Saipan - WWII history photos

YES....I still have photos to DUMP from our trip.
Maybe I took too many (is that possible?)

We had a great time.

Did I say that?

Maybe a time or two.

Like Guam, Saipan is rich with WWII history.
Isaac loves that!
Unlike Guam - Saipan was under Japanese rule when the war started.
The Japanese had sugar cane and coffee industry making huge profits in Saipan.
That all changed quickly after Pearl Harbor was attacked in December of 1941.
The island became a strategic location in the Pacific.

Japanese cemetary

Veterans' Memorial

Beach head where the Marines landed

Tank on top of a beach-head bunker

in front of the WWII Museum - on TOP of the world!  :)

Isaac - so excited!
He knows, rust and all - what kind of tank it is
If it's American or Japanese
what kind of shells it uses....
he is a little walking history book!

The hardest part of our tour of the island for me was the trip to Banzi Cliffs.

During the days of battle - the Americans backed the Japanese toward the north tip of the island.

The Japanese soldiers had been taught to never surrender.

As they retreated themselves into a "no way out" situation,

they convinced other Japanese on the island to not surrender.

Here, not only soldiers, 

but women and children jumped to their deaths

into the sea.

The area is lined with several memorials