Wednesday, December 26, 2007

La Jolla Shores - San Diego






















Today we took the kids down to La Jolla Shores to play on the beach. This was Landon's first beach adventure and he couldn't get enough. He kept going straight for the water and had no fear whatsoever. He kept trying to figure out the sand on his hands and feet. When all was said and done, his clothes were soaked and all sandy. We got some great pictures! Skye and Alexa had a blast looking for sea shells in the sand and watching Landon go crazy.

Christmas Day - 2007
















Christmas day has come and gone once again. We always look forward to Christmas day because it is a day that we sit around and do pretty much nothing other than hang out with the family. The cousins had a great time together and Christmas morning was a blast, like it always is. Skye loved her presents and Landon was in heaven crawling around looking at everyone's new stuff. Stacy got a macro lense for her Nikon D70 digital camera and she is loving being able to take close up pictures of the kids. Todd bought his own present this year (snowboarding jacket) which is a great way to do Christmas. We hope all of our family and friends had a great Christmas day!

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Climate Change Consensus? Not Exactly.......

Well, no matter what Al Gore preaches at the pulpit in the Church of Global Warming, there IS NOT a consensus amongst the scientific community that man-made global warming is a reality and that you need to feel guilty for driving a SUV. A report from the US Senate Environment and Public Works Committee outlines 400 prominent scientists from 2 dozen countries in the field of global atmospheric research that debunk the idea that there is a "consensus" like the GW followers claim. These people are from obviously non-reputable institutions such as Harvard University, Princeton, MIT, Hebrew University, NOAA, EPA, NASA and I could go on and on. Additionally, those that do have the guts to speak out against the idea of a "consensus" report that there are scores of colleauges that share the opinion that GW is a figment in the imagination of Al Gore and are afraid to speak out. Read these scientist's comments at the following link:

http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.SenateReport#report

Monday, December 17, 2007

Christmas - - - 2007

Last year on New Year’s Eve, we had some friends over to celebrate with us. As the kids played upstairs, the big people sat around the table talking as we were accustomed to. As the topic of blessings came up, our friend Matt said, “2007 is going to the year of miracles!” As we sit here at the end of 2007 reflecting back over the year, we have realized just how truly blessed our families have been. It was about 1 year ago when our family found out that we were chosen to be the adoptive family of our little Landon. When we actually found out that we had been chosen on Christmas Eve last year, we could have ended Christmas right there and then because we couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas gift. The following months contained events that were truly inspired because we don’t have any other way to explain them. Landon was born the third week of January and our lives have been even busier and happier ever since. This year, we each wanted to list a few things that we are most grateful for as we look back over the year.

Todd: “I am grateful for a wife and mother who is the most dedicated and hard working person I have ever met. She cares for our kids, works from home, teaches Skye, changes diapers, drives all over town to dance and PE classes, and a myriad of other things. I am thankful to have such a wonderfully perfect mother for my kids.”

Stacy: “I am grateful for a husband who is thoughtful to say such nice things about me, especially on those days that you doubt yourself. I am grateful for two healthy, happy, energetic, unique children that because of them I can be called a mom. I am grateful for another mother that I call our family’s hero, that showed our family what true love and selflessness is.

Skye: “I am grateful for Landon’s birthmom because she gave us Landon.” (now after she said this we had to ask her to tell us more things she was grateful for because she stopped at this one…after wiping our tears away, this is what else she said) “I am grateful for my family, playing tag with Landon, jumping on the trampoline, my dance class, our house.” (parent side note…we are especially thankful for a warm home at this time of year because it is so cold here in Palmdale…we had snow last night!)

Landon: We’re just sure he would say: “Balls that I can throw and chase around the house, Desitin Cream, Cheerios, binkies, wooden chairs that I like to gnaw on (we call him our little beaver), and lots of and friends and family that loved me even before I came home.”

As a family we are so grateful for each one of you that kept our family in your prayers and thoughts as we went through the adoption process and the encouragement through conversations, phone calls and emails. Thank you!

We acknowledge our Heavenly Father’s hand in our lives and we are grateful to Him for a year of miracles.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love,

Todd, Stacy, Skye, and Landon

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Disneyland....December 2007
















We like to go to Disneyland at Christmas-time every year mostly so we can ride "It's a Small World" which is Stacy's favorite ride. :) Anyway, Disneyland is great at Christmas and we had a blast. I didn't think there would be too many people there because it was a Friday in the middle of December, but apparently everyone in Southern California had the same idea as us.

We got to ride the new Nemo submarine ride for the first time, so that was cool. Landon liked the water and bubbles so much that it made him pee on my leg (his diaper leaked). So, that was pretty nice. Enjoy the pics!

1st Year With Santa


.....what kid likes Santa the first time they sit on his lap? Landon was apprehensive, that's for sure.......

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Global "Carbon Tax"......


Al Gore and his cast of idiots are at it again in Bali.




Now the IPCC and the nations retarded enough to buy into The Church of Global Warming are proposing that a global Carbon Tax be established to raise 10-40 billion dollars a year to "combat global warming". One more step down the road of a global government. And guess what, they want to redistribute wealth too! They want to take your money and my money and redistribute it to poorer nations just because they can.


Not to worry, though. A group of 100 scientists and former members of the communist IPCC gathered to try to talk some sense into the group of politicians that flew their corporate jets to Bali to complain about the United States. As more and more evidence is gathered that the earths atmosphere goes through natural heating and cooling cycles, more and more real scientists are jeopardizing their grant funding by going public with their apprehensions about global warming because they actually have a shred of intellectual honesty left in them. I say good for them.


On a final note, isn't it ironic that while Al Gore and his pals are stroking each others egos in Bali that half of the United States is under a blanket of ice and snow? I wonder how many people in Oklahoma have global warming on their minds this week?
photo source: www.drudgereport.com

Thursday, December 6, 2007

CHRISTmas Tree Tradition







We love the CHRISTmas season in our house. In fact, CHRISTmas season officially starts for us about November 1 when Stacy breaks out the CHRISTmas music. One tradition that Stacy and I started while we lived in Utah was to get a CHRISTmas Tree permit, take off in the Bronco (the only time of the year she would be seen in it) and go CHRISTmas tree hunting in the local mountains. We certainly had some good times :) Living in the State of Commiefornia, where the trees have more rights than the humans, the only place we can get a fresh cut CHRISTmas is in a CHRISTmas Tree farm. So, we take what we can get! Last Saturday, we headed up to Tehachapi, which is a little mountain town in the foothills of the Sierras, and hunted a CHRISTmas Tree. We had a great time, although it was pretty chilly. We picked a nice tree, which turned out to be terribly lopsided. We stuffed it inside the Yukon and headed home. On Sunday evening, we broke out the CHRISTmas decorations and made our house nice and festive. Enjoy the pics and enjoy the CHRISTmas season.