Christmas Letter

Davis Family
2012

 Introducing: Raven, Nadia and Carson

This is our story:

This has been a crazy year full of joy and heartache (but mostly joy). It all began on April 17^th, 2012 when we got a call from Utah State Foster Care asking if we could take three kids (a sibling group) and if so, could we have things ready for them the next morning. We of course said yes!!!

There have been some ups and downs, like most people experience through foster care. There have been many team meetings, court, caseworker visits and visits with bio family. Through most of this journey we were working towards reunification with the kids and their bio family, but in the end it just did not work out. In the end the judge asked us if we would/could adopt these three amazing kids. Again, we said, YES!!!

 ADOPTION DATE:

12/12/12

Raven is our oldest. She is 7 and is in the 2^nd grade. She loves school, riding her bike, reading, making animal noises and anything to do outdoors. She is a great help around here. We love that she is friendly, outgoing and funny.

Nadia is 6 and she is our “Little Miss Sassy Pants”. There is never a day that goes by that she doesn’t make us laugh. She is quick witted. She is in all day Kindergarten and loves it. She is excited to learn, ride her bike, play with her dolls and read.

Carson is 4 and is our “Little Monkey”. He is in preschool and loves it. He loves to climb, anything to do with cars (especially Lightning McQueen), ride his bike and anything that has to do with being a boy.

Joe is still working for Hansen Insulation, yeah that is all about that subject. It pays the bills right? He is starting to get back into karate a little bit and enjoys being a dad.

Brea is about to start her 7^th year at H&R Block and 5^th year as a manager. She loves the tax season and loves to help her clients better understand their financial lives. She has been enjoying being a stay at home mom.

These kids have changed our lives in so many ways. We are thankful for them being a part of our family each and every day.

Love, Joe, Brea, Raven, Nadia and Carson

*************************************************

Here is how the kids made out:

 

I will post more pics later of the craziness.

Adoption: The Greatest Gift

I think adoption is the hardest thing, but the most rewarding thing I have ever done in my life.

Parts of it is heartbreaking, but most of is the greatest thing in the world.

There is so much pain that goes with it, but at the same time there is so much joy as well. It is an amazing gift and at this time of year, it is the greatest gift we could have ever hoped for.

It's no secret that Joe and I would have loved to have our own biological children, but that just was not in the cards for us, so we chose the next best thing. We are so blessed to be the proud parents of these three amazing kids. They have brought so much joy and laughter into our home and lives. We will cherish them always.

Little Miss Sassy's 6th Birthday

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl

 

 

This girl is a Sassy little thing!!! But I wouldn't trade it for a minute. She keeps us on our toes, that is for sure.

She will be sharing this birthday with two new cousins who were born today as well. How cool is that?

We sure do love this girl.

ADOPTION!!! 12-12-12

I know that it has been a couple of days since we finalized our adoption, but I have just been so busy with all of the paperwork and getting names changed with doctors/dentists and the school.

So we would like to introduce to you....

Raven, Nadia and Carson

 



Nadia, Carson, Raven and of course Joe and I

Front to back:

Raven, Nadia, Carson, Me, Joe

 

I just love Nadia's face in this picture

 

This is one of my favorite pictures

 

 

This is our story:

 

Back in April we got a phone call from our RFC (caseworker) asking if we would be willing to take in a Sibling group of 3. We of course said yes. The next question was if we could be ready the next morning...again we said yes!

 

When you do foster care, it is in the hopes that they kids will be reunited with the biological family, but in our case, it just wasn't possible. Not that their parents are bad people because they are not, they just made some bad choices in life. In fact the biological mom and I have a pretty good relationship. We have great respect and love for her that most people are not able to create with their kids birth moms. Not that we haven't had our ups and downs in our relationship, because there have been, but for the most part, she respects us and we respect her. When it came down to things, she could have fought and appealed the decision of terminating her rights, but she chose to let her kids move on and not drag them through the turmoil that could have been. We have gained so much more respect for her because of that decision. I have no doubt that she loves these kids with her whole heart and I am sure this decision had to be the hardest decision she will ever have to make.

 

We have had the kids in our home for about 8 months at this point and have grown so completely in love with them. I never thought we would get to the point of being able to adopt them, but here we are.

 

Raven is our oldest. She is 7 and a delight to have in our home. She is loving, caring, friendly and most of the time a pretty happy kid. She is a great student in school as well.

 

Nadia is currently 5, but will be 6 in a few days. She as well is a delight to have as part of our family. She is funny, sassy (which I love), and loves school.

 

Carson is 4 and all boy. He is a big daddy's boy. He is a big tease and loves anything to do with Lightning McQueen. He as well loves school.

 





 

On 12/12/12 we were able to finally seal the deal and call the kids ours and they could call us theirs. They now are able to finally start to feel like they are stable and not going to be taken from another home and family.

 

In court our attorney asks us each (Joe and I) questions like:

 

*You understand that this is forever right?

*You understand that you are financially responsible for these kids right?

*Are you more than 10 years older than the child/ren?

And my emotional breaking question:

*How do you feel about these kids?

 

Lets be honest, Joe was able to spit the words out and if I remember right, his response was this:

 

"I love these kids very much. They have brought joy into our lives and home. They are amazing."

 

And if I was to be honest, I broke down and was not really able to say anything for a few minutes, but when I was able to speak, I said:

 

"These kids have brought so much joy and love not just into our lives, but our families lives. We cannot imagine life without them and I love them so much. I love that they love to do things as a family and be together." If my emotions didn't say it all, I am not sure much else could have.

 

So that is our story!

 

I am going to ask that if you chose to comment on this post, I would ask that you be respectful of everyones feelings. If I find disrespectful comments, they will be removed immediately.

 



Little Turd

So yesterday I had to go to a work Manager's Meeting so my mom (grammy) picked Little Monkey up from school and watched him until I was finished with my meeting. Well, when I got there, I asked him to pick up his toys and put them away so we could go cause we still had to go pick the girls up from school as well. Anyway...he was being silly, so I called him a little turd. My mom was like, "So that's where he learned how to say that". I was like 'um yeah probably, why what happened?" She said that while she was buckling him into his car seat, he called her a "little turd". I busted up laughing cause I thought it was hilarious. Well apparently she didn't and she told him that it was naughty and he shouldn't say those words. While laughing I told her that I would much rather hear him say "turd" than "s**t".

Who needs to pay for a Mani and Pedi?

I love that my girls love to give me a mani and pedi. They just spent the last hour clipping my nails and rubbing lotion into my legs and feet and hands. I have to admit there is a reason that I loved it. About 8 years ago, I had tendons and ligiments repaired and during the winter months, it seriously hurts all of the time and today was a bad day, so it felt good to have it massaged. Thanks girls. I love you so much.