I haven't posted anything for a while. My life has been pretty uneventful and mundane. I started back to work in full swing last week and the week before. I think this week has been the busiest since I started as a free-lance interpreter! I even went to Evanston, Wyoming for an appointment this week! I have been all over between here in Ogden and Salt Lake City. My poor car is getting some TLC this weekend at the shop with a new timing belt, tire rotation and balance, and a full inspection to see if there is anything else they would recommend (though we may not listen if they are not fully honest).
I signed up about a month ago for the Wasatch Woman Run that will be this coming Saturday. The option was to sign up for either the 5K or the 10K. For anyone that knows me and how I run like an old granny (hey, at least I am moving right??) I totally signed up for the 5K. I am anxious to do it, though my preparation for it has been a little rough. I started jogging religiously every night after work for a couple of weeks, and then got sick, twice. So this morning Brandon and I dropped the car off at the shop, and then rode the bike down to a trail where we jogged most of it one way, and then walked some of it. Jogging for me has a few purposes: to help me control my diabetes better, to lose some weight, and de-stress. I can already jog over a mile and a half without really getting too winded, but oh boy, I am worrying about the 2nd mile and a half that I am not used to doing.
In other news, we have finally set up a meeting with our Resource Family Consultant for next Wednesday in order to get to know her a little better and discuss what types of children we are open to bringing into our home. We are excited about this because it will be one step closer to becoming foster parents! I will post after that meeting to tell how it went! We are excited!
Saturday, August 30
Wednesday, August 20
New License!
Yesterday we received our new foster parenting license! For those of you that may be confused by this and are thinking "wait a minute, I thought they were already licensed", let me explain.
In a nutshell, back in March, when we were taking the foster parenting training classes on our own account, we received that call from my sister in law asking us if we would be willing to possibly take her son. (so we were already in the process of doing this on our own with no family situations involved) We were told that the state of Idaho had to make a formal request to have us get our background checks, fingerprints done, home study, and health and safety inspection, etc. These were all things we would have done in the regular process of getting licensed as foster parents. When we got them all done and received our first license, we were officially seen as a fit home to have our nephew brought in. So through the formal request for a specific child (our nephew) we became licensed only for him, and not other children. It was his name on the first certificate. When we got word that my sister in law was going to be getting the kids back, we went ahead with our original plans and had to call the Department of Child and Family Services to request that our records be updated and modified so that we could get a certificate that stated we weren't only licensed for one specific child, but for any children. It is all a legal way of wording things.
With the long process it took to get anyone to answer our questions at the beginning of the summer and having any positive results not coming our way, it has been wonderful to work with our Licensor who has been a God send who really gets things done! We are thrilled!
In a nutshell, back in March, when we were taking the foster parenting training classes on our own account, we received that call from my sister in law asking us if we would be willing to possibly take her son. (so we were already in the process of doing this on our own with no family situations involved) We were told that the state of Idaho had to make a formal request to have us get our background checks, fingerprints done, home study, and health and safety inspection, etc. These were all things we would have done in the regular process of getting licensed as foster parents. When we got them all done and received our first license, we were officially seen as a fit home to have our nephew brought in. So through the formal request for a specific child (our nephew) we became licensed only for him, and not other children. It was his name on the first certificate. When we got word that my sister in law was going to be getting the kids back, we went ahead with our original plans and had to call the Department of Child and Family Services to request that our records be updated and modified so that we could get a certificate that stated we weren't only licensed for one specific child, but for any children. It is all a legal way of wording things.
With the long process it took to get anyone to answer our questions at the beginning of the summer and having any positive results not coming our way, it has been wonderful to work with our Licensor who has been a God send who really gets things done! We are thrilled!
Thursday, August 14
Taylor Update
Today was the day that we have been waiting for a long time now. Today was the court hearing in Twin Falls, ID that would decide the future of our relationship with our nephew Taylor. It turns out that the judge thought that Shannon deserved her kids back. She has been able to get her act together in just a very short amount of time, and we are proud of her. It is with mixed feelings, yet excitement that this is happening. We are thrilled that she is clean again, and has such a desire to get her little family back together. We just hope and pray that it remains such.
In lieu of this news, I wasted no time calling the Office of Licensing that conducted our home study and health and safety inspection of our home and notified the decision of the court. I told them that I would like our records to be transfered to the Utah Foster Care Foundation as soon as they were able. Our records and paperwork have been under the Department of Children and Family Services for the last couple of months in the process of Idaho requesting background checks, the homestudy, etc. Now we are looking forward to working with the foster care agency in order to get other children placed in our home. We are open to birth to 2 years, boy or girl, and any ethnicity except for Native American, because tribal laws are different than US laws when it comes to adopting one of their children. We have been told that the less particular you are about the kinds of children you are willing to take in as foster children and are willing to possibly adopt, then the less amount of time you will wait to have children placed in your home. So who knows what will happen for us next!
I want to thank all of those who kept us in their thoughts and prayers through out this process. There have been many tears shed, lessons learned, and blessings that have come through this experience. I just have to trust that this is the Lord's plan for that little boy, and as well as for us. I love you all!
In lieu of this news, I wasted no time calling the Office of Licensing that conducted our home study and health and safety inspection of our home and notified the decision of the court. I told them that I would like our records to be transfered to the Utah Foster Care Foundation as soon as they were able. Our records and paperwork have been under the Department of Children and Family Services for the last couple of months in the process of Idaho requesting background checks, the homestudy, etc. Now we are looking forward to working with the foster care agency in order to get other children placed in our home. We are open to birth to 2 years, boy or girl, and any ethnicity except for Native American, because tribal laws are different than US laws when it comes to adopting one of their children. We have been told that the less particular you are about the kinds of children you are willing to take in as foster children and are willing to possibly adopt, then the less amount of time you will wait to have children placed in your home. So who knows what will happen for us next!
I want to thank all of those who kept us in their thoughts and prayers through out this process. There have been many tears shed, lessons learned, and blessings that have come through this experience. I just have to trust that this is the Lord's plan for that little boy, and as well as for us. I love you all!
Thursday, August 7
Happy Anniversary!
Today is B's and my 4 year anniversary! I have mixed emotions about this. Sometimes it feels like yesterday we walked out of that temple together. Sometimes it feels like 4 years, but not in a bad way; because SO many things have happened and so many changes have happened in our lives:1. We got married August 7, 2004 in the Jordan River Temple.
2. December 1, 2004 I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, and we didn't have insurance and our lives would be changed forever. (& Brandon was wondering if I came with any kind of Return Policy)
3. May and December 2006 we graduated from USU, moved to Ogden, and then to Washington Terrace to our duplex.
4. May 2006 Brandon got an internship with the Flying J Corporate office in their Information Technology Department, that later that year would turn into a full time job.
5. July 2006 I was hired on as an educational interpreter with the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind through which we had insurance the very first time!
6. In the four years we have been married, certain family members had their share of struggles that really made us grateful for the gospel, our temple marriage, and to really depend on eachother.
7. As of June 2008, we are certified as foster parents.
8. I sit here and realize that I am so very blessed and honored that Brandon is my partner in crime in this life, and will be forever. (He has a straight ticket to Heaven for agreeing to marry me)
So here is my VERY public showing of my love and gratitude for my wonderful husband, for all his support, love, PATIENCE, caring, devotion, and the infinite amount of qualities that make him so endearing to all who come in to contact with him.
I LOVE YOU BRANDON!
Crafty Cathy Creations (my latest artsy fartsy creations)
As per my last post of excitement in sailing what are the uncharted waters of the craft world, I took advantage of the free time I have had to work on some things. They are simple projects though a little time consuming for various reasons. Last week, I was working in Salt Lake City for a job assignment and as I was driving (but really going nowhere) on north bound I-15 to come home, I realized I would rather spend my time looking for something fun to do rather than sit in traffic during rush hour and while Brandon was in Denver for the weekend with his Deaf softball team. I took the 2600 South exit to the Woods Cross/ Bountiful area and found a really cool store called Heartland Paper. Being so inexperienced in crafts and stuff, I walked in to the store and was immediately OVERWHELMED! Every where I looked, there were foreign gadgets for crafts, scrapbooking, interior decorating, and paper of every color of the rainbow, and just about any print you could dream up. The ladies there were so patient in explaining what certain things were used for. Up front I explained to them I had no idea what I was doing, and they took pity on me, because they ended up shadowing me almost the entire time I was there wandering curiously and aimlessly around their store. I completely fell in love with their store. It really is more of a scrapbooking store, but I found out that you can use the paper for all kinds of fun projects! So here is one of the projects I did with stuff I bought!
My last name in the fun colors and prints was fairly easy, but took some time to do. I bought these paper mashe (spelling?) letters and then traced them onto the paper, cut them out, glued them on the letters, then added some ribbon and buttons and stuff for accents. They turned out really cute! In the store where I got the idea, the letters were all generally the same color scheme, but didn't necessarily have to match. 
A couple of years ago, I bought some crafty things at a local craft store that was going out of business. I bought some really neat stencils, paints, and different wood pieces to eventually paint and either give away, or use in my own home. The only thing they did for a while was collect dust. Last year I painted the same type of wood cut out and hung it up in my 1/2 bathroom upstairs. It turned out really pretty. I was thinking how to use this one, and thought of my mom. She just moved in to a beautiful new house in Denver, and she has been so busy taking care of everyone else but herself since she got there that she hasn't had time to even decorate the house like she wants to. I asked her what colors she planned on using for her new kitchen and yellow and this pretty wine color are what she described. I hope she likes it. And yes, my carpet as a background is very special I know! I had a lot of fun doing these little projects. I am just so sad that my wood shelf didn't turn out.
My last name in the fun colors and prints was fairly easy, but took some time to do. I bought these paper mashe (spelling?) letters and then traced them onto the paper, cut them out, glued them on the letters, then added some ribbon and buttons and stuff for accents. They turned out really cute! In the store where I got the idea, the letters were all generally the same color scheme, but didn't necessarily have to match. 
A couple of years ago, I bought some crafty things at a local craft store that was going out of business. I bought some really neat stencils, paints, and different wood pieces to eventually paint and either give away, or use in my own home. The only thing they did for a while was collect dust. Last year I painted the same type of wood cut out and hung it up in my 1/2 bathroom upstairs. It turned out really pretty. I was thinking how to use this one, and thought of my mom. She just moved in to a beautiful new house in Denver, and she has been so busy taking care of everyone else but herself since she got there that she hasn't had time to even decorate the house like she wants to. I asked her what colors she planned on using for her new kitchen and yellow and this pretty wine color are what she described. I hope she likes it. And yes, my carpet as a background is very special I know! I had a lot of fun doing these little projects. I am just so sad that my wood shelf didn't turn out.
Saturday, August 2
Rubbing Alcohol Bath
I have decided to start a new trend in my bathing routine. It doesn't involve a loofah sponge, washcloth, soap, or even water. Last night, I discovered that all I need is a couple of paper towels and rubbing alcohol.........then again maybe not...let me explain...
For the longest time, I have wanted to be a little more more of a "crafty Cathy" and delve myself in to making things for my home. So I thought that there was nothing more initiating than trying to stain my own shelf to hang up in my living room! Let's just the the maiden voyage into the seemingly endless sea of opportunity of crafts sank like a lead weight. I got all excited about staining my first shelf. I went to Michael's and bought the shelf, and the darkest stain I could find so that I could eventually get the wood to match my coffee table and end tables. I even bought sand paper to finish off an rough spots to make sure the stain went on and absorbed evenly. I sanded off the shelf, and then started staining. Right when I thought I was done with that mess, I accidentally knocked over the small can of stain all over my back porch and ALL over me! My visiting teacher told me that stain is very difficult to remove from clothes and skin, (hence why it is called STAIN) so I tried to think of how I could get it off of me, it was all over my hands, feet, and legs. I remembered that I had a bottle of rubbing alcohol I never use in our medicine cabinet, but oh boy, was I about to use it! I sat my butt on my tile floor and soaked paper towels in rubbing alcohol and proceeded to give myself a combination microdermabrasion rubbing alcohol bath because I had to rub so hard! I am lucky my skin isn't raw! That stupid stuff wouldn't come off! After about 30 minutes of scrubbing it was mostly off, and I was so frustrated with myself, I changed clothes and went for a late evening jog. I left my shelf out to dry overnight and when i checked on it this morning it was all goopy and totally screwed up. I am trying to decide if it would be worth it to sand it up a bit and start all over. I am still debating such an undertaking.
For the longest time, I have wanted to be a little more more of a "crafty Cathy" and delve myself in to making things for my home. So I thought that there was nothing more initiating than trying to stain my own shelf to hang up in my living room! Let's just the the maiden voyage into the seemingly endless sea of opportunity of crafts sank like a lead weight. I got all excited about staining my first shelf. I went to Michael's and bought the shelf, and the darkest stain I could find so that I could eventually get the wood to match my coffee table and end tables. I even bought sand paper to finish off an rough spots to make sure the stain went on and absorbed evenly. I sanded off the shelf, and then started staining. Right when I thought I was done with that mess, I accidentally knocked over the small can of stain all over my back porch and ALL over me! My visiting teacher told me that stain is very difficult to remove from clothes and skin, (hence why it is called STAIN) so I tried to think of how I could get it off of me, it was all over my hands, feet, and legs. I remembered that I had a bottle of rubbing alcohol I never use in our medicine cabinet, but oh boy, was I about to use it! I sat my butt on my tile floor and soaked paper towels in rubbing alcohol and proceeded to give myself a combination microdermabrasion rubbing alcohol bath because I had to rub so hard! I am lucky my skin isn't raw! That stupid stuff wouldn't come off! After about 30 minutes of scrubbing it was mostly off, and I was so frustrated with myself, I changed clothes and went for a late evening jog. I left my shelf out to dry overnight and when i checked on it this morning it was all goopy and totally screwed up. I am trying to decide if it would be worth it to sand it up a bit and start all over. I am still debating such an undertaking.
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