January- A Month of Celebration

The Grandstaff family has a lot to celebrate in January. Our sweet Katelyn turned 3 on the 5th. Her 2 year gotcha day was on January 10th. Hard to believe all those months of waiting and visiting Guatemala were over 2 years ago. The time goes so quickly. My birthday and our wedding anniversary is on the 11th. Brian and I celebrated 13 years this month. So thankful for the amazing man God gave me. Kiley's gotcha day is January 26th. It's been almost 1 year since we traveled to Ethiopia and met our bright eyes little girl. She has brought more joy and laughter to our home than I could have ever imagined. As I reflect on our family I'm so thankful for all the things we have been able to celebrate this month. Thank you Lord!!!!!

Tahoe

Brian and I took Lauren, Emily and Kiley to see Jon, Christina and Aviana in Lake Tahoe. We decided that due to the distance and the weather we would leave Kate with Lis and Tim. It was a blast! We loved our time with my brother and his precious family. Avi is getting so big and was babbling and smiling so much. Sure wish they lived closer. While we were there we connected with the Howard family. It was so much fun! We all went sledding and had snow ball fights. The girls loved it! We then went to the new Ritz Carlton in Lake Tahoe (thanks Lis!) for some amazing sights. Emily and Kiley took a day of ski lessons as did I. We had a fabulous time up on the mountain. The weather was warm and perfect for being outside. On my birthday a big snow storm came in. The snow was whipping! The girls loved it. They threw it, fell in it and ate it! Oh the joys of childhood. It was a wonderful trip!

Ski lessons

No time for blogging

Well here we are well on our way into 2010 and I'm sitting down to finally update this blog. So sad that literally months have gone by and there have been no entries. But I must admit it has been a full several months. I will recap the months for you.

October
I got the phone call that my sweet friend Shelly had passed away on the 4th, 3 weeks and 1 day from the time they told her the cancer had returned. She went from Anthony's arms to Jesus' arms on her 18th wedding anniversary. It was a very sober time. I returned to Sacramento for the memorial service. Which was challenging but such a sweet celebration of her life.
Our darling Emily turned 6. She is just such a joyful kid with an imagination like I've never seen before. She can't keep from smiling and she LOVES animals with a passion.
Jon, Christina and Aviana came for a visit. We loved spending time with them. They stayed for Halloween so we were able to celebrate Avi's first Halloween together.

November
Brian's parents came to join in on the Thanksgiving fun. It was wonderful to have them here. It's been almost a year since they have been to FL and the girls missed them so much. Of course we ate WAY too much but it was a precious time.

December
What can I say about December... it's my FAVORITE time of year. The decorations were hung and we celebrated all month long.
Lauren celebrated her 9th birthday, which I can not believe! Last year in the single digits... HOLY COW!!!! She has continued to be a tender hearted little girls that serves others. Blessed indeed to be her mom.
I must say Christmas doesn't get any better than when you have a bunch of little ones in the home. I LOVE IT! There was an excitement all month. We did Christmas cookies, school programs and lots of shopping. My heart is full of gratitude!

So there is the quickest recap of the last several months. Lord willing I will be able to stay on top of this a little better in 2010. Who am I kidding???? One can dream.....

Many blessings to you in 2010!
I must say that

Saying Goodbye

My friend Shelly says she hates goodbyes. And today I gotta tell you so do I! Mom and I flew out to Sacramento, CA on Tuesday. I received a call on Saturday afternoon that my precious, beautiful, hilarious friend Shelly Howard who has been battling breast cancer for over 3 years is in her final weeks. Hospice came on Tuesday to try and make her comfortable.

It just "feels" wrong. She is 37 with 5 darling children ages 3-11. We spent time playing with the kids, doing home work and then surprising Mom with Halloween a little early. SO FUN!!!

My visits with her and her lovely husband Anthony have not been sad or full of fear. They have been amazing conversations about heaven and what she is going to do there. When we asked her if she was afraid she said "NO... I'm really excited. I mean I get to see Jesus." She is an amazing mom, wife and to me a dear friend. She is one of those girls that make you laugh until your stomach hurts. I will miss her dearly but as she said last night. "I can't wait to hang... FOREVER". She promised to meet me at the gates of heaven and until that day arrives I'm anxious to see her face again and laugh FOREVER!

I'm so glad she is leaving behind her precious children for us to love on and laugh with. They are full of joy and their Mother has prepared them well for her passing. I love you Shelly and will miss you for a little while. Can't wait for FOREVER!!!
We are still laughing.....

Taylor

Anthony

Sydney

Shelby and Jaden

Homework with the girls

Book Ball

Lauren and Emily attended a Patriot Book Ball on Friday night after spending the day at Animal Kingdom. It was to celebrate their summer reading for school. They were dressed up and had a ball, at the ball. Especially winning door prizes and dancing with friends. It was a very special night. Lauren finished 4th in her grade and Emily finished 3rd. I'm so proud of them. They looked just beautiful!

Animal Kingdom

n Friday I took the girls to Animal Kingdom for the day. It was perfect weather and the crowds were light. My idea of a fun time at a theme park. Us locals are spoiled with the way we want to play. The girls were just lovely and we had a blast together. No doubt the highlight was the safari ride. We did it first thing in the morning and most of the animals were out. It was so fun! They also loved the petting area. Amazing the joy my little people get out of touching sheep and goats.

We Love Lexi

Some of you have asked about how we like Lexi. We LOVE HER!!!!! The girls carry her around and love to try and dress her up. I can't say she really enjoys it... but she is a great sport. Took her to the vet today for her final puppy shots and she weighed in at 8lb. Many of you have asked to see pictures so here you go.

Kate loves to sit with her. I took these this morning while they were sitting right by the office where I was working. She is a great dog!

Visiting California

Brian and I took Emily and Lauren to San Diego to meet our new niece Aviana. She was a week old when we first met her. She is darling! We are so excited for Jon and Christina and their precious daughter. We had a great time hanging with our older girls. We took a boat out in the bay and saw dolphins. It was a blast!

Review of 2009

I can't believe that September is just around the corner. I decided to begin capturing our memories from this year so far in a family movie. Hope you enjoy!

A little behind

Okay so I finally put our 2008 pictures into a movie. Here it is just a year and half late.

First day of school

I just realized that I need to take another picture of Lauren as her first school day picture didn't really turn out. But here are the other 3 all ready for school. Emily is in kindergarten at Circle. Kiley is in the 3 year old class and Kate is in the 2 year old class at Willow Creek. They are growing so fast!

A time to reflect

Today I came up to the beach all alone. It's not something I normally do. Usually there is a row of children following in my footsteps. But not today. Brian has all the girls and is taking them to a fun hotel for the night while I get out of town and have some quiet. What a fun Dad!

It's amazing what a few good hours of rest and silence will do for my heart and soul. I have some dear friends coming later today for the rest of the weekend so the silence will soon be filled with laughter. But in the mean time I'm taking the opportunity to rest in silence, think and write. I realized I get weary from meeting the needs of children so many hours in the day that when I have a few hours of silence I can be a better wife, mother and friend. So thankful today for all the sounds of 4 little children and the amazing, dedicated, love of a godly man. I'm blessed!

Puppy Love

I've been asking for a puppy now for a little while. I think Brian was afraid I might start asking to adopt again if I didn't have a puppy soon so he finally gave into my request. He didn't fully realize all it would entail. Just a short flight for him to go to Seattle to pick up the puppy and bring her home. Not because you can't find a cockapoo (cocker spaniel and poodle) in Florida. You just can't find the one I REALLY want in Florida. So my accommodating, darling husband flew to Seattle and came back the next day with my sweet puppy Lexi. She is wonderful and the girls just adore her. We are truly in puppy love.

Kiley's 6 Month Pictures

I can't believe it has been 6 months since I met Kiley in Ethiopia for the first time. It blows my mind to think how much our darling little girl has changed. She is fluent in english and she makes me smile with the brightness in her eyes. Her eyes was the thing that captured my heart last September when I first saw her picture. I already can't imagine our lives without her. She is such an important part of our family. We love her deeply and are so thankful every time we stop to think of her journey to our family. Happy 6 month gotcha day Kiley Joy. We love you!