Merrill and Roberta Simon and Family

Oh My Goodness, Santa has already been here and somehow Merrill and I missed him. But before we go to bed, we did manage to snap a few pictures. The tree is full of presents and it looks as if two bikes made it into his pack. The children will be so very excited. Frankly Merrill and I are hoping against hope to just get to sleep in....LOL. Hugs to all and we hope that you too get everything you wished for.  

Another larger than life surprise for all of us. Our dear friend Francis Rush-Smith got together with some wonderful people in our community and created McClain a one of a kind, larger than life, Grave Digger twin bed. Here it is being deliver to our home while he is away. Ralph Denny and Dave Ragaldo then took the bed totally apart and then put it back together in McClain's upstairs bedroom. The last picture is all set up in McClain's bedroom just waiting for him to come home. It is hard to tell, but he uses a step ladder to crawl up into the back of it. All he kept saying is "I love it, I really love it." If the truth be known, we all love it.  

WOW!!!! It is hard to believe that McClain is now a five year old. What a joyous ride it has been for the entire family. He is funny and full of life. He never stops moving and boy oh boy does that boy love Monster Trucks, mainly Grave Digger. Not sure how he picked that one, but it is his favorite hands down. He began planning his party in August of this year. He picked out everything. We had hoped that he would change his mind, but that was not to be. One the calendar it went and he made sure we all knew when it was. The big day came and it snowed. Still he took Tyler D out for a spin. One look at Joey and you would think that the snow was staged and not the real deal...Funny. Little did McClain know that the best present was not to come to him on the day of his party. He was going to have to wait almost a full week more. Keep reading to find out what McClain found out.  

We started the Christmas season off with such joy in our hearts as we put up our new Nativity. Our old one was well worn and it had to be replaced. We had several neighbors call us to tell us how nice it was. Then we had one call us laughing to let us know she loved our live Nativity. Imagine our surprise when we went outside to see that the Llamas, sheep and goats had taken over. It took us a few times to actually get it right, but once we did, we really enjoyed it and the TRUE MEANING of Christmas.  

We hope that everyone had a most wonderful Thanksgiving. I know that we sure did. It is great to have the older kids home. Michael was here with the girls. Also Marshal was home. Mallory was not able to make it and Maxwell called about a dozen times. Here we had as many as we could find to pile on the couch for that so called family picture. Michael got both of the girls...meaning LisaMarie and Haylee to smell their pie and they both did as he pushed their face into the whipped cream. It was very funny, though I will admit here in writing that if that had been done at my home as a child, well lets just say my mom would have been very upset. Now, do we have any offers to help decorate for Christmas? Love to all, The Simon Family  

Sorry for the delay in blogging. I had some trouble with the computer, but it seems to be working again. So lets catch up. November is National Adoption Month. Division of Child and Family is always pretty good about having a party. We are usually pretty good about going. This time was one of their best. We all got to do crafts, face painting, cookie decorating and just plain visiting with other foster and adoptive familes. It is a joy for us because the bottom line, this entire family is brought together by adoption. Now is a wonderful time to share that Merrill and I have been approved to adopt two more children. We have started the exciting process of looking for the two now. In the past for the most part, the state has come to us about specific children and we have always felt right about the ones they have brought to us. This time we are looking for more specific needs, the ones we have devoted out lives to learning about. It is a fun road we are now traveling and in the end w...

It is with a heavy heart that I share with ya'll that we had to put BobbyJack down about two weeks ago. He was a love and he did his job to protect this family. I shall miss him always at my feet, sitting by my chair and keeping me company in the laundry room. Where ever I was, he was there. Funny, we thought that King Solomon would go first, but that was not to be. Thanks BobbyJack for the memories...you will be forever missed.