Merrill and Roberta Simon and Family

Today we have decided to just write down what we are thankful for, each one of us expressing ourselves. So here we go. LisaMarie: I am thankful for Mom and Dad and for my sissy, Mallory and all of my 16 brothers. I am also thankful for my dogs. Joseph: LisaMarie helped him and she feels he is thankful for Mrs. Paul and Mrs. Ranft, those are his teachers at school. He is thankful that he has a great sister :o) and a family that loves him. Jeremy: I am thankful for the family we have and that we get to do a lot as a family and we celebrate together. I am thankful that I am the first one of the kids that is going to graduate from Dayton High School. I am thankful for my friends. Jericho: Jeremy is helping Jericho and he feels that Jericho is thankful that he finally has a forever family that loves him and wanted him. Jeremy added that he really loves Jericho. He feels that Jericho is thankful for the stuffing that we are going to have today. Jesse: I am thankful for my family and I am tha...

What a day that was!!! It was beyond exciting. The only downside is at this moment, I do not have any pictures. We are waiting as many were taken, but none by us. This was ADOPTION DAY for two of our boys....Jericho Jeremiah-Wade and MacGyver Jamison-Lee Simon. Welcome to your forever family boys. You are forever home. Now, I have to say, this was a class act. This was like no other adoption day that we have ever experienced. We want to say a huge thank you to Cile Cogburn and all of Washoe County Social Services for making this a day to always remember. The festivities actually started Friday night. We went to a party/dinner in Reno. The food included wonderful kids food and even better grown-up food. They made the most wonderful cupcakes, big and covered with the best frosting. The children were in hog heaven that is for sure. There was so much for the children to do that we were having to pry them away to eat and then to later leave. They had face painting, balloons, a wonderful mag...

Hi All: As I write, life has a way of passing by and sometime it is just too busy to get things posted. I hate getting behind because our families follow us here and so I feel like I let them down. Lets just play catch up first. LisaMarie went on to become a 9 year old while I was not even watching....well, that is not totally true. Her birthday was in the middle of the week so we opted to have her party on the 11 of October. Thank goodness the presents were wrapped, the cake and ice cream taken care of and everything ready, because that morning I woke up to a horrid feeling in my stomach. Lets just say that before the day turned into the evening, I had a bed at Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center and was being watched to decide if I was going to have surgery. As things would go, I had surgery on that Monday and was in the hospital for 11 days. I not only missed her party, but Merrill's birthday also. It was a very sad time for me. The up side of it all was that after my three mon...

As some of you may know, Street Vibrations was just this past weekend in Reno. Many of you may have scene the thousands of bikers everywhere you went. We are talking leather, chrome, tattoos, body piercings, Hells Angels, women showing themselves to the crowds up in Virginia City, the poker run to the Cat Houses....I mean, the biggest, the baddest and some just downright ugly. But would you believe, in your wildest dreams that in all of that mess you would see this..... * * Yeppers, that is Merrill and I and the baby swing we bought in Reno. We rode with it tied to the back of the bike for about half of the day. All over Reno and then up to VC. A Mom and dad have to do what a Mom and dad have to do. Maverick needed a swing as the other one broke. Parents first, Hells Angels wannabes second. LOL Hugs to you, Roberta

MAVERICK Yes, you read that right, we have named him Maverick. He h as been home for nearly six weeks but we had to wait to post his picture. So get ready, because here he is!!!!! And here he is again with his brother MacGyver. Like the heading said, we are so blessed. This journey we have been on is better and better as time goes by. Some days are harder than others, but the rewards so outweigh the trials we face. The joy as we watch the children grow and become who they are meant to be is more than we could ever express. Thank you for sharing in our joy.

Really, this is about preemie's but I really feel that it applies to parents of all special children. :o) I hope that you enjoy reading this as much as I have over the years. ~*~ How Preemie Moms Are Chosen ~*~ By Erma Bombeck Did you ever wonder how the mothers of premature babies are chosen? Somehow, I visualize God hovering over Earth, selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to take notes in a giant ledger. "Armstrong, Beth, son. Patron Saint, Matthew. Forrest, Marjorie, daughter. Patron Saint, Celia. Rutledge, Carrie, twins. Patron Saint...give her Gerard. He's used to profanity."Finally, he passes a name to an angel and smiles. "Give her a preemie." The angel is curious."Why this one, God? She's so happy.""Exactly," smiles God."Could I give a premature baby a mother who knows no laughter? That would be cruel." "But does she have...