My little boy

As many of you know, Hunter has had a rough few weeks (and us for that matter). He goes through cycles of "doing good" and "not so good" in regards to his attitude, behavior, and overall well-being. This is due to his diagnosis of ADHD and "mood disorder". We have great friends, family, and doctors though, who keep us in their prayers, and help us through these rough times by 1) encouraging us to stay strong and consistent, 2) giving us advice/ideas on how to deal with different situations that come up, and 3)just praying for us as we continue to do the best we can in raising him up to be a godly, obedient, respectful boy. It's definitely a trying thing for us, but we know God gave us Hunter for a reason...He "picked" us to be his parents/family for a reason, and we are so grateful for that. We love him so much.

Last Sunday, we received a word from our pastor about Hunter. He said:

"God is doing something in and with Hunter...I have a strong, strong burden and belief that a mighty touch on his life is one of a few catalysts that will bring an amazing renewal and move of God...it is just deep in my spirit and it won't go away...I am waiting with great anticipation to see him healed...I say that with great reverence...it is not loose speech...I am convinced something amazing is going to happen..."

Of course this has given us new hope and excitement. We will continue to do all we know to do for/with Hunter, and anticipate great and wonderful things for him as we seek God's wisdom in raising him! We thank you all for your prayers, thoughts, and concerns for us. We treasure you all.....

On another note, Hunter has started playing basketball! It's a program called "Upward Sports". They focus on positive reinforcement, and teach Christian values to the kids. He has a game every Saturday, and practices every Tuesday night. He seems to enjoy it, and we are so excited he has a place to go, exercise, feel supported, and have fun too. :)

Hunter's 9th Birthday

It's hard to believe that our little baby boy is now 9 years old. On the kids birthdays, we treat them as a QUEEN or KING for the day. They get to pick what they want to do, and who they want to do it with. Today, Hunter wanted to go to McDonald's for breakfast, then to a movie (Bolt) with Alan and Kaylyn Parizek, then shopping (to spend some of his birthday money he received in the mail). It was a long, but overall fun day. We had Grandma, Aunt Amber & Uncle Nate over for dinner (pizza) and ice cream cake with Reese's cups and cherries on top (per his request) for dessert tonight. We did; however run out of "regular" birthday candles, so we had to use 3 tea light candles to go on top of his birthday cake. He didn't seem to mind though. :) One of his birthday presents was ROCK BAND 2, so needless to say, we all (yes, even grandma!!) played that all night long. It was fun...and quite addicting, I might add!! Happy Birthday, Hunter!!! We love you soooooooooo much! :)

New Years Eve

For New Years Eve, we had a few friends/family over for a bonfire, cookout, games. It was a fun night. Some made it till midnight...others didn't. :) Alot of our friends were either sick or out of town, so there were not too many here, but we still had fun.

Marty's 40th birthday

Well, it finally arrived....Marty's 40th birthday. Needless to say, he's not too thrilled about it; however, he seemed to have a good day. His family came up to visit/celebrate for the weekend. We had a good time with them...went to Tom Brown Park, had a turkey dinner one night (made by Marty's mom), played mexican train dominoes and yahtzee, went to church together, and even went to Chuckee Cheese (and made it out alive/sane). Here are some pictures of the weekend.......

Christmas Day

We had a fun day hanging out with my family. The kids got up at 5:15 AM to see if Santa had been here yet, and he had! So needless to say, they ran into our room to wake us up. We opened presents, then Amber and Nate came over to do their gift exchange around 10:30. Afterwards, we went to Village Inn for our Christmas lunch (sad, huh???...but fun, and I didn't have to do any cooking!!) We then decided to go see a movie (Marley & Me). Cute movie, but VERY sad (had to sit and hug on Hunter after it was over because he was upset/crying). :( We used it for the good though, and made a lesson out of it. :) Amber took some family pics of us....thought I'd share some with you.

Christmas with the Parvu family

My sister, Angela, and her family (Randy, Autumn, Addison, & Randon...oh yah, and Lady, their dog) all came up from Umatilla for the weekend to have our family Christmas. We had a fun weekend...nail salon, cookout, Yahtzee games, fun on the swing set (SCARY), and last but not least, ear washing (don't ask)!!! :). Wish they could have stayed longer. Love you guys!

A morning of pampering

My sisters and mom decided to take the 3 girls (Grace and her 2 cousins, Addy and Autumn) to get their finger and toe nails painted at a nail salon. It was so much fun....they LOVED it! They were overwhelmed by the amount of colors they could choose from. It was cute. Of course, us 3 sisters had to get something done while we were there too! Maybe we'll make this Christmas-time tradition! Since the boys weren't "into" getting a manicure/pedicure for themselves, they went out to waffle house while we went to the nail salon. :)