Our Family

2010-09-24T21:13:00.001-07:00

2010-09-24T21:10:00.001-07:00

2010-09-24T21:07:00.001-07:00

2010-09-24T20:52:00.000-07:00

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2010-08-12T18:32:00.002-07:00

Summer 2009 Denise and Wendy's Visit

2009-12-28T19:10:00.002-07:00

Summer 2009

2009-12-28T19:07:00.001-07:00

Kids in June 2009

2009-12-28T19:04:00.001-07:00

We are Getting Married

2009-12-11T18:58:00.002-07:00

We were Decorating the Christmas tree tonight and it was the perfect timing. I was at the counter and the kids were outting decorations on the tree and Jared was helping them. I sent over an ornament that I had writtend on the back of it. "will you marry me" He said yes thank goodness. I am so happy...

Jared (aka Joe Dirt) Lol

2009-06-22T21:48:00.002-07:00

Christmas 2008...

2009-06-22T21:46:00.002-07:00

MOre pictures of being there for Christmas.

Christmas at My Sisters house 1/5/2009-Ayden and his first Bike.

2009-06-22T21:36:00.003-07:00

Oh these kids....I sure love hanging out at my Sisters house. I miss them everyday....Here are some great photos when we were there this year....

Ayden's 3rd Party. Nice pinata...They liked the candy.

2009-05-23T14:30:00.000-07:00

Ayden 3rd Birthday at School

2009-05-23T14:21:00.006-07:00

We went by the school for Ayden's Birthday. The school is awesome and Miss Billie and Miss Tammy are the greatest. We could not be more happy. It will be a sad day when he leaves that school.

Our Family

2009-05-23T13:26:00.000-07:00

January

2009-05-23T13:23:00.003-07:00

I have not posted since New Years. We have been extremely busy. We opened our own company. AZ Real Estate and Property Management. I went and got my Real Estate Brokers license and Now we work for ourselves. It is great. It has been extremely busy and we are loving it. We have not been able to spend as much time with the kids but it will get better and we are working toward a better future for our family.. I am going to post some photos from the last three months.

New Years Eve

2008-12-31T20:05:00.002-07:00

It is the end of 2008...What a great year this has been. Although business has been slow and the Real Estate market is not the best our Daughter is home. So for me it was an awesome year. I am looking very forward to seeing what the new year has to offer. It is 8PM and we are hanging out waiting for some friends to come over and we are staying in this year. No need to get out there and get into any trouble... Not that we would but it is nice being here with the kids and just having a low key night. As I said though it is only 8...We still have 4 hours till the new year.....

Oh Ayden....

2008-12-31T19:53:00.002-07:00

LOL.. I have to laugh at our Son. He sure listens to what id going on around. We like to call everyone by their first name and then Marie as a joke. Such as Jared Marie...Etc...Just for fun...Well Ayden came up to me and said Daddy Marie.....I had to laugh. It was so funny.....

YEEEEAAAAHHHH!!!!! I passed the State Exam

2008-12-31T07:55:00.000-07:00

I have been studying and focusing in on school and everything to get my Brokers license. I Have been at it since November 19th. I know that is not the longest time but I have to go to school from 2-10 for three weeks then I had to pass two school exams and then two State exams. Well last night I took my last two State exams. I passed....I am ready to get my Brokers license. We are looking froward to opening our own Brokerage and Property Management Company. We are not far away now. I would say about 4-6 weeks before we go live..... AZ Real Estate and Property Management.... 2009 is going to be a great year......John

Christmas with Grandpa Joe

2008-12-27T19:45:00.000-07:00

We went over to see Joe and Tari and they had some gifts for us. Jared and I got cologne that we had wanted for awhile and Ayden and Taylar Rae also got a few gifts as well.. More Transformers for Ayden and Taylar Rae fell asleeep before she got to open hers. It is so nice to see how loved these kids are. They are special and very special to everyone around.

John And the Kids

2008-12-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

Christmas Day 2008

2008-12-25T20:36:00.004-07:00

Oh what a great Christmas. We were only missing a few things this year and that is the rest of our family that we were not with us. We really miss our family when they are not here for the holidays.

This year we had Ayden, Taylar Rae, Jared, Myself, Reba, Terri, Larry, Beth, and Char that hung out with us while we opened gifts. Then Debbie, Meschelle, and Vincent came over and we had an Italian Christmas feast. It was great. It was great company and good food. The Christmas was great for the kids. They got everything that they wanted and more. It was really sweet to see the two of them this year. This is the first Christmas that Taylar Rae was home and it sure was awesome. It is really hard to believe that this year we have our family complete. It sure feels complete too. What a great year this was and what a blessing we have been given.

After eating we visited for awhile and then we got into the hot tub. It was really nice it was raining and we put the canopy over the hot tub and we had a few drinks. The kids were napping and the company was awesome. What a nice Christmas.

2008-12-25T20:26:00.004-07:00

Oh look what Ayden got for Christmas. Megatron..... HE sure was a good boy this year.

Ayden getting cookies ready for Santa

2008-12-25T20:22:00.002-07:00

Taylar Rae Christmas Eve

2008-12-25T20:11:00.002-07:00

I have to laugh at this first picture of Taylar Rae. She learned to say Ho Ho Ho like santa. It is so funny to see her do this as she get's into it. She is such a little ham. She loves the Santa that we have but when we saw Santa this year she got scared and cried when we were at the Rainbow Fences party. This year she is not real sure what is going on and I think that next year she will be a little more into it.

Christmas Eve

2008-12-25T19:57:00.007-07:00

Last night was Christmas Eve. What a fun great night it was. Joe, Jared, Mark Taylar, Reba, Ayden, Taylar Rae and myself were all here. We all visited and relaxed and enjoyed the night. We had a few drinks and enjoyed the kids and the holiday. Joe bought us all Chinese and it was good. Me and Ayden made a gingerbred house. It was the first time I have ever made one. Take a look at these pictures. Ayden also left Santa some cookies and milk. He ate all of them and drank all of the milk. Santa was hungry......

Christmas Card Photo

2008-12-24T11:05:00.002-07:00

We tried several times to get a good photo for our Christmas Cards this year but Taylar Rae was not cooperating. We finally got one and here it is. This year we also got our cards out a little late so hopefully they will be delivered by year end...LOL

Not a very good eater and he is showing us!!!!!!

2008-12-24T10:41:00.010-07:00

Ayden is not the best eater. He can be stuborn at the table too. He sure was this time. He was not eating and I told him he would sit there till he took a bit. As you can see he did not take a bite and he decided that he would just go to sleep. He is such a little Man. He does not like us saying that he is our baby. He let's us know that he is a big boy....I just adore him....

Ayden's Special Day at School

2008-12-23T23:12:00.000-07:00

It was so cute. Grandma Heather came over to make a dish for Ayden's special day. It looks like a pizza but is actually a brownie . The pepperoni looking things are fruit roll ups. I will have to get the rest of the items that are in here but it sure went well at school. They all loved it and i think the kids really enjoyed helping as you can see.

Here is the finished result....Pizza ala Brownie

2008-12-23T12:18:00.000-07:00

What a great Surprise

2008-12-22T15:41:00.002-07:00

I was sitting on the couch yesterday and the kids were playing while Jared was sleeping and in walkes Jared's Mom with Pancakes shaped like Christmas trees and candy canes. It was so cute. She really is special. We are very lucky to have all of Jared's family so close. I wish that Justin and my family were closer because I just love having family around. We love you TC. John

I can not believe Christmas is almost here

2008-12-22T15:25:00.002-07:00

oh boy how time flies. Christmas is three days away. I woke up this morning having my cup of coffee and our little Man Ayden comes in rubbing his eyes. He just woke up and came out of his room and the first thing out of his mouth was three more days till Santa comes....LOL he is so cute. He is ready for Santa. He is still in this Transformers craze and he keeps saying that Santa is going to bring him a MEGATRON... He is crazy about these transformers. He carries them around. Sleeps with them and takes them to school to play with for his 3 o'clock toy. He gets to bring a toy to school and then at three gets to play with it. He does really good with sharing too. I know I have said it before but we are truly blessed with our children. Who would have known that they could have made such an impact on our lives. I never imagined the love that i would have for them while we were in the process of bringing them home.
I remember talking to my Mom and Sister about being worried if we could love a second child as much as we love our first. I was scared that we could not. Boy was i wrong ....Oh yes you can...I just adore this little princess of ours. She is growing up and being more lovable everyday. She is so good to. She will just lay in your arms. She is saying lots of words and just precious.....

I was asked yesterday about why we did not go with a serrogate. You know it did not happen that way and i can not imagine our lives any different and without these two little blessings. I feel so fortunate to have such a beautiful family....I thank God for bringing us all together....John

Gift Wrapping....

2008-12-22T10:36:00.001-07:00

We were wrapping gifts and Taylar Rae thought she was a gift that needed to be wrapped. We left out the wrapping paper.... This is her first Christmas home and she is going to love unwrapping these gifts.

Posting

2008-12-14T18:34:00.002-07:00

I have not posted a whole lot in the last month as I have been in Real Estate School to get my Brokers License 2-10 for three weeks. We moved our office.We also had our 6th Annual Christmas Party. So needless to say it has been a crazy. I sure missed Jared and the kids while I was gone. That made for some long days. So now I have to take the School exam and once I pass the school exam I can take the State Exam. I am Scheduled to take the state Exam on the 30th. It will be a great way to bring in the New Year. John

6th Annual Christmas Party

2008-12-07T19:01:00.000-07:00

Oh what a great party this year. We ended up having probably 80- 100 people. It was a lot of fun. We had 64 in the gift exchange . There were quite a few people that did not participate in the gift exchange though. we thought it was too long, it took two hours....We are going to change the gift exchange next year to maybe everyone bring a toy under 15.00 and then we could donate the toys. We will see. That is a long time away.....We had a babysitter for all of the parents with kids. One of Ayden's teachers has a teenage daughter that babysat at the school. Ayden's school is right down the street so it made it convenient for everyone. Plus it was really nice not having to worry about them here.

I wish we had more time to visit with everyone. With that many people we really do not get to visit too much. Guess that is just part of it though. ......John

Taylar Rae

2008-12-06T10:26:00.000-07:00

Our little princess. Thank God for the bumbo. It sure keeps her in. She is such a great eater. She eats her veggies first. It is so cute. She makes all kinds of noises and you really know that she is enjoying her food. She is getting so big. Walking everywhere and throwing her little attitude. She throws herself on the ground and throws a fit if Ayden makes her mad. I think that she is going to be fiesty....I just love her so much and can not imagine her not being here. Little girls sure are a little different.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T18:19:00.000-07:00

This year was really nice and relaxing for Turkey Day. We went to Jared's Dad's house during the day and then to his Mom's house in the evening. The day was full of eating and napping. What a great way to spend the day. Very low key and a real nice change. We did miss my family and wish they lived closer or we lived closer to them. We are hoping to get out soon to visit. I can not wait iu sure miss them. Happy Turkey Day. John

Decorating the Christmas tree

2008-11-11T08:20:00.001-07:00

Oh this is the earliest that we have decorated for Christmas ever it think. What a joy it is to get in the Christmas spirit. I love Christmas. It is my favorite time of year. It has even gotten better since the kids have been home. It is truly amazing the changes that happen once you have kids. Your world kinda revolves around them. It is truly sweet. We wrapped some presents and as soon as Ayden seen them he ran in the house ready to open them. I am wandering how long it will take for him to open them while we are out of the room. Here are some cute pictures form that night. John

TWO YEARS

2008-11-08T11:34:00.003-07:00

Well Ayden has been home for two years today. November 8, 2006 Ayden came home forever. What a special day that was. Ever since he has just made me smile from one side of my face to the other. It is really interesting seeing him grow up. He sure is turning into one sweet lovable little boy. He and Taylar Rae are getting along better and it is getting better everyday. Right now they are sitting here in the office with their feet to one another playing with each other. Oops he is getting in trouble right now for letting Taylar Rae touch his pee pee. Jared just caught them.....lol...Oh how kids will be kids.

Well when Ayden reads this when he gets older he will know how much he is loved....

Two years and counting. It seems as if these kids have been here forever.....We love them so much.....John

Scottsdale Fashion Show

2008-11-08T11:24:00.004-07:00

Oh how fun it was to see the kids in a fashion show. They had their hair all done and everything. It was a real live fashion show. I was not sure what to expect but the kids did great. Ayden was up first and I walked with him holding his hand. Before we got a quarter of the way down I think he got scared and would not walk anymore. I ended up having to carry him. I can see how it could intimidate him all the lights and people and everything. We got there about 7 and the show did not start until 8:30. It was really interesting to see the behind the scene stuff of a fashion show. We were so proud of these beautiful children that we have. Thank you God for bringing these children to us. Thank you for making us a family. It would be interesting if we ended up having to move to LA for a modeling career...LOL...I love them so much and they just make my heart smile. John

Ayden's Transformers Dance

2008-11-07T18:08:00.002-07:00

Check out this dance that Ayden does when the transformers come on. He is really into transformers right now. It is his favorite cartoon right now. He is just do adorable. Never a dull moment around here.....

Kathy Griffin

2008-11-07T11:58:00.000-07:00

Holy Crap.... We splurged and purchased tickets to see Kathy Griffin last night. We sat front Row where the only thing in front of us was the stage. We could touch it. We also took Terri and Larry with us. We decided we wanted to take them not only because we love them so much but they really do an awful lot for us. They are always there to take care of the kids or fix something. No matter what it is they are there and it is awesome because it makes our lives a lot easier. We thought how nice it would be to go out with them rather then us going out and them taking care of the kids. So we all went and had a blast. It was great seeing the show. Will watched the kids for us and it was so cute because him and Ayden have really bonded. He did a great job with them and the show was great.... We love Kathy Griffin.....John

YYYYYEEEEEAAAAAHHHHH!!!!! OBAMA

2008-11-04T18:29:00.000-07:00

Just what we had hoped for. Obama is the next President of the United States of America. What happened today our kids will read about in books in the future. I am proud to be a part of the reason that Obama is President. I am now hoping that the future for our children will be better because of this President. Lord knows that the current President has been no help what so ever. The US is in bad shape and I hope that things change for our kids sake.....John

Scottsdale Fashion Show

2008-11-01T18:30:00.001-07:00

We went down today for the kids to get sized for the fashion show. The show is on Friday. The clothes that the kids are wearing are so cute. The clothes are from a local designer named Tracy Martin and her clothing line is Baby butter originals. I will add a link so that you can go to her website and take a look. We will post pictures from the Friday show. They were so cute. I will be walking down the runway with Taylar Rae. It should be fun too. John

Halloween

2008-11-01T18:14:00.000-07:00

Halloween was pretty fun. We had everyone meet here and then we were going to a block party for the kids and then to the Willow district to trick or treat. Everyone ended up getting here and then we left about 7PM. We of course needed to go by the store on our way. We ended up not making the party. We ended up getting a trailer from Seth and we bought a bunch of hay. We put the hay in the trailer so that everyone could sit on it. We pulled it around the neighborhood. It was neat this year as we could stand at the street while Ayden went with the rest of the kids to the door to trick or treat. I think that Taylar Rae was a little too young still this year. I think that she will be a lot more into it next year. We decided that next year we will stay in the neighborhood and not drive across town to trick or treat. We had quite a few kids an friends that went with us. It sure is nice hanging out more with families that have kids. Making things all about the kids is fun while hanging with the adults. It went pretty well. Happy Halloween...John

2008-10-29T18:00:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Carving

2008-10-28T18:09:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Carving was so much fun. We had some Friends over. Everyone had to bring a dish, their drink of choice and a pumpkin. I think the adults were more into it than the kids. Jared scared Aden by acting like the pumpkin was eating his arm. Ayden got really scared. Everyone laughed and I felt so bad for Ayden. It was kinda funny though....LOL. There were several of us and again I think everyone had a lot of fun. It looks like Ian had the best pumpkin. The pirate. He did a great job on it. Samantha got all of the seeds out and gave us a bag of them. I made them yesterday and they were pretty good.....John

My little Brother Michael Fagundes's birthday....

2008-10-27T17:01:00.003-07:00

Today is my little Brother Michael's Birthday. If he was still here he would be 33 years old. He passed away at 19 years old in 1995. He was murdered. I miss him all the time and I wander where he would be now and how things would be if he was still here. Happy Birthday Michael. I sure miss you. Say hello to everyone there and know that I love you. This is a photo of a photo that we have on the wall here at the house. I wish he would have been able to meet Ayden and Taylar Rae. I think he would have been a great uncle. We named Ayden after him. Ayden Michael. We will always remember you Michael and again you are missed and loved very much.....John

Savings accounts for the kids

2008-10-27T16:53:00.002-07:00

I went today and opened an account for Taylar Rae. We opened Ayden's awhile ago. Taylar has 55.00 in her account now. We emptied Ayden's piggy bank too because it was so full nothing else could go in there. You know he had 101.26 in his piggy bank. I was amazed. He had 40.00 in there already and now he has 141.26. I figure if we keep adding and keep emptying their piggy banks to deposit it by the time they are old enough to know what is happening they will have a nice chunk of change.... I love being a parent. I love these two children of ours and would not trade them for anything in the world. I think that as long as we have each other as a family that is all we will ever need. We are truly blessed. I just am truly thankful for the people that we have in our lives....John

Dad's Group Organ Stop Pizza

2008-10-27T16:46:00.003-07:00

Well we went last night to Organ Stop pizza. We went and met several other Dad's and kids. It was really neat seeing all of the other parents with their children. I do not think that the Organ Pizza place is the best for Toddlers. Especially when there are other kids around. Not enough space for them to run around and the manager was over and made several comments about the kids. His first comment when we first got there was that they preferred that the kids not be running around. Ha Right!!! I thought. There are going to be 20 kids here and you want all of them to sit still at the table. Retarded. We made the best of it with the manager up checking on us every once in awhile. The other Dad's were so cute. I just love seeing other families with the same dynamics as ours. We met Ian and Madelyn. They were both very nice and Ian you could tell is such a good Dad. We are having them over tomorrow night to carve pumpkins. There are going to be several of us. I would say 5-6 kids...It should be fun. I always enjoy meeting new families. I really am hoping that we can change things a little and hang out more with families that have kids....

Kids Halloween Costumes

2008-10-26T12:03:00.005-07:00

Here are some really cute pictures of the kids. Taylar Rae is going to be a monkey and Ayden is going to be an elephant. As you can see Taylar Rae is kinda walking around here so it was several days ago. They are so cute. Take a look at the most recent video that we posted with several clips. It has some video of them in their costumes. Halloween night we are going to go to a neighborhood party where lots of kids are going to be. As soon as it gets dark then all of us are going to grab our wagons and head out trick or treating. It should be a lot of fun....John

Obama or McCain

2008-10-26T11:28:00.002-07:00

VOTING...Are you voting? John McCain has said that Children would be better off in a 3rd World Country orphanage than they would be with Gay Parents..... who are you voting for????? What a crazy world we live in right now. I hope that things get better after the election. We will see..........

Birthday Parties

2008-10-26T10:57:00.002-07:00

We went to a Birthday party yesterday for twins that we had never met. There is a gay couple that lives here in Phoenix and they have 9 kids. I think that 7 of them are siblings. We went to Peter Piper Pizza and met everyone. They were so nice and there were a few other gay couples that had kids too. We also met Lauren I think her name is and they have 5 kids. It was amazing to see them interact with the kids. 5 kids let alone 9. OMG I can not imagine. We have our hands full with two. I have to hand it to single parents out there. Like my sister Tomi. She raised those boys all by her self. I am not sure how she did it but she is amazing for being able to do it. The boys have really turned out awesome too. They are polite and do things that are asked of them. I sure wish we lived closer to one another so that we could see the kids more. We are going to a dinner tonight and we are meeting a lot of other gay couples and their children. I am really looking forward to this as it is really fun hanging out with others that have kids. A complete turn from three years ago. I guess that is what parenthood does to ya. I love it and I love this family of mine. John

Beth's baby Shower

2008-10-26T10:26:00.003-07:00

Oh I am so excited for Beth. We went to Bennett's baby shower yesterday. It was so fun. I am laughing out loud right now because Jared thought the shower was at 2:30 so we took our time and went to another Birthday Party at 11. We get a call from Reba about 1 saying that the shower was actually at 12:30. I am not sure how he got that mixed up but he did. He had even offered to help out before the shower. Good thing that Tari did not take him up on that.....LOL...We only missed one game and some pictures and video so it was not too bad. I am OK with missing the photos and the video as maybe we will get Beth and Char over here for some dinner and a private viewing of them all. I will tell you that little Bennett is adorable. Once he is home I will put a picture of him on here. It was fun though. Tari made some really good food and it was great to meet Beth's friends. Tari did a really great job on that shower. She is so Darn cute.....Right down to the cupcakes that had little baby shoes, rattles etc on them. (they were really good.) I again am just so excited for Beth. I remember going through the exact feelings and emotions with our children till they came home. The thought of the kids coming home always seemed far away especially after visiting the first time. When leaving it was like leaving a part of you in another Country. We cried and cried when we had to leave our Children. We love you Beth and can not wait to be in one of our living rooms while our kids play on the floor talking about how this whole period of time is just a memory. Come home soon Bennett!!!!! John

Taylar Rae Walking

2008-10-26T09:06:00.004-07:00

Well I thought I would get to posting that Taylar Rae was taking lots of steps right before her birthday. I am getting around to posting this now and she is walking all over the place. She is officially a full time walker. It is so cute to see this little princess of ours walking around like she is. She officially started walking before she turned 1. I do not remember exactly when it was that Ayden started walking. I was also going to post about her getting on and off Ayden's spider man car. She is getting on and off all of the toys. I walked outside and saw Taylar Rae standing on top of his little fire engine. She is a little dare devil. It is so funny. We just love her.....John

Thank you Uncle Scott and Uncle Wes

2008-10-26T08:53:00.004-07:00

This is the cutest outfit. Scott and Wes got it for Taylar for her birthday. They also got her her first little purse. It is They were out of town for the birthday party but Wes came over and hung out with us for a little while a few days later. We just love those boys. We can not wait till they have a little bundle of joy so that our kids can hang out. As long as Taylar and Ayden are not to bad of influences on there little one. LOL....

Taylar Rae turns one

2008-10-26T08:16:00.001-07:00

Boy how time has flown. I can not believe that we just celebrated our little girls first Birthday. It went really well. We had a lot of friends and family over and they were very good to her. Tari Long made two beautiful Butterfly cakes for her and they were good and again very pretty. Take a look at them above. We really missed Joe Cranford and my Mom as they were out of town working. We had the party here at the house and brought out all of the kids toys. Ayden invited some friends from school too. There were about 15 kids and about 40 adults. It was a good time. Taylar had cake all over herself and in her nose and everything. Jared actually made a separate cake so that she could dive into it. Happy Birthday my little princess....John

Scottsdale Fashion Week

2008-10-26T08:15:00.002-07:00

This is sure a funny story. As you seen I posted about the news story that was done on a local news channel about our family. Well we were contacted by a local children's clothing designer that seen the story. She asked if we would be interested in Ayden and Taylar being in a fashion show for Scottsdale's fashion week.. So we decided to go ahead and do it. We have to be there on November 1st for a test run I think. Then the actual show is on the 7th. I will post pictures after the show. How cute is that......Looks like we might be moving to LA....LOL....

This is my Sister Tiffany

2008-10-26T08:11:00.004-07:00

I just got these pictures from Tiffany's Grandmother. Tiffany is a sister of mine that I never had the opportunity to meet. She was 6 months older than me. I sure wish I had an opportunity to meet her. She will also be missed. She definately looks a lot like my sister BreAnna.

Channel 3 News Story

2008-10-26T07:27:00.004-07:00

The local news channel did a story on our family and here it is. If you have any trouble viewing it then look on the site for Breaking Traditions. I think that they did a pretty good job. Take a look and let us know what you think. Leave a comment.

http://www.azfamily.com/video/careypena-index.html?nvid=290185&shu=1

Transformers

2008-10-26T07:11:00.002-07:00

Ayden is so into Transformers now. His Uncle Justin brought him one and then his Grandma brought three for him. He is so funny. He only wants to watch and play transformers. I am not sure if they are that great for him as he is kicking and acting like a transformer. It is cute. He keeps saying that he wants Megatron. He really knows his transformers already. Wow how things change daily with kids.....John

Hummingbird Feeder

2008-10-20T14:43:00.002-07:00

Oh Ayden...... He has been helping me with filling the hummingbird feeders. This time I let him add the color. He said that he wanted orange so he did red and yellow. I let him add the two colors and he did a great job. It came out a really neat orange. He was so excited. He loves to help. He is such a big boy...John

Taylar Rae is taking steps.

2008-10-20T14:34:00.004-07:00

Our little girl is getting so big. She is starting to almost walk. She is taking steps and falling forward. It is amazing to see her standing on those little ankles. Her legs are so small. I just can not believe that she is going to be turning one soon. It seems like only yesterday we were visiting her. Well I guess it has been less than 4 months since she has been home. It sure seems a lot longer...I just adore that little daughter of ours. Who would have ever thought that she would fit in so perfect to our family...We truly are a beautiful family and I am so proud to have and to love this family of ours.

Games that kids play

2008-10-20T14:31:00.002-07:00

We were in the Truck today and Ayden was kinda playing with Taylar. I like to call it don't touch my car seat. He is still not sure about her at times or he is just in a mood. They were playing and then Ayden would tell her "don't touch my car seat". He is so funny and growing up to be such a young Man. I love that boy. John

Ayden is hit in the face

2008-10-20T14:25:00.002-07:00

I am laughing out loud right now. Jared got a call from Ayden's school and Miss. Tammy told him that Ayden was pushing his Buzz Light year in the swing and he pushed it a little to hard and it came back and hit him in the face. He was OK but the Buzz cut the side of his nose and he had a scab from where he was hit and bleeding. I laugh because I can see him having fun and pushing Buzz in the swing and then it coming back and hitting him. Not hard but Buzz being in there and swinging back and hitting him is kinda crazy. After making sure he was OK I might have giggled if i had seen it. He is OK and that School of his is just great. He enjoys it so much. John

Ayden's Favorite Toy

2008-10-20T14:17:00.003-07:00

Ayden is really into Toy Story. He likes 1 and 2 but I think that he likes 1 better. We went and visited Jenn and Scott in Sac and we forgot Ayden's Woody toy. Ayden told Jared that it was his but Jared thought it was Jennifer's for the kids that she takes care of. We were quite a ways away before we realized it was Ayden's. Ayden was very disappointed. Jennifer mailed it to Ayden for us. Since Ayden was so into Toy Story we got him a Buzz Light year. We waited to give it to him until Woody came in the mail. I post video later. Woody came in the mail and we told Ayden that he had mail. He opened it and got excited. We then let him open the Buzz and he was just so excited. It is a pure joy to see our kids excited and having a smile on their face. It just melts my heart. John favorite

This is my Sister Shantel Mercer

2008-10-20T14:13:00.004-07:00

Here is Shantel. She is my Sister that passed away in a car accident at age 17. I really wish I had an opportunity to meet her and get to know her.

I miss her and never got to meet her...

It's a Match

2008-10-20T13:18:00.005-07:00

The DNA results came back today and Pete Freeman is my Father. I know that I have not posted since my trip to Reno. I have been waiting to post about it till the results came back. Well I found out three weeks ago Thursday that Gary Fagundes is not my Father. He had made several comments about me not being his while drinking over the last two years. Since he is not talking to me again I decided to send a DNA test to him. Well it came back and to my surprise he is not my Dad. I was not sure what to think about this so I called and spoke to my Mom about it. She confirmed that there is a chance and told me who it might be and the situation surrounding it. I searched all day the next day and found that he might be in Reno or Las Vegas. I found 19 Pete Freeman's and sent them all a letter. Monday came around and my Father Pete Freeman called and we talked for a long time. We talked about 15 times that day. He confirmed my Mothers story so I knew this was him. He was very loving on the phone and completely open to me, Jared and our family. We decided to go right away to visit. We went for four days and it was amazing. He is married to a wonderful person named Linda and I have other siblings. I have three sisters, a brother, and a step Sister. Well at least that is all we know about at this time. Shoot look at me. Well two of my Sisters have passed away. My older sister was Tiffany. She was 6 months older than me. She passed away at 19 of Lymphoma. I also have another Sister Shantel that passed away in a car accident at 17 years old. I have another Sister BreAnna. She ROCKS!!!! We hung out with her a lot while we were there. She is married to Oscar and they have two girls. Oscar was awesome and the kids are just amazing. As soon as we get the pictures I will post them. I also have another Sister Tasheen that is Linda's daughter. Then I have a brother Kristian that lives in New Mexico. I have seen pictures of him and I think that I look a lot like him. We sent pictures back and forth and there was no doubt in my mind that we were related. So needless to say it has been an awesome Journey and a great welcome surprise especially with how Gary has treated me all my life. I have no doubt that he cared but he has not talked to me a lot longer than he has in my life time. I am looking forward to getting to know more about my Dad and getting closer to him and Linda both. I am looking forward to the next time we get to visit. It is really cute because Ayden and Taylar Rae have another Grandpa and Grandma to love them. It is also interesting to know that I am not Portugese. The lord works in mysterious ways....Thank you...John

We are on our way to Reno Nevada

2008-10-01T16:10:00.003-07:00

This is a completely unplanned trip. I found out that my Father is not my Father and I found out who is. I will post more on our return. To sum it up I have been talking to my real Father and him and his wife Linda are just as excited to meet us as we are them. I can not wait.....John

Kids will be Kids

2008-10-01T16:06:00.002-07:00

As you can see by the pictures both of the kids got into the baby powder. It was so hard for me to keep from laughing as they had it all over. Dust was flying through the air and they were having fun. It was really hard to get mad at them as it was very innocent. The funny part about it was that we were in the same room. They were behind the couch where we could not see them. As you can see by the looks on their faces they were busted. One of many I am sure. I think that Ayden will be getting her into trouble more than we know. LOL...John

Update on Taylar Rae off of the Bottle

2008-10-01T16:00:00.004-07:00

Well it has been several days and Taylar is officially off of the bottle. She had a tough 2nd night but other than that she is doing great. She is just so precious. We are so blessed with our children. They are a true joy in our lives. She has been using a sippy cup for awhile so it was kinda easy with the bottle. I am not sure if she even remembers the bottle. We were not sure if it was to early but she proved that it was not. The only reason we started with thinking of taking her off the bottle was because she was falling asleep several times without it. So we thought we would give it a try..... It worked....John

Taylar Off the Bottle

2008-09-24T14:39:00.004-07:00

Oh boy we are trying to take Taylar off the Bottle. Last night was the first night without it. It went better than I expected. She went to sleep with a little crying and slept all night. Since she has been home she has never really taken the bottle all day just at night and nap times. I remember with Ayden we were watching a movie and he fell asleep without his bottle and we never gave it to him again. He also did not give us too much grief about not having the bottle anymore.

She went down today for her nap too without any trouble so I think we are doing good and this is it. We will see. LOL...This parenting thing is crazy sometimes. You never know if your doing it the right way or even if there might be a better way to do it. I always want to be the best parent I can be and always make sure that what we are doing is the best for our children. I think that we are doing OK as these kids are very well behaved and just love everyone. They are always happy and usually in pretty good spirits. Oh do not get me wrong they as everyone have their times but overall we are pretty lucky. John

Oh my gosh how Precious!!!!

2008-09-24T13:53:00.002-07:00

Last night we were sitting on the Patio. Ayden was in the house watching TV and Taylar was out with us on the patio. Ayden came out and told Taylar to come on and let's go in the house. Taylar looked up crawled right into the house with Ayden and they played together. It was so sweet. Ayden has been having some trouble getting along with her and being nice to her. So what a change that was to see them playing together. I can not wait for them to play together like that all of the time. I know it is happening slowly but I just love seeing it. They are such a precious gift it is unbelievable. What a joy children bring into your life. John

Ayden climbing fence at the Horse Races

2008-09-23T14:12:00.005-07:00

The Horse Races. This past weekend we went to the Horse Races on St. John's, AZ. It was a lot of fun. Ayden and Taylar Rae just absolutely loved seeing the horses. Reba lives across the street from the fairgrounds and we can walk over and check it out. It is always a nice treat to hang out there. We really need to get out of town like that a little more. Ayden was putting his two cents in when it came to the number to bet on. Sorry to say but he lost Reba some money I think. We did not bet this year as we were just enjoying hanging out with family. I also learned what was needed to help get Reba's place ready for the winter. Did I mention how glad we are that Reba is back!!!!!!John

2008-09-23T13:48:00.001-07:00

Here she is playing in Aydens room. She sure loves playing in His Room.

Ayden is talking alot

2008-09-22T19:29:00.003-07:00

Ayden is such a big boy. Again, He will tell you too. He states he is not a baby he is a big boy. He can have a full conversation with you and you can understand everything that he is saying. Our children are so sweet and I know we are truly blessed. They are the best thing that has ever happened to us.

Reba is Home!!!!!

2008-09-22T19:18:00.002-07:00

We went this weekend to visit Reba and help her come back to the Valley. She is such a snowbird. We just love her and miss her when she is not around. She has been away far too long. It is nice and quite there in St.John's and boy the weather sure was nice. I have some cute photos that i will add later....John

Certificate Of Citizenship

2008-09-22T19:00:00.002-07:00

Finally!!!! We have Taylar's COC back. I am so glad that we have it. It feels like we are complete now with all of the paperwork. She now has all of her paperwork in her legal name. What a relief. Now it is time to get it all put together and into a safe deposit box. I just love that little girl.

Trip to the Zoo

2008-09-22T18:51:00.001-07:00

Ayden, Taylar Rae, Tari and Kayla went to the Zoo the other day. It was Taylar's first time and Ayden 2nd and he really loved it.

Taylar is taking steps

2008-09-22T18:47:00.002-07:00

It will be anyday that our little girl will be walking. She is moving around like crazy. You can tell that she wants to walk. She is moving around the house really well. She will go down the hall by herself to Ayden's room. She likes to play in there. They are getting along a lot better everyday. He is still laying on her and taking things from her but i think that is pretty normal. John

Taylar Rae's First words

2008-09-22T18:44:00.003-07:00

Taylar is saying a lot but her first words are Da Da and Ca Ca. How funny huh. She will look back at this and chuckle when she gets older and reads this. Oh boy she is just getting so big it is amazing. John

Bloody Nose

2008-09-22T18:39:00.003-07:00

Taylar Rae officially got her first bloody nose. I think that she hit herself in the face with a toy hammer. I felt so bad. There is nothing worse than seeing blood coming from your child. I know a part of life but it still felt weird. I do not think she liked hitting herself. LOL. JOHN

Taylar had to go to the Doctor this week again...

2008-09-11T20:46:00.003-07:00

Oh boy we were a little scared when we woke up and Taylar Rae's ear was swollen as well as her neck. I thought it was her ears from getting them pierced. They had already healed from that I though but was not sure. Well the Dr. told us that her limpfnoid (i think that is how you spell it) was infected. It was new to me. We have been giving her medicine twice a day for the last two days and it looks a lot better. I am so glad. I do not like to see her fussy or not feeling that well.

Taylar's Socal Security Number

2008-09-10T14:01:00.002-07:00

We applied for Taylar's Social Security card today. We were able to do it with her Passport. Now we just need to get her Cof C and we will be all good. I am so glad.

Princess

2008-09-09T13:45:00.002-07:00

Our little dog Princess passed away last night. She was 14 years old. She has been around a long time. She was so good with Ayden and Taylar. Taylar would pull on her and pull her hair and she never got angry. I was really weird coming home for the first time after she was gone and her not barking when seeing someone at the front door. Last night as she was taking her last breath Ayden was calling her and i just told him to say by by Princess. I do not think that he understands what exactly happened. She was a great dog and the best i have ever seen. She will be missed a great deal. We love you Princess ...John

WE HAVE TAYLAR'S PASSPORT

2008-09-07T10:47:00.001-07:00

I am so glad to have her passport finally. One more step to being finished with all of this stuff and getting all of it into a safe deposit box for safe keeping. We just need her Corrected Certificate Of Citizenship.. Then we will be finished. John

She is Standing on her own already

2008-09-07T10:28:00.002-07:00

Our little girl is standing all by herself. She is so funny just standing there playing with something or looking at you. She is so little and petite that I wander how those ankles are holding her up. She is walking around the couch holding on. I think it will be anytime that she will be taking her first step. I remember Ayden taking his first step.

Ayden is still having a tough time sharing and being nice to her. I wander if it will be like this forever. I remember how it was growing up.....lol. Do not get me wrong sometimes he is nice and shares but for the majority of the time it is a fight. He sometimes will be laying on her or standing on her. Just like now he was walking around the table and bumping into her every time on purpose. One of these times she is going to get him back and I will try not to laugh remembering all of this. I know it is just brother sister stuff but I just want them to get along and be close. It will be great to see them playing sharing and just loving on each other. John

Oh boy the girls first Bruise.....

2008-08-29T21:31:00.002-07:00

Well we are dealing with Ayden still being a little rough on his sister. He pulled the chair out from under her and her head hit the tile floor. Not real bad but enough to make a bruise. She has a little bruise on her forehead. It is kinda cute... I am sure it will not be her last one with a big brother...John

What a funny Boy Story....

2008-08-29T21:25:00.003-07:00

I have to laugh out loud. Ayden, Taylar and I were swimming and I said that I had to got Potty. Well if you know Ayden he is more than happy to go Potty outside. Well, when I got out of the pool to go Potty Ayden got out with me. We always swim naked so we did not have shorts on. Since Taylar was with us I was holding her while I was peeing. Ayden came up next to me and started peeing too. I started feeling something warm on my side and I just knew that Taylar was peeing too. I pulled her away from me a little and sure enough me, Ayden, and Taylar were all peeing out in front of us....So I would have to say that our little girl was shooting out pee too. LOL. I chuckled because that little girl of ours is getting so big and fitting into this family of boys like she has always been here...I sure love these little ones and of course that man of mine...John

My 34th Birthday

2008-08-28T21:18:00.001-07:00

My 34th Birthday. What a great Birthday. Jared, Ayden, Taylar and I just hung out at home and enjoyed the time together. I find it quite interesting how as you get older and have kids your Birthday becomes less important. What matters the most is being with your family. I have always been a family person. My family always comes first but now having a family of my own things really make a lot more sense. I love this family of mine and I sure enjoy the time that the four of us get to spend together.

I'm So Happy

2008-08-23T10:46:00.002-07:00

Ayden is so cute. He is saying I'm so Happy!!! You are so Happy!!! I think that he is learning this at school. His school is the best. His teachers Miss. Billie and Miss Tammy are AWESOME......

Passport Appointment-Funny

2008-08-23T10:21:00.003-07:00

Well we finally had Taylar's passport appointment. Me and Kylah went and applied for the passport. I can not wait to get it back. It was very funny though as we rushed out of the house so fast and late for the appointment that I spaced taking Taylar to the Appointment. LOL. We were down there and I was like we should have Taylar here too. Terri was watching her and Ayden. Jared had to head back to get her just so the guy at the post office could see her. We had to laugh....

Birth Certificate

2008-08-23T10:18:00.002-07:00

We got Taylar's birth Certificate in her real name yesterday. We only have a few more things till all of the paperwork is complete. I can not wait. We sent away for her Certificate of Citizenship in her legal name the other day so as soon as we have that back and the passport we will be all complete. I am so glad....John

Taylar Rae is feeling a lot better

2008-08-17T12:54:00.002-07:00

Taylar Rae started feeling better yesterday. It is so cute to see her feeling better and seeing that smile again. She did not smile at all for that two days she was teething and hurting. She slept all through the night again and it was so nice. Love those kids....John

When it Rains it pours

2008-08-17T12:46:00.002-07:00

Well, Ayden has had a fever and not been feeling that well since yesterday. I thought maybe he was getting sick. Today he came out saying that his mouth hurts. Well he is getting his other set of molers. I have to laugh that we are dealing with this right now with having Taylar Rae teething like she has been. Again, another part of being parents. It is just so sad to see him hurting like that. I do love the fact that he can tell us now though. As I have said before he is growing up so fast and is just so adorable. John

Ayden swimming without floaties

2008-08-16T10:09:00.004-07:00

Oh my goodness.... Ayden is swimming with out his floaties. He is jumping off the diving board and swimming to the side to get out of the pool. Of course he is not pulling himself out from the side. He scoots around the side of the pool to the steps and gets out. Then does it all over again. Our little man is growing up so fast and right before our eyes. We are so proud to be the parents of this beautiful little ones it just brings a tear to my eye....John

On the Road to Recovery

2008-08-16T10:04:00.003-07:00

Oh Thank God.... Taylar slept all night and woke up this morning with a little less drewl and some smiles. I just adore her. That little smile melts my heart. Ayden has been in a little more trouble today as he is still having trouble sharing. Since she has been home he has been having trouble sharing. His teacher says that he is fine at School so maybe it is just sibling rivaly. I understand that this should change when he turns about three. I hope so and I hope that eventually he will share and protect her. Well we are going to get into the pool so we will post more later

Poor Taylar Rae

2008-08-15T14:41:00.003-07:00

My heart breaks for our little girl. She has been teething the last two days. She has had a fever too. We were up every half hour with her last night. She has several teeth coming in I think. She feels a little better today but she has been hurting. I do not remember teething being this bad for Ayden. Anyway it just breaks my heart that she is hurting...Not to mention that we could have used a little bit more sleep... lol. She hardly slept the night before as well so two nights with little sleep. Part of being a Father huh...LOL. Well we hope we are on the tail end of this. We will see. We will let you know. John

Taylar is officially Taylar Rae Cranford Fagundes

2008-08-15T14:29:00.004-07:00

We had our court date yesterday to officially change Taylar's name. She has always been Taylar to us though. While going through Ayden's adoption I was so glad to finally have his Certificate of Citizenship and passport in his correct name. That is when it felt complete for me. With all the crap that is going on here in the US regarding Immigration I was a little nervous and still am when it comes to that. I could not ever imagine something happening. Anyway, we are almost there. We are going today to get Photo's for Taylar to get the new COC and her US passport....Yeah..... This past year has been crazy with focusing most of our attention on this adoption and the uncertainty with adoptions stopping in Guatemala. We are home and I am so thankful. We are truly blessed with our children. John