Anthony

We have finally gotten word that court for finalizing Anthony's adoption is April 15. It is a date we have been waiting for for more than 9 months and it is finally here. Sometimes it felt as if we would never have a date, but we do.
Anthony is a miracle baby. His birth mother was only 17 when he was born. He was born 7 weeks early, and only weighed 4 pounds 7 ounces. If he had been born several years ago, he would not have survived. It is only in the past 10 years that the medical profession have developed the technology to keep such tiny babies alive.
What is even more a miracle is that he does not have any permanent effects of his early birth. He had some kidney blockage, but with age that has gone away. He is still small for his age, but he was born almost two months early. He has some weakness in his legs, but he seems to be overcoming this with exercise. He is very strong in his upper body.
Anthony is such a cute boy. He has dark curly hair. He has brown eyes. He has soft lips. He is fun as his whole face shows emotion. He has a contagious laugh. He loves to tease his mom and I and then laughs and laughs. He will put a blanket over your face when you're watching t.v. and then laugh. He will jump just out of Sheri's reach when she is trying to put him into his car seat. He is a fun tease.
He likes dinosaurs. He took some to church this week. Sheri had assumed they would be quiet toys. However Tony provided the sound effects for them. He RAWRed so loud with them that it was almost embarrassing. Almost, but truthfully I thought it was cute. Tony is a good boy.

Introduction

This is my first blog, except for Facebook notes, so I am new to this. I am 51 years old, and overweight, but not as much as I weighed last year at this time. I aspire to someday be a published writer. I currently work for Santa Clara County Mental Health. They are going through budget cuts every ears now.
I am the father of 8--six living birth children, our first was stillborn, and our last we are in the process of adopting. The kids range in age from 23 to 2. I guess if you count Billy Boy (stillborn) he would be 24 now. Natalia, 23, is now married. Mark,22, is a Marine. Jeremy, 20, is on a mission for our church (Mormon) and serving in Colorado. Charity, 18, is a senior at Cupertino High School, and Miranda, 16, a sophomore. Caleb, 13, is in his last year of middle school. Tony is the 2 year old we are adopting. We sign papers tomorrow.
My wife's name is Sheri. She is away at the dentist now, so I am home with the kids (those not in school which would be Tony, and another foster son, Justin. Justin is sleeping in our room to "Nemo" and Tony is watching "101 Dalmatians." You get pretty use to this type of movies with little ones around.
In addition to working for the county, I like to write. I helped my mom write her history last year. The year before, I took my dad's old letters, and put together a history of his services in the Nave during WWII. The letters came to me after he passed away five years ago. He was hit by a car and hit his head.
I also am into history. I like to read books about the Civil war, and read about the history of where I live; particularly Cache Valley and Northern California. Did you know there was a battle in Santa Clara during the Mexican American War. It was news to me, but just after New Years in 1846 the U.S. Marines, and volunteers faced off against the Californios. Pretty incredible. The U.S. forces had a canon operated by the Navy. They shot several volleys at each other. However officially no one was killed. A horse was killed and a Californio injured by the cannon fire. One of the Navy personnel was also injured when the canon backfired. But that was about the extent of it.
I collect stamps, and love it when people give me stamps off of letters.