Christmas Greetings 2011

Croskeys love to bicker, make fun of each other, and engage in family wrestling matches. But, we end every day with a prayer and “I love you.” That has to count for something, right?

Helping our family remain financially afloat, Shawn continues to work at Polk County Mental Health and LDS Family Services. He is seeking to heal the world, one person at a time. He will soon move to the West Salem office and be close enough to visit home for lunch. Hooray!

Running the kids all over town is something we do a lot! Anna takes Ballet and piano lessons. Leon takes Hip Hop and attends Cub Scout. The kids are always prepared, on time, and cheerful about each activity!

I take the money for all those activities out of their college/used car/travel/clothing/food fund.

Scampering around the house, making messes, and repeating everything we say is the specialty of little Christian. He is 21 months old!

Tearing down the sidewalks of West Salem at breakneck speeds has become a recent hobby of mine. I participated in a relay and sprint triathlon earlier this year.

Making the bed is first battle that Anna and I engage in and the ball rolls from there. Anna is a careful student, artful negotiator, and comical performance artist around our house.

Always looking to be helpful, Leon is gaining maturity right before our very eyes. We depend on him for a lot of help. His mouth is very mature, so sometimes he gets in trouble for sassiness.

Some really lucky (and broke) adults in our house got to spend a week in Hawaii this past October. We quickly realized why it’s such a popular destination. Thanks Alice for keeping the kids!



This year and every year, our family has been incredibly blessed by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We find joy and peace in His teachings, and we try to spread his love to everyone around us. Thank you for being part of our lives!

Love, the Croskey family

Did this really happen???

So much has occurred in three weeks since we've been home, that it's hard to believe we ever went to Hawaii. But, we did! Here's the proof...

summer so far

This summer is going well so far. It started with an awesome relay from Portland to Eugene. There were 12 people on our team. The highlights for me were running 5.25 miles at 3am down a highway outside of Corvallis (without an ipod and while having to pee) and crossing the finish line for my team after 36 hours. Can't wait to do it again next year. I never thought I would be a runner, but here I am.
Leon participated in cub scout camp, which was so good for his confidence. Both kids attended YMCA day camp last week. I was expecting tears and anxiety from Anna, but she grew a pair (of ovaries) and handled it like a woman. They got to have lots of adventures, including riding in a canoe for the first time. My heart swells with joy when I see my children experiencing the world and rising to new challenges.
They are FULL of ideas and opinions. Leon's pet phrases right now are "seriously?" and "what the heck?" Anna's is "I have a theory or hypothesis about that."
Christian? Well, he's finally walking (when he deems it convenient) and saying many words. My favorites are "car!" and "outside!"
Coming up in August: camping, a visit to Austin for baby and I, and Sacramento for mama and the kids. That will take us right into the school year. Whew! I will have very mixed feelings.
The break from seminary has been great, but I miss the spiritual grounding and focus that it provides in my life. In fact, it's time to get that back...

The kids have recently discovered "The Cosby Show." You remember them - Cliff, Claire, and their five kids? Two successful black people living a typical family existence...this was my fantasy family when I was growing up. Two of the children had fair skin, the rest, deep brown. It was a periodic topic of discussion amidst my playground friends. How was that possible? It was particularly interesting to a little brown girl growing up in a house with white people.

Fast forward 25 years. We've got a checkerboard of people living under one roof. We've had some interesting discussions about race, with many more to come, I am sure. Here was today's, while watching the Cosbys:
Anna: "Mom, they have a white daughter, too (speaking of fair-skinned Denise)."
Me: "Oh no, honey, she's black. Her parents are black, so she is black. Her skin is just light."
Anna: "Oh. I'm black, too, right?"
Mom: "Yep. You sure are. You have one black parent and one white parent. That means you are a little of both. Just like me."

I was left to wonder: what does this mean to my little blue-eyed daughter? I hope that it will mean the same for her that it has come to mean for me, that people are the sum of their thoughts and actions, not their genetic inheritance. I hope it will mean that she moves through the world with comfort and confidence, happy to meet and experience those that cross her path. Thank you, Cosbys, for the laughs and the continuing education.

Meet Kosma - my Ukranian foster son

Do you know what it's like to have a child who bears no resemblance to you? I mean, not even a hint that you share biology? If you didn't know me, and I showed you this picture, I could tell you that I picked up this child up in a Ukranian orphanage and you would be none the wiser. I'm fairly certain I gave birth to him. He's absolutely adorable...but I get no credit. Carry on Kosma!

What a crummy blogger!

This is supposed to be a detailed, accurate account of the happenings at Chez Croskey! I am re-committing myself as of NOW. As I type, it's a Friday night and my poor husband is working until 9pm. The kids and I ate dinner at 5pm, which I found depressing. The kids are watching "Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo." If you haven't seen it recently, you are missing out.

Shawn and I have new church gigs. He was ordained a High Priest last week and we are waiting to see exactly what new challenges lay in store for him. I have been teaching early-morning Seminary for about a month. It's so rewarding to HAVE to study the scriptures every day. I love my students. I don't love going to bed at 10pm (10:30 at the latest) during the week, but I knew I would have to grow up sometime.

Here's some pics of our trip to Seaside last weekend. We had a great time with the Lee and Jackson families. They are just about enough to make a girl want to stay in Oregon for life.