Still Here

I bet you were wondering if I was going to take a year and a half blogging hiatus. Tempting, sometimes there are just so many things, I just want to simplify. But then I love to see what is going on in the rest of your lives so I figured I better not completely drop of the face of the earth :)

I am not going to attempt to catch up on everything, sufficeth to say Luke is still the cutest baby ever, Bryan is still the best hubby and father and I'm still loving life.

Luke is sitting like a champ and his two bottom teeth are popping up. He had a pediatrician's appointment today and he is 18lbs 9 oz CRAZY, he is turning into quite the big boy. 75 % across the board.

See ya in 1.5 years

Wow my siblings are dropping like flies. I'll miss her like crazy. But I am so proud of her, what an example. She will be great. Luke loved her tag.

FHE. O Boy.

Last night we decided to start Family Home Evenings. I know, I know we are about 6 years late, but better late than never right. We kind of figured since we hung out together every night that counted (does that sound like justification or what?)

Anyway, here's how it went. Bryan asked Luke to say the prayer, Luke flipped him off. (I guess he is still sensative about not being able to speak, I really wish I had taped this or at least had a picture) Once we composed ourselves Bryan asked me to say the prayer while I was praying Murphy was running around the room with a squeaky toy. Yep, seems like a real Family Home Evening. I didn't think we would get to having rebellion at FHE for at least another couple of years. Brings back a lot of good memories though.

**I tried to put up the most rebellious picture I had of Luke, but he still looks so sweet.

See ya in 2

Mark is officially a missionary. We dropped him off at the MTC today. It was hard to see him go but we are SOOO excited for him. Excited for the opportunities he will have to serve and to grow. He is such a sweet kid and will be an awesome missionary. Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven. Philippines watch out.

Yummy, Yummy, Yummy Lukes got Food in his Tummy

Luke has been enamored with food from day one. At our last doctor's appointment we asked when we should start to think about solids. Our Doctor said that sometime between 4 - 6 months. He recommended pushing it out as far as we could, but that each baby is different and some will just not let you go that long, they will be asking for food & such. Being the new (and therefore perfect mother that I thought I was) I was sure I would make it the whole six months. It would possibly help to stave off allergies and can have nutritional benefits and I couldn't see Luke "asking" for food. Well lets just say he started asking. He asked by putting his hand in my hot soup bowl, crying every time we ate, reaching for everything I ate. It is amazing how he can get his point across. Long story short, he started rice cereal, just 1 TBS once a day, but it is so fun now to see him open his mouth and eat like a big boy. We also get quite a few more baths in, which is also fun, because he loves splashing.

Lessons Learned:
Thicken the cereal way more than they say
Feed him Naked (I have a loose version of naked)

As always, I LOVE this boy!

Any Ideas?

We have family pictures coming up next week. Any ideas on where to find a chocolate brown shirt for Luke? I am stumped.

And for your efforts...

Rub a Dub Dub...

Is there anything better than a baby after bath time? Slathered with baby lotion, practically drowning in a hooded towel, I think not.

Today he grasp; Tomorrow...

who knows what he will be doing. Wow he is growing up so fast. I love being a Mother more than I could have ever imagined. I am shocked every day when my love for Luke grows stronger and stronger. Will this keep happening? I can't imagine loving him more and then...bam I do. It is amazing, wow. And then there is Bryan who I loved like crazy before we were parents, now I see him in this wonderful new light. Life is great. Don't get my wrong there is a lot of crying, poop, etc. but I love it and wouldn't have it any other way.

Ahhh....Big step.

So this post may be premature(and truth be told I was just looking for an excuse to post this adorable picture). But Luke has put himself to sleep for the past two nights. As much as I loved holding him and cuddling him as he fell asleep I think this will be good to get him in the habit now so that it isn't an issue later (that sounds a little niave as I write it). The first night was heartbreaking, as he cried himself to sleep, but last night, he took to it like a pro with only one whimper.

Blue Hoodies

I hadn't put up a family pic yet, so enjoy. Nothing fancy, but its the best I have so far stay tuned, someday we will have a cute real one.

1st vacation

Luke went on his 1st vacation and as you can see relaxing suits him well. Turns out he loved Les Miserables, but doesn't look he will be going into paleontology. He was a wonderful traveler.

Smiles

This picture doesn't truely show it. But Luke has started smiling up a storm. It just lights up my day when he smiles. I just heard that a baby's smile gives his mother a natural high, it is the truth. Loving every minute!

Walk Down Memory Lane

Here are the directions:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together . It doesn't matter if you knew me/us a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.This is quite fun. I hope everyone I KNOW will participate!! So start thinking hard! Also, when you leave a comment.. you are tagging yourself..so re-post on your own blog so I know whose to go and comment on! :)

Have you ever seen a cuter belly?

Seriously... have you? I can't get over it. And now he is starting to smile, wow. Talk about joy. He is such a sweet little boy. I love him more than I can say. I love cuddling with him, reading to him, watching him sleep, making sure that he is breathing, I love seeing Bryan with him (he is the amazing dad I always knew he would be, I love that he brings out the domestic godess in me, I love that is getting more and more alert and I can see him learning, I love that I am his Mother, what a miracle, what a blessing, what an opportunity.

Lucky?

People often comment how lucky Luke is to have us to be his parents. Some more perceptive people comment on how lucky we are to be his parents. As I have heard these comments lately and as I sit each day and look into his sweet eyes I can't help but know that I am more than lucky I am overwhelmingly blessed. I know that Heavenly Father has watched out for me, for Bryan, and for Luke. I know this is right. Adoption is amazing and if you haven't been a part of it I don't know that you are able to fully understand. Most of Bryan's family is adopted and I knew that they were all loved the same. But before going through it myself I didn't know what a powerful and sweet experience it was. More than I can share here really, but I know that God's hand is in our lives, I know he cares about us in the small things and in the big. I know that Luke was meant to be our son. I love being his Mom and I am so grateful for the miracles great and small that made that possible.

Our miracle is here!!!!

Luke, the light of our lives has finally arrived!

He was born on June 17th at 11:30 A.M.
8 lbs 15.5 ozs
21 inches


The pictures really do speak for themselves but we think he is the most beautiful baby ever. We are absolutely smitten. This quote sums it up

"Everywhere in nature we are taught the lessons of patience and waiting. We want things a long time before we get them, and the fact that we wanted them a long time makes them all the more precious when they come."

We love our precious Luke!

More details to come, just know that we are truly overjoyed! To all of you who have been waiting for this post sorry, I have just been reveling in motherhood, I'll try to be better at keeping you up to date.

I also must tell you how grateful we are for his birthmother Shiloh, I thank God for her everyday. She is an incredible person. She has so many traits that I aspire to have. I hope that everyone will join us in continuing to keep her in our thoughts and prayers.

Take a look it's in a book . . .

Well here is an idea of what has been keeping me busy for the past little while. And I already finished three and returned them to the library! The crazy/wonderful/scary/exciting thing is that the little one is due in less than two weeks. Wow, we can't wait.

It is funny how many people ask us if we are sure we are ready for a kid. Ahhh, YEP! Hello, we have been ready and waiting forever. Seriously though, I can't believe that we are finally going to be parents. I am sure all soon to be parents go through this process, but we feel such a responsibility to be the best parents we can be. I want so badly to give this little one the world. I feel like we also have an additional responsibility to Shiloh to give him everything she hoped for him. Talk about overwhelming.

I am looking for everyone's real world parenting tips. We are going to be in a hotel room for the first couple of weeks most likely, for some reason that makes me even more nervous. I can't call my mom and have her run down, ya know. Anyway, what advice do you have on newborns.

I have been practicing a bit, my 2 & 3 year old nephews have thoroughly enjoyed being my swaddling ginnie pigs, they think it is the funniest thing. :)

Every Step you take. . .

Sunset Point - We went pretty much from one side to the other
(This is a before shot)

Last Saturday Bry and I went on a mini-vaca to Bryce. We decided on that it would be fun to run down, but life is a bit hectic right now so we could only go for the one day. Anyway, we drove the few hours, then hiked 7 miles (my thighs and shins can attest to that) then had a pizza picnic in a podunk town and drove on home. It was so fun, just to take an excursion and get out in nature. Although while I was on the hike I do remember calling whoever made the trail a saddist, what can I say it was hot and we just kept going up and down and up and down. I am all for hikes with one ascent. I guess a picture is worth about a thousand words on this one. Bryce Canyon is breathtaking, and worth every step. I am so glad we went.

Wallstreet-spectacular! Really awe inspiring
Me bowing to the rock formation of Queen Victoria (and it looks like I'm about to spank a tourist or two :) pretty funny

Hooray for Birthfathers that catch the vision!

Wonderful news at our house.
Darin signed the papers!
On top of that he wants to have some sort of communication with us.
Wonderful news!

Originally we were told that he probably wouldn't take any action which meant we would be on pins and needle for 30 days after the little one is born. We are so grateful for his decision and we are so thankful for Shiloh's help. Word's can't express our love for her. It is also really exciting that we are going to have some sort of contact with him. In our limited experiences with adoption it seems rare to have the birthfater want to be involved. How neat will it be to be able to his personality and heritage, it will be such a treasure.

Our new Oasis

We have slowly been renovating our house room by room. We figured since the baby will spend his first weeks in our home in our bedroom we better get it in shape. So last Friday we thought it would be a one day project (funny thought, huh). We did a bit of re-arranging and a whole lot of spring cleaning! Nothing feels as good as getting rid of old stuff. I am an admitted pack rat so this is no easy task, but that makes it feel all the better.

We bought a bed in a bag, and then bought some awesome paint to offset it. But when we got it all put together it looked terrible. So we were back to square one, except we had a pretty unique paint color and couldn't find anything to match. It is almost impossible to find a separate bed skirt we went to every store around, thank goodness for Bed Bath and Beyond. We are still hunting for wall decor but all in time. For right now I'm just diggin' the wall color in all its glory and glad the white walls are gone.

Georgia on my mind

Well we finally met Shiloh. I didn't think I would be too nervous but as I sat in the car waiting to meet her I went through a range of emotions I will never forget. We got to the meeting spot and when it was time to meet, her caseworker Hannah called us to say that Shiloh was picking up dog food so she would be a bit late. An hour later with no word, we were starting to think that dog food was a code for changing her mind. There is a whole new vocab in adoption who knew maybe that is just another one. But shortly thereafter Shiloh and Hannah pulled up. Never have I seen a more welcome sight. Shiloh is great. She has an awesome personality, I am so impressed by her strength , and she seemed like a ton of fun. It ended up being a really fun weekend, for the most part it was really comfortable. We all had similar personalities and got along really well. We will treasure the days we spent with her forever. Everything we learned will be so neat to share with our son as he grows. And I hope that we were able to put her mind at ease that we are semi normal people who truly do have her baby's best interests at heart and will do everything in our power to raise him to the best of our ability and give him every opportunity. The more I learn about adoption the more I realize it truly is a miracle. I am so glad our Father in Heaven is in charge. I have learned to put my trust in him like never before, and I am sure that it will only grow as the process continues.

Another thing we found out is that the birth father may be signing the papers soon, so keep him your prayers

My Answers

Tagged by Katie

Four Jobs I've Had:
1. Bean Counter (Accountant)
2. Pill Counter (Pharmacy Tech)
3. Penny Counter (Cashier)
4. Taco Counter (Waitress @ Mexican Restaurant)

Four Movies I could Watch over and over:(i forget the ending of every movie, so all of them but especially feel goods... kind of random)
1. Moulin Rouge
2. Phantom
3. Life is Beautiful (the Italian version... fungi fungi friti friti)
4. The Fugitive

Four Places I've Lived and an extra one:
1. Utar (see I've got the accent)
2. Texas
3. Mexico
4. Spain

5. Costa Rica

Four T.V. Shows I Love:
1. The Office (April 10th here we come...)
2. 30 Rock (Not many people know about this one, but its a gem)
3. King of Queens
4. Scrubs

Four of My Favorite dishes/foods:
1. Chicken Sorrentino (Macaroni Grill - Wonderful!)
2. General Tso's Chicken
3. Fajitas, Tamales, Chile Rellenos
4. Candy, candy, candy. Lately I've been crazy for candy.

Four sites I visit daily:
1. Gmail
2. Blogspot
3. slickdeals.net
4. adoptionblogs.com

Four Places I have Vacationed:
1. Mexico
2. California
3. Yellowstone
4. Oregon Coast

Four Places I'd rather be right now:
1. Georgia :) (Just one week)
2. Beach
3. Tour of Europe
4. Argentina (This one's for Bry)

Four Bloggers I'm Tagging:
1. Kimber
2. Kristina
3. Melissa
4. Jennie

Mall Rat

So yesterday I thought I would go do some shopping, simple thing right. WRONG ! I couldn't find anything. I went shopping for 3 hours and came home empty handed. Not only that but in the process I snagged the shirt I was wearing so I came home negative 1 shirt :) Where do people shop? I know people are wearing clothes, I assume they aren't homemade. I couldn't find one thing that didn't make me look like a box or a lady of the night. If anyone has any tips of favorite stores I would love to hear it, if not I may hit the fabric store & nobody wants to see that.

Call me Gephart.

So we are flying down to Georgia in April to meet Shiloh (Can't wait! Seriously, I am so excited) We were looking for a good deal on flights and found a fair deal on cheaptickets.com so I went to book it, and the site went blank. I didn't get a confirmation email, but being the sometimes paranoid person that I am I was worried that they were going to charge us. So I called the company. The assured me that there was no reservation and that I would have to try again, after doing this a couple of times I decided that perhaps cheaptickets were cheap for a reason and went to another site to book our tickets. We found a better deal and happy were we we. Until yesterday when I was looking at our bank statement and low and behold we had been charged for the flights.

I called cheap tickets and they assured me that I had no reservation so I called the airline. They were very helpful but told me I must work through Cheaptickets. So I called them back and after about fifteen minutes of getting nowhere fast said "Ma'm I need to speak with your supervisor" I kept my cool but my heart was racing I didn't want to spend $800.00 for nothing! Finally the supervisor offered me a credit with their company. WHAAAT, I don't think so, it wasn't my fault. So I calmly said, "I did everything in my power to ensure I was not charged for these flights. Your company made an error and you need to do everything in your power to make it right" I wish I remember the exact quote because it was golden! Right then and there she put me on hold and within a minute I was getting a full refund. Kind of sad I am so excited that they are doing the right thing. But the rest of the day I was singing "worked hard for the money, so hard for it honey"

I love technology, but not as much as you. . .

I have officially entered the 21st century. Our cell phone contract was up, so when we renewed we got new phones. For most people this wouldn't be that exciting, but for me it was big news. My phone was four years old, the kind with the external antenna and no features, which was okay until my screen went out. Now I have to make a confession, I am a call screener. I like to make informed decisions when I answer the phone. Now before anyone gets offended you have to also realize that half of the time I also don't have my phone with me. But there is nothing worse than answering the phone blindly, arg. How did we survive without caller ID?
Anyway, now I have a phone with a camera. And I have entered the world of text messaging. So if you are ever wanting to have a really, REALLY slow text conversation with someone, I'm your gal. I have to admit I didn't understand the point of texting at first, but I can see it definitely has its place.

It's a Boy!

Wow, what an amazing few days we have had! I don't even know how to begin to express my joy. It all started on Friday morning. Our caseworker called us and asked if we could both come in to sign some paperwork during our lunch hour. We were a little suspicious because that is rumored to be code for come in to hear good news. But we tried not to get our hopes up. Finally lunch time came, and we headed over to LDSFS. Our caseworker took us into an empty room, and my heart sank, it must have been paperwork. Our caseworker had us sit down, then she handed us an envelope. I immediately started weeping. At some point we our shaking hands must have somehow got the envelope opened. Inside the envelope was a very sweet letter & an ultrasound.

The letter is from our birthmother Shiloh. She is 17 and is amazing. I am in awe of her courage, her strength, her unselfishness, and her love. It is so humbling to think of the trust she is placing in us. We have been in contact with her every day and we think that she is the neatest girl. Honestly every email we get from her I like her more. It is fun to see the things we have in common. We can't wait to meet her, and are planning on going down in April to meet her.

The sweetest thing about the experience for us is that we have seen Heavenly Father's hand guiding the process. Back when Bryan was job hunting we kept feeling pulled down to Georgia. So much so that we wondered aloud, "could our baby be in Georgia?" After a lot of prayer we ended up not taking that job. We didn't give it much more thought until we were turning in our profiles. We felt prompted to ask if they could send one of our packets to Georgia. They did, Shiloh's caseworker showed it to her, and I guess the rest is history.

We are so excited to meet our little one. So excited to be parents. We can't wait 'till June 20th

Before & Almost After

Before:We decided to give tiling a try. We have a bathroom/laundry room downstairs. When we moved in it had that peel & stick tile, but whoever put it on didn't concentrate much on the sticking and it ended up looking like this. . . As you can see not super attractive yet. But Murphy loved helping.











So here's how is has turned out so far, not too shabby. But we still have to seal it, put on the baseboards, put in the new vanity, put back the toilet & washer & dryer, etc. So we have quite a weekend ahead of us. Luckily we have fun doing these things together. And we even remembered to turn the water off for this project, long funny story from when we replaced our dishwasher. Let's just say we've gotten a bit smarter over the past few month, Thank Goodness! But still a lot of work to go, we'll give you an update when it's done. Hopefully it will be gorgeous and worth all of the work.

I Faced My Fear. . . And Survived

Well I did it, I faced one of my biggest fears, anesthesia. I was such a baby about getting my wisdom teeth out, I had decided that I was going to just get laughing gas, well simply because I didn't want to die. I had heard all of these horror stories of people dying under anesthesia, and even had a friend whose older sister passed away so I was concerned to say the least. But I prayed a lot about it and this morning Bryan gave me a blessing and I felt at peace. I am so grateful for the priesthood in my home, what a blessing.

We headed to my doctor's office which is called Surgical Arts Center, so I was a bit concerned I might come out with a new nose or an enhancement :) but no worries, they stuck to the teeth. Then before I knew it I was stuck to machines they were asking me if I wanted to go to Disneyland or Disneyworld. I was telling the surgeon how I had never been to Disneyland and then off I was to LaLa Land. I don't even remember coming out of it, it was a pretty great way to go.

Now Bryan is here being wonderful, taking care of me, not your typical Valentines Day but he is giving me a great gift.

So which fear should I tackle next. . . maybe I should lay in a bed of spiders or become a professional speaker. Well it sounds like the drugs may be kicking in I better go before I get super loopy.

Surgery Tomorrow

Well, I've put it off as long as I can. I have to get my wisdom teeth out tomorrow. I'm actually really nervous. There was a girl in my hometown who died while getting hers taken out, so I have this irrational fear of the anesthesia. Wish me luck, and maybe say a little prayer for me.

The American Dream?

After Bryan graduated we decided it was time to move out of Grandma Kaye's Apartment and buy a place of our own. So we started house hunting (well I had actually been doing it for years, its a sick little hobby of mine, I still do it, I just love shopping for homes) But then one day Bryan went out and played football and tore his ACL, so we figured we would put the whole house thing on hold. But life never goes quite like ya think, and a house sort of found us. So, pretty much right after his surgery we moved in. This Bryan he's no dummy, I did all the packing and our families did all the heavy lifting :) It was crazy, but its nice to have a place to call our own and we are in a nice little family neighborhood, with plenty of room to grow.

But what I haven't mentioned is all of the true joys of homeownership. Replacing appliances, redoing bathrooms, turning the "massage parlor" back into a garage yea kind weird, but knocking down walls is a good way to release some aggression.
Bryan & Mark - Breaking down the wall to find the garage. That wall is now gone and who would never know our garage once looked like this. (That's right our garage was carpeted, sorry didn't save any remnants)

Hey Baby Lets Go To Vegas

Here are some pictures from our trip to Vegas in December. We have a tradition every year to go to one away game and the BYU Bowl game. By the way we is sort of an interesting group of people; Me and Bryan (of course) Bryan's Grandma, My little sister and brother Kimber and Mark. We have a blast. This last trip mark thought he would show his spirit by giving himself a Mohawk and dying it blue, we got a lot of looks and he even got interviewed on t.v.

We got there really, really early. You can only stay at a Vegas Buffet for so many hours. but I do highly recommend the Rio. The have these chocolate cups filled with custard and fruit, mmmmm to die for. Anyway we killed time by snapping some photos.Well they game got CRAZY in the end and we won by a miraculously blocked kick. The stands went crazy, we could barely believe it, and of course there was only one thing to do rush the field. (Grandma Kaye is a great sport, I think she wanted to just as much as we did, if not more so down the five of us went




















The top picture is just Bryan and me in a mass of humanity. The picture on the right where I look incredibly cheesy is me standing by the guy who blocked the field goal. I didn't want to ask for his autograph or picture or anything so I took a picture with the back of him, pretty random. Looks like we are going to try to go to Washington State next year. That will be a long roadie, but it will be Mark's last depending on when he gets his mission call. We hope he makes it to that one, but of course first things first.

Our Wedding Day Digital Scrapbook

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

Finally SUCKED in

Well I have held out just about as long as anyone else I know, but I finally did it. Peer pressure got to me and began to do what every woman, teenager and strangely enough almost all of the men I work with, have done. No need to worry, I'm not wearing skinny jeans. But I have found out why there are so many little girls named Bella running around, and I'll admit I have visited Stephanie Meyers' website. That's right I am one of the crowd now I have read Twilight. I don't know why I held out so long, I love page turners with no base in reality. Seriously though I read it in three days, and I can't wait to read the next one! I should be borrowing it early next, so I probably won't be in contact for most of the week:)

Try a little harder to be a little better

I was shocked to hear the news that President Hinckley had passed away last night, which is funny because he was 97, but he seemed like he would be with us forever. I loved him SO much and felt like he was MY Prophet I will miss him, but more than anything I am overwhelmingly happy for him and Marjorie. I know the sealing power is real, and that he is with her now. I am so grateful for this knowledge, sometimes I forget that not everyone knows and believes, how hard would life be if this was it. What an example of the perfect couple, plus they were two of the cutest people ever! I will miss his talks in conference and his kind, wise advice. He inspired through his example and I hope that I can be a little better because of all the things he taught.

Catch-up

Bryan graduated this past April Yeah! Bryan had a great job lined up with a fortune 500 company and we were headed to Mississippi. But long story short, he ended up with another great job offer here in Utah that would offer a much better family life: only 40 hours a week, close to our families, etc. We really had to weigh out the decision 'cause we were excited about the other job and moving around the county for a few years. As many of you know I am the worst decision maker in the world, (were talking 10 minutes in the candy bar isle debating between peanut butter M & Ms & Skittles), so this was tough. But in the end it was just the obvious decision to make for our family, so here we are and it has turned out great. We actually work at the same company so we get to carpool and eat lunch together, pretty sweet.

Me & Bryan @ his Graduation(Plus a random old man
'cause I don't know how to use photoshop)

.

Happy Anniversary!

Well, we just celebrated our 5th anniversary, crazy how time flies. Its funny, sometimes, we still think we are newlyweds, but this is a pretty serious milestone. Bryan whisked me away for a mini vacation. It was so nice to have a break and to be able to relax together. He planned the whole thing we went up to a castle up in Salt Lake, a Bed and Breakfast called Castle Creek Inn. For all of you in Utah, I highly recommend it. It was an actual castle (kind of randomly placed right in Sandy) with huge doors, metal knights, the works. It was a blast. But it was hard to come back to real life after living in a castle.

After reminiscing about our wedding day and five years of marriage I can't help smiling and just feeling plain lucky, Bryan is so thoughtful, kind, great and fun. I remember 5 years ago I was nervous about getting married, not about Bryan, but just about marriage in general. But I have been pleasantly surprised, married life is wonderful, not perfect of course, but really, really wonderful. I have been blessed to have a husband who is also my best friend. I love hanging out with him, he is my strength, and is always lifting me up. I love him! And I am looking forward to 50+ more anniversaries.

First Blog & Exciting News

I am thrilled to announce. . . our adoption profile is finally online at LDS family services. WooHoo. We are so excited. Since I found out it was up there I have have been grinning from ear to ear. I guess it is like finding out you are pregnant, except that I could be pregnant for years. Luckily I won't keep growing, 'cause a girl could get pretty big in two years :) Seriously though, we are so excited to be parents it is what we want most in life and now that we are one step closer, it is starting to seem real and exciting. Prepare yourselves, here comes a shameless plug . . . if you happen to know anyone who is looking to place a child, don't forget us :) and now you can send them to our profile on-line.

And now that I am officially a "blogger". I hope that you will be able to keep up with our exciting lives. I'm not exactly sure what I will be keeping you up to date on, but I'll come up with something, 'cause I've loved reading other peoples.