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.