Adoption - It's about love...

Ok - Kevin from Texas! This one is just for you! I had actually been meaning to get another entry on here - just trying to get things done around the house and for Christmas. I have been having lots of thoughts that I want to share... But you have made me get to it!!! (He sent a comment that I can TOTALLY hear him say in my head!)

1. I think it is funny how people are telling us that our family pictures are "so cute" or "just wonderful". When I look at them I just think, "Do Scott and I REALLY look that tired??!!" (No comment necessary - Kevin!) I guess that we do and will for a long time. Did I sign up for that part? I just wanted the cute kids that Scott makes! Not the tired part! (hehehehehee)

2. Maggie - SHE IS FINALLY EATING! Nothing HUGE... but since Thanksgiving she has been eating some. I can tell too because her diapers have changed. Sorry if that was too much information! I love how she holds her pinky up when she eats! She does that with her bottle too!

3. As most of you know, Scott and I have had a lot of issues with having a family. As we both were a little older than our friends in getting married, we started trying to bring children into our family fairly soon after the wedding. It took a Hystosalpingogram, Laporoscopy, Induced Menopause and Chlomid to get Dallin. (I dare you to say THAT 3 times really fast!) It took 4 years to get him. We had even signed up with LDS Family Services to adopt a baby because we just didn't think that we would be able to conceive a child. So we put in the application, paid the money, met with a counselor, made our picture collage, wrote our letter to potential birth mothers, re-wrote it and re-wrote it again, had a home check to make sure that all of our Pine-Sol and 409 cleaners were in a lock box (even though any joe schmoe can have a baby and leave those things under the sink!), and then got approved. Then we waited. And waited. And waited. Then we conceived Dallin. So we got kicked off that waiting list. We were SO blessed to have Dallin in our lives! Then when he was 9 months, we decided we ought to start trying again. After about 6 months we decided to start the adoption process again, just in case Dallin was a fluke. So we contacted Family Services in the county that we had moved to since the last time. A few months later we found out we were pregnant again, but then lost it. Then we got Maggie just a short 2 months later. Then of course, we lost this last one. We seem to have issues with this.

The reason that these things have been on my mind lately is that my favorite Elder from my mission (Asher) and his wife have been married now for 10 years and they haven't been able to birth their own children. They have decided that they would like to pursue children through LDS Family Services. They sent me a link to their adoption website. I would like to let anyone reading this know that if they know someone who is expecting a baby and not able or wanting to raise their child that there are so many couples out there who would LOVE to do so! Having been one of those couples longing for a baby to hold and raise - I know how grateful Asher and Amy or another couple would be to have a little one to care for. Do with this what you will. It has just been on my mind a lot since receiving Asher's email and wanted to share it with you all. (Don't worry - Asher said I could!!)

http://www.providentliving.org/ses/birthmother/viewsingleprofile/0,12272,2133-1-8069-1-1,00.html

Please take a look and keep them in mind if you happen to know of someone or know of someone who knows of someone or something like that! Have a great day!!!

Turkey Day and Christmas Trees

Dallin and I prepped lots on Wednesday before Thanksgiving - so we could have a relaxing Thursday. We made mashed potatoes, pumpkin pies and gingerbread cookies. The mashed potatoes and pies were for Thursday and the cookies are for Dallin's friends for Christmas. They are the Nauvoo gingerbread cookies and are better if they have been frozen and then thawed. So that makes for an easier Christmas-time too!

I had to try the pie. It was REALLY good!

Dallin decided he needed to try the cookie dough. It's really good too!

We went to Scott's parent's house for Turkey Day. It was fun to get together with as much of the family that could get together! It was a beautiful spread - the don't put in the dishwasher china, silver and crystal.

Miles fired up the dutch oven and cooked the turkey outside...

It was really moist and yummy! Maggie decided that she needed to carry an old record player around the house. It must weigh close to what she does!!

We talked and laughed for hours. It was really nice. I got to see my sister, Lynnette too! She and her boyfriend came over about 4 (for their 2nd dinner!!). But they saved room!

Then of course the day after Thanksgiving - UGH! I thought I would run out to Kohl's to take advantage of some really great prices! I didn't get up at 3:30 to get there by 4. I thought - It can't be THAT bad! I got up at 6:45 and got there at 7. The lines went from the registers to the back of the store and met in the middle. I thought to myself that I would just wander and the line HAD to dwindle down. Well it did - but I still waited for 1 hour 5 minutes. Although I don't feel too bad about it. I got several Christmas gifts done! I will be a little more strategic next year. I will see if Lynnette can sleep over and play with the kids while I take Scott. He will stand in line while I shop. When I am done, he should be pretty close to the front of the line!!!! HA!

And last but not least - we had to put up our Charlie Brown fake tree! IN OUR NEWLY COMPLETED BASEMENT!!!!!!!! I think we need to get a new star. Maybe not quite so heavy??

Family Pictures

Well aren't you just the lucky duck today?? You get another day with 2 blog entries! I just got an email from Target with our family pictures. I am not quite as happy with these as I was with Dallin and Maggie's photos last month. But there are 2 we ordered for the family. We will get those out with the Holiday letter that we send out. I guess I need to get working on that soon, huh?!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is tomorrow. I am so excited! I love this time of the year! And not just because I have a valid reason to pig out - I really have SO much to be thankful for. I have the most amazing husband and kids. I love that Scott finally LOVES his job. I love that Scott lets me indulge in my latest and greatest (i.e. reading the Twilight series, getting back into country music that he hates, gutting the basement, etc). A friend of ours loaned us a Chris Ledoux tape. I haven't listened to country in a really long time. I am kind of in an 80's stint right now. But now my new favorite song is County Fair by Chris Ledoux. He is a little twangy for me - but there are a few songs that I absolutely love and am now digging out all of my country cds. Poor Scott. And now - because of my renewed love - I look on the computer this morning and he has found County Fair and some others and put them on here for me. What a great guy!

I am thankful that my little boy is such a big helper and so kind. (Most of the time) We were at church a few weeks ago and the sacrament was being passed to him by an older gentleman and when he took the tray of bread he says, "Fank you." The man just smiled at Dallin. I am thankful that he loves his little sister and will share his most loved light saber with her when she is sad. I am thankful that he loves to be just like his daddy. It gives me hope that he will be an outstanding adult! :) I am thankful that he loves to help me cook - even though it can be frustrating. I love that he is learning how to read words like "No". He will see that word and say, "What does that say No about?"

I am thankful for my little girl. She is such a blessing to our family. She has been really sick a lot of her life with ear infections, croup or cold after cold after cold. I have been thrown up on more times than I can count and spent more nights on the couch with her so she can sleep than I would like. But she is still such a sweet, stubborn, dancing, beautiful addition to our family. I am looking forward to seeing what she will be like when she can express her thoughts like Dallin.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope that we all can be not so caught up in the commercial of this coming season but more in the reason it is celebrated!

PS... My sister-in-law's dad is a really amazing painter. My brother's home is filled with his art. Here is a link to it and it's also in my "Sites I Like To Visit" section. Check it out! http://www.tomslack.com/

Six Interesting Things About Me..

So I was tagged by Mandy earlier this week. But with such a busy week, I thought I would push this off until Friday. I still don't know if I can think of SIX interesting things about me ~ but here goes! PS... After the carpet was installed yesterday, Maggie fell from the 3rd step to the bottom. Once again - Mother of the Year!

1. I wasn't in the same school for 2 school years in a row until I was in high school (A possibility might be 1st and 2nd grades - but I can't remember exactly). I moved around A LOT. I will go through them. Born in Baltimore, MD, California (I think), Taiwan, Illinois (2 times), Virginia (2 times), California, Idaho, Georgia, Virginia (again), Maryland (again). I usually remember how old I was when something happened to me based on where I was living when it happened. Strange - I know. Especially since my husband was born and raised in the same house. His folks are still there! I have also lived in Korea for a spell!

2. I have 4 parents and gobs of grandparents... My parents split up when I was 3-ish and both are re-married. My kids get lots of grandparent-al love! They are so very lucky!!

3. I can texture a ceiling and mud/sand seams in drywall as good as any contractor! heheheheheeee OK... Maybe not QUITE as good as a contractor~

UGH - 3 more???!!!

4. I have been on 2 cruises in my life. One with my former roommates and one with my hubby. My roommies and I felt like hot stuff on this cruise until when we were in the port in the Bahamas - a Carnival or Disney cruise ship was docked next to us. Then we felt pretty insignificant. More like we were on a dinghy. So when I arranged a cruise for Scott's graduation I asked specifically, "This isn't a Dolphin cruise ship is it?" "Nope - it's a Princess cruise ship." Ok... I bought the little package. We pull into the same parking garage. We walk to the same dock. IT'S THE SAME STINKING SHIP BUT PRINCESS BOUGHT THEM OUT!!! Even all the signs still had dolphins on them. But I was able to show Scott right where the bath tub they called a pool was and where the dining hall was, etc... I am still wanting to go on a REAL cruise!!!

5. I desperately want to own a Bed and Breakfast or a campground somewhere - sometime in my life. We actually semi-looked at one in New Hampshire a number of years back. But just didn't know how to come up with 1.7 million dollars... Any Suggestions??!!

6. I have come a long way from my Miss Priss days before meeting Scott. I now camp, bike (very occasionally), garden, re-do a basement, hang out my laundry ~ actually sweat from time to time!!!!!

So there you have it! Six semi-interesting things about me! I guess now I am supposed to call on people to do this too. How about Brooke, Tam, Sarah E. (if she gets her blog going this week), Val and Rachel.

Carpet Finished...

***I AM SORRY. I KEEP TRYING TO EDIT THE FORMATTING ON THIS ENTRY TO MAKE IT EASIER TO READ AND IT WON'T LET ME!!!*****

Ok... You get two blog entries today! THE CARPET IS DONE!!!!!!!!

Now we have to go down memory lane for just a moment. Here are some photos of the house that we put an offer on. We hadn't closed yet... Just hoped that we would get it...





Now, Scott (Since he hasn't seen his basement yet as he is at work)... Here we go...

Are you ready?

Are you sure?

We still don't know quite what we are going to do with the wall...



TA - DAAAAAA~~~

I know it's not DONE yet... But now it's just the little punch list items! Everything BIG has been done!!!

I love my son. He is so funny! I was crying today because I was laughing so hard at the expense of our Carpet Guy's helper. I am sorry Carpet Guy's helper!

Before Dallin left for joy school he was incessantly talking to the carpet guys.

"I got new shoes before at the Wal-Mart" (we got him new shoes yesterday)

"I got this jacket before we took pictures at Target" (he was wearing his jean jacket from the pictures)

There were a few other comments made and questions asked and I just said, "I am sorry - he will be gone for 2 1/2 hours". They laughed and said it was ok.

He gets back at 11:30 and the Carpet Guy's helper was on the stairs. He says, "Are you back already?" I don't think he was trying to be mean. I think he was just surprised that school was over so quickly! He was SUCH a great sport. Because here is where the funnies began. And being the "Mom of the Year" that I am - I just laughed my butt off in the kitchen writing down what he kept saying.

Now remember our Carpet Guy's helper?

Dallin: "I like your haircut. You don't have none right there."

Dallin: "What's that?" Helper: "A carpet knife." about 15 seconds pass as Dallin is thoughtful. Dallin: "I have a butter knife." And then he went to the drawer to get it to show him.

Dallin: "Did you know that we went to the circus last time?" And then he proceeded to tell him everything that we saw at the circus.

Dallin: "Hey, Carpet Guy." Helper: "Yes?" Dallin: "I got a Indian Hat." (from joy school. they were learning about the letter I) And then gets it, puts it on his head and shows it to him.

I couldn't let the Carpet Guy's Helper suffer any longer and after wiping the tears from my face (but not the smile off my face) I told Dallin to go to bed. Luckily it was nap time.

I LOVE MY KIDS!!!!! It will be fun when Maggie is doing stuff like this. Should I be concerned that my son might be a little overly social???

Carpet

I am really sorry for those of you who could care less about our basement renovations. It has just consumed our entire lives for the past little while. That and Enrichment Night for me. I am the Enrichment Board Leader for our ward at church. That means that I am ultimately responsible for an uplifting spiritual night with dinner 4 times per year. This past Tuesday was our last one for this year. So I had that and getting ready for the carpet guy all in the same week. Needless to say - this week has been stressful!

Here is our carpet guy working on laying our carpet. As you can see - the second layer of paint made a WORLD of difference on the walls. We have the upper trim put in and some of the outlets. I am so happy about the paint. I almost put on a 3rd coat yesterday, but just ran out of time.

As I was going through my camera this morning I found some photos that Scott took of Maggie at the table one Saturday morning... Just a cute one. A little yellow though...

And here is a picture of some of the girls singing at our Enrichment Night on Tuesday. It was a really neat night. We did the Women at the Well production which is talking about the women who followed Jesus Christ in His time.

See the cute one in the red skirt? That would be my baby sister that was born when I was a junior in high school. Now she is a sophomore in college. I was crying while she sang a solo for the final song. I should have been crying because of the message that was being given... But no - I was crying because I love my family SO very much. I started thinking about all my siblings and all my parents and grandparents. That may sound a little silly. But I have lots of parents and grandparents... You will read more about that tomorrow!

Primed and 1st Coat of Paint

We have finished priming...

And this morning I put on the first coat of paint. I was almost in tears as I was doing it. It was streaky and not looking so hot. Still doesn't look so hot... but I am hoping that the second coat will make it look better.

I am hoping that Maggie will go back down for another nap and then I could get the 2nd (and hopefully the last) coat of paint on the walls.

Scott took the kids to the park on Saturday while I was at a photography class. These are just some cute shots he got!

A light at the end of the tunnel!!!

I am so very thrilled! We sanded on Thursday night. The last of our major sanding. Have you ever used a palm sander? I can now say that I have!!! I don't get along well with power tools. I don't really know why. Just don't. But I did it. My arms were just about to fall off. I had to get the whole room (walls and ceiling) sanded by Friday morning. Scott was working late. So it was up to me. I couldn't be a wuss about it any longer. It makes a REALLY big mess. I have to wear a mask or I can't really breath. When Scott got home I gladly handed the task over to him...

And then on Friday, my friend Steff came over and we textured the ceiling. Have you ever textured a ceiling before? I can now say that I have!!! It's quite cool! Can you see any cool shapes?

Scott and I were up Friday night finishing it.

For me - a late night is usually - say 10:00. We didn't get to bed until 11:45. And then Maggie decided she wasn't going to sleep through the night. Once you have all these little peaks then you go and break them off when it's dry. And you have this left over! That was this morning...

So right now Scott and Dallin are priming the walls. We still need to prime and paint the ceiling. I am hoping to get 2 coats of paint done on Monday. A friend of mine said she would take both kids for me. I hope that works out! Scott has to do the laminate flooring on Tuesday night so the carpet guy can come on Wednesday!!!!!!! We do still have to stain the moldings and get them up too. But that can be done after the carpet.

As we are working on the basement we have the radio on. Today it happened to be on Movin' 100.7. "If you listen for an hour - you'll likely be in a good mood". The radio is playing something like Cold Hearted Snake or I'm too Sexy or something. Dallin is priming along and says, "This beautiful music makes me want to paint." Where does he get this stuff??

I am really going to love my basement when it is done. But I tell you what. This project that started out so small to begin with has grown and grown. If we are going to do this - we might as well do this - and if we are going to do that - well then, we might as well just go a little bit bigger to do this - until we completely gutted our basement and re-did it. I know that it will be very nice - but these past few months have been pure H*E*double toothpicks!!!!
I am so excited to be almost done! Christmas in our basement will be wonderful! Actually the basement IS our Christmas this year! At least for Scott and me.

Time to Mop~

When do you know it's time to mop your kitchen floor? When your 3 year old drops some of dinner and says, "Can I eat it? Nope, the floor's not clean..."

I love my kid! What am I doing during nap time?? Mopping my kitchen floor.

MAGGIE IS WALKING!

That's right folks! She is walking! Very infrequently she will fall and not get back up but crawl. Let me re-phrase... She falls frequently... But most of the time she gets back up and walks on. Sometimes she does decide to revert to her faster mode of motion. Although she is pretty darn quick! I think her motivation was that our friend nicknamed her "Scooter" last week because she would scoot more than crawl. I think she has a little bullheadedness (is that a word?) that she won't be labeled! Hmmmm... I wonder where she got that from? Scott says me. I say Scott. Maybe a little of both??? Scott has now named her "Frankie" as she walks a little like Frankenstein. It is pretty cute to watch her waddle.

Cars

What do all of these have in common?? Well, they are the object of Dallin's new hobby. We were walking into church about 2 months ago and he was asking what the emblems on the front of the cars were. So we would tell him. Ford, Toyota, Chevrolet, etc... Well, then he started telling them to us. Then while we were driving he would tell us. While we are taking a walk around the neighborhood he tells us. And I tell you what - the kids is always right! Unless he can't find a logo at all - then it's always a GMC. But don't think that being NEXT to the car at a stop light will keep him from getting it right... he looks at the middle of the tire to find the logo there. He could be in the middle of telling me something and he interrupts himself to tell me what kind of car or truck he is seeing... Is this kid really mine???

Halloween!

We had such a fun day yesterday! First we went to Scott's parent's house to play and show off costumes! I tried to go early so I could get the kids lunch and naps before we had the rest of our packed evening. Lunch went well. Neither child slept and Maggie screamed bloody murder for 40 minutes until I finally went in and got her. She had slept for the last 10 minutes of the drive to grandma's house, so I think I just ran out of luck for nap time.

We had some technical difficulties with Maggie's borrowed costume. It turns out it's a 0-9 month. She's 14 months... Granted a SMALL 14 months... but she is in 12 month clothes... Her head got a little stuck in the hood.

Then we were off to Scott's work for their trick or treating and hot dogs. Oh... Maggie slept for the last 10 minutes of that drive too...sheesh! It was so much fun to see all the little kids in their costumes! I took the camera but didn't get any pictures. In the room where the hot dogs were there are 2 tvs and a big screen. They had The Munsters marathon playing for people to watch while they ate.

Then we were off to the church for trunk or treat. Well... we thought we were off... we were trying to be off anyway!! We were completely stopped on the city streets trying to get on the freeway. Our friend Brian calls and says, "Hey - are you coming?" He was already there handing out candy. We weren't even out of Salt Lake. UGH! We went to the church anyway and people were leaving (it took an hour and a half). So we went to our friend's neighborhood and tricked and treated with his kids.

Now - if you remember last year... Scott and Dallin were Tigger and Pooh. This year... Dallin saw an Elmo costume that he REEEEEAAALLLY wanted. We couldn't find anything to go with it - so Scott dressed up at Goofy. (He has a friend whose dad has all these really great costumes that he can borrow) I didn't get great pictures this year. I am really bummed... But here are some cute ones!

Today Dallin was supposed to have a Halloween party at Joy School. He had a meltdown last night so he never wants to wear Elmo again. So today he was going to be a cowboy jedi! Then school got cancelled. Sick kids. But Dallin still wanted to be the cowboy jedi... I got Scott's old button down cowboy-y shirt out that his mom made him when he was Dallin's size. So here he is!