We made a rocket out of an empty pop bottle and some clay. It was pretty fun!
Fun with pudding paint...yummmmm!
Nathan with his buddy, Cash
Nathan loves to help his daddy work on the 4-wheelers!
Friday, September 12, 2008
FAMILY FUN TIMES
I finally got around to posting some pix! Here are just a few of all of us just hanging out together...
We made a rocket out of an empty pop bottle and some clay. It was pretty fun!
Fun with pudding paint...yummmmm!
We made a rocket out of an empty pop bottle and some clay. It was pretty fun!
Fun with pudding paint...yummmmm!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
OUR ADOPTION STORY
Well, where do I start? There's so much to say and I don't want to bore anyone to death...so here goes... (sorry it's so long!)
THE
BEGINNING
When Justin and I got engaged in March of 2001, we talked about raising a family and we both decided that we wanted a good size family (well, I wanted about 4 or 5 kids and Justin wanted like around 12.....ha!) Anyway, we both love kids and growing up, we wanted to be good parents. So, we were married in June of 2001 and had big plans for starting a family about 5 months later. Well, to make a long story short, the months went by and nothing happened. Soon the months became years and I can remember feeling so confused and distraught. I knew that someday I would be a mother, but I wanted it so badly that as time went by, I couldn't help but wonder when. I can remember a lot of fasting. crying, and pleading with my Heavenly Father on my knees for a child. People would tell me stories of relatives or friends who had been trying for years to get pregnant, then finally conceiving after 15 years. Talk about discouraging! I wanted a family NOW!
Anyway, one day Justin and I were in sacrament meeting one morning and I remember watching a toddler in the row in front of us and it just hit me suddenly. I just knew I needed to adopt. Then I suddenly felt a wave of relief and tears began to fill my eyes. I knew that was the answer to my prayers. When we got home from church that day, Justin was acting really somber and quiet. He said he wanted to talk to me about something and said that during sacrament he felt impressed to adopt. He even got choked up about it. I'll never forget that day.
Well, to make a long story short, we went to LDS Family Services first, then went to another adoption agency and decided to just stick with LDSFS. Once our paperwork and everything was in, we began the waiting process. Only 3 short months after we had been approved, our social worker called me one day at work and said there was a problem with our paperwork and asked if we could come in that day. So we went to her office and she told us it was just something minor that needed to be fixed. Then she handed us a piece of paper and said "this is the real reason why I had you come in here." It was a letter from our birth mother saying she wanted to place with us. After reading the first line, which was something like, 'Congratulations! You're going to be parents!', Justin and I looked at each other and said, "huh?" After the initial shock, I remember feeling so overjoyed, but I didn't want to get my hopes up too much (just incase).
We surprised our parents and families by giving them a gift. It was a picture frame with a card that said something like, 'Hi grandma and grandpa, I'll be here in January and I can't wait to meet you!' Justin's family's first reaction was shock, but when my mom and dad got the note, they somehow knew what was up and my mom cried like a baby!
THE BIG DAY
I remember the Sunday morning when we got the call. I guess our birth mom's parents had been trying to email us, but we didn't check our email. Our little Nathan was born Saturday morning at 10:14 January 7th. Justin and I were out shopping for baby stuff that day and the next morning the phone rang and Justin picked it up. It was our caseworker telling us to come pick up our little bundle of joy! I remember feeling ecstatic, nervous, scared, and overjoyed all at once! We called our birth mom at the hospital and talked to her for awhile, then we drove to West Jordan to stay that night with Justin's sister, Roxy. The next morning, we drove to the hospital in Logan with Justin's parents. All the while trying to decide on a name. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, our birth mom's caseworker showed up with our birth mom, her whole family, and little Nathan. We talked for awhile, gave lots of hugs to our birth mom and her family, Justin gave his new son a blessing, we all took pictures with Nathan, and our birth mom and her family left. There wasn't a dry eye in the room.
LOOKING BACK
It will be 3 years in January since that day we met our son for the first time. Looking back, I wonder what I was so distraught and depressed about wishing for a child. I wanted to get pregnant so badly, but now I wouldn't trade my experience with adopting my son for anything. I actually don't want to have my own biological child now, because I feel so strongly about adopting. I know without a doubt in my mind that Nathan was meant to come to us. We were meant to raise him. If I had gotten pregnant, we wouldn't have our little Nathan. Now I can put my complete trust in Heavenly Father. He knows what He's doing and He has a plan for each of us. It may not be what we think we want, but in the end, we find out that His plan is the best plan for us!
THE
BEGINNINGWhen Justin and I got engaged in March of 2001, we talked about raising a family and we both decided that we wanted a good size family (well, I wanted about 4 or 5 kids and Justin wanted like around 12.....ha!) Anyway, we both love kids and growing up, we wanted to be good parents. So, we were married in June of 2001 and had big plans for starting a family about 5 months later. Well, to make a long story short, the months went by and nothing happened. Soon the months became years and I can remember feeling so confused and distraught. I knew that someday I would be a mother, but I wanted it so badly that as time went by, I couldn't help but wonder when. I can remember a lot of fasting. crying, and pleading with my Heavenly Father on my knees for a child. People would tell me stories of relatives or friends who had been trying for years to get pregnant, then finally conceiving after 15 years. Talk about discouraging! I wanted a family NOW!
Anyway, one day Justin and I were in sacrament meeting one morning and I remember watching a toddler in the row in front of us and it just hit me suddenly. I just knew I needed to adopt. Then I suddenly felt a wave of relief and tears began to fill my eyes. I knew that was the answer to my prayers. When we got home from church that day, Justin was acting really somber and quiet. He said he wanted to talk to me about something and said that during sacrament he felt impressed to adopt. He even got choked up about it. I'll never forget that day.
Well, to make a long story short, we went to LDS Family Services first, then went to another adoption agency and decided to just stick with LDSFS. Once our paperwork and everything was in, we began the waiting process. Only 3 short months after we had been approved, our social worker called me one day at work and said there was a problem with our paperwork and asked if we could come in that day. So we went to her office and she told us it was just something minor that needed to be fixed. Then she handed us a piece of paper and said "this is the real reason why I had you come in here." It was a letter from our birth mother saying she wanted to place with us. After reading the first line, which was something like, 'Congratulations! You're going to be parents!', Justin and I looked at each other and said, "huh?" After the initial shock, I remember feeling so overjoyed, but I didn't want to get my hopes up too much (just incase).
We surprised our parents and families by giving them a gift. It was a picture frame with a card that said something like, 'Hi grandma and grandpa, I'll be here in January and I can't wait to meet you!' Justin's family's first reaction was shock, but when my mom and dad got the note, they somehow knew what was up and my mom cried like a baby!
THE BIG DAY
I remember the Sunday morning when we got the call. I guess our birth mom's parents had been trying to email us, but we didn't check our email. Our little Nathan was born Saturday morning at 10:14 January 7th. Justin and I were out shopping for baby stuff that day and the next morning the phone rang and Justin picked it up. It was our caseworker telling us to come pick up our little bundle of joy! I remember feeling ecstatic, nervous, scared, and overjoyed all at once! We called our birth mom at the hospital and talked to her for awhile, then we drove to West Jordan to stay that night with Justin's sister, Roxy. The next morning, we drove to the hospital in Logan with Justin's parents. All the while trying to decide on a name. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, our birth mom's caseworker showed up with our birth mom, her whole family, and little Nathan. We talked for awhile, gave lots of hugs to our birth mom and her family, Justin gave his new son a blessing, we all took pictures with Nathan, and our birth mom and her family left. There wasn't a dry eye in the room.LOOKING BACK
It will be 3 years in January since that day we met our son for the first time. Looking back, I wonder what I was so distraught and depressed about wishing for a child. I wanted to get pregnant so badly, but now I wouldn't trade my experience with adopting my son for anything. I actually don't want to have my own biological child now, because I feel so strongly about adopting. I know without a doubt in my mind that Nathan was meant to come to us. We were meant to raise him. If I had gotten pregnant, we wouldn't have our little Nathan. Now I can put my complete trust in Heavenly Father. He knows what He's doing and He has a plan for each of us. It may not be what we think we want, but in the end, we find out that His plan is the best plan for us!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
New Blog
Okay, so as most of you know, we are starting the adoption process again and I decided to do a blog for birth moms that may be interested in our family. Since we can't have our last name in anything, I decided to just do a new blog. I didn't like the whole layout of our last one anyway. So, now we have a new blog and I WILL keep this one updated! Promise!
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