Stephanie's Wedding

We drove... yes, I said "drove" to Salt Lake City for my beautiful cousin's wedding last weekend. We had an amazing time, once were finally got there :) We stayed again with our friends that live in the area.

Thanks so much Judy and Graeme!

The wedding was Saturday morning, so Luke and I left the kids in the waiting area with my fantastic brother, Michael, and some cousins while we went down to the sealing room. It was a beautiful ceremony. Miles and Masie were dressed in adorable outfits to show off to the many relatives I hadn't seen in nearly a decade. Unfortunately, Masie's outfit didn't make it past the first half hour. Wonderful Michael somehow wiggled her out of her poopy dress and into a clean diaper. Masie spent the rest of the morning wearing her jacket and leggings :( I changed her into the extra set of clothes you always need when you have kids before the lunch-in, but it just wasn't the same as her adorable first outfit. The lunch-in was fun with my aunt and uncle speaking along with the groom's parents. My Uncle Rob read letters that Steph's two brothers wrote to her because they're serving missions and missed the big event.

Steph's reception was amazing. It was almost a tropical setting because it took place in a nursery completely decked out with beautiful plants and flowers surrounding all the tables. There was a photo booth and you left a copy of your pictures in a scrapbook for the newlyweds. I'd like to know who thought of that great idea :) I think my mom and I ate a whole plate of yummy, juicy, and sweet chocolate covered strawberries by ourselves. The best part was seeing so many relatives from my dad's side. We use to get together at least once a year, but now that we've all grown up it doesn't happen very often.

Gorgeous Stephanie with her new husband, Brett. I'm looking forward to getting to know him and he was very much a gentleman during the special day. Her dress was amazing and looked like it was made just with her in mind. I hoping they'll soon be visiting us in AZ!

The Salt Lake Temple seen from the Joseph Smith Memorial Building

The family minus Masie's dress Miles and NoelMy family, but we're missing Timothy... where are you Tim?!? We miss you!
This is my dad's mom and siblings with their spouses. Steph's mom and dad are the first couple. My mom likes to be different; she's the one in red.
Uncle Jay, Michael, and Aunt Susan laughing at Dallan and Hansan.
Some dorky brothers... Me with bangs, thanks Lara for suggesting and filling me in on all the rules that go along with fixing them... They're still a work in progress and I've bought several headbands :)
Fabulous diaper changing Michael hugging Dallan, or is it Hansan?
Miles hanging out with the big boys, Spencer and Taylor Taubi and Masie-girl minus her dress
Mary (Steph's sister) with Masie with pants on but minus her dress
Ok, so I've been playing with my photo editor and wanted to share three fun pictures I "fixed."
Luke is looking a little psychedelic
LOVE this picture of my sister-in-law Jena
These boys are too HOT for color - Nathan and Joe
Don't be scared! It's not a lion! It's only Miles! ...then we had to DRIVE home. Too gorgeous to miss, even while Miles is sleeping Masie wants his attention :)

So the whole weekend was fantastic and I'm so glad that we got to be part of Stephanie's special day. But, Luke and Masie got sick the night before we left and it was terrible, throwing up all night and diarrhea all the way home. It took us 13 hours to get home! But we made it and those two are feeling much better. I was sure I'd be the one that got sick after all the strawberries I ate :)

Australia!

We were in Australia visiting Luke's family for Christmas and New Years.

I didn't have a camera for a couple of days, so I'm missing some photos.

These are a few of my favorites:

Miles and Masie at Mermaid Beach

Christmas morning at Luke's parents' home

Masie modeling her swimwear

Miles modeling his (lack) of swimwear

Leif, Taylor, and Miles at Masie's sealing

Miles at Daniel's farm
The best thing to happen during our trip was the blessing and sealing of Masie. She is eternally a part of our family. You don't see a picture of her in her white dress as one of my favorites b/c I'm waiting for my sister-in-law to send one that really shows how gorgeous she looked.
Miles learned to really enjoy the beach this trip and had so much fun with all of his cousins.
Masie didn't disappoint anyone with her ever ready smile, but she didn't like the heat.
I really enjoyed relaxing and watching the kids have fun.
Luke was in heaven spending time with his family and old friends.

Thanksgiving 2008

Even though I'm really late, slack, behind, procrastinator - whatever you want to call it. I have to post pictures from Thanksgiving spent at my mom's house in Idaho for all our family that lives so far away from us.

Sick House

For the last couple of days we have been so grateful for these:

If you haven't been sick in a while, you've probably never heard of them.

Menthol scented Kleenex!

Why didn't I think of that!?!

And it's just not Luke and I that are sick. Poor baby Masie had vaccines on Thursday, her first tooth just cut through today, and she's so sick she doesn't have a voice. That is why I am so grateful for her baby monitor. I can't even hear my own baby crying! I've lain awake for the last 3 nights staring into the screen watching every little movement she makes. I know if her throat hurts half as much as mine, she's in some real discomfort. Luckily, or unluckily, Miles was sick last week and feeling fine now, so he's got all the energy for our whole family.

Hopefully this will pass quickly.

And doesn't it always seem to be the case that you make a goal to be healthy and exercise more, and you suddenly find you can hardly crawl out of bed...

(They are sugar-free cough-drops I'm sucking on, and I did push Miles in the backyard swing this morning, so I'm calling that health goal attained today!)

Masie - 6 Months Old

Masie celebrated 6 months of living yesterday by sitting up on her own. Yes, she's really doing it on her own now. Everyone says how quickly time flies by and I can't say anything except that I agree. She is a beautiful, giggly, cereal loving, Miles adoring, gummy smiling, high squealing 6 month old. We love her!

...On another note, I know I'm completely slack! I've never even posted Thanksgiving pictures let alone Christmas photos from Australia. I did just post some favorites on Facebook, so if you're dying to see, then be my friend. Hopefully I'll get organized sometime this week... or the next, blah.

Sleep!

Masie is in her own room!

I know I'm a little late since she's been sleeping thru the night for nearly 2 months now, so it's about time! Miles's old crib/toddler bed was passed down to her. The real reason for not putting her in her own room was that I needed to finish decorating it and had to find Miles a new bed. Masie's room is nearly finished, and I couldn't wait any longer to get some real sleep for myself without her in the bassinet beside my bed. I've just got to put the finishing touches on her room... stay tuned for pictures, it's VERY CUTE!

Masie made it till 4a.m. in her new bed, and I only checked the video monitor every other hour. More sleep to come as I adjust to her not being next to me.

So, Miles got his Christmas present early...

He loves his new loft/tent bed :)

We asked him after the bed was constructed,

"Do you want to take a nap?"

His eyes lit up, and he cried, "YEP!"

He's having fun climbing the ladder and sleeping "under the covers" since he only had blankets before and not a tucked-in flat sheet. We hung fun posters and I will also be placing pillows under the loft so he can comfortably enjoy his new little cave :)

It's Official!

This beautiful, smiling bundle is officially a part of our family.

We flew in to SLC on November 24th and stayed the night with our friends, who have welcomed us into their home many times over the last couple of months. Tuesday morning we had an early appointment with Judge Kennedy. My heart has been skipping beats and doubling beats over the last few weeks as I thought about my baby girl. She's my baby and I just had this lingering struggle going on in my head that I wasn't deserving of her... that something terrible was going to happen and her adoption finalization wouldn't go through. Nothing ever happened to justify my feelings, but I just kept thinking "this is too good, I've been too blessed, something has to go wrong." I've been crying to Luke, to my sisters-in-law, to anyone who cared enough to listen. She's my baby and I'm a worrier. I've come to realize I must be a pessimist.... I don't like admitting it, and I don't like feeling like this, but I can't help it.

Masie's finalization could not have gone any smoother.

The judge was all business asking the adoption agency representative many questions and wanting to be certain that finalizing early was in the best interest of everyone. Our lawyer was great and let me say a few sobbing words of gratitude for adoption and the joining of Masie to our family. The whole thing only took half an hour, then we were at the receptionists office getting official copies of the adoption decree.

I was breathing again... she's ours, for real now!

Then we raced to the vital records office for Masie's birth certificate. We waited nearly 2 hours and were handed 3 copies. Then we raced to the post office to apply for her passport. We were on the road to my mom's house in Pocatello by noon!

On paper and by law, Masie is ours, and eternally she will be ours in just a few more weeks when we have her sealed to us in the Brisbane Temple at Christmas.

You'll be hearing gulping sighs of more relief from me after that.

Luke's sister has been in the States for a few weeks with her family, so we were able to meet up with them while we were in UT. Here's Annabelle with our Masie.

National Adoption Month

November is National Adoption Month.

This year, November 15th is marked as

National Adoption Day to raise awareness of the thousands of children in foster care waiting to find permanent, loving families.

I would not be a mother if it weren't for the blessing of adoption and my children's amazing birthmoms.

We are so grateful for adoption and the chance it gives

Luke and I to grow our beautiful family.

We spent Saturday with our local chapter

Families Supporting Adoption

celebrating our appreciation of adoption.

Trick or Treat

Our two beautiful kids dressed in their

Halloween day outfits.

Miles is oh so happy thinking about all the candy

he'll be collecting in the evening.

I LOVE these kids :)

Cute, fluffy, white, sparkly Snowball

(a.k.a Masie)

Little waddling Penguin (a.k.a. Miles)
Picture with Dad
These pictures are in chronological order.

I put the kids in their costumes and then took them off (since they are most definitely costumes meant for cold climates) for the drive out to my brother Nathan's where we celebrated with his family. Miles fell asleep in the car before the festivities even began.

[I unbuckled Miles since we just arrived at our destination]
Ashlynn begged to be able to hold Masie for a picture...

this is the best shot we could get of all the kids in one frame.Miles's best buddy, Caleb, is hiding under the clown.The boys were very suspicious of one another and wouldn't stand too close because they didn't recognize each other in costume. It wasn't until Caleb took his wig/hat off that Miles followed him around shouting,

"It's Caleb, it's Caleb!"

Michael Comes Home!

My younger brother, Michael, arrives home today

after serving a two year mission in Russia!

!WELCOME HOME LITTLE BRO!

I so badly wish I were there to meet you...

I could just cry!

I'll see you soon though.

Cabin Fever

We spent last weekend at our friend's cabin in Overgaard, AZ.

I had these big plans to relax.... HA!

We definitely had a great time, but I always fool myself into forgetting the needs of a 2 1/2 year old and a 3 month old. Also, on my leisurely walk one morning, I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw 2 huge, black tarantulas sauntering on my path - yuck!

The hot tub was a huge help in calming me though.

I do love the outdoors.

Miles spent nearly every minute outside exploring, jumping, or throwing things.

Masie wasn't too sure about things at first...

Our friends invited us to a campfire to roast marshmallows. We had to teach

Luke how to make smores - silly Aussie.

Of course we rugged-up the kids first.

3 Months Old

How quickly life changes...

4 months ago we didn't have physical evidence of Masie's existence. We knew in our hearts and were told by the spirit earlier on that our baby was soon to arrive, but nothing tangible.

How quickly life changes...

I can hardly remember what my life was like without her.

I can't imagine my life without her in it.

I am so in love with my baby girl who turned 3 months old today.

It is wonderful to have a baby that smiles, grins, and coos at me just because I look at her.

She grins so big that her whole face scrunches as she wiggles her little body with delight.

She looks beautiful in any color, but I like her in purple the best.

She is a fantastic eater.

She's already reaching for things and loves to chomp on her fingers or my fingers or anything that gets near her mouth.

She loves to watch and talk to herself in the mirror.

She watches every move Miles makes and will smile at him every time he talks to her.

She loves her daddy who is very good at calming her.

She is so close to sleeping through the night.

She only likes to nap if she's wrapped tight, buckled tight, and swinging in her swing.

She hates to be on her tummy and will cry immediately when you try to put her on it. And if you dare to try, it will take a few minutes to get her to calm down and get her to stop gasping for air.

She is so strong and loves to stand up with help.

She likes to fall asleep with her blankie next to or over her face.

She is my lovely baby girl.

Ok, so I just said how much she hates being on her tummy... this is the one and only picture taken without her in tears.
Exciting news: We got the approval from the UT courts to finalize Masie's adoption early, so we'll be in UT the third week in November. That means our baby girl will be a world traveler before she's 6 months old since we'll be able to get her a passport and head to Australia for Christmas. YAY!

Miles had his last soccer practice today and wanted to show off his soccer medal. He made great progress over the last 8 weeks. To start he either cried or held Luke's hand all through practice. By the end of the course he was kicking and racing after the ball on his own and really enjoying himself. Now he asks Luke to "kick the ball" in the backyard with him.

Issues

I can hardly stand it when I have

computer problems!

What little time I can find to get to the computer to work or blog, I just want my machines to work properly!

Is that too much to ask?!?

What I thought was an internet issue, turned out to be a problem with my desktop computer. Not too big a deal when I've also got a laptop to work on. So while my new desktop was in the mail, I was using my laptop fulltime until it also started having problems. So, my new desktop arrives with all the latest and fastest stuff (you'll have to ask my know-it-all brothers for the specs) and

guess what?!?

The new computer keeps turning itself off!

ARGH!!

After lots of arguing and tons of sweet-talking by my amazing, smart, talented, and handsome (but taken) brother, the company finally decides to send me another new computer and take back this other piece of junk. At first they were trying to get me to open the whole thing up, like unscrew the cover and check the wires and I'm going, this is a BRAND NEW computer!! I shouldn't have to try and "fix" anything besides feeling totally uncomfortable with pulling apart something this complex.

UGH!!

So, now my laptop is working, thank GOODNESS, though not the WiFi part of it, so I'm stuck in my office with cords coming out of every port on this "portable" device.

I'm praying the 2nd new desktop arrives tomorrow with everything working as it should.

Thank you *Richard* for all your help!!

I'm so glad you moved back to AZ :)

Now enjoy some gorgeous shots of my gorgeous kids,

and you'll feel better too!