Another Miracle

A little more than six years ago, I remember sitting with my sister-in-law, holding my sweet  Ammon, and talking about how anxious I was - even disappointed in my impatience as it was taking longer than desired for me to have another baby.  She was somewhat offended by my comments, making it clear to me that I should be grateful for what I had, and that even just one baby was SUCH a blessing.  Her reaction was an emotional one as she had struggled for years with infertility and unsuccessful adoption attempts.  She was growing discouraged, wondering if this deepest desire of her heart would ever come to pass.

A few weeks/months later, she was a mother herself.  Through adoption, she had finally received the miracle of motherhood and was thrilled beyond belief.  


But her story didn't end there.

16 short months later, she and her husband were contacted with the opportunity to adopt a baby girl who was to be born to the same birth mother of their son.  Of course they jumped on that opportunity and were happy to be blessed with two beautiful children.

Three and a half years passed.  Everyone, including them wondered whether or not more children would come to them.  And then it happened - the miracle of Quincy.  It was a sudden but heart-wrenching journey that resulted in another child finding his way into the arms of his parents.

Soon after Quincy was born, Tim and Jen felt driven to pursue another adoption.  They were certain there was another child that they needed to find.  With some bumps, heartbreaks and difficult choices along the way, they were eventually blessed with their son Sam - now just three and a half months old.  (He is 14 months younger than Quincy.)

Yesterday, Jen learned that, for the first time in her life, she is pregnant!!!  The news is thrilling beyond belief and I just keep thinking back to that conversation, less than seven years ago, when she truly wondered if she would ever get to be a mother in this life.  And yet she is suddenly on the road to becoming the mother of her fifth child!  


It is a testimony to me that Heavenly Father is over all, and that no situation or circumstance is permanent.  Whatever sorrows we are asked to travel through, they will eventually come to a close and Heavenly Father will bless us more abundantly than we would have ever expected or imagined.  The Savior truly is "An High Priest of Good Things to Come".

I just wanted to share with you all the excitement of Jennifer's news.  It is absolutely amazing!

Family Anniversary Celebration

Many many  months ago I purchased some discount tickets to Hollywood Connection.  It took us so long to use them, that they were actually within days of expiring.  And that is how it came to be that we had a wonderful family celebration of the anniversary of our family being started.  Andrew and I had taken our get-a-way a few days before, so on the actual date of our ten year anniversary, the four of us went out and partied as a group.  It was SO much fun.  Ammon seemed a little hesitant at first, but by the end he couldn't get enough.  The boys absolutely LOVED the bumper cars.  I think it was their favorite.  Andrew and I felt like we were getting old because we both got a bit sick on the spinning rides.  That is SO totally NOT us.  It's weird to discover those little unexpected changes that come with time and age.  These last ten years haven't been at all what I would have imagined, but they've brought the experiences that make life rich and meaningful.  I can't wait to see what unexpected adventures the next ten years have in store for us.

Anniversary Trip

Around our first anniversary (nine years ago) I got this notion that I wanted to go horseback riding.  I had been as a child, and wanted to go again.  Andrew considered that option as an anniversary gift, then wisely opted to get me something else: my first digital camera.   Every so often the idea of horseback riding comes up and I wonder why we still haven't done it.  After all - I've been asking to go (maybe once every year or two) since our first anniversary!   

In looking at the calendar, I didn't know how we would possibly squeeze out the time to celebrate our anniversary.  When my back went out, requiring me to miss school, Andrew to miss work, and our boys to get farmed out to family, I thought for sure whatever slim chance we had of a special anniversary had flown out the window.  But as the day approached I decided that ten years is a BIG DEAL and even if it was simple, we needed to do something memorable.

I asked my sister to arrange for us to use her condo so that Andrew and I could get away for a night.  Then I told Andrew that we needed to plan something to do on our getaway.  And that is how it came to be that we went horseback riding!  It was the PERFECT time of year for it and a beautiful area.  We had a wonderful time!

Horseback riding kicked off our two days together.  After that we enjoyed a great BBQ lunch, drove out to Strawberry, and checked into our "home away from home".  We enjoyed Chinese food for dinner, played air hockey, swam and enjoyed the hot tub.

After sleeping in and lounging around the condo all morning, we drove up to cascade springs.  My mom used to take me there when I was young.  Even though it was a place I once visited regularly, I realized that I probably hadn't been there in more than 20 years!  (When did I get old enough to have multiple memories of a place I haven't been to in that long!)  I LOVED the fall colors.  I kept telling Andrew it was a perfect anniversary trip because everything was SO fall!  I wanted a fall wedding and have always been a little bitter that September 29 of 2001 was such a warm, summery day.

The entire trip was wonderful.  Andrew and I have never been away together for more than a night at a time.  I am always AMAZED at what a difference just one night can make.  By the time we were heading home, I was glad to be getting back to my boys.  But they are growing up and didn't seem to miss us at all.  Maybe next time we'll stay away for a second night!

The Silly Man

We had another great party with the village.

Peter especially loved the clown.

He called him the silly man.

Ammon spent a lot of his time at the Home Depot booth.

He built a really great helicopter.

I dropped my phone somewhere in the grass.

Unfortunately it ended up locked in the main office for the weekend.

But I got it back first thing Monday morning, so that was great.

The boys had tons of fun with lots of  treats and loot.

It was a good way to spend an afternoon while Andrew was at work.

Better than the SuperBowl

For this year's rivalry game we were invited to a party.

So we decided to cook.

Andrew saw these cool U of U cupcakes in the store.

He decided to make them himself.

He spent weeks planning it.

He had me teach him how to make the frosting and everything.

We also made sweet and sour meatballs, potato skins, seven layer dip and magic cookie bars.

In the end, our party was cancelled.

But we had too much food.

So we had some friends over for dinner

(which consisted of chili dogs and all our foot ball food).

We still had too much food.

So we hosted the party at our house.

Our team won

(that's putting it mildly - it was a blowout!)

It was a fun night!

My Soccer Player

Picture taken September 15, 2011

A couple of years ago, Ammon played soccer.

He liked it, but we immediately saw that Peter would be the one to LOVE it.

We finally signed Peter up to play and he is THRILLED.

On his first game his team made a total of three goals.

Peter also made three goals that night: two for his team and one for the other team.

It is definitely a league of four year olds - which is perfect.

It's all about having fun.

And boy is he ever enjoying it!

Peter's First Day of School

Pictures taken September 12, 2011

Peter didn't get to start school until about three weeks after Ammon and I.

He was REALLY anxious to get to go to his new class.

FINALLY the big day came and he was excited as can be.

We took Ammon to his bus stop then Peter and I hopped on the shuttle.

He has all sorts of fun things to do when he gets to class.

He gets to find his name tag.

Then he gets to write his name on the whiteboard in answer to a question.

(The question usually has two answers and he gets to write his name on the side that represents his response.)

Then he gets to find a Popsicle stick with his name on it and put it in a feeling chart.

The first day he put it in "happy".

Every day since then he put it in "loved". 

Whether I am dropping him off at school or Andrew is, he always turns to us and says,

"I am loved by you!"

He truly is and I'm glad he knows it!