k&h town

Happy Halloweeeeeen!

2011-11-01T21:14:00.004-06:00

I grew up with the Halloween Scrooge as my mother (no offense mother, I love you dearly). No, we tease her but she did great for having 7 kids :) So I inherited a little bit of that same attitude. But this year we tried to get into it a little more and we had so much fun! My sister-in-law Julie found Anna's costume at a consignment shop and got it for her and of course Jack had to be a Jack-o-Lantern! We have a list of 20 things that have "Jack" in them so he's pretty much set for life.. unless he has other plans and then we'll discuss it :) They were so cute and did really well playing along their first real halloween. Anna calls ladybugs "bug bugs" and she LOVED being in her costume. She even let me paint her nails and face which was really surprising. Jack wasn't thrilled with the costume at first but he warmed up to it as the events rolled on. We had our ward Trunk or Treat last Wednesday, then Friday we went to the Legacy Center in Lehi for their event, which is halloween games and trick or treating. We went with lots of cousins and several of Kirk's siblings. It was really fun.

Anna with her cousin, Ellie. Ellie loves Anna to pieces and always takes watching her very seriously. She even didn't paint her face and dye her hair because she didn't want Jack and Anna to be afraid of her.. what a sweetheart.

the whole gang

Jack and Anna on Halloween night. We went trick 0r treating down our street, which is quite a workout if you know where we live. They LOVED it. They totally understood that the candy they were getting were THEIR treasures. They took handfuls when allowed and carefully put them in their pumpkin buckets. Their buckets got so heavy their little arms were dragging but they would NOT let them go. I think Anna said "MINE" for the first time... look out.. don't mess with that girl's candy! They worked hard for their treats and really got into it. So darling.

Jack doesn't believe in unwrapping his candy before he eats it.

Yummy chocolate.. I have to agree! They're not old enough to realize that Mom and Dad are skimming off the top!

And I had to throw this in for good measure... I'm pretty sure the "terrible two's" have arrived.. this is a regular occurrence here these days. He's got it down. look out Mama!

Family Torture.. er Pictures!!

2011-08-12T22:05:00.000-06:00

We had our family photos taken at the end of May! I know you're totally surprised it took me this long to post them :) It was raining on and off throughout our session, so that made it interesting! It's pretty tricky to get these two to look at a camera at all, let alone at the same time.. But I think we have some fun ones!

Thanks to our good friend Niki Ekberg for taking such beautiful pictures. To see more of her work please visit her blog here

I've always loved the couch in the orchard look.. I think it turned out pretty cool! This orchard is in Provo by the state hospital.

Anna was super cranky and hardly smiled all night.. she was cold and hungry and tired! But still beautiful.

My cute family.. I love them so much.

She's totally chewing on a goldfish cracker here :) haha!

I love this one of the two of them!

And this is my FAVORITE of Jack!! talking to his monkey. It is so HIM! he is such a sweet boy oh we just love him.

This is classic.. She's had it.. teary eyed and her flower is hanging on by a thread!

Am I really lucky enough to be these cuties' mom??

It's Moments Like These....

2011-05-06T21:33:00.001-06:00

That make it all worth it.

They are starting to play so cute together and it makes me so happy! I hope they will be such great friends forever. My cuties!

A little of this and that

2011-04-20T21:33:00.005-06:00

Like big brother, like little sister! Troublemakers!

(but so darling)

Were you Jimmered? We sure were. We had some friends over for dinner the other day and they confessed that they were NOT. We were stunned. Come on guys! It was a fun year for BYU Basketball. Kirk went with my dad and brothers to Vegas to the MW conference and had a blast. So glad he got to go. It was a well needed and deserved break.

Grandma Perrins stayed with me while Kirk was in Vegas for 4 days. We loved every minute. I love this picture of her and Anna. Anna is so beautiful and so is my mom!

Oh Jack.. must you eat everything? He's thinking at least there's an upside to being locked out of this cabinet. Tasty rubber band!

Anna and Dad in front of her awesome billboard. It's all blownout in this pic but we were lucky to get it, it only came around every 10 minutes. So fun!

Jack LOVES Kiki. She loves to hate him. He loves to snuggle with her and she puts up with it for as long as she can stand, bless her heart. He is so sweet and loving.

OK.. That's it! :)

Walk This Way... Scoot This Way

2011-04-13T20:58:00.002-06:00

Every time I want to upload a video to blogger I can never remember how to get it out of iphoto in a compatible version.. ugh! But I finally figured it out.

Jack is walking!!! finally :) He took his first steps about a week and 1/2 ago and he's getting pretty good at it. I have never seen a kid so excited to take their first steps in my life. He was just bouncing off the walls. His cheeks were rosy pink from the workout and he was so hot that we had to strip him down! Oh he is so cute. And of course I couldn't keep my mouth shut so you have to hear me in the background... how embarrassing.

Anna is doing the most hilarious scoot! She is army crawling too and getting ready to crawl on hands and knees.. but when she's on her bum this is how she gets around and it kills me EVERY time. So funny!! She isn't brave enough to get herself down from the sitting position on her own yet, but she's learning fast.

Our Little Cover Girl

2011-02-20T21:20:00.003-07:00

Anna has this cute little claim to fame! She is on the cover of this year's Chocolate Extravaganza invitation and will also be featured on their billboard! Fun huh??? I used to be involved in the planning of this special event (charity gala) when I worked at the Foundation at the hospital. But since Kirk's design agency still donates the graphic design work when they needed a little one for the cover of this year's stuff we were all kind of excited to volunteer Anna! She doesn't look too thrilled necessarily in this photo but I think it's the perfect face :) We think it's all pretty exciting!

The billboard she will appear on is just west of the freeway before the University Parkway exit in Orem. It is an electronic billboard that rotates 4 or so different ads so you have to catch it at the right time. It should start showing this week! (this photo is a rendering)

My Babies Aren't Babies Anymore!

2011-02-16T22:08:00.003-07:00

Well since I'm tired of starting every post with a comment about how I can't believe how long it's been.. I won't this time.. hehehe.

I was talking to my sister today and she reminded me that I really needed to post pictures of the kids, she couldn't even picture what they looked like! How sad.

Jack & Anna are AWESOME! We spend all day playing together. We have a lot of fun. They are both growing and learning so quickly. They are so smart and beautiful.

Jack is 13 1/2 months. He is crawling at lightning fast speeds and getting into EVERYTHING! He walks with support from his shopping cart toy, or walks along the couch or anything as long as he has something to hold on to. He is so happy and loving. He knows the word "kiss" and loves getting and giving them. He loves his family so much. His favorite things to do are steal Anna's binkeys, toys and bottles and get chased, get into drawers and cupboards, drink milk, give hugs and kisses, read books, give high fives and torture the cat. He loves to do anything that will get him in trouble and have me after him.. getting the remotes controls are the TOP prize. He is so proud when he gets them in his little hands. He loves to play with Anna, but often just ends up beating on her.. She is getting much better at taking it and is getting good at fighting back :) He is our boy and we love LOVE him!

Anna is 9 months old and getting SO chubby. Her head is in the 90% :) Very big brains. She is SO fun and funny. She cried for the first 5 months and she is making up for it now by being a pretty much perfect angel. She has the cutest laugh and smile but she makes you work for it. She is very independent and likes her space. She sits on the floor and entertains herself SO well, it's amazing. She is smart and loves to read books and turn the pages. She is a very good eater and loves to try new foods. She loves her big brother. She gets so excited when he crawls over to her. If she's tired though she'll sound the alarm when he gets too close because she knows he's coming to steal her toys. She hates to be fidgeted with (rolling up her sleeves, wiping her face, etc). She can turn that cry on and off I tell ya. She's our little girl and both she and her brother pretty much rule the roost. But we don't mind.

Jack has really struggled with his asthma this winter. We have been so homebound. He's had cold after cold after cold. They are really hard on him and he has to have steroids and lots of medicine to treat him because he gets very wheezy. He seems to be tolerating all the meds better with each cold and we hope things will let up soon. I have a hard time being in the house so much and not being able to go anywhere. I'm trying to keep my spirits up but it's hard sometimes. I'm doing alright though and we have really good days more than bad. I have lots of help still from family and it saves me!

Well I didn't want to make this long so I'll quit! But it does feel good to check in with the world, although I'm sure the world has stopped checking in on me by now :) Don't give up on me.. I'm trying! I think I won't even know how to act if I ever go in public again! So sad.

Here are some of my favorite pics of late:

Anna is so pretty in pink with her big blue eyes.

Have you ever seen a more handsome boy? I mean really... have you?

Dumping out the toy bin is a daily ritual.

Anna Banana in December

Jack offering to help get her out of her seat :)

just playing on the floor.. also a daily ritual.

Good night!

In a Nutshell... again with the nutshell!

2010-10-15T21:09:00.002-06:00

Well there's just no way I can catch up on all the stuff I've missed in the last several months. I haven't even checked blogs for so long. I am so out of the loop! So much has happened, and I will try to be brief.. hehehehe.

What's been going on at our house, besides obviously being swamped with our two beautiful babies (these pics are from my phone so they're aren't the best quality):

Jack was in the hospital in July with wheezing. He only had a cold but his wheezing got so bad (plus he was throwing up a lot and couldn't keep enough down) that he had to be admitted.. it is too early to tell but he might have Asthma, poor baby. He was such a good boy at the hospital and all the nurses fell in love with him.. who wouldn't?? He was so happy the whole time he was sick, well besides the fact that he slept NEVER, that's why I didn't realize how sick he was. Poor Jack hated the IV and the oxygen, his first night was pretty rough. But we got him better and then he got another cold later and the wheezing started again. No hospital this time thankfully. He is now on a daily inhaled steroid to help keep his breathing under control and so far seems to be working ok. He has good days and bad but it helps to know what to do now as we are getting more familiar with the symptoms.

We had Jack sealed to us on July 31st! It was such an amazing and special day. He was so happy when he was brought into the sealing room and saw the room full of some of his biggest fans. We are so blessed to have him and we love him so so sooooo much!! He is truly the most special little baby boy. It was so neat to be in the sealing room and have Anna there with us and to be supported by so many friends and loved ones. We will never forget it! Anna and Jack were both blessed the following day. Kirk gave them beautiful blessings. Jack's birth mom and grandparents were there to participate with us all weekend as well which was really great. We can't believe we've come this far and that we have TWO BABIES. Whew!

This is a pic of Anna the other day. She has grown and changed so much. She is a really funny girl. She is very particular about things. She's one of those babies that has to be held standing up, rocking, and she does NOT like people in her face! She is really really cute. Her little personality is really starting to blossom and it has been so fun! She is catching up with brother in a lot of ways and they are really noticing each other. She is rolling over and is totally obsessed with her hands. She thinks they are the coolest thing she's ever seen and she can't take her eyes off of them..... they just do so many awesome tricks! She talks a lot and she outbursts every now and then with like a giant loud sigh/yell.. it's so funny. She is smiling a lot and I have to say she loves her mommy :) I have gotten her laughing a few times and it is the cutest thing ever. She cries when she is tired and until last night the bottle is her binkey. She likey. last night for some magical reason she took a binkey at bedtime! I couldn't believe it. She sucked on in for about 30 minutes then when it fell out she cried but hey.. that's a miracle folks! Maybe there's hope for us afterall :)

This is a picture of Jack taken today. Is he the handsomest or what? He is sitting up obviously and getting pretty darn good at it. He was trying so hard to pull that sock off it was hilarious. Everything still goes in his mouth. He is a very happy boy still. He is teething now which doesn't make him very happy though. He already has his bottom two teeth and he's working on his top two. He isn't loving it so much but he's still so sweet about it. He is army crawling and he can really move! He talks a ton and sings (I think it's singing). He can feed himself finger foods. He gets so excited to see his dad when he comes home. He also loves to see people he recognizes like his grandparents and family members. He is still my snuggly boy. He also loves his mommy :) What can I say, I'm the best!

This picture of Anna was about 6 weeks ago.. SOOOOO CUTE!!!!

Just a hilarious picture of my boy. He cracks me up. He weighs 24.7 pounds.. yah, he's a bruiser!

This picture is sideways but this was them the other day.. all piled up on each other. I'm the referee. I have a feeling that will be my role for many more years to come :) The routine at our house is pretty non-stop. Up at 7-7:30; bottles, breakfast, diapers, clothes, play with mom; naps at 9-9:30; those don't last too long unfortunately.. then it's playtime again, bottles, diapers, lunch with solids, go for a walk maybe; 1 p.m naps; one of them will inevitably not sleep long so I'll play with that one and get them down again just in time for the other to wake up.. then we just hang on til dad gets home and it's bedtime at 7! oh wait we're not done.. it's up to feed Anna whenever she wakes up, and since she's up she might as well be wide awake for 2 hours... and comforting Jack several times a night because his teeth hurt and he cries a lot in his sleep and happens to be in our bedroom. Do I sound like I'm complaining? I'm totally not :)

I stink at nutshells. This was a lot longer than I had planned. I sure miss everyone. I am consumed--I love my babies--but I am consumed by them! It takes all the mental, physical and emotional energy I have to make it through my day, day after day. I still have lots of help though from my awesome family. I couldn't do it without them. It is getting easier but it is still a ton of work. We are happy even though we are exhausted. Jack and Anna are both so sweet and special. We love them so much!!!

I will try to write again soon.. Our downstairs is almost finished!!! we have carpet on the way people! I need to post about that, and also the whole month I spent at my parent's house in WA.. :)

Funny Jack

2010-06-12T15:50:00.001-06:00

It's SO CONTAGIOUS!!

Our Crazy LIfe!

2010-05-29T17:39:00.004-06:00

The babies.. yes plural.. crazy... are asleep for a minute and I thought I'd post a quick update even though I should be doing laundry or something :) Anna is almost three weeks old! It's scary how fast time is going.. and literally all it feels like I do is feed babies. Feed one, then the other, play with them, put them down for a quick nap, change diapers and do it all over again. Every three hours. I feel like my head is buried in the sand as far as the outside world is concerned. I hardly even know what's going on with my own family! I know, I asked for this and I'm not really complaining.. I'm just saying how it is :) it wonderful to have these precious ones in our lives. I'm trying not to wish the time away because it is already going fast.. I think I could just really use some sleep or a minute out of the house. I do feel like it's getting better every day and I'm getting a handle on things. Well I feel like that most of the time, and then we have our moments where they gang up on me for hours on end, both demanding equal attention and then I fall apart :) But I have tons of help. Friends and family and neighbors come over every day to help me. Usually someone comes in the morning and someone else in the afternoon. I could NOT do it without the help. Well I guess I could, but I would go insane and I really don't want to be insane.. so instead I have had to learn to suck it up and ask for help and it has made all the difference for me. I can't believe how generous people are to come and help me. Bless them. They make me happy and bring calm and peace and order with them. They are a gift from my Father in Heaven who I know is watching over us and helping us every step of the way.

OK enough of my super serious side. I'm still quite emotional as you can probably tell :) But like I said, getting better every day.

Here is Anna on her two week birthday! She is so beautiful. She would NOT wake up :)

She woke up the next day

These kids are 4 1/2 months apart??? Ha ha Jack is So huge. But oh so handsome and lovable.

Kirk is SUCH a sweet Dad. He takes good care of us all and has a lot of fun playing with the babes.

Oh my Jack. This boy just melts me. MELTS me I tell ya.
He held his own bottle the other day! It was so cute. It was a one time thing :) He's big but he's still just a baby.

So that's pretty much what's going on in our lives right now. Feeding babies :) I will be pretty bad at keeping in touch for a long time I think. It makes me sad but it's all I can do to get even a shower! But hurray for having two beautiful babies! How lucky are we?

Little Anna is here!

2010-05-21T22:06:00.002-06:00

Anna Katherine was born on Tuesday, May 11 at 6 p.m.! She weighed 7 lbs 9 oz and was 19.5 inches long! She is healthy and doing great.

I am recovering well and Kirk and I are like two little zombies walking around with no sleep! Anna is so sweet. She has a much louder set of lungs than Jack though :) She pretty much cried non-stop our first night home.. you can confirm that with my Mom and Dad! She cried most of the nights her first week.. but she is doing much better and we are getting a little more sleep now, thankfully. She is so beautiful and has already changed so much since these pictures! It's amazing.

Labor was definitely hard. I hate to complain because I know there's always someone out there who had it worse. I was in labor about 10 hours, which went by fairly quickly. The contractions were horribly painful in my back until I got the epidural and even after that they still hurt quite a bit. I pushed for 2 1/2 hours!! I didn't even know that was possible. I was thinking about it later that night and did a little guestimation.. so contractions every two minutes, pushing three times each contraction for 10 seconds each, for 2.5 hours- that equals about 230 pushes. UNREAL! Kirk and my Mom were both great coaches and cheerleaders and really helped me get through it. Let's just say I conquered one of my biggest fears and am so happy she's here and I did it!!!

Jack is adjusting well to his little sister. That first night when she cried all night he slept the whole night through it all.. in fact he didn't wake up until she stopped crying at 5 a.m. It made me laugh. They are both so precious and so loved. It is going to really be a challenge this first few months with them both being so young. My parents left on Tuesday and I cried all day on Monday :) I have had a lot of help during the daytime from friends and family and I don't know what I would do without it!! I've had some melt downs along with the babies but every day seems to get better. We are trying to get into a good routine and figure out how to keep everyone happy and mom and dad sane. I get overwhelmed at times, but am really trying to enjoy the journey and let the unimportant stuff go. Kirk is such a wonderful husband and Dad and helps so much. We are thrilled with our two little ones and couldn't be happier. It's hard to believe that a year ago we had no kids, not even an inkling of a child.. and here we are with TWO. AHHH! It's so fun and we feel so blessed.

Well.. who knows when I will post again. hopefully soon because Anna is changing so fast and so is Jack! They are awesome.

In A Nutshell

2010-04-26T16:10:00.003-06:00

Jack is almost (in three days) 4 months old!! I can't believe it. I have had a few requests to update my blog and I'm sorry that I haven't been better about doing it! There has been lots going on at times.. and also at times nothing going on because I'm so exhausted! I am now 38 weeks along in my pregnancy and I just went to the doctor today and things are progressing nicely. We are getting excited to meet little sister. I have been pretty scared about the whole labor thing.. but have finally reached the point that everyone talks about where you are so uncomfortable you just want her out! :) Plus we have been getting ready for her and that has gotten me pretty excited to meet her.

So I'm going to try not to make this post too long. Like I said there has been a lot going on. Jack has not been a very good napper during the day so I haven't had much time to do anything, including blog :) In my rare spare moments I have been frantically trying to paint things for the kid's room and help Kirk with getting ready and finishing the downstairs in any way I can. My house is a disaster :) It is amazing how busy you are with a newborn! I am way busier than I ever realized or thought I would be. And my feet are SO swollen, so I try to stop and put them up from time to time while I'm holding the little buddy.

Jack has grown SOOOOO much!! He and we get teased quite a lot and everyone wants to know what we're feeding the kid. No we're not feeding him meat! But the doctor did tell us at his two month appointment to try some rice cereal in his formula to help him sleep better because at the time he was not sleeping well. Needless to say he's put on a few pounds since then!! He's so adorably squishy and we just love our rolly polly little chubbers. We continue to be completely in love with him and just are so lucky to have him!! We think he loves his mom and dad too :) His little personality is coming to life, it is so fun. He is a happy boy.

So as a quick reminder, this is the little guy we brought home :

And here's our little chubbers 3 1/2 months later!! I LOVE this picture. Kirk took it yesterday.

He was a little sleepy :)

Oh he's just cute!

So here is the nutshell part. In the past couple of months here are the major things we've been up to:

working on the downstairs (putting up trim, painting walls, painting the tree and little creatures for the kids room, tiling, etc.
raising the most precious baby Jack ever. He is doing some fun things like really focusing on people's faces, smiling and talking lots, grabbing at things like his toys, learning to hold his head steady when upright, learning how to take naps without having to be held by mom, sleeping through the night (yay!!!!! until 7 a.m.!!!) and lots of other things. We're still working on tummy time.. so far it's still a head-butt the floor session- gravity just gets the most of those cheeks!
A visit from my brother Erik who lives in Kansas, along with his son Ethan. We don't get to see them often so that was a treat!
a week long trip to my sister Danielle's house to make a craft-load of wooden crafts! So fun and so nice to be in her home and have Jack around her and her family. Kirk was working in SLC all week so it worked out perfectly!
a visit from grandma and grandpa Perrins for the first time to meet Jack in person. My sister Kimberly and her 21 month old daughter Baylee, and also my brother Clark joined the party. It was soooo fun.
A trip to St. George to stay with Kirk's aunt. We went to Zion National Park (both mine and Jack's first time going). It was beautiful. And fun. and Jack did so awesome on the trip.
Our traditional Sunday dinner visits to Kirk's Mom's house to see all the cousins.
Our ward just split so we have new callings and lots of new people to meet
My sister-in-law Birgitta just graduated from BYU so we got another visit from Gma and Gpa Perrins and had fun celebrating with Birgitta and her family too.

So that's pretty good! It seems like I've been moving in slow motion for so long.. it's nice to look back and see that I've actually accomplished a few things :)

We are doing great and hope you all are too! I haven't been awesome at blogging and even worse if that's possible at Facebooking :) So I'm sorry to have gotten so far behind in keeping up with all you my dear friends. Someday we'll be back in business.. it could be a while. ugh.. I mean.. yay!! We are so blessed to have our little instant family! thank you to so many of you (you know who you are) for all you have given to us and done for us. We are so blessed with amazing family and friends.

AND again I have failed to not make this a long post. dag!

In-N-Out Burger...May I Take Your Order?

2010-03-09T21:12:00.002-07:00

We went to our new In-N-Out Burger a couple weeks ago and couldn't resist putting Jack in one of these hilarious hats. He was so cute!! The people around us thought he was pretty cute too :)

Our little guy is 2 months and one week old! We can't believe how fast time is going and how fast he's growing. He's 12 pounds! Apparently he's only in the 10th percentile for his weight, which we can't believe because he's SO chubby! We love our chubbers to pieces.

Fru-its Of Our Labors Downstairs

2010-02-24T20:10:00.004-07:00

These photos are of the progress on the downstairs from a few weeks ago. There's more done now but since I'm running a few weeks behind on posting photos whenever I take them I better just go with what we got! Kirk has been downstairs working very diligently to get things finished before baby girl comes! He is very motivated to NOT have two infants in our bedroom.. I agree :)

Things really are coming along! Kirk has worked SO hard, and he's done most of it all on his own. I feel so badly that I haven't been able to help him more. He's doing a wonderful job and he's so talented at making the details so beautiful. There are really only three rooms downstairs: the Master bedroom, the kid's room and a sitting room off the entry. We're just focusing on finishing the bedrooms first. Kirk has most of the wood primed and is just finishing a few more things and then we're ready for paint! His brother Kyle is doing our tile work in the bathrooms which is so nice. So he's been doing the master shower lately, I need to get pictures of that too sometime. It's looking awesome.

Anyhoo here's a snapshop:

This is the tree that we will be putting up on the wall in the kid's room! It's so fun. Kirk designed everything on the computer and sent it to a place nearby that does laser cutting.. so no, we didn't cut this all out.. no way jose!!

The tree will go up on the wall and the grass will be up in the loft. I have been charged with painting this.. uhhhh.. we'll see how that goes.

Here's a look from outside the master bedroom. Can't see much but the saw but Kirk did all the wainscot from scratch basically. It took forever but it looks amazing.

Kirk has a lot of fun climbing up and down the ladder to get to our 12 ft ceilings

Here's a better look at the wainscot. And that piece to the right is our fancy built-in headboard that Kirk just thought of on his own! It is really cool. It's all finished now and he's got the primer coat on everything now. So don't be fooled by the different colors of the wood.. It will all be painted :)

And some pictures of Jack just for fun! :) Kirk and Jack chillin' at the computer. Kirk sits with Jack like this a lot.. it's so cute.

Snuggling

We can't wait until we're ready to move in down there!!

Jack's Hair Cut

2010-02-21T22:37:00.002-07:00

Here is the video of Dad giving Jack his first hair cut :) (I talked about it in my post below) Jack took it pretty well and was pretty darn adorable during the whole thing, despite the major injustice that was being inflicted upon him. We love our little Jack so much. What a cutie.

Our Little Life... It's good!

2010-02-21T15:33:00.004-07:00

I did a card workshop at my house yesterday.. which means that getting ready for that is ALL I've had time to do this week. Now that that's over I finally have time for a little update!

I feel like I've had my head buried in the sand for the past few weeks. Like my days are quiet.. but so busy at the same time! I think I am going to be able to get so much done.. then the day's over and I can't really figure out what I did! I do know that what I have done, however, is take care of our little sweetie. It's amazing how much time we spend bonding every day :) It's been so amazing. It's an adjustment to have someone relying on me so much, but It's so wonderful to be a mom. One of these days I'll figure out how to be a mom AND get stuff done :) and then our baby girl will come and you'll all kiss us goodbye!! We will then become zombies I'm sure.

Anyhoo.. enough babble. OK, our days are pretty much the same. We get a slow start in the morning because I'm not quite ready to be up and Jack is wide awake after his morning bottle, around 7:30 or 8 a.m. So I hold him and uncomfortably doze until I can't take it anymore and finally get up. Then maybe if I'm really feeling ambitious I'll take a shower. Then it's usually about time to feed Jack again.. then maybe he'll take a nap and I'll try to clean something.. ur something... and then it's time to eat again. Lately Jack has been super fussy. He has lots of gas that makes him very uncomfortable so every 10 to 15 minutes or so, if I'm not holding him already, I have to stop what I'm doing and try to sooth him. I'm trying to let him sooth himself a little.. but if he gets too worked up I can't take it so I step in and give my baby some love. Then at some point I try to think about making dinner. Haven't quite conquered the motivation on that. But somehow I've gotten by. Then Kirk comes home and he helps me a little with Jack before he heads downstairs to keep working on the downstairs. And that's pretty much what I do every day! Maybe once or twice a week we venture out to run an errand or something. And that pretty much wipes me out for the next day. I'm starting to feel pregnant now and my hands and feet are so swollen and killing me! Carrying Jack in his carrier really takes it out of me! But anyhoo.. that's my life! Exciting I know. I think I'm starting to lose my personality :) Help me get it back some day will you?

I can't tell you how much I love this little boy!!! He's so incredibly special. I smother him with kisses all day and I just love love love him. How cute is that smile! He's doing really good. He's still eating pretty consistently every 3 hours. He eats about 4 ounces. He's over 10 pounds now! He's already changed so much. He hasn't been too interested in toys yet. He's just barely starting to notice the toys on his bounces and I keep trying to show him black and white pictures, which he's sort of starting to hone into. He really loves to hold my hand and look into my face. He loves to be talked to and he's starting to talk a little more too! He has the cutest little coo. Of course he stops talking as soon as I put the camera in his face.

We had a little photo shoot one day. The lighting wasn't super but he is soooo cute in this little outfit! He's so beautiful I can't get over it.

This is him in a little outfit that Mariel gave him.. on the quilt that she and her mother made for him. We LOVE it! It is a beautiful quilt and the colors and patterns are so adorable.

This is the morning bad habit I was talking about earlier.. Mom's not quite ready to get up and play in the morning. You can thank Kirk for this lovely photo. I'm a beauty!

OK moms out there don't read this part! Jack was born with a little old man hair-do.. we called it his Mr. Burns hair cut. One night Kirk was like "I'M DOING IT!" I was like "doing what?" and he says "I'm cutting the hair.. I can't take it anymore!" OH.. poor little buddy. Actually it's funny because whenever Kirk sees a baby with bad hair he's always said "if our babies have bad hair I'm just going to cut it!" and I've always been like.. Kirk, they're babies! anyhoo.. so little Jack's already had his first hair cut. I saved a few shavings :) He took it like a champ. I have an awesome video of it maybe I'll post sometime.

And this post is long enough! We're doing great. I feel a little isolated from life sometimes, which sucks my motivation to even do things like blog.. which seems weird but that's just how it is. I think that's normal for a new mom of a winter baby who's been told to stay indoors???? maybe?? Someday we'll be out and about and productive again. Hopefully. I'm exhausted.. but happy :)

Family Pictures

2010-02-07T19:42:00.004-07:00

We had these pictures taken when Jack was 3 weeks old. One of Mariel's high school friends took them for us. Her dad has a studio at his house and although she's not very experienced, we think she did a fabulous job! We got some beautiful pictures and it was so fun to get them done together with Mariel. Jack has already changed so much! He was still very little here. We think he's very handsome!

Here are some of our favorites:

Mariel is so beautiful and she loves Jack so much!

I LOVE this face he makes! with his cute lips and his wrinkled forehead. This is the face he makes when I'm burping him and I just want to munch on him! He's so so sooooo cute and he smells so so soooooo good!

It's hard to believe these family pictures are going to be outdated in 3 months! YIKES!!!

It's ALL About the Weeks These Days!

2010-02-05T12:15:00.002-07:00

I am realizing that I really have so much to post about! Some days it feels like I don't do anything but hang out here at home with Jack in my PJ's.. but looking back over the weeks a lot has happened! My goal is to do a post a day until I'm caught up. We'll see how that goes.

So as the title says.. it really is all about the weeks these days. I have all these numbers of weeks floating around in my head to reference how old Jack is.. how far along I am.. how long this and that. And although I am a bit behind.. I wanted to show some progress on our weeks :)

This is me at 20 weeks.

This is me at 24 weeks

(I am now 26 1/2 weeks along though, and I swear growing by the minute!)

This is my darling, beautiful, handsome, baby after his first bath at 3 weeks (I can explain why he didn't have a bath for that long.. first the cord and then the little man procedure.. I know it sounds so bad that we didn't give him a bath for three weeks but hey, he's all clean now :)

Another 3 week photo. Actually 3 weeks exactly, almost to the minute :) This was taken at a photo shoot we did with Mariel. Another post for another day, soon!

This is Jack at 5 weeks. He is 5 1/2 weeks now! It's going fast and he's growing so much! We got on the scale yesterday and he weighed 9 pounds! For starting out under 5 I'd say that's pretty great. He's changed so much, but getting cuter and cuter all the time if that's even possible. He's healthy and still so content and sweet. I am so in love with him. He is asleep on my chest right now as I'm typing this. I love these moments. It is pure joy to be his mother.

This is little "Boo" at 16 weeks. When I went home for Thanksgiving, one of my best friends from growing up, Marci, who is an ultrasound technician, seriously spent 2 hours with me on the ultrasound machine over two days. It was so cool! We got lots of video and baby girl is such a cute little skeleton :)

This is my favorite ultrasound picture of her. She was upside down and with her little leggies she was seriously bouncing up and down, extending her legs all the way, then back down to bounce. It was the cutest thing! And we call her Boo because she was playing peek-a-boo during the ultrasound.

Life is good and the weeks are going by fast!!

Happy Anniversary to us!

2010-01-26T16:28:00.003-07:00

Kirk and I have been married for 5 years! January 21st was our anniversary. I can't believe how fast time has gone by. I have truly loved being married to Kirk. Our relationship has grown so much and we are truly best friends. Kirk has been such a great husband to me. He's loved me for who I am and helped me to become a better person. He's supported me through so many trials and heartaches and with his tender heart been such a comfort to me through many hard times. We have also had so many fun and wonderful times together! He makes me laugh all the time. I think it is so awesome to be married to someone with such a great sense of humor. We have our little inside jokes and can sometimes just look at each other and know what each other is laughing about on the inside. Kirk is so hard working and he has made our home so beautiful. He is a great partner to me and helps me with so much, even little things like dishes and vacuuming :). He is a really great Dad to little Jack and loves him so much. He helps me with him in the middle of the night and doesn't complain about it at all. Kirk is a kind hearted and generous person. He has been a positive influence in many people's lives and I have learned so much by watching him in his callings and in his relationships with work and family. He is so talented at so many things. So creative.

Us at Temple Square this Christmas. 5 years ago we had our picture taken in this exact spot on our wedding day. Of course we weren't as chubby back then :)

We had almost decided not to do anything to celebrate because we haven't really been taking Jack out much, and we didn't have a babysitter.. but at the last minute I called Mariel and she so excitedly accepted our request watch Jack while we went to dinner and then to Color Me Mine. Color Me Mine is this little ceramics place where you can go and paint a ceramic and then they fire it up for you all shiny. We actually went there on our first year anniversary and just made little magnets out of little tiles with stuff signifying one year. We talked about going back to do another magnet for our 5 year anniversary so that's what we decided to do. It probably doesn't sound that exciting, but it was really fun and low key and it was nice to celebrate a little with each other. It's funny how much you can miss your baby though even when you're only gone for 2 hours!! :) Anyhoo.. it was a really fun night.

I love you so much Kirk and I'm looking forward to many many more happy years to come!

A Little Confession

2010-01-17T18:18:00.002-07:00

We have a cat! We can't believe we have a cat, US! But it's true. Her name is Kiki and we are pretty attached to her.. especially Kirk, he's the worst! :) We've had her since maybe late August. We just haven't admitted it much to people :) Not that there's anything wrong with having a cat...

The funniest thing about this is that one of the few basic principles Kirk upon and I have always agreed is.... "NO PETS. Period" It's a very simple rule and we have always been so glad that we both agree on this. So imagine our surprise when it didn't even take a sweet, precious, adorable child of ours begging and begging for a pet for us to get this cat. We just shake our heads at ourselves. And laugh. And love the kitty. Suckers!

So how we got the kitty sort of softens the act.. Kirk's brother Kyle lives on our property with us. He lives above the garage. He has two cats already. Kirk and Kyle's sister also has a cat, who used to basically always be pregnant until they just got her spayed. So she had this litter of kittens and Kyle volunteered to take one. Well he got her home and the two cats he already had (yes.. we teased him plenty for already having two cats and taking in a third) didn't like her so much. So she was over at our house a lot. Kirk would actually stop and get her and bring her over on his way in the house after work, because she was just a tiny kitten and she was so cute. But we were always happy to send her home. But really the other cats just didn't treat her very nice, probably because she was so young and playful and they are little hoity toits. So we just decided to take her in. She has Kirk totally TOTALLY wrapped around her little paw. I love her too but am a little more strict with her.

She has a cute little personality. She loves to get into mischief and basically walk on every surface BUT the floor (counter tops in the kitchen, bathrooms, tables etc.) She also won't touch her water bowl, I guess it's just not exciting enough for her. She would rather drink out of the toilet or shower head or lick water off the floor or whatever. And her favorite toys are my hair things. She'll get one and play with it forever. She loves to wedge them under things like doors or stool legs and then try to get them out again. One day I was in the bathroom and I could here Kiki pushing on the door, then all of a sudden this hair thing came flying under the door.. Maybe you had to be there but it was kind of funny :) We just got her spayed and she is very cuddly these days, which I like quite a bit more than when she's so hyper. It's been an interesting transition bring Jack home. She does pretty good with him though. Better than I thought. So that's a relief.

Kirk loves to play with her. We had a lot of fun playing with these peanuts and the vent :) I think she was on sensory overload though :)

She's a pretty cute kitty!

Jack Attack!

2010-01-11T21:19:00.003-07:00

Is this one cute baby boy or what!!!?? We are so in love with little Jack. We can't believe how lucky we are to be his parents! It is so fun to be at home with him and to spend so much time in his sweet presence. He is a little angel. And he smells DIVINE :)

He sleeps most of the time. Although people have said "oh, he'll wake up in a couple of weeks" and I think they were right! He's starting to be awake more and more and it's so fun to see his beautiful eyes. He still has his days and nights mixed up.. so sleep isn't something we're getting a whole lot of. And I know that absolutely none of you feel sorry for us :) That's ok. We did sign up for this.. just don't hate us when our personalities go out the window!

Jack is still so tiny! Look at those little arms. My favorite are his little calf muscles. They are the most adorable thing I've ever seen. His two week appointment is this week and we're hoping he's back over 5 pounds. We're confident that he will be. He's a pretty good little eater!

I'm so happy I get to be his Mama. He is so precious. He loves to have his little hands by his face, especially when he sleeps.

Mariel's mother gave Jack this little penguin while they were in the hospital with him. He was so cute this one morning. I put it in his crib and he just couldn't take his eyes off of it! His eyes would slowly drift shut, then they would pop open again to stare at the penguin. I watched that go on for seriously 5 minutes. It was so adorable!

Kirk's an awesome Dad and he helps me so much with the diapers feeding and all that fun stuff :) He loves his little Jack. When Kirk got home from his first Monday at work away from Jack, he came home and was holding him and out of the blue declared "OH Jack.. you're my FAVORITE!" It was so hilarious. He sounded just like a little kid.

This Jack at his first Pediatrician appointment. He's just laying on the butcher paper waiting for the doc. After the doctor checked under the hood and found a poopy, he lightly folded the diaper up for me to come and take care of it and Jack peed all over the table. Nice :)

Well there's a quick update. We're doing great and loving our new job as Jack's parents. He is amazing. It's hard to believe there is another little one coming in May. What have we gotten ourselves in to!! No, we are excited, but boy, we really are never going to sleep again!

Jack Edmund Is Here!!!

2010-01-04T19:54:00.002-07:00

Little Jack Edmund was born on Tuesday, December 29 at 7:57 p.m.!!! He weighed in at 5 lbs 2 oz and was 18 inches long. He is the sweetest, most precious and beautiful baby boy ever!

Mariel went in for a routine checkup on Tuesday because Jack's growth was a little behind and he was a little stressed, so they decided to just put her into labor! She texted me that morning letting me know the very unexpected news!! It was like "um.. Kirk... our baby is coming TODAY!" We were definitely not expecting him so early. Mariel ended up having a c-section, poor thing. We had the most special 3 days in the hospital with baby Jack, Mariel and her mother. We bonded with Jack, celebrated our first New Year, and just enjoyed the special spirit of our friendship with his birth family. It was so sacred and little Jack is so so amazing.

Placement took place on Friday evening and little Jack came home with us Saturday morning (he had to stay an extra night to get treated for jaundice). We've survived our first few days so far! We're tired and it's amazing how busy he keeps us! He sleeps great, is eating great and is healthy! He is such an angel. And he's so little!!! I don't remember the last time I was around a baby so tiny. We love him so so much, and every day we love him even more. We just hold him and stare at him and gush with love.

Adoption is such a miracle. We are in awe of Mariel and her family. Jack's birth family loves him so much and we know it was just absolutely the hardest thing they have ever had to do. They want the world for him and Kirk and I hope we can give it to him! We love Mariel and her parents and family so much too. The time we spent with them this last week was unforgettable.

There is so much to share, but I don't think I'll take the time in this post. Just wanted to share our wonderful news... finally!!

Our Mariel

2009-12-28T20:52:00.003-07:00

I figured it was about time for an update! I wanted to say a few things about our angel birth mom, Mariel. I've decided that writing is very overwhelming to me. I'm always afraid I won't do 'it' justice. But I guess I need to just conquer that little idiosyncrasy of mine.

Anyhoo. Mariel is, in a word, AMAZING. She is 18 years old and so so mature. She is beautiful and confident and has so many incredible insights. She is fun and funny and is a very talented musician (violin and piano). We have gotten together many times and we always laugh so much. She is so down-to-earth. She is so kind to others and accepting and non-judgemental. She has so much faith. She goes to church every week even though it's often not the most comfortable place to be. She has had to deal with so much "crap" (my word) while she has been pregnant--her bad word boyfriend, people saying unthoughtful and unkind words, funny stares, stupid comments, unsolicited advice, etc-- and she has taken it all in stride and kept her head held high. She hasn't gotten angry, she just keeps moving forward in the direction she needs to go. You should really read this post from her blog. It made me sob and sob. She is such a great example to me. Kirk and I love her so so much!!!

This is Kirk and I with Mariel a couple weeks ago. Her family had us over for Sunday dinner. It was so much fun. Her family is so cool. Again very down-to-earth and we have so much in common with them. It was just so funny to see them as a family and to realize that every family is basically the same :) you know.. little brothers farting at the dinner table, little sisters freaking out.. HILARIOUS.

Mariel and I with our two little siblings!!! We are so excited that these two little ones will have each other. Mariel is 36 weeks along and I am 20 weeks along in this picture :) Mariel is so tall and cute! No comment about my lovely chubby self.

With Mariel's parents now. Their names are LeaAnn and Eric. They are also wonderful! LeaAnn has come with Mariel to many get togethers with me (ultrasounds, New Moon, scrapbook shopping, etc) We could all talk forever. Kirk and I stayed at their house this night we had dinner for about 4 hours and we had so much fun. We listened to Brian Regan and just laughed and visited and had a great time. Their family is so accepting of us.

We feel so blessed to have found Mariel. Well, really she found us :) And we are so thankful. Our entire relationship has just been so natural and special. She is such a neat girl and we couldn't be more thrilled that she has chosen to place her baby boy with us, and that we get to have an open adoption with her. She is about to do one of the hardest if not THE hardest thing she will ever have to do. Our hearts just break for her and the pain she will go through. She is being so incredibly brave and selfless and I hope that Kirk and I will be deserving of the great blessing she is giving to us.

Oh, and BIG side note.. Mariel is due in the middle of January, but baby thinks he wants to come early!! She has been closely monitored for the last few weeks and we'll find out soon if he's going to be coming early to if we'll be taking it week by week. I have to be a little careful about how specific I am on here because of the birth father situation, but we're on pins and needles here!! We're SO excited to meet our little boy!!!

What could be better than one baby???

2009-11-17T21:38:00.002-07:00

Well TWO, of course! And where does this other baby come from?

hmmmm, well, yes, we have more news. I am PREGNANT!

True story.

It's a very long, long story. But it's an amazing story. I will do my best to sum up. Back in June we got a call out of the blue from our fertility doctor. They were doing an In-Vitro trial, using new methods, and they thought we were good candidates for it, so they were offering us this amazing opportunity to participate in the trial. Of course I said yes we want to participate. duh! But I/we were So shocked!!

Wow. Didn't expect THAT phone call in a million, perhaps billion, years. Kirk and I discussed it and decided that we wouldn't tell anyone about it but our parents. We have been through two previous rounds of InVitro that didn't work and It was just too hard when it didn't work and we had to tell all our friends and family. It sucked. We were working so hard on our adoption stuff and trying to find our baby and we decided that we would put our faith in the Lord for this InVitro, and in the meantime keep working on adoption and the things we were doing. After all, the Lord gave us this opportunity, we just decided to put it all together in His hands.

So we started all the meds and stuff we needed to do in July. There was a timing issue and the doctor called on my birthday to tell us the timing was off and we need to scrap this cycle and go again in August. Ok. why not.

So we started it all over again in August. I should insert here that when the doctor called us in June we weren't currently corresponding with any birth parents. But by the time we started things in August, we had already talked to like 11 birth parents, four of which were pretty seriously considering us. Kirk and I were SO stressed about how everything was coming to a head all at the same time. We kept thinking "what if this works? Holy crap that will be crazy? What will we do?, etc. etc." But we also thought.. "ahhh.. it's not going to work" Not trying to be downers, just really had low expectations about it. I think we were trying to protect ourselves.

So we had our embryo transfer on August 24. Then during the next two weeks we met our first two birth parents face to face! They both made their decisions pretty quickly and were off the table so to speak. Then on September 5 we had our pregnancy test. They took my blood in the morning then called in the afternoon... and told us I was pregnant. I couldn't even talk. I was so shocked I didn't believe it. I went downstairs and told Kirk and he was like "WHAT????" It was so crazy. It didn't really hit us for about 8 weeks to be honest :) (side note, september 5 was the day BYU beat Oklahoma in Football.. Kirk says "this is one of the best days of my life" hilarious)

So in the next two weeks, we met two more birth moms, Mariel included. Then on Monday, September 14, I had an ultrasound to see the embryo and heartbeat. We thought it would feel more real when we saw the heartbeat.. but it didn't really. We're a little slow.

The VERY NEXT DAY, Mariel, the birth mother of the baby boy we are adopting in January, announced to us that she wanted to place with us! We were so excited.. but at the same time felt ultra guilty because we hadn't told her we were pregnant yet. We hadn't told our case worker either. We really debated when we were going to say something. It was still so early in the pregnancy, and we didn't want to have a miscarriage and then lose our chance at adoption. But also.. we just really felt strongly that we were supposed to adopt Mariel's baby no matter what. So anyway... we called our caseworker and said.. "uh.. can we come talk to you immediately? we have something we need to talk to you about" Our poor case worker's head was already spinning from all the face to face meetings and action we had going on. We sit down on her couch and tell her we're pregnant. She totally BURSTS out laughing. :) What do we expect. So a furry of phone calls were made, to her supervisor and Mariel's case worker and the news is broken. Basically when you become prego you are OFF the adoption lists, but because of the timing and just the whole situation, and because Mariel had already announced to us, they said it was OK for us to adopt Mariel's baby if it was what she wanted!

So that night I emailed Mariel and told her basically the whole story, in even more detail than I am writing here if you can imagine, and told her that if she still wanted to place her baby with us we would be so thrilled and honored. We still had our dinner date for the following night, which I posted about two posts down, and I knew we would of course talk more then. Mariel had originally planned this dinner to be a huge and wonderful surprise, but then we dropped this HUGE bomb on her and just didn't know how she was feeling. She didn't respond to my email that night, which I was totally hoping she would. She admitted later that she didn't respond because she still wanted there to be some element of surprise.. stinker. We were so stressed about how she was taking it all. We hadn't meant to be deceitful, we just really didn't know how things would turn out with the pregnancy so we were being careful. In fact, we were planning to tell her that week about it since we had seen the heartbeat and everything.. but she beat us to it! whooooopsie! :)

So we went to dinner.. and the rest is posted below :)

I am 15 weeks pregnant right now. We barely told our family at almost 13 weeks. They couldn't believe that we had kept it a secret, cuz, those of you who know me, and you don't have to know me well, know that I'm quite the open book extrovert. We wanted to wait to tell people until we were technically "out of the woods" at 12 weeks. Kirk was very stressed about it. He even gave me the sturn "IF YOU LOVE ME, you will not say ANYTHING to ANYONE". Sheesh, mister dramatic. Kirk was very proud of me keeping my promise, although it was torture. There are lots of other parts of this story that I've left out.. just more details. I didn't mean to even write this much, but believe it or not this is the short-medium version :) You'll have to call me if you want more.

So there you have it! I'm PREGO!!! I am due May 11. I never ever thought I would have this opportunity. We are so thrilled, and so blessed and have felt our Father in Heaven's loving guidance through this entire process. It has been a roller coaster that's for sure, but He has been beside us the whole way, strengthening us and giving us courage. We are so grateful to Him for the many blessings he has given to us and is giving to us, and that we are finally going to start our family. We just can't believe we will have TWO children in the next 6 months. We know we will get our butts kicked. But we are so excited.

Thank you all for your love and support and friendship. You mean so much to us.

Now maybe I can blog about our life now that I don't have to keep it all a secret anymore! Woo hoo! I probably still won't that often, but it's nice to know it's an option :)

Off to See the Wizard!

2009-10-14T21:27:00.003-06:00

I am heading off tomorrow morning to travel to Denver with the Larson girls to see Wicked! I'm so excited. I must admit I wish we could skip the whole drive thing, but It will be so fun. So basically all the girls 12 and up on the Larson side are going, minus one who will be missed dearly. My brother-in-law is taking her place... poor guy. We will have a girly time I'm sure! I'm looking forward to the time away (from work, not so much from Kirk).

Tootles!

THRILLED TO BE ANNOUNCING......

2009-10-12T19:42:00.004-06:00

We are adopting a brand new baby boy in January! We are sooooo excited! We feel so blessed and so lucky to have met our amazing Birth Mother, Mariel. She is so awesome. We just clicked from the moment we started communicating. She has such a great sense of humor, she's smart, beautiful, fun, entertaining, confident, talented and has so much maturity and faith. It has been such a pleasure to get to know her and spend time with her. We love her so much and are so honored that she has chosen us to be the parents of her much loved baby boy.

We don't know exactly how to sum it all up because there's so much to tell and I know I won't do it justice. We decided a while ago that we weren't going to try to keep everyone updated on everything all the time because it was just too emotional. So we kinda sorta dropped off the map in case you didn't notice :) We've been so busy trying to find our baby. We didn't hear anything from anyone interested for the first almost two years we were in the adoption pool. Then, all of a sudden, the flood gates opened! Since May, we have been contacted by 12 different birth parents. At one point, we were communicating seriously with four birth mothers. FOUR. We met them all face to face within a period of 2 weeks. Needless to say we were a bit overwhelmed, but we tried to have faith and believe that Heavenly Father would guide us to the right person and the right baby, and we hoped that no one would get hurt. One by one the birth mothers we met started making their final decisions, and we weren't it. But we felt OK about it because we knew something would work out.

Enter Mariel. She is 17. She emailed us pretty early on in her pregnancy. She was very open and honest about where she was in her process, which was awesome and super helpful, but she really hadn't decided what she was going to do. She was keeping all her options open: marriage, adoption, etc. She told us that her mom found our profile and showed it to her (Thank You LeaAnn!). Mariel looked it over and decided to email us to get to know us better. Yay! Our common loves were Brian Regan and Coldplay :) so funny. Anyway, we thought Mariel would be long gone in a short while, afterall, we were the first people she contacted and she still had so long to go and so many choices to make. She was still so honest too about the fact that she was keeping all her options open. So about a week went by before I had responded to this one email from her, which was longer than I meant to take, and she emailed us again saying that she had looked at lots of other profiles but she just didn't like anyone else as much as she liked us! Bless her. So from that day forward (maybe 5-6 weeks ago) we have emailed back and forth pretty much every/every-other day. We became such great friends. I love emailed back and forth with her, she's so hilarious. During the course of our communications, we could see that she was really working things out in her mind and it looked like she was leaning towards adoption. We decided to meet! The first time Kirk and I met her and her mother we spent about four hours with them visiting and going out to lunch! Our conversation was so natural and fun. Then the next week Mariel and I went for a little girl's date and got pedicures and had dinner. We had a great time. She is very down to earth and I think we're just on the same page, which has been so cool.

So the next week, on Wednesday, September 23, Mariel and her parents took Kirk and I out to dinner at Carrabba's (my fave). We walked into the little room where they were seated waiting for us and there was this huge gift basket full of little boy clothes, toys, her favorite books from her childhood, a blanket, etc. It was SO SWEET! She gave us the sweetest card. She told us that she could not give her baby to anyone but us, which just absolutely humbled and amazed us. It was such a special experience sitting there with her while she announced that she was giving us the best gift we could ever receive. A baby. A family! It was so unbelievable. We love her so much and are so excited to meet our little buddy when he is born in January (Jan 18-22, somewhere in there).

This is Kirk and me with Mariel. She's TALL and so naturally beautiful.

This is the gift basket that Mariel and her mom put together for us. Is it not so amazing? I seriously pick up those onesies from time to time and just hold them, visualizing our sweet boy in them and imagining how much we will love him.

We continue to keep in touch with Mariel. She lives very close to us actually, and we will have an open adoption with her. We are trying hard to get ready, emotionally, spiritually and especially physically! Kirk is downstairs hammering away trying to finish our rooms so that we'll have a nice place for him to live. We are grateful for this time to get ready and know it will go fast. We have decided that it doesn't really matter, we will take him whether we're ready or not!! :)

Thank you for all of your love and support. We have been sustained by it during this trial, which seems so strange to call a trial now, and have felt your prayers. We love you and are SO excited to share this news with you!!

Heather & Kirk

Bear Lake

2009-08-27T21:11:00.003-06:00

I have fallen in LOVE with Bear Lake. It is the most beautiful place. The lake is huge, blue, cold and gorgeous. The beaches are also amazing... long stretching, soft sand, and so very gradual in depth. The kids and go out and play in the water as if they're in the biggest kiddie pool of life. For the last two summers Kirk's family has had family reunions at Bear Lake. It's a little tradition we like to think we have started. His entire family rents a cabin (well, my generous mother-in-law actually does) and we all pile in. We have a BLAST. We've gone in the middle of the week, so the lake is really not too crazy. We basically boat all day, eat lunch and play with the kids on the beautiful beaches, build sand castles and creatures, head back to the cabin for dinner, games, movies, junk food and whatever else. It has been SO fun.

I just have to say how utterly impressed I am with Kirk's family. We're a huge group, spanning in ages from older (I'll spare the details there) down to our little one-yr-old baby nephew Ryan. About 27 in all. Everyone gets along SO well. After all these years of sunday dinners at grandma's and all our family get-togethers, everybody has just figured out how to be together. It is like I say, very amazing. I'm very lucky to have such wonderful in-laws.

Anyhoo... Bear Lake was awesome. I got FRIED needless to say... but the wake boarding, the wipeouts, the sand whale, the tubing craziness, the famous shakes, the delicious meals, the hot tubbing, and all that jazz.. was fun, FUN business.

SUCH a Slacker...

2009-08-09T23:21:00.002-06:00

Obviously blogging has fallen by the wayside temporarily. My brother told me tonight to just post something... ANYTHING.. he suggested- "We're Alive!"

So there you have it.. yes we are still alive. And doing quite well actually. We are happy and doing great. Just busy and distracted.

We are taking off tomorrow morning for Kirk's Family's reunion at Bear Lake.. YEE HAW! We are so excited. We did this last year and it was sooooo fun. If I'm lucky I'll return home with eggshell colored legs, instead of pristine white. My hopes aren't too high though, and neither should yours be.

Anyhoo... sorry I haven't been checking blogs and keeping you all up to date on our very exciting lives.. as though you even noticed. I'll do better soon.. I sorta promise.

On a Happier Note...

2009-06-03T22:46:00.003-06:00

The last part of May wasn't half bad! We celebrated Kirk's birthday on the 17th. He turned 33 years old! We had a great day. We worked on the house for the first few hours of the day, then had my family and some Kirk's close friends over for some bbq. I got him this spiffy helmet for when he goes four wheeling, so his noggin will be safe.

His aunt gave him this great plant for his office. We live in a weed-infested unfinished yard, so we've really been in the mood for flowers and plants these days.

The next weekend we got together with some of Kirk's old college roomates, from when he used to live in "the palace". We went to a park nearby our house and had another bbq while the kids played on the toys and it sprinkled on and off all day. In attendance were the fabulous Brian and Melanie Gunnel, Marie Bjornberg, and Corey N. (cuz I forgot how to spell his big fat long German last name). It was SO super fun. To me, there is nothing better than good friends and family.

We are keeping plenty busy these days with work on the house and with our church callings. Kirk and I put up the crown molding in the master bathroom last weekend and we're on to the bedroom and hallway next. It is exciting to see it all coming together.

We've been getting up three mornings a week to go for a run, which has been really helpful and good for us.

Anyway, life is pretty good. I shouldn't complain. I do, but I really shouldn't because we are so blessed in so many ways.

Do I Have What It Takes?

2009-05-12T21:22:00.003-06:00

Infertility has really been a humbling experience for me. Thank goodness I have Kirk and our wonderful families and friends to get me through it.

I am an extrovert. I will tell you almost anything if you ask me.. and even if you don't ask most of the time. I can't help it. It's something I want to work on--haven't started yet--but plan to someday. ;) Often what ends up happening is, something good happens.. not final, not the end.. but a step in the right direction. I know I shouldn't tell anyone about this step in the right direction.. because what if it doesn't work out? It will be so hard and then not only will I have to go through the pain once, but then again every time I tell the people I wasn't supposed to tell the thing to in the first place. But.. I say to myself, 'I need all the support and prayers I can get.. so I have to tell them! It would be silly not to.' You follow? This is my life with infertility.

We have received correspondence from two different birth mothers in the past two weeks! It has been an absolute answer to our prayers, and has renewed our hopes beyond anything I could imagine. We have been trying to adopt for almost two years. Now it's possible that we haven't worked as hard as some couples do to find our baby, but we have been trying and putting a lot into our efforts. This last week is the first time that a birth mother has contacted us personally during our entire time in the adoption 'pool'. I was beginning to think there was something seriously wrong with us :)

We corresponded several times with this birth couple in the past week. We are so impressed with them. They seem so mature, and smart, and level-headed, and fun, and too good to be true really. They are having a baby girl in September.. a baby girl... it is too good to be true. Well actually yes, yes it is. They informed us today that they have decided to place their baby girl with another family. boo. tears. heartbreak.

Now, I know that the Lord is in charge, and that the right baby is going to come to us, and that everything will work out the way it is supposed to. But how many more times can I lay my heart out like this? With each correspondence and question the birth couple asked, Kirk and I spent at least an hour carefully considering our answers, and trying so hard to make sure that we came across as 'ourselves', that we were sensitive and careful in our responses. It was absolutely exhausting. We fasted, we prayed, we felt good... apprehensive because we knew nothing was decided... but good. We were so excited. I actually had a little bounce in my step, for the first time in I don't know.. a year? This could have been it as far as our feelings were concerned.

Maybe I'm over reacting a smidgen, but I just don't know how I'm supposed to keep putting my heart and soul into this process, only to have it rejected time and time again. How am I supposed to keep doing this? How? I want to be a mother so, so badly. Kirk wants to be a father so, so badly. It is completely impossible to describe how we ache for this.

I just don't get it.

The 'BU'

2009-04-27T21:44:00.002-06:00

Kirk and I got to go on a fun trip with the young women to Malibu last weekend, as mentioned in my previous post. Our bishop owns a house about 5 houses away from the beach and he was kind enough to let us go and crash it! It was a lot of fun. Except the ride down taking 14 hours in a 15 passenger van, everything went very smoothly and we had a great time! We took 16 girls, then there were 4 YW leaders and two men to be our protectors. Kirk and MacKay had to get used to people giving them strange looks when they saw our group :)

In a nutshell, We traveled Wednesday, then on Thursday we went to the Getty Museum which was REALLY beautiful. We didn't get really see enough to make a drop in the bucket at that place, it's huge. But we looked at some exhibits then hit the architecture tour which Kirk really wanted to see. It is an absolutely breathtaking place. After the Getty we went shopping at the 3rd Street Promenade, which was also a treat. I don't have a still shot of the street performer, but there was this large black dude dressed in a silver sparkly tux and had his face painted silver. He invited a bunch of the girls in our group to come out into the street.. then I took a picture.. THEN of course he had to come over to me and make me pay for it.. dearly... He 'made' me kiss his cheek, which was covered with silver paint, and then he wanted me to kiss him on the lips. Kirk was laughing at me and I was so embarrassed, and disgusted. I did NOT kiss him on the lips you should know. I draw the line there my friends. I should've drawn the line earlier though. I felt like I couldn't get that paint taste off my lips for an hour or so.. and I just kept shuddering, blahh. I think I could've done without that experience, but oh well, they all got a good laugh at my expense. I guess this small-town girl will be more discreet next time I take a picture of someone on the screet.

Friday was our Six Flags (Magic Mtn) day. What a treat that is for us old farts who can't hack the big roller coasters anymore. Kirk and I were sick after the second one and had to take a Coke break and wait for the next one. And the food, well, it's just nasty there.. what the heck? for real? could it be that bad? yes, yes it can. No, really the day was fun. the big X2 was pretty fun, and probably my favorite ride was Deja Vu surprisingly. It was CRAZY. The park was supposed to close at 6 but they came over the load speaker and announced that it was stay open til 10 p.m. Oh joy. We put in a good hard day at Six Flags and the girls loved it. Us adults slept good that's for sure :)

Saturday was our beach day. NO getting in the cars was allowed. We sun bathed, boogie boarded, scoured the beach for marine life, played paddle ball, and all got burnt. It was so great!

During our trip we also completed all the value activities in the new personal progress virtue 'Value'. That was also a really neat experience to share with the girls and we had some open and valuable discussions about virtue and how we can maintain that in our lives. We had devotionals morning and night and prayed together. The girls bonded and I'm so glad that they got to have that experience. I know we're totally spoiled, but you gotta take it where you can get it I've decided!

Ok, so my nutshell was not so much of a nutshell.. you got the whole bag of nuts. suckas.

The Beach, it Beckons

2009-04-15T06:51:00.002-06:00

Kirk and I are off to Malibu, California for 5 days! We are taking our young women group to our bishop's house there for spring break. Hey now, don't be a hater. It will be fun.. and interesting. The plans include the Getty Museum of Art, Six Flags, completing the personal progress value of Virtue, some big mall that I can never remember the name of, the beach of course, and chillin' out maxin' n relaxin' all cool.... with 17 teenage.... FUN teenage...girls, and a 12 hour drive. I'm not complaining. Actually I really am excited!!

A Serious Easter

2009-04-12T22:24:00.004-06:00

I had an interesting experience last year just before Easter. I was driving in the car and I heard a radio commercial. This commercial appealed to mothers, and talked about avoiding the failures of easter baskets and gifts gone wrong as in years past, by buying video games for their kids. ('get your child an easter gift that they are sure to love'.. yada yada yada). Then when I got out of the car from that same trip, the weekly add was covered in similar adds marketing the perfect easter gifts. It really hit me hard for some reason. I mean, I don't mean to be a party pooper here. And I have to admit, there is a small basket of candy sitting on my bar right now (I don't need any arm twisting to buy chocolate now do I). But I really struggle with it lately. OK I get Santa Clause... the birth of our Savior is a celebratory event, the whole idea of gifts and rejoicing is entirely appropriate. But the Easter Bunny? That's a stretch. I'm not trying to sound self-righteous, and I'm certainly not casting judgement on those who do give easter gifts and baskets. I'm in that same boat really. Today my Sunday School teacher asked us what traditions we had with our families on Easter. I remember growing up my parents didn't really 'do' the Easter Bunny thing. We kids thought they were total bums! Sure they hid a few eggs to appease us kids, we got a hollow chocolate bunny now and again.. but I don't really have any vivid memories of easter activities. Maybe my memories just fails me.. but I don't think so. And I get it now. It just doesn't feel right.

What my parents did do is remind us that Easter is really about Jesus. The Savior of mankind, Jesus Christ, suffered greater than any man on earth could ever suffer, to give us a way to repent and return to God. He paid the price for our sins, and he suffered immeasurable pain so that he would know how to comfort us when we suffer. He lived a perfect life of love, obedience, charity, sacrifice and humility, and he gave his life for us. And on the third day he rose from the tomb, conquering death and giving us yet another gift. He did all that the Father asked him to do. And he did it because he loved us, and he knew that we could not be saved without him. What a gift he gave to us. I don't even know how to express how important that is to me. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior, and I am so blessed to know him. I know that he lives and I try to feel his influence in my life every day. The Easter Bunny can't even touch that.

Pay It Forward

2009-04-08T22:06:00.003-06:00

This is LONG overdue.. sorry Tessa!

I took this fun assignment to pay it forward from my good friend Tessa. She makes fabulous hand-made goods, so I'm looking forward to giving, as well as receiving (I'm not gonna lie)!

This is how it works..... The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a hand made gift from me during this year. When and what will be a surprise. BUT, in order for you to leave a comment on my blog, you have to post this on your blog first. (That means that sometime during this year you will send a gift to 3 people as well.) Get it? So, the first 3 people to comment on this post will be the lucky ones! Take Luck! And don't be scared, it doesn't have to be the most spectacular thing you've ever done or anything.. it can just be something simple. It'll be fun!

Hoping To Adopt- Still!!

2009-04-02T22:34:00.004-06:00

We have a huge favor to ask of you dear friends and loved ones. Please help us spread the word that we are trying to adopt by adding our button to your blog! This beautiful button that Kirk designed, will help us get people to visit our adoption blog. We would be so grateful to those of you who would be willing to help us by doing this.

All you have to do is copy and paste the below code to your HTML/Java Script. Go to your Layout Tab, Page Elements, and Add a Gadget. Select "HTML/Java Script" and copy and paste the code into the body of that gadget and you're done!

We are so excited for the day to come when we find our precious child(ren)!! Thank so much for all your love and support and for all you are doing to help us spread the word.

Happy Birthday Mom!

2009-04-01T18:04:00.003-06:00

My mother’s birthday was yesterday. Why didn’t I post yesterday? Well… I’m late.. that’s just how I roll.

Anyway, Happy Birthday Mom!!! I love you. You are the best mom in the whole wide world, and I really mean that. I feel so blessed to have you in my life. I don’t even know where to begin to explain all the ways you’ve touched my life and all the reasons I love you so much.. but I’m going to give it a small whirl anyway.

Here are 25 random things I admire and love about my mom:

1. She is hilarious. Her sense of humor cracks me up, and she cracks herself up too! When we’re together or when we talk we laugh and laugh.

2. She is spiritually ginormous. I trust her implicitly with spiritual things. I almost trust her opinions on what’s going on in my life more than I trust my own. When I need to make an important decision, I always ask her to help me pray. She is so close to the spirit and I know she spends hours and hours praying for her children. She has helped more than one of us out of sticky situations because she has been in tune and followed His promptings.

3. She is so fun. She goes on bike rides, paints nails, loves to shop and is pretty much game for anything. She keeps up with the party. She’s no stick in the mud!

4. She has taught me many practical things that have really helped me- how to cook, clean, do laundry, do yard work, keep a budget, etc. I have really valued this training as I have gone off to college, mission and now in my adult, married life.

5. She is really smart. While you may have noticed that spelling isn’t her thing, she is so knowledgeable about so many things. And she’s not afraid of the computer! She was the first one in our family to start a blog.. and she’s even on face book. Amazing.

6. She doesn’t gossip. She tries not to judge.

7. When she sneezes she scares the pants off of anyone in the same 4,000 square feet. It sounds like she’s screaming bloody murder.

8. She’s a fabulous cook.

9. She always tries to see the best in others, always giving them the benefit of the doubt.

10. She is classy. She’s stylish and up-to-date. She is gracious and kind.

11. She always supports me and all her children. No matter what we decide, she & dad support us.

12. She is creative and artistic. She used to paint until us 7 kids took over her life! She studied interior design and has a great eye for decorating. Her home is beautiful, and her yard is stunning. People who know her come and show people her yard all the time. And she gives them starts of her plants/flowers if they want them!

13. She is so giving. She’d give you the shirt off her back.. or the hard-worked-for home canned grape juice from her shelves.

14. She is a peacemaker.

15. She is really funny to scare... like hide behind the door and jump out kind of scare..it’s awesome, She totally jumps and then a split second later she screams in your face and then says “did I get ya?”. It’s quite the treat.

16. She could entertain you for hours with her embarrassing moments. She’s done some pretty embarrassing things... like at a hotel one time there was a bowl of doggie treats on the counter.. she saw them and got excited. She told the gal behind the counter that she LOVED these (pointing to the treats).. she said "I can only find these in Utah when I go to visit my kids!" and she popped one in her mouth. Then she realized that she was eating an actual doggie treat... not the Keebler Scooby-Doo doggie bone Graham Cracker treats she was expecting! Priceless.

17. She is calm. Whenever I need comfort, she always knows what to say. And when she tells me that ‘everything’s going to be ok’, I believe her.

18. She is tough. Don’t mess with her kids unless you want to see the wrath. And don’t be the solicitor calling either. I don’t recommend.

19. She is beautiful.

20. She is inclusive; she doesn’t like people to be left out.

21. After all these years, she still doesn’t realize that there’s no break on the passenger side of the car. But then again, she has had to be driven around by my crazy driver dad all the time. No offense Dad.

22. She can never remember if she’s seen a movie before.

23. She pronounces Sunday, ‘Sundee’

24. She thinks that life is too short to eat bad produce. I have to agree.

25. She loves God and it is clear in the way she lives her life.

Happy Birthday Mom. I love you MUCHO.

A Little Progress on the House!

2009-02-22T22:19:00.005-07:00

So we finally bit the bullet and called the sheet-rockers! a few weeks ago we spent the Saturday cleaning out and sweeping the downstairs, and getting ready in every way for the dry wall to be put up. This is what it looked like just three weeks ago!

This picture below is the ceiling in our master bedroom, in the 'nook' window-seat area. we call it the 'juicer', for obvious reasons. This is pre sheet rock of course:

And yesterday we painted all the walls with primer! It's so amazing to see how far we've come in such a short time. We've worked our buns off and are so sore.. but it's so nice to finally be moving forward on it. Those of you you've been here know that our basement is not really a basement. It's actually our main level. The front door is on this level. We originally just finished the entry with doors closing out all the unfinished areas and it has been like that for a few years. But we are tired of only having one bedroom, and the thought of not being ready when the adoption agency finally calls is a tad scary too.. so we are excited to get 'er dun!

Here's the master bedroom tub above.

And the master bedroom with the sheet-rocked, primed 'juicer'.

Kirk fashioned himself this nifty pair of stilts. He sunk some screws into his old shoes and fastened them to some buckets.. then clomped around all over so he could reach the ceilings. Sweet. It worked much better than having to climb up and down the ladder. What a smarty pants.

Here's the 'kids' room. There's a lot going on on this wall. There's the loft that Kirk built up above, with a window. Then a bathroom and closet. After Kirk sprayed the walls and ceiling with the paint, Kyle (Kirk's brother) and I took turns following behind him with the roller to smooth it out. It felt like my arms were about to fall off by the end of the day. It took us about 7 hours but we got it all done and now we can check that off our list! Below is a little snippet of Kirk's fancy moves on his fancy stilts.

We're shooting to have everything done by Christmas.. although if we keep going at this pace we could be done by summertime. We'll see!

25 Random Things About Us

2009-02-08T22:17:00.012-07:00

My brother Jeremy and s-i-l Birgitta (the Birgness) recently did a post - 25 random things about them.. You can read that here. It was really fun and I actually learned a thing or two about them that I didn't know before. They basically 'soft' tagged anyone who was reading it to do the same on their blogs.

So here are 25 random things about Kirk and me. (and feel free to keep it going - on your blog!)

Heather's Random List:

1. I love a good Scottish bag pipe band. I especially love "Amazing Grace" on the bag pipes. It's so moving.

2. I HATE fish. shrimp, sushi, salmon, fish sticks, all of it. Yick.

3. When it comes to gold or silver, it's silver all the way.

4. I'm not a fan of watering plants. After a while I just think they should be able to water themselves. Incidentally it never works out that way.

5. If I never ate another kind of ice cream than Breyer's Mint Chocolate Chip again I would be totally fine. I never get sick of it.. ever. LOVE love it.

6. My biggest pet peeve is when people leave a rag or sponge in the bottom of the sink in water. It totally grosses me out. And my tie for biggest pet peeve is when I'm the 5th or so car in line behind a left green arrow and the person in front just won't go.

7. One of my earliest memories is of riding in the station wagon with my mother, and I was standing up in the front seat bouncing around. She got pulled over by a policeman who politely explained to her all the reasons it was a bad idea for her 3-yr-old daughter to be standing up in the front seat while she was driving. I didn't get what the big deal was! She didn't even get a ticket.

8. My favorite hymn is "Come, Come ye Saints"

9. I am totally fascinated with patterns and textures. I could browse blog templates for hours, and I could walk into a scrapbook store and just look at all the paper.. then walk out. I wish I was talented enough to design stuff like that. It's fun having a husband who actually can.

10. My 'love language' is 'Words of Affirmation.' Sincere compliments and feedback rejuvinate me. I love (need) to feel appreciated. My husband is wonderful at expressing appreciation.

11. I get headaches like 5-6 times per week. I wonder what life would be like without a headache.

12. Tennis is my favorite sport to play. Basketball is my favorite sport to watch.

13. My favorite colors to wear are Pink and Blue (not together). My favorite colors to decorate with are red, brown, olive green and yellow. I love colors and finding great color combinations.

14. I have a talent for finding that perfect card for someone.

15. I believe that laughter really IS the best medicine.

16. I served a full-time mission for my church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) in the Utah Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission. It was the coolest experience.

17. I can stress over the littlest decisions- what kind of treats to buy for the group, how many of this or that to get, what if this, what if that. It's exhausting.

18. I am a very loyal friend. Once we're friends we'll always be friends, and I'm there for you.

19. I am (like Birgitta) terrified of swimming in the ocean. I'm ok by the shore.. but you couldn't get me to jump in if we were really out there.. no way Jose.

20. I always sing in the car (except for when I'm at a stop sign).

21. I want to be a mother so bad it hurts. But I'm trying to have faith.

22. I love massages. I could get one every day for 3 hours. They make me truly happy and forget my problems.

23. I hate getting out of bed in the morning. I am a night owl and when the morning comes.. me want sleepy.

24. I'm addicted to chocolate. Make it mint chocolate and I'm in heaven.

25. We pronounce the word ridiculous - "riDUCKOlous. And our favorite adjective is "DELUXE"

Kirk's Random List (there's only 15. Let me put it this way.. I was lucky to get that! Thanks for playing Kirk) :

1. My left foot is bigger than my right.

2. I went to the Snoopy Room (resource) when I was in elementary school

3. Quality is always better than quantity

4. I like to eat apples and work on Apples

5. A short shower is 20 minutes

6. When I take my shoes off I sit down and do it Mr. Rogers' style

7. Rhyme is always better than reason

8. Walnuts are not meant to go in food

9. Florescent lights belong only in commercial buildings and not your home (That includes compact florescent bulbs)

10. Al Gore is a goofball

11. I've worn corrective lenses since the 8th grade

12. The font "Papyrus" should be blotted out of existence

13. God is in the details

14. My favorite ice cream is Eggnog, Pumpkin, and Mint Chocolate Chip

15. Moo-moos are under rated

(I decided to finish Kirk's list for him.. because I can think of 10 random things about him!)

16. Kirk is literally a motor mouth. Whenever he walks intently he makes a motor sound with his mouth. He doesn't even know he's doing it. When we walks faster.. he motors faster. When asked why he does this, his response is simply... "it doesn't go by itself!"

17. He can never remember the words to songs. But he still tries to sing them anyway. It's hilarious.

18. He is the king of nicknames. Sometimes there's a formula.. like if a name ends in 'a' he'll replace it with 'er'. So Brenda would become 'Brender' (Alainer, Noer, etc)

19. He is ridiculously handy around the house - from electrical to plumbing to finish-work to cleaning. It's super cool.

20. He hates tomatoes. And asian food.

21. He can name the make and model of ANY car. From across the lanes on the freeway even. He reads "Car and Driver" magazine religiously.

22. He loves him a big bowl of fruit loops. Cereal in general is his favorite thing to eat for breakfast. If something other than cereal is served.. he usually has to polish it off with a bowl of cereal because it just isn't breakfast without it.

23. The only things he will cook are pizza and omlets. And a fine omlet he makes.

24. His biggest pet peeve is sheets/bedding that aren't 'taut' (the exact definition of taut is : 1- having no give or slack : tightly drawn or 2- kept in proper order or condition). When he gets in bed he will fiddle with the sheets.. and ocassionaly have to get out and do this whole big routine and straighten/tighten things up. I was teasing him about it when we were first married and he said to me "Heather.. an organized bed is an organized home." I laughed so hard. I had some vinyl lettering made with that saying so we could hang it above our bed.

25. Whenever I announce to him that we will be attending a function, like a mission reunion or gathering of friends he doesn't know, or attending a reception or something... he gets this confused look on his face and says "I don't understand". He then begins a series of the most obvious questions, trying to get to the bottom of why such an event could have ever been planned (questions like "so.. you're whole mission is just getting together?? is this like a ... So, you just feel like you really have to go?" so on and so forth) as though if he can solve this mystery, it will somehow go away. Sorry sweetheart.. you have to come with me.

And there you have it.

I Think I Have The Winter Blues

2009-01-26T21:06:00.002-07:00

I don't feel like doing ANYTHING! I feel like a total and complete slug. And what makes it worse is that whenever I start watching a show.. I get addicted. I swear, it doesn't matter what it is.. it could be the Power Rangers... I just HAVE to know what happens next. So I have been watching Heroes. I started with season one at Christmas time.. it has been sucking all my time. Why do I have to like TV so much? It is such a waste of time. But as they say, old habits die hard.. and this is my struggle.

Anyhoo. Kirk and I celebrated our 4-year anniversary last week! That was fun. We celebrated by going to mutual. Yah, we really know how to party. We did, however, go to Village Inn for lunch for some tasty french toast. They have the BEST french toast.

Any suggestions for fighting the winter blues.. without having to fight too hard? :)

Christmas Vacation

2008-12-30T21:10:00.008-07:00

Kirk and I went to my parents house in Washington for Christmas. We stayed there for a whole WEEK! It was very nice to be home with my family and we had a great time. I had to get my traditional cold of course, but luckily it was somewhat mild and I could still enjoy being lazy. My older sister Danielle and her family came, as well as my younger sister Kimberly (who lives in town) and hers. We played games everyday (Mexican Train and scum mostly), watched movies, went sledding, the boys did lots of shoveling, the girls put together a 'winter' craft, we played the Wii, made gingerbread houses, and ate ourselves silly... and sick... and fat. Anyhoo, it was MUY fun!

Here's all of us (but me) at the table for Christmas dinner.

Here is my niece, princess Baylee. She is so FREAKING adorable. I must have given her 22,000 kisses. She smiles like a superstar every time she's brought into a room filled with people. She laughs all the time and is SO good. You can just plop her down anywhere and she just entertains herself. It's amazing. Kimberly is one lucky mama. MMMM she's cute! I miss her.

My nephew Chase got a little drum set for Christmas. This is my dad breaking it in with some sweet soul rhythm. Actually we all were pretty impressed. He played drums in a 'rock' band in college so it was fun to see him play. What's with the face you ask? No one knows really :)

Mom, Dad and Clark on Christmas morning in their BTHtwo hats that Kirk gave them. They're pretty cute I think!

My brother-in-law Jeff and my nephew Chase chillin' on Christmas morning

Clark was excited to open his presents!

Ok.. now THIS, this deserves its own post really. This monstrosity of a gingerbread house was created by none other than my dear husband Kirk. I don't even really have words for it... He was so proud of himself for using the almonds. The Nightmare Before Christmas called and said they wanted their house back...

Our girly craft time was fun. Danielle brought all the supplies to make cute blocks that spelled 'winter'. It was fun and turned out really cute. Thanks Danielle!

My parents got more snow then they had in over 10 years while we were there. It was so freezing though, every day was a high of like 8 degrees, no joke. The snow was so cold and powdery you couldn't do anything with it! But it was still beautiful.

Dang this baby's cute. Can you tell who was the center of attention?

Christmas was wonderful. It always is. We received so many wonderful gifts and got to spent time with our loved ones as we celebrated the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. It is my favorite time of year.

O Christmas Tree

2008-12-15T22:28:00.004-07:00

This is our Christmas tree!! This is the first time I've had a full-sized Christmas tree since 1998, when all my sophomore roomates (at Ricks) went to Star Valley Wyoming to cut down our own tree. Kirk and I have had a lovely little 2-footer for the past three years and we are so happy to have a real tree this year. It's beautiful and it's one of the only things that makes it feel like it really is Christmas!

I love Christmas time. It is my very favorite time of year. I just can't believe it's HERE already! The days and weeks go so quickly in December, as I'm sure you've all experienced. Work is especially busy, as is every part of our lives.. church callings, family activities, shopping, neighborhood parties, shopping, making goodies for EVERYONE.. and finishing up the shopping!! It's easy to get caught up in all the hub bub and forget to leave time for the real reason for the season.

I went to our RS Enrichment a couple of weeks ago, and someone read a message from Elder James E. Faust, from the 2001 December Ensign. It is SUCH an amazing message. You can read the entire message HERE. Here are a few of my favorite parts:

As I look back on that special Christmas over a lifetime, the most memorable part was that we did not think about presents. There may have been some handmade mittens or a scarf given, but I do not recall any presents. Presents are wonderful, but I found that they are not essential to our happiness. I could not have been happier. There were no presents that could be held and fondled and played with, but there were many wonderful gifts that could not be seen but could be felt.

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matt. 25:31, 34–40).

So as we help the sick and clothe the naked and attend to the stranger, we personally give gifts to our Savior.
Among these true gifts are some our family shared on that boyhood Christmas I told you about: the gift of peace, the gift of love, the gift of service, the gift of self, and the gift of faith.
There are so many problems facing us individually and collectively. Yet I have the simple faith that many, if not all, of them can be put into proper perspective by Paul’s sublime message to the Galatians: “Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me”

With gifts such as these, I am sure everyone could feel as I did that wonderful Christmas so long ago when we had no presents to hold and play with. I would not have wanted to trade places with any prince of the world with his room full of toys. The gifts of love, peace, service, self, and faith so generously given made me feel so fulfilled. It made me feel that I must be somebody special to be part of so much love. I wanted nothing besides more of these wonderful gifts that couldn’t be handled nor touched but only felt.

Take a minute to read the whole thing if you can, or share it with your family for FHE. It was just the reminder that I needed to slow down and remember my Savior. I am so SUPER blessed, and I know that everything I have and am I owe to Him.

Graham Crackers n' Milk

2008-11-25T22:40:00.003-07:00

I LOVE graham crackers and milk. I just ate a whole package. Who knows, maybe I was born with an inherent desire for the slushy goodness of milk-soaked graham cookies, or maybe I just picked it up somewhere along the way. Whichever it was, I freely admit my addiction.

When I was a freshman in college I was a pack-a-day-er. seriously. It was the ultimate comfort food for me, and for any of you who knew my roomates, you know I needed a lot of comfort.

I know my brother Seth also shares this love. One time after he was newly married, and again when I was in college, he called me up late one night and said something like "Hey.. what are you doing?.. do you have any milk?" I was like "why? at this hour?" He said "uh.. I was just wondering if you wanted to come over for some graham crackers and milk! I don't have any milk but I do have crackers!" I totally would have been annoyed that he was just using me for my milk... (that doesn't sound bad does it?) but It was actually just the pick-me-up that I needed. Anyway, it was years ago but I still remember it. good times.

The habit has died down to a more manageable level now, but still, I do enjoy a good fix now and then!

Thanks Keebler, you have my undying gratitude.

(for Danielle's peace of mind. I did NOT take this photo.. I borrowed it from Google)

A Visit to Grandma Jensen

2008-11-24T21:45:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid my parents used to take us for a week every summer to see our grandparents (My mom's parents) in southern Idaho. I haven't been to grandma's house in 8 years! The last time I went was just before I entered the MTC. That was the last time I saw my grandpa because he passed away while I was in the mission field. Well I got to go back for a visit a few weeks ago. It was SO wonderful to be back on the farm. All the warm childhood memories came flooding back the instant we pulled into the drive. I got to go with my brother Seth, his 3 girls and Kirk. My mom was there too which made it extra awesome.. Seth and I were like little kids again.. We ran all over the house and the yard, climbed the old trees we used to climb.. and even rode a motorcycle, courtesy of our cousin Hayes! That was definitely a highlight when we were kids. It was Kirk's first time riding too. It was such a blast!

Grandma is so sweet. She is sick with pneumonia right now, which at 92 is not a good thing. She is so frail and it was sad to see her so exhausted. Her sense of humor was in tact though! She told us some great stories as we sat with her in her living room. It felt just like I'd never let all that time pass. I am sad it took me so long to get back there for a visit. And I'm so glad that Kirk could get to know her a little bit. She is such a faithful, fun, amazing woman. She and my mother are so much alike. I just love her.

These are grandpa's old computers. They are ANCIENT. He was on the cutting edge at one point! We used to play games on these old babies. Astroids is the only one I can remember off the top of my head.
We went to visit my grandpa's grave. Like I said, I haven't been back since grandpa passed away. It was really neat to be there at his grave with my mom and some of my family. And I was so grateful to have Kirk there with me to, so that I could share with him this precious place.

Is this picturesque or what? So much has changed on the farm since the last time I was there. A lot of stuff has been torn down, but this is the little bridge over a small canal we used to play on and ride the dirt bikes over.
Grandma always had velveeta cheese in her fridge! I would always take a big chunk and savor it. Kirk thinks that is disgusting but I loved it! And that linoleum is so nostalgic too..

We used to climb back in here and play make-believe whatever. It was this random place behind the house.

I love you grandma and It was so great to see you. You are in my prayers and I hope you continue to feel the Lord's strength and comfort. Thank you for all you've taught me and for raising such a wonderful daughter who is my mother and one of my very best friends.

I HATE Abortion

2008-11-08T09:43:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been really upset with abortion. Well, more upset than usual that is. On the night of the election I went to bed so upset. I couldn't really explain it. The only thing I could pinpoint was that I was really upset over abortion. It just made me SO MAD. For every choice in this life is there is a consequence. Some are good and some are bad, depending on the choice. You make a mistake, you pay the consequence. You cheat, you get caught. You break the law, you pay the penalty. So why in the case of.. you have sex and accidentally get pregnant, it's Oh that's ok, you can just kill the unwanted baby. HUH? How did this happen? How did our society reach this point? It is wrong. wrong. wrong.

I understand that there are circumstances here (rape, incest, life-threatening to the mother), so I'm not talking about that. But even then, I'm sure that decision would be torture. Why would a woman ever make this decision just to rid herself of a mistake? And doesn't she know that she will never be the same? That she is making an even bigger mistake? I don't understand.

I cannot have children. Kirk and I ache with all of our hearts and souls to have a family. That is no exaggeration. And there are those out there who are KILLING theirs. And it's LEGAL. I can't even begin to explain how unfair that is. It breaks my heart, thoroughly.

I Voted Today

2008-11-04T10:56:00.000-07:00

I Have Arachnophobia

2008-11-03T19:33:00.000-07:00

Do you BLAME me??

This unwelcome creature was in our courtyard just outside our front door on Saturday morning. He is the third one we've seen since we moved here. Mommy NO likey.

Have you ever heard the expression 'CURB YOUR DOG?'

2008-10-30T20:47:00.000-06:00

What possesses seemingly normal people to walk their dog in front of your home - stop - and let it POOH at the base of your driveway... and then walk away? I'll NEVER understand it. This is a special treat we get from our neighbors often, and since we've lived here over two years now.. it seems sort of awkward bringing it up.. but HELLO? How is this ok? EVER? I just have to scratch my head over this one. We live on a beautiful street.. lined with doggie doo on both sides. You can't walk down our street without watching carefully where you are walking. I've actually seen the owners reward their dogs with treats after they do their business. All I ask is that you at least drag your beloved puppy across the street into the empty lot.. there's an entire empty lot!! is this so hard? Oh the frustration.

My what a fancy sandwich you have!

2008-10-27T20:52:00.000-06:00

So, have you ever felt like slightly less than an overachiever when you've served your family grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner? I mean, it's not like they're bad or anything, but you have to admit you mostly make them when you're just too tired and hungry to make something else, right? Well.. try serving it THIS way.. THEN we'll see who's the underachiever!

I actually discovered this on accident. I always cut the sandwiches with my spatula while they're still on the grill.. but I usually don't end up cutting all the way through. So when I lifted the sandwich once it actually fell on my plate like this! Now I serve it like this every time. The first time Kirk came to the table and saw his fancy grilled cheese sandwich.. he was like.. Wow.. what's the occasion? :) Of course he had to make fun of me.. but deep down I know he thought it was the coolest thing ever.

You aught to try it sometime, your family will be SO impressed! And you'll all get a good laugh.

I really crack myself up sometimes.

We Put Christmas Lights on our House and Survived!

2008-10-23T21:53:00.000-06:00

We put Christmas lights on our roof last Saturday! It was a little freaky but we lived through it. Our roof is so much steeper than I even realized. I haven't frequented it much I guess. And it is so TALL. So we were a little weary of going towards the edges. Kirk was laying prostrate during most of the process, which was quite funny. Kirk really wanted to put them up this year so we did it! It looks really great. But don't worry, we won't officially turn them on until after Thanksgiving.

That doesn't look scary at all does it!

Happy New Quilt To Us!

2008-10-16T21:31:00.000-06:00

Kirk and I got a new quilt for our bed! I'm So excited. I was given the lovely 90's quilt pictured below when I graduated from high school in 1997. It was our tradition in young womens to make a quilt for all the graduating seniors. I have had this with me for the last 12 years. It has been with me to college, and home for the summers, and on our bed for the first 3 1/2 years of our marriage. I have loved it and it has been my comfort. But I am ready for a new one!

Ta Da!! I really love this quilt. We got it at target. We obviously have a pillow situation.. but one thing at a time right? Someday we will have beautiful pillows to go with it. But for now I'm so excited that it actually hangs lower than 3 inches over the sides of the bed! Yay!

The joy of my commute

2008-10-14T20:08:00.000-06:00

While of course I don't condone what is being promoted.. they sure make me laugh when I hear

them on the radio..

I am NOT ready for winter!!

2008-10-12T22:51:00.000-06:00

This what we woke to yesterday morning (well, this morning too):

And this is what it looked like by the time I'd finished my bowl of cereal (10-15 minutes later). Utah is such a weirdo.

We do have a great view from our house though. We get to see the early snow up close and personal. I'm still not ready.. I don't care how pretty it is. It's October 12 for crying out loud!

Moley Moley Moley

2008-10-10T21:01:00.000-06:00

I had two moles removed on Monday. Maybe this is too much information for you.. forgive me if you find yourself in this category.. But I myself am quite excited about it! And do you want to know why?? Let me share with you a little story..

a few years ago.. nearly three now, Kirk and I were invited to carve pumpkins with my brother Jeremy's family. Alaina was just 16 months old at the time and so super cute.. These are pictures of her that night..

Before we started carving I was holding Laina on my hip while she ate a small pile of raisins her mom had put on the bar for her. She ate a few... and THEN she looked up at me and spotted the mole on my neck. She literally squinted her little eyes and with immense concentration tried to pinch it in her fingers.. no doubt to give it a little taste as it looked no different from her raisin snack.. TRUE STORY! We got a real good laugh out of that. Kirk still teases me about it all the time.

So now, three years later, I've finally decided to just get the appetizing little beauty mark removed.

S'long moley moley!

Construction Area: Hard Hats Required

2008-10-06T19:20:00.000-06:00

CHECK THIS OUT. Do you know what this means? The fireplace has been installed in the downstairs front room and 98% of the framing is done... which means that we are THIS close (my pinchers are like 3/4 of an inch apart) to calling the sheet rock guys!! So exciting! Kirk and my brother-in-law Kyle have been working on finishing our downstairs for a little while now. We moved into our house after many years of remodeling an old house, selling it, then building this one.. and we've just been chillin' for the past two years all wiped out, so it's so fun that we're finally getting motivated to finisher er up! These guys are so handy it's amazing.

Downstairs we have the master bedroom, another bedroom and this sort of formal sitting room with the fireplace. Once we get sheet rock it's trimwork, painting and other details. Still a lot of work but it's so exciting! We get kind of freaked out when we think of the adoption agency calling us and telling us to come and pick up our baby.. and then having no room for them! so this is good.

Stamping my life away

2008-10-03T19:15:00.000-06:00

So, this is what I've been doing for the past two weeks! I had a card workshop at my house last Saturday, then I had a club activity last night. Why I scheduled these two events back to back confuses me. But anyway it was way fun and I LOVE doing it. I'm a Stampin' UP! demonstrator.. cheesy I know.. but for some reason it is really rewarding to be able to create these projects. If I can't create children... I will create beautiful cards... a very close second. :)

Anyhoo.. I get a little rest now from event deadlines.. it takes a LOT of mental power for me to come up with these ideas.. hence the satisfaction when I finally come up with something cute.

Kirk and I are both coming down with the gombu (that's 'sick' in Kirk language)... we've got the sore throats, cough, runny nose, headache, etc.. we're just in the beginning stages really so we're buckling up for a lazy weekend at home with the apostles and our kleenex.. woo hoo!

Maybe Next Time

2008-09-13T20:48:00.000-06:00

Well, I guess I can't very well post that we did in-vitro and not post the results can I? dag! I'm sorry to have to report that our pregnancy test this week was negative. :(

We are sad, quite sad actually. We've been trying to process everything. I finally had a good cry today and now I'm feeling a little better. I've been all bottled up over the past few days, feeling so numb it was almost scary. But I feel better today. We are trying to have faith and be patient and put our trust in the Lord. It's harder done than said unfortunately, but we are really trying! We know that we will be blessed with children someday. Until then, please continue to keep us in mind if you hear of any situations or birth parents looking to place their child for adoption!!

Thank you so much to all of you who have fasted and prayed for us throughout this process and trial. It is hard to describe the aching we feel to have children, but we have been strengthened by you and we really appreciate all the love and support. We are so blessed with wonderful friends and family. Thank you.

Good Times in the Great State of Washington

2008-09-12T22:36:00.000-06:00

Kirk and I took a little jaunt to Washington last weekend! It was very fun and much needed! We flew into Seattle on Friday morning and my parents picked us up. We went down town to Pike's Market and walked around for a few hours. It was quite an adventure. We had to see the guys throw the fish of course, and we ran into BYU coach Santiago (I think that was his name?). He was very nice. There were BYU fans all over the place.. it was great. Then my parents really wanted the experience of eating at Ivar's Seafood restaurant so we hiked forever to get down to the water, then my parents discovered that it was $16/plate and if you know my dad you know that ain't hapenin' :) (love you dad!). Kirk and I don't like seafood so we were kind of relieved. My parents stopped for a little snack at McDonalds (very ironic after the hike to Ivar's) and Kirk and I found Red Robin and we met up and enjoyed lunch on the balcony overlooking Elliott Bay.

It was such a perfect, beautiful day in Seattle. If you've ever been to Seattle on a clear sunny day you know how crazy beautiful it is.

We stayed the night Friday night and then went to the BYU/UW game on Saturday. We helped my parents at the tailgate party before the game, then headed over to the stadium for the game. It was SUPER!! It was such a great game, and there were so many BYU fans that we had a loud presence there. We were sad that our victory is tainted by the so-called "controversial" penalty at the end of the game. But we know that the cougs totally deserved to win that game.

This was our view from our seats at the Husky stadium. Breath-taking!

My brother-in-law, Curtis, was dressed head-to-toe in BYU apparel, but was wishing he could cheer for UW, hence the sign. We got a good laugh out of that.. though we know that deep down he was SO glad to be a cougar that day :)

My sister's baby was blessed over the weekend as well. It was the first time we met her. I LOVE- LOVE her!! She is SOOO beautiful and I miss her so terribly much it almost hurts. She is so sweet.

Clark goofing around.. I could tell he was thrilled to have some visitors at home.

Kirk and I played the Wii for the first time ever. It was SO fun.. we were sore for days afterward. Sad i know. Kimberly and Kirk are playing tennis here. Kimberly is SERIOUS about her Wii Tennis, which made losing any point to the non-tennis-playing Kirk ever so painful. It was entertaining fo sho!
The Moses Lake Fountain.. for the first time in my life (and my mom's and sister's) we walked across this bridge at home and we got these great pics in front of the ML fountain. Yeah baby!

If you've been paying attention to all the photos on our blog.. you can see that Kirk and I really like the shirts that we're wearing. I don't know why, but we always have them on when we have picture day for some reason! Oh well.

Ok, I'm not keeping my word on the short posts. I can see I will be blogging in spurts. That's just the kind of gal I am.

Thanks Mom and Dad and Kimberly and everyone for a great weekend. Wish we were still there!

Summer Recap

2008-08-28T19:41:00.000-06:00

This summer has flown by! It was pretty much over before it even began. Here are just a few (ha!) photos of what we were up to this summer. I promise not all of my posts will be this long. I just have a little catching up to do.

JUNE

My sister Danielle and her son Chase and I hopped in the car to go to my youngest brother Clark's high school graduation in Washington. As you can see this is a very important milestone for him and we are SO proud of him. We had a great time. Clark got a job at Arby's after his graduation.. WAY to go Clark!

Nephew Ryan was born to Kirk's sister Julie. What a cutie!!

We did our first round of in-vitro. Dr Big Bird here was kind enough to get all gussied up to come in the procedure room with me :) It was a well-documented and exciting adventure.

JULY

Niece Baylee was born to my younger sister Kimberly! She's a cutie and I hear she has the longest fingers, toes, legs, and arms on the block! She's gonna play volleyball it looks like! I can't wait to meet her next weekend!

Nephew Noah was born in April, and was blessed in July. Look at that smile! And there's my gorgeous mom.

Neice Ams was baptized! She is such a wonderful girl. She knew exactly what she was doing and she has such a beautiful sprit.

Hot air balloons at the crack of dawn to celebrate the 4th. It's a Larson family tradition and we quite enjoy it. It's the only time of year you'll catch me up at 5:30 a.m.!

We went to Bear Lake with Kirk's whole family. It was a BLAST. We loved every minute of it. I will do another post just on that here shortly. Good times were had by all.

My brother Erik brought his family for a visit and here is a shot of almost all my neices and nephews on my side! we're just missing two. Have you ever tried to bowl with that many chidren? That's entertainment right there!

We went to New Mexico to attend Kirk's good friend Corey's wedding!! We couldn't be happier for him and his cute new wife Megan. Megan was just DYING that she has to have an audience as she kissed her new husband. It was quite possibly one of the cutest things I've ever seen.

AUGUST

Kirk, me, my brother and sister-in-law went to a Brian Regan concert! He's my hero. We laughed ourselves silly. It was so fun.

It's been a great summer. One for the books. Thanks for still reading this.. if you are still reading this! :)

Baby making just ain't what it used to be

2008-08-27T18:33:00.000-06:00

Kirk and I have been trying our luck at In-Vitro this summer. I can't even explain how many wonderful blessings we've received, how many stars have aligned and how much support we've been given. We did our first cycle in June. We were just SURE it was going to work. We knew it... It didn't. We were very sad. Of course this is common, for it not to work, but we just KNEW it would work! So we spent all of July re-grouping, praying, resting our emotions, updating our adoption papers, etc. We wondered why we were so clearly led down this path, hand in hand with our Father in Heaven, only to be so disappointed. We truly didn't understand.

Then our wonderful, kind and GENEROUS fertility doctor gave us a call and offered us the wonderful opportunity to try again using our remaining frozen embryos, at a price that was too good to be true. We truly love that man.

So in August we started our second cycle, meaning I started take a LOT of estrogen, poor Kirk! Today our frozen embryos were thawed. We got a call from the doctor's office at noon saying that he recommended that we transfer the embryos today! (the goal was to have them healthy enough after the thaw to grow them for two more days to give us a better idea of their quality) We hopped in the car and were at the Dr's office an hour later. They transferred 3 embryos of good/fair quality. They say that we have decent shot at getting pregnant considering the quality of the embryos. I am so nervous I just want to go to sleep and wake up when it's all over!!

I have been overcome with fear and doubt throughout this whole second cycle. I think my brain is trying to protect me. But tonight I am changing my tune. I am praying for faith to TRUST my loving Father in Heaven, courage to believe that He will bless us with this thing that we desire so badly, and strength to push aside the fear and doubt. That's not too ambitious is it?

All we need is a miracle!
(break out into song if you'd like.. I did)

So that's my story. We'll see how it goes!

We have arrived

2008-08-26T15:33:00.000-06:00

Yay! we finally have a blog! I know, I didn't get a cell phone until I was 23 either. I'm a little slow. But I'm excited to keep up with friends and family via this very nifty program!