Friday, February 28, 2014

It's coming!

There are a lot of steps in the adoption process for a couple hoping to adopt. It starts with a realization that you won't be increasing the number of people in your family without some outside help. Luckily, we got to skip the roller coaster ride that is fertility treatments, since that isn't our problem. We never even tried to have another child, because we knew how bad that would be for my body. We prayed about it, but the Lord knows what is best, and he knows that we are supposed to be taking other avenues besides getting pregnant.

So then there is that first meeting, the introduction to adoption. Our first meeting was the first week in June. It seems like ages ago. Again, we were lucky; we knew right away that adoption was what we wanted. There wasn't a question about it after that first meeting. I think it helped that Jason and I have discussed "when we adopt" since before we had our first child. I've just watched it bless so many people, parents and children alike. I wanted to join this awesome club that I had witnessed from the outside. Not to say it is easy or right for everyone, but I know it's right for me.

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

My gymnast

Seth has been in gymnastics on and off for a couple years. I put him in a 3 year old class to let him try it, then was disappointed with the way the class was run and pulled him out after a few months. We tried other sports, and when Seth asked if he could do gymnastics again, I found another gym and stuck him back in. He was bumped up to the boys only class pretty quickly. It is a pre-level 1 class. This is him in his boys only class. I didn't get a picture of his highest climb unfortunately.
I then pulled him for soccer in the fall. He kept asking when he could go back to gymnastics, even though he had a ton of fun in soccer. He has been back in gymnastics for 3 or 4 months now, and he just got bumped up AGAIN! He is officially in a level 1 boys gymnastics class. I feel like this is a real sport now, as opposed to just being a recreational activity.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Valentine's Day 2014

We don't do as much for Valentine's Day as for some of the other holidays. It's usually just a matter of putting together valentines for Seth's preschool class before hand, a nice dinner with a few small presents on Valentine's Day, and a date between Jason and I on another day. Jason and I haven't taken that date yet, but it's in the works.

These are some of the little toys the boys got for Valentine's day.
 Pink and red!

Kai's 3rd Birthday

Kailand turned 3 years old! Happy Birthday, big boy!
Our rule for birthday parties is that we only have one on odd years (when they turn 5, 7, 9, etc.) We do this so their baptism is the special part of their birthday when they turn 8. It also gives us every other year, all the even years, to spend as a family on their birthdays, including their 16th year as they start driving and dating, and 18th when they are getting ready to leave the house. We feel these are particularly important times to stay connected as a family.

Well, Seth had a birthday party when he turned 5 years old, and he pointed out to Kai that 3 is an odd number, so he should also get a birthday party also. This is one instance where our kids are too smart for our own good. ;) So Kai got a birthday party. We just couldn't argue with their logic.

New Year's 2013-14

After Christmas I desperately needed some time off. We packed up the kids and headed to Salt Lake City, Utah. I know that is just in the same state and doesn't seem like a real vacation maybe, but we stayed in a hotel, meaning we had a pool and a maid, and we got to eat out instead of me doing the cooking. We had a certificate for a free night at this hotel, so we only had to pay for one night, which made this trip totally do-able! Yay! (We got the certificate because the hot tub in our room was broken when we stayed there for our anniversary. That was a great trip with just the two of us.)

We went to City Creek center and let the kids play on the playground there.

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!

We had some wonderful talks in sacrament meeting today, but I missed the end of a really good talk because we got there just as the meeting started, so we were in the folding chairs in the back. It's almost impossible to be quiet enough back there. The chairs are loud when they scoot on the floor or if you tap them in any way. The kids slide on them and fall through the back. Dress shoes make a ton of noise when you're walking on a gym floor. Every noise echos just a bit. Anyway, we ended up in the foyer for the last bit because it was so noisy, but the kids weren't being bad. It really wasn't their fault. Usually if we have to take them out of sacrament meeting, it's because they were naughty. If they're naughty enough that we have to take them out, we go home and put them down for naps instead of letting them go to primary or nursery. Because they love primary and nursery, this is a HUGE blow to them. Thus, they are usually really good in sacrament meeting! Today was no exception, despite ending up in the foyer.

We then went to Sunday school. Jason and I co-teach the 16 and 17-year-olds. We also have some 18-year-olds that like our class and stay until they leave on their missions, go to college, or join the military. Today, Jason had prepared a lesson about not judging unrighteously. It was such a good lesson! I think we really got through to them, which is such a good feeling. This has been my favorite calling for a few reasons:
1) I get to teach with Jason! This has been our first calling together since we were married!

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Swim

We went swimming today. Now you know what I look like with absolutely no makeup. It was really fun, and it tuckers us out every time. I love swimming. I was a lifeguard and swim teacher for 4 years from the time I was 15 to the time I was 18. I also taught water aerobics. I worked at 2 pools and a water park. I swear I was part fish in a past life. (A mermaid maybe? That would be awesome!) Other than the swimming, today was such a lazy day because we stayed up late last night playing board games with friends (who are also looking to adopt!) We played Scripts and Scribes and Incan Gold. We love board games!

Friday, February 21, 2014

Christmas 2013

So we always start off Christmas Eve with a crazy dinner of all our favorite finger foods. This year we had spinach artichoke dip with pita chips, meatballs, white chicken chili (which was supposed to be a dip but ended up being more of a soup), cinnamon bread, two flavors of little wienies, and my homemade egg rolls, which are way better than any egg roll you can get anywhere else.
We then open a themed gift. Last year we got blue plaid pajama pants. This year we all got Superman stuff! I picked Superman this year because everyone used to say Jason looked like Superman. ;) Yeah, he's pretty studly.

Seth got a shirt and flashlight.

Tulips?

My tulips are coming up! What? It's February! I'm afraid a frost is going to come through and freeze them all. :( My trees and bushes are budding also. Crazy. Jason made awesome fajitas for dinner and a neighbor gave us gluten-free cookies for doing a favor for her. (Yes, Jason and I have gone gluten free. I'm trying to relieve my arthritis a little and Jason is just being crazy supportive.) We also went to a friend's house and let the kids play while we talked. I love having friends close by. And I got to hold her adorable 4-month-old! :D That's really it for today. Maybe I should write the Christmas blog today. Hmmm....

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Awkward conversation of the day

Kai: Mom, do I have nipples?
Me: Yep.
Seth: Wait, do I have nipples?
Me: Yes, everyone has nipples.
Seth: Why did Jesus make
me with nipples?
Me: Because we are made in His image. He wanted us to look like Him.
Seth: So Jesus has nipples?

Thanksgiving and December 2013

I know it's really late to be posting about these holidays, but I didn't do it, and I have some amazingly cute pictures that I want to share, so I'm going back and correcting my mistake of not posting.

I don't have any pictures of Thanksgiving. I know: epic fail, right? If Jason took some with his phone I'll come back and post them. We went to my youngest brother's house for Thanksgiving. We all brought something so it wasn't a burden on anyone. Jason LOVES to cook the turkey each year. (Seriously, if he isn't assigned the turkey for the family function, we eat turkey there and then he cooks one when we get home, too. Not that I mind; his turkey-cooking skills are awesome. Mmmm... it makes me want turkey just thinking about it!) Our children got to play with cousins and we got to play board games, table tennis, etc. with my family. I'm terrible at table tennis, but I gave my brother a good laugh with how hard I tried!

For black Friday, we all stayed home until about lunch time. Then the girls went shopping! It was a blast to have some girl time with my mom, sister, and sisters-in-law. I finished my Christmas shopping that day, which was amazing.

That Saturday we went to a football game. I bought tickets for Kai and Seth even, because I didn't want them to think football was just a TV show since they'd never seen it in person. It ended up being the most boring game I've ever seen in person. We left early. But the boys got to see football, we got vendor food, and it was at least an experience.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Breathe.

Yes, it's been awhile since I posted last. Things got crazy, both in our personal lives and with adoption. But we're back! :D (This post may seem a little disjointed as I go. I'm trying to post about all the things that I found fun or exciting in the last 3 months that I won't be writing a whole blog post on later.)

We had our home inspection today which was exciting and nerve wracking. It was all very laid back and easy, so I don't know what I was nervous about. We did have to step around a huge cardboard fort though to show our caseworker one of the rooms in our house. Yes, we built a huge cardboard fort.

It was fun, and the kids loved it.