The weekend

Yesterday we went to the home show at UVU. It was fun, as always. We always get free tickets and go. Jason and I love it because we get some good ideas and some good information. We love doing projects to improve the house. (See the blog post entitled "Yay! They're back!" to see Jason's latest project.) The kids love it because there is candy everywhere and a bouncy house. (The kids don't get a lot of candy usually.)

We went out to eat afterward. We had to wait a bit to be seated at the restaurant we wanted to eat at, but that wasn't a problem. It was a beautiful day, so we had a ton of fun sitting in the sun, and the kids were able to play outside for a bit while Jason and I relaxed on a bench together.

Today, one of the boys in our class taught the lesson, and he did such a good job. He was really prepared, and he had great points of discussion. After we got home from church and the kids had a nap, we planted some seeds for sprouting. It will be great to get our garden back in order this year, since we didn't do a garden last year. Even one year off made a huge difference! But we are anxious for our little sprouts, and the kids were really excited to be helping and playing in the dirt inside the house.

We planted two types of tomatoes and some bell peppers. We also did some peas, but you aren't supposed to sprout those necessarily. We just had a couple extra spots, so it will be interesting to see the difference between the sprouted peas and the peas we planted directly in the garden.

We also started writing thank you notes to those that are willing to carry our adoption cards with them in case they have a chance encounter with someone that might be looking to place for adoption. It was exciting to do, because I kept thinking, "Maybe one of these cards will be the lucky one that brings another child into our family!" Jason and I have had a hard time trying to walk the line between feeling like used car salesmen trying to sell our family and feeling like we aren't doing everything we can to help move us into the next stage of this adoption process. It's so hard to know how to approach this sometimes. I'm glad to have something to do as I wait for our family to change forever. The Lord is teaching me to have more patience, which is a good lesson to learn, but a hard one to learn also.

In case you missed my post several months ago when I posted this picture before, here is a picture of our adoption cards! :)

PLEASE contact Jason or I if you'd be willing to carry one of these cards around in your wallet on the off chance you'd bump into someone that might consider adoption. (You can email us at JasonAndAshleyAdopting@gmail.com.) And as I've been telling everyone as I give them these cards, even if a woman experiencing an unplanned pregnancy isn't looking to place the baby for adoption, still send her to itsaboutlove.org. They have some amazing services that they provide for any person faced with the challenge of an unplanned pregnancy: counseling, meetings with other women in the same situation, etc. all for free! I know this time will be challenging for them, no matter their decisions about the future. I just want to know they have all the encouragement and support they can get. Most times when you are discovering the most about your potential, the growth process is difficult. If improving your inter strengths and talents were easy, we would all be perfect by now.

(And the woman does NOT have to be LDS to receive these services, though all adopting couples on their site are temple recommend holding members of the LDS church that have been married and sealed together in the temple for at least 2 years, have passed emotional, mental and physical capability screening, have passed a background check, have passed a home inspection, have documented infertility, are financially stable, are legal in the U.S., can provide health insurance for the child when they receive a placement through adoption, and have 2 or fewer children. They are pretty picky about who they let into the system, because they want the birthmothers to feel comfortable about their choice.)