Over-reactor!

Okay, so the last few days have been a blur b/c Aria hasn't been sleeping through the night, as of late. Then, she all the sudden has this RuNnY FlemMy Nose/throat things and she CoughS like she choking to death. Of Course, i freak out and assess the situation. I pull out my ear thermometer( so worth the 20ish bucks, i payed for it) No Temp! And her runny nose is clear stuff. So, i talk to my friend, she mentions RSV and i automatically assume the worst and monitor her temps like a hawk. So, by the end of the day, i go and get a humidifier and speak to the Pharmacist about what i should do. The next night was terrible and the day was another blur of sobbing and whining and snot. Then, i stuck my finger in her mouth for her to suckle on and WHaT do I feeL??? TWO BOTTOM TEETH! DUH! Like, i did this with one kid already. Shouldn't i know not to assume the very worst? Man, we moms can be so paranoid sometimes. SO, soon, i will post pics of the teeth, when she's a little less cranky! I swear by Tylenol and Teething tablets and cold washclothes right now!

Mitt or get off the pot!

Okay, i just had to do something funny with his name. Brandon said he should have a new campaign slogan"Mitt's the S***" just to see what all the LDS peeps would do. Okay, on a serious note. He came to town and he won in NV and we got to see him and Brandon shook his hand and my friends got tons of pics with him holding their baby(not the one pictured here). Were rooting for him, despite what might happen in the next few weeks in the upcoming caucuses. Let's see what the rest the states do. I'm more interested in what AZ does! I'm not a political buff, it's just interesting and i'm actually an independent voter.

Yes, i do know He is out of focus. Is that Tom Green behind him, In focus??? Obviously, it was crowded in Claim Jumper (where we met him) So, so much for the really great pics! Go Mitt!

I couldn't write enough

words to explain how much i love my family. i love my little Brielle and here's a bit to share with you about her and us.

We tried for 3+ years and were about ready to do the foster-adopt program with the state. Then we went to the temple and got the impression that we should adopt and do it soon. So a few days after that day we went to our bishop and he sent us a referral to the LDS family services. we went and met with brad S. the day before Thanksgiving in 2005. We started filling out our paperwork and a couple weeks later Brad says to us," you need to hurry and get your papers in. there is a birthmom who needs to see your profile. You guys are what just she's looking for. More happened that night but I'll keep it short. We met family of this birthmom at a Christmas party and we were amazed how God puts us in peoples paths for a reason. In fact, this was the birthmoms aunt , who was living with the birthmom while her house was being built.

We called Brad the next day and finished our papers in the next three days and that Tuesday, the birthmom got to see our profile and she took ours home with a couple other peeps files and fasted about us. Meanwhile we went up to Fallon for Christmas and didn't hear anything until we got back from vacation. Another counselor called us and said, She wants to meet with you in 5 days, is that okay with you? I said, well, what do you mean? she said, she picked you guys and wants to meet you in person.

we were crazy the next few days and when we met Brielle's birthmom, I got this amazing feeling, like i had known her before. At the end of our meeting she said" just so you know, i'm not going to change my mind, unless i have to hand you the baby myself"

A few days later, i met up with her and her mom for lunch and 2 days after that i went to the ER and found out i had a miscarriage. I was approx. 13 weeks. No wonder why i had contractions. that's all i have to say about that. It was horrible and i feel for everyone who has endured such pain.

The next morning the B-mom called and said she was going to the hospital b/c the doc said she's ready! So, the next morning, we got a call and were invited to come to the hospital to see this new baby girl. I just couldn't believe they even wanted us there. I felt like an intruder and an honored guest all at once.

We were surrounded by her family and the birthfather's family and they were all so nice and kind and it was amazingly heart-felt. I can only fathom how the Lord must have felt with His Son.
After the visit and the one the next day we had to wait 4 more agonizing days until placement. BUt of course, it was worth it. When we went into the room with all the birth- family, we saw this little baby girl dressed in her white blessing dress and we cried endlessly. The birth grandfather (who is also a bishop) gave this tiny girl a blessing and asked Brandon to stand in the circle. I don't know if, i've ever heard am ore spiritual blessing full of unselfish love, ever. (i'm wiping my tears already- writing this). he blessed her with so much heart and said something like "even though you were only in our lives for a short time, our love for you will always be eternal". Brandon's knees buckled and he was overcome with emotion. he was crying for so many other reasons than i was. For he too is adopted!

After the blessing and some pictures of red faces and swollen eyes, we exchanged gifts and the birthmom came over to us and placed this tiny girl in my arms! I lost it! I admired this young women for the strength she had which i did not possess.
She placed a little tiny bracelet on her and we all hugged and took a few more pics.


We all departed from that meeting and our life has been changed ever since.
It took us 8 days to name her. We just wanted to make sure what we picked was really her name. She was an easy baby who slept thru the night at 5 weeks old. She barely cried that much b/c we were always holding or slinging her.
7 Months later,and another month after our official court date, we were sealed as a family on Oct, 17th 2006.

I felt like i was on a cloud all that day. she was a doll in the temple and kept looking in he mirrors playing peek with her reflection and our reflections. It was so cute. she was all smiles. (for more on that look back to some of my first blog entries)

She was so much fun to tote around and so happy and playful. she developed pretty fast at her doc. appt.'s she was always on the long and skinny side.


(Some of these pics are out of order-Sorry)

She taught us how to be good parents, safer drivers, and more patient. She has taught us so much more than that.


She's always loved the camera and the water too!

Here's a few more pics throughout the last two years of this little angels life, so far. This was on our adoption court day.

Up at wheeler farms Oct. 2006

The following Easter in her sweet little dress.

She loves being a big sister!


we couldn't be happier with our big girl! She is truly a blessing in our lives!



I only wish i could put every good picture of her on my blog!

For more information on adoption go to:
www.ldsfamilyservices.org
or www.adoption.com

She's Already Two!

Brielle turns two today_ Jan. 12th!
We have enjoyed the last two years raising her, loving her and laughing almost everyday with her. She is Our little angel and she came into our lives so unexpected!



We are so honored to be her parents and are grateful for her birthmother's decision to place her with us. We love her birth-family and not a day goes by that i don't think of them. She is the highlight of our lives and she made me a mother.I love being her mom, even when i feel like my ship is sinking in the sea of stress and tears- i still love it!



She is a daddy's girls to the core! But she asks for me when things are serious. I love making her laugh and making her happy. Brielle often says- you, happy, mommy? Or- i'm Happy, mommy! She loves everyone and has taught us to be more loving and accepting of others.



She loves flowers, baby Aria, chocolate, coloring, pretending, and music. She loves to look at books and sing songs and spin in circles and do many other things!



She makes us truly Joyous! Happy Birthday, Big Girl Brielle! we love you more than you'll ever know!

P.S. i have her baby pics to post but i have to convert them so i can upload them. More on Brielle to come!

Tid-bits!

So i will be posting pics from our trip as i edit them. Here's some of Brielle in the snow in Fallon. She loved sledding and she didn't even care when she ate it, if we pulled her a little too fast.



This is our gingerbread house we built this year. Tirza, Brad and myself did it in one night! It was actually going to be a two story house but i kinda didn't spray the pan that i had melted hard candy in for the stained glass windows. So, it stuck and i ended up cutting the rest of what i had and this is what we made. I love the Frankford marshmallow characters. They made the house have some umph!


I hope to post again this week some more great pics of our vacation and Brielle's last two years! Her birthday is on the 12th! I also just turned 26 on the fourth! I'm not sure how i feel about that. I had a good birthday though!

Christmas in Fallon!

I feel like i can't write enough about my 2 weeks in Fallon but, i'll give it a shot. I was sad to leave but excited to sleep in my own bed. I had so much fun with my family and friends and wish i could just blink and be where i want to be everyday. That way i could keep all my relationships growing and thriving. But since that's a dream that will have to wait for the afterlife, i will just post more. I felt like i didn't get to see enough of my mom and Carl. I could never have enough of them though. I loved how Brielle would get up every morning and be so happy to see the horses named Buster and Delisha. She says it like Busser and Ba-leesha! She loved feeding them and Brielle and Aria were good sports with the many shopping trips to Reno. Aria slept alot and Brielle learned how to amuse herself with her new sketch pad toy or she would play games nd sings songs to us on the way up to Reno. I got to have a girls party where we did pedicures and got chair massages by Roger- the massage therapist. And a few of us did facials too(provided by Tirza:). This will become a tradition when we come to Fallon. I just wished it could have been longer.
I got to see most of the Nutcracker performed by the Fallon Dance Studio. Kiersten looked fabulous and so did all the little angels and snowflakes and everyone. I remember my friends taking on those rolls. Now they are mothers-different kinds of angels.
I got so see Traci and Erin and their beautiful kids too! It was so nice to visit with these ladies and see how we've all grown and changed for the better. In high school, we were all so very different. Time has shaped our personalities and our spirits in such wonderful ways.

Christmas was wonderful and we all got great gifts for others and from others and Brielle really liked opening her presents this year. But all the things weren't what made it great, it was just being with my family and chilling and goofing off. we stayed a little longer than we thought we would be/c it finally snowed! Brielle got to sled rather, be pulled by us on a sled in the yard. She was a trooper and didn't cry when she would fall off face first into the snow. She would always ask us to pull her faster and i had to laugh so much b/c i remember doing things like this when i was a kid. She was adorable. The next day i went snowboarding with Brad, Tirza, Lottie, Shem, Quinn, Julia and Joe. It was the first time i've left Aria for that long. She did fine and boarding was awesome about 85% of the time. I had the hardest time getting up and had to resort to getting up toe-side every time.So i would have to flip my body around when i landed on my bum. I just don't have the same core strength as i did before having Aria. But after the first run, it was heaven! I love snowboarding and i find it so invigorating and refreshing followed by two days of soreness!!!
well, this is all for now. Here's a few pics of some sweet kiddos!