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!

Playing Catch-up!

One of my New years Resolutions is to be more on time with my blogs and more frequent in my journaling. But , until then...





Here's a few pics from the vault. I will try to post a lot this next week and hopefully do a brief overview of the last year with the girls and such. These ones are recent and i will work my way backwards for a bit (or not) we will see.


So here's some more pics from the past month. Brandon and i played Mary and Joseph and Aria was baby Jesus at our ward party. She was NOT a still, silent night- baby Jesus. She was a Hallelujah Chorus Baby Jesus until i let her suckle on my finger. It went well other than that. A lady said to me that Aria was just saying her lines (rather singing them). All in all it was fun. We took our neighbor kids with us and they did pretty good considering the circumstances.

Christmas Pictures!

Hey fans! Here's the pics of the girls i took a couple weeks ago. Christmas went great and i'll post about it again soon, when i get back home. Also, i have a webcam now so if you have an AIM account you can webcam me. I have the same profile/username as this account. It's been fun doing the webcam with my sister, Cristiana. We were able to read stories to each other with our kids, and see everything that was going on in each other's houses. I love it! More later!

Old Turkey!

So yeah, i'm playing catch up with some pics. we had a great Thanksgiving with Brandon's parents and the Fairbanks family, all of which we love. Brielle especially love Talmage!!! He's slightly older than her but it's all innocent. They almost look related. We had great food and the day went well and it just flew by.





Now there's only 22 days till Christmas. It's nuts! It's finally cold here in LV. It's like 34 at night and 50-65 in the daytime. I love carrying Aria around in my slings with a little Beanie on her head(pics of that later). I love getting sweaters out and scarves and things of that sort. I love the smell of wood burning stoves and cinnamon spices too. I am going to craft and bake all week and finish my shopping and projects and just have fun. My goal is to be done by the end of the week with ALL gifts and things for everyone. Let's see if i can do it. Well, in choir were singing the song Somewhere in My Memory, and i love the lines...Precious Moments, Special people, happy faces i can see. Living in my memory, all of the music, all of the magic , all of the family , home here with me. That's what Christmastime is all about! Brielle is getting the santa stuff and is understand the Baby Jesus story and whe you ask her what is Santa going to bring her she says(of course) Toys! I asked her what kind os toys? and she replies with her hands brought to her chest"Bring Bee-L toys!" That's how she says her name. It's stinkin' cute. She loves the chocolate advent calendar and she calls Chocolate- CLOCKLIT! She likes to move her princess rocking chair over to the counter to get treats and when i move them she gets upset but gets over it fast. I'm glad she recently got to put up a tree with Gma Betty b/c i don't know if we will do that at my mom's or if she's already got it done. Well, if you read this let me know some traditions your family does for the holidays. The only ones i have so far is making a gingerbread house, getting an new ornament every year and the gift opening and Christmas story on the eve. We also try to buy presents for a family every year. we did it last year and it was so awesome. Loves to you all!

NOT Decking the Halls this Year!

Hey everyone, So this year we will be going up to Fallon for Christmas and about 6 weeks ago i started fiddling with the idea of not decorating the house, since were not going to be here for Christmas anyways. If any of you have seen how i decorate, you would know that this is a big deal for me. i usually have ThRee TrEEs up in my house, the tallest which is 12 ft. I have swags of garland and lights and ornaments hanging from beautiful ribbons on my drapery rods and it goes on and on. So, as i started toying with this idea, i kept thinking about better things i could do with my time. I thought about the best things i could do and decided that i am going to focus on spending that time making memories with my family and friends, serving others, and making gifts with my hands-with real love put into them. (now, don't think that i don't care for you if you get a store bought item-silly). So, i'm making some jewelry for my girls and sewing them pink taffeta skirts and hairbows and for my friends an nieghbors i will make some white chocolate popcorn! Now, i'm not saying that peopel who go crazy decorating are bad or commercial or anything, i love seeing nice displays, i'm just letting you all know that I'm not decking out my halls b/c i'd rather not clean it up when i get home(last years decorations didn't come down until February b/c i was nauseas with Aria in my belly)!
And this year i just want to focus on my family, service, and what this Holiday really is all about! I am so Thankful that we all have Brother who was willing to be born into the world only live and die for our every sin and sorrow. I truly, don't know where i'd be today without my Savior, Jesus Christ and Our Father in Heaven. Merry Christmas Everyone!

Pumpkin Streusel!!!

This alternative to regular pumpkin pie is awesome! My mother-in-law, Betty gave me the recipe and it was a hit at Aria's Shower. Many people asked for it so here it is.

1 lg. can pumpkin
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (combo of cinn, nutmeg, clove etc...)
1 can of evaporated milk (check your expiration on your milk i blew the first batch by dumping expired milk on my ingredients)

Mix with beaters and pour into a 9X13 baking dish (not metal)

In another bowl, take
1 white/yellow or Fr. Vanilla cake mix
1 cube of softened butter

and crumble together with a fork. Sprinkle the mixture on top of the pumpkin mixture and bake at 350 for 1 hour or until the knife comes clean.(my oven runs hot so it only took 45 mins.) Let cool before serving and top with whipped cream or serve with vanilla ice cream too. It's Delicious!

Flashback! Aria's Day

Hey peeps, So, since i'm not perfect and i can't always do things on time, i will be posting flashbacks to catch you up or just to give you a glance to the past, My friend does these on fridays which i will try to do, but it probably won't always work that way for me. So here's some pics from Aria's blessing and of my haircut too!

Things you should NOT DO! (from my own experience)

Or should a least think hard about before you decide to proceed...

bribe your kid to be quiet with candy

leave dirty diapers where the dogs can reach them

Put breakables in your childs room ( or any room for that matter)

hug someone from behind only to find out, it's not your friend it's a stranger

let your bread rise only once before cooking

Call your siblings the day after they had their birthday and wish them a happy birthday

keep your dog's food outside for the nieghborhood pigeons and crows to eat(crap all over my backyard)

hot glue your finger to a hairbow and clip

make fresh lemonade with papercuts on your hands

put diaper rash cream on your toothbrush and proceed to brush your teeth

get a brazilian wax 4 weeks after you had a baby

show up at the airport a week before the computer says your supposed to fly out

let eggs boil...overnight!

leave your make-up out with a toddler around

leave waffles in the iron for over 3 hours

Crazy eights

Man, this made me think a little.
Thanks, Traci, i need to really be grateful for what i have.

1. 8....Passionate about
my husband
my girls
performing arts
making the world beautiful(or just my world)
Building strong relations with the people i love
Finding people to serve
anything sweet and fruity
making my home a place everyone feels safe and welcome

2.8...do before i die
watch my kids grow up and succeed
finish my family temple work
move to Colorado and live out my days without 114 degree temps.
Visit anywhere tropical with my husband
make yearbooks of my family as they grow
adopt a couple more kids who need loving arms
Leave a legacy for my future generations
rekindle with my lost friends

3.8..i say often
No, you cannot have candy for Breakfast!
do you know why i put you in time out?
put it back, now!
Stop playing with the water spout/toilet/dog water!
I love you, sugars!
I love you, Honey!(for Brandon)
Come here, NOW!
What is it that you want? Say it, don't just point and say THIS!

4. 8 ... i have read lately
Scriptures
Pottery Barn catalog( i don't know why)
Snuggle Puppy i Love you
Curious George's ABC book
My old journals
Conference talks
What to expect the first years(repeat)
Betty Crocker's cookbook

5.8... I could listen to over and over again
Brielle saying i love you, mommy!
My husband giving me a compliment
any and all uplifting/fun music
Aria and Brielle's laughs and coos and giggles
Pure silence accompanied by a few birds singing
rustling leaves in the wind or rain falling
Brielle blowing kisses( she makes the pucker noise really well)
my friends voices when it's been too long since i've talked with them last

6.8.that attract me to my best friends
they are all so unique
they accept me the way i am, flaws and all
they tell me the truth even if it hurts a little
they are all talented
they are all beautiful( I mean it too) I don't have any ugly friends:)
they've been with me when i needed it most and given me space when i needed it too.
they are easy to converse with even when it's been years (or months)
they live earnest lives

7.8... i have learned this year
get make-up out of the carpet
nurse Aria
trust in my body (birthing)
to make a pouch sling
save money and budget (thanks Cachay:)
Slow down at times and speed up at others
to be a better cook
blog

8. 4 peeps who haven't done this...
Rachel F.
Meghan J.
Jenny C.
Sarah S.

What a DAY we're having!!!

So Yesterday morning the stunt pulling started early. i was nursing Aria and watching Finding Nemo when Brandon took Brielle upstairs for a bit. He came back down stairs a few mins. later but i didn't hear Brielle following behind him. five mins. go by and i ask him where Brielle is and he replies" she's playing upstairs" Well, that wasn't quite accurate. This is what she was doing...


She is crying b/c Brandon was dressed for work and wouldn't give her a hug in his nice clothes. So, she was bawling! She took a huge chunk of Bronzer, eyeliner and mascara and lipgloss to her little face and hands. This was just the start of our day. I wasn't even mad at her but, all i kept thinking about was my last comment to Traci L. about how i am looking forward to this day, NOT! Man, it came too soon. Maybe Lynnie rubbed off On Brielle via the internet, i don't know.
By the end of the day Brielle had pulled small tiles off one of our deco balls in the Living room, pulled out fake fruit out of the china cabinet and began ripping it apart, broke a candle holder, skipped her nap, cried five times and kept asking for milk or candy all day long. She was a handful to say the least. On top of that Aria waited to take her big nap until almost 5 o' clock. So, i practically got nothing done. (It was one of those days Hayley talked about in She's driving me crazy)

Now the good parts of our day. Brielle taught herself how to do a sommersault. Aria ( at age 3 months and 1 week) amazingly learned to roll over already! She did it about 7 times and i recorded it so, i'll try to figure out how to put it on our blog. And we got to visit with new parents Tori and Matt and baby Kaleb. Dinner was delicious and when 8 rolled around the kids went off to bed, i went to the gym while Brandon folded laundry and all was at peace in my world again. I have a great husband and wonderful girls and although times are crazy, i wouldn't trade them for the world.

here's Brielle being her cuter self.