Mother's Day

Words cannot describe how I felt today. The past 3 years on Mother's day have been SO hard. I never went until last year. I had this overwhelming feeling last year that it would be my last mother's day not being a mother. And it was. I feel so grateful that I was chosen by 2 wonderful birth parents and by my Heavenly Father to become a Mother. I could not be happier! Robby has seen how hard it has been on me for the past several years so he over compensated. :)

These are my pretty flowers. He picked them out all by himself! :) Usually I jump in and tell him which ones to get but I was busy picking out flowers for someone else. :)

Our new Flip Video camera. I'm so excited to start taking video and posting them for all of you! I know my parents are excited too!

I have been begging for the Glee CD on iTunes, so Robby bought me some gift cards. Some of these will probably be his too, but they were still all pretty in the package. :)

And probably my favorite gift ever, a Willow Tree figurine. It's called A New Hope. He picked it out while buying a gift for our wonderful birth mom and he couldn't have picked a better present. I am so grateful to be a mother and I'm so grateful for Kayla and the love that she has as a mother. And I'm especially grateful for Grace and the joy that she has brought into our home. She has only been home with us for a few days, and already my life has changed for the better. She brings such a sweet spirit into our home and we love her to pieces!

News

I promise I will write the full story but since I can't keep the secret any longer, I have to tell.

Grace Michelle was born 5/4/2010 at 12:08 pm. She was 6 lbs. 14 oz and 20 inches. She was placed into our arms today by 2 loving birth parents who we love so much. We feel so blessed and humbled by their decision.

Temporary Home

Kayla shared this on Facebook. Within seconds I was sobbing. Such a beautiful song and beautiful message.

Guess...

I thought it would be fun to have a contest guessing when Baby Girl will make her official arrival and how big she will be when she arrives.

Her Estimated Date of Delivery is May 6th. 3 weeks and counting...

So leave a comment with the Date, time, weight, and height that you think Baby Girl will be.

Kayla is having that wonderful pregnancy glow right now and we had fun watching Baby Girl wiggle around in her belly last night.

On a side note, thank you all for praying and fasting with us this past week. We have felt so much peace and hope. We truly feel our Savior's love in this process and would do it all over again in a heart beat!

Vacation of a Lifetime

I know you are all dying to hear about our fabulous cruise down the Mexican Riviera! Well, I won't disappoint! :) The pictures are HORRIBLY out of order but I'm too lazy to fix it! :)

This is Robby looking oh so macho in his helmet and PINK bandana! Everyone had pink but me.

On our little trip, we stopped by this canal. Our guide told us that there were alligators in the water. So of course we get out and take some pictures. I didn't want to get off of my ATV so Robby came by me to take pictures. Check out my AWESOME orange bandana!

Here we are without our yucky bandanas and helmets and enjoying the nice breeze. This was pre-sunburn! The only day we got burned was in Mazatlan and I'm definitely peeling from that day! This was our second shore excursion and was FABULOUS! We went ATVing through the city, agriculture, and on the beach. We got stuck once in the sand and had a few laughs.

This is in Cabo San Lucas. It was our last stop and by far the prettiest. We went on a little water taxi to view the sites and go to a little private beach that you can only reach by boat. When we got in the taxi, it was completely surrounded by other boats. We had to push them out of the way to get out. It was quite an experience.

Here's me on the other side of the boat. Completely covered up to protect my sunburn from the day before.

This was one of our at sea days. It was INSANELY windy but we wanted to see the sun set while out in the middle of the ocean. It was definitely worth it!

This is us back in Cabo on the water taxi. I loved that we had to wear life jackets but we didn't even snap them on. Something to hold on to if we get thrown overboard...

This was on the second to last night. It was formal night. I squeezed into my Homecoming dress from my Junior year of High School and Robby wore his trusty suit that he has worn since his mission. (He wore it on our wedding day too). This was post meal and towards the end so our bellies were definitely full!

Not the clearest picture, but this was our first night on board. We got semi-dressed up to go to eat. Once we finally find the right head waiter to cater to our Vegan-ness, dining time was probably my favorite. We sat with complete strangers and just talked. I'm pretty shy so it was a very interesting experience but definitely my favorite.

Back in Cabo (we took the most pictures there).

This was the ship right next to ours. I didn't get a close up one of ours, but it was even bigger than this one! :) We were both in awe, seeing as we've never seen a cruise ship in real life before. It was huge! We got on board and looked around and got lost several times. We eventually figured out where we were going, but it took us several days. By the end, we were still finding places we had never been.

A pirate ship that we saw. I thought it was pretty awesome!

On our little water taxi we saw sea lions. We got so close to them, it was pretty sweet. There was a cute little baby in there that they were protecting.

Me on a rock formation, terrified to go any higher.

Robby chillin' on the water taxi in front of our cruise ship. It looks tiny from how far away we were.

Once a gymnast, always a gymnast. Notice my toes are pointed. Doing handstands on the sand is VERY difficult. And gets your hands messy...

Robby at the top of the rock formation that I was too scared to climb up. He had a great time trying to climb down from there.

Our feet in the sand. The water was FREEZING but we got a nice exfoliation on our feet. They were soft for days.
Robby and I enjoying "Lovers Beach" in Cabo.

In the same spot in Cabo. The waves were HUGE behind us.

Like I said, the water was cold. I loved that they caught it on film!

What beach picture album would be complete without the heart around our initials? Robby added the footprints around the outside. Lol.

Back on the water taxi. The rock formations in Cabo were seriously breath taking!

This is Los Arcos. Every few years, the sand raises up here and people get married. Definitely keeping that in mind for a vow renewal... :)

We also went Zip lining in Puerto Vallarta but don't have our pictures for that yet. We had so much fun on this trip. We have never taken a vacation this long and have very rarely gone on a vacation without family or friends so it was a nice change of pace. It felt like no time was passing in the real world and we were just caught in a time warp. If only that were true, we would do this daily! :)

What's in a Name?

Ever since I was about 15, I have been picking out names for my future children. They have gone from anything and everything! I wanted triplet girls and name them Rylee, Tylee, and Mylee (like that wouldn't be confusing!). I had all of my children have Greek Gods names (we were studying it at the time and I loved it). I planned my children's initials based on the boy I was dating (which changed a little too frequently). Then when I married Robby, I began to plan names "officially" for our future babies.

Now that we are adopting, it seems so close. A name is so permanent (though not according to my parents who decided to legally change my name after I was a few months old). We have been throwing around a few names and Kayla (our awesome expectant mother) suggested to let our friends vote! So that is what we are doing! Leave your vote in the comments and we'll let you know the winner! (Robby does have the FINAL say though). :)

1. Olivia Michelle (nickname Livvy)
I LOVE the name Olivia! I babysat a girl named Olivia and she was my little buddy. She was the most darling thing and I always wanted to name a daughter Olivia. My middle name is Michelle and so it's pretty special to me. :) It was originally my first name but when my parents decided I was not a Michelle, it moved to middle name status. Kayla's littlest sister Kathren LOVES Olivia and I just can't bring myself to break that girls heart!
Downsides- Olivia is SO common right now. My best friend is naming her daughter Olivia and she is due in June. I know I hated having 3 Angela's in my class so I quickly changed to Angee.

2. Michelle Aurora (Ella)
I love the name Ella. It is so sweet. I love that our daughter will have a grown up name (Michelle) and a baby name Ella. Now Aurora is special for a couple reasons. It is from Sleeping Beauty and it means "Goddess of the Dawn." Sleeping Beauty's parents also had infertility problems and named their daughter after the Dawn because "She filled their lives with Sunshine." Michelle means "Gift from God." Kayla's middle name is LeDawn so we would also be naming Baby Girl after Kayla which is very important to me. I see how much Kayla loves her daughter and what better tribute is there than for her to have part of her name with her daughter for forever.
Downside: I can't think of any! :)

So there it is. Please help us vote and let us know your opinions! :)

Best Family Ever

This is the best family in the entire world. :) This is our expectant mother's family. Kayla is in the pink shirt in the middle. She is surrounded by her 2 brothers and 4 sisters. We are SO in love with this family and couldn't imagine a better family to join with us in an open adoption. They are like a second family to me now and I love them dearly! I always wanted a little sister and now I have a few (and a couple more little brothers)! :) And their mother is seriously the most amazing woman in the world. She told me this last week that she already considers me one of her children. I feel so blessed to be loved by this family and to be able to be linked to them in such a wonderful way! Adoption is truly a wonderful thing!

It's Good to be Green!

In our quest to be Green, we have started using more Eco-friendly products. We got rid of all of our chemical cleaners and bought safer, nicer smelling, and just as effective "Green" ones. We also got rid of our old shampoos, body washes, and makeup, and traded up. :) I got to trade my old Maybelline makeup for 100% Pure. And after waiting the few days it took to arrive via Fed-Ex, I'm so excited to show it off.

This is the makeup set and few other things I got.

I am totally in love with this box! Does your makeup come like this? Mine never did!

I had to take a picture of the ribbon. It's pink and I'm SO in love with Pink right now. :)

This is the Foundation/Powder. It's so pretty!

This is the concealer and Mascara. The Mascara actually came free with my purchase! How awesome is that? And I didn't have to go to a Department store to get it! :)

The inside of the pretty box! There is lip gloss, 2 eye shadows, Blush, a double sided cream Eyeliner, Mascara, and 2 makeup brushes!

This is the inside of the pretty blush. I love when they stamp the logo in powder. I'm weird, I know.

And this is what I love. The cute little mouse in the corner that says "Cruelty Free." Doesn't he look so happy?

This is just a little more about the company. I love that they re-use packing material from nearby companies! And everything they have is either Vegan or vegetarian if they use honey. They use all food ingredients. It makes me feel good to be helping the environment and helping my face! :)

In other news, HAPPY 22nd BIRTHDAY to Kayla tomorrow! She's seriously so awesome and hope she has a MAGNIFICENT Birthday!

Baby Girl's Room

We are working on getting Baby Girl's Room ready for her arrival. So I decided I would post some pictures of the work in progress. :)

This is the curtains in her room. These are the only curtains in the house that Robby actually put up. :) We know that Baby Girl will just be adored by her Daddy so it's pretty fitting.

This is the dresser that Robby and I have been putting together all weekend. I can't even imagine doing it with a 9 month belly so I have some sympathy for all you preggo moms attempting to do this.

These are some of the things we have gathered. The place mat is from Robby's mom. Once we told her how we were decorating, she started collecting. :) The two pictures are from a Gift Bag that I found on Clearance at Target and then the Winnie the Pooh with the heart is a card from my sister from Valentine's day a few years ago.

This is Baby Girl's little pals. It took a little bit of effort to find all of them, but we did and I just love them. Hopefully Baby Girl will love them too!

This is the whole crib with all of her pals. Mickey is in there too but he's sleeping. :)

These are all the bows and flowers that I made last night. I also made the headbands there too. We had a blast and I'm so excited to put these on Baby Girl when she shows up.
This is all the supplies and Ribbon. I'm excited to make more bows when I have spare time. :) Which time is feeling short right now but then I think of how much less I'll have when she arrives.

This is my Beautiful model Zoey. All of us were borrowing her to see if our bows/flowers looked ok. I think that she looks GORGEOUS in this flower/headband I made. And isn't she just the most darling this in the world? (even with the crumbs on her face from snack).

This is the first thing I have bought specifically for Baby Girl. I found it at Hobby Lobby and just couldn't resist. We are SO happy that Baby Girl will soon make her entrance and she will be so loved by so many people! But I don't think anyone's happiness quite compares to her Daddy. This little girl will definitely have Daddy wrapped around her baby finger. :) And I wouldn't want it any other way!

It's Official!

We have been chosen by the most magnificent young woman that is planning to place her baby with Robby and I. We are so beyond thrilled, I can't even describe the emotions that we are feeling right now. It has been a long road to get to where we are but I wouldn't change it for anything in the world! A lot of you don't know the full story, so I thought I would share it here. :)

We "officially" began the process to adopt in August of last year. We went to our first meeting with LDS Family Services and were excited to get started. We started the mountain of paper work and wondered if it would ever be finished. We started telling people more that we were going to adopt. I told everyone. :) I blogged about it, I told my friends, coworkers, strangers on the street, I told the Young Women in the ward, I was just so excited! On Halloween, we went to a party at the Nolan's and we were talking to our Bishop and he told us that there was a young woman in the ward that was pregnant. He wanted to know if we would be willing to talk to her about adoption. We quickly said we would (I tell everyone about it anyways). Robby and I both talked about what it would be like to have a young woman place with in our own ward and we were both a little hesitant to even think about it.

It finally was in November (after a few times that we thought we were finished, but there was yet ANOTHER paper to fill out). We were so excited! Then, we find out that there was a miscommunication and our paper work wasn't turned in until almost a month later... In the mean time, we attended a Family Support Adoption activity and sat next to a couple who had their baby placed through a young woman in their own ward. I asked her about it, and she said that she loved it! She loves having her close, they are good friends, and the only hard thing about it, was that the young woman didn't come around very often. I immediately began to think of what it would be like to have our birth mother be that close. I was instantly comforted and realized that everything would work out perfectly.

On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, we got a call. I still think about this call often. It was the young woman in our ward and she wanted to talk to us about adoption. Robby immediately became the rationale one and said that it was probably her just wanting to ask about adoption, but I was convinced (and hopeful) that it would be something more.

We went over to her family's house. We instantly fell in love with her and her family. They are such wonderful people! The mother had actually gone through infertility and adopted 4 of her 7 kids (including the young woman who is expecting). Already we had a bond. She wanted the best for her little grandbaby. They all love their grandbaby and wanted her to have a mom and a dad. But, they also wanted to be involved. So I bore my testimony about open adoption. I told them that we wanted to have the whole birth family involved because there can never be too many people to love a baby. We left hopeful and already I felt like this young woman was supposed to be in my life. I wasn't 100% sure she was going to be OUR birth mother, but I knew she would play an important part in our lives.

Time went by, the young woman was still a little hesitant about adoption. She loved her baby so much and couldn't imagine placing for adoption. We talked a few times, but were unsure of how it was going to move forward. So I was just her friend. I talked to her at church, I brought teh family muffins for Christmas, I called her and emailed her to see how she was doing, I was just there for her if she needed me.

In the mean time, we heard from a few potential adoptions but nothing really stuck. We were still hopeful but (being me) I was becoming impatient. I asked the young woman if she wanted to go to the movies with me. She did, and we had a blast! We saw Dear John (and cried through most of it) and then we went and made a Build a Bear together. We talked and laughed and really got to know each other better. I don't know about her, but I felt so comfortable with her. She is a doll and I seriously love her like a sister.

She started going to the Birth Mother group at LDS Family Services and we saw such a light come into her. She talked more about placing. It still wasn't official yet but I was even more excited. We talked more and sat by each other at church.

Then, we met the Birth Father. We were TERRIFIED to meet him because he hasn't been too ok with the idea of adoption. But we met with him, the expectant young woman, and with her counselor. We talked to him and asked him a few questions and just tried to be really friendly. We are still not sure what he thinks of us, but we hope it's good. :)

I was still scared to ask her if she had chosen us. I didn't want to be impatient but it's my nature. :) So, she had an appointment for an ultrasound and I asked her if I could come with. She told me she'd love if I could come so I met her there. We got to see her beautiful baby girl and I was instantly in love. Baby Girl wouldn't show her face, but I saw her little heart and knew that she already had mine.

Finally, Yesterday, I asked her if I could blog about her. (Weird I know but I wanted to tell the whole world about her). Then she told me that she told her caseworker that she had officially chosen us to be her baby's parents so they were going to take us off the It's About Love site. My jaw seriously dropped. I was in such a state of shock. I couldn't believe it.

So, it's official. Baby Girl is due sometime in May (she is measuring bigger than her supposed due date of May 24 but more along the lines of May 5th or 6th). Our amazing young woman is Kayla and she is seriously the sweetest, most loving, funniest person you could ever meet. We are so humbled and thankful that she has chosen us to raise her Baby Girl and are so excited for this journey. There are still a couple more months and still a lot of things that need to be done, but we couldn't be happier!