Saturday, December 29, 2007

Poor Boy!

Poor Carter was diagnosed with Eczema not long ago. While we were in Mexico, we couldn't seem to get Carter to stop scratching his face and other itchy parts (under his knees, his ankles, etc.). We're not sure if it was worse than usual because of the cold temps or because of being outside more than usual or what. As soon as we had phone service coming home from Mexico, I called and got CJ an appointment at the doctor's office. At his appointment the next day, we found out it was nothing more than infected where he had been scratching, and that with antibiotics and lots of prescription and over-the-counter moisturizing, we could get his skin back to normal again. This picture was taken the day after we'd taken him to the pediatrician and started him on antibiotics. We've also, at the doctor's recommendation, begun to give him Benadryl at night before bed to help keep him from scratching at night so that he has a chance to heal. Poor boy!

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Thursday, December 27, 2007

Mexico Meet & Greet

Who was there:

Joe and Claudia
(Shane's Uncle and Aunt)







Grandpa and Grandma H
(Shane's Paternal Grand- parents)







Jon, Monica, and Pratt
(Joe and Claudia's oldest, her hubby, and their little guy)







Dan and Brittney
(Joe and Claudia's 2nd and her husband)




Aubri, Paige, and Brad
(Joe and Claudia's younger three)





Ben
(Paige's boyfriend)









And Us!

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Mexico Overview

Saturday December 22nd, 2007:
As we were packing up the car, Carter ate some berries from a bush outside. After a chat with poison control, we made a stop at a local nursery on our way out of town to ensure that he would be fine. Plant was identified as Heavenly Bamboo which is apparently harmless. Caravaned in 3 cars and arrived, if I remember correctly, around 3:00 pm. Dan and Brittney followed a bit later on after she finished work. We were in charge of dinner that night -- tomato tortellini soup.

Christmas Pajama Handout ensued.

Carter fought sleep in our room shared with Dan and Britt that night. Claudia and Joe were kind enough to let us move his porta-crib into their bathroom for the duration of the trip.

Sunday December 23rd:
We guessed well and arrived at the church building in town about half an hour before church was to begin. We walked in to hear the sound of Christmas carols being sung for the prelude. A very full meeting house that day (standing room only in the halls) with all of us gringo visitors.

I was so frightened that Carter would catch sight of the guy wearing the eye patch and bust out his best pirate imitation. Carter can "Aaarrrgh" with the best of them. How did we end up going right past him like three times without Carter seeing him??? I'll tell you how -- fervent prayer.

Sunday was the day that the men were in charge of dinner. We had delicious tin foil dinners (after hours of waiting for them to cook to perfection)!

Monday December 24th (Christmas Eve):
After Dan and Brittney's muffins and smoothies breakfast, this day was designated as the day to go into "town." This included a visit to the local "aquarium," bargaining with the vendors in the marketplace, and purchasing fresh shrimp and fish at the fish market.

Upon our return to the house, Shane and I made Pina Colada Chicken salads to go along with the Salmon and the local fish and shrimp that Joe grilled up. Everyone just LOVED this meal. The shrimp was something our mouths had been watering for since last Christmas when Joe grilled us up some of that local shrimp.

The only thing that could top such a fine meal was the multi-course fancy Christmas Eve dinner Jon and Monica prepared for us. The table was set spectacularly with lots of candlelight and we enjoyed our salads, pork chops, asparagus, and dessert all while sharing great conversation inspired by the questions we each found underneath our place cards. Picture perfect (see pictures in Christmas Eve post below).

Tuesday December 25th (Christmas Day!):
We planned to wake up really early, but didn't. Brad eventually got us all out of bed, but since we ate a hearty Christmas breakfast prepared by Jon and Monica before getting to the presents, Brad actually fell back asleep and we had to wake him up again to open presents!

Carter LOVED both his Etch-a-sketch and his puzzle that makes animal sounds when you put in the pieces.

I took family pictures of Joe and Claudia's family that day. Actually, Jon is a photography professor, so he set up the shots and I pushed the button! What a good-looking family!

Dan, Brittney, and Ben eventually had to leave to get home. Brittney had to work the next day and Ben had to fly home the next day.

Overall, a nice, relaxed, low-key Christmas day.

Wednesday December 26th:
From this point on, we pretty much just hung out and enjoyed what time we had left at the beach. The weather had warmed up a bit from when we first arrived and we had a lovely day in the sand.

Power went out that night (and the generator would not be turned on again until the next morning), so we had a bonfire on the beach and about froze our tooshies off! Luckily, Joe had made us some hot cocoa when we came inside. Kind of fun to go without power, using candles and flashlights "survive!"

ThursdayDecember 27th:
That would be today. We spent the morning packing up and we left around 11:00 am. We just got home. Great trip! Thanks for making it possible, Joe and Claudia!

Oh, and when we got service on our phones again coming into the states, Shane had 4 messages from poison control wanting to know what happened to Carter from eating those berries so that they could close out the case...oops.

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Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Last day on the beach

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Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Christmas Morning and Day in Mexico



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Christmas Newsletter 2007

Hello and Merry Christmas to all! 2007 has been a busy year for us. We were thrilled to be able to finalize Carter’s adoption once he was six months old. In February, we made the trip to Utah for the court finalization, our temple sealing, and Carter’s baby blessing. We were happy to have so many of our friends and family members there with us. Thanks to those who traveled and made the effort to be there. We especially loved that Grandpa H was able to perform our beautiful sealing ceremony.

In March, Shane’s parents were able to visit us while on a business trip and we initiated them by taking them to IKEA and to the Chandler Ostrich Festival! The day they arrived, our realtor contacted us to let us know she thought she had found the perfect home for us. We took Mom and Dad H to see it after we picked them up from the airport, not knowing at the time that it would end up being exactly the right place for us!

We closed escrow in April and after a week of painting, we moved into our new home. We love it! We are much closer to Shane’s work and to church, schools, shopping, etc. We are in the same ward now as Shane’s Uncle Joe and his family and we feel so blessed to be welcomed into an amazing area and ward. Everyone adores Joe and Claudia, so it seems we’ve been especially warmly received. Shane has been called as assistant scoutmaster and as the proclaiming the gospel chair in the Elder’s quorum. Megan is serving on the activities committee under Aunt Claudia and loves that!

We had a very fun summer. The first week of July, we had a blast at the Foho Family Reunion in Midway, UT. Carter began walking the following week and we celebrated his first birthday July 28th. In August, Megan went to her friend Karen’s wedding in Lake Tahoe while Shane and Carter drove to Oceanside, CA to meet up with the H clan. Megan joined them a day later and we enjoyed a week at the beach and Sea World before we ended up in Redlands, CA for Shane’s brother Tyler’s wedding. Shane was Tyler’s best man and the wedding and festivities were so nice. We visited Megan’s brother, Chad, in San Clemente, CA for a couple of days before heading back home to AZ. The following weekend, Shane went to Utah for Tyler and Emily’s reception there. Megan’s mom came to visit the first week in August and we had a good time trying to keep cool!

We did our best to celebrate Autumn in Arizona. We took a day trip and then a weekend trip up to Payson, AZ a couple of hours north of here. It was much cooler in the mountains and we needed the break from the heat! Megan and Carter took a trip to Utah for a week at the beginning of October. We loved the cooler weather and the changing leaves. We also went to the Pumpkin and Chili Festival at a local family farm that is known here in AZ for having the best Fall festival in the state. We picked out pumpkins, ate some great food, got lost in the corn maze, and caught the fireworks on our way out. It was around 90 degrees when we got there but cooled off a lot after dark. Still, at the end of October, we were still wearing shorts comfortably!

We were glad to join family for Thanksgiving in Utah this year. It was really cold for us acclimated Arizonans, but we made it through! We had such an amazing time last Christmas in Mexico that we are excited, thanks to Joe and Claudia, to be headed back again this Christmas! We are looking forward to spending our Christmas in the sand and enjoying great company.

Our most exciting news is that we are once again approved and waiting to adopt through LDS Family Services. We didn’t think it was going to happen quite so soon after Carter came along, but we are extremely grateful to know that the Lord is in control and that everything will work out according to his timing and wisdom. Please think of us if you know of any birthmother who is considering an adoption plan for her baby.

We wish you all a peaceful holiday season as we remember and celebrate the birth of our Savior.

Much love,

Shane, Megan, and Carter

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Monday, December 24, 2007

Christmas Eve Dinner (by Jon & Monica)

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Puerto Penasco, Mexico on Christmas Eve

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