Spotlight Saturday - One big brother with experience and another ready to learn

Please take a moment to get to know Kyle and Shelby and their two little guys, Kaden and Bosten.

You can find out more about them and contact them by visiting their adoption blog:

http://kyleandshelby.blogspot.com/

Kyle & Shelby, Kaden & Bosten

we LOVE adoption.

Adoption.

We love adoption and how we have been blessed by the miracles of adoption! Adoption has always been such an important word in our family! My (Shelby's) dad and aunt were adopted. We believe that choosing adoption is a personal and complicated one, both for birth parents and adoptive families. It brings people together and creates relationships that would never come about in any other situation. Adoption is a beautiful process that allows the Lord to create families in a very unique way. It has been an answer to our prayers and we have no doubt that the Lord is very much involved in placing babies with families. Our two experiences have been amazing and we have such love and respect for our boys' birth mothers. We love our kids SO MUCH and we want them to have siblings. We wish for them to be (somewhat) close in age so that they'll have the opportunity to grow up together and be best friends.

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I'll be a Sunbeam for Him!

This boy is way too grown up to be in nursery, right?

Carter moved from the nursery to the primary for church this year. Shane and Megan had been some of his teachers for the last year and a half, so we were curious about how he'd transition to primary. Trading toys, puzzles, stories, and snacks for sitting in a chair with his arms folded can't be an easy transition for any three-year-old boy.

Once we found out who his teacher would be, be breathed a sigh of relief. We knew he'd do great with her. He loved when she stopped by the day before his first class and dropped off this fun balloon. It survived a good week's worth of abuse from our little guy (and the ceiling fan).

He's doing great!

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Spotlight Saturday - Logan is Excited to be a Big Brother!

Kerry and Miranda, and their little guy, Logan are a happy Utah family hoping to grow.

You can find out more about them and contact them by visiting their adoption blog:

http://kerryandmiranda.blogspot.com

Kerry, Miranda & Logan

Even before Kerry and I were married, we had always talked about how we both wanted to have a large family with several children. We had also talked about the possibility of adopting and how we would love to offer a home to as many children as we could provide for. After several years of not being able to get pregnant and several visits to doctors and failed procedures, we decided to begin our adoption journey.

In the fall of 2004, we were so excited to find out that we had been selected by our birthmother to adopt her baby boy. The baby was due in February and so we had quite a few months to prepare for his arrival. We had such an amazing few months getting to know Logan's birthmother as we exchanged letters. We also had the privilege of meeting with not only her, but her family members as well. It was so great to see how much our families had in common and to discuss the hopes and desires our birthmother has for her son. We feel so blessed to have the honor of sharing with our son, the many wonderful people who love and care for him.

We know firsthand the wonderful blessings that come through adoption and are so excited to welcome another little miracle into our family and home.

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Support H.R. 213!

Recently, I ran into a teaser ad (weakly disguised as a public blog post) from an adoption matching service that stated:

ADOPTION TAX CREDIT GOING AWAY IN 2011. ADOPT NOW IN 2010 to take ADVANTAGE OF $12,170 TAX CREDIT.

It is, at best, misleading to simply say that the Adoption Tax Credit is going away this year. Yes, the current credit that is available to families who adopt will be expiring at the end of 2010, so there is a possibility that there will not be a tax credit available for adoptions that are final in 2011 and beyond. However, my first thought on reading that the credit was going away was that the bill to keep the credit available must have been voted on and rejected. This is not the case. H. R. 213 is a bill proposed to repeal the sunset (expiration) on the credit to make it available beyond 2010.

This is a good opportunity to find out if your representatives support this bill and to contact those that have not yet signed on as cosponsors. With the magnitude of the placement and matching fees charged by agencies and facilitators, many hopeful adoptive families would be unable to fund an adoption without the availability of this tax credit.

(The following is courtesy of the R House. View full blog post here)

Help Make the Current Federal Adoption Credit Permanent by Writing to your Representative Here is how: Find the name and Washington, D.C. mailing address of your Representative and Senators at www.congress.org (enter your zip code in the "Get involved" box). To find e-mail addresses, click through to the Senator’s or Congressperson’s Web site.

Next, log on to THOMAS (Library of Congress) to find out whether your Congresspersons are already co-sponsors of the legislation. Here is how:


On the THOMAS opening page, under “Search Bill Summary and Status,” search by bill number for H.R. 213. Then click on “Bill summary and Status.”

(Click to enlarge.)

On the page that comes up, click on “Cosponsors,” “Text of Legislation,” or “All Congressional Actions” to follow the progress of the bill.

If your representatives have not signed on as co-sponsors of the bill, send them your request that they do so. Tell them how important the tax credit was to you when you adopted your children, or how much you and other families you know are counting on it to be available in the future.

Act today, your efforts make a difference.

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A Great Kid's Song About Adoption!

I stumbled on this song thanks to some friends from Twitter. You can listen to the song and get the download by email from the author's website (it's not on iTunes). Hope you all enjoy it!

You start with hope
The wait can make you cry
Unanswered prayers
Things turn, you wonder why

The road can take you where it wants
Sometimes you have to just let go to hear life's song

It's meant to be
It was written in the stars
For us to see
A little angel to be ours
We're a family
We'll tell you where you came from
But you were born from our heart

Faith lights your path
Then one day lets you in
Inside the dream
Of something never seen

The beauty of your little smile
Each little sound you make
Takes our breath away

It's meant to be
It was written in the stars
For us to see
A little angel to be ours
We're a family
We'll tell you where you came from
But you were born from our heart

©2009 music & lyrics by ray andersen

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Call for your questions

We get questions about adoption nearly every day -- regarding how we feel about it, what we know about it, how it works, etc. We have been blessed with many new friends, experiences and opportunities that have taught us MUCH about different aspects of adoption in the past as well as today. We didn't know a whole lot about adoption before we started on this road together, but we've come a long way. We aren't too private about too much around here, we aren't real judgmental and aren't easily offended (as long as people are respectful) by the questions people ask. We can talk your ear off about all things adoption-related, so we'd love to open this post up as a forum for questions. They can be about the adoptions of our children or adoption in general. If you are embarrassed to post your question for all to see, please feel free to ask us via e-mail instead.

We'll follow up with a Q & A post answering your questions.

Much Love,
Shane and Megan

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Adoption Success Story - Baby Addilynn

With all the ups and downs involved in the miracle that is adoption, at times it feels like we hear about the downs more than the ups. We love to see adoption success stories, and baby Addi's is a great one. Her birth mother, Brittani, placed her with Daren and Shannon last week. Addi will enjoy a wonderful, open (albeit long distance) relationship with her birth mother from day one. We're jumping up and down with joy for all of them! You can jump over to Daren and Shannon's blog, too, and see what all the fuss is about.

Congratulations baby Addi!

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Help Forest's family adopt his sibling!

This is cutie-pie Forest.

From Jan. 29th to Feb. 1st, a silent auction will be held at http://farnsworthadoption.blogspot.com/

The proceeds will go toward helping our friends, Forest's parents, be able to afford the costs associated with adopting Forest's biological sibling (due in February). You can help by bidding, donating items/services for the auction, or by donating to the account indicated on the site. Thanks for your support of a great family!

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mini home makeover

We always have our eye on wish list items -- things we want to get for the house but know we can wait on until we can get a better deal. We frequently check Craig's List and other sources for these items. A couple of the things we have been watching out for went on sale this week and we finally got to splurge a little. No buyer's remorse here in the least!First of all, our living room rag rug was one of our favorite purchases ever...three years ago when we bought this place. At this point, it's seen much better times. There is no question we used it up and wore it out, on both sides in fact. If you've seen it recently, you know the rug pad is showing through in spots and the colorful fabric is deeply muted by three years of heavy, daily traffic. For about the last year, we have been looking to replace it, but could never find something we liked as well for an affordable enough price. Several months ago, I found a very similar rug from the same source we purchased the first rug -- Crate & Barrel Outlet. We watched and waited as the price came down lower and lower. Finally, after Christmas, it went over 60% off and we pounced. Happy day! We love it even more in real life than in the pictures online! I sort of wish we would have bought one for our master bedroom now too but, alas, they sold out the day after we ordered ours.

IKEA had a big huge sale after Christms and over New Years weekend. We happened to be in Utah a year or two ago when the MALM collection went on sale during the holiday season, so we couldn't purchase what we wanted since we weren't at home. We've been watching them ever since and they went on sale finally! We purchased two of these dressers (in black) for our bedroom that also double as bedside tables for us. For the first time (after 8.5 years of marriage), I feel like a grown-up person with my own real-life dresser!

We also had been keeping an eye out for a new headboard. We had even toyed with the idea of making our own upholstered one, but weren't sure when or how that was actually going to get done with a million other projects on deck. When we this on clearance in IKEA, my heart jumped and I fell in love!

Last, but certainly not least, we decided on new bedding. We picked out our first bed in a bag set from K-Mart as newlyweds. I still adore everything about it except it's age. It's deep, warm, red/sage/gold, paisley yumminess was exactly my style. Just like with the living room rug, I wasn't sure I'd ever find something I loved as much. However, just like the living room rug, it began to get ridiculously worn. We can see the mattress pad through the sheets. And so it's time, and this is what we have decided upon.

And so a mini home makeover is in the works. Pictures to come when it's all put together!

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December Wrap-up

Okay, so obviously the craziness that was December sent us spiraling into oblivion. Obviously. But we've returned! Never fear! Usually if we get behind, we go back and catch up with each post dated chronologically, but we'rs so far behind that this time we're just gonna post December catch-up in one lump of a post so we can move on with the New Year. Here goes!

I spent a good part of the first half of December creating hats, flower clips, and hair bows to sell at my cute friend Jenny's Boutique in the Barn. I didn't do incredibly well at the boutique, considering what I put into it, but I had lots of fun. I have a lot left over to sell, so coming soon, I will be opening my own etsy.com shop called Ruby Jane Boutique. Thanks to Cynthia at The Design Loft, I have a logo and everything. :)

I was pleasantly surprised to see this sweet picture hiding in the December file. Then I remembered Shane took it while Ruby slept on my shoulder and my heart swelled with LOVE!

Isn't she magnificent?

It got pretty cold (for Arizona) in December. We actually put our sweatshirt hoodies on. ;)
Oh my cute, right??

In December, all four of our parents came to visit and to meet baby Ruby for the first time. Here's Grandpa Russ with the kiddos:

We already shared one picture of Ruby in her white dress on her blessing day, but we can't get enough of her. :)

We all love Carter's birth momma (and Ruby's too, or course)!

Carter in his new r house shirt.

This is Ashley. And Ruby, this blog's personal diva.

I met Ashley on my fourth birthday, I believe. That was the day my family moved from Utah to California and onto the same street as Ashley's family lived. She was two years old at the time. :) She quickly became my bestie/BFF. :) We liked playing dress up a lot. Bonus picture: Me, Tawny, Ashley sometime in the 80's

We were pretty much attached at the hip for the next 15 years until my family moved back to Utah and I went to BYU. One a year later, she came to BYU too, and then we even shared the same major and took classes together.
LOVE her to pieces.

Ashley gave me the best gift ever and came to visit and to be here for Ruby's sealing and blessing. Carter adores her for sure. Ashley is a Kindergarten teacher. I wish she could be his teacher when he starts Kindergarten in a couple of years. He would be in love! It made me so happy and comfortable having her here. We even got to have a girls night out shopping and eating! (Thanks Shane!) I love how she and I can always pick right up where we left off, no matter how long it's been. And I also love to listen to her stories, especially the ones about boys! ;)

This isn't the greatest picture, but it's the only one we've got. This was Christmas Eve dinner over at Joe and Claudia's. Thanks to Jon and Monica, we enjoyed yet another gourmet fabulous Dec. 24th dinner. Beautiful presentation and yum, yum, yummy food!

And best of all, we got to see Santa and "Mrs. Santa Claus" (as Carter called her) after dinner on Christmas Eve!
We can't believe December came and went so quickly! Same goes for 2009.
We wish you all the happiest New Year for 2010!

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Spotlight Saturday - A Happy Colorado Couple Hoping to Adopt

Please take a moment to get to know Mark & Tiffany, a loving Colorado couple.

If you know an expectant mother who is considering adoption, she can find out more about them and contact them by visiting their adoption blog:

http://markandtiffanyadoption.blogspot.com/

Update: Congratulations to Mark & Tiffany! They adopted a girl in March!

Mark and Tiffany met at a church function in 2003 and became quick friends. After several months of pestering, Mark finally convinced Tiffany to go on a date with him. The tables then turned, and after a year of dating, Tiffany finally convinced Mark to marry her! We have been married since 2005 and we are still in love like the first day, and are best friends.

Mark is an easy-going guy who likes spending time with family and friends. He enjoys sports, but particularly likes playing tennis and swimming. During the NBA season, he loves going to basketball games (Go Nuggets!). He loves music and enjoys playing the guitar and singing. Mark spends his Sundays with the little children in our church, so that their parents can go to Sunday School. He loves blowing bubbles with them, coloring with them and most importantly, teaching them about Jesus. Mark works in our local emergency room, in the Materials Management department.

Tiffany is a fun-loving gal with a great attitude towards life. She likes spending her time cooking and baking. She enjoys inventing new recipes and keeping Mark well fed and happy! Tiffany also enjoys making crafts and decorating our home to match the seasons. She teaches the 16, 17 and 18 year old girls in our church about how to be strong and smart women, so that they can succeed in their future lives and families. She works part-time for Mark’s dad as a secretary for his business in his home, which creates an excellent opportunity to bring our future children with her to play with Grandma and Grandpa. Tiffany also runs her own business making wedding cakes and candies.
We can't wait for our future child to become a part of our large and loving extended family! There are already lots of cousins who want to play! Our dog, Queso, has tons of energy and does so well with kids. He is gentle with them, and he loves running in circles with them! We are sure that he is looking forward to having a new little friend in the home.

We know that a child can't ever have too much love, and we are comfortable with an open adoption. We would love to send letters, pictures and updates, and we would be comfortable with receiving updates from you too. We are willing to explore a level of openness that is comfortable for everyone.

We are excited to grow our family, and can't wait to experience parenthood! We truly love children and we are eager to have them in our home. Thank you for learning about us!

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Spotlight Saturday - Roman Is Ready to Be a Big Brother!

Please take a moment to get to know Spencer and Wendy, and their cute little guy, Roman.

You can find out more about them and contact them by visiting their adoption blog:

http://www.spencerandwendy.blogspot.com

Update: Congratulations to Spencer & Wendy! They welcomed a baby boy to their family in July.

Spencer and I have always enjoyed spending time together. Whether it is on a trip, a day up the canyon, or just spending a little time together at home. We love long weekends where we can just relax together.

Every year we go to California for the 4th of July for Spencer's family reunion. It is something we both look forward to every year. Last year as we were driving to his Grandma's house we were almost to her house and I realized how much I loved his family. I felt like I was going home.
Some of our favorite trips have been just weekend trips. We love to take a long weekend and go to Moab, Mesa Verde, Flaming Gorge, or even just up the canyons for an afternoon.

We love playing with our Dachshund/Terrier dog Brodie. She has been a part of our family for 6 years and we love her so much. Most days as Roman wakes up from his nap, she is excitedly waiting at the door to greet him.

Since Roman was born we have continued doing all our favorite things with him. We hike, snowshoe, and most importantly just love spending time together as a family. We look forward to doing many other things as a family.

Portraits courtesy of Kim Orlandini.

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