Newborn Amelia

Ready for the big reveal of Amelia's newborn photo session? I'm so excited to share.

Kim is one of the sweetest people I have ever met. And OH. SO. TALENTED. And sweet (did I mention that??). I can't believe we really only just met in November for the first time in real life. Feels like we've been friends for much longer. Feeling blessed for so many reasons these days, but right this moment I feel especially blessed to be a momma of three (which still hasn't truly sunken in) and to have dear friends like Kim. If you live in Utah, you might need her info. She's amazing!

Now, please, click on this and go drink up the beauty of my baby girl as recorded by sweet Kim.

Photos taken on December 1, 2010

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Merry Christmas 2010

In order to save some time and money this year, we wanted to share our Christmas card with you here on the blog. We wish we could send them to you all and we wish you the merriest! We're so thankful for our blessings (including friends and family like you)!

Front:

Count Your Blessings Christmas 5x7 folded card

Shop Shutterfly for beautiful photo Christmas cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Inside:

All photos by Kim Orlandini Photography

We wish you a very merry Christmas
and a happy new year!

All Our Love,
Shane, Megan, Carter(4), Ruby(1), & Amelia

As I mentioned in my Dear Shutterfly post below, Christmas cards/newsletters are an important tradition for us. Do you send out an annual letter or card? What are some of your other favorite Christmas traditions?

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Amelia's Adoption Story: Part One

For us, this chapter of our story started in May of this year (the week of Mother's day) when we received the news that Carter's birth mother, J, was unexpectedly expecting. She wanted to know how we felt about adding to our family. We were honored and filled with joy that she would consider placing another sweet babe with our family. We already loved J so much (and her wonderful family, too) that it was hard to imagine our love and respect could increase. Although baby number three was suddenly coming sooner than expected, we looked back on all the years of collective searching and waiting we had done before Carter and Ruby each came into our family, and we immediately felt a huge amount of gratitude and humility for the obvious blessings of this situation.

Next, we waited to find out the baby's gender. We eventually spilled the beans about expecting here. There was my The Luckiest post that followed the initial announcement and discussed being chosen again so soon. Then there was this one about the background to the story. This post followed after we continued to get a lot of questions. Finally, we learned of and announced the baby's gender. We would have been delighted either way, but for some reason we felt a sister would be fun to have so close to Ruby. We were thrilled to find out we were expecting a girl!

We anxiously anticipated baby girls due date of November 23rd. We planned to drive to Utah a few days before her due date and were excited that our plan coincided with the Thanksgiving holiday. Most of our family lives there, so we looked forward to getting to spend Thanksgiving together with them for the first time since Carter was a baby.

As things progressed, it looked like J's doctor might want to get baby here sooner than the 23rd to prevent high blood pressure becoming an issue. Then I had the opportunity to apply for the Oh Sweet Sadie Art and Gift Show that was to be held the second week of November in South Jordan, Utah. To be honest, I didn't think there was any way I would make it in, but was desperate to make some money to help with our adoption expenses, so I caved when the fabulous Lindsey (aka Mrs. R) suggested I apply. Well, I made it in, which meant we had to end up leaving November 6th to head up to Utah.

Sidenote: The show went okay, but wasn't necessarily successful money or stress wise for all I put into it. I still am really grateful to have had the opportunity though, and for me it was absolutely worth it just to get to spend time with the lovely (inside and out), sweet, and amazing women (Kim, Leisha, and Lindsey) of
The R House Couture!

So we ended up being in UT almost three full weeks before Thanksgiving. Each day we got closer to her due date I got more anxious. We texted back and forth with J and she said her mom would call as soon as she went into labor. We lost my phone for a time, then after I found it, we lost Shane's phone (still MIA). I was all over my phone once I got it back -- looking at it constantly and waiting for it to ring. Kind of funny that when the phone FINALLY did ring the day after Thanksgiving, I missed the call!! I saw it a few minutes later and quickly called back. I was in panic mode. Especially when Jolene didn't answer for several rings!

When she did answer, Jolene explained that we had a healthy baby girl that had been born the previous day, on Thanksgiving day! She said J still wasn't feeling very well, and her caseworker was out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday anyway, but would be back the following day. We planned to give her another day before we went to the hospital. Jolene sent us pictures via cell phone right away so we could see baby girl's beautiful face. She said:

Our sweet little angel is here. Born November 25th 1:46 pm, 8 lb 11 oz, almost 19 inches. Tons of hair, and gorgeous! She is a very good eater. She was born hungry.

Here are the pictures she sent:

Oh my goodness, just look at how big she already looked! We were blown away and so excited to meet her, to hold her, and to hug and visit with J, Jolene, and the rest of J's family. I was sure I wouldn't be able to sleep that night!

To be continued...

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Without further ado...

we would like to introduce
Amelia Lucy
Born on Thanksgiving day
8 lbs. 11 oz.
nearly 19 inches long

photo taken on Dec. 9th - two weeks old
8 lbs. 12.5 oz. and 20.75 inches

I can't believe it's taken us this long to get a post up officially announcing her arrival! We got clearance to come home nine days ago, and since arriving home one week ago today, we have just been taking our time getting used to being a family of five (what?!) and trying to help a certain newly established "middle child" feel comfortable in spite of this new addition. Oh yeah, and sometimes we get a little sleep here and there. More details to come, but now I must go snuggle our little angel.

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Lullaby For a Birthmom

Beautiful tribute. We remember our children's birth parents and pray for them every day. There is so much love in adoption. Beautiful.

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What everybody wants to know

Me - circa the mid-80's

This is gonna sound kind of dramatic to some of you, but to others it might totally hit home. Before we were blessed to be parents, I felt sometimes like a human rendition of Swiss cheese -- all holey and empty. I was born to be a mother. Since I was a little girl, I have never wanted to really "be" anything but a momma full-time. I had a roommate in college who got really mad at me one time because she couldn't believe I didn't want anything more for myself that "just to be a mother." Recalling her exact words makes me want to shudder a little. I can't think of anything more difficult than motherhood, but I can't think of anything more rewarding either.

Me with my own mother - circa 1985

Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs in my field, since the payment is pure love.
-Mildred B. Vermont

When someone who was born to be a mother is forbidden to get pregnant and told that doing so will likely end in fatality, the room begins to spin and voices turn into echos. Hot tears flow. It feels like the world has ended. As with any large trial in life, it feels as though humility clobbers you smack dab in the middle of the forehead, and you crumble to your knees. A coincidence that you end up on your knees? I think not. God's all encompassing grace and love reach out and offer you a hand. Sometimes you take it and sometimes you choose to wallow a while before you decide to get up and take a step into the dark.

While walking the dark path, one step at a time, sometimes there are bright oases of light and warmth that urge you onward. Sometimes, you even see a light in the distance. When journeying along the path of adoption, you might hope eventually to arrive at that light-filled place where miracles happen and dreams come true (or like Katie in the movie Horton Hears a Who describes, "In my world everyone is a pony, and they all eat rainbows, and poop butterflies.") -- for us that dream place is called parenthood. We're even okay with the fact that the poop won't be butterflies!

Some days, you might decide to stop and ask "are we there yet?" again. You might have to stop for directions. Then, you might finally get to the point where you learn to appreciate the journey, and have joy in it even. For us, that was when we finally seem to get the call, the text, or the e-mail that acts like a road map or sign, letting us know our next stop is finally parenthood! Not only are you full of joy and peace that the darkness might finally be passing, but your heart seems to grow for all the love you now feel for a certain woman who is carrying, or has carried, the child that will be yours. Outside the adoption community, I believe birth parents are sorely misunderstood. I could write volumes about my opinion on the subject. Above all, I want to convey the message that in this space, my space, birth parents are respected and honored and loved. Please respect that. Please know that the women who chose life for their babies and chose Shane and I as their loving parents are our biggest heroes. There are never words enough to thank your child's birth mother, or if given the opportunity, a birth father or extended birth family, in the way they deserve. And in the end, I know they didn't choose adoption for me, but for that baby and how much they loved him or her.

Carter - one week old

When Carter was born, it took 15 months before we felt the pull to search for another baby. However, after Ruby was born, we still felt like another baby was on the way. We have enjoyed her stages as she's grown, and we've taken every chance to snuggle and love on her. It's not that we didn't feel the same special bond with her, we just knew our hearts needed to remain open because it was gonna be faster this time. Shane and I had discussed it many times. I would say we've even made more of an effort to love on her now because we felt baby three would come fast. Those feelings we had were right.

Carter meeting Ruby for the first time at the airport

Just about two months ago (on the exact day that Ruby turned 9 months old), I contacted CJ's birth grandma, Jolene. I usually try to let her know whenever I am sending something so she knows it's coming. We wanted to have flowers delivered to J for Birth Mother's Day and Mother's Day, and I wanted to make sure someone would be home when the flowers were going to arrive. We worked it out and I scheduled the delivery (with my favorite Provo flower shop, of course -- love you CCF ladies!).

Later that night, Shane and I were cuddled on the couch together with the kids, just before we put them to bed. Sometimes Carter likes to watch a video of Goodnight Gorilla or How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? together instead of reading his bedtime story. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and wondered who would be texting. I was surprised to see that it was a message from Jolene. We always love to hear from CJ's birth family, and I was excited to hear from her again so soon after just texting earlier that day. I quickly unlocked my phone and opened the message.

I was humbled, overwhelmed, delighted, and blown-away all at once to learn that our sweet J is pregnant and has decided on making an adoption plan again. She wanted to know if, even though Ruby is still so small, we would be ready to add to our family again before the end of the year! I was moved to tears. I felt my heart swell with love, respect, and again, so much humility that J would consider placing with us again. Shane heard my quiet sob and asked immediately what was the matter. I could hardly get words out, but blurted, "J is pregnant and wants to place with us again!" He just held me tight and we cried together for a minute before I handed him my phone so he could read the message himself. We instantly felt peace and grinned ear-to-ear at one another. We responded right away, explaining what we were feeling and how excited we were. Since then, although I couldn't have imagined it possible, my love has only grown for J. I hope and pray that she knows how truly we love her and always will.

When I was talking on the phone to Jolene shortly thereafter, I tried to describe how humbled we were that Jesse would consider choosing to place with us again. I told her I guess we must have done something right! She responded that we had done way more than something right. My heart melted. Heavenly Father has blessed and guided us along the way. I hope our relationship will only get stronger as we welcome and love this baby, as his or her birth family and adoptive family, together.

And that, my friends, is how we were chosen again so quickly. We decided not to announce until J had been to the doctor and we had a due date to share. Today is the ultrasound and we are so anxious to hear what the baby's gender is. We think about J and baby every day and pray often for them. Carter's prayers are the sweetest. He prays every prayer for J by name, and adds in the baby when he remembers. He talks a lot about when the baby will come and whether it will be a boy or girl. He has already given us his opinion about certain names, too! Ruby became interested in baby dolls on her own by trying to swipe them from other kids, so we bought her a little one from Target that she totes around everywhere now. One day, Carter kept taking Ruby's doll away, and I finally thought to ask him if he wanted a baby doll, too. He got the biggest grin on his face and nodded. After a day of particularly good behavior, we picked him up his own and now they share and love to "help" with the babies.


Thank you for sharing in our excitement as we await this third baby's arrival!

This picture was taken in April 2008. Carter was not yet two years old. If you know Carter at all, you know he never holds still for very long! Imagine what a wonderful surprise it was when he climbed right up on J's lap at our visit and remained there, snuggled in with her on the swing, for a good 10-20 minutes at least. It is a memory I hold very dear.

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The Background

***disclaimer***

This post is long. It is the background information we believe you might find interesting and pertinent before you learn of our story of being chosen again. If you feel you have heard it all before, and are close enough to us that we've already shared each detail, please feel free to just glance through or skip this post all together. Okay, here we go.


Our wedding day - August 3, 2001

This story begins much further back than you probably would expect. We had only been married a few months when we first decided adoption was to be the way our family would grow. October 2001 brought hard news and loss of hope completely at first. Hope quickly blossomed again as we felt compelled to and happily pursued beginning the adoption process. Hope was then squashed right out from underneath us again when we learned we must wait until we'd been married two years to begin the adoption process. Two years seems like so much less time now than when we were 21 and 22 and had just begun our life together. Two years seemed eternities away at that point!

Fast-forward to July 2003. I was tired. I got a lot of migraine-type headaches and I felt like I was aging really fast. I'd barely graduated from massage school and passed my national certification exam in between visits to the ER. But my enthusiasm for impending motherhood was not waning! We had our LDS Family Services intake appointment set for the week of our second anniversary (August 3rd).

I followed my cardiologist's advice and set up an appointment with Dr. Laks at UCLA Medical Center to see if he thought my heart might need surgery at some future point. I remember on that trip to California being surprised at how little energy I had. When we went to the beach, I was winded just walking halfway to the water and had to sit down in the sand. I was ready to get out of the heat and go home before long. We went to Disneyland and I only lasted a few hours! I couldn't bear to just leave, so instead we rode all the slow rides and sat a lot in the shade.

Shane and I were both anxious to get back to Utah for our long-awaited appointment at the agency. Then I met Dr. Laks and learned it was imperative I have surgery ASAP, or I might reach the point of congestive heart failure very soon. I was just 22 years old. Our trip was extended to accommodate further testing and appointments at UCLA. Any wind in my sails was gone as I called to cancel our appointment at LDS Family Services. I remember feeling crushed all over again about not getting the righteous desires of my heart -- my enlarged, out of control, holey heart!

A few days after open-heart surgery - December 30, 2003

I had open-heart surgery five months later. As soon as we could, we drove home to Utah. As soon after that as I could get dressed and walk, we set up an appointment for another intake meeting at the agency. I remember still having big dark circles under my eyes and IV bruises in my arms and hands. I would say that 6.5 years later, I am still recovering in a lot of ways, but my clicking mechanical heart valve is a daily reminder of the miracles of modern medicine!

October 2005 - Living in Provo, Utah

Next stop: approximately October 2005. Finally, after years of "waiting,"attending all the agency-sponsored workshops and events we could, and working several part-time jobs each, we managed to scrape together the money to officially turn in our paperwork while we were still college students. We weren't really sure how we would fund the adoption costs from there, but felt peace and knew it was the right time.

With our friend Melanie after Shane's graduation - April 2006

Six months later, in April 2006, Shane graduated and we found ourselves packing up and getting ready to move to AZ, as Shane had accepted a job offer. Between boxes, we took a break to run over to the agency. We were supposed to sign a release allowing our file to be transferred to the LDS Family Services office in Mesa. When we arrived, our caseworker Katherine (the 4th we had been assigned to since our first appointment) broadly grinned as she explained mysteriously that we no longer needed to sign the paperwork. She said that she'd be in touch very soon and sent us on our way. Maybe it's a good thing we were completely occupied with moving at the moment so we didn't go crazy with speculation. It definitely helped that we both felt a great deal of peace about things and knew we didn't need to worry.

We moved on May 2nd. One week later, late in the evening on May 9th, we got the news we'd waited so long for. Within days, we were on our way back to Utah to meet the courageous, loving, beautiful woman who had chosen us to be Carter's parents. We'd prayed for years for her and for this baby. I hold our first face-to-face meeting among the most treasured hours of my life, as I do our brief few minutes with Ruby's birth mother. I have no doubt angels accompanied us on those occasions.

Well, this blog pretty much was born around the time we moved to Arizona, so if you've known us that long, you know the story from there. If we are newer friends, here is the brief summary: We returned to Utah twice that Summer and Carter was born in July. We brought him home to Arizona after ICPC cleared. We were able to go back to Utah a few months later, at Thanksgiving time, for our first visit with Carter's birth mother and her family (as well as spending Thanksgiving with our families, who both happen to live in the same neighborhood in Utah). We have, since then, visited at least once or twice a year with Carter's birth family, when we're in town. Otherwise, we have kept in touch via e-mail, texting, our blog, and occasional calls, packages, and letters. We always try to make sure we send flowers for Birth Mother's Day and Mother's Day in May. Last year we we able to celebrate Carter's birthday with not only most of our siblings and our parents, but Carter's birth family too! We had so much fun that we're going to celebrate together again this year.

Carter with his birth mom - August 2008

Some people question openness in adoption, but the more we learn and hear about it, the more we are thankful it is an option. We embrace and are grateful for any time we are able to have with Carter's birth mom and birth family. We adore them all! We truly believe more people to love a child is nothing but wonderful. Every situation is different. Every adoptive couple and every birth mother have different expectations and needs. As long as it is a healthy relationship for all, the blessings of adoption just seem to keep coming! I think everyone involved also has to know that as a child grows up in an adoptive family, he or she may express a desire to have more or less contact with a birth family, and that this is all really about the child, so those feelings should be validated and the level of contact should be reevaluated throughout the years to help the child feel comfortable. As long as you go into open adoption knowing that, I think everyone just wants to celebrate that little life as he or she grows and becomes a beautiful child, loved by many, with an amazing story of miracles surrounding his or her birth!

Now we're ready to tell you a little more about baby #3.
Tomorrow.

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The Luckiest

The number one question everyone has for us right now seems to be how we were chosen so fast again. Ruby is just 10 months old! The babies will be only 15 months apart. I know! Before I tell you all the story of how we came to be "expecting" another angel baby so soon, I want to share something with you that Shane and I have been really thinking a lot about. I just read an amazing post this week on my friend Emrie's blog. I'd like to share a small bit of it with you (I hope you don't mind, Emrie!). I've been thinking about it a lot. I think she put it so beautifully, so simply. Emrie and her husband, Luke, just had their fourth placement...in four years!!! Emrie really put my current feelings into words so well:

I don’t know why we have been so blessed to have our kids join us so quick. We’re a little of an anomaly in the adoption community. We have so many friends that have been searching for their kids for years while we’ve been placed with 4 in the last 4 years. I’m overcome with joy for our beautiful spirits and their courageous birth moms. I know that these children were meant to find us. I know that we never stopped working to find them. I also have the faith that you will find yours if you continue to search for them.

Even though we looked far longer for Carter and for Ruby than we have this time around for this baby, I feel the same way, and here we are on our way to having three children, four and under! We wanted to adopt the first time for nearly 5 years, from the time we made the decision until Carter was placed with us by his loving birth mother. We began our search for Ruby when Carter was 15 months old. It took 22 months, a failed match, and several possible situations coming up and falling through until we received that amazing call last August 6th that Ruby was being born! I feel blessed beyond measure, giddy with excitement that this time around we have been chosen before we've even officially started the "finding" process again (although we have remained certified for the last 5 years straight just in case).

That said, as we celebrate, so many couples are still hoping for their first child, or maybe their second or third, and we ache a little as we share our good news for those still searching. We sincerely hope you all know we love you and pray for you. We tell people about you and that you are hoping to adopt. We share your pass along cards any chance we get. We keep them in the car, in our wallets and bags, just in case. We think of you often. We put your names on the temple prayer rolls. We add "Baby (your last name) and birth mother" and we really hope your dreams will come true soon. I know it doesn't feel like it now, but we have felt the pain and ache of empty arms. We talk about what you must be going through and try to think of ways we might be helpful. Please know that we don't mean any pain as we announce this joyous news. We can't wait to rejoice with you when the time comes!

Each of us has our own path. Each journey is unique. Something as sensitive and personal as wanting to become a parent when it seems like the cards are stacked against us is SO HARD. There are feelings of comparison, judgment, confusion, inadequacy, unrighteousness, etc, etc. Just because one couple is chosen in a month and one couple still isn't chosen after years, there should never be fear of judgment of that longer-waiting couple's worthiness or desire. Those feelings never come from Father. He wants dearly for us to have those righteous desires, but knows our timing is based on limited vision. He won't give us what we want in our timing when we knows what we need in His!

All I really know is that our loving Father in Heaven knows what we need. He will provide what we need when we need it. That doesn't always seem to coincide with what we want when we want it! The minute my peaceful newborn son Carter was placed in my arms, I felt all my years of pain melt away, and for a moment I saw with perfect clarity that His hand was clearly there through all my trials of the previous five long years! It all suddenly made sense and I realized a tremendous foundation had been carefully constructed for that moment -- that beautiful, most sacred moment in a corner hospital classroom.

I shared a passage from Kerstin Daynes' book, Infertility: Help, Hope, and Healing, in my Change of Heart post last week. LOVE that book! I have underlined nearly. every. word. of the first six chapters. I'm not exaggerating! I wish I would have gotten this book as a wedding present! ;) Seriously though, if only I could have known I was not alone, that I was not a failure as a wife and as a woman. I wish I had been able to learn those essential things earlier on that I have learned...but now that I know how my story is turning out, I wouldn't have it any other way. Father has blessed my life with so many opportunities for growth that have prepared me for motherhood and for the chance to serve others.

In summary, I know I am lucky. I know I am blessed. I am FULL of gratitude and humility. I know Shane is too. We've discussed this topic at length and really worried about hurting feelings with this announcement. Thank you for sharing our happy moments with us! I want to share part of the lyrics from a certain song. They are on my mind as I write this tonight.

The Luckiest
by Ben Folds Five

I don't get many things right the first time
In fact, I am told that a lot
Now I know all the wrong turns, the stumbles and falls
Brought me here

And where was I before the day
That I first saw your lovely face?
Now I see it everyday
And I know

That I am
I am
I am The luckiest

Carter Jesse, about one week old

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We're so excited, we just can't hide it anymore!

We're joyfully expecting another adoption miracle...coming November 2010.

We can hardly wait to learn the baby's gender on Monday.
{Carter's convinced it's twins, one boy and one girl.}

What do you think? Will the baby be a boy or a girl?
Leave us your guess in the comments and there may be a drawing for those who guess correctly!


{photograph by Andiland Photography}

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Mighty Mud Mania 2010

Mighty Mud Mania is an annual event in Scottsdale where all those rules about getting dirty go out the window. Check it out here. We'd love to have you join us next year!

At first, Ruby was content just being a spectator.

But she quickly picked up on what was going on.

Carter was digging the idea of mud pies.


They both built sand castles for a while.

This picture explains the diaper full of sand the next day.

We played 'til we were ready to drop from the heat and excitement. After a hose down from the volunteers, we headed home. Carter was disappointed to learn he has to wait a whole year to do it again.

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Ruby Learns to Walk (April-May 2010)

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Gila Valley Temple Open House (May 15, 2010)

I love to see the temple!
We went inside one day
To feel the Holy Spirit,
To listen and to pray.

For the temple is a holy place
Where we were sealed together.
As a Child of God, I've learned this truth:
A Family Is Forever!
(adapted from this)

We had the opportunity to attend the new Gila Valley Temple's open house. It's about a three-hour drive from our home, but we felt it was well worth it and very important to make the effort. Although this is one of three new temple in the works here in Arizona right now, who knows if we'll even be here or able to go when the other two are eventually finished.

Carter was excited about it all the way there. He asked if they had a "play place" inside the new temple. ;) He was remembering when we went to the Mesa temple to have Ruby sealed to us in December and the kids got to play in the temple nursery while we waited. In the temple, Carter was intrigued with the flooring. He kept wanting to bend over and touch the carpets in the different rooms. They had different textures and were all SO beautiful and clean. I never would have notice the carpet if not for Carter! Love that kid!
Being in the temple together is such a peaceful experience! I felt so much love for my family and such gratitude that we've been sealed together as a family forever. I feel a little bit sad for people who don't get to take each child to the temple because of the beautiful plan of adoption. My most treasured moments are being in the sealing room and having my children, all dressed in spotless white, brought into the room and over to Shane and I. I may not get to experience birthing my babies, but this is, I believe, a pretty great trade off for adoptive parents!

I'm so glad we went! It was extra fun for us that we happened to run into our friends, Devin, Andrea, Andin and Cambria and got to go through together. Added bonus: Andrea is a fantastic photographer! She took these pictures for us and I'm so grateful! You can see more of her pictures from that day here.

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April 2010 Recap

Ruby's first ponytail - 4/1/2010

I adore this picture...I'm wearing her in the sling and she is enjoying the full-service treatment!

Papago Park-4/2/2010
My cute friend Jenny invited the kids and me to hang out with her and her family at Papago Park for an Easter Egg hunt and picnic. I'd never been, so it was lots of fun and the weather was awesome. Carter even found the "golden egg" with money in it! I didn't get a lot of pictures, but here are a few of the kids hanging out.

Hugo is one of Carter's favorite buddies.
Carter and Lacy had fun rolling eggs down the hill.

Acacia came too. She's a fabulous babysitter and a sweetheart!
Bunny Day and General Conference - 4/3/2010
It was the tradition in my family growing up to celebrate "Bunny Day" on the Saturday before Easter every year. The Easter Bunny brings us treats on Saturday so that we can focus on Jesus and the resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Carter especially loved his Transformer's coloring book.
I think Ruby liked her stuffed bunny.

Shane made Carter's favorite: star-shaped "egg-in-a-holes" sprinkled with cheese.
It was LDS General Conference weekend the same weekend as Easter, so we enjoyed snuggling and hanging out together all weekend watching conference. Growing up, my siblings and I made "nests" of blankets and pillows from which we watched the conference each Spring and Fall. Shane tried to show Carter how to build a proper nest and CJ had fun with it...until it was time to clean up and put it all away of course.
We took a walk between sessions.

Brad's Mission Call! - 4/6/2010
If you read the blog regularly (or know us personally at all), you know we have a very close relationship with Shane's Uncle Joe and Aunt Claudia. They live just a few blocks away and have been so wonderful to us since we arrived in AZ four years ago. Carter and Ruby know them as Nana and Grandpa. Carter said Nana before Momma, I'm pretty sure.

Anyhow, Bradley (Joe and Claudia's son) received his LDS mission call to the Chile Santiago North mission. We are so excited for him! He will be a hard-working, wonderful missionary. I found out a few days after he got his call that his mission president will be Presidente May, who was in my stake in Valencia growing up, and then moved to UT around the time my parents did. Elder Hilton will be in great hands there with Presidente and Hermana May! Brad graduates from high school at the end of May and reports to the Missionary Training Center on June 16th. Brad's mission call was especially exciting for the family because Brad is the youngest child, only boy, and will be only one to serve a full-time mission (as a young adult anyway) of his siblings.
Here is Elder Hilton with his proud parents.

Fun side note: The map in the background was posted after Brad's papers were turned in and the wait for his call began. The colored markers were guesses from friends and family of where Brad's call would be to. Joe, Brad's dad, noticed nobody had guessed Chile just a couple of days before the call was opened and tagged it as his guess.

Ruby is eight months old - 4/18/2010
Shane already posted a bunch of eight month pictures, but I wanted to include this one in the April recap to note that she was not only standing, but taking steps at eight months. I was not encouraging this. I absolutely blame her father...and I have witnesses.
Oh, but I do have to say she melts me. {swoon}

Rocker, Parties, & Prom - 4/24/2010
Carter for some reason has a love for rock and roll. He often asks us to "rock" with him. We've scored some sweet band equipment from yard sales and a clearance sale and now we have three toy guitars and a toy microphone with karaoke machine. We jam a lot. Fast forward to cute Cambria's dress-up birthday party. We gave Carter all his dress-up options (Spiderman, pirate, etc.) and he chose rocker. Love these pictures Shane took before the party.

{Notice cliche "Mom" tattoo I drew on his right shoulder and scorpion tattoo dad gave him on his left forearm.}

Carter and Ruby went with Shane to a second friend's party that afternoon while I had the pleasure of taking pictures of Brad and his darling date, Allison, before their prom. I had so much fun with them. Thanks you two!


Lastly, I spent most of April working furiously in every spare moment to prepare for the opening of my etsy shop, Ruby Jane Boutique, and Boutique in the Barn (which was May 1st). The boutique was a lot of fun and although the shop only has one listing so far, it will have many more items listed soon!

Thanks for all your support everyone!

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March 2010 family recap

Although the first item of business actually occurred at the end of February, it didn't really sink in until March. We bought a 2004 Toyota Sienna minivan! This is life changing people. In August, we will celebrate our 9th anniversary. We've never had two cars before. Heck, there have been times in our marriage where we have been completely carless. I can't even tell you how spoiled I feel. There have been many weeks where I haven't been out in the daylight with the exception of going to church on Sundays. As Aunt Claudia (aka Nana) described it, we didn't purchase a car, we put a down payment on freedom.

We ended up taking 200 miles and 35 hours worth of road trips the next three weekends. It was both fun and exhausting. The end result is that we're ruined now. I don't think we could take a road trip with our kiddos in our Accord again. The minivan is so much more comfortable, spacious, and convenient for traveling.

The sunroof is great in Arizona.

Navigation and lots of buttons that Carter loves to explore.

And the DVD player was the luxury/necessity that kept Carter sane when Ruby was fussy.


Ruby hit her seven month mark in March. She accomplished quite a lot and we have been floundering to keep up with her. Just off the top of my head, she started clapping, crawling, pulling up, standing (she constantly has a bruised forehead from all the spills she's taken, about half of them thanks to Carter), talking (mama, baa for bath, and dadada for dad), and signing (she just signs bath anytime she thinks there's hope, like when we change her clothes or diaper -- baths are her favorite activity). She moved into size 4 diapers, 12 month clothes, and 18 month pajamas. She endured yet another fight with an ear infection (I think this is her 4th since December) and a cold, and her top four teeth moved in, leaving us awake many nights. What a doll baby though. She has never had to work hard to keep us wrapped around her chubby little fingers!

St. Patrick's Day brought us to the table for a festive breakfast. Inspired by my creative friend Andrea, I decided to serve green pancakes with buttermilk syrup, green eggs and ham. We also used green dishes. Carter thought it was fun, so mission accomplished, right?
Carter got an overdue haircut. These were the before pictures, but I totally spaced out taking an after pic...still, I love his faces in these. They are so HIM.

Just a couple of our favorite quotes by Carter this month:
*While pushing his forearm up into a faux muscular bulge, he exclaimed, "It's a tree mountain! It grows up two times! See Mom?" And then he did it again, this time with sound effect to indicate growing, "Wooooopt!"
* While eating oatmeal for breakfast, Carter noticed Ruby crawl into the kitchen and look up at him. He explained, "Rube smelled my oatmeal and it smelled tasty. And she looked around and around and around and she said, 'Hooray! Where my oatmeal?!'"

We rented a beautiful house in Moab, UT over the weekend of March 19th for the 2010 Canyonlands 1/2 marathon and 5-mile race. Shane ran the 1/2 marathon and I the 5-mile. Shane did pretty darn well for not running for the three weeks prior to the race (since he ran Ragnar). I finished. And not in last place! So, I have to admit I was pretty proud of myself. It might not seem like much, but 5 miles for me was scary. My heart kept having freaky palpitations and I could barely walk for days following the race. I even ended up at Urgent Care thinking I might have a fracture in my foot, but the doctor said it's a bad strain/sprain and could take up to 8 months to heal. But I finished!

As an added bonus, we had visitors in Moab. Shane's parents and youngest siblings, Joseph and Sarah, stayed with us the first night and took care of Carter and Ruby during the race. My two oldest nieces, Eliza and Lizzie, joined us the afternoon following the race. They stayed with us that night and we had a blast! Thank you all for making the drive. It made the trip so much more fun!
We also were happy to get to see/meet adoption friends at the race! Here I am with the famous (in the adoption world) Mrs. R! I hate this picture of myself, but had to include it for the love of adoption!
We went out to lunch afterward together and I just wish we would have had more time to spend with those fab girls. Thanks to Lindsey (aka Mrs. R), we planned ahead to do the race together. You can see her post about the race here. Adoption rocks!!!

Shane had the chance to meet up with a friend from high school (at the zoo with the kids) while I was at an adoption workshop on the 27th. Here are a few pictures from that day.

I was working feverishly preparing items for the Boutique in the Barn.

I had a lot of fun being part of a Spring swap.


Carter talked us into showing him how to use the camera (under our close supervision - it's heavy) and ended up with some surprisingly nice shots, all things considered.

This one was with a timer, but Carter composed it.

After seeing his excitement with photography, Shane gave him his old camera phone and put it in airplane mode. He gets so excited and comes running in to tell us when he takes pictures of Ruby, or the ceiling fan, or his subject of choice - his finger half covering the lens. Love that boy!

Last, but certainly not least, we were saddened to learn of the loss of Shane's Uncle Kevin. It was a blessing to be able to make the trip to gather with everyone in celebrating his life. What a beautiful, faithful family he has here to take care of one another in his absence. In closing, I just want to say that our thoughts and prayers continue to be with Kevin's wonderful family. We're so grateful for the knowledge of the gospel in our lives!

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