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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Dear Shutterfly,

I have a complaint, a bone to pick with you, a score to settle (if you will). I am a dazed and confused mother of three young children (seriously? pinch me, it still feels entirely too good to be true!), the youngest of which is not even three weeks old yet. Typically I would send out Christmas cards or newsletters with a family picture this time of year, just like my good momma always did. I believe it's one of our most important holiday traditions, especially now that my mother's yearly chronicles have been preserved and compiled into a family history for myself and each of my siblings. I usually already have a plan by Thanksgiving so that I don't end up waiting too long and get too busy to send them out. However, this year we were a bit busier than usual. Growing our family this time around required travel out of state in order to adopt our daughter born on Thanksgiving day. Now, not only am I behind and even more busy as a mom of three, I have another problem...you have far too many choices! You see, I am decision making challenged. I don't think you realize that having such selection is making my job harder! I mean, look at these folded greeting cards. And these flat stationary cards. And these flat photo cards!! You have so many fabulous designs in different styles and sizes that accommodate various numbers of photos and every budget -- darn you Shutterfly! How will I ever choose? Oh, and throw in the fact that you also have a ton of gorgeous birth announcements. Tell me, please, am I supposed to send out holiday cards or birth announcements for a holiday baby? Who knows! Oh wait...you do. You have a whole selection of holiday birth announcements. Uh...forget about the whole bone to pick thing. j/k. Merry Christmas! Thanks for being awesome! Now I just have to decide which card might be able to do a photograph like this one (taken by the incredible Kim Orlandini) justice...

Easy peasy, right?! Well, at least I've got it narrowed down now! Thanks!

Sincerely,
Megan H.



Full Disclosure: I wrote this post to help Shutterfly get the word out about their awesome personalized products and holiday card collection. In exchange, as part of this promotion, I will receive a code good for 50 free photo cards from Shutterfly.com. In reality, I am an actual Shutterfly customer and have been very happy with their services over the last 5 years I have used them.

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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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Tony & Amanda are hoping to adopt

Meet our new friends, Tony and Amanda. They are hoping to welcome their first child to their family through adoption. Take a minute to get to know them by visiting their adoption blog, then add their button to your own blog to help them in their adoption efforts!


<a href="http://adoptiontonyandamanda.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i53.tinypic.com/xx95.jpg" border="0" alt="Tony and Amanda" /></a>

Adding a web button is easy.

• For Blogger, log in to your blog dashboard, and click on Design.
  
• Click "Add a gadget", and choose html/JavaScript.
  
• Then just Copy-and-paste the code from the box above into the box labeled "Content".

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Guest Blogger: Antoinette

Shane and I realize we have been far from perfect at the daily blogging this November for National Adoption Month. In an effort to make up for our absence (due to traveling and waiting for our third child to arrive any minute), I have an amazing story to share with you.

Every child is a miracle but adoption stories tend to be extra miraculous (at least in my opinion). What I learned with our Ruby's adoption is that it takes multiple miraculous happenings woven into a huge "miracle explosion" (to use our friend Tamra's perfect description) to create most adoption stories. This story is one that I have been allowed the humbling opportunity to be a very small part of. I'm so grateful for the prompting I received to immediately share about what I thought was just another adoption situation. I thank my Father in Heaven for allowing me such a magnificent chance. I thank my adoption friends for fostering online and real-life communities where we can support and help one another in our efforts to assist precious children in finding their forever families -- communities where I feel comfortable and encouraged in sharing outreach situations in hopes that families will be grown or created. I thank my beautiful, thoughtful sister-in-law, Kim, for taking the time to call me in the middle of a busy day to ask me to share information with my hoping to adopt friends about a situation. I thank my childhood friend Nicole, with whom I had a chance recent reconnection on facebook, for following her prompting to call a friend whose heart was breaking and to share a little bit of hope. Lastly, I thank sweet Antoinette for being willing and taking the time to write and share this touching story with us all. Here is her story:

Our fourth child Logan was only three months old when we had a very strong feeling that there was another child trying to come to our home. We spent the next several months searching, looking, and praying for what direction to take. Do we go back to LDS Family Services, try to contact adoption attorneys, or try a private agency? The questions just kept coming. We knew that she was out there somewhere, but where? None of these options felt right. From October 2008 until February 2010 we had worked with seven different birth-moms. None of them ended up choosing our family. We were disappointed to say the least; heartbroken might be a better word. In June 2010 we finally felt peace about putting our papers in with LDS Family Services. We continued to sit and wait. The feeling of our child continued to get stronger and stronger within our hearts.

Friday October 22nd one of my friends called. She said, "I have been thinking about you for the last two days, are you OK?" I erupted in emotion. Where is this child that I feel inside of me? Why can’t I find her? My friend said she was sorry, she didn’t know why I had to go through this, but she knew that God loved me. By the time I got off of the phone I felt better. I felt like I could make it one more day. That night at about 7:00pm another one of my friends called, her name is Nicole. Nicole is a friend of Megan’s. She said that minutes earlier she had gotten on Facebook and Megan had posted a message. The message said: Adoption Friends: FYI, I just heard there is a full AA baby girl due Nov. 15th in WA State through The Adoption Center of Choice. If interested, please contact Karen @ ……

Nicole said, "I don’t know if you are interested, I just thought I would call and let you know." My husband was out of town with the boy scouts so I couldn’t call and talk to him about it. I went to bed that night with no desire to do anything about this. I slept better that night then most, which was a good thing for what would end up happening over the next couple of days. I was really going to need that one night’s sleep because the next week would be spent with virtually no sleep at all. I got up the next morning and jumped into the shower before my kids got up. Ideas just kept coming through my mind. Could we afford a private adoption? Was this really our child? I thought that she was going to come through LDS Family Services? As questions flew through my mind, answers came just as fast.

My husband called at 11:15am Oct. 23rd saying they had been rained out and they were on their way home. I told him about what Nicole had said. He said he wasn’t that interested. I said that it just kept eating at me and asked him if it would be okay if I just called and asked about it. He said sure there was no harm in calling. I didn’t think it would be that big of a deal -- she wasn’t due until November 15th so we had some time to think about it. But I could not stop the feeling of call right now.

At 11:30 I called Karen. She told me that there was another family interested but we could give her our information too. I told her a little bit about us and she was surprisingly interested. Karen told me that this birth-mom had already had three families back out on her for one reason or another. The birth-mom was also being induced on Monday the 25th because of some complications. If we were interested we needed to get all of our information faxed from LDS that day, and have the check in hand. We would have to get to Washington by the next night to meet the birth-mom and she wanted us at the hospital Monday morning for the delivery. My heart started racing. What was I supposed to do? This was crazy. Could this really be our child? Karen told me I needed to get off the phone and talk to my husband about it. Well that was easier said than done. My husband was in an area I wasn’t sure if he could get service. Fortunately he was able to pick up when I called. I updated him on the situation. Then I asked, “What do you think I should do?”
Surprisingly he said, “Go for it.” Go for it? Are you serious? My husband in never rash in a decision, he likes a couple of days to think about anything big.
I asked again, "Really?"
"Yes, Heavenly Father will stop it if it is not our baby."
I asked again, “Are you sure?”
He said, “I have been thinking about it since the last time we spoke and I actually feel really good about it.”

So I started the paperwork game. Calling between all of the people that needed to send paperwork back and forth. I spoke with Karen one more time. I really felt like if we said we were all in this would be our baby. I called Brady back one more time.
I said, "Are you all in, because if you are I really believe that we will end up getting this baby."
He said, "I am 100% in."
I called Karen back and told her we were 100% in, she then told me that the birth-mom wanted to place with us. Karen said, “Then she is yours!”

What did my little ears just deceive me? Did she say, “She is yours?” Mine, really?! Just like that?

At that point it was a crazy race to get everything done in just a few hours. We were frantically trying to get everything done to leave for Washington at 5:00am. I hardly slept that night. What were we going to say to this sweet birth-mom, would she even like us?

We had dinner with her and the agency representatives that night at 6:00pm. The birth mom said that she would like us to be at the hospital Monday morning while she was induced. We fell in love with our birth mom. She is such a strong person, beautiful on the inside and out. She carried such a spirit of direction with her. She knew exactly what she was supposed to do.

We met her at the hospital the next day. She was kind enough to let me and one of the agency representative stay in the room with her. After many hours of laboring our little baby girl was born at 7:00pm that night. She was 5 lbs 4 ozs, 18 inches long. She had a full head of curly dark brown hair. She was beautiful. No words could ever describe what I felt in that moment. I got to cut her umbilical cord. Tears streamed down my face in awe of this beautiful child that was going to be mine. Did God really love me that much? Really? After nine years of the adoption journey five beautiful healthy children. Could one God really love one person that much? This birth mom having such direction inside her heart to want to give this innocent spirit a mom and a dad. As I stared at our birth mom I felt inside the great strength that God must give these birth moms to be brave enough be so selfless. As I watched our child lay on her birth mom my heart ached to hold her, my heart ached to know of what this birth mom was going to do on my behalf the very next day.

The following day we took custody of our daughter, by Thursday we were given permission by the Interstate Compact to leave Washington and enter Utah -- that was its own miracle if you have ever had to deal with the Interstate Compact. It can take up to two weeks to get home sometimes.


Every one of our adoptions have come through a trail of people who didn’t even know us. And I will be forever grateful for each one of them who were willing to listen to the spirit and helped us bring our babies home. I believe that there is a plan greater than any of us know. I know that God will find a way to bring all of us our children no matter what that means may be through.

Adoption is a miracle placed on this earth for you and for me. I know that one day we will all find the road that was meant for us to bring our children home.

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Shawn & Alicia are Hoping to Adopt!

Please take a moment to get to know Shawn & Alicia and their boys. They are excited to have their profile back up after experiencing a failed placement!
We'd love for you to help them in their adoption efforts by adding their adoption button to your own blog.


<a href="https://www.itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/10440835/ourMessage.jsf"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip-Q3_WBd6RYOFakipulUiC7CHm6cbOzBruLCX_VMtzNcuAOVDZW6C0n_TWoPWLvL0gBBWE5z0alEkAlkgyocSBkP7xDed-kNIHOF8mmK99SoV6uiaGUduwUdtn0GV0gAkovk7/s220/blog+button.jpg" width="150" /></a>

Adding a web button is easy.

• For Blogger, log in to your blog dashboard, and click on Design.
  
• Click "Add a gadget", and choose html/JavaScript.
  
• Then just Copy-and-paste the code from the box above into the box labeled "Content".

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NAM: Do something every day

Maybe I'm a little behind, but I just found this fabulous calendar created by http://adoption.com and wanted to share it with you. It lists an idea for something you can do every day this month to celebrate National Adoption Month 2010. You can also check out calendars from past Novembers. There is also an entire page with different information and links having to do with National Adoption Month. Great ideas -- check it out!
Happy National Adoption Month!

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UT adoption friends -- Don't miss this!

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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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Giveaway! Help Carl & Shay Adopt Another to Love

Our friends Carl & Shay and their boys are excited to welcome another child to their family. Help them spread the word by entering their blog giveaway that's been extended to November 7th!

They are giving away a $30 dining gift card good at Red Lobster/Olive Garden or other Darden Restaurants.

All you have to do is post their adoption button on your blog or website and email them to let them know you did it at anothertolove@gmail.com. Please include a link to your blog.

Adding a web button is easy.

• For Blogger, log in to your blog dashboard, and click on Design.
  
• Click "Add a gadget", and choose html/JavaScript.
  
• Then just Copy-and-paste the code from the box below into the box labeled "Content".

<center><a href="http://www.anothertolove.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i961.photobucket.com/albums/ae92/carlnshay/adoption-button-1.gif" /></a></center>

You can also enter to win a $10 Cold Stone gift card by helping them spread the word about their giveaway. Get an entry in the Cold Stone giveaway for each of these items that you do:

• Post a link to their giveaway on facebook: http://whaddyashay.blogspot.com/2010/10/dinner-or-dessert-on-us.html
• Make a blog post with a link to their giveaway on your own blog
• Tweet about the giveaway

Be sure to shoot Shay an email to let her know about all of your entries.
(anothertolove@gmail.com)

Thanks for your support!

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National Adoption Month 2010

November is National Adoption Month. For the second year in a row, we have decided to take the challenge from the fabulous mrs. r over at the r house to blog every single day of November in honor of adoption.

Unless you are new here (WELCOME if you are!), you already know how we feel about adoption. What makes this year extra special for us is that we have our third child's birth and adoption to look forward to this month! In addition, we have just been called as the new co-chairs for our local chapter of Families Supporting Adoption. We are excited and anxious to hit the ground running in this new position and to welcome home our baby girl! We hope you'll join us on our journey this month as we indeed have SO MUCH to be thankful for!

Happy November and Happy National Adoption Month!

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Spotlight Saturday - Mark & Ginny

Mark & Ginny are a wonderful family in Nebraska that are excited to build their family through adoption.
You can find out more about them by visiting their online profiile

Ginny’s view of Mark:

Mark is the youngest of 3. His family is overjoyed for us to be chosen for a baby. Mark’s mom, Lori, is already knitting like crazy for our future baby. Right now Mark is finishing his third year of graduate school at Creighton University’s Pharmacy School. He has one more year, in which he will be doing clinical rotations. We are very excited for this next year of rotations, as he will be able to spend much more time at home with family. We will be most excited in May, 2011, when Mark will finally graduate with his Doctor of Pharmacy degree! He is the kindest, and most caring man I have ever met. He is hard working, thoughtful, responsible, and lots of fun. In our church we work with the 18 month to 3 year old children, and he loves it! He also gets to work with the youth 10 years of age in Cub Scouts as the Webelos leader. He loves everything that has to do with scouts, including Girl Scout cookies! He is an Eagle Scout, also.

He is always anxious to help others, and almost always cheerful. I say almost always, because someone once told me that you should avoid saying always and never, otherwise I would say always. When we were married 5 years ago, Mark was instantly the favorite of all of my nieces and nephews. I know that he will be a wonderful father to your baby.

Mark’s view of Ginny:

Ginny (you know, pronounced like Ginny Weasley in Harry Potter) comes from a large family, with 6 older siblings who all have their own families. They are thrilled for us to bring home a new family member. Ginny will be graduating with her associate’s degree in May, 2010. She has already started working on her Bachelor’s degree in Education at the University of Nebraska Omaha. She hopes to be a Math and Spanish teacher for middle grades. She also works at Metropolitan Community College as a Student Services Assistant. She says she is going to school to one day be a school teacher, but her real desire is to be more actively involved in teaching our children.

She has been an aunt since she was 13 and has loved helping out her siblings with raising them in any way she can. If you were to ask her nieces and nephews who their favorite aunt was, I’m confident that they would all vote for her. This is because of all the love and attention she gives each one of them. I know she will be a great mother who will love our children and raise them to be great people.

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I Will Not Be Still

I've never been the kind to testify
I don't have the words his truth deserves
But it's a simple thing He asks
A worthy heart and willing hands
He says if I'll make the choice
He'll help me find my voice

He calls me to serve and I cannot fail Him
The One who has given me all that I have
I place my trust in Him alone
He knows the yearnings of my soul
Because He believes in me
I will go willingly

How can I keep this gift to myself
When I can lift somebody else
I am a witness of His miracles and His mercy
I put my future in His hands
Knowing He's made me all I am
When I put my faith in Him the truth begins to speak
His power is real
It moves me until I will not be still

Lifting the hands that hang down in sorrow
Strengthening knees that bend in despair
Reaching the hopeless hearts who do not know His love
Seeing their lives begin to change
I know I'll never be the same

How can I keep this gift to myself
When I can lift somebody else
I'll be a witness of His miracles and His mercy
I put my future in His hands
Knowing He's made me all I am
I put my faith in Him and truth begins to speak
His power is real
It moves me until I will not be still

His power is real
I trust in his will
I will not be still

{Lyrics from I Will Not Be Still by Kenneth Cope}

I know a lot of people think I'm crazy for spending hours and hours every month volunteering without getting anything they deem of value in return. I know some people think I am a fanatic about adoption. (I prefer the label "advocate," thank you very much!) Other adoptive parents tell me all the time that they just don't have the kind of time it requires to be involved.
So why do I do what I do?

I would argue that I can't afford not to be involved.

Miracles have been wrought in my life. I have been extremely blessed. As a result, if I am being truly honest with myself and with others,
I cannot be still.

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Adoption Success Story - Stacey & Eric, Ava & Devery

Meet Eric & Stacey, Ava & Devery, are a wonderful family in Utah that recently welcomed baby Chris to their family through adoption.
You can read about their adoption story by visiting their blog

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Spotlight Saturday - Greg, Allyson and EvieJane

Please take a moment to get to know Greg, Allyson, & Evie Jane a wonderful family in Utah that is hoping to adopt.
You can find out more about them and contact them by visiting their adoption profile or blog

A little about us…

Allyson was born and raised in Arizona, and all of her family still lives there. We enjoy getting down there a few times a year to be with them. Greg was born in Saudi Arabia while his family lived in the Middle East for his dad’s job. However, he spent most of his life in Northern Virginia and definitely considers that “home”.

We met in college almost exactly ten years ago. We clicked right away and found ourselves spending as much time together as possible. Greg blames his bad grades that year on spending all his time with Allyson. Although we weren’t dating yet, we definitely had a strong bond. Greg went on a church mission to Singapore and Malaysia for two years, while Allyson continued her education and began teaching elementary school. Shortly after Greg came home, it was clear our friendship was ready to grow into something more. The timing was right and we were married about a year later.

We were blessed to have EvieJane join the family a year and a half after we were married. Little did we know, she was our miracle baby. We didn’t find out until a few years after she was born that we would not be able to have more children naturally. We are so grateful to have her in our life. She is almost five now and has been a blast since day one. Evie is a bright girl with a sweet personality. She is very social and loves dancing, dressing up, and going to preschool. Teaching her and raising her together has been an amazing experience and has strengthened our relationship immensely. Evie is very excited about the prospect of a baby brother or sister.

Allyson's thoughts about Greg

Greg is wonderful! He shows his love for our family in so many ways. He gives compliments and heads up kitchen dance parties. He helps make dinner and goes on daddy-daughter dates. He works hard at his job and still has energy to spend quality time at home. He knows when to be serious and when to be fun. He is patient and loving and serves in and out of the home. He always shows support and never criticizes. He creates a confidence in me that I didn't even know I had. He truly is my best friend and I feel blessed to have him in my life.

Greg's thoughts about Allyson

It’s hard for me to put into words for everyone to read exactly how I feel about Allyson. The day I met Allyson, it was clear she was someone special. I noticed how everyone gravitated towards her. People are drawn to her personality because they immediately know she cares. Her personality is genuine. She laughs with others; I think she is one of the most humorous people there is. Her humor is the type that is quick and witty, without going too far. She celebrates and hurts with others. She is extremely sensitive to individual situations, and is deeply affected by other’s joys and disappointments. Allyson also has this amazing ability to relate to children of all ages. I love to watch her and Evie play together. A lot of Evie’s creativeness has definitely been inspired by Allyson; I think I may have learned a thing or two as well. The reason I love Allyson the most is her selflessness. She always tries to be there for me and that helps me want to be able to do the same for her. She is my best friend in every sense of the word and I love her.

If you'd like to help Greg and Allyson spread the word, you can add their button to your own blog!
Copy and paste this code into an html gadget.

<a href="http://gregandallyson.blogspot.com/"><br /><img src="http://meganandshane.com/images/gregallysonbutton.jpg" alt="We're Hoping to Adopt!" border="0" width="150" /></a>

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A Pokémon Master's Take on Adoption

"The human sacrificed himself to save the Pokémon . . . I now see that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are"
-Mewtwo

I was watching this movie with Carter today.

Sometimes, when adoption is on your mind, you'll notice adoption messages where you never saw them before. :)

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BzzAgent: Elmer's Crafters'

I am excited about the latest BzzCampaign I got into over at BzzAgent.com. I get to receive poduct of coupons for product from Elmers and Xacto and then reveiw it and share my opinion with friends and family. They have a new line specifically for crafting and scrapbooking, which you know is right up my alley! I look forward to receiving my BzzKit and getting started on this campaign!

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Seasonal Swaperoos

In the Spring, I joined a fun group called Seasonal Swaperoos and love swapping throughout the year. I've met some wonderful women whom I've become friends with. Won't you join us? Click on the button to learn more.

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Better Than I

I thought I did what's right
I thought I had the answers
I thought I chose the surest road
But that road brought me here
So I put up a fight
And told You how to help me
And just when I had given up
The truth is coming clear

For You know Better Than I
You know the way
I've let go the need to know why
For You know Better Than I

If this has been a test
I cannot see the reason
But maybe knowing, I don't know
Is part of getting through
I try to do what's best
And faith has made it easy
To see the best thing I can do
Is put my trust in You

For You know Better Than I
You know the way
I've let go the need to know why
For You know Better Than I

I saw one cloud, and thought it was the sky
I saw a bird and thought that I could follow
But it was You who taught that bird to fly
If I let You reach me
Will You teach me?

For You know Better Than I
You know the way
I've let go the need to know why
I'll take what answers You supply
For You know Better Than I

by John Bucchino

This is one of my all time favorite songs. I remember weeping through it and trying to catch my breath the first time I listened to the lyrics while watching the movie Joseph: King of Dreams. It seems we all need a reminder from time to time that we are in God's hands and that He will never leave us alone. If we find ourselves feeling lonely, it is not because He has turned away. I have always known this truth, but I seem to drift away from it now and then, needing my own reminders occasionally. The most profound of the many lessons I have learned in my life thus far is the one taught here: He does know better than I. He won't always give me what I want when I want it, but He will always bless my life by providing what I need when I need it most.

A few of my favorite versions of this song are by Danny Campbell, Joy Williams, and Jessie Clark Funk.

Below is the clip from Joseph featuring Danny Campbell. Enjoy, my friends.

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Spotlight Saturday - Ben & Sherrie

Please take a moment to get to know Ben and Sherrie, a wonderful family in Arizona who are hoping to adopt.
You can find out more about them and contact them by visiting their adoption profile:

Benjamin and Sherrie have been married for eight years and they look forward to adding children to their family through adoption.

Ben and Sherrie are actually very dear friends of ours. We moved from Utah to Arizona and Shane and Ben started working together that same week. We didn't know then that we had even more in common than we could imagine, and that we'd end up connected through our adoption journeys as well. We even got certified at just about the same time (us for our second adoption and them for their first). We easily grew to be close friends and Carter adores them (and their little dog, too!).

Ben and Sherrie have been hoping to adopt for nearly three years now. They have been chosen twice, but both matches ended in the birth parents deciding to parent. They have continued, with hope, to search for the child(ren) meant to be in their family. We hope you will click on their links to learn more about our good friends. Ben and Sherrie will be wonderful parents and we can hardly wait to see their family grow! Please think about passing on their information to anyone who might be considering an adoption plan for their child or reposting their information. Remember that adoption miracles are often the result of word of mouth from family or friends and help us help Ben and Sherrie!

Blessings,
Shane and Megan

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Gods Heart: Adoption

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You were right, it's a girl!

When we announced there was another baby on the way about six weeks ago, we asked you to guess whether you thought it was going to be a boy or a girl. 22 of you ventured a guess, and exactly half of you (interesting, huh?) guessed correctly that it would be a GIRL! Using Random.org, I generated a winner:

My incredibly gorgeous, sweet sister-in-law, Leah!
(You should really read her blog. She's amazing!)

Leah will be receiving a selection of goodies from the coming update to my etsy shop, Ruby Jane Boutique that I hope her three daughters
(who happen to be my adorable nieces) will love!

I have to say, the fact that the baby is a girl factored in well to what the prize would be. :)
Thanks for your guesses everyone!

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Spotlight Saturday - Wes & Kara

Please take a moment to get to know Wes and Kara, and their boys, Brandon, Spencer, Tyler, and Justin,
a wonderful family in Utah hoping to adopt.
You can find out more about them and contact them by visiting their adoption blog:

We met in June of 1993 and quickly hit it off. We were married in March of 1994 and are still just as crazy about each other as we were back then! We still take time to go on weekly dates. We enjoy trying new restaurants, going on walks together, playing games, and shopping. (OK, Wes doesn't really enjoy that part, but he tolerates it.) Every year we go on a getaway together. Sometimes it's a local bed and breakfast, sometimes it's a cruise. We cherish those times together and the memories we have made.

Raising a family is hard work, but we absolutely love it! There is nothing that brings us more joy than teaching our children and watching them grow and develop. We have four boys, and they are the highlight of our life. Here's a little about each of them:

Brandon is 15 years old and is an awesome older brother. He is kind to everyone, and has endless patience with his younger siblings. He enjoys playing basketball, reading, and playing the piano. He is also a math whiz and has a photographic memory. After watching a movie just once, he can quote all the funny lines. Like a typical teenager, he is always hungry.

Spencer is 12 years old and loves sports. Basketball is his favorite, followed by baseball and football. He is blessed with lots of natural ability, and almost always has a ball in his hands! He loves math and science and is a great student. Spencer is great with little kids and all of Justin's friends adore him.

Tyler is 9 years old. He has a great imagination and is a master lego builder. He has recently developed a love of reading, and is constantly staying up way past his bedtime totally engrossed in a book. He is also an awesome soccer player. Tyler has a great sense of humor. Although he is very reserved in public, he is a total ham at home!

Justin is 6 years old. He loves cars and has an extensive matchbox collection. We find them lined up all over our house. He is very social and doesn't feel like life is complete unless he plays with a friend every day. His smile is contagious! Justin can't wait to be an older brother, and prays every day that we will find our baby sister.

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One year ago today

We met our sweet little girl for the first time...

...and fell in love at first sight!

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Spotlight Saturday - Ian & Michelle

Please take a moment to get to know Ian & Michelle, a wonderful family in Idaho hoping to adopt.
You can find out more about them and contact them by visiting their adoption blog:

Update: Congratulations to Ian & Michelle! They are adopting a boy in October.

Hello!
Our names are Ian and Michelle, thanks so much for taking a minute to get to know us! We are very excited to be parents and are so thankful for the wonderful people in the world that are willing to help others start their families.

We met at a dance in high school and have been in love ever since! After 10 years of being together, almost 7 years of marriage, and 6 years of wanting a family, we are ready, excited, and hoping for a child!
We love spending time together and with our families! We enjoy the outdoors, camping, sports, music, photography, and always have projects to work on! We live in a cute home in a nice neighborhood with a big backyard. Our dogs Harley, Marvin, and Tia are lots of fun and bring us so much joy.

Both of our parents have long standing traditions that we grew up with and still enjoy doing now. All family and friends are always welcome at Ian's parents house on Friday night for delicious home made pizza. Its so fun to get together and talk about the week or whatever, eat, and have fun! Also on Sundays we go to Ian's parents for dinner after church and then Michelle's parents in the evening. We love to see our siblings, nieces, and nephews. Every year we get together with all of Michelle's extended family for a huge Christmas Party! Every winter we love to go to the cabin in Island Park with Ian's family. We play games, watch movies, and eat lots of great food! Those are just a few of the many traditions we love!

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Spotlight Saturday - Meghan, Kenny & Sam

Please take a moment to get to know Meghan, Kenny & Sam, a wonderful family in New York hoping to adopt.
You can find out more about them and contact them by visiting their adoption blog:

We are hoping and praying that we will add to our family through adoption a second time. Our first blessing is Sam, he came into this world in October of 2007 and made us Mommy and Daddy. We would love for Sam to be a big brother and we would love nothing more than to give our love to another baby. We have an amazing open adoption with Sam's birthmom and her family. We look forward to cherishing another special relationship with our new baby's first family!!

A Little Bit About Us
We have been married for a little over eight years and together for a little over 10. We were both born and raised in New York, and still live here today. We own a home in a nice neighborhood, in a town with good schools, about 25 minutes from New York City.

We adopted our son Sam, who turned two, in 2007. He is all "boy" but as sweet as can be as well. While he loves playing ball of any kind, he is just as quick to push around a baby stroller. He loves his dog and cat, cars, his mom and dad and of course ice pops! He adores babies, making him perfect "big brother" material.

I am a stay-at-home mom and my husband works nights, so he is able to spend a lot of quality time with us. I guess we would be considered pretty traditional. We are Catholic and go to church fairly regularly, we do miss some weeks. LOL!

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Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God

I have seen this video all over facebook for the last little while but, for some reason, never clicked to watch on it until today. I hope you'll take the time to watch it, too. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I watched. I heard words I really needed to hear. My heart is full of gratitude for my opportunity to be a mother, especially when many mighty miracles of great magnitude had to line up in order for motherhood to find me. I ache for my friends who are still awaiting the chance to hold their child in their arms as I remember the pain of not knowing when the time would come for me. I know He can fill your life with the greatest joy when the time for you is right. I know He did that for me, and I treasure my role more now because of it.

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Spotlight Saturday - Sam & Lacey, Ali & Nic

Please take a moment to get to know Sam & Lacey, Ali & Nic, a wonderful family in Utah hoping to adopt.
You can find out more about them and contact them by visiting their adoption blog:

Update: Congratulations to Sam and Lacey! They adopted a girl in August.

Sam grew up in a family with one sister and three brothers, in which he was the youngest. Sam was raised on a farm. They have sold the farm, but Sam is grateful for the experiences it taught him. We live close to most of his family and see them frequently. Sam is a very hard worker and has been successful in owning his own construction company. He also worked hard at building our home. We spent many hours together building our home. Sam likes his job because it gives him the flexibility to be able to spend a lot of time with his family.

Lacey grew up in a family with three other siblings. They get together often and enjoy each other’s company. Lacey loves being a stay-at-home mom. She loves learning new things and is often looking for a challenge. She loves being around family and friends and is a very social person. She can often be found at the park with the kids, her friends, and their kids. She has recently found a new love to run. She has even roped Sam into some races. But most of all, she loves nothing more than to ENJOY everyday she has with her family and watching them grow

Ali is 4 1/2 years old. She loves preschool and is looking forward to going to Kindergarten in the fall. She is full of attitude and personality. She loves playing outside riding her bikes and finding rocks. She is pretty "girlie" but enjoys playing with the many neighbor boys. She loves her brother more than anything and their bond is very special. She loves to be a part of his bed time routine and loves telling him "goodnight" and giving him "kissies".

Nic is full of love. He is the happiest kid I know. Many Strangers comment on his smile and how content he is. He loves to play with balls, trucks, or ride with his sister in their pretend car. He is very smart and LOVES to see his dad come home. He is a people person and often steals the hearts of many.

We are so grateful for him in our family and for the peace, joy, and happiness he brings to it. We are blessed to be called his parents.

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Spotlight Saturday - Brian, Nicole & Bridget

Please take a moment to get to know Brian, Nicole & Bridget, a wonderful family in Utah hoping to adopt.
You can find out more about them and contact them by visiting their adoption blog:

Update: Congratulations to Brian & Nicole who recently adopted twin boys!

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