Family Pictures

We had our family pictures taken by my cousin and her husband. They always do such a fantastic job we have a hard time going to anyone else. They've done pictures of my dancers when I taught at the high school, our engagement pictures, and past years of family pictures. And they pulled through for us again. Enjoy!

       
                                      

                                              

Oh how I love them!

National Adoption Month

So in case you weren't aware, November is National Adoption Month. It is so amazing for us to be a part of adoption in this way. We have learned so much about so many people and their roads to a family through adoption. We have been touched how many people have reached out to help us--kind words, handing out our pass-along cards, sharing our story on Facebook, etc. We are one of many who are waiting and wanting and hoping to adopt. Today we wanted to share our friends information on their journey.

Dave knew Dylan and Emily from high school. They were good friends. As often happens, after graduation they never saw much of each other except at some reunions. When we attended our first meeting at LDS Family Services we were surprised and excited to see Dylan and Emily there.  Since our reconnection at the original meeting we have seen them multiple times at Adoption Chat nights, Emily helped us make our pass-along cards, and they have shared out story on Facebook.  They have been approved to adopt for just over a month now and we wanted to help get the word out.

Here is their blog:
http://dylanandemilyhope2adopt.blogspot.com/

and their video:
Emily & Dylan are Hoping to Adopt from Scarlet Oak Studio on Vimeo.

Dylan and Emily are truly genuine and selfless.  We have learned a lot from them through their examples and are so grateful we can share this road towards adoption with them.  They have been a tremendous support, and we hope to show them how much we are grateful for their friendship.

When We Can...

...we like to:

play with friends at the park...

 ...run in the rain...

...draw pictures on our chalk board...

(the first time I have seen Aliyah draw a person-she is an ARTIST!)

...go to BYU to visit friends and cousins...

...and, of course, eat ice cream!...

...tie up our toys...

...and go to the library with Daddy!

(Dave looks so natural on that little kid couch!)

These definitely are a few of my favorite things!

Family Home Evening...in the Mountains

We were in Provo one Monday night meeting with Dave's uncle. We had a wonderful talk that lasted longer than we had expected so we decided to grab some food and go up the canyon for FHE. It was beautiful! The weather was perfect, the leaves were changing, and the view was awesome. 

We took time to enjoy the nature and being together and...

eating food. Aliyah is really good at eating:

 Note to Self: have wipes in the car

Adoption Book

I have done a bit of studying these past few months, trying to learn more about adoption--my role, how to be prepared, etc. The first book I read was "For the Love of a Child."  I feel like I have learned so much from this book that I needed to share a little bit of how I have changed because of reading it.

This book is written by a social worker who was employed by LDS Family Services. I cried almost through the whole entire book (it didn't help that I was reading it out loud to Dave on one of our road trips--it made the emotions that much worse!)  This book changed the way that I think about adoption. In the beginning of our process it was a lot about me and Dave and what we were going through and how hard it all is. But as I read "For the Love of a Child" I began to see the "other" side more clearly. I began to understand better the hardships and difficulties that the expectant parents are going through as they face this decision-the grief, the confusion, the hopelessness, the change of plans, the emotional and physical changes, etc. I was strengthened by the personal experiences that were included of birth mothers, adoptive parents, adoptees, etc. I was impressed that we don't have to go on this journey alone and that my path and an expectant mothers path will cross and that it is all by God's doing.  Elder Neal A. Maxwell talked about how God placed the Star of Bethlehem in orbit at the perfect time to shine for Christ's birth and that similarly He has placed us in our orbits to cross paths with the right people at the right time.  I believe that with all my heart.  And I can't wait to see how God has orchestrated our lives to cross with our birth mothers life!

Labor Day Weekend!

I love long weekends. There is nothing like it...but I love it even more when we are able to be together all day on each of those days.  This Labor Day Weekend fun came unexpectedly and at the last minute--which really is sometimes the very funnest way to do things! Our good friends invited us to go along with them on their "business trip." We got to go for all of the fun! One of the best parts about it was that their youngest and Aliyah LOVE each other--it is so funny to hear them talk in their high-pitched tones. 

We started out by going to the Treehouse Children's Museum. Unfortunately we didn't have more time there because it is awesome. After running around for a little bit, the first thing the girls did was go to the a little play that they got to be a part of. Aliyah is pretty comfortable on the stage as a cow and towards the end she even mooed on cue a couple of times. 

They had a lot of interactive areas, but this was one of their favorites: a puppet show.

The next morning after eating an amazing breakfast...

We went to Hill Air Force Base. I grew up my whole entire life 15 minutes away from here and think I went on a field trip once in third grade (but guess how much I remember of it) and haven't been since. It is soooooo cool. Maybe it is because I have read a lot more books about World War II and have a better understanding about how they were used. Or it could just be because these machines are HUGE and can fly up in the sky! Seriously, can you spot the girls running by the wheels?

Ginormous!

We had to get a picture with our little fam! But Aliyah wouldn't smile until her little friend was in the picture too...whatever makes her happy!

These two together kill us!

We had one of the most amazing Mexican meals I have ever tasted at Sanora Grill just south of the new Ogden Temple before calling it day!

On Monday we got to do iFly. I had never heard of it-it's this vertical wind tunnel that you step into and recreates what it is like to sky dive. They allow children ages 3 and up. We weren't sure how the little girls would do, but they were AMAZING. They sure do have a lot of trust in us to just go along--and without a fight! This is even the after picture...All smiling faces!

And here's Aliyah waiting for us--still pretending to fly like Wendy from Peter Pan.

We had such an amazing time and with such amazing people! Here's to more sporadic adventures!!

Out With A Bang

Summer flew by...as always, so we tried to do some fun things before it was over. Of course it included bowling. Aliyah loves bowling-one of her very favorite things-she must have some of grandma's genes in her! (my mom grew up with her dad owning bowling alleys!)

 

Dave taught Aliyah how to celebrate after having gotten a strike:

We also were invited by our friends at OhSweetBasil.com (Carrian's) to go to their end of year party. She had organized an awesome water party with amazing water guns that we got to take home (Dave was so excited that he even switched with one of the kids so he could get the one he wanted!!), dinner, and fun with friends. Elsa and Anna even showed up--Aliyah was enthralled.  She watched their every move and did just what they asked of her. It was pretty cute.

We also were able to go to the Ogden Temple Open House with our good friend Nicole.

It was a beautiful day. And Aliyah was excited that she got to go in the temple (Although she may not look like she was)!

And finally we made sure to get some good play time in before the school year started.  All of Aliyah's play date friends were going to start up PreSchool. We decided to do Joy School with our cousin this year and preschool next year.  Aliyah loves friends.

Fall has begun!