Guess What!!!!!

So excited to say that this semester is finally over. It kicked my butt for some reason. Not sure why, but I am very excited to have a month to relax and enjoy the holidays with my family. I should feel rejuvanated enough to start again in January.

It is beginning to feel like Christmas around our house.

The tree is decorated!

The nativity is up!

We have made several visit to the Jolley Red Man...
and even progressed to sitting on his lap! :)

And JT is making sure that he will have the most energy on the BIG day!

Just in case...

Just in case you don't hear from me in the next few weeks....
look under this pile of books! I may have been crushed!

I now remember why I hate finals. Not that studying for
tests is bad, but is seems like professors love to make the last 2 weeks of school HORRIBLE!

I do have to say that I am so proud of myself. I always promised my family (Grams)
that I would go back to school and I now have 2 semesters under my belt!

I am signed up for Spring semester and am actually excited for my classes! :)

So for now... I am stuck under these books, but next week we will be
focusing on Christmas and enjoying the rest of December!

My life!

This is the picture text I got today at work.

These two are my life! I don't know if I could function without them.
So as we enter this holiday season I just want to say that I am so grateful for them and for everything in my life.

I have decided to focus this season on the things that I have instead of the things that I don't have. So here is to a little change. :)

11 Years!!!!!

Can you believe that we have been married for 11 years? We decided to take a hop skip and jump away to Vegas for the night. We went to the bodies exhibit at the Luxor and then ate at PF Changs. (Mmmmm)

So the bodies exhibit.. first I will just say that it was VERY interesting. I will probably never go back, but I am glad we saw it at least once.

The circulatory part of the exhibit was our favorite part. It is amazing just how many blood vessels and veins we have in our body. This is just a picture of the hand, but they had a full human body on display.

We checked into a cute little resort and played Yahtzee all night. It was so much fun to chill and just talk.

Between me working, both of us going to school, and JT wanting our constant attention we don't have much time to just talk. The next morning we decided to check out Bass Pro Shops. It was very cool. They had some amazing animals. My 2 favorites were the giraffe and lion.


When we were done at Bass Pro Shops we got a call from a car dealership we had been working with that they had a car we might like... so off we went to St George to look at it. We ended up getting the car and are so excited to have something new to drive. Overall it was an amazing anniversary trip. I couldn't ask for a better spouse. We have had our ups and downs, but I wouldn't give any of our trials away for a different life.

I am truly blessed!!!

Dog & Halloween

Ape & Sum... are you shocked? :) I actually have 2 more posts to do, but want to keep them separate.














About a month before Halloween our neighbors asked us if we wanted one of their puppies. I knew Jon probably wasn't interested since we already have 2 dogs, but I told him anyway. We went over that same day to look at them and fell in love with him. A few days before Halloween we were able to bring Ash home with us. So for now we have 3 dogs. Ahhhhh most of the time it is crazy, but I love watching JT play with them. He is so cute.
















So Halloween this year was fun for the first half. We went to a little bit of our ward's trunk or treat and then went to my parents. For those of you who don't know my mom & dad bought a Fed-Ex route that Ramsey does. I really wanted to find a Fed-Ex uniform, but they don't make them for kids. I ended up with this. It was a huge hit! JT was having a blast and halfway around the parking lot he didn't want to do it anymore. Within 15 he had a fever and was so sick. We ended up going home and nursing his fever all night and the next day. A few days after that my sisters boys got the same thing. Stupid viruses!

I decided to throw something together last minute... crazy scientist or whatever! :)
It is fun to dress up

Since JT was sick Saturday night and half the day on Halloween... we decided once his fever broke and he was acting better to carve our pumpkin. He wasn't a very big fan of cleaning the pumpkin out if you can tell by his face, but it was fun to do as a family.

Sad to say this was the first pumpkin we have carved since JT was born. We are pathetic I know. It will definitely be something we do EVERY year now.

Going Private!

It is time... and as much as I hate to do it we need to. So if you still want to read about our fun adventures or adoption stuff when I actually post... let me know. I will go back and get the emails from when I did this before, but let me know. Hope you all have a fun week! :)

Our summer

So since we have been crazy busy with school, work, and life... I decided to update a bit about what we have been up to the past few months. Here is our Summer in pictures.

JT became a super hero with crazy hair.

Daddy decided it was time to shave it all off. Look at our handsome monkey.

We started remodeling our upstairs bathroom.

(It is still in progress, but almost complete)

Trips to Kolob
Blowing massive dandelions

JT's first time fishing. He picked out his own pole and had so much fun.

Family vacation to San Diego.

Riding the sky thing... notice his strained smile?

He was freaking out

Patiently waiting for Shamu.

Imperial Beach.

We fell in love with Coronado Island.

We will be going back there soon.

Still smiling after a long day at Sea World.

Along with all the fun we had we were also crazy enough to go to summer school full-time. By the way... I will never do that again!

The Good and the Bad

Sitting at work today I was struggling. I still have bad days... I am not perfect. Actually not even close. Remember my last post? Patience? Well this girls is still trying to learn patience. The first 7 years of our marriage while we waited to have a baby were difficult. I surrounded myself with friends and their kids that I could try to help fill the void. It worked for awhile. Then JT came... that beautiful little boy that I had dreamed about. It was a quick process. 6 months - from the time we started our paperwork to the day he was placed in my arms. At that moment nothing else in the world mattered. My life was complete... or so I thought.

Fast forward a few years. JT is about to turn 3 and Jon and I had been mulling around the idea of adopting again. Deep inside I just wished I would have gotten pregnant. Just for the fact that I knew I had learned enough patience the first time around. ;) The Lord said, "I don't think so" Many of you know it took quite awhile to get that darn paperwork done. I just didn't feel like it was time. A year passed and I finally felt that little nudge... well big push. The rest went so fast. Home visits, interviews, online profile, and setting up our adoption blog. We were finally approved at the beginning of June. JT turned 3. All of the sudden he isn't my baby anymore. He still whines and refuses to poop in the toilet, but he is independent and will only cuddle with me when he doesn't want to go to bed. My arms started to ache for another baby. I know the Lord has more planned for us. Multiple blessing has confirmed this to me, but it is always in the Lord's time. See the problem? TIME... the thing that I am not good with. Although I am crazy busy with working full-time and going to school full-time and being a wife and mother, I still have down moments during the day where my brain will not stop thinking about our next baby.

The beginning of September we received an email from a birthmother. She told us a little about herself, the reason why she was putting her baby up for adoption and that she really liked us. It was our birthdays and Labor Day so we sat at the mountain in anticipation of the email we would have waiting for us when we got home. We kept it secret from everyone except my parents and siblings. Monday we raced home to find no email. A few days later... no email. A month and a half later... no email. So now I had gotten my hopes up (despite trying not to) just to have them crushed. A few weeks ago our old adoption agency informed us of a situation of a birthmother that was actually due this month. Problem though... we would have to come up with close to $22,000 dollars. Yeah not even an option. The night I got the email I almost felt like Satan had dangled something in my face just to get my hopes up again. I am sure that isn't the reason, but that is how I felt. Now I just sit here today wondering, hoping, and praying that I can survive this second time around.

Don't get me wrong... I am so thankful for everything that I have. I seriously have the most amazing husband, he stays at home with JT and is going to school and loves me despite my weaknesses. JT is my miracle baby... most days I look at him and just wonder why I am so lucky to be chosen as his mom. I don't feel worthy of him. My family is so supportive and I love that I am close to be with them. I have my own home and cars that work. I am able to juggle my job and going to school. Something I never thought I would be able to do.

I have my good days and my bad days. The good outweigh the bad, but I am still human. Not quite a stepford housewife yet! ;)

Longing...

Have you ever wanted something so bad that your whole body and soul longs for it? That ONE thing in your life that tries your patience. It keeps you up at night and takes up every nook and cranny of your brain. After waiting 7 years to finally get my miracle child I thought I was at a point that I would be content. JT is the one thing that I have ever wanted. 3 years later and I find myself waiting again. I wish I could say that I would be happy with just one child, but something inside me knows that there are more children meant to come to our family and for some silly reason the Lord really wants to teach me patience. You would have thought I had learned the first time around huh? Well... I guess not. Patience is that vice that just rocks me to my core. It chews me up and spits me out during my darkest moments. President Monson's talk last Sunday on gratitude really woke me up. I sat there sobbing while holding JT. There I was... wanting something so bad while taking for granted the one thing I had been blessed with. I came across a thought from President Uchtdorf about patience... I think I will blow it up big and post it around my house.

"Patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can--working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well! Patience means to abide in faith, knowing that sometimes it is the waiting rather than in the receiving that we grow the most."

I am hoping now that I have a somewhat renewed strength and will to be patient I can overcome or learn just what the Lord's wants me too. I know wanting children is a righteous desire, but we also have to remember it is in the Lord's time and I guess that is the part that I struggle with the most. :) My arms are ready for another precious child. So Heavenly Father whenever you are ready... send them on down.

Thank You Thank You Thank You!!!

Thank you to everyone that has put our adoption button up on your blog. I am so thankful for wonderful family and friends like you. We are still totally crazy with life right now. It is finally midterms and who would have though 4 weeks would drag on. :) I am hoping the next 4 weeks flies by. I am really looking forward to a little break before fall semester starts. We are still being very patient with the whole adoption thing. How long has it been since we got approved? 2 week? lol who knows... I am just ready for another baby!

JT is now 3!! Seriously where did the time go? It seems like he was just born and now he is a big boy. We were able to celebrate his birthday with my sister and her kids. We also had a blast while they were here. Hanging out and just having fun. Other than that our lives are pretty boring. lol They consist of wake up, work, homework, play with JT, clean the house, cook dinner, homework, sleep... do it all over again! :) I am sure you are so jealous!

The boys loved the pinata... Pacers was a little sad he was hitting McQueen though.

JT & Trey Trey loved it!!!

What is better than money!

I am sure he wanted to take this puppy home, but we already have 2.. sorry kiddo! :)

Let's get the word out.

The church is now promoting "finding" your baby instead of "waiting." So I am taking a very proactive approach and getting our information out there any way I can. I am so thankful for this opportunity that we have. I never imagined that we would be in this situation. I always thought by now that we would have been done with our family. Little did we know that the Lord has a different plan for us. JT has been such a blessing in our lives and we can't wait to add another special spirit to our family. This is where you can help.

* I have set up an adoption blog. Please grab the button over to the right and put it on your blog. It will take you directly to our adoption blog. If you are interested in having people grab the button from your blog, let me know, and I can email you the html code.

* Keep your eyes and ears open. Any situation you hear of could be a possible lead. (It is sad to put it that way, but it is the honest truth) I will have pass-along cards soon and will give them to whoever is interested. That way if you hear about anything you can give them a card.

I am so thankful for all of you. Adoption is a whole different world, but I am so greatful to be able to experience it. Without adoption I wouldn't have my JT. You have all been so wonderful and supportive. :) You are the best. I will keep you updated on anything that happens! Until then... spread the word!!!!!

We are approved!!!!!!!!!!!!

So... I pretty much stink at the blog stuff! It seems when my life is busy the blog gets put on the back burner. I work a full-time job, I am a "full-time" homemaker, I have a 2 almost 3 year old (no explaining that one), Jon and I are going to school, church callings, family stuff, and on top of it all trying to get our adoption stuff done. But I have amazing news... We are approved. It was official on Wednesday! I can't believe that everything is falling into place and so quickly. I plan on posting everything that you guys can do to help us find our next baby. I have to finish a couple of things though. So stay tuned! :) I promise it won't be months this time. Only a few days! Until then... enjoy looking at this cute little guy!

Can you say busy?

Well that is what we are. And that is why I haven't posted. I didn't even post Christmas... I am terrible! :) Oh well... hoping to catch up one of these nights after my house is quiet. Stay tuned... I am sure it will be good stuff.


Here is a picture for your viewing pleasure. Valentines Day is coming up so here is JT in his V-day shirt last year. I can't believe how little he was.