Adventures of Supermans Mommy

Attn: Tanner Hansen

2011-03-11T15:46:00.002-07:00

Please go to the following link www.LaurenandTannerProm.blogspot.com

ENGLAND

2010-07-07T17:32:00.007-06:00

Day Seven-London Again
On Friday we went back into to London to see the Tower of London. This place is absolutely amazing!! It is nearly 1000 yrs. old! We of course took a tour with the Yeoman Warder-who was hilarious and had some awesome stories to tell. We drove over the Tower Bridge which is stunning. We saw Tower Green where Anne Bolyn was beheaded, traitors gate and of course the Crown Jewels. We couldn't take pictures in there, but they were impressive. Some parts of the Tower date back to Roman times. It is so amazing to see so much history in one place. The White Tower was very cool and they had an awesome display featuring armor and other things from Henry VIII's time. After the Tower we took the Tube to Kings Cross Station and found Platform 9 3/4-we tried to get to Hogwarts, but didn't have enough magic-I guess we are true Muggles. Tanner wanted to take a "2 headed" bus, so we hopped on a double decker. Tanner and Troy scored awesome seats in the front on the top and we enjoyed riding through London. We drove down Oxford Street and got off near Harrods. Harrods is absolutely HUGE and the window displays were quite impressive. They were holding a Winter Festival in Hyde Park that was lots of fun. It had lots of rides and fun booths. Troy and the kids rode a ride and we stocked up on Gummis. It was an awesome last day. On Saturday we headed to the airport and once again ended up lost and barely making our flight, but we had so much fun. It was truly an amazing vacation. England did not disappoint in any way and I can't wait to go back again some day as there is so much more to see-Troy says I have to see Italy first though :)

Tower of London
Tower Bridge

Yeoman Warder

Traitors Gate

Henry II Throne

The White Tower

The Tudors

Guard outside the Jewel House

Tower Green

On the Tube

Bella didn't want to go to Hogwarts

Double Decker riding down Oxford Street

Harrods

Our Hotel-a 16th century Country Estate

ENGLAND

2010-07-07T16:34:00.005-06:00

Day Five-Hampton Court Palace
On Wednesday we drove out to Hampton Court Palace. This palace was one of the homes of Henry VIII. I love Tudor history so this was a must see for me. It was built in the early 1500's. It is massive. We spent the entire day exploring. We were lucky to be there during the celebration of 500 yrs since Henry VIII became King. So they were having reenactments of his last marriage to Katherine Parr. It was so fun to see the actors and it really brought the history to life for the kids. They came home pretending they were ladies and gentlemen of the Court. Tanner had fun pretending he was Sir Thomas Seymour. It was really cute to watch. Tatiyana read all the plaques in the different rooms explaining the history and what the room was used for. It was a bit rainy but not too cold as long as we were bundled up. The rooms were beautiful, the gardens amazing. This was one of my favorite days.

Outside Hampton Court
Henry VIII

Troy pretending to be King

Tudor Kitchens

Gardens

One of the Royal Apartments

Day Six-France
On Thursday we decided to take a ferry from Dover over to France. We didn't go all the way into Paris, but went to a cute little town called Lille. It was so pretty. We kept the kids busy on the drive by counting all the churches we saw. Each town has its own church. We counted somewhere in the 30's on our way from Calais to Lille. This was our coldest and rainiest day yet, but we still had a great time. It is amazing to see the difference between France and England in the buildings. We found a darling Christmas Market. I was so excited to buy an ornament. When we went to Germany before we were married I loved the Christmas markets. The smells again reminded Troy of home. We found yummy crepes and managed to get by even though we know absolutely zero French. We then decided to drive into Belgium. The kids slept through the whole drive, but Troy and I enjoyed seeing the sites. We stopped at a beautiful cathedral in Tornai, Belgium that looked a lot like Notre Dame. We then drove back to Calais to find some dinner and catch the ferry back across the Channel. The kids now have two stamps in their passports.

Cathedral in Belgium

Town Center in Lille, France

Christmas Market

On the Ferry leaving England

(right before I got super sea sick)

ENGLAND

2010-07-07T15:10:00.007-06:00

DAY THREE-LONDON
So on Monday we decided to drive into London to see the Tower of London. We got up early and headed in. Unfortunately we didn't know that the day before there was a fire in the Blackwall tunnel-this is the main way to get into London from Kent. So traffic was at a standstill. We sat and we sat-of course since we didn't really have a clue where we were we didn't know how to bybass it-so we spent several hours in traffic. Finally we decided to go to Westminster instead of the Tower. It gets dark at like 4 pm so we didn't get to see anything in the daylight. We did make it to Westminster and Big Ben. It was awesome!! I just love how old the buildings are and they have so much history it is amazing. We then walked all over this part of London. We went to Trafalgar Square and found a nice little Italian Resturaunt to eat at, we then walked down to Buckingham Palace. We walked along the Princess Diana memorial walk. It was really beautiful. The gates on the Palace are so ornate. Sadly since it was so late we didn't see any guards, but we did have the area completely to ourselves. London is crazy busy with people everywhere, but it has such an awesome energy.

Westminster Cathedral
Big Ben

Trafalgar Square

In a phone booth

Buckingham Palace

Day Four-Canterbury

On Tuesday we decided to explore Canterbury. It was just a short drive from our hotel and was so adorable. It was so quaint. The downtown area was closed off to vehicles and was all cobbled stone streets. There were darling shops and resturaunts. Troy loved Canterbury, it reminded of being home back in Germany. We loved exploring. We toured the famous Canterbury Catherdral. It was so so beautiful! I was in awe at how ornate everything was. The stained glass windows were amazing. The tombs were so interesting. Many important people were buried here. We saw the shrine of Thomas Becket and tomb of Henry III and his queen. It was such a nice relaxing day, the sun was shining and we didn't have any rain.

Downtown Canterbury

Inside the Cathedral

Shrine of Thomas Becket

Canterbury Cathedral

ENGLAND

2010-07-07T14:28:00.005-06:00

So I am going to start my backtracking with our trip to England!! Since most of you don't know me well I will give you a little history. I LOVE LOVE LOVE almost all things British. I have had a love affair with english history for nearly 15 years. I will read just about anything that has to do with the English royal families and their history. I know it is kinda nerdy-but I am just facinated by it. So when we were planning our vacation and our timeshare had an opening in Canterbury(just 1hr outside London) we jumped at the chance to go. IT was AMAZING!!!! I loved every single minute of it. We were so lucky to find an awesome deal on plane tickets so we took our kids and I am so glad that we did. They were so good and still talk about all the things we saw to this day. They can't wait to go back to Europe. I think that because Troy and I were excited for all the things we were seeing it really rubbed off on the kids. It will definitely take more than one post to document all the awesome things we saw.

Day ONE-the kids were so awesome on the 12 hours we spent on the plane. They slept almost the whole time-which was so nice. We started our decent into London in the morning and since Troy had already been there he let me have his window seat. We were in a holding pattern to land at Heathrow so we flew down the Thames and back again. I was seriously like a little kid-I could barely sit still as we flew over Big Ben, the Tower and Tower Bridge. It was a beautiful clear and sunny day and I was in Heaven!! We rented a car since we weren't staying in the city and let me tell you what an experience that was. Driving on the wrong side of the road on the wrong side of the car was interesting to say the least. Troy was a pro by the 2nd day, but we did have lots of adventures as we ended up lost quite a bit :) The GPS was a lifesaver and totally worth the extra money. We drove through London from Heathrow to Greenwich just to see the scenery and then headed down to Canterbury to find our resort. We finally made it to the hotel after dark as we couldn't figure out the address to our hotel and ended up out in the English countryside driving on 1 lane farm roads, but the GPS got us back on track and to the hotel safe and sound. We were of course exhausted but needed a trip to the grocery store, the girl at the hotel gave us awesome directions and off we were to Tesco-the food is very different than here but we managed to find a few things we would all eat :)Sadly I didn't take any pics cause I was just taking it all in.

DAY TWO- DOVER

Today we slept in-we were all exhausted. We decided to take a drive down to Dover and explore the area. We saw the White Cliffs of Dover which were way cool. We then found a cute little English town where we found some lunch. It was Sunday so most places closed early and it was rainy and cold, but we had a great time exploring this area. IT was sooo beautiful! I have never seen any place so green even in December. We went back to the hotel to get enough rest for our 1st day in London.

On the beach on the English channel

it was super windy

English Channel

White Cliffs of Dover

Me and Tanner seeing the Channel for the first time

MIA

2010-07-07T14:05:00.003-06:00

Hi all I know it may seem that I have fallen off the face of the earth. But I am still here-just busy being a mom to 3 awesome kids. I have lots to post about as the last 8 months or so have been full of fun and memorable things. So bear with me while I get back into the groove of the blogging world.

Summer 2009

2009-10-06T09:09:00.007-06:00

So here is a summer recap-Sorry the pics aren't in order. In June we went to San Diego and had a great relaxing week. We went to the beach, Sea World and Disneyland. It was fun to spend that time together as a family. At the end of June Bella had her first surgery on her eye. At first they thought it was a clogged tear duct, but found out during the procedure that it isn't. It is a hemangioma-it is a type of birth mark that actually shows up after birth and then goes away in 2-4 years. But since it is on her eye and was starting to block her vision we chose to have them inject it with steroids which is suppose to make it shrink. We did that in July and by August there wasn't a lot of progress so they ordered an MRI to take a closer look. It is quite big and actually wrapped around her tear duct making it a difficult one to take out. So as of right now we are just watching it. In the last 6 weeks or so it has shrunk a lot so we are glad to see that progress. We enjoyed the 4th of July parade and fireworks. We also got to visit with my good friend Melissa on her 30th birthday. The kids took swimming lessons, Tanner did basketball camp and Tati did volleyball camp. Tati made the level 4 gymnastics team so she is competing this fall and we are so proud of her. So there it is our summer in a small nutshell. Enjoy the pictures that are in no particular order. Next up Back to School time!!

My cute girls
Me and Melissa

Getting ready for surgery

4th of July cuties

Me and Bella at Oceanside Beach
Bellas first time in a pool
Disneyland(my favorite place)
Sea World First time in the sand-she tried to eat it of course

May

2009-08-12T10:45:00.002-06:00

So May brought us Tanners 6th birthday. He had a great time having his first friend party. I will say that 10 six year olds is a hand full-but it was a great time. Tanner also graduated from kindergarten. It was so much fun to go to the graduation and see all the fun things they have learned this year. He has grown up so much this school year-and especially since Bella was born. Tati finished 2nd grade being her teachers favorite. Bella is growing like a weed. She started to develop a blue lump on her eye that the doctors thought was a clogged tear duct-so she went to a specialist to get it checked. He agreed that was what is was and told us to push on it to try and open it up for 6 weeks-more to come on that story.

Troy and I celebrated our 10th anniversary. It has been a wonderful decade! I am so lucky to be married to such a wonderful man. He is my best friend and an awesome dad. He is just the best. It is hard to believe it has already been 10 years and yet it also seems like just yesterday we were young and planning a wedding and life together. I am just one lucky girl.

Sorry no pics for May-Troy downloaded them onto his computer and then erased them before I could put them on mine.

Summer Recap-

2009-08-12T10:43:00.003-06:00

Okay so I have been awful at updating this summer. It has just been so busy and is now almost over-school starts next week. I am going to try and give a month by month recap-highlight reel-hopefully I will get it done today and I will try to be better.

Easter Fun!!

2009-04-15T12:03:00.004-06:00

Easter was great fun this year. I dressed all the kids up in matching outfits-a first for me-but it was way cute!! We enjoyed a wonderful church meeting learning about our Savior and the great gift of the Atonement. We then had a wonderful dinner with Troys sisters. Saturday we colored eggs and saw Monsters vs. Aliens. It was a fun weekend.

Here is Bella all dressed up
Troy and Bella

Please ignore my claw hand :)

Me and Bella

Cute Tanner

Beautiful Tati

All matching in Springy Green

Bella playing with the toys the Easter Bunny brought

All ready for Church

Bella's Blessing

2009-04-15T11:45:00.002-06:00

Sorry I have been a slacker when it comes to updating the blog-but who has time when you are loving on this sweet girl each day? :) We had a wonderful blessing day for Bella. Many family members came to support us and it was truly beautiful. Bella looked gorgeous, but hated her dress and hollered about it a lot-until we took it off. She is such a sweet baby girl. She has added so much to our family and we feel so blessed. It is wonderful to see the priesthood in action and I am so grateful for a husband who honors his priesthood.

Introducing Isabella Marie!!

2009-02-08T13:13:00.006-07:00

ITS A GIRL!! We are so excited to welcome this sweet girl to our family! I had a scheduled C-section and was very nervous-more so than I was with the other 2 kids. Everything went well-the surgery took a little longer than normal-which is a story for another day-but despite that it all went according to plan. We were so excited to finally find out if we were having a boy or a girl and Troy was able to tell me it was our Bella. It was such a cool experience. I was never fully on board through out the pregnancy with being surprised, but it was so much fun. Troy didn't even get queasy this time :) The kids are so excited to have a baby sister. Tanner said he knew it was a girl all along-Tati is like the 2nd little mother and wants to be by her all the time. So far we are adjusting well. Bella is such a good baby and hardly cries. She is just a sweet sweet spirit straight from Heaven. We feel so blessed to have her as a part of our family. She is definitely the one who we felt was missing-and are so grateful that she made it here safe and heathly. Through all the years of infertility I struggled with understanding Heavenly Fathers plan for our family-but now know that this sweet girl just wasn't ready to come yet-but oh was she worth the wait-she is beautiful and perfect!!

Coming to the End and the Beginning

2009-01-21T15:41:00.003-07:00

As my pregnancy is coming to an end I find that I am reflecting back over the past 5 years and what we went through to get to this point. It is crazy that the one thing that we have wished and prayed for for so long is about to happen. It just a couple of days I will go in for my c-section and we will finally welcome this baby to our home and lives-it has been apart of our hearts for 5 years and it is so exciting to be able to finally put a face and a little person behind our dream. Almost exactly 5 years ago Troy and I felt such strong promptings on the exact same day that we were suppose to have another baby. It freaked me out! Tanner was only 9 months old and still my baby-needless to say I was not ready at all. It actually took me a couple of months to come around to the idea and jump in. Needless to say I didn't think that we would have any problems because we hadn't before. So I was shocked by the struggles we faced in getting pregnant-it just didn't make sense to me. After several rounds of clomid I prayed that we would find the right path to bring this child into our home. I started researching adoption and instantly my heart felt at peace- I thought that I had finally found the answer I was looking for. I researched and researched and fell in love with the sweet faces I saw coming home from Vietnam and Asia and felt that we were suppose to go and find our child there. Money was a huge concern for us and it just felt like we were never going to be able to afford an adoption. I watched and waited and prayed and still felt that Vietnam was the place for us-we just needed to save up some money. Then the Vietnam program began to experience problems and closed down. I was devastated! I felt that we had missed a chance-but Troy was ever optimistic and knew that somehow we would find the right path to grow our family. My heart was set on adoption-I have grown to love it. The families I have been able to learn about just truly touched my heart and I found that everywhere I turned I was meeting someone whose life had been touched by it. I was so excited to be apart of it-so I was reluctant to even try any more fertility drugs-I didn't want to get my hopes up-and I felt truly at peace with the decision to grow our family through adoption-but my new doctor wanted to just try clomid again. So I went on it-and was told I didn't ovulate-so imagine my surprise when 2 weeks later I find out we are pregnant. It was crazy-my emotions were everywhere-I just didn't know what to think or feel. Of course I was soo excited and humbled and just felt so blessed to be pregnant again after so long, but apart of me mourned for the loss of adoption as an option for our family because it had become such a part of me and my plans for the future. I know it sounds silly but is was such an array of emotions it is hard to describe. I think that I will always have a love for adoption and I hope that maybe someday we will get to adopt-It is hard to know and understand the why things worked out the way they did for us. We obviously had something that we were suppose to learn from this trial-whether it was to open our hearts to adoption-or something else I just don't know at this time, but I do know that my heart was changed and opened to so many things through this trial and I am grateful for those things.

It is crazy to think that we are now ready to start a new chapter in our lives. We are so excited to move to this next stage of our lives. I have been lucky to not have to hard of a pregnancy. And we are sooo ready for this sweet spirit. The kids can hardly wait and will just be huge helps to me. This baby will definitely not be lacking in love-I will post some belly pics and then next week sometime update to let you all know what we had and how we are doing.

Christmas 2008

2009-01-12T13:08:00.003-07:00

We had a wonderful holiday season. We had tons of snow which the kids loved to play in. My family came up the weekend before Christmas and we had a nice time visiting with them. Troy's parents were here and we spent Christmas Eve all together at his sisters house. The kids had a great time acting out the Nativity and seeing what Santa brought everyone. We were very blessed to have a wonderful Christmas with our great families. We are especially grateful for the wonderful Gift of the Saviors birth and what his life means for us. We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas season!!

Tati turns 8!!

2008-12-29T15:30:00.004-07:00

So November was a big month for us. Tatiyana celebrated her 8th birthday and was baptised. What a great couple of weeks we had leading up to her birthday and preparing for such a special day. I can't believe my little girl is getting so big. She is just the sweetest girl and has the most loving personality. She is always willing to help and loves to be the little mother. She is an awesome big sister and is always so good about playing with her brother. She can't wait for the baby to arrive and I know she will be the best little helper I could possibly ask for. I am so lucky to be the mother of such a special spirit. She is truly beautiful on the inside and out.
Watching Troy baptize and confirm her a member of our Church was so beautiful. Words cannot describe the power of the spirit we felt that day. The power of the priesthood is so amazing and we are so blessed to have it in our home. This was Troy's first baptism and confirmation and it was truly so special. I will remember it always!!

Tati and Troy all dressed in white
Tati in her baptism dress that I made for her. Isn't her smile priceless?Tati on her birthday before school
Me and Tati before the baptism-This is the only preggo pic I plan on posting :)

All of our great family who came to support Tati!

We were so blessed to have so much of our family able to share such a special day with us. My parents came from St. George and Troy's came from California. We even were lucky to have Tatis Great Grandma Maroney come from Arizona. It is a day we will never forget!!

Blog Slacker

2008-12-29T15:23:00.003-07:00

Okay so I have been a total blog slacker these days. The holiday season just gets so busy and I don't know where all the time has gone. We have been crazy busy with lots of fun things and I will try to post about them today. We are alive and haven't dropped off the face of the earth :)

Halloween-Better Late than never

2008-11-13T19:17:00.004-07:00

Sorry for the picture overload-but we love Halloween at our house! It is one of our favorite holidays. Troy goes all out decorating the front porch with his fog machine, 9ft. Frankenstein, black lights, etc. We always dress up and have a great time!!

Here is Troy doing the limbo-we always have a Halloween dance party after all the trick or treating is done
Kids gone wild! What you can't tell is that we have a strobe light going here

The whole crew-apparently there was a Batman theme that no one told us about:)

Tati cute as a pink punk pirate! Love the tights!

Troy and I all dressed up-I was so excited to actually find maternity costumes this year!

The whole fam!

Tanner our Knight in Shining Armor!

The kids pumpkins!

So there is our Halloween Fun! We loved the fantastic weather-it is the first time in years that it wasn't just cold and possibly snowing-we didn't even really need jackets! If it could be that nice every year I would be in Heaven! It is hard to believe that November is already here and the Holidays are coming up along with the birth of our newest family member in January. It is exciting and will hopefully fly by as we are quite ready to meet this little tyke!

Trip to Phoenix-Roys Wedding

2008-10-27T13:15:00.004-06:00

At the beginning of the month we headed down to Phoenix for Troy's cousins wedding. Troy was one of the groomsmen and looked HOT in his tux!! We had a lot of fun seeing all of Troys family and enjoying the warm weather-we missed the snow storm here, which didn't hurt my feelings at all! The wedding was beautiful and tons of fun. We danced, ate tons of good Mexican food(our favorite), did some shopping and just enjoyed visiting with family that we don't see very often. It was a great trip with lots of fun memories.

Concert for Nie!

2008-10-25T09:14:00.004-06:00

If you are in Arizona you need to check out this concert for Stephanie and Christian

It is going to be amazing!!! All proceeds are going to help their recovery!! It is awesome and if I were down there I would be there.

One of those Days--or weeks

2008-10-01T13:35:00.003-06:00

Have you ever just had one of those days? Where you have lots to do and just no motivation to do it? Well I am having one of those weeks(unfortunately for my house).

Maybe it is because I am pregnant that I have no energy-but needless to say nothing is getting done. Instead of dejunking the the junk counter, vacuuming, dusting or doing laundry I am sitting here at my computer blogging about how I should be doing it-and trying really hard to avoid the temptation of eating only left over Lemon Cake from Troy's birthday for lunch.(it is always better a couple of days after you make it)

Of course leaving in a week for Arizona only adds to the amount of things to get done-as I hate leaving a dirty house that I then just have to come home and clean. But that doesn't seem to be a motivator either. Sadly for me and my poor house when there is too much to do I rebel and instead of just getting it done-I avoid it like the plague. And so for my birthday all I really want is someone to clean my house for me/with me-whatever makes it faster and less painful.

Luckily for me I have a husband who loves me and is willing to be that person:)

Cute-

2008-09-19T13:35:00.003-06:00

My kids that is--the last couple of days I have felt like I need to write down some of the cute things that they do so that I can remember them. Of course every mom thinks her kids are the cutest-so I am a little biased that way.

Tati amazes me with her positive attitude every morning when she gets up for school. She is so happy and silly. I feel really lucky to have this special one on one time with her when everyone else is sleeping. She will tell me things as we wait for the bus that I have a hard time getting out of her after school. She is so shy sometimes and her brother needs lots of attention these days, and so I really cherish this time I have with her. This morning she found her sunglasses and was dancing in the living room until it was time to go. She always makes me giggle and she really starts my day off with a smile.

Tanner is the family snacker. The boy always needs a snack-so the other day when he asked for one I went through the normal routine of "well what would you like?" and he answered like always "what do we have?" So I proceed to list off what he can have for a snack-here is how the conversation went:
Tanner:what do we have?
me: well we have granola bars, fruit snacks, cookies, toast-what would you like?
Tanner: ummm-let me think......I think I want to eat you
me: me??
Tanner: yeah (as he proceeds to kiss me all over my face)
me: Im not a snack you silly
Tanner: yes you are yummy-you always tell me I am yummy
me: well you are(I always give him kisses and tell him he is a tasty treat :)
Tanner:well mom you are a tasty treat!!

I laughed so hard. It was so cute.

20 Week Ultrasound-ITS a BABY!!

2008-09-12T13:08:00.003-06:00

So we had our ultrasound yesterday! It was lots of fun to actually see the baby. The doc says it is quite fiesty as it did not like being bugged and kept moving out of the way so we weren't able to get a good profile pick and everytime we got the heartbeat it would move-I told him I am used to fiesty :) We didn't find out the sex. Unfortunately for me and the kids I had made Troy a deal when Tati was born that once we had one of each then we could be surprised. I had no idea 8 years later he would hold me to it. So its a healthy baby! And we couldn't be more excited. It was so fun to see it wiggling about, see its feet and hands, it even yawned once, which we have never seen before-so cute. It already seems to have a definate personality! So here are the pics we did get.

This is the babies spine and head
Here are its cute little feet that like to kick me all day
and here is its arm and it is making a little tiny fist.

The doc said that next time I come in they will try for a profile shot-so that will be fun.

First Day of Kindergarten-Tanner

2008-08-25T17:11:00.004-06:00

Tanner started Kindergarten today. It is totally crazy!! He is so cute and so big!! He was excited to get the same teacher Tati had and even insisted on riding the bus to school. I being the sentimental mom followed the bus to school and took pictures of him going into his class for the first time. It was hard sending my baby out into the big world-but of course he loved every minute of it and loved sitting with his sister on the way home.

All ready for school
At the bus stop with mommy
Getting on the bus for the first time
Home from school-Tati helps him cross the street
What a bunch of cuties!!! It was really fun to see them come home from school together!! Tati is a great big sister. Tanner is growing up so fast-he is so smart and I know he is going to do so well in school this year. I just hope I survive the empty house for the next 4 months-anyone have great book suggestions? :)

First Week of School-Tati

2008-08-25T16:30:00.006-06:00

Tati started 2nd Grade last week and is really loving it. She likes her teacher and seeing all of her friends. She has adjusted to school schedule like a champ and is always happy and excited to go in the mornings. I can't believe she is getting so big! We had a fun cupcake party for all the neighborhood kids when they got off the bus the first day of school. We are so lucky to live in such a great community with lots of kids and awesome moms!

First day of school
At the bus stop in the morning
Coming home from school
Cupcake party with friends
Isn't she just the cutest? I am so proud of her and the little lady she is becoming. She is such a sweetheart and is so kind and loving. I am just so lucky to have such a beautiful and wonderful daughter. She is the best!!!

The NEWS

2008-08-13T15:02:00.003-06:00

SO I have been trying to figure out how I wanted to approach this post. First off I know that there are many families who have been trying to have their families for a long time-and I truly admire their strength. I know that I have been so blessed with being able to have 2 kids and only dealing with secondary infertility. I sometimes felt guilty for the personal struggles I have had with it when so many others don't have any kids. But I aso knew that we weren't done growing our family. So after 4 years Troy and I were finally on the same page. Getting pregnant just didn't seem to be something that was going to happen for us-but affording adoption was going to be hard, so we did our research and decided on an adoption route that we figured we could afford and I started putting together an adoption website. In the mean time my new doctor wanted me to try clomid again. I had already done 9 cycles and had zero success with it, but hey it is just about the cheapest option out there-so we tried it. I wasn't optimistic at all and was proven right when I went in on day 22 for a blood drawn and was told I didn't ovulate. I was told to wait until day 35 or so and then call in for a new prescription of a higher dose and provera. I had gotten to the point where I didn't expect results and so was not disappointed-I was just going to continue on with our adoption plans. About a week later I started to get sick-my whole family was sick so I thought that I just had a bug, but day 35 came and I had an extra test lying around so I decided to take it-knowing it would be negative-but why let it go to waste right? So I got up took it and went back to bed-I didn't even look at it-they have been negative for 4 years. I got up about 2 hours later to get Tati off to school and went into the bathroom to see a positive test-I couldn't believe it and didn't. I figured it had sat too long and was too old-but Troy being the optimist that he is examined it every which way and decided it really was positive. I said whatever and went back to sleep :) So later that afternoon he calls me to ask if I went to the store and bought more tests-I of course said "NO why waste the money??" But Troy talked me into and so we trekked to the store, bought some more tests and came home-I was going to wait until the next morning-but Troy was just way too excited, so I took one right then and it came up positive again!!! So me being the doubter that I am packed up the kids and went to the dr's office to get my blood drawn-Lo and behold the next morning they call back to tell me I am most definitely PREGNANT!!!

We of course were shocked, excited, humbled, and feel so blessed! Im not sure what happened or why now, but we are just so grateful. Of course after years of looking forward to adoption we really hope to add to our family through adoption in the future-it will most likely be an international one at that point-but we truly have come to love adoption and really want to be apart of the awesomeness that is adoption.

I have spent the summer being sicker than a dog and never more grateful for morning sickness-I am now 16 weeks and starting to get energy back and feel more normal-if not a lot bigger. The kids are estatic and fight over whether it will be a boy or a girl. I hope that those in the adoption community that read this blog will know how much I admire their strength and unconditional love-I love reading your blogs and following your journey-and will continue to do so. As I hope you will still check in here - this blog will most likely become more of a what is going on in our lives blog now-especially with my family having moved away-but I hope you will check in anyways!!

Summer Fun

2008-08-07T14:28:00.004-06:00

Sorry for the Long Slide Show-but I have been a total blog slacker this summer. We have had a lot of fun and kept pretty busy. We have gone to city carnivals, This is the Place State Park, took swimming lesson, went to the zoo and Lagoon. We also had a fun 4th of July going to the parade and watching the fireworks-Tanner also played T-Ball this summer which was really fun.

All in all this has been a fun summer-except for my parents moving last week. We miss them already!! The kids are really having a hard time adjusting. I can't believe school starts in just over a week. It is crazy how fast summer vacation flies by. The kids are so excited to go to school. I will try to be better at posting once we are back into a school routine.

Summer Madness

2008-07-01T15:08:00.003-06:00

Well this summer has been off to a rousing start-lets just say we have been busy and life and has given us a few curveballs. Nothing we can't handle, but still surprising. And most have taken us by surprise in good ways and some not so much. So where to begin----

In April my mom found out she had a benign brain tumor. The neurologists said she had to get it out as soon as possible-so her surgery was scheduled for June 18. This tumor has really affected her-she had lost a lot of her peripheal vision on the right side, she could no longer grip a pencil and her balance has been really unsteady. So her surgery was 10 hours long-the tumor was the size of a golf ball and they were able to get it all out!!! She was only in the hospital for 4 days and is doing AWESOME!!! Her balance is coming back, but since they basically had to cut out her inner ear on the right side to get to the tumor, the other side is going to have to start compinsating-it is coming along slowly but everyday she is getting better. She is regaining the strength in her right arm and hand. The tumor was wrapped around her facial nerve and it had stretched it quite a bit, so right now she is dealing with the right side of her face not working as it should. The doctors say it will come back, but may take up to a year. We have already seen a ton of improvement just in these first 2 weeks. The kids and I have spent a lot of time over at my parents house to help out, as she can't be alone for awhile. It has been stressful, but we are sooo grateful for these skilled surgeons who essentially saved my moms life.

The kids have been ultra busy with all of the activities they do in the summer. Tatiyana has gymnastics 4 hours a week, Tanner has been playing T-ball, and they both have been taking swimming lessons with their cousins. It has kept us moving almost everyday and so there hasn't been a lot of time for blogging. So far we are enjoying the summer, we have a two week break from swimming and then back at it.

There are really two big shockers for us so far this summer. The good one I will write about in another post as this is already getting long. But yesterday I was given quite the jolt when my parents told me they were moving to St. George. Now this is a HUGE surprise, but my dad was offered a job down there that they just can't pass up, it pays a lot more and will enable my mom to not have to work, which is a relief for her since she is still recovering. They had always planned on retiring down there, so this just jump starts that process for them. I of course am so sad, I really have loved having them so close and the kids have such a great relationship with them and my sister Lauren-it is going to be a hard adjustment. I am trying to be supportive because I fully understand their reasons for going and I know that they have to do the best thing for them. I am tough and will survive. I always thought I would be the first one to move away from Utah County-but they beat me to it :) It is going to be fast because they want my Dad to start working right away, so they are down there this week looking at houses. It is crazy how fast life can change. I am hoping it will be a great move for them. I especially hope that it will be good for Lauren, she has really struggled the last 2 years at her school and was not looking forward to going to high school. I really hope that she can make some good friends and enjoy the rest of her teen years. I am going to miss just being able to drop in, or meet up for lunch. It is going to be a little crazy.

So that is the madness of my summer so far. Of course there is one more surprise that took us for a spin, but I will post about that later. I will try to post more often and get some pics up of the fun things the kids are doing this summer.

9 years of Wedded Bliss!!!!

2008-05-28T23:01:00.004-06:00

So this week Troy and I will celebrate our 9th anniversary!! What a wonderful 9 years it has been. We have grown together as a couple. Troy is truly my best friend and I am so grateful for him in my life. We have moved away from family, bought houses, changed jobs, had 2 beautiful children, suffered infertility, depression, and death, and through it all we are closer than ever!! I have the best husband!!! So here are just a 9 of the many amazing things I love about my husband:
1--He is an AMAZING father!! The kids adore him. He always is playing with them, taking them out on daddy outings. He is always there to listen and love them!!

2--He listens when I have the need to chat his ear off at midnight even though he has to be up to work in the morning. (I have a tendency to be most chatty at night when the kids are asleep)

3--He is so smart and amazing at his job. He is constantly studying and trying to learn new things. He works so hard for us and for me to able to stay at home.

4--He is so funny!! He is like a big kid and loves to laugh and joke, make up little songs and dances to amuse the kids and me.

5--He is a great snuggler

6--He does dishes and vacuums regularly

7--He indulges my fantasies of living in Europe even though the liklihood of that happening is slim to none

8--He treats his mom, my mom, his sisters and my sister with such love and respect

9--He makes me laugh everyday, makes me feel important no matter what meeting he is in and I know that I always come first.

So here are some OLD pictures of us

This is our engagement pic. Don't we look so young? Thats cause we were!!
Here we are at our reception.Don't you love the 90's style dress and veil??
Here we are 1 year later after we were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple!! I was 5 months pregant with Tati, so my wedding dress was out of the question. It was a beautiful day that I will always cherish!!!

Favorite Photo Friday-Tanners Graduation

2008-05-23T13:47:00.003-06:00

Tanner graduated from Preschool yesterday and did such a good job. He read a book and sang a song all by himself at the mircrophone. He was so cute and we are so proud of him!!! He loved going to preschool this year and can't wait for kindergarten. It is hard to believe he is getting so big!!!
Our family afterwards. Doesn't he look cute in his cap and gown? Next week Tati has a performance at school that they have been working on all year, she is excited and so are we!!

MOMS

2008-05-16T13:13:00.003-06:00

I know it is late-but I wanted to write about great mothers. I have been so blessed with a wonderful mother. She is truly one of my greatest friends. She has always been there for me, even when I was a punk teenager and a real pain in the butt I am sure. She sat in a small PICU hospital room for weeks, sometimes months at a time to be with my sister when she was sick. She just is truly an amazing mom full of strength and love. I love how she is the best grandma ever. My kids just adore her. She gets down on the floor and plays with them, they do crafts and she always has something special for them when they come over. They love her so much and I love to watch them with her. She has some health struggles lately, but she hasn't let that keep her from being mom and grandma. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful mom-who taught me what it is to be a good mom.

I am soo lucky to be a mom. I just feeled so blessed that these sweet spirits chose me to be their mother. I could not ask for a better gift!!

Also I have been thinking so much about birthmothers this week and their selfless love and devotion to giving their children more. I am just so amazed at their courage and strength. I truly admire them so much. As your are going through this journey it is amazing how many people you already know have been touched by adoption and you just never knew it. I have a close friend who I found out placed 11 years ago, she has been so kind to share her experience with me and my perspectives about open adoption have truly been changed. She has a really good relationship with her daughters adoptive parents and they even came to the temple when she and her husband and their girls were sealed together. What a wonderful gift!!! My cousin is another example of a wonderful and courageous mother. I have always loved her and thought she was great, and now I feel so much admiration for her. She is awesome!! Now if you want to hear a great tribute to birthmoms you have to check out http://therhouse.blogspot.com this is seriously the best adoption blog ever!! She is a great adoption advocate!! You really should check it out-it has really opened up my heart to open adoption!! Her experiences are truly amazing!!

Putting yourself out there

2008-05-09T15:14:00.003-06:00

So I have been wanting to write this post for awhile but didn't know how. Just 2 weeks ago we were made aware of a situation that my 2nd cousin might be placing her newborn baby for adoption. We told them that we would absolutely love to adopt her, but we have also been close growing up and knew that placing with a family member might be too hard for her. We knew that the chances were slim and didn't want to get our hopes up. She did decide to place, but felt that family was going to be too hard. Of course we understand and respect her decision and think she is so brave for choosing adoption.

There was just a little part of me that really hoped that she would pick us, and I was a wreck for days. So how do you not get your hopes up when you are putting yourself out there? I mean this is really the first situation we have been in where we said "hey we would love to adopt your baby" so it is all really new, but hard. I am sure many adoptive parents have felt this same thing when starting out on this journey. Does it get easier? Do your hopes get raised everytime you know you are being considered? It is just such an emotional roller coaster. You really have to make yourself vulnerable and you can't say hey pick us and not get a little attached to that baby and situation.

Sorry this is really just a rambling post-but I wanted to get my thoughts down somewhere. We are grateful that she even considered us and know that she had a tough choice to make. We hope that one day the Lord will bless us with an extrodinary birth mom who will bless our lives by making such a courageous choice to be parents to her sweet baby. We truly have come to love and respect birth parents so much-they are amazing!!!

Tanner turns 5!!!

2008-05-06T16:25:00.005-06:00

Last week Tanner celebrated his 5th birthday. It is hard to believe that he is getting so big. He is going to be graduating from preschool and going off to kindergarten in the fall. Its way too crazy. So in honor of his 5th birthday I am going to tell you five things about Tanner

1.He has a memory that astounds us. He doesn't forget anything. He whomps me regularly at matching games. We call him our little elephant because of it.

2. He is a total crack up. This boy is sooo funny. Sometimes I am just amazed at the cute and funny things that he comes up with. On his bday he woke up when his dad was leaving for work and put up 5 fingers and grinned at us, then went back to sleep.

3. He is all boy. He loves Power Rangers, SpiderMan and Star Wars.

4. He told his Preschool teacher that he wanted to be a "Jedi" when he grows up. He knows more about Star Wars than I will ever know, and gives me a run down and who is who whenever we watch it.

5. He is the most loving little boy. Even though he is growing up so fast he still loves to snuggle mom and give me kisses. He loves his big sister like crazy and can't wait until she gets home from school.

I am so lucky to have such a wonderful little man-here are some pictures of him through the years.

Please Pray

2008-04-27T23:25:00.002-06:00

Without going into too many details.. My cousin had a baby on Thursday and is facing some struggles. Please keep her and her sweet little girl in your prayers as she and her family face this trial.

Thank You
Jenn

Favorite Photo Friday-Happy Bday Lynzi

2008-04-25T12:29:00.006-06:00

Today would be my sister Lynzi's 26th birthday. She passed away nearly 7 years ago from rejection of her transplanted heart. My heart aches when I think of her and I miss her everyday. Lynzi was so strong and dealt with so much in her short life. What an amazing example of courage and faith she was to me. Through all her trials she always loved the gospel and when she got sick she was preparing to go through the temple. I was blessed to be able to do part of her temple work not long after she passed away. What an amazing and wonderfully spiritual experience it was.
Lynzi loved sports, especially basketball, she loved Star Wars, loved collecting things. She took such pleasure in the small joys because many of the bigs ones we all experience she knew she might not ever have. She was one of the biggest tom boys I have ever known and her and Troy loved to play nintendo together or shoot hoops in the driveway. Lynzi adored Tatiyana and loved her as her own. Tati was only 8 months old when she died and doesn't remember her much, but oh how loved she was by my dear sweet sister. One of the last things she asked for before she went into a coma was to see and hold her "baby". What a wonderful memory for us to have of her and to tell Tati about. It is sad that my children don't know their aunt Lynzi, but we try to talk of her often and tell them about her. I know she is their guardian angel. I think Tanner must have known her in Heaven as he talks about her all the time and knows things about her that we have never told him. How sweet are these little ones so recently come from our Heavenly Fathers presence?? Lynzi always wanted a baby brother and what fun she would have had playing with Tanner. These are the things I miss, her knowing my kids and that wonderful sister relationship. I am so grateful to have had her for 19 years.

This picture was taken about a year after Lynzi died. Tatiyana is loving her picture, it is so sweet. She is looking at her with such recognistion. This bottom picture is so very special to me as it is the only picture I have been able to find with Lynzi holding Tatiyana. It was taken just a month before she died and I truly treasure it.
I love you Lynz with all my heart and we miss you so much.

Spring Break-Laguna Beach California

2008-04-23T13:07:00.003-06:00

The Results are In........

2008-04-09T14:16:00.002-06:00

and of course my bloodwork came normal except I didn't ovulate. Do we really pay money for this kind of stuff??

So my doc gave me provera and clomid-it has been a couple of years since I last tried clomid, so maybe this time it will work. I figure it is cheap so we mine as well try it. Not enjoying the side effects though-so not fun.

It has been a crazy week, but that is another post entirely.

Favorite Photo Friday

2008-04-04T13:39:00.002-06:00

This is an oldie-but I love it! I have been so lucky that my kids are such great friends and have always loved to play together. This was when Tanner was just 2 and I love how he is just looking at her so sweetly. He really does adore his sister and she is very protective of him. It is such a cute relationship and I feel so blessed.

A Conversation with the Doctor

2008-04-01T14:34:00.003-06:00

So I went to the OB/GYN on Friday-here is how it went

Doc- So what symptoms have you been having?
Me-Well I didn't have a period for 3 months and then I bled for 3 months straight
Doc-Hmmm-it sounds like you probably aren't ovulating
Me-yup-and this is news?? Your the 3rd doc to tell me that*
Doc-well lets try some clomid
Me-Ive done 6 or 7 cycles of clomid and I never ovulate on it-even at the highest dose
Doc-well lets run some blood work and see what that tells us
Me-you mean the blood tests we run every 6 months that tell you I didn't ovulate but everything else is normal?* Okay we can do that
Doc-have you been to the fertility specialists yet?
Me-yeah-they didn't even look at my chart and ordered all the same tests I had just had done 2 weeks before-My previous doc thought I had POF and the fertility doc said no thats not even possible without even looking at my chart-so we werent very happy with that visit
Doc-hmm that is strange, they are usually so thorough-well lets see what the blood work says and we'll go from there
Me-Okay thanks

*Italics to add my thoughts-not what I actually said*
So needless to say I didn't get much out of my trip to the doctor-I am not adverse to going back to a fertility specialist-but I would like to find one that will actually listen to me and not just assume because I am so young or because I have had 2 kids that nothing could be wrong. I actually have all the symptoms of POF-of course I hope that that isn't it. I am so ready to move forward with an adoption-I would just like to know what is wrong with me for closure I guess.

Favorite Photo Friday-Easter Edition

2008-03-28T15:47:00.005-06:00

I loved this picture cause it shows how much my kids love to cheese it-Plus they are all dressed up which is always so cute.

This picture shows how funny Tanner is - he is giving his dad the "are you seriously making me take more pictures" look.
Easter Haul-the Bunny left a lot of candy this year-much to the detriment of my waistline-but of course the kids loved it-and are still enjoying it-I am finding wrappers everywhere.
Tati is still looking a little sleepy eyed in this pic. But she loved her littlest pet shop stuff!
Tanner is my number 1 cheeser!! Showing off what the easter bunny brought.

Do you still have Hope? and other Random stuff

2008-03-21T14:07:00.007-06:00

So lately I have been thinking about hope while going through infertility. How long before you finally say "okay this not going to happen for us"? I feel lucky that we will get to adopt because it such an amazing gift and I am so excited to be a part of it. It didn't take me long to get to this point, though it did take Troy a little bit longer. Although at the same time I find that sometimes I still think I could still get pregnant. I think this because the doctors have yet to find anything "wrong" per say. But logically I tell myself it has been 4 years of no birth control and like 4 cycles a year, so the chances are slim-but there is still the small amount of hope in me. So my question is: how long before you stopped believing there might be a chance-although slim-that you would get pregnant? Is it when you were told by drs that it wasn't going to happen or did you just come to the conclusion on your own? For me I think that I know that getting pregnant is most likely not going to happen but since we aren't ready to start our adoption process I still have that small amount of HOPE that something will happen on its own. Having said that I can't wait to start our adoption!! It is so exciting to read other peoples stories and see the wonderful joy it has brought to their lives and I can't wait to add my own story and be apart of something so special!!! So I think that the small amount of hope that is left is more me not wanting to wait any longer for a baby. Patience has never been my strong suit and the waiting to adopt is torture for me. I am just so ready!

So those are my random thoughts on infertility. I have been quite obsessive about it, but also feel at peace with the decision to wait. So my new obsession is Facebook. K-I totally love the thing!! Troy thinks I am a big dork-but that is just cause he hasn't gotten on it yet. It is so fun!! I have connected with tons of people from school that I haven't talked to in years, I also think the applications are fun-I love to take the little random quizzes. I know I am wierd, but it is way better than Myspace. If you are on Facebook I am sure you will understand!

So now I am going to start doing a favorite photo Friday- this week I have 2 pics

This is Tanner after his St. Patricks Day party at Pre-School. They made these cutle little Leprecaun Hats and wore Green. He just looked too cute.This next one is Sunday after church Troy and the kids made a fort with all of my cusions and blankets. They loved having Daddy play in the tent with them.

Happy Birthday Sis!!

2008-03-11T14:18:00.003-06:00

So yesterday was my cute sisters 15th birthday. She is getting way to old and will be able to drive and date next year. I remember when she was born like it was yesterday. I was 13 and was soooo excited to have another little sister. I babied her and loved to take care of her. She has been such a blessing to our family. I am so grateful for her, and even though she is so much younger than me we have such an awesome friendship and I am really so lucky. She is the best aunty that my kids could have. They just adore her. Isn't she beautiful? She is 5'9" and towers over me, I wish I had some of that height, but no it all went to her and I am now the shrimp of the family.

Adoption Options

2008-03-03T14:39:00.003-07:00

For awhile now we have been discussing all of our adoption choices. Sadly Vietnam adoptions are really unstable right now and there is talk that they may even close down. I truly hope that this doesn't happen. There are so many families waiting for referrals or waiting for travel to bring their little ones home and I can only imagine how frustrating and worrisome this time is for them. My heart truly goes out to those in the process right now. Please keep these fantastic families in your prayers. That being said we don't feel that it is a good idea for us to start a Vietnam adoption at this point in time. This was really hard as I had to come to truly believe that this is where we were suppose to go, but I know that the Lord will open other pathways and options for us. We have talked a lot about domestic adoption and I used to really struggle with some aspects of it. But I have been so touched by so many other families who have had positive experiences with it that I have truly felt my heart being opened to this option. When we first started looking into adoption after realizing the chances of us having another biological child were slim I was immediately drawn to China. Of course after some research we learned that you have to be 30 to adopt from there. Well I was 26 so that didn't work well. I always felt that we would adopt from China someday, but was impatient to wait that long. So we have looked into other options. Unfortunately with new jobs, house moves and the like we have not had the chance to really put any money away. We are working really hard at getting out of debt and have decided to wait until late this year or early next year to start an adoption. Next spring I will be 29 1/2 and able to start China paperwork - so this may be the route we take. I am excited at the prospect even though I know that the wait is quite long, but I have felt for some time that we would have a daughter born in China. Of course when you are in the mists of the struggle of wanting to have a baby more than anything it is hard to say okay lets just wait 4 years. Well 4 years is almost here.

I have struggled of late with the frustrations of infertility. The questions without answers. It is hard to not have any control over when you will be blessed with another sweet spirit, especially when you have had several witnesses that you in fact have a child waiting to come to your home. It has been hard to not be able to find even 1 doctor that can give you any idea what might be wrong with you. I have cried many nights of late pouring my heart out to the Lord asking for answers. It is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I struggle also with knowing that I have been so blessed with 2 wonderful kids and there are so many who can't even have one, so then I feel guilty for feeling the way I do, for struggling and asking why. The other night I had a good cry, I was feeling sorry for myself and Troy really helped me to see how much I do have, and yes this trial is hard but we will get through it and when we finally have our baby in our arms it will have all been worth it. It is sometimes just hard to see that when you are in the mists of it. Sunday our Relief Society lesson was on Gratitude and it couldn't have come at a better time for me. So from now on I am going to try to focus on all the wonderful blessings that I do have. A wonderful family, a devoted husband, his good job, a beautiful house and of course the gospel. I am going to continually work on my patience in this journey and look forward to next year when we can start our adoption process whether it be China or Domestic.

A New Look!!

2008-02-20T17:55:00.003-07:00

Okay so here is our family picture from Christmas. The saying "one of these things just doesn't belong here" comes to mind. Oh yeah, that is me. Haha. For years I have had the same long curly brownish blonde hair. And everyone I meet says "oh your kids must look like your husband" So being vain and wanting people to think that these cuties actually do belong to me I changed my hair. I mean who wouldn't be jealous of all that dark beautiful hair? SO here is the new me.......

TaDa!!! Dark brown and straight. Granted getting it that straight is a lot of work. But now I look just like Tati.

Isn't she cute?? (Tati, not me) See how similar we look now? It was a lot of fun to go get pampered and make a change. I really love it and so does Troy. I may just stay brunette forever!!

The New Year

2008-02-13T13:03:00.007-07:00

This winter has been soo cold and it has snowed a ton. Personally I am not a fan. But the kids love to get out and play in it. So because it has been so cold Utah Lake is completely frozen as in you can walk right out onto it. So that is what Troy and the kids along with the Webers and Liddiards did. I was sick and (got) had to stay home. But they had a great time. This is basically what the view from our house looks like. The lake isn't far from us at all. They had a great time.

So Tatiyana in all her 7 year old wisdom has decided that it just is not cool to have mom walk her to the bus stop. I think her words were "Mom you are embarressing me" So instead I watch from the front window until she gets on the bus. This is her walking to the bus stop on one of the cold frigid mornings. She just seems to small to go to the bus all by herself.

Now Tanner has started going to preschool 2 days a week and he is really loving it. Here he is on his first day of school. Isn't he cute? So I basically have 4 hours a week with no kids at home. Now I was waiting for this day and thought I could easily fill the time, but I am finding that I am lonely. Isn't that funny? I mostly play in the computer, sometimes if it is completely necassary I will clean, but what fun is that? So I have decided I need to find a new hobby since starting in August he will be in Kindergarten. I just can't believe how fast they grow up and aren't moms babies anymore.

Tanners 1st day of school

A Great Man!!

2008-01-28T17:37:00.000-07:00

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the passing of our beloved prophet President Hinckley. What a wonderful man he was. I will always remember how when he spoke you felt like he was talking directly to you, his sense of humor, his testimony and the wonderful example he was to all of us. It is sad to think that he will no longer be here. He truly did so much for the church. We as members have been so blessed to be led by such a wonderful and rightous man. But even in my sadness I smile at the thought of him reuniting with his sweet wife who he adored and missed so much and know that he was welcomed into Heaven by the arms of our Savior. What a sweet and awesome reunion it must have been. My life has truly been touched by this great man and I feel so blessed to have been able to learn so much from him. His strength and testimony live on through the great members of our church.

Christmas and New Years

2008-01-18T14:41:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Holiday season. Christmas Eve and morning was spent at our house with my parents and sister. The kids were spoiled and we had a great time playing Wii and games. We spent Christmas Eve with Troys family and New Years Eve there too. Troy is a self proclaimed Pyro so the evening demanded fireworks, it was freezing cold and so us women stayed inside, but the kids loved it and of course Troy did too.

We now return you to your regular scheduled life.....

2007-12-19T13:39:00.000-07:00

Wow-it is hard to believe that it has been so long since I have blogged. Life this fall was crazy and now we are finally settling back down into normalcy. In August Troy and I began feeling that he was to start looking for another job. After months of being totally emotionally drained from all the drama at his company and truly dreading going to work everyday we felt that it was time for a change. We have always wanted to move back east and thought that this was our chance to do so, but the job market wasn't great in the areas we were looking at. We aren't ones to just not have a job so we felt like we had to stay with this company until we could find something else, but after much fasting and prayer we felt that we were suppose to just take the leap of faith and quit. So he did at the end of September. Around the same time our Landlords called to tell us that they were going to sell our house. So now we have no job and no place to live-EEK!! I was a nervous wreck. We toyed with the idea of starting our own company which has always been a dream of Troy's and made arrangements to live with some family while we got it up and running. But of course the just when you think you have a plan the Lord shows you what is the real plan. In the middle of October he went for an interview with a company that does marketing-Troy has always worked in Healthcare software so this was a new direction for him. But he received a wonderful job offer that we are so grateful for. He loves his new job and learning a new market. But there was still the dilemna of where to live. We were having a hard time finding a house that was in Tatis school boundries and were going to give it up and move to another city, when just 2 weeks before we had to move a house came on the market right in our price range in the neighborhood that we really wanted to be in. YEAH!! we were so excited and jumped on it right away. We moved in on the 1st of December and are so happy here.

We are currently discussing all our adoption options and hope to move forward in the New Year. I will post more about that later.

Jenn Needs.......

2007-06-28T17:03:00.000-06:00

$20,000 to get this adoption rolling! I did the google search Jenn Needs-and it was pretty funny. So this is what according to Google I need......

1. To Grow up and Deal-(well maybe, but I try!)
2. To get her Groove Back(I didn't know I had a groove, but heck if its lost I sure would like to find it)
3. Post office hours
4.A healthy dose of sweet magical caffeine (A truer statement I could not find) Vanilla Coke=YUM!!!
5. a puppy(now I have been trying to convince my husband of this for awhile-he doesn't buy it)
6. A vacation!! (Don't we all??)
7. Help Filing out Capital Expense Report????
8. To buy a horse(now that is something that I could get my husband to buy)
9. Go to the Post Office(how do they know this? I really need to send out some stuff)
and finally....
10. Needs a HOT ROD!! (Well anything would be better than my minivan, but what I really NEED is an BMW X5-that sounds fantastic!!!)

So there you have it-all the things I didn't know I needed!! Haha-that was fun! You should try it

Summer Reading

2007-06-19T16:17:00.000-06:00

So I found this fantastic website www.bookmooch.com I LOVE IT!!! The other night I spent hours on there adding my books and looking up books that I wanted to read. I then mooched 7. Yes, 7. I love to read and am always looking for a good book. 3 came over the weekend and it is only Tuesday and I have already finished them. I know, it is a bit obsessive, but I can't help it. Because I obsess and read an entire book in one day I try very hard not to have too many books that I want to read, cause I tend to get so involved that I ignore everything and everyone around me. It is a bad habit of mine. But I figure summer is a great time to read, the kids can play outside and I can sit on the porch and read. If you haven't checked it out do, and if you have a great book recommendation I would love to hear it!! Of course I am just counting down the days until Harry Potter comes out-that will be several days of doing nothing-and I can hardly wait!!!

Graduation, Summer, and Coming Clean

2007-06-07T14:44:00.000-06:00

Wow-so I am a horrible blogger!!! The end of May was crazy with Kindergarten Graduation, our 8th anniversary, my best friends wedding and hubby's family visiting. It took up a lot of time and kept me busy, which was a good thing.

My cute daughter had Kindergarten Graduation. It was so adorable and I cried like a baby. Is that normal? Probably, it is the mom thing to do. I just can't believe that she has finished her first year of school. They grow up so fast.

We celebrated our 8th anniversary. We went to dinner and did some shopping. Nothing super exciting but it was fun to do out without the kids. We went to an Asian Place up at the Gateway that was fairly good. It seems like just yesterday we were married. Time sure does go by faster as you get older.

My husbands family was in town for 2 weeks to celebrate the birth of his sister's baby. He is a cutie and so sweet and fun to hold. Totally adds to the baby hunger we already feel. I am of course super excited for my sil, but still found I was a bit jealous. I wondered if it was totally wrong for me to feel that way. Of course I love him to pieces and am so happy for their cute family. Summer is here and I am excited to slow down a bit and enjoy time with the kids, of course they want to be doing something everyday, so I am trying to come up with activities for us to do.

We recently decided that I should wean off of my antidepressant. Yes, I suffered from fairly severe post partum depression and have been on meds for just over 3 yrs. I always felt like it was something to be ashamed of and I never ever told anyone that I was taking medication for my depression. It just didn't fit with the perfect mother image I felt that I had to live up to. Of course it is all in my head and I am sure that pressure I put on myself didn't help. I digress-anyways, as of late I felt that my meds were not as effective as they used to be and I was feeling a lot of side effects that I had never felt before. I felt horrible physically and no matter what dr. I went to could not come up with a reason why I was gaining weight, having hot flashes, headaches and night sweats. I was tired all the time and completely sick of feeling that way. Luckily a good friend of mine, who knows about my depression, suggested I look at the side effects of my antidepressant. So I did a little research, came across many support groups for people who have been or are currently on this particular drug. Lo and behold, so many of the things I have been feeling many others have also experienced while on this drug. Back when I was so depressed I didn't bother to research the drug, I just wanted to desperately to feel better, but I am so glad I did now. My hubby and I made the decision, that although the withdrawal from it could be severe, that in the long run I would be better off if I stopped taking it. It has been rough, but I have been incredibly lucky to not have some of the severe withdrawals that many others have had. I have now been off for about a month and I actually feel better than I have in a long long time. The headaches, night sweats and hot flashes have all gone and I find I have so much more energy. Obviously what works for me is not what is right for everyone, but I glad that I made this choice for me and my family.

No news on the adoption front. We haven't been able to save a lot of money, but we are trying I guess that that is what is important. I am impatient and long to hold my baby in my arms, to get her home safe and sound where she can be loved and adored. I know all adoptive parents feel this way, and waiting is part of the process. But it is still so hard. Most of our family have been nothing but supportive of our decision and we are truly grateful for that. My mil is coming around, although she seems to think that just because she wasn't able to get anymore after her 3rd that we just need to accept that we might be done. That is hard to take, and I truly hope that by the time we are ready to go pick up our sweetie that she will be fully supportive. Obviously adoption isn't for everyone, but we feel it is what is right for our family and feel that the Lord has led here for a reason. I just wish more people could understand that what is right for them may not be what is right for us and that is okay. Alright I am done with my soapbox moment. Thank you for the kind comments I receive-I will try to update more often.

My Baby is 4

2007-05-03T14:01:00.000-06:00

Wow, it is hard to believe that my baby just turned 4 yrs old this week. We had a fun party at the park and invited our friends and family. He got all kinds of super hero toys and loves to save the day. I realized that I only have a year left before he off to school with his sister. It makes me sad. I didn't expect to have all my kids in school before I was 30. I had hoped to have little ones to take care of until I was at least 35. Maybe I still will.
Adoption is a long and hard road. I sometimes feel so frustrated because I am just ready to have our sweet baby home. We went off birth control 3 years ago. Never in a million years did I expect to still be waiting for the baby that we both know is suppose to be a part of our family. Both of us knew that we were suppose to have another child, and that is why even though our son was only 9 months old, we look that leap. It was scary, he was still a baby. I know that we are going through this for a reason and I think that if we had not had these struggles than we never would have been led to the path of adoption. I am so grateful for that. Adoption is so beautiful and amazing and I can't wait to be apart of it. So heres to hoping that we can save the money quickly and get this show on the road. Patience is a virtue that I don't have.

ITS OFFICIAL!!!!!!

2007-04-13T19:04:00.000-06:00

Okay so I am seriously not good at keeping up on this thing. But we have officially decided to adopt from Vietnam!!! We are really excited. It has taken us at least a year to finally be on the same page, but here we are and we couldn't be more excited. It really came down to a money issue with my sweet husband. He just didn't know where we would get the money. So we made a little deal-- If we can save up about half of the money than we will go ahead and start with the paperwork. He just doesn't want to get to far in and than not have the money to finish. I am already on it and have $1000 in our adoption fund!!! We are going to sell his motorcycle and I am going to start as a consultant for Lia Sophia jewelry. I will post a link to that once I get my site up and running. The kids are so excited and put all of their spare change in our adoption jar. It is cute.

I am still researching agencies, but I am pretty sure that I have it narrowed down to 2 that we will continue to think on and hopefully make a decision. If anyone has advice on agencies we would love to hear it.

We recently went on vacation to DisneyWorld and had a fantastic time. That is the reason I haven't posted in such a long time.

Craziness...

2007-02-19T21:47:00.000-07:00

So much has been going on in my state these last few weeks. So many tragedies. First a house in my ward blew up. Yes, blew up, and the young mother and gas man were killed. This really hit home as this couple had just moved into our ward and it really did effect all of us. She left behind her husband and 18 month old daughter. It was so sad to watch all the newscasts and then see them at church. I can't even begin to imagine what that would be like. Then just a few days later a family in SLC was hit by a drunk driver and it killed half of this family, and yet the dad remained so composed and offered forgiveness and love to the boy who had killed his family. And last but not least a shooting at a local mall killing 5 people. Where is all this craziness coming from??? It really makes you look at life and realize that anything can happen. It just really made me want to hold my kids a little bit tighter and make sure I tell my husband that I love him. A lady in my ward really put it into prespective when she said that just that day that the house blew up she had been complaining to a friend that the new entertainment center she just ordered was the wrong color, and not 30 minutes later she looks out her window to see this couples home blow up. They lost all of their material posessions and his wife. It made her realize that the issue with her furniture was so miniscule in comparison. I find myself feeling this same way. Looking at the bigger picture and realizing the truly important things in life. It is my family. They are the world to me and I can't even begin to imagine what my life would be like if I were to suddenly lose one of them-or half of them. It is a sobering thought, and yet I gain such strength from the examples of these families who have lost so much and yet still have such faith and strength to go on. The compassion and forgiveness that they give to those who are responsible for their pain is amazing to me, and really inspires me to be a better mother, wife and person. I guess if anything good can come of these tragedies it is that others will try to be better and show more love and compassion, and hopefully that can impact someone else for the better.

Sir, will you please step out of your car?????

2007-02-05T10:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, so we are driving home from church yesterday and are just about to pull into our neighborhood when the lights go on and we get pulled over. Our registration sticker had fallen off. So we give the officer all of the info, showing that yes the car is registered and insured. So we are waiting and he comes over and asks my husband to please step out of the vehicle. In November he had gotten pulled over for a headlight being out-I think our cops have nothing better to do--and of course it was when we were moving and it was only a 5 min. drive to our new house but the kids weren't in carseats. So he gets a ticket. Well I tried to pay it over the Christmas break, but the court told me to try and get the headlight fixed and then they would take that off of the ticket. Well T's car is a piece of poo and there is a short in the headlight and has to be professionally repaired. So in January we get a notice that because we didn't pay it is now doubled and if we don't pay the $300 bucks they will put a warrant out for his arrest. So this brings me back to yesterday. This warrant was just issued 3 days before. Yup-you got it they were going to arrest my husband for having a headlight out. He could pay the bail in cash or go with him to jail. A great way to end our sunday. So he goes to the bank and pulls out $350 dollars so he doesn't get arrested. The officer than says "I am glad that you could do this cause I have never taken anyone to jail in a suit" Needless to say T was not very happy. So my husband-the hardened criminal that he is-now has a police record.

What is Embryo Adoption????

2007-02-02T13:48:00.000-07:00

I figured that there are probably not a whole lot of people out there who know much about embryo adoption or what it is. So I thought I would try to explain it. There are many people who suffer from infertility and go through IVF in order to create their family. Many times when they are done having their children they will have left over embryos. Most of the time these embies just stay frozen and then are later destroyed. There are a few places now that offer the option of donating those embryos to other couples who cannot get pregnant with their own egg or sperm. This gives a couple the chance to be pregnant with their adopted child. It is pretty neat. Of course many people say well that is kinda weird, why do that instead of just adopting or trying IVF yourselves? Well for us it was the fact that my eggs are really bad. IVF would probably end up costing a lot of money for nothing. We also have been blessed with two children on our own already and don't feel that going through all the steps of fertility treatments is for us. It is also a lot less expensive. Check out the http://embryodonation.org to find out more. It is really new and not a lot of people even know that this is an option. We are seriously considering this option for our family.

New to Blogging

2007-02-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

Well this is my first ever adventure into the world of blogging. We are starting the process of adoption. We are looking into 2 options: Embryo adoption or international(eventually). Not only am I a mom to superman, but a princess too. They keep me busy and entertained. Thanks for stopping by.