Our Gift

I always get sentimental around this time of year. It's not just because it's Christmas...it's because this is the time of year that we were given the greatest blessing. Two years ago Jared and I received the most incredible gift from the most incredible person. I have been thinking a lot about adoption...mostly about our daughter's adoption. How everything fell perfectly into place.

The gratitude we have in our hearts for our dear Michon is like nothing we have ever felt before. We will continue to give thanks everyday for her ultimate sacrifice. It's difficult to find the words that can properly describe what we feel in our hearts, but this week I came across something that may be a start.

The Gift We Could Not Give Each Other

When I was a little girl I held my dolls like children

Dreaming of the day when I'd have babies of my own

When the news was shared with me

That all those dreams could never be

It became the deepest grief my heart had ever known

There's a man who tried his best to comfort me with roses

Promising he'd find a way to make those dreams come true

He did everything he could

To heal my heart but nothing would

And when it seemed that we'd done everything that faith could do

A wondrous gift was given with a phone call straight from heaven

"There's a child that's nearly due that a young girl's giving you"

She gave more than just one life when she made of this man and wife

A father and a mother when she gave the gift

We could not give each other

More than words can ever say

Our hearts give thanks to heaven

Every time we hold this child we feel we hold the world

Words will never be enough to share the way our family feels

But with every breath we breathe we want to tell that girl

Not a day is ever through

Till we thank the Lord for you

And sweetness lingers here

In our thoughts and prayers

You gave more than just one life

When you made this man and wife a father and a mother

And you gave the gift we could not give each other

You have changed our lives forever

Only you and God above could give the gift of love

we could not give each other

A song from the Book "From Gods Arms To my Arms To Yours" by Michael McLean

Growing Up...

Almost two years ago our little Isabella arrived and turned our world upside down...in the best possible way. As I look back through the countless baby photos, it is strange to think that not so long ago she was this tiny infant, so pure, so helpless. Now my sweet baby girl is no longer a baby at all. She runs and jumps, dances, twirls, and her need for me is slowly becoming less and less as she ventures into this new stage of "I can do it myself!" I am very excited for what the future holds for this little girl, but at the same time I do feel a little sad.

Maybe I'm sad because I realize that someday she won't really need me at all, she probably won't even want to be near me. She'll continue to grow up, make decisions on her own, and inevitably have her heart broken and possibly some dreams crushed along the way...All of which I know are necessary experiences in order for her to reach her full potential.

Then again maybe I'm sad because I want to be the mother of another child. I want my daughter to be a big sister. However, I know the amount of courage, the amount of faith, the amount of heartache it takes to bring my children into this world. I also know that I am not in control of this.

So at night when I am singing my daughter to sleep I will continue to just stare at my sweet girl. Her delicate long fingers. Her sweet button nose. Her rosy cheeks, and her beautiful black hair. These are the times when I will realize how blessed I am to even have this child in my life, to be a mother.

I will continue to weep for my child, to worry, to feel so completely inadequate, and continue to fall to my knees in absolute despair over this little girl. Until one day she will do the same for her little ones. It is very sad that we poor so much of ourselves into our children for what seems like such a short time and then they are grown...but the amount of happiness and the unbelievable blessings we receive makes it all worth it.

For now I will try to cherish this time when my daughter is still so young and does need her mother very much. Yes, I will try to cherish the tantrums, the screaming, the throwing of various objects. And I will most definitely cherish the hugs, the snuggles, and the kisses. Unfortunately these moments will someday only be memories...but how sweet those memories will be.

Overwhelmed

There have been many times in my life where I have felt overwhelmed. This time is no different. What is different is the fact that this overwhelming feeling probably won't go away anytime soon...and this is why...

Not only am I the Ward Music Chair...yes, me...who has not a single musical bone in my entire body...but now I am also the Enrichment Counselor in the Relief Society Presidency. Wait it gets better...we have just released the Enrichment Leader and the entire board just 6 weeks before our big December activity.

(Can you hear my screams of panic??)

Oh and by the way I am teaching on Sunday!

So, aside from the fact that I feel completely clueless, I do have something to smile about. After 22 months of sheer exhaustion (for all parties involved), Isabella is finally sleeping through the night.

(Feel free to join me in a song of hallelujah!)

For those of you who are wondering why on earth it took us this long to get our daughter to sleep through the night...don't worry...I have read Baby Wise, I have let her cry it out (for up to three hours at a time), we have tried every idea any one person has ever offered to us. We have been to doctors, tried medications, and had our patience tested in ways I never thought possible, and have inevitably felt like a very mean mother. Bella just has an extremely strong will, something we pray will serve her well through her adolescence.

Grown Ups Say the Darndest Things...

So lately I have been thinking...a lot. Which usually isn't a good thing. What I have been pondering is the ironic fact that most people say that children are the ones who speak before thinking. I agree, but come on, they're children. It's the adults who should know better, who should show a little more tact. Really though, since we adopted Isabella I have noticed it's the grown ups who have had some pretty "interesting" comments come out of their mouths.

For example...When Bella was just 6 weeks old I took her along with me to the stake activity days activity, since I was the Activity Day leader in our ward at that time. A woman there came up to me and said...

"Your baby is so cute, how old is she?"
"Oh, Thank You, she is 6 weeks."I responded
..."WOW, you look GREAT for just having a baby."
(Laugh) "Thank you but she's actually adopted."
"Oh well never mind then!"

Um...okay. Moving right along.

Everyone is curious when it comes to Bella's ethnic background. That's okay with me, it's just funny how some people (whom I have never met) come right out and ask "what is she." Yay just like that..."What is she." Or their was this one woman who asked me "is she a minority race."

I once had a lady at the grocery store ask me while she was bagging my groceries "What race is her daddy." It totally caught me off guard. I answered "Caucasian." The woman gave me the most confused look as I waved and walked out the sliding doors.

And for the most interesting comment I have ever gotten was when someone asked me if the guy I slept with was black and that's why my daughter looks that way. This by the way was at church, and was asked by a teenage girl who was not of our faith but was attending our ward. It made me very sad to think what kind of upbringing this girl had to make her assume that everyone lead such a lifestyle as the one she was inquiring.

Really though I would rather people ask me their questions, even if it means following me back into a store...yes that has happened..., than just assume whatever it is that goes on inside their heads. So it really doesn't bug me...that much.

What does bug me it this...

Strangers touching my child. I know you moms out there know exactly what I am talking about. It seems like people think that whenever there is a baby in the room it gives them the right to go up and pinch their cheeks or rub their head.

Once when Bella was just a few months old I had taken her to Costco. When out of no where this huge, hairy, tattooed, pierced from head to toe, MAN walked over to me and grabbed Bella's arm saying "ahh what a cute baby." I swear I probably looked at him like he was crazy cuz he immediately walked away.

Okay first of all who in their right mind would do that, and second, pass the Lysol PLEASE!

It has gotten a little better since Bella has gotten older and she gives really good dirty looks to anyone who talks to her.

So please offer up some suggestions. What do you say to those people who just can't keep their hands off your child. Or those who offer those ridiculous comments.

Peer Pressure

I promised myself I wouldn't give in to the temptation. I promised myself that I wouldn't follow the crowd. But I have given in...I have followed the crowd...and I am addicted.

I couldn't help it really. Everywhere I turned, everyone I talked to, increased my curiosity. I was surrounded by the influence.

So needless to say I am now one of the thousands of people who have read "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer and have become... obsessed!

My sister -in -law was actually the one who sealed the deal for me. They were in town a couple weeks ago and asked me if I had heard of the twilight series. I told her "yes, practically everyone I know has read them." She proceeded to tell me how good the books are. In fact, even her husband...my 29 year old "macho" brother had read the first one. I was shocked. The first thing I could think was "what the....". This eventually made me realize maybe everyone was right. Maybe these books are this new kind of phenomena, and I should at least give in to my curiosity. Which was, by now, driving me crazy.

So my husband bought me the first book as an anniversary present. He doesn't fully understand what all the hype is about. It was however, very sweet that he helped me give in to my temptation...so we are in this together...sort of.

I finished the book in less than 15 hours. Never have I ever read a 500+ page book that quickly. Never had I ever been that enveloped in a novel before. It totally sucked me in and I couldn't get enough of it...Like I said, I am addicted. So much so that I made my husband try to tract down the sequel "New Moon", at a half priced book store near our house, right after I finished reading twilight.

To my dismay the book store didn't have a copy, and by then Borders had already closed for the evening. So now I am hanging by a thread, dying to find out what happens next. Hopefully I won't have to wait much longer. I am going out soon to track down "the goods."

Seriously pathetic!?! Yep I know.

Domestic Diva!?!

When I was in ninth grade I took a sewing class. It was sheer frustration in trying to figure out how to use the machine, follow the pattern, and even sew a straight line. Never did I think that some years later this would end up being something I really enjoyed to do.



It all started a couple months ago. We had decided to purchase a condo closer to Jared's work. Knowing that we needed curtains for our new place I set out on a journey to find the perfect ones. I went to every store I could think of and found nothing that really caught my eye. So I got this crazy idea to make them myself. I didn't have a pattern....I was just going to make them as simple as possible....at least that way hopefully they would actually turn out. Well the end result was better than I had imagined. I was really proud of myself that I actually made something that looked good...at least to me, and I didn't stop there. I made 4 matching pillow as well.

This little experience fueled my fire.

I went to the fabric store a couple weeks ago just to get out of the house. I came across an adorable pattern for a little girls dress. The pattern said it was super easy so I thought to myself why not give it a try. I don't know what I was thinking!!! I now know that just because a pattern says EASY doesn't always mean that it would be EASY for someone who has only made curtains and 4 pillows since the ninth grade. It took me several times to read over just one step in the directions. however, I kept going, stitch after stitch and finally I finished. From a distance Bella's little dress looks great. Don't look too closely though, or you will see crooked stitching, the ribbon isn't lined up perfectly, and it's about one size too big for her. Really though, who cares. I am just glad that I did it...myself.



Since then I have made curtains for my kitchen, two pillows for Bella's bed, and some flannel P.J. bottoms. I admit I am now addicted. The fabric store is a dangerous place for me to go...I could spend so much money there.

(Bella is so excited o have "Elmo" and "cookie" on her pajamas)

All in All I have learned that I shouldn't expect to become perfect at something overnight, and that with a little encouragement from a loving husband I can accomplish anything.