Adoption Questions!

OK, so everyone seems to have the same questions about the whole adoption process Todd and I have to go through before a baby can be placed with us. So, I decided to take my cue from Randee and give you a list of some of the many questions we've heard along with our standard answers. Here goes!

1. How long does it take before your baby comes?

We've been told that, on average, once you are approved it could be anywhere from 6 months to 2 years. The caseworker we've been working with told us he's seen couples placed with a baby as soon as a week after approval, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 1 year—you name it, he's pretty much seen it. So basically, the answer is that we have no idea how long it will take! We've got a vacation planned for October 7-14, so we think we'll be called on October 6 with the news of our new arrival! :)

2. What does it mean that you have to be approved?

Basically there are a whole lot of hoops you have to jump through so that you are legally approved by the State of Utah as well as LDS Family Services. We've had to fill out tons of "paperwork" (basically just online questionnaires), get physicals, go to interviews both together and separate, show them our house, take a 6 week class, create our picture and letter profile for online and a few other things. After we do all of these things, our caseworker takes our Adoption Study (a report that he does that explains everything he's learned about us) to the board and they either approve or deny us.

3. When will you be approved?
We have just about finished doing everything actually! We are working on our profile and our first adoption class was last night. It was a really great class and we learned a ton and have a huge binder full of info now too. We also found out it won't take the full 6 weeks because there is a special 2-day FSA Conference (Families Supporting Adoption) next weekend at the Davis Conference Center that we were assigned to go to instead. Because so much of the information that we would have learned in our 6-week class is covered over these two days, we will only meet as a class one or two more times after next week. Awesome! So, that means we could be approved by the end of August!

4. Are we doing an open or closed adoption.

Most likely it will not be a closed adoption, which means no communication whatsoever with the birth mother. Right now we feel like a semi-open or open adoption best describes what we're looking for. A lot of it is dependent on the birth mother and what she would like to do. When we're selected, we'll meet with her and try to figure out what will be the best for all of us.

5. Are you nervous/afraid?

Yes! We're nervous it will take forever and that we won't be placed with. We're nervous that our birth mother will meet us and change her mind. We're nervous that after being chosen by our birth mother we won't feel like it's right. We're nervous about not being able to monitor the pregnancy (is the birth mother taking her vitamins daily, going to the doc, etc.), and the list goes on and on. If you think you'd be nervous about something, we're probably nervous about that same thing. (Luckily after some of our interviews and meetings a lot of the things we were previously nervous about have gone away!)

6. Are you excited?

Of course! We are so excited and despite all the things we are nervous about, there are definitely more things that we are super excited for. Number one, WE GET TO HAVE OUR BABY! We're excited to start parenting as we've watched so many of you tackle the job so well. We're excited go to "grandma's house" and show off our little cutie, we're excited to just sit and watch our baby and be a little family. We're excited to take pictures, to decorate our nursery, to buy cute little baby things, and again, we're just so excited that WE GET TO HAVE OUR BABY! :)

OK, so that's it. If you have any other questions, let me know and I'll answer them the best I can!

Big Sky!

Well, Todd and I went on our trip to Big Sky, Montana and had a blast! On our way up we stopped in Yellowstone for a day and hung out at Firehole and Old Faithful. It was super fun! We left Yellowstone in the early evening and continued our drive up to Big Sky, but we stopped at a campground along the way and stayed the night there in our car. We had a gorgeous camp spot right on the Gallatin River and we just chilled and played games and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. The next day we met up with Todd's whole family (including Todd's parents who are up in Billings, Montana, on a mission) and just partied from that point on! We went biking, hiking, walking, swimming, and played a bunch of games. Not to mention, we ate a TON! All in all, it was a successful trip and we loved seeing mom and dad again after 8 long months! I think we'd all love to go back one day and do it again.

Me at Mesa Falls on the way to Yellowstone

Todd and I at our BEAUTIFUL camp spot

Us biking down from the Mountain Village in Big Sky

Todd on our hike up to Ousel Falls

Ready for Baby!

We've been meaning to make this announcement for a while now! After lots of prayers and careful consideration, we've decided it's time to bring a baby into our home through adoption! We are so ready for a baby, and we think that adoption is such a great blessing and opportunity. The fact that someone out there would want us to raise their child is absolutely amazing and such a great compliment. We've already started the whole process with LDS Family Services and hope to be completely approved by early September, meaning we could have a baby ANY TIME after that! Scary, but very exciting! We haven't given up trying to get pregnant, but we just know that we are meant to have more than one or two kids, and we have come to realize we might not get ALL of them the good ol' conventional way. So, we're trying to be patient for just a little longer and are just imagining I'm pregnant without a due date! Wish us luck and we'll keep you all posted!

A Couple of Survivors

OK, so you all probably think I'm totally crazy right now because this is my third post about squirrels. I'm not crazy, I swear! So on Tuesday this week as I was working from home, I heard a familiar little knock on the back door. When I looked out, it was a squirrel! I thought they were all dead! I was too slow to get the camera, but the little guy came back on Wednesday, and with a friend. So, if you're keeping track, that means we have/had at least 7 squirrels living in our backyard! I wonder how many others survived the "plague" that killed the poor little guys I found in our garden. When the two squirrels were hanging out here on the back porch, it was actually pretty cute (even though I'm still VERY MAD at them). They were standing on their back legs and hitting and jumping on each other and just totally playing. I'm seriously starting to think they might be part human . . .

Anyway, I finally got a couple pictures so you can see that I'm not making things up. I wish I could catch them looking in the window with the camera—it's crazy!—but I'm always too slow. Enjoy!

Todd's Birthday and DEAD Squirrels

First I want to just tell Todd "Happy Birthday!" His birthday was Sunday, which was also Father's Day, so he was totally loving it. He now 31 and officially in his "30s." I love him very much and am so happy for the great spirit he brings with him into our home on a daily basis. He makes me laugh always (even though I don't want him to know I think he's funny) and he's the best snuggler in the world!

And, to keep you posted about the squirrels that raided our garden—they all DIED! No, we did not kill them, and we have no idea what happened to them really. I went out to the garden on Saturday to try a do a little weeding. I got through the row that used to have the lettuce pretty fast, and then reach for the next row and there was a dead squirrel laying there. I screamed and jumped back and looked over just a little farther and another dead squirrel was just a foot or so away, and then another and then another! There were dead squirrels all over our garden! It totally freaked my out and ran screaming for Todd. We were so sad that they all died. We were mad at them, sure, but we just wanted them to leave, not die! We think they were either attacked by something because a couple were a little mangled, or they were poisoned and then eaten by birds or something. Needless to say, there will be no pictures of the little guys now. I'm a little nervous to harvest from our garden now too, considering it might have killed several small animals. Yikes!

We Hate Squirrels!

This year we were totally on the ball and planted a really great garden. We planted yellow squash, zucchini, peas, red peppers, green peppers, jalapeños, onions, tomatoes, cilantro, rosemary, and lettuce. That's a ton of stuff, right? Well, we were especially excited about the lettuce because it came up so fast, but lo and behold, we went out back the other day and the WHOLE ROW of lettuce was completely gone! At first Todd said, "Did it all just die?" But the row was so cleaned out it didn't look like anything had ever even been planted there. And then we noticed the cilantro was eaten down to the ground. What in the world? Then we discovered the problem—SQUIRRELS! We now hate squirrels! We have a family of them living in our garden and they are the culprits! These are no ordinary squirrels either. It's like they think they are human! When I work at home, my office space is right by our back door. Several times I've heard knocking at the door and look out the window to find a squirrel just standing there. I make faces and yell at it to go away, and I even bang on the window, but it just stands there looking all innocent, staring at me. What is the deal with these squirrels? I also can't even go walk over to the garden area of our yard because they start "squeaking" at me and it totally freaks me out! Todd bought some "Critter Ridder" yesterday, so we'll have to see if that gets rid of them!

P.S. Next time the darn things knock on the back door, I'm taking a picture so you all believe me!

You Are Cinderella!

Dignified and hard working. With a gentle and soft-spoken manner you have something many people don't. Patience. Even through the moments of heartbreak you're still able to hold onto all of your hopes and dreams. Bide your time; your dream will come true.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

I found this quiz on my cousin Julie's blog. It's funny that I ended up being Cinderella—I have the Cinderella song "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" as the ring tone on my cell phone, and I love it. Totally fitting! Everybody make sure to take the quiz. Just click on the link above—it only takes a couple of minutes and it's fun!

Hair Catastrophe

So, I'm thinking I'll be taking the "Hot Sticks" I decided to try back to the store. Can you believe my hair? It looks ridiculous! For those of you who haven't seen me in a while, my hair is getting really long. It's about halfway down my back now, but in this picture I look like a short-haired poodle!

The story is that I went to the store to buy some hot rollers on recommendation from my cousin Julie, but they were $35 and I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to spend that much. There just happened to be a box of Hot Sticks right next to the hot rollers that seemed interesting and they were only $14. I was sucked in by the price and decided to try them out instead of the ones Julie got. Obviously a HUGE mistake. I should always remember that you usually get what you pay for! Suffice to say, I had to re-wet my hair that day to make it look normal again. Thank goodness it wasn't permanent.