The Nuggets Game

So, this pic is from the nuggets game against the Knicks. We went with some awesome clients of Brandons! They are totally cool and would love to hang out again!

now below is the game against the BUCKS.. Here's what went down...

some balling

and some more

Rocky's Sons!

Rocky ( in yellow) decides to punk out a crazy dude dressed up in a reindeer outfit cheering for the bucks ( notice brandon sitting by the crouching deer)

so Rocky takes matters into his own hands

whoever will donate a buck -will pay for Rocky to beat on the loud, menacing Deer ( buck fan)

Many people stepped up to donate and it caught on for the whole rest of the night!

Until Rocky chased the Deer away. Not pictured is a 6 year old following the Buck out of the walkway, swinging the bat at him. It was hilarious. Why? B/c the Buck was Jesse and Brandon was his sidekick!!! Yep, then after the costume change the boys came back and sat in seats on the opposite side and cheered for the Nuggets ( who totally shut them down). It was such a fun experience and we can't wait to go to our 3rd game. Minus the Deer stunt!

Oh and HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!

In LV...

The girls go to go see Tangled with their (twice removed ) cousin Mairyn! It was a great flick and the girls got tangled cups that we bough at the Disney store the day be fore and a whole bunch of treats! Aria had a hard time towards the last part of the movie and i think i will wait a few more months to take her again. Brielle did fantastic!

Then (cue horror music) ... we went to Chuck E Cheese....


The girls LOVED it and i HATE this place with a passion. It's just not my cup o' tea. They didn't want to leave, either.
what a smirk on that mousey face. Grrr! I must admit though- i enjoyed watching the girls play games like whack-a shark and squirting the target. I personally like Skee Balls the best and have realized that i now SUCK at them!

Brielle liked the play area and the cage- thingy too! That too freaked me out. Not to mention the germs.


The girls had a fun day, all in all and i hate to say this but, we promised to take Brielle there the actual day of her birthday to play( not eat or have a party there- just can't do it)

So, you may see a few more pics of this wretched place. I am trying to keep this to a twice yearly thing!

The girls had a blast on Thanksgiving Day too! The park was breezy and chilly but do-able compared to CO weather!


Aria is such a HAM and we love it!
the girls got to try and hit the tennis balls too! It was not that fun for them. Maybe B can learn Tennis when she's 6. Her fifth year is looking too busy with everything else!


And of course we got a bit of playing time in. Brandon is Awesome and i Stink at it but want to improve for sure. I'm hoping to take a Tennis group class this summer in the early mornings. Should get me to where i can at least not freak out playing with Brandon!

It was a great trip and i am already missing everyone!

so, backing up a bit...

Our Colorado FSA Party was quite fun. The girls loved making graham cracker gingerbread houses and hand print ornaments. We made enough for Birth mom and birth grandparents too!
I am still wondering if B's birth father ever wants any of these keepsakes or his parents. I'm not really sure on that. And i will respect whatever they want in that regard.
daddy was a great help while i shot pictures for everyone.

cutest little hands. Those ornaments were a hit. Next year, I'm going with more of an acrylic ornament so, i can ship them easier and they won't break.

Here is some of Brielle's Art! She LOVES drawing and coloring and is getting quite good at it! I plan on enrolling her in an art class this summer. We plan on traveling more in the spring and sticking around here much of the summer so, they can do Ballet, Swim and Art. But plans change so, we will see.

catching up on ( one post at a time)

So... we are STILL in vacation mode and enjoying my older brother, Todd's company! He's an awesome uncle! Christmas day and Eve were both fun and special and i will have to write even more pretty shortly here about all of it! No snow though- you'd think living in CO you'd have a white Christmas. Oh, and I'm getting older too. In less than 2 weeks I hit the last year of my twenties- kind of frightening but, I'm great with it. I love where my life is and don't wish to change a thing. Well, except i wish we could have a son and another daughter in the near future. But, God knows more than i do and knows what We need as a family right now. more to come...

for now we are enjoying our TWO little sassy angels!!!
stay tuned!

A fabulous article

read right here about adoption statistics.
I've been soo busy editing photos lately. I have had little time to blog or even edit my own photos. I FOUND my LOST 4gb card ( finally so, i will have to post a few flashback fridays to play catch-up).

I have been trying new recipes using NO EGGS or yeast , as my newly found allergies are something I'm conquering- one day at a time. waffles are awful without eggs but, pancakes are great! ( thanks to krusteaz and bisquick) i still need to find a good binding agent or egg substitute.

The girls are LOVING the holiday season and are stoked for Christmas. My older brother , Todd, will be flying up here for Christmas and I am more than thrilled. Brandon is doing fabulous and selling the Dickens out of the homes here. Real estate has been treating him more than well. I always knew he'd LOVE this profession and he doesn't miss lending one bit!!! 'm very proud of my man! He' so incredible and so very driven.
On a somewhat sad and personal note: I've experienced some bad news about a friend of a friend this week- had to make some calls to DCFS and i also had an early miscarriage. You see, it's not that I can't get pregnant- it's just hard for me to carry them, as well as get pregnant in the first place.
I have been married 8.5 years, pregnant 3 times, carried to term 1 time( Aria) and otherwise i don't ovulate more than 6 times a year. Most of those being an-ovulatory cycles( meaning there's no egg present- just endometrium lining- PCOS) So, it's about a 2% chance every year. Just so you know. (Otherwise known as slim to none)
Yes, i did have a baby once. It doesn't mean i can again. And if you have read this blog or our bios, you'd know that adoption has always been part of our plan for our family- from day one.
We are awaiting another miracle- adoption #2 and child #3. It's sad that some people won't even look at a family if they were able to birth even one child. I feel blessed to have adopted once and birthed once. It makes me appreciate birthmoms much more. I KNOW what labor can be like and I am aware of the difficulties of it all. I love you even more for it- sweet birth parents!

A few days ago, Brandon and i were looking out our window while the girls ran out into the cold to stare at the Christmas lights on the house, and he got all choked up looking at them and said " We are so blessed with these girls and i can't wait till we can have another child. It will be so cool to see how it all happens too!"

~C


*pic of Karsten- a client of mine

The Nuggets Game

I know i have TONS to catch up on and the reason why i have blogged less is due to busy work. I'm editing a bunch of photos, planning and helping with parties, decorating the home for Christmas and so forth. So, for today You will get these pics of us and our friends- Jesse and Dara- at the Denver Nuggets Game. I will give you the FUN details in a later blog post. SO much cool stuff to say about this night!!! Till later!and yes we are STILL Hoping for a Miracle and hoping that it will come when It's right!!!

Our friends are all awesome here and are hopeful right along with us!!!

The Thanksgiving LIST

so. i noticed a ton of my FB friends posting something they were thankful for all till Thanksgiving. They all had something different each day. So, i decided instead of posting it on FB and it being lost in oblivion, i would post what i'm grateful rounding it out to about 25 items or so... Here it goes...( in somewhat of a random order)

25. seasons and nature- all the beauty that comes along with them
24. technology- well, at least all the GOOD it does in our lives keeping us connected
23. architecture- some of the most creative and useful things are sculpted and built.
22. artwork- from the scribbles of my girls to Van Gogh
21. blogging- i love getting my POV across and knowing others as well
20. our dog , MYLA, even when you pee on our stuff- i still love ya ( just watch out for few hours)
19. culinary masterpieces- and all great foods
18. the ability to be healthy
17. Herbs and essential Oils- for both cooking and healing
16. Clinix wellness centers- for approaching health issues as whole
15. My senses
14. music - in all forms that uplift and edify
13. education and learning- it's a gift and a blessing that not enough take advantage of
12. my sewing machine and all things sewn- we are wearing them now
11. my parents and in laws
10. my camera and ability to capture life in action
9. My church and God
8. Brielle's Birth mom, Kara
7. Brielle's birth family and all the extended Birth family';
6. Brandon's Birth Parents
5. Adoption and Gods Hand's in it!
4. My extended family
3. My testimony of God AND Christ love for ME and everyone
2. my children and husband'
1. Jesus Christ and his Restored Gospel and Atonement

I could really keep going but most of you would want to stop reading anyways.
i love an appreciate all the small and simple stuff like the way Aria laughs and the way Brielle sings throughout the house everyday. I love being a mother and can't wait to do it again. Hopefully I'll get to give more thanks to someone who chooses to place their child with us. Open Adoption is wonderful and we are having a great time visiting our family and birth family while we are here in the LV area. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!!

Garden of The Gods

We had way too much fun this day! Garden of the Gods is situated near Colorado Springs and it's a pretty cool park. Though it's not a huge place- it is so interesting to see how the layers of sediment have eroded over time- leaving these formations of sandstone and limestone.

Us with Gpa Danny!


some horses pulled up and we just had to pet them!
The girls were just doing a "shake your booty" cheer and asked dad to give them a hug! It was funny and cute. And YES- one of our most important goals in life is to keep our daughters "off the Pole". Kind of a Vegas joke since we used to live there:)

This is Jessica, our friend and a birth mother, watching and protecting Aria, who has her moments with her. They cuddle some days and sometimes Aria wants nothing to do with her. I chalk it up to terrible threes. And the fact that she's been a baby too long.

Here these two crazies are obviously trying to hold up the rock:) So silly!

My dad!!!

Balance Rock ( well, i think that's what they called it)

Two sweet peas. Man, they LOVED climbing and bouldering. They weren't scared a bit. Though Brandon freaked a bit when they'd get too close or too high. Father's instincts for sure. They were doing just fine by me.

how long did his shoulders hurt after that? Can you guess?

Our big Sugar Girl!

we went to this cool park in Monticello afterward and i found this cool carved tree. It was dedicated to a deceased loved one of someone. It now stands for all to see. I found beauty in it!

And they had this whole mosaic sand area- such work and vivid colors.

We saw about 9 of these things eating peoples lawns- well, at least they don't have to mow much!
And I just love this candid of Brielle. She's adorable!

And we loved having Jessica with us the whole time. I'm so lucky to be her friend.
It was a GREAT trip.

Every Kind of Adoption...

Makes me Cry with JOY!!! I don't Care how, who, or where my future children come from. I don't care if my kids "match" my skin color. I don't even think twice about ME anymore b/c it's NOT about ME!!! It's about the children. I cry for different reasons all the time but, today, i cried watching a movie about a couple who adopted 2 babies from Ethiopia. It tugged at my heart strings and I remember meeting my friend Shay's newest Addition from Ethiopia. Her one and only Son, in house full of girls! He was gorgeous and so sweet and when i got to meet him, he was so friendly but, you could tell He knew who his mommy was. I asked Shay about why she chose Ethiopia- she said something like" it just felt like where we were being led to find him".

I Often wonder if adoptive couples let themselves be LED in their adoption journeys anymore. I wonder the same thing for Birth Parents. I wonder if people are just going with the easiest, cheapest, or most beneficial to them route. Like it's ALL about them anyways. I know most of you are NOT that person. But, once and a while an uneducated adoptive person shows thier Knarley face and says things like : " I'd never choose inter-racial adoption. Adoption is hard enough as it is on a child" - to that i say: Bull Crap! And at the same time- Good- you shouldn't choose inter-racial- maybe you weren't cut out for it anyways. Only the Strong couples open the flood gates and let it all break loose in the chance that GOD will see thier hearts and GIVE them what they can handle- in respects to adoption! And in Life for that matter.

I guess my point is... Why have so many adoptive parents( out side of a faith) decided that God Has no part in such a Heavenly Process? How come Some don't think much of those who do? Like Faith based people are Nuts or something. That's Bull too! What happened that we stopped respecting each other's choices and freedoms and now feel the need to attack those who stand up for our founding values? It's Sad but, i DON'T cry for that- no. I cry b/c I KNOW WHAT'S TRUE- regardless of what others May think and Adoption is God's Sacred Trust in both the birth parents and the adoptive couples. Adoption brings people together in ways nothing else on this earth can do! And For that I'm most grateful and My gratitude sometimes comes out in the form of tears! I'm super blessed by my husband's birth mother, Jane, and by his Mother, Betty. I am over blessed by Brielle's Birth Mother, Kara, and her entire family- which is now our family too!
Every Kind of Adoption Makes me Cry b/c I know how much Love it Takes and am blessed by it daily! One day , we will be blessed by it again, hopefully!

the REST of the Halloween Photos

Here's some pics of the girls and my father ( the dark haired man) Danny, and Brandon making the jack-o-lanterns. And some of the girls in their costumes! We had such a wonderful Halloween and are excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas and all the birthdays that surround them!
aria didn't want to touch the GUTS!
Grandpa Danny Helping out!

Grandpa's Pumpkin!
The cute Glinda and Dorothy!

more dorothy and daddy and Brielle cleaning out the Gourds!