The Christian Crew

...That some people have no idea how special they are! If we could all remember Where and Whose presence we came from everyday- I think we'd treat each other better! B helped decorate this by saying which letters she wanted bling on and Aria handed me most of the crystals! Way too much fun! My girls will either hate crafting ( b/c i do it often) or love it as they grow up. I think it's important to learn some skills like the arts and crafts. I enjoy doing arts like sewing, decor, cake decorating, jewelry, photography and making baby boutique products!!! Life's too short to be bored. These are things I do in my spare time and our girls enjoy doing most of them with me:)

Is that you get to enjoy LOTS of cuddling! Watch TV shows you don't normally watch... fall asleep where ever and eat whatever you feel like eating ( let's face it- there is stuff that just doesn't sound good when you don't feel good- even if it's healthy for you) Play with your sister all day- make fake invitations to a fake party and experiment with Soda concoctions (B put mini robin's eggs candy in her soda and said she was doing a little science experiment ) and really, when you are coughing all day long- you can't go anywhere so, you get pretty creative. But Best of all you get to take LONG soaks in the tub every day- sometimes twice a day and have BUBBLES every time if you wish! Our tub is their FAV too! I am not feeling so hot either- let's hope this all passing quickly too. My girls have already missed 1.5 weeks of school. Thank goodness it's just preschool and we do a lot of stuff at home. Aria is getting much better at letter recognition...

Forrest And Kaarina I met Kaarina b/c we served together doing some combined Ward activity planning back in NV! This dynamic couple is super easy going and so REAL to the core. I met them at time when they weren't quite sure what to do about their inability to have kids. I had a frank but, heartfelt talk about what adoption was to our family. I told them about Brandon and Brielle and one thing led to another and now they have been on this journey for a little while now. They will be super parents one day! I so hope it's this year for them! You couldn't have 2 sweeter people! their blog

This time Jesse and Brandon went fishing around Boulder. It was a rough fishing day and very cold ( i have no idea why he is in a T-shirt) but the experience was awesome. At times he was crunching through the ice and he could see many fish but most were little. So, neither caught anything but, that's how life is sometimes. It's not always about the end result but the journey and experience. He normally fishes up in Granby and He can't wait to head up that way again soon. Now, he will go to his next fishing stop with more experience and have an even better time. Hopefully, it won't be as cold but, i relate that to our adoption journey too. We must face ALL the elements of this process, regardless if we like them or not. Adoptive couples are going to be picked apart by potential expectant parents and some may even feel they are competing to have the BEST profile or whatnot. We will be de-bunked for really anything a birth parent doesn't like. Maybe it's b/c...

Is on the way. Congrats to Brad and Tirza on your 3rd BOY! It's official- I still have no nieces! Yep now, including just my immediate family's kids there are 6 boys and our 2 girls. If you include our step siblings' kids there are 14 boys, 1 step-niece (haven't seen for 4 years and am not likely to get to see) and our 2 girls. We are strongly over-masculinated here! But, it's all good with me! If we have the privilege of adopting a boy- it will be our first and we will have tons of family to support us. If we are blessed enough to have another girl in our family- we'd be ready and It would be just as special, either way! She'd help off-set the number of boy cousins too! Either way- We'd be ecstatic. At the upcoming Adoption Conference , there will be a family and birth mother speaking about their 12 yr. relationship- after placement. This family adopted 3 girls ! Then, the birthmom had 3 girls of her own (one is also named Brielle which makes thi...

Congrats Nick and Rachel on your adoption of Alexa (Aly) Laurie Nelson! Born 2/18/11 at 1:29am. 5 lbs 15 oz and 17.5 in long. It's always worth the Wait! What a doll! ( sorry no picture to post of her)

...life likes to throw you a few curve balls . And I feel like I have a few of them coming at me right now. I have been patient for a long while but, this is the 3rd time one of the girls is sick in 2 weeks. Can't sickness just be gone after one round? I swear i detoxed the house to the point of my fingers cracking already. And our SUV is still in the shop and it's almost been a MONTH. I want to strangle my insurance company . Why are they waiting to release such a measly amount to the repair shop? I'm so fed up and switching from them after they pay up. GRRR! And we are trying to find a new 5 bed or more, home by May and i feel like everything I'm seeing is way too far or way too run down or nice but in a crappy part of town. Sorry for venting on my Sunshines-out-our-rear blog but, reality is what it is and love it or hate it, it's ours! So, Hopefully, We will get our Navigator back by next week and my girls will be done being sick and no major catastrophes...

National Social Worker’s Month(March)-- gratitude baskets In 1984, Ronald Reagan officially established the National Professional Social Worker’s Month. March provides a time for each of us to remember the important community roles filled by our social workers. While the profession is known in title, the job responsibilities and potential impact of a social worker in a community may not be completely understood by all. Social Workers champion access, equality and fairness. Social Workers improve the fabric of society by being advocates for people who need help addressing serious life challenges and exploring their options. The Social Work profession was established more than 100 years ago to provide as many people as possible with the tools and support they need to overcome many types of adversity and reach their full potential. Every day, Social Workers witness the best and worst of human nature. A Social Worker’s success is often defined by the opportunities pe...

I really was trying to think what the title of my post today would be on. I understand that the world and values have changed. I also realize we all make our own choices in life and that's a gift we have been given- AGENCY! I could go into much detail about this but, in simplest terms: I'm using my Agency to FOCUS on my family , our hopes for adoption, advocating for adoption and loving those who are in my life. I'm not focusing on all the changes and moral shifts going on but, rather on keeping my boat steady as we parent in is crazy world. Our children (and all children that come into our family ) will know and learn the unchangeable Doctrines of God and Jesus Christ and the Love that He has for Them. I'm choosing everyday to focus on what matter's most. I may not have the latest shoes or handbag or sports car. You may not see me at the latest movie releases or trying to promote the latest fad in the economic climate. I won't waste my time on crap that...

To Our Thanksgiving Visit with The Birth Family:) This is the Majority of Kara's Family. Great, Great Grandma couldn't make it that night! Dawn and Phil are Kara's Parents in the middle with the girls and Jr.! They are Grandma Dawn and Grandpa Phil to us now:) You can never have too much love! Grandpa Phil is such an amazing Man and great with all his Grand kids. Aria just LOVES getting tickled! And her laugh is addicting too! Brielle's Birth family is so amazing. I was talking with Dawn ( below) the other night and she said " You know , we really adopted you guys when you adopted Brielle!" We honestly feel like family and our love for them is just as strong as the love we have for our families- just different b/c they chose us and we chose them! We LOVE open adoption! Aria tries to get GPA PHIL back and tries to tickle him! It's so funny how little kids think they know how to tickle adults. So cute! Kara ( Brielle's tummy momma) and her baby boy...

bad mom if I can't help but laugh about HOW CUTE and silly my Kids are??? Sometimes, when my girls make cute, little errors or do things that are funny ( maybe not to them) It's hard not to laugh with delight . But, once I start, it's hard to stop laughing sometimes. You know the feeling when you are noise-less b/c your laughing so hard. Or your eyes fill up with tears or you think you are going to wet yourself b/c you abs cannot stop contracting from laughing so stinkin' long!?!?! Yeah, And it's always at terrible times too. I will pin point times in upcoming posts but, for now... Here's what i was laughing about lately... Brielle LOVES making Snowmen and as the snow has been melting it actually is working better to make them so, B went to town and did a great job all by herself. I'm so proud of her too. What a hard worker. What cracks me up is what she called it... Look Mom, I made a One -Eyed, Elephant, Alien Snowman for Aria! Such a creative...

on David and Felicia ... These 2 people were in my ward growing up for a very long time. Felecia was quiet and sweet and Her mom was a YW leader and one who made a strong impact on my life. I never knew these two would end up married but, was happy when i heard the news. Then when i was visiting my hometown. I ran into Felicia's mom and she told me of their decision to adopt. They have been married probably longer than B and I and I'm so happy to share these great people with the world. I can't imagine a child being more welcomed and loved and surrounded with great kindness and patience. Hopefully this will be their year too!

about interracial adoption and respect and insight on that subject... Thanks Oprah! And congrats on reuniting with your long lost half sister- what a story!

I read a cool birthmom post last night and it got me to thinking a bit about what people portray in their blog content . And I realized some blogs are very misleading and not really personal. Some people use blogs as a journal or log book and others use them more like a diary, with more intimate details, feelings, and opinions of what their lives are like. Some blogs have beautiful pictures and don't really show you WHO they are. Some are moving to the point of tears or hit to the core almost every time you read them. Blogs can also be deceiving or be viewed as a "sales" pitch. Especially adoption profile blogs. I think most of the people I know have spectacular blogs and profiles and are being genuine and honest. Some are afraid to share deeper feelings in order to avoid looking too vulnerable or afraid that a BP may read into something and disqualify them in some way from being a candidate. I remember some saying about being too wishy washy, broad and fearful about h...

I remember as a kid on Valentine's Day... My mom would make us pink pancakes or heart pancakes with berries, when we had them. It seemed as though every detail about that day was centered on how much she loved US! When we got home from school we had treats on our beds and nice card or letter. We often made jello jigglers hearts and mom made us something scrumptious for dinner. we'd watch old musicals or some love story type shows like Seven Brides for Seven Brothers or My Funny Valentine or whatever! She always made that day special for us. I never felt unloved by my mother and i don't think i really appreciated how much she really did for us and me until i became a mother! Thanks mom, for being my Valentine my whole young life. You did a great job and sacrificed so much for me to not end up rotten! I may not be a typical model of the perfect LDS/Christian person but, i know where my heart is centered and i know How much God loves me and loves everyone. Christ loves me ...

Our Daughter's Birth Grandparents and Birth family! Today Grandpa Phil & Grandma Dawn sent us some See's Valentine's treats!!! It was so unexpected and the girls and myself were so excited and I have to just say a public THANK YOU to them. Not Only Is Kara ( b's BM) in our lives but, her WHOLE family is and it makes me choke up thinking about how different our lives would be if we had chosen semi-open or even closed adoption. I am so glad we will not choose those with any designated (where someone chooses us) placement we may have. I know that I can't expect the same relationship with our future placements but, i am not going to lie... I HOPE that we will get to build strong loving bonds with our future birthmom and her family. I'd love to see the birth father's side too- if that is at all possible but, not to the detriment of our amazing future birth mom, of course:) I know that VERY OPEN adoptions are not for everyone. I just know that Brandon a...

On My LONG TIME friends Jake And Traci ... I grew up with BOTH of these awesome parents. Traci had fun parties at her house and id choir with me and so did Jake. Jake and his brother were like brothers to me. We would GOOF off all the time and were dance partners for some choir productions like the song " Farmer Tan" or when we sang Valentine Grams to teachers and people's significant others. We sang to one of our teachers who had adopted 2 children. I remember walking into the house and seeing these beautiful kids and feeling the sweet spirit of adoption and love in their family, with Jake. Who would have known it would be part of both our lives... Please check out this family who has been through h*ll and back when it comes to life challenges with adoption. ( to put it mildly) They are so deserving and TONS of FUN to be around. read on ... Hopefully this will be their year!

Scott and Mitzi... I first Met Mitzi at my friend Cachay's Baby Announcement Party. We talked together about Adoption. A year or so later after a horrible experience with a miscarriage, they turned to the Lord and found that Adoption would be How they are to grow their family. They are LOVING, Kind, FUN and Witty parents who have deep relationships and affection for all who know them. Mitzi is a GREAT mother and They have been waiting more than 3 years for the chance to adopt. Please Check them out full on their profile . We are all rooting that this will be the year for your family!

Normally, we go with our friends to the Nuggets Games. It's not like kiddos appreciate PRO athletes strutting their stuff but, we decided to take our girls and see what they thought of it all... Brielle liked the silly games people played on the breaks and the popcorn and candy . After that ran out- she kept asking for more and more. I'm not even sure she knew it was a basketball game! Aria was mostly concerned with the dancers and their many outfits. She asked me once why they were wearing their underwear ( referring to a sport bra top) and one time,s he said pajamas ( really baggy pants and sports bra top again as they did dancing for TAG TEAM - Man, those dudes are old now but, still, it was 90's week and so much fun!) Brielle loved rocky and i HATE my camera phone in moments like this! B would yell for Rocky even if he was on the opposite side of the court. Lucky, we are dear friends with this busy mascot ! He's such a great guy and father too! Good experien...

Brielle's friends came to celebrate her 5th B-day with her. They made Hair flowers , danced around, then sat down to a fancy tea party ( some of kids took the princess thing to the extreme too) then a SPECIAL VISITOR CAME ! Sleeping Beauty! Brielle was totally in shock but, very happy and excited to see her. She said " how did you know to come to my party?" Many hugs were given throughout the event. ( and B's dress beat hers hands down- go Disney parks line:) She read stories and played games and took many pictures... and the kids got necklaces and rings and crowns too! Then it was time for cake fit for a QUEEN!( and of course ice cream) Luckily, it was chock- FULL of butter cream fondant and butter cream icing which the kids went to town on! Next time though, skipping the fondant and just adding cute marshmallow fondant details to butter cream. And she BLEW out a Fiery Crown with her tiny little blow! And all the kids had a blast and went home full of tre...

Jessica( on left in gray top)... You are missed by our whole family! She will deploy in a few short weeks and currently is in training. We all miss her and she is the coolest birth mom friend ( along with all my other ones too:)!!! Our ladies nights out won't be the same without you! We all had so much fun that night and going to the Lakers v. Nuggets Game! You are an inspiration to so many in all you do! Keep plugging away and return back to us safely ! Your birth daughter will be so proud of you just as your AP's are ( C& J)! Love ya to pieces just like a sister and I'm so glad we met you when we did!

...To have Kara ( Brielle's Birthmom) and her son, JR., here a few weeks back. Here's a few cute pics of the little man! We are open with Brielle about who Jr. is and of course about who Kara is to her! She call Jr. Her Birth brother. He is technically her half birth brother but, we call him family ! Being around a tiny boy gets us excite for the hopes of a son or another daughter. Babies are awesome and we can only imagine HOW COOL our next child will be. And how amazing and fun our future birth family will be too! Here's hoping!

like your inbox... or vice versa... You choose what to respond to and how to respond to it. You check boxes and clear out the clutter , leaving only the pertinent and personal emails left. But, sometimes we muse at the junk mail. The sales at Nordstrom or the funny pictures of a plumbers crack. We drift off into tangents and forget about the REAL stuff in our inbox that really needs our attention and communication. We wonder why we are SO BUSY when most of our time was actually wasted on CLEARING OUT THE JUNK! Maybe, if we had LESS junk coming in our lives - we'd be more focused, more in tune, more in touch with those PEOPLE and Purposes that matter to Us! We can always unsubscribe to those Lesser important things that distract us from what really matters but, do we? As my girls drift off to sleep in their soft cozy beds, with layers of quilts and blankets on this cold snowy night, I think about the choice brielle's birthmom made to think about the stuff that really mattered...

I'm finally catching up on pics! Bu, it has taken me a while so, i will be doing some FF's to speed everyone up.. Today we will highlight Brielle's School Holiday program from December! Brielle had a speaking part and she did it perfectly in her tiny, sweet voice! And she played a song with bells and did a great job too! at the end of the program SANTA walked in the room as a surprise to all the kids! He was a COOL Santa and Brielle knew- he was one of Santa's Helpers b/c his whiskers weren't real! Aria took forever to warm up to him but, finally did! Me and Dara sitting on the Fat mans lap! You can tell Aria is still a tad leery! But Not Brandon!!!! I have the funniest Hubby ever! Unfortunately, in the whole program not one actual Christmas Song was sung about the REAL meaning of the Season... Christ's Birth. Then a song was altered that ticked off Brandon and made me realize that we live in a world with shifting Morals and God is unchangeable despite these ...