The Christian Crew

 GAVIN WAS ONLY ABOUT  6 MONTHS_ HE WAS SOO TINY!  look at TREVOR( on Todd's lap by Gavin- looks a lot like SLADE)  I LOVE GINGERBREAD SO MUCH- I THINK IT"S AN ADDICTION  Gavin's Birth dad and Birth family on that side! WE LOVE OPEN ADOPTION!

SO the KIDS were awesome! Gavin did the best job as a first time trick or treater! He galloped from door to door and only got frightened a few times. We are so happy they love dress up but, I'm excited for the HOlidays. I have SOOO much catching up to do on this blog and about my Works with Adoption advocacy- all good news!  Brielle was a VAMPIRESS  Aria was a werewolf , and a pink princess and Belle for various parties  Slade was a scary Dragon ( he looks so vicious;) Gavin was our lil' buckaroo cowboy! So darling!

that has happened in the last  month or so... first off- my Mother in laws FB post " Today I am thankful for two women who chose adoption over abortion. I don't know if they could possibly ever know the joy that their choice brought me and my husband. It is, in my eyes, one of the most selfless acts of love that could ever be shown. I will be forever thankful and hold a special place for you in my heart! Two other women made that same choice which brought me two of my grandchildren. You also have a special place in my heart! Thank you all!" I too agree with everything she said! I'm one lucky lady/momma in many, many ways b/c of the Miracle of Adoption! A couple weeks Back... i was honored to take pics of a sweet tiny girl that a friend of mine had and she and her boyfriend had chosen to place her with an adorable couple down south. I was able to meet them too. Today someone who was visiting remembered when i was running the FSA Region here and stopped ...

With Many things at the Moment. I am Potty training our son Gavin, getting the last 17 lbs off my bod, and selling again all my overstock on ETSY. Here's some of the images below. ccbabyinc.etsy.com in case you want to shop or stop by! NEED YOUR PRODUCTS SHOT? i can SHOOT anything from Florals to Filagree... buildings to beads and anything in between. 

YEP! i'm spinning is circles getting stuff done! I may not be collecting nectar but, I'm doing all i can to keep my family running smoothly, exercise, homework, piano, gymnastics, and Aria's room mom for her class. I'm involved in the PTA, RS and I got to 24 5 days a week ( most of the time)! I've had my mom here for 2 weeks and we have sewn, made hair bows, finished decorating bedrooms, working out, and doing fun things like swimming at APEX, the zoo, dinners out, play centers, massages, shopping etc. We've had so much fun and i'm sad it's almost over. It's been a great visit and i will see her soon so- not too worried! Enjoy the fall everyone! I will post after a couple weeks post wedding and Disneyland trip! Our broncos bow!

This is NOT MY article but, i will link you to it- SINCE IT's FABULOUS! and Insightful! this pic is of my friend , Miki, and her family! She has such blessings after such heartache! She lost 3 babies then held her niece for 3 weeks before the niece went to her forever family! She later had 3 kids and was told she would die if she had anymore! So, she hoped to adopt for 3+ years then, it happened and Shaylee ( in yellow) joined the family b/c of a selfless birth mother! Now, the Watt Family also waited 3 ish years and had a beautiful baby girl placed with them- only to be reunified with the Father who does'nt stay clean( but wanted the govt' handouts for this sweet girl). Then about a year later a loving couple who chose them placed their big BOY with them on FATHERS day weekend! It was an amazing day to say the least! Adoption blesses many lives, the child, the parents and the birth parents but, we must consider what we say and educate others as we LI...

We all come to different stages in our lives where we see the end of what was our life for the last um-teen years or months and the change that is ahead. Some of us are overjoyed at these next steps or end of that certain chapter but, most of us see these as bittersweet experiences. For me, the most recent one was TODAY! I seriously went through the whole grief cycle in a matter of hours. I bargained with myself saying internally " i can totally still do this if i just give up what i really need to do" " I will just try harder, then everything will be fine"! I Denied that this was going to happen today- i said now way- This is not happening! I felt GUILTY for not being a more equipped mother to my most recent baby. I was ANGRY at Myself  for being a QUITTER! I held my limp , stretch marked abdomen and SOBBED uncontrollably, Hating that i didn't Get to NURSE ALL of my Babies and get that bonding time with each of them.  As I held Slade in my Arms after nur...

I can't believe he is already 7 months old... There went the Summer too.   Next week the girls start school . Both will be in Full day and we love our school! Aria got Brielle's teacher and we couldn't be happier about it b/c she is fabulous and an award winning as well! I had good intentions to post more and if it was my business- it would take more of a priority but, it's not right now. I still plan on having some great and informative posts once things slow down again ( if they ever do). Anyways, we have had fun doing swimming classes, playing, splash park, floating on the clear creek and much more. So sad that my friend moved back to Idaho again but happy for her family! Im looking forward to FALL and all it brings. Lots of visits, a couple weddings, another Trip to Disneyland & the Beach, school days and dance, piano and gymnastics classes for the girls. the boys and i will enjoy the parks, library story time, gym classes, biking , grandma Leslie, ...

Without bragging too much- Lets just say we got to enjoy a beautiful cabin up in the woods for a couple days last week as we celebrated Aria's 6th Bday! Aria and Brielle loved playing by the river and finding all the COOL stuff around the cabin and property- they found hidden doors, keys in stumps, little critters, neat carvings in the wood details o the house and outside and a fish and crawdad too!  The first day of fishing Brielle caught a lil' guy and the second day- Aria decided to dangle a worm in the water off the ledge and caught a crawdad. He was a meaty looking one too! Her birthday was a success and so much fun ( pics on that to come)! Thanks everyone who made it so and thanks to Gma Betty for ALL your help! This is the gorgeous view of the mountains and valley and river we had right out our window and from the campfire area! we truly enjoyed this retreat and will come back again! I'm so happy our summer had been a blast and we have 2.5 weeks ...

Being a mom of boys if FAR more exhausting than it has been when my girls were small. Let's be real here for a moment and compare... Girls only once touched their own poo. Gman- has taken off his own diaper more than i can count on all appendages and played in his feces! Girls hardly ate their foods or finished everything on their plates GMan- CANNOT eat enough. He could finish 2-3 servings, if i let him. Girls want to Dance around things and hop from here and there Gman- Bulldozes into you and anything he can! The differences are astounding and it has nothing to do with wether my kids come from my body or their birth momma's tummy. Boys are rough and tough and yet they are cuddly mommas boys. Im so in LOVE with my big boys and so happy to be their momma! Gavin is amazed and so animated about everything wether its a airplane or a bug flying around!   He can jump and gallop and kiss and hug just about anyone. Slade is rolling around, starting to get up and pus...

 I found this awesome site via FB! I wanted to see what projectcuddle.org was all about! And  I found out! This organization was set up to SAVE babies from abandonment. According to the site research, over 20,000 babies in the US are abandoned every year. Lots of them are not even saved , meaning they end up in places like trash cans, boxes, ally dumpsters and so on. Some are placed by the parents in hospitals, fire stations and other places via the Safe Haven Law. Learn how to be a Rescue( adoptive) Family  and SAVE a child while gaining a precious member of your family! The Big difference with this Org , is that they DO NOT CHARGE A THING!!! What? Is this TrUe?  Well, according to the site- you do your own home study thru a reputable agency ( I know you can get one in CO for about 1,850.), and plan on having money set aside for travel, baby needs and such(please see site for ALL info). I think this is a great org and I'm excited to get involved when I ...

 SO... Obviously life is very busy right now so, things suffer. Let's be real- having REAL balance in your life is an absurd goal when it comes to a summer schedule!  ( i shutter at the sound of that word)! That's why i'd rather  have a routine. See that sounds like I'm not so rigid, right? My routine includes waking up each morning- often before the sun is fully up- to nurse Slade, watering the garden, weeding, breakfast for four, chores, swim practice , cleaning, lunch, a small amount of rest or down time then onto the next meal and more cleaning. It never ends. Once the boys go down at 6:30, im off to the gym or for a walk or whatevs. Sometimes, there are wrenches thrown in this plan/routine, like bumps and bruises, dental appts, dr. appts, jury duty, poop clean up ( man an his digestive issues), deep cleaning, errands and so on . Its exhausting being a mom of 4! Im worn out every day. Mind you, i have to often make 2-3 diff. foods per meal b/c of food allergies...

So , its been 7.5 years since our first open adoption and here's where we stand with everyone.( at least from my vantage point)... Brielle's Birth mom, Kara, has a full open adoption relationship- we visit when we can ( she is two states away) . Her parents and siblings and grandparents all keep in touch. We all visit when we can which is at least once a year but we shoot for more. we last saw her and the family in June! We love and miss them and are sad they are so far away but that's life! We have our birth families stay in our home when they visit and we stay with them when the opportunity arises. ANd we look forward to planning a vacation together next couple of years! Brielle's Birth dad- Kyle is still keeping his distance and still keeping his eye on us through FB and this blog but, that's all he can do right now and we respect that. His parents want more communication but we need to figure this all out again- its been 7 years since we have seen them. th...

WOW! I cant believe 6 months has flown by so quickly! Where did the time go? I am so happy to announce that i will be back blogging again with my main emphasis on family, my family, adoption and issues related to all aspects in between. You might occasionally here a few reviews on books, products and such but mainly the above stuff. So, yeah, I can back track too much ( or you'd get bore to tears of a million flash back fridays ( i will post a few) but the next bit should get you up to speed... Where are we now? Staying put in the Denver Area suburbs, raising 4 kids, swimming& lessons, workouts, walks, naps, gardening, hanging out with friends, learning to balance life, going on dates with my hubby ( we just celebrated 11 yr on the 5th of July!) and building a business. My husband is loving the real estate company  and the ownership position. Its tons of work but well worth it! The kids are growing like weeds! we tube down rivers, do gym and dance and B fly fishes and we ha...

Aria and Brielle had a cute custom Easter bow made for them this year! They came Mid March and the Girls started planning all the Easter fun from then on! They couldn't wait to dye Eggs and loved taking the old plastic eggs and hiding them throughout the house as preparation for the real Day! We also focused as a family on LESS stuff for Easter and what the REAL message is. We watched the BIBLE series on the History Channel and the Life of Christ Videos on lds.org. Brielle really understood for the first time in her life what Jesus Christ did for Everyone and for Her. She sniffled and choked up watching the Romans whip Jesus and the scenes as they nailed Him to the Cross. She grabbed my arms and said in a subdued voice- He must really Love us to Die for Us. I started crying and told her that He loves her that much! She said to me- He loves all of US that Much, momma! We had a ward party and egg hunt and enjoyed the company of Uncle Brian for the week before Easter!  He ...