Our Travel'in Girls part3...

I got a wonderful package in the mail from Spain today!!!
Imagine how happy I was to see "Lladro" on the box and open it up to find this beautiful surprise!!!! This gorgeous Lladro porcelain sculpture straight from Spain from my very own "Ally the Spainiard" is priceless. I love it love it love it!!!! I love you more Ally!... Thank you for my very special early Mother's Day and Birthday present. I am so glad you got to go back to Valencia and that you remembered me. What a special treat. Thank you Ally Kay!

Ally has really had an unforgettable experience and I am so glad that she was able to go to Spain on this Study Abroad. It is hard to believe that she comes home this Saturday!!! We all can't wait!!

Here are a few pictures from her latest trip...

This Plaza Mayor in Salamanaca was the Plaza where they filmed Vantage Point the movie.
We just watched that movie again last week and I wondered if it was a place that Ally was able to go to...it was pretty cool to see this picture of her there the next day...
This is my favorite handstand of all!

Amy traveled to Taichung last week end and had some crazy experiences there. She loved it and even drove a boat for an hour with tourists on it not knowing quite what to do since she has never driven a boat before...
thus this picture!

I love you my Taiwaneese "Teacher Amy"...I miss you!
Ally gets to go and visit Amy in Taiwan in May (thanks to flyer miles that needed to be used!)... They are even planning a trip to Thailand for five days.
These two are really enjoying traveling and seeing the world! I am so glad.

Wow What A Week !!! part 2

Family Night Monday was great as Brett, Azurdee, Janika, Baby Bristol, Brett's Mom and Dad, Brett's brother and his wife and two kids, Brett's sister (who happens to be in Jennie's ward and just had a baby girl last week!)...my sister Lisa and her son Brad... & Jennie and the kids and Jamie & Kaden all came!! I got home from moving my mom and dad at 5pm and dinner was ready at 6pm thanks to Jennie and Leah and all their help. I love that our family has grown so much in the last week...we feel like we have known Azurdee and Brett and their family forever...I am quite sure that we have...they are wonderful and we love them!

We were so happy to be able to drive just a couple of minutes and let Bristol meet Great Grami Colleen and Great Grampa Jack...

Tuesday Leah's kids, Caleb and Olivia were able to meet Bristol and it was so sweet... You could'nt wipe the smile off of Olivia's face! Caleb looked at Bristol for a second, gave him a hug and was off to play video games with Kaden. Olivia got to feed Bristol a bottle...and Azurdee and Brett made her feel so special. Caleb was sure to show Janika where the M&M jar was and then they were all off to play. It was a sweet, special day as I felt Heavenly Fathers loving arms around us and all of these beautiful kids. Knowing that this crazy unorthodox family of ours is forever ...every one of us... is such a blessing to me. While Leah has made many choices that she is not proud of, the choices she is making now are good and right. Isn't it amazing that through the unconditional love of our Savior we can be made whole, clean & pure and joy and happiness can be found...
He makes impossible things possible.

Jennie did a photo shoot... I can't wait to see all of the pictures. You know we just don't take enough pictures around here. (ha! ha!)

Here are a couple that she emailed me...wow she's good!


Amy and Ally...as soon as you get home we will go and meet your new nephew and new niece.
We sure miss you two!

Wow What A Week!

"Monday, Monday"...
It all began with packing my parents things all day from a home that they have lived in for over 60 years. That's right I said over 60 years! It was sweet to see them reminisce over every little thing...(my dad even turned the pool that he built when I was 2, into an underground garden... but that is a long story for another day). So many wonderful memories, love and living were built into that home right along with each brick and flagstone tile. All six of us kids were raised in that home. It will always be a very special place. When it was time to leave we took a couple of last pics in a place that I remember taking hundreds of pictures...




Ric and Ron with Dad way back in the day!









Scott and Steve seeing me for the first time..


Mom, Lisa and me...................... Ric, Ron, Scott and Steve..................... Mom, Me and Amber & Lisa

One Sunday afternoon visiting Grami and Grampa with four of our girls...


It is so great to have Brad home from his mission! We put him to work all day!!!! Mom and Dad moved into a beautiful home (thanks to our dear friends) just a few blocks from us. I've already been there a couple of times today and it is wonderful having them so close... although the first night Mom wanted Dad to
"TAKE ME HOME!!!" ... after 60 years it is going to take some getting used to.

All of this happened before five pm...the rest of Monday is to be continued....

Our adoption miracle...

How can you be happy and heartbroken, filled with joy and with sadness, and yet feel comfort, peace and an immense amount of love and a brightness of hope all at the same time?
In some small way that describes today.
I can't begin to know the feelings that Leah felt... as she gave her beautiful son to his new mom and dad.
I watched in awe at her complete selflessness and courage.
I do know that this precious little boy straight from heaven saved our daughters life.
We love you Leah. We love you Bristol.

This perfect baby has enriched and blessed us all beyond measure. He has brought us to a new level of understanding of the love that our Heavenly Father has for each one of us.

I believe that adoption is as much a miracle as birth itself.
We are blessed beyond measure.

There is a song by Michael McLean entitled "From God's Arms To My Arms To Yours" that we have listened to at least a dozen times or more in the last few days...

With so many wrong decisions in my past I'm not quite sure
If I can ever hope to trust my judgment anymore
BUT LATELY I'VE BEEN THINKING CAUSE IT'S ALL I'VE HAD TO DO
And in my heart I feel that I should give this child to you

And maybe you can tell your baby
When you love him so, that he was loved before
By someone who delivered your son
From God's arms to my arms to yours

Now if you choose to tell him, or if he wants to know
How the one who gave him life could bear to let him go
Just tell him there were sleepless nights I prayed and paced the floors
AND KNEW THE ONLY PEACE I'D FIND IS IF THIS CHILD WAS YOURS

And maybe you can tell your baby
When you love him so, that he was loved before
By someone who delivered your son
From God's arms to my arms to yours

NOW I KNOW YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS
But could you kiss him once for me
The first time that he ties his shoes
Or falls and skins his knee

And could you hold him twice as long
When he makes his mistakes
And tell him that he's not alone
Sometimes that's all it takes
I KNOW HOW MUCH HE'LL ACHE

WELL THIS MIGHT NOT BE THE ANSWER
For another girl like me
And I'm not on a soapbox saying
How we all should be
I'm just trusting in my feelings
AND I'M TRUSTING GOD ABOVE
And I'm trusting you can give this baby
Both his mother's love

And maybe you can tell your baby
When you love him so, that he was loved before
By someone who delivered your son
From God's arms to my arms to yours

Bristol, Azurdee, Brett and Janika
We love them so much and we just feel like our family has grown by four+ this week...

The Grama's and The Grampa's

Bristol, you're definitely one very loved little boy...thank you for coming into all of our lives.

Bristol Brett is Here!!!

Leah gave birth to a beautiful baby boy at 11:16am this morning. She is doing great and Bristol is wonderful! He weighed 8lbs 6oz and 19 1/2 in. long...he is perfect in every way and even had a 9.9 on the Apgar scale.
We are counting are blessings!!!! And we are all so very thankful he is here and all is well.
Babies are such miracle...he is a miracle!