Valentines Day

I know it was ages ago.

AGES!

I still have to post our pictures from Valentines Day.

Ryan and I spent the evening in downtown Seattle.

We got into the new Hard Rock Cafe during opening weekend

and then meandered down to Post Alley

for some Valentines Day themed improv.

And isn't this wall romantic?

It's kind of gross actually. I like to walk about three feet from the side of the alley.

It's as if I am going to trip and end up stuck to the wall or something.

Ryan added his chewing gum to the collection before we posed for this smooch.

My favorite bloggers in the adoption world

Now that everyone is back at school, I have a second to catch up in blogland. I don't know if I have very many cohesive thoughts, but I do want to post about a couple of blogs that I frequent.

Jumping into the adoption world last year, has opened up a new community of people that I feel so fortunate to have encountered. These three in particular are amazing at being brave and sharing their thoughts about adoption and the way it effects their everyday lives. I've learned so much in the last couple of months religiously reading (and following) their blogs. :)

Miss Marilee and Happiest Sad bring beautiful birthmom perspectives to the blogging world. It doesn't hurt that they are so open and honest in their posts that you feel like you're on the phone with a besty. And finally Mrs. R. Since I've discovered her etsy jewelry shop I've bought something almost once a month! Seriously. They weren't ALL for me. There are some gifts in there too. But that can't continue or I'm going to have to get a job to support my R house addiction!

There's a ton of other fabulous blogs. These ladies have a hold on my heart. Go ahead and check them out. You won't be disappointed, but you may get addicted just like me...

What to say?

Our family has been on Spring Break this week. Ryan's been busy with work (now is the middle of BUSY season) and we have just been trying to get some spring cleaning done. I've been meaning to post but I don't feel like I have anything exciting to say.

We are feeling so anxious about adopting. We wish we were having a baby placed in our home yesterday! :) Tanner's preschool teacher asked him if we had heard anything about a new baby and he told her that our baby is with Jesus! Braden asks me all the time when our baby is going to come and Gracie told me yesterday that she really needs a sister!

In all of my adoption searches on the internet, I have come across MTV's 16 and pregnant episodes. Adoption is such a tender thing. I bawl my eyes out when I see those sweet girls placing their babies in the arms of parents that they have selected for their child, and then I look at the adoptive couple and bawl my eyes out and the thought of emotions they are experiencing. It's amazing to me that the two girls who chose adoption on the show had the thought to consider all the things they wanted their child to have. Even more amazing is that they could look at what their lives were like currently and decide that they would break their own hearts to provide the things they wanted their child to have.

Oh, this is so serious. I usually try to be more light-hearted on here.

On another note- My mom and I were discussing adoption this week.
My mom and sister came along with us on a quick overnight stay at the church ranch Monday. When I was a child, my mom would take us kids camping by herself because my Dad's firefighting schedule kept him close to home a lot of times. I decided to be brave like mom take the kids camping for one night so we could get away eventhough Ryan couldn't come along this time. I was so glad that Grandma and Nellie came along to help keep the fire stoked and the kids not bored with mom. (Pictures taken from Grandma's blog because I forgot the camera!)


We discussed all of the unknowns. It's amazing that we really don't care about any of those things. I know that our Father in Heaven has a child and some special birth parent(s) that are meant to be a part of our family. Whatever that entails will be part of this great gift that completes our family. We can't wait.

It's like having presents wrapped and waiting under the tree during the entire month of December as a child. You can see it and you know that it will eventually be opened, but it seems like it's never going to come when you're admiring the beauty of that sparkly package with the beautiful bows. I wish it was Christmas Eve. :)

More farm fun

My Dad's brothers have all recently gone back to their childhood occupation of farming. They aren't full-time farmers of course- just farming as a hobby. You can imagine the delight of the boys when we went to Uncle Mark's house. Let me introduce you to "the girls".

And if you asked the boys, no trip to the farm is complete without a tractor. Pure bliss (and concentration...).

I find this last picture HILARIOUS.

Jen's Family

Meet my family.

"Family is like fudge. Mostly sweet with a few nuts." -anonymous

We're definitely fudgey.

I lived a majority of my childhood life in a quiet rural city that was once the home of a great dairy farm. (The city even has a statue of a record milk producing cow!)

Most of the dairy farmers have since left town, but barns are still a common piece of the cityscape.

My brother snapped some pictures of my family, but we forgot to tell him how to work the camera so the lighting is a little funky. I still love these.

Midwinter break-part 2

We also spent a portion of our week in downtown Seattle.

At the Science Center we learned about water flow in toilets, sea creatures, and periscopes to the skyline. A majority of the time was spent at the new Mars Exhibit.

Another day was spent at the Children's Museum. That place gets two thumbs up from each pair of thumbs in the family. Braden has been asking to go back everyday this week!

The kids' sushi shop

After exploring the fascinating country displays, we ventured to the art studio. It was a clay, paint, and crafting heaven. Translation: an unending supply of markers, tape, colored masking tape, glitter, glue, scissors, staplers, hole punches, streamers, construction paper, curling ribbon, paints, clay, sculpting tools, and a pile of recycled goods.

The highlight was the dress up and pretend section. At one point Tanner was a firefighter who was riding on the Metro bus with his grocery cart full of vegetables and canned goods! (He somehow managed to get the entire grocery cart inside the bus!)

Tonight at Church

I was asked to speak on my divine calling as a mother tonight. While public speaking makes me super nervous, I love the opportunity it gives me to reflect and count my blessings. Because I hope my calling of motherhood continues I want to share my randomn thoughts here. I also want my family to one day see and always know how priviledged I feel to be called "mom" and "wife".
Here you go.

Russell M Nelson said "Each daughter of God is of infinite worth because of her divine mission". I am lucky enough to be filling the divine role of motherhood which I get to discuss with you briefly tonight.

President Faust said "Being a mother is not only a great challenge; it is a divine calling." I well remember the earlier years of exhaustion as a mom of a newborn, 18 month old, and 3 1/2 year old, married to a counselor in the bishopric, in the middle of his busy season. I remember noticing more of the challenges of the feeding, bathing, wiping, nursing, and laundring everyone but myself and wishing that I was more able to keep up with everything. Now, a short four years later, life has slowed down a little and I realize that my calling as a mother with children in the home won't last much longer. I find myself missing those earlier, exhausting days with little loving hands and snuggly babies.

There are SO many roles to fill as women. I am so GRATEFUL for the roles I have been trusted with as a wife of Ryan and mommy to Gracie, Braden, Tanner and hopefully another one someday. My hope is to be able to be worthy of that trust in the sacred callings my Heavenly Father sees fit to give me.

I know that our Father in Heaven planted women here for a purpose. Gordon B. Hinckley once said, "God planted within women something divine" and I know that to be true.

(Then I accompanied a sweet soloist who sang this song that I got to be a part of with a student composer at BYU. "A Woman's Prayer" by Cheri Magill is still one of my favorite songs about women. Here are the words...)

Working hard, down on calloused knees,
The woman claimed her pay.
With much to do and more to learn,
She humbly hurried on her way
to give the Lord her only coin,
but He saw a willing heart.
Lord, help me to be more grateful to Thee for the honor of doing my part.

She struggled through the anxious crowd, just to touch His clothes.
Barred from life and any loved ones,
She risked all to be made whole.
As she fell to her knees, her faith set her free.
Lord, help me ignore the crowd and faithfully follow Thee.

Women of the past and women today
with hearts full of love and desire
Please bless us Lord that this spirit
may continue to burn as fire.

She gently wiped a tear from her cheek
as they roughly handled her son.
She remembered when she cradled him
til the hours of the day were done.
The little child that she held would change the world eternally.
Lord, help me endure to the end
to be worthy of embracing Thee.

Women of the past and women today
with hearts full of love and desire.
Please bless us Lord that this spirit
may continue to burn as fire.

Midwinter Break activities

Our school district allows for a week's break of school in February for skiing or other family trips. Since Ryan is in the middle of busy season, we don't get to travel anywhere far away, but I did my best to make it an exciting time for the kids.

*Gracie and I got to go out for a day at the ballet. We got to see the Sleeping Beauty at McCaw Hall. We went to the special matinee where Gracie got to try on some of the costumes, watch a magician, and pick out a little souvenir. SO FUN.

*We spent one day in Yakima visiting family. We brought some friends along for the visit to my Uncle's farm. The kids had a blast feeding the animals and riding in the bucket of the tractor. We also got to visit my sister and brother in law.

The kids and I didn't participate in this fun but Ryan did so I'm going to post it here too. Ryan's facial hair has been out of control in efforts to win the Tom Selleck look alike contest at the office. He won a mustache comb for his efforts. What do you think? Any resemblance?

I should have had him show off his chest a little more, huh? Oh, and wear some tighter jeans.

I have about 90 more pictures to go through so I'll have to add another post soon. Stay tuned...

Playroom makeover

A couple of weeks ago, the boys and I made a trip to Michaels for some Primary supplies. As we were walking through the aisle, I noticed that canvas was on sale BOGO! I couldn't pass it up, so we grabbed two and headed home. Braden had been discussing Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night, so he was very pleased to create our own Starry Night.

After the boys and I had our abstract art sesson, I went upstairs to hang it in the playroom. I took a step back and felt like the place needed a new look to make the art pop (plus the room needed a new personality).
BEFORE

AFTER

Can you pick out our abstract beauty below?



The kids are loving this room now. When I finished hanging the bulletin boards this morning, Braden came in and said an enthusiastic, "WOW". Awww, that feels so good. He knows how to butter this mama up...

More Fun Facts About Us

{Ryan}
Age: 32
Height: 5' 10"
Hair: brown- Right now it's super thick and bushy as part of the Tom Selleck look alike competition at work.
Eyes: brown
Occupation: Accounting manager for a public firm- audit
Languages: English & (fluent in) Spanish
Heritage: English





{Jen}
Age: 31
Height: 5' 5"
Hair: Naturally...Medium brown with some red. Currently-Blonde on top with brown stripes and brown underneath.
Eyes: Green
Occupation: CEO of the household, Owner of my non-money making Interior Design business, & occasional High School Dance/Drill Team judge.
Languages: English & American Sign Language- used to be able to interpret, & High School level of Spanish
Heritage: English, Croatian, & German. I'm hoping to find some Irish but that hasn't worked out yet...