Whoops!

Friday we ran a bunch of errands and were gone for most of the day. Blake didn't get a nap so he was getting really sleepy. When we came home I unloaded the car and started putting everything away. After a while I realized how quiet my house was, so I went looking and this is what I found:

He is laying on a pile of laundry waiting to be put in the washer. My first thought was "how cute - he is so tired". Second thought - I'll put this cute picture on my blog.

My first thought should have been something is wrong this is NOT Blake. Blake does NOT stop moving or going or doing - ever. But I was too wrapped up in the quiet house and the cute little mass huddled on my floor, to think logically. 15 minutes later he got up walked over to the carpet and threw-up all over. He ended up with a fever and didn't move for the next three hours. Whoever invented Children's Motrin - I praise you! He is still feeling yucky and isn't quite himself.

Moral of this story: if it doesn't walk like a Blake or talk like a Blake, than it is NOT a typical Blake!!

Birthday Boy

Eli had a few simple requests for his birthday.

Mom: Eli what do you want for your birthday.
Eli: Balloons, presents, and my BIRTHDAY CAKE!

How much easier can it get? I'm pretty sure in the next few years he is going to be a little more specific - so I better enjoy this!

Just what the b-day boy ordered.

Ben and I had a little too much fun with the frosting!

Eli and his good buddy, Austin! We are really going to miss him and his family when they move!:(

A Thomas game for his Leapster - very excititng!


Thanks to Grandma Ellie, Grandpa Gary, the Emetts, and the Petersons for coming and making Eli's birthday so much fun!

And thanks to all the family that wanted to be here but couldn't - we appreciate you calling to wish our special boy a happy birthday!!

Happy Brithday, Eli - We love you very much!!

Eli's Story

Today in honor of Eli's birthday I am branching out and telling his story. Since this is the closest thing I have to a good journal, I want to have a written account of Eli's story so that he will always know how grateful we are to have him and how much we love him. There are many personal, sacred moments involved with Eli coming to our family. There are few things (if any) that bring so many strong emotions to the surface for me and it is hard to express my feelings, but I've decided to give it a shot!

Eli's story begins just over four years ago on February 13, 2004. It was a Friday evening and Ben and I were walking out to the car to go to dinner. Up our drive-way walked our Social Worker from LDS Family Services, we were a little surprised to see him since I had already met with him earlier that day. We asked him to come into our house and as soon as we stepped in he handed us a paper that looked like a scrapbook page. We looked down and on the page it said "It's a BOY!" It took a second for us to realize what it was and then - well honestly I don't remember much other than sobbing kind of uncontrollably for a while.

You need to understand (for those of you that don't already) that we wanted more than anything to be parents. It just wasn't that easy for us! Once we realized that we couldn't just get pregnant and have a baby, we decided we would try adoption. For us it was a simple decision - although I know it is not an easy choice for everyone. I would tell people that I wanted to be a mom more that I wanted to be pregnant, so we did what we felt was the best way for us to become a mom and a dad! The most difficult part of the whole process was not having control and having enough faith to allow Heavenly Father be the director in creating our family.

Anyway back to Eli. We soon found that a wonderful birthmother had chosen us and she was due in May. We woke up the next day and went shopping for everything baby! That was so much fun! The best part was telling sales people that we needed a crib in two months and watching them give my flat belly the once over! During the next two months we (mainly me) experienced every emotion possible. Elation, nervousness, fear, more happiness, and much sadness as we began writing letters to Eli's sweet, amazing birthmother. We were able to have so many amazing spiritual experiences in this time and I knew with absolute certainty that this child was meant to be ours long before he was born.

Fast-forward to April 22, 2004. I was at school, teaching a class when Ben called to tell me that Eli's birthmom was in labor (3 weeks early). I walked into my friends classroom and sat down on her office floor and cried. My principal told me to go home and they would take care of my classes for the rest of the day. We received a call that evening saying OUR SON had been born and we would meet him in two days. TWO DAYS!!? Other than going shopping for more baby clothes I do not remember much about those two days! It's all a blur. All I knew was that I was a mom - maybe not in the traditional sense of the word yet - but emotionally and spiritually I was a mom. I felt a connection with this baby and I hadn't even seen him.

Saturday April 24 - This is the day I held my baby for the first time and also the day I saw the most selfless act I had ever witnessed. This child was ours. However, without his birthmother's willingness to listen to the spirit and do what was best for Eli, I would not have been holding him at that moment. There is no possible way to express the gratitude that Ben and I feel for both Eli and Blake's birthmothers. They are always close to our hearts and we love them very, very much.

We took Eli home to ecstatic grandparents, aunts and uncles and there began my life as mom. I am unable to explain how blessed my life has been since Eli was born. He is such a special little boy and he has taught me so much about love, compassion, patience and resiliency that I doubt I will ever repay him. I am grateful for adoption and for all birthmothers who so selflessly put their babies needs above their own.

Just a side note - This blog: the r house has the most amazing adoption information.

Happy Day!

Today is a happy day at our house! Our little Eli turns 4 today!! It's hard to believe that my little baby is four years old and growing up so fast, but I couldn't be a happier or prouder mom!

Happy Birthday Coop!!

Today is my nephew, Cooper's birthday! He is turning 5 and we wish we could be there to celebrate with him.



Coop - We hope you have a super happy birthday!! We love you and miss you tons!!

Potty Training Time?

Blake has recently decided that it is fun to sit on the potty and always tells me when he needs his diaper changed. So, today after he sat for five minutes "going potty". I decided it was time for an experiment and he had his first day of wearing big-boy underwear. As you can tell from the pictures, he thinks he is pretty cool. He held his bladder for over two hours and never did wet his pants, however I am not brave enough to put him down for a nap in underwear, so he is sleeping soundly in a pull-up as I write! I don't know if this will work out just yet - he is still pretty young and I am not really in a big hurry. But can I just say a house with no more diapers - whoo-hoo!! (At least until the next little bambino comes along!)

Look at that cute little bum!!

Hello out there -

I will start off by saying "My name is Britney and I am a lurker". There now that I have recognized I have a problem, I can move on!

I have been guilty of "blog-hopping" (as I call it) and reading blogs of people that I don't really know. I don't usually leave comments, but I have come across a few that have asked us "lurkers" to leave comments just so they can see who is out there. I thought that it sounded kind of fun, so if you are someone I know or someone I don't feel free to leave me comment! It's always fun to find new blogging friends!!

Hawaii Pictures

Celebrity Soulmate

I found this on Jane Rhodes blog . . .
I was paired with George Clooney! I think I'll keep him!
Who is your celebrity soulmate?

Take the Quiz

Am I Crazy?!

So, I always said I never wanted to go sky diving, but when Heidi and Brook said they were going to do it in Hawaii, of course I jumped on board! It was so awesome - probably the highlight of the trip, since I never thought I would dare try it. The scariest part was the POS airplane that we had to ride up in. I figured that I was pretty safe being strapped onto someone that knew what they were doing, but that airplane (if it can be called that) was literally being held together by duct tape! Heidi and I went up together and it was so much fun.

This is the guy I trusted my life with . . . I don't even remember his name!!

There is the trusty plane!

Safely on the ground!

Here I am making a not very graceful landing.

I was a little out of it after we landed - so don't laugh at this video too hard.
It was a pretty cool adrenaline rush!


This was such a blast and I am so glad I did it - Thanks to a great husband that convinced me I could!!

We're Baaack!!

I feel like I have been stranded on a deserted island for a week . . . oh wait I have!! Ha Ha! Ben and I just got back from Hawaii with our friends Heidi and Brook. We had so much fun! We left the boys with Ben's parents and off we were!
We stayed on the island of Kauai for the week (thanks Brook and Heidi for inviting us to come with and thanks to the Burtenshaw's for letting us use the condo)!
I have so many fun things to talk about that it may take a few days to cover it all. When I think about everything we crammed into one week, I can't believe we had any time to relax, but oh did I relax! Aside from wanting to see my kids, I could have stayed on Kauai for much longer.

Heidi and me going to the beach for the first time.
This is the view we had from our back patio - amazing!

We went to Waimea Canyon - The Grand Canyon of Hawaii. I couldn't believe how beautiful it was.

We went to a Luau and saw A LOT of body parts shaking!

Here is my cute hubby shaking it at the Luau! What a good sport!

Aloha!!

This is what I am looking at right now!