He's 29!

My husband has turned 29! It was just like yesterday when I met him in math class when we were just 16! Oh, how time flies. We celebrated with cake and ice cream and everyone from each side of the family came over. Thanks to everyone who came over and made Jason's day extra special.

I wanted to let him know that I am so glad to be married to him. He is the BEST husband, friend, and father. Jason, Happy Birthday. I hope you had a special day. I love you.

Aloha!!!

Aloha! My sister and I decided that we needed to have a luau to kick off summer. We had so much fun! We had leis for everyone, girls had grass skirts, and the guys had straw hats. We had pig (just not a whole pig, just pulled pork), rainbow salad that my sister made (amazing 12 layer jello salad), and fresh fruit. We did hula and hung out and listened to Hawaiian music. My grandparents came with their Hawaiian attire and even my dad wore shorts and flip flops. That is amazing since he NEVER wears shorts. Overall, we had a blast and we will probably do this every May.

The girls of the family dressedut in coconut bras and grass skirts!

Avery has a grass skirt but it was getting in the way of her fun.

The mighty men in straw hats and leis





Paul's girlfriend, Heather, practicing for our hula contest




Jason haingin' loose while wearing Avery's sunglasses. He is such a good sport!

Paul and his awesome girlfriend, Heather

Avery chillin' in the sun!

We finally got a.......

A new car! It was time to trade in the old reliable Honda for something a little bit bigger. We ended up with a 2009 Subaru Outback! It is really nice. The story behind it goes like this...Yesterday Jason went to the store to get some new sprinkler heads for our system and he was gone for about 2 and 1/2 hours. I thought, "Boy, that store is really busy or he just can't find the part he's looking for." But he finally came home as I was taking dinner out of the oven and said, "I've been at the Subaru dealer, wheelin' and dealin', do you want to go look at what I've got picked out?" It was kind of a surprise but I said sure we could go look. Well we looked and ended up buying a car! But the one they had in stock was a color I was not interested in. I wanted white (what a surprise) so they said they could get me a white one. So today, I went and picked up our beautiful white Subaru outback. I love it! Although I am having attachment issues with my Honda; it was my college car and it is still an excellent car but as a family, it's not what we need now. So we will be selling my Honda so if you know of anyone who could use a really nice used Honda, send them our way!

Our Adoption Profile

Well, it has been a long process getting here but our adoption profile is now available for everyone in the United States to see. Yet another step closer! There are many hoops that we had to go through to get here but I know it will be all worth it in the end. Jason and I just got finished taking a couple of adoption classes last week and came away with many new feelings regarding adoption. We got to meet with past birth mothers who have chosen adoption for their children and got to talk with them about their hard decision. I came away with more admiration and appreciation for these mothers who selflessly provide a better life for their babies. We met other couples who are in the same circumstance as us and are feeling the same feelings we are experiencing. I have posted our link to our profile in our side panel under adoption and I will also post it now but it can also be found at beta.itsaboutlove.org. Just click here to see our profile.

Easter

This week I have been thinking of Easter and it's meaning in MY life. It gives me the peace and knowledge that I can be redeemed and live with my family for eternity. It is also a day when we celebrate the greatest victory, the victory over death. It is through Jesus Christ that immortality is made possible for each one of us. Death will come to each one of us but it is made sweet with the certainty of the Resurrection. I am so thankful He gave me the greatest gift of his redeeming grace and personal resurrection. I love what the First Presidency's message to the world about Easter and our Savior

"In this Easter season of the year—when we are reminded yet again of all Christ has done for us, how dependent we are upon his redeeming grace and personal resurrection,
At this Easter season of hope and renewal we testify of the glorious reality of the atonement and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The empty tomb brought comforting assurance and provided the answer to the question of Job, “If a man die, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14).
Because of the Savior’s resurrection we will overcome death and become the beneficiaries of His mercy and grace. In a world of trouble and uncertainty, His peace fills our hearts and eases our minds. Jesus is in very deed “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).
We give our sure witness that Jesus is the Christ. Though He was crucified, He rose triumphant from the tomb to our everlasting blessing and benefit. To each member of the human family He stands as our Advocate, our Savior, and our Friend. "

'Egg"cellent Masterpiece

As a family we dyed Easter eggs and we even dyed 12 eggs! (Inside joke, Jason says he only dyed 1 egg when he was a kid) Avery loved every minute of it. She began using the egg dipper and by the end of it she had her whole hand in the cups pulling the eggs out. She would put all of them in the dye then pull all of them out. Over and over we repeated this process until she started spilling the dye. Although she did pretty well for a two year old, she thought they were balls and was hitting them against the table and before we knew it, half of them were cracked. I guess that is to be expected!

My canning adventure!

Today I canned butter for the first time. "You can can butter?" is probably what you are thinking because I said that exact same thing to my neighbor, Ginger when she told me that she cans butter. So it peaked my interest and she taught all of us at Enrichment night how to can butter. And it is so EASY! And yes, it stores for 3-5 years! And yes, it tastes just like butter from your fridge. So here is to adding to my food storage and hoping that it will be tasty when we need it! Ginger said she will be learning how to can beef and would let us know how it turns out. I'll pass on that canning lesson!