My baby is 3!

Well, Avery turned 3 today! Where does the time go? I would say that I remember the day she was born but due to all the drugs, October 29th, 2006 was all a blur. I do remember the moment she was born and devising a plan to wrap her in a blue blanket. It was a trick for our families since many of them thought she would be a boy. That was really fun. But since Avery was born, it has been a very fun three years. She is a huge blessing in our lives and are so thankful that she is in our family. I can't even begin to describe Avery and her personality but I am going to list a few things about her.
1- Avery is so tenderhearted that it is sometimes very hard to discipline because she has such a soft heart.
2- Avery is a people pleaser. She wants to make sure that you are not mad at her and that she pleases you. She always asks, "Mom, are you mad at me?"
3- We call her our mother hen. She is always being the little mother to her younger cousins. She is going to be a fabulous older sister and wonderful mother someday.
4- She is a mama's girl. When I am around, there is no one else that can stand in between us. We are partners in crime and loves to do girly things with her mom. Sometimes I do need a break and she has to be with her dad.
5- She loves books. Since she was very young, Avery has enjoyed being read to. We read every night.
6- She loves playing her friend, Payton. They love to play dolls, Barbies, grocery store, and farm. They are only 2 days apart so they love to do things together.
7- Avery loves go-gurts and cheese sticks. It a ritual every night to have either one of these snacks
8- She loves the Disney princesses and loved seeing them at Disneyland. She could have done without the rides and just been with the princesses all day.
9- Avery always tells people that she loves them. Not a day goes by that I don't hear, "Mom, Dad, I love you to infinity and beyond." I love hearing those words come from that sweet little girl.
10- Avery loves going to church and learning of Jesus. She is always excited to go to church and can't wait to get into her dress. I hope this continues throughout her life.

Avery, we want you to know that we love you and am so thankful you are our daughter! Happy Birthday!!

Love is in the air!

My youngest brother is finally getting married!! He's marrying his sweet girlfriend, Heather in the Salt Lake Temple on November 21st. It has been very busy around my house and the house of my parent's organizing and planning but it has been very exciting and fun at the same time. Last week we went dress shopping and found the most beautiful dress for her! She's going to look fabulous. I am so excited for them and know they will make a great couple. Congratulations Paul and Heather. We love you guys!

Adoption Cards

Well we are trying another avenue in hopes of finding a birth mother. I was talking with my neighbor about their adoption experience with her two children. She was explaining to me that she and her husband had ordered adoption pass along cards and had family and friends leave them at restaraunts, send them with their bills, and tack them to business's advertisement boards. It was through this pass along card that they eventually found their birth mother of their two children. The birth mother was very close to giving birth to their first child when she got their card from her mother. She then got pregnant again and again she chose Dani's family as her adoptive family for her second child. I was truly in awe as I listened to her story. It was through this simple act of leaving their card at Mama Inez's table that their path crossed with their birth mother's path. It forever changed their lives. After hearing her story, I knew that we had to get our own pass along cards. It may never bring to pass a success story but we have to explore every path in order to get our children here. If it is as simple as leaving a card at a table it is worth it.

This process is a test of my patients as this whole process involves MANY people. We are trying to do our part, such as these cards, to find our birth mother. I have complete faith in my Heavenly Father and his plan. HE KNOWS BEST and knows me and my family. Family is central to His plan and He will bless us with another child. This definitely is a trial for us but we are truly blessed with an angel that lights up our lives and keeps us going. She is my miracle and am so thankful for Avery. Heavenly Father will bless us when the time is right, for He wants to make us happy.

If any one is interested in some cards to leave at places let me know. I have plenty to go around! I am going to be sure to take them to California with us, ya just never know who you'll meet!

Family Photos

We had our annual family photos and they turned out pretty darn cute. I was happy with them. I had to post some of my cute little angel. She so dang adorable!

Where does time go???

I have fallen behind in the blogging world just because summer has been super busy. We have done a lot of fun things this summer so I am posting one HUGE post.

Avery finally got to start preschool called Pumpkin Patch. She has been patiently waiting to start since May. It was our way of getting her potty trained. We told her only big girls go to school and you have to wear big girl underwear. That's really all it took to get her potty trained. She was a little unsure the first day but with time she has really come to enjoy it and loves coming home with her school projects. Although when you ask her, "Do you want to quit going to school?" She'll say, "Yeah mom, I want to stay home all day with you." It is so sweet but I really love the two hour break!

She has really been into the 'puter', she is always wanting to play Diego or Dora. So grown up!

(Click on pic to enlarge)

I have been super busy cutting vinyl this summer with a few projects but the biggest one I did was for my mother in law. She had a shed built this year and wanted to put sayings that Randy would always say when he was gardening. It is a great tribute to the master gardner and it was so fun doing it. The project turned out so cute, although the men of family think we're creating a shrine. It was fun creating it and I have to thank Shauna for letting me do this as it brought back great memories of Randy and his passion and love for gardening. We miss him and it is projects like this that will never let us forget him. We love and miss him so much.

Jason went mountain biking with my brothers, Ben and Kent in Sun Valley. They are always doing some type of guy trip and this year they thought it was time for some mountain biking. They said it was a lot of fun. I think Jason said they went about 8 miles. Lots of fun until Kent went tipsy-do over the handle bars!

We also spent a week in Island Park with my family and it's always an adventure. But this year my parents rented a big trailor for us to stay in since all of us can't stay in the cabin. So it was really nice. Of course, the boys did some mountain biking while the girls stayed home and did nothing but watch kids. Right! While the cats are away, the mice will play. We filled water balloons and prepared to attack the boys when they got home. Everyone ended up getting wet and it was fun to surprise them. I will post pics when I get them.

We also went into the park and saw Presiden't Obama's helicopter fleet land in the park, preparing for his Yellowstone visit. It was really neat to see. There are only a five cars, and two of them were ours! Avery had to have a raccoon hat, which was pretty dang cute on her!

We went to the Palymill and saw a theatrical play, went four-wheeling, played lots of games, hike, and just hung out! It was fun to get away.

This year was Jason's first year at scout camp and I think he had fun. This was the first scout camp for all of the boys so they all had a lot to learn (zipping their tent closed will keep mice out)He said it was a lot of work and was sure gald to be home. But overall, I think it was a success. Then a couple of weeks after scout camp, he took the boys backpacking to Independence Lakes, which is a 7 mile hike that can be pretty tough. Jason and I explored that hike when I was six months pregnant and it was hard then but such beautiful country! So I can imagine the boys thinking it was tough but every one of them made it! And it is always fun to hear all of the crazy stories Jason has to tell when they get home. This backpacking trip each boy had to sleep under the stars (meaning no tent!)