$$ Adoption Yard Sale $$

So this Saturday we had our first adoption yard sale! We had a HUGE out pouring of donations from our ward, and we actually ended up with more than we could sell in one day! We had furniture, dishes, kitchen items, DVDs, CDs, TV, microwave, pots and pans, printers, lawn mower, a bunch of strollers and various baby bouncers and things, and of course - TONS (I mean TONS) of clothes! We put up signs on Wednesday night and right at 7am we had people already there to look! We actually had a really great turnout, a constant flow of people until 11am....when it started to rain. LOL Soooo we cleaned up really fast! We are going to do it again after Thanksgiving with the remainder of the stuff that we have to sell.

Our adoption fund is slowly but surely growing, and although we have a few thousand saved up now we still need much more. After the second yard sale we think that we will try a bake sale. I have a couple of BFFs who are so graciously willing to help me bake bake bake! I think it will be fun! We'll see how it goes...

~~Cruisin' to Mexico~~

Here we are! We just got back from our week-long cruise to Mexico! We had tons of fun...and it was super fun since we were able to go with friends!! The weather was great, and we even had a little fun with the rough seas from Hurricane Rick. The ship was ROCKING big time! Mark felt a little sick, but I enjoyed it :o)

We left port in San Diego and traveled down to Ensenada and then Cabo San Lucas. They told us when we got on the ship that they may have to re-route us and go back up to LA instead of Cabo because the hurricane was due to hit on the same day that we would be getting to Cabo. Luckily we missed it and were able to stick to the original plan and make it to Cabo just fine! It was HOT HOT HOT there...super humid too (because of the storm). We played lots of pool (on the cool self-leveling pool tables) and ate TONS of food....steak, shrimp, lobster, prime rib, desserts, more desserts, even more desserts :o) It was yummy.

When we got back we had some more great news too! I had interviewed for a position change here at UOP and I got it! So next week I will be working in a different department, and I am very much looking forward to the change. We also had some promising baby news (on the adoption side of things)...we'll keep you all posted on those details as they come. Overall it was a FANTASTIC week and we are so happy to have a nice long vacation! Now back to the real world...you know- cooking my own food, washing and folding my own bathroom towels, making my own bed LOL. I sure will miss those cute little towel animals on my bed every night...

This is the amazing view that we were able to wake up to every morning! It was awesome having a balcony room!!

~Slight Change of Plans~

It sure has been an interesting road for us...and like everything else in life, there has again been a change in plans. We have been working with LDSFS since June, and we were getting really excited about our home study! But over the past few weeks we have had a terrible time with our caseworker. Unfortunately, we didn't feel as if we were being treated with the urgency and respect that we had hoped for. It was taking weeks for us to get anyone on the phone, leaving message after message but having no return calls. We began to wonder how we would ever be able to get anything done without the help and support that we so desperately needed! Finally, we prayerfully made the decision to withdraw our application from LDSFS and pursue other options.

As everyone knows, adoption is VERY expensive!! So we have been saving to work towards this goal. We still have this money saved, and will continue to save all that we can. $15,000-30,000 seems like an eternity away, but eventually we will get there....somehow, someway.

On the other side of things, Mark has been working with a Urologist who has discovered a possible reason for his lack of "swimmers"!! This is EXCITING! He has been taking a medication to treat the cause for about a month now, the doctor says that it will take 3 months to see results. Soooo, if this works we may be able to conceive on our own! It is an exciting prospect, so we are keeping busy to take advantage of these new swimmers ;o) hahaha

Now, at this point we are looking at two paths to the same result. Once we have the money saved we will do one of two things-- 1.) Use that money to try a round or two of IVF (this is assuming Mark's treatment is successful), or 2.) Use the money to adopt. We won't know for sure what the plan is until we reach that point...BUT BUT BUT...I'm always on the lookout for a private adoption as well! So keep your ears open!

Oh! And on the drive back to AZ Mosiah thought he got stuck in the seatbelt in the back of the Pilot...it was SOOO funny! We were crying we were laughing so hard. He finally got out, all it took was for him to move his head a little. Silly dog.

Labor Day Cali Trip!

Mark and I were able to take a niiiiiiice loooooooong weekend to Cali over the Labor Day weekend. It was so fun! We were happy that we were able to spend lots of time with both Mick and Marilyn (and Melinda and Robbie and Brad and his wife, I forget her name LOL!!) and with my family as well.

On Saturday me, Mark, Lucas, Mick and Marilyn went to San Diego for some yummy mexican food and a trip to the USS Midway! It was super fun!! Oh, except the part where I freaked out and got claustrophobic and almost had a panic attack ;o) I certainly was not made for the Navy! Those ships are HUGE and yet so TINY! The hallways were all so small and hot...occasionally I felt a bit like "Get me the heck outta here!!" But it was fun anyway. I will post some pictures later on tonight...

We also spent some time with my family and even got both the Altmyer's and the Cathey's together for a big breakfast on Monday! I think we all gained about 5 pounds. Oh well...

As for a baby update- we are having to reschedule our homestudy, because of some changes we had to make to some of our docs. But it should be very soon, and I will be cleaning until then. haha. While we were in Cali my mom and I went to a garage sale/moving sale for a family in thier ward...and I finally broke down and bought my first baby thing. Its a bunch of new onsies that didnt fit their baby, so they were never used! They are all white (nice and neutral), but they are so cute and small!! Looking at newborn clothes makes me so anxious! I think I will put them in the closet of the baby's room...maybe even get some of those itty-bitty baby hangers to hand them on :o)

Home Study!

Well, we had our home study interviews this week...and our home study visit will be in two weeks! Yay! I do have a lot of cleaning to do, even though everyone keeps telling me that I don't need to. LOL I just want to make sure that there isn't anything for them to see as unacceptable (you know, like dirty baseboards and dusty ceiling fan blades!! haha).

So anyways, we are going to try and finish painting the downstairs and also get a few of the cleaning supplies in a safer place (this was the suggestion from our case worker, I guess they don't like seeing cleaning supplies in low cabinets unless they have the child locks on them).

Oh! And we have also cleaned out the baby's room too. Its all ready to go...now we just need a baby! I can't help but look at the baby stuff every time I'm at the store, but I haven't been able to bring myself to buy anything yet. Maybe soon.

{Different Trips to the Same Place}

Deciding to have a baby is like planning a trip to Australia; You've heard it's a wonderful place, you've read many guidebooks and feel certain you're ready to go. Everyone you know has traveled there by plane. They say it can be a turbulent flight with occasional rough landings, but you can look forward to being pampered on the trip.

So you go to the airport and ask the ticket agent for a ticket to Australia. All around you excited people are boarding planes for Australia. It seems there is no seat for you; you'll have to wait for the next flight.

Impatient, but anticipating a wonderful trip, you wait and wait and wait.

Flights to Australia continue to come and go. People say silly things like, "Relax. You'll get on a flight soon." Other people actually get on a plane and then cancel their trip, to which you cry, "It's not fair!"

After a long time the ticket agent tells you, "I'm sorry, we're not going to be able to get you on a plane to Australia. Perhaps you should think about going by boat."

"By BOAT!" you say, "Going by boat will take a very long time and it costs a great deal of money. I really had my heart set on going by plane."

So you go home and think about not going to Australia at all. You wonder if Australia will be as beautiful if you approach it by sea rather than air. Finally you decide to travel by boat.

It's a long trip, many months over many rough seas. No one pampers you. You wonder if you will ever see Australia. Meanwhile, your friends have flown back and forth to Australia two or three more times, marveling about each trip.

Then one glorious day, the boat docks in Australia. It is more exquisite than you ever imagined, and the beauty is magnified by your long days at sea. You have made many wonderful friends during your voyage, and you find yourself comparing stories with others who also traveled by sea rather than air.

People will continue to fly to Australia as often as they life, but you are about to travel only once, perhaps twice. Some say things like, "Oh, be glad you didn't fly. My flight was horrible; traveling by sea is so easy." But you will always wonder what it would have been like to fly to Australia.

Still, you know God blessed you with a special appreciation of Australia, and the beauty of Australia is not in the way you get there, but in the place itself.

--Printed in "Dear Abby" in 1995--

Success! Kinda....LOL

WOW! Can I just say how amazed I am at all of the people who have been in contact with me this week through Facebook and our blog! I sent out three emails on Sunday night, and I have people contacting me like "Hey a friend of a friend showed me your blog!" giving us suggestions on networking and generally just giving us support as a lot of them are adopting too!

However, we are VERY excited about something that came up on Tuesday. Through our emails, we were contact by an acquaintance who knows someone considering adoption. We have not spoken with her, but we hope to. The only information/interaction has been through the acquaintance acting as the middle man. We are excited about the opportunity in front of us, and we feel very good about the birth mother so far. We can only hope that she is feeling the same way. There are no real details at the moment, but we will be sure to continue updating our blog.

After finding this out yesterday I was very anxious, I'm lucky I got any sleep! All day I had baby on the brains, just as bad as when we were trying to get pregnant! Who knew it would feel like this?! The most difficult part so far? Knowing that we are at the complete mercy of someone else's choice. We count our blessings everyday, and we are so lucky to even be able to adopt....but....we can't help but think about how most "normal" people take their pregnancy for granted. Those people are so lucky to be able to have children...there is no way for them to comprehend how it feels to have to prove yourself worthy to be able to have children. The past two years have been so emotionally draining, wanting nothing more than to be blessed with a child. We can only hope that we don't encounter more heartbreak now (although we knowingly accept that risk, as adoption is far from being a "for sure" path).

We are keeping this very special birth mother in our prayers morning, noon, and night--praying that Heavenly Father will bless her with discernment to be able to make this life changing decision. Keep us in your prayers too, you know we need it!

Getting Excited!

Hellooo!! People have been asking for an update on the adoption process...tomorrow we are going to LDS Family Services to turn in copies of our FBI fingerprints, our marriage license, our sealing certificate, and our home study template. We have spent the past two or three weeks typing up our answers to literally hundreds of questions that are required for the home study, and we are SO happy to have them all done!! Now we will have our home study done, which will involve a home visit and three interviews- one as a couple and each as an individual. They are required to have the home study complete by October, so it should all happen pretty quick! We will keep you updated!

Oh, also...we are starting to get some emails distributed out to family, friends, and coworkers to help us network and get the word out there. Let me know if you want me to send an email to you, if you are willing to forward it onto your family, friends, wards, etc.

Adoption Orientation!

Wow! Today was a very informative and exciting day for us! We had our adoption orientation, got some great info and insight, and turned in our application and home study fee! We were very anxious going into the orientation, and had a million questions....but we left feeling excited, supported, and with a whole new mindset...

When we started this process, we didn't know too much about it. We were planning on a closed adoption within the state of Arizona only. We wanted a closed adoption for two reasons- 1.) We didn't know what it meant to have an open adoption, and what would be required of us; 2.) We were scared...we didn't want to have an open adoption where we become even more vulnerable to the process. The last thing we wanted was to create a relationship with the birth mother, and our baby, just to have the mother change her mind. The entire process of trying to start our family has been stressful enough, having the rejection of the birth mother after we became attached would just be unbearable.

But that was before the orientation. After talking with the LDS Family Services social worker we have decided that an open adoption is what we would like to do. It is important for us to remember that the birth mother is making one of the most important decisions of her life...and our life. Most of the birth mothers in this agency are between the age of 18 and 25, and are almost exclusively LDS. These are our sisters, the women sitting next to us at church...they aren't just some random women who happen to be pregnant. They hold the same values and beliefs as we do.

Our birth mother is going to be scared, she is going to be unsure, she is going to be feeling guilt- the only thing that will ease her mind is to know the family where her baby is going. And for us, it will make the adoption smoother and more stable to have a positive and close relationship with the birth mother and our family. We want to know and love our birth mother, and we want her to know, love, and trust us with her child.

The amount of "open-ness" will ultimately be up to Mark and I to decide....and that is something that we will have to prayfully consider when it gets to that point. All we know is that we want our birth mother to feel a part of our family, and to know that we will love and raise her child to the best of our ability.

We have also opened our adoption to multiple states, although we haven't specifically been able to sit down and choose which states we would like. We hope to increase our chances of finding our baby by doing this.

Now, as far as what lies ahead....next week we will need to get our FBI fingerprints and clearance, and add our start creating our online profile for the mothers to look at! This will be exciting! Over the next 1-6 months we will also have our background checks, an adoption class, our home study, an extensive review of our financial situation, and 3-4 more meetings with our social worker (her name is Calli :o). Then its time to wait! They said that women usually come to them either very early on or very very late in their pregnancy. So it is not uncommon to have a woman who is 8 months pregnant come to them, and obviously the baby would be placed with the adoptive couple very quickly.

Anyhow...now that I'm done typing my heart our ;o) I will just say that Mark and I feel so blessed to even have the opportunity to do this. We know that our Heavenly Father will bless us with the special spirit that is waiting for us right now.

Oh, and on a side note- some were wondering how long after the placement of the baby does the birth mother have the right to change her mind. The answer is that there is no waiting period for the birth mother. Once she signs the relinquishment form and gives the baby to us there is no turning back (at least for the state of AZ). But for the 6 months after the baby is placed with us we will be visited by LDS Family Services to ensure we are meeting the baby's needs. After the 6th month the court orders will be finalized.

Here we are!

We have finally started our own blog! Yay! Check back soon because we will be adding our photos and updates...