A Rebutall

I’m a slow thinker.  I believe that most people form opinions first and then figure out why they think that way or try and find facts to back up their opinions second.  (I heard that argument on a pod case a few weeks ago, but at least for me it’s true, at least part of the time).  I believe it is human nature to ‘go with our gut’ reaction and figure out why later.  That’s why we say “I agree with that cuz I fell the same way,” more often than “I fell the same way so I agree with that”.   We form opinions first and figure out why we have those opinions second.  But for me it can take a very LONG time between the formation of my opinion and me figuring why it is I feel that way.  And usually between points A and points B I try and keep my opinion to myself.  And maybe it’s just that I can’t articulate why it is I think that way.  I remember one time in collage we studied this particular case study for MONTHS, and I felt like pretty much everyone in the class was persuaded to one side of the fence.  Except for me.  But I couldn’t figure out why or articulated it until years later, not until after I finished collage in fact.   (Sometimes I wish I had a time machine to go back to some of those classes and be able to voice my opinion.)  And so I have concluded that I’m a slow thinker.  I also like to think that it’s because I’m so darn smart but that’s an arguable point.  However I have also found that the longer it takes for me to understand why I think or feel the way I do it is much hard to be persuaded me away from those views.  I guess I have the time to go through the arguments.  All of that really has nothing to do with the point of this blog, its just that I've recently come to accept this point about myself and so decided to share it.  

Someone had posted this article on Facebook weeks ago.  I read it and almost immediately disagreed with it but didn’t really understand why.  Lots of people left comments on Facebook full of praise and complete agreement, I've also see it in other blogs.   I didn't comment.  But it bothered me.  Why did everyone else agree and I didn’t?  So it rolled around in my brain for weeks until I finally came to understand why I disagreed with it, and here is the reason why.   

If you haven’t read the article take a minute to do so: but if you don’t here is my bias summary of it.  Basically she hates it when people tell her to enjoy being a mom when her kids are little because they grow up so fast.  She thinks parenting is hard and one should not be expected to enjoy every single minute of a hard job.  

 First I agree parenting IS hard.  But let’s take that for granted.  Of course it’s hard who ever said it wasn’t, was either a bad one, didn’t have any kids, or was straight up lying.  So let's all assume for the moment that we all know it’s hard.   Therefore I think she is missing the point.  If parenting young kids is hard what about when they get older?  Things change but that doesn’t mean it gets any easier!  In fact I’m planning on it getting harder.  Okay maybe going on a date, or getting my hair done will be easier when I don’t have to constantly wonder who’s going to have the kids, but all in all I think the stuff parents of teenagers have to put up with is far more worrisome.  The point that all those well meaning grandmothers was trying to make is:  Don’t Wish Your Kids Big! 

Everyone (including me) is guilty of it.  “When the kids are bigger then we will….”,  “As soon as the kids are all in school I will…..”, “It will be so much nicer when….”,  “We’ll take that trip to ___when ____.”   Everyone does this not just moms.   “When I get married…”  “I can’t wait until…”  “I’ll be happy when…” 

“Enjoy them while they are little” doesn’t mean you have to be giddy all the time, and it doesn't mean you shouldn't have good days and bad days, or get frustrated and annoyed at your kids.  But it does mean don't wish all those crappy times away either.  There will never be a time in life without crappy days.      

I remember before I had kids, I wanted so much to be a parent.  And now there are times when I miss the days before I was a parent.  We wanted nothing more than to have kids,so much so it hurt sometimes to think about it.  But I tried as hard as I could to enjoy my time with Kent before the kids.  We took trips, lots of them, we saw Japan, we lived in Alaska, we traveled, we enjoyed our careers, we played games, and we slept till 10 on Saturdays.  (And we could have sex whenever we wanted).  All the while wishing and waiting for the time when we could tell “fun” parenting stories.  Now when the kids won’t go to bed and we have to change our plans, and one of them pees all over the carpet and constantly wake us up in the middle of the night we think wasn’t it nice when…, and remember when we could sleep until 10 on Saturdays?  

The point is to enjoy life at whatever stage you are at.  

And maybe part of this is because I really DO enjoy my kids being little, even when they frustrate the crap out of me.  Okay I’ll be honest the enjoying comes after I’ve gotten over the frustration; but I do acknowledge that maddening frustration occurs.  Everything in life has ups and downs.  And most of the time, even with all the frustration in the world, I wouldn’t trade a day with my two kids.  This not to say we don’t need breaks of course we do; remember it’s hard.  But then again so is life, with or without being a parent.  But I love watching them learn and grown.  All of the excitement and enthusiasm that a two year old has for just about everything amazes me every day.  Who else do you know that is so excited to see what life has to offer that they literally run from room to room?  And so I remind myself everyday to enjoy them at this stage, and when they get to the next stage enjoy them then too.  My friend use to laugh at me cuz I would always say about her baby “oh that was my favorite stage”.  I guess they are all my favorites.

 

Moms don't have anything special to brag about just because being a mom is hard.  Life is hard.  If anything raising kids makes life better and for that I'm grateful.  Yes grocery shopping is another form of Hell with two kids in tow, but I rather put up with that than break up with a boyfriend, or watch a loved one go through a terrible sickness, or lose my job.  

All that being said I did kind of like her idea of Kairos time.  Like the other day when I had to pick up a sleeping Big M to move her from our bed back to her own and I suddenly saw just how much she had grown and changed in the last 5 years it was like her whole life flashed before my eyes in a split second and I was positively and completely memorized and amazed by it.  

Okay well that’s it.  That’s my rebuttal.  It far too late to post it to Facebook (too long too)  whoever posted it in the first place has probably already forgotten what the article said in the first place, but to the few who read this there you are.  And maybe I’m just a rambling fool here.  What is your opinion?  Did I miss the point of the article? 

Nebraska

Over Mia’s second birthday we decided to take a trip back to Nebraska. I loved Nebraska. Let me try and explain why.

When we starting looking at Law school both Kent and I wanted to go out of state. We would have stayed if we had the opportunity but I think we both wanted the law school, the adventure, and the culture of living outside of Utah. Right before moving to Nebraska was a CRAZY time. Within in days we packed up, moved, finalized our oldest adoption, blessed her, sealed her, quit my job which was crazy and stressful all on its own, found a place to live, and had a going away party. Through all of this, I never really had the time or the chance to sit down and process, emotionally, what moving meant.

I can still picture the exact spot on the road. We had been on the road for 2.5 day and were just entering the city of Omaha. Suddenly it hit me. We were not just going to Omaha we were IN Omaha. For the first time in my life I was moving away. I was going to be living in a city where I didn’t know ANYONE. And it was scary. I got that feeling in the pit of my stomach. You know the one that you get right before you get up to speak in public, or at the top of a roller coaster when you are just a little bit scared. My stomach was at my knees and full of butterflies. But then the next day we woke up and got to work: moving, unpacking, settling in, living life, making friends, and exploring. And a funny thing happened, like on the roller coaster I had fun, I enjoyed the ride.

I remember the first few months of being there I was a stay at home mom who didn’t really know anyone yet, with one baby to look after, and my husband was in school. So off Missa and I went. We explored and found places to visit and to see.

I met some amazing people there, who we will be friends with for the rest of our lives. I fell in love with the hills and trees of Omaha, and with the wide open spaces and the prairies of the Midwest. But mostly I fell in love with the people. But one of the things I miss the most about Nebraska was my life there, the simplicity of it and the chance to be a stay at home mom. There were good days and bad days of course.

Of course we will always have a deep connection to Omaha because that is where Mia’s birth family is from and live. They were a major motivation for our trip. So we rented a minivan and off we went 2000 miles round trip.

The girls did really well for being the car that long. The minivan helped (I’m choosing to leave out the drama of renting said minivan). We didn’t make any firm plans but ended up with dinner invites every night we were there, and even had to turn one down. I was hard to balance our time as we knew it would be. We had so many people we wanted to see, and things we wanted to do, and wanted some time to be together as a family. But all in all it was a good time.

Kent went back to the law school, I went back to Fontenelle Forest, we played in the pool, we ALL went to the ZOO (oh how I miss the zoo) and to the big slides. We spent the day of Mia’s birthday with her family. Oh it was so good to see them and we wish we had had more time with them. We were able to have to time with the Journeys and many, many others friends. And all too quickly it was time to come home.

Pictures Hopefully to Come.

Plant eating children are better than children eating plants.

I know that every parent feels a great sense of responsibility for their children.  We are burdened with the job of making sure they turn out okay.  But I sometime think that because my children are adopted, I feel an even greater sense of resposibility.  Because someone gave me the most precious gift one can imagine.  They entrusted ME to raise their kids, to give them something that they could not.  And its more than just love because I believe that their birth parents loved them very much and continue to love them to this day.  And sometime I wonder if because I think this way and feel this way if I'm harder on myself then I ought to be.   

I'm not perfect.  So I screw up sometimes and make mistakes.  And sometimes I lose my patience, and sometimes when I lose my patience I lose my temper.  And after I lose my temper I feel horrible.  So bad that sometimes it can send me into a downward spiral of guilt, and pushes me to the edge of depression.

That is when I need to remember the plant eating story.  The planting eating story was something I read randomly somewhere, I think it was a blog.  The women writting it had children that were birth and adopted.  She related a story about her first support metting with other adoptive parents and how they were all stressing about the strange habits that their kids had and worring if it was because they were adopted.  She they relates all the strange thing her children did (that were not adopted) including eating plants.  She just assumed (rightly so) that it was just strange things children did.  And as adoptive parents we need to relax and just remember that kids are kids and not to stress so much about them being adopted.  I showed it to Kent because I thought it was funny and it became a running joke with us.  "Oh that's cuz shes adopted"  No we don't do this much around the kids anymore now that they are old enough to understand us.  But sometimes its still funny.

So I need to remember that even though I'm an adoptive parent, I'm a parent first.  Which means I'm a parent that loses her patience with her kids, whose kids drive her crazy at times, who sometimes wonder if they are worth it after all, and constantly worries if she's doing the right thing.  And its just because kids are kids, and parents are parents and sometimes it seems the two are incompatible.   

My M&Ms: The Princess Instict is Strong

Big M loves clothes.  She was picking out her clothes and trying to dress herself by the time she was 18 mo old.  Little M (although I can't really call her that anymore since she's not so little anymore) would rather run around buck naked.  Getting her dressed in the morning is always a battle.  I'll give her the choice between two shirts and she'll look at me, look at the clothes, throw them on the floor and take off running down the hallway, and if not caught and forced dressed in a timely manner will shimmy out of her diaper, thus accomplishing the task of complete nakedness.  So I was a little surprised this morning when I put this dress on her...

And she refused to take it off.  Then she started prancing around the house patty her pretty dress.  

The princess instinct runs strong.

Happy Adoption Day Melissa

Dear Melissa,

Four years ago today I held you in my arms for the first time.  I will never forget that day, the anxiety, the adrenaline, the joy, and the tears.  Words can not accurately describe the emotions of that day.  I am still amazed by the fact that it has been 4 years.  You continue to amaze me everyday. Here are a few things I want to remember about you the year you turned 4.  You definitely have your fathers sense of humor, and you make me laugh all the time, even though sometime you get embarrassed when I think your funny.  You are growing up everyday.  I year a go you were a new big sister and I loved to watch to make your baby laugh and smile.  It surprises me how much you have grown up and changed in the last year.  You speak so clearly now.  Gone are all the cute baby words you use to say.  This year you started pre-school and while it was my idea to begin with I was surprised by how hesitate I was.  I know you love to learn and you are so good at it.  But I wanted to keep you close.  I no longer have total control over what happens in your day and the thought is thrilling and frightening at the same time.  You also had your first dance recital this year.  You were so CUTE!  I was so excited to see your first time dancing on stage.   I loved every minute of it.  I look forward to many more.  I look forward to helping you figuring out what you are really interested in, and what your talents are.    The way you play is growing and changing too.  You love to color, and read books, and play with your new doll house.  I can't begin to imagine all the things you will learn to do next year.  I love you sweetie.

Mom

Mr Mom

I went back to work, so Kent is playing Mr. Mom.  Its been an adjustment for the both of us.  Today he told me the "wheres the baby...splash splash splash" story.  He was rounding up Melissa and noticed Mia was missing so he says "where's the baby" and then hears splash splash splash.  Any guesses?  Yep in the bathroom playing in the toilet water.  I had a hardy laugh at him, followed closely by eww gross.  And then the same thing happened to me.  Got to get the bathroom door to latch.

July: In with a Bang, out with a Splash

July was busy month. It all started with a Bang, the fourth, of course. For the 4th we went to the Murray parade with all of Kent's family. It has been many years since I've been to the parade in Murray and it was really really fun! I felt like a kid again. Melissa was so excited about going to a parade, she bounded out of bed, was dressed in 5 min. and then proceeded to bug us about why we weren't leaving yet. Kent's brother played commentator which was hilarious, and his brother-in-law was dressed as wheres waldo. There were lots of fun floats and tons of candy. Nothing makes it seem like the 4th than a good parade.

After the parade we went back to Grandmas house for splashing in the pool, BBQ, and visiting and having fun with family. I got a kick out of watching the nieces and nephew play in the pool. Plus I got my hair braided for camping. After lunch me and the girls headed up to Kamas, where we picked up my sister Lisa, and said hello to grandpa. Then up the canyon to met up with other sister and her family for a couple of nights of camping.

Camping was fun but cold!!! Both mornings we were there I drank a cup of hot chocolate. It was very pleasant, possibly because it was the only 5 min of the day I sat and did nothing. I can see why people would really enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning. It a very relaxing way to start the day. Melissa and her cousin play in the dirt, literally, but they had so much fun. Also on this trip I went fishing. I haven't bought a fishing license since I was in high school. We didn't catch anything but it was fun anyway. But I think I still prefer birding. They are very similar in many ways, they're both outside, with lots of boring parts followed by exciting parts. But the bird boring parts are more fun to me the than fishing boring parts.

Although I didn't catch any fish my little nephew did. And of course as adults we had to capture the perfect picture....

Monday we got up and broke camp which took forever. (BTW if any of you are wondering camping with two kids is a lot of work). Then headed to Grandpas house in Kamas where we washed one or two layers of dirt and grim off the kids and some clothes, because we were headed to the Oakley Rodeo. I love the Oakley Rodeo. The kids were surprisingly good and so were the cowboys. Melissa wanted to stay for the fireworks of course.

Well the fireworks didn't end till well after 10 and its a long way home, so Tues morning came very early, but off we went again. Tues Melissa went to dance class with Aunt Krisi then up to Ogden with Aunt Krisi where we went to the children’s museum and the dinosaur park. The Wed we headed down to Cedar City with Aunt Krissy and her kids.

In Cedar City we met one of my best friends I haven't seen since she got married, played in the pool, and watched Court do some gymnastics. Once home again it was time to rest and catch up on laundry but not for long because the next week my brother and his wife were in town. So we went camping with them. Missa decided that Brooke (my newest sister) was where it was at. Poor Brooke had a shadow. Andrew and Brooke may have wanted some alone time but every time they turned around Missa was right there.

I was looking forward to my hot chocolate routine, but this time by the time I got up and dressed, out of the tent, and had hot water, it was just too hot to enjoy it as much. Oh well.

By the time we got home from that camping trip I was ready to stay put for awhile. And the BAR exam was looming very near. Kent was hitting the books hard and was stressing. With Kent gone so much it was easy to get restless around the house so we played in the pool. And one day I took the kids on the train downtown. We wondered temple square, played in the fountains at the gateway, and went to the church history museum. And then we bought a few fireworks to shoot off on the 24th of July.

And then Kent took the BAR. Yiks. He survived. And no we won’t know how he did for quite awhile.

And what’s a better way to celebrate the completion of the BAR exam than going to Cherry Hill with Kents family? It was awesome, and I only got a little sunburned. We had a great time.

Also in July Mia learned to crawl, and got another tooth.

This takes way too long to upload pictures. So for the rest go to www.kentandbeth.phanfare.com

My M&Ms

One of the benefits (I think) of adoption is sending updates to the birth parents. They become a journal of thoughts, feelings and milestones your baby is making. So here are some excerpts from Little m's last update.

The week after Kent left for Utah, (about one week before we left), she finally figure out how to roll over from back to her stomach. When she learned to roll from her stomach to her back she would do it once and then not again for a week or more. This time was totally different. The first time I notice she did it was Monday, by Tuesday she would roll one way and then the other like 5 times. She is getting so close to crawling and will sometimes get on her knees. But even without crawling or scooting, she is really mobile. She rolls and pivots in a circle and is quite good at rolling to what she wants. J She no longer stays where you put her. Sometime I’ll walk back into a room and say “now how did you get all the way over there?” She also loves to stand up and sometimes thinks she can do it on her own (which she can’t) and tries to let go of your hands. And you should see her in that walker you gave us in my mom’s big kitchen with hard wood floors. She can cruise in that thing in any direction that she wants.

Since coming to Utah we bought Melissa a new bike. (Okay technically Grandma bought it for her, yea for grandmothers who spoil). She has a two wheel big girl bike with training wheels. She LOVES that thing and is really good at it. She can get cruising. So we have been going on lots of bike rides/walks. We love to go down to the park by my mom’s house. Mia loves being outside too, and is usually perfectly content in the stroller.

We also put Melissa in swimming lessons, she has enjoyed them once she’s in the pool. Melissa loves the pool, swim lessons she tolerates so she can play in the pool. Mia has LOVED the water as well. We have taken her swimming a couple of times. She is so funny, she goes totally spazz, kicking and wiggling, and splashing. It is so cute to watch.

Mia also cut her second tooth soon after getting here. She had one little tooth for a long time. I think she just cut her first one on top today. Maybe that’s why she has been driving being crazy all day today. ;0 She picks up all kinds of new noises every day. She can coo, and say da-da-da, ma-ma, and a whole lot of other sounds. My sister has a baby girl just two months young than Mia, she sounds so dainty compared to Mia. She will be da da da, Mia is DA DA DA. She’s going to be a talker just like her big sister. She has been very social and has warmed up to all of our family really easily.

Mia loves to laugh and giggle and Melissa can still get her to laugh faster than anyone else. She is a really easy going baby, and a delight to have around. Her personality is starting to come through and she is a wonderful addition to our family. While they are small it’s sometimes hard to see beyond the baby stage. But before you know it they are little people with thoughts and minds of their own, walking around demanding things. LOL! We are reminded everyday what a lifelong commitment being a parent is and we love it.

We have some fun things planned for the summer; including the 4^th of July parade, and camping with my sister and her family. We are also going to go down to Southern Utah (about 4 hours drive) and visit some other family, and Beth is going visit a dear high school friend that I haven’t seen for 10 years. Kent stays busy studying and studying. It’s a daunting test but I’m sure he will be fine. We are still in the process of finding a job.

Since writing this Mia is even closer to crawling and can take a few crawl steps.

What a Week

So I wasn't going to write about this weekend, but I felt the urge to anyway. But I better start with the whole week. We had much to accomplish in one week. We needed to pack but also wanted to see/do some Omaha things one more time. Monday we started out packing. Melissa got to spend the day at a friends house. Tuesday we were suppose to have family pictures taken at the temple but it was way too cold and raining, so we moved pictures to Thursday morning. Instead we headed to Lincoln and went to their Childrens Museum. Melissa had a GREAT time. For pictures click HERE (after I get them loaded).

Wed morning we took Mia to the doctors. It was one of those things when you debate if it is just a virus or an ear-infection, take her it or not. But we decided to take her because the next day it would be possible would be Monday and if she got worse in the next few days it would be rather inconvenient. We made the right call since she did have the start of an ear-infection, so we got a prescription for antibiotics. Then we went to The Amazing Pizza Machine. I thought it was going to be chucky cheese like, but it was SOO MUCH BETTER. It was Amazing. There was a buffet, slick track, rides, arcades, and lots of fun things to do. We all had a really great time. For pictures click HERE (after I get them loaded). Wed night we packed a little, rescued a stranded friend, and had one more, last game night we some of our favorite people.

Thursday we planned on having pictures in the morning and then head to the Zoo for the afternoon. Since family was going to arrive around noon we invited them to join us. However once again the weather was too cold for pictures Thursday morning so we rescheduled again for 2:30. Which meant the Zoo trip had to be pushed up to the morning. So up we got up and quickly pack a lunch for the Zoo and everything we might need or desired to be immortalized by photographs later. And of course did all of this as fast as possible so as to have as much time as possible at the Zoo, which was packed with field trips. But was still fun and we were able to see the new Madagascar exhibit, which was neat. The Cottam delegation consisting of Mom, Dad, and Brother Kyle, met us at the Zoo. Melissa got to ride the carousel TWICE her favorite at the Zoo, and we got to show the Cottam delegation around a bit before dashing off for family pictures. Click HERE for pictures, after I get them loaded.

We raced up to the temple changed and waited for our photographer. The pictures turn out great and the weather finally cooperated. We bribed Melissa into being good and smiling during pictures with swimming at Grandmas hotel after. So after pictures, Kent and Melissa went to the hotel for swimming. Meanwhile the first wave of Jewkes delegation arrived consisting of Mom, sister Lisa, and sister-in-law Brroke. So I took them and Mia shopping to find me a new dress for all the up coming festivities. I ended up with a skit and blouse outfit and 3 inch heels.

After a week of friends house, childrens museum, pizza machine, zoo, and swimming my poor 3 year old, was exhausted and the fun was just starting. Friday we hit the ground running early again. We were up, dressed up, looking good and out the door for court by 8:15 am. And we played the hurry up and wait game. We waited for our attorney who waited for the judge who was double booked, so we waited for another judge to fill in. Another judge later we finally had a judge. In Utah for Melissa they swore us in, and we testified, our attorney testified, as did a representative from LDSFS. This time the judge visited with us, congratulated us, had Melissa turns some pages and signed the paperwork. She didn't even really read any of it. This could be because she was also double booked, or because she knew and trusted the attorney, or simple because that is her personality. Either way the whole process after waiting for 45 min took 5. But it was an important 5 min because now Mia is officially legally ours. Click HERE for pictures.

We headed home, after a stop to pick up a cap and gown from the law school. The Parental delegation who come to court, went back to hotels to change clothes, so they could take Melissa to the 'big slides'. In the meantime we had lunch, and Mia fell asleep. So I decided to stay home with her so she could sleep in her bed. The Jewkes delegation went to pick up my dad from the airport. And then I went out to eat with the whole Jewkes delegation. (Meanwhile the big slides were a BIG hit. Wax paper really makes them fly and everyone had a great time). More changing clothes and we were off to Hooding.

Shift one (seat savers and graduate) head for the hooding around 4. Shift two arrived just on-time although it was closer than preferred. We had kids, in tow with a packed dinner. Hooding was awesome, although the kids weren't that well behaved, as a result Mom J missed Kent hooding since she was in the hall with screaming baby, (but she volunteered to help with the kids so...) I was very impressed with graduation. It felt very regal, and as my Dad said 'not everyone graduates from law school'. I personally know two people and kent knows more, that either failed, or dropped out before completing law school. I was very proud of Kent and his dedication. Proud too of the small role I may have played. I have always tried hard to encourage but not push. Encourage to find what he likes and pursue. Sometime it is hard to be in the background playing the supporting role but I haven't minded and loved seeing him accomplish this great goal. Although he of course down played the whole thing, as NOT a big deal. Pictures

Saturday morning, was commencement. The Jewkes delegation (minus Mom) volunteered to watch the girls for me, which after Friday night I took them up on. (They really just didn't wait to sit through commencement not that I can blame them). Melissa woke up sick, but eventually perked up enough to swim again. Thanks Lisa and Brooke for watching the girls. Again I was very impressed with commencement. Many graduations try to be too much pomp and circumstances, that they come off silly and dumb, but it was really nice and felt regal. It is the third graduation I have sat through for Kent, since getting married. LDS Business college, University of Utah and now Creighton University. I was more emotional than I thought I would be. It is a significant event for our family. Much has happen because of the decision to go to law school. Wonderful things that will effect our lives forever. Graduation means the end of an era for us. Possibly the end of Omaha which we have loved, and all the people whom we love here. And in many ways student life had its advantages.

We finally got both delegations together for lunch at Farmhouse. I left early to pick up a cake from Walmart and then drove in circles for an HOUR which I didn't have so that Melissa could take a nap. She finally fell a sleep 1/2 hour before we had to leave for the temple. So she wasn't in too great of a mood. I should have packed dinner for her, but between getting the house picked up and myself ready ran out of time.

The temple was incredible, not as streamline and organized as the big busy temples in Utah but more intimate. Mia was adorable, Melissa was still a little grumpy but good. In all the ceremony took about 5 min. But it was an important 5 min. because now Mia is officially, religiously, eternally ours. Pictures.

After the temple we had some friends over to help us eat cake and ice-cream. Sunday morning was actually the most downtime for me. Kent however was frantically trying to pack. Frantically trying to pack a car, his clothes, three years of law school stuff, all the stuff I wouldn't know what to do with, and anything else he may want for 2 weeks. I got the girls ready for church and realized that although my family had been in town for 3 days I felt like I had only had a chance to really visit with them for 10 minutes. Sunday afternoon we blessed Mia in the Rockbrook ward. I was disappointed that Mia's birth family left before I got a chance to visit with them. But everything went really nice. Now everyone, including the records of the church new Mia was officially, forever, ours.

After church brother Kyle drove one of our cars home. Mom J. and Brooke loaded up their car and headed for Alabama. And Dad J., Lisa, and Kent headed to the airport for a 5:30 plane to Salt Lake City. I think the full impacted of everything that had happened and the realization of what the next two weeks for be all came crashing down on my on Sunday afternoon. So I was a wreck. But sleep helped. Sunday night we visited with Mom and Dad C. who left early Monday morning. And then it was just me and my girls.

Whew...no wonder I didn't get dressed until noon on Monday....Writing it all down I see why I was so exhausted. I'm tired just re-reading it all.