Lots of Blogs, No Babies...

These are some pics of Paul and me in Portland Oregon. The top is the church that was Paul's home ward then there's us at the Claim Jumper and lastly the two of us in front of a bush (yes its a bush not a tree - I was suprised too). We are in the middle of the summer and we've had a lot of fun with our family and friends. Besides our Oregon vacation, we have recently gone on a weekend trip up to Bear Lake with my family for the 4th of July so, needless to say we have a lot of pictures to post and stories to tell but what we are focused on the most right now is adopting a baby to start our long awaited family. It's hard for us to think of much else, we are so excited!

A little more than a month ago Paul and I finally took the leap and started the adoption process by handing in our application to LDS Family Services. We had known for awhile that we wanted to adopt but we had been waiting to start and worried about the first payment but little did I know, my sweet husband Paul had been putting money aside for months to save up and he suprised me with it. [I had always dreamed of one day being able to suprise him with a positive pregnancy test (urine still on it and everything j/k) but this suprise felt just as good coming from him.] We had our first interview and then last Tuesday we handed in all the documents and needed paperwork. Now, we are just finishing up our online information so that we can have our personal interviews and then move forward to our home study and adoption classes and then post our online agency profile.

We have felt so much love and support from all of those who have found out we are trying to adopt but we thought maybe you'd be willing and able to help in another way as well. The agency told us that the best thing you can do is put the word out to everyone that you know that you are looking to adopt and ask them to keep their ears open on our behalf (that's where you come in). Within the next month or so we will have a seperate blog up (in addition to the LDS Family Service Profile that will be on their website after our process is complete) as well as some pass along cards with our information on it but the agency has assured us that regardless of where we are in the process, they will speed it up for us if we find a birth mother. So, if you know anyone who is interested, here is a little about us:

As of July 1st Paul and I have been married for six years. We started our relationship about 9 years ago. We met when we worked together; I was 18 and Paul was 22 and just like most return missionaries he was of course ready to get married. I had just graduated from High School and was... not. Needless to say it took a few years of dating before I finally accepted the greatest things that had ever happened to me and married Paul for eternity in the Bountiful Temple - (we got married in Bountiful because the Salt Lake Temple was closed for cleaning and because Nielson's Frozen Custard is right off the main road from the temple. We made sure to grab some custard first thing after we were married, like most LDS couples j/k).

After we were married we moved briefly to Bozeman, Montana for Paul's job as a sales rep. He traveled a lot and I attended MSU and worked as an assistant manager at an apartment complex. A little over a year later, right after we found what we were hoping would be our first house, Paul's work changed his area back to Salt Lake so we went back to where is all began and instead of Bozeman, found our first house in Salt Lake.

Paul is very active in his work as HOA President (not my idea since we are the youngest in our circle by at least 25 years and I've never met so many people concered with the exact length of their grass growth and other pressing matters in my life) and his calling as Scout Master (aslso not my idea but the bishop rarely asks me before hand and I never see Paul as happy to be stressed as he is when he is planning a camp out or preparig his merit badge presentations). He is so good with kids and they love him. He loves to fix things around the house (not so much ours as other peoples but whatever makes him happy and keeps him busy is fine with me) and when he isn't doing any of those things he's providing free advertisements for his other love, the iPhone. He loves it and when he isn't playing on it, he's talking about it.

I keep busy with work, school and our kitties (cats) (over the years I had to deflect my desire to nurture to animals since the babies weren't coming :)) I soak up all the time I can with Paul and when he isn't around, I do crafts (quilts, scrapbooking, cross stitch) and clean (a habit passed on from my childhood) all while watching as many TV show crime drama's on DVD as I can (I can't get enough of them). I also work in the nursery, I feel a lot less intimidatd there than when I worked in Relief Society. In nursery, I at least have some change of having more life experience and wisdom than those that I teach (it isn't a sure thing in nursery though because some of those kids are pretty smart ;).

Anyway that's us in a nutshell (or in a home in Salt Lake trying to find our family). We have prayed, fasted and know with all our heart that there is a child for us and that our family won't be missing someone for much longer but, we also know that just won't be in the way most kids come to parents. We are so excited to give all the love and affection we've stored up to a special baby that comes our way and we can't wait to meet the special lady that will give us the most beautiful and precious miracle that anyone could ever hope for. We hope you will help us in our search to find our baby and please feel free to contact us and ask us any questions you have. We know this process is going to take us being open and we are.

Thank you for all the love and support that we have received, please pray for us :)