October Photo Dump

And here's the rest of the pictures from October. Most are random this and that-- so here we go: 

We've had to find ourselves a new soda shop since we moved from Provo and left Sodalicious. We have found Fiiz in Bountiful and Kaysville and quite like it. It's a great treat for when we've been out running errands and such.

Hallie's school did a food drive with all the other schools in town. They had a fun night at the fire-station where everyone could get a ride and do various other activities for donating cans of food. This picture is super blurry (ugh), but here are Hals and Jace riding in the fire truck. They loved it.

We also got to watch a helicopter take off and that was really fun (and crazy the wind that thing blows around as it is taking off!)

We have been taking Flor to Shriner's Hospital in SLC about every other week for PT/OT/ST. They have all sorts of fun things there for the kids to see and play with. Alvin and the Chipmunks are always a favorite.

Jace insisted upon sleeping with his cowboy hat on one night. How that is comfortable, I have no idea.

We had a Perry family FHE while Jana was in town with Bentley and it was so great. We have a challenge as a family to do a large amount of family indexing in one year. We'll see if we can make our goal! Here is cute Reese with Flor.

Love Jana. Too bad she lives so far away because we love having her around. It was fun to meet Bentley in person for the first time too!

Another picture from a visit to Shriners. They have this huge room with all sorts of fun toys and activities where Jace and I hang out while Flor has her appointments. Gotta love it.

One night for FHE, we made homemade rootbeer! The kids & Devin loved it. I did not, but that's just because I don't like rootbeer anyway. It was fun, though.

Homemade rootbeer! 

Maria Dolores visited us from Ecuador for a few days! This is the second year in a row that she has been able to come to the US and we love seeing her. It forces me to brush up on my Spanish skills because we all know they are lacking...She brought all of us gifts and the kids all wanted to wear their shirts from her one day. So cute. 

That's it for October! Now on to November since this month is gone too. Where does all the time go?

Halloween Festivities 2014

So, I am totally playing catch-up. I haven't posted any pictures from October except for the ones from Devin's birthday. So, here we go...

I love October and fall-time in general. The weather is perfect, the falling leaves are beautiful, and there are so many fun activities surrounding Halloween and otherwise. We celebrated Halloween in a variety of ways this year and it was lovely.

Pumpkin Patch: 
Mid-way through the month, we took the kids to a local pumpkin patch for FHE. This one is right here in our town and everything is free except for the pumpkins you buy. It wasn't that busy and there were a lot of fun activities for the kids. It was perfect, minus the mosquitoes.

Apparently not the best posing job of the kids as you can't see Flor-- although she is back there giving Jace a kiss. 

That's better

This kid was in heaven with all the tractors and farm equipment. He loves all things that go.

Can you see us? Too bad this picture is blurry. I really need to start remembering to bring my regular camera when we go places, but I don't, so the phone usually has to do.

Hanging out while Jace and Hals did the mini maze a few times

 Carving Pumpkins with Grandma and Popp-e: 
We went up to Idaho for Emma's blessing (no pictures of that, I'm not sure why...) and while we were there, we had the annual pumpkin carving contest at my mom's house. Really, this was our first year because we aren't usually there. It was fun to join in. My mom's neighbor made the most delicious homemade donuts and we all stuffed ourselves silly. The kids decorated their pumpkins while the men went to work on our team pumpkins. I didn't help at all. :) Devin did a great job though. He's better off without me anyway. (In that regard at least!)

All the grandkids (minus Emma) and their cute pumpkins. Poor Jace- really outnumbered still. Come on, someone, have a boy already...Impossible to get that many kids looking at once too. 

Pre-costume parade all the kids loving on Emma

Cute Brookie

Time for the costume parade! (which really meant that the kids walked up and down my mom's street...hahah)

Next it was time to decorate masks. Too much fun, I tell ya. 

And the men with their completed pumpkins! I told Devin to make sure he smiled for real. Overkill is good too.

We had a mini birthday celebration for Hals since her birthday is in early November. She opened gifts from Grandma and Popp-e and Jen and Steve. 

The completed pumpkins all glowing! Pretty great job, eh? Devin's is the second from the left.

Witchapalooza: 

Possibly my favorite tradition of the season...Witchapalooza!! This was our 6th year in a row (I think) and it never disappoints. They had a new show this year and it was hillllllaarrrrious. I totally recommend it to any and all. I have a terrible lack of pictures, but oh well....

We have a diet coke problem in this family..

During the show. I mean, just the costumes alone...it's just hilarious.Next year I think we need to go twice.

 Halloween: 
Jennifer and Steve came and stayed with us on Halloween as they were on their way to Vernal for a baptism. We took the kids trick-or-treating down around our neighborhood and they had a great time. I only took a few pictures...oops. Oh well. We got a grand total of 2 trick-or-treaters at our house. I'll know not to buy so much candy next year!

M's Adoption: Part Four

A few extra pieces of the back story that are significant:

Remember back in April, I had a miscarriage.  Devin and I started to feel that we needed to add to our family back in January. I quickly became pregnant and then ended up having a miscarriage. I think that we were right in our feelings that it was time to add to our family, but just not in the direction that we were to go to do that. The miscarriage was harder than I expected it to be, especially knowing how common they are and knowing how blessed I really am in the lack of fertility issues I have faced. However, the sting of that miscarriage really lessened when we turned our hearts and our minds to adoption. I have hardly thought of the miscarriage since beginning this process (although it has come up again recently just a little bit because I would have been due right about now) and it has really taken the pain of it away. I feel so confident in the path we're pursuing that I know the Lord is blessing me to just look forward to the future and not dwell on the hardship of the miscarriage. I don't know if we will have more biological children, but whether we do or don't, I feel peace at this point.

Second, after we sold our house, we had a time crunch to find a place to live in Davis County. We had decided even before the adoption came along that we would return to the world of renting. We decided this for a few reasons, one, so that we could learn more about the area and where we want to be, two because Devin may have other job opportunities come up within his field and who knows if we'll actually be in Farmington for too long, and three, so that we could use the profits from our house for my student loan. So, we began the search for a place.

I had decided that I liked the idea of living in Bountiful, but when we started looking at places to live, we found that our most realistic options within our price range were in the northern part of the county, more in Clearfield, Clinton, and Layton. I did not love the idea of living in those areas, but we started our search there anyway. We had decided on a certain amount that we wanted to spend on rent each month, and the places within that budget (which we felt was a lot for rent), were either in really sketchy areas or were too small for our family. We went looking one day and as we drove home, I was just so depressed thinking about the options we had. Nothing seemed right and it all just seemed so overwhelming. As we drove, Devin and I discussed the need to increase our budget so that we could look at the other end of the county (near Bountiful, where I had felt we should look). We decided that we'd do that and also look at places with one fewer bedroom. When we got home, we started the search again in the southern part of the county. We found a few good options and scheduled a time to go look at them. They were all in the upper range of our budget (the increased budget that is). We had looked at some places in Farmington, but felt that everything was too pricey. Anyway, as we looked online, we did find one place in Farmington that looked promising, but it almost seemed too good to be true. It looked nice, had decent square footage, and the rent was $400 less than what we were looking at with all these other places.

We visited a bunch of places in Bountiful and Layton on our second trip and ended at the place in Farmington. I immediately liked it and felt good about it. It seemed to be in a good neighborhood, was about the same size as our house, had an unfinished basement (a bonus for kids to play down there), and was remodeled. It was nothing fancy, but it was definitely adequate for our needs. As we were walking out, I asked the agent what we needed to do to sign the lease right then. Devin looked at me like I was nuts (the second time in as many weeks now), but I just felt like we could not let this place go. The rent alone was low enough that we could save a lot more money for the adoption. The agent told us that the owner had just lowered the rent too, because he'd had someone interested in renting it but that it fell through last minute, so he dropped the price to get it rented quickly. Coincidence again? I don't think so. Perfect timing and place for us? I think so. And, we have been extremely happy here, with wonderful and supportive neighbors, a wonderful area to live, etc. The other nice thing about this place is that it was by far the closest to Devin's work, since he works in Farmington. Going from a 2+ hour commute every day to a 5 minute commute has been pure bliss. It's been just perfect for our family and I feel so blessed that we have been watched over and guided in so many ways throughout this process. Is any of it not guided and directed? No. I know that it has been.

So. Better area? Check. Cheaper Rent? Check. Close to Devin's work? Check. Amazing neighbors? Check. How much more could we want? We feel very blessed with the way everything has all worked out.

We waited until we moved (July 1) to start the home study process. We had only been in our new place for a few weeks when I felt the urgency to get going. So, we started then. We chose an adoption provider from an international agency in Ogden and the assigned caseworker is someone I have known a long time since we've both been in the adoption business for a while. So, that was a pretty easy. Being on the other end of the home study process is always interesting. This time, we also had to complete full psychological testing, which was a very, um, special process.

The psych testing actually took less time than the home study. Devin and I went in for interviews together one day and then each went in for testing on separate days. The testing included a parenting profile, a mental health screen, a personality test, and an IQ test. The IQ test was by far the worst- it took like 3 hours. By the time I was done, I thought my brain was going to explode. I mean, I was in a tiny room with one woman asking me questions. No pressure. It was insane. Some of the tests I knew I was not doing so well in (like math story problems, no pen and paper), but I knew they'd be a piece of cake for Devin. And sure enough, when we got our results back, he'd done amazing in some categories that I didn't do so hot in and vice versa. In addition to the math story problems, there was number series, where she'd state a series of numbers to you and then you'd have to repeat them back and they got increasingly longer. Then you'd have to repeat them backwards, then put them in chronological order. No paper, remember. There were also verbal tests- word definitions, using words in a sentence, that kind of thing. There was a game with a cube that I hated-- there was a picture on the ipad that you then had to re-create using cubes and again it got increasingly harder. There was pictures that you had to find the missing items, symbol decoding, speed tests with writing symbols, and completing patterns. I am trying to think of what else...anyway, suffice it to say that it was an experience that I hope to never repeat! The good news is that Devin and I are equally as smart/dumb  as our IQ's were 3 points away from each other, which is a normal standard deviation (in other words, if we'd been given the test on different days, the scores could have been within 3 ish points of what we got, but not necessarily the same score). So, no one can hold over the other that he/she is smarter (but as of now, I am smarter since that day my score was 3 points higher..ha! Just kidding, honey! I won't tease you forever.)

Anyway, we received that written report rather quickly and then waited for the home study, which was delayed as you know by the Portuguese background check process. Now we have both reports and let me just tell you, we know more about ourselves than we ever wanted to know. It's really interesting reading about yourself in written report form. :) Now we just hope the government likes us and will allow us to move on to the next step in the process. I-800a is currently pending.

Now we're all caught up on the back story, since I told part 5 back in September. You can read it by clicking on that link if you missed it.

If I have missed anything or if anyone has questions, you know I am an open book. Please ask! Other than specific details about the child, which we will wait to share when we are officially matched, I think we can answer almost anything else. :)

M's Adoption- Part Three

After talking to Devin about my thoughts the initial time, I didn't bring it up again. I wanted to give him time to think and feel things out on his own.

That next Sunday, one week after my initial impression, we were sitting at the table, eating breakfast before church, when Hallie started talking about when Flor got sealed to our family in the temple. She had a primary talk that day on the Holy Ghost and so we were asking her about times she remembered feeling the Holy Ghost in her life. She thought of the temple immediately and reported details that she remembered, including how she loved the white dress that she wore and that she remembered feeling happy and good inside while she was in the temple. After she talked about her memories for a while, she said, "Mom, I think we should adopt another kid and have him or her sealed to our family too."

I looked at Devin's face and I could see that the Spirit confirming to him that this is what we needed to do. We of course had not talked to the kids at all about our contemplations about adoption, so Hallie's conversation about it and specific comment that she felt that we should go to the temple with another child could be nothing but divinely driven. Devin told me later that night that Hallie's statements were the confirmation that he needed. He had been praying about adopting M and had felt good about it, but had not had a solid answer. Hallie's comments were just another big way that Heavenly Father showed His will for us. I am telling you, we have had so many experiences that just worked out just right and too many spiritual impressions to ignore. Never in my life have I had such obvious expressions of the Lord's will for me or my family.  I have no doubt that this is the right thing for us and for M. Will it be easy? No. And we know it. In fact, we are gearing ourselves up for a really difficult time for the first little (or long) while. I think we're also better prepared than ever. All that can be a discussion for another day, though.

I quickly started emailing people to get as much information as I could about M. I like to go into things as prepared as possible and this was of course, no exception. I emailed Jaci, the director of the agency we had used for Flor and she immediately wrote back to let me know that M was still available and that she continues to pray for a family every night. I asked a lot of questions about her, without identifying that it was Devin and me that I was asking for. I had worked hard to find M a family for the last 2.5 years because my heart had just broken when I saw her at the orphanage in 2012. So, Jaci probably didn't think it weird that I was asking all these questions about her. However, I must have asked just enough that she finally wrote back and said, "Are you asking for you and Devin?" I told her yes and she wrote back a really kind and sweet reply, expressing her support and happiness.

A little later on down the line, we were also able to connect with and have a good discussion with my cousin Kalab and his wife, Keelie, who had just recently returned from a year in Ecuador as project directors for the same organization that I served with in Quito. Coincidence that they had spent a year there and could tell us details about M that we would not have gotten otherwise? No. And coincidence that this was the year that the volunteers got moved to live on-site at the orphanage, thus increasing their time spent and interactions with the kids? Again, I don't think so. We feel really blessed that we were able to access information from them about our child with whom they had just spent a year living on the same property. Kalab and Keelie were able to give us great information about M and what to expect.

We still don't know everything and there are a lot of unknowns, but we felt good about getting as much information as we could, primarily so that we will be better prepared to be good parents to M. We didn't gather information so that we could change our minds about her. Even if there are "big" issues with her (though we believe there aren't), we feel strongly enough about this that we will pursue her regardless. We did with Flor- we knew very little about Flor when we went to get her, including what the extent of her disabilities were, what her life expectancy is, if she had a diagnosis...we didn't even know if she was walking or not when we went or if she could speak. We knew that she had delays, but we didn't know what they were or what they would mean for our family. Nevertheless, we committed ourselves to her in the same way we did our biological children. We know they will have their own challenges in life, but we won't give up on them when those things happen. The same is true of our commitment to Flor, and now to M. We don't know exactly what her hard things will be, but we know she'll have them.

Family Pictures 2014

We had my friend Jaime take our pictures again this year and she always does such a great job! I am especially impressed with how Flor smiled this year!! Best pictures of her yet. Love them. So now to decide which one is going on the wall and which ones are going to Ecuador with our dossier! :)