Jace Christopher

We welcomed our little boy, Jace Christopher, into the world on March 1, 2011 at 4:22 pm. Warning- Long post and lots of pictures to follow!

Leading up to Jace's birth, I had a big decision to make. Remember how I wanted to go overdue in the beginning so that we could get our extra hospital policy insurance money? Well, I said ask me in 9 months how I am feeling to see if that is still true. I had had a few hard weeks at the end of the pregnancy. My body is weird I have decided. I had constant contractions from 36 weeks on and was dilated to a 3 and 80% effaced at 36 weeks, then dilated to a 4 from 37 weeks on (sorry if that is TMI for some). I knew my body was getting ready for "labor", but it felt like I was in labor already for 3 weeks.

Devin and I weighed the options carefully- to induce or not to induce. My doctor was fine inducing me at 39 weeks and each day that seemed better and better. The only thing is- I felt guilty that we would miss out on the insurance money. But in the end, there are a lot of reasons I chose to be induced on the 1st (right on the 39 week mark): I dilated from a 5-10 with Hallie in about a half hour and the thought of doing that with a 20 minute drive to the hospital just did not sound appealing, my doctor was going out of town for a bit after the first and someone else would have to deliver me, I wasn't sleeping at night because of the contractions and pelvic pain, and I was just done with the constant limbo game. I couldn't concentrate on anything other than "should I pay attention to these contractions, or should I pretend nothing is happening?" It was maddening, I tell you. Also, for the induction, we could plan for childcare for Hallie instead of possibly trying to find someone in the night or whenever I went into labor. Ultimately, it came down to the fact that I didn't think I would make it to the 11th anyway, so either way we would be missing out on the insurance money. So- we decided the Thursday before that I would be induced on the 1st. We called the doctor and everything was set.

39 week picture. Right before we left for the hospital.

39 week picture- when we arrived at the hospital.

JACE'S BIRTH STORY:
This may be too much information for some- but I like hearing other's birth stories and this is good for recording purposes for me, too. So here are all the gory details. Proceed at your own risk.

The doctor wanted me to come into the hospital about noon on Tuesday. His practice is in Pleasant Grove and the hospital is in Orem (I delivered at Timpanogos this time...which I LOVED. I had Hallie at American Fork and it wasn't as good of an experience). So because of the distance, he wanted me later in the day, I think hoping that I would deliver after hours so he could still see his patient load for the day. So, Devin and I arrived at noon, ready to go. Things proceeded kind of slowly at first- we had to wait to get the pitocin going because my nurse was in an emergency C-Section. I started the pit around 1 and the nurse checked me for the first time. I was at 5 cm. She told me if I wanted an epidural to get it right away since I was at a risk to go pretty fast once they got the pit going. I agreed that the epidural was a great idea and got it right away.

The epidural was the most painful part for me- I am not sure why, but I don't remember it hurting with Hallie at all, but this time I felt it for sure. It was probably because with Hallie I was feeling really painful contractions and this time I was not. Anyway- the epidural was really "dense" as my doctor put it. I couldn't feel a thing! With Hallie, I remember the unmistakable urge to PUSH when the time came. This time, not a thing.

Getting ahead of myself. The doctor came and broke my water around 2:30 and I was at 7 cm. The nurse kept saying that she thought things were going to go really fast once my water was broken because with each contraction, she could see his head pushing down really far. The doctor decided to hang around so that he wouldn't miss anything. I felt really bad when I was still at a 7 an hour later. Oh well...makes up for Hallie's birth (says Devin) when he ran in for the last push.

After being told I was at a 7 for the 3rd time, I started to get really worried that I was going to be in labor forever, after all. About five minutes after the nurse told me I was a 7, the doctor came in to check me and said I was at a 9. I told him that couldn't be because the nurse just checked and I was at a 7. He said "It's all relative!" Ha! What does that mean? Right after that, the nurse came back in and said "He says you are at a 9. I want to check myself!" So she checked me and said, "oh wow...you are complete. He is right there and you are ready to push." Wahoo.

The first few pushes, I started laughing hysterically because I couldn't feel a thing. I am not sure why I thought that was funny, but I thought it was funny and therefore, those pushes were not the most productive. The nurse kept telling me that I was not supposed to be laughing. Finally, I buckled down and gave a few hard pushes. I pushed for maybe five minutes and Jace was delivered at 4:22 pm. He came out with the cord wrapped around his neck, so even before they delivered his body, Devin cut the cord and then they pulled the rest of him out. That was scary for a few minutes as he was not breathing as well as he should have been. They cleared him out quickly though and he was fine.

He weighed in at 8 pounds even (which is totally what I was predicting) and was 20.5 inches long. I looked at him and said to Devin right away, "He looks like Hallie!" He has the same round face, big cheeks, and lack of hair. :) Today, I think he looks a little bit more like Devin, but we will see how he changes as he gets older.






This picture, above, particularly looks like Hallie to me. Look at my sidebar for a picture of her right after birth and see what I mean. I was totally surprised to see him look like her, because I expected a darker baby with dark hair for some reason. He has very blonde, peach fuzz hair. He is blonder than Hallie- she had dark hair at birth.

Che and Landon are such champs. They had Hallie the whole day- see the other post for info on that- and then came to see us at the hospital. They are so supportive of us and we love them.
They brought their baby Hudson along- who is 10 weeks old- and we had a great time comparing he and Jace. They are nearly the same size! But, Hudson was 6 weeks early, so ya know. They are going to be best buddies, we are just sure.

I stayed in the hospital over night and all day Wednesday. I was supposed to go home Thursday morning (today), but by Wednesday night I had had enough of that place and asked the doctor to discharge us. He was happy to comply. What a good doctor we have. We really do love him.
All dressed and ready to go home!
Someone else's turn in that awful bed...I am telling you, I cannot sleep for the life of me in those beds. I think I slept from 5 am to 8 am the night I was there, that's it. ROUGH!
Today has been a great day. Devin has been home with me all day and has been awesome to help with everything. He has kept Hallie entertained for the most part, which is nice. Jace is a pretty good baby so far. He sleeps a ton (what newborn doesn't!) and LOVES the binky. This is totally weird for us as Hallie never did take a binky very well. He has to be sucking on it at all times or else he gets mad. Heaven help us. I wonder what we are going to do when we have a 3 year old who still wants a binky? Just kidding- we won't let it get to that!
We gave Jace his first bath today. Hallie loved helping by dumping water on him. He didn't like it so much.
See his cute blonde peach fuzz? I think he looks more like Devin today, or at least Devin as a baby.
These are the gorgeous flowers Devin brought me in the hospital. What a sweet husband I have. I think I scared him Wednesday morning after that horrible night. I called him (he had a test so was in class) and told him that I woke up bawling. I was kind of weepy after I had Hallie and I did the same thing with Jace. I just was crying for no reason that I could pin point. The new nurse for the day came in and her student who was shadowing her- a male- and there I sat just bawling for no reason. The poor student looked rather alarmed. I told him I would make a good case study to write about. Crazy women after child birth. ha ha.
Devin and his kiddos. I am so grateful for him. He is such a great husband and father and I love how much he is involved and dotes on me and his babies.
We had a few more visitors today- Devin's sister Kirston and her kids came and brought us the most DELISH dinner. Kirston is a saint. Not only is she pregnant herself, but she has 3 kids to take care of. That didn't stop her from taking Hallie over night for us on Tuesday and then bringing us a four course meal today. She is so amazing. This is Ryder (Hallie's age) holding Jace. He was so cute with him.
Well, there you have it. Way more details than you ever wanted to know! We are grateful for our healthy baby and for the happiness he brings us already. He is so cute and such a joy to have. I love just sitting and holding him. I can sense his sweet spirit and am excited to see what his future holds.

We named Jace after my brother-in-law Chris, who you all know passed away from a brain tumor two years ago this April. Chris and Jace share a birthday as well, so that makes it extra special. Though Jace won't know Chris in this life, we hope that he emulates some of the same characteristics that Chris had that made him a courageous and incredibly strong individual.

More to come!

Hallie and Brother

Everyone I talk to asks how Hallie is adjusting to Jace. I was quite worried about this actually. I am not going to lie, I had a moment the night before Jace was born where I got kind of emotional thinking about Hallie in this process and how things were going to affect her. Going from being an only child with all the attention to having to share has got to be hard (although a good thing). We have been talking about the baby coming for a long time and she knew his name and where he was, etc. but how much can a 2 year old really understand?

Hallie got to spend Jace's delivery day with two of her favorite people in the world- My cousin Che' Lyn and her husband Landon plus their adorable Hudson. She was spoiled rotten. First she requested noodles and pizza for lunch, so they took her to pizza pie cafe, where she tested every dessert pizza (well of course). Then they took her to the park and to the store to buy new gorgeous jewelry. After watching "Finding Nemo" she wanted chicken nuggets for dinner, so they made a stop off to McDonald's on the way to the hospital. What a lucky girl, eh! Sounds like a great day to me.

Hallie met Jace at the hospital within a few hours of his birth. She was really cute with him and wanted to hold him and put his binky in his mouth. She had a few moments where she tried to shove him off her lap when she was done and we had to remind her that he is the real deal, not a dolly.

Since being home, she has had a bit of harder time, though she is still really sweet with him. She has just been more clingy and wanting more attention from Devin and I. She has been a little bit more sensitive and crying about things she normally wouldn't. However, she hasn't directed any of her hard feelings (yet) toward Jace, so that is good. She sang some songs to him, played peek-a-boo, and held him.

I think she understood more than I gave her credit for, honestly. I think she has adjusted well so far...but time will tell how she does with the long haul!

Cute sister and brother. Love Hallie's cheesy grin.

Hallie has enjoyed all the extra baby items we have around the house now. She is making good use of them with Jace and with her babies, as you can see here. She got the baby buckled in the car seat all by herself, though not quite in the right area and was hauling the carseat around the house saying "It's heavy! It's heavy!". Haha...yeah.

(Please keep in mind that Hallie changes her clothes 98 times per day, so thus the multiple outfits.)

Revisiting a Classic!

So apparently, last time I was waiting to deliver a child, I discovered this great website. I was reading old blog posts today and came across my last blog on this and thought it would be a great idea to see what Hallie would look like through the years. Never mind the tongue hanging out and the cheesy grin; those pictures seemed to work best for her. Great entertainment, I tell you.

Going backwards, here are some classic shots of her over the years:2000: What a beauty! Definitely would have been getting the guys, I'd say. Never mind that her mother never did--I was always the dork that tried too hard and didn't quite make it. Ahhh, gotta love the high school years.

1992: I think this is wishful thinking. I am pretty sure Hallie will never have this much hair, judging by the puny amount she still has in her 2+ years. Luckily, if she ever does get this much hair, I am really skilled at ratting jobs. What a cool mom I would be to help her rat her hair! (Let's actually just hope this style never comes back in...)
1984: I love the huge bow!!! I think so far, this look suits her best. And- she does love bows, so bonus there.
1974: Ahh, the feather hair. Classic. If only her eyes were open and she had a normal look on her face, she might look just like my mom, who sported this hair for a good number of years, if I do recall correctly.
1970: I always wondered what Hallie would look like black! She is gorgeous!
1962: I think this one looks pretty natural, too. The little bow is pretty cute. I will keep this hairstyle in mind for when she has enough hair. Possibly she won't be wanting me to do her hair when she is 16, but I can always assure her that I am available...

What fun. Please forgive my boring posts these days...I am definitely feeling my late pregnancy state and not energetic enough to do much.

Hallie-isms

*The other day, Hallie and I were talking about the baby and what it was going to be like when he comes. She told me that she will share her toys, bring diapers, feed him bottles, and give him his binky. Then she said, "I want to hold him!" So I explained that she can hold him once he is born. She refused to accept this as an answer and said, "no, I hold him now!" She then proceeded to grab both sides of my belly with her two little hands and "hold" the baby for a time.

*Prayers are always classic. One began this way: "Dear Heavenly Father. It's me again...."

*When Carlie was here one day, Hallie was asking about Carlie's boyfriend Beau. She got really quiet and then said, "Beau is handsome!" A little crush, maybe?

*When Devin comes home from school, she often asks him "How was school, daddy?" She seems genuinely concerned about how his day has been.

*On the same note, she has a pretend phone that she plays with sometimes. One day, she pulled out the phone and had the following conversation: "Hi Buzz! How was scouts? Pretty good??" I thought this was pretty funny because 1) Buzz is Camille's husband and its not like we talk about him all that much... 2) Buzz is in the Scouts and somehow she must have remembered that from one of my conversations with Mille.

*The other day, she saw my belly after I got out of the shower and commented on how it was wet. I then said, "yeah...is mommy's belly big?" And she responded with, "getting huge, mommy." very matter-of-factly. True. And oh so kind.

*She often chants a phrase that is something like, "hup two three four, keep it up two three four..." which totally confused me because I had no idea where she got this. (It sounds like something from the Jungle Book or something?) so one day I asked Devin about it and he told me that uses that with her sometimes when she is cleaning up toys or something similar. Mystery solved!

*One Sunday she got a cookie in church and ran around the house shouting, "Woodhouse made it!!! Woodhouse made it!" (her nursery leader's name is Sister Woodhouse). I would try to correct her and say "Sister Woodhouse made it" but she refused to use the "Sister" part. The next week, I asked Sister Woodhouse if she had in fact made the cookie and told her what Hallie had been saying. She laughed and said that she has no idea how she knows her last name as she hasn't ever told her and they don't really use them in class since most of the kids don't understand anyway. Kind of funny the things she picks up on.

* Hallie is really into knowing who bought things that she has. So she will ask at least a million times a day, "who bought the shirt, mom?" or "who bought the bathtub, mom?" etc. etc. etc. for every item imaginable. It can get a little difficult to answer this question when she asks about things like body parts.


What a cheeser. We sure love her. Her little world is about to be turned upside down. But, we can't wait for another one to bring us just as much joy and laughter as she does.

Quick Cap

I know you all think we fell off the face of the earth, but in reality, our internet has been out for 3 weeks. Darn the internet company who told us that it was fixed continually, but yet, it was not. Finally, we are back in business. So in order to spare you all the details of our lives for the past month, here is a quick recap of the highlights:

Jazz Game: We hit a Jazz game with Jennifer and Steve a few weekends ago. They were kind enough to bring us along on what was supposed to be Steve's Christmas present. We went to Cheesecake Factory first for dinner, which we love, and then headed to the game. It was the first game with the new coach, so we thought it would be pretty exciting. Well, the Jazz were kinda lazy and didn't do so hot in the second half, but it was still fun. Swimming with Grandma and Poppy: Hallie got to go swimming with Grandma and Poppy and all of Dave's kids and their kids one Friday night. She loves swimming and Devin and I were glad that Grandma was willing to swim with her so that we didn't have to get in. Yeah, me in a swimsuit at this point? Not going to happen.

BYU Game: That same weekend, we got to go to a BYU game with my dad and Sharon. What fun. Hallie loved Cosmo. She kept asking where he was when she couldn't see him, until my dad told her that he was gone to the bathroom (in order to get her to stop asking, you know...) Then, after the game, we went to the bathroom and she stuck her head under a few stalls, yelling, "Cosmo! Are you in there?!" before I got a hold of her to stop that sort of behavior. Embarrassing, but kind of funny.
Pregnancy: Yeah, that hasn't changed. Still pregnant. This is 36 weeks, though I am 38 now. Not alot to say on this topic....other than I AM READY TO BE DONE!!!!
Girly Girl: Hallie has taken to entertaining herself in various ways when she is supposed to be going to bed. One day, I went in to get her and she had changed entirely out of her pajamas, into an outfit of her choice, had a bow in her hair, was wearing a tutu, and had a purse and a bag on her arm. Yeah, she slept the whole night that way, I am pretty sure. Awesome.
Boots: In addition, Hallie has an obsession with her snow boots. I always swore I would not be one of those parents whose child wears snow boots in the summer. We might just be those people, though. However, so far, we have not left the house wearing them, thank you very much. This is another night, when she fell asleep wearing her beloved boots.
Again, the boots. Must we? Yes, we must. And yes, our two year old loves to play the game "angry birds." Don't we all?
Allllllrighty, that's it for now. Bear with me and I will try to update more often. Particularly when our life gets more exciting....like when we have a baby.

First Article of Faith

This is just too funny not to share. Hallie has been learning the First Article of Faith. Usually she just repeats each word after me, but tonight she wanted to try it on her own. She did pretty good, for being 2! Love this girl, she makes us smile!

That silly girl

I officially give up on trying to get videos to upload. Dumb blogger. Oh well- how about an update on our beautiful girl? I keep telling myself that we better enjoy these last few weeks with just her! In the next few months, her life is about to be totally thrown for a loop. But, she is tough- she can handle it. Here are some things about her lately:

- She knows about the baby coming and calls him "brother." My sister asked her enough times what his name is that she came up with "Sky", which she will say sometimes. She also knows about Flor as we talk about her regularly and show her the few pictures we do have. When I ask her if she wants a sister, she usually says yes. :) It will be interesting to see how she and Flor will interact, given Flor is 4 years older, but developmentally behind Hallie. (She is about 12-18 months old developmentally, according to her latest reports.) She is also very small...smaller than Hallie, according to the reports. She weighs about 29 pounds to Hallie's 32 and is 36 inches tall, which is about the same as Hals. Interesting, huh?

-Hallie has an incredible memory. She wears something she got for Christmas and she will say, "Grandma Lisa bought it!" or "Santa brought this!" It always amazes me. My Uncle Lynn came over yesterday to work on our kitchen (ALMOST DONE!! YAY!!!!) and she was asking the whole time where Tucker is- his dog. No idea the last time we saw Tucker and we never talk about him, so I was shocked that she remembered him.

-Hallie LOVES to sing. She sings to herself all the time and knows a lot of songs. She loves to pull out the hymnbook and open random pages and then sing whatever song she wants. Some favorites are "I Love to See the Temple", "The Wise Man and the Foolish Man", "I am a Child of God", "The Wheels on the Bus", and "I Am Like a Star Shining Brightly" (which she calls "the kid song"- don't ask me why...)

-On the video that failed to upload, I asked her who her best friend is. She said Sadie. Then she said, "other best friends" are Jen, Steve, Clark, Mommy, and Clark. Yes, Clark twice. Clark is my little brother that we rarely see. She almost always prays for him too, randomly. Sparky ought to feel really loved.

-She is now potty trained at night- mostly! We have only had one accident at night so far since we switched her to panties at bedtime. I was dreading it, but she actually does really well. I think when we put a diaper on her at night, she pees in it, but when we go without, she knows how to control her bladder well enough that she doesn't. Yay for that. She has been a pro at the potty training business overall. I really don't know why people dread it so much...ha ha just kidding. I am just counting my blessings that she was so easy. I am sure the rest won't be.

-Hallie is really into imaginative play. She pretends about everything, which is really funny to watch. Yesterday she was holding her baby and rocking her and telling me that she was crying because she was tired. Then she decided the baby was hungry and told me she wanted "fries." I told her we could give her some rice (which is what we were eating) and Hallie said "NO! Baby only wants fries!!!" I then asked her the baby's name- She normally calls her dolls purple baby, blue baby, and pink baby. But this time, she said the baby was "Baby Hudson" (Che's little guy). She then fed the baby a pretend bottle, gave her a pretend binky, and put her to bed. Her other favorite pretend game is making food and serving it. We have all sorts of great food that she cooks!

-Hals really does have a sweet little heart. Whenever I don't feel well, she will say, "Awww mommy...tummy hurts? Ohhhhhhhh, sorry mommy.." She likes to make sure everyone is okay and doing well. She has a really empathetic voice that she puts on when needed.

-Hallie is a fashionista- she changes her clothes approximately 197 times per day and usually ends up in one of two hideous skirts that I really don't like (hand me downs) but she LOVES. She also changes her shoes constantly and is particular about what she wears. She also loves to help me pick out my outfits each day and if I pick something she particularly likes, she will tell me "ohhhh cuuuuuuuuute, mom!" She loves skirts and dresses and asks me daily if I am going to wear a skirt or a dress and tights. Devin is already concerned about this trait for the future....

Alright- that is probably enough for now. I will have to start writing down the funny things she says again as there are quite a lot of them. I just forget to keep track. Darn.

Of course- a few pictures.

Apparently this was a self portrait....
As was this...

The out of control hair- still a Hallie trait, through and through.

She isn't so much into smiling these days as she is into saying 'Cheeeeeese!' which means her face is pretty goofy most of the time. Here she is modeling the hat she got for Christmas from Aunt Mari Ann and "Hailie Birch" as she calls her (my cousin). The hat is an approved choice in her fashion sense, luckily. It's pretty cute.

While Lynn was working our kitchen, his daughter Emilee taught Hallie some dance moves! Emilee is big into dance and Hallie was loooooving it. Maybe we should enroll her...nothig funnier than little kids trying to dance!

She was pretty good at the copy-catting and is quite flexible, though most kids are, I think.

Well- that's more than you ever wanted to know at this point in her life! But, there you go.

A Story

Devin usually works until Midnight most nights, so Hallie and I retire to bed before he gets home. Sometimes I try to stay up to be able to see him for a minute, but I usually don't succeed. Often I will hear him when he comes home, though, and sometimes we have conversations when I am in that fun state between being awake and asleep. I sometimes remember snippets, sometimes nothing, and sometimes Devin reminds me of a few things I said. Always entertaining. So last night's conversation went like this:

Kim: Hi, Honey

Devin: Hi. Go back to sleep.

Kim: Why are you opening the mail?

Devin: I'm not.

Kim: I heard you opening something in the kitchen. What did we get in the mail? (I had already gotten the mail and opened it for the day, FYI)

Devin: Nothing, go back to sleep.

Kim: (getting quite agitated now) NO. I HEARD YOU OPENING SOMETHING IN THE KITCHEN. WHAT WERE YOU DOING??

Devin: I was just putting my lunch pail away. That's it.

Kim: Whatever. (I roll over and go back to sleep)

What a kind wife I am, huh?

Well, this morning I woke up to find this:

Made me feel like quite the jerk...particularly when he was trying to be secretive and surprise me.

What a gem of a husband I have! I know people hate mushy blogs about how great their husbands are, but I really could not be blessed with a more loving and kind husband. Now it is my turn to try to be a little nicer to him, eh?

On a side note, I have been trying for days to upload some new videos of Hallie, but blogger is being dumb and not working with me....so, I will keep trying. Anyone else having issues this way?

The Back Story (Part 2)

Okay, I will try to wrap this up with this post since we have discussed nothing but the adoption process here in the last few posts. Then from here, I will just update when things are happening!

After our home study was finished, Devin and I decided that Christmas was a good time to tell everyone in our families about our plans to adopt MF. We talked to my dad and step-mom on Christmas Eve while we were at his house. Everyone was very supportive and excited. The next day, we talked to my mom and step-dad during Christmas at my mom's house. I was honestly most nervous to tell my mom about it, I am not really sure why. My siblings were also there, so they got the news at the same time. Everyone was excited and supportive of us, though of course they had a lot of questions. My mom's main concern was "what happens if you bring her home and she has a lot of health problems and ends up dying??" Well, we know that she does have some health problems and some developmental delays, but that is not any reason to stop us from moving forward. My response was, "What if?" That doesn't change anything for us. Plus, one of the things that I want most for her is to be sealed to our family and whether through life or death, those blessings will be in effect. Of course, they also had questions about the financial aspect of it, because- let's be honest, this isn't going to be cheap.

Let's just discuss the financial end really quick since I am sure that many of you have the same questions. Devin and I are young and he is a full-time student, so we do not have a lot of money just sitting around to use at our disposal. This has honestly been the hardest part of the process for me, because we try to be really conscious of money and any amount of debt scares me. We have worked hard to not have any debt in our marriage, other than our mortgage. We have paid off all student loans and always pay our credit card off monthly. So the idea of an adoption that is likely to cost upwards of $20,000 is not easy to swallow. However- Devin and I feel strongly that we are doing what the Lord has asked us to do and that a way will be opened up for us. Do I expect 20 grand to just drop into our living room one day? No. I do not. We are doing everything we can and already doors seem to be opening for us. There are numerous grants that we can apply for and we are in the process of applying for them all. We are also trying to sell our car so that we can use the proceeds from that toward the adoption as well. Before we even started the process, though, we talked about worst case scenario-taking out a loan to finance the adoption- and we both agreed that while this is not our preferred route, we would do it and feel justified in doing so.

Sometimes I have let the financial aspect scare me so much, I have doubted moving forward. I remember a night not too long ago when I was worried about this very thing and I was crying to Devin about it. He is so level headed and rational, which is great because it balances out a bit of my drama! He just asked me how I would feel standing at Judgement Day and being asked why we did not bring this little girl into our family when we had had clear answers telling us it was the right thing. He told me that telling the Lord the reason we didn't do it was because of "money" sounded a little silly. Yes, I agree. That does sound a little bit silly. Money is such a worldly thing and family relationships are eternal.

Anyway- now that we have that cleared up, let's continue. (I am sorry I am so long winded sometimes!) After Christmas, we made it a goal to finish our adoption training so that we could go to the next step in the process. The training entailed online slide shows with bullet points talking about various things. I found it to be not very useful- but maybe that is because I work in this field and have attended our adoption training classes, which are really well put together and well thought out, in my opinion. However, the training was required, along with homework questions after every section. The homework was even worse than the trainings...it is probably a good thing I am good at making up good sounding answers, eh? It probably took about 15 hours total to complete the homework and trainings, which then had to be sent to our home study agency to be added to our home study writeup.

The match was made shortly thereafter through the agency Joshua Tree. They had MF's information and can match her here versus Ecuador (where most matches are made) because she was on the Waiting Child List and has special needs. So much easier than I anticipated!

So from here- Joshua Tree sent us an official "acceptance letter" in Spanish, which is sent to the Ecuadorian government telling them that we accept MF's match and we are willing to proceed to adopt her. We are supposed to be working on what is called an i-800a form through the US government which authorizes us to get a visa for her and to return to the country with her when the time comes. This form takes about 8 weeks to process, generally. However, we have decided not to do this step until we have had our son, since any major life event (birth of a child included) means the form needs to be amended and re-submitted. It only costs $800 each time...so we figure we will only do it once. :) In the meantime, we will continue to apply for all the grants possible and work on documents for our dossier.

I am still not completely sure of all the steps in the process, but I know that much. Once those documents are complete, we can plan travel time to go pick up MF! The time frame can totally vary, but we could be there for 5 weeks plus.

Alright- sorry about this huge beast of a post. This probably doesn't interest anyone but me. :) But I do want to have a record of the process and to share it with those who are interested, so killing two birds with one stone by blogging it. We are feeling very blessed and very happy with how everything is going.

Thank you all for all of your support and prayers.

(my note: I took out a huge chunk of this post that detailed the matching process. So, if you are wondering where all the details went...yeah...you aren't going crazy.)

The Back Story (Part 1)

I don't know how long this will get, so let's just start with this and see where it goes.

Our adoption journey really begins back when I was in Ecuador. Read here for that story and here for some of my thoughts about MF.

Devin and I really started discussing adopting MF about a year ago, I would say. We knew that one of the requirements was that we both be 25 years old, which wouldn't happen until fall 2010. However, I started emailing people in about April just to figure out what the process would be like and to get some background info. I first emailed Stacey, the lady who had been over Precious Miracles where MF moved when I left Ecuador. Stacey had since left Ecuador to be home with her family while her brother battled a brain tumor. However, she was able to direct me to the new orphanage where MF was living, For His Children. The directors there are also from the United States and moved to Ecuador in the late 80's to start an orphanage after feeling like that was what God wanted them to do. They were great to email me and send me updates on MF. She was excited at the idea that Devin and I were interested in adopting MF, as she said that she had been available for adoption since 2008 and no one had expressed any interest in her.

Being able to keep track of MF all these years is nothing short of a miracle. I can't tell you where any of the other children are that I worked with in the orphanages there. I don't know how many have been adopted, how many are still at the same orphanage, or how many have been moved elsewhere. I was really devastated when I found out MF was moving at the end of my time in Ecuador, but I know that she was moved at the right time and to the right place. I also don't think it is a coincidence that both places she has lived since have been run by English speaking, North American people who have been willing to communicate with me and send me updates. It has all just worked out so amazingly.

About April, I also started emailing adoption agencies. There are only 3 who facilitate US/Ecuador adoptions in the United States, so it was easy to gather information from each of the three. Each one told me the same information- we needed to wait until we were 25, even to start the home study. I thought that was kinda crazy because I thought the home study process might take a while, so why not complete it while we were 24 and then have everything ready to go for when our birthdays came? Well, that was the firm answer. Nothing could be done until we were 25. While this frustrated me at the time, I really feel that the timing has worked out incredibly so far.

I don't remember how and when we started praying/attending the Temple to confirm that this path was right for our family, but that has been an integral part of this process. I have really felt since the time I was in Ecuador that MF was my child (I know- you are probably thinking that is not possible, but I just had such a connection with her that I can't even describe.) I have talked about her our entire marriage and Devin has sat through countless nights of my crying to him about how much I miss her and how much I feel that she is missing from our family. I really worried in the beginning that this was something that was going to be my desire and that he would just go along with it because he loves me and wants me to be happy. However, throughout the process, he has been right there a long with me and I know that this is our decision- something that we have searched out together and both feel is right. I have drilled Devin so many times about whether he will feel the same about her when she is here and whether he can love her as his own child and he constantly reassures me that there is no doubt in his mind that he can. I know this is true- one of the first things that attracted me to Devin was his love of children and his interactions with them. He truly has the capability to love any child and this is a blessing to us in this situation since I do already have a history with her and a connection with her. I am excited to see how the bonding process goes for him and MF.

Initially, Devin and I had thought that we would go through with the adoption before having another biological child. However, once we knew that we needed to wait until we were 25 and that the process could take 6 months to a year plus from there, we thought that it was important that we continue to grow our family. I really feel that the timing in everything has been perfect- our son is coming at the right time and MF will join our family at the right time as well.

Once our birthdays hit, we immediately began the home study process through an agency in Salt Lake. We had a lot of documents to gather, medical reports to have filled out, references needed to send in letters, background checks from every place we have lived since the age of 18 (yes that includes Portugal and Ecuador for us...yikes!) and then we were finally able to schedule our home visit. We had the visit and our interviews on December 1. Having been on the other side of the process, I really tried to prepare Devin for what to expect. I had our house in tip top shape and had asked him all the questions I usually ask my adoptive couples to prepare for the big event. Well...let's just say we were a tad bit over-prepared! The home study worker was very nice and really easy to talk to, but we did just that- talk. She asked us some questions about our background and stuff, but nothing near as in depth as we go into in our agency.

Up to that point, we had not talked to anyone about what we were doing...other than the people we had asked to write reference letters for us, because, well, obviously they had to know. Devin's parents wrote a letter for us before they left on their mission and two of our good friends, Camille & Buzz and Kylee & Seth wrote the other two (we had to have one relative and two non-relatives.) It was hard to keep everything a secret, especially for me, but we felt like we needed to be far enough into the process and have a better idea of what to expect before we started talking about it openly.

Next...talking to our families and the matching process! Oh and the joke that is adoption training (all done online.) That's enough for now, though.

The newest...

We received this update recently on MF- it was sent out to her sponsors from the orphanage where she is living:

(FHC= The orphanage where she is living now
Tias- "Aunts" in Spanish, referring to the workers who help at the orphanage)

We would like to introduce you to MF here at FHC. MF was transferred to FHC in May 2009 from a children’s home in Quito that was closing their program. The Director asked if FHC would receive MF and care for her with the hope that a forever family could be found soon.

A little of MF’s history: she was abandoned at the Maternity hospital by her mother when she was four days old. Medical intervention was necessary to correct a problem with her stomach (pyloric stenosis). Shortly after this, she was diagnosed with developmental delays.

We have enjoyed watching MF grow and change while at FHC. She is maturing from a toddler to a little girl. MF understands quite a bit and is showing more and more control of her emotions. She generally plays by herself, but has a very special relationship with Daniela (5 years old). The girls are very affectionate and MF lets Daniela hug and kiss her. Daniela calls her “my little MF”, and MF responds with even MORE affection!

The therapists and Tías are noticing that MF is getting stronger in her legs and she is learning to walk better and stand up straighter. She loves spending time in the pool and once she gets on the trampoline she doesn’t want to get off! She loves to dance, and when the music starts playing, she starts bouncing and pushing her hips from side to side with a big grin on her face. While going for therapy walks around the FHC compound, she will “converse” with the Tías about things they see along the path. She is a very happy child, and loves to be around the smaller children.

One night as the kids were getting ready for bed, the Tía told them it was time to clean up and put all the toys away. MF picked up a red clown’s wig and (logically) thinking that a wig’s place is on the HEAD, she put it on her head and continued to put away the other toys.
Thank you for your support as MF's sponsors. It enables her to attend a special school (FUDRINE) outside of FHC for her and others who have learning challenges. She receives
special attention from our loving caregivers, psychologists, therapists and others, to encourage her to be the best she can be.

Until the day God brings a forever family to MF, (and we have news that it could happen in late 2011 – there is a young couple in the U.S. very interested in adopting MF) it is an honor for us to take care of her and share the day to day joys and challenges in her precious life. We appreciate your prayers for her. Thank you!

FHC
A Christian ministry to children in Ecuador

Child Sponsorship Program Coordinators

I am sure most of you are not surprised by this news- Devin and I are in the process of adopting sweet little MF. We just received word this week that we have been "matched" officially with her. I will write about what the process has been like later, but it has been a series of miracles so far, there is no doubt about it. It has been very interesting to be on the flip side of the adoption coin! We have had a home study and had to do training and provide all the same documents that my clients are required to provide...plus more.

We don't know exactly how long the process will take as there are a lot of variables, things to be done through the US government and things to be done through the Ecuadorian government, but the agency we are working with estimates that we will be able to go pick her up this summer. Exciting!

Yes, we know that some of you may look at us and think we are crazy, especially because baby boy will be born here soon. But, I don't feel the need to defend ourselves because we have been anticipating the day when we could adopt her for years (you have to be 25 according to Ecuador law) and we feel the timing is absolutely right. We have prayed about the decision and attended the Temple often to confirm that this is the right path for our family. We both feel that it is and we are so excited to move forward.

We also know that MF comes with special challenges. We are not naive enough to think that it will be easy. But we are willing to take on the challenges and know that she will also bring an extra measure of joy and happiness in our lives.

I will keep this blog updated on the progress of our journey- a lot for me, but maybe some of you will be interested, too.

When the man is in charge of the camera...

Devin had a STMA (Sports Turf Management Association) Conference in Austin, TX this past week. We went out and bought a new camera for the event because our old one wouldn't zoom. Of course, I figured Devin would take advantage of the new camera and take all sorts of wonderful pictures, detailing his entire week for me. Well...not so much.

These first few are just funny so I added them. Hallie was "helping" Devin pack by jumping on the bed.

Ok, onto Devin's pictures. I will narrate each of these pictures as Devin did for me. Serious explanations needed, I tell you.
"Some dudes standing in front of the door to the place where the conference was held."
"The city metro system. Even better, something that looks like lightening."
"Ah. The reason for the conference."
"The city of Austin. Quite nice, except it was kind of dirty."
"Another shot of the city."
"Eating. No other description needed."
"The men. Peach, Jay, Brandon, and Dr. Hopkins. Doesn't matter that none of them knew that I was taking the picture. You requested pictures of me and the men I was with, so here you go."

Hmm...

I feel like I know exactly what happened during the week by the photo journal he kept, don't you? No need to take pictures of all the pro sports stadiums he got to tour or any of himself.

And that is why I should always accompany Devin wherever he goes so that I can document the journey for him.

Final Call

I am making the blog private on Sunday. I can't wait to share with you what is going on... so in the meantime, if I don't have your email address, please submit it now.

In other news, since you care... Devin has been in Austin, TX all week for a Sports Turf Conference. Sounds fun, right? He likes it. Hals and I miss him a lot. Now we need to start looking for jobs for him for when he graduates in April! I will post pictures (if he even takes any) when he gets back. So far, the new camera we bought for him to take hasn't taken even one photo, according to him.

Hallie and I will be going to Idaho tonight for the weekend for a baby shower for Che' and Hudson. We are excited to see the little man.

That's all for now!

Also...

I am going to make the blog private for a time. There is a reason for this and I will explain why once it is private. It is likely that one day we will go un-private again. I know private blogs can be a pain, but once I have made it private and have given everyone access, I will create another blog that you can follow or add to your google reader to tell you when I have updated. One of my clients does this who has a private blog and it works great! That way, you won't have to wonder when I update, but you can just keep up on the other blog to know.

Leave me your email address or email it to me at strobelite@gmail.com if you would like an invite. I will give it a week or so before I make it private.

Thanks!

Happy 6!

Dear MF,

Happy 6th Birthday! I can't believe you are that old now! I was there with you on your first birthday, but it makes me sad that I haven't been able to spend any of your other birthdays with you since then. I almost didn't get to spend your first birthday with you either, but now that I look back on it, everything worked out the way it should have. You see, I was suppposed to go to the Temple in Guayaquil that day with all the other volunteers, but I had been in bed sick for three days before hand (sicker than I ever remember being! But-I was the one who wasn't smart and drank the water there even though we were told so many times not to...) so I decided at the last minute to stay home. I felt sad about it at first, but now I am so happy that I did. You were released from the hospital on your birthday, so a few of the other volunteers and I went to get you and then stopped at a little bakery on the corner to buy a cake for you. We then went on a crazy taxi ride back to the orphanage (you probably have no idea what a carseat is, but it really concerned me that we didn't have one for you and that you were just laying on my lap as we wove in and out of traffic!) We got to see all the kids in the cuna enjoying the cake for your birthday- such a rare treat for them. I don't think you even got any because you were sick still, but I am sure you were happy to share with the other kids.

I miss you so much and not a day goes by that I don't think about you. I hope that today- on your Golden Birthday even- you get lots of extra love and attention. I wish I could be there to give you 6 presents for your 6th birthday, but that will have to wait. You are such a special girl and you hold a really important place in my heart. I can't wait to see you again someday.

Love,

Kim

(Send prayers MF's way that she can have a most wonderful birthday today. She probably doesn't know the difference, but it would make me happy!)

This is what happens...

...when your 2 year old insists upon dressing herself. I swore I would never be one of those parents who lets their children wear their snow boots all summer long, but I just might. You just can't persuade her out of some of the things she insists upon. This outfit was produced at about 4 pm and luckily we didn't have anywhere to go...so on it went. She is quite the fashionista, eh? It has been a while since I updated on Hallie. She is as funny and wild as ever. I did have a lady stop me at church yesterday (who I don't really know) though and tell me that she can tell that Hallie has a "soft soul." I think that is true, too. She said she was watching her during sacrament meeting and Hallie was looking around and had some concerned looks on her face when babies were crying. She can be sweet when she wants to be. She often asks me in a very concerned tone, "tummy hurts mommy??" Perhaps I have complained a bit much during this pregnancy...haha.

We just moved her downstairs to her new room! We decided against having the two kids in the same room, so we wanted to give her a little bit of time to adjust. She has done great so far. Devin is such a handy man and built her a new closet. The old closet was out of control and had one sloping shelf that didn't do any good. He spent two days last week buying the supplies and then building the shelves. We then reorganized all our junk we had piled in there and then moved all her things in. I love everything being organized and in its place! (I think I am starting the nesting phase...I am wanting to organize everything.)

Other notable things about Hallie right about now:

*She has picked up on a few of Devin's famous phrases, including "COME ON PEOPLE!" (Devin says this when he is driving a lot...) and "Holy Smokes!". She throws them out randomly whenever she feels like it.

*She is getting really good at pretending and can occupy herself for quite some time pretending different things. My mom gave her a baby furniture set (seen above in her room) for Christmas and she loves it. She will put the baby in the tub, turn on the fake water, get the fake soap and scrub the baby down, then put the baby in the chair and feed her a fake meal, etc. She is pretty funny. Her favorite fake foods to cook are pizza and cake. Yum.

*She now understands that she is going to have a "brother." We will see how much she likes it when the baby is actually here!

*She has a really good memory. We fed her chicken nuggets on one of our drives recently to Idaho and as she was eating, she started talking about chicken nuggets on the bus. I didn't know what the heck she was saying, but then realized that the last time she had chicken nuggets was when we were on the bus in California for Mikey's wedding. She remembers who she got a lot of her Christmas presents from and when she plays with it or reads the book or whatever, she says "Grandma Lisa bought it!" Or "Santa brought it!"

*She loves songs and sings to herself alot. She likes to make up verses to "Wheels on the Bus" particularly.

*She says her own prayers now without much prompting and they can be quite entertaining. She prays for random people, kids in nursery, almost always says she is grateful for "church", and then throws in a few other things. Today it was "pants" and "yogurt." Love children and their prayers.

Here are some other pictures that I took off my work phone (hallelujah we are getting new ones this week) that I don't think I ever posted.

We went bowling over the Christmas break and Hallie LOVED it. As if her grin didn't give it away. She even beat Devin, I do believe.

This was a few months ago (the end of the summer, I think?) when we had Sadie for one night, I can't remember why. Hallie insisted that Sadie was stinky and before we knew it, she had whipped out a diaper and laid Sadie down to help get it changed. She was still wearing diapers herself at the time. The goof.

What a girl. We sure love her.

On a separate note, my oh my have I been on a blogging blitz. I do apologize. Don't worry, it will probably slow back down again here in the next little while.

Houshold Detecting Devices: 1, Kim: 0

Happy New Year everyone! I had a really eventful New Year's Eve and I am going to share it with you because I am sure you all need a good laugh (at my expense...yes, I am secure with my own stupidity.) It all began as a very, very boring evening. Devin had to work and Hallie went to bed at 7 like normal, because well, we are the ones who suffer when she stays up late. I had decided that Hallie and I would celebrate New Year's on our own before she went to bed and even made snack foods for us to have to make it as fun as possible. A real joy, I know- the two of us at home alone. Anyway, it was great, we ate our hearts out and then she went to bed.

Right around 10:30 pm or so, I begin to hear this suspicious beeping noise. Upon further investigation, I determine that it is the carbon monoxide detector. However, it is only beeping once every minute or so, so I am unsure what is going on. I am on the phone with my friend Camille and quiz her about her knowledge of carbon monoxide detectors. We conclude that if it is not beeping incessantly, everything is probably fine.

I settle back in to watch the New Year's celebrations on TV, but the dang beeping is just bothering me so much and minute by minute I become increasingly worried. I decide to place a call to Devin at work. I explain the situation to him and he calmly tells me to open the windows so that we can get some fresh air flowing and to turn off the heat if it makes me feel better. I follow his advice, but the relaxation is short lived. I am almost in full panic mode because the beeping hasn't stopped. I make the unwise decision to look up carbon monoxide poisoning online and become increasingly panicked with each thing that I read. I place about five more calls to Devin commanding him to come home immediately. He insists that he can't because he is the manager and the only one who knows how to do the closing duties. My response: "I can't believe you care more about whether the store gets closed properly than your wife and daughter possibly dying!!!" (I can be quite dramatic if need be.) Devin remains calm and insists that things are fine. (I can't prove this, but he probably rolled his eyes a time or two, too.)

I resume my internet searching and find a checklist of carbon monoxide poisoning symptoms.
Headache? Yes, I have that!
Dizziness? I am definitely dizzy!
Nauseousness? I felt the urge to throw up just a while ago!
Lightheadedness? Yes, definitely!
Confusion? I guess I am confused? Do I know my name? Do I know where I am? I don't know what is going on, so I conclude that I am definitely confused!

That is about all I can handle. At this point, I decide to call the number listed on the website for poison control. I explain the situation as calmly as possible to the lady on the the line and she asks me if I have tried changing the batteries in the unit. Why didn't I think of that? Duh. So I grab some new batteries, change them out, and breathe a sigh of relief. That has to be it.

Nope. A short time later, the beeping continues. The lady then assures me that this is indeed a problem and that I need to get out of the house as soon as possible and not return for the night. She gives me the number to Questar and says to call them in the morning. Because the unit isn't beeping incessantly, she said she suspects a small leak, nevertheless, she wants us out of the house right away.

It is now about 11:30 and I run around like a crazy woman throwing whatever I can find in a bag to head out for the night. I drag Hallie out of bed and throw her and our stuff in the car, all the while calling Devin again at work to tell him that I knew there was a problem and what are we going to do now?! He says he is almost done with work so to come there and we will decide what to do next. In the meantime, I place panicked phone calls to my mom and sister and continue to look up carbon monoxide poisoning information on the web (who knew you could get internet in the Smith's parking lot? Well you can, just in case you wonder.) I become convinced that Hallie and I need to go to the ER because according to the website, even small incidents of poisoning need to be treated right away with oxygen treatments. I call my mom and sister again to see if they agree that we should go to the ER. They both agree that we should, particularly because I tell them that my symptoms exactly mirror those listed on the website for a minor case of poisoning. Plus, the poisoning can be worst for young children and for fetuses. Both of which I have. Great.

Once in the car, Devin asks if I closed the windows in the house at home. I tell him I did not and he insists that we need to go home to close them or else the pipes will freeze. Reluctantly, I agree to drive him home to close the windows. Hallie and I wait in the driveway in the car while he runs inside. 20 minutes later he has still not emerged and I am of course thinking the worst- the carbon monoxide has gotten so bad in there, he has gone in and died! (Somewhere in here, we wish ourselves a happy 2011 as the clock strikes midnight. Thrilling way to celebrate, eh?) I refuse to step foot back in the house, so I decide to call his phone.

"Yes?" he answers.
"WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING???!" I shout into the phone.
"Umm, honey, I am afraid to tell you this...but I am pretty sure that is not the carbon monoxide detector going off. It's a smoke detector."

Sure enough. All that time, it was a smoke detector in the bedroom upstairs (which to my defense is REALLY close to the carbon monoxide detector in question) that was beeping. I swear I stood in front of the carbon monoxide detector and watched it beep. I timed it for quite some time to see how often the beeps were coming. It took Devin taking the unit off of the wall and taking all of the smoke detectors off of the ceiling throughout the house except for the offender to make me believe him. A simple battery change in that unit and the beeping ceased. Hmmm...imagine that.

So, Happy New Year to everyone! Here's to hoping that the rest of 2011 is an improvement on that first night for me...

(PS. New post on the adoption blog...Finally!!! Read it here)