Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Happiness is...

...two beautiful baby girls.

...two beautiful baby girls together.

...two beautiful baby girls together laughing.

...two beautiful baby girls together laughing- and catching 7 seconds of it on video.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Learning to Walk

I always thought walking everywhere was kind of boring. Boy, was I wrong! Megan thinks walking is hilarious. She talks and laughs the whole time she's walking. She thinks she's pretty hot stuff.

So far, she can walk across the room before she gives up. She still walks on her tippy-toes half the time, but when she starts off flat-footed, she can walk pretty well. She's also starting to walk on her own, without us asking her to do so.

Here are a few seconds of footage for your enjoyment:





And she's off!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Bad stuff & Blessings

So.

Jared's brother is getting a liver transplant. Right now. (I think). Random call yesterday that there was a liver for him. Didn't even know he was #1 on the list. Yeah, guess he's gotten that sick. But you'd never know. He's a trooper.

So.

I'm sure he'll be fine, albeit in a lot of pain for a while. But, I think now of the reason he is receiving a liver. Someone must have died so he could have that liver.

(I don't know for sure that someone died, because I didn't ask, but I don't think someone just came to the hospital and said they'd donate part of their liver. So, yeah. I think someone passed away and that's how he got it). The rest of this post is based on this very fact, so if I find out later that nobody died to give him this liver, this post will be... inapplicable.

So, I've been thinking. But only just a little.

Matt needed a new liver. He got a new liver because somebody died.

Jared and I needed Megan once-upon-a-time. We received Megan, only because her birthmom gave her to us, which was really hard for her to do.

We're doing Foster Care now (maybe you didn't know that... I'll blog more about it later). We'll only get foster kids if they've been abused or neglected by their parents.

All these horrible things that turn into blessings. The Lord works in mysterious ways. Horrible things are allowed to happen, but glorious things can happen as a result.

I mean, Megan's birthmom was pregnant anyway, right? So the Lord placed the right spirit in her body and sent her to us (dang it! why am i tearing up?!).

Unfortunately, these foster children are going to be abused no matter what we do, so they'll be sent to our loving home, and eventually we'll adopt some. Again, the Lord's hand.

It was someone's time to die, and luckily that person was an organ donor. Now Matt gets a new liver and hopefully can be a much healthier man.

Though all these bad things happen, I look for the blessings. I am so grateful.

That is all.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Photo Star

In honor of Megan's first birthday, my friend Tami gave me a FREE photo shoot! This is the second time she has taken pictures for me (see the other shoot here) and I think she is amazing! Her pictures always turn out so darling. Feel free to check out Tami's blog.

We went to a nearby park and the grass was still wet. Megan insisted on getting her pants soiled with water & mud, but, luckily, it didn't show up in the pictures. All that showed up in the pictures was pure cuteness. Pure. Cuteness.

Tangent: Sometimes I honestly think Megan should be a child model, because she's way cuter than all the other African-American babies I see in advertisements. But, alas, I don't want that kind of life for her (or her mother!).

See her cuteness for yourself.

Check out the cute banner that Tami made for the photo shoot:

I'm thinkin' this is one of my favorites:
A close-up of our brown sugar baby.


You might have noticed that in every picture Megan is holding something. Until this point, she was holding & eating a leaf (yum!) and got very upset if we tried to take it away. Tami then had the genius idea to give her a pink ribbon instead.


Megan played in this dead grass forever. She was eating it like there's no tomorrow. There was no keeping it out of her mouth.

Well, there you go. Like I said. Pure. Cuteness.
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Friday, October 8, 2010

When You Were Born

Our Dear, Sweet Megan,

Your daddy and I can't believe it has been an entire year since you were born! It seems like only last week we brought you home from the hospital!

Though this isn't the entire story, I just want to let you know what was happening in our life when you were born, and how excited we were to get you.

Day 1- October 8, 2009

On October 8, 2009, you were born, as expected (because it was the date your birthmom, Catherine, would be induced). Your daddy and I were getting very apprehensive and nervous. When we received the call that you had been born, we prayed very hard. We prayed very hard that we would get to keep you. We hadn't met you, and we didn't even know how beautiful you were. But, we loved you in our hearts and we needed you. We prayed very hard that Catherine would sign the documents that would give you to us. We prayed very hard that she would do the right thing and know that we could take better care of you than she could.

Your daddy was at work and I was teaching piano lessons while you were being born. When the agency called me, I called daddy. We called Nana & Papa, and Grandma & Grandpa and told them you had been born. Then, they started praying, too.

Day 2- Friday, October 9, 2009

You had been born yesterday, and today, we were waiting for the agency to call again. This time, they would be calling to tell us if your birthmom signed those papers. Catherine had to wait 24 hours to sign the papers, and we knew that in those 24 hours, she would fall in love with you and might not want to let you go. So, we waited. We were very hopeful. In anticipation that she would sign those papers, I wanted to find a cute outfit in which to bring you home from the hospital. So, Aunt Lacey and I went shopping and I bought you a cute dress. Aunt Lacey bought you the cute headband & bow that you'll see in the pictures.

While Aunt Lacey & I were shopping, your daddy called me. He said that the agency had called him to say that Catherine signed the papers! That meant you would be ours!!! I was so happy that I made a fool out of myself. I was going around the mall telling everyone that I was going to be a mommy! I was running and jumping and making a lot of noise, right there in the mall. I think I embarrased your Aunt Lacey, but I didn't even care what anyone thought.

I dropped Lacey off back home and your daddy and I went out to dinner that night to celebrate you, our new daughter. We hadn't told anyone except our parents about you. So when we got home that night, we called our families to let them know the good news. The agency said we could pick you up from the hospital the next day, on Saturday, October 10.

Day 3- Saturday, October 10, 2009

This day seemed like the longest day of our lives. Your daddy & I knew the agency was going to call us to tell us what time to pick you up. We kept waiting and waiting for the call, and we were so scared that something would go wrong and that we wouldn't have you any more.

Instead of waiting around the house, we decided to get in the car and run some errands. While we were waiting at Jiffy Lube to get an oil change on the car, the agency called us and told us to be at Pioneer Valley Hospital in West Valley City at 11:00. We hurried and got the car, and drove to the hospital really fast.


We waited in the parking lot until the agency called for us to go in and get you. We waited in the car for almost 4 hours! While we waited, we went to the store to get you a cute blanket to come home in. When we finally went inside the hospital, we waited in the waiting room upstairs. A lady from the agency dressed you up in your cute outfit and brought you to us. We fell in love with you instantly. You were so adorable, and we were so happy to finally have you! On the way home, I sat in the back seat with you so I could touch you and look at you. I couldn't take my eyes off of you. We stopped at Nana & Papa's house on the way home, but we only let them see you for a minute before we drove home. That night, Nana & Papa, Aunt Andrea & Uncle Jeff, cousin Kienan, Uncle Tyler, and Uncle Mark came over to see you. They all held you and loved you and thought you were beautiful.


You ARE beautiful. You are the most adorable child we have even known. You have such a cute personality, and so much spunk! You make us laugh every day, and we love you more than anything in the whole world. You have made us happier than we could ever imagine. Megan, sweet Megan, we hope you always know how much we love you and how much we need you. You grew in our hearts for 6 years before you came to us, and we know you were always supposed to be our daughter. You will always be our special little angel baby, and we will love you forever.
Happy First Birthday, Megan!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Little Lady Lickit's latest love

A few posts ago I blogged about Little Lady Lickit. What I failed to mention is that Megan has always had a peculiar obsession with licking metal. She has been this way since she was a wee little one.

If it's metal, her tongue is on it. I don't know why she is so fascinated with metal. Maybe it's the taste? The color? Maybe she was fed metal in the womb? It's a mystery to me.

But, whatever the reason, it's funny. In the video below, Megan is licking our tv console, which has a metal surface running down the glass. She was licking it for probably 3 minutes straight before I ever started videotaping.

Enjoy!




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Saturday, October 2, 2010

garden specialty

My garden recently withered away, and as I was removing dead plants, I found a couple cross-breeds. I always find it interesting which vegetables decide to create a new species (well, at least new to MY garden). I'm sure it's nothing special, but I think it's funny.

Here are a few pictures of our funky little cucumpkins (cucumber + pumpkin). And, no, we didn't eat them. They're probably sitting in the middle of some trashdump right now. Poor little cucumpkins.