Granny Turns 90

My grandma turned 90 last month. We had a small party for her on her birthday but waited to throw the big bash until this month when out-of-towners could attend. My first memory is of being with this sweet and feisty lady--I was about 18 months old when my family bought her house. After moving in she took me to the neighbor's to introduce me to their daughter who was my age. I remember holding her hand, holding my doll in the other hand, and walking up the stairs to their porch. I was excited to meet my new friend, but a little nervous, and glad to have Granny there for support. I'm so glad she's still around. I hope Cohen remembers her. 

So what did we get for the woman who has everything?  We decided to go homemade. She's always loved hummingbirds and I like to make fancy boxes so this is what we came up with. Sam folded the origami hummingbird, I painted it, made the flower and painted the box. I'm pretty sure she doesn't have one of these already.

Love you Granny. Here's to another 90!

She Will Be Missed!

The time has come to say good-bye to Katrina for 18 months. We are so happy and excited for her. We know she will be an excellent missionary. We sure are going to miss her, though. We are so grateful we can share in this experience with her.

Hanging out with Katrina after her farewell. Cohen totally made a scene after Katrina gave her talk--he kept pointing at her, yelling her name, and trying to run up to the stand to sit with her. The little guy sure loves his Tummy Mummy!

A bittersweet moment at the airport. Katrina is so beautiful, happy and excited! Megan's on the verge of tears, and Cohen's wondering what the heck is going on. 

WE LOVE OUR SISTER MISSIONARY!!!!

Zoo

Yesterday we went to the zoo with Katrina and her family. It was a billion degrees but worth every drop of sweat. Cohen had a blast and it was nice to spend some time with Katrina before she leaves. 

Katrina's bro & Cohen. It's pretty obvious where Cohen gets his good looks!

In awe at the elephants.

Cohen with Grandpa and Grandma (Katrina's parents)

Mr GQ

Last week Sam and I went to a local high school to do adoption education presentations in the health classes. We've done this before, but this time was extra cool because Katrina was able to come with us. We didn't bring Cohen, of course (what toddler would enjoy sitting through seven hours of high school classes?), but since he's the main man of our story, and because he's so darn cute, I wanted to show him off.  So the day before our presentation I lifted Cohen up into our backyard cherry tree and snapped some pics. He loved sitting in the tree and cooperated like a champ.

Here are some of my favs.

After the photo shoot he gave our seedlings a "dwink." I really need to get these things in the ground.

This shot was the winner. Holy shmoley he's cute!

Happy Birth Mother's Day!

The day before Mother's Day is a very special day at our house. It's the day we celebrate the women in our lives who have exemplified courage, faith, hope, selflessness, and LOVE by giving others the honor of raising their child. We have three of these women in our family: Megan's sister who placed a baby girl for adoption many years ago, our nieces first mother who lives in China, and of course, Katrina.  

We feel so blessed that we had the opportunity to spend today with Katrina. We went to lunch and then just played for several hours until she had to go to work. 

Today got me thinking about the Tummy Mummy of our next child. We're working on all the paperwork and other stuff to adopt again, so she's been on my mind and in my prayers a lot lately. It's truly hard to express in words how I feel the about the first mother(s) of my child(ren). In adoption circles people often discuss how open adoption can be very helpful in aiding birth mothers through the post-placement healing process. But I also think it's helpful to adoptive families as well. Sam and I are so grateful we get to share Cohen's life with Katrina. Cohen's adoption, especially placement day and the weeks after, were a very bittersweet time for us. We were so excited and grateful to have Cohen in our home, but our hearts hurt for Katrina. We knew she was missing him dearly. Being able to thank her directly was integral in enabling us to focus on the sweetness of the experience. At the time she didn't really know how open of a relationship she wanted post-placement, but we knew that at the very least we could email her to give thanks.  That's something the other birth mothers in our lives haven't been able to have. We have no idea what our next child's birth mother will want in regards to openness, but at least she has a choice.  And hopefully she'll know we celebrate her all year long, not just on this day.

Spring Time at Temple Square

The other day we took the Cub Scouts to Temple Square. We were studying a unit on model building and there are variety of models there that they could see to help pass off badge requirements. I timed this outing for this time of year on purpose, though. I've taken them there before during Christmastime to see the lights. But this year I wanted to show them the flowers. I know flowers aren't particularly interesting to most 8-10 year old boys, but I think even they can appreciate the beauty--they just need the opportunity and a little help to take a minute to notice it.

We went in the Visitor's Center to see the model of Jerusalem. While there we decided to go upstairs to see the Christus statue. Cohen walked right up to it and just stood there and stared ... for a really long time. Then he tried to climb it. It was so cute.

Popcorn Popping

It's official. Spring is FINALLY here!

popcorn popping on our cherry tree

seedlings ready for the garden ... too bad our garden isn't ready for the seelings