April 2010

Welcome back!!! Well we a had a great April. Hope you did too. Gabe got back from Moab and he had a blast. He showed me the video of him and Michael jeeping. He is even more excited this time because now his jeep has BATTLE DAMAGE! LOL a few scratches and dents on the door and running boards. As long as he is home safe and he had fun that is fine with me. Im just glad I didnt go. Im just not that into jeeping.

Abby and I had fun while Dad was gone. We had a birthday dinner for Grandpa and we had fun making him a red velvet cake. We also headed to the Olive Garden when Gabe got back and that was super yummy and we loved seeing my BFF Paige there.
It was also conference weekend and we were very edified by the talks given. I felt very touched by the talks this year and felt they hit home a lot more than in past conferences for me. On Sunday we had fun as a family with conference. We played conference BINGO and whomever won got a back rub. Guess who won?......ABBY LOL. She though that was the greatest thing ever.

Easter was great as well. The Easter Bunny brought goodies and toys and movies. Abby was excited because our neighbors gave us one of their old bikes and Gabe and I gave it to her for Easter. It is a little big for her still but she tries. When she has to stop instead of putting her foot down she JUMPS off. It is pretty funny. We had Easter dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Browns. WOW it was crazy at their house with 33 people in their little house. But we all managed to have a great time. I mean who wouldn't with Grandma and Grandpas cooking. They had an Easter egg hunt in their backyard for all the kids and Abby looked so pretty in her Easter dress. There was about 20 kids and one little girl didnt get any eggs. She was really shy and didnt run out to grab any. I was surprised at the older kids who had about 20 eggs; they didnt even share. Abby overheard them say someone didnt get any eggs and one girl only got 1. she dung into her bag ( she had about 8) and gave 2 to each girl. No one told her to she just did it on her own. I can't believe the compassion she has for others. It makes me smile. She is a great kid.

We had a neighborhood BBQ and that was a lot of fun. The food was yummy and we enjoyed getting to know our neighboors better. Abby played and had a great time with all the kids. Even Gabe Played with the kids. It was fun to see them all laughing and tackling Gabe. It was about 6 kids to 1 Gabe.

We had a teacher prep class for primary. WOW our stake primary worked really had to help all us teachers. It was an awesome meeting and I think all in attendace left feeling better prepared to teach our Little Ones.

I went to a Relief Society program with my friend Sheridyn. Her sister-in-law performs for a group called the Sisters Supreme. That was so fun. Those ladies have a blast performing and Sheridyn is so fun to watch because she likes to sing and dance along. I just love her.

My friends Kim and Travis came for dinner and games. Wow it has been forever since I seen them. They looked great and we had a lot of fun. Even Abby played Pictureka with us.

I finally decided to become a Stampin Up demonstrator. Wow I am so excited. I am creating and playing with all my new stuff and can't wait to hold a party. I have a card group scheduled every month for a year so that will be a blast. And so many cool people are going to be there some I havent seen in 14 years. Wow Exciting. If you want to hold a stamin up home party let me know I would love to come and play.

We got to babysit our nephew Ethan. That was so fun. He is such a good baby and we enjoyed holding him and playing with him. Although aunt Katie teased us by putting a blue football onesie on him. Next time she better watch out because we are putting a Utah onesie on him. LOL

This last week we had a huge wind storm come through. Out of all weather I dislike wind the most. This storm was brutal. It blew all my things off my porch, up rooted my flowers, and my newly bloomed tulips broke or lost all their petals. My porch swing was not hanging vertical but horizontal in the wind which terrified me cause the car was behind it. I was afraid that it woud come loose and land on the car. Geepers. I am glad its over.

Oh my goodness and we ended the month with me crying. Not out of sadness, well maybe a little. Abby got invited to her first sleepover party. I mean I have no problem with Grandmas and Grandpas or Aunts and Uncles BUT a big girl sleepover party? I cant believe she is so big. I didn't cry when she went to school but this hit me like a rock. Thank goodness for my friend Shanna who called me just after I dropped her off. Shanna must have known I needed to talk. Gabe just laughed. But geeze our little girl is becoming so grown up. Abby had a GREAT time at the party and said she wants to go again sometime.

All in all it has been a pretty good month. We are crossing our fingers come June that Gabes work will work out. If not we might be changing jobs. Wow! Lots ahead.

March 2010

March is always fun at our house. We have lots of birthdays and anniversaries. First it was Drews birthday and we had dinner and cake at Grandma and Grandpas. Abby loved getting to hold baby Ethan again. She is very baby hungry and doesn’t like to share. She breaks down in tears when she has to give someone else a chance at holding the baby. She is so sweet and just loves him so.
I found out this month that the card group that I am attending is ending and I am so sad. I love going every month and enjoying creative girl time. SO apparently I am going to do my own now. Starting next month I will be doing a card group at my house and getting creative with my bad self. (okay that statement just made me sound really old.) LOL So far I have about 13 ladies that want to be a part of it. Yipee! I did a lot of praying to know if it is right and so far I still feel really excited and ready to begin. Gabe thinks it will be a good thing for me too. Although a house full of crazy and creative ladies makes him a little nervous.
Abby turned 6 this month. Oh my goodness I was hit really hard with the reality of it. I was sad that I now have to shop in the BIG girl section. And just noticing her and how much she has grown and what a wonderful person she is it makes me happy and sad at the same time. I want her to stay little but I also want to see what a wonderful person she is going to become. She is amazing and I want to be just like her, aside from the occasional tantrums. LOL

The theme of Abby’s birthday party was Fancy Nancy Tea Parties. The girls came in their most POSH outfits and we had a French/Fancy word lesson. The girls,11 of them, decorated tiaras, made teapot picture frames, and played follow the hostess. For refreshments we had a chocolate fountain which all the girls loved. They dipped strawberries, marshmallows, and pretzels in the chocolate. They all went home with a t-shirt which Abby and I made with Fancy Nancy iron-ons. She got lots of great presents and was so excited to have friends over to play with. Cousin Sarah spent the night and Abby loved having her over. They both put on make-up together just before the party and came downstairs looking very glamorous. The grown-up party was also lots of fun and Abby got lots of Hello Kitty things including a Hello kitty waffle maker. Her favorite present was from aunt Katie which was a CTR necklace which she wears everyday without fail. Everyone had a great time.
The next week Abby was invited to two parties, Tabby and Tahirah’s. Abby made the decision to go to Tahirah’s because she doesn’t get to see her very often and she missed her. Although she made sure that Tabby knew she loved her and took a present over on her birthday too. Tahirah’s party was a pajama party. She had lots of fun there. And she was very excited to wear her new pajamas from her aunt Giselle and cousins. She took her pillow and blankie. When she came home she was very excited to tell about the fun things they did at the party. Abby is a great friend and loves to see and visit with all of them.
Gabe, Abby, and I also attended a foster parent meeting to see if that might be a good fit for us. After the meeting we all felt very uneasy about it and are pretty sure that it wouldn’t work for us. We really want to extend our family but, we do not think that foster parenting would be a good fit. We have been passing out pens with our LDSFS information as well as this blog information in hopes that maybe it will lead a birth parent to us. Our fingers are crossed and hope that another adoption is in our near future.
HAPPY 10th ANNIVERSARY!!!!! Gabe and I have been married for 10 years. Wow what fun. Somedays it feels like we have been together forever and others it seems like it was just yesterday. What a wonderful husband I have and I am so glad that I get to spend eternity with such a great man. He took me out to dinner and even gave me a present, which he wasn’t supposed to YET. We had a new diamond put in my ring but couldn’t afford to get it out of the shop yet. SURPRISE! He went a got it and surprised me just before dinner. Afterwards we went to a movie and had a lot of fun together. Cheers to another 10 years.
Last but not least, Gabe headed off to Moab for yet another Jeep Safari. Although he didn’t come back until April so I will post more about it next month. All I can say is I am glad he is home. I didn’t sleep well without him and being sick on top of that was really a bad combination.
Smiles :)

February 2010

Okay so first post of 2010. We have been busy and it is about to get busier. March is crazy for our family with anniversaries and birthdays. I can't believe my baby is about to turn six. Sometimes I wish I could just freeze time and enjoy her for longer at that age.

Well, lets see...... I didn't write for January because well I don't think anything happened. LOL I think we were just busy getting ready for February. We took a vacation! Oh Wait of Coarse something happened. How could I forget? We got a new nephew. Baby Ethan was born Jan 25th. Such a cutie. He looks just like his daddy. He is a minature version of Drew. Abby had fun holding him. And so did Gabe and I. I forgot how small babies are.

We went to Sedona Arizona. We have a timeshare thing so we make sure we take a vacation every year. We get to stay in some pretty incredible places. We had a great condo with two pools, unfortunately it was too cold to use the outdoor one but everyone had fun in the indoor one. We had some friends come with us. It was great to have friends for Abby to play with. Gabe and I enjoyed having friends to play games with and chat with too. We went on hikes, saw Indian ruins, played miniature golf (Abby won), and visited a ghost town. We even ate at a place called the Haunted Hamburger.

The red rocks in Sedona were absolutely beautiful. We were lucky to have it rain at night and be sunny during the day so we could go out and enjoy the beauty. We went and saw an arch with all the kids and it turned out to be a longer hike than we expected. Instead of 2 miles it ended up being around 5 miles. Surprisingly the kids did really well. Gabe, Abby, and I hiked to the top of a plateau and were able to see over the entire Sedona valley. It was breathtaking. Although, Abby and I are afraid of heights so it was a little nerve racking hiking along the ridge and walking along the edge of the plateau. But, we did get some amazing pictures and we enjoyed time together as a family.

We had a lot of fun at the ghost town, even though Abby did NOT like the name of it. LOL It was Jerome Arizona, an old mining town witch is now just an artsy tourist place. It was fun to walk through the old buildings. It was crazy because the whole town is built on the side of a mountain. So it was extremely steep and we walked a lot of stairs.

Abby declared that Arizona was fun but she would rather play in the neighborhood pool than drive 9 hours to go to the one in Arizona. LOL

My work has decided to give me 10 hours a week. Witch gives us a little spending money and gives me some time to visit with grown ups. I only go when Abby is in school so it works out perfectly. I am really grateful for my work and with them working with me through the last 9 years and all our family changes.

The end of the month we celebrated my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. Even though it is on March 2nd. It was easier to get the family together on a Sunday. My step mom Valerie worked really hard to get things together. It turned out beautiful. She created a slide show of their lives together, had a cake made like their original wedding cake, and a recreation of grandmas bouquet. All the grand kids told Grandma and Grandpa how much they meant to us and I think they really enjoyed the party. We sure love them and hope they are around to see their 70th!

We have a new Adoption worker, Emily. She is great. Gabe and I really like her and I think she will really help us in getting a new addition to our family. Abby is really wanting to have a brother or sister. Especially since Drew and Katie had a baby this last month. And she really likes holding him. Ethan looks just like uncle Drew.

Josie, Gabe's sister, also left on her mission to New Jersey this month. She is going to be a great missionary. It was fun to see how excited she was. We just hope that Venus will be able to adjust to not having her there.

Well that is all for now. Next months post will be exciting because Abby is having a birthday party and Gabe and I are going on a Mexican vacation(sort of). Chat ya next time.

December 2009

Okay so it is 15 days into January and I need to reflect back to December. Humm where do I start? Let's see.....

We love December at our house. All the fun festivities and friends and family. We got the house decorated and beautiful for Christmas. Even Sarah(Abby's cousin) came and helped put ornaments on the tree. Sarah, Abby, and I had a blast. While I put the lights on they kept yelling down the stairs "is it time yet." When I finally said "Ready" the noise and the commotion from two little girls and a barking dog could be heard all the way to Australia. LOL Oh and of coarse they came down in the most terrifying red lipstick. LOL

Abby had fun at school. They did the 12 days of Christmas for the kids. Everyday she would bring home a little something like 4 Swedish fish or 10 tootsie rolls. It was fun to see the excitement in Abby's face everyday. The school did the annual Christmas sing along. I went and cried like a baby. I mean she only sang Jingle Bells and Up on the Housetop. But there I was crying. Guess I was just so proud of my little one.

Abby met Santa for the first time this year. She was nervous. She didn't even know he was in the room and then turned around and froze. She then came running over to me. Santa then began talking to her and telling her all about how he knew she was in gymnastics and how he knew she was a good girl. She slowly became more at ease and then began urging all her cousins to talk to Santa. What was so funny was when I got up I noticed that my lap was a little wet. She must have got so scared that she wet her pants. LOL Perhaps next year she won't be so nervous and scared.

I worked all of December to cover for maternity leave of one of the girls at the north office. It was fun to celebrate in all the activities. It took a little time to get back into the groove but after a week I was done being yelled at for silly little things and was back to being perfect. LOL I miss chatting with my boss Mary everyday. She is definitely a caring and sweet person and a good friend. Although I must say the drive was NOT fun. Of coarse Zo had to have her baby when it snows, so my 40 minute drive to work became 1.5 hours+. That was not fun at all. But I survived and am here to tell the tale.

We had the annual family party for my side here at our house again and it turned out well. The night before Abby and I went to Grandmas and Grandpas to help make cinnamon rolls. That was way fun. We just love our Grandparents they are the best. At the party we played the traditional white elephant cereal game which is always so much fun. Abby got her Cheerios and Wheaties and Gabe got his Life cereal. Its crazy how we can fight over a silly box of cereal. BUT WE DO! LOL

I decided to start an annual breakfast for friends since we never seem to fit each other in around Christmas time. We had 4 couples show up which wasn't bad. Hopefully next year the word will spread and we will have many more.

Christmas morning was fun. It was so exciting to see Abby come down and be excited about Santa. She wakes up about 8, WOOHOO, and sneaks downstairs, peaks into the living room, then comes and wakes Gabe and I up. She always loves to see the stockings hung on the railing and has to tell us that Santa came and put stuff in them when she first comes in our room. Christmas was good this year. We all were quite spoiled.

We went to Gabe's family at 11 and celebrated with them. Santa brought them a karaoke machine. Even I got up and sang. It was pretty fun. Josie and Giselle got up and sang back up for me. Gabe and Drew were excited to pick through all the songs and see how bad they could hash them. LOL

At my parents house we were yet again spoiled. Abby and Sarah played and played. They had a great time. And we stayed late playing wii with Sean who is a hoot. I have some blackmail pictures to show what a goon he is. We laughed and played until almost 11:30.

New Years was the best. We had a party and had our friends Andy and Camille with their kids and Kimmy and Bill over. We played wii games all night for the chance at winning a silly trophy. Andy and Camille got it this year. And the kids got to open a box every hour which was filled with games and activities for them to play and do. It kept them busy most the night. It was great for the adults too. At midnight we drank sparkling cider and popped balloons filled with confetti. Abby asked why everyone was kissing. It was pretty silly. So I told her it was because we want to start the year off right with the ones we love. Showing them how much we love them. Then Gabe and I looked at each other and went running after Abby who took off running and giggling till we caught her and gave her a big kiss too. It was a great end to a rough year.

Here's to 2010 and the wishes that it will be amazing.*cheers*

November 2009

This November was quite a month. I think we were all very happy. We watched our Utes and had a lot of fun going to the games. It was mine and Gabe's date night. We even got to double date with our awesome neighbors the Uluaves. They took their kids tickets away for the BYU vs. Utah game and gave them to us. We had a great time. We are so grateful for such wonderful neighbors.

Speaking of neighbors we have the Smiths that moved two houses down and they have three boys. Abby loves to play over there with Dawson and his brothers. And I have a card-making buddy. Suzy signed me up to be part of her card group that meets once a month. It is really fun and I love being able to have a girls night out.

We had a Super Saturday in relief society and I was in charge of the card making. I had lots of fun making and organizing...and shopping for my group. It seemed like it turned out well. I took Grandma Joyce with me and I think she had fun making things too.

And who can forget...Twilight! I bought my ticket early and made sure I took the day off work. LOVED IT! Although I believe I have changed teams. Team Jacob. LOL Giselle drove all the way from Payson to go with me and celebrate my birthday. It was great, love my sis-in-law.

And the most amazing part of the month was the primary program. Abby gave her first talk in sacrament. She was the icing on the cake. The program was about families and the spirit was so strong. I believe, sadly, it is one of the first times that a sacrament has felt so amazing since we moved. Our ward is filled with kids and has split 6 times. But I knew that this was going to be special. I invited all our family and was so grateful that most of them came. And I knew that they felt the spirit too. Abby's talk was about the day we were sealed as a family...

"Once upon a time a mother and a father wanted to have a baby. This mother and father were able to adopt a beautiful baby girl. The mother and father loved their new baby girl and wanted to make sure they could be a family forever. When the baby girl was six months old the mother and father took the baby girl to the Salt Lake Temple. The baby girl wore a beautiful white dress. Inside the temple the baby girl was brought into the sealing room where she waved and smiled at everyone. The mother, father, and beautiful baby girl were then sealed together as a family forever. That baby girl was me, Abby. And the mother and father were my Mom and Dad. I love them and I am so happy that we have temples where we can be sealed together forever."

Just imagine little Abby's voice and it just makes this talk come alive. Gabe and I cry from joy every time we hear it or even if it just mentioned. (ball babies LOL) That was the highlight of our month and that joy just keeps spreading onto the other days.

Thanksgiving was nice. It was just Gabe, Abby, and I, my parents, Sean , Valisha, and Gram and Gramp Brown. It was small this year in numbers But you can never go wrong with Gram and Gramps cooking. They are the best. I can't believe they are in their 80's and still going strong. They didn't even want help. We love them so much.

Well we are getting the Christmas decorations up and next month I'll tell you more about that. Thanks for following this goofy blog. Keep us in mind if you see an adoption opportunity. Love you all.

October 19, 2009

Okay so apparently I'm not great at this blogging thing but hey, I trying right?
A lot has happened since I last posted. Abby graduated from preschool and started Kindergarten. She is such a cutie. She is really enjoying school. She likes her teacher and loves being able to walk to school with her friends. She does get bored but hopefully that will pass. She keeps telling me that she ALREADY KNOWS her ABC's and numbers.
We went on vacation in August to Bear Lake and had a blast! We took our niece Sarah so Abby would have someone to play with and it turned out to be a really great time for all of us. We played at the pool everyday, even when it was raining, and it was fun to see the girls in their swimming gear diving off the diving board. Especially Abby because she was so afraid to go under the water and then once she got on her arm floaties she had no fear. It was a lot of fun to watch.
Gabe seems to finally be out of the problem area with work. It has been a struggle with money this year but, thank goodness we had savings and a decent tax return. My work has also given me some hours here and there. I think I worked an entire month which was nice to have the extra cash.
We have a new nephew on the way. Due in February. We are so excited and can't wait to see what kind of Daddy Drew will be.
We are going to have a Halloween party on Wednesday for Miss Abby and her friends. She is so excited. We will paint pumpkins, do crafts, play games, and of coarse have treats. Abby is super excited and loved helping me get the treat bags ready. She is going to be Pumpkin Spice for Halloween which is pretty much a gogo outfit with an orange pumpkin wig. She looks so cute in it. Gabe is going to be a rocker and has purchased some tattoo sleeves. He said he is excited for Halloween this year. I told him the reason is because this is the first year I didn't have to make him choose a costume. LOL I am going to be a witch and am pretty excited to wear my costume as well. Oh and don't forget Nixen..... he's going to be a cowboy.
Gabe and I are also planning a murder mystery dinner for this coming Friday. It is 20's themed and we are really excited to see all our friends dressed in their crazy costumes.
We are still waiting on our adoption. Hopefully someone out there will find us and we can extend our family. Don't forget to mention us when you talk to your friends. We need as much advertising as we can get.
Gabe and I did the Biggest Loser contest in our neighborhood for the month of September and we won. We had fun going to the gym together. It was hard being away from Abby so often. We also ran a 5k together as a family. Abby did great she beat me by 10 min. She ran it in 35 min. she is a miss speedy gonzales. Now that the competition is over we are trying to figure out how the gym fits into our schedule. I am hoping that once Abby goes back on track that I can go while she is at school. Gabe usually goes after work. I lost 7 pounds and Gabe lost 5 in one month. We were pretty excited. We didn't win anything exciting but, the fact that we won was good enough.

April 2009

Hello again. Well It has been a fun month. Abby had her 5th birthday and we all had lots of fun. She had her first "kid only" party and we did a drive in movie in the living room. Everyone had their own box decorated like a car and we went through a car wash (crepe paper streamers). They all watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and sang along and had popcorn and treats. She was very excited to have her friends over and to play. Mom and Dad had fun just watching and listening to them sing and play.

Abby got roller skates for her birthday and is learning to use them. She always puts on her elbow and knee pads and her little gloves. She looks so cute. She also got some jump ropes and she is getting pretty good. I think she did 24 jumps without stopping.

Uncle Drew got married in March and we drove to California to see him and now AUNT Katie get married. It was beautiful weather and we loved seeing all the orchards and vinyards along the way. Of coarse when we got back to Utah we were hit with snow again. We drove through Death Valley on the way back and was at 89 degrees and then came home to 29 degress. Quite a change. We also lost a hub cap and a headlight on that trip. Goodness! But the wedding was beautiful and we are all glad that we got to go.

We got a new game called Ticket To Ride and we all enjoy playing. Including friends and extended family. Abby likes to play but needs a little help. We have had several game nights including one where our friends brought their Wii and we all played and had a blast. Thanks Kimmy and Bill.

We still are tight on finances but we keep praying that things will turn around. I was able to work one day. Its not much but every little bit helps. We cant believe that Gabes work could do such a thing. But I guess its just another trial that we need to overcome.

We are loving the little spouts of spring weather and are going on walks and we even had a new park open by our house that is super awesome.

Well that is about it for this month. Catch you all next time.