I took a few pics of the pretty colors around my yard a while back. I'm glad I did because now all those leaves are on the ground. I love the fall. It's my favorite time of year. I love November. It's National Adoption Month. Adoption is so special and important to me. Two of my babies were born in November. Soon to be three. Thanksgiving is in November. I don't like to cook, or cook all day, inhale the food, and then clean up, but I love the thought of thinking about all of my blessings. It makes me happy. It makes all the things I am working on, and struggle with, disappear and my mind is consumed with gratitude. Oh! I am so thankful. It's going to be a great month.

Burning Bush

Purple Ash tree

The Jazz

We took the 5 oldest to the Jazz vs Clippers game the other night. It was a lot of fun!

Here's some pics of Pete trying to make the game seem a little more exciting than it really was.


My favorite player is this guy... Deron Williams

During some parts of the game, they would throw out balls to the crowd and I caught one, and my boys thought I was awesome! Look at Carsen's face! Fun night.

Halloween 2009

Carving pumpkins







Here is a pic of Caden's sick dorky vampire teeth. Luckily he didn't wear these and he got a new pair of normal vampire teeth that even glow in the dark!

It's Friday

I love Fridays...my favorite day of the week! I got all the kids off to school wearing their Halloween gear. Skyler decided to go as "himself". I quickly told him that "in our family if you want to go trick or treating you have to dress up, so you better think up a costume quick". I wonder what he'll decide to be tomorrow.

The kids have been all excited about Halloween. Preston has wanted to wear his Obi Won outfit all day, for days.

Carsen is the cutest Ninja you have ever seen. Especially when he does his moves. He is by far my funniest child and he doesn't even mean to be funny, but he just is. I call him my biological baby and he is just so much fun. The other day when I picked the boys up from pre school he said... "Mom, I'm like the coolest boy in my preschool". I asked him why he thought that and in a convincing voice with so much drama, he said "C'mon mom! these are like the coolest pants! I love to wear these pants... they make me the coolest boy in pre school." wow! I had no idea he loved his jeans so much!

Caden is a vampire this year and Pete had the job to take him and buy some child size fangs. Well, they could only find "one size fits all" so although Caden is proud of his fang teeth and thinks they are cool, he is kind of a dorky vampire. I will post pics tomorrow. And you will see.

I rearranged Mylie's room and she is officially sleeping in a toddler bed now! She is so proud of her bed and likes to get in it and get out of it and sit on it. She wanted to show Pete and all the kids and wouldn't take a nap yesterday because she was so excited. She still isn't talking much, but she has a smile that lights up the whole room. She will have her 2nd b-day next weekend and her birthmom is coming for her first visit! We all can't wait!

Lakin, my little snuggle boy is just the cutest little guy. He has started complaining about things and it is really cute. In baby talk he'll come up to me with his eye brows raised out of concern and tell me all about whatever he is concerned and mad about. It is so cute! He finally learned how to go down the stairs and he is so proud. The last few days, he'll just take off and go explore in the basement. I'll call down the stairs to him and he appears at the bottom of the stairs with different toys in hand and a big smile! man, I love that boy!

Here is a clip of one of his tantrums. He wanted the lunchbox that Preston had, but Preston had it first so we tried to convince him that the other one was cool. He was not happy about it. I finally went and got the camera, but I didn't get the real good parts of the fit... only one head stand. He ended up getting to have the lunch box he wanted when Preston was done with it. Tantrums are funny, but kind of sad when you just have to try to ignore the behavior!

Brothers

and best buddies! I love this pic.

Some News

There is a 6 week old baby boy in Indiana who needs a family. His darling parents want to make an adoption plan for him because they want him to have a better life. They want him to have more opportunities. They want him to have the things that he needs. They love him that much.

Our profile is in the group that they will look at today! Please pray for this couple, that they will find the family that they want for their son, and if, it is His will, they pick us!

**Update: They didn't pick us, or anyone. They have decided to parent the baby. They can't go through with making an adoption plan, which I can totally understand. I just hope that baby doesn't end up in foster care. Pray for them... they are teenagers and have NO support.

Disneyland '09

We took a spontaneous trip to Disneyland last week and had so much fun!

Disneyland was fun! Preston cried on almost every ride. He is still little even though he is big, but I wasn't expecting him to be so afraid of everything. He liked "It's a small world" so we went on that a few times for him. It's a cute ride and so happy. Caden loved that one too and Lakin was the cutest baby ever on that ride! He was so happy and waving his hands with the music... he loved it!


Pete and I love "Pirates of the Caribbean" the whole family can go on it together and with the couple of drops, it's fun. Lakin and Mylie were so interested in it all and they loved the fake animals.



Eating at Disneyland is so expensive! One day I bought six hot dogs and a soft pretzel and it cost over $50!

Alert!! Never go on the "Canoe ride" You think it's a ride because isn't everything at Disneyland? But really you basically have to paddle your way around the whole island. It was the worst! The kids kept looking at me as we struggled to use the paddles. Preston kept spraying the lady in front of us and Savanah was furious at the guide. She kept telling Savanah "sweetie, you aren't doing it right" or "keep paddling, no one gets to rest" I just laughed but was as annoyed as the kids! After that "ride" my arm hurt because I was one of the adults and expected to paddle the best and it was just not cool. Funny thinking about it though.

Lakin loved the balloons!

During day 2 my flip flop broke, so I hobbled into a souvenir shop and bought a new pair. Not really my favorite shoes, but the kids thought they were cool!
On our last night there, the kids lined up on main st. and then would run while I took action pics. We also sat outside the park for a little bit and let the kids run around and dance to the music. It was a fun trip! Here are some pics...

CC

My awesome sister Denae got her foster baby back! I am so happy for them and look how happy CC is! I just love this pic!

Closure

I am finally ready to write and post this post. A lot has gone on the last few weeks, but the good news is that the sibling group is living together again. All three of them are together! It's been over 2 years since they have lived together as brothers and sister. They are with a nice couple who hopes to adopt them! I am really happy for the couple and I think the kids will get lots of love and attention there. It is kind of interesting that the husband is Asian and the wife, a white girl. They met the kids months ago and the kids remembered who they were too. They told the caseworker..."oh the people who look like Angie and Pete?"

I really hope that everything will work out. The caseworker says that they are happy there. I still miss them, but we are hoping that we will be able to keep in touch with them a little over the years.

One thing I was happy about was that I got to send them all their bedroom stuff. I bought it for them anyway and it was for them. Why would I want a bunch of Kansas City Chiefs stuff? Or, the ugly Dora bedspread with the big face. The kids were so excited about their rooms and now they get to have all of their stuff in their new rooms. I boxed it all up and sent it. Some Spongebob stuff too, for the youngest. It helped to mail it to them.

Now, I need to paint over the oldest boys name. I think I will have Pete do it. I really love Dereyon and he really opened up to me, and I really wanted him to be my son. It's funny because he was the one that we were the most worried about with the adoption transition and the future etc. but he has my heart.

Here is a picture of my "old kids". I will always love them. This is when I took them to the circus in Missouri.

Before



After

My Walker

T, this post is for you. i love you!

Not To Be

My heart is a little broken right now and I am taking a blogging break. I am fine and will be o.k. I am very confused. The sibling group adoption we have been so excited about, and felt so good about, is just not meant to be. We don't know why, and may never understand. I do have the faith and know that God has a different plan for these kids. I really thought that they were to be my children, but I guess not.

If you are a really good family and are interested in adding 3 GREAT kids to your family, please let me know. I have been to Missouri twice to spend the weekend with them and I really love these kids. They are so cute and such good, sweet, kids. I know they will richly bless whatever family that ends up adopting them.

=================================================

If you are a young person who is sexually mature, please don't be irresponsible.

THINK before you act.

If you don't want a baby right now in your life, and you are not capable of taking proper care of a child, then don't have sex.

If you have addiction problems and are still trying to "find" yourself, or are not through with the "partying" stage, then fine, but, don't have sex.

If you do end up pregnant, or are responsible for getting a girl pregnant, then MAN UP and do the right thing. Either grow up, step up, and provide a loving and suitable home for a baby, or make an adoption plan.

Why would anyone want to be responsible for an abortion? I wouldn't.

Please don't be selfish, wanting what you want, only to have the state take your children after they have been through and witnessed horrible things.

I am sick to death of child suffering. Why must children suffer because of bad choices made by others? Usually their own parents.

Drugs, guns, alcohol, porn, gangs, any kind of abuse and children don't mix.

Soccer 2009

Soccer is in full swing around here! 2 games a week and a practice for every kid. We are eating and breathing soccer all week! 4 different teams this year. The twins are on the same team, and it's their first year and they are loving it!

They are adorable and their little uniforms are huge! When Carsen's shirt comes untucked half way through the game, it goes down past his shorts! It looks like he is running around in a long shirt! Caden and Carsen were nervous at their first game, and Kameron snapped some great pictures of the boys holding hands and grabbing each others arms. They are the best of friends, but don't normally hold hands and stuff... it was sure cute and I guess it helped calm their nerves for the big game against the "green" team.

Oh! The dreaded "green" team. After the game I listened as the boys told me that one of the players on the other team told them..."you are going down" well, Carsen took that opportunity and threat and replied with..."well, you and your team is a loser!" My little Carsey... there is always something going on with my boy! I had a talk about sportsmanship with him. We talked about how the most important part of playing soccer, is to have fun! I told him if anyone on the other team is mean, to just ignore them, or come tell me. Telling the other team that they are "losers" isn't very nice.

Game two report... both boys scored their first goals and there were no name calling incidents! Here's a cool picture of Carsen and Pete that Kameron took. It's right after Carsen's cleat flew off for the second time and Pete helped him put it back on!

Kameron loves her team this year and she is having so much fun. Her coach has her play defender, but also left forward, which was the position I played way back when. She is really good and her games are fun to watch!

Skyler is having a fun year and scores a lot. He is fun to cheer on and boys are just plain more aggressive than girls so his games are a little more intense.

Savanah runs her little heart out! She too is a great player and when someone on their team scores, all the girls are thrilled! It is really cute! Savanah is fast.

The little kids like going to the games too. Mylie runs around during half time and Lakin tries to get to the game ball.

Famous Husband

My husband is famous! Check him out! Go Pete! It really is so funny to us. The kids love that their daddy is on the cover of a magazine, but especially Skyler who thinks the world of Pete. Here's the link to the article.
P.S. Pete, you are so cute and I'm so proud of you!

iPhone Pics

Here are some of my favorite iPhone pics that Pete has taken. Up until he got his iPhone, he never took any pics, so it's fun to see what he captures!








Lakin and his bio sister, Anilah!

The Race

I was supposed to run the Hobble Creek Half marathon with some family members, but I didn't. I started off doing great with my training, but I had a really bad July and never recovered in the "marathon" department. So, I might run it next year. It was a good thing I didn't run because I got to be a cheerleader and cheer everyone on! I got balloons and some snickers bars and took lots of pics. My sis-in-law Emily took my place and she ran great! She also dedicated the 13th mile to me! Thanks Ems and good running! Here are some pics of my brave and strong relatives running their guts out. I am very proud of my parents! My mom came in 3rd out of all the family that ran and my dad 5th and their times were great! Pete, Chad, Devin, Brett, Dustin, and Kays... next year is our year!

Kim, mom, Denae, dad, and Dave

Go Landon!

Emily (aka "Angie" during the race) and D-Dawg

The cheering crowd!

Dustin and Brett rode up the race route to cheer everyone on.

iPhone fun!

More Family Visit

One day, the men got up really early and went golfing... that meant us ladies had a girls day out! We went up to Park City and did the Alpine Slides! It was really fun. I liked the coaster the best and then the zip line. The zip line was really freaky while waiting in line, but after the doors open and you fall a little onto the zip and start speeding down the mountain, it was pretty and kind of peaceful! We girls had a blast and I love my mom and sisters! I'm constantly so thankful that my brothers have all married really great, wonderful girls! I love them all! It was a lot of fun!

Up the mountain, chair lift pics!



The Slide!




The Coaster! Going up.

The top.

Coming down!




The Zip Line. Denae checking her pulse because she was so scared!

Go mom!

Family Visit

My whole family was together this past weekend! We had a blast. The first day, we hung around with everyone and then went to Jump On It. A place that has tons of trampolines hooked together and it is a lot of fun. 2 years ago, I sprained my ankle really bad at that place so I didn't play this time and I am glad. Within the first 10 minutes of being there, 4 family members were already hurt! The little kids had so much fun! Here is a video of Mylie taking out Lakin and her little cousin Wyatt! Luckily the boys didn't mind!



Macey, Mylie, and Lexi!



There was an infestation of these spiders on the outside of the building. We were all freaking out because they are so big and sick. I don't mind bees, or other bugs, or really even mice, but spiders are just plain nasty. I wish you could see just how big this spider is... so sick.





iphone fun!

Morning Hike

Last week the 3 big kids and I got up at 5 a.m. and went with my good friend Jen and her 3 big kids and hiked up the trail to the Timpanogos Caves. It was a lot of fun! The hike was great exercise, but talking with Jen was the best part. I think we'll hike to the "Y" next time!

The boys... Devon, Skyler, and Calvin
The girls... Emily, Kameron, and Savanah


We made it to the top! Touching the lucky stone!

Savanah's B-day!

We celebrated Savanah's b-day early because she wanted to, and her birthday is right when school starts. I told her she could have a "friend" birthday this year, but she didn't want one. She just wanted a family party! Those are my favorite anyway. Out of all the places to go, she picked Chucky E. Cheese! I think Chuck E. Cheese is one big germ and family sickness waiting to happen... it's so gross! the kids love to get "tokens" and play the games and win "tickets" and then go pick a prize. They just love it! So, that's where we went and I was giving them sanitizer to rub in their little hands every chance I could!

I made Savanah go stand by Chuck E. himself for this pic! What does the mystery E. stand for anyway?




(Mylie and daddy are missing in this pic... they were ordering the pizza)

She had a blast and had never won so many tickets there before! All the kids loved the prizes they got and after we ate pizza and were done playing games, we went home and she opened presents and we ate the ice cream pie she wanted instead of birthday cake. I can't believe my short little Filipina is 9 years old! Here's a pic of my baby Banna. She was such a chubby, cute little Asian.



I love you so much my Savanah!!

My 5 year olds!

We celebrated the twins b-day a little early this year because of school starting and all. It was the twins first "friend" birthday party. They were SOOOOOOO excited! I loved how they were so excited about their party for days leading up to it. It was just fun to watch.

The boys and I went alone to Partyland and picked out their decorations, pinata, and some prizes to give to their friends. We also went to Costco on a "date" to get a bulk size bag of candy for the pinata. I made them sit in the front of the Costco cart and when they complained that it was for babies I told them that I really wanted them to sit there just one last time before they turned 5, because I was a little sad that they are growing up. Caden said "mom, we'll always be your babies"

The boys helped fill out the invitations, helped deliver them, and loved filling up the pinata!

The morning of their party, was total excitement around our house! Preston was thrilled that he got to go to the party and Caden and Carsen even made sure to give him an invitation! Carsen was so excited that he was kind of shaking with happiness and they were all running around being silly and looking out the window, waiting for their friends to come.

The party was fun! The kids ran through the sprinklers and jumped on the tramp with the sprinklers on underneath and then we played some games. We did a water balloon toss, did the pinata and had races. We even played "ring around the rosies"... I love this age because you can really do anything and the kids are so happy and have a blast. We blasted some spongebob songs and had otterpops.



Then the boys blew out their candles and we ate cake and ice cream. They opened up their gifts and were so excited! Here's a pic of them hugging their friend Nick and also, one of them hugging their cousins Clayton and Conner. They all have chocolate frosting on their faces!








I love Caden's eyes in this picture. Happy birthday to my Caden and Carsen! 5 years ago, I had two baby boys in my tummy. You guys kicked me all day long! You two have blessed my life and are so much fun! You're my big boys now...I love you forever!

Wood Chip Project

** update: My new kids know about us! Their caseworker said it went really well. She said my 8 year old got really quiet and serious as he looked through our book. Then he and my 4 year old watched the video and laughed at the silly parts and he loved when there is a clip of us playing football with my brother in our backyard and also loved watching Skyler shoot hoops. My new little girl wanted to "go see us right now" and give us a picture that she drew, "right now!" My new 2 year old didn't know what was going on and was just playing around... that was expected! We have our travel plans booked in a few weeks to go meet them and hang out with them for the weekend and we are taking the 3 big kids with us! It should be very fun, and I am happy.


When we first got our landscaping done, we put grass under the trampoline. Not a good idea. We would have to move the big thing every time we had to mow the grass and the grass under it got all patchy and sick with tons of crickets in it. It was gross! At the time, I didn't want rocks or wood chips under it because the twins had just turned 2 and would grab hand fulls of whatever they could find and throw it all around! We still might have that problem now with Mylie and Lakin, but I am going to try to teach them to leave the new wood chips alone.

Well, over the last couple of weeks, we decided to pull up the grass that was under the tramp and replace it with wood chips. Sounds easy enough...right? Well, it was a lot of work! I need to remember that just because a project seems easy and fast, it will probably require a lot more work than expected.

Pete and I went to work pulling up all the grass. It was a lot of work and took like 2 weekends. Then we had to get rid of a lot of dirt and the ground was hard as a rock and there were tons of huge boulders under there. We found some sick trash under the dirt and I was beginning to think our home was built over a landfill! We found a fresca bottle with soda still in it, lots of broken and random pieces of piping, and toy figure, to name a few. In the meantime, we had some wood chips delivered and one night it got so windy that we had to cover them with tarps because the wind was blowing them all over our court!

I would go outside around 2 pm and soak the dirt so we could start shoveling around 7 pm. One night Pete and I worked out there until after 10 because the ground was movable and it wasn't so hot. We were laughing pretty hard because our wheelbarrow had a flat tire that we kept filling it with air and it would rapidly deflate! What a pain this project was!


After we removed enough dirt and got the ground as level as possible, Pete sprayed the ground with weed killer and then layed down and pined a bunch of gray weed preventer material. Then we started putting the new wood chips in. That part was fun because it smelled good and fresh and it was so clean and I knew our hard labor was almost over with! Here is a pic!
Today, my job is to find some clean up crew to come and take this huge pile of dirt and rocks away! Pete says there is no way he is doing it!

Stress Free

Today is the big day. Today my new kids are suppose to find out about us. I hope everything goes well. I hope it happens! I will update.

Last night Pete and I went on a LONG walk. I have been anxious and very stressed out about the new kids coming. He is the best. He helps me navigate through my own feelings and pin point what it is that has me worried. What has had me worried isn't really about the new kids joining our family. I know our choice is the right one. It was wonderful to figure that out! What is stressing me out is just managing everything. It's a lot of work to take care of so many people and I really want to focus only on the kids right now... for at least the next year. This next year is a big one for our family.

I want to sit on the floor and play more. I want to go on more walks and outings. I want to listen to my kids more, just look at them and listen to them, without doing 5 other activities. I want to tuck them in bed at night the way I dreamed I would and not be so exhausted that I can't wait to turn off their light and run away! I want to stop and listen to them explain to me why a bad guy figure is attacking the other guy and how one is tougher than the other, without being concerned that the washer is filling up with water and I have to get a load of laundry in! I want to spend time with Pete at night, other than loading the dishwasher together.

For at least the next year, it is critical that I am emotionally, physically, socially, and every other facet-"ally", available to my children. It is critical for my new kids, and also critical for my kids that are here with me now. We have a plan! I am so excited and I feel so relieved. We are postponing our construction plans. The city misfiled our blueprints and are just now getting to them to approve our plans and our contractor's final bid is like $10,000 over what we have saved for the project, so we are postponing the construction. It's kind of a huge pain because we got everything ready to go, pictures off the wall, our whole garage cleaned out and everything into sheds, etc., but we are going to use that money to hire some help!

I don't need or want any help with the kids. That is my focus and I want to do everything... it's important for attachment etc. I would love some help managing our home. I don't like to cook and I don't like going into the kitchen trying to figure out what to make for dinner and then trying to cook when everyone wants my attention. Some help with the continual "mount Everest" of laundry on my bed would help, and I would love to not worry about bathrooms and mopping etc. All things that need to get done, all things that I can do and have been doing, but I need to have all my focus on the kids right now.

This my seem like a "no brainer" for some people, but I have only ever had a housekeeper for 2 weeks and then she disappeared and I have the mind set of- if I can do it myself, we can save money and spend it in other ways. But, getting some house help is really important right now for us, so now I just need to find the right person.

I might have found the right person already. Last night, after our walk, Pete made some calls and got the cell number of a different Bishop in a different ward (congregation). He called the number and said he hopes it's o.k. that he called on his cell and that he got his number from so and so, but we are looking for someone to help us in our home and we were wondering if you have anyone that is looking for a job. He quickly said... "well, yes I do and she is sitting right in front of me now, and we were just talking about her employment situation. You are an answer to her prayer, brother". It was pretty cool, so we are calling that lady today to see if she is what I am looking for.

It will be wonderful to sit down with my family and eat a yummy dinner that someone made for us! It will be nice that after we tuck the kids in bed at night, Pete and I can hang out and not have to do the dishes! I can't believe it... I'm excited!

p.s. My kids will still have family jobs and will learn how to work and be responsible.

Sum Sum Summertime! (part 2)

24th of July kid races



The boys digging up our grass. We are replacing it with wood chips.

Kameron, Skyler, and Savanah's summer camps!


The 3 big kids each had a "summer camp" this summer, with Caden, Carsen, and Preston. They wrote up a schedule and they planned so many fun activities. There was a summer camp fee which I was happy to pay because the boys had so much fun and it turned out to be a great way for the kids to make money. Kameron and Savanah also had a camp for some kids in the neighborhood and their cousins Clayton and Conner came too! They made some big bucks!





The Lehi Pool





Fake fighting... after Kameron's theatre camp production!

Uuummmmmmm.... we have a new rule. We don't all need to use the same potty at the same time!

This Is the Place Park




It rained so hard that day... we were all soaked!

My Black Eye

I totally have a black eye... why? because, I fell down! I hate falling down as an adult!

1. It really hurts.
2. It is humiliating.
3. I can't believe I fell down and got a black eye!

We have a big baby gate that blocks off the kitchen. The kitchen has a lot of human traffic, it's where we all spend the most time it seems. This is the second time I have fallen down from the baby gate. The first time I was holding Lakin and my flip flop got caught and down we both fell. I managed to somehow maneuver my body and hold Lakin like a football and he didn't get hurt at all. I suffered a giant bruise that covered my whole entire thigh.

On this recent fall, I was holding Mylie and again my flip flop got caught on my way over the gate and down we fell. This time, I landed on my shoulder and head butted Mylie. It was the worst! The top part of her head went into my eye socket, thus producing my black eye! Mylie was o.k., VERY scared, but not hurt. Her head is strong and she doesn't even have a bump. Well, I blacked out for a minute and all the kids came running to see if we were o.k. Mylie was screaming from fear, which made Lakin cry and I was just laying on the ground confused as to what had happened. Now, I have a black eye and a giant bruise on my inner thigh!

We got rid of the baby gate. It just isn't worth everyone getting hurt. I have fallen twice, Skyler fell once, Carsen has hurt himself numerous times while climbing over. Caden's gotten hurt, and the worst of all was when our 70+ year old architect fell down while trying to climb over it. It scared me to death! He said he was fine and never showed up with any kind of cast... thank goodness!

Pete is trying to convince me to wear shoes. I don't like shoes. It is summer and wearing socks and shoes is just not me! He thinks flip flops are dangerous.

Lakin and Mylie both love that they have full reign over the kitchen. Lakin especially crawls at lightening speed because he still thinks someone is going to grab him and take him out of the kitchen. Dinner time is not fun for me. Babies clinging onto me while I try to get dinner ready. Oh, well. At least I won't fall on that stupid gate again. Here's a pic, after a lot of the swelling went down.

p.s. my whole family has the flu right now... it's going to be a hard week.

Louisiana! (part 2)

We sang Happy Birthday to Lakin and had cake and ice cream! he had his own little personal cake that he got to dig into and he loved it! Everyone loved watching him eat it!



After cake and ice cream, it was time to say our goodbye's. Grandma had a hard time, so did Lakin's aunt. I told them they better stop, or they would get me started. It was so nice of them to have a party for Lakin. It was so nice of everyone to put forth so much effort to come to the party and meet Lakin. Thanks everyone, for everything!


We drove back to town and stopped to visit Lakin's birthmom's brother who was at work. Then we visited her best friend who just had a baby. What a nice girl she is and her baby is adorable. We went to the store and picked something up at the mall. That's when Mylie barfed. She had been kind of quiet and whining a little bit, but I thought she was just exhausted from the day. Nope. She was sick. We cleaned her up as best we could. We had to throw away her car seat and clothes- it was just too sick and everywhere. It was around 9 p.m. so we called it a night and went back to the hotel to get Mylie cleaned up and in bed. Lakin was in a happy and rolie-polie mood, so we played around on the bed for a little bit.



Pete and I talked a lot that night about our fun and full day. We are so glad that we went to meet everyone. I think it was a really good visit.

The next day, we got up and got ready and headed to the airport to go back home. We met Lakin's birthparents and big sister at the airport and got to hang out with them for a little bit before our flight left. It turned out to be one of the best times of the trip for me. I had a lot of fun talking with them and we were laughing and telling funny stories from our youth. We made a mental list of things we will do next time, like go alligator hunting... Pete and I really wanted to see an alligator, and right before we had to say goodbye everyone was saying what we thought Lakin would love and do in his life. A baseball player, basketball player, Pete said a ninja that is really good at martial arts. His birthmom and I agreed that we don't really want him to play football because it is scary and dangerous and all they do is bash their heads together. Lakin is such a good boy and he is going to do a lot of good things in this world.

We said our goodbye's and I cuddled up his bio big sister one last time... I just love her. She and Lakin look a lot alike and she is a sweetheart. We are so glad we got to visit! We love you guys!