There are sticky notes all over my walls

All over the house there are little pink post-its labeling each room: office, Ben's room, master bedroom, laundry, etc. The floor is littered various boxes with similar labels. Most are opened and half empty, but some are still sealed shut.  They are just waiting for their contents to be revealed and subsequently organized. 

We've moved.  

Left the cold air and snow of Detroit, for the sunny and warm (soon to be scorching hot) Las Vegas!  And while I am ecstatic to finally be here, I am having difficulties unpacking.  Zero motivation.  So tonight I am playing on the computer listening to Ben sleep in his room.  Matt is downstairs watching a little tv- the news about whose winning the caucus here in Nevada.  And I'm happy... I'm content in this moment.  Because I'm at home.  So I think the pink post-its will stay on the walls just a little longer, as I relish in this bliss of being at home here in Vegas. 

...now, if only I could figure out how to get everywhere...

We're an eternal family... living one day at a time!

I just have to say that yes we are alive...

no i haven't forgotten about my blog...

I've just been too lazy busy to sit down and write about our lives!  

Ben is 10 months old!  He is still just as fantastic as ever!  His adoption was finalized May 19 2011.  And he was sealed into our eternal family July 16 2011! I have plans for a more detailed account of Ben's big day at the temple- coming soon.  Ben was able to meet a whole slew of family!  And he loved every minute of attention!!! 

He is just getting so big!  I don't want to admit that he is getting taller.  But I do love that he is becoming even more animated and confident in himself!  Ben has this sweet and feisty BIG personality and he is just happy as a lark to share it with everyone he sees!  And he has the cutest dimples any mom could ever swoon at.

Ben Loves:

Pulling himself up to a standing position

Eating "real" people food 

Walking with mom or dad's help

Walking along the furniture with out any help from mom or dad

Toppling over the laundry baskets- esp if they are filled with clean laundry

Shaun the Sheep

Veggietales

Giving kisses (although at the moment he's being a little stingy!  lol)

Pulling mommy's hair

Throwing his food

The Bathroom- we've had to keep the door closed otherwise he crawls like a mad man in that direction to play in there. 

Chewing on the Wii remote

Mommy's cell phone

His blue blanket from g-ma and g-pa G

Ben Hates:

Taking naps

Eating baby food

Being stuck in his exersaucer

Yo Gabba Gabba - he gets the biggest scaredy cat look on his face, then he starts screaming bloody murder!  it really does terrify him (and i don't blame him.  it is one freaky show)

Being contained for diaper changes

When daddy is away

Not being allowed to play with mommy's cell phone

Going to bed

And when mommy has to say "no"

Life is really good at the moment.

“We grow neither better nor worse as we get old, but more like ourselves"

 

Benjamin is 5 months old!  And he is just fabulous!!

His favorite things right now are:

Bananas- we've started eating solids yummy

Biting- we've got two little bottom teeth sticking out

Laughing- sooo cute!  and sooo hearty!  no girlie laughs here

Fake coughing- which i'm convinced is part of him trying to laugh

Sitting up- which he can do unassisted for about 10-15 minutes at a time!

His Toes- he loves to grab them when he sees them, not tasting yet

 Headbutting- he likes to put his hands on either side of my face, scream, and then WAM!

Things we're not quite sure about...

Apple juice- he'll drink it but you should see the look on his face!

Bath time- he's never really hated it but we're still not lovin it!

Rice cereal- he'll eat it but he'd much rather have bananas!

Rolling over- actually he absolutely hates rolling over!

 

 We love having Ben around!!!!!

If we are going to pay this much for crab it better sing and dance and introduce us to the Little Mermaid!

 Matt & I enjoyed a wonderful date night over the weekend.

And can I say 'Thank Goodness!'?

I sooooo needed it.

Motherhood is kicking my butt! Add on top of that, Matt working, and you've got one frazzled Courtney.  I think that besides sleep, the thing I miss the most is the ability to just go see a movie on a whim.  There's something about finding a sitter that is so difficult for me.  Maybe it's the time suck of having to call around- maybe it's the need to make a plan- maybe it's the possibility of people saying no.  I don't know but when Matt got called in to do a quick out and back trip last Friday the only thing I could think of was DATE NIGHT!

See, when Matt gets back from a trip he gets several hours of "rest time".  Time that he doesn't have to be 15 minutes away from the airport.  Time to not stress!

And then the planets aligned!  My very good friend Brittany called to see if I wanted to go shopping.  I, of course, jumped at the opportunity...but only in exchange for free labor! *evil laugh*

I had:

Matt available stress free for a few hours after work

A wicked sweet babysitting team (Brittany and her husband)

I needed:

A movie selection!

Season of the Witch

We originally wanted to see Tangled, but we got there 10 minutes late.  So we decided on Season of the Witch with Nicolas Cage.  It was very good.  A little different than I was expecting, but then again I'm not sure what I was expecting!  It was pretty intense.  It felt like time stood still!  We both loved the twisted perspective on the black death, aka- the plague!

Stadium seating, surround sound, dimmed lights, a handsome man seated next to me, and freshly popped popcorn were the perfect therapy for a frazzled mommy!  I'm looking forward to the next time the planets align and I get to go to the movies again!

Get excited and enthusiastic about you own dream. This excitement is like a forest fire - you can smell it, taste it, and see it from a mile away.

My Christmas present finally came in today!!!

I'm sooooo excited!

Matt this year got me a studio lighting set!!  

Strobes!  I got Strobes!!!

I was able to play a little bit with them tonight.  I'm loving the results.  Grandma was so kind to pose with Ben.  Here's an example of what I'll be able to do from now on. 

 Ps. very little post editing was done!  Practically perfect straight out of the camera!

I feel sooo spiffy!

We'll be doing family photos real soon!

"Everyone carries around his own monsters"

My monster, you ask?

A 10lbs little boy named Benjamin!

Who is currently, and thankfully, asleep in his swing.  Allowing his mommy(aka- me) some time to make herself a tasty dinner, watch a movie, and clean the kitchen.  And yes, that is all at the same time!  I'm even managing to get some blogging done!  

Honestly, it's Heaven! 

I am having a blast getting to know Benjamin!  He is an amazing baby!  Completely handsome, smiling up a storm, and winning over all the hearts of everyone that comes in contact with him!  And while we call him our little monster, he is normally very easy going!  But Ben has definitely found his voice and he loves to see how loud he can be.  And he loves to stand.  He gets the biggest smile, sticks out his tongue, screams, and then starts trying to bounce!  It's sooo funny!

Well, I hear my little monster starting to fuss, which probably means he wants something to eat.  So I'll leave you with just a few pictures.

Enjoy!

I know I do!!!

 

Since We've Been Home

 

 

 

We are loving having Ben home!  He is a very good baby.  He sleeps, he eats, he poops...he has mastered two out of the three.  It's amazing!  He has almost doubled his birth weight.  And he is meeting all of his milestones so far!

An impatient person plays differently than a more patient person.

I'll post more tomorrow, when I can get some good photos, but for now I'll leave it at......

BENJAMIN IS HOME!!!!!

“The helicopter approaches closer than any other vehicle to fulfillment of mankind's ancient dreams of the flying horse and the magic carpet.”

Ben has not been able to come home yet.  But we have been able to visit him at his foster mommy's house.  She is so kind and gracious to host us most nights!  We absolutely love holding his little snuggle butt, feeding him, and of course changing him.  He is such a content baby who loves to talk, grunt, and yelp at us. We are very excited for when he'll be able to come home with us.  This past week my parents were in town(totally pre-planned way before Ben even came into the picture- talk about a fun treat for them!) and so they got to spend some time with their first grandson.  We've been going camera crazy!  I hope you enjoy the photos!

Matt and I got a call from our case worker Jill in the early afternoon Friday October 8, 2010.  She had a situation that she thought we might be interested in.  Typically we only get a call about those situations when there is something special going on.  And of course this was no different. 

Jill told us there was a little boy about 3 weeks old, healthy as can be, but has a family history of dwarfism.  Now we are not the tallest people in the world, so we figured it wouldn’t be a big deal.  And as we thought about being presented the only thing that kept coming to mind was that there was NO REASON to say no.  I emailed Jill to let her know that we were good with everything and to let us know what happened.  Neither one of us thought that we would get another call from Jill.  Especially on Monday, the day they were presenting us.

But we did get that call from Jill, who told us that we were picked!!!  We were amazed at how quickly things seemed to be coming together.  The birthparents already had a court date to relinquish parental right set up for Thursday, just 3 days away!  At this point we were still scared that something would come up and the match would fall apart again, like the last time.  So we decided to play it safe and not say much to anyone about being picked. 

But I did take the time on Tuesday to go up to the office to meet the little guy.  He was sleeping when I got there.  And so I held him as he slept, he loved just being snuggled.  When he did finally wake up he wiggled, stretched, and moaned a lot.  I gave him a bottle and talked to him.  It was very nice.  I was able to ask Doug, the head honcho guy, some questions about what to expect.  I had a few of my prayers answered during that conversation.  And I walked away that evening feeling very confident about everything. 

We waited for Thursday.  We waited to hear about the court hearing.  We waited to hear if the courts accepted the relinquishment of the birth parents rights. 

But we didn’t wait long!  We were on the final stretch!  It was looking like a homerun!!!  The courts accepted everything!!  Our little guy was free to become part of our family!  Since then we’ve been busy with trying to name him (btw, we’re naming him Benjamin Eugene), sign documents, and getting ready for Ben to come home- which should happen in the next couple of days.

 

Benjamin Eugene

9/20/2010

6:16am

5lbs 11.9oz

18in

Romance is the glamour which turns the dust of everyday life into a golden haze.

Every girl says she wants romance in her life.

But do we know what romance truly is?

Matt sure does!!

This is what Matt does to romance the lady of this dreams...

I have to admit that if we were cartoons we would definitely be in a Pepe Le Pew episode!!!

Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance.

As a child I moved around a lot!  Most people thought we were army brats, but we weren't.  And through out the years I have tried staying in contact with people that I've met along the way.  Sadly, I am awful at mailing letter through the US postal system.  (I am MUCH better at emails though!) And there have been friends that I've lost touch with.  But now with the wonderful age of facebook and blogging I am constantly searching to see if I can find old friends.  It always makes me happy to run across a familiar face!  

Well, just this past month I found an old friend's blog.  I still haven't gotten up the courage to email and say "hey remember me?" but that's beside the point.  The point is that one of her sisters is taking a stand, or taking a yoga pose, to help women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  

Yoga for Congo Women

You still have a month to check it out and SIGN UP!  The event is being held in Golden Colorado.  It will be recorded and broadcast ONLINE for those not able to attend but still wish to participate!  All 100% of the proceeds are going to Women for Women.

Here's a list of links to check out:

www.yogaforcongowomen.org

www.womenforwomen.org

Little Women And A Mom

Sometimes I wish I were a little kid again, skinned knees are easier to fix than broken hearts.

The adoption match has failed.  

We will not be bring home little Jack... 

Our hearts are crushed...

We feel a numb emptiness...

We are taking a break.

I don't know when I'll be back...

Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known

Wednesday

3:06pm

My phone rings.  I'm jamming out to the radio while driving to Hobby Lobby, my most favorite store of all time.  It's not a number I have saved in my phone.  But I still recognize it.  It's Doug, the director of our LDS Family Services office here in Detroit.  I turned down the music.  Doug knew of a mother thinking of placing her son for adoption and wanted to know if we were interested in being presented to her. I pull into a nursery(gardening) parking lot to get all the details.  The situation is perfect for us so I told him to "Show Us Off"!

Thursday

Matt's not home so I go and see a movie to try to stop thinking about if the phone will ring.   BTW, Sorcerer's Apprentice is pretty cute.  And I'm pretty sure I failed not thinking about it...

Friday

Work, Work, Work.  9am to 6pm

I get home at 6:30 and as I'm turning the key to get into the apartment, the phone rings.  It's Matt and with only two words he gets my heart racing. "Doug Called"

We've been matched!  The birthmom picked us!!!

We are so happy, excited, nervous, and every other emotion you can think of having!  We will be adopting a little boy, who we plan to name Jack Patton.  He is one and a half weeks old and is a current resident of the NICU.  He was born at 32 weeks, or 8weeks early.  He is on the ventilator and will be there for a while.  Our little man is 4lbs, 8oz and 18inches long.  His birth mother is Hispanic and his birth father is African American.  We've been told that he already has a full head of dark hair.  We can not wait to meet him, which we do tomorrow!

We are frantically trying to get everything together and ready for when he can come home.  If anyone is interested in sending a gift we have registered at Target and will be registering at Babies R Us sometime this week. 

Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must undergo the fatigue of supporting it.

We had a wonderful Fourth of July!  Our apartment complex hosted a lovely carnival.  We enjoyed some elephant ears, fried oreos, and fried snickers!  We love carnival food.  Sadly there weren't that many rides...and nothing that we thought was worth the price.  The complex also hosted a grand fireworks show!  They shot off some great fireworks both Friday and Saturday night!  Since it was practically in our backyard we figured we'd walk down to the waterfront (we're on a lake!) and watch the show.  We were right under neath everything!!!  During the grand finale Saturday night we were showered with ash from the fireworks!!  We were that close!

It was AWESOME!!!

We really enjoyed ourselves.  And we're so glad that we were able to sneak in a couple friends to celebrate the occasion!  

WE LOVE THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!

In gardens, beauty is a by-product. The main business is sex and death.

We Are Blooming!!!!

Soon we will be enjoying some tasty jalapenos!!!