Our Adoption Video

Our AMAZING cousin Rachel from Letty Films did our adoption video.  And can I just say that she seriously did an incredible job.  I was a little bit nervous about how everything would go and the end product exceeded my expectations.  Dave and I felt that it would be important for expectant mothers and fathers to SEE who we are in action-the way we talk, the way we play, how we interact, our home, etc. And Rachel did just that.  She found the little things that make us who we are and caught them perfectly. We are so grateful for Rachel and her willingness to branch out a little bit with putting the interview in there too! I can see this being the wave of the future-family pictures and family videos! We love our family now and already love our family to come!

The Card Family. from Letty Films by Rachel Aletta on Vimeo.

Moving Up

Aliyah finally is moving up from the crib made toddler bed and to a real big girl bed. 

She was so excited to not only be in a big girl bed but to have her bed be PINK!!

We found this awesome frame for $12 on KSL Classifieds and gave it a good coat of PINK paint.

I love the way that it turned out... 

and so did Aliyah!

Our next step was building bookcases to flank the bed and windows.  

Dave and I decided what we wanted them to look like, drew it out, and bought the materials. 

It was a process!! And I probably wasn't as helpful as we had hoped I could have been! 

But we finally got them done: cut, framed, boxed, finishing, sanded, and painted.

It was fun!

I made the bed skirt and pieced together the quilt…

once again more PINK!

Made the pillows

And now we are working on the decor.

It makes me a little bit sad to see her in a big girl bed, but she loves it!

And now the nursery is ready for a baby anytime!

Hit and Run

…was the name of a 5K race that Dave did.  Can you tell Dave likes running?

This one was so intriguing because throughout the 5K they had 5 obstacles you had to get through--think like the t.v. show Wipe Out.

Here they are at the beginning...

One of the obstacles

 And the finish line

Here's the video of Dave doing the obstacles:

This was the funnest and funniest race I have attended. I was laughing pretty much the whole time-whether it was at Dave or someone else. Such a fun Saturday!!

Adoption

This has been a huge part of our life the last 6 months and I am just now writing about it! Maybe it is because of the fact that we are completely out of control and don't want to get our hopes up or maybe it is because it is hard to tell everyone that you can't build your family the "traditional," expected way. Whatever the reason may be we are very proud and excited to be a part of this awesome experience. 

The beginning of March we knew we had come to a point where we had to decide whether we wanted our family to grow through IVF or adoption. After attending meetings for both and being very prayerful, we felt that adopting was the course for us.  Although I felt great relief in having direction and hope I knew that there would be hard, emotional days ahead of us.

We quickly began the process of gathering referrals, medical clearances, employer referrals, stake president referrals, and documentation. Then on to the preferences, filling out what seemed like hundreds of questions about us individually, and our financial situation. We collected pictures and wrote comments about each one and filled out information on us. We prayed and pondered on how we could write a letter that would sufficiently tell an expectant mother how much we already love her. We prepared our house for our home study-cleaning, decorating, and organizing.  And finally we were approved to adopt a baby. 

But that's not the end.

Now we wait. 

Since then we have had our ups and downs, but mostly we have just waited. We got the word out on Facebook. We made business cards. We have dear friends who have featured us on their blog. We talk with our family, friends, co-workers, students and strangers telling everyone that we WANT to adopt. 

And when all is said and done these next few pictures are what help us to continue moving forward--waiting and hoping:

Thinking about holding your baby for the first time

Seeing your best friend and husband look into the eyes of your child and see and feel the love that he has for them

And hearing the prayers of a three year old who is so excited to be a sister.

(She can't wait to have a baby brother to play John or Michael (from Peter Pan) while she is Wendy Darling or a baby sister to play Elsa while she is Anna)

We are so grateful for all of the support by so many loved ones.  We are so excited for our future family and look forward to seeing how this will all play out. But until then, we will have complete faith in Heavenly Father's plan for us!

Moments and a Marathon

Here are some of our favorite moments from the last little bit…

Aliyah working on spelling her name with popsicle sticks.

A day at the pool--just mom and Aliyah.

Her pink swimsuit with the "golden" hearts and her glasses 

make up her favorite swim outfit.

And I didn't complain when she turned and kissed me and looked into my face!

Do you like our matching "Mulan" hair?

Since May Dave has been gearing up and training for his first Marathon.  There is a lot of time spent in running those many, many miles each week in preparation for the big 26.2 mile run. Dave was nervous, but he was well prepared. 

Because of the time and location of the race, I had told Dave that we would be at finish line waiting for him.  But had decided a few days before that we would surprise him around the 20 mile mark and cheer him on.  It worked perfectly… the only thing I hadn't planned on was my emotions!

As Aliyah and I watched Dave to run to the street where we were ready to cheer him on I had tears well up in my eyes. I was so proud of him and this huge thing that he was doing.  Running twenty-six point two miles is a big deal! He ran to us and gave us kisses and I told him how proud I was of what he was accomplishing with tears running down my face.  It was such a cool moment to be a part of.

Here's Aliyah waiting at the finish line:

It took a little while, but she was patient.

Here he comes!

When all was said and done, Dave finished his first Marathon in 3 hours and 42 minutes!

I asked hime a few hours later if he wants to run another one and he said YES! 

Crazy man, but I will support him!

Dave's dad came to support Dave at the finish line too. It was fun to be there together for Dave as he accomplished this huge fete!

St. George Trip

 We try to go down to St. George every year during the summer to go see a show at Tuacahn and to see some family! Since this was going to be our only "bigger" trip this summer we decided to stay a little longer and do more.  

We stayed with my brother and his family. Aliyah played with their daughter who is 4 and a half years older--I wasn't sure how much fun Aliyah would have being so much younger, but she loved her cousin--followed her around and always asked where she was. 

On of the first days their we played Life. It was funny to watch as my car loaded up with kids--I wish real life was as simple as the game of Life. Maybe when we do look back at the end of our life we will see the roads we've been on and be able to look back completely satisfied and grateful for the life we did lead!?…I'm sure we will.

One of the greatest parts about going to Tuacahn this year is that two of our nephews were in the production of The Wizard of Oz.  They were two of the three in the Lollipop Guild and they did an AMAZING job.  It was so fun to watch them on stage. 

This was also Aliyah's first time watching a live production.  She was so much fun to watch. She would wave to the actors if they came close.  Despite the very late hour that it ended, it was so fun.

One of the days we went to the Children's Museum.  It was a smallish museum but had about 6 rooms for the kids to explore!  Again it was Aliyah's first children's museum experience and she loved it.  She could play with anything in the museum?!

And then to the splash pad and little stream...

And the carousel...

 I even made a cameo! (see me in the mirror \/ )

Our last night we went to The Little Mermaid at the Tuacahn.  They did an amazing job! Aliyah was completely entranced with the production and her frozen lemonade!

But by the end of the 5 day trip and another late night, Aliyah was done...

 

Aliyah did an amazing job in the car and didn't watch one movie down or back…

she just entertained herself!

Such a much needed, wonderful trip.  Thank you to our wonderful family who we LOVED spending time with!

Busy June

Dave's faculty all got together for a BBQ and horseback riding.  It was Aliyah's first time riding a real horse (… not a horse on the carousel!) I think she liked it.

    

     

I love this picture of Dave holding Aliyah's hand!

 One of my favorite things that Aliyah is very into right now is waving.  She sticks her arms straight out and wiggles her fingers.  It is so cute, especially when it is directed to me!

Dave and I even got a turn to ride the horses...

One of our favorite things to do each year is go to the Parade of Homes.  Aliyah is usually a pretty good sport about it, but she does get tired, and Dave usually gets to do all the heavy lifting...

but I get my moments too!

She is getting too big!

Then Dave and I had our birthdays!

Aliyah got a little bit confused at why we celebrated our birthdays right after each other and kept asking when she got to have her birthday.  She did have fun picking out presents and helping us open them.

One of Dave's gifts to me was going to the Drive-in movie. I had never been to one before, so I was excited.  Our dear friend watched Aliyah for us and we borrowed another friends truck. 

It was SO fun. I giggled a few times because I was so excited. 

We also went to girls camp, I taught at the BYU Dance Camp Intensive, and lots of friends and family!

It's been a good month.