The Man of the Hour

At the end of December, we were seriously blessed to be able to go to Colorado for my nephew's sealing to his parents, Michael and Beth. They have adopted two beautiful children and we were so excited to go to this wonderful milestone in their lives.

On December 31, we headed to the temple. It was so beautiful outside with all the snow. Caleb was all dressed in white and looked so handsome. Something a bit unusual, but absolutely wonderful, was that Caleb's birth grandparents were able to come to the sealing. The sealer himself had a granddaughter give a baby up for adoption, and was traveling the next day to see that baby baptized! After the ceremony, Caleb's birth mom came to the temple and we were able to meet her and spend some time getting to know her. It was the most beautiful awkward situation ever. Here is this beautiful girl who made a mistake that blessed our family more than she could ever know. And we got to meet her! Things are looking up in her life and she's now in Utah going to college.

Sarah (also adopted) and Caleb

Beth and Caleb. So happy.

Birth Grandparents, Jill (Birth mom), Beth, Michael (Paul's brother) Sarah, and little Caleb.

Jill and Caleb :)

Beth, Caleb and Jill (birth mom :)

The whole experience was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I really believe that it takes the most faithful to handle the hard and what a hard thing this was. Jill is wonderful and we are so happy for her to be doing so well. We really only wish her and her family the best. That's all they deserve for blessing Michael and Beth with this beautiful baby boy.

We are so glad we were able to go up to Colorado for this and didn't talk ourselves out of it because of all the bad weather. It was an experience we will never forget and hopefully we'll be able to attend another one for Michael and Beth soon :)

Another 1st: Christmas!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year was super fun, but super crazy. There was a ton of driving around. Each day we went to Paul's parents house then my moms house. Next year we will definitely be splitting up our time differently. It was too exhausting and I was too grumpy by the end of both days. We did have a ton of fun though. It was great getting to see both our families so much!

We will always spend Christmas morning at our own house with our own kids so we can have that fun time as a family. This face, to me, is Christmas Morning. I just love this picture! Abby had such a fun day. When she woke up she what all kinds of whiny and fussy, but as soon as she saw her little people farm she perked right up! We really didn't expect any reaction from her, but it just goes to show how much she loves her little people!

This was the first picture I took of her. She was SO. TIRED! It was so funny though.



We had a wonderful Christmas! Lots of laughs, love and fun. What else could we possibly need?

Christmas Pops

One of the many perks from Paul working at Peisner Johnson and Co is always getting to have an awesome Christmas activity. This past Christmas we were able to go to the Dallas Symphony and see "Christmas Pops" with Marvin Hamlisch. The show was awesome. I really love going to see things like this, but it's never something that we think of doing, so I was extra excited to go see what it was all about. Marvin Hamlisch directed and man was he awesome. He's such a great M.C. and really kept the crowd going with his quick whitted comments and interaction with the crowd. There were some excellent performers, too. Two teenagers from a nearby high school came and did their own rendition of Greensleeves with a vibraphone and a violin. It was amazing! I really could sit and listen to talented people play their insturments all day long. I guess thats the band nerd in me. There was also a little girl, she was 10 I believe (Mikaela Schneider) who sang Ave Maria. It was the most beautiful thing. I've never heard that song sung so beautifully. (Again, I could sit and listen to choirs or soloists all day.. that would be the choir nerd in me!) Also the orchestra and choir were beautiful and flawless. Mr. Hamlisch introduced the choir as the Motab. ha.

We are so glad we were able to go to this wonderful performance with PJco. It was such a treat!

Oh my! I almost forgot to tell you about the dinner we were treated to before hand! (holy mother of brag time) We were able to eat (with PJco) at the Opus Restaurant just inside the Dallas Symphony building. It was a buffet with the yummiest food I've had in a very long time! If the food had be sitting out for more than about 20 minutes, they would replace it with a fresh dish of it! So awesome. Yeah, we were super spoiled that night. :)

Happy Birthday, Super Lukas!!

Super Lukas (my nephew who was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma when he was 11 months old) turned 4!! Birthdays for him are extra special because we did not think he would make it to be a big old 4 year old about 3 years ago! He's so funny and says things like "I love you to the moon and back!" He's super cute and way fun to be around.

We were able to go celebrate with him at Abbey's Playtown in Grand Prairie. This place is AWESOME! Theres bounce houses, kid roller coasters, a little play area for babies, a ball pit, swings hanging from the ceiling and more! Abby had a blast in her little baby protected area away from all the crazy 1-5 years old running crazy. There are no shoes allowed (even for parents), which I was super skeptical about at first because I didnt think it could be sanitary, but it was so clean in there! The owner really keeps it clean.

Beth and her BFF Cortney. Cortney moved to Utah a few months ago and surprised us all by showing up to the party! Beth was so happy!




I look kinda crazy in this picture, but Lukas looks super cute! Happy Birthday big boy!! Can't wait to celebrate another year with you!

FaiL- 10 Months!

Apparently, I never posted that Abby turned 10 months. Well, Surprise! She made it... and is now almost to 11 months! Sheesh.

Anyway, for her 10 month post, here's what happened in month 9:

• Abby learned how to walk! (Which is what I completely and whole heartedly blame my lack of blogging to. It's non stop around here!)
• She has added "Nana" to her vocabulary.
• She finally started to wave goodbye and clap her hands.
• I think this is when she got two more teeth.. Uhhh... *dur*
• A long with walking came climbing... and a whole lot of bonks.

It's been a lot of fun around here with Abby learning such a big milestone! Shes everywhere, getting into everything, and being cuter (a word?) than ever. Shes started playing peek-a-boo constantly using what ever she can to hide her eyes then come out from behind it and say "DA!" or "AH!" nice and loud.

Stay tuned till next week when I get to write about her 10 month progress! My baby is getting too big!