Party Weekend for Memorial Day

We started our Memorial Day weekend early, with Wayne taking off Thursday and Friday. On Thursday, it was to go to Benjamin's preschool graduation. I can't believe he's that old already, but he will be heading off to kindergarten in a couple of months.

On Friday afternoon, we went to "Day Out With Thomas"
at the Heber Valley Railroad.

Daniel may be getting a little old for Thomas,
but he still loves real trains.

Benjamin is our Thomas fan.
He has a collection of Thomas and Friends engines.

Daniel was running around exploring every nook and cranny
of the train, but Benjamin preferred to sit back
and enjoy the view out the window.

When we got back from Thomas, the boys went to the "Fathers and Sons" camp out. I went to my friend's house for a party and then went home and tackled some of my scrapbooking.


On Saturday, we went to Wayne's grandma's birthday party. Afterward, we stopped by my parents' house. That meant that the kids saw all of their grandparents and two of their great-grandparents all in the same day. They also saw their other great-grandma that lives in Utah earlier in the week. The only living grandparents they didn't see are my grandparents that live in Idaho, and we hope to visit them soon.


On Memorial Day, we visited a cemetery where some of my ancestors are buried. We also went to the park and had a picnic with some of our extended family.
This is a picture of my parents with Daniel and Benjamin.
We love all of our grandparents!!!

Woo Hoo!

After three and a half months of working on piles of paperwork and online forms, our adoption application at LDS Family Services has been officially approved!!!

Let me give you an idea of what was involved in getting our paperwork done. First, we went to an orientation meeting and paid them a bunch of money to start our application. Next, we had to sign a bunch of legal stuff. We filled out the papers giving them references and authorizing criminal background checks to be run on us. Then we had a financial disclosure form, including giving them a 1040 from last year's taxes. And that was all before we left the first meeting!

After that meeting, we were assigned a great caseworker. She met with us for a couple of interviews and a home inspection. We also had to pass an interview with our bishop, and he wrote a reference letter for us. Others of you also wrote reference letters for us (thanks, again!). There were legal forms we turned in copies of, including a marriage certificate, birth certificates, etc. I was going to say that the only thing nobody asked for was a blood test, but we were all required to have physicals, and Wayne had a blood test for it.

Besides that, we also made a photo collage, wrote a letter to potential birth parents, and created an online profile at www.beta.itsaboutlove.org.

As you can see, that's quite a bit of work! And believe it or not, I might have forgotten some of the stuff we had to do. Some people start these applications and never finish, and I met several couples who told me it took them about a year to do it all.

When our caseworker called us this afternoon to tell us that we were official, I was jumping up and down and cheering. After all that work, it is very rewarding to reach this point. Wayne and I celebrated by going to the temple and eating at Tucanos afterward.

What's left? Well, we have adoption classes that we attend once per month, and we have one more to go. After that, we hope and pray that our baby's birth mom will see our profile online or in the LDS Family Services office. Our caseworker has also told us that many people find their birth moms through friends and family who know someone that is considering adoption. So, if any of you have contacts like that, let us know. And show them our blog!

Benjamin's Curiosity

If you know my boys, then you know they don't have a dash of shyness, which is funny considering that they are MY kids. Well, we have talked a lot with the kids about what birth moms are so they have a general idea of why some babies are placed for adoption. Benjamin was so curious about this that a few weeks ago he asked me who his birth mom was, and he sounded somewhat upset when I told him it was just me because he wanted to have a different birth mom.

We went grocery shopping today, and Benjamin chatted with everyone in the store, as he always does. The ladies who give out the samples even know him by name and know what his favorite cookbooks are. As we made our way to the checkout, the cashier was a young man that we don't really know, but the bagger was a nice older man who Benjamin probably thinks is an extra grandpa of his or something. Benjamin grabbed one of the free lollipops at the checkout and was happily eating it when he suddenly asked me (loud enough for everyone within a hundred feet to hear), "Are you my real mom?"

I was a bit startled by the suddenness of the question, but I smiled and said yes. I should have anticipated the rest, but I didn't. He asked, practically shouting, "Are you my birth mom?" By now, I was both giggling and blushing, but I replied that I am, in fact, his birth mom, too.

The cashier and the bagger were both laughing, and the bagger said, "Interesting questions. You're a little embarrassed, aren't you." I just said that I'm used to it. Certainly, the time and place were somewhat unusual for that discussion. Of course, Benjamin isn't the first person to wonder if he is adopted. I have had other people wonder that about him as well, since he looks nothing like his dad or older brother. Apparently, Benjamin just realizes that being adopted is special, and he sometimes wishes he had been adopted.

Disneyland Pictures: Finally (but still no videos)

We went to Disneyland the last week of April. We drove down and stopped in Las Vegas overnight on the way there and on the way back. We love going to Las Vegas to see Eric and Krystal. And, of course, Jordy! Thanks again, guys. It was tons of fun.

Before we went to Disneyland, Benjamin kept talking about how excited he was to ride the Tower of Terror. He wimped out a little on that. But he did ride:



Splash Mountain! And he rode:



Indiana Jones! Actually, other than the Tower of Terror and California Screamin', there wasn't much he didn't ride. He loved riding Space Mountain and Star Tours.



We also enjoyed a day at Legoland. It's very different from Disneyland. For one thing, it was far less crowded. However, the lines for the popular rides moved very slowly. I recommend it only for families with little boys who like legos. And maybe little girls who really, really like legos. Our boys could have played on the various playgrounds throughout Legoland for a week. My favorite part was the aquarium that is next door and (sort of) part of Legoland.



The whole time we were at Disneyland, my boys kept talking about their "little sister." They were saying how much fun it will be to take her on all of their favorite rides. And every time we saw a little girl dressed in a princess dress, they would exclaim over how cute their baby girl will look all dressed up as a princess. Or maybe that was me. Our next trip is tentatively scheduled for UEA, October 2011. Hope to see you there!

I need a new post!

I totally need a post about our trip to Disneyland, but I can't figure out how to upload video from our digital camera. Sorry, I may just have to settle for regular pictures.

Also, I wanted to make a quick note about the Families Supporting Adoption "Celebrating Adoption Walk." It's this Saturday, May 9, at 10:00 a.m. at the Provo High School track. I don't really expect any of you to show up, but I wanted to explain what this event is about. The Saturday before Mother's Day is always "Birth Mother's Day." There was an article in the Deseret News about the walk this week. It's to show support for the amazing women who choose to place their babies for adoption. Please take a minute on Saturday to remember these birth moms in your thoughts and prayers, especially because we are waiting anxiously to find ours!

Wayne and I attended our adoption class tonight (thanks for babysitting, B & J). We only have one more to go. Also, we are waiting for the last of our paperwork to be accepted before we are officially approved as prospective adoptive parents. We'll let you know when that happens.