Our Nursery Boy

He technically missed his first official day in nursery because we were in CA (not a very good record so far...ooops!) but he was all ready to go on Sunday, May 15th. We had waited and waited for him to turn 18 months and be able to go into nursery and not have to be bored to death with us in our classes....or all of us just wander the halls during church... but as the day approach he became more and more attached and we weren't sure how it was going to go.

But he had his frog name tag in hand... and we were ready to give it a try!


This is his "after" shot showing off his necklace that he had made during class!!!

He did a great job! We were so proud of him. He went right in... and had no problems. We don't know if the leaders are telling us the truth or not but for now we will take it. They said he did great. I was able to sneak a peak and it was pretty darn cute if I do say so myself... He was sitting at the tiny table eating his fruit snacks and just looking up at Sister Virden give her lesson... So precious...

For now we will just keep our fingers crossed that the weeks to follow go just as smooth. Yeah for nursery!

Lazy Sunday

After church..where Blake and daddy wore their matching ties... we pretty much just spent the day outside playing..or reading..or napping...we had a pretty lazy Sunday. It was nice.

All dressed up and ready for church.

Playing with daddy on the slide.

Grandma, daddy and Blake reading.

Blake reading the newspaper at the table.

Grandma reading her book outside... and trying to soak up the sun a bit too.

Trick or Treat....

The whole country family... Farmer...cowgirl...and cow!!

The cutest cow you've ever seen....MOOOO!

The cow in his barn!

He didn't quite get the whole trick or treat thing but he did catch on that things were being placed in his bucket and he watched to see what was happening with that whole concept.... I am sure he was just wondering what in the world is this all about and what is going on???

The farmer and his very tired cow after a looong night!!!

Happy Halloween to everyone and we can't wait to start planning for next year already.... Oh wait I guess we need to get through a certain little man's first birthday that happens next Saturday!!!!

For time and all eternity

Here are a few shots from the day at the temple.... What an experience! Words are really just too hard to find to express the feelings and emotions that were felt that day. After years of waiting for a little one to join our family.. then having to wait the months to finally know that he is truly ours FOREVER it was amazing. It was also so great to have all of our friends and family with us to show their love and support. We have had such amazing people with us through this journey and are so thankful for that.

Families are forever and we now have one of our own.

Ward Shower

Two special ladies in the ward were so kind to throw a "welcome party" for Blake and it was great. So many people came out to say hello and shower us with gifts for our new little bundle of joy... It was a great night and we could feel the love that our ward has for us and for Blake... Blake is definitely the ward's baby and we love it! 

 

 

Weekend Wrap-Up

What a weekend.... I think I learned that things don't always go as planned!

Friday I was still not feeling great... Thursday was NOT a good day. I had a terrible migraine. I mean a really bad one. I ended up at my doctor's office to get a shot and I hadn't done that in a LONG time. So needless to say Friday I still wasn't feeling fantastic. I had a lot of things I wanted to get done and needed to get done...but people had other plans. It wasn't a bad thing really. We ended up going to a local high school football game and then out to dinner after. It was fun.

Saturday morning there was an adoption 5K charity run waaaay on the other side of town and I really wanted to go, BUT I was suppose to be helping out at our ward's Super Saturday. The run started at 9 and our activity started at 10... So you do the math?! I can't run that fast! I had to make a tough decision because I really wanted to do the run, but I had committed to helping a few weeks ago so I went to Super Saturday. The classes were great and then it came to my class (card making). I had all my cards ready to go but people's bellies were talking to them and many choose to have lunch instead of make cards so I ended up with a lot of cards not done when I got home. A little disappointing especially since I really wanted to be at that 5K run!

Then as it turns out when I get home my sweet hubby is outside digging in the dirt and tells me we have no water... just a nice leak instead. WHAT? We were suppose to do this, and this, and this... not have to fix a water leak all day! Oh well... Life goes on...

Sunday turned out great though. We were helping out with the FSA adoption and foster care fireside for the valley. We were nervous because we didn't know how many people to expect, what to expect from the speakers, or anything really. But the night was a success. Everything went off really well. The speakers were great. There was a great turnout and the night was just perfect.

Labor Day Weekend Wrap-Up

Mike and Holly arrived late Friday night but that didn't stop us from waking up early Saturday morning and heading to the lake. We were at water's edge by 7:30am. It was a great day and the water and weather were very cooperative (much better than last time we took them out!).

We did have one strange experience though... We found a dog swimming out in the middle of the lake. We rescued him and took him back to the pier. It was crazy to see this dog just swimming, and swimming. We called it in but he did have tags so that was a good sign! Crazy thing to find in the middle of the lake though.

Relaxing the day away was niiiice!

Mike and Holly getting a few trips out on the skiis.

After cleaning up from time at the lake we went for a little bit of shopping and then some dinner at PF Changs. Then it was out to the big show. We were able to get tickets to take the parents to see Barry Manilow and they were very excited.

Us with our Manilow glow sticks... helps make the show more exciting I guess!

They enjoyed the show and that was the point.

Sunday we were able to relax a little bit. Went to church where I received a new calling. I am not officially in YW and am the Secretary. I am excited to work with the girls again. I enjoyed them so much at Camp and can't wait to see their smiling faces every week. After church we hung out at home and then had a BBQ with both sets of parents. What a great way to end a fun weekend. It was sad to see them have to leave on Monday but all good things have to come to an end I guess and we all had to return to real life... no fun!

Weekend Wrap-Up... Calling all Race Fans

We had another kind of relaxing weekend... Sort of strange for us, but we are not complaining.

Friday night Dan and his fellow Elder's Quorum buddies were in charge of a Ward Party... They choose to have a pinewood derby throw-down! It turned out to be a lot of fun and brought out tons of people. There was a lot of fun and there were races going all evening long. Good times!

Saturday we actually just relaxed in the morning and then hung out with some friends in the evening. Dan did some boxing and I did some scrapbooking. A pretty perfect afternoon, and then we all went out for dinner.

Sunday was Stake Conference and we headed over to mom and dad's for some BBQ to top it off!

Girls Camp Wrap-up

Palo Verde / Alta Vista Girls Camp 2009!!!

From packing and preparing... to setting up camp....

To learning our devotionals and cooking our meals....

To enjoying ourselves with a little partying in the night....

and a little singing in the day.... along with some hiking, shooting, ice cream making, fabric braiding, archery, zip lining....

and a day of fun in the sun and canoeing....

It was a great week with the girls and the leaders! We had a blast and made a lot of great memories that will last forever. Hope the girls had as much fun as I did.... It was a lot of work don't get me wrong but it was totally worth it and I enjoyed every minute of it!

Trusting in the Lord

New Calling

Well church on Sunday was exciting. Dan and I have been the Stake Technologists for the past two and half years. Basically what that means is that we have been in charge of showing all of the broadcasts that come across from Salt Lake. It also means that we were able to see General Conference without fail; that was a plus for sure. This being said, Sunday we were released from this calling. I was not too disappointed as it has been a long time and I am plenty busy with FSA and Girls Camp for sure and Dan is now involved with Scouts too.

This also being said we were released but Dan was called to something different... and a lot more time consuming if nothing else. You are looking at (well not really Looking at) the new second counselor in the Elder's Quorum presidency! Wish us luck. We really have our plates full now.

I am sure that he will do a great job and he was a wonderful president that he is working with and gets along with great, so I am sure he is going to love this calling and learn a lot while he is in in too.

YW Fun-Raiser

Everyone loves fundraising right??? Just kidding. Fundraising and putting on ward parties are probably some of the things that people like doing the least. Well tonight I was in charge of doing those two exact things. Great....

Actually after a few weeks of planning, TONS of great help from the ward, an amazing turn out (which was so not expected on a Valentine's day, holiday weekend.. hello!) and an awesome assistant we did have a successful event.

We held a Valentine's Dinner that we called "Sweets for your Sweet". The entire ward was invited and it was a baked potato bar. Then we had the young women (okay mostly their moms, grandmas, YW leaders..etc.) make sweets that we auctioned off at the end of the evening as our fundraiser. We ended up with so many sweets I could not believe it. This was the part that I was the most nervous about, but was the most successful.

The whole ward (practically) turned out to support the YW and I am so thankful. I think we might actually be able to make it to Utah for Camp this summer. Yeah!!!

A special thanks to Dave Smith for running the auction. A part of the night I was not wanting to do at all.

Dan was able to head home with a Hawaiian desert that he missed from his mission. The Polynesians in the Branch used to feed him well.

So I stressed a bit but when all was said and done it was a great night and we were able to earn some money for Girls Camp and that was the most important part!

Blogging Slump

I feel like I have been in a slump the last few weeks, ever since Christmas really. I know I have posted a few things, but definitely not my normal for sure. It is not that we aren't doing things because we are, but I just don't feel like they are "blog-worthy" and I don't always have pictures to go with the events and that makes me not want to post either. But tonight I thought I would take a minute and just re-cap about the past few days, or weeks, and fill in the gaps about what has really been going on in our lives.

* My knee recovery is going great actually. I am continuing with physical therapy 3 times a week and am back to 80% according to my last doctor visit which was last week. I can straighten it no problem but still have some pulling sensation with the bending, but it is getting there for sure.

* I actually started a new job last week too. It is not a permanent job or anything substantial but it gets me out of the house a little more and brings in a little bit of "extra" money. I am helping a friend of mine with some data input a few hours a week for right now. It might turn into something different when I am done with this certain project but for right now that is what I am doing and I am fine with that. So far, so good.

* I am busy working and planning with the YW in the ward for an upcoming Valentine's dinner and sweet auction to help us earn some money for Girls Camp. We have been making centerpieces, posters, paddles, etc. and hopefully we will be ready for the dinner that is coming up on Feb. 13th.

* Dan has been working, working, working. He not only has been busy with the new contract at Mandalay Bay but he has been doing some systems at night and also just picked up a new contract with a Toys R Us and a Century Theater as well. He will be busy for a while with those for sure.

* Dan has also been busy with a special project in the house. He just finished building shelves and customizing the closet in the "nursery". I love it and am so excited. It really looks good. We are going to start working on painting and really putting it together now. Just in case... you never know!

* We of course have been busy on Sunday's cheering for our Steelers and it has paid off. They made it all the way to the Super Bowl and we could not be more excited. We can't wait until Feb. 1 when we can watch then win and make it #6 for them. Go Big Ben!

So... like I said, we have not really been doing anything exciting but we have been busy all the same.

What a Blessing

This weekend we traveled to AZ to be there for the blessing of our nephew, Preston, who is the son of Dan's sister Amy and her husband Steve. We were thankful for the chance that we had to make the trip and to spend some time with the family. Again we had a wonderful weekend.

We flew this time (partly because of my knee surgery and partly because we just didn't want to drive) and landed in Phoenix on Friday night after having our plane delayed here in Las Vegas for over an hour...We then spent Saturday with Mike and Holly, also known as mom and dad, just hanging out. We toured Mesa, going to the church bookstore and the local scrapbook store of course, and then had dinner at the Organ Stop Pizza Co. A great place to eat if you are ever in Mesa! Sunday morning we drove down to Tucson for the blessing. What a precious blessing Steve was able to provide to his new son. We then visited at Steve and Amy's home and had to cut our time short in order to make the drive back up to Phoenix in order to make our flight back home. Our visit was quick but we were glad that we were there for such an important event in Preston's life and also in Amy and Steve's as well. We love them so much.

The Urbancic/Wilker family...Katie and Nathan, Amy, Preston and Steve, Holly and Mike and Dan and Aranne

The new little family.... Amy, Steve and Preston

The Forgotten Carols

We were able to attend a performance of Michael McLean's "The Forgotten Carols" tonight and I was so excited. Some friend's of ours called us at the last minute and said that they could not make it to the performance and offered us their tickets. It was so nice of them. Dan and I had actually talked about getting tickets ourselves but then never got around to doing it so this was such a great surprise. We were glad to take the tickets off of their hands.

Neither of us had ever been to a performance and weren't quite sure what to expect. We thought we were going to hear a choir sing and hear some Christmas songs, but we got a lot more. "The Forgotten Carols" is a wonderful play that Michael McLean wrote himself all about some unknown carols and stories regarding Christ's birth and people who were there and things of that nature. It is truly an amazing story. It is a show that has to be seen. We are so glad that we were able to be there and see this tonight. We left with such an amazing Spirit and it helps to remember what Christmas is really all about. This was such a great gift that our friend's were able to give to us and I am not sure that they understood they were giving it.

Gratitude Countdown #1

I am taking this idea from my friend Kirsten....

It is exactly one week from Thanksgiving and so I want to share my thoughts with you and remind myself of some of the things in my life that I am thankful for. I am counting down with the 7 Days of Gratitude



#1.... I am thankful for the gospel in my life. I have always been taught about Jesus Christ but have not always been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am thankful for the decision I made when I was 17 to join the church and for the impact it has made in my life.

HOPE

Adoption is a way and a means of HOPE for us. It is a struggle and it requires patience, but it gives us HOPE! It gives us HOPE of a new beginning. A new life. A new family.

There is a great article that was offered by President James E. Faust in Nov. 1999. I find it ironic that he would write the article in November (National Adoption Month) and have the topic be HOPE! Totally appropriate.

HOPE applies to many aspects in our lives but as we are in the midst of adopting, we of course are applying it to adoption. Take a look at the article here and see what you get out of it.

My favorite quote is from Samuel Smiles “ ‘Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey towards it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us.’ … Hope sweetens the memory of experiences well loved. It tempers our troubles to our growth and our strength. It befriends us in dark hours, excites us in bright ones. It lends promise to the future and purpose to the past. It turns discouragement to determination.”

Calling. Fast. Cars.

We don't really have any pictures from this weekend but there were some pretty important events that happened and we figured we should share them...

Calling: Today at church I got a new calling, a pretty BIG, calling. I am the new YW Camp Director. yep, you heard me right. Not the assistant, or just in YW, but the Camp DIRECTOR! I have no idea what they were thinking but I am pretty excited and just hope that I am able to pull it off for the girls. So now I have until July to search site after site and see what other creative ladies have come up with as far as great ideas for camp. Let me know if you have any ideas or know where to find them. I welcome any help!!!

Fast: We were able to participate (along with some great family and friends) in a fast and temple session in honor of National Adoption Month and our adoption efforts. It felt so good to know that we were all fasting and also attending the temple for the same cause and to be united in that. We are so lucky to be blessed with such a great support system. We look forward to the day that we are able to bring a little one into our home and into this wonderful family! Thanks again to all of those who participated with us. We love you!

Cars: Dan and some friends decided that they wanted to have a car wash at our house so on Saturday they washed 5 cars and in so doing inspired the rest of our street. By the time they were done 3 more houses had washed cars in their driveways as well. Thanks to their hard work last night and today we had RAIN in beautiful Las Vegas, NV! We haven't had rain in months but today we did....

We are off on another week's adventure... wish us luck! 

Fast

It is National Adoption Month as I have mentioned before and because of such we have decided to head out to the temple and also fast in that honor. We will be starting a fast tonight and then going to the temple on Saturday.

It has been a while for us as we continue the "waiting game" but we have had such great love and support from all of our families and friends and we are so grateful for that. We know that our time with come when we will be able to be blessed with a child in our home and be able to be a forever family. Until then we do all that we can to stay strong and hopeful; including attending the temple. We would love to have anyone join us that would like to for this cause. It would be great to have the temples full with people their for this cause. It is so close and dear to my heart and I know to many others as well.

This is an invitation to all!

So anyone, anywhere that can make it out to their respective temples please feel welcome to do so.

Happy Boo to You

Here is my little devil... okay, so he is not really that little!

We went to our ward's trunk or treat this Halloween just like we did last year. Our friend's the Young's came in from out in Pahrump and went with us. There was not really a lot of people there (I think because it was a 3-day weekend here in Nevada (Nevada Day) and because of Halloween being on a Friday) but the kids still raked in the candy! We saw lots of cute costumes and hung out for the evening.

After some time at the church we decided that we wanted to walk the neighborhood too and see what was going on there. We took the kids out and they had a good time until they got scared by one house and then they were pretty much done!

It was a fun and safe Halloween and that is what counts.