A New Day

I am ready for today to start and ready for A NEW DAY!

Yesterday was a rough day for me (actually the past few days I have had some rough patches). Sometimes it is a good thing that I work from home but sometimes it is not so good. I have a lot of "down time" and that leaves my brain to wander and that is NOT good. I start to think about things that I should not think about. I start wondering about the adoption (of course) and start thinking negatively because that is the kind of person that I am.

I wonder about all kinds of things.....

* Will someone really decide to give us their child?
* Why would someone choose us over anyone else?
* What makes our profile stand out over anyone elses?
* Will I be able to be a good mother or not?
* Am I going to have enough patience as a mom?
* Will we be ready when the time comes (whenever that is)?

All of these things run through my mind and TONS more and then I start getting down on myself and the situation. I KNOW that it will all work out but sometimes it is just hard when it is out of our control COMPLETELY and we have to just sit back and wait, and wait and wait. This is the hardest part. We want to be excited and we want to get prepared but we don't want to get overly excited and then be let down. And we don't want to have a nursery all set up and ready to go and have that waiting, and waiting and waiting too. It is a hard balance and we just don't have it right yet I guess. Some days we do and we are fine, but other days it just hits me and I realize that there is nothing that I can do but just BE and that is very hard for me to do.

Above all I know that the Lord has a plan and that it will all work out but this is a huge test of my FAITH. Some days I pass and some days I honestly don't. I wish I could say that I passed everyday and that it was a breeze for me, but it is not. It is a struggle, but it is much easier than it use to be before we made the wonderful decision to adopt. Now we are just waiting for that great reward and that is the hard part. He is teaching me and I am trying to learn but I am stubborn and I know that. I am grateful for this new day and for every new day that I get to start over and the chance that I have to learn new things about myself and what is to come and to be ready to be a mother and I hope it will make me a better one!

Weekend Recap

Okay so we don't have any pictures but we did do some fun things this weekend.....

Friday night to Saturday morning - I went to my mom's house and was able to get a bunch of scrapbook pages done. I love to feel like I am catching up on this kind of stuff. Dan went on his first campout with the scouts. He only had three "real" scouts and then a few other kids and a couple adults from the ward joined in the fun also. He had a great time. They took a mine tour, did an obstacle course, orienteering course, and first aid station. They also had the kids passing off requirements for advancement which means they got breakfast cooked for them! All in all he had a great time, with the exception of a windy night out in a tent which he is not used to any more.

Saturday - After Dan got back from his scout trip Dan, my brother, my Dad, me, and my nieces; Morgan and McKenna all went out to Logandale for the Clark County Fair and Rodeo. Besides having tons of traffic to get there we had a great time. We were able to have the girls see lots of animals and walk around at the exhibits. We of course had dinner out there (fair food is the best!) And the highlight of the night was the RODEO! We watched the bull riding, the barrel racing, team roping, etc. This was the first rodeo the girls had ever seen and I think they had a good time.

Sunday - I had gotten all of my work done on Saturday morning before heading out to the fair so I had absolutely no work to finish up today. It was wonderful. After going to church this morning, Dan and I came home to wonderful, warm weather and were able to sit outside and just relax. He cooked us up some BBQ and we enjoyed the day together. We had a great weekend and hopefully this means we are in store for a great week to come!

The unbeaten path

I came across this poem and thought it was perfect. It is exactly us and what we are going through and how we feel. I made a few adjustments, obviously, but here it is....

A baby to Love

There once was a boy who came down to the earth,

his parents were happy the day of his birth.

their second child, he was a little man

a cute, chubby boy, they named him Dan.

There once was a girl who was sent to the earth,

her parents were joyous the day of her birth.

their very first girl, she had them glarin',

big brown eyes, her name was Aranne.

Well these two grew up never knowing each other,

but one day they met and liked one another

Their friendship grew strong and what did they do?

Yep, they got hitched in Feb of '02!

First thing was first and they felt they should be,

adding some kids to their family tree.

They prayed and prayed and did all they should,

they were patient and willing to be extra good.

But their children weren't coming

and they weren't sure why,

so they went to the experts for options to try.

When none of the options were going their way,

the next thing to do was to kneel down and pray.

They weren't quite sure at this point what to do,

so Father in Heaven showed a new path to view.

He helped them to know there are different ways,

to add to your family in these latter days.

Out there somewhere there's a baby to love,

sent to a mother from heaven above.

That mother realizes her baby needs more,

taking care of a child by herself is a chore.

How great the birth mom to give up so much,

she'll know that the path you have taken is tough.

She'll know that you've wanted a child for so long,

she'll feel you're the right ones when you come along.

Although it is different to have a family this way,

when our child comes along, it will be the best day.

We'll look at our child and we will see,

this baby was meant for our family.

Couples are chosen, hand-picked by Him,

that can handle these trials that are given to them.

We never expected that we'd take this path,

but we'll be glad we did and we'll never look back.

How excited and grateful that we will be,

to be able to add to our family.

The blessing of having a baby to love,

comes straight from heaven way up above.

Nothing else will matter, you will see,

except that there's love in our family.

And all those who know us will surely agree,

we'll give nothing but love to our new baby!

Real Gambling in Vegas!!!

Let me give you some backround about this whole thing. Skydiving has always been something that I would say "yeah I want to try that" or "that might be kinda fun". So when Marvin and I were talking a few months back about crazy things to do we fell upon skydiving and I expressed my somewhat mild desire. He then told me he had always wanted to do it but never had anyone willing to go with him.

We decided to finally do it. So while the girls were getting their massages the boys were suiting up for real fun. We went out to Boulder City Airport which is about a 10 minute drive from the house. We were walking up to office and seeing some people in their jumpsuits and we both were getting pretty excited. After waiting for about an hour, it was our turn to get in the plane. We got up to about 15,000 feet and then opened the door. Marvin and I were the last 2 on the plane with our instructors. So we watched 5 other pairs fall out that door. Then my turn. There is nothing like the 4 seconds when you are sitting in the doorway looking out at this desert thinking "Here we go!"

After free falling(the background music provided by Aranne) for what seemed like forever, the parachute opens and it is just scenery the rest of the way down.

One Word: AWESOME!!!!!!!

Running on Empty

Our friends from LA came into town this weekend and that can only mean one thing - NO SLEEP!

They got here late on Thursday night and we hit the ground running. We didn't make it to bed until 6:30am on Friday morning.

That Friday we had gotten some tickets to see "Ron Lucas" at 1:00 in the afternoon so we were up again at 10:00am. The show was great! We then spent some time that afternoon at Town Square doing some shopping and we also watched "21" at the new movie theater down there to get in to the VEGAS mood. We had dinner at Claim Jumper and were stuffed. That we another late night with us getting to be at around 4:15am.



Saturday morning the girls had their "traditional" massages scheduled and we had to be up at 8:30am so we could get there by about 9:30am for a 10:00 appointment. The massages were wonderful and very needed.

The boys on the other hand were not going the relaxing route but instead decided to take the exciting route and went skydiving. They have been talking about doing it for a while now but finally got up the nerve and took the leap. After our massages we were able to drive out to Boulder City just in time to see them suit up and jump out of the plane. Those crazy boys.

Saturday afternoon we had time to relax. The boys watched the basketball game and us girls relaxed some more in the jacuzzi. We then got dressed and ready to go and headed out to do some shopping at the outlets and had dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. Once again we split up and the girls watched a movie "Shutter" while the boys just hung out, loitering around the casino. Not such a late night since we all had to get up early the next day. We called it quits at about 3:30am.


All in all it was a fun-filled weekend and one that I am sure that Dan and Marvin won't forget any time soon. We are glad we have such great friends like them and are able to share such fun weekends like this and make such lasting memories.

Book Club

Okay so I have joined an online book club and I am so EXCITED!

This is the first month and we are reading "To Kill a Mockingbird". I am pretty sure that I have read it before in high school or something but it has been a while and I am not opposed to re-reading books anyways, so I am off and running.

If there is anyone out there who would like to join the CLUB please feel free to do so. It is sponsored by a great gal named Holly and you can find out more info here. We will pretty much decide on the book, read it and then "meet" to discuss it on the 25th of the month. It sounds like fun so I jumped right in. I will let you know how it goes, but like I said feel free to join us!

It's Finally Over!

Well I did it! I survived the month of March. I am sure by now everyone knows that I sell and service fire extinguishers. This month it all comes to a head when several big "jobs" come together. The biggest of the clients is the City of Henderson. Now this includes every city building including City Hall, the Police Station, all the Firehouses(9), all of the city vehicles,etc.
When it is all said and done it ends up being about 1100 extinguishers. The few other big clients are Cottonwood Cove Marina and all of the LDS church buildings in Henderson and Boulder City.

I do need to say that it is somewhat bittersweet. I really do enjoy being busy and getting things done. On the other hand a little moderation would be nice.

Just think, I get to do it all over again 11 months from now!

Tons of Adventures

So our house is now empty with everyone back home and it is sorta sad. We had such a good time with the family here and it was sad to see them go. We had the chance to have Dan's mom and dad here to visit, as well as his older brother Mike and his wife Maile and there little one Ellie here. We had such a great time hanging out, seeing the sites and as Ellie liked to say going on "adventures". It really was just a nice chance to spend time together and enjoy one another.

It was great that we were all able to be at our house for Easter and enjoy that. We were missing a few members of the family but with so many of us it is hard to get us ALL together at the same time. We hope that everyone had as much fun as we did and we hope that we are able to make it up to the bay area soon to visit with Mike and Maile again sometime soon. Maybe this summer when it starts to get too hot here and we can use some cooler weather!

I feel so OLD

I got this in the mail and I feel SO OLD!!!!!

It is the announcement about my upcoming 10 YEAR CLASS REUNION! WHAT? I am not that old. I think it is a misprint. I think it is suppose to be like my 5 year reunion or something.

Seriously though, were does the time go? It feels like high school was a long time ago when I sit back and think about it and think about all of the great things that have happen to me since I have graduated but I can't believe it has been 10 years already. When I was little I used to think that I would be old and gray when I went to my high school reunion and that is definitely not the case!

I am glad that I am not in high school and I am glad that I am in exactly the place in my life that I am in right now. I love my family and love my husband. I love the fact that I am able to work from home and that my husband is able to have his own business and work his own hours and be his own boss. I love that we have our own home. I love that we have been able to take some trips together and see a little bit of the world (want to take many, many more). I love that we share laugh after laugh together. I love that we get to be a part of 3 amazing little girl's lives as Auntie Aranne and Uncle Dan ( and soon one little boy!)

I don't think that I could have pictured this when I was in high school. I am not sure what I even thought of, but whatever it was it didn't compare to the life that I am living now. This life is much, much better because it is real and it is mine. I am glad for the past 10 years and all that they have taught me and all that I have been able to do during them. I hope that during the next 10 years I will be able to look back and say the same thing.

The Easter Bunny Made His Entrance

The Easter Bunny came to our house on Sunday and brought a bunch of Dan's family. It was nice to be able to enjoy the holiday with them. Dan's mom and dad were here, and then we were also able to enjoy the day with his older brother Mike and his wife Maile and their little one Ellie. My parents also came to our house and shared Easter lunch with us as a big extended family as well. I had the "opportunity" to do the cooking and so far we have all survived so it must not have been that bad! I don't cook that often so it was a big deal, especially cooking for 9 people and an important meal like Easter, but it was fun and exciting to try new things and new recipes.


We are still enjoying the company of Dan's family and spending time with them. It is nice to be able to see them and do things with them as we don't get a chance to see them that often.

Showing Appreciation

Last night we went to our monthly meeting with FSA and we prepared "goodie baskets" for the social workers at all of the local hospitals. This week is Social Worker Appreciation Week and we decided that we wanted to say Thank-You for all of the hard work that they do and often goes unnoticed. So, we got goodies together and cute Easter baskets and are going to deliver them today or tomorrow to all of the hospitals.

We added a special touch to the basket by placing a picture of some of the children that had been placed from their hospital with LDS Family Services just to remind them of the work that they do and how important it is. It is just an update on the babies and to let them know that they are doing great and that these families are so grateful for them.

Dan and I are going to the hospital right by our house so it is not too bad. It was fun to get together last night and assemble the baskets. My dad also helped out by "donating" some popcorn from the movie theater where he is the manager and we put some of that into the baskets as well. I think (and hope) that the Social Workers will love the baskets and be pleasantly surprised!

Picture Tag

I was tagged by Kristen to do a picture tag! We have to answer the following questions by finding pictures online (not out of our own personal pictures!). It sounded fun so this is what I came up with....

My Favorite Color: Anyone who knows me knows that my favorite color is YELLOW. It has been yellow forever. I love it. It is just a fun, cheerful color and it always makes me happy. Our wedding was yellow and our living room is yellow.



Favorite Animal: I don't know if I really have a favorite animal but I have always kind of been fascinated by frogs. I had a few when I was in high school (tree frogs) and they were pretty cool.

Bad Habit: I think a bad habit that I have developed lately is sleeping in too late! Dan will wake up in the morning and ask me when I want him to re-set the alarm for and I will tell him not to set it at all and then I will go back to sleep and sleep in forever... It is getting really bad because then I am behind all day and it makes me more tired than if I would have just gotten up when I was suppose to!!!!!

My Favorite Food: Coconut Shrimp (and this picture for sure because it is from Joe's Crab Shack because I can tell by the plate - isn't that horrible?) I go there and order this and can eat the whole thing. Good thing we don't go there that often or I would weigh 500 pounds because these are definitely not very good for you, but they taste so dang good!

My Favorite Hobby: Scrapbooking! After 6 years of marriage, boxes of pictures and hours later, I still love to scrapbook. I think Dan was hoping that it was a phase and that I would start to grow tired of this hobby, but no such luck. I love to spend time putting pages together and really seeing the finished project. He makes fun of me but deep down I know he appreciates the hard work and likes that I do it!

My Favorite Song: Right now (actually for the past FEW months) I have had the entire Colbie Caillat CD on repeat in the car. I think that I like the song "Realize" the most, but all of them are so good. I am just waiting for another CD to come out but I know that is going to be a while.

My Job: I sit at the computer all day long. I do medical transcription, but the best part is that I am able to do it from HOME! Hopefully this will work out great when we have a little one. That is the plan, that I am able to still work and be the stay at home mom that I want to be.

My Favorite Author: I like a lot of authors, but I don't think I have read a single book by Nicholas Sparks that I didn't absolutely LOVE! There is just something about his stories that gets me every time. I can picture every detail of what he writes and I can't always do that with other books.

My Favorite Dessert: Cheesecake by far. If it has cherries on it that just makes it that much better. As long as there is no whip cream than I am set. I HATE whip cream.

A Picture of ME: Well this picture is the best that I could find to describe me. I think of myself as fun-loving. definitely LOUD, and I like to have a good time. I enjoy being around other people and like to make people laugh and enjoy themselves too. I am pretty GOOFY!

I tag: Amy, Lina, Lori and Kirsten!