Our New Home

Michael and I have become city slickers again, as we have left the ranch and moved in town with my grandparents. I had mixed feelings about the move at first, but it has actually worked out really great and we are now well adjusted. (Just ask Grandma & Grandpa-they love it!) We enjoy being minutes from everything...work, stores, church, and friends. Isn't the house beautiful?!

One thing I loved about this move was we didn't have to do much painting. Grandma had already put these stripes on the wall and I loved them, so we just added our decor.

This is the main room:

This is Michael's office/Guest bedroom:

I did paint one room. (Shhhh, don't tell Grandma!) Our bedroom was this sunflower yellow and it just was not my cup of tea:) So, I painted it "swanky gray". I love how it turned out.

Before:

After:

We are in the process of redoing our decor in our bedroom. New comforter, pillows, throw, and lamp shades...all coming soon! Will post pictures when it's complete. So excited! I may have a slight addiction to decorating?!

Hoping to Adopt!

As many of you know, Michael and I have been going through the requirements and training to be qualified to adopt. We are thrilled to announce that we were officially put on the LDS Family Services website to be available to birth mothers to choose from!

The link to our profile is: https://itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/25838662/ourMessage.jsf

We have been waiting for this moment and couldn't be more happy that all our hard work has gotten us to this point.

I want to write a little about how we came to the decision to adopt for proof when Michael and I are old and arguing about this time in our lives, we will know what really happened:)

So here it is: Before Michael & I got married we had discussed having a family and the importance of it to both of us. We came to the agreement that we would start trying to have children when Michael was close to graduating from college. We followed this plan, but when the time came we didn't have any luck. I thought the problem was probably me and since during this time I was working at an OBGYN clinic, I decided to get checked out. After a year of various medications and ultrasounds I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. This makes it difficult to get pregnant, but not impossible. I was put on different medication to help with my PCOS and still no luck. My doctor was sure she could get me pregnant even with my "problems", so she decided it would be a good idea to get Michael checked too.

We took Michael to the doctor and they had him do some lab work to see what his sperm count was. The results weren't good. His doctor determined that Michael had a varicocele (an enlargement of the veins that can cause a rise in temperature affecting the mobility of sperm). Michael was scheduled for surgery to hopefully solve his "problem". During surgery, the doctor discovered that Michael's tube on his left side wasn't connected. So with his "problems" and my "problems" our probability to have our own children was looking slim.

My doctor recommended that we try one last thing, which was artificial insemination. She thought that if she put any live sperm right at the egg, then maybe our chances would increase. We tried this procedure 3 times and 3 times we were disappointed. At this point, we decided that maybe we should start seriously considering adoption. Mind you, that before this point we had contacted a caseworker and were slowly working on the adoption paperwork while still trying to get pregnant. We went to the temple with the question, "Is adoption right for us?" in mind. After we left the temple that night, we both knew that this was the path we were suppose to take. Since that night, we have been gung-ho on preparing to adopt.

The paperwork was quite a mountain to climb from background checks to listing our likes and dislikes. A wide variety of information was required. We also met with our caseworker, who has been such a HUGE help in this process. The day before our anniversary, we had the final check which was our home study. After all the ducks were in a row, we were published on the website- 2 1/2 years after this had all begun.

I must be honest and say that we haven't always been so gracious in accepting this trial. However, the relationship and love between Michael and I has grown so much as we've worked together, cried together, and relied on each other. Most importantly, our relationship with our Father in Heaven has also been strengthened. We have learned that although we aren't always sure as to why we are faced with certain trials, He knows the big picture and will lead us to where we should be. We are excited for what lies ahead and we hope we will be able to start our family by adopting a child!

They're here!

In January my sister, N and her boy, T moved home. Her husband J couldn't come until a few weeks later because he had to finish the closing of the house. They moved back to P-town so J could help T with the ranch. They moved into the house Michael and I were living in, allowing them to be right on the ranch. We knew this was a possibility when we moved into that house 2 years ago, so we really weren't bothered that we had to move out. Luckily, my grandparents offered us their basement, so we are back in a basement apartment in town. We are very appreciative to have a roof over our head and be able to save some money. I love being able to see my grandparents every day. I grew up being around them a lot and we are really close, so this has allowed me to learn more things about them and maintain a close relationship.
Back to my sister...I have always been super close with N. We are only 15 months apart, so we have always been right by each other in school, sports, etc. I was so happy to have her move back home after not being around her much for 7 years. We have both changed and our lives are definitely different from our college years, but we still have that sister bond.

J, N, and T are a package deal and I'm loving having a nephew around again. T is very much a man's man and loves the men in our family the most. He loves Grandpa who he calls Pappy and Mikey who he calls Bubby.

He's our little cowboy!

I can't believe that they've been here for almost 2 months. It has been an adjustment for us all as we've all made sacrifices and changes in our lives, but it has definitely been worth it. J has been a huge help to T on the ranch and it has been fun to watch him learn and see his enthusiasm for the ranch life. I'm excited to have my sister and her family around and be able to actually do things with them on a regular basis and strengthen our relationship.

New Year's Bash

What's more fun then a bunch of adults getting together to play Minute to Win it?! Our good friends, M & J had a group of us over on New Year's Eve for some tough competition.

Filling a cup with m&ms by only using a straw.

Moving an oreo down your forehead to your mouth without using your hands.

Transfering noodles from the table to a cup on the counter only using a straw.

A mean game of pictionary, girls vs boys:

Of course, us girls won!
What a fun night and a great way to bring in a hopefully good new year!

Christmas 2011

This year was our year to be in Oregon for Christmas. There is just something about being on the ranch with Mikey and my family. It doesn't get much better!

My sister, J made it home this year, so you know we were double trouble! Mom and J found these amazing headbands that we sported all week long.

Christmas Eve we played games while eating snacks. Don't worry..we burnt all those calories while laughing during Scattergories & Cranium. BTW...I don't cheat, I'm just good!

My favorite game to play with my parents is Cranium. My parents stink at humming to each other and are pretty ummm...dramatic (yeah, perfect word) when doing charades. However, you

can see that J is a pro. Marilyn Monroe? Yup, I guessed it!

Christmas day we slept in a bit and attended church at 10am. When we came back, we opened presents from Santa.

My mom was excited to give T this drawing of his best friend, Buzz.

J got Mom her much anticipated Kindle Fire or "Firefly" as she calls it.

I was super nervous to give Mikey what I called his "main" present and there is quite the story to go with those amazing golf paintings. I found them when I was visiting my sister and lets just say it was interesting getting them to Oregon. Good thing he loved them or at least told me he did!

My parents got J a gorgeous Pendleton Woolen Mills blanket. I didn't get a picture of her with it, but I did get a great picture of her with the gift Mikey & I got her. She wasn't able to take it home with her because they were too heavy in her luggage. (Shhh, don't tell her I planned that all along because I secretly loved the bowls!)

And, I got the only present I ask for...my laptop! I figured if I didn't give Mikey any more ideas, he wouldn't know what else to get me. Worked perfectly and I love it!