Thankful List

I decided that to remember all that I have and am blessed with, I will write a list of things I am grateful for.

1. Life. I am glad to be on Earth at this time and to have the family and friend relationships I've created.

2. Joey-he is the love of my life and has been such a support to me and helps cheer me up when I need it.

3. Joey sending me flowers just because. Yesterday at work he came in when I had stepped out of the room and put a boquet of flowers on my desk with a note saying how I have always been there for him. It made me blush, but I loved it.

4. My job. I am blessed everyday to work with children, especially those who have mild-moderate learning disabilities. My job as a special education teacher has been tough at times, but well worth it to see the smile on each kids face.

5. I am glad for the amount of time I have off from work, with summer break, holidays, spring break, and being able to enjoy that time off with Joey, his family, and my family members.

6. Joey's job. He has been dedicated and worked very hard to get to where he is at work. He been there for 8 years and it has been a blessing to us.

7. Extended family close by. Joey's family lives here in town and my family is only an hour away. I can go to them for help, advise, friendship, and support. They are all so wonderful!

8. Owning our own home. With the economy how it is, we were both afraid that we may lose our jobs and maybe even our home, but we are lucky enough to have a beautiful place to come home to and make memories in.

9. The spring weather. We have had little spurts here and their of nice weather and I've enjoyed going outside to be in it. Spring brings out the flowers, birds singing, green grass, and leaves on trees. I like to just sit outside and enjoy the sounds and scenery. This time of year is so beautiful outside.

10. Adoption. We have learned so much about this subject since being starting all the paperwork 2 1/2 years ago. We've made many friends that we wouldn't have made otherwise. This category includes being thankful for everyone involved: birthparents, birthgrandparents, children who are adopted, adopted couples, case workers, and LDS Family Services.

11. Cooking and baking. My mom taught me how to cook as I was growing up. I've been able to increase this talent by going outside the box and trying new recipes and techniques that I hadn't known about. I enjoy being able to cook dinners/desserts/treats for Joey and I and see his reaction (sometimes good and sometimes something I'd never try again). I have burned many dishes and many times have Joey and I laughed over it and then go out to get something to eat.

12. My education. This included my gusto to get a college degree (and finish it once I got married), learning so much more about the LDS Church, Heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ, and enjoying reading books on health/nutrition, relationships, family, and of course fiction books that helps me relax and take a break.

Open Adoption

My mind has been all over the place lately. One thing that I've thought a lot about is having an open adoption. Joey and I have talked about this and are comfortable with doing it, as long as we've set parameters and are able to readjust depending on the child/children's needs and sometimes even the birth mother/birth father's needs.
A friend of mine, who is also a co-worker, had her grandchildren placed for adoption with the same couple, multiple times(her daughter would get pregnant, try to care for the child, realize she couldn't, then decide to place the child for adoption with this couple). The adoptive mother of these children created a blog that my friend/co-worker told me about and said that it may help me and provide support while we are "searching" for a child/children to adopt. The adoptive mother goes into detail about her story and how she felt at different times. The main point she makes throughout the blog is how wonderful it is to have an open relationship with the children's mother. She has posted pictures of them with their biological/birth mother along with letters she got permission to post from the birth mother and birth-grandmother(my friend). It is so neat to read the thoughts going through each person's mind that is involved with the adoption.
Having an open relationship with the birth mother/father of the child/children we adopt will be very special for both us and the child. Adoption is an unselfish act that birth mothers make, which makes them so dear to mine and Joey's heart. We are very grateful for having the opportunity to learn more about open adoption and how precious and special the open relationship can be. You can learn more about this wonderful adoptive mother and the journey she had, along with my friends journey with her daughter at http://theadoptivemother.blogspot.com

The Past Month

All sorts of things have happened in the past month. We took our camera with us a couple of times, but left it in our suitcase or in the car so no pictures were taken. That's okay-you can use your imagination. :)
Sister Visit: The end of February I was able to visit my sister in northern Salt Lake valley. I haven't been to her place since her wedding in November, so it was really good to visit. The funnest thing we did was go swimming/play in the pool at her husbands work. The pool we went to has a wave come on every 20 minutes. We had so much fun "riding" the waves with our body and then going underneath the water and watching the waves pass over us. We also go on inner tubes and relaxed to the waves. It was so much fun playing in the water, especially the waves. I missed Joey a bunch that weekend, but he wasn't able go on the trip with me. It was very nice to be welcomed home with loving arms when I returned.
Family Visit: The first weekend in March was my youngest sister's Junior Prom (Celeste). She was very excited, but nervous. I wanted to see her get all "dolled" up so off to my family's house we went. My sister, Ashley, did her hair and I helped her with her dress, which was a pail yellow that made her look like a princess. When Celeste's date arrived, the family members who still live at home (4 of them), Ashley and her husband, my parents, and Joey and I were all waiting in the living room for him to come in and put the boutonnière and corsage on. Neither of them knew what they were doing, so Joey jumped in and helped each of them out, which we were all laughing about, including Celeste and her date. Celeste's date said, "I'm going to admit, this is a little awkward." It was really funny. Later on that night, we were able to go to the "Prominade." The junior class does a couple dance to the Junior Prom song and parents and family are able to go watch it. I don't know what the song is called, but I do know that it was a hip/hop upbeat song that was fun to watch them dance to. Celeste and her date had a straight face the entire time! I think either they were wanting the dance to get done and over with, or, they were counting in their head the steps and what came next. We had an enjoyable time with my family and seeing this "special" moment of my sister's life.

Our Anniversary! On March 16 we celebrated our 8 year anniversary. With it falling on a Tuesday, we both had to work. Joey was able to take a lunch at the same time as me, which was great because we hardly ever get to each lunch together. We started watching Disney's Tarzan and snuggled until it was time to go back to work. About 45 minutes after I had gone back to work, I started getting an upset stomach. I thought it would pass, but no, it got worse and worse. I finished up teaching my last group (I'm a special ed. teacher and teach reading/writing/spelling groups throughout the day) and had to go home because I could barely move. I layed and slept in bed until 6:00 pm. It was disappointing that we weren't able to do much celebration on our anniversary. :( We decided to make a trip to Texas Roadhouse to celebrate once the weekend came. We had to wait 2 hours for our table, and by that time, the people who we were waiting for, were still chatting away at their table. We decided to leave and go get something to eat at home because by this time it was 8:00 pm and we were STARVING! Things didn't turn out the way we planned them to for our anniversary, but that's okay because it'll definitely be an anniversary we remember.
I took some time on the 16th to think about our anniversary and was so amazed that it had been 8 years ago that we had been sealed together in the St. George temple. I started thinking about the drive down too. You see, we were almost not able to be married that day because we were halfway to St. George and realized that we didn't have our marriage license. We stopped at the next available place that had a phone and called home to have them grab the license-no one was home! Somehow, we were able to get in contact with a member of the bishopric, who went to my mother in-law's house and got the license right before he went to St. George. The fun didn't stop their. Once the sealing was over and we were getting ready to head back for our luncheon, I lost my ring. The ring had been placed in the clothes Joey was wearing. He changed out of them to leave the temple and the ring was still in them, inside the temple. Joey and I were frantically trying to remember where it had been placed. It was quite crazy trying to find it. Sure enough, we had a temple worker help us out and they found the ring. I laugh about those events that happened on our special day because they make the day even better! I'm very grateful to have had 8 years so far to spend with Joey and how much we've learned about each other and grown closer to one another. Joey is my best friend and the love of my life!