For Good Video of Nevaeh

This video is dedicated to all my Angel Family Friends who have had to love and let go. To everyone who has had an Angel baby leave a handprint on their heart and cried because they might never know how their story ends. To all who have been changed for the better and for good by the smiles and laughter an Angel baby brings to your home. And to everyone who knows they have made a change for good in the life of a child by providing unconditional love at a time that is so crucial in a baby's life.

I made this video for our family one year ago when we thought our Angel was going back to her birth parents. I had my friend take the last set of pictures for me right before Nevaeh started having overnight visits. This Angel baby gets to stay with us forever but I will always hold a special place in my heart for the other two who returned home.

Thank you Angel Family for your love and support and for all you do for these beautiful children. May you always know you have changed a baby's life for good even if you only loved them for a short while.

Happy Mother's Day

So I told my husband the other night that I think I am an amazing woman. I know at first this may sound like a joke. Who would actually brag about such a thing unless you were kidding? The thing is that I know a lot of amazing women who don't realize they are amazing. We think of amazing women as those we here about on the news or interviewed by Oprah. But I know women in my life who do amazing things everyday.

So why am I amazing? Is it news worthy? Maybe not to Oprah but to me it is. Why should I only look up to everyone else thinking that they are amazing and that what I do isn't good enough? Have I been burned in a plane crash and write an inspirational blog? No. Have I overcome some debilitating disease? No. Do I have a career that saves people's lives? No. But I took the time to save one starfish in the sea. I put my heart out on the line and took the risk of loving someone else's child while they tried to get their life back on track. I am a loving wife and dedicate mother. I am amazed that I made it through the last year of my life as well as I did.

So this post is for all the women in my life who forget to realize they are amazing. Why? Because you are a daughter of a Heavenly King. Because you are compassionate, understanding and helpful. Because you have your own trials that your are going through yet somehow manage to think that everyone else's must be so much more difficult. And because you are my friend and find ways to lift me up and make me smile when I am not sure I can make it through another day. You truly are amazing just the way you are.

Mormon Helping Hands Day

Every year our church sponsors a community clean up day. This year we were asked to help clean up a park in our neighborhood and replant and paint. The boys worked hard and I chased Nevaeh around the park. She thought she was helping too but mostly wanted to run around and play on the slide. We got there late so they had ran out of the fashionable yellow vest.










Jacob worked hard carrying woodchips to the playground and Nevaeh took a break to ride a toy.




Josh and Jared worked hard pulling out old plants so that new ones could be planted. Jared also went to paint and was sad that he got paint on his favorite pants.

Adoption Celebration

Last night we celebrated Nevaeh's adoption with family and friends. I was so busy rushing around the house that I forgot to take pictures of people who came. I am so grateful to have had so many people supporting our family during the process. Amy made this beautiful cake for Nevaeh and matched what she was wearing for the day. My mom and sister/sister-in-laws came and brought gifts. My mom gave her a new bike which she absolutely loves. We asked friends to make a donation to Angels Foster Family Agency instead of bringing gifts. This is the agency that we fostered Nevaeh through.