What do the following items have in common:
1. seven pairs of heart and star sunglasses
2. one package of peanut m&m’s
3. 10 fruit snacks
4. one kid-friendly craft project
5. hundreds of water balloons
They are all part of the best pick-me-up care package ever!
A HUGE HUG FROM THE NINOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
After our fun-filled week at Zion, we rushed home to wash clothes and sleep so we could be ready the next day to drive to L.A. Adam had a last-minute business meeting so we tagged along. I called my long-time friend, Marisa, and she graciously drove down from Ventura with her three girls so we could hang out. I was ecstatic that she came down. They got to our hotel first thing in the morning so we had all day, and the kids had a blast. First, we went swimming at the hotel, and then headed to the beach.
After Adam’s meeting, he came out to the beach and buried each nino in the sand. The kids thought that was quite possibly the coolest thing they had ever experienced. (Wait until you see the video…..Adorable!) I bought the children new water shoes and sunglasses before the trip. Nikki has yet to take her glasses off her head. And Wompy, well…he had his thrown in the garbage around San Bernardino!!!!!!!! But I have to give the kid props, he hadn’t been home for over a week, and that was his only meldown during that week (except for the very first night of camping, poor little dude). We are making major strides here. :)
What was my favorite part? Talking to my friend about nothing and everything, watching each kid squeal in delight as he or she ran away from the waves (like a thousand times, at least), and seeing how silly goofy happy Adam is when he is playing with his kids. Thanks for being my friend, Maris. Thanks for being an awesome daddy, Adam. And thanks for bringing my life even more joy, ninos!
Baby Lea has actually been a part of our lives for as long as we have had the ninos. And now he is finally, and officially, here!
The night Zackary was born, I took the ninos to see their new little cousin, and they were in total awe over the new little alien. I think they were in even more awe over their Tia. They were curious about everything, and they had a million questions for her, which she answered in typical patient Tia style despite the fact that she was exhausted. These were firsts for the ninos–visiting someone in the hospital, and watching someone go through an entire pregnancy with a live little baby to show for it. I can tell that they understand the process a little more now. (Maybe Tia J. will eventually post some of those pics for everyone to see)
Welcome to the world, and the family, little Zack!
So my best friend is pregnant. And we’re not talking a little pregnant. We are talking bursting boobies, peeing constantly, going to have the little guy any day pregnant. I haven’t blogged much about my personal experience with her pregnancy because 1. this is a sacred experience for her and her husband, which I have done my best to honor, and 2. I haven’t wanted to jinx the good luck she has had with this pregnancy.
It seems like just yesterday that she called me in Bogota terrified and sobbing. I will never forget that moment. Jena and Brian were trying their best to wrangle the wild beasts (that really is what they were at the time) into bed so I could step out on the balcony and take the phone call. It was rainy and dark and cold, and I could hear the franticness in her voice. I knew those emotions and thoughts all too well, and I felt her desperation through the phone. It killed me to know that my house was just down the street, but I was thousands of miles away.
The realization of another pregnancy left us both fairly faithless that it would develop into something miraculous. I am not ashamed to admit that. When you have experienced miscarriage after miscarriage, your first thought isn’t “Woohoo, I am pregnant again.” It is, instead, “Oh crap, here we go again. Are you kidding me?” We end up checking ourselves every hour for the inevitable spots of blood. We remember the physical pain, and emotional anguish, of all the grief we have felt before.
And yet, we still try. Why do we try? Because we are believers. And because faith and hope are tightly and inseparably intertwined. So when we feel like our faith is almost depleted, those little glimmers of hope–however shiny and tiny–pick us up and push us on. Hope that something miraculous could eventually happen. Hope that tomorrow is always better than today. Hope that God knows us individually and is keenly aware of our most righteous desires. Now, eight months from that phone call, we are hanging baby clothes, having baby showers, and sprinting happily toward the baby finish line. A true miracle. A true strengthening of faith.
For me, there have been moments of jealousy, of course. There has been some sadness for our own fertility hopes unfulfilled. But those moments have been surprisingly few, actually. Part of it is due to being so busy with our little adopted sunshines. Part of it is me consciously deciding to be happy, no matter what. Part of it is the ability I have to talk to my friend…there is no pretense between us that everything is always okay!
But also, I am just different now than two years ago. I am so grateful that I purposely allowed my recent trials to refine me and to strengthen me. I can’t wait to hold Baby Lea for the first time, truly. I can’t wait to cuddle him, smother him, and spoil him. And I know that the allowance of these feelings are only due to the compassion and strength I have gained from miscarriage and adoption. Look at what I would be missing out on, if I had allowed infertility to consume me. I am so grateful that my faith continues to be strengthened by wonderful experiences such as Jaime’s pregnancy.
And it is not a moment too soon, since all of my friends have decided to be pregnant at the same time!!!!!!!!! (We are still rooting for you, sis.)
It has been an impressive, emotional, unforgettable week here at the McCracken home. It will take a few days for me to sort through all of the pictures and events. For those who didn’t make it this weekend, be prepared for a barrage of pictures and text. So much happened in so little time–I can’t wait to document it all. There might even be some tears on your end. Heaven knows there were many happy tears on ours.
Knowing that sorting pics might take awhile, I don’t want too much time to go by without thanking everyone who did make the effort to attend. From the bottom of our hearts we thank each of you for your participation, support, and hard work. Whether you prepared food, provided supplies, donated time, or simply arranged your schedule to be in attendance….we thank you. We appreciate you. We honor each of your efforts in gracing our family.
Our children feel so much love. I see your patience, your caring and your kindness healing their little wounded hearts. It is unbelievable to me, eight months into this journey, how much gratitude I feel for each person who has stayed the course along side Adam and me. Our love for each of you continues to grow. We know you continue to invest in our children and in us. Sometimes that is not an easy thing. And yet, you continue on. That is why we care so deeply for each of you. That is why sharing this weekend with our close family and friends meant so much to us.
Whether you came from across the street, across town, or across a few states, we are grateful for your investment in our family. Whether you are of our Faith or not, we are grateful for your support. Whether you have known us for decades, or for a few short months, we feel gratitude for your service on our behalf. We would not change our situation for anything in the world. Thank You!!!
31 reasons I love being married to you:
1. you are loyal.
2. you are kind.
3. you are honorable.
4. you play with our kids.
5. you take our kids wherever you go, whenever you can, because you want to.
6. you scratch my back every night.
7. you download my shows even though you have little interest in them.
8. you are handsome.
9. you never complain when I cut your hair a little crooked.
10. you do your duty.
11. you love try very hard to follow the Savior in word and deed.
12. you get all giddy about Scouting!
13. you are tenacious, but not uptight.
14. you allow me to see you vulnerable.
15. you do not like to watch ESPN.
16. you push me to do things that I think I can’t.
17. you never say a word about my scrapbooking piles.
18. you kept your buckets of legos for your future boys.
19. you love to travel.
20. you love me despite my failed attempts at producing offspring.
21. you are the quintessential “phone-a-friend.”
22. you talk to people when I don’t want to.
23. you don’t take my ice cream anymore.
24. you let me have your extra fries.
25. you don’t have a lazy bone in your body.
26. you are a really great best friend.
27. you can see both sides of an argument.
28. you are fair and honest.
29. you keep this house technologically sound.
30. you are a friend to everyone.
31. you just love me!
A simple card….
“Once there was this guy. A nice guy, really. And he met this girl. An incredible girl-truly amazing. So naturally the guy falls head over heels in love with her, and pretty soon they’re picking out china patterns and rings and there’s a wedding and the starry-eyed couple rides off into what will surely be a rosy future.
Okay, so now some time has passed and the guy is living in that future. He’s still married to this girl, but now their life includes a lot of stuff–appliances and bills and loads of laundry and home repair projects. But between all the to-dos and have-tos, there are these moments when the guy stops for a minute and looks around him.
He looks at his wife, who is still truly amazing, he looks at their life together, all the ways and different directions it’s grown, he looks at all the responsibilities he’s got, and he thinks to himself, so, this is my life.
And then he thinks, I am one helluva lucky guy.”
A perfect reminder.
One of our favorite friend traditions is our annual planning meeting. Aside from our monthly family night rotation, we have monthly car camping trips on the books. Our other excursions include:
April–four days in the Grand Gulch area, UT. This is the backpacking trip Adam and I did last March, but were unable to finish. This year we will be more prepared, and we will finish!
May–5th annual Zion Nat’l Park Adventure, UT. We are camping this year to save money. Bye bye, Spa. Hello, kids. :)
August–Baker Lake/Johnson Lake Loop, Great Basin Nat’l Park, NV.This is a four day backpacking trip up in Northern Nevada. We will actually be hiking in trees and near a creek, yipee!
2009 will be a great year!!!
We had our first Family Home Evening back in Las Vegas with our friends last night. Check out Jaime and Rob’s blog for pics!!! We made pizza and homemade ice cream at the DeMarcos. They have also started a food blog–which I’m sure will contain only the most fabulous recipes. We are never disappointed when we eat at Dave and Jena’s!!! From Italian to Indian to yummy desserts–their cucina is incredible.
I am so glad to get back to our semi-monthly family nights. Hopefully, we will have some children to contribute to the “family” very soon. :) Two Mondays from now we will be at the Brummetts. I love my friends.
…is what you’ll find as a self-description on her blogger profile! This is my friend Jaime Lynne. She is next on my friendship tribute list. I have gotten away from my monthly tributes because of all the adoption hubbub, but I am back on track and ready to honor my friends one by one. I thought it fitting to showcase Jaime since we just had our two year anniversary in May!!! Luckily, Adam and I were in Las Vegas so we celebrated with dinner, a movie and ice cream. The husbands celebrated with us but they went to their own movie. (why they would want to see Iron Man over Made of Honor is beyond me!) There are so many reasons why I adore Jaime Lynne. Since many of you have never met her in person, I thought I would show you, in pictures, bits of her personality.
SHE LOVES SCRAPBOOKING. It’s one of her creative outlets, and is sometimes serious business. Jaime’s been published by Creating Keepsakes. She’s on Tinkering Ink’s Design team. She’s done work for Basic Grey. Jaime Lynne is very talented. I’ve learned so much by scrapping with her. She’s introduced me to new products and helped me build confidence in my own skills and style. We’ve scrapped in Logan, Zion, Brian Head, and Las Vegas together. Maybe one day we’ll carry our scrap buckets to China on vacation. Although Jaime is a “high-end scrapper” (my words, not hers) she always takes time out to give advice and help others with their layouts. She shares ‘Her Rules’, but never pressures you to use them. :) Her online galleryis sure to inspire some serious scrappin mojo, if you are in need!
SHE LOVES PHOTOGRAPHY and READING. Jaime has a keen eye for the abstract. She started her professional career in television, which explains why she is so good at capturing a story through images. Jaime worked for a news station in another state before she got married–how cool is that? Her pictures are beautiful, and she never gives herself enough credit for her work. I love her pictures. As for reading–Jaime’s a “red-light” reader for sure. She will read just about anything, and once she becomes engrossed…forget it. If I started a Book Club she would be one of the first people I would ask to join. Jaime is really good at analyzing a work and connecting it to her own life. She has an opinion about everything, and she can speak intelligently on almost any subject. The great thing about Jaime is that she will not usually give an answer unless she is positive about the answer. Perhaps that comes from her field of study and profession. Wherever it comes from, I love it!
SHE’S ALWAYS up for an ADVENTURE! These pictures are from Jaime’s first canyoning experience at Zion Nat’l Park two years ago. We had a blast. This year she attempted Pine Creek with the boys, wet suit and all. Pretty cool! She loves car camping, Disneyland, playing games, trying new restaurants, going to the movies, and weekend getaways. No wonder we get along so great. In two short years, our friendship has traveled quite a bit. Although Adam and I have lived away for a year of our friendship (that’s half its life–wow) we’ve become even closer. Besides our frequent trips to Las Vegas where we get our famLea fix, we spent Thanksgiving at Brian Head, they traveled up to Logan for my birthday, and we just got back from a week at Zion with them and our other dear LV friends.
I love Jaime Lynne. She is my sister, my confidante, my friend. I don’t typically let someone into my private hopes and fears as quickly as I have her. That means something to me. Jaime is one of the only people I can fall apart in front of and not feel embarrassed or like I’m disappointing. She is always honest with me even when it’s difficult. She shares her friends with me and embraces mine–not many friends are secure enough for that. It is true that neither of us currently have children, but our situations are not what bind us as friends. It is our patience, love and support of each other that does that.
Jaime is kind and compassionate. She cares intensely. She thinks deeply. Jaime is responsible. She is super smart. She honors her marriage and her church duties. Jaime is one of the best conversationalists I have ever met. She willingly serves those in need, usually at her own expense. Jaime is not perfect. She has bad days just like the rest of us. But like I have told her before, it doesn’t matter how bad of day she is having–if I was in crisis and needed her…she would forget herself and be by my side in an instant. And she has done just that! That is why I honor my friend today.
