Stories from the Payne's

Adoptive Couple Retreat

2012-02-13T13:26:00.000-08:00

The annual adoptive couple retreat is coming up. Can I just tell you how excited I am about it? It's for anyone who's involved in adoption in any way, thinking about adopting, or just wants to know more about it!! Come meet lots of incredible people and have fun!! Click here for more info.!!

What's new?

2012-02-08T19:45:00.001-08:00

As promised I'm updating by the end of the week :o) That's because we have exciting news!

"Thor"'s bio. parents relinquished their rights to him today! Meaning, unless something unforeseen happens, we will be adopting him in April-ish! We actually found out the night of Jan. 31st that they were planning to relinquish. We did not tell anyone (but family) until today, when they actually relinquished.

We are torn in that we are so excited to be having our family grow. Our hearts just break for his bio. parents though. We plan on having an open adoption with them, and that has been comforting, to me at least.

We just have felt the love and support of all of you, family and friends, through our journey with "Thor", our entire foster care journey, and our entire adoption journey. We are so appreciative and blessed! Sincerely, thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts. We love you all!!

Our fun-filled weekend

2012-02-06T13:35:00.000-08:00

This weekend we had a blast!!! It was busy, but it was a ton of fun!! We started out by picking up my Granddad and going to the baptism of my cousin's son. It was such a neat experience. We were honored to be invited to go. Here's a couple of pics. from hanging out after. Don't mind the black box in the first pic... that's "Thor" :o)

Look Jared's being social! :o)

The happy family!

We left the baptism, and headed north to spend some with Jared's sis. and her family. We had so much fun! Thanks again for letting us come. The two main events that we did were... Jared took the kids out for a walk. Here's what they came back with:

Isn't Jared awesome?? I didn't get any pics. of the second event, but we did a girls time where me, Jeni, and her two daughters went to Dollar Tree, get gas, and return some redbox movies. It was fun! Other than that we just visited, ate, and made cookies for the next event Jared and I went to.

What's the next event, you ask? One of my really good friends, Jessa, had a baby back at the end of Dec. On Sunday, they blessed little Mina!! It was such a privilege to be able to go. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics of that either. So... here's a pic of a cute baby girl in a blessing dress.

Anyway~~ that's about it for us, for now. Please check back at the end of the week!! Promise I'll have more than. Love to all!!

Eval results!

2012-01-31T13:24:00.000-08:00

The evaluation went great! I'm so excited to be working with this company. Yes, "Thor" does qualify, BUT it's not what you're thinking... or maybe it is :o) He qualifies simply for his eating! He is fine and exactly where he should be in his movement, his response, etc. He's not developmentally delayed. It's just that darn eating!

GOOD NEWS though! We may have a solution. The occupational therapist that came for the feeding evaluation is thinking "Thor" has reflux! Now, I'm not glad he has reflux, but if it is, we can easily manage that. We're waiting to see if the pediatrician will let us start a med. He's out of the office today, so I will hear about that tomorrow.

Now, why all the sudden the suspicion of reflux? I'll be honest, I probably gave the therapist "you're a crazy lady" look. I feel bad, but once she started explaining and answering my questions I really think she could be right. So, "Thor" does not have the typical extreme spit-up/throw-up and he does not fuss, get colicky ... which is why I thought she was crazy. The therapist pointed out though (she tried feeding him and he should have been hungry while they were here) that he:

1) does better eating while sleeping- a sign that I didn't know about

2) it's kind of subtle, but he does have a pain response when the nipple come to his mouth and a bit during eating- didn't register that's what he was doing. noticed, just didn't think about it.

3) does better being held up when eating- once again, knew but didn't think about

4) the fact that he only eats little bits at a time

The therapist said that he may not have the colic, fussiness because... all he knows is he feels better than when he was born. He does know he can feel even better. Totally makes sense!!

So yeah... next step is doctor approval. I'm feeling like the worse nurse, momma right now for not catching all that. But I figure... nursing wise, I haven't worked with babies that much. And... everyone makes mistakes. Keep ya all posted. Until then, love to all!!

Quick update

2012-01-30T08:32:00.000-08:00

So... some of you may not care about this, but I just wanted to give a quick update on how "Thor"'s eating is going...

Overall, okay. We can usually get him to get 20-21 ounces in a 24 hour period... like with the 3 ounces every 3 hours. I think I'm going to keep this up until his 10:30 pm feeding tomorrow... then I'll see how he does on his own again... keeping better record of it this time. He does okay with rice cereal. He likes it, but still is not getting the tongue thing down. I'm not worried about it yet because he is only 4 months. I got a call from an organization called Kids on The Move. I guess "Thor"'s caseworker is worried he's a bit developmentally delayed. I personally don't see it but this organization also helps with feeding problems, on top of you can never be too cautious! They're coming to evaluate him tomorrow. I'll keep everyone posted.

This last weekend we did respite (remember, that's baby-sitting kids in the foster care system for a couple of days while their foster parents get a break!) this last weekend. Sibling group of 4. Yes, Jared and I took care of 5 kids! It was a great party at our house. :o) The 4 kids are awesome, they range in age from 12-4... so it wasn't bad at all. Other than that, we're same ol', same ol'.

Hope this finds everyone well. Love to all!!!

4 month stats

2012-01-23T09:10:00.000-08:00

Nope, not "Thor" just thought this was a cute 4 month old baby

This morning we went to the pediatrician for our 4 month check up. "Thor" looks great they said! The doc. isn't quite worried about his eating YET but he does want us to try feeding him 3 ounces every 3 hours. We also get to start rice cereal. Yes, I will be heading to the store today, as soon as I can. :o) Other than, we're suppose to go back in a month to have a weight check but that's it!! Now for the stats:

Length: 22 1/2 inches ~ less than 3%
Weight: 10 lbs, 1.5 ounces ~ less than 3%
Head circ: 41.7 cm (i think 16 inches?) ~ 34%

So there ya go... I got a small baby with a big head, compared to the rest of him. :o) He sure is cute though. Can't wait until I can share pics of him.

That's about it for us though!!! Love to all!!

Bad at this blogging thing

2012-01-20T20:50:00.000-08:00

I know I'm not as bad as some, but I feel like I am so bad at keeping up this blog! I think part of it is I can't post pictures of "Thor". 6 more weeks and we'll find out of if he's going to be our forever baby. I got a subpoena for our court hearing. Yeah, little nervous about that one. I don't know that it's completely hit me yet. I talked to the caseworker, she gave me a rough idea of what I'll have to testify about. That helped A LOT! Anyway~

Jared and I are, of course, same ol', same ol'. Pretty boring :o) Life's good that way, I think. My mom and younger sis. were in town last week for my niece's baptism. It was so fun having them around. There was just a lot of visiting, eating, and enjoying watching the kiddos play. I don't think I pulled out the camera like I should have ... but I'll double check and write another post.

"Thor" is a picky little kid! :o) He's an awesome, happy, smily, laughing baby. But he knows what he wants, when he wants it. I think that's typical baby though. The only thing that worries me is... so he'll be 4 month in like 5 days. I bet he ways 10-11 lbs. He's tiny! I know it's because he won't eat like he should. Right now, we're still in the process of finding a bottle he'll latch on too good. I think we found one, but we're still trying it out. I don't know... We go to the pediatrician for his 4 month check up on Monday. It will definitely be a topic of discussion there.

Think that's about it for this Payne household! Hope this finds everyone well!! Love to all!!!

Hello again

2012-01-10T08:29:00.000-08:00

I'm really hoping I'll be better at this blogging thing once I can post pics. of "Thor". That is assuming, of course, he stays forever. 8 more weeks and we'll know for sure! Or at least have a better idea. Thanks so much for all the prayers, love, and support. Keep them comin' please. Especially for his birth parents. They really are awesome people, that just got on the wrong track in life and don't know how to get back on course.

Jared is still as amazing as ever. He's getting prepared for the Klondike camping trip. Last year he had boys forget some essential things, so he's doing everything he can to prevent that. Work is keeping him busy too. As Jared always says though, he's "partying out"!

I'm just lovin' being mom. I've been helping couple of different friends with kiddos, had fun with my aunt here for about a week, and just livin' the life! I don't know that I'd want it any other way.

I can't wait for my mom and little sis. to show up in like 2 days. WAHOO!

"Thor" is such a character! Just love that little man. Where to start with his growing. I take him to the doctor in like 2 weeks, so I can give stats then. But so last week, I'm pretty sure he started teething. He had a day or two of bad days, but has handled it much better. He started laughing too! It's not as consistant as his adorable smile, but he can laugh. Last night we put him in his own room for the first time! He handled it okay. He was up more then his usual once, but I think it's because I didn't give him teething tablets. And I'll tell you what, that little "Thor" has his dad wrapped around his little finger. lol Jared is such an incredible dad. But I do have to do tummy time (which is still a trauma here) while Jared is at work, or else Jared gives in to the crying. Oh well! I'm glad to be married to such a good man!

Anyway, I think that's about it for us. Hope all is well with all of you! Feel free to say "hi" anytime! Love to all!!!

Randomness

2012-01-02T15:41:00.000-08:00

Wahoo! A real blog post :o) So here's a bunch of random pictures of what we've been up to. I wish I could post more, but seeing as "Thor" is in those pics, I can't post them. The first two are Christmas Day. Obviously with "Thor" being in the house, Santa mainly focused on him. Jared and I weren't forgotten though.

Jared got one of the book in the "Alcatraz" series, by Brandon Sanderson. Jared also got a night stand. Hey, it's what he asked for.

I got this converter for my ipad. LOVE IT! I also got 3 new undershirts.

As couple gifts we got $50, new pots/pans, and other odds and ends.
"Thor" got a new outfit, footie pj's, lots of bath toys, some other toys, and books!

These next couple of pictures are from when Mom and Dad Payne visited! It was so much fun having them. We miss there terribly!

Wed. morning, we had breakfast at Jason and Michelle's. Carter decided to help Grandma and Dad with clean-up. Thanks so much again, Jason and Michelle! The food was yummy and it was a great time!

Tanner helping Papa!

Tanner using Grandma as a teething toy :o)

This is just a cute picture of Buddy! I think I woke him up from a nap

At the beginning of the month, we went on a hot date! Thanks to our great friends Heather and Blaine. They took "Thor" while we went to dinner and to see Michael McLean's "The Forgotten Carols". Jared doesn't particularly care for the play, but I LOVE IT!!

Think that's about all we've been up to. This week my aunt is coming into town, then the following week my mom's coming up for my niece's baptism! So... I will do my following best to take lots of pics! Some without "Thor" so I can post! But in all fairness, "Thor" is the cutest baby EVER so I can't help but take pics of him, have him in them. Here's to a fabulous 2012!! Love to all!!

5 years and counting

2011-12-28T11:09:00.000-08:00

Happy Anniversary to us!

Yeah, think we've both changed a bit in the last 5 years. One thing for sure hasn't changed... Jared still makes me smile big! I couldn't ask for a better best friend, eternal companion, etc. These last 5 years has definitely been a roller coaster. Jared is the one that has kept me sane through it all. Words cannot express how much I love him! I can't wait to spend eternity with him. But you know, still ain't long enough. Okay, enough of the mushiness. Love to all!

We've been spotlighted!

2011-12-20T11:16:00.000-08:00

Quick background story... so a while back I got an awesome e-mail from an adoptive mom! Her name is Kenna (check out her incredible blog here). I can tell she's amazing, and I don't even know her in person... yet :oD In the e-mail she asked if she could spotlight us on her blog! HECK YES! Love getting our info. out there, meeting new people. After crazy, busy-ness on both sides, the spotlight got published yesterday!! I absolutely love it. I will be honest, we did write some of it, but she did a good hunk on her own and got us to the "T" I think!! Check it out here and let me know what you think!

Thanksgiving in Las Vegas

2011-12-11T20:47:00.000-08:00

So I promise I did try posting this the other day, but blogger was being retarded. Still kind of is, but I found a way around. SO! Our Thanksgiving in Las Vegas! We had majority of my siblings and their families there. It was a lot of fun. Although, we did miss the ones that couldn't make it... we still had fun without them. But shh! Don't tell :o) We didn't really do anything exciting. We visited, played, ate, watched movies, and had fun! There was one exciting event that happened, but we'll let Jared tell it. It's his story, sorry. Anyway~ here are some fun pics. from the trip. Caption/explanation at the top of the pic.

So, in my family we teach them young to do chores. :o) Within reason of course. Here's my cute little 4 (almost 5) year old nephew helping with the dishes. No one even asked. He just said he'd do them.

So, they might kill me for putting this pic. up so no one tell :o) 3 generations! grilling. My 8 yr. old nephew had to cook outside for a cub scout requirement. My bro. and my dad were helping him. I thought it was sweet. They got mad at me taking pics, so that's why there's water on the window. :o)

Me and super dude doing dishes! I think he's a keeper!

Oh, how adorable is he? 2 yrs. old and already knows the good stuff (whipping cream and pumpkin pie).

Papa teaching him how to enjoy the goods.

And we must not forget this little handsome man! He's just less then a week younger than "Thor" but definitely is bigger then "Thor". We just love him to pieces already!

Fell off the face of the Earth?

2011-12-08T08:12:00.000-08:00

You might think we have, but I promise we haven't! We are still alive, doing well, and lovin' life!

Jared and I ... same ol', same ol'. We're pretty boring like that. :o) It was hard being out of town so much these last couple of weeks, but we're both catching up on our responsiblities and getting back into the routine of life. Just in time for Christmas!

"Thor" is ... well, growing up is hard! :o) He's doing good. Getting stronger, getting bigger, and developing his personality. He has now made it over 8 lbs! Never thought it would come. He decided eating wasn't too bad when the milk comes out of the bottle faster. He especially had a hard time being out of his environment, but he didn't do that bad. I can't complain. OH! Fun little story~ so we had our ward Christmas party last Saturday. Part of the program was I played "The Nativity Song" out of the children's song book while people acted it out. Right before we go on, the primary president comes up and asked if they could use "Thor" in the program! He was baby Jesus! Luckily we had just fed him and gotten him to sleep, but I had Jared on the side just in case "Thor" didn't behave. :o) I guess the girl who was holding him, she's like 6. She's use to holding babies for about 2 mins. Apparently she got all red, just a shaking trying to hold "Thor" for that long. Finally, her dad stepped in and had someone take "Thor" from her before she could drop him. Thank you Dad! Wish I could have seen it. I think there was someone there taking pictures.

Anyway~ think that's about it for us. I'll post about Thanksgiving and our trip to good ol' Blanding soon! Hope all is well. Love to all!

Grandma Hurst

2011-11-29T14:30:00.000-08:00

Helen Redd Hurst

Sorry about the black square. She was holding a foster child.

On Sunday, Nov. 27 my dear sweet grandma took her last breath. Grandma was a remarkable woman. She was a woman of faith, as well as many other things. She was extrememly loving and caring. She'd always offer whatever it was that she had. Whether it was ice cream, tomato, or anything else. One her mottos was "We share in our family". ALTHOUGH! It later came out that we don't share strawberry pie. :o) Grandma loved quilting, croching, sewing type stuff. I have a quilt she made me when I graduated high school, she made us one when we got married (that she nicknamed the happy quilt- it was called that because of the bright colors she used.), as well as many flannel baby blankets, burp clothes she crotched. Grandma wasn't dealt the easiest hand in life, but she did the best she could. OH! Grandma was an LPN (licenesed practical nurse) for many of years. She is one of the reasons I choose to go into the nursing perfession. One of my favorite memories of Grandma is... so we'd all be visiting late at night. She would start drifting off to sleep. We'd tell her to go to bed. Her response? Something along the lines of how she can't because she doesn't want to miss anything. Yes, another trait I inherited. I also loved how she'd always ask what we were thinking.

I could go on and on forever about the amazing woman my Grandma was. I'm proud to be her granddaugher. I also take comfort in knowing that I will be able to see her one day, and be with her forever.

I miss you Grandma! Love you!!

Oh! I also wanted to share. Please let me know if you're not LDS and would like me to try to answer any questions about this next little story. So my grandparents were temple workers. We had the honor of doing a session while they were working one time. I had the privilage of my grandma helping me at the veil! It was such a neat, memorable expierence that I will never forget!

Nothing much

2011-11-20T10:18:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Just wanted to write a quick post letting you know we're still alive, doing fabulously!

Jared has been absolutely swamped at work the last few days. He's been working long hours and still manages to be the best husband and dad EVER! Tonight we'll be going to a court of honor for his scouts. He's getting those boys advancing pretty good. So fun to see him interact with him, and watching these boys mature.

I'm still lovin' the stay at home mom thing. Some days are absolutely long and I do question my sanity, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

"Thor" is growing each new day! Since being off his med, he has now starting being more alert, focusing on things more, SMILING!, and every now and then gives us a "coo". It's so fun to watch him develop. We go to the doctor tomorrow, so on our next update I'll post how much he weighs and all that good stuff.

Buddy is still an awesome, pretty obedient dog. He's showing more interest, and loyalty, to "Thor". It's cute to watch.

That's about it for us! Hope you all have a wonderful, relaxing, amazing Sunday. Love to all!!!

Why hello!

2011-11-15T09:28:00.000-08:00

How are all of you?!? We're doing fabulously! Like always, busy, but I honestly don't know that I would have it any other way. Life is great! Word of warning~ I picked funny pics of us because I feel like in reality they do describe us better lol

Jared is still busy, busy at work. I know he loves it though. Scouts has been keeping him on his toes too. I have to tell you all~ let's preface this by making sure everyone is aware that Jared is a pretty big TCU fan. I think it's his Texas pride (TCU is the college closest to where he grew up). Jared claims it's because he likes to get on all the BYU fan's nerves. Either way, Jared NEVER misses when TCU plays BYU in football. This year was no acception, even though he was on a camp out with his scouts! :o) He made it to that they could get the game up in the mountains or wherever they were. I guess everyone sat in our van, eating hot dogs, and watched the game. Some camp out, huh? :o)

I've just being doing the mom, friend, wifey thing. Nothing exciting going on with me personally. I am so excited though!! Tonight I will have the honor of going on a girls night out with a bunch of fellow foster moms!! I so can't wait until 5:15 when I pull out of my driveway! :o) Don't get me wrong I love all three of my males (Jared, "Thor", and Buddy). I will so enjoy the woman time though.

No, that baby is not actually "Thor". Remember I can't post any pics of him unless/until we finalize adoption."Thor" is still doing his baby, growing thing. He is now completely off one med!! Now he just takes a vitamin once a day. He has recently started smiling a bit more on command, following us with his eyes, and definitely letting us know what he wants. So fun watching him learn and grow. Tummy time is still a tragedy here but "Thor"'s getting strong. I so wish I could post pictures of him! Oh well!

I think that's about it for all of us! Hope this finds you all well. Love to all!!!

Guest blogger

2011-11-08T22:10:00.000-08:00

I had the privilage and honor of guest blogging for my good friend Sharon. Hope you guys all enjoy!! Click here to read it.

questions answered

2011-11-07T15:28:00.000-08:00

so I will answer everyone's questions here... keep checking this posts to see you're questions answered. Here's the first set of questions I got:

Will dec 12 be the final decision? If the parents don't clean up themselves then baby t stays with you guys? If they do then baby t goes with the parents? How is that going to work?

Dec. 12 will not be the final decision. From what I understand, at that hearing it will be determined if there's enough evidence and reason to bring "Thor"'s case to a trial. If it goes to trial, THEN it will be determined to terminate the parents right or not. Yes, if the parents DO NOT clean up we will get to adopt "Thor". If the parents DO clean up, then he will go back to them. The judge will look at how the parents do over the next 5 weeks. If the parents are showing improvement, we'll keep going. If they do not show improvement, then we'll go towards termination of rights.

Court appearance #3

2011-11-07T14:17:00.000-08:00

Today we had a third court hearing regarding "Thor"'s case. We somewhat have a better idea of how the case will go. So... what the judge ruled was no reunification services, except for supervised visits by DCFS. What this means is "Thor"'s parents still have to do 4 or 5 different things to get him back BUT! The state will not pay for it, the state will not help them get into rehabs, etc. Pretty much state is sitting back and watching... not being proactive. I hope this makes sense. If not, if you still have questions, PLEASE ask!! We'd love to clarify and teach! We go to court again Dec. 12.

I have mixed feelings about this! My heart just breaks for his parents! More so, my heart breaks for "Thor". He has a lot going on and has had no choice in the matter. I will admit though, I'm excited (and a bit nervous) because ... with today's ruling that means we are one step closer to being able to adopt!!!

More then anything, please say prayers for the judges, lawyers, caseworkers, and everyone else involved in "Thor"'s case... including us! Have a happy day!! Love to all!

God's mysterious ways

2011-11-06T08:10:00.000-08:00

I know, I should been taking on the blogging everyday challenge to help raise awareness to adoption and help get rid of all the myths out there. I'll be honest though, I'm too busy to worry about blogging every day! I'm momma to a 6 week old right now, I'm a wife, a friend, and this last week I've had family in town. So I will try to focus my postings on adoption, but who knows when they'll come.

There is something that I want to talk about right now though, adoption related. I'm not going to go into detail for the privacy of the people involved, but a couple of adoption related events have happened in the last 24 hours (not involving me, but involving people real close to me) that really got me thinking. God does really know each one of us and our situations! He has His timing too. This is true no matter what the situation. Like I said, the events that have happened are adoption related so it was reaffirmed to me when it comes to adoption! The tender mercies He has towards the adoptee, the adoptive family, and more especially toward the birth family are just incredible! We just need to put our trust in Him (which includes His timing) and things will work out so much more ... wonderful, for the lack of a better word, then we could even imagine! It won't always be the way we pictured either, which kind of makes it fun sometimes. :o) I know this is all easier said then done... trust me, I KNOW! But it's possible!

I hope this makes sense. I hope I was able to convey what I am feeling too. Anyway~ have a happy Sunday!! Love to all!

Cub scouts... again

2011-11-02T13:30:00.000-07:00

Haha, tricked you! :o) No, I have not been called to cub scouts again. Although, last night we had the privilege of going to their pack meeting. We had a two fold mission there. The first one was a favor for the cub master. Little background~ when Jared filled in as cub master for a bit, he would paint the boys faces when they would earn a rank advancement. Well, I guess one of the boys who recently earned it asked to have the face painting done. Our current cub master doesn't do that type of thing, so he asked Jared to fill it. Jared was more then happy to!! Pictures were taken by my awesome older sister, Shannon. Thanks again for coming Babe!

This is Jared doing the advancement ceremony

Our second mission there was, I got presented with an award. It's called "On My Honor". I was very shocked, but honored to get it. One of my good friends, who was working along side me the whole time I was in there, was given this award too.

Shannon playing with my camera before the meeting started

The award being presented by the second counselor in our bishopric

That's it for us now! Hope everyone is having a happy day! Love to all!!

Back? So Soon?

2011-10-31T05:20:00.000-07:00

YAY! Aren't you proud that it hasn't been that long since my last post and I'm already posting again?? I know it may not seem like a big deal to most of you, but I am a big blogger, usually. Hope to get into it more regularly again.

Nothing really new is going on. "Thor" is adjusting to the new dose now, just in time for me to take it down again today. We'll see how it goes. Prayers please! Oh!! We did have the families of "Thor"'s siblings over. Sounds funny huh? "Thor" has 2 1/2 sisters that were adopted by one family. He has a full blooded brother that was adopted by a second family. We hope to be able to let the 4 kiddos grow up knowing each other, and having at least somewhat of a bond.

So~ Nov. is national adoption month!! WAHOO! Yay adoption! So I just wanted to quickly put it out there that anyone who wants to do a guest post about adoption, I would absolutely LOVE it!! No pressure, but if you'd like I'd be more than happy to post it. This is assuming you write nice things about adoption. I know adoption isn't always looked at as a positive thing, people don't have a great expirence with it for one reason or another. But here.... we're total adoption advocates, so as Thumper's father said, "If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all".

Love to all!!

Couple of randomness things

2011-10-27T19:23:00.000-07:00

You all will be happy to know... this post has pictures!! :o) Sorry... just seems like lately all our pictures have been of "Thor". We can't publish those unless, until adoption happens. No, we do not know if it will go there yet. Hopefully we will know a little more Nov. 07 when we go to court again. Anyway~ I'll do a quick update on all three of us then on to the pics.

Jared and I are same ol', same ol'. Jared's been busy at work, dealing with scouts. He's amazing! All he does for us, his family, our church, etc. He's definitely Mr. Incredible. I can't think of a single new thing with me.

"Thor" is still ... as Jared says, scrappy. He's growing great though. He definitely doesn't like one of the medications we have to get him. Hopefully, if all goes well, he'll be off of it in like 3 1/2 weeks. "Thor" has been irritable since starting the weaning, you can tell he doesn't feel good. But hopefully as he gets use to the lesser amount, he'll do better. "Thor" very much needs to be swaddled tight and have the pacifier to fall asleep. That is, unless he's been held and tired enough. He is waking up... pretty much just once in the night now. Can I just tell you how much the momma loves that! I am definitely spoiled. That's about it for him.

So... here's a few random pictures I found:

This first one my amazing friend Ashley took.

Personally, I LOVE it! The words describe adoption perfectly!
These next ones are from Women's conference. My good friend Wendy had tickets. She invited her friend Scarlett and I to go with her. So we made a girls night out of it!

These next few are of Buddy and his blanket. I don't know why, but Buddy has an unusual obsession with his blanket. He goes CRAZY! if someone takes it from him. At night... he doesn't always have to cuddle with it, but when he does, you better believe Buddy's on it all night. I'll warn you, these pics. don't do the obsession justice. We'll have to get a video some time.

That's all I have for you folks!! Hope you're having a fabulous day! Love to all!!!

So sorry!

2011-10-21T09:29:00.000-07:00

Guess I got so wrapped up in caring for "Thor" that I didn't realize it had been a week since I've updated. SO! Here ya go~

Jared's doing great! Amazing as ever. He's up against a deadline at work, but he's handling the stress so well! I'm very proud of my incredible husband.

I'm doing good. Nothing new on my end. Just same old housekeeping, day to day stuff. Keeps me way busier then I would have ever imagined.

Now the real reaon most of you read now... an update on "Thor". :o) He's doing so great! Such a stubborn baby! lol He shouldn't have any problems fitting in our family, should we get to adopt. And stubborness is what helped him get through all he has. We got "Thor" home on Wed., about lunch time. I can't tell you how great it is to get him home. He's doing great on the whole growing department. I think he's going to be a petite boy... or as Jared says, scrappy. Yesterday he weighed in at 7 lbs 5 oz, which is like the 20th-25th%... and he's like 19 in. long, which is like the 2-3%.

That's about it for us! Love to all!! Hope to hear from you soon!

Bittersweet

2011-10-14T16:14:00.000-07:00

I just got off the phone with the doctor. "Thor" is now a level 12 (out of 13!) The dr. said that "Thor" won't be ready to come home for another 4-8 days though! I have mixed feeling. By all means, I don't want "Thor" home until he's ready. But, on a selfish note, I want him home with me! And it sucks having to drive a total of 2 hours a day (we see him twice a day, and each one takes 30 mins). I'm also glad too because this Sunday is our ward primary program... since I'm the pianist I was kind of stressing about what to do, but ... no need to stress now.

Not much happening

2011-10-12T15:13:00.000-07:00

Well HI! How are all of ya?!? We're doing fabulously!! All three of us. Nothing too new going on. Jared and I are the same old boring people :o) We're speeding a lot more time at the hospital now a days. Hopefully that'll change this weekend! "Thor" is now a level 11 (out of 13). So if all goes well he may be home Sunday, Monday- ish. So stinkin' excited. Can't wait to get that little angel home. He's such a trooper through all of this. As far as legal matters, um... we did have court today but nothing really happened though. We go to court again Nov. 07. I just thought I'd write a quick post, say hi. Let you all know we are still alive. There's just nothing exciting going on. Which is honestly okay, but once "Thor" does get home, things will get exciting. At least for me. :oD Anyway~ hope all is well with all of you. Love to all!

One of these days

2011-10-06T09:29:00.000-07:00

Maybe one of these days I'll add pictures again. :o) I'll try not to make these postings too boring.

Jared is still wonderful, amazing, etc. He's working hard at work and scouts. The last few days he's been sick (stomach flu or something like that) but he's on the mends YAY! Don't know that much as changed with him.

I am still staying busy keeping up the housework, now helping take care of "Thor", and all that good stuff. This last week I got asked to do something I'm way nervous about. Little side note to explain... with the scouting (boy and cub), once a month they have a training at a region (i think) level. Everyone involved meets together for like 20 mins. for announcements and all that good stuff... then the people get separated into a group, depending on what their position is. So den leaders go to one, committee chair and members go to one, cub master, etc. Hope that all makes sense. Anyway~ this last week I was asked to do the training for the den leaders! WHAT THE CRAZY?!? I have not done den leader in a long time. Plus, any of you that know me, know that I stink at training, public speaking. Oh well. It'll all work out right?

"Thor".... sweet, little "Thor". He's staying strong. The hospital has him on a 1-13 scale. 1 being he's really struggling, it'll be a while. When he's level 13 for 48 hours he gets to come home. Right now, he's about a level 6. So he's about half way there. We're looking at about a week- week and a half until we get to bring him home. As of yesterday they increased the calorie amount in his formula. Apparently he's not gaining as much, as fast as they'd like him to.

Think that's about it for us! Hope this finds all of you well. Love to all!!

"Thor"

2011-10-02T08:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry, this is another post without pics.

Anyway~ as I mentioned earlier, we are getting a new foster son. He will be known as "Thor" on line. I don't particularly care for it, but Jared likes it so I figured I get to pick the next one. :o) Anyway~ "Thor" was born Sept. 25. Due to stuff I can't go into too much detail about on here, "Thor" is in the NICU. We are able to go see him whenever we want! Usually ends up being like twice a day. I would do more, but ... dang that housework and life not stopping! hehe... "Thor" I would say has a very strong, determined spirit. He is a fighter. We love him already. "Thor" will probably be in the NICU for about another week and a half, maybe two weeks.

As far as his case with the state... who knows. As of right now, he is in our custody. His birth parents can go see him when they have a caseworker with them. They have supervised visits. Um... on Oct. 11 all the lawyers, caseworkers, the birthparents will meet and determine what they think birth parents should have to do to regain custody. On Oct. 12 it will go before a judge to make it a court ordered thing. If that makes sense.

So there ya go... there's what we can tell you all publicly about the case. Hope all is well with you guys. We're off to see our "Thor" baby! Love to all

Bit of an update

2011-09-28T04:31:00.000-07:00

As usual we have been crazy busy, doing our normal stuff. We've been working on our expectant parent letter, that goes with our LDS online profile. We have a hard time writing one because... well, what do you say to a stranger, who's going through something you don't completely understand? a stranger who may give you the greatest gift of all? On top of, how do you fully convey who you are in just a letter? I don't know. We just hope and pray as we write it that we will touch the life of the family who is going to be part of our family! Anyway~ I guess it'd probably safe to announce... we do have another newborn coming into our custody. His online name will be "Thor" (as chosen by Jared). We have no clue about how long or anything like that. So I'll keep ya posted as we find things out.

I'll post more later on other happenings! Love to all!!

Lacrosse

2011-09-19T16:09:00.000-07:00

We had the great opportunity to go see one of our neighbor's play lacrosse! He's 13 yrs. old and is also one of Jared's scouts. It was so fun to see him play! I haven't seen a good lacrosse game since my two sisters were playing back when we were in high school. Anyway~ here are some pictures of the awesome game.

Us during a time out...

Jared wanted to do a silly pose

few of the players. Wem were cheering for the white team! And, oh yeah... we won! 6-3 for both games these guys played.

Hope you all are enjoying the last bit of great weather, watching awesome sports games! Love to all!!

Ultimate Dog Tease

2011-09-16T19:40:00.000-07:00

Mom Payne showed us this video while she was here last month. I think it's hilarious and thought I'd share. Enjoy!!