This will do....for now

I finally get to hold, love, rock, cuddle, and care for a sweet baby again! It's not an adoption, but it's second best. I have the opportunity to babysit a sweet 12 week old baby girl full time. I can't wait to get started. Ever since Kylee grew out of the baby stage 4 years ago, I've been yearning to have an infant to hold and cuddle with. I've LOVED every stage with Kylee as she has grown and gotten bigger and smarter, but there is something so dear to me when it comes to infants. I can't get enough of them!!! Well, an opportunity presented itself last week that a mother was looking to have someone care for her infant while she goes back to work....so I prayed about it and felt impressed that this is what I am supposed to do for the forseeable future. I don't know how much longer it is going to take for us to find our baby, or for our little miracle to happen, but all I know is that until that day comes I have the honor of having a sweet baby girl in our home 5 days a week! Kylee and I got to meet her yesterday and we both feel instantly in love! This will fill the void temporarily in our lives that we are missing and yearning for everyday.

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As for our adoption journey......nothing promising has happened yet. We've had a few close calls and birth mothers who seemed to really like us, but nothing has come of those conversations. We have now been certified for 6 months and have been contacted by 4 birth mothers....2 of which were promising for a short while. We know that our journey has just begun and could potentially stretch out for years, but we are hopeful that something will happen sooner rather than later.

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On a happier note.....my sister is pregnant! I'm SO happy for her! She got married 2 months ago to an amazing man and he has 3 children already. This will be their first baby together, hopefully followed by one more. My sister has wanted nothing more than to be a wife and mother and she is getting all of that and more! I couldn't be happier for her and her growing family. Life is good!

Our October...

Oh how we just LOVE the holiday months! The holiday spirit around the neighborhood, the decorations all over the mall and grocery stores, all the happy smiley faces......it is truly the most wonderful time of the year and we love to celebrate in the Pew household! And there's no better way to start off all this holiday cheer than by sticking your hand in a gooey pumpkin and dressing up in costumes!

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Here is Kylee and one of her best friends carving our pumpkin this year....

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She decided to go with a cat this year. I think it turned out pretty cute!

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Kylee begged me to be a witch this year. So I gave in and let her finally be a witch. She has been wanting to be a witch for a couple years now, but I always wanted her to be something unique and different. Well, I gave in and let her be the cutest witch around!

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On our way to the Fall Festival at her school. She was super excited!

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I'm so proud of my man! He became a police officer almost 2 years ago and at his department banquet a few nights ago, he won Rookie of the Year! It's no surprise to me that he got this award. He impacts everyone's life that he comes in contact with and always leaves a lasting impression. I'm so lucky to have him in my life! Kylee and I are so proud of our "Daddy"!

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That was pretty much our "October" in a nutshell! Lots of fun holiday activities and family time. We look forward to spending Thanksgiving in California with David's family and then Christmas here in Arizona with my family. Life sure is good and we feel so blessed!

Recent happenings...

Sorry it's been so long since I've last updated. David and I just went to an adoption academy today and we learned SO MUCH! This is definitely a learning experience for us everyday and we are learning as we go. We didn't realize how amazing the adoption "world" is and how many amazing people there are to help us throughout this journey. We feel so blessed to be a part of something so special and we can't wait to bring a sweet new baby into our home someday.

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Aside from today, a lot of amazing and "crazy" things have been happening. On Labor Day, a bunch of friends and I decided to take our kids to a place called The Bounz House since there was no school that day. We rounded up the kids and went to have some fun. This is one of the big slides they have at this place. It is a ton of fun!

Well, Kylee asked me if I would go down the slide with her......so of course I jumped on the opportunity to have some fun! Socks are something that everyone should wear while playing on the bounz house "toys" but I wasn't wearing any. But I still went down the slide without thinking twice. Well.....at the bottom of the slide, my foot decided to get stuck in the crevice while my body kept going forward. My foot twisted and pulled in every direction and this was the end result....

Yep....I got booted up! I pulled 2 tendons and pinched a nerve by my achilles. But I'm good now, almost a month later. I'm off crutches, the boot is gone, and I'm back at my regular workouts everyday. I feel good but my foot still gets sore from time to time.

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The biggest thing that has happened lately is my sister's wedding! She got married to an amazing man who is a convert to the church. Here is my Dad and David being silly boys and posing all "GQ" for the camera! Haha

The loves of my life! Kylee and David...

Me and my gorgeous sister Natalie. We are the closest out of all my siblings and she truly is my best friend. I'm so happy for her that she finally found her eternal companion and that they will be a forever family from here on out! I love her!

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I'm a volleyball coach for the local high school in my area. I help with the varsity team and am the head coach for the JV team. I love coaching! Volleyball was such a huge part of my life growing up and I'm so thankful I have the opportunity to stay involved with it. My sister (pictured above) took these pictures of us. She is an amazing photographer!

And below here is my JV team...I love these girls!

Both teams are currently 13-1. We are having a very successful season so far!

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And last but not least, our Kylee girl is excelling in everything she does. She is in the top percentage of her Kindergarten class and is starting to read books. We had her very first parent teacher conference yesterday and her teacher said wonderful things about her. She has great behavior and listens and cooperates very well. She has a 96% average for the year so far in all her subjects. We are so proud of her! She just started her second year of dance also. She loves dancing and we love to see her doing so well in everything she loves. Here is her first ever school picture! Not too cheesy thankfully! Haha

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Everything is going great and we are loving life! Can't wait to hopefully add to our family soon!

Confirmation!!

Well, it's been about 2 1/2 months since David and I got certified to adopt. I have been preparing myself to wait a year until I start to get "impatient" with the situation if I didn't hear from any birth mothers or didn't see this going anywhere. Well already, after 2 1/2 months, I started second guessing what we were doing and why we hadn't heard from anyone. Yes it's only been 2 1/2 months, but really it's been 4 years that we have been without our 2nd baby that we so desperately wish to have. So everyday that we are baby-less at our home feels like an eternity! I consider myself a very strong person and I have been very upbeat and optimistic about our situation ever since we found out about our infertility problems, but I have my down points too and I can't keep that positive outlook on our situation ALL the time. Everytime I get down, I get picked back up almost immediately! I have amazing friends, family and an even better and perfect Father in Heaven who are helping me through this entire journey.

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Last week I had a big wake up call. I was getting really down about our situation again and I was wondering if we were making the right decision by adopting. I didn't want to feel this way because I know without a shadow of a doubt that I got the confirmation from the Lord that adoption is what we are supposed to be doing. So David and I went to the temple the next day and it was an amazing experience. I felt peace, but I didn't get the direct answer I was hoping for. Well, I got that direct answer two days ago. We got an email from a birth mother here in Arizona and she is considering us as a family for her unborn baby boy. He is expected to come into this world in mid-September. I don't know if anything is going to come from this and if that sweet baby is meant to be a part of our family, but one thing I do know is that Heavenly Father is sending me a direct answer that adoption is what we are supposed to be doing. He is telling me to hang in there and be patient. I'm so thankful that He is aware of my concerns and desires and is wonderful enough to "talk" back and let us know His answers for us. Prayer truly is a two-way conversation.

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We will continue on this journey as long as it takes. Kylee continues to pray everyday to become a big sister soon and I pray that her prayer will be answered! We continually feel the prayers of our loved ones for us and it gives us great peace throughout this journey. Life is good and our family is doing well. But our family is not yet complete! Can't wait to add more sweet children to our family!

Update

With 2 profiles up on LDS services and Parent Profiles, I am going to try and use this blog as a journal log of what is going on with our adoption journey. While on vacation in California last week, we got an email from an adoption agency in Florida. This agency found us on Parent Profiles (proof that it's worth paying money to have a profile on that website). They said that they were contacting us because we are open to adoptiong a bi-racial baby. They have a birth mother through their agency there who is white and the biological father is African American. I'm sure that baby is going to be beautiful! I'm all about the bi-racial unique features. Anyhow, the agency said that they were considering us because of this fact but that we would have to go through their agency and pay their fees. Well, $18,000 plus medical expenses isn't exactly up our financial alley! But it was fun to get a response and to know that we are being seen by agencies and birth mothers around the country. We are still very hopeful and pray everyday that our baby will find us soon!

We're certified!!!

BLESSINGS!!!!!

The 4 month wait is over! We are now officially certified to be adoptive parents! I almost feel like I'm announcing that I'm "pregnant" and that we are now just waiting for our baby to be born. It's actually very similar and I'm hoping that it doesn't take more than 9 months to have a new sweet baby join our family. The waiting game now truly begins. Our profile is now up and running through LDS Family Services and we are in the process of creating more profiles on other websites. The internet is a great way to get our message out to the world and also a convenient resource for expectant mothers to find a good family for their child. But I'm feeling at a loss as to how we can be proactive in other ways. I mean, how do I go out there and "spread the word" other than word of mouth through friends and family? Do I make pass along cards? Post signs? Hahahaha! NO! I just wish there were some other way I could do something more. I hate just sitting here. But I find comfort in the power of prayer and knowing that somewhere out there our baby is waiting for us and one way or another, we will find each other! If you would like to see our profile on the LDS Services website, go to this link on the right of the page. We feel so blessed as a family and are loving every minute of life, but we know that we are not yet complete. Please remember to keep us in your prayers that this next phase in our journey to growing our family will be as speedy as possible! We love you all!

May 2010 Family Pictures

Every year my wonderful photographer sister takes our family pictures. We try to get them done around Christmas time but this year we missed it and had them done in April instead. I love the way these turned out! As for our progress.....we should be certified in about a month! We are so excited and can't wait to be able to officially put our name out there and be more productive with finding a new sweet baby to join our family! Enjoy these pictures...