Jimmy * Esther * Zeke * Lilly

It was a wonderful Christmas! Each year becomes more fun as our children get older, and can understand more. This year was so exciting!

Zeke and Lilly left treats, and pictures for Santa. They even left some Cheerios for his reindeer :)

They’re not to the point where they can’t sleep on Christmas Eve though :) They both slept so well I had to wake them up at 7:30 because I couldn’t wait any longer!

Zeke got this bed set as an early Christmas gift. He has been doing so well sleeping in it! It’s cool because you can connect an i-pod to it and it plays music. The speakers are the two circles on the ends of the football part. The night we set it up, Jimmy played some songs on it while he and Zeke and Carlin played a basketball game in Zeke’s room. Zeke loved it! He said, “It’s like a party in my room!”

The only thing Lilly has been asking Santa for is a “boy lipstick”. She talked about it all day, everyday for the past few weeks. She would ask me, “Santa bring a boy lipstick me?” I would tell her, “Yes, on Christmas he will put it in your stocking”. When I woke her up and told her it was Christmas, the first thing she said was, “Santa bring a lipstick me?” I was worried I might get the wrong kind of chap stick since she was so particular about it being a boy lipstick, but she was happy with the blue Cinderella chap stick she got.

Santa left Zeke and Lilly each a personal letter, and he even left a few cookie crumbs on his plate. (Jimmy had fun with this :)

Zeke surprised that Santa got the white board/chalk board toy he wanted! We saw only one left in the store, and when we went back, Zeke was disappointed it was gone. Santa sure is sneaky!

Lilly was happy with her kitty from mommy, it meows, blinks, and moves its tail.

Another favorite this year was her big doll from Santa :)

Daddy got Zeke a Star Wars lunch box with neat sandwich cutters inside.

I gave Zeke a lego, he and Jimmy had fun putting it together.

Uncle Adam gave Lilly a Lion King Sing Along DVD

Lilly bottle feeding her horse from Grandma S :)

Her kitty came with a bottle too, she’s going to be such a great big sister!

Jimmy got a new suit, this is actually the first won since we’ve been married. His mission suits lasted a long time!

(This was actually the Sunday before Christmas, which is why Jimmy isn’t in his suit. I forgot to get a picture of all of us on Christmas.)

Jimmy was making them smile this cute by being funny behind me :)

Church was only an hour on Christmas, then it was back to jammies, and playing with toys, then we went to Jimmy’s parents’.

Lilly got the Rapunzel Barbie from Grandma and Grandpa Z

Zeke got a cool remote control car

Zeke and Dallin played like Lilly was the powerful girl, and only their helmets could keep them safe from her. They thought it was so funny when she would bonk them on the head with her candy.

Lilly had her chap stick with her the whole day. She also used it all up in one day :) She now talks about how Santa will bring her another one on Christmas.

This one turned out blurry, but I love it anyway!

Both kids fell fast asleep on the way home. Grandma gave us the left over chips, and Lilly held tightly to them the whole way home.

Here are some of the things we’ve been up to in December, (in chronological order :)-

decorating for Christmas :)

Cousin Dallin’s 5th birthday! Check out that awesome shark cake his mom made! His party was at the aquarium, in the sunken ship party room. It was fun!

Zeke’s favorite was still the sting rays. Lilly liked them a lot too.

(Zeke told me to put this one on the blog, so here it is :)

We got a one month pass to a bouncy house place, my kids love it!

Lilly does well getting through all of the obstacles. She tries hard to keep up with her brother, which isn’t an easy thing to do.

weee!

Gramma Charlotte came over, and Zeke and Lilly got to open their gifts from her, which they both loved!

Our kids thought it was so neat making sugar cookies together last week! It was a very fun family night!

Zeke wanted to make a football, triangle, moon, and bee cookie. Lilly did a few clumpy cookies, and some circles.

Apparently Lilly really likes red sprinkles :)

Zeke in his awesome Star Wars Lego robe, and Lilly in her cute princess jammies they opened from a package last night from Grandma Linda and Grandpa Dave!

Tonight we went to see the lights at Temple Square with Jimmy’s family. It was beautiful!

Lilly didn’t want to keep her gloves on, she had a better idea to keep her hands warm- put them on daddy’s ears under his hat!

Zeke had lots of fun chasing cousins, it was tricky to get him for a picture, but we got one of all of us together:)

Wow, that was lots of pictures, I should really post more often so each post isn’t a mile long!

I love this! It was written by someone in our Families Supporting Adoption chapter. So many people ask me about our open adoptions, and I think this expresses so much about why open adoptions are so important, and special to us.

THE GIFT OF LOVE

By: MaryAnn

As Christmas approaches, we find much of our time consumed with gifts.  There are the obligatory gifts, expected gifts, last minute gifts, homemade gifts, and neighbor gifts all mixed in with Santa gifts.  But there are other gifts, which are given less often – those are the gifts of the heart.

I remember still, the day I gave everything I had to give; it was more than I thought I could give.  It was the gift of life, the gift of family, the gift of joy.  It was created with blood and tears and given based on faith and prayers.  It was the day, more than 18 years ago, I went to court to relinquish my parental rights for here and for eternity so a forever family could be created.

I remember the bittersweet feeling as I left the courthouse empty handed, and the thought I had just given the most precious thing I had to give.  In my mind, it is the closest I will ever come to doing something for someone who cannot repay me – or can they?

I have read numerous blogs asking what gifts are appropriate for a birth mother.  I have read blogs surveying birth mothers and asking what they would like to receive, and what would be meaningful.  Perhaps it is the closed adoption I am part of, and my inability to receive tangible gifts, that have led me to think about the gifts of the heart.

I have been touched on more than one occasion by the thought: the best gift a father can give his children is to love their mother.  Why do we hear this repeatedly?  What does love between parents accomplish?  It says we love and respect one another.  It says we value each other.  It says we are thankful for one another.  It acknowledges our life would not be what it is without each other.  It creates a trusting and loving atmosphere.

Perhaps it is my wishful thinking which leads me to believe this also applies to adoptive parents loving birth parents and vice versa.  What does this accomplish?  It tells the child we love you – we love and accept all parts of you including where you came from and who you are becoming.  It says we are all on the same page and we all want what is best for you.  It says we are not rivals competing for your love, but instead we are friends, each contributing something different to your success. It says we have not forgotten the miracle in our lives and how it came to be.  It says we are so secure in our roles, we are not afraid to let you love another.

As I have thought about what would be the best gift I could receive as a birth mother, it would be this:  That the daughter I placed for adoption has a love for me because of the love her parents have for me.  That she is so sure of their love for me, she would never hesitate to talk about me or ask questions about me.  That should the opportunity ever arise for us to meet, she would not hesitate or be caught up in loyalty issues. Rather she would go to them, and not only she, but her family, would rejoice at the opportunity to meet.   There would not be fear.  I would not be a threat.  Instead I would be treated as a treasured friend.  This is the gift which would more than compensate the gift I gave.   This is the gift of LOVE.

I am realistic enough to know this outcome is not as likely as I would hope.  Closed adoption does not facilitate, demand, or encourage any of this.  Open adoption, however, makes it possible.  When we truly make adoption about love, it does not exclude.  It includes.  Adoption has room for everyone.