Kenzie's new hair doo, and a look on her face that says, really mommy I think you do these things just to embarrass me, and well she may be right! I love all her little looks and smiles!

The cousins at the PNE on Monday! We had a great time with out family down in Abbotsford!

Kenzie totally too distracted to take a picture! There were way to many people to look at and things to see that were way more interesting than a boring old picture!!!

Jaris trying a Kraft Dinner cracker and not to sure what to make of it! Gotta love that boy and the fact that he will eat anything!

Kenzie with daddy at the PNE

Here is a video of Kenzie totally giddy over my sister in laws cat! Seriously Kenzie mauled this cat and the cat did absolutely nothing back to her. We were all waiting for him to bite of scratch, however he did not and I for one am thankful. I am pretty sure other cats would not be so understanding. I love how excited she is about the cat, and I love hearing her giggle and screech with delight.



Here is Jaris talking away one night! I love my little boy so much and we have had some concerns and still do a bit. However he is growing and improving leaps and bounds. I love listening to him talk, so even when it is time for bed, if he decides it is time to talk then I let him jabber away.

All in all our trip was a good trip. Busy with lots packed into it. That always seem to be the way it goes. I am just so happy that we have our two miracles to go on family holidays with! We are very blessed!

Adoption Finalized

Well finally just before Kenzie turned 8 months old her adoption is finalized! Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously unless you have adopted you will not understand how much relief a little piece of paper gives you. It is not like the paper is a fancy certificate, however to Jeral and I that little piece of normal paper is like winning the lottery. Actually it is better than the lottery because Kenzie is worth more to us than all the money in the world. She is our little girl. She is a miracle, and a little piece of heaven sent down to us. Daddy and I are so happy that now legally you our ours, which just confirms what has been in our hearts since the day we met your birth mommy and she chose us.

As I sit here typing this I wondering how you will feel about this years down the road when you are old enough to understand? Will you be as excited as daddy and I? Or will feel sad, and please know that if you feel sad that is totally okay. Will you feel relief, or will you feel torn and conflicted. No matter how you feel about your adoption, daddy and I want to tell you that you are allowed to have your feelings and that you can feel free to express them to us or someone you feel safe talking too. No matter how you feel about your adoption as you get older we will always love you!

We have no regrets! We love you. Your smile is the bright spot in every day, and lately every night. There is a saying that goes like this "From the moment they slipped you into my arms you slipped into my heart." However for daddy and I you were in our hearts long before you were born, and the day they placed you in our arms, our love for you grew, and it has kept growing. We love and are so thankful you are ours!

Little Star

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I have been working on a small little book that I can read to MacKenzie as she grows ups, that also incorporates the song I sing to her every night as she is snuggled into my arms, so I thought I would give a preview here.

Jeral's Birthday and Our Family Outting

Today we took the kids to the Kettle Valley Railway Trestles. As we were walking it was hard not to notice these flowers. The are beautiful, and they also only grow in areas that have been devastated by forest fires.

This picture does not do justice to how amazing this field looked filled with the flowers. When you look around it is easy to see the devastation the fire did, however the beauty of the flowers growing is so captivating that the devastation of the fire is almost missed. I think that these flowers are a metaphor for life in many ways. At times events or circumstances occur that devastate us, and yet in time an amazing beauty can grow up. Also at times that beauty may not grow unless the devastating fire comes and sweeps through first. It sort of sucks and yet it is also true. What was once there is no longer, and yet something beautiful can happen out it.

Me with Kenzie! I realized a few days ago that most of the pictures we have of the kids are of them alone, with each other, or with Jeral. Yes in part because I take most of the pictures, however also because I have been ashamed of the reality that I allowed myself to gain back over half of the weight I worked so hard to loose. However I am choosing to say that stops now. I want my children to be able to see pictures of them in my arms when they were little, being held by me - knowing they are loved by me their mommy - no matter what size I am.

Me and my miracles. I am so blessed to have not one, but two babes. They mean the world to me and I love getting to snuggle and cuddle with them.

Today is Jeral's birthday. It is his first one as a daddy! He is a wonderful daddy that is for sure. We decided to take a trip to Kelowna and walk along the Kettle Valley Railway Trestles. It was a great day that is for sure! I love that we get to go out as a family! So this was our family picture on Jeral's Birthday! All in all we walked 12 km with our babes, and before that in the morning I walked 6 with a friend. All my body is saying now is ouch. Oh well the blisters are so worth the memories we created as a family on Jeral's birthday!

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Jaris

This will be a short update. We saw the Pediatrician today and Jaris' head ultrasound came back normal so that is great! Our miracle son just has a large head. Also good news his head has not grown in the last two weeks, so that is also good. Maybe his muscles will get a chance to catch up. We are still waiting for the Karotyping (genetic testing), however the dr. did say she would be surprised if the results came back that he had one of the two syndromes. Something may still pop up, however for now we are going with Jaris is a big boy, who got big fast and now his muscles need to catch up, and he has a large head! A sigh of relief!!!!!!!AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Ultrasound and A Visit

Not sure why the picture did not rotate like I asked it too! Oh well here is Kenzie with her cousin.

Jaris chilling with his Grandpa K.

My friend Miranda and her son Jacob, with me and my two babes! Kenzie is sitting next to her future husband Jacob. We have decided to betroth the kids simply because this way seems much easier to us!!!! Thus they are not all that impressed! (If you know Miranda and I you know we are not that serious!). Notice my hair - I decided to chop it off. Yes I fell pray to the new mommy hair style. I must admit I love having it short, just need to get some coloring done and I will be happy! The older I get the blonder I go and that will not do. I am a red head and want to stay that way!

Jaris' ultrasound was today. He did great considering he had to lay there and not move to much. If it would have been Kenzie we would have been in trouble! They took 30 pictures of his brain, and now we wait. Most likely we will not find out anything until we see the pediatrician on
Tuesday. Waiting in all of this is the hardest part. I guess it always is. I normally want to get answers fast and now. Oh well we are able to wait and while I wait and talk to Jesus I will enjoy all the snuggles and cuddles I get from both miracles!

Kenzie Crawling

So here is a video of Kenzie crawling. She so adorable. We are thinking that at the end of the week we will have to have a gate on the stairs and maybe even into the living room just to keep her in the living room when I am working in the kitchen!"

And this is breaking news - Jaris has a tooth popping through!!!!! Kenzie has been teething for months with no teeth popping through and Jaris has a tooth and we did not even know he was teething!

This was my son right after he was born. He was so tiny at least then. He was one of two miracles we had prayed for.

I was reminded this morning again of something Jesus continually asked of me when I was pregnant and so scared that our baby would be taken to heaven before we got to meet him or her (before we knew we were having a boy). Jesus continually asked me to trust him, knowing that trusting him with our child did not mean everything would turn out the way we had hoped or wanted.

This morning as I was watching my beautiful son sleep, I was also talking to Jesus. The conversation went something like this:

"ME - Jesus please heal Jaris. Please just fix his weak muscles. Please be the miracle worker you are, and since you promised that your followers would have the same ability to heal as the original disciples did, and I am your follower please give me the ability to heal my son.

JESUS - Just trust me!"

I guess I just really want to wake up tomorrow to a little boy whose muscles are strong, who is able to meet all of his milestones already, and who is still no matter what the cutest little boy in the whole wide world. That would be so much better than the reality of today - the reality of unknowns - the reality of no matter how much I want to say he is doing everything he should do he simply is not! Oh well this is just my way of expressing where I am at right now. Trying to find a way to trust no matter what!