I am a mother

This video really touches me. I have always wanted to be a mother and it is something that I honor and am proud of. I love the fact that I can be a stay-at-home mom and be there for all the big and small moments. I love taking my son to the park and seeing him learn how to do the monkey bars and going to the library and watching the joy on his face as he gets a new Cars book. Life really is about the little things: the little moments, the little giggles under a fort, the little grins on a child's face.

I am a story reader, a 'bonk' fixer, a tickle monster, a macaroni and cheese maker, a ball thrower, a coloring partner, a bubble blower, a pool splasher, and a board game playing mother. There really is nothing greater in the world! I am excited to be a mother again through the selfless acts and great love of a courageous woman when we adopt.

By the way, Jane Clayson Johnson has written an incredible book called "I am a mother". I LOVE it!!

Go cougs!

We had the opportunity to go cheer for the BYU Cougars at the Air Force v. BYU game this past Saturday. It wasn't much of a game (BYU lost 35-14), but at least we were with good friends and family. We were able to bring a young man from our ward (congregation), and he told us thank you at least a hundred times. Also, we sat by Russ' parents and had other friends there as well. Caden especially loved seeing the jets fly over and sitting in the planes.

I was excited when I learned that I could sit in the planes too....can you tell? :)

Russ chilling with the young man from our ward

Not a great picture, but it shows the great seats we had!

They did a special half time show for 9-11. It is great to live in such an amazing free country, and to have brave service men that protect us here in the US and through their work overseas.

Spotlight

Our awesome Colorado Chapter of FSA (Families Supporting Adoption) spotlight an adoptive couple each week. We have the privilege of being spotlighted today! Check it out here: http://coloradofsa.blogspot.com/2010/09/spotlight-wednesday-russ-kylee.html

Thanks Colorado FSA!

Labor Day weekend

We had a great Labor Day weekend! We have a tradition of camping with Russ' LDS co-workers (there are a lot of them). We camped Thursday and Friday nights in a beautiful place with good friends. This year there were 8 families and lots of cute kids. It was so much fun!

We love Caden's dirty face in the pic below.

We played in the stream by the campsite. Caden loved throwing rocks and sticks in the water.

We brought the hammock that Russ brought home from his mission in Venezuela. It is HUGE and the kids LOVED it! They were constantly all crammed in there swinging and laughing. So fun!

We went on a hike to find a geocache (or as we call it, hidden treasure). Caden was holding the GPS and kept telling us how far we were away from it. He LOVES going geocaching with us.

We got home on Saturday afternoon to call Kylee's parents that are serving a mission in South Africa because it was her Mom's birthday.

On Monday, we went swimming as a family and then we went to a park with two families that are friends of ours. We had a picnic and let the kids play. It was a great weekend!Russ and Caden climbed to the top of this structure. They were so happy.

I love the close up because it shows the great pride they had in their accomplishment, especially Caden! He sure loves his Daddy!

Our little joy

On Tuesday, our little 4 year old Caden started joy school (preschool with 6 kids that rotates from house to house). He was so excited for his first day! It is fun to teach him and to watch him grow and learn so much!

Here is part of the class on the first day. (The other two were at doctor appointments)

Learning about the letter A and making it with their bodies

We learned about the color red, so we had a red day. The kids were so excited for red day. We used red paint, ate red snacks, dressed in red clothes, etc. Caden got up and got dressed by himself because he was so excited!