Our New Blog

In case you missed the memo... we've moved to a new blog address:

http://ourjcrew.blogspot.com

He's Here!!

Lucas James Jenkins

July 16th, 2011

6:39 am

5 lbs 11 oz

19" long

We have a new family blog full of fun pictures of his big arrival! Please follow us over at:

http://ourjcrew.blogspot.com/

A Midnight Bath

A few nights ago I woke up to this sight! Our little Lilly was giving James a bath and licking his crazy hair. She spent over 10 minutes grooming him and the best part of it was that James slept through the whole thing!!

Less Than 3 Weeks (but who's counting?!?)

It's been an eventful and super busy couple of weeks! Let me fill you in on all of the fun. The Saturday before Father's Day, Amanda invited us to a BBQ to celebrate her birthday and it was super fun! She invited my parents to come and they were so excited to meet her and they instantly fell in love with her too! She had a bunch of her family at the BBQ and it was awesome to meet them. We've had such an amazing experience getting to know her and are thrilled to have her in our lives!

(I totally had to crop myself out of the photo - one eye was closed and I kinda look like Quasimodo!! ha ha)

I've been busy cleaning and organizing the house and my project this past week was the baby's closet. We bought some fun storage cubes and I've had fun organizing them. I found these darling polka dot clothes organizers that I just had to have! We've been having a blast shopping for baby clothes - something that we've never dared to do in the past.

Last night Amanda and I had a Girls Night Out and got pedicures! It was so fun and I'm glad that we got some one-on-one girl time. The baby is going to be here before we know it and I'm grateful for every minute that we get to spend with Amanda! My mom gave me this darling picture frame and James and I thought this picture was perfect to fill it with:

A few days ago our nephew Tyler returned home from his mission in Honduras. It seems like just yesterday that he left (I'm sure his mother thinks differently) and we were all so excited to see him. His flight came in late, but we all huddled together at the airport with cute signs to welcome him back home.

Welcome home Ty - we missed you!

Memorial Weekend

I know, I know - I've been terrible at blogging lately! Hopefully I'm excused from slacking when I have such an awesome excuse! James and I are super busy getting ready for the little guy to make his big entrance. We managed to squeeze in a little trip over Memorial Day so I just wanted to share some of the fun pictures of our adventure. We took 3 motorcycles and 1 car on a road trip to Vegas. Our first stop once we arrived in Las Vegas was to check out Gold & Silver Pawn. For those of you that aren't addicted to the History Channel, this pawn shop is home to the TV show Pawn Stars. My little brother introduced us to this show last year and we've all become addicted to it!

The last picture was my favorite - they had a piece of toast with Chumlee's face on it! So hilarious!!! After our little pawn experience, we headed to check in at our hotel - The Excalibur. We've lost count of how many times we've visited Vegas because it's always such a blast. We always try to fit in a show and this time we saw Beatles LOVE. The Cirque Du Soleil shows are our favorites - we've now seen LOVE, KA, & O!

The next day we hit the road again to continue our adventure. We drove on the old route 66 to Radiator Springs. Just kidding - Oatman, Arizona. (I couldn't resist the CARS reference. I think of that movie every time I drive on route 66!) Oatman is an old mining town that was abandoned in the early 40's. Everything was abandoned, even their mining donkeys. These donkeys now own the town as the main population. They are literally lining the streets. The townfolk throw a mean shootout every day at high noon which was both fun & super cheesy! After a hearty lunch of burro ears (an Oatman delicacy) we walked the streets and did a little shopping where my dad couldn't resist buying a onesie for our little guy to wear one day soon! (Thanks Grandpa!)

We spent our second night in Las Vegas again and then hit the road to head home. We all had a blast - especially James because this was the first time that he was able to join us for one of our mean biker trips!

A few days ago Amanda invited me to go with her to another doctor's appointment. During the appointment she told me the cutest thing that makes me smile everytime I think of it! She said that every time she eats ice cream, the little guy starts kicking... PERFECT, right! It's like he already knows that ice cream will be a food group in our family! I know that Grandpa can't wait to feed him his first taste of ice cream!!!

An Adventure Called Disneyland

Our fun trip to Disneyland started out as a total surprise to our nephews. My dad rented a 12 passenger van to take us all on this adventure. The night before the trip, James and I set up a scavenger hunt around our house. We invited the kids over for a "Mother's Day" breakfast and afterward we sent them on the scavenger hunt. While they were searching for the clues with Uncle James, the rest of us decorated the van and loaded up all of the luggage. The sign my mom is holding in the picture says "HOP IN... WE'RE HEADING TO DISNEYLAND!" The final clue in the scavenger hunt led them to the front porch of our house. Their reaction was HILARIOUS! They all stopped in their tracks and just stared from us to the van and back again. They thought we were just playing a trick on them and they didn't believe us until Grandpa showed them all of their luggage! Little Taylor had a smile on his face the entire trip and kept chanting "Dinneylan, Dinneylan!" It was priceless!

After a day and half of driving (which was surprisingly fun) we arrived in Anaheim. We spent the afternoon at Downtown Disney and shopped and played around. We especially had a ball at the World of Disney store where we couldn't resist buying this darling onesie for our soon-to-be little boy! Isn't it cute?!?

The next day we set off early in the morning to go to California Adventure. The best rides at this park are Soaring Over California, Toy Story Mania, & Tower of Terror. All super fun!!!

We spent the next two days at Disneyland... my favorite amusement park in the world. It was my 4th visit and it is still magical! I think it was the perfect time of year to go because the lines were pretty short and the weather was great. Sadly Splash Mountain was closed, but we still got to go on our favorite rides... Indiana Jones, Peter Pan, Space Mountain, & Thunder Mountain.

By the end of our 3rd day at Disneyland we were all exhausted, but we had a total blast! James and I can't wait to take our little guy there in a few years to experience his first magical Disneyland adventure!!!

It's A Boy!

Our sweet pea is finally coming to us! We have been so excited to share this news with everybody - James has literally been begging me to blog about it since last Saturday night! Our little baby boy is due to arrive on July 16th!

Here’s the story: Sweet Amanda found one of our pass-along cards two weeks ago. We started emailing back and forth and we KNEW by day 2 that we already loved her! We anxiously awaited her emails each day and wrote her back as quickly as we could. We went out to dinner last Saturday night and met her for the first time. We were super nervous that she would meet us and think we were total dorks (cause we are!!!), but as soon as she walked in, our nerves were put to rest and we immediately fell in love with her. It was an amazing night and we will never forget it! We left that dinner filled with so much hope and we have literally been smiling ever since!

She invited us to go with her to her doctor’s appointment this past Thursday where we got to hear the baby’s heartbeat for the first time. AMAZING!!! It’s crazy that in such a short amount of time, we have fallen in love with both Amanda and our little baby!

Mother’s Day is tomorrow and every year since James and I have been married it has been a really tough day for me. This year Mother’s Day is one for the books! Amanda sent me a text this afternoon asking if we could meet somewhere because she had something to drop off. I was suspecting that she had some more ultrasound pictures to give us, but I was totally surprised to find out that she had a Mother’s Day gift for me. She gave me a beautiful Willow Tree statue of a mother holding a baby. I will treasure this gift FOREVER! It means the world to me, especially because it came from Amanda! James and I feel so honored that she has chosen us to be the parents of her child!!! We love you Amanda!

Happy Easter!

We had an awesome Easter this year! After church, we all went over to my parent's house where the Easter Bunny usually visits and leaves us a fun basket of goodies. James doesn't really like chocolate so the Easter Bunny made sure to leave him some gummy bears... his favorite treat in the world! The Easter Bunny also knows that I love Cadbury Cream Eggs so he left me plenty of those in our basket too! Somebody must have told the Easter Bunny that we're hoping to adopt because he even left some things for the baby in our basket - a darling picture frame and a stuffed bunny that smells like chocolate!

After we checked out the goods from our basket, James and I were put in charge of hiding all of the eggs for the annual hunt! We hid over 80 eggs in my parents backyard and when my nephews arrived, they couldn't wait to begin exploring!

Little Taylor had a ball trying to find all of the eggs and his brothers even helped him out once they had found plenty for themselves!

After the egg hunt, we had a yummy Easter dinner together!

Marriage & My Prince Charming

I've been thinking a lot lately about how lucky that I am to have such an amazing man as my husband. He is my best friend in the world and I love him more every day. He works so hard to provide for me and our future family and I want him to know how proud I am of him. He is a symbol of strength to so many and I adore his ability to brighten those around him. All of his friends know that he is a genuinely happy person and others can't help but be happy when they are around him. He is so sweet to me and I feel blessed to have him in my life. He is a great example of what a man should be and I know that our children will have a strong role model and a hero to look up to.

When it comes to marriage, I really believe that our relationship is unique. We honestly rarely argue and when we do, we talk it through immediately and we never bottle things up. We have mastered the art of communication and we believe it is the key to a successful marriage. We've been married for 6 1/2 years and we have enjoyed every moment of it. I think that one of the biggest demons that a marriage can have is personal insecurity. It is so easy when you are insecure with yourself, to attack others as a defense mechanism. I've witnessed other marriages where the husband and wife send little digs toward each other. These "digs" may be masked with an air of humor, but it would be impossible for them to not feel hurt deep down inside. This leads to another reason why I love my James so much. Those of you that know me, know that I am not what society would call beautiful... I'm a bit too "fluffy" for that title! I've been insecure my whole life - until I met James. He makes me feel like I am the most beautiful person on the earth and because of this, I am learning to love who I am regardless of the way I look to others. I may still feel insecure when I'm in social settings and I am hyper-aware that the size of my jeans is twice the size as others, but as soon as I walk through the doors of our home, that insecurity melts away and I know that I am loved for who I am.

As most of you know, we have been facing a huge trial in our marriage. Infertility (or the iMonster as our adoption peeps have named it) is a terrifying and devastating thing for a couple to experience. We've heard stories about couples that have faced infertility and that it has destroyed their relationship. James and I are completely opposite from that. Through our tough times, we've relied so heavily on each other and together we have leaned on Heavenly Father to help us through our struggles. In the April issue of Ensign magazine, there is an article about Infertility that is incredible. Click HERE if you want to check it out. There was one passage in the article that was really inspiring so I want to share it. It said:

"When someone has an ailment or an illness and they are healed as the result of a blessing, their faith is being strengthened. But for those who aren't healed but continue faithful, their faith is being perfected. The first is a faith-promoting experience. The second is faith-perfecting."

I know that our faith is being perfected through this process because instead of bitterness, anger, and resentment, we've grown more in love and understanding and we have built such a strong foundation. In last weekend's General Conference, Elder Richard G. Scott said:

"It is so rewarding to be married. Marriage is wonderful. In time you begin to think alike and have the same ideas and impressions. You have times when you are extremely happy, times of testing, and times of trial, but the Lord guides you through all of those growth experiences together."

I KNOW our marriage can withstand any trials thrown at us! I love you James and I can't wait to spend eternity with you!

Adoptive Couples Retreat

A few weeks ago we went to the 2nd Annual Adoptive Couples Retreat. It was a BLAST! We went with our cute friends Courtney & Jenn that we serve with on the FSA board. The event started out with a mingle to meet other adoptive couples and then we went and played games with Cort & Jenn in their hotel room until the wee hours of the morning. Pictured above is me and Jenn and the cute little tyke with James in the pic below is Cooper - Cort and Jenn will finalize their adoption of this adorable little guy in a few weeks and we're so excited for them!

The second day of the retreat was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!! Jessalyn (the beauty queen between Jenn and me in the picture below) is such an awesome girl. She is a birthmom who knows firsthand the incredible blessings of adoption. She organized the entire event and we feel super blessed to have her as our new friend. We can't wait for the retreat next year!

Pass Along Cards

We just got our new pass along cards in the mail and we are totally in love with them! Thanks to some amazing local businesses and our awesome friends, we've passed out over 2500 cards in only 6 months! Woot, woot! We enlisted the help of a super talented graphic designer (shout out to Charlotte!) to create a new look for our cards and they turned out fabulous!

(FRONT)

(BACK)

For those of our blog readers that aren't familiar with adoption pass along cards, we'll explain what they're all about. Networking during our adoption process is MAJOR! We've met several adorable couples that have been waiting to be chosen by a birthmother for several years. Our caseworker has encouraged us to spread the word (or send out a herald in our case) so that others may know of our desire to adopt.

The idea behind these cards is to get as many out there circulating as possible in hopes that they'll one day land in hands of someone, who knows someone, who knows someone (etc), who is thinking of placing their child for adoption. Because birthparents get to choose the adoptive couple, the waiting period can be really daunting. One of the first questions that we asked our caseworker was what the average waiting time was. She explained that there is not an accurate way of calculating that number for us. Every birthparent is different, just as every adoptive couple is different. What one birthparent may be looking for, another may want something completely opposite. Some couples are chosen within a few months, some after a few years. Some have waited over 5 years and others are not ever chosen. As an adoptive couple, the idea of waiting another 6 months is kinda depressing... I can't even imagine what it will be like if we still haven't been chosen in a few years!

In the spirit of being proactive with our desire to adopt, we've been trying every outlet that we can think of to help spread the word. Pass along cards are one of these tools! We've heard stories from other adoptive couples that their child's birthmother found them through a family friend, or their home teacher's cousin, or a former neighbor, etc. The point is that you just never know when you pass out one of these cards... it may just land in a garbage can somewhere, or maybe (fingers crossed) it will one day land in the right hands!

Some of the ways that we spread these cards around: Whenever we eat out, we leave a card with our restaurant bill. When paying bills, we toss one in the envelope. When we see a fishbowl at a business that says "drop your card in to win a free lunch"... guess what? We drop one in! We've tacked them up on community boards and handed them out whenever somebody asks us about adoption. Our favorite method of all - some awesome local businesses have put stacks of our cards out on their counters for customers to take.

James and I both feel strongly that the more involved we are in our own adoption process, the better our experience will be. We've been actively involved in the adoption community here in Utah and have met a bunch of incredible birthparents. With each new personal story that we hear, we learn so much about ourselves and about the kind of relationship that we want to have with our child's birthparents. Adoption really is an amazing thing and we're so excited to be able to bring our sweet pea home one day!

So... we just got a fresh batch of pass along cards delivered and if anyone out there wants to help us get them out there, we'll gladly give ya a bundle!

Spotlight

My sweet friend Jenn named me "Mom of the Month" on her blog! I feel super honored that she would think of me for that title! She is an AMAZING mother herself and an awesome advocate for foster care and adoption. I feel super blessed to have met her a few months ago and I know I'll rely on her for tons of advice when we are finally blessed with our sweet pea! She sent me this cute button (below) that you can click on to view the super sweet spotlight that she did for me! Love ya Jenn!!!

Dear Sweet Pea:

I can't wait to one day bring you home and become a forever family. As I daydream of what our life will be like together, I can't help but imagine all of the special moments that we are sure to have.

I can't wait to hold you in my arms for the first time.

I can't wait for our home to be filled with the sound of your unique cry.

I can't wait to rock you to sleep.

I can't wait to see your daddy snuggle with you.

I can't wait to watch you learn how to crawl.

I can't wait for you to learn how to say "mama."

I can't wait for the day that you take your first step.

I can't wait to put a band-aid on your first owie.

I can't wait for daddy to teach you how to ride a bike.

I can't wait to see you wear a backpack on your first day of school.

I can't wait to teach you right from wrong.

I can't wait to watch you learn & grow to become the person that you're meant to be.

I want you to know, my sweet pea, that you will be coming to our home in a very special way. You will be loved more than most babies because you will have two mommies - me and the special mommy that brought you here to earth. She loves you more than you could possibly know and she wants you to have the best life possible. I can't wait for the day that we'll get to meet your special mommy and she'll tell us that she wants us to be your parents.

My first gift to you is your very own room, designed with only you in my heart. I'm so excited for the day that we get to bring you home from the hospital and lay you in your crib for the first time. I love you, my sweet pea!

Love,
Mommy