Princess Jessi

Brynn's birthmommy got married in June and asked if Brynn would be her flower girl. Brynn carried around Jessi's wedding announcement for 2 weeks in anticipation of the big day. They got us a hotel in Provo and invited us to the wedding dinner at PF Chang's the night before. Brynn was completely enamored by Jessica. She couldn't take her eyes off of her and kept running her fingers through her long hair and telling everyone "This is my BIRTH MOM!" hahaha. It was so fun to see them together. On the drive home Brynn said, "Jessica looked like a beautiful princess." We couldn't agree more. She was stunning and looked so happy. We wish her all the best. We are so grateful that Jessi and her family let us be a part of it all. We sure love you guys!

As for the story...

As a pre-claimer for this post, I got the OK from Gavin's birthmommy to tell this story and to add pictures of her. Also... sorry it's SOO long.

So here goes :) On the Saturday before Mother's Day (which is Birthmother's Day) I decided to go down to hang out with Rachael so that she could get her mind off of everything for a few hours. We went to lunch and then got Roxberry smoothies (white gummy bear - YUM!) and went to get pedicures. After we were done with that we decided to walk a couple of miles (she had already walked about 25 miles total that week :)). When we got back from our walk her pelvic bone hurt really bad and she could barely lift her legs. (We found out later that something (don't know medical terms) had separated from her pelvic wall.) Her mom and I told her we wanted to take her to the hospital just to make sure she was ok. In Rachael style she said... "If I'm going to have the baby tonight... I need food." hahaha. She decided Chilis would do the trick and finished off 10 hot wings before we left for the hospital. hehehe Our waiter asked her when she was due and she said... "oh... right now".

Here's a pic. of Rachael that day - - She was definitely ready to pop!



We got to the hospital around 11:30 that night and the nurses hooked her up to the machines. The nurses were perplexed by a huge cat face drawn on her belly and her mom (Nicole) & I just about fell off our chairs laughing - we had forgotten that we went crazy earlier that day with a mini-sombrero and an eyebrow pencil. For the first hour Rachael's contractions were 4 min. apart and she didn't move past 3 centimeters. The 2nd hour her contractions became steady at 2 minutes apart and at around 1:30 the nurse came in and told us that we could stay :) YEAH!!! We moved into the delivery room and immediately tears sprang to my eyes because we were going to meet our little guy soon! I called Matt and he took Brynners up to Grandma & Grandpa's house. We had the bags packed in our living room for 2 weeks before this so we were ready.

Rachael got the epidural and said it didn't hurt... it only hurt all of us that were watching I guess! Her doctor then broke her water and we all sat around and talked/fake slept until the nurse came in and checked her at around 5:30 and told us that she was a 5 and would probably be a 10 within an hour. Sure enough... 45 minutes later Rachael was ready to push. The nurse came in and checked her and she was definitely at a 10 (and told us that he had tons of hair - understatement). The doctor was called and came in just in time for the delivery. Matt got there about 20 minutes before Gavin arrived. At 6:23 a.m. after Rachael had pushed through 6 contractions... baby Gavin joined the world. We knew he was a cutie from the very first moment. Rachael's mom and I were crying lots of happy tears - this will be one of my life's most unforgettable experiences. (It gave me more insight into how much Brynnlie's birthmom went through also - WOW!)




After the birth Rachael and I looked over at Matt and his face was white as a sheet & the doctor told him to sit down (he says it was because his knees were locked... sure babe, whatever you say ;)). The nurses cleaned Gavin up and Rachael held him for a few minutes. They then took him away to clean him and give him some oxygen. We waited for Rachael to find her legs again (she ended up not being able to feel one of her legs for almost a full day!). A couple of hours later we went down to her room and were able to see Gavin again... It felt like 10 hours even though it was probably only 2 :). It was awesome to hold our sweet boy for the first time!





That night Brynn was able to come see her baby brother. She hadn't slept since 3 o'clock that morning when her dad had taken her to her grandparents (sorry guys!). She was just TOO EXCITED! When she came to visit that night, she burst into the hospital room with her "BIG SISTER" shirt on and said, "where's my brother?". She wanted to hold him immediately. As soon as she saw him she whispered, "OH MOM! HE IS SOOO CUTE!" and kissed him gently on his head. It was probably the sweetest thing I've ever seen (I thought she'd be 9 before she'd have a sibling! What a blessing this is!!). Both sets of grandparent's came that night so that my parent's could take Brynn to their house for a few days. It was really fun to have them come see baby Gavin the day he was born :).






We spent Monday in the hospital and it was very relaxing - Rachael and her family were so gracious and have been wonderful! I was able to spend Monday night with Rachael and it was really neat to share that with her (sorry it was another all-nighter Rach).

Placement was on Tuesday morning at 8 o'clock. It was really neat and Rachael was amazing through it all. Matt's and my heart ached as we watched her and her family say their goodbyes. They are such an amazing family and we know that our Heavenly Father will bless them for their sacrifice.




A little side note about placement from my perspective. It is very difficult to explain how incredible a "placement" is unless you've experienced it. -- Several years ago when I was dealing with being barren (I love that word) and had no children... I mourned the loss of that special time when Matt and I could bring a child into the world. It was such a special experience that I felt we would completely miss out on. Now that we've experienced the placements of Brynn and Gavin... I will never feel like we've missed out on anything again. When Rachael and Brynnlie's birthmom placed our beautiful babies in our arms... It is truly the most humbling, spiritual experience I can imagine having. What a sacrifice... how truly amazing and completely unselfish these women are! I truly believe they have their salvation secured. These women have the foresight for their tiny babies future and want them to have a mom & dad and to be sealed into our Heavenly Father's eternal family. They follow through with their decision no matter the cost to themselves. I truly can't explain our experiences and probably never will but they are etched in our hearts and minds forever & for that I am grateful.

We then walked out of the hospital as a big group and loaded up in our cars (this is what Rachael wanted.) It was so bitter sweet. I had to part ways with Rachael who has become one of my closest friends and had to let her go home and hurt without me. I wanted to go home with her and curl up next to her in bed and bawl together. I prayed before we left and pleaded with our Heavenly Father to hold her and lift her like only He can.



It was neat driving home with Gavin but I WAS SOOOO TIRED... completely drained. Matt drove separately and we had to stop in Ogden for a break. Matt's little brother Marc was nice enough to drive me the rest of the way home (THANK YOU!). I didn't think it would be safe for me to drive our 2 day old baby home with crossed eyes and a droopy head. (Little did I know that my bladder would have done the job.)



This is getting incredibly long... so I will follow up later with life at home. It has been magical! Brynnlie has been an amazing BIG SISTER! We knew she was excited but we have still been excited with how sweet she is with her brother and how willing she is to help. We've been able to see Rachael twice since placement which has been neat. We pray for her all of the time. We love you eternally Rachael! Our birthmommies are truly the best! :)

He's Here!!!

Baby Gavin was born on Mother's Day! 6 lbs. 10 oz. and 19 inches long. He's a really healthy little guy with tons of dark hair and he is hands down the cutest little boy we have ever laid our eyes upon. Our hearts are so full -- we have SO MANY emotions at this time. But most of all we want to say that we are absolutely floored by the love, strength and courage of Gavin's amazing birthmommy & family. I'll post more of the story later when I've got more time. For now.... we are so blessed! Words can not describe all of what we have felt this week! WOW! What a sweet little angel this little boy of ours is. Our Heavenly Father loves each one of us and truly has a plan for us all. More later.... but here are a few pics while you are waiting :).

First pic with mommy & daddy. We definitely believe in Love At First Sight! (can you tell Daddy has been up all night? hahaha)


Daddy woke Brynn up at 2 a.m. to take her to Grandma & Grandpa's house and she didn't sleep the entire night because she was so excited to see her baby brother. When she finally got to see him & hold him... I don't think I've ever seen anything sweeter. She kissed his little head & said, "Oh mamma! He is SOOOO CUTE!" She is going to be such a great big sister!


Driving home


We're home! All comfy and ready for bed. :)

Spring has Sprung

I want to catch up on a few happenings from the past several months before our lives get more fun-filled with the new addition! :)

We started out the year with a pretty scary ordeal. Brynn had strep throat in January and either that or the antibiotics she took caused an autoimmune reaction called HSP. It was very scary and her doctor didn't handle it like we would have liked (treated her more like a test subject and wouldn't listen to my concerns with his treatment.) Brynn took a turn for the worse and we ended up getting an appointment with a specialist at Primary Children's. She had great treatment down there and healed completely after 6 weeks. They said there is a 50 % chance that she gets it over and over again and we are hoping that just won't be the case.
Her immune system attacked the blood vessels in her legs, arms, and in the lining of her stomach. She was in a lot of pain and it was very difficult for us to watch.


She was supposed to take it "easy" at first but the steroids had her bouncing off the walls (more than usual) so we had "movie" time with popcorn in the living room. She loved it and didn't realize she was hooked into her car seat. hahaha.


Even though she wasn't feeling well, she still enjoyed making Valentine's cookies with me & did an awesome job decorating them this year ;).


After she started feeling better, she & I took a trip with friends to a cabin in St. George and spent a very relaxing & enjoyable week in the mountains. It was tons of fun and to this day Brynn calls all big rocks "grandpa rocks". She had a blast exploring with her friends on our adventures each day. (highlight of the trip - watching Con & kids take "toilet seat" rides down the snow drift. hahaha)

We love Easter! It was such a relaxing weekend and Brynn had a blast with the Easter egg hunts, playing with her cousins, and helping the bunny stuff all of the eggs with candy and helping hide her daddy's basket. She promised she wouldn't tell but that lasted about one second. (She was definitely coerced).



My mom and sisters came up for baby animal days and so did Gavin's birthmommy and my brother Chris's wife Eli and her daughter Sophi. We really enjoyed ourselves as always; it is the highlight of our spring to go see all of the baby animals. Now I catch Brynn with "baby chicks" in her hand when we play outside. They are really dandelions but she sure takes good care of them.





The past few weeks we have been getting the baby room ready and feel as ready as we can be for our sweet son to join our family. We couldn't be more excited! Brynn tells EVERYBODY! Just yesterday we were in the store and she said, "Honey, go over there so I can tell that lady that I'm a big sister now." So I wheeled her over and she proceeded to tell the sweet lady all about it. That was just one of the 4 people she told in that store. She sure is excited. We can't wait to love on baby Gavin all day and night. :) Can't believe we will get to meet him in the next 3 weeks!

Special Note - - Birthmom Day is coming up this next Saturday and I just wanted to say that our birthmoms and their families are the best! We celebrate these amazing, selfless women who have made it possible for us to be parents and for us all to enjoy eternity with these very special children. They truly light up our lives and give us purpose and we will forever be thankful.

Happiest V-Day ever!

This Valentines Day, an amazing birthmommy told us that we are going to be parents! We are so incredibly blessed to be having a baby boy join our family. Gavin Matthew is due May 24th and we couldn't be more excited!!!

Brynnlie tells everybody she meets, "I am getting a baby brother that's my very own & his name is Gavin". She is so excited; she told me the other day that she is going to feed him, and walk him, and feed him, and walk him. Sounds like I'm going to get a lot of help :). She will be an amazing big sister and we can't wait for them to be able to share lots of adventures and fun times together.

We are having a lot of fun getting to know our new birthmommy and even though we just met at the beginning of January, we can already say that we love her to pieces! We wanted to take this opportunity to tell both of our birthmoms & their families how much we love and appreciate them---

We are so grateful for the chances we have had to get to know you. Each one of you has touched our hearts & lives in indescribable ways. Adoption is truly a miracle! We can't imagine experiencing it with anybody else but you! Your choice to give us the opportunity to be parents and trust us with your sweet little miracles is one of the most selfless, loving gifts we can imagine receiving in this life. You are and will always be our angels. We love you forever and always! Love, Matt & Robin

Thank you family & friends for being such an awesome support to us through another adoption. We couldn't do it without your kind words & prayers! :)