Lots of time has gone by since I posted! We welcomed baby Liam into our family on July 2013. He was born with a cleft so it was lots... ok TONS of work at first to get him fed. We still enjoyed every second snuggling and loving on him though! We made it through the initial surgeries and he is definitely getting his food intake now! He is 15 months old already! The time has flown by. Brynn and Gavin are still the best of friends and love their baby with all their hearts. We are so incredibly blessed!

Brynn is in 2nd grade! When did that happen? She is a rock star at everything she tries. She has been doing tumbling for 4 years now and can now do back flips, ariels, round-off back hand-springs... and does cartwheels everywhere she goes (instead of walking:)). She loves soccer and has gotten quite good! This was her third year and she scored lots of points and had tons of fun doing it. She is an AWESOME reader. She reads all of the time. She is an awesome singer! I told her she needs voice lessons because she was definitely blessed with an awesome voice. She said she will do that later but will NOT sing in front of people. :) Brynn is helpful, thoughtful, kind, full of energy, sassy, smart, and an incredibly great daughter and sister!


Gavin is in preschool and LOVES it. This was his first year in soccer and he was so funny. He was a lot younger than most of the kids so, even though he is really fast, he just couldn't keep up... and could care less. He would try to catch butterflies or floaty things in the air and jog up and down the field. LOL He had fun though! He is also in tumbling and absolutely loves it. He mostly does stretches and balance and somersaults into the "pit".  He loves to ride his "easy roller". He has learned all of his sounds to his letters and is trying to put them together to form words. Gavin is HILARIOUS! He giggles almost all day long. He loves his family and is very sweet, patient, and loves to play tricks on us. He is so gentle and gives the best hugs!


Liam is a walking/slobbering ball of love! He loves to eat! He enjoys being outside. He loves to play with his brother and sister. He has been a really good baby (as they all have). He is so so SO much fun to love on and that is what we all do!


This year we have grown a TON as a family and continue to learn each day how to meet each other's needs differently and in a more patient (still need work) way. We love being together, playing games, going on walks around the park, watching movies, eating yummy dinner together each night, going to all the college football games, and just snuggling up every night to read a good book. I can not even describe in words how much I love being "the mommy" of this awesome family of mine. I LOVE IT! We are incredibly blessed and so thankful for our loving Heavenly Father whom blesses us with small and tender mercies every single day.

Cats and Mice

You know the saying... "While the cats are away the MICE SHALL PLAY!" That is what has been going on around here lately. While Matt and Brynnlie are gone... Gavin and Mommy PLAY!!! It has been SO MUCH FUN having time with just Gavin and I. We read books and The Friend, color, chase each other around the house, go to the park, snuggle, go shopping, and he helps me in the yard or clean up the house and make dinner. It is amazing what this 1 on 1 attention is doing! He seems be on an accelerated learning path. He is telling me all sorts of stories and saying words and sentences that I didn't even realize he knew. I am so absolutely in love with my little boy and I love spending quality time with him!
When we take out the camera and say, "SMILE GAVIN!" this is the face we get. LOL

THIS IS MY FAVORITE PICTURE! He is such a cutie and we LOVE watching him grow as his personality comes out! :)

Girl's Night

Brynn went to sleep yesterday at 2:30 in the afternoon and woke up at 7:30 (bed time). I asked her if she was feeling ok and she said she was feeling "GREAT!". I told her that Gavin had just gone to bed and asked her if she was tired. "NO WAY Mommy!" hahaha. Matt was feeling sick and was upstairs laying down. I got excited and told her that it sounds like we get to stay up late together and have a GIRLS NIGHT!

We took a shower and blow dried our hair for church. We put on our jammies and jumped in the car and went to the 8:50 showing of Rio. We got popcorn and shared a Laughy Taffy. We put on our awesome 3D glasses and giggled and snuggled through the whole movie. After it was over we ran through the parking lot to our car and pretended that we could fly. :)


We came home and there was a crazy wind storm outside that was rattling the windows and the fence. The sky was clear so we threw all of the blankets we could find out on the tramp and brought our pillows. We snuggled under the warm blankets and watched the sky and listened to the wind whirl around us. We talked and told funny stories. I told her the special story of how she came in to our family and how our Heavenly Father answered all of our prayers. I told her how much I love being her mommy. She hugged me and told me I was the best mommy in the whole world. We laid there quietly and looked at the stars and the moon. Then the fence made a loud cracking sound and we both made a break for it and ran into the house to go to bed.

It was so much fun sharing a night with just the two of us. We need to do that more often!

Love these chillins

We sat up to a hot bowl of chicken noodle soup and garlic toast tonight (yes it is still snowing here) and I looked at our two beautiful children and said another little prayer of thanks for the miraculous opportunity I have been given to be Mom. I am so blessed. Brynn & Gavin keep us on our toes and keep us laughing constantly. Oh the joy!!! I tell ya... these two bring so much happiness into our home.

Lately Brynn has been putting "stick in the mud" into all of her sentences. For example, she asks me quite frequently... "Mom, what are you stick in the mud doing?" Or... "Mom, that is so stick-n-the-mud funny!" She says "stick in the mud" really fast and adds it into EVERY THING. It cracks me up to no end. She is so incredibly sweet and makes sure people know how much she cares. She tells me quite often, "Mom, you are a good mommy." And it melts me.

"silly face"


"sweet face"


"mad face" - (not really... it's worse than this ;o))


"happy face"



Gavin likes to scrunch up his entire face and sniff in & out really fast. With his two new front teeth, I can't help but laugh out loud every single time. I have to blow that face up and put it in my kitchen window so that I can laugh at the hilariousness for years to come. He gave me my first kiss yesterday and I melted into a puddle right then and there. He does an open mouthed kiss with his tongue slightly out (No, I didn't teach him that!!!) and it is too sweet for words.

"sniff face"


"sweet face"


"sad face" - (no, I did not pinch him... he just wants to stop taking so many dag-gom pictures!)


"happy face" -- HA HA HA HAHAHAHAH! Oh buddy... you is soo C.U.T.E. with those teethers.

Pre-School

We have gone back & forth over the past year whether we are going to send Brynn to pre-school this year or not. The Momma Bear in me (who is REALLY LOUD & can be EXTREMELY scary) has been saying, "keep her home FOREVER!!!" But when Momma Bear quieted down ;) & I really thought of our Brynnlie and how she likes a good challenge and LOVES productive activities and wants each day to be NEW & different.... I knew she would love to get out & away for 2 afternoons a week. We found the best preschool & last Thursday was her first day! Needless to say - She LOVED IT. She talked all the way home about all sorts of wonderful things & I was grateful she had fun.







I did find out though that I have GOT to keep Momma Bear busy or she's going to sit outside the classroom every week waiting for any sign of trouble.

note: Daddy Bear still thinks I should have kept her home this year. :)

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! :)

Melt My Heart Moments

About a month ago Punkin and I were sitting on the front porch munching on some suger-snaps and waiting for daddy to get home. I looked down at the ground to watch a potato bug crawl by and my sweet daughter grabbed my face and put her nose right up to mine and said, "I love you mommy!". I said, "I love you too sweetheart!" and she pulled my face even closer to hers and said, "and Jesus and Daddy love you too".

One morning last week when I was blow drying my hair she wrapped her arms around my leg and looked up at me and said really loud, "Mommy! You are my very best friend! And Daddy is my best friend too!"

She is such a sweet little rascal and at these moments all of the make-up pored on our bed spread, the strawberries mashed in the carpet, the lotion and soap bottles spread from here to there, the climbing up the dressers and cupboards to make messes we couldn't fathom could happen in 3 short minutes.... all that kind of stuff is evaporated into thin air. At these times, and even during the crazy times in between, we go to bed each night knowing we have an angel sleeping in the next room. We are so incredibly blessed to be the parents of our sweet little girl and we are so excited for what the future holds.

A Shout Out to our Amazing Parents

Robin - My parents both went to BYU and studied in similar buildings but didn't meet until later when they both worked at a hospital in Salt Lake. My dad has his Bachelors in Microbiology and owns a microbiology business. He has been an extremely hard worker my entire life. He enjoys his family and gets very excited about going on vacations and planning outdoor activities with us. He is tremendously loving, spiritual, and kind. He is interested in gardening, farming, fishing, hiking, camping, boating, church, scouts, and also loves learning and studying. My mom has her Bachelors in Microbiology as well and worked as a Lab Technician until they had my oldest brother Ben and has been a full-time mom since. She has a very tender heart and is a compassionate, happy, thoughtful, beautiful person. She enjoys knitting, reading, gardening, dancing, swimming and taking care of her children and grandchildren.


Matt - Our parents are awesome; we have definitely been blessed with goodly parents. My dad has his MBA, Masters in Business Administration, and has worked as a banker all of his life. My mom received her Bachelors in English where she student-taught at Murray High School. They met at BYU and got married soon thereafter. A year later my brother Mike was born and my mom stayed at home to raise her new family. I would describe my parents as incredibly loving; they are a lot of fun and are very involved with all of their children and grandchildren. My mom is the glue that keeps us together; it would be hard to find a sweeter human being in the entire world. My dad is a very dedicated father, growing up he called me champ and never missed a single game of mine. They enjoy reading, listening to music, singing, creating new recipes for family dinner, serving in their church callings, exercising, and playing with their grandchildren.