In October we celebrated Sam’s third birthday. November is National Adoption Month and Thanksgiving. These three events are so closely tied and related in our family. Sam is such a sweet boy. He is full of energy and life. He told his friend the other day that he isn’t potty trained because “my mommy likes to change my diaper.” Oh boy! We love the front row seat we have as he grows and develops. He keeps us running and laughing. Here’s to our little Sam-O!!!
Has it Really Been Three Years? November 20, 2011
What have we been up to lately? May 18, 2011
Daddy on the left, Mommy on the right.
1. Stomping in puddles
2. Playing with cousins
3. Sculpting with playdough
4. Singing songs
5. Coloring
6. Cleaning the walls (see #5)
7. Sidewalk chalk
8. Playing trains
9. Visiting Grandma and Grandpa
10. Watching Sam grow up way too fast!
Waiting… January 12, 2011
Some days adoption is hard. Some days waiting is hard. Every day is worth it.
Every. Single. Day. (Even the day my ipod was dropped in the toilet)
So grateful to be going through this journey with my Jon-O. Isn’t he foxy? (btw-it takes a REAL man to pose with a pink umbrella!)
Join Us!!! November 5, 2010
Tomorrow we’ll be walking for adoption. We’ll be walking in honor of Sam’s birthparents. We’ll be walking in celebration of our family. We’ll be walking in gratitude for the HOPE that adoption brings.
Rumor has it that a certain boy will be wearing a superman costume as his way of celebrating the day. Jon and I will be wearing orange. It is the adoption color…which is my favorite color.
Hope to see you there!
National Adoption Month! November 3, 2010
November is National Adoption Month! This picture was taken seconds after I met Sam and his beautiful birthmom for the first time. Pure joy, pure love, pure delicious curly-haired sweet-smelling heaven. We were lucky to spend a lot of time with Sam’s birthmom in the hospital. She is the one who taught me to change a diaper. She taught me how to feed Sam. She taught me how to take care of her sweet baby. Most of all, she taught me so much about love.
Love you Holly & Greg! You are loved, appreciated and remembered every single day. XOXOX!
Rachel
My Water Babies September 13, 2010
This summer we attended a family reunion with Rachel’s parents & siblings. Sam had a great time and spent his time exploring nature, discovering stars, and trying to blow on the fire because it was “hot.” It was great spending some time away with the family playing games, laughing and simply enjoying each other’s company. Sam took his first hike (nature walk) and lasted for 30 minutes. What a trooper! We played on the lake in a paddle boat. Sam was in absolute heaven. So was Rachel. They both are water babies at heart…
Love this little family of mine!
And we fell in love all over again…. July 25, 2010
Although parenthood definitely has its moments of being loud and messy, and louder and messier, and even louder, and did I mention the messes….we find ourselves having moments that remind us what life is all about.
- Sam points to the moon in the sky and asks daddy to get it for him so he can play ball. Jon lifts Sam on his shoulder and tells him to reach high and they’ll try to get it together.
- Mommy is buckling Sam into his car seat and after giving a kiss, Sam says “love you.” The first time without being coached. This mommy heart melted. I love that kid.
- Holding hands on date night and hearing my sweet (and foxy!) husband say how much he loves our life together.
I love it too.
Nothin’ Like It! June 21, 2010
I love watching Jon and Sam together. They are best buds. I adore how Sam runs to the front door when Jon gets home. The way he hops on our bed and “wakes” up his Daddy on Saturday morning. The way they both like the same cereal. The way Sam imitates everything Jon does. The way they play on the floor together. The way Sam lays his head on Jon’s shoulder at the end of the night. There isn’t anything like watching the bond between a dad and his boy. These two boys have my heart forever.
I love you, Jon! Happy Father’s Day!!!
XOXOXO!
Rachel
Memories and Nachos June 18, 2010
We just got back from a trip to the midwest to help our friends move. The highlight of our trip was being able to stop and see Sam’s birthparents. Oh how we adore them. It was great being back in Sam’s birthtown. So many tender emotions surfaced as we remembered our journey there less than two years ago. Memories of getting on an airplane nervous with anticipation, meeting Sam’s beautiful birthmom, meeting Sam, falling in love with curly-haired perfection, learning from Sam’s birthmom how to take care of her tiny baby, soaking up every word she said, savoring every moment we had together, being new parents….it all come flooding back.
What a joy it was to see Sam’s birthparents again! They love Sam so much. We love them so much! I hope they see how much he is loved and adored. It was great to be able to ask them about some of Sam’s traits. He is left-handed (maybe) like his birthmom. He get his love of animals from them. He gets his curiosity about how things work from his birthdad. They both share Sam’s love of music.
We stayed in the same hotel we “lived” in for the first week of Sam’s life until we were cleared by ICPC to return home. This time we took Sam swimming. He LOVED the pool….somewhere we did not venture the first time around. We saw our favorite waitress who served us nearly nightly right after Sam was born. We had the nachos again and they were every bit as tasty as we remembered.
So many reminders. So many memories. Such fabulous nachos.
Truly a reminder that we have been living our miracle for the past 19 months and three weeks (but who is counting, right?).
Exciting News May 6, 2010
We have been approved to adopt again! YEA!!! That means we are officially “waiting.” We are so excited to be taking this step to add to our family again through the love and hope of adoption.
View our official profile here.
Love adoption. Love hope.
Our baby turned into a little(ish) boy! March 24, 2010
I love this picture! Sam has so much personality. He is 17 months and 100% boy. Here are some of his latest stats. 
Favorite foods: Cheese and chicken
Favorite toys: Balls, measuring cups, pots and pans, remotes, cell phones, keys
Vocabulary: Mom, Dad, Nana (banana), bottle, blankie, book, ball, cheese, all done, thank you, please, bye bye, hi, hello, no, yes, uh-oh
Animal sounds: Woof, meow, quack, whoo whoo, spit (camel), moo
Favorite animal: Nemo, my sister’s cat
New tricks: climbing in the bath tub by himself, jumping in his bed, climbing on the furniture, running, playing outside, going down slides
Sleeping: through the night…most nights
Favorite meals: pasta, fried rice, anything with cheese, enchiladas
Favorite books: anything with animals (he has to kiss all of the puppies), Goodnight Moon, Time for Bed
As a side note, we get to see Sam’s birthparents this summer. They live about 1400 miles away so we haven’t seen them since he was born. We are beyond excited to see both of them. We love them so much and can’t wait to spend time with them again.
So exciting! January 20, 2010
We are getting ready to start the application process for adoption again. We are thrilled & humbled. Our first interview with our caseworker is next week! Stay tuned….
The season for Thanksgiving November 22, 2009
We have had a whole series of special experiences lately, made all the more special by the fact that we are enjoying them with our little miracle baby boy. The mundane has become magical, as waking up with a giggly little face in the house makes every day start off special. Grocery shopping is fun (and more expensive) now that we make the impulse buys for our little man. Preparing for the holiday season, and especially Christmas is such fun that it’s almost like being a little kid again ourselves. All this miracle in our lives is as a result of the gift of adoption that we have been given, that we’ll never be able the express the depth of our gratitude for, and this we celebrate all year, but especially at this Thanksgiving season.
Long line of love. August 26, 2009
Last week we went to Florida for our nephew’s wedding. We had a great time re-connecting with family. We miss Jon’s sister and brother and wish we all lived closer together! We also were able to met Sam’s birth grandparents. Jim and Trudy warmed our hearts instantly. They talked with love about their family and the love the have for their two daughters. We watched some home videos of our sweet Holly when she was younger. I now know where Sam love of water and enthusisum of life orignated. She was a smiley baby, a happy baby and a curious about life baby….all traits we enjoy in Sam. What a gift it was to learn more about Holly’s family.
Sam truly comes from a long line of love….and we promise to keep it alive.
