Getting older makes you think about random things

I (Jaylene) had the 2nd worst birthday of my life on Tuesday, for several different reasons:

1. I turned old. I mean, really old. 29.

2. My husband had to be at school all day until pretty late in the day.

3. I was sick. Really sick. I had a high fever and nausea and all flu-related symptoms. I was miserable to say the least.

4. It is now 3 days past my birthday and I am still sick. The fever is gone, but I have aches and an awful cough.

5. I still haven't gotten to celebrate my birthday. My husband was going to take me out for a nice dinner but I thought we should wait until I could enjoy the taste of food again!

At least I got to stay home from work. :)

Turning 29 kind of made me have a new outlook on life. I realized that ever since I started this blog I have really not done much with it, and only one of my sisters is even following it! So, it is now my new goal to actually post things on this blog. To quote from an old movie, "If you build it, they will come." I'm thinking - maybe if I build up this blog, people might read it and then I wouldn't feel as old because I'd have some tech-savvy friends.

If not, it might make me feel good just to try it anyway.

New Adoption Profile

We have published a new adoption profile through ParentProfiles.com. We are still working with LDS Family Services, but we hope that this new profile will allow more people to see us! You can see our profile at: http://www.parentprofiles.com/profiles/db24370.html

Steve's grad recital

On May 23, 2009, Steve had his graduate voice recital. This was a huge part of his graduation requirements, and he did a fantastic job! His Uncle Cory and Aunt Jackie and 2 of their kids (Steve's cousins Joey and Lindy) came out and stayed with us for a couple of days. Steve is very glad it's over and Jaylene is very proud of his accomplishments (a righteous pride, of course!) Only one more year to go until he officially graduates with both Masters Degrees!

Our adoption profile

We were approved to adopt through LDS Family Services last November (2008). You can see it by visiting https://www.beta.itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/14282560/ourMessage.jsf

We are very excited about adoption! It has been a long and hard road for us, but we know it's the right one. We can just feel that there will be a baby that needs us, and we can't wait to meer our child.

Our religion

We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We love being members of this church! So many of life's answers come from our religion, and it truly has brought real joy to our lives. If you'd like to know more about why we are so truly happy, visit www.mormon.org or talk with members of our church around you.

Letter to Potential Birth Parents

Dear Birth Parent(s),

Thank you so much for considering us to be the family of your child. We understand how this decision must be an incredible struggle for you as you are trying to determine what the best situation is for you and your baby. We are so grateful for your selflessness in considering adoption, and are keeping you in our prayers daily. We pray that our loving Heavenly Father will guide you in making this difficult decision.

We both come from large families and have been raised with good values, love, and laughter. We have extended these values into our married lives. We have always known that we wanted to be parents. In fact, before we were even officially engaged, we talked about the names that we would give our children! As we got married and tried to start a family, we were devastated that bearing our own children was not in God’s plan for us. At this difficult time in our lives, we turned to the Lord for guidance and comfort. Through a lot of prayer and fasting, we have felt peace. Part of that healing process came from the understanding that God loves us and that there will be children brought into this world that will come to us through adoption. Since that time, we have prepared ourselves and home for this opportunity.

Ours is a home where strong Christian values are taught and practiced. We will teach our children through words and actions how to love the Savior and to respect our neighbors. Our home also is one where a good education is given a high importance. Music is a strong part of our lives and we want to share this with our children either through participation or informed appreciation. We want to give our children the opportunity to learn and do all that is good, and we hope that we can be good examples for them.

We love to do things together as a family. We will travel together, play games together, read together, sing together, pray together, and build strong family bonds. We know that by centering our family in Christ, this will be possible.

We again are grateful for your consideration of our family, and know that you will be guided into making whatever decision is the best for you and your child.

Thank you,

Steve and Jaylene