I'm Lovin It....

Yesterday, we packed up the car, the kids, and Mookie, and we headed off to Grand Island.

We were going to meet our Joanie Girl at the park, but when we pulled into town and stepped out of the car we realized that it was REALLY windy, and probably not the best park weather.

We did a quick re-planning and decided that if our sweet two year old wasn't going to get to go to a park, we would have to find a very close second.

Thank you Grand Island for having a McDonalds.

Joanie had shown up 40 minutes early, and when we got there she was standing outside her car.

She looked
stunning.

Radiant.

Beautiful.

The excitement was evident in her eyes.

But, there was something more.

It was easy to see how much Joanie loved Henry.

I had to hold back tears as the Spirit testified to me again of the eternal sacrifice made by our Joanie Girl.
Henry is a miracle to us because of her choice.

We love you so much Joanie.

Joanie brought gifts for Henry. She brought beautiful receiving blankets. and a soft plush puppy for him to snuggle.

Then.

It Happened.

Tears started forming in my eyes. As she watched me unwrap the last gift (Johnson-n-Johnson baby powder), she said, "I have one more gift for you. I got it for you because it reminded me of how he smelled every time I saw him in the hospital."

I'll tell you friends. I cried over baby powder.

What an amazing woman.

I don't know what that would have been like: to have been so close for 9 months, to have touched his perfect little face, to have smelled that perfect baby powdered skin, to have loved with a perfect love, and then to have sacrificed so willingly.

Not a day goes by that we don't talk about our Joanie Girl and thank a loving Father in Heaven for helping one of his daughters make that choice.



Don't worry Joanie Girl; we will always give him two hugs and two kisses.

We love you.

In Other News:

Dear Brave and Adventurous Lincoln,

Even if you run into the door at McDonalds


You will still always be our Superman.


(Thanks Mookie for our new capes!!! We love you Tons Bit.)

The Winter of Our Discontent; "HAL"- le -"LOU" -jah

THIS IS HOW MY POST WAS STARTING:

For those of you who are waiting on the edge of your blogging seats for the results of the DNA tests....

So are we.

We still don't know.

When "P" our social worker said this was a harder adoption than others and that he had never dealt with this in all his years as a social worker, we knew we were in for a lot of surprises.

This is what we know:

The DNA lab only sends out results on Friday (for us that was 3 days ago)
They sent them to our social worker.
He should have them by Wednesday.

I really have appreciated all the calls of support and willingness to serve. I am grateful for the comments made by those who have gone through this process with us.

We want you to know that we have that same scary feeling again.
You know the one you get when you pray for understanding and as an answer you get

PEACE --

It's scary because, we don't know if this means we will get to love Henry for eternity or if we will be taken care of

if that other part happens.

But, we can't deny the love we feel from the Lord at this time.
We would be ungrateful if we didn't recognize His hand in our lives.

We feel blessed.

Discontent with uncertainty,

but blessed nonetheless.

BUT THEN,

"P" RETURNED MY CALL ABOUT HOW TO GET HENRY A SOCIAL SECURITY CARD AND FINISHED BY SAYING:

"by the way,

Trent is not the birthfather.

Zero percent chance of paternity."


DID YOU HEAR THAT?
HE'S
NOT
THE
FATHER!!!

(I'm bawling. AND LAUGHING.)

Thank you Heavenly Father for this tender mercy.
Thank you for dealing gently with my heart.

I'm a mommy again.

YES!!!

David and I jsut celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary.

We celebrated in style.

We got in our car, drove to the corner gas station, and bought nachos (for me), donettes (for David), and 64 oz of diet coke (we shared.)

We were so content spending the evening with our little boys.

and each other.

We spent some time talking about our last four years.

And, as we did, I had it reaffirmed to me that I had made a wise decision by marrying David.

He is my best friend; the one I will love forever.

So, for those who have not been able to witness the last four wonderful years, here are some of the greatest blessings of our marriage thus far:


YEAR ONE: April 30, 2004- April 30, 2005

Sealed for eternity in the Bountiful Temple.


We rented our first two apartments (together!!!)

David came each week to my Doctrine and Covenants class just so we could spend extra time together.

Four our 1st anniversary, David took me back to the Inn where we stayed on our honeymoon.
This also included 12 yellow roses.

YEAR TWO: April 30 2005- April 30, 2006

We both graduated from BYU. We got to walk together.

Lincoln joins the family. He weighed in at 7lbs, 14.5 oz, and 20.5 inches long.
(Consequently, with 48 hours of labor, and an emergency C-Section...David did not leave my side once. This is very telling of the gentle, and diligent man I married.)

We sang "I am a Child of God," and said a prayer with Lincoln and all his grandparents in the hospital the night he was born. We love you, Sweet Boy.


What an incredible experience to witness the power of the priesthood as David gave Lincoln a name and a blessing.

David gets accepted to University of Nebraska Law School.

We buy our first house, with a mortgage of $555.57. This was less than our rented Provo apartments!



YEAR THREE: April 30,2006- April 30, 2007

One year of Law School down.

Two to go.

David gets a law job.

David takes me to New York.
We go to the Manhattan Temple.
We feel impressed with two words: February, baby.



YEAR FOUR: April 30, 2007- April 30, 2008

Start adoption paperwork.

Get chosen by our Joanie Girl in FEBRUARY.

New BABY Henry joins the family, weighing in at 5lbs, 14 oz, and 18 inches long.

We sing "I am a Child of God," with big brother Lincoln and say a prayer as a new foursome. We love you, Angel Baby.






They say the best is yet to come.

That is hard to believe, because what has already been could not have been any better.

I love you David.

Tons Bit.
and you know that that's the most.

You make my life worth living each day.

I love spending eternity with you.

Henry "Hal" Louis

Dear Henry, "Hal,"

You are beautiful.

You are healthy.

You are strong.

We love you.

oooooooooooooooooooooh....what a sweetie.





My little snug-as-a-bug-in-a-rug boy.






Henry at 5 days old




"hmmmm.....is this what I signed up for?"


He is an angel.

We are so happy that he joined our family.

We love you Henry.

P.S. Here's what I know:

tomorrow at 10am we have:

a cheek swab,

a picture,

and a thumbprint

Heres what I don't know:

how long the results take.

how to prepare for the results

emotionally

physically

mentally

spiritually

BUT:

The Lord doesn't put us through this test just to give us a test;

He does it because the process will change us.--

Henry B. Eyring

(Now, if that's not a man to get your first name from, who is?)