Logo Contest!

Are you great at designing? Are you good at photoshop/paint/any of those programs? Are you an adoption lover? If you answered yes to all of the above, have I got the contest for you!
The wonderful ladies over at *Birthmothers 4 Adoption* are having a contest to create a logo for their website. Click on the link for details! There will be prizes for the winning logo and the runners up!

Tobi the cat

We got a new member of our family today. We actually met her 2 weeks ago, but had to wait to bring her home until today. Meet, Tobi:

She and Sirius actually get along really well.

(Look in the upper right hand corner, you will see Tobi sniffing Sirius. Too cute!)




The lady at the pet adoption place told us it would probably take a few days for her to warm up to us, and to not introduce the dog and cat for a few days. Well, within an hour of having her home she wanted to explore the house. So we decided before letting her out of Tammy's room we would see how she and the dog got along, knowing that there were plenty of places for her to hide in there if she needed to. Well, let's just say, within minutes both animals were laying on Tammy's bed perfectly content. They really like each other and have even nuzzled up to each other. Tobi seems right at home too. She loves it here and within minutes of getting here was purring up a storm. She is a loud purrer too. I can hear her from across the room. She likes to nuzzle your nose with her nose, and loves to play! She is a great addition to our family.

Tammy actually named her. My only requirement when she picked the name was that it had to be a Harry Potter name. So she chose Tobi. Tobius Snape is the muggle father of Professor Severus Snape. Since the kitty is a girl we couldn't name her Tobius, so we went with Tobi. We also considering other names like Calli (short for Callidora who was a relative of Sirius Black and married a realitive of Neville Longbottom). We also considered Minni (short for Minerva McGonagall, who was of course a professor who transfigured into a cat), Tali (short for Natalie McDonald who is the only actual person to be in the books -she was a 9 yr old fan of JK Rowlings who passed away from cancer. So JK Rowlings honored her by writting her into the books) and Tonks who is one of our favorite characters from the books and movies. We considered other names as well, but ultimately, Tammy chose Tobi.

I think it fits her well. ;o)

33 weeks! That means 7/49!

Our birth mom K is 33 weeks today. That means only 7 weeks. Which also means only 49 days!! Such an exciting time for our family! K is doing well, although she had a headache today, but she is doing well. She gets those a lot. I hope that the dr.'s are able to figure out what is causing them. I don't like it when she isn't feeling well. :(


The baby's heartrate is at 145 and at her last appt. last week K was measuring right on target at 32 cm. So things are progressing. We hired a lawyer who is really awesome. Since K is related to us, our adoption is a family member adoption so the agency can't facilitate it. But our lawyer is going to do a great job. He has even met K and she really likes him as well. He also came recommended by two of my friends. Can't get much better than that!


Anyhow, not much happening here. Just thought I would update quickly. So that this isn't a completely pointless post, I thought I would share some more of the photos that Ashley from Monarch Photography did last week. Please, no copying or sharing of these photos without the permission of myself or Ashley. Thank you. First of all, our awesome new blog banner is one of the photos Ashley took. Here are a couple more:

Not even born yet, and she already has Daddy wrapped around her finger. *grin* Can't wait for you to come Emily! We love you! And We Love You K!!

The story of our necklaces made by the r house

We recently got our pictures done with our birth mom K, by Ashley from Monarch Photography. One of the pictures she took is of our necklaces. This is the picture:

I explained to Ashley the special meaning that these have to us, and she wanted to capture the meaning by capturing this beautiful shot. (If you know Ashley's work, you know she specializes in the details. One of the many, many reasons I love her photography) If you have been a long time blog reader of ours you may remember this post where I talked about my necklace (the circle one). For those who are new to our blog, here is the story.

My necklace has two charms. One says hope. It is to represent the hope we have that our family will grow. The other says love. It represents the love we have for each other. The beads on it are my husband Jacob's birthstone, and my daughter Tamara's birthstone, (I will add Emily's after she is born). I got this necklace in November, which was a few months before the call telling us that someone was considering us, and it was several months before K called and asked us to be Emily's parents.

K made our hope a reality by giving us this amazing gift for which we could never repay her.

One day shortly after receiving K's call, I saw a listing for a necklace for your birth mom with a matching bracelet for baby. My heart fell in love, and I knew we needed to get this for K. We gave it to her for birth mother's day (which is the day before Mother's day. I love that there is an extra day to celebrate birth mother's. :o) Not that a reason is needed to celebrate birth mother's they should be celebrated every day, but still. It's a wonderful day.)

I contacted the awesome Lindsey (mrs r from the r house) and asked her if she could do a custom necklace for us to give to K. So she made this gorgeous creation. K's necklace says "Always and Forever in my Heart." It has a pink crystal which symbolizes healing and birth mothers. And it has a glass bead with rosettes. Emily's middle name will be Rose, which is K's middle name. We wanted to honor her by giving Emily, K's middle name. We have a baby bracelet that matches K's necklace, reminding her to always remember how much K loves her. We also wanted K to know that no matter how far apart they are, Emily will always know who she is, and how much she is loved by K. And that they will Always and Forever be in each other's hearts.

K hasn't taken her's off since she got it and I wear mine every chance I get. They are gorgeous, and so special.

If you would like more information on where to get a ready made peice of jewlery, or a custom made one. Or if you would like adoption wear for your little one, check out the r house couture on Etsy.

And if you would like to see more of the photos Ashley did for us, check out this post and this post. We got about 100 so this is just a small sampling. ;o)

15 years ago..... Happy Birthday Tamara!!!

It was a beautiful Tuesday morning in June. My mom and I left the house at 7a.m. that morning to head to the hospital for my scheduled C-Section. We arrived at 7:30. Right on time. I went into the OR a couple of hours later and after some issues with the spinal it was finally time. At 9:39a.m. I hear the nurse saying "Hey look everyone, we're being mooned!" (She was breech, which was the reason for the C-Section). A few seconds later I feel tugging as they pulled her out. And then I heard it. The most beautiful sound. The first cry of my little one.

That day, was 15 years ago today. My baby girl is just as sweet, just as cute, and even more beautiful then I ever could have imagined, both inside and out. I am so proud to be her mom.

I love you Tamara! Happy Birthday!!

No more denying it!

Our Tammy (ahem, Tamara) is growing up! It seems like just yesterday she was a toddler taking her first steps. Now she is, as I type, getting ready for her 9th grade promotion dance. Here in SL county our high schools are pretty full. So to get more room our 9th graders are in the jr. high (along with the 7th and 8th grades). She is technically a freshman in high school, but she has been attending the jr. high so I have been able to be in denial that she is actually already in high school. Not after tonight. Tonight she goes to her promotion dance. Tomorrow is 9th grade Lagoon day. She is officially in 10th grade. A Sophomore in High School, officially attending the high school. No denying it now! My baby, is growing up! To top it off, Sunday is her 15th birthday. I got emotional when I dropped her off at school this morning knowing it was her last day of classes (since tomorrow is Lagoon day, it is not a school day for the 9th graders) I'll post pictures of her all dolled up later. *sigh*