National Adoption Month is Coming!!

My favorite time of year is beginning!! November as most of you know, is National Adoption Month. For the 3rd year I am going to attempt to post on my blog every day about adoption. With school, kids, husband and life, the only way I am going to accomplish this is with your help. If you have been touched by adoption in any way (birth familiy, adoptive family, adoptee, adoption supporter, etc.) and you would like to share your story on my blog, please let me know. You can either comment here, if we are facebook friends, you can contact me there, or feel free to email me at jandscrown at yahoo dot com.

Timing.....

Do you remember the post where I said we were starting the adoption paperwork again? Well, there have been a lot of changes going on in our house. And that is one of them. Through a lot of thought and prayer we have decided to hold off on our next adoption for a little longer. We just don't feel like it's the right time. In the meantime we are all keeping way busy. Jacob is almost done with his Bachelor's Degree (1 more semester left after this one and he will be graduating in the spring). And he is working on submitting his application for the PhD program. Yup, he's skipping his master's and going straight for the big one. Tamara is loving her Jr. Year of high school and is working hard to be able to graduate early. I am also in school now and am working hard to get my Associates degree. Emily is working hard at getting cuter and cuter. O.k. so she doesn't have to work at that at all. But life is good. We do want to adopt again, we just know that now isn't the time. This was a really hard decision to come to, but we know that just like with Emily, when the time is right, we'll know.

Placement after parenting... Advice?

Dearest Blog readers and adoption friends,
This morning I got a message from an old friend of mine. She and her husband are married, with 3 children. The youngest (we'll call him Colby) being just a few months old. We'll call them Kayla & Shawn (Kayla, Shawn & Colby are not their real names).

Kayla & Shawn are great parents. I have known them since Kayla was pregnant with their oldest. Now they have 3 children. Due to circumstances beyond their control, they are unable to care for all 3 children and feel it best that they place their youngest Colby, for adoption with some friends. These friends have been trying for years to have a baby and have been unsuccessful. So Kayla & Shawn have made the heart wrenching decision to do what they feel is best for their son, at the same time blessing the lives of their friends.

So my question to you dear readers, what advice would you give them as they start this process? Kayla asked me for advice and honestly, I am at a loss for what to tell them. My heart is breaking that they are having to make this decision. I also commend them for doing what they feel is best for their son.

Let me state that I am not looking for angry comments here. They are already heartbroken enough and don't need people lashing out at them. Put yourself in their shoes. Any angry comments will be deleted. These people are very dear to me and I can and will stand up for them.

That being said, Birthparent friends, what advice would you have for them? Adoptive parent friends, what advice would you have for them? Friends who were adopted, what advice would you have for them?

Happy 10 Year Anniversary!!

(Our Engagement Picture~Montague Photography)

10 years! It's been 10 years since I married the most amazing man. We have been trying to figure how to spend our anniversary. We were going to stay in Park City for the weekend since neither of us have ever been, and it's 10 years which is a big deal. But Emily stopped sleeping through the night and we don't want to ask anyone to keep her overnight so instead we are trying to rack our brains to find something else to do. We decided that maybe we would think of something we can only do here, that we have never done and that when we move we won't be able to do. So we are thinking of maybe going downtown and going to the Beehive House and taking a tour and then maybe going to the Church History Museum (which we have done that, but that was while we were dating so it's been a long time.) Besides, those are all free things to do so that works even better. We'll go out to dinner, possibly to the Roof, or to the Garden, but we aren't sure yet. Jacob's mom and dad are going to watch Emily while we spend our afternoon/evening together. Unfortunately this will have to wait a few days because Jacob is working tonight and tomorrow night so ya. But still, I'm excited because we don't get a lot of time together just the two of us. We may go to the temple too while we're there right next to it so we'll see. Basically we have an idea of what we'd like to do, so we'll just go have fun without a plan in the world on what's actually going to happen. ;o)

(Our wedding Day August 3, 2011~Montague Photography)

Here's to 10 years love!! And to an eternity more. I love you!!

(Us July 2011~Ray Of Sunshine Photography)

Happy 1 Year!!!

Miss Emily turned 1 yr old on Tuesday! I can't believe she is 1! Crazy how time flies. We have her check up tomorrow so no stats for ya, but she is doing great. She is walking now, most of the time at least. She still crawls when she falls down while walking, but she getting better. She can now walk most of the way across the room without falling. And she only falls because she gets to excited that she is walking that she starts going faster then what her little legs will carry her. But it's funny because she will fall down on her bum and then start clapping. LOL She now says 17 words, her newest words are no, stop, help, and pretty. She is seriously one of the funniest kids I have ever met. She's hi-larious!

We had newborn photos done of her when she was 3 weeks old, with a stuffed elephant that we bought for her before she was born. Here is that picture.

(Photo taken by Paramount Photography)

I decided it would be cute to do her photo with the same elephant for her 1 yr photo. (I did this one) She sure has grown!

I'll have photos and an update from her birthday parties later (we did one and her birthmom did one so she had 2).

Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes!

There are so many exciting changes going on in our family right now! We're so excited about what the future holds. Jacob has just a couple of semesters left after this one before he graduates from the University of Utah with his Bachelors Degree. Then he will be entering the Master's Program and if all goes as planned he will be getting his Masters degree in Religion or Theology. He will be entering the Army once again. This time as a United States Army Chaplain. He will be submitting his request for endorsement from the church to represent them as a Chaplain in January. If he is able to he will be in the Reserves until Tamara is done with school. We don't want her to have to switch schools so close to graduation so we are still here for a minimum of 2 years.

Speaking of Tamara, she passed her drivers ed class and her test. Now she is just waiting until she has had her permit for 6 months which will be at the end of this month. The other prerequisite is that she has a job to pay for the insurance for her having a license.

Emily has taken her first steps and is sure to be a lean mean walking machine in no time at all. She is also cutting more teeth so there have been some sleepless nights around here.

As for me, in addition to starting my own photography business, I am going back to school. I am so excited! I will be attending Salt Lake Community College and getting my Associates of Science Degree in Visual Arts and Design with an Emphasis on Photography. I can't wait! I have been wanting to go back to school for a long time. Seriously, so excited!!

Oh! And! Jacob has applied for a new position at his work, that is not only a pay raise, but it's also a day time, salaried, office job. He would have a set schedule and actually be home every once and a while. So hoping he gets it!

See, told you there were a lot of changes! :o)

Crazy!

These last couple of months have been crazy busy for my family. First my big brother Roy graduated from the U with his EMBA in Business. YAY! Proud of you big brother!!

Then my brother Matt got engaged to a wonderful woman named Marcela, and I took there engagement photos.

Then, Tamara, my baby! She turned 16!!! She is finishing up Driver's Ed, looking for a job, and will be getting her License at the end of this month!

I made not, 1 but 2 cakes for two seperate Sweet 16 parties. The first was for the party with friends. She wanted a small party, just having some friends over to hang out, but she wanted a fun cake. She designed it. It didn't turn out like I had hoped, but she liked it.

The day after her first party I went to Utah County to take my newest nephew Sam's newborn photos.

Then Tamara had her other party which was the party for family and friends. We did an open house with cake and presents at the end. I was happier with the cake for this one. She designed this one as well.


Then, we got a new washer, dryer, and fridge. Emily's newest favorite "movie" to watch is watching the clothes go around and around in the washer and dryer. Heck, Tamara likes watching it too! LOL
Then I took my soon to be sister in law's bridal photos.

Then it was time for the wedding. I was able to shadow Ashley with Paramount Photography at the temple and did the reception photos myself.

In addition to the wedding photos I also did their announcements, a video montage that played at the reception, and I also did their cake (my friend Kim helped with the cake, so could not have done it without her!)

And to top it off, in May, little miss Emily turned 10 months old.

And now, she is 11 months old! I am starting to plan her 1st birthday. That is just crazy to me! She's almost 1! How did my girls get so big so fast? Emily now has 2 teeth on bottom, one on top that just broke all the way through and another one that has just started to peek through. She crawls everywhere, is walking around furniture, just started acting like she might be willing to try walking on her own, she stands by herself for up to 20 seconds by herself without falling (when she's done she'll just sit down), she loves bouncing and has even started jumping, she gets in to everything and anything, still won't sleep at night unless I'm with her, she says: momma, dada, mommy, daddy, Nay (Tamara's nickname) Sissy, Kitty, Cat, Dog, Pup pup, hi, bye, ball, baba, no, what, kay (ok), and her latest, Mine! Silly girl!

On top of all this, I am getting ready to start my own photography business. I have been doing photo shoots like crazy to help build my portfolio, and am working on a business name, logo, cards, price list, etc. Stay tuned for more details on that, along with a giveaway!