Jake’s first Pack Meeting

Jacob had his first Cub Scout Pack Meeting tonight. Jeff is in Santa Barbara on a business trip so I flyed as the solo parent to the meeting. He so was so stinkin excited! Jeff was the eleven year old Scout Leader for about a year and Jake loved having the boys in our home.

He had gone to his first scout den meeting the day before and he hardly could wait for the pack meeting the next day. I love this boy. He has so much enthusiasm for life it is contagious. He felt so important too. Here are some picts.

Reading what Cheer the Pack would do.

The Pack giving him a round of applause.

Listening how to play one of the games.

Playing one of the games, having a ball!

There, now Jeff will feel like he was there.  I don't really like when he has to travel but I am such and independent person, I can do it.  I just miss my best friend and having him sleep next me at night.  Jake sleeps there instead but I put a barrier of pillows between us because he likes to kick me in the face, it's not the same.  Love you Jeffry, you are the best! 

The Taylor Shower for Kath

My younger sister Kathy has had a very similar struggle trying to get pregnant as I have. After being married six and a half years, she got pregnant. Her baby girl is due the second week in December. I am thrilled for her! She will be a super great awesome Mom.

Here are some pictures of the Taylor family shower. Her husband Derrick's family gave her a great shower and she got some super cute things.

Kathy and our niece Lily. Lily was so excited about all the presents.

Lots of presents!

Cute!

Our Mom makes a Raggidy Ann doll for all the girls born in the family. 

This one even came with extra outfits.

Lily the little helper.

Dosen't Kath look so cute?

Super Cute Cake.

Lots of quilts and blankets.

Adorable diaper holder.

We love you Kath!  We can't wait to meet Halle Ann!

It’s great to be Eight

Although this is a very hard blog post for me to write, I am so proud of my   it is also a privilege. My baby boy Jacob is now eight years old. Words cannot express the joys that he is brought to me and Jeff these past eight years. The sad part is how fast the years flown by.

Thank heavens he still hops in bed with me every morning and wants to snuggle before going to school. And thank heavens he is still blowing me kisses as he heads off to school. But he is no longer a little boy. He is a boy.

Jake has had to deal with plenty of adversity in his young life. Before the age of three he was in Speech, Physical, and Occupational therapy. Because of my rough pregnancy they had to knock him out at three years old to fix his teeth. At five years old he had surgery on his feet and his eyes. Six months after the surgery his cognitive development took a giant leap forward. A little boy who was barely at the lowest part of the average is now at the top of his class.

Jacob is a very sensitive soul. He can get rowdy, but he is not naturally a rough person. He has an innate ability to chase the blues away and make people around him feel like a million bucks. He seems to sense when someone needs extra eencouragement.

This past fall Jake has struggled with a bully in school. For those of you who know me well you know I will fight to the ends of the earth for my kids, including the ones who are not with us yet. Thankfully the situation appears to be mostly resolved and Jacob's resilience is something to be admired.

Jake is a wonderful little companion. I can throw them in the car and run errands and go about my business and most of the time he cheerfully accompanies me without complaint. He is a great kid who rolls with it. We are fortunate.

Jacob understands the importance of what turning eight means to our faith. And he has taken very seriously the choice to be baptized. And it is his choice. I wanted to make sure he knew that he had a choice; it was not just expected of him.

For the past year, we have been reading with him all of the books of Scripture we believe in. We have read the Book of Mormon, the Bible, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. In fact, we have read through them twice. This was his request when he turned seven, because he wanted to know that these books were true in order to feel comfortable making the decision to being baptized. He loves these books. He loves hearing about the stories of the prophets and the people. His intellect and understanding of these things far surpasses where I was at his age. But the world that he is growing up in is far different from the world I grew up in. I hope that Jeff and I give him all the tools to succeed in life and help him grow spiritually as a person.

Jacob's request for his birthday was to frost sugar cookies. He's not a dessert person other than cookies. So we put a candle on top of a cookie and sang happy birthday to him. We love you so so much Jacob. Happy Birthday!

Grandma & Grandpa Clark came to Celebrate

Jake received Scriptures from his Grandpa and Grandma Isom

who are serving an LDS mission in Vancouver, BC. Thank you!

Lego Star Wars for the Wii from Grandma & Grandpa Clark

Cub Scout Uniform for Jake.  He is so excited to be a Scout!

He is taking this very seriously.

Working in the Sugar Cookies.  Serious Business.

 

Fun at a FREE Jazz Game

The bishop of our LDS ward who is also a friend called us yesterday afternoon and wondered if we would like to go to the Jazz game that night. They had three extra tickets in the nosebleed section. Since Jake has had a rough go of it at school and it was a FREE outing, we made arrangements to go.

Our son Jacob is quite a kid. When he bonds with someone, you are his friend for life. The Bishop and Jake bonded a year or so ago and Jake wants to hug him every time he sees him. I think it's cute because the bishop (Mark) always put out his hand as Jake smothers him with a hug.


Jeff and I also wanted to see how he did at the game. Up until last spring taking him to a sporting event was torture. He would last for about 45 minutes and then start chanting; "Let's go home." He did great at the red and white game in the spring but that was a shorter game so we were anxious to see how he would do.


He was hilarious. He loved it! He got into all of the audience chants and cheered when they scored, the whole bit. It was great fun. Basketball is by far my favorite sport to watch, partly because I understand it the best. Guess we're going to have to schedule this as at least an annual event.


I love my boys and my life. They bring me more joy than I ever thought I would have in this life. Thanks Mark and Trudy for the tickets!

Da Boys

Checkin out my zooming capabilites on my camera

Jake is an offical Popcorn Addict. 

Bishop Mark and Jake

The Ultimate Jazz Fan

So cute, he just grabbed Mark's hand at the end and off the went.

Our New Friends from Ghana

I think it's amazing the way God works his miracles. Several months ago several friends connected me with a fellow member of our Church who currently lives in Ghana. His name is Stephen. He met his wife while attending Utah State. They moved back to Ghana after living here in Utah and in Alaska. He is an entrepreneur who has started a new business. He and his wife Sonja are also tireless Humanitarian workers doing so much work for those who are less fortunate.

We also have made friends with a man who works with Jeff who also is from Ghana. His name is Thomas. We have been humbled by these loving, giving people and their friendliness and kindness towards us.

By a miracle when I emailed Stephen  he was here in Utah doing translation for our Church's General Conference. Thomas had invited us to a party where Stephen would be as well as other Ghanaians at his house in Bountiful. We met some wonderful people. We enjoyed their food and learning more about their culture and people. Jake had a bunch of kids to play with so he loved it too.

Stephen talked to us at length about our adoption, places to stay, etc. He was more than gracious and kind to people who were perfect strangers to him weeks before.

By the end of the night, we had exchanged numbers with several of the people there and felt adopted into their little group. Our adoption classes teach us that it is really good to have a mentor for our child who is of the same race to look up to. We found several living here which put my mind at ease.

This journey this year has been a phenomenal growth experience for me and for Jeff. Our testimonies have grown and our faith in God and his miracles increase.

The only down side was seeing all there beautiful children and thinking of our child(ren) there we are going to adopt. My heart aches to know who they are and for them to be home with us. Are they being well-cared for? Are they hungry? Do they feel alone? All these things that are beyond my control. I have spent many sleepless nights thinking about them, longing to hold them close to me and be their mother. I am an impatient person. I hate waiting. International Adoption is not for everyone. There are so many obstacles to endure and the waiting is so very hard.

I have had several people say; "This has to be harder than trying to get pregnant." Since I have been in both places I can tell you it is not. It's very hard. But after years and years of trying nearly everything to have another biological child, waiting for the "sure thing" although it takes a while, does not hold a candle to infertility.

So we wait and we pray. We pray for everyone involved in helping us adopt from our agency. We pray for the children we are planning to adopt. We pray for patience. And we pray for those who have not accepted the fact that we are adopting young children instead of waiting years and years and years to adopt a baby. Heavenly Father never wanted us to do that anyway. We have had multiple confirmations to adopt young children and that is what we are doing and we know we will blessed for following his counsel.

Me, Stephen and Jeff

A wild game of Table Tennis

The man in the suit was from Nigeria. He is a bishop there and works for the

LDS church in the travel department.  There is a picture of him in the November Ensign.  He was missing his family terrible that night with all the kids around.

Jake trying to get in the action

Jake and some of his new friends

The fam with Thomas and his wife Katrina. They have a lovely home a were gracious hosts.

Listening to God's word while enjoying God's creations

For those of you who are active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the first weekend in October we do not have church, ever. Instead we listen to inspirational talks and music from the leaders of our church. Prophets, Apostles and so forth. There are five sessions; four of those sessions are for everyone. One session that is not for everyone is for the men and boys 12 and over in the church. That session is held on Saturday night. Each of the five sessions is about two hours in length with two hours of a break in-between.

I look forward to this every six months. This gives me time to reevaluate the person I am, the person I want to be, and to seek help and inspiration in my quest to be the best me I can be.

For the last session on Sunday afternoon, we decided to pack up a picnic lunch, grab our radio, and head up to Snowbasin Ski Resort which is a short 25 minute drive from our doorstep. We invited my mom and dad to come with us and ended up being a fantastic outing. We had sandwiches and listened to the words of the prophets in the middle of one of God's amazing works of art. If you have not been up to Snowbasin and you live in Utah, you won't be disappointed in the drive. The splendor of the colors of autumn that cascades around us seemed only fitting for the wonderful messages we are receiving.

I adore fall! In fact, I feel really cheated if I have not driven up here every year to see the splendor of colors. The gorgeous yellows of the quaking aspen, the Reds mixed with a hint of green, and the deep oranges. It's as if it is God's canvas and he paints masterpiece every fall and we get to drink it in. Just call me a Mountain Mama and I'll be happy with that title.

Jake talking his Grandpa Clark's ear off.  They are bosom buddies.

Jake and Grandpa went exploring.

Off they go!

This was our picnic spot!  It was gorgeous!

A look at the gondolla.  I have been up this gondolla several times to the Needles Lodge.  Super yummy food and a spectacular view.

I turn my head for a moment and Jake had climbed on top of this bear!

We decided to head through Ogden Canyon on the way home. The music from "Dances with Wolves" accompanied the scenery. 

More Ogden Canyon Splendor

Ogden River

Waterfall at the mouth of the Canyon.  I took it in a moving car, that is why it is blurry. Fabulous afternnoon!