Four?!

I'm sitting in front of a roaring fire and watching a blizzard brew outside. Things have finally calmed down this morning, and it's 2:00 in the afternoon. I have a busy road ahead of me. Little Henry Carter is laying next to me in his swing looking incredibly peaceful.

A year ago, we were applying for our adoption approval. This entailed a lot of complex steps (e.g. fingerprinting, disclosing financial information, home inspections). Then we left on a long trip to eastern Europe and Bob and I celebrated our five year anniversary.

Today I have two babies, one six months old and one one week old. They are both beautiful angels, and I am couldn't be happier. Oh, and I'm also incredibly busy. Bob is at home this week, which we mostly spent shuttling Olivia to various babysitters (and the doctor after she got a nasty ear infection) and then travelling to the NICU to check in on baby Henry. He was finally able to come home yesterday after battling an infection, and Olivia got to meet her baby brother.

<

Baby Henry enjoyed his time in the NICU. All of the nurses gossiped about us, each of them knew our story before we even brought it up. "Now you guys have a six-month-old at home as well? You're going to be busy!" "That's worse than twins!" I personally am just excited to be a mom without being pregnant as well. Those last few months were getting tricky, I missed having a hip to prop Olivia up on.

I guess I just have to say that miracles do happen, and sometimes they happen really close together. I'm so grateful for my two beautiful babies, but I think I'm finished with this particular brand of miracle, at least for a while.

2011 - What Will You Bring?

Can you believe how big she's getting? Liv is 4 months old, 26 inches, and 16 pounds 10 ounces. That puts her in the 97% percentile across the board. She's a big baby, and has developed such an awesome personality.

Life's pretty crazy around these parts, 2011 is going to be a big year for my family. At the end of this month, we're closing on a new house in Alpine. I never thought that Bob and I would move to Utah County, it seems quite out of character for the two of us, but life seems to be full of surprises. Besides, Bob assures me that we're going to love it there and I am inclined to agree with him. I'll be sure to post some pictures, but it isn't officially ours yet, so I don't have any keys. It will be nice to be doubling our space and to be closer to Bob's work, especially since there's nothing holding us to Salt Lake now that I'm no longer working.

Did I mention that? My maternity leave turned into a permanent hiatus. I have loved staying at home with Olivia, she's an angel. Additionally (prepare yourself internet-only friends), I am seven months pregnant with a little boy who is currently referred to as 'Baby Brother.' (We're working on a name, we've got two months, right?) Apologies for the late update, but we kept it close to the chest until we were sure of a healthy pregnancy. The official due date is March 19th, which will be a couple of weeks after we can officially adopt Olivia!

So yeah, 2011 is going to be a great year for us. I suppose that you can say that when the Lord sees fit to bless us, he goes all out.

Finally, check out my dogs' blog for some interesting stats on my book reading in 2010. Something tells me that they are going to be barking on their blog more often...

Announcement!

This weekend, a miracle occurred. Olivia Jocelyn Fawson was born, and a few days later she came to live with us. She came from a loving and beautiful pair of birth parents, and though her journey is irregular, we know that she was meant to be in our family.

I'm sure I'll have loads more to talk about in this vein, but for now I'm feeling a tad sleep deprived. So I bid you adieu, fair reader, with this brief but important announcement of the birth of a beautiful baby girl.

The Times They Are a Changin'

Bob and I in front of the Gloriette at the Scheonbrun Palace in Vienna (May 2010). One of two pictures we have from this entire trip where we are both in the frame.

This is going to be one of those posts that you, loyal readers, all hate. The kind of post where I allude to the very real fact that amazing, astounding, and life-changing things are happening to me, and then I don't tell you what is going on with me.

It's true. Stay tuned, and expect incredible news in the next two weeks (give or take). I hope to renew regular posting, but I've broken such promises in the past.

Killin' Whales

Watch out for the Killin' Whales, my fantasy football team this year. I expect them to succeed in ways never before dreamed of.

On the Road Again.....

We're headed off this evening to make the long drive up to Friday Harbor, San Juan Islands. (Are you taking notes, Dione?) I expect to go on many bike rides and hikes, play lots of Nertz and Rock Band, and mostly relax.

Bob and I have not taken time off of work to relax since Christmas of 2007, and this is a much needed vacation. Life has become bogged down with many little stresses: Bob's ankle with two torn ligaments, the yard aka the weed factory, church callings that guilt you into spending valuable time attending pointless meetings, work-need I say any more, and so on and so forth. It's so easy to fill up a life with thousands of meaningless tasks and top it all off with some tv-watching. I'll be glad for the release and the lack of responsibility.

I keep telling myself these things, but what a huge hassle it is to get out of town. I hope that y'all enjoy your week, and keep out of trouble!