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.

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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...

World Revolves From Night to Day

I can't believe how big Olivia is getting! She turned three months old a couple of weeks ago and she is now nearly fifteen pounds. She loves being read to, shiny lights, being naked, and her birds (a mobile).

I have always loved the holiday season. I drive Bob nuts listening to straight Christmas music from Thanksgiving to Christmas day. In the car, he races me to hook his iPhone in first so we can listen to his music rather than my holiday jams again!

There is nothing more fun than having a kid at Christmas. Even though Olivia has been with me when I've bought all of her Christmas presents (and wrapped them too), I'm so excited to open them up with her! We even have it on good authority that Santa has a few gifts for her as well...

I put up our Christmas tree while she was napping and had just plugged in the lights when she awoke. I picked her up and brought her into the front room and you could just see the wonder and excitement in her eyes as she stared at the twinkling lights. It was so magical, seeing the light in her eyes. I place her Bumbo chair in front of the tree and she'll sit there for twenty minutes (a long time for her) staring at the lights.

Bob thought I loved the holidays before, but he has no idea how bad it's going to get in the future!

The Weary Travelers

Bob, Olivia, and I in Soho last week.

Last week, Bob and I decided to try something bold and adventurous! We took Olivia on her first big trip, all the way across the country to New York City. Bob was going already for some work meetings, and the baby and I hung out in the city both with and without him.

Bob and I love to travel. We love experiencing new places, seeing new things, meeting new people, and eating weird food. When we thought about having children, we always thought it would be important to share those desires with them, and hopefully be able to share in some exciting experiences with them as well. So when the opportunity arose to take her as a two-month old, we jumped at the chance. How hard could it be?

Well, we now know a little better. Gone are the days where we can carry on all of our luggage. Babies require a ridiculous amount of accouterments, and Bob thought that I packed heavy for myself! We no longer can stay out late at night in the city (not that we were big clubbers to begin with), babies need to go to bed at night. But we were able to do a lot of things and Bob and I were able to share some of our favorite Big Apple things with Baby Liv.

When you're fantasizing about the children you will have 'one day,' it's easy to become idealistic and imagine the great life that you are going to provide for them. I worried that some of our dreams were a little far-fetched and that children would make certain actions improbable if not impossible. It was refreshing to take our sweet baby girl on a fairly large endeavor and have it turn out alright in the end. The plane ride wasn't as relaxing, trips out took a lot more accessories, and we had to constantly be aware of what amenities a locale had in case of a sudden diaper or feeding need. But the trip was incredibly fulfilling, because we were together as a family, the three of us, and nothing could have been better in my mind. (Though honestly, I think that she might have preferred staying home. Hopefully, she'll enjoy the next trip a little more.)

I hereby call this trip to New York, a success!

Happy Birthday to Myself

Last week I turned 25, a quarter of a century! I love birthdays, and though I'm march ever onward toward the dreaded 30, this year was no exception. It's funny how aging works, I don't feel that old, but I look at 20-year-olds, and I definitely feel older than them.

I don't think Olivia quite got into the celebration. The hat started to bother her after a while, and she wasn't able to eat any of the delicious birthday cupcakes. Ah well, hopefully she'll understand it a little better by the time her own birthday rolls around next September.

This year, we went on a hike up Millcreek Canyon to Dog Lake with the whole family. The five of us trekked through the gorgeous yellow-leaved aspens, though Olivia slept the whole time strapped to Bob's chest. It was pleasant to reach the top and enjoy what will most likely be the last dog swimming session of the year.

Now there's snow on the ground, and the leaves are mostly fallen from the trees. So long beautiful autumn, and so long another lovely birthday for me!

A Tender Look Which Becomes a Habit

Maggie and Olivia (and Butterfly Rattle) Wish You a Good Day.

Back in June, we got a phone call from our case worker. A prospective birth couple wanted to meet us, and we went to what I can only describe as the most intense job interview ever. We found out a few days later that they had chosen us, and that we were going to be parents to a (presumably) beautiful baby girl. Olivia's birth parents are great people that we loved getting to know.

I have a hard time describing our relationship to Olivia's birth parents, it seems so unique. We became acquainted in such an intensely personal way in a very brief time period. I think of them as closer than friends, more like family. And from the very beginning, for merely considering us as potential parents of the incredible baby they were placing for adoption, we loved them. Now that she is born, I can see we won't ever have the same sort of relationship, but I will cherish the memories that we have and I can't wait to tell Olivia one day about the beautiful path she took to us and the wonderful people that made it possible.

It's hard not to see the hand of God in a scenario like ours. Olivia is our baby, she is meant to be in our family. These truths have been testified to us over and over again in incredibly beautiful ways. We are so lucky. And Olivia is so lucky, she is loved by so many people!

New Years Resolutions...

Wow, a whole year has passed since 2008 began, and now I find myself making nearly the same resolutions as I did twelve months ago... One of them at least is new though, I plan to take at least one picture a day for the whole year. I almost missed a day, but got away on a technicality, I took a picture with someone else's camera, and I'm going to count it!

January 1 - Bob and Sammi at our New Year's Eve Party (Can you spot Dave in the background?), we had a lot of fun preventing Sammi from eating various foods, children, and precious children's toys.

January 2 - Bob and Mike with their tough-men beards. It seems to be impossible for Bob to keep his eyes open during a picture. Where's your beard-card, Mike?!

January 3- This is the day when I didn't take a picture with my own camera, so I include here a picture of Sammi during our Christmas break. We were about to head out snowshoeing and I dressed Sammi in her new sweater (made by myself), though she got quite cold anyways.

January 4 - Now that we have church at nine, we have reclaimed our Sunday afternoons! This is Bob hiking in the foothills behind Draper, where the dogs are free to get lost as much as they want.

January 5 - Bob's stuck in Utah Valley due to inclement weather, so I pulled out the self-portrait card tonight. I think I thought that was a coy smile at the time...

Adorable Fix

Isn't this the cutest picture ever? Bob and our friends' son Grant at a wedding we attended recently. It's your adorable fix for the day.

San Juan Island Pictures

For this week's pictures I'm going to highlight a few of my more artistic shots from our Fawson Family Vacay to the San Juan Islands this past summer.  It was around this time that I really started to get into photography, and I spent a lot of time on this trip trying things out, seeing what worked and what didn't.  Here are a few of my favorites.

From the clothesline in the backyard of the house we rented.

The lavender farm.  This place smelled incredible.

The Lime Kiln State Park where we were whale-watching.  Obviously there were no whales to watch when this picture was taken.

Fence outside our house.

A barn next to our house.

Fawsonberger Candy Tournament 2008 - Round 5, Final Round

Note: Read the archives for the first four rounds of this tournament. Start here.

About this time we realized that the sweater that Sammi had been wearing all night was covered in her own urine, and that Bob had been cuddling with her for an hour and hadn't noticed. Perhaps it was the candy talking, but I found that fact hilarious.  

We had travelled long and hard and been ridiculed by grocery store employees, we had skipped dinner and meaningful sustenance, we had endured heart-ache and stomachache all for this moment, the final two competitors!

Skor vs. Starburst - We slowly savored these last two bits of candy, recognizing that they would be the last in what had become a long journey.  As was to be expected, I voted for Starburst and Jamey voted for Skor.  Tiebreaker went to Dave.  We asked Bob was his vote would be, as a matter of curiosity, and he said Skor.  Dave pondered his decision for a long time.  A really long time, Grant was tired and kept going to the door, trying to unlock it, and saying, "Outside!" Eventually, he decided on Starburst.

Ta Da!  We did it!  We are incredible!

Here I am, considering the near impossible choice of the final two candies.

In the aftermath of the tournament the four of us seem stunned that Starbursts could have won. It was highly unpredictable, and I think that says that we performed our duties as unbiasedly as would could.  I highly recommend you to gather up a group of three to five people and create your own candy tournament, though expect craziness to occur and you to leave considerably heavier than when you began!!!  Thanks for sticking with me through this life-changing journey.

Fawsonberger Candy Tournament 2008 - Round 4

Note: Read Round 1, Round 2, and Round 3 before reading this round.

We're down to the final four candies, Caramello, Skor, Gummy Worms, and Starburst. Interestingly enough, no matter who wins in these rounds we were going to end up with a chocolate candy fighting a non-chocolate candy.  Also, Grant started freaking out so we turned on the movie WALL-E for him, which he loved and kept he and Bob occupied for the rest of the night.

Caramello vs. Skor - As always, I voted against the Skor bar for the lovely creamy Caramello bar, and Jamey voted for it.  Dave was the tie-breaker and after much consideration, he voted for the Skor bar.  Incredibly, the Skor bar has made it into the final two without my ever having voted for it!

Gummy Worms vs. Starburst - These were both delicious candies.  I ate half of my Starburst, and dropped the other half accidentally in my glass of water!  (Which was approximately my seventh glass of water as my body attempted to digest unholy amounts of sugar.)  I voted for the Starburst and Jamey voted for the Gummy Worms.  The tie-breaker went to Bob this time and though Gummy Worms are one of his all time favorite candies, he voted for Starburst.  We have our final two!

Bob and Grant eating loser candies and watching WALL-E together.  Also note that Sammi, on Bob's lap, is wearing a sweater.

This is Jamey feeling quite sick as we approach the final four.

Fawsonberger Candy Tournament 2008 - Round 3

Note: Please read this entry third after the First Round and the Second Round entries.

After the second round, we were feeling great, and totally high on sugar.  Everything was hilarious and the candy seemed sweeter as we dove into judging the Elite Eight...

York vs. Caramello - I voted for Caramello and anticipated a tie-breaker, knowing of Jamey's love of anything (including feces) covered  in mint.  But Jamey blew all of our minds when she went with Caramello....

Skor vs. Nibs - Of course this round went into tiebreaker.  Jamey voted for Skor, and I voted against.  For the first time, Bob was able to judge a Skor round, and he was stunned by the crunchy-buttery goodness of the center.  He hands-down voted for Skor.

Whatchamacallit vs. Gummy Worms - The Whatchamacallit had an incredible go of it, what with its flavor explosion, but didn't stand a chance against Gummy Worms.

Starburst vs. Jr. Mint - This was a bad round for mints as Jamey again abandoned her love and Starburst reigned triumphant.

David Hulsberg, Tie-breaker extraordinaire is thoughtfully considering the choices before him.

Yeah, I told you.  Sugar High.  Here I am attempting to eat the Tournament Bracket.

Stay tuned for the final two rounds of the candy tournament!!!!!

Fawsonberger Candy Tournament 2008 - Round 2

Note:  If you have yet to read the blog post before about the first round of the candy tournament, please start there for clarity's sake. 

Between rounds one and two, we attempted to start a game of Risk.  But Grant was having none of it and threw all the pieces around like only a nearly-two-year-old can.  So after a little bit of playing and a lot of cleaning, we dove straight into round two!

Milk Duds vs. York - This was a tough competition, but York came up triumphantly!

Caramello vs. Peanut M&M's - Caramello was delicious.  We were both big fans of the caramelly goodness of this chocolate treat.  Onward you go!

Snickers vs. Skor - Once again I voted against Skor and Jamey voted for it (Seeing a trend yet?), in tie-breaker Dave was in love with the buttery-chocolatey deliciousness of the Skor bar.

KitKat vs. Nibs - How could KitKat, with it's chocolate and wafer, stand a chance against the delicious bite-sized amazingness of the red licorice Nibs?  It couldn't and it didn't.

Whatchamacallit vs. Peanut Butter M&M's - Whatchamacallit?  You are so delicious and a surprising contender in this battle.  See ya later PBMMs!

Gummy Worms vs. Mr. Goodbar - We all know that Mr. Goodbar made it into the second round only by a fluke and it did not fare well against the Gummy Worms.

Almond Joy vs. Starburst - Oh Almond Joy, you're incredible!  However in this instance, Starbursts were the champions.

Charleston Chew vs. Junior Mint - Tiebreaker needed for this round as well!  Junior Mint was decided to be the winner as the tiebreaker declared that "Charleston Chews are gross."

The second round contenders are piled neatly in pairs (Thanks to Dave and his OCD!), while the losers are heaped behind in a pile of sadness and destruction.  Also note the hopeful yet naive placement of the Risk board.

Here is Jamey, recording the results of the second round of competition for posterity and for blog-erity.

What will happen in Round 3??? Stay tuned to find out.

The Many Faces of.....DEAN GARLICK

If you haven't heard my dad's patented answering machine greeting  call him or call me up and we'll be happy to give you a demonstration. 

The Garlick family was out for the first annual Jiggy Day Celebration.  (A day in which you give in to all of your material desires, dress like fools (e.g. checkered tights), give away ridiculous presents, and enjoy yourself.  Catch it next October 8th!)  I asked my dad to pose for the camera without using his classic 'smile.'

"Smile for the camera, dahling!"

"Serious!  Now let's see serious."

"Angry face!  Oh, that's fierce."

Ah, cheap thrills.  Hamilton's restaurant, October 8, 2008.

Bobalicious!

Bob has been in the Philippines on business for the last 2-3 weeks, and he's getting home tonight! There are a lot of reasons that I'm excited for him to come home, but here are are few:

1. I'm tired of taking care of the yard things like mowing the lawn and deciphering the aged sprinkling system.

2. Maggie and Sammi get off their game when he's gone waking up many times in the night to protect me with their ferocious barking.

3. The house gets spooky when it's just me and two edgy dogs.

4. No one's around to give me a back rub or cuddle with me!

5. I miss his classic Bobisms and hilarious songs.


I heart Bobby! Watch for him flying in a sky near you.

No Paranthesis

Brighton, Top o' Millicent Lift, February 2008.  We got dirty looks from lifties for this picture.

since feeling is first

who pays any attention to the syntax of things

while Spring is in the world

my blood approves,

and kisses are a far better fate

than wisdom

lady i swear by all flowers. Don't cry

--the best gesture of my brain is less than 

your eyelids' flutter which says

we are for eachother: then

laugh, leaning back in my arms

for life's not a paragraph

And death i think is no parenthesis

--e e cummings

Celebration, Jiggy Style

This past weekend I gathered, along with many friends, family, and relative strangers; to celebrate the life of my sister, Jocie Garlick, and the birth of a memorial on top of Beaver Mountain.  I haven't written a lot about what happened to my family six months ago, in part because this is a very public forum for such personal details, but mostly because I don't think that I am ready to.  The emotions are still too raw to internalize and then spit out in the manner I usually employ for my writings.  I think about writing about it, about her, about the aftermath, all the time; I suppose that's good enough for now.

During the program, Jocie's closest friends let go of 99 (give or take, I heard a lot of popping noises) red balloons.  I didn't get to see much of this part of the program, as in the moment this picture was taken, Dione and I started performing 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' (With both of us singing and I on guitar, brave I know.).  I had given my camera to Heady, Bob's sister, and she took this, as well as many other incredible pictures.  I just love the look on these girls' faces.  It makes me cry and smile at the same time.

I also include this self-portrait of Heather 'Heady' Fawson.  A word for the wise, if you want lovely pictures taken while you're busy, give your camera to Heather.  But beware, it will come back with several self-portraits, and undoubtably, a picture of Jayme Champlin in there too.  (I think this is the corner of her head here.  That blonde bit right by the sky there.)

A Whale of a Trip!

This past week we (Bob + I + all of Bob's immediate family + slimebaby) were up in the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington vacationing our little hearts out. The final day approached and, though there were rumored to be 2-3 pods in residence there, we had yet to see any whales.

Heather Ann and I struck out early one morning, dedicated (read obsessed) to viewing whales before the day was out and we lost our opportunity forever! So we sat there together, our single-mindedness driving all others away as we lost perspective in our pursuit of the whales. It was then, mulling over our mammalian hopes and fears that a miracle happened. A whale-watching boat shouted to the shore that a pod of whales was on its way and would be where we were in a half-hour.

The whole family gathered together, huddled on a mass of rocks, eyes scanning the distance for tiny black specks that it seemed would never come. Finally, they came. Jumping in groups of two or three, the Orca whales seemed like something from Free Willy or Sea World. It was an incredible experience, once in a lifetime and indescribable.

Here's the best picture I was able to get, but keep in mind that I wasn't using any zoom here. 

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!

Truths and Consequences

It's true, I love the Twilight books. I know what you unbelievers out there are thinking, because believe me, I thought it once myself. I would never get into faddy literature like that. I know a crappy tween romance book when I see one. I would never taint my mind with the likes of Stephenie Meyer, no matter what I hear about Edward.

You have no idea what you are missing out on! The books are written simplistically and in a Harry Potter-esque style. They capture the imagination and the heart, making it difficult to settle for a man any less than Edwardian.

I first read the books in fall of 2007 when my sister Jocie gave them to me. She hadn't been a huge reader, so I thought that I would humor her by taking them, thus encouraging her nascent love of reading. I couldn't have been more wrong. Instead of doing her a kindly favor, she had done me one by introducing me to such a fun series that captivated my imagination for long after I had read the final page of Eclipse.

So these past few weeks, as everyone has geared themselves up for the release of the 'stunning conclusion of the Twilight saga,' Breaking Dawn, I have felt a wave of melancholy imagining how excited she would be and how often we would text each other about it. I found her copy of Eclipse and read through it, repeatedly returning to the title page where she had written her name carefully in curly script: "Jocelyn Garlick." Oddly formal, using her barely tolerated full name, Jocelyn. I wonder what she was thinking when she inscribed that; surely not that she would never read the conclusion.

So I'm here to recommend the series from both my lips and Jocie's. I will guarantee 100% customer satisfaction, or your money back! If you call now, you can get the Maggie and Sammi commemorative pin, a value of $32, for free. That's right, free!