Kelly and Miguel

Birthday Letter

2011-06-26T04:21:00.003-06:00

Dear Radha and Prasad,

You have been on my mind for several weeks and I am happy to finally have an opportunity to write to you again. It is remarkable to me that Haley has grown and learned so much in only 6 months. Her personality has not changed so much as it has been enriched by new skills and language. She is still a delightful and energetic young girl, and quite charming too. We will post new photos and videos soon for you to see.

We had an eventful first Australian summer. You may have heard about the 100-year flooding in Queensland earlier this year, because I suspect that it made world news. The early images of flash flooding that circulated the media represented isolated events in the area. For the rest of us, the floods came very slowly and with a calm determination. We live in one of the suburbs that was largely affected, but our townhouse is at just a high enough elevation that the water only reached to the adjacent park.

According to the Australian government, we were technically “flood affected” only because our power was turned off for about a week. In the first couple days of the outage, Haley had lots of fun running in the house with glow sticks and “torches” from our 72-hour emergency kit. We picked up ice daily from the gas station nearby and had plenty of dried foods that we cooked on our gas oven. We felt very grateful for our church that has always encouraged us to be prepared for these types of events. After a couple days, we were evacuated to a family’s home for a night, after which we left town altogether and spent a week at a condo in Cooloongatta (a famous surfing spot, south of the Gold Coast). It was just too hot to be sleeping 3 to a bed in a hot room. Besides, that family lost power too eventually. The beach trip was a wonderful and unexpected break from our normal routine.

Later in January, I attended an academic conference in Washington DC, so Miguel and Haley had a couple weeks on their own. During that time, we were approved for a visa that required the whole family to leave and reenter the country. Since I was already away, Miguel and Haley took a trip to Christchurch New Zealand for a long weekend. They were very fortunate to be able to visit that beautiful town before it was devastated by an earthquake a week later. It seems that the world is falling to pieces all around us, but we are thriving. It has been a surreal experience, and we feel grateful for our fortunate circumstances. We pray that you are also well.

In the past few months, Haley’s language skills have increased dramatically. I still remember the day that she finished a drink bottle, then handed it to me and said, “I want some more please” with her quasi-Australian accent. It was the first full sentence that came across so clearly that I couldn’t second-guess it. I’m sure that she had spoken in full sentences before that, but they weren’t always with such a meaningful context. Since then, she hasn’t stopped talking.

She likes to tell stories about any little bumps or scratches she has (or invents) on her body. For example, one of her favorite stories is about the time a few months back when a friend’s puppy, named Harry, stayed with us for a weekend and took a nip at her toes when she put her foot in his food dish. She also likes to talk about a hurt finger that needs a band aid, and I know for certain that she invents the injury because she likes stickers. Her stories are very convincing because she has such serious facial expressions. Her fascination with bumps and scratches (on her own or other people’s bodies) makes me wonder if she’ll take up a medical profession someday. She shows real concern if she thinks that someone has been hurt, and has a supportive bedside manner.

It isn’t surprising that Haley enjoys telling stories. As part of her bedtime routine, we read books every night, and Haley has learned some of them well enough that she can almost tell them to us. Although she loves books, she is also quite adept at using electronics and seems to take after Miguel in that way. She is able to intuitively navigate his iPad 2, finding, opening and playing games and books especially for toddlers. She can also find dvds that she likes to watch (Shrek, Tangled, and Finding Nemo) and load them in the player. I’m not sure if she’s figured out the remote controls… she must get that from me.

Haley is also quite athletic, although she may be too much of a girly girl to pursue athletics at a collegiate or professional level. She is amazingly coordinated and loves to bounce on a balance beam (or the sofa) and to dance. She’s getting too big to throw up in the air the way we used to, but she enjoys playing see-saw-up-down while clinging to one of our legs. That’s good exercise for the see saw too!

It may be her outgoing, talkative, athletic qualities that make her quite popular with the other children at kindy. Her best friend is Sienna Edwards, a sweet little blonde girl who is much quieter than Haley. Because they are such good friends, they are able to learn things much faster and more easily together than by themselves. For example, Haley saw that Sienna was sitting on the toilet, so she wanted to try it as well. We haven’t officially started potty training (in part because her bum is too small even for the baby potty seat) but she has shown an interest and I’m sure she’ll have no problem. She also gets on well with the little boys. Parents regularly tell me that their little boys fancy her. She really is quite charming and beautiful so I’m not surprised. Miguel will have quite a job on his hands when Haley reaches dating age (at least 16) and he has to screen her suitors.

Although Haley has a nice group of friends, her favorite companion is a turquoise stuffed bunny she calls “Bubby”. Haley has a creative imagination and is able to have full conversations with Bubby and to take care of his physical and emotional needs. For example, she calms him when he gets fussy by patting his back and putting his head on her shoulder. She sets a place for him at meal times, ties a bib on his neck, changes his diaper, and walks him around the room in a tiny pram. Basically, she does all the things that we do with her. I consider her mimicry flattering.

The terrible 2s aren’t nearly as terrible as I expected. I’ll admit that I sometimes wish Haley hadn’t learned how to say “I want” and we hear our fair share of temper tantrums. Haley is a strong willed girl and she has a powerful set of lungs when she wants to get our attention. However, more often than not, Miguel and I note how she keeps getting more fun to be around and how much we like her (in addition to loving her). We look forward to seeing her grow up, but we’re happy for her to do that at her own pace and will celebrate every milestone.

Since Haley isn’t quite ready to write to you herself, I’m happy to send her love and affection on her behalf. In due time, you’ll hear those sentiments directly.

Kind regards,

Kelly, Miguel and Haley

Dear Jack,

2010-06-24T00:55:00.002-06:00

There is nothing quite as desirable as a hand-written note, at least from the receiver’s point of view. However, at times when that option is unavailable a typewritten note must suffice. I’ve wanted to write to you for some time, but have hesitated to put pen to paper because time is so very precious at present. I plan to take advantage of the typewritten format to record my letter as a blog journal entry.

I have been in Australia with my little family for just over a month and have been working at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) the whole time. We have moved residence three times since we arrived, but are finally situated in a townhouse where we will live for the next year at least. The townhouse is located in the neighbourhood of Yeronga, about five kilometres south of the city centre where I work. I can either ride the train into the city or walk for an hour each direction, which is quite pleasant in cool weather. When my bicycle arrives from the states I’ll give cycling a try, although traffic moves on the wrong side of the street here in British fashion and it will take some getting used to so that I don’t cause an accident.

We spend a lot of time walking together as a family lately, which takes the place of less interesting indoor activities like watching television shows and movies or playing video games. Those were never my favourite, so this lifestyle change is a blessing in my opinion. We live close to the Brisbane River and near several parks and a library, so we have several destinations for our walks. I always used to enjoy the walking and biking paths in Colorado and the mountain scenery. Brisbane lacks mountains and wide paths, but makes up for it with abundant species of colourful birds. We frequently see flocks of Lorikeets, for example, which fly quite fast so that they are only visible as bright red and green blurs in the sky. We also see and hear Kookaburras with their long beaks and squatty frames, sitting in trees and seemingly laughing aloud.
Miguel caught a photo of a bottle-brush tailed possum the other day, which are the local equivalent of Colorado’s squirrels but larger and more brazen in their scavenging behaviour. A colleague told me a story about a formal doctoral examination he attended in which possums snuck in through the ceiling and made off with all of the refreshments before the examiners arrived.

Before we arrived in Australia, Miguel thoroughly researched the many poisonous and otherwise dangerous animal species that we might encounter during our stay. So far, we haven’t seen any that were on that list. We also haven’t seen any kangaroos, wallabies, koalas or crocodiles, since they are not normally found in the city. Once we have settled ourselves in, we’ll take a weekend trip to the rainforest or a day trip to the zoo to find the more iconic forms of Australian wildlife. At present, the ordinary tasks of life such as buying groceries and preparing meals are all-consuming and we are both exhausted by the end of each day.

Just three days ago, on 21st June, Australia experienced its winter solstice and shortest day of the year. Although the days are relatively short, with sunlight from about 5:30 am to 5:30 pm, the temperatures are warm enough that Miguel and I have been comfortable wearing short pants and sleeves, and sandals. In contrast, my colleagues at QUT come to work dressed in layers with coats, scarves and hats. Just today, one of the administrative staff was shocked to hear that I wasn’t freezing to death. I can finally understand why you sought wool socks to wear in Los Angeles. At some point, I may acclimatize to Brisbane’s weather. I hope I do or else I won’t survive the heat and humidity of summer.

We enjoyed visiting with you in the airport last month, and appreciate you taking the trouble to join us. We were especially happy for Haley to have met you and you her. I hope you enjoyed meeting this little girl that you helped bring into our lives, and who brings us so much joy. She grows and learns so quickly these days, but you will surely still recognize her when we pass through next. Her bright eyes and smile are unmistakable.

I plan to write more often than I have, in part so that I can record the details of this adventure. Please don’t feel pressured to respond each time, but send a note when time and circumstances allow. I will also expect to hear news of you through Marsha (aka mom).

Sending my love,
Kelly

Going on haiatus

2009-12-15T09:25:00.001-07:00

As you can tell we've not updated this blog in months. There will be no further updates to this page for the foreseeable future.

Geek Post #4

2009-02-27T08:30:00.000-07:00

The first time I though whooo, dude, that's cool. Because really how often do you see really cool chemical reactions of every day food. I know you are all saying but the Mentos and Diet Coke tricket is really cool. And I have to agree with you on that but this is even cooler.

You take a bit of Mountain Dew add a bit of this and a bit of that and your drink begins to glow. Kinda freaky when you think about it. But just watch.

For those of you reading this on Facebook click through to the blog to see the video.

Now the disclaimer for all of those that are sticklers for reality: This is a hoax and does not work. So don't take things from you Mom's kitchen to give this a try. It may not be real but it's still a great video.

Look around you.

2009-02-26T13:17:00.007-07:00

I have to say that I love Colorado. It's February with new snow in the mountains and 70 down here where I live. You really can't get much better than that. Kelly and I really haven't posted much recently and well we feel that we are letting down our adoring public all two of you...hehe

I honestly can't recall if I've mentioned this before, and I'm too lazy to search, but we live near a bald eagle preserve. They usually stay put in their small portion on the world ignoring the rest of us mortals. So we live, work and go to school. In fact this is my drive to work:

Not much of a drive I know. Looking at the image you believe that I live in the middle of know where far from the thralls of civilization. Don't be fooled. Just over that ridge and a mere four miles from my house is one of the larger malls in Denver Metro area. If you would turn your head to the right, metaphorically, you would see a golf course. 1 of 3 withing 3 miles of my house. But i digress.

On my way to work I saw this:

Fist let me apologize for the quality of the picture. The lighting was horrible and all I had was a point and shoot. I've attempted to correct the image without distorting. This the female of a breeding pair that lives within walking distance of our house. Even though the bald eagle has been removed from the federal register of endangered species the City of Westminster still maintains the preserve for these eagles. The eagles built their nest in 1991 and had their first offspring in 1996. Eagles mate for life and return to their nesting sites. These particular eagles tend to keep to themselves and very rarely come out of their preserve.

It was nice to see them out and about. Remember that road in the first image. This tree is about5 feet off the side of the road. Cars were hitting their brakes, doing u-turns, and all around behaving unsafely to catch a glimpse or an image on their phone. I find it reassuring that nature can still inspire in our world of technology. So for everyone that is rushing to and from work going about your daily business don't forget to look around. You may just see something very cool....

Geek Post of the Week #4

2009-01-30T08:30:00.006-07:00

Has it been a week already? Wow how time flies. My previous posts have digressed from my favorite geek topic in the whole world. STAR WARS! Oh I am such a nerd. I sometimes wonder if people exist that have not seen the entire series. It boggles the mind to think that such people exist; they've been hiding under a rock.

I have a feeling that they exist among the young ones, those born in 80s and later. But they are not alone. Joe Nicolosi has a frined that has only seen pieces of all the movies and tries to retell the story. This is her story:

For those of you reading this in Facebook make sure to click on original post to view the video.

-M

Geek Post of the Week #3

2009-01-23T08:30:00.023-07:00

Being a geek isn't all about star wars and video games. Some times its just being really impressed with something very kewl.

This year is the 20th anniversary of the B-2 Stealth bomber in July. This plane was a remarkable feat of engineering and ingenuity. To commemorate this auspicious occasion( big word I know, deal with it). NortrhupGrumman commisioned a chopper from Orange County Choppers. If you watch TLC at all you should be familiar with some of their work. They are true chopper artist. If you're not familiar with the practice it started after WWII when servicemen returned they modified surplus military motocycles to make them lighter and faster. And the art form was born.

Ahh but I digress, so let me present a very sweet ride.

I am very impressed on how they were able to capture the lines and curves of the plane. The attention to detail is remarkable. Nothing was over looked and the spirit of the plane was uniquely captured. Head on over to the press site to view more pictures and get a true feel of the work. Full resolution images are also available on the site. Enjoy.

Adoption Update

2009-01-21T13:29:00.004-07:00

Kelly and I were talking the other day about how long adoption really takes. I think everyone that starts the process feels that it will go very smoothly and you be adopting a child soon after receiving the letter stating that you have been approved to adopt. But alas, that is so far from the truth. I sometimes wonder if there just isn't an easier way [no snide comments allowed, I know what you're thinking and for shame allowing your mind to go into the gutter ;)] . But as they say "It is what it is".

I think the most important thing is to continue to remind people that we are still looking to adopt an infant from the US. That allows us to expand our possible selection pool as wide as possible. If you know any one that is unexpectedly pregnant make sure that they are aware that adoption is a real possibility for them. There are so many resources available to women and girls in that situation that there is no reason for them to go through it alone. If you don't know where to start or what information to give there are links on the sidebar that will provide information. All you need to do is mention the possibility. Heck, you don't even need to mention us because there are so many other couples looking as well, but it doesn't hurt.

I've include some information here as well:

LDS Family Service Profile
"Paper" profile and collage (.pdf).
Our profile on parentprofile.com
Find an adoption agency in your area here.
Information on unexpected pregnancy.

Of course if you ever have any questions feel free to give Kelly or I a call or just shoot us an email. We will be more than happy to answer any questions or give you ideas on how to approach that person you know.

Anonymous Email

Kelly and Miguel

Geek Post of the Week #2

2009-01-16T08:30:00.006-07:00

Earlier this week I decided to start a series I affectionately call Geek Post of the Week. Creative? I know, right! I am such and orignial thinker :-D. After much argument with my inner geek I decided that these blogs are best posted on Friday mornings. Something entertaining to get your weekend started a bit early.

This one is for all you Guitar Hero and Rock Band geeks out there. I know everytime you think about it you mourn because you cannot take it with you. But Heros, fear no more. The folks over at thinkgeek.com have come up with the ultimate solution. A drumset that you can wear and take with you! "Folly," you say, "balderdash!" No, let me assure you that it is true all true and I have proof. You have nothing to fear. The future is now. Let me know what you guys think, I absolutely love this shirt.

If you are viewing this via face book click on View Original Post to watch the video.

Geek Post of the Week. #1

2009-01-12T12:18:00.000-07:00

As hard as I try I can not get away from my roots. You girls know what I'm talking about. You color your hair and before long you see a hint of something that should not be there, a darkness that starts to creep in to your life. Don't try to hide it because it is there. And no matter how often you hit the salon, grocery store or "color party", it is still there lurking.

Well with me I run in to the same problem. I work really hard at being the smooth and charming guy you've all come to know and love. I'm am an affable guy. But still lurking below is that same darkness waiting for the worst time to embarrass me. So I've decided to start a new weekly or semi weekly, well actually when ever I fell like it, post. I have termed the Geek Post of the Week.

And this week's contestant: What would you get when you cross Princess Bride with Star Wars. I know it is hard to imagine but if you think real hard you can do it. Do you need a little help? We'll a fellow geek has found the answer. The greatest revenge line with the famous special affects we've all come to know and love. Enjoy!

If you are reading this in Facebook you must click on "View Original Post" to view the video

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T00:00:00.006-07:00

The new year has traditionally been a time for contemplation of the previous year and resolutions. Kelly and Miguel have had a wonderful year and we would like to thank all our friends and family for the inspiration, friendship, and pure joy that they brought to our lives. We've had weddings, reunions, get togethers, fun vacations, and odd adventures. More than we would care to elaborate. If you did not get a Christmas card this year it is not because we do not love you but because Miguel could not get organized enough to get one to you. But that does not mean we love you any less. This is our virtual card and we hope that it finds you well.

One of the biggest "projects" we started last year was the adoption process. There have been ups and downs but it has never been boring. We were literally hours away from adopting before circumstances beyond our control forced us to wait a little bit longer. Adoption is an interesting process to say the least. The application alone forces you examine the minutest detail of our lives from finances to relationship. We survived it and are still going strong. All we need now is for that one referral, that one chance contact, that one person to say: "These are the parents that I want to raise my child." We will continue to wait and to pray.

This year we have great expectations. Kelly is finally going to finish her dissertation. It almost seems that Kelly has been working on it forever but we see a light in the distance and hope it is not a train but the end of the tunnel. We are both very excited for this day. Suffice it to say that when she is done and walks to recieve her diploma there will be a crowd cheering her on. More importantly there will be a big party afterwards to celebrate the accomplishments. This will open more opportunities to teach and we will start a new adventure.

Farewell to the year past and to salutation to the adventures to come in this wonderful new year.

Delayed Blog Posts and everyday musings

2008-12-06T16:37:00.001-07:00

Recently I have been stuggling with the direction for our blog. I don't want it to become one of the many blogs that are just journals or places to post pictures. The blogesphere can be better served by avoiding that. However, the problem remains. What do I write about and what ideas do I communicate? Now, because I have been perplexed by this problem you get to be too.

Orginally, I intended this blog to be a place where Kelly and I could showcase our family and share our adventures, to share our family with potential birth mothers. Allow them to get to know us and perhaps one will find something that resonates in their soul. It is infinitely more difficult for a birth mother than it is for us. I am just trying to find a way for them to know us. Or even better if you know any incoviniently pregnant women send them our way.

With this as our goal, my tendency has been to focus on the adventures more than the family. Everyday life can seem dull in comparison. How can going to work, dinner conversation, working on finishing school or even a good Sunday School lesson ever compete with riding the slopes of Breckenridge. It really can't. However it does not have to compete. Taking out the garbage plays a part in defining who we are and how we handle the rigors of life. In this case making sure the garbage goes out keeps Kelly happy, I don't get a stern look and our marriage stays strong. In some ways this is more important than a big anniversary trip.

Enough sentimentality! This is the holiday season and it is time be festive. Although it can be hard at times. Like now, I am in a Tokyo Joe's having dinner and there is no Christmas music but I am listening to 80s music. Patrick Swazey is not going to get me in the Holiday spirit.

Come on really? Does it have to be patrick?

I am going to post this now. Excuse any typos. I did this on my phone.

John William's is the man

2008-11-08T08:22:00.003-07:00

Those that know me understand that I am a geek. Learn to love it is not going to change. With this in mind I came across this the other day and thought I'd share it. You have already seen it because it's been out for a while. Anyways watch the video and download the mp3.

November is National Adoption Month

2008-11-05T10:05:00.002-07:00

I know Kelly and I have not mentioned it in a while but it always good to bring up occasionally. throughout the month I will be posting and linking to articles about adoption in general and us specifically. Today I would like to share the following declaration with everyone. Since 1976 the President has made a declaration on adoption. This past week the following declaration was made by President Bush.

A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

During National Adoption Month, we recognize the compassion of adoptive and foster families as we seek to raise awareness of the need for every child in America to have a safe, loving, and permanent home.

Adopting a child is a great joy and also a great responsibility. Parents are a child's first teachers, and adoptive families can help children learn character and values, the importance of giving back to their community and country, and the courage to realize their potential. On November 15, caring parents across our Nation will celebrate National Adoption Day by finalizing their adoptions and bringing home children in need of a hopeful life.

My Administration is committed to helping young people find the love, stability, and support that a family can provide. We have joined with community and faith-based organizations to raise public awareness of foster children awaiting adoption. With the help of the Congress, we are assisting families in overcoming the financial barriers to adopting children through programs such as the Adoption Incentives Program. In addition, the Collaboration to AdoptUsKids project, which can be found at adoptuskids.org, provides guidance and resources for parents exploring adoption.

During National Adoption Month, we honor adoptive and foster parents who have shown America the depth and kindness of the human heart. Their love and dedication inspire the next generation of Americans to achieve their dreams and demonstrate the true spirit of our Nation.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 2008 as National Adoption Month. I call upon all Americans to observe this month with appropriate programs and activities to honor adoptive families and to participate in efforts to find permanent homes for waiting children.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

GEORGE W. BUSH

Summer's swan song, the last hike of the season

2008-10-27T16:19:00.006-06:00

OK. I admit it. I'm a slacker and a procrastinator. I've had these pictures sitting on my computer for a while now and it seems downright disrespectful to Lady Summer not to give her a fond farewell. So here is the tale of our last hike of the season.

Late in September, Kelly and I planned a hike at the recommendation of one of my friends. He is an avid hiker and mountain biker so I knew his recommendation would be good. He recommended that we hike into Indian Peaks Wilderness and head over to Pawnee pass via Brainard Lake.

Kelly and I do a lot during the summer but I only tend to blog of a few of our excursions. However nothing of what we had been doing compares to this last hike of the season. The week had been quite warm and then a storm blew through the mountains the night before our hike. We weren't expecting much so we went anyways. Pulling into the trail head and the parking lot was full, Saturday's are busy. So we drove back up the rode to find a place to park. When we finally found a spot we were greeted with the following sight:

Our goal was the peak on the left. It was looked a bit colder than we expected but our spirits were high and we started off with gusto. Fortunately we had prepared and dressed for what we thought would be a very cold hike. We were right, sort of. It started off as a very cold morning but what were weren't expecting was all the snow on the trails. Early going was pretty easy as the incline was not steep at all. After about 1.5 miles we were treated to the view above. Another breath taking scene that can only be offered by the uniqueness found in the Rocky Mountains. This was a good place to take a quick break and take some pictures. Up to this point the trails had been relatively dry despite the snow that had fallen the night before. I think it had more to do with the traffic more than actual snow accumulation. The higher we go the deeper the snow.

On the left we can see Kelly at the beginning of the hike. We did no actually start at the trail head but had to walk about half a mile before the "hike started" We are dressed warm and full of energy at this point. Notice the hat? Kelly picked up her new beanie earlier in the week and it has quickly become her favorite new snow accessory.

Here I am on the right striking a pose for all that is good. Not really, it is not easy to come up with a good pose when the scenery is much more interesting than the subject of the photo. I think next time I'll stick to photography the scenery and be done with it. At this point my feet were still dry because we hadn't hit to much snow on the trails but that was bound to change. What is even worse is that Kelly's hiking boots are not waterproof. So as time went on her feet started to get wet. I was very impressed because she kept pushing despite the weather.

The last picture I have to share is of a mountain stream about 2/3rds of the way. With all the new snow the streams were running full again. Even the trails became small beds for run off of the snow melt. We finally made it to about 11900' before we stopped for lunch. We could see people continuing up and over the false summit to Pawnee Pass. We considered following them all for about 30 secs and then said no. We were both tired and wet and not ready to make it to the summit. Maybe next year we can go a bit more prepared or even better when there is no snow on the ground. Although that will be a bit harder because there are permanent glaciers in these mountains. Give me a ski lift and a board and I'm happy. There is no need to actually walk the distance. We finally went back to the car for hike of 8 miles round trip. The path in green above is the route we took.

No new update on the adoption front. If you know someone who is pregnant and needs help let us know and I'm sure we can get them the help they need. Also don't forget to tell you're friends that we are adopting because you never know who needs the help.

The Hottest New Dance Party!

2008-10-23T16:46:00.008-06:00

A couple weeks ago, we hosted a family home evening dinner at our house. Kim found out that we have the Wii Dance Revolution, so we set it up and played. I was shocked to find that the men in the group tended to have more rhythm than the women. I still kicked butt, of course, only because I have played the game more often than anyone else.

Since that night, Miguel has been coming home from work every day and practicing for hours at a time. I can't complain. I have been nagging him to exercise and this certainly counts. He works hard out there. I sometimes sit behind him on the couch and watch him shake his cute tooshie. More often, I listen to him talk back to the TV while I work on my research. "What do you mean, 'awful'? That was perfection!"

If we are still married next month, I think we will get a second dance pad for our anniversary so that we can compete.

Still Married

2008-10-23T16:34:00.005-06:00

A few weeks ago, I spent an entire day at the temple. It was a Tuesday and I recognized many of the ordinance workers because I used to volunteer during the afternoon shift. It has become my custom to go a bit early each week, eat a bowl of their soup of the day, and then attend two consecutive sessions to purge myself of daily cares.

On this particular Tuesday, I sat down with some friends in the cafeteria. These friends are a generation or two older than me for the most part. When I joined them at the table, they asked me right away if I was still married. They had looked at my left hand for a ring, didn't see one, and assumed that it was over. No... I just take the ring off to wash my face and then forget to put it back on for days at a time. That thing is lethal! I could put out an eye.

Miguel and I are nearing our three year anniversary. He says that this is a big one because people tend to get divorced or have a big argument at the three and eight year marks. So, we have begun to prepare for it. We have tentatively scheduled to argue over the relocation of our favorite cheese on November 19th.

Cheese :-D

Family Home Evening and Halloween

2008-10-23T16:30:00.000-06:00

If you haven't noticed it's October and that means: Halloween!

I can't recall if I mentioned it earlier but Kelly and I started a Family Home Evening (FHE) group. For those of you that are not familiar with "Mormon" culture, FHE is the time that is set aside on a weekly basis for a family to spend time together. This is typically on a Monday night. There are no church meetings and families are encouraged to spend time together. Activities vary from week to week but there is always a short gospel lesson and a focus on the family. Although family home evening should begin and end with prayer, it is not intended to be a formal class.

FHE can be difficult to manage if you are single or a married couple without children. So Kelly and I started a FHE group for couples that were in a similar familial situation. You can see a picture of our group in the first picture and if you look really close you can see Kelly's new hair.

Since it was close to Halloween, we decided to have some fun and carve pumpkins for our activity this week. I have to admit that I wasn't thrilled at the idea of being up to my elbows in pumpkin guts for most of the night. Boy was I wrong. We had a blast together, helping each other out and making some really strange pumpkins. I went for a traditional Halloween scene. It is the pumpkin on the far left, with wolves and the moon. Kelly's is a bit harder to see but she carved an aquarium scene that looks much better in the light than it does in the dark. You miss all the small details. Lindsey carved a cat sitting in the window, a very nice detail. Seth and Daniel carved the small pumkin that is smiling. Kimberly carved the white ghost/ghoul/goblin thing, very scary. And Seth carved a very nice Transformers Autobot, very nice.

No real updates on our adoption adventure. We continue to search/wait for a birthmother. So we keep up the faith and hope something will happen soon.

-M

Fantastic Contraption: A fun online physics puzzle game

2008-10-16T20:37:00.000-06:00

One very cool thing about the internet is that people spend a lot of time creating free games. This has become one of my alltime favorites. I love puzzles and I love physics. This game allows me to think critically and solve problems. More importantly it is fun. Log on and create an account and start at the begining. It gets much more difficult as the levels progress but I warn you it will be addictive!

Fantastic Contraption: A fun online physics puzzle game

Snow has come to the Rockies, sorta

2008-10-15T16:36:00.015-06:00

I have mixed feelings about today. I am excited and disappointed at the same time. You may ask yourself how that happens but it is very easy. If you haven't noticed before there is a countdown above the slide show. It is counting down to the start opening day of most of the resorts here in Colorado. But I bet you didn't know that the boarding season actually opens today! It's true I have proof. This is where I wanted to be. But alas I am stuck at work earning a living. I know it's not fair and not right.

Arapahoe Basin and Loveland Ski Resort tied for the first to open in North America. A-Basin ended its season in June of 'o8. For those of you that are counting that is 4 months between open and close. That is one of the many reasons I love Colorado.

Here's another:

From Keystone

To reiterate, I really wanted to be on the slopes today but was unable to make it. So here is the plan for the rest of this week:

Pull out the boards
Take then to get tuned and waxed
Take Friday off and hit the slopes

Even though A-Basin and Loveland are now open the rest of Colorado is brown and dry. The resorts are working feverishly to make snow and hoping Mother Nature will help with the effort. I expect it is going to be a great season but until I can have my acres of snow I will be satisfied to have that little strip of carpeted snow to get my speed fix.

Emotional Daze

2008-10-02T14:36:00.003-06:00

I learned this morning that my friend Melissa's son drowned the other day in a pond. I think he was about two years old. I have a difficult time guessing ages, but he was already walking and talking. He was beautiful. He was the kind of kid who didn't look like a baby at all but more like a miniature adult. He could have been cast in High School Musical. I only met him the one time in July at my brother's wedding. I can think of four reasons that this news feels so devastating. First, children shouldn't die. Second, I can't bear to think of Melissa in pain. I don't see her often, but my lasting impression of her includes a big smile and warm laugh. Third, I don't know what to do to ease her pain. I know that there are times when sadness is completely appropriate. If she didn't feel sad right now, there would be even more cause for concern. I just pray that she will be okay. And fourth, I just thought I'd have a chance to see this little boy grow up, even if only at a distance or on occasion. He was a sweet kid.

The gospel of Jesus Christ (as taught by the LDS church) promises that families can be sealed together for eternity. The sealing is the highest ordinance that can be performed and follows baptism, confirmation, initiatory, and endowment. People who are raised in the LDS church learn early on that they can be with their families forever, even after death separates them. This can be uplifting news, to some degree, but it would be wrong to suggest that the separation is not still painful even for those who believe the doctrine and have been sealed to their loved ones. One aspect of the doctrine that is even more comforting is that the sealing can still be performed on behalf of the deceased, as can the other ordinances.

I pray that Melissa can feel the love and support of her friends and family, including those of us who wish we were there in person, holding her and wiping her tears.

Kelly

Sunday mornings

2008-09-28T12:48:00.001-06:00

I am sitting in Sunday school right now and we are going over a talk that Elder Eyring gave last April. Kelly is teaching and it amazes me that youth of this age can have such amazing testimonies. They live through such adversity. The main point that most of them are making is that they start to develop their testimonies when two things happen. First is when they start to test boundaries and exert their independence. The second is when they hit a difficult time in their lives, usually when they leave elementary school and are exposed to much more in the "outside world". They start to look for an anchor and that is when their testimonies start to grow. It is not something that can be forced but it has to be experienced. The parents' responsibility is to give them a spiritual base and knowledge of the Gospel. I'm going to take that to heart.

When at first you don't succeed... aim higher!

2008-09-17T17:56:00.003-06:00

When I was preparing to go to college, I applied to several schools. I think this is a pretty typical approach. I picked one Ivy League school, one reasonably good state school and one that was decent, but out of state. My brother attended that one at the time. The idea was that if I didn't get into my "top" pick, I could fall back on one of the other two.

To be honest... I only really completed two of the applications. The Ivy League school required so much writing just in the application that I couldn't imagine how hard it would be once I got there. I had also heard that part of the campus is known for people jumping off a bridge during exam times. That was all I needed to know. I ended up going to Penn State... but that isn't the point of my story.

I think I have a tendency to make contingency plans, so that when my first pick doesn't work out, I have something to fall back on. This is a terrible mistake and I hereby repent. I know that my Father in Heaven has something in store for me, but I don't know what that is yet. What I do know is that it is something much BETTER than I would have picked for myself. In other words, if my first pick were Penn State, he would probably be planning to send me to Cornell. As a true Penn Stater, that is really hard to even use as an example, but you probably get my point.

Our first attempt at adoption didn't work, but what are we going to do about it? We are aiming higher. The baby we bring into our home isn't going to be our second choice, or somehow a compromise of quality. It is going to be the best possible baby, a top shelf baby, a world champion, grade A baby.

If that sounds like it describes the future of the cluster of cells currently floating around in your uterus, drop us a line. :D

Kelly

Making Saturday's Count #2

2008-09-10T14:04:00.050-06:00

Here I am trying to keep up with two goals. The first is to post withing 24 hours of something interesting, of course this post is late. I should have had it up days ago but traffic has been slow to the site so I don't think any one would have noticed were it not for the fact that I mentioned it. My second gaol is to always do something interesting on Saturdays. It is going to get much harder in the fall between the time when the weather turns colder and the ski slopes open for business. Also, I have to convince Kelly that leaving her dissertation work behind for a few hours is a good thing. So far so good on this goal.

The picture above is our hike. Not the most challenging one we've done this year but a beautiful hike. We hiked through a small canyon south of Franktown, CO. I like this canyon, the terrain is varried and the park is small so the traffic on the trails is much lighter. The canyon is part of Castlewood Canyon State Park, one of the smaller parks in the system.

We started late in the morning with no worries. It was a cool day and Kelly and I were looking forward to getting some exercise. We started on the northwest side of the canyon and decided to take the steep side fo the canyon first. This is the profile of the hike. This is by far the hardest part of the hike where we went straight up the side of the canyon wall. Fortunately, it is a well groomed trail and we didn't need to climb. I wish I had gotten some pictures of climbers in the area. This part is by far not the steepest part of the canyon wall. There were others we encountered that were doing free climbs. Kelly and I like to joke that rock climbing is a sport for skinny people. You would not cath me trying to scale anything higher than a boulder. I just don't trust that the ropes would hold me if I fell.

But we were in luck. There were no ropes for us today. On the of the wonderful things about

this canyon is the varied terrain and rock formations you can encounter, along with wildlife and strange people we ecnoountered on our trip.I will let you decide which one is the strange person and which one is the rock formation.

Did you know that there used to be a dam here in the canyon? Yep, its true. The dam was started in 1889 and completed in October 1890. The dam took 11 months to build and stood at 70ft high and 600 ft long. It had its first breach in 1897 and was repaired. After severe rainfall in spring 1900, Chief Engineer Welles responded to rumors that the dam was about to break by writing a letter to the Denver Times newspaper, which read: “The Castlewood Dam will never, in the life of any person now living or in generatio ns to come, break to an extent that will do any great damage either to itself or others from the volume of water impounded, and never in all time to the city of Denver.” (Castlewood Dam) Oh the folly of pride. In 1933 it rained and it rained and the dam was breached. It flooded most fof down town and the dam was given up for dead.

Here I am standing at the top of the dam.

And here is Kelly standing at the bottom of the dam:

Kelly at Castlewood Canyon Dam

Here are a few more pictures for you to enjoy:

Castlewood Canyon Panoramic

Castlewood Canyon Water Falls Panoramic

There's a chill in the air

2008-09-03T10:28:00.011-06:00

A couple of weeks ago it snowed in the mountains. Today the air was chilly and I was tempted to light the heater. It was an amazing change in the weather. Remember that just three weeks ago it was hitting 105 in Denver. Stepping outside this morning, I took in a deep breath and smiled. I love the fall because it hints of the coming snow. The leaves start to change and the weather becomes cooler. I think this is why Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. If history holds true, Kelly and I will be pulling out our boards and hitting the slopes of the Legend in mid-October with the other resorts scheduled to open on 11-8. I have to be honest and say that I'm looking forward to it. I am actually in better shape during the winter than I am during the summer months. Here's to fall and all the fun that comes with it.

-M

Making Saturdays fun.

2008-08-31T22:23:00.028-06:00

Yesterday we had a picnic with some friends at Eldorado Springs Canyon, a Colorado State Park, and it reminded me of this picture.

This is one of my favorite spots in Colorado. Fifteen minutes from home and we are in an isolated mountain setting. The picture above is actually from May of this year when Kelly and I went on a hike along the stream. Most of the times that we come here we take longer hikes but this weekend was different. Some friends joined us for a good old fashioned picnic. Cory and Kristie are a blast. We enjoyed good food and had a great time just hanging out and taking a short walk up a steep hill. Actually I guess the length is relative. I'm sure that Ethan would argue that the hike we took was much too long (since he is only 3 years old). I look forward to holiday weekends because they give us a chance to step out of our usual routine. As much as I enjoy my career, sometimes it feels good to get out of the office and into the great outdoors. Enjoy the pics.

-M

Autumn leaves. Nobody falls.

2008-08-22T13:46:00.004-06:00

About the time that Miguel and I flew to Seattle, it was about 100 degrees in Denver and stayed that way for nearly a week. (yes, the grass died) We were so happy to leave the heat, and so happy to see so many family members and friends... especially because it gave us the opportunity to share the news that we would be adopting a baby girl when we got back... or so we thought.

Autumn, the birth mother, asked us to adopt the baby only about a week before we left for the trip. When we first talked to her on the phone, she scared us a little bit with some dramatic stories, and we wondered what kind of trouble we were getting ourselves into. We prayed and went to the temple to try and find the spiritual confirmation that this was a good choice. While I was sitting in the celestial room of the temple, I closed my eyes and imagined Autumn's daughter as a high school senior playing in a volleyball match. She was beautiful and tall with smooth, tanned skin and long, wavy chestnut hair. She was confident and cheerful and made other people feel the same way. I fell in love with the little girl who was my daughter too.

We met Autumn the next day and felt confident that this was a good match for us. I know these are very superficial reasons, but Autumn is very tall, like me, and wears the same size shoe (a whopping 12). She was also a really good mother to her toddler, Andre, who joined us for lunch. She told us that the baby's father was similar to Miguel in stature and that the baby would more or less look like ours. We certainly didn't require the pseudo-genetic match, but that was cool. I can imagine worse reasons to pick a couple to raise your baby.

When we returned from Seattle, the temperature had dropped by about 50 degrees. That even sounds like a lot to Coloradans. It rained for days, flooding parts of the city and pummeling our tomato plants. They never really recovered.

During the deluge, we got a call from our case worker letting us know that the baby had been born and that Autumn was struggling with the decision to place her outside the family. A cousin had expressed interest in adopting, and other family members were putting pressure on her to agree. Miguel sounded so calm when he told me that it took me a few minutes to realize what was happening. Then I cried like I was competing with the rain. The only thing I could think to do was to kneel and pray that the Lord would comfort us during this difficult period of uncertainty, and that I would respond well to the test. I think I cried for two days straight.

By Sunday night, it was abundantly clear that this particular adoption would not be happening. The state of Colorado had taken custody of the child because of an open case that Autumn had with her son Andre. They placed the baby in "cradle care" with the cousin. We just heard that the cousin has had her home study approved and will be adopting the baby.

As miserable as it was to hear that this child would not be coming into our lives to stay, I knew that everything would be okay. The baby was healthy and in good hands. There really was no harm done. We received the comfort that we requested in our prayers. These are the experiences that help to move us into the right places at the right times.

We aren't just looking to adopt any old baby. Autumn's child was obviously not ours to raise, so we have gone back online with the adoption services (see links above) so that we can find the one that is. If you happen to know of an unborn child who is intended to live a fabulous life, just ask our case worker (also Kelly) about us.

'nough said.

My (brother's) Big Fat Gay Wedding

2008-08-22T12:53:00.003-06:00

Miguel and I attended my brother's wedding in Seattle on August 2nd. You may be wondering how a latter-day saint feels about a gay wedding. I even had a few people ask me that. Fortunately, I was given the opportunity to answer the question in the form of a premeditated toast. My husband filmed the toast, so I may be able to link the video clip later. For now, you get to read my rough transcription.

Here it is:

I’ve had a long time to think about what I would say here this evening – approximately 36 years and 10 months actually. I hope my verbal expression does justice to the ideas that have been floating around in my head for such a long time.

Alan and I enjoyed an ideal if not magical childhood. Quite a few images come to mind when I think of it.

· I picture Alan as a swimming pool superhero, racing down the pool path wearing a beach towel on his head tied on with goggles. I followed closely behind, not just because we were late for swim practice and not because I couldn’t beat him in a race, but because the path was buggy at that time of the morning and I was happy to let him be the first to break through the cobwebs.

· I picture Alan playing a hand held video game while squashed into one of the cubicles of his closet cum space ship. I played space invaders in my cubicle and I can’t remember what his game was.

· I picture him racing up the stairs on all fours and crashing into walls to be the first to answer the phone when it rings.

· I picture him bouncing on the downstairs couch and doing a flip before landing in the beanbags that were carefully lined up on the floor. That sight is even more spectacular when a beanbag has a small hole and the landing sends a puff of little white beads into the air. We were future Olympians at the time, perfecting our routines.

I would describe more of these scenes, but he asked me to give a toast, not a eulogy.

Alan meant the world to me and still does, but during our childhood especially, he was my best friend and my other half. So you can imagine how painful it was when he went away to school and to Cavaliers and to the State Street Review. A half of me was torn away and I spent a good part of my teenage and young adult years trying to get that feeling of completeness back. I became the Cavaliers most dedicated groupie. I followed in his footsteps to some extent by performing in an indoor colorguard. I “borrowed” pieces of Alan’s clothing, often failing to return them, but only to keep a piece of him close by.

Some of you may be unfamiliar with this phenomenon, but I imagined that Alan and I had a special biorhythmic connection. Yes, I was a product of the 70s. There were special machines in arcades, like the fortune-tellers you still see, but they read the natural rhythms of your body. You would place your hand on a handle or something like that and the machine would quantify and illustrate your feelings about certain aspects of life on a long graph with several squiggly lines. I imagined that when Alan had difficult times I could feel a low point in my happiness biorhythm and I would give him a call to see what was going on.

I didn’t like to share my brother. It bothered me when school friends claimed that they knew something about him that I hadn’t heard first directly from him. You might expect that as a younger sibling I would envy his popularity. I actually enjoyed it for the most part because I enjoyed a special status with him. The other people might be his friends, but I was his sister.

For the past five or six years, however, Darren has challenged that status. I’ve had to get used to the idea that another person could supersede me as Alan’s other half. You know they say you aren’t losing a brother, you’re gaining a second brother. Well they – whoever that is - clearly underestimate the uniqueness of the relationship that we shared.

No, the relationship that is forming between Alan and Darren is something completely new and more powerful than siblings. As much as I enjoy Darren as a person, his growing status with my brother has been a difficult transition for me and I have not always accepted it gracefully. I take some comfort in knowing that these relationships are expected to change as we grow up. If I may misquote the prophet Moses:

Therefore shall a man leave his sister or brother, and shall cleave unto his spouse; and they shall be one flesh.

Alan has succeeded in finding his new other half. I can only imagine that Darren is even more attractive as a swimming pool superhero, and that he’ll give Alan a run for his money when they race to answer the phone. I have been supplanted by this lucky man… but I still claim the biorhythmic connection as my birthright and I can tell you with absolute certainty that Alan’s love biorhythm is as strong as I have seen it and that he is deliriously happy.

I propose a toast to Alan and Darren and to the love that fills this room today. May they always feel the admiration, support and love from friends and family as they do right now.

Pictures from Our Seattle Trip

2008-08-21T14:16:00.009-06:00

First things first. Here are few pictures from our trip to Seattle.

This was the first time I've spent more than a day in Seattle. My previous trip I was there for a day on businness. So Kelly and I did all the "touristy" things. Not a bad trip really. so here are a few highlights. First the Blue Angles were in town and they were practicing all week. Got some pretty close up shots. Here's my favorite:

The reason I am so proud of this one is becuase it came out so clear. I spent most of the week getting buzzed by jets and this the best picture of the group. It is clear enough that you can make out the numbers on their tails. We also spent the week riding the monorail, going to the top of the space needle, touring underground Seattle, and enjoying the public market.

The Space Needle in all its glory. Here is the view from the top. Click on the picture to get the full size. And if you look very closely you can see Mt. Rainier in the distance.

I'll let Kelly tell the stories of our trip, she has a talent for it. But I did want share one more picture. We found the Chief of Seattle and the boat too!

We've gone national

2008-08-19T14:52:00.003-06:00

We have started advertising on parentprofile.com. You can find our profile here. Feel free to pass this to anyone you know. We'll also be rotated onto adoption.com, parentprofile.com home page, and other sites. This should increase the exposure we get to a national level.

Its has been a while

2008-08-18T14:12:00.007-06:00

It has been about three weeks since our last post on this blog. There are good reasons for it and I was hopeful that our next post would bring good news. About three weeks ago, we were selected by a birth mother to be an adoptive couple. It's hard to describe the emotions that come up with an announcement like that: excitement, a bit of trepidation, and a smidgen of apprehension. Yet, we threw ourselves into the challenge and started preparation for the eventual arrival. We met the birth mother, bought a new car for Kelly, and even registered at Babies-R-Us. However, God had different plans for us.

This past Saturday, the birth mother gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Regrettably, the State of Colorado decided to get involved. Due to circumstances beyond our control and the control of the birth mother, the state took legal custody of the child. In short, they have very different views as to the best situation for a child. While we look to provide a mother and father that can be sealed to a child, Colorado looks to maintain and protect family relations. This means that physical custody of the child was given to a cousin of the birth mother. While there is still a small chance that we may eventually have the opportunity to adopt, the chances diminish as time goes on. This made for a very difficult weekend and yet we have made it through and look forward to a different future. Faced with our new reality we are now proceeding to reactivate our adoption profiles and move to what the Lord has in store for us.

Thank you to all our friends and family that have given us their support through this difficult time. We are truly grateful to those that have kept us in your thoughts and prayers. We have confidence that things will work out for us and that our best adventures are yet to come. These convictions comes not from blind faith but an assurance that things will work out as they should.

Now that we have more time we will be updating our blog more often. There is still our trip to Seattle to catch up on. Thank you again for all of you that have provided your support.

Big news coming!

2008-07-28T10:58:00.003-06:00

If you haven't heard you probably will. We have big news in the work but we're keeping it on the down low for now. Keep tuned and we'll keep everyone updated.

A bit late but still made it to the blog

2008-07-22T12:10:00.005-06:00

Kelly and I have been sooooo busy this last week we haven't had time to update the blog. It's been one thing after another. How are you supposed to keep other people up to date when you can barely remember the day of the week? I can tell you it is near impossible. Now here's the problem, do I go back and create a blog for each day and back date it or just create a monolithic blog entry for all our adventures? I think I'll go for that latter. It makes it easier to keep up.

Thurs July 17

Kelly and I went on a "Temple Trip." The youth went to do baptisms and we were there to help out. This is probably the thing I enjoy most about being a youth leader. Is the opportunity to help out. It brings back memories of when I was younger. Living in El Paso, the closest Temple was in Mesa, AZ. That meant a 12 hour bus/van ride to the Temple. We usually spent the night in dorms there, that have now been converted to the genealogy library. It was a great adventure and the memories are fond.

This time around there were about 24 youth that went. It is amazing that you can get that many 12-18 yr olds in one place and maintain the reverence of the temple. We have a really good group and I am very proud to be associated with them.

Fri July 18

Friday we went to a Families Supporting Adoption (FSA) conference. It was supposed to be the entire day but ended up just being the afternoon. Kelly and I presented on "marketing" your profile and Birthparent Letter/Collage Design. It was a good discussion and hopefully we were able to help some people refine their Internet approach and template. Overall it was a good meeting. We finished with a BBQ and all went to a Rockies baseball game. And guess what we WON! Kelly is none to pleased because we were playing her home team of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Go Rockies.

Sat July 19

Kelly and I started the morning going to Wet 'n' Wild. It would have been a fun day had it not been for all the injuries. I scraped my big toe. :-( How depressing is that. But really it was fun to get out in the sun and enjoy ourselves for the day. We did find out that our sunscreen was not water proof and I ended up burning my shoulders.

But the day did not end their. We hooked up with the Soukos and hit the Batman:Dark Knight movie. All I can say is that it is an awesome movie. Very dark and Heath Ledger did an amazing job as the Joker. But if you are going to see it, be warned it is intense and dark. You'll finally catch your breath at the end of the movie.

-Miguel

Fully Expecting Miracles

2008-07-15T14:37:00.003-06:00

Last night, two couples joined Miguel and I for family home evening. We have been doing this every week for the past two months (except when I'm traveling) because we have found that as a young family we are inclined to skip them altogether and promise to start when we have kids. From what I've heard, it is just as easy to skip them with small children in the house, promising to start when the kids are a little bigger. I can only imagine that by the time they are old enough to participate, the pattern is already set. So we have decided to get ourselves moving in the right direction and to support other young families who are trying to do the same.

For the benefit of visitors: family home evening (aka FHE) is the latter-day saint version of family night, during which the family gets together for a song, a prayer, a short spiritual lesson, another prayer, some sort of treats and sometimes a game or fun activity. The purpose is to encourage families to spend quality time together and to strengthen their faith.

Last night I gave a short lesson that I called "Spiritual Detox". I think we are sometimes misguided to think that if we need something from the Lord, all we need to do is ask in prayer and He will answer us. For example, we are considering buying a second car so we could pray and ask whether it is a good idea to get a Smart car or if we should get one with a back seat. I fully believe that God answers prayers, but that isn't really how it works. We need to support our prayers with faith.

A few weeks ago I read a book called "Lectures on Faith". The book explained that three things are necessary in order for faith to be effective. First, you need to know that there is a God. Second, you need to have a correct understanding of God's attributes. And third, you need to know that the course of your life is in accordance with God's will. That last one tripped me up at first because I focused too much on my life options... should I teach a class this fall or take time off to finish my dissertation? Instead, I need to remember that God's will and God's commandments are the same thing. So the spiritual detox is a process of assessing how well I am keeping the commandments. Then, when I ask for help in a prayer, the answer will come by whatever means the Lord sees fit.

Here's an example. You may have noticed that Miguel and I are working pretty hard to become adoptive parents. There is a bunch of paperwork and background checks at first. Once we were approved, we needed to start fishing, so to speak, so that people who are looking for us know that we are looking for them. We have an online profile, a printed pamphlet all about us that our case worker distributes to his clients, and this blog so far. So this morning I got a call from a social worker in Adams County who is working with a woman who is pregnant with twins. She was calling - get this - because she saw my ad for an air conditioning unit on craigslist and she wanted to buy it. I told her that if her client was interested in placing the babies for adoption, we would be happy to take both of them. She was shocked when I mentioned it, and told me that God must have guided her to call me. She has been encouraging her client to do just that.

I have no idea if this will lead to us having twins drop miraculously into our home, and the likelihood is pretty slim. Still, you get the idea. Nobody tries to adopt children by advertising air conditioners, or else we would have been doing that all along. But, when we are keeping the commandments, miracles like that can happen and I fully expect that they will. So I have been moving furniture around in the house, preparing for our new arrivals: Goldstar Two-Speed and Craig.

Over and out.

Blog Failure!

2008-07-11T09:05:00.009-06:00

Last night I wrote an epic blog, detailing my exciting final day of the ACSP conference. When I was finished, I clicked the "publish post" button, and the computer kindly reported a malfunction, explaining that my blog was unrecoverable. I was very disappointed in my blog for its insolence, and considered calling an emergency family home evening to set forth my expectations. Instead, I read my book and ate some cookies.

So you may be wondering about this slightly off-center picture just above me here to the left. I was not planning to attend the whole day of conference yesterday, but found so many things that I wanted to hear on the program that I ended up doing just that. Around lunchtime, I got a call from my friend Carolyn (in black) and we met with some other friends, Chris (white) and Neha (green) at a little hotdog stand near the Marriott. We were enjoying our lunch at a picnic table in the parking lot when the new director of my department, Kevin, happened past. With a delighted smirk, he congratulated us on our authentic Chicago lunch experience. The crookedness of the photo is due in large part to the perch of the camera on a garbage dumpster that stood inches from our plastic table.

I share Kevin's enthusiasm for mundane tourism, and I will hold to that as my excuse for not visiting any museums during this trip. I did take a couple photos on my way to the train however. The one you see here is a delightfully wonky view of rush hour traffic on Michigan Avenue, the "magnificent mile". This street is comparable to Rodeo Drive in California (Beverly Hills maybe?) and has lots of fancy shops. Last year I did quite a bit of window shopping and finally broke down and purchased a small bottle of my favorite brand of body wash. I can't remember the name right now, but the packaging is always a brown and pink plaid. The scent is described as delicately floral and it reminds me of jelly beans.

This street is the focus of the downtown, especially for tourists, so there is always a lot of activity. When I arrived in Chicago, I went out to find the Marriott hotel so that I would know where to go for the conference. During my short walk I was accosted by at least a dozen environmental activists who only wanted a minute of my time to save the lake. I think there were as many pan handlers who only needed enough money for a cup of coffee. They probably picked the right place to hang out.

I'm hoping that my photos of traffic and crowds of people will be useful for my lectures about urban life. One of the conference sessions that I attended yesterday was all about congestion. I went into it pretty sure I knew what that was and why is was a problem... and left with a wholly different understanding. You would think that congestion occurred when there were too many cars on a particular street, right? Not so. Instead, it is the unmet capacity of a roadway. If so many thousands should be able to pass through in an hour and they aren't meeting that rate, then the road is considered congested. Interesting, ne c'est pas?

This next photo is mostly for comparison's sake. Chicago has a river running through the heart of downtown, leading to lake Michigan. This is not unusual for industrial era cities, since the rivers were so instrumental in moving resources to and from factories. Denver has a river running through it as well... the Mighty Platt. I wish I had a photo of that to show right now, but I'll have to post one later. The Mighty Platt is about as mighty as the Rockies were this year, and may have been ankle deep at the height of the spring rain. I can imagine tourists' disappointment when they go to see the Denver Symphony Orchestra on the river and have to wade through muck in their strappy sandals to get to the barge. Just to help you form a mental picture, I am including a photo of my new strappy silver sandals below.

For those of you who are reading this because you are trying to get to know Miguel and I from a distance, you should know that I am an enigmatic combination of tomboy and princess and I am looking forward to taking my kiddo on all sorts of magical adventures that would put Disney to shame. Miguel is also an exercise in delightful contradictions, a lover of fantasy, but a grounding influence for me. I'm sure you'll get to know him through his entries as well.

Ciao.

Dinner Time

2008-07-10T19:59:00.003-06:00

One of my favorite reasons for visiting Chicago is that my mom's very fun cousins (Janis, Stuart, me, Phyllis and Terry - left to right) live there. I took the train for just about forever it seemed (since I was late) and met them at the Noye's street cafe, which was almost directly under the tracks at the Noye's stop of the purple line. The dinner was fabulous when I finally had a chance to take a bite of it. I had so much energy that I got caught up in swapping stories and forgot to eat. They were the instigators that got the whole family together for a reunion a couple years ago, and we're hoping to do it again. It may take their leadership to get things moving this time too.

-K

Bloggers Anonymous

2008-07-09T15:46:00.003-06:00

Hi. My name is Kelly and I'm a blogaholic. I can't get enough of this online journal. I think I may be a closet exhibitionist because it is way easier for me to write a journal entry when I can imagine an audience reading it. I think Miguel is the opposite. He would much rather be the one looking at other people's secrets. We make a sick team.

My presentation this morning was awesome. Yeah, there were a few glitches... I didn't have the right adapter for my mac, so I had to borrow a pc for the presentation and some of the words came out looking like censored explitives... d@*%#h. I'm not sure why the imaginary explitive that I just wrote turned into a hyperlink. Whatever you do, don't click on it! I will not be held responsible for the contents of that hyperlink.

So anyway, I feel pretty good about my presentation this morning. Four of us presented and I went second. The first woman, Noreen, wrote some of the articles that I was citing, so I just told the audience to ask her if they want more information about that stuff. She set me up so nicely with some of the things she said in her presentation that I felt like the main attraction in an infomercial. The facilitator only fielded questions after the fourth presenter, so naturally they were all directed at him. I wasn't sure if my presentation was so clear that there just wasn't anything to ask about it, or if it was so cryptic that the audience didn't know where to begin. I talked to some people afterwards, though, and they seemed interested in the project.

I had planned to leave after my session, but Noreen invited me to a faculty women's interest group luncheon and then got me a free ticket. How could I pass that up??? It turned out to be a great opportunity to network with all the people who write the articles and books that I've been studying in school. I felt like I was meeting celebrities, but they were all pretty casual about it so I acted cool too. That's why I don't have photos to upload today.

On the way home the train wasn't crammed full of people so I got to sit down and check out everyone's shoes. I love shoes, have I mentioned that? Anyway, one girl had little strappy gold shoes on and I am pretty sure she was the princess.

A bientot

Kelly

Princess for a Week

2008-07-08T17:03:00.002-06:00

I may have mentioned earlier that I finally got the air conditioning working last night. Now that my borrowed bedroom is cooled off, I can say that I feel like a princess. It is no exaggeration to say that I am living in a house fit for Kings. I would feel more envious of my friend Alison who lives here for real except that the last time I saw her in person she was at wit's end raising three little toddlers at once. I didn't get to see her during this visit, so I can only hope that they are getting to a manageable age and that she is getting some rest finally.

Since I am a princess this week, I took the liberty of purchasing some appropriate shoes. They are silver little strappy slides with a heel that makes me walk sort of crooked. (It doesn't take much) I actually got them to wear with my pink suit at Alan's wedding in August, but I've been walking all over the house for practice. They remind me of the princess outfits that we got for our niece last year for christmas... except that she could wear one on both feet.

My last princess item of the day: lunch at Joe's seafood prime steak and stone crab restaurant. I went there with Pamela, a professor friend, and we indulged in some pretty fancy fare. The crab bisque and key lime pie were amazing! I am having my leftovers for dinner tonight - a chopped salad with all sorts of yummy fishies on it.

Yes, I'm home tonight. My presentation is first thing tomorrow morning, so I need to figure out what I am going to say. The conference sessions today were pretty good... the first one was the best. It made me realize that the work I am doing is actually very timely and significant. I just need to explain it well.

Toodaloo.

Cruising Chicago

2008-07-08T07:22:00.003-06:00

Every conference should start like this. The Marriott lobby was overflowing with people from dozens of countries, all mingling and wearing their little name tags. We walked to Navy Pier and boarded two ships that would circle the lake for four hours. On the first floor, there was an air-conditioned lounge with delicious appetizers and desserts, a band and dance floor. Waiters brought cocktails (and juice). I spent the evening with several professor friends and a few other doctoral students. In the photo with me is Manish, a professor at University of Washington who was a colleague of mine in Colorado. When we pulled back into the pier, the sky was dark and the city lights looked magical.

I hailed a cab back to Lincoln Park and got ready for bed... finally found the thermostat for the second floor!

Good night.

Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain.

2008-07-07T08:37:00.002-06:00

When I first moved to the west I worked as a landscape architect. My coworker asked if I had experience with irrigation systems and I told her that I worked on some drawings for a big corporate site once, but most people didn't have them where I lived. She laughed and asked, "how do they keep the lawns alive?" Well, where I grew up, water fell from the sky every so often.

Today is one of those days in Chicago. Buckets of water are falling from the sky. The drops are so big that when they hit the skylight, they sound like huge balls of hail. It scared me this morning when I woke to the sound and thought someone was breaking into the house. We can only dream of this kind of rain in Colorado.

When I went to Chicago last year for the dissertation workshop, the air was heavy with humidity for the first few days and we were all soaked with sweat and looking pretty raggedy. Then the storms came. It rained all day and all night. After it stopped, the weather was beautiful for the rest of the week. I think it's doing it again.

K

First day in Chicago

2008-07-06T14:36:00.002-06:00

I arrived in Chicago very early this morning and took two trains to get from O'hare to Alison's place in Lincoln Park. I set off the alarm by accident and it took about 10 minutes and the help of the police (who called) to figure out how to turn it off. I am house-sitting, so hopefully I won't wind up in jail for breaking in. Alison and her family are in Massachusetts this week visiting family and she kindly invited me to take their place while they are out of town.

This week is the ACSP-AESOP conference and I will be presenting a paper on Wednesday. Academic conferences may not sound like a fun way to spend a vacation, but they are very inspiring. I am hoping that after hearing people describe their projects, and getting feedback on mine, that I will be ready to crank this thing out.

Chicago is a beautiful city. I walked to Trader Joe's this afternoon and was completely surrounded by lush vegetation the whole time... and Lincoln Park is a very urban neighborhood. I am looking forward to going into the city tomorrow and visiting the beach. I'll also be going on an evening cruise with the conference folks.

This is my first blog post ever. With any luck, in future posts I will include some photos from the trip.

K

July 4th

2008-07-04T14:52:00.003-06:00

We spent the 4th enjoying the day. I was so looking forward to the weekend. The day started really early with Kelly doing a 5K run. Normally it isn't something too bad for her but it wiped her out this time around, but it did not stop the fun! I played in a brass quartette latter that morning while we honored those that have served, it's a stake tradition. Later that day we spend the afternoon with friends eating good food and playing some of our favorite games. Of course, what would the fourth be without fireworks! We enjoyed them with friends and called it a night. This is becoming a yearly tradition.

First fish of the season

2008-07-03T22:54:00.005-06:00

Decided to keep the blog updated with thing more than just our adoption process. Even though it is one of the more important things we are doing right now we are really are more than just the adoption. Today was a short day at work because of the Holiday so Kelly and I decided to go to the lake. She went of kayaking and I stayed on shore fishing. I don't go very often and I have terrible luck but it is a quiet distraction. But today my luck was different. I caught a nice 13" lake trout. I know, I know not the most impressive fish but it was a nice change of pace from my usual luck. Looking forward tomorrow. Should be a fun 4th.

The official letter came in

2008-07-02T10:46:00.003-06:00

This week we finally received the official letter from LDS Family Services. The verbal was last week and we went ahead and proceed as if it were real. Now we have written proof that we are good enough to adopt a baby. :P We are excited but a but a bit disappointed. We've worked so hard to get to this point and now it is almost anti-climatic. Yeah we're here but where are all the people that were supposed to start looking? We know, no really we know that that is an unreasonable expectation but you always hope that it will go quickly. So we will have patience and enjoy the life we have and hope. Here's to the upcoming 4th! Party!

Share this with your friends

2008-06-26T15:26:00.005-06:00

In an effort to get our names and profile out we ask that you share this profile with as many people as you can. This file is a soft copy of the adoption profile on record with LDS family services. You can find the PDF version of our adoption profile here. Please download it or share the link with any one that you know that may be looking into adoption as a birthmother. If you are a birth mother take a look and send us an email.

Every thing is ready to go

2008-06-26T12:51:00.003-06:00

Well after much fustration we are finally searchable on the LDS Family Services web page. I took a while to get everything to their liking. So without further ado here is our profile. We will now focus on getting our profile to everyone we know. We've are also working on getting our profile submitted to Arapahoe County adoption office. Wish us luck.

2008-06-23T16:27:00.005-06:00

Here is our profile at LDS family serivces. I think this will be a temporary link that we'll update as soon as we have a permanent address.

Were approved!

2008-06-20T17:06:00.002-06:00

We finally completed everything we need to do to get the adoption done. We're done with this small part. Now comes the hard part. We hope and pray that a birth mother will choose us to raise their child. It will take a bit of marketing and a bit of luck. The letter and collage we put together was a stroke of inspiration. I think it will generate inquires in the office but it does not gaurantee anything. I think we need to start spreading the idea by word of mouth. Also I need to find a way to post a pdf file to this site. Wish us luck!

Our first Post

2008-06-16T22:29:00.005-06:00

Kelly and I are looking to adopt. This will be one of our homes on the web. Look here for updates as they come. We hope to provide pictures, stories and updates on a regular basis. First thing to come will be a profile of our family. This is our first attempt at creating a place on the web so consider this an experiment. Hopefully it will go well.

-Miguel