Hair

The girls did Alivia's hair.  Poor Alivia.  Brooklyn also did her own hair.  Oh the joys of being a 3rd child.  I wonder what torture I was put through...

Drawings

Brooklyn drew this.  She said it was a Nephite.  We have been reading the Book of Mormon and learning a lot about the different stories.  The yellow things on the arms are the yellow jewelry bands and the arms are actually swords.  There is a lot of fighting in the scriptures and Brooklyn keys right in on it.

I absolutely adore this picture.  Kenzie LOVES her Dora doll.  One day, she grabbed her Dora and traced her on this paper. Then she looked at her Dora very closely and tried to draw her eyes and such.  I was very impressed! 

Kenzie drew these caterpillars.  The girls LOVE bugs!

Kenzie drew this too.  She said that this is a picture of the big sister playing house with the little sister and the little sister is lying on the bed.  She said that it rained outside so there is a rainbow.  Side note:  I love that if Kenzie can't seem to find enough room to write her name in order that she makes sure all of the letters are at least on there.

I have tried to make it a habit of taking a picture of the girl's artwork before I throw it away.  I am not one to have a lot of loose paper around (I try, at least) so I wanted to create a digital copy of their artwork.  They literally draw dozens of drawings each day so I try and pick my favorites or their favorites to take pictures of with my camera.  I just love their little drawings.

Blast Off!

Kenzie hiding in the balls.

The girls wanted me to take a pic of all of them falling.  Alivia was a little daredevil and kept falling in then climbing up and doing it all over again.  She LOVED the balls. 

This is the dress up portion of Blast Off.  Kenzie loves this part of the whole experience.

 

Each day the girls do lots of good things so we reward them with a piece of candy in a cup.  At the end of the day they take one of those candies and put them in the Blast Off cup.  As soon as they earn 10 candies in the Blast Off cup then they earn a trip to Blast Off.  The big prize isn't always Blast Off, but you get the picture.  So, the kids earned a trip here.  They earned it a week earlier than this day, but they heard that Alaska Grandma was coming into town and they wanted to wait for her.  They had SO much fun there that day. They earned it! I have the best kids.

5 year anniversary...adoption...sealing

At the courthouse with the judge.  8 months pregnant too!

5 years ago today, March 3, 2007 we finalized our adoption with Brooklyn and also were sealed to her in the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Timpanogos Temple in Pleasant Grove, Utah.  What an amazing and sweet experience.  I remember during court the judge asked me my full name and I said Michelle Ruth Ewing then Tom nudged me and then I said Hall.  I was sure the judge wouldn't let us adopt her after I did that.  The judge was so kind and just smiled and went on with the next questions.  During the sealing I remember bawling and just beaming.  During the sealing ceremony sweet Brooklyn just looked up at the chandelier and was so good for it all.  We had lots of our family there for support and it was wonderfully sweet weekend that will never be forgotten.  We love you sweet Brooklyn.  Our family would not be complete without you.

If you would like to read more about what the sealing ordinance is all about and why we believe that families are forever you can go to www.mormon.org

Priceless picture

Brooklyn drew this for me.  I love it.

Throw up story

Last week I had a particularly tough day as far as nausea and such.  I woke up and just felt off and knew that I needed to just throw up to feel better.  Well, a little bit later I ran into the bathroom to throw up and Kenzie came racing in after me.  Anytime I throw up Kenzie rubs my back and tells me, "I love you Mommy.  You are so beautiful."  I love it.  So Kenzie came running in to console me and Brooklyn does her usual thing, she starts gagging.  I can't help it but I always smile when I hear it.  After I was done throwing up Brooklyn told me that I really need to stop that and that it makes her gag.  Then, later that day I had Justin (their cousin) over to play for the afternoon.  I had them all around the table ready for lunch.  I was in the kitchen and the whiff of the chicken nuggets set me over the edge.  I started throwing up in the sink.  Kenzie hopped up and started rubbing my back and telling me how much she loves me and that I was beautiful.  Meanwhile, Justin and Brooklyn are gagging again.  After I threw up, Justin asks me if I am sick and if I am that he needs to call his mom and go home.  I told him I wasn't and that I had a baby inside me that made me this way.  He then told me to use hand sanitizer.  Brooklyn told him that I do this all the time and that it makes her gag all the time.  They both rolled their eyes and went on with life. Kenzie then defended me and told them to be nice to me. I laughed so hard!   

It worked! Due Aug. 30, 2012

This is our baby egg that they transferred.

The X is where the egg was placed.  That is a picture moments after the transfer of the egg into the uterus.

Right after the procedure I had to chill for about a half hour.  I went on complete bedrest for the next 3 days.

Excited Daddy ready to find out how many eggs are there.

Right after Brooklyn found out she was going to have another baby brother or sister she drew this picture.  The picture is me with a baby.  She is so sweet.

The blastocyst.

Week 7

Week 9

Week 11

This is the note the fertility center gave me when I had my last appointment with them on week 9.  I had been going to that office for almost a year and grew to love that office. 

On Dec. 13, 2011 we underwent in vitro.  In July, we harvested 59 eggs, but after a failed attempt at putting in 2 eggs we had 1 frozen embryo left to put in in December.  The odds were 30%, but when the Lord has a plan, odds don't really come into play.  Prior to doing the frozen embryo transfer we prayed and asked friends and family to join in a fast for us.  We honestly put this last egg in the Lord's hands and felt at peace that what should happen, would.  Don't get me wrong, it was really hard and testimonies were strengthened throughout the process.  While we were waiting to find out the results and while I was on bed rest the first couple of days after the procedure Tom pulled the girls aside and told them that they had to be really quiet around Mommy because there was a baby egg in her tummy.  He told them that the baby egg wanted to grab onto the side and if it was loud or if there was fighting that the egg would get scared and let go of the sides.  I love his whole explanation of it all.  They were excellent throughout the whole process. We found out were were pregnant on Dec. 23.  What an amazing Christmas present!  My HCG levels were very high and the nurse said she would be surprised if we didn't have twins.  Come to find out though, we had 1...which I am very grateful.  I am 13 1/2 weeks and due Aug. 30.  In less than a week I will be into my 2nd trimester!  We are beyond excited and feel very blessed.

Princess Party

This last weekend the girls had a princess tea party they were invited to go to.  They were so excited and wanted to look just like the princess they were dressed up as.  They even showed me pictures to make sure I got it right.  If you look closely, even Alivia has makeup. :)  The Mom of the girl who had the party had her sisters dress up in their prom dresses and they acted as princesses.  Kenzie kept asking how they got there because they lived at Disneyland.  She was very inquisitive.  The mom got a really laugh out of all of Kenzie's questions.  They had an absolute blast.