One whole hand of years

Five years ago today, I was . . .

• realizing I would not, actually, be sleeping, and just gave up
• sending Sam a text asking him how he slept and not getting a response until 9 or so, since he slept great [This after him telling me, quite firmly, that he was in no way going to be able to sleep. Hah.]
• going to get my hair done, little knowing the evil intentions the misty rain had for my curls
• going to the mall to get my makeup done [which sounded like a good idea, but when they were running 1+ hours behind, despite my appointment? yeah, not such a good idea after all]
• meeting Sam at the Oakland temple
• getting sealed to my sweetheart "for time and all eternity"
• getting probably the single shortest talk from a sealer in the history of sealings
• taking pictures outside the temple with a white umbrella, due to the aforementioned drizzle
• being blissfully happy
• driving with my husband to our reception
• getting some impromptu bridals done while Sam went with my dad to pick up the food
• wearing my husband's suit coat and possibly slippers or flip-flops instead of my pretty wedding shoes [which, it must be said, are sadly uncomfortable and ridiculously cute]
• telling people that yes, I actually had gotten married and that the absence of my groom was due to the caterer losing our order and he and my dad (as well as my aunts) having to scavenge around local grocery stores
• putting olives on my fingers [Now really, if someone put jumbo-sized olives in front of you and you loved olives, would you be able to resist? I submit that you would not.]
• driving away with my husband in a car that got sadly graffitied, in the tradition of weddings, despite Sam having parked it so carefully away
• knowing I'd just made the best decision of my life

So, in case you couldn't tell, today is our five-year anniversary [that's a whole hand of years, by the way]. I thought then that I knew what happiness was; I realize now that happiness isn't a static state but a dynamic one, one that increases and intensifies the longer you give it reason to.

Now I'm going to get a little mushy, which is highly uncharacteristic of me [for some reason, the whole PDA stuff just makes me squirm, whether I see it or am the perpetrator], so if that makes you uncomfortable, feel free to stop reading.

Dear Sam,

Thanks for making these past five years the happiest of my life. I love how much I can trust you to always stand beside me and support me, regardless of the metaphorical winds and rains buffeting me and trying to pull me down. Saying yes to you was the best decision I ever made, and if I'd known then how much happiness it would bring me I wouldn't have been at all irritated by the way you led me on the whole day prior to you proposing. ;)

Thanks for being such a wonderful example of Christlike love and service and for always making me want to better myself and prove myself worthy of an eternal relationship with you. You're so much more than everything I ever dreamed up whenever I imagined my eternal companion. Every day I can't believe how lucky I am that you picked me and how blessed I am that Heavenly Father led us to each other.

I love you so much and am so excited about the eternity I have to spend with you. You're the sunshine to my every day, even when it's nasty and snowing outside.

Love for eternity,

Holly

We've been approved for adoption! Check out our incredibly awesome adoption profile at https://itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/24950903/ourMessage.jsf.

Holly + Sam + puppy = a very merry Christmas

So, some of you may remember that for Christmas last year, Sam bought me a dog collar as a way of saying he was ready to buy a dog. And, also as some of you may remember, I sort of freaked out when we actually went looking at dogs [some might say I discovered I have commitment issues], and we ended up going home just the two of us.

Well, a month or two ago we started feeling like maybe now we [and by "we" I mean "I"] were ready for a dog now. We started looking at KSL ads and everything, and then I started getting the panicky feeling I got last year. So I told Sam, "If you feel like now is a good time for us to get a dog, you're going to have to get one and surprise me." This is because I can handle the commitment if the commitment's already been made, but to choose the commitment . . . that's much more risky.

Well, it's no longer just the two of us. We've become a family of three! Meet Glorfindel ("Fin" for short--and 20 points to anyone who correctly identifies the origin of his name):

Isn't he absolutely the cutest thing you've ever seen? Sam surprised me with him for Christmas. He was so sneaky about it--I had no idea he'd done it until last night as we were going to bed and we heard whimpering upstairs. Considering our landlady is a firm cat person, I knew the whimpering was for me. Sam tried to ignore it and I tried to pretend not to hear it, but after it'd gone on for a while and gotten progressively louder, he turned to me and said, "Do you want one of your Christmas presents early?"

Fin is such a good little dog already. He's 1/2 golden retriever, 1/2 poodle (meaning he'll get quite big, we think) and is 10 weeks old. We started him potty training right away, and he's already got the idea that when we take him outside, it means it's time to empty his bowels. Also, he's learned what "no" means and learned that shoes always provoke a stern "no," as does chewing on clothes, toes, chair legs, etc. We went to Walgreen's [the only store open today, I think] and got him a tug-of-war rope and a little rabbit that squeaks, and he fell in love with both. Pretty much they're his new best friends.

Speaking of Fin's best friends, Sam's his #1 best friend. If Sam's laying on the floor, Fin will go lay on top of him, practically, every time. He makes a very good little shadow, too. We're watching Star Wars: Return of the Jedi currently, and he's been so funny during it. Despite being dead tired [We wore him out, so hopefully he'll sleep as well tonight as he did last night.], he'll sit straight up every once in a while and just watch the TV with this perplexed look on his face, like he just doesn't know what to make of it and the sounds coming out of it. I wish I had a picture of it. And he's soooo soft. I love to pet and cuddle him, and he loves to be petted and cuddled. We think he'll be a really good dog, especially if we're consistent with him.

So, welcome to the family, Fin! We're so excited to have you. Pretty much all we need now is a baby for you to grow up with. Family of four, anyone?

We've been approved for adoption! Check out our incredibly awesome adoption profile at https://itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/24950903/ourMessage.jsf.

Why adoption?

On the Provo Families Supporting Adoption blog this morning was a really good link about the Church's viewpoint on adoption. You can read the article here.

While the adoptive-couple-birth-mother setup was a little cheesy, I thought the actual article was really nice, on the whole. I especially liked how much they brought up that placing for adoption is the most selfless, supreme act of love an unmarried woman can do for her child.

I feel like all over the place people look down on birth mothers for taking the "easy way out" or for "abandoning" their child, when really she's broken her heart to give her baby the best possible life she can give him or her--which just happens to be with other parents. I've met several birth mothers since we joined the adoption community and have sort of blog stalked others, and they're among the strongest, bravest, most loving women I've ever met. Like the article says, placing their baby into the arms of another, forever, is the hardest, most wrenching decision they'll ever have to make. I have so much respect and admiration for them, and I was glad the article brought that up.

So . . . feel free to share the link and spread some adoption and birth mother love. Or at least read the article, since it really is well written and may or may not be misty-eye inducing.

Peace.

We've been approved for adoption! Check out our incredibly awesome adoption profile at https://itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/24950903/ourMessage.jsf.

The woes of my life

So, like many who believe that life is not a life if it's not filled with books, I've come to the point where I have too many books for my bookshelf(ves) and no room for another bookshelf, yet somehow my books keep accumulating. As in, I bring in a consistently good haul at birthdays and Christmas.

Sam's sought to rectify this situation today. He commandeered our ex-DVD shelf (the DVDs having long ago moved to a binder thing), which was just being used as general book overflow, display case, etc. Since the shelves aren't very high, he moved most of our paperbacks onto that and has most of our hardbacks on the main bookshelf. [We may or may not have an absurd amount of hardbacks due to me being something of a snob when it comes to paperbacks.]

Here is the finished result: [Note that these are just our fiction books. We have two bookshelves in the back room with random reference books, textbooks, books on CD, boardgames, etc. Just wanted to point that out.]

Apparently we have even more books than I thought we did, because even commandeering the DVD shelf as he did, there's only about half a shelf on the main bookcase that's empty. It doesn't look empty, I know, but the second half of the bottom is actually our current collection of library acquisitions. [We sort of always have a lot of those. "Always" as in always.]

I know the main purpose of his rearrangement was so we wouldn't have random stacks of books around the house. However, the main thing his rearrangements achieved is this thought going 'round and 'round in my head: Look at all that space. I can buy about ten more books and still have a bit of roominess.

So, really, Sam's an enabler. While I thought we had no room for no books, I could restrain myself from buying them myself--I could wait for birthdays and Christmas. Now, though . . . I know I'll be able to hold myself back through Christmas, but what about after?

I am, simply put, in trouble. We'll see where I'm at in February.

We've been approved for adoption! Check out our incredibly awesome adoption profile at https://itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/24950903/ourMessage.jsf.

Thanksgiving in Telluride

Growing up in Flagstaff, AZ I never thought that Thanksgiving would be the same anywhere else, but this year my parents invited us four boys and our families to Telluride Colorado for the turkey filled gratitude festivities. It was awesome. Definitely one of my favorite Thanksgivings ever. I got to ski!! It's been over a year! It felt sooo good to fly down the slopes or I guess I should say slope since only one run was really open because it is so early in the season. All the same it was awesome. Here's the map of my second favorite mountain in the world (San Fransisco Peaks will always be first on the list)


Even better than getting to hit the slopes was being able to just chill with my family. It was so good to see them all. We've got two new nephews who are simply the coolest and my niece is growing so fast. I really love being around my three brothers and my two sister's in law as well they just plain good people that are fun to be with. I don't know how I lucked out to get such a great family. I can't forget to mention my parents too. I wouldn't be half of what I am without them. They're always there for me. Holly and I were talking as we drove back to Utah and I think that we've visited Telluride more than we have Flagstaff :) Maybe that's why this place feels like home when we go and visit.



We played games, went ice skating, swam in the pool, and just visited. It seems like my family loves to cook, so all the meals were great and especially the big dinner. We even managed to be serious enough to go around and share what we were all grateful for. Holly and I got to hold our nephews and hang out with everyone. Good times!

Since this is a post about Thanksgiving I'd like to comment on what I'm most grateful for. Aside from God and life in general, I'm most grateful for my beautiful wife. She's perfect for me. Every day she makes me laugh and see how wonderful life is. Everyday she shows me what things are most important. She always encourages me to grow and to be all that I can be. We'll have been married five years in December. I'm so proud to be her husband. She always makes me look good. I love you Holly.

Oh and what's the best part of Thanksgiving, it's just the start of the Christmas season. Snow, gifts, food, carols, trees, friends, family and focusing on Jesus Christ, it really is the most wonderful time of the year. Happy Holidays everyone!

Hair, hair, hair

No, this isn't another post about my new haircut--which, can I just say, is every bit as cute now as it was on the first day? It looks almost as good when I style it as it did when I first got it done. [Shout out to you, Nicole, for giving me such an A+ haircut.]

No, this post is about a website/product my friend [lookin' at you, A-Row] just shared with me that made me laugh so loud Sam had to come over to investigate. [I'm working from home in my PJs under a snuggly blanket, feeling very pleased about not being in a cold office building. Shazam. Thank you, travel plans.]

The website is offering baby toupees. This is for all of you who have bemoaned having bald babies. Pretty confident it's a sure bet (or a homemade knock off of it) if I have a bald baby.

All right, I'll be honest--this is pretty much a sure bet even if my baby has a truckload of hair. Done.

The only difficulty I foresee is trying to choose between "the Donald" and "the Bob." Hmm.

We've been approved for adoption! Check out our incredibly awesome adoption profile at https://itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/24950903/ourMessage.jsf.

A vow very happily broken

So before I tell you what I've done to myself, I'm going to tell you about the vow I made.

A bit over three years ago I got my hair cut in a bob, which was my way of celebrating my last big haircut. As I was getting my hair cut, I made myself the promise that I wouldn't get my hair cut short again until I had a baby--as in, in my arms, not just in my womb.

So why the vow? Well, I love having short hair but wanted to try long hair. However, I don't usually last longer than a few months of growing my hair out before I'm done and get it cut. Unless I have a goal. Then I have a vague end date in mind, so the irritable stages of hair growth are manageable. My last goal of this nature was made during my freshman year at BYU when I decided I'd grow my hair out until I got married, expecting it to get very, very long, since I had no intention of getting married before I was 25. Yeah, I got married approximately a year later, maybe not even a year.

So this time I thought, what's a good milestone to use for this next hair growing experience? And then it came to me: a baby! I'd just graduated from BYU, so Sam and I were ready to add #3 to our happy family of two.

This goal was made back in the days when I thought I'd be like all my friends and get pregnant within two months of quitting The Pill. [You'll notice, M.C., I didn't use the term trying to get pregnant, since I know it makes you feel awkward and I'd hate to alienate you. Do you even read my blog? Anyway. There's my shout-out to you.] This meant I'd have approximately a year to grow my hair out, which was more than enough as far as I was concerned.

You might have noticed we don't have a baby and it's more than three years later. This little vow of mine, and how stubborn I can be, is Heavenly Father's idea of a joke. I'm almost positive He's laughing about it.

Anyway.

So I've been very patient about it. I've cut off about three inches total in the last 3+ years, mostly to even out my hair, which was in somewhat awkward layers from the bob. I've been a very good girl.

Then when we applied and were approved for adoption, I decided the vow didn't entirely apply to me anymore, since I would not be growing a baby in my womb. Actually, I decided the vow was pretty much finished, since it was sort of like tempting/taunting Fate as well as somewhat discouraging to me, since it was a reminder of everything I wanted but didn't have.

So . . .

Here's how long my hair was last weekend:

Remember, it's missing a few inches from the whole evening-out business. And don't judge the unevenness of the bangs. That was my attempt to trim them between appointments. Obviously cutting straight lines wasn't a skill I mastered in kindergarten.

I think you know what's coming next.

Yes, this is my hair as of last night. Love!

Isn't it ridiculously cute? Ugh, I'm in love.

The best part was I made up my mind to do this almost right after my last trim (two months ago), but I wanted to make it a surprise for everyone. However, I was a little thrilled about the possibility, so I told my carpool buddy. Give me a break, I'm trapped in the car with her two hours a day three times a week and it was news I was dying to spill. Of course I faltered.

The point is, no one else knew. No, not even Sam. He was pretty shocked. [i.e., he was staring at me all night] But he likes it. And I love it. As I might have mentioned.

And p.s., don't judge the pictures. They were my first attempts at the whole using-a-mirror-and-camera-on-your-phone-to-take-a-picture-of-yourself business everyone seems to be doing nowadays. Also, notice the faces. These come from my incapacity to smile normally for most pictures, especially ones I take of myself.

So now I don't look 12 anymore, right? I look like an honest-to-goodness adult. Right? Right?

[If you don't think so, just lie. I'm tired of being mistaken for a middle/high schooler.]

And p.s., feel free to tell me how much you love my hair and how cute I look. Thanks.

xoxo

We've been approved for adoption! Check out our incredibly awesome adoption profile at https://itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/24950903/ourMessage.jsf.