Collages

How to Eat a Book by Rebekah

Many Expressions by Brigham

Things are definitely beginning to settle. The children are starting to test the limits, and the new Mom and Dad are realizing these children are here to stay. Things are still going better than we had expected. It's been a joy getting to know these children. It's funny how children can show totally different personalities when their tired from when their well rested. We sure love them!

Settling In

The biggest news is Brigham slept through the night in his own bed!! He slept from 8:30pm to 8:00am, way to go Brigham!

The children did really well here today. They are adjusting to our home and the way we do things very quickly. And our love is growing stronger everyday. It seems to me they get cuter and cuter everyday too!

Some of you have been wondering about the children's names- why we chose them etc. So, the following is my attempt to explain. Along with some cute pictures of today.
Brigham is named after the second prophet of our church, Brigham Young. Out of all the modern day prophets, Brigham Young was the one who served the longest. He was the one who took charge and led the persecuted saints from Illinois to the Utah valley in 1846-1847 . He was a great man and one that I respect very much. For our little Brigham's sake we were trying to think of a name we liked that William so that he could get used to it easily. We prayed about it and both felt (after meeting him) that he was our Brigham. We think it fits him well! He's such a sweet and obedient child.

Rebekah is young enough that we figured she'd get used to new name pretty quickly even if it wasn't similar. We wanted to use a name from the Bible or church history. One day about 7 years ago in Sunday School class we were reading about the story of Rebekah in the Bible. We decided there in class that Rebekah was such a neat person we wanted to name a daughter after her. Well, here she is and the name fits her well. We debated over the spelling for several days "Rebecca" or "Rebekah" But we finally decided on the K since that's the biblical spelling and the K adds a little spice to the name- she's our sweet, spicy girl. We feel her name really fits her as well.
And Hyrum's name we decided before the others. From the beginning we knew we were going to change his name. (Shawn is his given name.) One day before our adoption committee I was talking with the wife of our Bishop. She has been so supportive in our adoption, and she was telling me a story from church history about Joseph and Hyrum Smith and how they were sick on Zion's camp and they decided to go into the woods to take turns praying until they received a revelation that they would be healed. After much prayer, as Hyrum was praying, he saw "Mother Smith" (their mother) praying that she would see her sons again in the flesh. And from that moment he knew they would be healed. (And they were healed.) Now, back to the story of Bishop's wife. She said that as you're praying for these little ones to join your family, think of all of us who are praying for you as well. Later that day as I was thinking about that story. I received a personal revelation that our baby's name should be Hyrum. So it is and it fits him well.

Moving Day

Today was an emotional day for our family as it was moving day. We picked the children up from their foster home this morning. Rebekah seemed to have mixed emotions. She was glad to see us and wanted us to hold her, but then she wanted foster Mom, then me again. Brigham on the other hand was upset. He seemed to know what was happening as he saw his new Daddy carrying out the last of their toys and clothes. He clung to his foster Dad and didn't want to let go. But, Timothy picked him up anyway and we got them into the van. By the time he was buckled he had stopped crying, but he was still very sad. He cried off and on during the 5 minute drive home, but when we pulled into the driveway his mood switched abruptly. Suddenly he was happy and talking and excited to be back at our house. Rebekah was excited too.

Brigham and Rebekah with their new dolls from Aunt Shirlene, Thanks!

Moving the children into our home was joyful, but it was also a little painful knowing that their foster family was hurting and missing them already and that the children still had some grieving to do over losing the only family they'd known. I'm sure we'll see some effects of the grief over the next few weeks. I am so grateful I found this book called Toddler Adoption by Mary Hopkins-Best. It talks about how to help toddlers through the grieving process.

Brigham likes to hang out in front of the stereo turning it on and off and up and down.

Timothy and I are very grateful to have these children in our home. They are beautiful children and feel so blessed that God has seen fit to bless us with two toddlers and soon a baby to start our family. It makes the seven years of waiting worth it.

The children are adjusting to calling us "Mama" and "Dada" they used the names regularly today. They are also adjusting to their new names. When looking at pictures today Brigham saw one of himself and said "Brigham" and he's been calling Rebekah "Becka" for a few days now.

Rebekah enjoys brushing her teeth!

The little joys of parenting

I put mousse in Rebekah's hair to make the curls look like curls instead of fuzz. I also put two ponytails in. She looked so cute! I love having a little girl so that I can do her hair.

Finally, a picture of just Mommy and Brigham.

Dressed up after church

(ingnore my bad faces, it's hard to tell exactly when the camera is going to take the picture.)

Brigham and Rebekah love their Daddy so much they try to climb the gate to our bedroom while he's working on homework so that they can be with him. Do you see Brigham's foot? He's getting close! Rebekah has found the bathroom drawer and is getting into Mommy's hair dryer.

Brigham saw Sister getting into the drawer and thought he'd try it out too.

Then they teamed up.

First bath in their new home. Luckily it went well. If there's one thing this Mommy isn't experienced in when it comes to taking care of children, it's bath time. (I never bathed my child care children.) They loved the bath, though!

Last night was their first night in our home. That didn't go as well as everything has been going, especially for Brigham. Rebekah fell asleep fairly quickly around 8:30. SHe slept until about 2:00 and then was up for a while (Seems she was a little scared.) We finally got her back to sleep around 3:30am and she slept until 7:00. So, that wasn't too bad for a first night in a strange place. These children have been sleeping in their foster parents' bed at night, and our caseworker told us they couldn't sleep with us. So, they are going to have a hard time transitioning into a new home with new parents and having to sleep alone. Brigham was rocked to sleep by about 8:45 but, when we laid him in bed he woke up. He was scared and wouldn't sleep. At 9:40 I just climbed into his twin bed with him and he fell asleep pretty quick. But, he woke up again at midnight. I finally got him back to sleep at 1:45 and he slept until about 3:30. So, as you can see, I played tag team most of the night. Since the children were up at different times. Timothy helped get Rebekah to sleep after I had tried for 45 minutes, so I got a little rest. I was also able to sleep a bit between 4:00 and 6:00. Although it wasn't very deep as Brigham was tossing and turning the whole time. Needless to say, Timothy and I are very tired. But, we'll get used to it. We just hope we can get the children to sleep better before the baby joins our family!We found out that Baby Hyrum will be joining us sooner than we thought. He's going to start visits with us next week and on February 10th is his adoption committee. We will be the only family at the committee, so unless the committee has a major problem with us, he'll be ours. He will probably move in permanently between the 10th - 12th. His caseworker and attorney want him settled in our home before the trial on February 25th. This is the trial where they will hopefully be terminating the birth parents' parental rights for all three children.

Illness

Brigham's been ill with a fever and he threw-up last night and this morning. So, he's been cranky. But, he got feeling better for a little while today and was running around with Rebekah. He just wanted "Dada" to hold him, though. That's got to be so hard on a little fellow to be sick in the middle of this stressful time for him. We hope he's feeling better by tomorrow so we can go to sacrament meeting, but he won't be going to nursery at church. That will have to wait another week.

On a more positive note, Rebekah didn't want to leave today when her foster parents came to pick her up. She threw a fit and wanted Timothy to hold her. Yeah! That's our goal is to have the children wanting to be here more than they want to be at their foster home. Brigham didn't want to go back to the foster home on Wednesday and Thursday, but since then he's been sick and just wants his familiar people.

Yesterday afternoon I got to go over and hold my Baby Hyrum. It seems every time I see him at his foster home he poops, eats, and then falls asleep in my arms. (I guess that's really all babies know how to do, but it's funny that he's been messing his diaper each time right as I get there.) It's been good to change my baby's diaper a few times.

Pictures

Brigham, Daddy, Mommy, Rebekah

Brigham: (This is my piano.)

Rebekah: (Look, I can play the piano with my eyes shut!)

Rebekah walked over to Daddy and said, "Dada" as she tapped his leg. THat made Timothy happy to have his little girl call him "Dada."

Brigham and Rebekah playing the piano

Our family

Many Changes

This adoption is definitely a PROCESS. We are going through many changes in our lives right now. But, the biggest change is that we've decided to change the children's names, and have finally decided on names that we feel fit them. William's name is going to be Brigham Paul and Angelina's name is going to Rebekah Marie. We felt that changing their names to something we liked would help us lay claim to these children as our own. Today we began using their new names, but still intermittently using their old ones especially when they were unsure who we were talking about. While playing we used their new names, but when trying to get their attention we used both their old and new together. I hope this isn't too confusing for them, but we think they're young enough to adjust quickly. So, our three children are:

Brigham Paul
Rebekah Marie
Hyrum Christopher(sorry it's blurry the camera was on a weird setting)

Another big change is that two of our rooms have been altered into toddler/baby rooms.

Rebekah's room

The Boy's room-
Hyrum's bed

Brigham's bed

Well, life is interesting over here at our home, but we're sure happy and the children are adjusting well. Brigham and Rebekah's foster mom left them here for 3 hours today, and they were fine. Rebekah was tired and she had a hard time going to sleep, but I just rocked her while she screamed and she finally gave out. Brigham got a really worried look on his face when we were sitting down to snack and talking about our new family and new names, but it only took a minute before he was eating and ready to play again. I think the children know that a big change is happening in their lives, but their not sure what. We're just trying to make them feel as loved and at home as possible. But, that feeling that these children are our and are filling our hearts has been more present today. We are so grateful for the love of our Father in Heaven who has seen fit to bless this couple with three beautiful children.

Children in the home

William and Lina came over today and spent 3 1/2 hours here. Their foster mom stayed for about 2 hours then left for an hour and came back. The children didn't seem to mind her leaving them here. When she got back they weren't terribly excited, and they didn't want to leave. She kept asking William, "Should we go now?" Every time he would shake his head and keep playing.

Here's Lina inside the pop-up truck, she loved it, although you wouldn't be able to tell by her face in the picture.
Here's William in the hall
Here's Daddy and William - William wanted Daddy to help him get high enough to turn on and off the light.
Here's Mommy and Lina

Angelina and William eating a snack

William, Jessica, Timothy, and Angelina
I have to say, what a beautiful family! We are so blessed to be able to adopt these adorable children who are so young, have had a stable beginning, and haven't been exposed to substances. We are looking forward to having them in our home permanently to experience the joys and hardships of parenting toddlers.

Meeting William and Angelina

Today Timothy and I got to meet William and Angelina. It was a good experience. It went better than I thought it would. They were both shy at first, but after a while they warmed up to us. William went and sat on Timothy's lap for almost an hour while they looked at books and played a little. Angelina sat on my lap off and on and also sat on Timothy's lap for a minute or two. William is really starting to talk and we can understand most of what he says. Lina (Angelina's nick-name) says only 3-4 words, but is good at making her desires known. We mostly just played with them at their foster home, and talked with their foster parents. As we left they watched us out the window, they didn't cry, but they looked sad that we were leaving. It was probably rare for them to get 2+ hours with one-on-one attention from adults. We love them a little already, and I'm sure that love will continue to grow as we spend more time and get to know them better. Oh, I just feel so happy! We'll post pictures of us with them in few days.

Baby Shower!

Three of my good friends threw an adoption/baby shower for me yesterday. (For William and Angelina only, they say they'll do another for Hyrum when we get him.) I must say I was very spoiled! We got almost everything we needed to keep these children clothed and diapered for a while. Thanks to all who came and supported us! And especially thank you to those of you who put it together! It was great!
I was so nervous before the shower thinking about opening gifts in front of everyone, but it really wasn't too bad. Everyone there was just so happy for us to be expanding our family and everyone oohed and aahed over each gift.

William's Quilt

These quilts were made by the Relief Society President in our ward. She makes a quilt for each baby that comes into our ward. She has been busy because we've had 15 babies in the past year, not counting mine.

Angelina's Quilt

As you can see I was spoiled. I could barely get everything in our minivan. What a great gift from all our friends in this area.

Hyrum Christopher

Meet Hyrum Christopher:

We first got to meet him at church last Sunday, the 11th. What a sweet experience to hold my own baby in my arms for the first time. I love him already. We remembered to take our camera to church today, and got a few pictures of our beautiful baby.

It turns out his foster parents are in our ward, so we've been able to see him the past two Sundays and hold him during sacrament meeting. He is a good baby, he looks just like his brother, William, did when we was a baby. We aren't able to take him home yet, because we're waiting on some legal stuff. (We're still not sure how this whole legal business works. Luckily we have caseworkers and attorneys that take care of it for us, and we just get to do the best part!)
We'll probably get to bring him home in the next month or two. He is three months old today. And he is sure loved by his new mommy and daddy!

Adoption News!

Timothy and I are excited to announce that we are adopting William and Angelina, And later their baby brother whose name we won't say because we're going to change it.

William Paul is 2 years old. His birthday is September 12. He is happy and healthy! He likes to get into things around the house. He's just starting to put words together.

Angelina Marie is 16 months old. Her birthday is August 26. (They're only 11 months apart!) She loves to be held and loves to follow her brother around the house, helping him get into everything. Angelina is healthy too. Her talking is still just babbles.

The baby boy is 11 weeks old. His birthday is October 18th. He has dark hair and is healthy. He's a good baby.

We'll start transitioning William and Angelina into our home on Jan 20th. The baby has to wait for a trial to place him our home. So, we won't have him for about another month or so.

We are so excited! Here's a picture of William and Angelina! We don't have one of the baby yet.

Interesting note: William's middle name is Paul, just like Timothy's and Angelina's middle name is Marie, just like Jessica's!!!!! We're sure it's not a coincidence, but that the Lord planned it that way so we don't even have to change their middle names!!!

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers in our behalf. We know that they helped!

Love,
Jessica and Timothy

Chickens

Some of you know that we have chickens, others, this may be news. We started out with 6 chickens in the end of September. Then, one died a few weeks later, so we replaced it with two. Now, we have a total of Seven. Here's a picture of me with the chicks back in September. (Timothy built that coop from mostly scrap wood! Doesn't it look great?)

Here's the two plymouth rocks
Here is one of our five Rhode Island Reds
For the first time today we got two eggs from our chickens! They're small, but I'm sure they'll taste good!