Mt. Rushmore...Part 2

Part 2 means two months late I guess. Wow, time flies! We have had an amazing summer and well, that means this post will be wrapped up quickly so I can move on to posting about other things. But I did want to document some of it.

After we left Mt. Rushmore on Friday, we decided to walk around Keystone to see the sights. At first, we thought Jessica would be fine even though she had only had a short nap so far, because she was so excited to be in her stroller. Then, she started staring at the wheels of the stroller, and she fell asleep after we had walked about half a block. We leaned it back and kept walking, and she slept the whole time...even through a loud car alarm that went off just as we passed by.

There really isn't a lot to see when you are walking around Keystone, but we had fun. We stopped at this ice cream shop called Turtle Town, and ate some delicious ice cream (which she also slept through). This shop had a lot of fudge, and a lot of chocolate, but we only bought ice cream, so I can't tell you how everything else tasted...but it looked delicious.

They also had the World's Biggest Peanut Butter Cup, and it was huge! Andrew asked if they could take it out of the display case so he could get a picture of it. It cost over $70, and I swear they said it was over 7 pounds. They said you could order these online and that people actually do buy them, especially for Christmas gifts. I searched forever online to try to find any information on it, and I couldn't, except for the website which is above. It is not for sale right now...maybe because it would melt, but if you are ever in need of a lot of peanut butter and chocolate, you can go there and pay a lot of money for some.

Sorry...I forgot this was supposed to be a short and sweet post. That night, we went to dinner at a Chinese restaurant in Rapid City and Jessica loved the paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling. Our waitress was great, and she kept hitting them so Jessica could watch them. She also brought her her very own fortune cookie, which she enjoyed. The fortune was a perfect one for Jessica; it said: "Now is a good time to expand your repertoire of skills and knowledge." Jessica really took that message to heart and she has been learning so many new skills lately.

Well, our trip was pretty much over, so the next morning, we headed for home. The drive was much better and without snow. And on the way home, we passed a buffalo out in this field. We were so impressed that I told Andrew we needed to stop to take a picture. We did and we were on the side of the road for awhile trying to get some good pictures of this buffalo way out in the field. Here is one of them:

Then, we kept driving, and a few minutes later, there were a lot more buffalo. And they were much closer. We took a lot more pictures, and then, we just kept seeing them. There was this area where you could pull off the side of the road to read something, and the buffalo were all around that. We pulled in and didn't get out, but we did get some pictures...and look at that buffalo. He was huge! Moral of the story...don't stop to document the first buffalo that you see.

On the way back, we also went through this town called Hot Springs and Andrew saw this military cemetery up on the hill and he had to get some pictures of it. After trying to find the right road to the cemetery, and failing many times, we finally made it. They also have this beautiful building so we had to go check it out as well. It is actually the Veterans Affairs Health offices and well everything else. I don't know what all it houses, but I would love to go inside to have a tour! There is a museum, but they were closed that day.

All in all, it was a great trip (and we are excited to go back) but we were ready to be home, and we made it there...after we waited for the cows to cross the road. Yeah, really.

Mt. Rushmore or Bust

In May, we took our first real family vacation for the three of us. We've been to Washington, Utah, and to some other places, but this time, it was just the three of us and we were so excited! Living in the panhandle of Nebraska, we kind of feel like we are far away from everything, and we are...except for Mt. Rushmore! It was only a 3 1/2 hour drive, so we knew we needed to go! We planned up our trip for weeks, asked our friends about what we should do when we were there, booked a little cabin, and waited for the day to arrive. Around that time, spring decided that it needed a vacation too, and we kept checking the weather, hoping our vacation days would be filled with sun, not rain. It didn't change...but we were ready anyway, and left for our fun-filled trip.
We were a little surprised (and worried) when we drove through this on our way there...

Our plan for our first day was to go straight to Mt. Rushmore and see everything, walk around town, and then go back to the cabin around dinner time to roast hot dogs and smores. Well, things didn't go that way. The snow slowed us down and we made multiple stops along the drive to give Jessica a break and every time we did, we noticed her diapers weren't holding up like we want them to. She went through three outfits that first day, and we were a little worried we were going to run out of clean clothes! So, instead, we went straight to our cabin, and were thrilled to find that it was only raining and spent a lazy afternoon together. Andrew's birthday was the next day, but Jessica and I decided he should open one present then, so he did. 

Then, we realized the weather might be worse tomorrow, so we might as well go visit Mt. Rushmore, so we loaded up our rain gear and headed out. The people at the parking entrance said the cloud was just starting to part so we should be able to see the Presidents, and we could...through the haze of the clouds.

We wanted to make sure Jessica was warm and dry, so she stayed in her stroller and we wrapped a huge bag around her (her body, not her head...don't worry). She was thrilled!

We took a few pictures and headed back to cook our hot dogs inside the cabin instead. It was a great, wet day, and we were so glad we were staying in our warm cabin and not in a cold tent. The rain was pouring all night, but miraculously, the next morning, the sun came out for a little bit, so we thought we'd try it again. We drove through some more rain on the way there, but the clouds seemed to part just for us, and this was the view we got that morning. What a difference!

Even though the sun was out when we got there, we were still expecting the rain to begin, so we had all of our rain gear and cold gear on and bundled up Jessica in plenty of layers (leggings, pants, long sleeves, winter coat, hat, gloves, and a blanket wrapped around her). We were able to hike the trail, go to the Visitor's Center, and take lots of pictures. Throughout all of this, our extra layers slowly came off as we were roasting! Jessica rode in our backpack carrier and loved it. Andrew made a top for it so she would be shaded...and to keep out the rain just in case.

After we saw all we wanted to see, we had a picnic lunch and headed into town. We'll post more on that later. 

Oh, but in case you were wondering if Jessica likes family vacations, well, just look at that grin below. She loved it!!! 

Mommy's Little Helper

Jessica is the greatest little helper in the world!

She loves to help me decorate...

 

She helps me make the bed...

She helps me fold all the laundry...

And throw it into the dryer (she is the perfect height for this job)...

And, she always picks up her books, toys, and spices when she is done playing with them...

I love my little helper! I feel like the luckiest girl in the world!

Jessica's Story: Part 2

If you missed Part 1, click here. If not, keep reading.

Sunday, July 4

Our lives were forever changed this day, and it had nothing to do with fireworks! The day started off like a normal Sunday; we got up and got ready for church which started at 9 am. I was going to teach my Primary class, the 6 and 7 year olds, and Andrew was going to Elder’s Quorum. When I got to Primary, I even volunteered to teach another class because their teachers were out of town. Then, at 9:14, Andrew’s phone started to vibrate. We never used to take his cell phone to church, but the last few weeks, it went everywhere with us, and was usually hidden in his pocket, on vibrate. Once he realized it was his phone vibrating, he looked and saw Melinda’s name and rushed out of class to answer. She said her water had broken and she was heading to the hospital.

He came down to Primary and came behind my row and said, “We need to leave.” I asked, “Really?” and of course he said yes. Would he have really joked about that? I told them we had a family emergency and needed to leave, and left all my stuff there. Andrew grabbed his things out of his class, and we took off. At this point, it was only 9:18, so we were still doing good on time. I called Melinda and she said her water broke around 8:50, and they were on their way to the hospital. Fortunately, she was not yet having contractions, so she was feeling pretty good and ready for this baby girl to get here!

We got home, threw together the last few things we had and got in the car. The two hour drive seemed to go so quickly, although Andrew went the speed limit the whole way. On the way, we called and texted our family members and wondered if this was really happening! I had printed off directions to the hospital weeks earlier, but unfortunately, they weren’t the best instructions. Fortunately, we did have our atlas with us, so we were able to figure out where we were going without too many problems…although it was still a little stressful! We made it there, and got up to her room about 11:45.

Melinda’s contractions started just before we got to the hospital, but she was doing amazing! We were able to visit with her, walk around with her (for a little bit), and enjoy being with her more. She was doing great, and then all of a sudden, things started to change, and the contractions started getting worse. We left the room for a little while, and were actually going to go eat something, and then, they told us to not go anywhere. She was dilated to a 7 and things were moving quickly. She decided to get an epidural, which helped a lot with the pain. It helped me too because it was hard to see her in so much pain. I wish we could have taken that pain away…oh how we love her! Even as I am writing this, more than two months later, I remember the emotions that filled us at the time, and am still overcome by them.

At 3:02 pm, she was dilated to a 10 and they started getting things ready. Andrew and Melinda’s dad and siblings were waiting in the family waiting room. Her mom and I were able to be in the room with her. What a blessing! I am so grateful that she was willing to let me stay with her for this special time; it meant so much to me. Melinda was incredible! She pushed and pushed, and did everything just right…fortunately, things continued to go well and quickly, and the most beautiful girl in the world was born at 3:49 pm. She was perfect, with plenty of dark hair, and she hardly cried at all! She was amazing! Melinda held her for a little bit and we talked about names…she wasn’t Jessica until that point. They measured and weighed her and had to warm her up a little, and then I took a little break to go deliver some news to the others.

After awhile, we all piled back into the room, took some pictures, watched Jessica’s first bath, and then prepared to move rooms. We were so fortunate to be able to stay in the hospital, in a room right next door to Melinda’s. The nurses were amazing; Melinda’s delivery nurse was also LDS and her daughter and son-in-law had recently adopted through LDS Family Services as well. She never works Sundays, but because of the holiday weekend, she was assigned to, and she was great! There really are no coincidences in life…it is amazing how everything works out.

We got to our new room and called our families and our Bishop, ate some dinner, and tried to really understand what was happening. Everything really was a blur for the next few days…but it was wonderful! Melinda wanted Jessica to stay in our room at the hospital, so she could get some rest. We were so worried that first night! Because Jessica was born so quickly, she still had some things in her that she would start to cough up and choke on at times. We were so afraid she was going to choke, that we would get up and check on her with every sound she made! She didn’t want to sleep for a few hours in the night, even though we did, so we got a lot of practice trying to stay awake in the middle of the night. It was a long night!

Monday, July 5

The next morning, we brought Jessica over to Melinda and they hung out for a few hours. She told us to go take a nap, which we did! I felt so much better after that nap! Melinda’s family came that day too, and we told them we were going to explore around town, so we left for most of the day. It was interesting, being out and exploring, when we had a little baby back at the hospital. Most people don’t get a day like that when their child is only a day old, so it was kind of fun for us!

We were able to visit more with everyone later that night…they really need bigger hospital rooms. We never had enough chairs! That night, Jessica stayed with Melinda. We were hoping she would sleep well for her, but she wasn’t quite used to sleeping through the night in those days, so we felt a little bad when we found out she was up for a few hours with her as well.

Tuesday, July 6

Tuesday was placement day and we knew it was going to be a big day. Melinda was going to be discharged and we were going to be able to bring Jessica home. While we were looking forward to it, at the same time, we weren’t. There were a lot of emotions and we knew it would be a hard day. Our caseworker Kelly came and met with Melinda to sign paperwork. He said she was amazing…but we already knew that! Then, he met with us for our paperwork. After that, we all met up in Melinda’s room to visit and take more pictures. Like all of our visits, this one was great, but I felt like I could only talk so much before I started to cry. The spirit and the love that was felt in that room was so great that it isn’t something that can be discussed on a blog or really even described through words. We were filled with love for Melinda, her family, and for Jessica. We were amazed at her strength and love for her beautiful little girl. She is incredible and we are so grateful for her!

I think we could have stayed there all day, but eventually, it was time to go. Melinda brought Jessica over to us and placed her in my arms. It was a great moment. We all left the hospital together and visited a little more in the parking lot. Eventually, we all got in our cars and drove away.

We got a little lost, but eventually made it onto the right freeway and headed home. Jessica was sound asleep for the entire drive; even when we stopped to feed her, she feel asleep soon after we started driving again. Andrew and I were talking and we really couldn’t believe we were finally parents! It felt so incredible and so unreal. We felt so blessed! That night, we shared the news with the world. We were so excited and wanted everyone to see our beautiful little girl!

We are so grateful for Melinda! We felt that she was guided to us and that we were guided to her. We are so blessed and grateful that it was the will of the Lord for Jessica to join our family and that her amazing birth mom was strong enough to place her with us. She has made an incredible sacrifice, one that was filled with love for her beautiful daughter. We love her so much! Our lives are blessed every day by her actions! We are so grateful for open adoption and that she will always be a part of our family!

Jessica's Story: Part 1

We wanted to post the story of how Jessica came into our lives but there are a lot of things to tell! We have decided to split it up into two parts because we don't have as much time as we used to to write up all the blog posts we want and it is pretty long.

Saturday, May 1

Andrew and I attended the Colorado and Wyoming Families Supporting Adoption (FSA) Conference in Denver and loved it! The day before, he had just returned from training at Philmont in New Mexico, so he had had a long week, but we were so glad we came. We met some amazing people, one of them was Melinda. She was attending the conference with her parents, and was planning on placing her child for adoption. She and her dad came in and sat down by us during the opening and we talked to them a little between classes. Then, at lunch, we sat down at a table, and we saw them go to another table and sit all by themselves. Andrew turned to me, and said, “We need to go sit by them.” Then, he grabbed his plate and left the table. I figured I better explain to the people at our table what we were doing so they would know we still liked them. He really left mid-conversation…it was funny. Anyway, then, Melinda’s mom came and we met her too, and she stayed the rest of the day. Andrew talked to them at the end of the conference and was dying to give them one of our pass along cards. I was worried about doing it because I didn’t want to pressure her and have all these hopeful adoptive couples handing her cards and trying to become her best friend. I was really worried and wanted her to feel welcome, not pressured to choose us. He did it anyway.

At the end of the day, our caseworker, Kelly, said he needed to talk to us and pulled us out into the hall. He told us that Melinda had looked at our profile on itsaboutlove.org and she liked us! He hadn’t met with her yet, but he would be the next week, and would keep us posted. Holy cow! We were so excited! And we were amazed with everything that happened that day: they just happened to sit by us, we sat by them at lunch, and really, that we were able to meet them at all.

Tuesday, May 4

Kelly called in the evening after he met with Melinda and her parents. She still liked us…and was going to email us soon! Then, he realized he had taken our profile down for a “soft hold” so he said he’d need to put it back up so she could get our email address. We were a little worried, but it worked out fine. Her mom had actually printed out our profile, so they already had it. Kelly also told us we could be 50% excited, but it was a little hard to keep our excitement levels down! The waiting (for the emails) began; we really did check our email at least ten times a day after that.

Thursday, May 6

We got our first email! Actually, the funny thing is, Melinda sent this email at about 10 pm. We were going crazy checking our email so often, so I finally told Andrew we should just shut down the computer and play a game. We did. The next morning, we checked it, and saw that she had sent the email minutes after we shut down our computer! We were so impressed with that first email…she was so honest, open, and thoughtful. She asked us questions and told us to get back to her soon, but to not rush. She wanted us to really think about our answers. Honestly, we couldn’t think about anything else! We worked on them Friday, all day and all night. I probably interrupted Andrew during work a lot that day, but it was hard not to. We emailed her all of our answers on Saturday and waited for a response, which fortunately, we got!

We continued to email every few days over the next few weeks and found out a lot about Melinda. We grew to love her and we were so excited to get her emails. We also found out she was due July 7th, but she was waiting to tell us if she was having a boy or a girl. We even emailed her mom at one point. She asked us if they could come visit us on Memorial Day and we said yes! We couldn’t wait. Even though our caseworker said we should still be 50-60% excited, Andrew made a paper chain counting down the days until her due date!

Monday, May 31

Melinda and some of her family came out to meet us. We talked, played Sorry, looked at pictures, and ate dinner. Then, we talked more, and Andrew asked her why she had ever considered us and wanted to contact us. She and her mom shared their feelings of how they felt guided to our profile. Then, Melinda told us she thought we were wonderful, and that she wanted us to be the parents of her baby! Andrew and I both started crying; I couldn’t say anything, and finally, he said, “thank you,” and we rushed over to her to give her a hug. Actually, she was still sitting down on the couch, and I kind of felt like I was attacking her with a hug, because I didn’t even give her a chance to stand up! Everyone was crying and hugging at this point! Then she told us she was having a baby girl, and said she wanted to give us our first baby gift. She had made a beautiful baby blanket and gave it to us. We looked at some of her baby pictures then, and talked more, and then, they had to leave. We wanted to keep talking, but they were already leaving later than they planned, so we figured we better let them go.

That night, we were on the phone for hours, calling our parents and brothers and sisters. We were so excited and so happy that it was hard to sleep!

Over the next month or so, we were able to go visit Melinda and her family a few different times. We loved getting to know all of them better! We found that we have a lot of things in common, and we had so much fun learning more about her. We met with her, her family, and our caseworker to discuss details of her birth plan—what she wanted to happen before, at, and after birth and placement. It was hard to think about some of those times, because we knew it would be so difficult for her, and hard for us to watch her hurting. We feel so grateful that we all wanted to have an open adoption and we are excited to have Melinda in our lives forever!

Dying to know what happens next? Click here to find out!