Weekends

This past weekend was a busy one. On Friday we didn't do much. Asher went to the doctor to have his shoulder looked at because its been bothering him since he fell a while back. We'll find out about it in the next couple of days when the doc gets his x-rays. The rest of the day we spent watching FRIENDS and playing Five Crowns, a game we have grown to love. I couldn't have asked for a better Friday night.

Saturday I spent at my nephew T's soccer game. He is normally the starting goalie for his high school JV team but he was injured at his last game so he played the second half of this game. He played great and they won in overtime. Did I mention he's just a Freshman who is normally starting goalie for the JV team? I'm so proud of him. After the soccer game my sister, T, and I met my mom and Grams at Chic-Fil-A for lunch. My mom and Grams had been at my nieces soccer game, where their team tied. After a quick lunch we all went to my nephew B's football game. Another great game. B played really well, he's such a natural. They also won their game. I'm so proud of my nieces and nephews! I had a fantastic time with some of my family. While I was out at the games Asher stayed home to change the oil in his car and do some studying for school. I think he enjoyed his time to work on the things he needed to. Saturday night was spent the same as Friday night, watching FRIENDS and playing Five Crowns.

Sunday we spent at church, where we had a great time teaching our respective classes. After church we did a simple dinner of cold cereal and snacked over the course of the evening. It was cool enough to warrant turning on our gas fireplace and snuggling up together under some blankets while we watched FRIENDS again. I only wish the weekends could last longer. Its only Monday and I can't wait until next weekend!

Birthday Party

Ayden's favorite part and the only thing he talked about all week, PRESENTS!!! Sampson and I.

Asher and I

The Birthday Boy! Such a cutie!

Me (Rachel), Grammy (Asher's mom), and Kaylee (our niece)

Today we went to our nephew's birthday party. He turned four this week and it was so fun to get to celebrate his birthday with the family. It was extra special due to the fact that he was diagnosed with cancer in December, and while we have always remained optimistic, every day is a miracle with him. It was perfect timing for his birthday. He happened to be out of the hospital, feeling good, and the weather was beautiful. Watching him have such a great time was wonderful. He got some great toys and can't wait to play with them. I can't wait to celebrate his next birthday. We love our sweet nephew and are so happy to have him in our lives.

More Pics....

Here are a few more pictures of Asher and I.

Below are a couple of pictures of Asher and I at The Children's Hospital in Denver visiting our nephew who is undergoing chemo for cancer. He is the toughest kid we know and is fighting like a champ.

Asher and I with our niece and nephew.

Asher with our oldest nephew, who really needed a haircut ;). This was Christmas a few years ago, our first as a married couple.

This was our first Christmas after we were married.

Our animals looking out in our backyard. I think there was a bird on the roof of our garage.

Asher and I in the mountains during a day trip.

Asher and I in Mexico during a cruise for our first anniversary.

Pics

Here are a few pictures over the past couple of years. We don't have any recent ones but I will add pictures here and there to fill in the spaces between posts. Enjoy.

Asher with his dad, three of his brothers, a very sweet nephew, and maternal grandparents in Oklahoma, last year, in front of Grammy and Grandpa's house.

Asher and Sampson. I love these boys. :)

I fell asleep after studying. Of course the animals joined me for a nap. I am glad to be done with school, although I often think about continuing on with my Master's Degree.

These are some pictures of me with my sisters kids at Disneyland. We got to go a couple of years ago and had a great time. It was fun to watch my niece and nephews experience Disneyland for the first time. I was so happy to be with them during their first experience with something I have so many fond memories of. Growing up we went to Disneyland often and I loved it.

Visitors

Last weekend I had the pleasure of having my friend stay with me when she came into town for her sisters wedding. It worked out beautifully. I was so happy to have her stay with us because I would not have seen her otherwise. I love that I have the space to have guests stay in my home. :) We had a great time going to lunch one day and breakfast another day. It was so fun.

Today my parents and my grandma came over to have dinner with us and to see the guest room/future nursery now that it is painted. After dinner my sister and two of her kids stopped by because my nephew is selling coupon books for his high school soccer team. We were able to share dessert with them while they were here, which was a good thing because I ended up with a ton of leftover peach cobbler, even after sending some home with my sister for my other nephew and my bro-in-law. My niece and nephew asked if I would make it again the next time they spend the night and I can't say no to such a request, haha. It was yummy though. And for dinner I made Asher's favorite, Chicken Tetrazzini, which is something neither of my parents nor my grandma had ever had. I am so glad my mom taught me how to cook and encouraged me to help her make dinners so that I can make meals that my husband enjoys and someday my future kids will enjoy.

Random

I am sitting at home alone, because Asher is at work, and I am reading The Hunger Games, which my awesome friend Megan introduced me to last night leading to a special trip to Barnes and Noble today for a purchase, and I keep thinking of the movies I am so excited to see. I think the reason my mind keeps going to movies is because as I'm reading the book I am imagining it as a movie. I love my imagination when it comes to reading. :) Anyway, I am SO excited for the first part of HP and the Deathly Hollows. In my anticipation for it I have started reading the series over again (although I am taking a short break to read The Hunger Games) just to get me up to speed. Of course I'm also stoked for part one of Breaking Dawn, but I have to wait a bit longer for that. Every time I think of Breaking Dawn (or any of the Twilight Saga movies or books) I immediately think of the new movie Vampires Suck. I am such a huge (non-obsessive, haha) fan of the Twilight Saga and can easily laugh at myself so I am going to have to see Vampires Suck. Haha, now you know how nerdy I really am, but totally in a fun way. :)

By the way, we had a fantabulous time in Oklahoma, I will post pictures as soon as I get some copies (I am a genious and left the camera at home). Asher's grandparents were so surprised when they got to their anniversary party, which means it was a success. I love our trips out there. We have such supportive families. :)

A bit about Rachel...

I was born and raised in Colorado. I spent most of my life in the same house, having moved there when I was nearly two and lived there until I was nearly 23 when I was married. I am the middle of three children, I have an older sister and a younger brother. I never really felt like the youngest, though, because my sister is quite a bit older than me. My sister has three children, two boys and a girl, whom I adore. They enjoy coming over for sleepovers whenever possible.

Growing up I loved playing outside. I could be found playing street hockey with all of the boys on our street most summer days. I was also on the swimteam every summer until my junior year in high school. I was also on the high school swimteam where I earned a letter.

Durning high school I spent most of my free timie hanging out with my friends. We would all gather at someones house and play games or watch movies. When I wasn't with my friends I was usually at my sisters house playing with my nephews.

Following high school I spent a VERY short period of time in Utah (4 months). After I got home I enrolled in school at Metro State College of Denver where I earned my Bachelor's Degree in History and a secondary education teaching licesne. During my (many) years at Metro I met Asher, got married, and we bought our first home. I enjoyed my time in school and often miss it.

Today, I love to read, bake, go for walks, dream of ways to redecorate and improve my home, spend time with my family and watch movies with Asher. Asher and I really enjoy watching movies and have acquired quite a collection of movies. My favorite movie, right now, is The Princess and the Frog. We also enjoy playing our Wii and occasionally the Xbox together. My all-time favorite television show is Friends, which I watch quite often since I have the whole series on DVD. I also enjoy watching Grey's Anatomy.

A bit about Asher

This post is all about Asher. Asher was born in Oklahoma but moved to Colorado when he was about a year old and has lived in Colorado since. Asher is number 4 of 10 boys, talk about a lot of noise and chaos. Family gatherings involve a lot of people, more noise, and a lot of fun.

Growing up Asher could usually be found outside riding on his bicycle. He enjoyed making jumps and finding obstacles to test his skills on his bike. His adventurous activities have left him with many scars and stories behind them. While his adventurous side has been tamed quite a bit, Asher still loves to ride. He finds joy in driving to the mountains and trail riding whenever he can.

Growing up with so many brothers, Asher has many stories to tell of the shenanigans he and his brothers got into. There are stories of outside games of hide and seek that left him with scrapes and scratches from his mothers bushes, or left his mothers flowers trampled. There are also the stories of the many injuries he and his brothers were left with from playing too hard.

Asher and his family traveled to Oklahoma at least once a year to visit the family still remaining there. He has fond memories of his time in Oklahoma visiting his grandparents and aunts and uncles. We have decided to make a trip out to Oklahoma once a year so we can make our own memories visiting Asher's grandparents and aunts and uncles. We look forward to our trips out there every year. We will be going next week for our annual trip and are so excited to go. This year we get to go for a celebration in honor of his grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. This is especially exciting because nearly all of the family will be there, giving us an opportunity to see some of Asher's family that I have not yet met and Asher has not seen for many years.

Asher now enjoys four wheeling, recreational shooting, biking, searching for ways to improve his car, watching movies with his "wifey" and anything else that allows him to spend time with me (his "wifey"). Movies are an especially favorite past time for us. We have quite a large movie collection, including the Disney/Pixar collection, many Disney movies, all of the Star Wars, Back to the Future, Indiana Jones, and Lord of the Rings movies, and many more.

There is so much more to know about Asher, but this is a start. I have to add that he is a great husband who works hard to provide for us, and plays hard to keep his sanity. Asher loves to have a good time when his work is done. I can't wait to see him as a father, I have no doubt he will be a great father.

Blessed.

I just noticed my last post was a lot like this, but I feel like I can't emphasize it enough.

I am so grateful for so many incredible people in my life. I am truly blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. Sometimes I feel like I don't say it enough so I was them all to know how important they are to me. I'm so grateful to be a part of a wonderful ward family at church. Not a Sunday goes by that someone doesn't ask how the adoption process is going and they encourage us and tell us how excited they are for us. I am so grateful for so much love and support.

I am also grateful for my ability to help my family (in-laws). I am grateful for the time I have to share with my sister(-in-law) and nephew and niece. My nephew has been undergoing radiation for the past 5 weeks and as a result has been in the hopsital for pain management. I have been able to spend one night a week at the Children's Hospital with them for the past 2 weeks to help with the needs of my niece and nephew so my sister can focus on whichever needs her most at that moment. I will be going again this week. I feel grateful that my current situation allows for me to spend time there and help them. I have also been able to provide cheap daycare for one of my other sisters(-in-law) a few days a week. Again, I am grateful that my situation allows me to help so she doesn't have to worry about finding a place for her children to go while she is at work. The kids my get bored at my house but they are safe and looked after, which I hope provides peace of mind for her. I am happy to do what I can and hope enjoy the practice it gives me.

Soooo grateful....

for the love and support of family and friends. My (Rachel) grandfather passed away last week and yesterday (Sunday) my family had a viewing followed by a get together at my aunts house. I had the opportunity to share our news that we have been approved for adoption and the excitement and encouragement that came from them was indescribable. They are all so excited for us and cannot wait to hear the news when we are placed with a sweet, miraculous spirit.

While we were at my aunts house we had the opportunity to look through my grandparents old photo albums and I learned so much about my paternal family. I got to see old pictures of my grandma and her sisters from the 1940's. It was such a neat thing since all but my grandma's youngest sister have passed away. I also got to see pictures of my dad and his siblings (he has 9), from their childhoods. I love my family and their history.

Since my oldest aunt recently had surgery and is unable to travel currently, we will have a memorial service in a month or two when she has recovered some. I look forward to being all together with my extended family again, and can't wait to hear more stories of my grandparents and the memories my dad, aunts and uncles have to share from their childhood.

I look forward to the days I can share all I learn about my family with my own children. They will know what wonderful people their great-grandparents are. They will know how excited their family is to have them in their lives. Our birth family will feel of our love and the love of our families as well. They will be thought of always, and spoken of often.

Check out...

...our spotlight on the Colorado Families Supporting Adoption Blog!!!!!
We LOVE FSA!!! Such a wonderful organization supporting all involved with adoption.
http://coloradofsa.blogspot.com/2010/06/spotlight-wednesday-asher-and-rachel.html

About Us

Asher and I met during the summer of 2005 after being introduced by our friend, Amber, who was engaged to Asher's brother. We dated all summer, spending every free minute together, and were engaged by August. We were married on March 18, 2006. Over the past 4 years we have learned a lot about each other and about who we are together. When we first got married we decided we wanted to wait a year before trying to have children. Two years after we were married we discovered we were one of many couples facing infertility. Now four years later we have embraced our infertility and are excited to persue adoption. Having 4 years of marriage without children wasn't our plan, but it has allowed us to grow together as a couple and has prepared us to parent any precious miracles we are blessed with through adoption.

New Blog Address

Okay, so due to some confusion on my part, my old blogs were accidentally deleted. As a result I am starting one new blog instead of having one blog for our daily happenings and one devoted strictly to our adoption efforts. It is better in the end because our adoption efforts are a major part of our daily happenings. So bear with me as I build this again.