Keira X-mas program

Keira singing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."

Little of this - little of that - 5 months later

Keiras 1st school picture - my little girl is growing up so fast. Keira started her first year of preschool this fall and has learned some really fun songs! She is making friends at church and school. she constantly talking about baby T and baby sister (We have no idea where baby sister is or where Keira got the idea she is getting a baby sister?)

Eisley Harper Giddings

A video created for Eisley Harper Giddings. Enjoy

T's Room - its finally finished!

The finished product! It only took about 35-40 hours but we are finally finished with baby T's room. I strongly suggest NEVER working with Granite Paint! it easily took 25 hours (and 4 gallons of paint) with the vaulted ceilings. The wall is an African Safari mural similar to the one we had for Keira's old "hundred-acre wood forest." We painted the trim a blue to extend the colors of the mural throughout the room. The doors are a cloudy gray and we left the ciling yellow. The pictures and baskets in the cove above were actually the ones in the master bedroom we bought with the house. They were perfect for this room! We aren't going to put the bed/crib together until we know how old/big baby T will be. Click on the picture for a better look.

Memorial weekend

Tamera, Ed and the kids came over Sunday to see the house. Keira always loves having friends over!!!

We were able to tour the New Oquirrh Mountain temple Saturday in a special tour for Daybreak residents. Keira had fun with the water but refused to have her picture taken. The temple was beautiful and it was so nice that we could walk to it (only 3 blocks away.)

Adoption Update - May 2009

We received word from our Adoption agency this week that our Dossier packet has been accepted in Washington D.C. The founder of Americans for African Adoptions is traveling to Uganda in a few weeks and will hand deliver our Dossier packet to the Ugandan Government. She will also start the process of finding a child that meets the qualified description for our homestudy. If all goes well we will hopefully have a referral by the end of summer and plan on traveling in the fall. Please cross your fingers and remember baby "T" in your prayers.

In the meantime, we have to have our social worker tour our new home and update our Homestudy. We then have to send an update to homeland security.

Just some Fun pictures

Alex coloring Easter eggs with Grandma
Keira giving Joshie a love.

Keira coloring her egg

smiling at the Dinosaur museum

MMM...Shark Bait

Crazy eyes!!!!

Fun with cousin Joshie

Scooter for Easter

Easter Weekend 2009

We were able to take Keira to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point on friday with her cousins Alex and Josh. Her Aunts Megan and Katie also came along. The kids had a really fun time. They were able to play in sand and dig for Dinosaur bones, see how erosion takes place with a water bed, and play with all sorts of toys. We also saw a movie about the ocean on the East coast of Africa. Just watching the scenery was making it all the harder to have to wait until we get the phone call to go and pick up T.

We Got Our House!!! & Adoption Update.

It's Official!!! We will be the proud new owners of a liberty home in Daybreak. We close on May 6th. The builder has to convert the sales office into a garage and May 6th allows our first payment to be pushed to July. Our home is in the heart of Daybreak and includes 4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 bath and a fully finished basement. We are 2 blocks away from the temple, 2 blocks away from the lake, right behind the elementary school and walking distance to the swimming pool. The house includes alarm system, Theater room, Control 4 home audio system and over 3,200 square feet altogether. Our Subway balloon payment will still be paid in time - in fact, we have been able to buy into 2 more locations since we moved in with Mom and Dad. They have been awesome! Check out the video link for more info!

Floor Plan: http://www.libertyhomes.com/floorPlan.php?name=Somerset

Video: http://www.libertyhomes.com/readyBuilt.php?built_ID=59

The adoption is in the "Hurry up and Wait" stage. We won't hear back from Homeland security for about 2 more months. Our Dossier packet is being authenticated in Washington DC and being sent to Uganda. If all goes well we are still shooting for November/December travel.

We are truly blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. God has blessed us in so many ways. Had we not sold our house when we did, we would probably be foreclosing on Investment debt, never had a chance at adopting T, or pursue other investment interests. We have placed our trust in God and he has blessed us accordingly!!!

Possible NEW Home!!!

Great News Everyone. We have made an offer on a house! We will know by Tuesday if they will accept it or not. We didn't think this was going to be possible this early but Utah Legislature passed a new grant on Thursday allotting a $6,000 credit towards your down payment for any newly constructed home. We were going to build and move in around September but all the grant money will be gone by then, so we made an offer on a model home that we love!

The Home is in Daybreak and within short walking distance to the new Oquirrah Mountain Temple. We have access to the lake for fishing and boating, swimming pools, fitness center and parks EVERYWHERE!

We are very Excited and wishing for the best!

House Hunting 2009

We are anticipating moving into our new home around the same time as the adoption is finalized (November). We know where we are going to live we just have not decided on the builder/floor plan. We are moving into the Daybreak/District area. We will either build into a townhome or buy an existing single family home. There are some great deals right now but we have to wait until atleast September. That is when our Subway investment will be paid off. We have toured multiple floorplans and love the area.

Mom and Dad have been wonderful through everything. They will have no idea what an influence they have been Keira at such a young age. I think Keira will go into shock when we move out.

Little of this, Little of that

ADOPTION

Most of you know but some may not - We have been working on adopting a child out of Uganda since August of 2008. Our homestudy was just completed and we are now waiting for Homeland Security to allow us to bring an orphan into the country. This should take around 3 months. Once we are approved by Homeland Security we can start receiving referrals for a child in Uganda. We have requested a child under the age of 2 and they will be healthy based on 3rd world standards. Things are going well up to this point and we pray they will continue to do so.

If all goes according to plan, we will travel to Uganda in November/December (Hopefully) to pick up our little boy. What a Christmas Present!!!

We will try to keep everyone updated as much as possible.