No sleep...No problem!

Ragnar this year was perfect. 'Babes with Babes' was a fun team to be a part of! You just can't beat being in a van with 5 other amazing girls for 29 hours. That plus running 3 different times...Friday at 5:30pm, then Saturday at 3:30am then again at Noon just equals crazy fun. We were able to get in the most cherished shower and delightful 3 hours of sleep between our 2nd and 3rd runs...which was MUCH needed :) Our last runner came through the finish line at 2:28pm with all of us finishing with her. I wish you all could have seen her 4 adorable kids holding up signs for her. The sweetest thing.

So where do you think I was at 3pm saturday afternoon?? You would think I went straight home to shower and sleep...nope! Chris and I headed straight over to Dave & Busters...






Little Tatum loved feeling like one of the big kids carrying around her 'card & bucket' :)


To celebrate this cute boy turning 9!





We drove out to Phoenix after that to watch Jack play basketball. He has a really good team! It was fun watching him and I'm so glad we went! Tired and all :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACK! We love you!

Love Ragnars :)

I get to hang out with these lovely ladies in a van for 30ish hours! This is my first race since the marathon last June that injured my IT Band and I am loving it! I just finished my first run...no injury and feeling good! Thank you Jeff Galloway method(run/walk method).

Ragnar Rewind...



Del Sol 2008






Wasatch Back 2008



Del Sol 2010

Here's to another great Ragnar!! :)

Straight from Heaven...

Roxie is here! Arrived Thursday morning at 3:30. Here's a picture of sweet Roxie and her bald cancer free dad, my brother Spencer :)

And me with Roxie...yes, it's a very blurry picture...

I went over to Spencer and Alisha's house Wednesday night to work on some pressure points. Luckily her body was ready and reacted well to the massage. I love Alisha...Spencer was saying how he wasn't ready and she just laughed and told him he better get ready! She's had three of her four children with out an epidural. She says its only because she has a fast labor. I think it's really because she's extremely tough and has the highest pain tolerance of anyone I know.

So...how come newborns make me cry so much?? Why can't I just soak in their sweetness and only be overjoyed for their family? Why do I have to get this pit in my throat that makes tears swell up in my eyes. I love Roxie...she's a little piece of heaven for Spencer and Alisha's family right now. I love Spencer and Alisha, they deserve nothing less. I'm so happy for them right now. So why did those darn tears have to come Thursday while holding that sweet Roxie in the hospital...the last thing I wanted to do was make Alisha feel bad for me! She just had a healthy baby and should be able to soak in all the goodness that comes from that! I really hope she didn't feel bad...those really weren't my intentions. I don't love seeking out pity from people at this point in my life. I think thats because I really don't pity myself...except for when being around newborns...especially in the hospital maybe?? It's just that Chris and I have received so much peace and comfort from our Heavenly Father in knowing that we get to receive our children through the miracle of adoption! And that makes being infertile totally ok...except when being around newborns so fresh from heaven I suppose...
Anyway...we can not wait to hold our baby for the first time. I can't imagine anything sweeter then that single moment. I had a little talk with Roxie and told her she better have convinced her cousin into coming down soon!! We're just getting anxious and oh so excited! :)

He won...

He hand delivered these beautiful flowers to me at work..then took me to lunch..

and bought me these way cute running shorts.

Chris and I don't really go all out for the holidays. In fact, this past Christmas we decided not to get each other anything. You see, we have been trying really hard to save up for our future adoption. But on Christmas day, Chris told himself he wouldn't let another holiday go by with out buying me something. I think there's just that gratification you get from giving..and the receiving end isn't too bad either! Anyway, I really wasn't expecting anything because, ya know, we've been trying to save! Then he had to go all out on me. Oh and don't worry, he also gave me a gift certificate to get a pedi. And what did I get him you ask?? NOTHING! So I was able to get off work early and went to Dillards to use a gift card of mine to get him a little something...

Ha! So embarrasing. So I had to document it. I love my Christopher!

I LOVE my kids...

My primary kids that is! All nine of my sweet 5 yr olds! :) I often wish I could bottle up their pureness and sweet testimonies and just take them home with me... It doesn't get much better then a 5 yr old's sweet spirit.
You just hope that THEY know and will always know how special they are!
In one of our first lessons we talked about a prince who was kidnapped and how his captors tried tempting him to do wrong but he chose not to because he was a son of a king and was taught to choose the right.
I then told them that they too are princes and princesses!

Here are the boys sporting their prince CTR capes...


And the princesses in all their glory...





I also made these cute valentine cupcakes for them. Yumyum. Happy Valentines Day!!

A sweet family...

Last weekend we got to watch my nephews, these 3 cute little boys. Ethan(6), Pierce(4), and Davis(22months). It was a lot of fun taking them to Barro's with our friends and their kids...it gave me a little taste of something to look forward to! The next day, we played games, went to the park & watched Dispicable Me(love that movie) I love these boys!
I love this family. They're so sweet and special! You see...Spencer, my brother, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma Stage 3 back in November. And as you can see, Alisha is pregnant with little Roxie. Spencer was given a treatment plan to do Chemo every other week, 12 times. That was going to take him into May. Alisha is due this month. Can you imagine!? Having your 4th child while your husband is going through chemo and just weak and so so sick?! Well let me tell you...they have never skipped a beat. From the beginning, they had a very strong feeling that this cancer wasn't going to be life threatening. A very peaceful assurance. They have remained so faithful and have kept their chins up high. Still a scary time for them, but their faith and their strength has been sooo inspiring. Alisha's doc ok'd inducing her early so that she would deliver during the 5 day window that Spencer feels pretty close to a 100% in between treatments. So baby Roxie has been scheduled to join her sweet family February 18th!
But get this...at Spencer's last doctor's appointment which was his 6th round of chemo, they gave him his test results from his PET scan taken a while back...IT'S GONE! THE CANCER IS GONE! He only has to go through ONE more round of Chemo(which will be this Thursday) and Roxie will be here next week with no more treatments to check off the list! I couldn't believe it. A true blessing! I was at work when I read the email he sent out to everyone and alligator tears just started coming down my face! In the email, Spencer said he had to apologize to Alisha because when he called her to tell her, she was at Target and just started bawling. Just such an exciting time for them. They finally get to welcome their little Roxie(named after my Grandma Roxie who passed away a year and a half ago. After Alisha met Foxy Roxie 10 years ago, she said 'Our first girl will be named after her, I have to have it!') And they get to welcome Roxie cancer free :)
I KNOW Heavenly Father knows our needs and has a hand in ALL things. I'm SO grateful for the Spirit that brings us comfort when we seek it. We all have our own trials we are going through. Spencer and Alisha have been wonderful examples of how to get through them. I just love them so much!

HAPPY GROUNDHOG'S DAY!

Did you know.....

My Grandad Orr & Grandma Roxie started celebrating this day about 50 yrs ago by preparing a big ground 'hog' breakfast for all their neighbors & friends every year.

My Dad & Mom continued the tradition after they got married. Ever since I can remember, people from our neighborhood and ward would come over for breakfast on ground hog's day..easily over a 100 would show.

When Chris & I had only been dating for a week, I invited him over for ground hog breakfast, 7 years ago today ... I remember it like it was yesterday! I was sooo giddy and nervous. You see, I liked him A LOT at that point. And I was pretty sure he liked me...I mean, he came and ate GROUND HOG with me!

*side note...Ground Hog is just grounded up Hog. :)

(picture of my cute parents on their mission...serving ground hog breakfast to all the missionaries in their area)

So maybe we went crib shopping....

Prematurely? Totally! But nonetheless SO FUN! Natalie & Cooper just arrived for a visit just in time to help us out! :)



(Cooper in a crib at BuyBuy Baby)

Look Look Look!!!

This is what I just pulled up to after work today....Chris holding our letter from LDS Family Services, stating that we're officially certified to adopt! This is cheesy, but it's hard to hold back the tears. This is just a huge step in our searching high and low for our children :)))