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Monday, May 28, 2012

Remembering Bosco

I have waited to post about this, because if I did this any sooner I would have been sobbing the entire time. We placed Bosco with another family the beginning of April. He was having so many health issues, and we just couldn't afford to take care of him the way he deserved. Anthony and I kept putting it off. We posted him for sale, got lots of calls, then we would change our minds and wouldn't sell him. His health kept declining, so we knew we had to find a family who could afford to get medical testing done, and give him the care he needed. We found a wonderful family who has a bulldog with similiar health problems, so they were very aware of his needs and also capable of meeting Bosco's needs. The family has 2 little girls, so Bosco will be happy to have playmates. And they have a french bulldog, so he will have a best friend. They live on a large lot with an acre of land, so he will have plenty of room to run around (okay...maybe not run around. When did Bosco ever really run?! lol) And they have a pool for him to swim in in the summertime.We hope you are happy with your new family.  Oh Bosco boy, we miss you so much! You are such a wonderful dog, and we love you!















WE LOVE YOU BOSCO

Memorial Day

I hope everyone had a good Memorial Day and was able to spend it with family. We went to East Lawn Cemetery where my brothers are buried. We put flowers on their grave, as well as a little windmill. East Lawn is so pretty on Memorial Day---there are literally thousands of flowers, and nearly every grave is decorated with something. It is nice to take this day to relfect on those people close to us whom we have lost, but it is comforting to know that we will see them again someday.

Oh Liam...

You are such a funny boy!








 
Honestly! You. Are. The. Best.

Mother's Day and Birth Mother's Day

I had such a wonderful Mother's Day this year. Last year's was very special since it was my first, but I think this Mother's Day was special in a different way. I have had an entire year to be a mom---an entire year to figure out how to actually be a mom. I earned my Mother's Day this year! I don't think that anyone can prepare you for the challenges of motherhood, but they also can't prepare you for the profound joy and happiness that comes from being a mom. It is incredible how much joy I feel having Liam as my son. He is a blessing and a miracle.

Anthony spents hours and hours making me a book that included photos of me and Liam from the last year.  It was nearly 50 pages full of memories of us. It was amazing, and made me cry. I swear, this hubby of mine gets sweeter and more thoughtful with each passing year!




 
We went to church and heard wonderful talks on motherhood. Some of the talks focussed on how not every woman gets the opportuniy to have children and be a mom in this life. I am always very aware of how difficult Mother's Day can be for some women. I work as an adoption caseworker, so many of my clients are adoptive couples which means they have had some struggle with infertility, making it difficult/impossible to have children. I can only imagine how devastating infertility can feel to some people, especially women, because I feel like women are hardwired to want children and to be a mother. After 4 years of working in the field of adoption, I have had countless conversations about infertility, the desire to grow families, and the hopes of adoptive mothers to become mothers. I think adoptive mothers are some of the strongest women I know. So if this day is hard for you, and you don't feel like going to church to hear the talks on Mother's Day, and you'd rather sit home and cry, then I say go for it. People don't get it. But you do. And you are often in my thoughts and prayers, as well as many other's.

Mother's Day is also a time where my thoughts are turned to birth mothers. Again, having worked in adoption for 4 years, I have worked with many strong and wonderful birth mothers. Girls who have wracked their heart and soul, questioned what was best, made hard decisions for the best interest of their child, put their baby's needs ahead of their own, suffered grief and pain, and placed their sweet baby with an adoptive family. Birth Mothers are women to be celebrated and remembered. So I am glad that the Saturday before Mother's Day is Birth Mother's Day. It is a day to honor all of the wonderful birth mother's who placed their child for adoption.

I went to the annual Adoption Walk this Birth Mother's Day at the Provo High track. Adoptive parents, birth parents, adoptees, and those touched by adoption were in attendance. We all had a balloon and walked around the track in honor of birth mothers. Then we released the balloons into the sky. Liam cried when we made him release his balloon. I think he was confused why we made him let go of a perfectly good balloon! haha Cosmo was there, the fire trucks were out so kids could walk though and play in them, yummy doughnuts and juice enjoyed by everyone. It was a great day, and I hope that people everywhere realize how special and strong birth mothers are.









Thursday, May 17, 2012

Arizona Vacation. Part 2: the Entertainment

We did so many fun things while on vacation. A fun highlight was going swimming at the pool. It was also a survival technique because the temps were in the 100+ degrees half the time we were there. Oy. The first day the temp was 104 degrees. This was Liam's first time swimming. I think he really liked it, but preferred to walk around the outskirts of the pool collecting rocks and playing in the water faucets. He is such an explorer.


 Funny side note: my brother Alex got a third tatoo that he never told my dad about. When he got his first two my dad was pissed  not thrilled, so Alex didn't want him to know about the third one. So he didn't take his shirt off or go swimming for the first few days we were there haha The poor guy was dying. It took him that long to build up his courage, but with enough teasing and bullying encouragement he finally told dear old dad. And my dad didn't really care ha! All that worry for nothing. It was my sweet mom who just shook her head and wondered where she went wrong lol just kidding.






We also went to several baseball games, and saw the Arizona Diamondbacks play the Phillies. My dad scored us some great seats. I was a little concerned that Liam would not do well sitting through a 3.5 hour game, but little man did pretty good! Granted I missed most of what was going on because I was trying to keep him entertained the whole time, but still enjoyed the game.



One of the games we attended Liam slept though four innings! Remebmer I said was a baby whisperer? Well, I rocked him to sleep at Alice Cooperstown, carried him 6 or so blocks to the stadium, waded through the throngs of people, found our seats, put one of my hands over his ear every time the crowd cheered too loudly (this included a grand slam I might add!), and Liam stayed asleep! Impressive, eh?



One thing that I found to be highly entertaining and can keep Liam occupied and happy for a gloriously long time are blow pops. Liam loves them! Yes, he is a pink sticky mess afterwards, but he loves trying to suck on the sucker and will lick it all the way to the gum. Side note: if you're traveling on a plane with young kids stockpile suckers in your diaper bag. I'm not kidding. This trick saved us on both flights this trip. (Thanks for the tip Dani!)
 "Go D-backs!"




We spent one day at the Phoenix Zoo. It was really hot that day. But when is it not hot in Phoenix? We survived. The zoo has those "misters" that spray water on you as you walk by---those are heavenly inventions.

 You can sort of the see the tiger in the background. The poor cat didn't move from that spot. It was the only shaded area in the whole enclosure. Can you blame him?



Julie, if you're reading this, then this picture is for you. Oh those flamingos. Wink.
 And a nice snow cone to cool off...

And playing in the water area for the kids, too. I was secretly wishing it was socially acceptable for adults to run through the water fountains. Seriously the AZ heat kiiillls me.



One of the nights my brothers, and Anthony and I went gambling at a casino. I know a thing or two about Texas Hold 'em, thanks to my brother Chad. But I wasn't about to play poker at a casino. Too much of a wuss haha But we did play some slots. Wyatt lost 60 bucks. Chad lost a few hundred in a matter of mintues. But totally won it back on the Wheel of Fortune with a $350 spin baby. "MONEYS!!" haha no one will really get that but Chad ;) I won $25 and Anthony lost $40, so we together we lost $15 which is like the cost of a movie, so we figured it was a regular date night!


Can you tell that I would have the worst poker face?!



The fun continues. The next day we spent at an amusement park. And the sweet thing is that the park was shut down for only a high school class, but they let us in anways. So there were literally zero lines, and no crowds to fight.

Seeing if Liam is tall enough to ride any rides. Maybe next year?!



We are waiting in line for the Sky Diver aka the Pee In Your Pants Diver. This ride takes you 100 feet in the air (totally doesn't sound high, but so totally is.) and then you hover at the top for a second and then plumit toward your death the ground. For a few seconds your weightless and suspended in the air during the freefall. It's the worst feeling in the world. And we rode it three times. Ha. My sweet hubby who has "an issue with heights," not a "fear of heights" lol even rode it. And my little 6 year old nephew, too. He didn't cry on this ride, but he did on the log ride. What?





While we rode the rides, my parents entertained Liam :) Look how cute my dad and Liam are---twins in their BYU hats.




And a Pearson Family Vacation wouldn't be complete without a friendly game of mini golf! And believe it or not, there was no yelling, fighting, or swearing. Only minor cheating. :)






The week went by way too fast. I love when my whole family is able to spend time together. It doesn't happen nearly enough! Thanks so much dad for planning such a wonderful vacation!!!