BLESSINGS!

Time and patience is something that I have grown to learn and accept over the past 8 years. For example:

*3 years = the time it took for David to finally agree that it was time to start our family (Kylee)

*27 1/2 hours = the length of my labor with Kylee (without a functional epidural)

*3 1/2 years = the amount of time we spent doing fertility treatments and other surgeries to try and get pregnant again

*3 months = the time it took to get certified to adopt (thanks to a lazy case worker)

*3 weeks = the amount of time it took to hear from our first birth mother

*5 months = the dry spell we had where we didn't hear from a single birth mother

*2 weeks = the amount of time it took for the perfect birth mother to decide we were the family for her precious baby

*Eternity = the endless amount of time I get to love and cherish my sweet miracle baby that is soon to join our family!

The events that have taken place over the past month have been absolutely amazing! I've never before seen the Lord's hand so evident in my life. We decided to move to the West Valley with my parents to pay off our astounding fertility bills, but little did we know that the Lord was directing us here to put us in the hands of those that were going to help us expand our family. The first Sunday here I met the first person that was going to help us in this journey. She taught the Relief Society lesson and told of her own adoption story with her 3 children. It was just what I needed to hear after being discouraged with our adoption situation. She then referred me to an amazing case worker out here on the West Valley. This case worker was the next person to help us in this journey. She has given us new hope and ambition to move forward with adoption (after wanting to give up). The 3rd person to help us was someone that has been in my life since I was a baby! I grew up with her. She is one of my most dearest and BEST friends. Miss Christina Contreras was in the right place at the right time and had certain friends in her life that helped her become an instrument in helping us expand our family. Due to a friend contact who knew a birth mother wanting to place her baby, we were able to find the answers to all our prayers! We are now preparing to become a family of 4 and our lives are forever changing!

Words can't express just how much I love and appreciate this birth mother. Not only is she entrusting her precious baby to us, but she has also been the perfect example of faith, endurance, love, and courage. We have learned so much from her in the short amount of time that we have been in contact with her. The Lord has guided us into each other's lives for a very special and unique purpose. It's amazing to me to see how great His love is for each and every one of His children. I know He loves me and knows the desires of my heart. I am so thankful to have this knowledge. I am in shock at how fast this is all happening after years and years of heartache....but I know that it is happening this way because it is meant to be and it is all in the Lord's hands. I can't wait to hold our new baby in our arms....to love him, kiss him, watch him grow, see his talents and abilities form and prosper, and the list goes on and on. I just can't wait to be his Mommy!!!

The happiness we feel as a family cannot be measured. The smile on my face hasn't left since July 1st when I read the first email from this amazing birth mother. Life is SO good and I feel extreme peace knowing that my Father in Heaven is the one in control. I just pray that I can continue to live my life the way He wants me to so that I can receive those blessings He is waiting to pour out upon me and my family. His plan is greater than any plan I could ever want for myself. I'm so thankful to be on this journey! Our Pewfect family is closer to becoming complete! Life is just Pewfect!!!!!!

OLD MAN!!!!

I'd like to dedicate this entire post to a very special someone!!!! The one, the only....MR. PEWFECTION!!! He's my birthday boy today, turning the big 32! I could go on and on about this amazing guy but I'll let the pictures do most of the talking!

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We have so much fun together and I'm the luckiest girl in the world to have him FOREVER! :)

(At Disneyland on the Toy Story ride)

(Road trip home from Utah)

(At a Diamondback's game)

(Bowling with friends)

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I can't say enough about the kind of father David is. Kylee (and any future children to come) are the luckiest kids ever to have him as their Daddy! One thing that I absolutely LOVE about David is how great he is with children. So it's no wonder why every other kid loves him.......but no kid loves him more than his Kylee princess!!!

(Dancing at the Daddy-Daughter dance at Kylee's school)

(Making faces at the camera...being silly together, as usual!)

(Playing with each other while waiting in line at Disneyland to see the princesses)

(Posing before we eat a yummy meal at Cheesecake Factory)

(Gotta love how Natalie captures all the great moments behind her camera.....this is one of my most favorite pictures of all time)

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The number one thing I LOVE LOVE LOVE about David is how he always makes me laugh. There is never a dull moment around our house and in our lives thanks to this guy right here. Here are just a couple classic moments caught on camera that pretty much define who David is...

(Always cracking sarcastic jokes and he laughing at himself! No one laughs more at his jokes than HIMSELF!)

(Posing next to his "twin"....Jared from Subway. HAHAHAHAHA)

(And of course, playing practical jokes on all of us at the beach. Just incase you are wondering, this is really a twig! Haha)

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Oh how I love this guy!!!! Happy birthday old man! :) I love you more than you'll ever know!

Adoption Journey Update...

We haven't had much to report in the past 5 months....until now! We had a crazy long and sad 5 month dry streak where we hadn't heard from any birth mothers. It was a very trying time for me personally. A time where I began to doubt renewing some of our paperwork that was due, and quite honestly, I started to doubt whether or not I wanted to keep going down this road. We have been certified for just over a year now and within our first year, we were contacted by 5 birth mothers....3 of which we communicated for long periods of time. But for one reason or another, contact was cut short and we have no idea why. I'm not sure why every single birth mother we have talked to just suddenly decides to stop talking to us with out giving us an explanation, but then again, I can't imagine being in their shoes and to be experiencing what they are experiencing. I know that this is hard for David and I....to be on the adopting side of things. But I can't begin to imagine what it must be for the birth mother's who are desperately trying to find the RIGHT family that their baby is supposed to be with. So I can't get angry at the fact that I have no idea why communication keeps getting cut short without explanation when it seemed to be going so well. The only thing I can keep telling myself is that when the right birth mother finds us and gives us the opportunity to love and care for another baby, everything will work out and all these "bumps in the road" and tears will all be worth it!

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The past 2 weeks have been an answer to our prayers! We got a new case worker who is absolutely AMAZING! We have new found hope and ambition to keep going because she is making all the difference in this journey. It's nice to have a case worker who genuinelly cares and is excited to help us find our baby. We never felt that one time with our other case worker. So we are super excited to have her! And even more exciting news....because of a close friend of ours (you know who you are), we are now in contact with an amazing birth mother! I don't want to give details because this contact is still very new and we are just starting to get to know one another, but regardless of what happens...I'm just so thrilled to be in contact with a birth mother again. It's so hard to not get my hopes up but I'm trying to find the balance of reality and getting too excited! Haha! It's so hard for me not to get my hopes up because everyday I pray for this, and with every contact I get from birth mothers, I'm that much closer to finding our baby!

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I always knew that taking this adoption route was going to be difficult and emotional, but I guess no one ever really knows how difficult something is going to be until they are in the middle of it. Regardless of the pain and tears....and ups and downs....I KNOW that this is what we are supposed to be doing and that there is a precious spirit out there who is meant to be a part of our eternal family. I can't wait to meet him/her and to love him/her forever. I pray that this moment will come soon for our family. I think the only person that wants this as much as David and I is our sweet little Kylee girl. She continues to pray daily for a brother or sister and because of the events that have transpired these past couple weeks, she hears us talking and praying constantly about it and she thinks we are getting a baby any day now. We try to keep her out of things because we don't want to get her hopes up. Getting our hopes up is one thing, but to let down a sweet child is another. So we don't tell her when we are in contact with birth mothers. But she met our new case worker and she knows that she is going to help us find a baby.....so it is fresh on her mind and she thinks our case worker is going to bring us a baby tomorrow! Haha! She is so sweet and innocent. But I sure hope she is right! I pray that she is right!

2011 Family Reunion

We just had our 2011 family reunion (on David's side) and it was so much fun! I wasn't able to go to the last reunion because of regionals, but this year I was able to go and I'm so glad I did. I love all my family and am so thankful to have married into such an amazing family. We went to Utah where all of David's Aunts and Uncle live. It was a nice break in the weather. Our main "meeting" place was at Brett's house....where it was absolutely gorgeous.
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Here is Quincy, Navy and Kylee waiting their turn to ride Uncle Brett's horse!

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Finally their turn!!

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Kylee always wanted to hold baby Quincy. Hopefully she can hold her own baby brother or sister soon!

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The first day we were there we all went on a hike. Sydney, Meg and Madeline are such happer hikers!

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At the end of the hike was a waterfall. It was icy cold water from the melting snow-capped mountains. It was tucked in a little cave area. Here is Kylee walking towards the waterfall.

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The water was FREEZING and I could hardly handle it!

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We were all troopers and walked to through the cold water to the waterfall. But we didn't go through!!

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However, these crazy girls (Syd and Madge) did go through. They went through first and others followed after.

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Including Kylee! My brave little girl!!!

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Drying off on our hot car!

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The whole crazy gang that went on the hike!!

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Next we went ice blocking down a huge grassy hill. The kids all loved it!

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The next day was the reunion. It was at Aunt Jerelyn and Uncle Tom's Sandhill. The view was gorgeous!

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All the siblings starting off the program with a tradition fun song about the family. They are so much fun!

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Next was the talent show. Some of the girls singing "Mean" by Taylor Swift.

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No party is complete without a pinata!

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David wearing part of the pinata as a hat.

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Uncle Brett roping a baby calf so that Uncle Tom and his sons could brand and tag it. It was cool to see! The Momma cow in the back was mooing aggressively at the boys as if to say "leave my baby alone"! It was sad, but cool to experience!

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Kylee watching on Chad's knee! She met and made a lot of new friends on this trip. So glad she is able to get to know her extended family.

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Water balloon toss!!! Navy and Kylee never moved past this point. It was funny!

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Sparklers later that night. Kylee was a little concerned at first that it was going to burn her hand. Haha!

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Then the drive back home. We stopped in Vegas and stayed the night the way up and on the way back. It made the long drive to Utah not as LONG!

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We had so much fun on our trip. Kylee is so blessed to have so much family. We all are. But Kylee was able to play with all her cousins and new cousins she met in Utah. She is surrounded by so many people that love her. I don't know what we would do without family. We are truly so blessed! Can't wait for our next reunion!!! Hopefully Kylee will be bringing along a sibling or two by the time we see them all again. :)

Westside....all settled in!

We are all moved in and getting comfortable with our new "home". Living here definitely has it's perks....for example: MICKEY MOUSE PANCAKES!!!

Kylee loves Papa's pancakes!

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We were rummaging through some old pictures the other day and we found some pictures of my Mom as a Senior in High School. She was absolutely beautiful! (and still is of course)!

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One of the first things we did was start looking for a gym. I am used to working out at boot camps out in Queen Creek so as soon as I knew I wasn't going to have that "luxury" anymore, I did my research and found the most amazing gym who offers a 2 for 1 law enforcement discount! So David and I signed up and are only paying for one membership. It's great! (although I should add that I am the only one who has taken advantage of the gym, so we are basically paying for me only anyway) - hahaha! Ok, ok.....I'm sure David would like for me to add that he hurt his back the other day playing basketball and has been down and out. I'm SURE he'll be in the gym soon! :)

One of the main things that attracted me to this gym was the child care program. Kylee loves the gym more than me! She begs me to go every morning. It's great motivation and keeps me going even when I don't feel like it. (although I am becoming quite the gym rat lately). The other day Kylee tried the rock wall. She was a little hesitant at first and only got about 1/4 way up, but she said she will keep trying and hopefully make it to the top one of these days. Along with the rock wall, Kylee was doing mini-aerobics and dance with one of the day care babysitters. I got to watch her as I ran on the treadmill. Each machine has it's own tv and we can watch the day care cameras or tv while we work out. It is pretty much AMAZING!

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So I have to write some things for journaling purposes. We have been out here for 2 weeks now and the first week was quite an adjustment. So much so that I started to get home sick. I was missing Queen Creek, missing the Higginson's, missing all our family and friends out East, missing our ward. I was second guessing our decision to move out here. As the week went on, it got a little better and I started getting used to everything, but when I sat in church at another new ward....I started getting "bitter" and just wanted to go back to our home ward where we knew everyone and where everything was familiar. I missed my primary kids and those I served with! I had a very negative attitude as we were sitting there waiting for church to start. ****It was fast and testimony meeting and everything changed when a sweet little old Greek lady got up to bare her testimony. It was the most moving and powerful testimony I have ever heard! And I'm not just saying that. Something about her touched me so deeply and I was immediately changed. I couldn't stop crying throughout the rest of the meeting. Then relief society came and the person giving the lesson has 3 adopted children. She included her adoption story in her lesson and how hard it was to come to that point. I couldn't believe this was the lesson...on this day....our first week there. My Mom introduced us after church was over and we immediately connected and she had so many wonderful suggestions and advice for me. We met a couple days later and as a result, we now have a new case worker who (from what I can tell already) is absolutely amazing!!! I have a new found ambition to keep going after I was ready to give up. And best of all, this lady has a little 5 year old girl (who is adopted) and Kylee loves her! Kylee got to watch her adoption video and to see what adoption is all about. I'm so thankful for our new found friendship with this family. It is such a blessing!

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When we first made the decision to move out here, it was mainly just to help us pay off the fertility debt we had accrued over the past 4 years (and I was excited to be closer to my family). But I never expected to receive and get so many answers to prayers that I didn't even know I was searching for. I'm not sure if moving out here is going to be permanent for our family, but for now, I KNOW that we are supposed to be out here! I'm so thankful for the gospel and that no matter where we go, it's always there! I'm so thankful for family who loves and supports us in our time of need. Living with the Higginson's was amazing and I miss them dearly. We bonded with them over the past 2 months that we got to live with them. I'm so thankful for that time we had with them and I'm thankful that our relationship with them is forever changed because of it. Family is amazing and I don't know what I'd do without ALL of our family!

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LIFE IS GOOD!

Summer is here!!!

Summer 2011 is officially here.....and what do we do to kick start it off?

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SWIM of course!!!!

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With summer break starting, that can only mean one thing......Kylee isn't a Kindergartener anymore! So sad, yet so exciting at the same time. Kylee's school had a "Kindergarten Celebration" performance instead of a graduation this year, so a parent decided to throw a pool party graduation at a local pool. I'm so glad she did because it was the perfect way to end a perfect school year. Kylee made so many great friends this year and we are so sad to be moving and not see them next year.

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Mrs. Wright showed up to say hi to all her kids! Not all of the class showed up but it was a great turn out none the less. They all had a blast!

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They even had a little back drop and a cap and gown for them to take pictures. Cutest thing ever!

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With summer here, it only means changes for the Pews. We are so sad to leave all our family and friends here in Queen Creek, but are also excited to be close to my family on the West side of town. Well, I'm more excited than David because he doesn't understand that a girl needs her sisters and Mom! Haha! But this could just be a temporary move. Not sure where we will be in a year. Either back here in Queen Creek, or we will permanently stay out there in Peoria. Either way, it's a win-win situation for us because we love both places and will be happy in either city. Well, David would be more happy out here since he is an "East sider", but I guess I would be happy in either place. But my Mom and sisters would probably kill me if we move back! Haha! My Mom has been trying to get me to move back ever since we moved out to Queen Creek 8 years ago. :)

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Either way....life is good and we are so blessed to have amazing family on both the West and East side! We are good to go wherever we live because we are surrounded by loved ones. For now, we are going to embrace the summer, enjoy all our time with Kylee girl, and do what we do best.....soak up the sun! :)

Mother's Day and Kylee's Recital

Mother's Day! Everyday that I get to be Kylee's Momma is a day of celebration to me....but it's fun to get gifts on one of those days! Kylee and David got me work out clothes! LOVE THEM!

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Every year the Montez women get together for our annual Mother's Day lunch at Olive Garden. It's a tradition I've come to love and look forward to every year. I love all the women in my life!

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This past weekend was Kylee's dance recital. She danced at the Suns game back in February and now this was the end of the year recital. She had two performances and did great! She had a lot of people come to support her!

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Kyrstin...Kylee loves her cousin! We get to go watch Kyrstin at her dance recital in a month and Kylee can't wait!

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Kylee and her dance teacher....Miss Melanie! She is awesome and we loved her!

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Aunt Nanny and Kyrstin! They both surprised us. We didnt' know they were coming. Kylee was so excited!!

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And of course Kylee's best supporters came....Grandma and Papa Montez!

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Family pic at the end of the recital. We are so proud of our dancing Queen!

Something special happened at the recital. In Kylee's first dance performance, all the girls had pom-poms as a prop during part of the song. They placed their pom-pom's behind them while they danced to the first part of the song and then went back to get their pom-pom's during the second part of the song. Well, Kylee's pom-poms accidentally got taken and she couldn't find another set of pom-pom's close to her. She was frantically looking around while all the girls kept on dancing. I wanted to cry for her! I was afraid she was going to cry and run off stage. But instead....she made us SO PROUD! After 5 seconds of looking and not being able to find her pom-pom's, she jumped back in with all her dancer friends and started dancing as if she was holding her pom-pom's. She didn't skip a beat! My tears of sadness and feeling sorry for her quickly turned into tears of pride.

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I quickly ran back stage to comfort her, thinking she was going to save her tears for backstage....but she had a smile on her face and was quickly changing into her next outfit for her second dance. She wasn't sad at all. If you know Kylee, she is a very tender-hearted girl. So I was certain that she was going to get upset about this. But she kept a smile on her face and was professional about the whole thing. I was so impressed and learned something new about my princess that day. She never ceases to amaze me everyday! She makes me so proud. I don't know how I got so extremely lucky. What did I do to deserve to be her Mother? I'm thankful for her every second of every day. She is the best example for me....and now she is an example of never giving up and keeping a smile on your face no matter what happens in life. She gave me the BEST Mother's Day gift ever by showing me her strength and optimism. Words could never describe how much we love our princess!