I DID IT!!!

Lately one of my favorite things Ethan says is "I Did It" and raises his arms with glee. He loves going things on His own and celebrates every time he does something by him self. Grandma gave Him these shoes and He absolutely loves them. Mostly because he can put them on all by Himself.

He even got them on the right feet.

It has been so much fun watching Ethan learn and do new things. He is a such a fun age. There is never a dull moment or a day without laughter.

Today I am thankful for the many moments that make me feel blessed to be his Mom.

A memory that still makes Us Laugh

One of the questions in out adoption profile asks us about the memory that still makes me laugh. Brett tells of the story of the flaming Thanksgiving Turkey. There was not enough space to write the whole story, so I'm going to finnish the story on our blog:

A few years ago, we were in charge of bringing the turkey for thanksgiving dinner. We had recently purchased a new bbq that had a rotisserie attachment. We heard that rotisserie turkey is really good so we set up the attachment and started cooking the turkey. Things were going great. Brett's Brothers called and were going clay pigeon shooting and wanted him to go with them. I said go ahead, have a fun time. We were expecting family to stay with us for the holiday, so I was making beds and getting things ready for them. I remember vacuuming and remembered TURKEY. I glanced over at the window and saw FLAMES. I grabbed my phone called Brett (thankful that he had service) "It's on FIRE" he said "What's on Fire?" I said "The, The, The TURKEY"! He said "Put it out" the first thing that came to my mind was the fire extinguisher I ran to get it and Brett said "Not the fire extinguisher! It will ruin the bbq. Put it out with water." He said he was going to call his Cousin (who was across the street) to come and help me. I started looking for something to put the fire out. The only thing I could find at that time was an eight oz cup. The flames were so high. How many trips to the sink is it going to take me. I filled the first cup, by the time I got to the bbq I had about 4 oz left in the cup, threw the water on the turkey and the fire went out. The funniest part about the story is my Mother In Law decided that morning that she would also make a turkey. She cooked it in her slow cooker and forgot to turn the dial on. So with two turkeys one scorched and one raw, we pulled back the burnt pieces of the turkey and ate what was underneath. At the end of the day we had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner, memories and I never have to bring the turkey again! ;)

Today I am thankful that it didn't ruin the bbq.

Boys play in Forts

What does a few blankets, lamp, a couch, Buzz Lightyear, flash light and The old lady who swallowed the fly book create???

An entire afternoon of imagination.

Today I am thankful for my little guy with such a great imagination.

Graduation

Ethan has made a big step into Big Boy World. He is now officially out of his high chair. I tended one of my Nephews the other day. I called both of them to come and eat lunch. Ethan watched his cousin climb onto the chair and promptly followed. He has had no interest in his high chair since

The other day I was doing my hair in the other room and heard the water turn on. I ran into the room. Ethan had climbed onto the counter, turned on the water and sprayed water all over the kitchen.

Today I am thankful for Bounty paper towels. ;)

Ethan's 2nd Year Photo Shoot

Does every mom in the world think that their little guys are as cute as this little guy. Ethan has sure grown into a handsome little boy. He is quite the flirt and defiantly knows how to get the girls these days. He loves getting his pictures taken.

The photographer called us a few days before his photo shoot and told me to bring a few props, things that he loves at this age. He has been watching the other grandkids playing baseball at Grandmas and has observed very well. He got a bat and ball for his birthday and has hit a few balls since. So I brought them along for his pictures.

I also brought along his friend "Monkey" is what Ethan calls him. I've tried teaching him cute names but, he always calls him Monkey.

Ethan got a kick out of feeding Monkey a fruit snack

He has been so much fun lately. He is at such a fun age full of all kinds of words.

Today I am thankful for such a handsome little boy.

Becca's Family

My family is smaller than Brett's but makes it up with all the love we have for each other. There is four of us kids. Kyle (Warehouse Manager) Jeana (Mom/Student/Financial Assistant) Me (Mom) and Teresa (Teacher/Coach). My dad Rod works as a Facility Manager. He loves to go fishing, Alaska and hunting. My mom Roxann teaches preschool in her home. She loves sewing, quilting, working in her flower garden and having her Family around.

Some of the things we like to do together are: getting together for holidays, birthday's and play dates. Us girls and kids get together often for Grandma Day's. We take trips to museams, hikes, picnics at the park, and all kinds of fun activities.

Going to the family cabin.

Most people would say that I grew up on a farm. We didn't ever have any cows or pigs so I don't consider it a farm. We had horses, cats, a dog, chickens, ducks, rabbits, frogs and a goat. Part of our favorite part about living on a FARM is every spring:

Babies here and babies there.

Growing up we were a well rounded family. Kyle did wrestling and football, Jeana was in dance and part of the Drill Team, I was involved in choirs and Teresa did softball, volleyball, basketball and just about anything athletic. My parents supported each of us and let each of us become who we wanted to be.

I think we are blessed that we all live close to be able to spend time together as a family.

Today I am thankful for such a great family

Brett's Family

Brett comes from a large family. Five Brothers and two Sisters. Raquele (Mother), Craig (Brick Mason), Joda (School Teacher), Mark (Facility Manager), Brett (Teacher), Phill (Animal Control Officer), Jake (Salesman). Brett's dad Clair is a Brick Mason and started his own company 25 years ago. He is a Bishop and has an aviary of birds. That's how Brett got started with his birds. Brett's mom Raylene works at a bookstore, loves BYU football games (she wouldn't miss one) and loves her family.

Brett loves the size of his family and does not have a favorite part about it. He loves it all. When we were dating I fell in love with his family. I often worried that if we broke up, I would miss his family. Thank goodness that never happened. Raylene and Clair have the entire family over for dinner every Sunday. All 33 of us. We all live within 15 minutes of each other and get together often.

Some of the family activities we do with Brett's family are:

Every year, the week before school we have a end of summer party. There is a hill in town with a GIANT slippery slide.

It's a lot of fun.

Every New Year's Eve we spend the night at a cabin, play games and go sledding during the day. Clair has about 50 old fashioned runner sleds. We pile as many people can fit in the back of the truck.

The truck drives us to the top of the snow packed road, we all pile out and sled down the hill

and start all over again. We all look forward to it.

Brett really enjoys spending time with his family and their willingness to spend time together. Wherever its playing a game of Killer Uno or helping out.

Today I am thankful for such great In laws. :)

Golf Season

Brett is the jr high golf coach. The season started last week. He is looking forward to this season and being able to golf a few holes himself. 24 kids come out for try outs, Brett can only have 12 on the team so he had a hard time deciding who made it on the team.

He taught his best golfer about a year and a half ago. He show's great potential and just might make it the big leagues.

Today I am thankful for today's weather. It's cloudy with a few rain storms. A great way to start the fall season.

Movie Trivia

We love watching movies, especially movie trivia and the many famous one liners. Our favorite one liner is from the ONE AND ONLY:

MIRACLE MAX

from the movie The Princess Bride.

Want to watch the clip??? Well, here you go

"You rush a Miracle Man, you get rotten miracles"

Brett and I often watch this movie. It's one of our favorites. We are grateful to have experienced a miracle through adoption and look forward to more miracles to join our family. We have learned that miracles take time and they are well worth the wait.

Today I am thankful for Date Nights.