Our Christmas Miracle

(picture we got before we left for Alabama)

(first family photo)

Justin and I had been trying to have kids of our own and had a miscarriage in May of this year. Soon after the miscarriage I had a couple dreams of holding a black baby boy. Justin and I always knew we would adopt, we just didn't know when. After my dreams we looked into it more but felt like we should wait longer and keep trying to get pregnant. We weren't financially ready to adopt a baby and felt like we hadn't tried long enough to even look into it. A few months went by and still no luck. We started to feel discouraged. I started feeling like maybe it wasn't time for us to have kids or we must not be ready to be parents.

On December 17th I received a call from my mom and sister Heidi about a birth mom that was in labor in Alabama. She was already dialated to a 7. The birth mom was my sister Heidi's youngest son's biological sister. They wanted the baby to stay within the same family. As soon as I heard about him I started crying. I called Justin and was crying so hard I couldn't get the words out. As soon as I did he was as surprised as I was and needed a few minutes to process what I had just told him. He called me back and said he felt really good about it.

We moved forward with the adoption and had 3 days to get everything done. We hurried and got our background check done, child abuse screenings, reference letters, physicals, home study, etc. done and got it all done in 3 days. I still don't know how we got everything done so fast. We definitely had the Lord on our side. Everything was falling into place and our family and friends stepped in and helped us make everything possible. We are so grateful for all who helped us so we can bring our little Zander home.

We know the Lord brought this sweet little spirit into our lives. He was born on the same day we received the call at 2:35 PM weighing 5 lbs. 15 oz. They had him in the NICU since his temperature was so low. He needed to stay a couple more days because his oxygen level went down the night before we arrived. We flew to Alabama on Friday and spent all night with him. They got us a room at the lodge connected to the hospital so we could be close. They switched his formula and he was doing much better. We stayed with him morning, noon and night. We stayed at the hospital for 2 nights until we got to take him home (to our hotel). We got to take him home the day before Christmas Eve.

We met his birth mom who is beautiful and sweet. She could only come and pick up her gift from us and leave. We also got her some food to-go. We hurried and got a picture and she left. It was all so fast. We wanted to sit and visit with her, ask her questions and get to know her so we could tell Zander all about her.

We are sitting in the hotel room enjoying our little Christmas miracle. We still can't believe we are parents and have this little guy in our life. He is perfect! We absolutely love him and fell in love with him before we even met him. We can't wait to get back home so all of our family and friends can meet him. He is the sweetest little guy and we have enjoyed getting to know his sweet spirit. We thank the Lord every day for this little guy and the plan he has for our life. He knows us better than we know ourselves and has a special plan for us. We couldn't be any happier with the plan he had for us. We are so grateful and feel so blessed. We love you Zander James Comstock!

DIY Picture Frame

We had this beautiful photo of Christ titled 'Parting the Veil (The Second Coming)' painted by Justin's favorite artist Jon McNaughton for 3 weeks. We tried finding the perfect frame that would fit the picture and also match our decorations. NO LUCK. Either it wasn't the right size, color or it would cost us a pretty penny. So I decided to make my own frame!

First we went to Home Depot and found the moulding we wanted for the frame. I wanted something that had more curves for when I glazed it. We got about 10 feet to make a 16x24 frame. It cost about $11 for the moulding. We didn't have a chop saw so we took it over to Justin's parents and his dad helped us cut the pieces. They were cut at a 45 degree angle.

When I got home I glued the pieces together with liquid nails. I got the heavy duty construction and remodeling one. I wiped off whatever glue that came out with a damp paper towel and taped it with some frogtape and let it dry over night.

I removed the tape, sanded the corners so they were smooth and screwed L brackets on the back in the corners so it would be secure. You want to make sure the screws aren't too long or it will go through the frame. I also screwed them in the thickest part of the frame. You can find L brackets at Home Depot down the same isle where the door hinges are. (I'm sure you can find them other places but we only went to Home Depot to get everything)

 

 

I painted the frame with Glidden semi gloss Robin's Egg.

 

After the paint dried I mixed up some glaze. I mixed 3 Tbls of Valspar Clear Mixing Glaze with 1 Tbls of Minwax Dark Walnut stain. I applied the glaze with a sponge brush and wiped it off with a damp old t-shirt. I kept applying the glaze in certain areas until I got the look that I wanted. I sprayed 1 coat of Krylon clear gloss spray paint to finish it off. That's it! The only thing we don't have is glass in front of the picture. I will have to figure that out.

Oh and did I mention this only probably cost us around $25 to make? We already had a lot of the stuff laying around so that saved us quite a bit too!

My Cub Scout

Justin got called to be the Cub Master about 3 months ago and this last Pack Meeting he was in full gear! He wanted to get his patches, the pants and belt so badly. I said no at first because I had heard Scout things can get expensive and they sure do. We went to the scout store to just get a couple patches and left with EVERYTHING he needed for his scout gear. Not my original plan but seeing Justin so excited in the scout store made me excited! The guy that helped us told Justin that he should get the Boy Scout pack # colors rather than the Cub Scout one's just in case he gets called into Boy Scouts. Justin listened and I think he has pretty much jinxed himself and will be in scouts for a while.

Oh and did I mention how hard it was to sew on his patches? Especially on his sleeves. Good thing I got clear thread so you can't see my mistakes.

Here he is at his last Pack Meeting on Tuesday. He looks like a happy camper right? Oh and he threw on some hiking socks and his hiking shoes. Haha...I sure love my Cub Scout! The boys sure love him too! I think he's more excited for Day Camp then they are! Justin's going to be a GREAT dad someday!

HAPPY 85th B-day

Happy Birthday G'Ma Lee! Her b-day was on March 29th
We sure love this lady! :)

Found what I've been looking for

When I worked at 1-800 Contacts I saw these awesome Wiggle Cars. I've always wanted one ever since. While Justin and I were waiting for our friends to meet us for lunch and went to the store Blickenstaff's at the shops at Riverwoods and there it was! What I had always been looking for. I had to ride them around the store and Justin let us get a couple to have for ourselves. Justin asked the worker if she had one and she said "No, but they will be fun for your kids". We looked at her and said we didn't have kids. She probably thought we were weird but we didn't care. We were having fun! :)

Oh and if you're never been in this store you should go! They have the coolest toys and old fashion candies.

Poor Owen

Poor Owen got his man hood taken away and had to wear the cone of shame. We didn't want to have him be miserable for 10 days so we paid a bit extra to buy him this Comfy Cone. We could fold it down and let him eat his food and not make him feel too confined. At first he thought it was a toy and ran around and then when he realized it wasn't coming off, he wasn't too thrilled. We weren't thrilled either. We didn't leave it on 24/7 and we sure didn't leave it on for 10 days. Since I work at home and could keep an eye on him, I left it off as long as he didn't pick at his stiches and we only made him wear it at night to sleep. He's a stud! :) We sure love him!

SPRING has Come!

I know this winter wasn't that cold but I am SO--- excited for warm weather! We aren't winter sports people and don't go skiing or snowboarding. YES... we live in Utah and I have never been skiing or snowboarding. Justin has been once and he didn't care for it so during the winter we stay in and watch LOTS of movies. I don't like the snow. However, we absolutely LOVE the sun! We like to go hiking, camping, swimming, barbeques, firepits, snow shack, Seven Peaks, mini golf, and more. We're going river rafting in June. This will be my first time and we are pretty excited! There's just so much more to do when it's warm outside!

GUESS WHAT? We've lived in our home for 9 months. That is the longest we've lived anywhere since we've been married and I'm sure glad we'll be here for a few years!

Lady A!!!

I think I'm due for some updates! Here's a photo from the Lady Antebellum concert we went to on Valentine's Day! It was one of the BEST concerts I've been to! Can't wait to see them again! We had pretty nice seats too! I forgot to bring our camera along to things like this but luckily my phone takes pretty good pics!  Till next time Lady A! :)

 

Happy V-Day

For Christmas, Justin got us Lady Antebellum tickets and TODAY IS THE DAY! =D I'm SO--- excited to go see them in concert! I absolutely LOVE them and all their songs. Justin is taking a liking to my kind of country music which has been lovely! Today is also Valentines Day! I admit, I'm not a HUGE fan of Valentines Day. I don't like the color pink, not a fan of chocolate and don't really care to get flowers that end up dying. I know...depressing right? Not depressing at all. I do LOVE having an excuse to get dressed up and go our with my Just. I'm not into the whole lovy dovy romance thing but if it's a day to go on a date with my hubs, well then. I'll take it! =) Especially if it's going to a concert with him!
As of lately there's nothing new. Just been off and on sick with this up and down winter. I wish it would just make up it's mind. We're heading to St. George this weekend with Justin's parents to get some more of grandma Lee's things and Jacobe has a baseball tournament in Mesquite. We're taking Owen along. It will be his first trip with us. We're going to try to go on a hike. I'm sure he's going to love it! He loves going on walks. Even the word "walk" get's him so excited. We have a new primary class. We teach 9 kids and they are all darling! I absolutely love teaching primary but I admit there are a few tiring days.

Well, I best go get ready to go to dinner and see my Lady A! =) Until next time....c ya!