You've been served!

Well - he's only 10 months old and A-man has already been to court and served a summons by the sherriff's office. Yep - he's a little trouble maker all right...well not really but he did have to go to court.


All dressed up with somewhere to go - check out their suits

Last week we took a family trip downtown Chicago to petition the court for our adoption finalization. Our wonderful attorney met us at the Daily Federal Building and Courthouse and we startedm on the next step in this incredible journey. Our attorney had 2 other families there also that we got to know that were also adopting infants.


Watching the sherriff's deputy get A-man's summons ready


Apparently A-man thought it was hilarious too

First we filled out some papers in the adoption family waiting room and signed all kinds of things and then we were instructed to go to the 7th floor - the sherriff's office. We all went downstairs and then they served the babies their papers summoning them to appear in court. I have to say it was adorable!!!! After A-man received his papers the deputy on duty gave him his own sherriff's badge for his memory book.


A-man being served his summons to appear in court.

We then went back upstairs to the 17th floor family waiting room and waited to meet with the judge for our hearing. While waiting A-man was showing off his awesome suit and sweet crawling skills. In addition he was talking up a storm and laughing like crazy. He was so loud that they had to close the outer door to the courtroom because they could hear him inside. Our attorney mentioned that he should go into PR when he gets older because he is such a charmer.

Then it was our turn in front of the judge. Jason held him and let A-man stand on the judge's desk. He immediately started to jump and dance and charmed the judge and everyone else in the courtroom. We talked to the judge about how he was adjusting, how we were adjusting, and all kinds of different things. It all went really well - we had a great judge! The judge mentioned that she could see A-man becoming an attorney when he grew up because he looked great in his little pin-striped suit and like most attorneys he wouldn't be quiet. (No offense to any attorneys out there - it was a compliment) :) That's right he charmed her also! On our way out the baliff gave A-man a sucker which he proceeded to suck the plastic until we took it away...


A-man and his new buddy - his judge!

Then we waited a little longer in the waiting room for things to finish up and then it was over! The judge came out so we could get pictures with her and then we headed out. Now all that is left is for all the paperwork to be finished up and filed. For the first time in court for all 3 of us it wasn't too bad - we actually had fun! Now let's hope that's A-man's ONLY time going to court.


The whole family with the judge who signs the papers to make it all possible.

A few of his favorite things

Well our little man is definitely getting an opinion about things so I thought I would share a little bit about his likes and dislikes!

Favorite thing to do during the day - Explore! He is a crawling machine and loves to go all around the house and practice his new skill. He also likes to take things apart and see how they work. The play mats we have around the house he will rip up off the floor. We made a box out of some of the extras - and he proceeded to put it on and off his head.




Favorite activity with mom - crawling away from her when she is changing diapers. A-man will quickly flip over as soon as the diaper is off and take off as fast as he can - although he turns around to make sure mom is coming to catch him and then starts to laugh.

Favorite activity with dad - bathtime! A-man loves bathtime with dad - they laugh and play and laugh some more. Sometimes I'm not sure who enjoys their time together more - A-man or dad.


Sporting his bubble beard and mohawk compliments of dad\

Playing as the water cascades into the bathtub

Least favorite activity - naptime! Someone is now putting up a fuss when it's naptime - it will last a few seconds and then he is so wiped out that he is out like a light. But he makes sure to let us know that he doesn't want to be going to bed.

Favorite food - carrots, spaghetti, waffles, peaches, and of course his puffs and just about anything else he can put in his mouth.


Feeding himself - as you can see by the mess - this doesn't happen too often.

Least Favorite food - pureed macaroni and cheese - talk about a mess - he definitely didn't like that meal...

Favorite word (at least babble) - ma ma/da da - but it ends up being more like ma ma ma ma ma ma....or da da da da da....

Favorite toy - where to start...he loves his little activity center, and his blocks, he especially loves his musical instruments - I think we have a budding musician on our hands. He also loves stuffed animals right now and anything that he can make noise with. And books! He loves to read his books.

Favorite accessory - ok this is more for mom and dad but he looks adorable in hats! So he has a ton of hats that he wears. The best part is that he doesn't mind them at all - in fact he plays peek-a-boo with his hats.


Playing peek-a-boo with his newsboy hat

Hat time!

Other misc favorites - he loves to skype with his grandparents and aunts and uncles - he recognizes the sound of someone calling to skype and gets very excited to show off. He also loves when we play games together - he gets such a kick out it.

MOM & DAD's favorite - A-man!!! We love him so much and can't seem to get enough of him. Here's a quick video of him laughing while dad plays peek-a-boo...

November fun

Well lately we have been very popular. Grandma and Grandpa Bowler came to visit our favorite little guy. Then we also had Jason's sister and her family come to visit. Baby boy is always being entertained and he is loving every minute of it! We took him down to Wrigley Field in downtown Chicago and even all bundled up he was adorable. We took some cute pictures of Jason and Aedyn together at Wrigley Field. You can't be a Chicago boy without going to some of the most famous sports spots in the city.




Aedyn is also adjusting extremely well to his new home! He has so many toys and fun things that he is completely spoiled. He also has a ton of new friends. The first Sunday we went to church our little guy was the most popular person there. Everyone wanted to see him and he loved the spotlight. It's amazing to me how he loves people and is so happy to meet new people. Everyone kept mentioning how cute and happy he was. I couldn't ask for anything more.


He is also making great strides in his development. He is rolling over now and starting to sit up by himself. He does really well until he gets too excited and then he starts to tip over a little (we are keeping lots of pillows surrounding him at all times on the floor). He is also starting to eat solids now. He loves food! So far he loves everything he has tried. I don't know why he likes it so much - he shared some with me the other day - he got so excited while eating that he spit everything right at me and I got a nice mouthful of green beans and rice cereal. At least he is loving it!

Fall & Halloween 2010

Well baby boy celebrated his first Halloween recently and had no idea what is was all about but we sure enjoyed it! He dressed up in two different costumes. The first costume was a puppy dog - we went to a party and he was so adorable - although the the costume was a little big and the hood kept creeping over his head. So we went and bought him another costume. This time he was a bumble bee! He was so adorable! We didn't go trick or treating (Jason and I definitely don't need to be eating candy and Aedyn can't eat it). But he helped to pass out candy and got oohh's and aahhh's because he was so cute!



We also went and took him to get come pictures taken. What a photogenic little guy! We took a couple pictures by some pumpkins but he was too intrigued by the pumpkins to pay attention to the camera. Then we went by some colorful trees and put him in a little Androdak chair and he was all smiles! Then to make Jason extra proud we put his University of Utah jersey on and put him on his U of U blanket! What a ham! He totally lived it up. I couldn't ask for a cuter, happier, better little boy!




Once we got back to Illinois I took some pictures in all the leaves. I raked the leaves and then positioned his bumbo chair for him to sit in and it looked like he was in all the leaves. I was amazed that he didn't try to eat one single leaf - instead he was just intrigued at looking at them. Super cute!

Welcome to the family!

On Sept 29, 2010 our family experienced the most wonderful blessing ever! We welcomed a beautiful 5 month baby boy into our family. Aedyn's birth parents truly loved him and wanted him to have the best life possible. They choose us to be his adoptive parents and to raise him. We felt so honored and blessed that they trusted us with this wonderful spirit! He has brought so much joy and we can't imagine life without him.


When we first met him at the meeting with his birth mother Aedyn just lit up! Stormie, Aedyn's birth mother, told us later that it was as if he recognized us and was excited to see us. He has been so happy ever since he foined our family! It has been a dream come true to have him in our family. Both of us will look at Aedyn and just thank our Heavenly Father that he has blessed us with such a wonderful little boy.


We also owe so much to his birth parents. They love him so much and made the ultimate sacrifice in order to give him a better future. I admire their sacrifice and the decision they made so much! We will forever be grateful to them for letting Aedyn join our family. Thanks Stormie and DJ - you are our hero's!!! You have made our family complete!

BMW Golf Champsionship at Dubdread

This weekend we went and did something that we have talked about doing for a long time. We had originally planned on spending Saturday at Cantigny but with Diana’s rehearsal running late and rain in the morning it didn’t work out. Well- we couldn’t just waste away the weekend so we came up with something else! We went to the PGA BMW Golf Championship.

Cog Hill Golf Course

Jason has always loved golf but since we moved to Illinois he has grown to love it even more. Only 15 minutes from our house a PGA Championship game is played every year at Cog Hill golf course. Every year we talk about going but never have. So since we have talked about it so much we decided to go and watch it this year. It was a lot of fun. The course was absolutely beautiful, the weather became fantastic, and it was amazing to see how well these guys can golf! We spent most of the day on the 16th and 17th holes and saw everyone we wanted to see!

Tiger Woods

We watched Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson play each other and actually hit not far from where we were sitting/standing. We also saw V.J.Singh, K.J. Choi, Paul Casey, Ryan Moore, Ernie Els, Kevin Na, and so many others! The really cool part was watching Dustin Johnson hit his winning birdie at the 17th hole – it’s what gave him the lead!

Dustin Johnson


So although we will never golf like those guys did it was a lot of fun to go and watch them play! It’s another experience we can mark on our list of things we have done – so no complaints from this peanut gallery!

Ian Poulter and his crazy pants

Quilting

So as many of you know I enjoy quilting! I have been working on a baby quilt since we started the adoption process and have finally finished it (that means we can get a baby now!). It started just as one quilt with storybook characters and then I decided to make that a wall hanging and make another quilt to match it. Before I knew it I had curtains to match and all kinds of cute stuff for a future baby room - now we just need the baby. I took the quilt with me to Utah and a friend is doing the actual quilting of it - it was larger than I wanted to try to do on my home sewing machine.


In addition I also finished a quilt for Jason's sister. I have made a quilt for almost all of my nieces and nephews before they were born. The 8 oldest were out of luck - I either hadn't figured out how to quilt yet or I didn't know them (Jason's side of the family). Jason's sister is expecting a little guy pretty soon so we picked out the fabric and I went to work. I think it turned out super cute.

Here are a couple of pictures of the quilts I've just recently made. The monkey one is the one for Jason's sister and the little blocks and appliqued characters is for our future child.





In addition I was reading a friends blog and found this touching parable/story that relates to quilting that I thought I would share.


The Threadbare Quilt
As I faced my Maker at the last judgment, I knelt before the Lord along with all the other souls. Before each of us laid our lives like the squares of a quilt in many piles. An angel sat before each of us sewing our quilt squares together into a tapestry that is our life.

But as my angel took each piece of cloth off the pile, I noticed how ragged and empty each of my squares was. They were filled with giant holes. Each square was labeled with a part of my life that had been difficult, the challenges and temptations I was faced with in everyday life. I saw hardships that I endured, which were the largest holes of all.

I glanced around me. Nobody else had such squares. Other than a tiny hole here and there, the other tapestries were filled with rich color and the bright hues of worldly fortune. I gazed upon my own life and was disheartened. My angel was sewing the ragged pieces of cloth together, threadbare and empty, like binding air.

Finally the time came when each life was to be displayed, held up to the light, the scrutiny of truth. The others rose, each in turn, holding up their tapestries. So filled their lives had been. My angel looked upon me, and nodded for me to rise.

My gaze dropped to the ground in shame. I hadn't had all the earthly fortunes. I had love in my life, and laughter. But there had also been trials of illness, and death, and false accusations that took from me my world as I knew it. I had to start over many times. I often struggled with the temptation to quit, only to somehow muster the strength to pick up and begin again. I spent many nights on my knees in prayer, asking for help and guidance in my life. I had often been held up to ridicule, which I endured painfully, each time offering it up to the Father in hopes that I would not melt within my skin beneath the judgmental gaze of those who unfairly judged me. And now, I had to face the truth. My life was what it was, and I had to accept it for what it was.

I rose and slowly lifted the combined squares of my life to the light. An awe-filled gasp filled the air. I gazed around at the others who stared at me with wide eyes. Then, I looked upon the tapestry before me. Light flooded the many holes, creating an image, the face of Christ. Then our Lord stood before me, with warmth and love in His eyes. He said, "Every time you gave over your life to Me, it became My life, My hardships, and My struggles. Each point of light in your life is when you stepped aside and let Me shine through, until there was more of Me than there was of you.

May all our quilts be threadbare and worn, allowing Christ to shine through.