Christmas Day

 

Christmas morning started off with the stocking discoveries.  It was fun to do some Christmas things for my parents that they usually do for me.  I enjoyed giving them surprises, even if they were just small things like car air fresheners, mouthwash, travel toothbrush covers, lotion, soap, fruit, crackers and cream cheese, treats, etc.

  Mark discovered granola, racquetball gear, and other items and treats in his stocking.  I was given one of my favorite treats, Cadbury Eggs (saved from Easter in the freezer).  I thought that was pretty funny.  :)
Below is the display of the gifts right before opening them....we were spoiled again!  Mark's main gift was the game Kubb, which we look forward to playing once the weather warms up a bit.  My big gift was a ukelele that we bought in Hawaii while we were there.  I love it!  

It was such a treat this year to open gifts for a little person!  :)  Baby Jax received so many cute things--outfits, books, toys, picture frame, etc. This is a quilt that my mom made for the babe.  Adorable, isn't it!!??  We also had the Christmas mood set all day long with fire and music on the TV, a DVD given to us by Gma Cindy.   

My parents and I went to our ward in the morning.  I really enjoyed singing and listening to the Christmas music.  I felt like that added some Christ into our Christmas that sometimes is forgotten somewhat amongst all the gifts and excitement.  It was nice to go and enjoy the spirit.  

We did the trade off and Mark went to the other ward in the afternoon with his festive vest on.  We did fondue for dinner after church.  Everything was delicious but my favorite had to be the homemade french bread dipped in Fiesta cheese.  mmmm.  We topped off our holiday by doing video chat with Kimi's family, Mark's parents, and talking to Benj on his mission.  I loved being able to talk to all the sibs and even see some Christmas gifts via computer.  Even though it's not quite as good as being in person, it was still great to see their Christmas excitement.  We played Wits and Wager and ate some yummy Parmesan jalapeno dip with crackers that night.  It was a wonderful Christmas!!! Absolutely wonderful!

 

We have received many good gifts from Heavenly Father this year. We have been blessed beyond measure. We are thankful for good health, jobs, our marriage and relationship with each other, the healing power of the atonement, and supportive family and friends.  We are so thankful for our new baby and for the selfless miracle of adoption that made it possible for him to join our family.  

Christmas Eve 2011

Aww...isn't that just special?  

________________________________________________

 We had some very special visitors on Christmas Eve!  I know what you're thinking and NOPE, even more special than Santa or his elves!  It was.....Grandpa Ed and Grandma Cindy!  They made the looooonnnnngggg drive from Utah out to spend the holidays with us.  We are so grateful they came because our Christmas was just that much more special because they joined us. 

 They arrived just in time for dinner.  I found the idea on pinterest of making candy cane pizza and decided to try it out as our Christmas Eve dinner.  We threw together some dough in the bread maker and then made the festive candy cane design.  Easy and delicious! 

It was wonderful to have Grandma and Grandpa meet their newest grandson.  Even being exhausted after their long trek, they put on their happy faces and mustered plenty of energy for dinner, holding and feeding the baby, and the bible reading Christmas Eve festivities.  :)

 

Growing Baby

Baby Jax is growing!  At our doctors appointment on December 19, he weighed 8 lbs!  He loves to eat and does a great job of burping well and not spitting up very much.  We are enjoying our little guy!!!  This picture was taken on Christmas Eve morning. 

He's Here!!!

Meet Baby Jax...

 Our sweet little Cayden Jax Tew arrived on
Monday, December 5th at 9:39 p.m.  

He came in at 7 lbs. 1 oz. and is 20 inches long.     

 

We were able to go into the delivery room shortly after he was born to hold him.  We were both smiling ear to ear as we saw him for the first time.  

 

 We brought him back to our hotel in this little ducky outfit.  This picture was taken at the hospital after the paperwork was signed and right before we strapped him in his seat to come with us.

We have been amazed at the entire adoption process.  It is truly a miracle!  The timing of us getting our paperwork in and being approved as an adoptive couple was truly miraculous as our birth mother saw our profile shortly after it had been up.  We know that Heavenly Father has had a hand in this entire process.  We are enjoying our little guy and think he's just the cutest little thing on the face of the planet! :) 

What did we think of Hawaii? Well...a picture can say a thousand words...

The best part about this is that we took these pictures for a LONG time and had A LOT of fun doing it.  We would see a picture, laugh our heads off, get ready for another one, and repeat the process all over again! 

Sisters are the best.  I'm glad I have such a cool one.  :)

     

I would say boogie boarding was one of our favorite activities.  We went three times and had a blast every time.  This is trip #3:  The waves were pretty insane-o at this beach and the life guards told us "don't go if you're an amateur or just messing around" so Mark was the first one of our clan to brave the water.  Amateurs...pff.  We were pretty much pros by then...or something like that :)  (This is when Kimi and I took our hundreds of jumping pictures).  Then, we decided to try it out too and it ended up being yet again another fantastic boogie boarding time. 

Laie: Temple, Fumis, and the PCC

 We went to the beautiful Laie Temple.  I was surprised at how big the temple grounds were!  It was absolutely beautiful.

 I am telling you....it is worth it to go to Hawaii just for FUMI'S Shrimp Shack.  My mouth is watering just typing about it!  Seriously.  After the temple, we did some succulent shrimp for lunch.  We also had some Guava juice, which was a hit throughout the trip.  (that and POG-Passion Orange Guava juice)  

 The PCC was a hit!  Kimi and her little kiddos met us here after lunch.  Above, Mark is teaching Austin how to start a fire...hmm...maybe not such a smart idea :)  Below is a picture of one of Mark's favorite activities, the pole toss.  He was pretty good at it but nothing compared to the Island Pros.  (no offense, Mark)

We went on a romatic canoe ride with a couple on their honeymoon from Japan.  For me, the most memorable part of this was when the guy who was pushing us got his big pole stuck in the trees and then fell into the water.  I wanted to get a picture pretty badly but decided to be decent and nice since he was quite embarrassed.  

We enjoyed going to the island's presentations and the parade on the water.  The presenters are funny, cool, toned, buff, tan, and inspiring all at the same time. :)  But I think we both agree that the NIGHT SHOW is the bomb-diggity.  You aren't allowed to take pics but we would have taken 5,000 of the fire dancers alone.  They were AMAZING.  The whole show is awesome. The message is a feel-good, deeper meaning of life type.  The dancers are shakin' bacon legit.  I just want to go back right now! 

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor has a special feel to it.  We both enjoyed learning more about the details surrounding what happened here.  We enjoyed the museums, the documentary, and touring out on the main site.  Mark particularly enjoyed looking at all of the "military stuff."  Visiting Pearl Harbor reminded us of how blessed we are and how thankful we are for our military and their families.    

This picture is funnier than it seems.  I wanted to get a pic of both of us without taking it ourselves, so naturally I asked a kind looking tourist to take a picture for us. :)  It just so happened to be an Asian one and she couldn't understand a word I said and I couldn't understand her either.  I just handed her the camera and she was talking away in gibberish.  Meanwhile, Mark is shaking his head over and over.  It took her at least a few minutes to take this one picture.  You know when time seems to be going strangely slow during awkward moments?  Yeah, it felt like we were standing there smiling for about 10 minutes while she was saying all sorts of stuff.  She finally gave the camera back and I looked at the picture and gave her a thumbs up.  Then Mark said to me "from now on, I will be the one to ask people to take our picture." ha ha!  I don't blame him.   

Hoping to Adopt

Our adoption profile is now up!
Feel free to check out our profile by clicking HERE.

We are looking forward to this new adventure in our lives!!!

Sunflowers

I wrote this a few weeks ago and forgot to post it. oops.

My favorite time of year in Kansas is right now, the SUNFLOWER season! These happy little wildflowers are everywhere. I love how they make me feel happy. They remind me of when we found out we were moving here and came up for a visit to look for a house. The sunflowers were in full bloom, and I LOVED it! I thought, "this is pretty, I can definitely live here." I also like how sunflowers are kind of a country flower. Since I grew up in a small town out in the country, they remind me of growing up and that life can slow down and be happy, just like a sunflower.

I will put our photos on later...I feel impatient right now and lazy too. I don't want to walk in the other room to get our camera. You can just google sunflower images if you want to see some matching images ;)
Lazy Lacey Lazy Lacey.

Making Some Memories....

We had such a fantastic trip to Utah! It was just so great to hang out and see family. One tradition we have is Cole Making Memories. We did so many fun things around Park City and Salt Lake. Since it was pioneer weekend, we hit up the church history museum, went to Brigham Young's grave site, watched 17 Miracles, and did a hike to Ensign Peak. After growing up in Utah all my life, I've never done that hike before! I am glad we did it because the view was awesome and it was nice to participate in some pioneer history. I can say that the weekend and particularly the Miracles show did give me a new appreciation for the pioneers, their sacrifices, and what they went through. It's absolutely amazing! On our reunion, we also fit in some swimming, a Bees game with fireworks after, lots of delicious food, game playing, and visiting. What great memories! Thanks for planning, mom! Another success! Until next year, folks!

I Heart USA

I Heart USA for many reasons, one, my new mode of transportation. Check out these babies! They bring a smile to my face every time they even cross my mind. I've had this obsession with 'blades probably since elementary school. They are so hard core, right? Anyway, my friend graciously bought me these lovelies at a yard sale and I've been in heaven since. I've decided to become a "Sonic Housewife" (at least until school starts) because I can roll down my tile close to every room in my house! Dinner will be so much more exciting now! (Side note: I wear this shirt ALL of the time...even though 4th of July is a gonner. I guess it just adds to the rollerblade ensamble)

I also heart USA, even if I don't have that shirt on in this picture, because yellow corvettes exist. Obsession #2:I love this! Now I just need to actually drive one, because let's get serious, I'm not going to own one until I'm.....fifty something years old...and by then the passion may have faded....or not.......

This is just an added bonus picture to the post: CHECK IT! This is the sky, right after church in front of my house. Welcome to Kansas, people! Craziness.