jbam life

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

The Movie "Annie"

This is going to sound totally dorky, but I have decided that "Annie" has some of the best choreorgraphy that I have seen in a movie (or on tv) for a long time. I have been watching it regularly with the girls (I will try to video them dancing along because it is hilarious) and I really think they did an exceptional job. If anyone is looking to learn some excellent dance steps--just dig in the basement for the old VHS player and pop it in!

And by the way Mom...I did a little research about Ann Reinking (Grace Farrell) and she is known for dancing and partnering with Bob Fosse in some of his best. Apparently she is the main character in the 1970's "Chicago", and also in "All that Jazz" so I will have to check that out because I like her style a lot!

Reward Time!

The charts are finally full! Some of you know that Mya and Ana have been working on earning stickers to complete these charts for over 3 months now. I originally thought they would fill these much faster, since 5 stickers can be earned per day and there are only 75 boxes (that's less than 3 weeks!). Anyway, Ana completed hers a few days before Mya but I held out so they could get their reward on the same day. They now both have thier ears pierced! This is something that Mya has been wanting for a long time, but until the adoption was finalized it was not an option. I am proud of them for working so hard to earn this reward, and here is the mini version of what happened that day...

We dropped off Mya at school, and then I took Ana to the mall. I had to strategically devise the plan because Ana is much tougher than Mya, and I didn't want to go home with a singly pierced Mya. Here is Ana without earrings for the last time, not having a clue of what was about to happen to her.

The girl was really good about piercing the second ear very quickly after the first so Ana didn't have much time to react. Poor Ana didn't cry at all--she just looked at the girl like, "Why did you just do that????!!!" Then she looked at me with half a frown, pointed to her ear and said, "Ouchy Mommy." What a big girl! The suckers helped a little, but she was still trying to figure out what we had just done to her. I chose tiny sterling hearts for Ana Banana. They will have to stay in for 6 weeks.

I asked the girl if when I brough back Mya, they could pierce her ears at the same time. She said if I came back when the shifts switched, there would be 2 people to help. So-- we picked up Mya and wasted a little time playing together. Mya was so excited for Ana, and that her ears looked so pretty.

This photo makes me laugh :)

So now it was Mya's turn. Here is the last picture of Mya without earrings, and excited for her reward...

Both piercings done at once..

And then the cry, with a little shriek...

She was given a sucker too, and 2 minutes later once she looked in the mirror, she was happy again.

Mya helped choose little pink and gold stars and she is very ready to show them to EVERYONE!

Whew! Not sure what the next reward will be for completing the new chart--but Mya doesn't seem to care anymore since she got her earrings!

Friday, January 9, 2009

Play time

News Alert: Friday, January 9th was my last day of work, and I am now officially a stay at home mom! And so begins my latest career move, to hope that the greatest work I will ever do will be within the walls of my own home.

(Ana, Mya, Josh)

Thank you Adro and Clint!

Adrienne and Clint brought back Ana & Mya bonnets from Nauvoo, and mexican dresses from Mexico. Thank you for being so thoughtful. They are adorable!

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Merry Christmas!

This is our public THANK YOU To all of those who contributed to our very merry Christmas!

Sledding

I never really thought I liked sledding, but I have decided that was because I was never warm enough to enjoy it. This year we all have warm snowsuits/skiwear, and it is a whole new mountain of fun! Of course the girls would stay out all night if we would let them.

Congrats Brian!

Way to go on finishing up your first semester with excellent grades, while still being a terrific husband and father. We are proud of you for all of your determination and hard work. Keep it up!

You are doing excellent! Way to go on writing some awesome legal papers and for making lots of intelligent comments to get the professors' eyes on you. Keep studying hard. We are proud of you!

We are on our way! We have rented out the house, sold the Neon, and are ready to leave the morning of Aug 14th. Thank you Adrienne for agreeing to take the journey with us. We plan to arrive the night of 8/15.

Brian's last day of work is Aug. 12th and his co-workers are sure going to miss him! Thank you for being such a hard-working provider for our family. We are VERY grateful. Our plan is to start driving to WI on the weekend of 8/15.

Brian's plan is to excell at Marquette so he can transfer after year one to a better ranked school like- Cornell, Georgetown, Northwestern, UW Madison, etc. He'd still like to go study with Marquette in Germany for a month before he transfers. We'll see!

Cornell is full for this year's class, but they encouraged Brian to re-apply next year as a transfer student. We are proud of you Brian!!

FYI- Seat deposits for those accepted to various law schools are due the first week of June, so the waitlisters are hoping to hear something during the second week of June.

for making the "Wait List" at SMU and the "Reserve List" at Cornell. Yes, Cornell is an IVY LEAGUE school in New York, and the #7 Law School in the nation. Way to go Brian!

for making the "Wait List" at the U of UT. We should have a decision by mid May from them.

We received word from SMU today that they are extending their acceptance decisions (instead of 4/30) to May 11th. Ugh! Since Brian hasn't been accepted or rejected yet-- this just extends the wait!!

Also, a deposit has been made to hold Brian's scholarship and "spot" at Marquette, just in case!

Marquette wants you and they are offering an $11k scholarship per year if you say yes!

...on getting your first acceptance to law school! Brian was offered a $15k scholarship per year to Florida Coastal--but we don't think we will end up there! We are proud of you!

..on completing your law school applications. I know it was tons of work, and your Personal Statement was awesome!! Now we just wait a couple months, so--no need to be stressed anymore!

...on being such a wonderful and loving husband. I appreciate all that you do for us, and I couldn't make it without you. Thank you and know that I love you so much!

...on an exceptional LSAT score! The studying paid off, and you are on your way.We are hoping to move within the next 6 months (we just have no idea where that will be!).

...for studying so hard, and completing the LSAT without running out of time. We know you did great and we are so proud of you! Scores should be in by January 5th.

...on getting the prestigious position as Deputy Clerk at the UT Federal Courthouse. Way to go smarty pants!

BS Healthcare Administration

We are so proud of you!

The Latest

12/10 Mya and Ana were sealed to us in the Salt Lake Temple which allows them to be a part of our family through the eternities. Thank you to those who were there with us, to witness such a special blessing.
12/8 Mya and Ana officially became Waymans as we swore in and officially accepted the responsibility of being their parents. Thank you to all those who attended the ceremony!
Mya and Ana will be sealed to us in the SLC temple on 12/10 at 7:20pm. Hope you can make it!
11/3 was the pre-trial to enter any success of the mediation to the judge. Grandma withdrew her petition as promised, and the final adoption date was set. BOTH GIRLS WILL BE OFFICIALLY (LEGALLY) ADOPTED AT 11:30AM ON MONDAY 12/8. I should know the sealing date shortly. You are all invited to the adoption at the courthouse, and to the eternal sealing!
The 10/30 mediation went well. Grandma agreed to withdraw her petition for a promise of visitation if agreed upon by us and Mya's counselor. Since Utah is a closed adoption state, the visitation cannot be court ordered, and therefore any visitation that we allow post adoption is considered "good will".
I have completed 2 meetings with very different types of Post Adoption Specialists. The first was with a DCFS therapist who gave me tips on how to develop the skills I need to better help Mya with her PTS and her permanency, attachment, and control issues. I learned that most of this needs to be resolved before the child turns 5 because of the personality traits and brain functions that children will have in place by then. I have my work cut out for me, but I know that it will benefit us so much in the long run! The second meeting was regarding programs available after adoption and paperwork. I found out that both girls will receive new birth certificates and Social Security Cards with their new names, etc. on them. I had no idea, but that's pretty neat. For those of you who don't know this already, we have chosen the names Mya Grace and Ana Elise. Although Mya prefers Mya Papaya--we already had to turn in their new names for the adoption petition, so it's too late now!
10/6 Despite our petition, the judge called for another mediation because grandma's attorney said he was confident we could figure everything out in mediation, and not need to go to trial. Mediation was scheduled for 10/30. Then we will report at a pre-trial AGAIN on 11/3.
10/2 Our petition for adoption was submitted to the court
9/29 This was supposed to be the Pre-trial to discuss how the mediation went. Since there was no mediation to report on, judge scheduled pre-trial again for 10/6. GAL requested that we go ahead and petition for the adoption before 9/6. She said that if there are 2 petitions regarding the same thing, the judge only has to respond to one. We are hoping she will choose our adoption petition over Grandma's guardianship petition, so that way we can proceed and have this finalized ASAP. We are hoping to have an adoption date within a week or so.
9/24 Mediation Scheduled. Neither Grandma nor her Attny show up.
9/15 The girls are now legally free. Almost there!