Day 4 {London Part 1}

       We arrived in London in the afternoon with what we were hoping was enough time to rent a car which we already had booked to drive out to the Stonehenge but that didn’t end up happening and in a way I’m kind of glad for 2 reasons…1^st driving in London is awful and 2^nd driving to the Stonehenge, seeing it and then trying to find our way back to he rental car place/train station would have made us late for the train. We decided instead to drive out to see the London bridge and drive across it. We accomplished that but getting there was the fun or should I say nail biting part! Not only is getting use to driving on the opposite side of the road hard then you have the steering wheel on the opposite side of the car. The streets are complicated and navigating is hard. There are no dividers in the road so are sometimes you are less then an inch from the other cars. If you don’t go right as the light turns green they honk like crazy at you. If you are not going fast enough they will swerve out of the lane and speed up and cut in front if you, The motorcyclists think they are invincible and weave in our of cars. People cross the road whenever they feel like it. People park their cars on very narrow roads and some are parked facing one way while others are parked the opposite way. We finally made to the London Bridge after about what seemed like forever. It was so HUGE! It was very crowded and so spectacular to look at as we drove over it We were awe struck at its beauty and also the size of it. We had to head back towards the train station but first we had to return the rental car. We could not find the place to save our lives. I finally called the company to ask for directions but that didn’t help very much, they gave us some coordinates to help us locate it told us to go this way and that and finally I spotted the building in the distance…thank goodness! We dropped the car off and walked 5 min to Kings Cross Train Station. That train station is amazing! We were in awe once again at the enormity of it. We found a place and we got some dinner before the train..nothing huge just something to hold us over until Paris. We boarded the train to Paris and off we went….too be continued!

Day2 {Iceland}

      We arrived in Iceland at 4: 30am and were supposed to be picked up at the airport by a company called Green Motion who said they would be there to pick up when we arrived, were nowhere to be seen. We waited for an hour we tried calling a few times and finally got a hold of someone to come pick us and another party up. He finally got there and picked up and took us to the rental car company.We got are our and headed to our Hotel Laxnes to drop off our things and try to get an h our of sleep. We had not had much on the plane because our seats were right before the emergency exit and because of that our seats didn’t recline. Sleeping straight up is not easy nor comfortable. We woke up and we were going   get breakfast at the hotel but decided against it. We just grabbed a few things at the gas station. We drove out to the catch the tour bus. The tour bus took us to the National Park, the Gulfloss Waterfall, the geysers and another waterfall that I can’t remember the name at the moment. The tour lasted about 5 hrs. My favorite thing was be far Gulfloss waterfall. It was incredible!! Boy was Iceland  cold that day and rainy. I wore a light jacket and a beanie but I was so cold! The mist from the waterfalls in combination of the rain made it very cold. We went to a restaurant right across form the geysers called the Kantina where I had chicken nuggets and Adam had fish sticks. They had a souvenir shop attached to it so we bought a few things and headed back to the bus. We returned to the rental car and looked for a place to eat dinner. We can found a place called the Celtic Cross it was delicious. The lady running the restaurant had a small dog that greeted us when we entered. I guess you can bring your pets to work with you in Iceland. We ate and began searching for our place we had booked to stay.  We found the apartment we had rented for the night and met the host. She was very warm and showed us around her home. She said she had a dinner party to go to with friends and left us to fend for ourselves. We were so tired from not having much sleep that we zonked out soon after arrival. We woke up at 4am in order to get gas for our rental car and grab a bite to eat. We got gas and something quick to eat. We returned the rental car at the airport and headed in to catch our flight to London, We flew WOW air and had a great experience. Our seats actually reclined this time so we could nap if needed…too be continued

Day 1 {BOSTON}

    We left SLC at 11:04pm and flew to JFK  with a 1 hr lay over there. We hopped back on the plane bound for Boston. We were excited to go to Boston for a few reasons 1 is Adam’s sister Sara and her Husband Clark and our twin nieces Abby and Joy live on the MIT campus 2 being that neither Adam or I had been there before. The weather was beautiful when we arrived at 7:30am. We collected our baggage and met up with Sara who was going to show us around Boston. They have lived there 2 years now and know there way around very well. We rode the Silver line bus to the south station so that we could put our backpacks there in the package hold so that we didn’t have to carry them around all day. That was so helpful. Adam and I got breakfast at the Subway station and then we took the subway to go the Boston Commons..it’s a big park in the middle of town. We walked around and saw this sea of small American flags. They place them there every memorial day one for each Massachusetts soldier that has died from the revolutionary war to present. It was very majestic and sad at the same time to have lost so many lives in war. Abby and Joy loved the flags very much, they are getting very good at talking and have a pretty big vocabulary. We continued on to the bridge to admire the ducks they girls love wildlife. We ventured on to see the Boston Public Library. It was so beautiful..way more grand then you would expect from a library. We walked up stairs to see some paintings and statues. They girls loved the 2 big lion statues at the top of stairs the most. We left the library and headed to the food court in the mall for some lunch at Boston Chowda, Adam had a sandwich and clam chowder and I had broccoli chowder and and a grilled cheese..it was delicious. We decided to head back to Sara and Clark’s place for a quick nap before we headed to the airport to catch our next plane to Iceland. Sara and Clark live on 25^th floor and their view of Boston from there is amazing!  We fell asleep quick and a hour and a half passed by very quickly. We left and headed to catch the subway back to the airport but before that we had to buy a birthday present for the girls since they will be turning 2 before we get back. We stopped to see a crazy looking building as well. We got to the airport and checked into our WOW air flight. We had a about an hour once we got through security to wait to board. We boarded at 7:15pm and took off for Reykjavik Iceland. We will arrive in Iceland at 4:05 am. We took off in the light and since we are flying north it has yet to get dark outside, it’s very strange to not have darkness when it’s midnight….  Too be continued 

My Furr Babies {Update}

My furr babies..my "children"  Here's a little bit about each of them these days... 

{Nala} 

She is my worry wort, always very aware of what is going on around her. She never misses a beat.

She hardly ever leaves my side and if she hears any of her brothers making noise she is the first to check it out.

She loves it eat at night..we always say she loves her "midnight snack" 

She freaks out if we put our shoes on, say the word car, grab our keys, say the word go.. she knows exactly what is going on and she will run to the door then run to you and back and forth.

She loves car rides the most out of the three.

She is scared to death of fireworks.

A few weeks back we went to a gas station that we had never been to before and I don't know why but she got so scared and started shaking like crazy..we never did figure out why.

She loves tennis balls and cherishes any time she gets one before it gets stolen from her.

She loves to be held and any attention she can get.

We call her our vacuum since she will eat any human or dog food she can find or is given.

She is beautiful beyond belief.

{Jett}

He is my protector.. he would never let anything happen to Adam or I.

He let you know if he is not to fond of you..especially if you are Male and aren't Dad.

He loves his baby brother..they get in all sorts of trouble together..

He loves taking naps on the kitchen table while we are gone...usually everyday I come home to paw prints on my table..yay for lysol!
He is my pickiest eater by far... he has to smell anything he eats before he eats it and takes forever to eat it most of the time.

He LOVES baseballs...more then tennis balls..not sure why.

He takes a beating from Axel daily and puts up with it for the most part.

He is a lover boy always willing to give a kiss or two.

He sleeps with his head under our bed every night.

He is getting better a liking car rides...he did not like them as puppy much...

He has the cutest face ever that always looks so happy.

He is handsome beyond belief.

{Axel}

He is by far my wildest baby...He will be one year old soon and he is just as big as Jett.

He adores his big brother and usually you will find the two together.

He loves any kind of food as well..haven't found one that he doesn't like yet.

He weighs just as much as jett maybe a tiny bit less.

He somehow finds a way to get the dirtiest. 

He loves to wrestle Jett and most always instigates it.

He loves any toy that his siblings have that he doesn't.

He knows how to sit and that's about it. 

He is definitely my worst when it comes to barking. 

He loves to get right in your face if he thinks you are not paying attention to him.

He always eats laying down.

When he wants his ball guarded he will put it in the food bowl until he is done eating..ive never seen any of the other dogs try and steal it so it must work for him.

He can jump so high it's crazy..he can jump up as high as I am tall.

He loves naps at the bottom of the stairs.   

He is ruined and chewed up a bunch of things...the other two did as well.

He is my handsome baby.

Forgiving My Broken Body...

         As I've mentioned before in previous blog posts that I have known since I was old enough to understand what my life would be like when it came to dealing with not having my own biological child. I think even at a young age I knew that a biological child would never be something I would achieve as a women. I remember a conversation with my cardiologist it was the first time that I could recall that he actually said the words that I still cry over to this day. Something to the effect of "I think getting pregnant would put to much stress on your body when your heart is already pumping twice as hard as it should." I think it was then that I finally grasped the heaviness of that sentence. I have always LOVED children and gravitated towards them. So to hear the finality of his words made it all that much more real. I was devastated to say the least and have spent nights over the years shedding tears wondering why I was given a body so broken. I felt like I was less of a women because I would never carry the badge of honor women receive after giving birth. I hated not being able to give that to Adam and was upset about the closeness I would lack during the pregnancy and birthing experience. I felt like my body had betrayed me. I would lay awake at night thinking about how I would give anything to have a baby even when that meant laying in a bed for 9 months I was willing to do it. It has been years since my cardiologist uttered that sentence and I feel like at some point I have to forgive my broken body and live with that fact that as much as I want it it's never going to be my reality. I've cycled through the hoping and disappointment the longing and the heaviness of my heart the self blame and the outright betrayal of my very own body. I wish for the pain to stop and I think it at times it is getting easier and I feel on top of my emotions but then I'll hear someone complain about being pregnant and they all come rushing back from the dark place they have been hiding. Through the adoption process and other things it has helped with my healing and I feel like one day I will totally forgive my body and when I get the baby I've longed for my entire life my pain will permanently be softened.  

Happy Holidays from the Collet Clan...

Happy Holidays from the Collets!

As always, we have had a BUSY year.  By the end of the year, we will have three big trips under our belts.

Our year began with the decision to put our home up for sale and move closer to our jobs and family.

In February the Collet Clan grew by one with the addition of our new nephew Camden! He the cutest thing on the planet (all of our nephews and nieces are of course)!

At the end of February our house went under contract and on March 1st we put an offer on a house in West Jordan. A month later we were packed and moving day was April 5th.

In May, we traveled to North Carolina for Adam’s brother Matt’s wedding which happened to be the same day as our anniversary, May 31st.  Adam acted as a groomsman which was a great experience despite the combo of humidity, heat and wearing a tux.  We had the pleasure of staying with sister Sara’s in-laws; they were very gracious hosts and we were grateful for their insight on what sights to see while there.  We particularly enjoyed the North Carolina Zoo, which at 500 (developed) incredible acres is the largest walk-through zoo in the world, and was the first natural habitat zoo in the US. It was a great experience, and doing it with awed one-year-old twin nieces made it all the better!

About a month later the Collet Clan came to Utah to celebrate Adam’s youngest sister Erin’s wedding!

It was so great to see everyone again so soon, along with other family that hadn’t made it to NC. We are so excited to have a new bro-in-law in our family and look forward to getting to know him better! Now all the Collet kids are married!

We followed this with a great trip to Seattle, Washington at the end of July.  The main event here was whale watching in Anacortes with Adam’s mom and brother Chad.  We had a great excursion and although we did not see any Orcas this time, we did get to watch some Minke whales, a humpback whale and its baby, and various other wildlife.  We spent a brief time in Canadian waters, so in some sense at least we were international travelers this year.  We stayed with cousins Terry and Michelle while in the Seattle area and had a great time visiting with them and extended family.  Mom left from Seattle, and we drove back with Chad to stay with his family in Spokane for a couple days.  Adam got to swing off a rope into the Spokane River, and the following day we spent in beautiful Coeur d'Alene, enjoying the sights of the lake, a bit of cliff diving, and a stroll through the city capped off with delicious ice cream.

For this Christmas, we’ll be spending two weeks in Arkansas with Adam’s family, and we know we’ll have a great time as always. We especially can’t wait to see all the nieces and nephews!  It will also be a great break from work.

The other big event for us this year was when we up and lost our sanity – but we’re happy about it!  We decided to get a third dog, and so Axel Akita joined our furry family.  He is, as you might expect, a ball of energy.  He takes after and loves Jett, though he and Nala also play a lot.  When all three are wrestling in the same room as you – or on top of you – it’s quite an experience, but he, like Nala and Jett, can also be really sweet and cuddly.  Our life is that much crazier now, but we wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Adam has had an eventful year at work, spending most of the time commuting every week to Nevada.  Although this has certainly been challenging, Adam still loves the work he does.

Ashley has continued her work as a medical assistant and celebrated her 4 year mark at Utah Pain Specialists in August. Although she enjoys her job she can’t wait to be able to stay home with “baby C” sometime next year...fingers crossed! She is still doing photography on the side and loves it so much. This past year she did four weddings, a few families and some adorable babies and kids. A big part of her home life is chasing after three adorable pups who keep her hopping! I love seeing their bond grow stronger by the day!

We are still somewhat-patiently waiting on the adoption front.  October marked our year mark of waiting. We try to get the word out however we can, and would appreciate your help in this, as always.  You never know who will see if you share our information or the link to our adoption profile: waitingforbabyc.com.  We feel confident that – unless of course something happens in the next couple of months – 2015 will be our year!

Speaking of 2015.  First off, we’d like to wish you all a happy New Year!  In addition to strong hopes for our lives to change forever by way of adoption, we have something big to look forward to next year: we are going to Europe!  Any advice anyone has on how to best make use of our time there would be greatly appreciated.  We look forward to sharing the details of this trip with you next year!

We hope you all have family-filled and truly happy holidays.

Love,

Adam, Ashley, Nala, Jett and Axel Collet

[Ours]

The other day someone asked me how long I had been married and if I had any children and when I responded that I have been married almost 6 years and that right now I just had 2 adorable puppies..the person thought for a moment and asked me if I have ever considered having children. That took me by surprise, I have always considered having children ever since I can remember. I have known for a long time that my body would not be able to bear children but I have always longed to be a mother. I know the person did not mean any harm but at the same time they don't know what I am going through, no one really does but Adam and I. I hate the fact I will never be able to say the words "I'm pregnant." The pain is indescribable and sometimes hard to bare. I lay awake at night wondering why me? Why was this taken from me? Why do bad people who hurt innocent children get the privilege of raising precious individuals and I don't? 

Becoming pregnant and having a baby is so taken for granted! There are so many women out there who would give anything to be pregnant! Adoption doesn't fix infertility and I know firsthand it doesn't take the pain away. It doesn't change the fact that I will always be on the outside of the pregnancy/childbirth conversations or stories. I will never carry the pregnancy badge of honor. Adam and I will never experience the bond a baby brings to a marriage. We will always be outsiders no matter what.  

...BUT...

Adoption is our saving grace.

Adoption is our only hope.

Adoption is our the light at the end of the tunnel.

 Adoption is our miracle.

Adoption is our happiness.

Adoption is our world.

Adoption will strengthen our bond.

Adoption will be our badge of honor.

Adoption will be our story.

Adoption will be our dream come true.

and

 because of this amazing process.

it will be...

Our saving grace.

Our dream come true.

 Our miracle.

Our ultimate treasure.

Our whole world.

Our unique story.

Our fairy tale.

Our dream come true.

Our happiness.

Ours.