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.
Monday, April 13, 2015
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
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
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
[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.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Timeline Of Our Adoption Thus Far...
Thursday February 13th 2014 marks a year since we began the adoption process... I wanted to make a timeline of events to showcase how far we have come in a year and all the progress we have made.
Adoption Timeline
Feb 13th On our proposal anniversary Adam surprised me with the money to begin the process..
Mar 27 After much research, thought and making a spreadsheet of the pros and cons of each agency. One night Adam decided to search for adoption agency's who had an android app. He came upon the Independent Adoption Center and thought that they had to be pretty well established to have built an app. Se we did more research and loved how well they treated the birthparents and also the adoptive parents. There fees are reasonable so we both agreed that even though there were in California they were a lot better than any agency in UT. They have agency's across the United States from east coast to west coast. Our agency is in Concord, California.
Apr 8th Begin Home study. We used a company up in Centerville, UT The process took about 3 months to complete. They delve into every detail in your life, marriage, childhood, fears, hopes, past history..EVERYTHING! We had to have 5 reference letters only one could be a family member. Thanks to Vicki Collet, Brian and Jill Rustad, Mylie Hamilton, Becky and Matt Mabey and Brandon and Jennifer Ho for their help with that!
Apr 9th We both had to get fingerprinted.
Apr 11th We both had to get FBI Background Checks.
Apr 16th Booked trip to Los Angeles, California to meet our adoption coordinator & attend a mandatory workshop.
Apr 29th Got copies of our Birth Certificates.
Apr 29th Got copy of marriage license.
May 16-17 Attended Adoption Workshop
They explained the entire adoption process from start to finish. We got to hear from a girl who had placed her baby up for open adoption and meet a family who had adopted two children from the agency.
"Meeting with our adoption agency today!! — at Independent Adoption Center."
"Day 1 of our adoption seminar is complete..so much info to take in! So lucky to be able to begin the process of adoption! We have done so much already and there is still a ton to do...we will get there eventually and everything will be so so so worth it!!"
They explained the entire adoption process from start to finish. We got to hear from a girl who had placed her baby up for open adoption and meet a family who had adopted two children from the agency.
"Meeting with our adoption agency today!! — at Independent Adoption Center."
"Day 1 of our adoption seminar is complete..so much info to take in! So lucky to be able to begin the process of adoption! We have done so much already and there is still a ton to do...we will get there eventually and everything will be so so so worth it!!"
May 17th Paid our join fee to the agency. That was very nerve racking.
May-June Worked on Home study paperwork.
July 13 Adoption Photoshoot
Thanks to Becky Mabey for your amazing talent!
Thanks to Becky Mabey for your amazing talent!
July 15th Home Visit.
"Adoption homestudy today...so much to do to get ready!!"
"Adoption homestudy today...so much to do to get ready!!"
July 30 Homestudy Complete..Cleared to be parents!
Aug 14th Submitted first draft of our Dear Birthparent Letter.
"We submitted our first draft of text and photos to our marketing and design coordinator at our adoption agency, who will help us create a great adoption profile! One tiny step closer to our dreams..."
"We submitted our first draft of text and photos to our marketing and design coordinator at our adoption agency, who will help us create a great adoption profile! One tiny step closer to our dreams..."
Aug 20th Submitted our top 40 photos to the agency for review.
"We submitted our top 40 photos to our adoption agency..it's not easy narrowing down which ones to send!! Trying to pick photos that encompass our life and passions and those we love is no easy task and then having to write captions for all of them! Our adoption agency will narrow down our top 40 to what they believe is the best of the best top 12 and those will the photos that go out to our potential birth parents and on our online profile.. so nerve-racking/exciting!"
"We submitted our top 40 photos to our adoption agency..it's not easy narrowing down which ones to send!! Trying to pick photos that encompass our life and passions and those we love is no easy task and then having to write captions for all of them! Our adoption agency will narrow down our top 40 to what they believe is the best of the best top 12 and those will the photos that go out to our potential birth parents and on our online profile.. so nerve-racking/exciting!"
Aug 28th DBML has been approved..narrowed down photos as well.
"Our Dear Birthparent letter has been approved and our photos have been for the most part narrowed down! The process has gone faster then what they say as we have only had to do 2 drafts of our letter and only 1 review of our photos. We have mostly narrowed down our top 12 with a few additional ones depending on the layout of our brochure that will be mailed out to birthparents. Now to put everything together and make the brochure...moving along smoothly"
"Our Dear Birthparent letter has been approved and our photos have been for the most part narrowed down! The process has gone faster then what they say as we have only had to do 2 drafts of our letter and only 1 review of our photos. We have mostly narrowed down our top 12 with a few additional ones depending on the layout of our brochure that will be mailed out to birthparents. Now to put everything together and make the brochure...moving along smoothly"
Sept 9th Submitted our DBML for final review.
"Adoption Update..We have finished designing our Dear Birthparent letter and have submitted it for final approval. We have finished designing our online profile on iheartadoption.org and have obtained a toll free number as to not have to use our own cell numbers. Once that all gets approved we will go LIVE!! I will update when that happens."
Sept 9th Submitted our Iheartadoption online acct for approval.
Sept 9th Got a toll free number for adoption calls.
Sept 16 DBML was approved..ordered 1 hard copy for a final look.
"Adoption update..Our Dear Birth Parent letter was APPROVED!! We have to now order 1 hard copy to be shipped to our adoption coordinator Hilary for a final look. At that point we can order 150 of them that we will hand sign and send back to our agency in CA. Our online acct should be active soon as well."
"Adoption update..Our Dear Birth Parent letter was APPROVED!! We have to now order 1 hard copy to be shipped to our adoption coordinator Hilary for a final look. At that point we can order 150 of them that we will hand sign and send back to our agency in CA. Our online acct should be active soon as well."
Sept 20th Hard copy was approved..ordered 200 of them.
"Adoption Update.. Our Dear Birthparent letter hard copy was approved by our adoption coordinator Hilary! We have now ordered 200 hundred of them that should get here hopefully next week. We will hand sign all of them and ship 50 to the Concord California office and 3 to the LA office and keep the rest to give to family and friends that and also for when they need more stock at the agency. We have submitted our online acct for approval. We have to do a conference call with the agency once everything is mailed out. We will get further instructions then!! We will probably not go live until the first week in Oct...stay tuned!"
"Adoption Update.. Our Dear Birthparent letter hard copy was approved by our adoption coordinator Hilary! We have now ordered 200 hundred of them that should get here hopefully next week. We will hand sign all of them and ship 50 to the Concord California office and 3 to the LA office and keep the rest to give to family and friends that and also for when they need more stock at the agency. We have submitted our online acct for approval. We have to do a conference call with the agency once everything is mailed out. We will get further instructions then!! We will probably not go live until the first week in Oct...stay tuned!"
Sept 26th Hard copies are on there way..online acct was approved.
"Adoption Update..Our hard copies of our Dear Birthparent letter have been printed and are in the process of shipping. Our online acct has been approved and will be activated once our agency gets our signed letters. We will have our conference call with our adoption coordinator soon. Once they have letters in hand for distribution everything will go live!!! We will begin our wait for the call and network as much as possible to spread the word that we are waiting for baby c! Thanks for all the love and support I will update again soon —
feeling excited."
"Adoption Update..Our hard copies of our Dear Birthparent letter have been printed and are in the process of shipping. Our online acct has been approved and will be activated once our agency gets our signed letters. We will have our conference call with our adoption coordinator soon. Once they have letters in hand for distribution everything will go live!!! We will begin our wait for the call and network as much as possible to spread the word that we are waiting for baby c! Thanks for all the love and support I will update again soon —
feeling excited."
Oct 4th Received hard copies in the mail today.
"Adoption Update...We received 200 Dear Birthparent letters in the mail Monday signed 53 of them and they were mailed to their destinations on Wednesday thanks to my amazing grandparents for their help with that. They arrived today in California. We scheduled our conference call with our coordinator for Monday. After that the agency will start sending out our letters to those birth parents whose criteria match with ours and vice versa. Our online account will be live next Friday...We will then work on networking and wait patiently and not so patiently for the call to come.. We are anticipating at least 6 months to a year but.. who really knows for sure! Thanks for your love and support through the crazy journey"
"Adoption Update...We received 200 Dear Birthparent letters in the mail Monday signed 53 of them and they were mailed to their destinations on Wednesday thanks to my amazing grandparents for their help with that. They arrived today in California. We scheduled our conference call with our coordinator for Monday. After that the agency will start sending out our letters to those birth parents whose criteria match with ours and vice versa. Our online account will be live next Friday...We will then work on networking and wait patiently and not so patiently for the call to come.. We are anticipating at least 6 months to a year but.. who really knows for sure! Thanks for your love and support through the crazy journey"
Oct 7th Our IAC acct goes LIVE the waiting begins.
"OUR ONLINE ACCOUNT IS LIVE!!! 4 DAYS EARLIER THAN WE ANTICIPATED..
If you feel inclined to share this we would be so grateful! Thanks again everyone!"
"OUR ONLINE ACCOUNT IS LIVE!!! 4 DAYS EARLIER THAN WE ANTICIPATED..
If you feel inclined to share this we would be so grateful! Thanks again everyone!"
Oct 9th Hard copies arrived at their destinations.
Oct 17th Our online acct LIVE one week.
"Adoption Update: We have been live over a week now yay! We got our monthly update from our adoption agency and in the month of September they had 282 Birthparent intakes...mailed out 38 letter packets...matched 23 waiting families and there were 13 births/placements! We know our time will come and we continue to be positive!"
Oct 17th Our online acct LIVE one week.
"Adoption Update: We have been live over a week now yay! We got our monthly update from our adoption agency and in the month of September they had 282 Birthparent intakes...mailed out 38 letter packets...matched 23 waiting families and there were 13 births/placements! We know our time will come and we continue to be positive!"
Oct 23rd Broke 100 views on our Iheartadoption acct.
"Yesterday we broke 100 views on our iheartadoption page! Thanks to all those who have shared link!!!"
"Yesterday we broke 100 views on our iheartadoption page! Thanks to all those who have shared link!!!"
Nov 5th One month LIVE Letter sent out 7 times in Oct.
"(Adoption Update)..We have been live a whole month with 140 visits to our Iheartadoption link. We have not had an inquiries but it has only been a month. If you feel so inclined to share our link our your page we would be so grateful!! Thanks so much"
"(Adoption Update)..We have been live a whole month with 140 visits to our Iheartadoption link. We have not had an inquiries but it has only been a month. If you feel so inclined to share our link our your page we would be so grateful!! Thanks so much"
"Adoption update!! As of Dec 4th we will be LIVE 2 months...In October we had 190 visits to our Iheartadoption website..Also in October the adoption agency sent out 7 of our brochures to birth parents which was almost 2 a week! We started on page 33 of our agency's website and have since moved up to page 30! The agency itself had 265 birth parents intakes, 35 letter packets were sent out (7 of that were ours), they had 18 matches and 17 births! We are continuing to be hopeful and excited about the future!! Once again we would love if anyone would share our link..to those of you who have already thank you so much!!"
Dec 5th Two months LIVE letter sent out 2 times in Nov.
"ADOPTION UPDATE: In the month of November our letter was sent out only 2 times. Which is hard to swallow since last month was so high with 7. I try hard not to focus on numbers but when that's all you have to hold on to it becomes such a powerful thing. In Nov the agency had 308 birth parent intakes, that's up 43 from last month. They sent out 21 letters, which is down 4 from last month. They had 24 matches, which is up 6 from last month. They had 15 births which is down 2 from last month. Overall there wait time is 16 months which is up 2 months from when we joined. They have had 183 placements so far this year, they had 182 total last year so that has increased a little. Overall the agency is doing fabulous and we hold onto hope that this will be our last year childless. Can't wait to see what happens! Thanks for all the support and if you feel like sharing our link please do not hesitate to do so! Thanks!"
"ADOPTION UPDATE: In the month of November our letter was sent out only 2 times. Which is hard to swallow since last month was so high with 7. I try hard not to focus on numbers but when that's all you have to hold on to it becomes such a powerful thing. In Nov the agency had 308 birth parent intakes, that's up 43 from last month. They sent out 21 letters, which is down 4 from last month. They had 24 matches, which is up 6 from last month. They had 15 births which is down 2 from last month. Overall there wait time is 16 months which is up 2 months from when we joined. They have had 183 placements so far this year, they had 182 total last year so that has increased a little. Overall the agency is doing fabulous and we hold onto hope that this will be our last year childless. Can't wait to see what happens! Thanks for all the support and if you feel like sharing our link please do not hesitate to do so! Thanks!"
Jan 5th Three months LIVE letter sent out 7 times in Dec.
Today marks the 3rd month of our adoption profile going live! Over the course of those three months there have been 361 visits to our website www.waitingforbabyc.com! Thanks for all your continued support and encouraging words! Share this link if you know someone considering making an adoption plan or even if you don't know anyone share anyway! Thanks again — feeling hopeful.
ADOPTION UPDATE: For December our DBPL letter was sent out 7 times! Yay for a higher number than last month. We got an email stating that they were running low on there stock of our letters and needed us to send more pronto! That is a positive thing to read when you are going through this journey. Last month the adoption agency had 345 birthparent intakes which is up 37 from Nov. They mailed out 45 letter packets which is up 24 from Nov. They had 25 matches made which is up 1 from Nov. They had 15 births which was the same in Nov. I was so happy all the numbers increased so much that is good news for us. Sometimes a birthmom/parents will get a packet of letters in one month but then will not match for several months later. Our website www.waitingforbabyc.com had 107 views in Dec which was a tad lower than 112 in Nov. Overall we have had 426 views since we began tracking it back in Oct. The agency ended 2013 with a total 188 placements! We are hoping that when they total the number of placements for 2014 we are one of those many couples who's dream came true! Please please share our link if you feel comfortable doing so! Thanks for the support and love.
— feelinghopeful.
Jan 23rd We got an postcard stating that they were running low on there stock of our letters and needed us to send more.
Feb 7th Four months LIVE letter sent out 5 times in Jan.
Today marks our 4th month of our adoption going live! Over the course of the month of there have been 86 visits to our www.waitingforbabyc.com website, for a combined 4 month total of 484 visits. Thanks for all your continued support and encouraging words! Share this link if you know someone considering making an adoption plan or even if you don't know anyone share anyway! Thanks again!
Love A & A
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Christmas Letter
Dear Family
and Friends,
We can’t
believe 2013 is coming to a close! We have had a busy and productive year.
The biggest
Collet news is that we began the adoption process this year. We started our
home study in April and chose our adoption agency soon after that. Our adoption
agency is called the Independent Adoption Center which is a non-profit agency
that has offices in states from west coast to east coast. The closest office to
us is in Los Angeles. In May we went down to the office in Los Angeles to
attend the mandatory Adoption Information Seminar. It was really informative
and more than a little overwhelming. With the help from our loved ones
and friends we were able to complete all the mountains of paperwork,
fingerprinting, home visits and so on. In October we entered an entirely
different stage of the process – waiting.
We are currently waiting for the most important phone call of our lives.
While we
wait patiently (or not so patiently) we have decided to put our home on the
market. Both of our jobs are about 45min to an hour away and we want to be
closer to my family when the baby does arrive so we are able to see them more
and spend less time in the car. We have decided that moving closer to family,
jobs and most of civilization would be to our benefit. We’ll also take the
opportunity to down-size in order to make it easier for Ashley to stay home
permanently. Although we are comfortable
in all aspects of our life in Saratoga Springs, and will miss it in many ways,
we are excited for a new chapter to begin.
Here are
some individual updates!
Adam:
· Got a promotion to –
Control Systems Designer II. It was a big financial step up as well as growth
within the company.
· He and his best
friend Sean began working on a storybook android app for kids, which they will hopefully
be finishing up soon.
· He has been working
hard and eating healthier and has lost about 40lbs, presumably also improving
his cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
· He is still slowly
working on a degree – he took a Chemistry class this fall semester and hopes to
finish his Associates sometime next year.
· His sometimes
maligned but very useful truck broke down and we were forced to replace it.
Luckily we have an amazing family who were able to help us take care of things
quickly.
Ashley:
· Celebrated her 3
year mark working at Utah Pain Specialist as a medical assistant.
· Continued doing
photography including two adorable twin photo shoots and a few weddings.
· Continued taking
care of our fur-babies Nala and Jett as well as all the other jobs wives do.
Nala and Jett:
· Nala turned 4 and
Jett turned 2 this year!
· They form a dynamic duo
to keep us busy – Nala is adventurous and clever, Jett is boisterous and
sometimes destructive
· Nala figured out how
to scale a 4 ½ foot wire fence without falling once.
· They continually
challenge our ingenuity trying to keep them contained.
·
Jett
loves collecting things in the backyard so Mom and Dad have to go on a
scavenger hunt! He thinks it’s a fun game.
·
They love to cuddle – even rambunctious Jett
if you catch him at the right time of day.
·
They love hide-and-seek – usually Jett
taking a toy and hiding it for Nala to find – and keep-away.
·
Jett is the great protector and loves his
sister to death!
This has
been a great year for our little branch of the Collet clan. We want to thank
all those who have supported us though the adoption process and left comments
on Ashley’s Facebook page as well as all of you who have shared our link. We
are excited for what 2014 will bring, hopefully including welcoming a new
little one into our family! We hope your family has a Merry Christmas and a
Happy New Year.
Love,
The Collets
Saturday, May 11, 2013
{Journey Down Memory Lane} {Day 11}
{Day 11}
This is what Adam got me for our first Valentine's Day, plus he made me stay in the office while he decorated our apartment with streamers and cool lights! He made me a yummy candlelit spaghetti dinner a we had sparkling cider. He even played some music and slow danced which he doesn't like dancing so it was so sweet!
I made him a little book with each letter of the alphabet standing for something that I loved about him. I included petals from my wedding bouquet and I also made him a CD of some our favorite songs. It was just a nice simple yet heartfelt evening!
Here is Adam's view of the day:
Valentine's Day rocks!!! At least, it does when you're married. I love my Ashley!!!! She gave me the most amazing gift ever. You see, anyone can go out and spend money and get you something they know you want … but it takes a special kind of somebody to give a truly thoughtful, lasting gift. Ashley put *tons* of love and *tons* of time in my gift. It's got pictures and cool artistic titles and poems and quotes and all that, like any well-done scrapbook. But it also has hidden pockets and secret compartments and all sorts of other cool things filled with fun stuff. It's incredible. I love it. I'll have it forever and cherish it forever. It's the type of thing you can look back on, bring up great memories, and share with children.
My gift for Ashley didn't take as much time and planning and thought, but I did try to make it creative. I made her a nice dinner, by candlelight. I gave her a stuffed puppy and some flowers inside a balloon. And I decorated the apartment with streamers and balloons and (borrowed) lights and put on some music (actually from a CD that was hidden in that amazing book she gave me) and we had a dance. The theme was kind of things she always says she wants. Flowers, a puppy (OK, I cheated a bit), and a dance.
All in all, it was a great day, and one to remember. It was a ton of fun, we had a great day together and made some new memories.
Friday, May 10, 2013
{Journey Down Memory Lane} {Day 10}
{Day 10}
This was our first steps into the waters on the island of Kauai, Hawaii!
Adam's parents took all their kids and spouses to Hawaii for 10 days for Christmas 2008. I had never been so it was exciting to be on this adventure with my new family! They definitely bring out the adventurous side in me. I remember wakeing up on Christmas morning hearing cock a doodle doo because there are so many roosters and chickens on the island it's crazy, they are everywhere! After gathering around our tiny Christmas tree brought from home we ate the usual Collet Christmas breakfast which consists of oranges and chocolate chip muffins. We took turns opening gifts and ooooh and ahhhing and then headed to the beach. At one point I forget it was Christmas just because I was so use to snow! I remember calling home and they were having a blizzard so bad that nobody could even attempt to drive to Grandma's and Grandpa's for Christmas and they all live only a few miles away so that must have been a crazy snow storm.. I was so glad I was enjoying the sand between my toes and the sun on my skin. I wish I would have taken a picture of our rental car because when started our adventure it was nice and clean and when we ended our adventure and had to turn the car in, the car was just covered in sand! When you go to Hawaii you will find sand in things for months afterwards and in places you didn't think sand could be...lol
I blogged about our trip back in 2008 here is the link
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