Life

Life is definitely a journey. Lots of twists and turns, and along the way there can be bumps, pot holes and sometimes you have to just stop and take a detour because there's no other way to go. Today I was sitting down to post some of the best news of my life when I suddenly got a call about a dear friend who is in critical condition in the hospital and suddenly life took a turn. I made a few calls, cried a lot, and thought a lot about how precious and beautiful life is when later that night I got a call from a client who wanted to set up a hair appointment. My first thought, who calls on Sunday to make an appointment, and doesn't she understand that I have just received and am trying to deal with some pretty emotional news......No, she has no clue. Like most of us, we have really no clue what's going on in other people's lives at that very moment. We are just making a phone call for an appointment or calling a friend not knowing we've interrupted their night for some trivial information. I was thinking about all the emotions that go on simultaneously throughout the world with each human being and for a small, very minuscule moment I could see how our Heavenly Father really has his work cut out for him.

The moment my precious son was being placed into my arms by his birth mom as we left the hospital was one of the most emotional moments of my life.....somewhere someone else was celebrating their 16th Birthday. The day my brother passed away, someone somewhere else was booking a flight to surprise their sister for Thanksgiving. The day my son was finally Sealed to us forever, someone somewhere else was finding out their spouse was in a car accident. One thing that's certain and one thing that's constant....LIFE! And each of us have our own individual trials and opportunities and we learn so much, find out something new, and find strength in even the darkest of times......I want to now focus on one of the most happiest, most joyful times in my life, my son, finalizing his adoption, and being Sealed to him forever!

The day we finally brought Awesome home, after he was born, everyone was so excited to finally meet him. Everyone was instantly drawn to him and knew he was a very special spirit. The one who was smitten by Awesome the most...my dad! It's the cutest thing I've ever seen. So, for father's day, we had to take pictures of them in their matching suits and hats. This pic is my favorite!

So of course we had to take more pics of our cutie little man!The month of June was nothing but rain, which Scott and I loved. It reminded us a lot of Oregon, but then July hit and we realized we hadn't been out in the mountains so we took a picnic up the canyon.

Family was starting to arrive in town to celebrate Awesome's Sealing and blessing so we decided to attend the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house.

July 1, 2009... the day we finalized our adoption. We had been anticipating this day for so long yet it was amazing how fast time had flown by. All our months of planning for this particular weekend was finally here and flying by. Another thing about life, it goes by so fast.
We arrived at the court house at 7:45 am with both our parents. We met up with our caseworker, Rachel, and from there after meeting up with our Bishop (Bishop Oldroyd) and our attorney (Les England) we were summoned into the court room where Judge Robert Faust was presiding (he's Pres. Faust's son which we thought was pretty cool) From there they went through the court procedure which took a matter of five minutes and then it was all hugs, tears of joy and pictures. It was a wonderful experience and Awesome took it all in great stride.

July 3 was the event we had been anticipating the most. Our Sealing to our son...the key to making this a forever thing! All of our family and friends came from all around. They sacrificed money, time, other family events, and I'm sure other things I haven't mentioned to be with us on our special day. It really meant more then words can say. It truly was an amazing and spiritual event. Awesome, again, was so good. His spirit was definitely calm during this time. We knew that he knew that something miraculous had happened. Kristen was awesome with Awesome during our pictures on the Temple grounds. With her around we got some great pictures of Awesome smiling and laughing. We then spent the rest of the weekend eating well and visiting with our beloved family and friends! We enjoyed the 4th taking family pics, having fun at the pool and ending the night with fireworks. The next morning, Sunday, everyone was up early and ready to go to church where we were finally able to give Awesome a name and a blessing. Again, he was so good. We then took over the meeting by having our own Harmon/Sanderson testimony meeting (it was a holiday weekend, hardly anyone was there) which was really special.

The Harmon Family The Sanderson Family
July 1st through the 5th was five great days. Life was frozen in fantastic mode for that time. From here on out life will keep sending us curve balls, good or bad, and it's up to us to keep our eye on the ball and make sure we just keep hittin that ball out of the park!

p.s

Stacey, I love you. You and your family are in our prayers!