I never imagined

Can you love an adopted child as much as your own flesh and blood? This was a question I never thought I would ever have to think about. One I never thought I would have to answer.

* * * * * * * *

I never imagined it ever being hard for me to start a family. You do all the right things, or at least you try to, you get married to a wonderful man, and then you start having a family. That's just how it's supposed to be, right? Then, after years of no answers and heartache you decide to venture into the world of adoption. A place you and those you know have never been before. You wait, and you cry, and you pray that a birth mom will contact you.

* * * * * * * *

I can't believe it's been five months. Five months our son has been on this earth and with us in our family. What was my life like before? I can't even imagine what my life would be without him. I look back on our time in Illinois and it is now one of my most precious memories. I look into the eyes of my son and a flood of emotion starts welling up inside. I have never loved anyone this way before. I would do anything for him and no one will ever love him more then I do. Words will never begin to describe. I look back on all my heartache and trials and realize I was being prepared for this profound joy!

So the answer is a resounding YES!!! This beautiful spirit I have the privilege to take care of is without a doubt my child. He may have come to us in a unique way. In a way I never dreamt, yet, in a way I would never change!

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Then

and now

Pure Joy!!!

Scott Harmon Photography

Scott has been doing professinal photography since 2005. His specialty is weddings but he does family, outdoor, event, and individual portrait sessions. He's been every where from Oregon to Vegas taking pictures. He's been working on his website and has most of it done. He posted wedding events but will be adding more to the site as time allows. Check out the website and if you have any questions or would like to have Scott take pics for you, you can contact him through his website on his contact page. Check it out!

www.scottharmonphotography.com

Grandma, Easter, and a visit from my sister's!

Awesome was born on Dec. 27th and at that time my grandma Ewell was spending the winter season in Idaho with my Aunt. She was very anxious to meet Awesome so just before Easter, she came home and was able to hold and feed, and visit with Awesome for the first time. She fell in love with him instantly!

Of course with Easter, there has to be easter eggs. Here was our array of beauty!Just before church using Scott's camera phone. Doesn't our little man look so dapper!Awesome and his first dollar. We found it in an egg we got while hunting for eggs.This is how I usually get to see my sister's. One lives in Alabama and the other in Ohio. They have never held Awesome either. I miss them.But wait, what is this....a picture of Kristy with Awesome, how can that be? On April 16th both Kristy and Kelly flew in late to surprise me. Man was it a GREAT surprise. We were able to spend the whole weekend together. They even surprised my mom for her birthday. It took all four of them to get Awesome dressed for the day. :)Taking a mini hike up Butterfield Canyon with the fam. Kristy being a deer!Thanks Kris and Kell, Last weekend was great! Love ya!

I DO HAIR!

I graduated in 2001 with a license in Cosmetology and have been doing hair ever since. Mostly as a traveling cosmetologist. It's been fun getting to know people and to help them fit in their hair needs out of the convenience of their own homes. Be it a stay at home mom, a grandma who can't quite get out as much as she would like, or a guy in a hurry to get a haircut before a hot date, I do it all! Because I don't actually work out of a salon my prices are extremely competitive and low. I'm current on all new styles and products. I've attend Hair World twice. And continue attending workshops and classes to make sure I'm up on the current trends.
Prices are as follows:

Haircut- Adult: $10 (includes blow dry)

Children: $ 5

Color- All-over, one color: $40 (any length)
Weave, any color : Long $65, Short $50
Color combo: Starting at $45

Perm - Short hair: $45
Long hair: $60

Formal do's - $25 (any length)

If you're interested in making an appointment. I'm available from 3-9 pm M,W,Th,F and 10 am-1 pm on Saturday's. I'll come to you, or you come to me. Convenience is the key!

Contact info:
Shawna Harmon
801-694-3763
or shawnaharmon@gmail.com

*With your help I should have my own Salon by Fall of 2010!

Family

Today I was sitting across from Scott eating a hot dog at Costco. To the left of me in my shopping basket sat my beautiful son who was cooing and making all kinds of happy noises. This moment was pretty normal and that's when it hit me! Life is good! Family is what makes life so good! When I was driving home from having a not so delicious hot dog with Scott I was listening to the new All American Rejects song: "Hope it gives you hell" and I literally started to cry...CRY..., for crying out loud you say! Why was I crying? because it made me think of my sister Kelly who loves the AAR and she is in Alabama and I miss her. Last Sunday I was making rolls for dinner and called my sister Kristy because the rolls reminded me of her and when I got her on the phone I started to cry. Pathetic you say...ok, that's fair, but man I love my family. On both sides if you can believe it. It's very TRUE. The other day I saw Spencer (Scott's brother, and also the black sheep of the family -he calls himself that people!) and we both went in for a bear hug because we hadn't seen each other in a while. (I guess that's also what happens when you have family live with you for a while like Spencer did. You get to know them real well!!) My mother in law has been so great to take Awesome here and there for me while I go to appointments or run errands. My mom and dad are always hanging around because they are so in love with their grandson they cannot get enough cheek kissn in. My sister in law sends me stuff in the mail like formula and coupons along with helpful hits through emails for FHE or tricks for shopping. I get calls from others in the family who just want to see how I'm doing. Through thick and thin family is there and that's what matters most. And now I have my own little family I get to share my love with. I'm excited to pass that on. I really hope all of you out there have a family as wonderful as I do. If not, that great family feeling can start with you. Wow, is this turning into a commercial for families, it sure sounds like it!!! (Remember when we'd record commercials on the tape recorder Edith? I still have those..."juicy fruit, it gonna move ya"....) anyway, I just thought I'd leave you with some of my thoughts for the day. Family rocks and I love mine!!! oh, and I thought I'd share some more fun pics and video of my cute little family since I last posted. Enjoy!

Just after bath time. Loves to gum his hand!

Just after our walk! It was a beautiful day. Just before we went back in the house. Awesome was not too excited.

Look how adorable this little man is!!

Loves bath time!

Wow dad, you're tall!!

He was making all kinds of noise before the camera was rollin. I tell ya, they know when they are on film!!

"K" is "Awesome"!

"Awesome" waking up. He's such a good boy

Awesome sleeping in his Bumbo! He's so freakn' cute, isn't he?!

It's good thing Sam isn't a heavy dog. I looked down and there she was all cozy and comfortable sitting with Awesome in his bouncer.
Awesome and Rachel at our second LDS Serv. visit. We love Rachel.

It's all about K!!!

Life with K has been life changing. It's amazing you can love someone so much! K has been such a blessing in our home and we love his so much. It seems like just yesterday he was this little bundle of joy ....

..and now he's this 13 lb. bundle of joy! Crazy how fast the months go and how fast they keep getting. It's been fun to see his personality come out. He laughs and smiles with us now everyday. He's a very happy baby. He keeps us laughing and loving!

See this personality!!

and look at all this pooh K produces. I didn't realize it would start smelling so bad so fast. For a little guy, he can produce a lot of stink. Pee-uuu!

He's taking on some of his dad's relaxing qualities!

He was so good at the Dr's when he had his first set of shots.

and he loves his naps. (Three plugs in the crib and he doesn't even use them in his crib, how funny)

What did I tell ya, he loves his naps!!

K with his cousin. They are ten days apart.

Having some fun with Grandma at Cabela's.

LOVE this kid!!

Becoming a Mother...

has been a dream come true. It's amazing to think that six weeks have already gone by. It seems like a distant memory as I think of us in Illinois complaining because we couldn't come home quite yet. It seems like Christmas was a million years ago and it has always seemed like Kallen has been my flesh and blood. There are times I have forgotten that I didn't deliver him and I look for physical characteristics he might have from his father and then I take a step back and realize what a wonderful journey adoption has been for us. I can honestly say that your trials are but for a small moment! It has taken us eight years to be to this point and honestly I can't believe I'm here. But I am, it's what I prayed for, it's what I was blessed with.

I look at my sweet newborn son and marvel at our Heavenly Father's wondrous plan. To take in a baby with whom I never had nine months to get to know or deliver but LOVE with my whole being and more is a blessing beyond what I could have ever hoped for. Kallen truly is a breath of Heaven and I am so thankful my Heavenly Father has entrusted me with His precious child!

"For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of Him."

1 Sam 1:27

The Land of Lincoln and then home again!

So while we were in Illinois we had a hard time filling our time. Besides the fact that we had a newborn we also had some very chilly weather. Most days were a nice and balmy 10-12 degrees. And the snow did come. But there were some days where we just thought we'd go crazy so we got out and drove around to see the rural sites... not much to see, but it was nice to get out of the house. Oh, yes, this was the house we stayed in while we were there. The gracious Warner family, through church connections, let us stay in their home while they were holidaying in Florida so we had this large beauty to ourselves for about two weeks. When we arrived they had everything ready for us and for Kallen. From baby detergent and a crib to food and toiletries. It was so nice!This was our rural view from the front window of the Warner home. It really was quite beautiful. This was my favorite room in the whole house. This was the "do" everything room. I wanted to bring it home with me. This room in the basement was were we spent most of our time. Back to the left was our room and over to the right through the doors was were the big screen tv was. We spent our time watching tv on Scott's laptop. Kinda funny huh!This was the room we stayed in. It was very nice and ready for us when we arrived.

This is the video we made while Kallen was sleeping and during a very particularly boring period. Enjoy the isanity.

We watched all seasons of "The Office". We had never seen it before. The Office will always bring back memories of our time in Illinois.Taking care of my sweet babe. We were there long enough for his belly button to totally heal. Sleeping in together.The GPS saved our lives when it came to traveling through this foreign state. We didn't go anywhere without it. It was a dear traveling companion. Ready for church!

Scott and I chuckled at these streets signs. They were all backwards (the flags). Who made that mistake? Duh.The local grocery store. Scott and I called it Logi's. "Hey, can we go down to Logi's today to get some more diapers?" he heVisiting distance relatives for a sister in law. We were hoping to get some family history for our sister in law from a great aunt but came out an hour later with a full life story of a 90 year old woman who started smoking only 10 years earlier and came to the door to greet us with a knife in her hand. She had sent the family history in the mail a couple days before we arrived. But it was good to visit this old woman. She was very lonely. Too bad I didn't get a picture of Mary at the door with the knife, if I just had waited a few seconds more. :)Making dinner with the Warner family. They came home from their Florida trip on Jan. 7th. It was nice to meet them and spend time with them. They are an amazing family. Us with the Warner family.

Coming home was quite the adventure just as getting there was. We had tickets to fly out Wednesday Jan. 14th but we knew a horrible blizzard was coming in and the chance of us getting home on Wednesday or even Thursday was slim and we were getting very anxious to get home. We were still waiting for our paperwork to get through to Utah and back and we hadn't heard about the status since the Friday before. Tuesday morning Scott made some calls to the state of Illinois and found out that they had overnighted paperwork to Utah and that they should have it by now. Scott emailed the state of Utah asking for a phone call when the paperwork had been processed. He explained the weather situation and our plan to hopefully get out today. On a feeling Scott turned to me and said, "Pack up, let's go home." He changed our flight from Wednesday to that night at 7:00. We said good bye to the Warners and we were on our way to Chicago without a word from either state. We were going on faith and praying we got the call to leave as we were on our way to the airport. As we stopped half way through our journey for gas we got a call from the state of Utah stating they had recieved the paperwork and we were good to go. We now just had to wait for the call from Illinois. 20 min. later we got that call from Illinois that we were good to go through them and all we could do was cry. We were finally coming home and with our new son in tow. The flight was easy, Kallen was a gem and we arrived home at 10:00 pm. with a house full of neighbors, friends and family. Even our Bishop and his wife were there. It was so wonderful to be home after being away for almost three weeks. Kallen will always know what an amazing homecoming he had. He is one loved little man! The Banner was courtesy of my Young Women. (My dad took pictures of the night before. All we had was this picture of the leftovers from the morning after.)

Grandma's glad we're home!