Christmas 2011

This year has sped by for us at an incredible pace. Already we're 2 weeks from Christmas and 1 week from Kal's graduation (a day we thought might never come). 2011 has been a busy and blessed year. Our family has grown in stature and love.

We've thoroughly enjoyed watching our little Shaylee grow and develop. She is still a bright light in our lives. Her smile lights up the most difficult day. Her new achievements are less than fun at times. She loves to stand on the chairs, counter or table and yell "get down!!!" She then giggles as though she's done something clever. She's definitely going on 2. All the same, we still feel so grateful she is ours.

Karter (6) is our big Kindergartner! He's doing a great job learning to read and is really good at addition and subtraction. His new love is tennis. He loves wielding a tennis racket and running drills. As always he loves anything Kaleb is into and anything rough, tough and huge. He loves having a baby sister which is such a relief to us and is such a wonderful, loving big brother.

Our preteen, Sage (10), is becoming such a little lady. She loves attending achievement days and being with the girls. She's regularly painting finger and toenails. Like Karter she loves tennis. But her true love is dancing. For her birthday we bought her Just Dance 2 and we have a steady competition going in our house to see who is the best dancer.

We officially have a middle schooler, priesthood holder (deacon) and young man. Kaleb turned 12 this past October. He loves scouts especially since his dad is the deacon quorum adviser. He still enjoys Lego's, tennis and playing the guitar. Next Friday Kaleb will have his guitar accompaniment debut at the Silver Sands Montessori Holiday Festival at UNLV. He and his teacher will accompany his class while they sing "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing".

Kalvan is SUPER busy. His schedule keeps him hopping and at times sleepless. Besides his full-time job at the City of Henderson he's completing his MBA at UNLV. Fortunately as I previously mentioned graduation is only a matter of days away. His new calling this year is one he's always wanted. He's the deacon quorum advisor and assistant scout master. Hopefully, in January we'll be seeing a bit more of him in the evenings.

As for me, I'm still driving the family taxi, balancing the budget, nursing sick and bruised kids, the family shopping guru, cooking, cleaning and am Shaylee's acting best friend. In September I was released from the primary presidency then placed right back into primary as the CTR 5 teacher. Don't let anyone tell you other wise, primary is the place to be! The spirit of these little ones is so humbling. It never ceases to amaze me how much I can learn about our Father in Heaven while interacting with the primary children. His love for them is so undeniable.

At this Christmas season it's easy to get caught up in the busy work and abundant activities. In the quiet moments I'm reminded that it is because of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who descended from his throne above that makes our lives not only worth living, but sweet. The love and gifts he gives us are so numerous our lives can be rich with joy if only we seek Him. The precious gift of his life is what this magical holiday season is all about. With joy and thanksgiving I share my testimony that He lives. He loves us and wants us not only to obey but to find joy in our journey. This Christmas season take a minute and reflect on His love.

With all our love,
Kalvan, Miki, Kaleb, Sage, Karter, and Shaylee Hone

Photo Shoot

We finally got around to doing Shaylee's 1 year pictures. Click on Shaylee's image to see more.

Shaylee 1 Year Photo Shoot

Driving through Nebraska to Illinois

So...this post is for Miki and the family at home while I am currently helping our dear Wilford friends move to Illinois. Jon and I started driving the 24-foot U-Haul, complete with car in-tow, at around 2:20pm pacific time. The plan is to drive straight through. Here's the map. We decided to take a slightly longer, northern route to avoid the slow-going climb straight up over the Rocky Mountains. So far we have made gas and restroom stops in Cedar City, UT; Nephi, UT (including a quick meal at Arby's); Little America, WY; and Cheyenne, WY. We are currently in Nebraska making good time as we just drove past the Cabella's world headquarters in Sidney, NE. We are estimating our arrival to Quincy, IL around 9:00pm central time. We'll see how we do.

Not sure how good of quality this video is, but as you can see we are alive and well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5-qK2DxK0g

1 Year to the Day

It was around 10:00 AM exactly one year ago that we received word that we had a healthy baby girl weighing 6 pounds 5 ounces. She had brown hair and looks perfect. By noon we had arrived at Valley Hospital to meet Shanna (our birthmom) and our new baby girl. I have to say the description we were given was dead on. She was perfect, 10 fingers, 10 toes, and beautiful almond shaped eyes. In certain moments it feels like Shaylee should still be a tiny baby, but after refecting on the long road we tread this past year she's exactly as she should be. Shaylee is a bright light in our home. She is smart, silly, giggly, very active, beautiful and more than we dreamed she would be. A little more than a year ago I doubted we'd ever have a 4th child. Now, I can't imagine life without her. Today she weighs 24.2 pounds. She's no light weight. She's walking a little, 2 to 4 steps at a time. She can open doors and help herself to cereal. She's an avid dirt eater. I doubt there's an object in the house she hasn't licked. She loves music and has a little twist dance when she hears it. Her curls get looks and happy comments everywhere we go. She charms men and women alike with her beautiful smile. Thank you Father in Heaven for sending this little angel to be a Hone. Happy Birthday Shaylee!

Mother's Day

I must begin by saying, I have the best children on the planet! I feel so blessed to have the four beautiful kids Father in Heaven chose to send me. This mother's day I discovered a hidden talent of Kaleb's. With his permission I'm sharing one of his poems...

LOVE

"L... Love is always in the air,
I always want you to be there.
Every Minute I'm with you is a treat,
just like eating candy that is so sweet.

O... Old and young I'll always love you,
and I'll know you love me too.
I just can't think how to thank you enough,
you've helped overcome times that were rough.

V... Vivid colors I can see,
but the brightest colors are you and me.
Any gift I can buy can't show
all my love for you, you know.

E... Everyday that I'm with you
I feel a connection coming through
Whenever we are near or far
know I'll always love you for who you are."

With all my love, Kaleb

Happy Mothers Day!!!

Happy Easter!!!

To me Easter is one of those unsung holidays. It should be as big as Christmas. At Christmas we celebrate the birth of our Savior. His life and death are studied by Christians across the world. But the GOOD NEWS is that He Lives! Easter is when we celebrate that wonderful truth. That he lived and died is of monumental importance, but that He rose again on the third day is what makes life so sweet, so worth the struggles. Because He lives, so can we.

This year we had a BIG easter egg hunt with too many eggs before church. The kids got to sport their fancy new clothes and we're still eating (chicken rolls, twice baked potatoes, deviled eggs, artisian bread, salad, pound cake, & strawberries). Here are a few pictures from our day. Happy Easter!

The Adoptive Bond

I wrote this for a friend who's working on a project for school. I really feel strongly about what I wrote so I thought I'd share.

If you ask any mother she’ll likely tell you that she fell in love with her child before he/she was born. I have three children who are biologically mine. In all three cases I fell in love with kicks, hick-ups, a big round tummy, and even that speedy little heart beat you hear only at the OB or hospital. My fourth child came to us in a non-traditional way. We had 10 days notice that we “might” get a baby girl and only two days notice that we knew for certain that we had been chosen. For ten days I couldn’t eat or sleep. I was so excited! What would she look like? How big would she be? I could almost feel her tiny frame cuddled into my arms. I envisioned this little girl as a baby, toddler and entering school. I envisioned her giggles and skinned knees. She was born the child of another woman. Her biological father is still unknown to us. We were privileged to meet her when she was just a few hours old. I admit I was skeptical about forming a bond with another woman’s child. I had to experience it for myself to know how deep that bond runs.

At first glance my daughter looked foreign to me. She didn’t look the way I was accustomed to “my babies” looking. I felt uncomfortable coming into a hospital and assuming custody of a baby I didn’t birth. In all honesty, that discomfort lasted only about an hour. Our birthmother was incredible. She didn’t want us to waste a minute. She wanted us to immediately form a bond and love her precious baby. Almost as soon as my baby girl was placed in my arms I knew she belonged to me. My heart was hers. I was hooked and very attached.

We spent 3 days in the hospital with our baby until she was discharged and we could take her home. By that time, it was hard to believe that I hadn’t birthed this tiny little beauty. I had no memory of pregnancy or delivery but I was every bit as attached to her as I had been to my previous three children. As you might notice from pictures she doesn’t exactly look like my other children, but it’s me who is different. I look at blond babies and wonder at how pale they are even though my first three babies were just as fair. My little girl is just as she should be.

In the state of Nevada, a child must live with an adoptive family for 6 months before they can petition the courts to finalize the adoption. As we approached our time to finalize my anxiety spun out of control. I had nightmares that someone would step forward and want to assume custody of our little girl. The attachment was already far too deep to even contemplate separation.

Our precious baby girl turns one year old next month. The time has flown by at such a speed it’s hard to believe. Our smiley toddler is one of us. She is no less my child than any of my biological children. Can an adoptive mother take a child into her heart and love that child as much as a biological child? My answer without hesitation is absolutely!

Conference Fun!

I hope all of you enjoyed our recent General Conference. It is one of my favorite times of the year. I love getting to stay in jammies till lunch time, lounge around and be at home with my family while listening to our Prophets and church leaders. This year we had a lot of fun as usual. It's no suprise that Shaylee is Sage's favorite "toy". Karter had so much fun with the jump ropes he ended up wearing them. It got to the point I was taking pictures of the kids and everyone was laughing. General Conference was never more fun! Kaleb took a more studious approach and did homework while we listened.

9 Months and Counting

Shaylee is already 9 months old! Sadly she "celebrated" her 9 month marker with her first ear infection. Today we went back to the doctor for her well-check appointment. She's already 21 pounds and 28 1/2 inches tall. It's still so surreal to have a baby that grew so fast after my previous 3 were always on the small side. Shaylee is still a sweet smiley baby. She can pucker up and make a fish face that ends with a kissing sound. But she always goes for a kiss with her mouth wide open. She clicks her tongue and blows a mean raspberry. Our favorite is when she blows raspberries on the couch or our leg. She thinks she's awfully funny.

She started crawling a little over a month ago and is lightning quick getting to the dishwasher door before I can close it. It only took her a few days after she learned to crawl to figure out how to pull herself up to standing and is a pro at cruising along the furniture. I'm pleased to report that she's a mama's girl. She follows me everywhere I go. Her first word was even "mama". I've been working on that one with her since she was born. Of course her "mama" comes out with a spit bubble, but all the same I'll take it. Over the past two weeks Shaylee has cut her first tooth and 3 others quickly followed. Sadly, I'm still her favorite chew toy and it has really become unpleasant.

Kaleb, Sage & Karter are still absolutely smitten with her. She's the first one they greet when they get home and no one takes a step toward bed without several hugs and kisses. Fortunately, Shaylee loves her siblings and basks in their attention. It's music to my ears to hear their laughter as they play together.

The white dress pictured is her blessing/sealing dress.

Thank you Mom and Kale for the great find!

I hope the gratitude I feel never decreases. I thank the Lord everyday for this precious blue eyed, curly haired little princess.

A Season of Joy!

There is so much to talk about, I don't know where to begin. Our Christmas was fantastic! We had fondue, ham, presents, grandparents, the favorite "young" aunt, stockings, a big tree, and more fun that a person should be allowed!

The day after Christmas we were ecstatic to be able to bless Shaylee in our home ward. She was so dang cute in her white dress with red shoes and a big red flower on her head. She didn't cry a bit.

On Monday, we traveled to Manti. I love that town. Just the feelings I get when we roll into town make me never want to leave. We stayed at the Manti House Inn (the same place I stayed the night before Kal and I married and where we had our wedding luncheon). I love that old house. Our host was kind and had adoption stories of his own as he and his wife had adopted 3 kids.

That evening we took the time to show the kids the Manti Temple from the window of our rooms all dressed in snow. As with most trips that mean so much we forgot just about everything we needed from Kaleb's church clothes and my church shoes to an air mattress for the kids to sleep on. Fortunately there's a Walmart in Ephraim and my sister has the same size feet, so we survived. As expected, we arrive at the temple about 10 - 15 minutes late. But after we got inside we were greeted by kind, understanding and patient temple workers. Our kids were right at home in the youth center. The only hiccup was when Karter didn't like the white jump suit the temple workers asked him to wear.

Our sealing room was only 2 doors down from where I was sealed to my parents just off the celestial room. It never ceases to amaze me how peaceful I feel in the temple even if I felt chaotic and rushed to get there. The Manti temple feels particularly comfortable to me. I dreamed my entire childhood of marrying there. As you know, I did. Now we were returning with 4 children to seal our fourth adopted one to our family. It was such a surreal and wonderful experience. The highlight was when they marched our precious children into the sealing room all dressed in white. Shaylee was so happy and stole her own show. The feelings I felt looking around at my children, parents, sister,Kal's Dad, Kal's siblings, and our friends will forever be ingrained in my heart. I bawled like a baby. There's nothing on earth like it.

After the sealing we took a few pictures and headed back to the B&B for some social time and our dinner. Again the food was fantastic and it was so wonderful to spend time with our family members whom we see so seldom. Thank you to everyone who traveled to be with us for these wonderful events.

The day after the sealing we woke up to 6 inches of new snow. My kids were so thrilled and headed outside to build their a snowman. We had to take a few minutes to photograph the Manti Temple with a fresh blanket of snow. On our way out of town we took a fun little trip down Main Street to an adorable little candy store with fantastic caramels! Our trip home was full of snow and slick roads, even a few accidents. But we made it safely home to celebrate the New Year.

As is customary in January, I'm regularly asked how my Christmas was. For the first time, I don't know how to respond. We did so much in so little time from the finalization on the 21st to Shaylee's sealing on the 28th and New Years. There just isn't a way to communicate how spectacular it all was. We feel so blessed. My prayer is that this new year will bring more miracles and blessings to our family members and friends.