2012 in a flash...

January was apparently so uneventful that we didn't even take any pictures.

Im Januar ist anscheinend nicht viel losgewesen denn wir haben keine Bilder genommen.

February: I had a lot of fun preparing a baby shower for my friend Amanda. She doesn't have any family in Clarksville, so I wanted to make sure she still got to have a little party. 

Anfang Februar habe ich eine Babyfeier fuer meine Freundin Amanda gemacht. Sie hat hier auch keine Familie, also wollte ich sicherstellen, dass sie auch eine Feier fuer ihr Baby hat.

 Since I still didn't have a job, I had all the time in the world to make cute things for the shower and shop in preparation for the party.

Ich hatte ja noch keine Arbeit damals, also hatte ich genuegend Zeit mich den Vorbereitungen zu widmen, einzukaufen und zu basteln.

 A lot of women from our ward came and made this a special day for Amanda. We laughed a lot, played silly games and enjoyed seeing Amanda open all the gifts for Adilyn.

Es kamen viele Schwestern aus der Gemeinde und Amanda hatte einen tollen Tag. Wir haben viel gelacht, lustige Spiele gespielt und die ganzen Geschenke fuer Baby Adilyn bewundert.

 That same weekend our ward got split and Dan got called into the bishopric. Our friend Hank ordained Dan to the office of a high priest and gave him a beautiful blessing while setting him apart.

An dem gleichen Wochenende wurde unsere Gemeinde geteilt und Dan wurde in die Bischofschaft berufen. Unser guter Freund Hank setzte Dan zum Hohen Priester ein und gab ihm einen tollen Segen.

 Dan felt overwhelmed with this new calling, but did really well and adjusted to the time commitment and all the extra stuff that this calling was bringing with it. 

Dan hat sich zwar sehr ueberfoerdert gefuehlt mit dieser neuen Berufung, aber er hat sich schnell an alles gewoehnt und meistert seine Berufung toll.

 I couldn't be more prouder of this guy!!!

Ich koennte nicht stolzer sein auf meinen Mann!!!

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The following is an excerpt from our adoption blog written after our failed adoption in February:

"As we mentioned in our last post, we had been talking with a sweet couple from Kentucky. Everything was looking good, and we had even been officially selected to receive their baby. It looked like our dream was finally coming true after 8 long years.

But then it didn't.

In the weeks before the birth, they both started remembering all the things that happened when their adorable first daughter was born, and they realized that they couldn't bear to part with their second child. They pulled out of the adoption, and decided to parent together.

Of course, this means that we no longer had a child to adopt, which broke our hearts. All of the expectations and hopes that had become focused on this one specific little person were once again homeless and unfulfilled. Prior to this, we had stubbornly refused to set up a nursery or buy baby stuff, but this one seemed like the real deal, and we were finally confident enough that we bought all the swag, set it up, and made everything ready for baby. We were only weeks away from finally being parents.

And then we got an email, and we suddenly weren't anymore.

That is what our journey has been like - hoping, building up expectations, trying not to get too invested in any one particular possibility, trying to not get too excited about being two days late or getting an email from a birth mom. Trying to not lose faith when opportunities that seem golden simply vanish like the wind, feeling like a completely rudderless ship, having no idea what shore we will wash up on, or if there is even a shore out there at all.

And then we somehow slowly recover enough to hope again, to have faith again that it will work out. Friends say the exact right thing at the exact right time. God sends messages hidden in plain sight in the scriptures, on TV, on Facebook. We find our wounds healing, we cry less and smile more, and don't have to struggle to stay happy for everyone else who has what we want."

Der obere Absatz ist ein Auszug von unserem Adoptionsblog in dem wir ueber unsere geplatzte Adoption reden. (zu kompliziert zum Uebersetzen)

 We were so grateful for the outpouring of love from our dear friends and our ward family, who tried to help us through this difficult time....many beautiful flowers, lovely notes, yummy dinners, hugs and prayers!

Wir sind so dankbar fuer all die Liebe von unseren Freunden und unserer Gemeinde, welche uns durch die schwere Zeit geholfen haben....viele schoene Blumen, liebe Briefe, leckeres Essen, Umarmungen und Gebete!