Mia Kareen

Remember this cute face from THIS post back in January???

Well our friends are in Eastern Europe right now and met Kareen for the first time a few days ago. It's been such a miraculous and amazing journey for their family and this little girl will now have a loving forever family.

Here are a few pictures from there first meeting with her...

They changed her name to Mia Kareen

Thanks to those of you for donating and spreading the word to help bring this little girl home. You were part of her miracle. Go HERE to see video and more pictures of their time spent with her in the orphanage. Oh and make sure you have a couple boxes of kleenex on hand, you'll need it!

eight.

Halle turned EIGHT on February 11th. We didn't plan a big friend party this year because she would be getting baptized a few weeks later and we'd be celebrating with family and friends then.

SO grown up!

I went and had lunch with her at school...(looking SO pregnant, ugh!)

Tucker brought her a flower...

She wanted to go to dinner with our family and her grandparents. Grandma Judy and Grandpa Gary were out of town so just my parents joined us. She picked Chili's for dinner.

Grandma and Grandpa gave her this cute new scripture bag for her new scriptures.

She wanted an icecream cake from Coldstone...its was yummy!

We love you Hal!! Thanks for being the best big sister ever. I love being your mom!

Stella's Blessing Day

Stella was blessed on Sunday, May 1st by Tucker. The rest of the circle included Gary, Dave, Grandpa Johnson, Erik, Jeff, Travis, Ben & Chris. We made the decision to bless her at home (Tucker's parents' home) and it was so much more enjoyable. It was so great to have both our families there. Stella was an angel all day. We had a yummy dinner after and Judy was kind enough to share her birthday with Stella.

Judy's cake

*4 generations*

Stella is Grandma Tutu's 51st great-grandchild

he can't get enough of her.

Tucker gave her such a beautiful blessing.

I love my family!

2 Months

At 2 Months, Stella is:

11 lbs. 4 oz

22 1/4 in.

sleeping 6-8 hrs.

happiest baby...

Welcome Baby Stella!

Stella Reese was born Tuesday, March 8th at 6:45am.

6 lbs. 11 oz.

19 1/2 inches

Loved and adored by her parents and Halle, Aidan and Avery

typical.

I knew the minute we stepped foot into the month of March my life would be non stop stress and chaos. You think I would be ready for anything that came at me...not so much.

Yesterday, March 1st, I had a dr. appt. They've always been very uneventful and I spend more time waiting to see the doctor than I do actually with him. I'm grateful for uneventful pregnancies. Yesterday was a little different, however. I woke up feeling NOT normal. My heart was racing and I was having a hard time catching my breath. Just sitting doing nothing and I felt like I'd just finished running a marathon. I was grateful for the appointment that morning with my doctor so I could complain to him. I told him how I was feeling...he listened to my heart and agreed it was very fast, so that in turn made my little baby girls heart rate fast. He said, "I need you to go to the ER and have them do an EKG." WHAT?? I don't have time for this. He was very concerned which made me concerned so I agreed to go. I drove myself to the hospital and when I got there my heart rate was 145-150. Its amazing how quickly you get checked in when your 37 weeks pregnant and having heart issues. Within minutes of getting there I was in a gown, IV in and hooked up to all sorts of wires and machines.

7 hours later, I was being sent home. My heart rate had come down and everything seemed normal. They had done an EKG, a chest xray, ultrasounds of both legs, blood work, and monitored the baby and everything was fine. I was relieved. I have a chest cold and they think I was really dehydrated.

So today is March 2nd. Halle and Aidan are both home sick from school. Tomorrow is Aidan's birthday party (thanks to a fabulous friend, DeDee) and Saturday is Halle's baptism. Of course the ONE week I need healthy kids, we're all sick. TYPICAL! I'm not letting myself be too stressed...yet. Lots to do but thanks to amazing friends and family, I know we'll all survive this week and then I can have this baby.

4 more days and then I can breath.

Halle sings...

Several months ago, Tucker took Halle to a recording studio. There they recorded her singing Families Can Be Together Forever. Tucker said she did it in only two takes. Very impressive. It was for an idea Tucker had for a Mormon Message, but just an idea and not sure it would go any where, but Halle had fun doing it.

Rob Elliott...composer

Fast forward to today and this is what became of it....

(also featuring the amazing digiscrapping talents of Miss Brookiewookie...)

hope you can help

This is Bree. She's Avery's best friend. She's turning 4 in a couple weeks and I love her to pieces. Oh how I wish everyone had the chance to have one of Bree's big hugs. They're the best!

Bree has Down Syndrome and her mom and dad are adopting Kareen who is also 4 and also has Down Syndrome. Kareen has lived in an orphange since birth and has never known the kind of love that Bree has. She doesn't have a mom and dad to snuggle her to sleep at night or 2 big sisters who adore her. That's why Bree's family is so anxious to bring Kareen home...she needs a family to love her.

The cost of this adoption is very high, but its not stopping them from going through with it. Everyone that donates $10 or more will be entered in a drawing to win a brand new iPad. You have until Saturday to enter this fantastic giveaway, and help bring this sweet little girl home to her loving family. If you aren't in a position to donate, please spread the word and keep them in your prayers.

Click here to donate and read more about Kareen's journey home!
THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT.

iPad Giveaway for Kareen

{Our good friends are in the process of adopting this sweet little girl.

Go HERE to read about their journey.}

Kareen is a 4 year old little girl with Down syndrome who was given up at birth and has lived in an orphanage in Eastern Europe ever since. In her country a child with special needs is only held in an orphanage until the age of 4 or 5 and is then transferred to an institution where conditions are bleak and offer little hope for living a fulfilling life. Kareen's story has touched their family, and they are committed to bring her home. The cost of international adoption is very high, and they could use your help!

Donate now through Saturday, February 5th, when one lucky person will receive a Brand New 16GB Wi-Fi iPad

For every $10 donated, you will be entered into a drawing for the iPad (i.e. $50 equals 5 entries). Also, if after donating, you advertise this giveaway on your blog or facebook, you will get an additional entry. Simply leave me a comment with your name and the link to your post.

Ways to Donate:

• Go to www.kareensjourneyhome.blogspot.com and click on the "Chip In" button on the sidebar
• Bring a check or cash by our home. You may email me at [email protected] for our address.
• Tax deductible donation (must leave me a comment with your name and donation amount to be entered into the giveaway, since this site is kept confidential) http://reecesrainbow.org/sponsorcox

Every dollar helps, and brings them closer to having this little angel home safe. Thanks for your support!

~Kareen's Forever Family~

Hawaii

(Just dusting off the old blog...not even going to try to catch up...)

We started our December with a very fun trip to Hawaii. I hadn't been since graduating high school and Tucker hadn't been since he was 3! So when Tucker's mom and dad asked if we would want to go with them it wasn't hard to say YES! The kids were so excited and we counted down for weeks. Aidan didn't really care about the destination, he was just excited to fly on the plane. I was quite certain that flying with Avery would result in our family getting kicked off the plane before it even left the ground, but surprisingly she wasn't too bad. She got quite restless and didn't want to leave her seat belt on, but we survived the 6 hour trip.

The 3 hour time difference was quite the adjustment. By the time we got to our condo it was almost 11PM our time and the kids were DONE! We threw them in bed and thought they'd sleep until at least 7 or 8...nope!! They were all 3 up and ready to start their day at 4AM! It was a long day, but it was a little easier to pull ourselves out of bed knowing there was a nice sandy beach a few hundred feet away.

Running to the beach...

They got to feed Koi fish every morning and afternoon...

It didn't seem quite right to see Christmas decor up and Christmas music playing when it was 85 degrees outside.

The pool was equally exciting and they spent just as much time there.

A highlight of the trip was celebrating my 32nd birthday in 85 degree weather. It was a sunday so we thought we'd visit the newly dedicated temple. We made lots of stops along the way and it made for a very fun day.

We started at the Dole Pineapple Plantation...

We took a train ride around and saw lots of pineapple and other things growing.

We stopped for a yummy mexican lunch at Cholo's on the North Shore.

We missed the temple dedication by about 10 days is all. We walked around and took pictures. My cute Grandparents were married in this temple and the last time I was there was with them.

On our way back we stopped for shaved ice...
Tucker and I took the kids for a quick swim at the pool and when we got back to the condo there was a cake and balloon waiting for me from Tucker's mom and dad! They also got me a fresh flower lei. We went to dinner and called it a night. Definitely a birthday to remember!!

The next day we spent at Hanauma Bay snorkling and playing on the beach. This was Halle's favorite thing. It always takes a while to get used to breathing and swimming in the water but she picked it up immediately and loved it.

Aidan really thinks he looks cool with his goggles on...even though he didn't put his face in the water even once.



We spent another day in Waikiki. It was fun to see but I was really glad we weren't staying there, it was so much more crowded.


My kids couldn't believe this was a real person and not a statue. Halle was the only one brave enough to get her picture with him.



Eating lunch at Bubba Gumps. YUM!

Mele Kalikimaka!

The rest of the trip was spent on the beach. We played in the sand and swam in the ocean. It was beautiful. Aidan got a little OCD about the sand, it was pretty funny.

I was so glad that our condo was stocked with all the sand toys and boogie boards.

Aidan was always on the lookout for seashells and was so excited when he finally found a really small one.






Our last night there we walked down to the beach to watch the sun set.

Grandma and Grandpa bought the kids matching monkey shirts...


It was such a fun vacation and so glad we got to spend time with Gary and Judy. It was rough coming home to 30 degree temps and now that the holidays are over I'm really wishing we could go back....maybe in another 15 years.