Playing Catch Up...so I make it off of the NAUGHTY list!

Alright, sorry this is such a long one, but I have got some major catch up to do because life has just been a little nuts lately. Thanks to everyone for all of the love and friendship we have been shown this year. We find ourselves overwhelmed with the blessings in our life. Having little Laney gives me a whole new perspective on what Mary must have felt like, holding Jesus in her arms. Sometimes while she sleeps I just stare at her, amazed by the potential I see in her and her tender spirit, so maybe it is just a few lingering prego hormones, but the song "Silent Night" makes me just a little choked up.
I loved President Monson's quote about Christmas:

President David O. McKay (1873–1970) declared: “True happiness comes only by making others happy—the practical application of the Savior’s doctrine of losing one’s life to gain it. In short, the Christmas spirit is the Christ spirit, that makes our hearts glow in brotherly love and friendship and prompts us to kind deeds of service.

“It is the spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ, obedience to which will bring ‘peace on earth,’ because it means—good will toward all men.”

Giving, not getting, brings to full bloom the Christmas spirit. Enemies are forgiven, friends remembered, and God obeyed. The spirit of Christmas illuminates the picture window of the soul, and we look out upon the world’s busy life and become more interested in people than things. To catch the real meaning of the “spirit of Christmas,” we need only drop the last syllable, and it becomes the “Spirit of Christ.”


Even with our hectic schedule, we still find time for the important things...like making Laney the next Guitar Hero prodigy. I have some pretty high expectations.

The holidays got busy so quickly for us. Sorry, no cards made it out this year...at least we got a picture with all three of us looking halfway presentable...The sunset was amazing the night our pics were taken.

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A night at the temple made it really feel like Christmas. The music was beautiful and the lights were amazing. The second picture is a little funky but is a better representation of the lights.


With Thanksgiving over with, we began cookin' up christmas. Even Laney got in on the decorating.


Our Sweet Little Punkin'


Regardless of our joking about Laney being the main course, Thanksgiving brought a few moments of reflection on all that we have gained this year, mostly the blessing it has been to have Laney join our family. That little girl just makes my heart melt everytime.
The weekend after Travis left, we headed to Tucson for Chet to ride in the Tour de Tucson. It was amazing to see all of those helmets lined up at the starting line at 5:30 in the morning. The whole event benefits numerous charities. There were even a few unicycle riders who attempted the 109 mile ride. The participation and support for the riders was really inspiring. Chet loved riding with his dad, Josh and Steve.


Chet did so well (I was expecting him to be a lot more exhausted than he was at the finish line-must've been the endorphins!) Laney was overcome with emotion (as you can see) that her dad is such a Superman.




Chet got done, but was so energetic, it made me tired. I thought maybe this race would get the biking bug out of his system, but now I sense it is just the beginning. I don't mind, because it was really fun watching them and so exciting to see them finish together.









We had one last weekend together before Travis left for his mission. So of course we went shooting. It was so much fun having everyone together, and this was our first chance to see what kind of a shot Stacie was...the girl definately held her own-which is appropriate considering Austin's love of firepower.

While we were out, Chet and I decided to immortalize our love for eachother in ultimate redneck style: spraypaint. Don't be too jealous...my man is a romantic.
Travis flew out early on November 19th, straight to the Ghana MTC. It was kind of teary for all of us...Travis mostly for his cell phone and beloved texting. My dad inherited Travis' phone, though I don't think those buttons will see near the heat. Travis has always been my little bud. I found this pic from his last year of wrestling this weekend, and missed him just a little bit, but I'm sure that kid will tear it up in the mission.

Hot Diggity Dog...

Holidays are so much more fun with kids...and ours is not even two months yet. So I felt a little enthusiastic about Halloween this year because:

a) I had a little Laney to dress up.
b) We had no huge responsibilities (i.e. NAU's Halloween Extravaganza)

So yes, it is a little corny, but we did a family-themed costume. Chet and I went as Hot Diggity Dog Hotdog vendors and Laney was a hot doggie with all the fixins.Don't be alarmed, no Laney Dogs were harmed in the making of this photo. After hanging out at the ward Trunk or Treat, we met up with the Hogles, the Welchs and the Gibsons to check out everyone's costumes and drink a little home-brewed root beer.Even Austin and Stacie dressed up...well, as Abigail put it, "He's dressed up as handsome and she's pretty".

A HARVEST WEEK IN SHOW LOW
We found more fall fun in Show Low digging potatoes......celebrating Chet's birthday...
...and dressing Laney up (Don't be jealous, but the skeleton onesie above glows in the dark).So lately, I've been experiencing a little bit of Decoupage disco fever. Thanks to Brittaney's inspiration, I finally finished my Halloween and was so impressed by it, that I made my friend a housewarming gift. Between making bows for Laney and decoupage, I've been craftin' it up like crazy.

You Will Be Blessed...

Today was Laney’s blessing day. We blessed her along with cousins Kate and Jessica. This made for kind of a crazy day, but also a very sweet one. The best part of the day was a combined luncheon with all of our families and having the three girls together. It is fun to imagine them being the best of friends and all of the fun times they will share together. Having Laney in our lives definitely redefines our version of the family picture.

I love this picture of the three girls together…nice that Brittaney’s Kate is the only conscious one. It looks like Jessica and Laney were our partying a little too late last night. We were so worried that Laney would scream throughout the blessing, but she did so well…and by well I mean slept through the entire thing. It had to have been the overwhelming spirituality and peace of Chet’s blessing. Actually, it was a beautiful blessing, but I think her serene slumber was due more to a full tummy and a clean diaper. Chet didn’t even drop her (which is impressive because there was so much dress, it was hard to tell if it was Laney you were holding on to), though there was an audible gasp when he went to do the Simba-show off and her head dipped forward.

Chet’s blessing was so sweet. Listening to him today made me so grateful that Laney has such an amazing daddy. It was also tender to realize the love and support that we have from our family. Thanks to everyone who made an effort to share this special day with us. And now the saga of the dress. I found "the" dress on onesmallchild.com and loved it almost instantly. I went to order the dress and the only size they had was 3 months. The dress came on the Thursday before the blessing. Chet was gone quail hunting, so I tried it on, hoping we could make it work. It looked pretty hopeless, with Laney drowning in a sea of white. I decided to look around Mesa for another dress, but trying to time it so that Laney would be as pleasant as possible was a little tricky. Laney was to her limit when I decided to just make the original dress work. I made one last stop at Ribbons and Lace (a super fun store) to pick up something to make a headband with since the dress was not a true white. Laney was kind of fussy, so I took her out of her car seat and was carrying her in my arms. As I leaned over the counter to pay for my things Laney lets out this giant belch and projectile vomit, all over the counter. Needless to say, the entire experience was a bit overwhelming and very stressful (Everything seems much more dramatic when you're surviving on two or three hours of sleep). I finally ended up altering the dress to fit a little better and it worked out great, but it was a little traumatizing.

After our previous spit-up incident, I didn’t want to put Laney in her blessing dress until we absolutely had to. My mom had given me the dress that I wore when I was blessed, so Laney went to the other two blessings wearing that dress. It was so amazing to hold her and realize that I was the same size at one time. It was proof of how life perpetually cycles. Sometimes it feels like we're the only one's to have ever had a baby or been up with her all night, then you stop and realize how many people before you have been in the exact place where you are, and it is kind of comforting.

Laney has definitely changed life as we previously knew it, and although the nights can sometimes seem way too long and sleep deprived, I am so wrapped around her little fingers. Everything she does is adorable, like passing out with daddy after screaming most of the night. I LOVE the picture of my purple little princess. Chet’s hand on her head makes you appreciate how tiny she is…and if that doesn’t do it, the picture of Lindsay’s doll with Laney laying next to it will. (Please excuse her grandpa style pants-they are still a wee bit big)

Laney has had a lot of firsts, one of which being her first bath. At first she was a little alarmed, but she is starting to love bath time as long as the water is warm.

Tyson married Necia Moffat on September 26th. Besides being absolutely gorgeous, Necia is so sweet and fun and is a perfect fit for Tyson. Tyson is the last of the Adams children to get married. It is so crazy to think that the circle of spouses is now complete. At least now Tyson won't be "stag" whenever we're all together.

Laney was a little hard to outfit only being two weeks old. She looks like a little fairy in her dress...it might have something to do with the flower that is as big as her head. It wasn't hard to convince my mom and dad to volunteer their babysitting skills while we went to the wedding.

Being in Show Low was so fun and curbed my cravings for a Flagstaff Fall. We went and cut a load of wood while we were home. It's not Fall unless you're out in the woods with a few chainsaws. It was a beautiful day complete with an amazing picnic provided by Granna Adams. I swear, the lady can pull food out of thin air...you never go hungry with Granna around.

Our working crew consisted of Josh Beeler, Grandpa and Granna Adams, Chet, his dad and even mom split a few pieces. Kara and I were the supervision crew along with Laney, Ty and Marissa

Thank Heaven For Little Girls

Laney Nance Adams

9.13.08

11:10 a.m.

6 lbs. 12 oz., 20 in.

She's finally here! Laney Nance made her debut last Saturday and is doing well. Labor and delivery went really well for both mom and baby. We are so thankful for all of the thoughts and prayers on behalf of our little family. It is definitely busy around our house, but I wanted to take a few minutes to post some pictures of this sweet little girl. It is amazing how much joy and love she has brought into our little family already.
Chet has fearlessly tackled changing diapers and burpings with an enthusiasm that most men cannot claim. He has a special touch for calming Laney down in the middle of the night and it is so sweet to see him as a daddy.

Chet gave me this necklace on Laney's birthday. It has sapphires for her September birthstone. Someday I'll give it to her and explain what a sentimental and romantic daddy she has.

It is amazing how tiny this little sweet pea is. We've been joking about her "tiny hiny", especially when you compare her to her cousins Kate and Jessica. This is her pouty face. She is so entertaining and already has a hilarious personality. I melt every time I look at her.

Yet another funny picture of Laney showing us her likeness to a human pretzel. She curls into so many positions that I would never consider comfy. If she keeps this up, she's going to be a world-famous Yogi. Downward facing dog is for amateurs!

Coming home from the hospital, Laney shows us her pensive face.

She is so stinkin' cute! She has us hook line and sinker!