Photo Page!!

We have to make 2 photo pages for our case worker to share.  Here's the first one...

Pizza, Movies, Soccer, and Forget-me-nots

This past week has been a great one at the Heiner house!  On Saturday night I was able to attend the General Relief Society meeting.  It's always fun to go out with all the girls and the spiritual experience is definitely not worth missing.  President Uchtorf spoke directly to my heart.  I went home feeling refreshed, uplifted, happy, and so very blessed. 

We've been having a lot of fun as a family.  This week, Lily wanted to have a pizza and movie night.  We make homemade pizza every Friday so this was nothing new but it's always a good time!  (The added bonus is that we watched our movie while we ate which is a very rare occurrence at our home). For our movie, Lily chose to watch The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.   It was a little bit scary at times but nothing that a good snuggle with Mommy or Daddy couldn't fix! 

Lily has been loving soccer this fall!!  It's only a 6 week program on base that teaches the basics but she can't seem to get enough of it!  I didn't think she'd enjoy it nearly as much as she does her dance class, but boy was I wrong! 





One Step Closer

Today we met with our case worker, Sam.  He's amazing.  He is so kind and patient and understanding.  He knows that it has taken us quite a while to finally choose adoption only and no longer try for a biological child.  Because of this I think he really understands the weight that has been lifted off of our shoulders and the renewed sense of hope that we feel.  It's amazing.  It's freeing.  Sam will be coming to our house in mid October.  Within about 10 days of his visit our profile should be on line and available for people to view.  We're so excited!  I'm bummed that he can't make it out here until then, but he's going to be out of town and then has a packed schedule for a few days after he returns.  Either way, we're thrilled!  Pretty soon the real waiting can finally begin! 

Sunshine During the Storm

Twice this week I looked out my back door and saw storm clouds coming in.  The sky was growing dark and I knew we were about to get heavy rain.  Both times though, the sky never grew completely dark and the sun was shining down through the rain.  Adoption has been like sunshine during a storm to us.  Years of infertility and miscarriages have been dark and difficult and sometimes the trials seem never ending.  It's hasn't been easy trying to see the sun shining in on our situation, but now we finally do.  We were meant to have a very special family.  We will stay strong through the storms and the trials we face.  We know that we have not been forgotten and that we are so blessed. 

Preschool

Today is Lily's first day of preschool!!  She is so excited to finally be in the big kid 4 year old class.  This year she'll be going to school on MWF afternoons.  I can't believe that she only has one year left of being home with me most of the time!  Lily, on the other hand, is happy to be in school but is constantly talking about kindergarten next year and wondering why she can't go when she's 4.  I finally told her that she can't go because I'm just not ready for it yet!  Time needs to slow down, not speed up!!  Anyway here she is this morning wearing the "beautiful first day of school outfit" she picked out. 

The Big Decision

Michael and I always knew we wanted to adopt.  Before we were married we talked about it - we had no idea that infertility would enter our lives.  We thought we would have biological children and then later adopt older children from foster care - we never even considered adopting children instead of having biological.  A couple of years ago when our secondary infertility turned into secondary infertility with multiple miscarriages, we decided that we wanted to adopt a baby.  We spent a long time talking and praying, making sure it was the right decision for us.  We knew it was.  When we moved to Texas, we began the process.  It's been slow and we've had some bumps in the road.  It's hard to start the adoption process in one state and then move to another just nine short months later.  We've had to redo paperwork and have letters of recommendation rewritten because ours were lost in transit somewhere.  We've experienced another pregnancy and another loss.  We've prayed for a biological miracle while working on finishing up our adoption paperwork.  Recently we finally sat down and talked about what we were doing.  Michael asked if I wanted to try and get pregnant again.  I thought about it for a while and said no.  I said no.  Me.  The very same girl who has been trying to get pregnant for 5 years out of my 6 year marriage said no.  We're both so happy and at peace with our decision.  Infertility can take a toll on your heart and mind.  It's so stressful.  Doctors appointments and tests can just become too much.  Then, when I finally get pregnant I worry more.  I spend weeks throwing up and end up miscarrying.  I want to be a mom again.  That's all I've ever wanted to be.  I don't need a baby to come into my home through my body in order to be a mom.  Michael feels the same way.  He doesn't want to see me hurt anymore and he doesn't want to hurt anymore either.  Lily wants to be a sister. She prays every night and asks for a brother and a sister. She knows that sometimes mommies' bodies have a hard time having a baby in them.  She knows that my body does.  She understands that sometimes Heavenly Father sends babies to families through another person's body.  She's happy.  We're happy.  We know our family will grow.  We long for the day when it does... through adoption.  :)

(I'm exhausted writing this and my thoughts are probably even more jumbled in my mind than they are in this blog... sorry.)

....................Adoption... it's about Love...............

Dear Friend,

We don’t know each other yet, but we hope that will change soon!  We’ve written a little bit about ourselves and we hope to hear from you soon to answer any other questions you may have.  Our email address is mikeandjessheiner@gmail.com. 

Our Story

In February 2005, just two weeks after Michael returned from his mission, we both showed up with friends at the monthly Young Single Adult dance for our stake in Virginia.  Neither one of us expected to meet our eternal companion that night, but within a few short weeks we both knew that we had.  We spent hours just talking and it felt like we’d been friends for years. After two weeks we were inseparable.  By the end of August, we were married and living in Provo while Michael finished school at BYU.  In the years that have followed, our friendship has only grown stronger.    We’ve been through a lot together.  We’ve experienced highs and lows, felt great joy and great sorrow.  Through it all, our commitment to each other and the Lord has made us stronger and brought us closer. 

Adoption Decision

Nearly two years after we were married and after countless prayers, we were given a miracle.  We named her Lily.  We always imagined we would have a big family and we were excited to welcome more little ones to our home in the future.  The journey to grow our family has been a rough one and not at all what we expected.  The past four years have been difficult with fertility problems and recurrent miscarriages.  Before we were married we had talked about adoption and now we realize that it is our best option.            

Michael (Mike)

Michael was born in Provo, UT but moved to the east coast when he was four and grew up in Northern Virginia.  He’s the 5^th of eight children with three older sisters, one older brother, and three younger brothers.  He always loved kids growing up and knew that being a great dad and husband was one of his most important goals in life.  Michael loves to make homemade pizza and cookies and then eat them.  He also likes drawing, games of all kinds, playing sports, camping, hiking, listening to music, and watching movies.   In high school Michael ran cross country and track and performed in the show choir.  Michael served a mission in Oakland, California speaking Laotian.  At BYU Michael taught at the Missionary Training Center and earned his commission in the Air Force through ROTC.       

Jessica (Jess)

Jessica was born in Virginia.  Her dad was in the Navy and though she moved around a lot, she still always considered Virginia her home state.  She moved around a lot but ended up in Virginia every other time.  When her dad retired from the military in 2002, her family stayed in the DC area. She’s the 2^nd of six children with one older sister, two younger brothers and two younger sisters.  Jessica always knew she wanted to be a wife and mom.  She always babysat her siblings as well as many other neighborhood children.  Jessica loves to read, sing, scrapbook, camp, cook, go shopping, do family history and spend time with family.  In high school Jessica enjoyed singing in the choir with her two closest friends.  Jessica attended college at George Mason University in Virginia. 

Lily

Lily is a fun-loving four year old girl.  She’s definitely a social butterfly who loves to be surrounded by other children.  Sleep is an inconvenience to Lily – she never likes missing out on anything.  Lily thoroughly enjoys her weekly tap/ballet class and her big kid four year old preschool class.  At home during the day she loves reading, doing puzzles, playing games, cooking, and doing crafts with Jess, playing outside and having play dates with friends.  When Michael comes home from work, he and Lily always enjoy some quality daddy-daughter time and on weekends she is eager to go on daddy-daughter dates to the park for a picnic lunch.  Each night before she goes to sleep, Lily prays and asks her Heavenly Father to send her a brother and sister.  She’s really looking forward to being a big sister and can’t wait to help feed the baby, rock the baby, and sing to the baby.

Communication

We’re looking forward to an open adoption.  Your baby will always know that he/she came to our family a special way.  We look forward to exchanging letters, emails, and phone calls in the future.  We know it is important for you to know that your baby is loved and happy.

Our family is ready for another baby.  We are not complete yet and we all know it – even Lily.   We long for sleepless nights and dirty diapers.  We hope our family will be able to grow soon.

Love,

Michael and Jessica