Happy New Year

Another year has come & gone. Crazy how fast it goes. I am afraid now that it will just continue to go faster now that I am a mom. Well that is what I have heard. 2010 has been a great year with ups & downs & just in between. The great trial has been adoption, but that to has been our great blessing. We have experience both sorrow & true happiness. I like to focus more on our happiness of Madilyn. Which, by the way is growing like a weed. Before you know it she will be talking & walking. Now she just eats & sleeps, with a few diapers in between. I am thankful for the time that Brad & I had alone, but am more thankful that we get to start this new adventure together. 2011 will bring great stories as well as learning experiences. It will be interesting to see what they will be. I do know the beginning will have us traveling to Grace, ID & introducing Madilyn to the Grandparents & then off to Bend, OR for me to get sliced & diced. Other then that the last 11 months will be a mystery. I use to make new years resolutions and I would actually keep them, shocking I know. But I haven't a clue. Maybe I will make my goal list when my brain is fully functional & then I can make realistic goals. I love goals & how they can change your life for good. I love it. But I am happy for this year & know it will be a great one. I am thankful for 2010 & the blessings & challenges that have been presented. I am especially thankful for my family & friends & the support they gave Brad & I. I am eternally grateful. I have the best family & friends EVER. Thank you. So on to 2011!!!

17 day

Ms. Madilyn Ray is 17 days old & has changed so much. She is still my little cutie & she is getting more & more fun to be around. She had an apt today for her 2 wk check up. She now weighs 8 lbs even & is 21 1/4 inches. She is growing like a weed. She is so fun to watch. My favorite time is when she is done eating & she is asleep & she will make these amazing faces. She will first start out with a one side smile then it will turn into a full blown smile & her dimples will just shine. She likes to sleep with her hands in fist up by her face or across her chest at first, but when she deep into sleep her arms are above her head & she will stay like that for about 2-3 hrs. Then when she is about to wake you see this little fist shot straight up in the sky & you will hear this little groan & then the second fist goes up & they come down slowly. Then when she is hungry & she is rooting & trying to suck what ever is in sight then she will make this tight little ring with her lips & just stare off into the distant & then relax until her cute little lips feel the sweet warm taste (actually disgusting) formula. She has the funnest burps that smell disgusting that when she does them in my face, I want to throw up. Then when she sneezes they are always in 3, just like me, and her whole body gets into it. She is a doll & we have fallen head over heals for her. Not so much at her 5 o'clock feeding, but she is still out little love. We are so very blessed to have her in our life. She is a dream come true. We can't thank Heavenly Father enough with this treasure. We pray that we can live up to his standard, let alone the birth mothers. We can't even express the gratitude we have for her. She is amazing & we are truly blessed to know her. Madilyn is loved in so many ways.

We have high hopes for her. I talk with Madilyn every night about her future & hope that she will make great choices. I know I shouldn't post this, but the other day we were watching 16 & pregnant & one of the couples I wanted to kill them both, especially the father. I told Madilyn if she brought home a guy like that I was going to cut his dick off & sew her vagina shut. She just looked at me. You know they are never to young to have these types of talks. HAHAHA!!!! AND she can't talk back & say, MOM!!!!! I have her total attention. The question is: Will she remember? Nope. There is nothing wrong day dreaming about her future. We pray that she will be strong in the gospel & marries a great man who can take her to temple & treat her like a queen that she is:) A mom & dad can daydream, can't we!

Madilyn Ray Thomas

Born 11/29/10 in Anchorage, Alaska at 6:52 am

7 lbs & 4 oz, 20 inches long & a head full of hair

Now the story. We have adopted a little girl. We wanted to announce it on the 29th, but we have learned from past experience to wait the 10 days before making it known. It has been 10 days & ta-da we have a little girl. We have known about this for awhile, but wanted to keep in on the down low. She is amazing & we love her so much. She has the cutest dimples known to man. I have always wanted to have a little girl with dimples. She is a really good baby that loves her binkie. She is full of expressions & my favorite time is when she is done eating & is asleep & she will start to smile so big & her dimples just shine. We love her so much & are so very thankful. We couldn't have this blessing if it wasn't for the her birthmother. We are very grateful for her & this hard choice. Thank you just doesn't seem enough. She is wonderful & we pray that she will know how much we appreciate her. We are very thankful right now again for this little, but huge blessing. We know that Heavenly Father has been there for us through all of this & we are thankful for Him. We are so grateful & so HAPPY!!!! But here she is, our little Madilyn.