Second Half of April

The first half of April was spent with my family being in town for Spring Break and my mom staying for an extra week. The second half of April, I got to have my MIL in town for a few days. :) Karen was in town helping my SIL Mindy move back home. She had just finished her second year at BYU and we getting ready to go on a mission. During the day, while Mindy was taking finals Karen ran errands with me. We did a little shopping here and there and she taught me how to make her famous "silky" blankets! They really are the best and I was satisfied with the way my first one turned out. :)
 For the rest of the month I kept busy in the yard, still trying to help recover from not really prepping in the fall. I spent a lot of time weeding, pruning, cleaning, and then picking up and unloading two truckloads of compost all by myself. It's not exactly fun, but manual labor is always rewarding. I also continued working on ripping up the tile we have through our hallway and bathroom. This is going to be a LONG process and we are SO ready to be done walking around on dusty concrete, but the end result is going to be great!

This is some of the progress that has been made, ripping up the tile... It's A LOT of work!

MIA - Adoption Process Update

We have been MIA on the blog for over a month now and I am finally finding the time to start getting caught up! I do, however, feel somewhat justified in my lack of posts.
Brad and I have REALLY been focusing on cranking out our Adoption Profile. We FINALLY finished it last night at about 12:30! We are so excited to have reached such an important goal in our adoption process. Now we are just waiting to have our home study done and the write-up completed. At that point we will officially be in Phase 4 of the process.
We have completed the first three phases of the adoption process through LDS Family Services. The last two phases are: Finding your Child, and Placement. In other words, at this point (after our home study is done) it is pretty much the waiting game!
We can hardly believe this is where we are in the process. Looking back, time has flown by so quickly! It's hard to believe that it hasn't even been a year since starting our "infertility journey". We feel so blessed to know that adoption is the right route for us and that it has all come together SO smoothly and SO quickly. We are so grateful for all of the love, help, and support we have received through this process so far. Thank you to everyone that has believed in us and done what they can to make this process easier for us.
We are so anxious/excited to see what our adoption story will be and when we will be lucky enough to be parents to a beautiful baby! We are truly blessed.

Just a fairly recent picture I thought I'd share...
 I don't care for blog posts w/o pictures :)

If The Savior Stood Beside Me

Brad and I have had a few opportunities recently to do some overnight nannying for a variety of people. It is always fun for us to practice, learning how important it is to have both of us involved in caring for children. I seriously couldn't do it without him and they aren't even our kids! 
One of my favorite parts of every day is putting the kids to bed. I love to read stories with them, snuggle them into their beds, and kiss them goodnight. On occasion, the kids will request I sing a song or two for them. Anyone who knows me, knows I have a terrible singing voice; it always makes me nervous when they make these kinds of requests. But I am always happy to do it - with hope that maybe Heavenly Father will bless me with a better voice, knowing that I am doing it out of love ;) (I can dream can't I?...)
Everyone of these recent families has had at least one child request I sing "If The Savior Stood Beside Me". I don't know all the words anymore - since I was released from Primary last summer, but I am pretty sly with pulling up the lyrics my phone, setting it on the floor next to their beds :)
Anyway, I have noticed this trend with the kids and it really made me think about it. These kids are SO close to the Savior, they have their genuine innocence and desire to stay familiar with Him. Out of all the silly songs they learn in preschool, from the radio, etc. this is the song they turn to at night. These children fully use the light of Christ they were born with. They know when they are needing PEACE and how to find it. I am so inspired by these little ones. 
I hope as a future mother and literal home-maker I will be able to help them recognize that peace. I pray that I will be able to make our home a sanctuary, a place of peace and refuge from whatever overwhelms them in the world. Thank you, sweet children, for your outstanding example of how I should be, "If the Savior Stood Beside Me".

HERE is one of my favorites from YouTube. I like this one because of the sweet girl's little voice and the focus on the children - reminding me to "be as a little child"

I also love the art/pictures in THIS one

If the Savior stood beside me,

would I do the things I do?

Would I think of His commandments,

and try harder to be true?

Would I follow His example?

Would I live more righteously

if I could see the Savior standing nigh,

watching over me?

If the Savior stood beside me,

would I say the things I say?

Would my words be true and kind

if He was never far away?

Would I try to share the gospel?

Would I speak more rev’rently

if I could see the Savior standing nigh,

watching over me?

He is always near me,

though I do not see Him there,

And because He loves me dearly,

I am in His watchful care.

So I’ll be the kind of person

that I know I’d like to be

if I could see the Savior standing nigh,

watching over me.

THANK YOU!!!

Thank You!!!

We would like to offer a HUGE "Thank You" for all of the support we have received, especially this last week. With our blog/story being featured on Small Fry Blog, we had a lot of people share our story. This is one way we can consider social media truly a blessing. We had countless friends and even strangers sharing and posting our blog/info through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, their own blogs, etc.  

We have been so overwhelmed by the love and support that has been shared and offered through this experience; it is opportunities like this that remind us: we are not alone on this journey, there is a whole world of people cheering for us. This experience has increased our faith and hope, knowing someday (hopefully soon) we will be blessed with the opportunity to become parents.

Thanks again!

Love, 

Brad and Emily Marsh

FSA - Families Supporting Adoption

For whatever reason, I have had a hard time figuring out how to approach/complete this post, but someone recently shared a video with me that kind of summed things up.
A couple weeks ago Brad and I had the opportunity to attend Birth Mother Panel for FSA - Families Supporting Adoption. This organization is managed locally. They host a lot of meetings that help with adoption awareness and support. It truly is a wonderful organization with the most pure efforts and intentions. I really appreciate those that work so hard to make it available to couples like us. They also offer a lot of opportunities for people to get involved and help out.
Anyway, Brad and I were SO impressed with our experience at the Birth Mother Panel. There were four birth mothers there; one that had placed almost seven years ago to another that had only placed two months ago! It was so helpful to have the variety of timelines. It was also interesting to hear the many similarities, but also the many differences between each story. Hearing their personal stories and their personal journeys made it so much more real. Before this meeting Brad and I thought we had an appreciation for the Birth Mothers' role in the adoption process. But now, we have an even GREATER appreciation AND respect for these women.
 I think one thing Brad and I have worried about in the past was our ability to develop a comfortable relationship with a potential birth mother. Our experience at this meeting helped to put us at ease as we were able to sense a small connection and feeling of comfort as we listened to each of their stories. These women are truly amazing and inspiring. They have worked hard to make the very best of their lives and are changing others lives as they share their amazing stories.

This video link below is one of the most inspiring videos of a birth mother I have ever watched. She is such and amazing, strong individual. I hope this video is helpful to anyone seeking guidance, understanding, or simply gaining more knowledge on the subject.
A Birth Mother's Story

These stories are also, so motivating and inspirational:
It's About Love

Small Fry Blog

Check it out! 

We have been featured today on SmallFryBlog as a part of their Adoption Week!!! 

We are so excited/blessed to be a part of this adoption awareness experience. :)

http://www.smallfryblog.com/2013/04/18/hoping-to-adopt-the-marsh-family/

Mom and Me

When the family comes in town, my mom always likes to try to spend an extra week in town. She likes to spend a little extra time with us, as well as focus on spending more time with her mom and sisters. Mom spent most of the day Monday with her mom and sisters, then joined us back in Alpine that evening. A few of Brad's friends came over to watch the NCAA finals, we visited with them while my mom and I met with our dear friend and handyman, Marc. we are VERY excited about some small improvements we are making in the basement and I am excited to share them with you once things start happening over the next month or so. :) 

this space is due to change :)

Tuesday me and my friend, Rachel joined my mom up at City Creek for the day. She was meeting her high school friends for lunch and Ray and I were going to shop. We sat down just to visit with my mom and her friends for a bit and ended up staying with them almost the whole five hours we were up there. They were so much fun to hang out with and we LOVED hearing all of their hilarious stories from high school. Spending the day with them made me so much more grateful for the amazing friends I was blessed with throughout my elementary, junior high, and high school years.

still a bunch of hotties

me and most  of my best pals from high school

My mom and I spent Wednesday together, up in Layton. We helped my mom's sister, Jill, paint her kitchen and enjoyed laughing all day at the blonde moments that tend to happen when everyone gets together.

Thursday morning my mom, Zac, and I went to the temple (Brad had to work :s) Afterwards my mom and I ran a few errands before meeting up with her Alpine-friends for lunch at Blue Lemon. They were nice enough to invite me and I enjoyed catching up with them as well. Afterwards we headed straight to Sugar House to visit my cousin, Juliana. Her little family just moved up there and her mom (my mom's sister) was up there helping her move in and decorate. We also got to visit with Aunt Lorie while she was helping accessorize the house. It all looks so darling! Juliana's little baby boy, Connor is the sweetest thing and is just so cuddly! I could have held him all day long!

the sweetest little guy

That night Brad and I attended our first FSA (Families Supporting Adoption) meeting. This evening is for a post of its own :)

Friday my mom and I joined most of her sisters and the married, girl cousins as we headed north to our cousin, Tifani's house. We helped her do some decorating and refinishing in her new home while we enjoyed catching up with a few more of the cousins we hadn't seen in a while. It was a full day and we didn't get home until late, so we just went to bed. 

Saturday I ran a couple errands before anyone woke up. Then I made a bunch of sugar cookies to decorate at a party that afternoon for this little lady:

She is getting married on May 4th :)

That evening my mom treated  Zac, Brad, and I to dinner at Olive Garden. We were stuffed by the time the main course came out, so we just took it all home for dinner the next day :) When we got home, we hung out a little bit before going to bed a little early. 

Sunday was another one of the bitter-sweet days. We enjoyed spending the morning together and attending church. Afterwards, we spent about an hour at home before heading up to the airport to get my mom home. Like I said, it's always bitter sweet to see family go. We always enjoy having them in town and are grateful for their generosity every time they come. Thanks for the fun memories we made the past two weeks! Looking forward to your next visit in July!