ADOPTION WORKSHOP: We spent last weekend at an adoption workshop that we were required to attend in order to adopt again that was beyond amazing! It ran all Friday evening and all day on Saturday. Bryson spent the night with his cousins Zyan & Chazz and had a blast. We learned about the adoption triad, the grieving process, determining our readiness to adopt, shaken baby syndrome, watched a video about a birth mom placing her child for adoption that left everyone in the room sobbing, and then they had several panels (adoptive parent panel, adult adoptee panel, birth parent panel, etc) that came to share their experiences with us. It was amazing to hear about all of the miracles Heavenly Father has worked in order to make so many adoptions happen. We also had the opportunity to share our adoption story with the other adoptive couples there as well. Mike and I left with a very strong confirmation in our hearts that adoption is the way we are meant to find our children. We also left with stronger testimonies that when it comes to eternal families, God truly is in control and that miracles do and will happen to help children find the parents meant to be theirs. We feel so blessed to be apart of something that has allowed us to witness so many miracles.
GARDNER VILLAGE PHOTO SHOOT: Every fall the Hinckley family meets up at Gardner Village for a family photo shoot. This year Jake and Michelle were in town so we had everyone there. I love this picture of Mike giving Bryson a kiss. Mike gets told all the time how much Bryson looks like him. Mike always chuckles because the people saying it usually have no idea Bryson is adopted. But it's true--Mike and Bryson really do look like each other! Just another reason we know Bryson was meant to be a part of our family!
THE NATE BERKUS SHOW: Speaking of my sis-in-law Michelle, she made her national television debut on the Nate Berkus Show this past week (view it here). We all met up at my sisters house to watch the show together and were so proud of her. She's so amazingly talented and I'm sure she'll have some great opportunities come her way because of it.
LIBRARY STORY TIME: I've been meeting up at the library with some other mommies from the ward for weekly story time. Bryson loves it and has made a ton of new friends. At first he wasn't sure what to think of it and stayed glued to my lap and wouldn't participate, but now he's out there full of confidence singing and dancing with all of the other kids. He loves it!
WEEKLY PRESCHOOL: I still do pre-school on my own [almost] daily with Bryson, but in addition to that have rounded up several other mom's to do a weekly co-op preschool for the pre-school aged kids in the area. Bryson loves it and although he's older than all of the other kids, he still enjoys having the chance to visit the other kids houses and play with all of their cool toys.
(Lauren, Lara, Erin & Amy)
TRUNK-OR-TREAT: Bryson had a lot of opportunities this year to get loads of candy for Halloween. First it was our ward trunk-or-treat party and then it was at Mike's work, which is where he scored the most candy because the place is so huge. This is a picture of him sporting his cool knight costume at the trunk-or-treat.
HALLOWEEN: We went to Zack & Heather's again for Halloween this year. We ate their amazing chili (seriously, this stuff is the best in the world!) and then the kids went out trick-or-treating. As soon as they left, it started pouring rain and rained the entire time they were out. The poor things came back completely drenched from head to toe.
THE LOOT: Because of the rain, this is all the candy Bryson came home with. Good thing he has more stashed away at home from Mike's work and the trunk-or-treat!Hope you all had a great Halloween!
