Pet, Pipi and Adoption - of course!

I'm sure I've said at least a thousand times that I am not a "pet person". Yep it's true, I have no desire to have a pet of any kind. I especially hate animal poop and finding in my yard! Yuck! But about a week ago Hema caught a praying mantis and put it in a jar for Little Hema. It has been such a cool pet! 

Okay so the picture is horrible, but the pet is amazing!

Here's a picture I found online of what ours looks like.
We catch all sorts of live bugs and feed them to it. Little Hema spends hours trying to stun flies so that they will still be moving and the mantis will eat them. Last night a little spider made the mistake of being on Hema's ceiling. The praying mantis tore it apart! Literally it tore it in half and ate in a matter of seconds. It was awesome! A free, small, stays in the jar, eats unwanted bugs - even spiders, kind of pet is about as good as they come! I hope this guys lives for a very long time!

I've been trying to mix it up with Vela's hair lately. I feel like I get stuck doing the same old thing over and over. These shots are her going to bed tonight. 

I can't decide of she looks like Pipi Longstocking or Boo Yah Tribe! (Remember them?)

What a cutie!!

And finally, tonight I took in treats to LDSFS for their adoption group. It was the group of young men and women who are experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and considering adoption as an option.  I was amazed to see how many people were there in the group. The room was filled past capacity. Probably 25-30 people in there. There were people of all ages, races, walks of life and stages of pregnancy. Even one couple there with a baby that looked to be at least a couple of weeks old. I made cookies and cut up fruit and veggies with dip. They had me introduce myself and tell a little about our family. I expressed how much adoption had blessed our family and told them how amazing I thought it was that they were considering adoption. I thought of the adoptive families that could be so blessed if even a few of the people in that room chose to place. I couldn't help but think of our sweet birth parents and their own decisions to place. 

I thought of a conversation I had with one of our birth moms a little while ago. She told me that she had to stop thinking of what she wanted or even what might be best for her and only think about what was best for the baby in order to make the decision to place. That selfless decision to do what is best for the baby - that is what placing for adoption is about. I have known many birth mothers and every one has had that very same thought. It just about rips your heart out to place a baby - but it is such a huge and brave thing to do when you are not ready to parent or when the circumstances of raising the baby are not right. What greater love could someone have than to choose what is best for the baby over what they want for themselves. It is absolutely perfect love! 

Last night as I was laying in bed, I was listening to the conversation between and Hema and Little Hema. Hema has been reading from the Book of Mormon reader to Little Hema and they had just finished it. He was explaining the meaning of words associated with the gospel. He was so patient and sweet as he taught truths in a simple way and then testified of them to his son. He spoke of baptism and how he would baptize Hema when he was 8. He spoke of ordaining him to the priesthood at 12. They discussed missions and many other things and Little Hema was excited for each step in the gospel. I could tell he felt confident that his dad would continue to guide him along. He wants to be just like his dad - thank goodness Hema is a worthy example for him. I got a little emotional thinking about Katie, Hema's birth mother, and how she had made the decision to allow Hema to have a dad - and not just any dad - but a worthy and loving dad. I might be biased but I think he is pretty much the best dad ever and so do our kids! I'm not sure where my thoughts are going....I guess I am just so grateful that there are young men and women out there choosing adoption even though it is really tough!