Giving Thanks and Rounding the Corner on Christmas

This past Thanksgiving week we were blessed by a visit from Scott's brother and his family. Matt and his wife Tracy and their 3 beautiful children, Jacob, Kelsey and Kate. We don't get to see them very often, sometimes only once a year. We had a ton of fun showing them around Colorado Springs. It was so awesome to see all the kids play and enjoy each others company. It was really great that they got to meet Mason. He took to them right away and had no trouble keeping everyone busy :)

During our week....

We visited Garden of the Gods, Manitou Springs, drove to the top of Pikes' Peak, ate doughnuts, saw big horned sheep, hiked Red Rocks, rock climbed, ate tons of turkey, opened Christmas presents, played at the park, played games, went bowling, listened to Taylor Swift A LOT and had tons of fun along the way.

More pictures coming soon!

We are thankful for so much! We were especially mindful that this was Mason's first Thanksgiving with his forever family. He loved all the company and food! Especially the dessert!

Now I am off to drag out Christmas decorations and lights. It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Jennifer

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

This past weekend we got a ton of snow. It started Friday night and didn't stop until Sunday afternoon. The kids had a ball playing in the yard after church on Sunday while Scott shovelled. Mason really enjoyed the snow. It was fun to see him trying to figure it out!

This past week we were pretty busy. Alice started Daisy Scouts on Tuesday and loved it! The kids had a busy week at school as their school won The Blue Ribbon Award. This award is only presented to a few schools in each state. Colorado had 2 Blue Ribbon school and we were one of them. Way to go Chipeta! Paige started gymnastics on Tuesdays as well. Just staying busy here at the Wescott house!

Have a great Monday!

Jennifer

8 Months and 3 Days Home.

Okay. So I am a bit behind on my Mason post. We have been so busy that I hadn't realized that we had passed the 8 months home mark.


Mason is doing well. He is cruising around and wants nothing to do with being carried.


He answers most questions with an enthusiastic Yep! and sometimes with an nuh-uh. We prefer the yep, it is so much cuter.


He is still eating most everything we give him but we are pretty sure he has some lactose issues. I will talk to his pediatrician at his 2.5 year visit.


He learns new words everyday and is really doing a lot of mimicking. He has started to put two words together like more please and blue car.


He loves his baths. He would stay in there all day.

Have Camelbak, Will Travel

Ahh, Saturday. I love you.

This could not have been a nicer day. We started out our day in Manitou Springs. We strolled up and down the streets, took some time to play at the park, had lunch with some of our most favorite people, hula hooped on the sidewalk and really enjoyed each others company. In the afternoon we went for a hike at Ute Valley Park. Sam, Alice and Paige wore their Camelbaks and carried their own snacks. I am so not missing the days of schlepping water bottles for miles and miles. Now they can schlep their own water and snacks. Very handy, those Camelbaks. If you are looking for a gift for the outdoorsy type, a hydration pack is a great way to go. Tonight we picked up my mom and dad at the airport and then had yummy Vietnamese food for dinner.

Anyway.....it was a great big beautiful day. Life is good.

Our lives were changed forever...

On this day one year ago we saw our precious baby's face for the first time.

It was a Wednesday afternoon and Scott had just left for work after being home for lunch. I was putting Paige down for a nap so when I heard the phone ring, I decided to let the machine pick up. I stood at the top of the stairs and tried to hear who was leaving a message. I sort of made out that it was someone from CCAI (our agency) but I didn't hear the reason for her call. I assumed that she was calling to ask a question about our paperwork or immigration stuff, that happened from time to time and I had learned to not get excited. After getting Paige down I listened to the message and my heart did a backflip. You see it was Pam in the Waiting Child Department and she had a file with our name on it. The file was for an adorable 16 month old little boy with clubfeet. She instructed me to call her as soon as possible so that she could give me all the details. After I picked myself up off the floor I called Scott and told him he may have to come back home. I called Pam and she gave me all the details on our sweet boy. I was in such a state of shock that I hardly remember the call. She emailed me the file so that we could make a decision on whether or not we thought Mason would be a good fit for our family. I must have clicked the send/receive button a hundred times before I decided to walk out to the mailbox to calm myself down. Once I got back inside the email was there. I immediately sent it to Scott and we opened it up together over the phone. Here was the sweet face looking back at us.

Of course, we fell in love immediately. Scott got right to work calling our family doc and specialists. It took two days to get all the info back from the docs and on the afternoon of Friday November 7th, Scott called Pam in the WCP and accepted the referral of He Dong Sheng. We were the parents of 4 children! It was so exciting and overwhelming!

We told the kids that night after Scott got home from work. When we told them that the new baby was going to be a boy we got all sorts of reactions. Sam was thrilled and jumped up and down. Alice gave a thumbs up and then wavered until her thumb pointed to the side. I guess this meant she wasn't so sure yet. Paige was very confused on how we would give a boy the name Stella. Once it sunk in, they were all on board for a new baby brother.

This journey has been amazing. I didn't realize at the time that waiting and looking at Mason's sweet face for three months would be the easiest part of this adoption. Raising this little boy is so fun, so hard and so worth it in every way. We are blessed by him everyday and cannot imagine a life without him. Adoption has blessed me in so many ways that I never realized until this little guy came into my life. He may not have been born from my body but certainly was born in my heart and has completely captured it!

Happy Referral Day Dong Sheng!

Love, Momma

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Halloween Part II

We had a great Halloween night. The weather was beautiful and the kids were all in good spirits. Before we left, I thought that the kids might explode with excitement. They were bouncing off the walls. We came home with a ton of candy and the kids were even kind enough to share with mom and dad. Mason did really well and made it to 3 houses. Paige made it 3/4 of the way around the neighborhood and then was ready to go home. Her bag was getting heavy and her princess shoes had lost their appeal. Sam, Alice and I took her home and then hit a few more houses before they were ready to dig into the loot. It was a pretty quiet night at our house with only a handful of trick or treaters.

After our little goblins were sound asleep in bed, full of sugar and chocolate, Scott headed to Leadville for his annual romp in the woods with a gun. He and a friend from church went up last night so that they could be up early this morning at first light. Stay posted for more news on our freezer status. Will it remain at one or will we need to purchase another?
Jennifer