Family

This post is going to be rushed. I really wanted to post these a while ago. Remember Sunny? Of course you do. Well, they wanted me to come take more pictures. Yes please. But not just of their family. All the families who have adopted children from Dean, Lyla, and Alice's birth mom were getting together and wanted one ginormous photo shoot. YES PLEASE! What an honor to be able to meet each one of these precious little people. I wasn't expecting much, after all there are 11 of them (not a typo, 11)! I was blown away though. They were awesome. So well behaved and so polite...all of them! The older kids were so good with the little ones. I was amazed at how well they all accepted each other. I really couldn't get over the lack of chaos though! Best behaved kids ever. Want me to really blow your mind? The oldest is 10. 11 kids in 10 years. There, your minds are blown.

The "L" Family

The "B" Family (came all the way from Texas!)

The "M" Family

(Sunny-why didn't we get one of just your kids?  Ah, well, you and the Ricker are just as cute!)

Baby Alice!

I know I know. Worst blogger ever. I have several excuses. None of which I want to share. I've been feeling a little grrr/wimper/sigh/ugh/sob/rip-my-hair-out lately. I haven't touch the blog, or pictures, or a shower most days. But I'm trying to find a better attitude. I haven't found it yet...tomorrow I'm going to look in the laundry basket that's over flowing. Anyway, there are a MILLION things I want to blog about (last day of school, piano recital, dance recital, camping, pinewood derby, Father's day, PRESTON'S 10TH BIRTHDAY...for crying out loud I have a 10 year old)! But all in due time. First, (actually not first since Preston turned 10 before I took these pictures, but I wasn't home to give him his presents or take pictures of him or blog about him...grrr/wimper/sigh/ugh/sob...) I need and WANT to post these pictures of the newest member of the extended Miles clan. Baby Alice!!!

Oh she is perfect. So beautiful. Quite possibly the prettiest baby ever. At a month old, she was still only 7lbs., so you know I was in heaven. Now, I'm crying because I know I'd feel better if I could just hold a teeny tiny baby right now. I'll settle for telling you all her amazing story. You all remember Sunny and Rick, right? Their role as parents started on April 22, 2009. Remember Dean? He just turned 2. One year and one month later, May 2010, Lyla arrived (via same birth mom). It was crazy but a good crazy. We found out that Dean and Lyla had eight other siblings spread out with two other families. CRAZY! Well, in February of this year, Rick was deployed again. As we speak he's resting out in the middle of an ocean somewhere protecting our rights and freedoms (thank you for that and FYI my boys like to brag about their hero, Uncle Rick). So about now, you know where my story is going. On April 14, Sunny's social worker called her to tell her that, yes, the birth mom was pregnant again and wanted her and Rick to adopt the new little one, when it was born. She wasn't due for another month so Sunny would have time to think and pray and, at least, mention it to Rick! Can you imagine 3 in two years? Well, my mom can, but that's another story.

The next morning, the social worker called again to say the birth mom had had an emergency Cesarean, in the middle of the night, and delivered a healthy baby girl. I'm not sure how Sunny reacted initially, but I can say I probably would've blacked out. Sunny called me later that day and put in a prayer request. We all complied! I can't imagine how overwhelming that must have been. She could talk to Rick...but only sporadically. She didn't know what to do, but she knew she had to see her. So she bought a plane ticket. I have to get a little smug right now. When I heard she was flying down to see the baby, I said to Trevor, "Oh please, like she'll be able to hold that sweet little thing and then not take her?" I was right (insert smug grin). Much paperwork and a couple of weeks later, mom and baby were together. Sunny flew me up to take Dean's 2 year old pictures, Lyla's 1 year old pictures and baby Alice's newborns! Whew! It was nuts and she is awesome! So to end the story, Rick might be my boys hero (and a great person for it), but Sunny is mine!

Now on to the pictures! I'm going to tag this post "Sunny" so you can click on it and read the rest of their story if you feel so inclined. It's a pretty good story...

She has red hair! Love it!




Such a pretty mama.

A couple shots of 4/5 of the family. Note to self, it's kind of tough to get a 2 year old, 1 year old, and newborn to smile and look at you at the same time.




That's right Sunny, just keep smiling!

Dean is 2!

Lyla is 1!

I'll just add that we did the pictures at the aquatic center. Rick was on the rowing team in college and Sunny wanted to put a little piece of him in the pictures. I loved the gesture! He is so missed!

Lyla Kate

I've been so excited to share this story! It's been killing me for 4 months! Remember Rick, Sunny and baby Dean? Well, Dean turned a year old in April...and in May...his mommy and daddy got a call that Dean's birth mom had another baby and wanted her to go to them. Crazy right? 13 months apart! Talk about miracles and blessings!

The problem was that instead of going through LDSFS again, this baby was placed in state custody. That meant a lot (too much) waiting for paperwork and dealing with ignorant state employees (that may be a little harsh...or not). Luckily, Little Lyla had a wonderful foster mother who kept Sunny abreast of all her milestones.

Last Monday, they finally got her! And you know I was there early Tuesday morning, swooping in with my camera to take their first family pictures. We even sqeezed in another mini session on Wednesday morning for good measure. We have four months of picture taking to catch up on and they live across the country!



Still I had so much fun watching them bond with their new baby girl. She is lovely and perfect and so happy. And I'm so happy for them! Congratulations again! We love you!















By the way, Dean is still as handsome as ever.

Signed And Sealed...It's Official!

~The happiest baby in the world.~

It was a bit of a whirlwind weekend but one we wouldn't have missed for the world (that's a lot of "W" words). On Thursday Jan. 21st, Dean was officially adopted. We braved (or Cory did) the rain and headed down to San Diego. Cory and Gina let me hitch a ride and once Abby, Will, Wes and Brandon all got in...it was a cozy journey.


~Making it official.~

During our 10 minute stint in the courtroom, I'll admit it, there were tears that I had to fight back. Some were from seeing this whole process finally be finalized and some of those tears fell when I dropped my camera and broke my MFUL (Most Frequently Used Lens). That one hurt. I'm still not over it.


~Standard "Judge" shot and the crew that came out to support them (Rick's Brother took the picture so that I could prove I was there).~

On to the best part of the weekend. Friday, we loaded our brood in our shiny new van and headed up to Sacramento. We love going northward and hanging with all the fun folks there. Grandma Lady was a gracious hostest and our kids loved spending some quality time with her.



Saturday brought more tears. So many family members gathered in the temple to see Dean sealed to his mother and father. So sweet and so special and something I'll never forget. The love was palpable in that sealing room.



Thank you Rick and Sunny for allowing us to be a part of your amazing weekend. We love you and are so happy for you!

They're Moving.

We're sad.

At least we got one more chance to take some family pictures.



South Carolina is lucky.

Good luck.

We'll miss you.

Dean Lucas

Enjoy this delicious slice of heaven. I'm giving you quite the feast.

~This is my favorite.~








~I love all his little pieces.~

~See the evidence of his PKU?~


~Dean strikes his Zoolander "Blue Steel" pose.~

~I just love the way he gazes at her every time she holds him.~


~And Sunny's no different.~