A little bit about Tommy



I'm a really laid back, go-lucky guy. I really don't worry about much, because Annie does all the worrying for the both of us. Like most guys, I like electronics; cool phones, TV's, computers, cameras, stereos, etc. The only down side to this is that just when you feel comfortable buying one of these items the next best thing comes out and you're stuck with something out date.

 I also really like to follow sports; mostly football, hockey, baseball, and basketball. I grew up playing football and running track. When college football season or the Olympics come around I am glued to the TV.  However, with the invention of the DVR, I can now watch these sports without it cutting into too much family time. I really admire athletes who have developed their skill enough to play or compete on a professional level and wish I could compete along side them.

 As of most recently I like to read. This is probably due to the fact that I now actually have time to read books that I like, rather than school books. I haven't necessarily decided if there is a type or genre that I like, but its nice to be able to just sit back and read something that takes you to another place.

 I like to cook too .... ok, maybe not cook, but at least eat. I love food! As of right now I am really in to BBQ.  I can't get enough of it and it always sounds good to me. Really, who can pass up some yummy, fall-off-the-bone ribs? 

Lastly, I really like to follow politics. This year I've been helping one of our local candidates in his re-election bid and it has opened my eyes to the many different ways to run a campaign. I suppose that someday I will run for public office, but that seems to be many years down the road.

Annie on Annie

I am a going, going, going, going, never stops kind of gal. From being a mom, decorating, cooking, crafting, oh yeah, cleaning, laundry and all that fun stuff, my life fills up very quickly! At one point I was working 20 hours a week for my dad, coaching high school cheerleading 15 hours a week, doing hair out of my house 9-12 hours a week, and being 9 months pregnant. Whew, I am glad that is over!

I am the third of four children and the only girl... my brothers still complain that I am spoiled... and I have NO idea what they are talking about! I just say that me and mom are REALLY close, they don't buy it! I am also the "crazy" one in my family, or maybe I should say I am the most animated! I am the one on family camping trips making a fool of myself, and loving every minute of it!

I LOVE music, all types from Alternative Rock, to Pop, to R&B/Rap, to Country, to the good ol' Oldies. Any time music is playing you will either hear me singing along, or dancing... but most likely you will see and hear both. In my family I am called the "Human Jukebox".

I am always starting new crafts and projects around the house. One day I decided that we needed a shelf for our TV... so I found some scrap wood in our storage closet and by the time Tommy got home from work, and Wala! we had a shelf. I have sewn curtains, and crib bumpers, painted abstract art for our walls, and I even made a TeePee for my son's 3rd birthday. I am looking forward to re-tiling my shower, yeah, I know a little weird, but it's true!  I love working with my hands and letting my imagination run rampant. 

 

I love learning new things, and usually will do my best to teach myself... let me just say I love YouTube!  I recently learned how to change my hair pink in Photoshop!  Yeah!  I really would love to go back to school and finish my degree in Interior Design.  It has been something I have been really into since I was 10 years old.  My goal is by the time I am forty I will be a professional Interior Designer... I better get to work :)  But right now my priority is my family.  I love the fact that I am a stay at home mom (I never thought I would ever say that!  I was always the girl that said I wanted a career and to work... How boring it must be to stay at home... Man!  Was I ever wrong!  I have the best job in the world!) and that is where I want to be until my kids are much older.

Tommy's Family

I am the youngest of 6 children.  I have two older brothers named Trent and Tyler, and three older sisters named Traci, Tate, and Tera.  As you can see, my parents thought it would be cool to named all of their children with names that start with the letter "T".  I'm sure it was cool until the third or forth kid came around.  By the time I was born, my mom called me by every name except for my own. As you can tell by the picture, all of my siblings are married and have children. This family picture was taken back in June 2009, so there have been several additions to the family since then, but this is my family.   

Growing up we were a pretty tight knit clan.  All of us played some kind of sport which now means that we are all really competative. Sometimes that can translate to high tentions and emotions even playing the most simple games.  We also traveled a lot as a family and some of my fondest memories are of our travels to the mountains or the beach.  

My two older brothers live in the Pacific Northwest (Washington & Oregon).  My sisters, father and stepmother live in Las Vegas, NV, and Annie and I live in Colorado. So getting everyone together only happens every two years or so.  The picture above was taken at a ranch in the mountains in northern Nevada, where we spent several days hanging out, fishing, shooting guns, riding 4wheelers, riding horses, eating food and playing games.  It was a ton of fun and something we look forward to doing again in the near future.  Family is very important to us, so any time I get off of work we usually spend traveling to visit them. 

My mother passed away back in December, 2002 and I miss her dearly. Because I was the youngest, I was her baby and she treated me that way.  She taught me to stand up for what I believe in and to always do the honorable thing, even if it meant I was doing it alone.

Since my mothers passing, my father has remarried.  My stepmother is a wonderful women who is caring, compassionate, and loves me like one of her own children.  Along with their marriage, I inherited 4 more siblings (three sisters and one brother), so anytime we get together in Vegas it is a party!

Annie's Clan

Ok, so every time my family get's together, it usually involves lots of noise and lots of food.

Most of my immediate family lives very close, I have three brothers and two of which live within 10miles of us.  My youngest brother just moved with his family to Indiana where he is attending Purdue...

We call him the genius of the family (we all hope he will share his future wealth with us someday...haha)

We are all extremely competitive... We play this game that we call

"The Canadian Game"

(no idea where the name came from because it has NOTHING to do with Canada... Eh?)

We used to always play boys against girls but finally decided that was not a good idea...

it caused a little too much tension, lol

So we just divide into equal teams now.

We love hanging out and watching movies together... the funny thing is that all of the "in-laws"

end up falling asleep during the movie. 

...My family... well, we are known as night owls.

(and definitely NOT early birds lol)

I will say though, we like to catch my dad snoozing while sitting up.  We are always trying

to snap pictures of him... usually our laughter wakes him... and he always says that he wasn't even sleeping

(but we know the truth!)

We make an effort to have a family dinner to celebrate everyones birthday...

and we are getting up there in numbers... which makes it all the more fun!

Below is a picture of my extended family on my dad's side.  He is the oldest of seven kids.  Every other

Thanksgiving we all try to get together and enjoy spending time together

... Like I said... If food is there, so are we!

(and this isn't even everyone!  Only us, my parents, and my younger brother's family could come.

My two older brother's families had to stay home)

 And keeping true to our crazy natures....

My aunt and uncle brought "props" to make the picture fun



I really love my family, and they are so welcoming of Tommy...

he just fits right in with the craziness.

My parents have been happily married for 35 years and are a great example of what a marriage should be. 

They taught me much in my youth and helped me gain a testimony of

Jesus Christ as my Savior.

I hope one day, when Tommy and I are grandparents that we can have family gatherings like ones pictured above and create lasting memories with our loved ones.

Thank You!

Thank you for spending some time on our blog getting to know us better.

Thank you for considering an adoption plan for your baby, and us as potential parents.

What you are doing is tremendously selfless, we admire your strength!

We hope to hear from you soon! 

Ask us questions!!!  Anything - we are pretty laid back :)

 You will be in our prayers until then

annie.tommy@yahoo.com

We are Approved!

I can't believe this day has come. You do all the paperwork (and if your me you stay up until obscene hours to finish), you go to the appointments and interviews, "they" come to your house to make sure it is "fit" for children... you wait until your case study is complete (doesn't have to be done patiently!), update and complete your online profile... all for this moment...

The moment when you are "officially" online, when birthparents can look at you, can read what you are all about and decide whether you are "the one" or not.

I feel so excited to be in this place right now! I am not too worried about waiting a long time because I truely believe that when we are supposed to have a baby, we will. Our case worker was having trouble loading our profile, it took several days before we figured out what the problem was. During that time we had met with him, I just said that it must mean that our profile wasn't supposed to be online just yet... So, again, I am not worried about waiting. I mean of coarse I would love to have a baby in our home now... but worrying about it isn't going to make a difference. I actually think worrying will make it worse. I saw this quote today and I really like it:

"Worry can never conquer the problems we fear from tomorrow; it can only rob us of the vitality and pleasures of today" ~Anonymous

So, even though there may be someone looking at my profile right now, or not looking at my profile right now... I am going to enjoy the moment.

And to be honest, I am a little nervous. This is all so different from having Graham (obviously) and I am still not sure what to expect from all this... meaning, I know we will end up with a baby, but the journey is new and exciting and also a bit scary... it is unchartered water for us. I am sure there will be some bumps along the way but all in all I know it will all end up the way it should.

Funny Little Guy

So, Graham is finally starting to use sentences when he speaks (many times words are completely out of order or mushed together to create new words, but he is still doing it; which after a lot of hard work and persuasion, feels really good) and he is saying common phrases that are just too cute. (They are probably just cute to me because I am his mom, but humor me!) Here are some of his favorite things to say and my favorite to hear... because right now his favorite things to say are "no" and "I don't want to..." but those are not MY favorite to hear... so here is my list:

Dat's cooool

Oh, tank you mommy (he says that to anything... makes me melt)

awwwwww man

I sad (I don't love hearing he's sad,

but it is so cute that he understands his emotions and tells us)

But by far the funniest is that he insists on calling Tommy "Tommy", not "daddy." I am constantly correcting him (he calls me Annie too, but not near as often) but he continues. And to top it off he is in a "I love daddy more than anything" stage and so he will ask "Where is Tommy?" all day long and my reply is usually "At work"(it is really sweet, even if I am a tad bit jealous... I have been out of town for an entire week and not one word of where is mommy, but daddy is gone for two hours and he is concerned... he is definitely a daddy's boy!!)

Also, Tommy usually gets Graham going in the morning (and lets me get a little more sleep. Yes, he is amazing!) So the other day when Graham was calling me to come get him, I had to go - since he usually tells me to go away - So, I go down to his room and do you know what the first words out of his mouth were?? "Good Morning", "Hi Mommy", "Taakke Milk", "Waffo", a smile even??? NOPE, it was "Where is Tommy?" So, I got him some breakfast and then I went upstairs and notified Tommy that his son wanted him... I guess there are some advantages to being the "Black Sheep Parent"

But regardless of who Graham is clinging to at the moment, he is my little guy and I love him dearly. He is constantly making me laugh and he is such a happy boy! (minus the toddler breakdowns)