Summer Fun

We did a few fun things this morning. I am not the best a taking pictures but I do have a few. We did lots of swimming and took a few trips. Ava really likes going to the splash pad and playing with the other kids.

We went to the Mesa Children's Museum.

We did a staycaion in Scottsdale with my mom, mother-in-law and sister. It was nice to get a way for a day. Ava and I just joined them for swimming at the pool. It was a lot of fun!

We took Ava to the movies for the first time. We went to see Madagascar 3. She loves Madagascar. She loves to dance to the "Move it, Move it" song.

We got a new dog. His name is Pitch. He has been a good boy and Jett and Ava love to play with him. He looks just like Jett when he was a puppy.

We went to the Grand Canyon over the July 4th holiday. It was nice and cool. It was raining most of the time while we were there but it made the canyon really pretty.

Overall it has been a good summer so far.

Pioneer Village

We went to Pioneer Village this weekend. I have not been there since I was a kid on a field trip. It was such a beautiful day to be outside.

Fun with the family!

A couple of weeks ago we went to Freestone Park with my mom, sister and step dad. We went for my moms birthday and had a good time. We took the train and went around on the carousel. We all had a great time.

Christmas

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! We had a great time with family.

Update...

It has been so long since I blogged last. I was looking at the pictures that I last put up of Ava and she looks so little. She has changed so much. Her hair was so dark and now it is so blond. We just got our picutres taken by one of our old friend and she did a great job. Thanks Leah!

What we did this summer...

This summer was a fun one! We went and watch the Cardinals in Flagstaff. That was fun just to get out of the heat.

We went to Disneyland and the Reagan Library. Disneyland was fun because she was a lot more aware of what was going on. She rode a lot of rides and really enjoyed the parade down mainstreet. The Reagan Library was really fun. It is in Simi Valley which was beautiful. It was really neat to learn more about him.



We also went to the beach on the way home and saw the seals in La Jolla. I love La Jolla.

My work game us Diamondbacks tickets when they played the Giants. That was a great game and they were awsome seats. Ava was such a good little girl. She just sat on my lap the whole time and watch game cheering them on.



I won a year pass to the phoenix zoo a few weeks ago so my friend Brittaney and I went to the zoo with our kids last week. We had a good time. The weather was so nice that Friday. Ava had such a good time at the petting zoo with goats. She was going crazy. She thought they were the funniest things.

We had a good time this summer!

Ava pictures

Here are some updated Ava photos. She is growing and is now cooing and being really cute. We love her lots.

Baby girl!

As most of you know Paul and I have adopted a baby girl! Her name is Ava Reagan Black. She was born on May 2, 2010 and weighed 7 lb 7 oz and was 22.2 in long. She has been such a wonderful blessing in our lives and has brought so much joy to us.

A little of the story on how she came to be with us.

Paul and I received a call from another case worker on Wednesday, April 28th in the evening letting us know that she had a girl that was interested in meeting with us, oh and by the way she is due in a week and a half (What????). We were shocked, scared and nervous that it could be that quick but we said "OK" we would love to meet with her. We met with the birth mother and her mom on Friday, April 30th and hit it off. We had a lot in common and it just felt right. The birth mother was not in a good place in her life at that moment and felt that the right thing to do was to place her baby for adoption. We left that night feeling really good about the situation and only hoped that she did too. We sat around the phone the next day waiting for a call to see if she had chosen us. We got a call that night on Saturday and found out that she had chosen us!!!!! Paul and I were so excited and scared about the situation but we still felt that it was right. The the next sentence was that she was in labor. Another shock hit us. We thought that we would have a few days to prepare for this new baby that was going to be coming into our lives but we were so excited that it was going to be soon. Paul and I were at Wal-Mart that night at 9:30 going through the baby isles saying, "I think we will need that". I knew we would need diapers and wipes so we bought some of those. The birth mother had Ava the next day; Sunday the 2nd. It all happened in a total of 5 days. Ava had a lot of visitors at the hospital with family and friends visiting which meant so much to us.

We are so proud of the decision that the birth mother made to place her baby with us. She is such a sweet person and we love her very much for the decision that she made.

Paul and I wanted to thank all of you for your prays and your words of encouragement during this time. It meant so much to us.

Adoption help!

Dear Family and Friends,

We hope this letter finds you well. As you may already know, we have been married for 6 years and as yet have not been able to have children. After many tests and no success we have decided to seek a child through adoption. We are writing you to ask for any help you can give us in building our family through adoption.

If you become aware of a birth mother who is looking to place her child in a loving home, we would appreciate help in recommending us to the birth mother. If she is willing to consider us as adoptive parents, please contact us at (480) 231-0728 or you may contact our caseworker Larry Draughon at LDS Family Services at (480) 278-3636.

We have enclosed a photo of ourselves that could be shown to a potential birth mother. If she would like more information, Larry Draughon or we can provide her with additional photos and information concerning our background, family, careers, hobbies, and interests. Birth parents may also view our online profile at www.itsaboutlove.org by clicking on “View Adoptive Family Profiles” and then click “continue” under guest, then click on “find a profile by ID or name” and then type our names in- Paul and Darla.

Thank you in advance for your help as well as your love, support, and prayers.

Love,

Paul and Darla Black

(480) 231-0728

paulanddarlaadoption@gmail.com

Family Photos

Paul and I (ok I guess really me) have been wanting to take family photos for such a long time now. We have not had any photos done since our wedding over 6 years ago. One of my old roommates took the photos for us and they turned out great! We took them downtown Phoenix. I like that urban look with photos. Paul was not sure at first but I told him to trust me they will turn out great. He loves how they turned out and so did I.

On Our Way to Adopt!!!

We just got certified to adopt!!!! We are so excited about this. It has been a long journey to this point but we are on our way to adopt. We have spent YEARS trying to start our family and have come to the conclusion that this is the right step for us. Wish us luck through the process.

Family Weekend

A few weekends ago Paul and I went Greer and stayed in a cabin at the Greer Lodge Resort. We had a blast! My mom, sister, Paul's mom and dad and 3 dogs came with us

It was a big cabin that fit all of us just fine. The resort was so beautiful with a lot of outdoor activities for there guest to do. My mom and I went kayaking on there pond, which was fun. We took long walks with the dogs (we really wiped them out)

just really enjoyed our time together in the cool mountain air.