Jax's first haircut

 It was finally time for Jax to get his first haircut. His hair had gotten so long. We were a little scared to take him in because the first haircut is kind of a big deal. Also, we were worried that he was not going to sit well for the hair stylist. We were way wrong though. He sat really good almost the whole time and did not cry even once. The stylist told us during the haircut that he is going to look so much older when she was done. She was so right. He has turned into a little man. It is so much seeing him grow up and progress. How fast it is going is really scary though.

Why it's so rad to be a Dad

I am just finishing the toastmaster program at work which is a public speaking group. I gave my last speech. I really did not prepare much for any of my other speeches but this time I decided that I wanted to do a great job. Why you ask? I gave my speech on why I think it is so cool to be a Dad. If you know me at, being a dad is the best thing in the world to me. I thought I would share my speech. I did not read the speech and these paragraphs are just ideas so it was not written very well. Hopefully I still get my point across. With this speech I was awarded the most improved of the week. Enjoy!

As many of you probably already know I became a new father recently. After several years of many tears and extreme heartbreak in the process of becoming parents my wife and I welcomed our son into this world a little differently than most people do. I was alone in a waiting room of the hospital while my wife was by the side of an incredible woman in the operating room at the University Hospital. If you did not know already we adopted our son Jax. I know several of you are Dad’s already and know what I am talking about already but I wanted to tell you guys why it is so cool to be a Dad.

 

You would never guess this but dinner is actually fun. Before Jax came into our lives my wife and I would prepare our dinner and sit down on the couch and not even speak with each other while we watched a show on the television. Now we have a reason to sit around the dinner table. Even though Jax is only 8 months old we take this time to interact with each other. I never expected this to be so important. As he gets older family time at the dinnertime will become essential. Holy crap, I am starting to sound like my Dad.

 

I think it is pretty funny to see the expressions of some of my co-workers when I get the call from Jax while I am sitting at my desk. Even though I am about 30 miles away from him I still feel way close with him while we talk. The pitch in my voice raises about 17 octaves and the things that come out of my mouth must sound hilarious. Whether that means blowing raspberries laughing into the phone or doing anything I possibly can to get him to laugh. It gives me that much needed laugh with the monotony of work.

 

Being able to watch Jax grow and learn is so rewarding. It makes you feel like you are doing something right. Which with me doesn’t happen all too often. The simple things such as watching him roll over for the first time, then to army crawling, then to full crawling and recently standing up to things all on his own even if that means turning off the TV during an exciting part of the BYU Basketball game.

 

While I am in a deep-deep sleep on weekend mornings one of the most rewarding things is being woken up to the sound of Jax saying Dada in the most playful voice you could ever imagine. It is so neat to think that one of the first things he thinks about in the morning is me because I can easily say that he is the first thing that I think about every day. I love walking into his room because as soon as he sees me he gives the biggest smile because he is so happy to see me. You would think that waking up would be really hard when you are tired. It definitely is not easy getting up earlier than you want to. But it is so true that nothing gets me into a better mood than hanging out with Jax. I knew when I became a parent that I would be tired but that I wouldn’t mind being tired is what surprised me. It is just impossible to be angry at someone so goshdarn cute.

 

Before I was a Dad I used to get home and just veg around the house. Not anymore! Recently we got rid of our cable TV because we just do not watch TV all that much anymore. The reason is because I get to play again. When I am with my son, I get to pretend to fly like superman, push him as high as he will let me in a swing and making faces at him until he is laughing so hard he sometime times starts crying.

 

I am going to warn you before I tell you this next part because I do not want you to imagine what I am about to tell you. It may ruin your day, or better yet life. With Jax I dance with absolutely no judgement. He does not care if I look like an idiot which I certainly do. When I do the same move over and over again like the disco pointing to cover my lack of rthym he could not care less. The funny thing is neither do I. All he wants is to shake around with me. Jax absolutely loves to dance.

 

Even though we adopted Jax everyone says that he looks just like me. The first thing I say is “poor kid, he isn’t that bad looking”. Honestly though, it is like looking in the mirrior for more than one reason. It helps me reminisce back to my childhood days. Remembering those fun times I had running around causing havoc as a child. The fact that he looks a little like me makes it a little more fun because as my parking lots on my head get bigger the cuter and cuter he becomes.

 

My number 1 reason it is cool being a Dad though is you finally know how your own dad feels about you. Regardless how your childhood went the moment you go from being just a regular guy to a dad you “get it”. You finally understand what it is like to love something more than life itself!

6 Months Old

Holy Moly! It is hard to believe that Jax is 6 months old already. Time has gone by so quick and it scares us how quick it is happening. We are trying to cherish each and every moment with him because we will never get them back. Jax is progressing so much each and every day it seems like. He is sitting up with no problem, rolling over like a mad man, and loves talking. I have been trying to coerce him to make his first word Daddy. Lets see what he thinks about that in the next few months.

When Jax was first born it seemed like it would take FOREVER to make it 6 months to finalize his adoption in court as well as go to the temple and bless him. That has now came and gone. Wow!

 

Jax's temple sealing

What an incredible feeling it is to be sealed to Jax. Today is one of the days that we have been looking forward to for a very long time. Many people asked us how cool it was to go to court and have the adoption finalized. To us it was alright but today was the day that we were really looking forward to. I think it is so awesome that our Heavenly Father recognizes any adopted child just as if they were born into their adopted family under the covenant when we are sealed to them. When Shaileen and I walked into the sealing room it was incredible to see our family and friends there. We have had such love and support throughout everything we have gone through. Throughout the many heartbreaks in the adoption process it just did not effect just the two of us. It effected our family just as much. That is why it was so great to have them there with us to celebrate our FOREVER FAMILY!

Mostly it is just me that blogs but I really think it is super important to get Shaileen's thoughts from today. Here you go :

So my top moments in life, so far, are:
     1- The day I married my best friend,
     2- The day Jax was born,
     3- Bringing Jax home,
     4- finalizing Jax's adoption,
AND now
     5- the we had Jax sealed to us for time and ALL eternity.

Today was such an incredible experience. To know that no matter what happens in this life, Jax will be ours FOREVER!! This process of adoption has taught me so much. It has taught me to never give up, there is always something brighter to look forward to. It has taught me that no matter how lost you think you are, our Father in Heaven can help guide you back. It has taught me that PATIENCE is definitely a virtue. It has taught me that GOD knows ALL. It has taught me to be a strong, independent, loving, caring, hard working, confident, and funny woman. Adoption has taught me to never take advantage the relationship I have and can have with my children. It has taught me that no matter the struggle I can turn to my Father in Heaven for peace and guidance.
When Jax entered the sealing room he was thrilled, it was almost as if he knew what was about to happen. I sometimes wonder how thin the vale is for him still, and how much of what is happening in his life he knew was going to happen.
Today in the sealing room an overwhelming feeling of gratitude poured over my heart and slapped me in the face. I have so much to be grateful for. I feel as if we are always thanking those that have been a part of this journey with us, BUT sometimes we forget to thank the most important person. In the sealing room today, though everything that was happening, I poured my heart out to my Father in Heaven in silent prayer. I thanked him for this incredible MIRACLE he gave to us. I thanked him for trusting me enough to mother this precious child. I thanked him for allowing me to guide him through this life with his help and the help of my wonderful companion. I thanked him for not giving up on me through the years, and keeping his faith in me even when I wavered in my faith in him. lastly, I thanked him for being my strength, and for listening to me when I was sure no one else was.
I feel so much joy in my heart after today. Nothing will ever compare to the amazing experience of sitting across the alter from my incredible husband and our beautiful son, being sealed for TIME AND ALL ETERNITY!!! I know without a doubt that Jax was meant to be a part of our family. We will forever be grateful to his amazing birth mother Sarrina and the beautiful gift she has given us. She not only gave us the child we had longed for, but a new extended family as well. We love our Birth Family and we are so proud to have them in our lives.
I also just want to add that I would be nowhere without my husband. He has stood by me when others have not, at my lowest and at my highest. I know that God provided Kurt for me. He choose Kurt to be mine so he could teach me to be kind, generous, patient, gentle, soft of heart, and most of all faithful. I love you Kurt Reed Cline. You are mine forever and I cherish that thought. I love you madly and I am beyond grateful to share every moment of every day with you.
AND
Jax... one day you will read this. I want you to know that mommy loves you so much. I cried a million tears before I found you. Daddy and I waited, and waited, and waited and we know that Heavenly Father was finding the most special baby to send to us. I love you more than I can put into words. You have my heart little man. I know that one day you will be a daddy, and if you feel even an ounce of the love I have for you for your children you will be the best daddy around. I loved you before I even knew you existed. I have prayed for hours on end hoping that one day those prayers would be answered... Buddy, my prayers were answered with you. I love you my angel, you are my miracle. xoxo - mommy

I asked Shaileen to come into the computer room and not read what I had written earlier in this post but to just write down her feelings for today. WOW! I have no idea why I am the one that blogs because she can pour her heart out way better than I can. Shaileen, I love you too with all of my heart. You are the woman I had been looking for to marry but more importantly be the mother to our child. I love you!

Visit with Momma Sarrina

We were lucky enough to meet with some of Jax's birth family yesterday! Momma Sarrina, brother Austin and Sister Sarah all came. We were all together for about 2 or so hours and it was simply wonderful. You can tell that Jax has a special bond with them. He would constantly find Mommy Sarrina in the room and just grin at her. Both Shaileen and I were worried that Jax was going to be grumpy because he did not get much of a nap throughout the day because we were busy running around all day. He was great though and was as happy as can be throughout most of the visit.

I have to say how thankful we are for Jax's birth family. They have absolutely no idea how much they mean to us with the gift they gave us to parent Jax. We are forever indebted to them. We believe that adoption is such a wonderful thing because that means more people to love on Jax. Jax will always know his birth family and have a relationship with them as long as they are willing. Just like LDS Family Services motto says. ADOPTION: ITS ABOUT LOVE!

 Brother Austin with Jax

Sarah with Jax

Finalization of Jax's Adoption

 

Finalization Day finally came and has gone. What a wonderful day it was. As most people, we hadn't ever been to an adoption hearing in court before. When we first walked in the court house there were a ton of people waiting to get into court. We met with our attorney to go over paperwork and quickly learned that they hear adoption cases first. I was really surprised but it quickly made sense. Since the case deals with a minor it has to be closed by law other than family that we invite in. It was a pretty quick easy process and took about 20 minutes or so. My favorite part is when our attorney called on Shaileen and asked her how her bonding had gone and why she thinks she is the best fit for a mother for Jax. As you would guess it made me tear up. I can't remember exactly what she said but something to the effect of that she has never loved someone so much in her life. Later on our attorney asked me the same question. I answered saying that one word sums up Shaileen as a mother. Perfect! I also stated that when I was looking for my wife I wanted to have her be a wonderful mother. Never would I have expected to get something as wonderful as Shaileen as the Mother of my children. I can see in her eyes the love that she has for Jax. Not just a shorttime love but love that will last for eternity. After we were all called on the judge agreed that we should adopt Jax and it was all final. What a cool feeling. Honestly though, people have asked me how I have felt about being able to finally finalize with Jax. I answered saying that it really is not a big deal because we have the temple to look forard to. Jax is legally our son while on this earth right now, but on January 4th at noon we are going to be sealed to him in the Jordan River Temple for time and all eternity. What kind of a blessing is that? AN INCREDIBLE ONE!

 

This is a photo of our attorney Derek Williams and our case worker Amber Lingard

Shaileens Mother and Step Dad

My parents

 



2013 Cline Family Christmas Party

It was time for the annual Cline family Christmas party. We had an absolute blast. Janica was nice enough to hold the party at her house. The weather was absolutely crazy so we were so happy that we only had to drive to Tooele instead of into town. As always, when we get together with the Cline side of the family we have a ton of fun, sometimes a little too much fun. We had a great meal and then everyone took family photos at the "photobooth" It was fun and Jax loved wearing the snowman headwear. We also played family fued and minute to win it. There are videos attached that will show how much fun we had too. We are just so thankful for our family and love them all so much. 

Isn't this one of the cutest photos you have ever seen of Jax

Grandma loves Jax a ton

Sometimes a little too much! haha

Absolutely love this photo of my grandma! Love how she still comes to our family parties.

Brayden thought he would be funny and make his own personal Gopro! It comes with a disclaimer that you may lose some hair with this GoPro model.

I can say pretty easily that I am the luckiest Dad in the world!