For some of you, this is the first time that you've heard about this. It all happened so fast that there was literally no time to prepare. So, I will attempt to tell a shortened version of the story. On Monday evening the 26th of October, we had just gotten done reading stories, brushing teeth, saying prayer and getting Ian to bed. When we came out of his room we heard someone talking on the answering machine. It turns out that it was our case-worker, Spencer, with LDS Family Services. He wanted us to call him back. Spencer usually doesn't call just to talk. So we called him back. He asked if we were ready to do something fast and Dan said "Yes, when is the baby being born?" Spencer told us that the baby was born yesterday (the 25th of October), and that the birth-mother has chosen us to place her baby with. He asked if we could be in Dayton the next morning, and we told him of course we could. So the next day we left for Dayton and ended up spending most of the week there. Sydney was born on Sunday, October 25th, 2009 at 6:25 a.m. Her birth mother didn't even know she was pregnant until she got to the hospital that morning and gave birth a few minutes after arriving. Surprise! The birth parents made the agonizing decision to place her with us because they didn't feel they could give Sydney what she needed. We are so grateful for the blessing of adoption and for the unselfish acts of love that the birth-parents make on these children's behalf. We are so grateful that the Lord wanted to bring this beautiful sweet spirit in this little girl to our home. We love her so much.
Sydney had jaundice and they thought some other infection so they kept her in the hospital until the morning of the 1st of November, when we were finally able to bring her home. We also want to thank Whitley, Grandma Annie, Aunt Lynn, and my friend Kelli for helping us out with Ian while we were in Dayton with Sydney. We couldnt' have done it without any of them, and we appreciate their love and support. We have
AWESOME friends and family!
Ian is having a little bit of a tough time adjusting to it though. After we brought her home Dan was holding Sydney when I got Ian out of bed and he came in and immediately starting throwing a fit because daddy was holding this other baby and not him. He is getting better though. He has since given Sydney a few kisses and has patted her head. I'm sure he'll be a great older brother, and Whitley of course adores her, and is such a big help all the time. We don't know what we would do without her sometimes.
Today we went to Columbus to finalize Sydney's adoption. Everything went well, and we thought we were all set but then we found out and noone had realized that we had another person in the house that had turned 18, and when that happens you have to have background checks done on anyone that lives in the house that is 18 or older. So they went ahead and did part of the background check by taking Whitley's fingerprints and then running them, and of course found nothing, then there was just one other part that they had to do but it wouldn't be done that day. But we talked to the judge and she said that for all intents and purposes we are basically cleared and finalized that paper just has to come back, and that will happen in a few days and then it will be final, but she said there is nothing to worry about. So basically everything was done and then on the 21st it ended up being final instead of the 10th, so it's all good. We feel so happy and fortunate that everything went smoothly for the most part. We also feel so fortunate to have this beautiful baby girl in our family. She is so sweet and bring such a happy spirit to our home. 
Above is Ian and his birth-grandfather Bob
Below is a picture of Benjamin when he turned 3.
