Summer Fun!

Every year Grandma and Grandpa Erskine take us to Lake Powell. I have been going to Lake Powell ever since I can remember and cherish the memories I have with my cousins and sisters. I am so grateful my parents make it possible for my boys to have the same opportunity. Powell this year was fun as usual! The kiddos always have a blast swimming off the back of the houseboat, fishing, riding the water wheenie, launching rockets (thanks to the family pyro - Uncle Randy!), playing in the sand, and eating good food. The boys look forward to it every year. 

DAUSON - Age 6

Dauson was born August 22nd, 2006 in St. George, UT. He was a chubby, fun-loving baby from day one. Dauson is a very spirited, passionate, and fun-loving kid. He continues to captivate "audiences" of friends and family with his reinactment of his favorite movies. He loves his brother very much and assumes the role of protector and leader very well (despite Camrie's protests!). Dauson loves to learn and spends his time watching documentaries on dinosaurs/pre-historic animals, playing spy kids with cousins/brother, and riding his bike. He fills our home with energy and is so excited to have a baby sister!

CAMRIE - Age 4

Camrie was born May 19th, 2008 in Baltimore, MD. His birth mom's name is Tymia Hall. We adopted Camrie in March of 2009 at 10 months old. He is such a blessing to our family. He and his older brother, Dauson are good buddies and they fill our home with a lot of laughter, wrestling, messes....and sometimes fighting! Camrie has a sweet way about him. He accepts everyone and loves to be cuddled, hugged, and kissed. Camrie follows his big brother around everywhere, and loves being with Dauson, but maintains his own identity well! He loves textures (the root of much mischief) and is very focused. He can dismantle almost anything! (We are anxiously awaiting for him to reach the stage of reassembling those objects!). Camrie is also very talkative and shares his random, silly thoughts with us often that make us all laugh. We can not imagine our family and world without him in it. He will make a loving big brother some day.

Let's start from the very beginning....

Here's to starting yet another adventure....only this time, it will be documented! I have always been good about taking photos of family events and even every day life in our home and then creating an annual scrapbook. However, as we have started the adventure of adoption for the second time, I am realizing the benefits of a family blog. It will be great for our children's birth parents to keep posted on the kiddos and serve as a sort of "journaling" for me. I am actually looking forward to recording bits and pieces of what life is like in the Gardiner family. 
Our family started when Greg and me married in the Salt Lake Temple on May 31st, 2002. Greg, at 23 years old, robbed the cradle by marrying me at 19. We met the summer after I graduated high school and he had been home from an LDS mission for about a year. We fought wild land fires for the BLM that summer and found "love on the fire line"! It was a really fun way to get to know each other and we started dating that Fall after I left for college at SUU. 
Our first year of marriage, we lived in Cedar City, UT while attending SUU. At that time, we both decided to pursue nursing degrees and moved to our hometown to attend an LPN/RN program there. We lived in the basement apartment at my parent's home for 2 years. After getting our RN associate, we moved back to Cedar City to get our BSN in nursing. I walked through the graduating line, seven months pregnant with our first son, Dauson. He was born August 22nd, 2006. 
Greg continued on in school in the MBA program at SUU that same Fall. I stayed at home with Dauson and enjoyed my time as his mommy. Then life handed us one of our greatest challenges that led us to the road of adoption that we are on. 
In May, 2007 (just 10 months after Dauson was born) I was diagnosed with Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia. My odds of survival were low, but I was blessed with a feeling that I would be okay. With family and friends surrounding and supporting me; I underwent chemo, radiation, and a bone marrow transplant that year. It was the most difficult, rewarding experience I have been through. Greg stood by my side with unwavering strength and love. I could not have endured with an overall positive attitude, had it not been for my amazing support system. It is amazing to me that I am approaching year five of cancer-free living and my oncologist has deemed me "cured". I am in awe at the blessing of being here to watch my children grow and spend more time with my amazing husband and extended family.
After fully recovering from my transplant, we adopted our second son, Camrie. He came into our lives at 10 months old and continues to richly bless our life. In all honesty, adopting an older infant posed some challenges. He had been with his birth mom up until placement and grieved her presence for some time after we got him. However, after finalizing the adoption and having him sealed to our eternal family, everything started to fall into place. He is thriving and we can not imagine our lives without him. 
Now we are on a journey to bring another sweet spirit into our home. The boys keep asking for a baby sister. Dauson was convinced he was going to "get one" for his sixth birthday just last week! Despite really wanting to be able to deliver that birthday wish, we knew it wouldn't happen that quickly! However, we are on the road to making it happen (hopefully by birthday number 7 for sure buddy!). 
Thank you for taking the time to read our story of "how it all began". I look forward to posting more stories and pics of our life as we know it and so my kids have something to look back upon to remember those growing years. 
Love,

Becky