The Church is true. Adoption is true. Amen.

And we're back. The adage about bears being "more afraid of you than you are of them" must be true. I had no idea bears were such yellow, chicken livered, pansies but there you go. I was only a teensy weensy bit worried, okay a lot worried about being mauled/eaten a live.

But maybe because wandering in the wilderness for days makes you a little loopy, or I'm just feeling a little sentimental because that's what newly posted pictures of newborns do, or I'm hormonally whacked, or maybe just plain whacked- I have something totally corny, over-the-top syrupy and cliche to say.... just call it my testimony for this month.

The Church is true. Adoption is true. Amen.

And I can't say anymore or I'll just blubber and cry. But you wanna know why? OK fine I'll tell you.

When we moved to our first ward back in California EVERYONE (not an exaggeration by the way) kept asking we had met Holly and Brad. Have you met Holly and Brad? And Angela and Dave? Nooo, we hadn't. Have you met Holly and Brad? Or Ang and Dave? Who are these people anyway? If you like them so much, why don't YOU hang out with them.

And then we found out why everyone wanted us to be insta-friends. They didn't have kids either. Lovely. I was only a little annoyed, but intrigued anyway. But I wasn't about to go up to either one of these ladies and go "So I hear you're infertile? Imagine that. Me too." Even though you secretly want to so you don't have to justify why you're not going to be in church on Mother's Day to these people because they aren't either. Still. Awkward. Then I got my first visiting teaching assignment...Oh you have got to freakin' kidding me!

Holly is my partner and we visit teach Angela. I was more than annoyed with the Relief Society for meddling so of course I didn't make any calls that month. No way! (Because I'm stubborn like that.) And then one evening John and I are sitting in the first "so you think you wanna adopt" class at LDS Family Services and I happen to look behind us and guess who's sitting there? Holly and Brad. Holy Sh*t! is what I would later learn we were both thinking. Afterwards we made the obligatory how-de-dos and please-to-meet-chas and we pledged to do our Visiting Teaching even though this was clearly the assign a friend plan. The first time we visit Angela was the longest visiting teaching visit I had EVER been on. I think all three of us cried at some point or another. And since then we have been through seriously thick, and frighteningly thin, have bawled like babies, and laughed until you really hurt. So that's why the church is true. And even though I may cringe occasionally at the thought of Relief Society, I honesty think that for once the meddling (or possibly inspiration) of the Relief Society making those assignments, placed people in my life that will never know how much they've meant to me. It's going to sound like a BYU Fast Sunday, but I could never explain how grateful I am for these ladies.

And adoption is true because look at this family and their perfect little son. Congratulations Holly and Brad! And Grady...(it's gonna take me a minute to get used to not calling you Milo, but your name totally fits you.) Welcome to world little buddy! You've got some kick ass parents! And you're the (second) cutest baby in the universe!