Happy Halloween 2015

Halloween kicks off the holiday season for me. It's a good excuse to get together with family and just have a fun time together.

Stewart family Indoor Trick-or-Treat party

 

 

Captain America and Super Girl

 

Julie's nieces trick-or-treating at Grandpa's house

Do It Anyway

My life has changed so much these last 9 months it's difficult to properly articulate. I began this year knowing I wasn't the future father I wanted to be. In spite of desperately wanting to become a father I was not in a position to help that happen. I had to face the fact that at nearly 400lbs I wasn't necessarily an ideal prospect for some looking to place a child for adoption. That wasn't easy to face or admit but I did. I received the chance of a lifetime and started working with a trainer. I put up signs in my house to remind myself of what I was working for. Julie decided to join me in my weight loss goals and we began to eat healthier and follow a meal plan from my trainer. It turns out eating healthy and exercising work! No magic pills or miracle apparatus was used; just a decision to start taking advantage of life and a whole lot of sweat! You can see the difference in some of the pictures here in the blog. To over-simplify I've learned so much about myself and my own abilities. I've learned the magic in pushing myself beyond what I thought I could do. There is a power in deciding to keep going when we think our tank is empty. I feel like I'm becoming not just a good person, which I was before losing weight. I'm becoming the person God would have me be. It's exciting, intimidating, empowering, humbling, and all sorts of other things all at once. I'm learning to put long-term goals in front of short-term wants as the phrase, "do it anyway" has become my daily mantra. I'm not quite done with this transformational journey of mine but I'm over-the-moon happy with how far I've come so far. Life is better this way!

P.S. Julie has lost a bunch of weight too! Just look at that gorgeous wife of mine!!!

Ray

Labor Day 2015

It seams like this year is flying by! It is already Labor Day and we were both lucky enough to have the day off. We spent the day enjoying the beautiful weather and great outdoors of Utah. We started the day by driving to Park City to join some friends for a hike. Then lunch and since we were close we had to stop by the outlet mall and visit the Nike store for some new shoes. Our plan was to go to Soldier Hollow and hike around there but we didn't know that a sheep dog competition was happening that day. So plan B was to go hike Stewart Falls. We did Stewart Falls last year and it was pretty difficult for us. We stopped to rest a lot and it took us a lot longer than expected. We did it again in the spring and it was easier but we still took a few breaks. This time despite the crowded trail, we cruised through it. When no one was in our way we ran the trail and made it to the falls faster than we ever have. It was so exhilarating to see how much stronger and healthier we are. (The new shoes are pretty great too!)

 

Best Grandparents Ever!

Ray's parents brought their old beat up car to the family reunion and let the kids paint it with their own designs. The kids had a blast and it was fun to see their different personalities represented on the car. It is quite a sight to see this car driving around town! 

Changing Our Lives

Our hike to "Potato Chip Rock"

One of our amazing meals at PFC

Ray finishing up "Double Peaks" hike

Lunch at our new favorite place in San Diego, True Food

We had an amazing time with these two wonderful people at Premier Fitness Camp in Carlsbad CA. JJ (@hiittrainer) is Ray's personal trainer and he has an adorable wife Erika (@cleansimpleeats) who is a nutritionist . They are two of the greatest people I know and they love what they do. (Follow them on Instagram to see how awesome they are).

We are in the process of becoming healthy, active people and with their help we are already seeing some pretty cool changes in our lives. 

-Julie

I'm a transformer

So there's something huge happening in our lives that we haven't really talked about here. I'm a transformer, and by that I mean that I'm shrinking. By that I mean I'm getting smaller. By that I mean I've lost 64 pounds! In February I started a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be on a weight-loss reality show. We're still filming so I don't think I can divulge all the details of it but it will likely air in December or January. Anyway, it has been an amazing couple months in working so hard with diet and exercise, committing to doing every little thing my trainer asks of me, learning to own my successes along with my failures, all while having a camera in my face and knowing a million people may be along for the ride. In spite of the awkwardness of the cameras, I am so unbelievably grateful I'm a part of this. The day I met my trainer I knew we'd be friends for a very long time, tv show or not. I'm learning to push myself by myself, and when surrounded by those cheering me on. Julie has been amazing through all of this! She has done the workouts at home and is 100 percent committed to the meal plan and standing by my side at every step. I don't think  I would have the success I have without Julie being such a powerful partner at my side. I've still got quite a way to go to reach my goals (which have gone from simple weight-loss to much deeper, truly healthy goals) but life is so much better than it was 64lbs ago! Next weekend I'm doing a Spartan race (8-10 miles with 26 major obstacles along the way) and I'm excited for it. Not too long ago I would have been nothing but terrified at the thought of doing this. I'm not scared or worried. I'm just really excited because I know I can do it though I've never done anything close to this before! Like I said I'm shrinking. I'm also growing in other ways at the same time. I'm shrinking and growing at the same time. Like I said, I'm a transformer.

Ray

It's Not Just A Stroller

Because we don't know when our baby will come to us, we thought it would be a good idea to have a few things ready. So we did some research and picked out which car seat and stroller we want. The stroller was delivered the Tuesday after Mother's Day.

I know it might look like just another stroller to the average eye but it's not. This stroller is different. It is the first "big" baby item we purchased. This stroller is a symbol of hope. It is putting our faith in God that we will get our baby. This stroller represents parenthood.  I know some days when I look at the stroller in our future nursery I will be filled with excitement at what our life will be like when we have a baby in our home. There will also be days I know when I see the empty stroller in the empty room, I will be filled with sadness that our dream of having children has not come true yet. As it is with the adoption waiting game, emotions are like a roller coaster. But for right now I am excited and hopeful that we will find our baby.

~Julie

I love my church calling!

About 2 1/2 years ago I was stuck in a rut. I needed something new in my life; something for me to make a difference in the world. We had recently experienced our miscarriage and I was in a funk. I couldn't figure out my purpose in life. Work was okay and I enjoyed the people I worked with but I needed something more. I thought about going to school and getting a degree that I could use to help people, but I couldn't decide what that would be and I didn't want to waste time and money on something and then change my mind later. I was frustrated and confused. Finally one night I was laying in my bed with my face in my pillow asking God what he wanted me to do. I didn't get an answer right away but a few weeks later Ray and I were called into our bishop's office where he asked me to be the new Primary President. I was shocked but I accepted the calling. I love it! I don't know how much of a difference I am making but if at the end of church the children leave knowing they are loved by our Heavenly Father then I am doing okay. I love it when they sing the primary songs and learn gospel principals through them. I love it when they know the answers during lessons. I love when they can relate the scriptures to their lives. I love feeling the spirit when they are actively listening to the lessons being taught. I love watching their testimonies grow and feeling the huge spirits of these little kids. I have an amazing group of kids, teachers, counselors, and music leaders that help me love my calling. Sometimes it can be a little stressful but this calling has kept me busy and helped me fill the void that I felt before. I have been forced out of my comfort zone and learned a lot about myself in the process.
~Julie
P.S.
To learn more about our church visit lds.org or morman.org

We Are Approved!

"Ray and Julie are recommended by Utah Adoption Specialists for domestic placement of a child(ren)..."
After federal & state background checks, child abuse background check, medical reports, financial reports, questionnaires, home inspection, and more we are now approved to adopt!
Now that our home study is complete we can start creating profiles on adoption sites. Thanks to this awesome announcement, adoption.com is where we will create our first profile. Now it's time to find our baby! We know it may take some time or it may happen quickly. We understand we're not trying to just find a baby. We're searching for our baby and when it's right it will work out.
Lets do this!
~Ray & Julie~

Last Minute Adventure

In my family you need to be ready for an adventure at the drop of a hat. What usually happens is we are sitting around with nothing to do and the next thing you know we are on our way to the canyon for picnic or on a road trip to Las Vegas. You just never know what the lazy weekend will turn into. Well Saturday was this type of occasion. Ray was working and I was running some errands. I got my hair cut, prepared some things for Sunday primary etc. On my list of things to do was drop some quilting stuff off to my sister then meet up with my sister-in-law so she could hook me up with some Mary Kay makeup. Well as I was dropping off the quilt stuff to my sister they were getting ready to hike to the "Y" on the mountain in Provo. I had never done that before and it was a beautiful day so it didn't take much convincing to get me to go with them. My uncle, his 2 grand-kids, my sister, 2 nieces, my dad, his dog Penny and I hiked to the "Y". It was harder than it looks but we had a fun time. We left a mirror with someone at home so we could signal to them with the mirror we took with us. The weather was perfect and it was fun to do something with family.

I love my job!

I'm training a new person at work. Training is difficult and can seem to slow the clock down sometimes. It's also a chance to reflect on my training and how intimidated I was at being a dispatcher in the beginning. I managed restaurants for much of my life and I was pretty good at it. I didn't like it so much after a few years but I was good at it. In my mid 30's I found dispatch and it just felt right. I don't think most people understand what a 911 and police dispatcher does in the course of a day at work and frankly we make it look easy. But I will never forget my days of training; being terrified of answering that first call; being incredibly intimidated by having to talk over the police radio; and knowing that a 911 call was coming at any moment and I might be the one to make a difference between life and death on the other end of that call. It was all so daunting but I loved it. I wanted to reach the point where I was ready to put those weights on my shoulders and carry someone through disaster. As difficult as it was to absorb the impossible amount of knowledge and the endlessly evolving skills needed, I knew I had found what I should have been doing my whole life. After working a decade in the wrong places it's amazing to know I'm at the right one. Now despite the difficulties in training, it's great to see that realization in someone else that this is where they belong and the determination to master the mountain of skills and knowledge to join our ranks. I love my job!

Ray