Max's Christmas Song

Chad went to choir practice last Sunday to practice some Christmas songs. (We trade off each week who gets to go, and this time it was his turn.) Max very seriously told me that he knows a Christmas song too. I said "oh, you do? Will you sing it for me?" This is Max's Christmas song...

I am a child of Christmas...mumble, mumble, mumble

Lead me, guide me, make me hot choc-o-late......

So sweet! I'm not sure I will ever be able to sing the words to "I Am A Child of God" without smiling...and maybe making a cup of hot chocolate!

Tate's Class Project

Dear Friends and Family,

Tate's class is doing a fun project for Christmas. They are reading The Gingerbread Boy, and will bake a gingerbread boy in class...but of course he will run away!

The teacher is asking that students friends and family send postcards from places they may live or travel, saying that they have spotted the gingerbread boy. The gingerbread boy will find his way back to the classroom during the month of December, so please send the postcards by the end of November.

Please mail the postcards to:

Willow Springs Elementary

Miss Amber Rodin

Tate Goeckeritz

13288 S. Lone Rock Dr.

Draper, UT 84020

Here is an example:

To: Miss Rodin's class

I saw the Gingerbread Boy in the DC area. He said he wanted to see the sites and museums. I tried to catch him, but he was too fast. Good luck!

Dr. Dryden

Thank you so much!

Justin is 1!

Wow! It is hard to believe that Justin is 1 years old! We are so grateful to have him in our family! Here are some of the things he is doing...

-giggles all the time, especially when you blow bubbles for him. He loves to pop them!

-eating lots of solid food, Cheerio's are a favorite right now

-he has 4 teeth...two on top, and two on bottom (and his favorite chew toy? That would be whoever's fingers are closest!)

-crawling everywhere, and pulling to standing

-chasing after his big brother's

Summer Fun!

Ok, so I really am going to finish Justin's story (promise!) But instead of getting further and further behind, I'm going to just try and keep things updated and add to his story when I can.

This was a great week! The summer is winding down, but we are still finding lots of fun things to do. We went to a great park last Thursday. It is kind'ave like being in the mountains without actually having to go up into the mountains. We went with our neighbors (the Hanks Family) across the street. They have 4 boys in their family, so we get along great! The boys all had fun exploring, and we even came across a trail that took us to a beautiful downhill stream.

Justin, Tate, Sam, Ike, Jack, and Max

Ethan, Tate, Same, and Jack

We also had fun going boating not once, but twice this week! We stayed at Chad's folks cabin in Midway over the 24th of July weekend, then went boating with my parents and little brother on Monday the 25th. On Saturday we went back up to Deer Creek with the Hanks Family and with my family--this time my sis Briana and her husband T were able to come as well. We all had a great time. Ever since the Hank's moved in across the street last year, Tate has been asking them if he can "please, please, please! go on their boat someday." He was thrilled to finally have the chance. He was even brave and went on the tube behind the boat. His favorite part of the day was when Jared let him drive the boat. He took his job very seriously!

Grandma Janet and Justin

Tate is our little fish. He absolutely loves swimming. I think he would have tried swimming to the other side of the lake if we would have let him.

Jack, Tate, Sam, and Ike digging the "big, big, hole."

Tate and Jack alternating between screaming and laughing on the tubes!

Max loved to sit at the front of the boat. He was content and happy! He just kept laughing and serenading us with "Little Ducky Dawdle" over and over. So cute!

Captain Tate driving the boat (with a little help from buddy Jared!)
Uncle T and Justin
Uncle Kevin and Justin
Max and Ike

Jussy Bug

(I apparently have the inability to call my children by their actual names- thus we have Tate-O-Bug, Maxee Moo's, and Jussy Bug :)

Justin's Blessing!

We were able to finally bless Justin at church this past Sunday. We were so thrilled to be able to do this. We were also thrilled that we were able to bless him on Easter Sunday. Chad gave a beautiful prayer, and Justin looked adorable all in white.

Our Little Miracle (Part I)

Chad and I first started looking into the foster to adopt program in May of 2010. We had been on the list with LDS Family Services for about 6 months, and felt like this would add one more avenue for us to add to our little family.

We attended classes every Tuesday and Thursday for the month of June, learning about the families and children who are served by the foster care program. We opted to participate in the fost to adopt program. This program allows foster parents to adopt the children they have fostered if the children’s parents rights are either terminated, or the parents relinquish their parental rights to the child.

We went through extensive background checks and several interviews. There’s nothing quite like auditioning for the role of parent! We were thrilled to find that we passed with flying colors, and indeed could become foster parents. After several additional hoops and paperwork, we were finally given the official stamp of approval in early September.

Chad and I had been told that we most likely would not receive a child in our home right away. We had been specific on our paperwork, and felt that an infant between the age of 0-1 would be the best fit for our family. We were prepared to wait for quite a while. The social worker said she would be surprised if anything were to happen before February 2011 at the earliest.

October 15th started out as any other day. Right before taking Tate to school we said a quick family prayer. It was my (Lindsay) turn to say it. I don’t know why, but I specifically asked that we receive a call that day for a baby to join our family. I think maybe I was being a little impatient and bossy! I decided that if I had faith, and if it was the right thing for our family at that time, that the Lord would bless us with a baby. That day.

Around 2:45pm on October 15th the phone rang. I was in the basement and thought “this is DCFS.” Then I of course thought how silly I was being. Surely it wasn’t DCFS. I checked the caller ID and it was just a regular old phone number. I sighed, then picked up the phone. The man on the phone asked for me, and then went on to explain that he was the on-call caseworker for the weekend. He explained that a baby was in the NICU at Intermountain Medical Center, and was scheduled to be released on Sunday, and needed a family to go home to. Were we interested? I said “of course!” And then remembered from our classes that we should always ask for the details first to makes sure it would be a good fit for our family. There was no way I was going to rescind my enthusiastic first response, but I did decide some details would be good--like whether I was going to be taking pink or blue with me to the hospital!

It turned out that blue would continue to be the theme at the Goeckeritz house! The baby was a little boy named Justin. He was 4 weeks old, but had been born 8 weeks early on September 17th, 2010.

Tate was right next to me during this phone call (Max was asleep.) With tears in my eyes I asked him if he remembered what we had asked for in our prayer that morning. We talked about it for a minute, then I explained who had just called and why.

Chad only works until 3pm on Friday’s, so he pulled into the driveway not long after I hung up with the social worker. I bounced out to his car and asked if he wanted a baby. He looked at me incredulously, and asked “seriously?” I breathlessly re-capped the phone call with the social worker.

After a couple of hours we were given permission to go to the hospital and meet Justin. Grandma Janet took the boys to her house for the evening so we could be with Justin. We were nervous at the hospital as we scrubbed up to go into the NICU. We had no idea what to expect. What we found was a beautiful 4 lb. little boy with big gorgeous eyes wrapped up in the blanket. We walked into his room and just looked at him. He had several wires protruding from his blanket, and we assumed we would not be able to hold him. Luckily we were wrong! The nurse gently lifted him and placed him into my arms. I knew at that moment that this little boy was meant to be with our family. I didn’t know for how long, but I knew I would love him forever, regardless of whether he stayed with us or not.

Daddy meets Justin

Mommy meets Justin

Our teeny, tiny babe

Sweet, sweet, boy!

Coming Home

Holding onto Daddy

Sweet, sweet, baby

Love this face!

We spent the next two days in the NICU, and then were able to take Justin home. While at the hospital the doctor’s told us that Justin had a condition called Neutropenia, and would need to see the Hematology/Oncology department at Primary Children’s Medical Center. We scheduled the appointment, and then headed home with our tiny little guy.

Justin's Hospital Room

Before we could go home, Justin had to have a "carseat check." We had to make sure he could maintain is oxygen and heartrate levels in the carseat.

Justin in his "going home" outfit

Our house, already for Justin!

Justin was so tiny! His little face was so delicate and small. He had long tapered fingers (Great-Grandma Helen say’s that is so he can play the piano!) Justin didn’t cry, even when hungry. We were told that we would need to always set an alarm so we would get up at night to feed him. I generally set two...just in case we missed one.

When we brought Justin home, Tate and Max were so excited. They both couldn't wait to see him. Tate was a little more interested than Max in helping to care for the baby. They are both good helpers, and love their little brother. Our families all came over to see Justin, and were so helpful in bringing meals and gifts to help us as we started this new adventure.