Family

There are moments when It really hits me how awesome my family is. Yesterday Kyle and I spent the entire day with family (we usually do on Sundays). It was so fun talking, laughing, and playing games with everyone. In Kyle's family it is rare to have a get together without playing games and I love it! Some of our favorite games are ticket to ride, boggle, apples to apples and last night we had fun playing balderdash. It was so fun!
After game night Kyle and I had to drive about an hour to get home. I love car rides like this with Kyle. We always listen to different music and jam out or have long fun or serious talks. Last night was the jamming out kind of ride, we listened to a super old NOW CD and sang along to all of the songs. Kyle is a goof and I love his silly sense of humor. Life is awesome!

As we are starting the process.... The application/ Bishop recommendation/down payment... I am getting super anxious. I know that adoption can be a long process and sometimes with our agency it can take years to get placed. I can't help but feel like we need to rush. The soonest we can be approved is May because we have to take some classes through the agency that are only offered 3 times a year. Hopefully we can get everything ready so that we can be done as soon as we've completed the classes.
I'm secretly terrified that everything will go wrong, but I know there is a child out there for us. I can't help but pray that we get placed sooner than later, but it isn't in my hands or in my timing. I hate that I'm a control freak! Kyle has been great at keeping me relaxed and focused on the exciting part of this process.

On a lighter note... We are going to be having a fund raising yard sale/bake sale March 23-24 in our hometown. Our family has been really great and willing to help us out. We are accepting any items or baked goods for the sale so if you would like to dejunk we are more than happy to take it off your hands! We have gone through our apartment and I''m surprised with all the stuff we've come up with to sell. More info to come about  the fundraising sale!

Traditions

In light of the Valentine's Holiday I have been thinking a lot about traditions. I love going overboard for holidays... even the cheesy ones. There are a couple of traditions I love for Valentines day.
1. Pink heart pancakes!

2. Date night with the Hubby! (this year we celebrated a night early because of work schedules.)

We had fun last night with dinner and a movie!

3. Incredibly cheesy lovey gifts! I gave Kyle the 12 days of Valentines this year. Each day he was given a small gift that had a saying that went with it (example: Reeses Pieces- I love you to pieces). He got pretty excited for his gift each day. Kyle gave me a new end table, which I LOVE. 

I love thinking about what new traditions we can start when we have a child! Decorating heart sugar cookies, making valentines for friends, scavenger hunts for little gifts and much more. I can't wait!

I can't believe it's actually real!

On Wednesday we made the final decision that adoption was right for our family! We have been thinking about adoption for a while and so we made the call for a meeting with the agency. After the meeting we were both feeling excited and so nervous, but both feeling that it is what we need to be doing. After praying we received the  sweet confirmation that the Lord has adoption in his plan for us!
I personally have been completely overwhelmed by the support we have already received from our families, friends and Bishop. I feel so blessed already and we have only made the first tiny step towards the end goal, a precious child. We decided on the blog title Growing in our hearts because of a poem that I read that already means so much to me.

Not Flesh of My Flesh

Not flesh of my flesh
Nor bone of my bone,
But still miraculously my own.
Never forget for a single minute,
You didn't grow under my heart,
But in it.
--- Unknown

I still can't believe that it is all real!  We are ADOPTING! We will be documenting our journey here on this blog so stay tuned!