#5: Temple Run, Stake Dance, George Strait, Lettuce Wraps.

Did you notice that the title of this post ALMOST rhymes? (I know, I'm very clever). Diane and I have had a great couple of weeks. Here's what's been going on in our neck of the woods (thanks, Al Roker).

We went down to the U and got some ice cream from Diane's sister 

Marge's favorite ice cream place: Hatch Family Chocolates, 

which is run by a family of little people and used to have its own TLC show.

Lime waffle cone.

Our garage door caved in after many years of valiant service. 

Rest in peace, old friend. Rest in peace.

 I have a slight addiction to the iPhone game "Temple Run 2". After getting my high score, 

I finally had to delete it because I wanted to play rather than go to work in the morning.

Last weekend we chaperoned the Youth Multi-Stake dance. 

Diane isn't much of a fan of my dancing, but at least I make her laugh.

 These boys were obviously trying to beat my Temple Run high score. 

Apparently that is safer than asking a girl to dance.

 Diane had a wicked cold this week. I caught her post-sneeze.

 Diane and her friend Melinda at the George Strait concert.

George Strait is Diane's "celebrity crush". She has a thing for dreamy old cowboys.

 

For Young Women's this week, the girls came over to our house to make lettuce wraps.

Or as I like to call them, let us raps.

#4: Babies are Miracles.

This week my world was busy and wonderful. I love life and I feel so blessed! On Tuesday night I went to a baby shower. I have to “gear up” for baby showers as it is sometimes hard to be the only woman in the room who doesn’t have any pregnancy stories and to some degree just feels like the “odd ball”.  I just kind of nod when they talk about puke, poop, developmental mile stone’s etc... But I decided this week I was not going to be sad or feel down.  Do I still feel a little odd? Well... yes.  But instead of feeling sad I just tried to think of all of my blessings and think about the day that we will hopefully get to adopt and bring home our sweet baby. 

Thursday night we got the opportunity to go to a birth parent panel. I have so much admiration for birth moms and dads. There was a sweet peaceful feeling. I left the meeting feeling peace and knowing the our Heavenly Father is in charge and that He will put the right baby with the right parents. Sometimes I worry so much if we will have the opportunity to adopt and if a birth mom will choose us. Then I have little reminders like that night to help me remember who is truly in charge and that our baby will come in the Lord’s time.  The more I learn about open adoption the more peace I feel. I love adoption and I think it is such an incredible gift for all involved. I sat in our little nursery tonight that awaits a phone call that a new baby will grace that room. I wrote in the journal of our future baby about what has happened lately. I can’t wait till I sit in that same rocker and snuggle our cute baby!  

Tonight we went to the hospital to visit with our dear friends, Jeff and Jenni, as they welcomed their third baby. What a gift and miracle each baby is! We can’t wait for our miracle. Our life is blessed and I am happy. Here are some of the other things we have been up to (with captions from Steve).

We spent New Year's Eve with Jeff and Jenni and actually managed to stay up until Midnight this year (last year we made it until 9:30).
Jenni had her baby tonight.We are so excited for them!

 Jeff and I are both nerdy accountants.

We love to play games and compete against each other.

He usually beats me at "Mario Kart", but I've got the high score in "Temple Run".

In this picture, I think he was trying to intimidate me into making a bad move.

 Diesel acts like a huge Utah Jazz fan. But truthfully, I think he just likes the food commercials.

Speaking of food, Diane made some of her Cousin Kay's awesome granola this week.

Trust me, it'll keep you regular. :)

We did some last minute smoke alarm changes prior to our adoption home study.

I'm not an electrician, but I could probably play one on TV.

 We have had a fun time putting our adoption pass-along cards in random places.

Here we are on a recipe board at a local grocery store.

Our card manages to stand out, don't you think?

#3: Christmas Eve with Diane and Steve.

Happy almost New Year! We had a wonderful Christmas week with family and friends. Steve got me a ticket to the upcoming George Strait concert (he's my favorite dreamy old cowboy), and I got Steve some guitar lessons. Hopefully he can learn to serenade me to some George Strait songs. :) 

Even though we missed being with my family this year, we enjoyed the downtime at home. One of my favorite things was sitting by the Christmas tree and staying in my jammies for the whole day after Christmas! 

Christmas Eve lunch at our favorite local restaurant -- Cafe Rio.

We went to Costco for some flu shots. Remember to exercise that arm!

Steve helped peel the fruit for my favorite family Christmas treat -- "fruit ambrosia".

Christmas Eve dinner at Steve's cousins house. 

We had his Aunt Karen's famous homemade spaghtetti.

After dinner we had a snowball fight in puffy white coats.

I love teasing Matt! He is so tall!

 Our dog Diesel likes to watch Christmas movies while sitting on my lap.

Facetime with my mom and dad. 

Merry Christmas to two of my favorite people!

Steve and Matt shoveling snow at his grandma's house. 

She only had one shovel, so Steve improvised and used a broom.

Visiting at Steve's grandma's house with his cousin Elyse and her cute new baby.

Family photo with Steve's grandma, Matt, and Steve's parents.

Grandma's favorite color is purple, in case you couldn't tell. :)

 One of our favorite holiday traditions is a white elephant party with Steve's longtime 

family friends, the Weirs, on Christmas night. I got a pair of wool socks.

Tonight we played "Ticket to Ride" with our wonderful friends.

They are adopting a new baby in April. We look forward to our kids being friends someday. 

#2: Temple Square and a Superman Snuggie.

Steve here. It's been a great week! We are overwhelmed by the love and support that we have received since we announced that we are trying to adopt. We are blessed to have so many kind people who love us.

On Friday night, two of our good friends got sealed in the Salt Lake temple. They have been married for about a year-and-a-half and were expecting their first baby together. Turns out that the sealing was great timing as their healthy baby boy was born this morning!

I gotta be honest--I think I look quite dapper in my fancy overcoat.

Diane loves to see the lights at Temple Square.

 Plus, it gives me an excuse not to have to put up any on our house this year.

Diane's sister Marjorie, her family, and their best friend Will came to visit yesterday.

Marge's son found something tasty to eat--hopefully it wasn't Diesel's dog food.

 Watching a movie with Marge's daughter on their iPad. 

And yes, I am wearing a Superman snuggie.

And also yes, I do look like I have a Friar Tuck haircut in this picture, but really it's just nap hair.

#1: A New Blog & What We've Been Up To

Hi there! Welcome to our brand new adoption blog. This is Steve writing tonight. Diane and I are both very excited to get to know you better and to be able to share more of our life with you. The last couple weeks of  adoption interviews, essay questions, and uploading profile pics ("No, don't pick that one! I've got a huge zit on my chin!") has been crazy busy. But it has also been very satisfying to know that we are officially taking the first step to starting our family. Without further ado (I don't know what "ado" actually means), here is what we have been up to lately!

Diane and Alecia (one of our totally rad friends) taking a ride 

at the new Scheel's superstore in Sandy, Utah. Buckle up! 

Laser-tag at Boondocks. We totally smoked the other team! 

Thanksgiving in Idaho: Diane's dad taught me how to carve a turkey. I am now a REAL man! 

Steve's work Christmas party at Thanksgiving Point. 

We won a $25 gift card to Rumbi's (pretty much the same as the 60-inch TV grand prize). 

A typical Saturday meeting up with Steve's parents at Sam's Club. 

Clearly, we drink a lot of milk. 

Nap time with our dog Diesel. He hates it when you wake him up to take his picture. 

Snowy Saturday mornings are the perfect time for Mickey Mouse pancakes. 

Diane's niece and some of her friends came down to visit and go to a Jazz game.

For some reason, my John Stockton jersey isn't quite as loose as it was when I bought it 10 years ago. 

Thanks again for checking out our blog. We look forward to posting again soon!