A dream is a wish your heart makes...

and your husband's parents make it come true! :)

Russ's Mom is all about the details, and that is very true especially with fun surprises. Here are a few of the details we saw on Christmas morning. Each grand kid had their own character for all of their things. Caden's character is Pooh.

Notice all the red and black polka dotted wrapping paper, and the Cars bag.Then all the grand kids had to go look all over the house to find these letters (with the cans covered in polka dots...of course)

Then we had to arrange all the letters to spell the surprise...We all got matching shirts that say "Mousin' around"Polka dotted napkins

Here are some details that I didn't get a picture of:
-Mickey soap holder
-Mickey waffles
-Disney survival tin that Mom made full of sunscreen, bandaids, aloe, etc
-Disney scrapbook that Mom did for each family (and is ADORABLE)
-Dancing Mickey Mouse that each family got for Christmas
-Tons of presents from the Disney Store for the grandkids
-Red and Black polka dotted cooler bags to carry drinks and food in the park
-Probably some more that I can't think of now

Here is the big picture!!!

We are SO excited to go on all the rides!! Caden LOVED going to Elitch Garden last Summer and we are trying to prepare him for the plethora of rides that are to come! Thank you SO much Mom and Dad for this dream that is going to come true!

This is a tradition in Russ's family for his parents to surprise the kids with a vacation. It has been happening ever since Russ was younger and it is something that we want to continue in our family.

Before and After...

Before...During....

After!

Thank you locks of love for taking my donation of hair and using it for a good cause. I am LOVING having short hair again, and I hope that some cute little kid can enjoy having hair again.

Caden and I got to go sledding when it snowed here last week. We went with our close friends and we all had a blast! Caden even went down the hill by himself...and went on the bump. Then, we came back in and had hot chocolate! :)

Countdown to Christmas: Day 24

Christmas eve!! This is always such a fun, exciting day with a lot of traditions.

First, we had a little Family Home Evening lesson on the gifts that were given to the baby Jesus and their significance in predicting things he would do in His life. Then, we each wrote down a 'gift' we wanted to give to Jesus. It is a nice time to think what we need to improve, change or work on to have the Savior more pleased with us. Then, we wrap them up and put them by the window for Jesus.

Second, we eat a delicious meal prepared by all these lovely ladies.
Third, we act out the nativity. It is especially fun when you can have the "Nephites" use a marshmallow gun to shoot marshmallows and throw tin foil balls at Samuel the Lamanite.
Fourth, we give our Christmas presents to the sibling's name that we drew. Kylee was in charge of the gift from all of the grankids for Russ's grandma. She made a scrapbook with pictures of all of our families. Also, each family wrote a special memory, admired attributes or nice notes about grandma. There were other great gifts given, but the gift that touched me most was when Russ's sister and her family that drew our name gave us money to put towards our adoption fund. I was moved to tears because of the thoughtfulness of the gift. That is truly the thing we want most now and we were very touched by the gift.
Fourth, we have a family testimony meeting where we can share our feelings about what the Savior does for us and what he means to us. I always love the peace that comes to our hearts when we share our feelings about Jesus in the soft glow of the Christmas lights. It definitely brings in the true Spirit of Christmas.

Countdown to Christmas: Day 23

This morning, Russ and I had the opportunity to go to the temple together. This was the first time we had gone to the temple that close to Christmas, and we loved it! We loved the peace it brought amidst the last minute chaos of Christmas, and gave us a chance to refocus and prepare for the talks we were asked to give in our church the day after Christmas.

That afternoon, we were able to go over and see a lot of Russ's family that had already arrived for Christmas, including his grandma. Also, Russ's sister taught all the girls how to make caramel apples!! So good!! Kylee loved learning how to make them and she can't wait to use it for anyone that comes to visit, or for baby showers, etc.

Countdown to Christmas: Day 22

Today we were blessed with the opportunity to help out a single dad in our ward (congregation) by watching their son so he could work. Caden had a blast playing with his son and we loved the sincerity and gratitude this boy brought to our home. It was a great reminder that the Savior spent all of his days in service to others, and we get to do the same if we are going to follow Him.

That night, we met up with all of Russ's family that was already here to go see beautiful Christmas lights, watch "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" in an I-Max theater and see reindeer! The lights were beautiful and it was fun to see the kids all excited about the reindeer and writing letters to Santa.

Countdown to Christmas: Day 21

Today, we cuddled up with a blanket to read "The Christmas Sweater" and other Christmas books. We love how Christmas stories just make you feel all warm and kind inside. That is exactly what the Spirit of Christ does to a person, and it is our privilege to feel it and share it with others (especially at Christmas).

Countdown to Christmas: Day 20

Today we talked about the symbols of Christmas and what they mean. It was a great opportunity to refocus on the true meaning of Christmas and to see how all the things we use to decorate the house for the holidays really all point to our Savior. We had a scavenger hunt to find each symbol and then we learned about it. We love Christmas!

Countdown to Christmas: Day 19

Today we had to say goodbye to my parents and drive back home with Russ's family. It was a snowy day, but we said a prayer and were able to make it home safe and sound. We got home and Caden was able to put together the 300 piece puzzle he had picked out when my parents took all the grandkids that were there to the dollar store. I said, "Caden is it nice to be back at our house again?" to which Caden replied "No, I want to be with Grandma and Grandpa again". We are excited they are coming to our house in January to spend some time with us (soon!!).

Countdown to Christmas: Day 18

We enjoyed time with my parents and my two sisters (and their families) that were out in UT. We watched the BYU football game, Russ wrestled with all the kids, we ate homemade Costa Vida/Cafe Rio food and loved being together!! I even got to hold my little niece (2 months old) again. It felt so good to be with family again! We can't wait for our reunion this summer with all of my family!

Countdown to Christmas: Day 17

Today was the big surprise. Here is a very excited Caden by the clue...

Here we are waiting....and waiting...and waiting....And here is the big reveal...

We got to surprise my parents by driving out to Utah to see them shortly after getting off their mission! It was a quick weekend trip, but SO worth it!! We had a blast with them, and they were so happy to see us. Caden especially loved seeing his Grandma and Grandpa. He had been telling everyone we saw (literally) about for a week before we went. It was the best Christmas present ever! Russ is such an awesome husband and went along with the idea and the ride! :)

Thoughts on Open Adoption

We know we still have a lot of catching up to do about our surprise, our Christmas, etc. However, we wanted to take a minute to write our thoughts on open adoption. Most of Russ's family is still in town for the holidays. Over Thanksgiving, Russ's younger brother opened his mission call and he is going to the California, Roseville mission. We are SO excited for him! As part of his preparation to serve a mission, he was able to receive his endowments at the temple yesterday. Many family members were able to go in the temple with him and they had a great time. Kylee wasn't feeling well, so she helped to watch all the grandkids in the visitor's center. While there, she saw one of the birthmoms that placed her baby with our friends. They talked a little bit, but Kylee never asked her what she was doing there. About a half hour later, Kylee noticed one of Caden's friends from FSA (Families Supporting Adoption). She looked up and saw her friends with their baby, all dressed in white. Then she realized that the baby was sealed to the adoptive parents just then! What a huge blessing! It was so sweet to think of how their daughter was able to go in the temple and witness the sealing of her baby brother to her parents.

However, there was something more poignant that stuck out to Kylee. She noticed that the birth mom was there to be a part of the sealing. She was able to see them as soon as they came out of the temple, and her parents were able to witness the sealing. Kylee LOVED watching the birth mom hold and play with the baby she placed for adoption. Ideally, we would love to have an open adoption and continue a relationship with not only the birth parents, but their families as well. Every baby can use a little extra love, and that is made possible through open adoption. As this new year starts, we are hoping to be able to grow our family through the miracle of adoption and form a close friendship with the people that decide to place their baby with our family.