Adoption Meetings, Bouncing & Parties

On Tuesday, we had a meeting with our birth-parents to outline what our future relationship would look like so we all have clear expectations. It was an emotional time and we continue to pray for the birth-parents (and their families) as they make the tough choice of doing the absolute best for their unborn child. We're grateful to be involved in their lives and we rely on the Lord during this uncertain time for us.

On Wednesday, Rachael, aka The Good Deal Gal, took us to Pump it Up to celebrate her little peanut's birthday! What a great idea for kids to be inside in the warm to get lots of energy out. Happy Birthday E and thanks for being such a great friend to Kylie!



On Friday, I took our birth-mom to her doctor appt for her check up. We only dreamed of this opportunity as we began the adoption process and I'm so grateful to birth-mom for allowing me to participate in this way. I know it can't be easy but she is really working hard to develop a relationship with us and we are forever grateful! The dr even got us in for a quick ultrasound so I got to see our little boy!!! It was a bit surreal to watch but I loved every second of it. Birth-mom even gave me the ultrasound pictures for the nursery - it's definitely a BOY!

I rushed home afterward so we could host a party for our closest friends and their families. I can't tell you how lucky we are to be surrounded by the most wonderful people. Life certainly wouldn't be as full without each of you in our lives and we pray the parties and memories continue :) Unfortunately I didn't remember to pull out the camera but I have great memories in my mind!

Saturday afternoon, my cousin was in town from Seattle so we had a family gathering. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed running around with the kiddos outside. We miss Robby now that he's in Seattle, but it's obvious that he's doing really well and we look forward to seeing him again in a few months.

Later that evening, we went to a friend's house for their annual Gingerbread House making party. The Sholdelmyer's are brave souls with 60+ friends invading their bedrooms, kitchen, carport, dining room, and more to create messy gingerbread houses. Not to mention they have a 16 month old AND she's 7.5 months pregnant- no big deal!!! We've attended for several years and have always had a great time. We typically just have fun with our houses, but this year we won Honorable Mention! Thanks for a great party Chris & Kelly!

Our beautiful little Holt House :)

Grandma & Grandpa's house

The winning house - shouldn't it be on the cover of Martha Stewart?!? (And don't miss the blue gingerbread car in the background!)

Finally, Sunday night, we drove to the McCormick Stillman Railroad Park to ride their holiday train. It has been a fun tradition for our family to ride the carousel, meet the characters, and take the train around the park to see all the light displays. It was a long wait in the 70 minute line but it wasn't too cold and Kylie ran around looking at stuff while one of us stayed in line. I love being able to do these things as a family and I hope that next year we get to do it as a family of four!