33 weeks!!!

YUP! That's right....I'm 33 weeks along!!!! Those ultrasound pictures on the fridge are of our little BOY!! This past weekend, Chris & I made a trip to go visit our baby boy & our beautiful birth mother :) We have been so anxious for this trip but also comforted in knowing the visit would go well.  And when we finally met face to face Friday afternoon...it couldn't have felt better :) It was amazing how natural everything was...like this was always a part of Heavenly Father's plan for us and the 4 of us(Lyss, baby boy, Chris & I) had all agreed upon it!

Day 1 ~ Falls, Dinner, Play

 Right after we met, we walked over to this gondola ride that took us over these amazing falls! We just talked and laughed a lot...thanks to Chris :) He pretty much thinks he's the comedian! haha, he can always make me laugh & I love that about him. Isn't Lyss so pretty!?...it was hard not to look at her and think 'wow, our baby is right there!' but also feelings of unconditional love for her...for giving us this amazing, priceless and eternal gift. It was all rushing through my head and I really couldn't believe it all was happening AND that it all felt so right.

After the gondola ride, we walked over to a nearby restaurant and enjoyed dinner.... this is her little brother Brayden. Of course Chris hit it off with Brayden right from the beginning...little kids absolutely LOVE Chris! That's probably why they've kept him in nursery for so long...he keeps them happy :)
After dinner we headed over to a high school that was putting on a 'Narnia' play. It was very good! I wish high schools down here put more effort in to producing cool plays. But maybe they do and I just don't know about it?! The costumes and back drops were amazing...I can't believe I didn't get a picture of that. When we were walking out of the play, little 9yr old Capri looks at me and says, "So, how was your day?", me: "It was just perfect! How was yours?!", Capri: "It was great! We were really looking forward to meeting you guys!" haha! It was just the cutest thing ever!! After the play, we mingled in the parking lot for quite a while and talked and laughed and got to know each other a little better. That was all Day 1! It was so wonderful!! Chris and I felt so happy and at peace! I don't think I stopped smiling until we went to bed.This whole adoption thing can be scary...it is a major roller coaster!! Luckily for us, it's been a wonderful experience. We feel so blessed that many prayers were answered and Lyss & our Baby Boy found us!! It couldn't feel more right :)

Day 2 ~ Temple, Coeur d'Alene, UltraSound

Chris and I got up and dressed to visit the temple with Lyss' parents. We walked in and.....Chris' recommend was EXPIRED!! Oh he was sooooo embarrassed!! I felt so bad for him :( but hey! now it's a great story to tell! haha. It ended up working out fine because Trish & I still went in and it was nice to have really good one on one time with her. Meanwhile, Chris & Jeff headed to the lake to get the boat ready and they had a great time together. So after the temple, we all met in Coeur d'Alene and had lunch at a restaurant right on the lake...it was absolutely breathtaking. It was so neat that they planned that for us! We felt so lucky :) We then all piled on to the boat and enjoyed a nice ride....until it got pretty choppy and completely soaked the passengers up front....aka ME, LYSS & CAPRI :) haha, it was great! Freezing! but great! We were able to really enjoy each others company and ask questions we've all been wanting to ask in person. It was so neat! After the lake, we enjoyed the famous HUGE sundaes back at the restaurant again. I got the huckleberry sundae...which Coeur d'Alene is apparently known for their huckleberries. It was really good! 

Chris, me & Lyss

Capri & I

Chris & Lyss(I told her to make a face & this is what I got:))

Capri & Makayla

Lyss & Brayden

Jeff, Brayden & Trisha

Brayden fell asleep like this...guess he was pretty tired! :)

It was such a beautiful lake...we felt so lucky we were able to experience it! What a treat!!

After the lake, Lyss took us to see her Doctor... he was sooo nice to see us at 7:30pm on a Saturday night! And Lyss was so sweet to set that up :) We were able to see baby boy moving all around! And we saw his leg and his little footsies and his guy parts and his eye socket! haha, he was covering his face with his hands! I guess he wants his face to be a surprise for us :) We just couldn't believe that we were fortunate enough to have that experience! It was so neat and we felt so grateful! And it just made everything feel SO real!! Her doctor was incredible and made it a very special, spiritual experience. I'm just so excited for this lil guy to come I can hardly contain myself! We then headed over to her home and had a little BBQ that her mom prepared for us...so nice! Day 2 ended at 10:30 and we were all so exhausted! haha

Day 3 ~ Church & Goodbyes

 We went to church with the whole family and during sacrament meeting I finally was able to feel baby boy move! It was so surreal! Afterwards, we had to say our goodbyes and it was actually hard! We didn't feel like leaving yet. We had come to feel so comfortable around the whole family and there was still so much to talk about! Chris & I feel like our family just got a whole lot bigger! And we feel so blessed for that. Lyss, her parents and all her siblings are just amazing people and we just love & appreciate them and their kindness! And we CAN NOT wait for our next visit up there!!! July 1stish.... hopefully sooner!! :)