--------------------------A Walk in the Park---------------------------

We are so fortunate to live right next to a beautiful state park.  It's right across the street from the base and is acres and acres of forest.  Fall is my favorite season and Lily is just amazed with the colors of fall so we thought it would be a good time to go for a family walk/hike at the park.  Michael and Lily go to the state park often for daddy-daughter dates but this time I was allowed to come.  :)   Lily had a basket to collect colored leaves for a fall craft and ended up coming home with tons of leaves, acorns, and nuts.  We tried to end with a picnic but there were so many bees that we were miserable and decided to come home and eat in the backyard at our patio table. 

...........................Tomorrow... October 13th

For nearly 7 months I dreaded tomorrow.   Now I can't wait for it to come.

On January 31st I found out that Michael and I were expecting for the 4th time.  It had been over 2 years since my last pregnancy/miscarriage and I was ready to do it again.  We thought that this time would finally be it for us and we'd be able to have another baby.  On March 7th I had an ultrasound that showed me a healthy baby with a strong heartbeat.  On March 8th I had an ultrasound that showed a baby with no heartbeat.  It was devastating.  I was due October 13th.

Fast forward until now.  We're no longer trying to conceive on our own for the first time in our marriage.  We know that adopting is what our family is supposed to do.  We're excited to welcome a baby into our home - hopefully soon.  We have just one step left until we're approved and officially waiting - our home study visit.  Just by chance it was scheduled for tomorrow, October 13th.  It's like a new beginning!!   

.................General Conference Weekend............

We LOVE conference weekend!  What an amazing experience it is, twice a year, to hear the words of choice men and women of God.  We try hard to make it a fun and exciting weekend so that Lily understands just how special and wonderful it is. 

Friday night was backyard camping night.  We cooked hot dogs over the fire and slept in our tent.  Lily was especially excited to get brand new winter jammies to stay cozy overnight. 

On Saturday we started the day with yummy apple cinnamon muffins, eggs, and hot chocolate.  We were all excited for conference to start and Lily couldn't wait to hear her "favorite prophet" speak. Poor Michael was just a little bit tired!  Lily painted and made sure that Jaynie was comfortable.  In between sessions we took down the tent and cleaned up all of our stuff from the camp out. 

After conference Lily went to a birthday party  for a little boy in her preschool class, Mason.   Lily claims to love Mason and  the two frequently refer to each other as their boyfriend or girlfriend.   Lily was super giddy having Mason put his arm around her and could hardly contain herself for a picture.





Sunday was an amazing day of conference.  Somehow, after four hours on Saturday, Lily was still excited to watch again on Sunday.  We filled our day with fun crafts - the kitchen table was moved into the living room.  Lily painted wood letters to spell the word family.  She picked out ribbon with hearts on it (because we love each other) to hang the letters in our family room.