A Most Delightful Summer

I figured I should probably fill you in on how my Summer went, since we're now into the middle of September and all.

You guys, my summer was lovely. It was filled with pretty much every delightful thing that a Summer should be filled with. Except maybe a trip to the beach...but we did make lots of trips to lakes, so that sort of counts.

Seriously though. We went boating, fishing, camping (I even went to girl's camp!), to the local fair, had BBQ's, fresh fruits and veggies, baby showers, a Lagoon trip, attending weddings, we saw Wicked, friends came into town, lots of eating outside and hanging out with family and friends late into the evening because it was still light outside...
And there was probably even more awesomeness than that and I can't even think of it all. It was one of those perfect types of Summers.

And, there's really no better way to describe it all than with some loverly pictures. So, are you ready for this photo bomb?

We made a really cheesy 4th of July Cake.

Here we are on the 4th of July, hanging out at City Creek.

Coolest fountains ever, right?!

 Jayson's best friend got Married this summer. It was a lovely wedding all around and we're super excited for them. They're absolutely perfect for each other.

And, of course, the decorating of the car...

Here's my nephew Jayden playing with trucks at the property. I do believe this was right before he put bacon in his mouth, decided he didn't want it, dropped it on the ground, decided he did want it and tried to put it in his mouth, and his mom took it from him. She did really great at not freaking out about the gross bacon in her hand. You're a good sport Jen. Anyway.

Jayson thinks he looks really manly in this picture, so I had to post it. Also, I just want to point out that my family (ok, mostly my dad) has been into archery since before the Hunger Games even existed.

Hummingbird!

Marni came with us and she did some bow and arrow shooting too. Because she's cool like that. Marni, come back to visit please? Marni visiting was definately a big role in the fact that my summer was one of the best ever. She was here for a whole month and it was fabulous.

My dad and Jayson just happen to be standing in the living room of my dad's cabin. It's going to take a few years to finish, but we're all pretty stoked about it!

Here are some photos from that shower I told you about months ago that Kelli and I threw for Kelly. The decorations were all Kelli. Aren't the just the best?!

I'm all sorts of in love with the above picture of my sister in law and my nephew, who totally looks like a Hollister model..

Above is my oldest nephew and his mama! This was his very first time skiing on his own!

You can't see it that well, but Nash caught a fish. Well, really Todd caught the fish and when he tried to put it back in the water Nash snatched it up. That dog is all sorts of crazy business.

And, one time I french braided my mom's hair.

Fires were banned at Bear Lake for almost the whole summer, so we improvised...

I took this mid-sentence and it still cracks me up every time I see it.

Again with the smoosh face.

I can't get enough of this picture! This is my littlest nephew, Henry, and isn't he just the cutest?!

These are some pictures of Sue's bridal shower that Vienna, various others, and I threw (well, mostly Vienna threw and I helped out here and there). I think it turned out rather lovely. I love the peachy-pink and gray.

And this, my friends, is the best picture of my mom and me ever taken.

Summer was so so so very good to us. It will be a tough act to follow for sure.

That being said, bring on the soup, sweaters, scarves, crispy leaves, and pumpkin treats!!!

Fall is my very favorite.

We all Laugh in the Same Language

Ok, story time!

Last weekend I had a really eye-opening experience.

One of Jayson's co-workers invited us over to his house to have some dinner with his family and to play some pool. I thought that sounded great, so naturally, I agreed.

On our way out there he called his co-worker to get some directions and they were talking in Spanish.

And then it hit me.

"Jayson, does he speak much English? Does his wife speak English?"
"Umm....I'm not sure...I know he speaks a little English, but it's pretty broken. I'm not sure about his wife."

Just to be clear, I don't have anything against people who can't speak English. I was just thinking to myself that this was going to be one of those nights that just drag on and that I was going to be that awkward person that just sat and stared all night and didn't say a thing. I mean, what was I even going to do?

But you guys, I couldn't have been more wrong.

We were supposed to meet them at the Catholic church that they go to because there was a party going on there and they wanted to go and invited us. So, we headed there, met one another, and got some food- some REAL, authentic Mexican food. I had tacos and nachos and they were SO delicious. We also got some corn on the cob that had mayo and parmesan cheese on it, but to my great surprise I was not a fan. Jayson sure loved that corn though!

Then we headed over to their house. The inside of their house was different than anything I'd ever seen. It definately wasn't your average Utah house, but it was beautiful. It was really cool being exposed to a different kind of beauty in decoration than I'm used to.

They also bought Little Caesars for everyone because their kiddos wanted some. So, we had pizza, bread sticks, and buffalo wings. While we ate the pizza Jayson played translator so that we could talk a little bit. That was kind of tough, but it worked out. I even surprised myself by being able to understand a whole story about how buffalo wings originated in the city of Buffalo, New York and there they just call them wings. But, that was mainly because I had heard the story before and Jayson used the words New York, buffalo, and wings.

 It turned out that their kids did speak English though, so I was able to speak to them and...oh my goodness. They were the most adorable and well behaved kids I've ever seen. They were just so sweet and you could tell they loved having guests over. It was wonderful.

Then the kids decided they wanted to put on some tunes, so we played pool while listening to the chipmunk's covers of lot of popular songs. It was crazy-hilarious.
Playing pool was SO fun. I've actually always liked playing pool, but I've never been very good at it. They gave me some pointers and I got a little better by the end of the night, but let's just say it's safe to say that I lost every game. But, the best part was that while we played pool we were all laughing and just having a grand old time.

All in all the night was really fun and I loved it! I was completely blown away. I was able to enjoy my evening  even though I couldn't carry on a conversation.We were still able to connect, laugh together, and have a good time. I didn't know that would be possible without speaking the same language. It was really cool because I haven't really ever been in a situation like that. It was interesting to be able to get a small taste of what it must feel like to not be able to speak the language of those around you. It made me realize just how alike we all are. I think so often we get caught up in how different this culture is from that culture and so on. But, really, we're probably all more alike than we are different. We all laugh, we all feel, we all smile... you know, all of the important stuff.

The Waiting Place

Oh yes, that place.

Sometimes when I feel down I like to read Oh, the Places You'll Go!, because let's face it, it's brilliant. And it always makes me feel better.

There's a little section in that book that goes like this:

"...you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles cross weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or the waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for the wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting."


Lately I've been thinking of those haunting lines.

I've been waiting around for a baby. Just waiting.

I'm not very good at waiting, especially when there's not much I can do about the situation. I haven't even been waiting that long for an adoption and I didn't really expect anything to happen so soon anyway, but that feeling of not being able to do much of anything except to spread the word has me feeling anxious already.

Dr. Seuss is right; it is a most useless place. And it sucks you in like a vortex.
But, I mean, what else can you do? It's like that line from Expo 86 by Death Cab for Cutie that goes, "But, if I move my place in line, I'll lose. And I have waited, the anticipation's got me glued."

But, in the midst of all of this thinking lately I remembered something I have learned a year and a half or so ago:

We're all waiting for something and trials are not meant to be something to just get through. You can actually be happy while you're going through a hard trial. This piece of knowledge felt like gold to me. Up to that point I had thought of them as something to get over and once they're over you can finally be happy again. That worked pretty well for me for most of my life, but when this trial hit me on the head I started realizing that it wasn't going away any time soon and that even once I got my first child infertility would be staring me in the face when I longed for a second. I had to find a way to be happy during it.

So, I got to thinking. I thought about how besides that my life is really great. I realized that I could go and do fun things still and that I could keep on living while I'm waiting for something. I realized that when I finally got a baby I'd start waiting for something else and I'd be back in that Waiting Place again. I realized that I had to learn to be happy with what's going on in the present, even if some of it's hard, or I'd never learn to be completely happy at all.

It all came together to this conclusion:

The Waiting Place isn't really about waiting as much as it is about allowing yourself to be miserable while you wait.
It's like waiting at the Dr.'s office for hours with nothing to do but wait vs taking your favorite book and reading it during those hours (and let it be known that Harry Potter has gotten me through a lot of nervous and anxious waiting at the Dr's office, and trust me on this one; it was much better with him than without him). That makes sense, right?

And, suddenly, I was out of the Waiting Place and my life was changed.

Sometimes this lesson is hard to remember, am I right? And I had forgotten it in this beginning of the adoption waiting process until a few days ago.

But, thankfully, I remembered this the other day. I remembered that besides all of that this summer has been absolutely perfect, truly lovely, and filled with all of the many wonderful things that summer should be filled with and there are still more of such things to come.

So, while I will continue to dream of soaking up moments with my future babies of snuggling, smiling, laughing; enjoying buying holiday jammies, Halloween costumes, and every sea creature/nautical thing in sight for them, I'm deciding to take Dr. Seuss's advice once more and get myself out of that Waiting Place.


"NO!
That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping,
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of a guy!"

Our Adoption Profile is Up!!!

It's official...
We are completely and officially approved for adoption and our profile went online today!!!
I'm still kind of in shock...I can't believe it's really happening!! It's very surreal, but I'm SO excited!

If you want to view our profile you can find it here.
or
you can visit itsaboutlove.org, go to "View Adopting Family Profiles" and search by our first names or our profile number, which is 27801809.

We have also finished our adoption bog, which you can access by clicking the little button that I made that is now on my side bar. You can also put that button on your blog if you'd like to help us spread the word by using the grab code underneath it.


Also, if you'd like to help us spread the word there's a facebook, google+, and twitter share button on the adoption blog or you can share the link to our profile. 


Thank you all so very much for your wonderful love and support! 






Commence the eating of the celebratory ice cream!

It's a happy day in the Kim house.