Baby Larson quilt!

I actually made a quilt!! I finished it last night and it is seriously so cute. Matthew and I love it and it looks so great in the nursery. It took me 4 days to make it which has to be some sort of record right?! I will say, I am not even close to the amazing seamstress that my grandmother is, but I think I made her proud with this little beauty!

I love the way all the colors and patterns came together!

The back with the quilting showing the triangles that I outlined

I used a zig-zag stitch to sew the binding down. It makes the quilt more playful looking and matching the triangles in the quilt

If you were ever wondering what it ACTUALLY means and looks like to make a quilt....TADA!

Island Park Adventures

Wow, what a day! Matthew and I both got work off on Monday to spend with Brooke and she really wanted to see Island Park since she had read a book set in Island Park and we are pretty close. So Matthew and I thought it would be fun to go to Mesa Falls as well since they are practically neighbors and get some lunch at Frostop which is seriously my favorite place in all of Idaho. We got to Frostop around 12:30pm but decided to just run up to Mesa Falls and see that first and then come back down to Frostop since it looked really busy at the time. So we are driving up and there is still tons on snow on the sides of the road so Matthew puts the truck in 4-wheel drive and we keep going. We keep going and are doing fine until we see a school bus stuck in the road ahead of us. It was a small school bus and there were 3 people with shovels trying to dig it out. So Matthew and I get out of the truck to see what is going on and Brooke stays in the truck because she was freezing! Turns out they had been stuck like that since last night and spend the night in the bus! Crazy! So we hooked them up the the truck and pulled them out. It felt so nice being about to help them. They were really nice people taking a cross country trip from Maryland to California. So we get them out of the snow bank they were trapped in and start backing out. We are not going to see Mesa Falls today. Then Matthew stops because a small car was trying to make it up all the snow and we knew they wouldn't be able to. Unfortunately while Matthew went to talk with them, the truck started sinking into the snow. It was a warm day so all the snow was super slushy and turning into really wet ice as soon as you walked over it. So we got stuck. Then the bus got stuck again trying to reverse out. Now we were both stuck. We tried and worked and shoveled and pushed dirt and gravel under the tires and finally got the truck unstuck, but the bus wasn't going anywhere. We wanted to help them, but if we tried to get back up to them - about 60 yards away - we would get stuck again too. I was getting so nervous for them. They kept digging and trying and a few times it looked with the bus was going to flip over into a ditch. Luckily it never did. So we took on of the passengers with us back into town to a towing company to go get them out. It was such a roller coaster ride of emotions. I was so happy to be able to pull them out since they had been stuck for 24 hours at this point, then we get stuck, then they get stuck, then we get free but cant help. I just felt so bad for them, but they were thankful for what we could do for them. So finally after all of that, we got to the Frostop around 3pm. That just made it all the more delicious! Then we drove into Island Park for Brooke to see. Honestly at this point, I don't think any of us really cared, but we went anyway. Then on the way back home Brooke fell asleep and I was not far behind her! We finally got home and watched The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug. I thought it was really good, but Matthew and Brooke said it was nothing like the book. I definitely understand how frustrating that can be, but I still think they enjoyed it. I fell asleep at the end and after the movie was over, I went to bed. I love visiting family, but I tell ya, going out for a full day makes me so tired! And this was no normal day! But it was still fun!

Before all the crazy started. We stopped to look at the trout swimming up stream.

I did it!

I actually graduated from college!! I can't believe it! I am the first in my family to get my Bachelor's Degree and I am so proud of myself. It was an amazing day! Brooke came to Rexburg on Thursday and we all had dinner together and stayed up way to late talking and catching up. Then on Friday I got to sleep a little bit thank goodness. Then I got up and went to work at Brianne's while Brooke bought some new MK make-up from her. Then we both headed home. I took a shower and did my hair and picked all my clothes out and got my cap and gown ready. On Thursday night I had a genius idea to iron my gown.....turns our that was a horrible idea and I burned a hole right through my gown in the very front. And of course it was just far enough down that my hair wouldn't even cover the hole. It was a plastic-y burn too, so it was all hard and shiny. Anyway, so I had a mini meltdown and then finally decided it did not matter as much as graduating from college did. So after I finish my hair and Brooke is ready to go, we went back to Brianne's and she was nice enough to help me with my make-up for graduating. She is seriously one of the most kind hearted people that I know. Thank goodness I looked so pretty; hopefully it would distract from the gaping hole in my gown! Matthew finally got of work and showered and rushed to get ready. Before we left Brooke gave me a card from her and Dale that she made that was really cute and a little Willow Tree figuring that represented "Beautiful Wishes" which I thought was a great message for my future. Then Matthew brought out a gorgeous bouquet of flowers that they got for me. It had Roses, Gerber Daisies, Alstromeria, and Israeli Ruscus in it. I love it! We all drove to the I-Center where commencement was being held. Brooke went to save seats while Matthew parked the car and I had to go the gym to line up with all the other graduates. I found a few friends and stood in line with them and had some fun conversations before being marched out to the commencement. I was luckily able to talk with the cap and gown company and they gave me a new gown so I didn't look so silly with a hole in my gown! When we were walking out, all the faculty was lined up on both sides of us and they were clapping for us. I don't know what it was, it was just such a reverent and joyous feeling - I started crying. Just the excitement that we were all graduating from college, and all the faculty had been here themselves and they knew the struggles and were clapping for us in our ending of a big piece of our lives. It was amazing. Then we were finally seated and the commencement was great. We were asked to stand up again and everyone clapped for us. I think the most memorable part for me was when they asked us to stand (again) and we turned around the face the audience and the graduates clapped for the families that helped us all get through this experience in our lives - I cried again thinking about my granny and how much I love her. After commencement, we marched out again and waited for our families to come and find us. This took forever since I didn't have my phone with me and I was walking around looking for them and they were walking around looking for me. We eventually found each other with the use of a good friends' phone, took some pictures and headed down to the Kirkham building where I would be receiving my degree cover and walking across the stage. We finally got there - it takes a while in 6 inch heels - and I took my seat by some friends. I got my phone from Matthew and called granny to make sure she was ready to Skype. We decided to do it this way that way she could see me graduate in real time like she was actually there. After a few mishaps the skype call finally went through and as soon as she saw me in cap and gown she started crying, which made me start crying. I tried to get her to stop crying and she said she was trying, but we both couldn't stop crying. She kept saying "My baby girl, Amanda" and I was ready to lose it, so I had to hand the phone back to Matthew and get myself together again. Matthew took his seat with Brooke and the convocation began. Matthew had headphones in to be able to hear granny and the phone pointed at the stage so she could see everything. I am so grateful for technology like this to make the space between us not so big on special occasions like this one. I took the long walk and got my degree cover! I was so happy knowing that granny got to see and that Brooke and Matthew were able to be there for me. After the convocation, I went on stage to get a few more pictures with my degree cover. It was such a special experience and I am so proud of myself. We finally went home and Matthew gave me a foot massage and a single red rose. It was a perfect day. We did go to Idaho Falls for the day on Saturday and out to Olive Garden for dinner to celebrate and went to see Captain America: Winter Soldier. It was a fun day!

My adorable husband and I after commencement

Brooke and I after convocation

My pretty flowers and degree cover!

Captain America time!

Adoption Profiles

I just wanted to post a quick page on our adoption profiles. We currently have 2 profiles that we are working off of. Please feel free to share and forward our links to anyone and everyone!

https://itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/31511148/ourMessage.jsf

http://www.hopingtoadopt.org/index.php/family/album/1146

Thanks to everyone again for the amazing love and support we have received!

Graduation

Could I actually be graduating from college? Is this really happening! I am so thrilled to put that degree up on my wall next week! It has been a long and (sometimes) painful process, but I know that it was all worth it. I am the first in my family to graduate from college and I know my family is proud of me. I officially walk on this Friday, April 11th. My mother-in-law, Brooke is coming into town on Thursday to celebrate with us and will be staying for about a week. I can't wait for her to see the nursery! I know she talked with me about helping with the design, but I couldn't help myself and I am already almost done. There are a lot of things I still need help with though. I am still having the bedding sewn and I am currently working on a log seat for the corner. It is beautiful and I love it. I just hope we get to put a baby Larson in it before we move. Other good news! I have been a TA for an amazing teacher at BYU-Idaho for 3 years and his student a few times before that. He is a great person, as well as his wife and children. Not to mention he wrote Matthew and I a beautiful reference letter for our adoption. So since I am graduating this semester, I was really sad he asked me to continue working for him as a graduate and I could not be more excited! It's not that the job is all the interesting really, or even challenging. I just have such a great relationship with him and the other TA's; they are like a second family to me now. Plus, it is another line of income - which Matthew and I cannot pass up since we are saving for our placement fee. I also started my own journey to being more healthy. It is way overdue and I need to take my body back under my control. I am on the Medifast program under the coaching of an incredible woman in Rexburg - who happens to be the wife of the teacher that I work for! I have been on the program for about 3 weeks now and I am so happy to say that I have lost 15 lbs and dropped 3 inches from my body! What a relieve! I actually feel like I am making progress and noticing some real changes.