When I was in college, I read Gift from the Sea . I was too young to understand it, and I realize that I should take another look now that I am an adult and also a wife. In the book, the author comments on different items found along the seashore. She finds the item, describes it, and then considers lessons that can be learned from the item. For the past few days, Blaine and I have been in Santa Monica. We travelled here with our two younger brothers, having rented a little studio apartment on the beach. We can look out the window and see the ocean. This morning I went hunting for sea glass. There is something graceful and lovely about a piece of glass, a piece of garbage, really, that has turned into a treasure because of the tide. Blaine was looking for bleached white shells and rocks when I joined in his search. Right near his feet I found the most fantastic piece of blue glass. It is my favorite shade. I felt like it was fate, to find such a piece of glass right near ...

Today we had our second home study. That means that we have been on this adoption journey for one year. I scrambled like a mad woman, cleaning our already clean home. I hassled Blaine, talked him into loading the dishwasher, clearing his stuff off the desk in the office and helping me make our house smell less like teenage boy (We've had a lot of brother-visitors lately). :) Our lovely caseworker walked into our front room and no where else, so all the cleaning was in vain. Last year, when I was prepping for my home study, I was convinced that I absolutely needed to have a table runner. You know those strips of fabric that run down the middle of a table for no apparent reason? I needed one. I tried to make a mockup using fabric scraps and wood glue. It was not pretty. It looked as sad as it sounds. My mom, sensing my urgency, came over to my house, threaded my machine, and gently and patiently helped me sew. I think it's beautiful. I think she's amazing. This ye...

My Mr. is even more incredible than I realized. It IS possible to be busier than I thought possible. I am not nearly as patient as I need to be. Life is good and we are blessed.    Anticipation is fun. Possibilities are endless. "It" will happen when the time is right. 

I have been a Primary teacher for the past few years. I like it a lot because it gives me a chance to know kids in the ward that otherwise would be strangers to me. And, I am learning all sorts of lessons about love and patience and what it might be like to teach my own children gospel principles. Last week during the final meeting, we had a mini-lesson that gave every person in the room a chance to stand up and "fill in the blanks" of the following phrases. It was beautiful, and I decided that I would use it to frame tonight's blog post. My name is __________________.  I [like to] __________________, but most importantly I am a child of God.  I like the idea of it, this one simple [and enormous] thing that everyone could testify of. Tender. My name is Krystle. I like to wash dishes and organize things, but most importantly I am a child of God. My name is Krystle. I make mistakes more often than I would like, but most importantly I am a child of God . My...

It's been a good day. Nothing particularly earth-shattering, just a quiet feeling of peace that everything is going to be okay and life is lovely. I think that sometimes the Lord blesses us with good days so that we can endure. We are given little glimpses of beauty, little tastes of pure bliss because then, when we do have to see the bad, have to endure the bitter, we have a memory of a more delicious time, of something delightful. And we know that more of those good moments are ahead, so we can get through the moments that aren't so good. Yep. That's what I think. It's been a good day.

Maybe Baby, It's gonna be quieter around here for a bit. We're done writing these daily messages. I just thought I'd let you know that even when the messages end, we will still think of you every day.  The difference is this: the messages we have for you from this point out will be kept in our hearts, not published for the world wide web.   The last and biggest message we have to share? We love you, and we will try to wait patiently until we meet you. __________________________________________ [We are hoping to adopt. You can view our It's About Love Profile  HERE .] [Read about this series and read the other messages  HERE .]