"Shine Bright Like a Diamond"

On December 30th Timmy and Sarah got engaged!! It was so fun to hear Timmy planning the many possibilities of how he was going to propose to Sarah and she had no idea that it was going to happen. After Timmy proposed some of their family and friends were at Sarah's parents to celebrate their big moment. I had the honor of helping Sarah's family decorate the house for the newly engaged couple. Here are some pics {all stolen from Sarah's facebook :)}

Timmy proposed at Mitchell Memorial Park

Cookies made by a family friend of the Hardtke's

Her rock!

The decorations, all inspired by Pinterest :) 

I made about 7 hearts with important events from Timmy and Sarah's relationship

Group Shot

Timmy and Sarah we are so excited for you! It is truly a gift to be married to your best friend and I can't wait to see where the Lord leads you. Your friendship with us is truly priceless and something that we treasure. We can't wait until June 2014!!

"We need to get the expensive one"

This post was written on September 24th, my birthday and the day after we found out we were going to have an itty bitty Crofford.


O do I have some exciting news to share, Kyle and I are going to have another member of the family this coming June. The initial shock is over and we are excited that our little family is growing.

Finding Out

I had mentioned that my birthday was a memorable one but this was really why. We were celebrating my birthday and I had mentioned to Kyle that I was a day late on my period. I had been off the pill for two months and I did not really think anything of it. I had heard from many people that it takes a long time to get pregnant and I thought it would probably not be until next year that we would be finding out this kind of news. Kyle joked that we should get a pregnancy test and I reluctantly said yes. I thought my body would be telling me something was different and I felt like I was going to start my period, nothing felt different. We decided to get the cheap test since neither one of us thought I was pregnant. Since I am rocking braces right now Kyle thought it would be funny to act like we were 16 and buying a pregnancy test. I was so embarrassed as we checked out while Kyle kept saying things like "what is your mom going to say?" We got home and I took the test. I  laid the test flat and had accidentally put it upside down so I did not know what it said. We both were in the bathroom and I turned it around to see a positive sign and I looked at Kyle in disbelief. Our faces were probably priceless, I started crying (happy tears) because of the shock of it being a plus sign and reading the box thinking "O my gosh I'm pregnant". I was so sure that it was going to say it was negative. We both decided to take the other cheap test that was in the box but I did not pee long enough on that stick so the positive was light, dang those cheap test :). So I told Kyle I think it is time to get an expensive one to see if it is really right. Kyle set off to the drug store and I started chugging water so I could pee on another sick to see what it said. This time Kyle got a digital one and it said pregnant when the results came back. Kyle and I were still in shock about it being positive. We had been praying about starting a family and the Lord had answered our prayer. I know I have also been praying that the Lord will help me to not be nervous and that I will feel "prepared". We took this picture right after we found out.

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24 on the 24th

Side note: I turned 24 on September 24th and just now realized I never published this post :)

I have heard that it is your "special" birthday when your birthday falls on the age you are going to be. Kyle knows how much I love my birthday and this year he did not disappoint with making me feel special. When I came home from Nashville I had these Wheel of Fortune clues waiting for me.

"In 8 days you will be 24!!!!!!!!"

"In 7 days we will be going somewhere"

"Make sure you look good for the night"

The week leading up to my birthday I got clues. It felt like Christmas because I would wake up and a new clue would be waiting for me

"To my wife I can't wait to see you all dressed up"

"Sept. 24 sleep in and relax"

"The Lord will lead you on Sept. 24"

"The night will be filled with love and laughter"

"If only you knew what we were doing"

"O how the roses are so red!!!"

"It will be fun to let someone else do the work"

"I bet the H2O is going to look so nice"

"The beach is not going to be that far away"

"But I think it is closed"

"I hope the weather is nice for us"

"Make sure to bring your camera"

I had been telling the girls at work about my clues and they were all trying to figure out what Kyle had planned. With the clues I was not sure what we were doing. Were we going on a trip? Were we going to Mason which is by the beach water park (which is shutdown)? The night finally arrived for us to go out for my birthday.We head downtown and Kyle seemed alittle flustered once we got downtown and he realized Oktoberfest was going on. We parked the car and waited for my first surprise. Kyle had planned for a carriage ride to pick us up at our parking garage and take his to dinner but with Oktober fest going on we could not meet at our original location so we had to wait for the carriage. Kyle said that it would never happen in the movies that the carriage would be late :) We hopped in the carriage and Kyle tells him to take us to "Morton's". I have never heard of this place and am still not sure what we are doing. We arrive at Fountain Square and Kyle starts directing me to our next destination. Kyle is looking up and sees the sign for the second floor of the building and tells me to walk into this restaurant. We walk in and Kyle tells them we have reservations and they sit us. The waiter explains how the restaurant works, you have a red and green card, green means you want the meat they are walking around with and red means you don't want to be bothered. They had a fancy salad bar that we ate at and then brought around all kinds of expensive meats. Half way through dinner I ask Kyle why he picked this place and he looks at me and says "Well....you see....this is not the restaurant I made reservations for...we're really supposed to be next door". We both started cracking up at the table. Morton's is right above Boi na braza (which is where we ate) and Kyle thought we were going into the right restaurant. At Morton's when we walked in the restaurant they were suppose to say Happy Birthday to me and take our  picture {hence why I do not have any pictures from the night because Kyle told me it was taken care of :)}. When the hostess did not do any of those things at Boi na braza Kyle was thrown off but went with it. 

Dinner was great, even if we were not at the right restaurant and Kyle gave me a new bible with my married name on it and 24 roses with two of them white for the two years we have been married. 

Monday Kyle had told me he had to work but surprised me with being off too. It was such a treat for both of us hang together. Thanks for making me feel special and for a birthday we will not forget :)