What Happened Last Week?

  When we sent our paperwork off last week, we knew we would have most likely get the official "our paperwork is on a plane to Ethiopia" email on Friday. We could have sat all week pondering whether or not we would get the "all clear" email from our agency. But instead, we stayed super busy.  In these ways (yes this is a lame way of giving you a weekend recap):

Monday/ Tuesday were spent chillaxin (yes, I said that) at home. I have been perfecting the art of pressure cooker meals and we had some good ones this week.  If you haven't been on the Crockin Girls site, you are missing out. And if you have a good recipe for your slow cooker, tell me or I'm missing out. So far, we've tried sausage soups, bloody mary chicken, barbecue chicken sandwiches, beef stew and a delicious taco soup. Can you tell I've been in a soup mood? Tomorrow it's buffalo chicken soup. Mmmm. But seriously, got a good pressure cooker recipe? Send it my way or we're not friends.

Wednesday concluded our semester with the 4th graders.  It was bittersweet for sure. I've loved spending time with them, but God made sure they were all kinds of wound up so I would also remember that rest is good.  I have learned so much in this semester and I hope the kids have learned a little, too.  We trekked through the book of Mark, sure, but I also learned about how to keep things sane in a room of nine and ten year olds. I learned that letting them do popcorn prayer blesses me in a way I never imagined.  And I learned (or re-remembered) that being in fourth grade is hard, too.  All those things we deal with as adults? They deal with them, too. But they don't have our "seasoning" to make them calloused.  Cancer, war, divorce? We tackled all those subjects. I am not a pro on any of them but seeing their hearts impassioned for the kind of justice I, too, crave really made me remember how much we all have in common.

Thursday was all kinds of awesome. If you don't have yourself some good girl friends that can share life with you and make you laugh, sister, get on that STAT. Unless you are a boy. In which case, well, thanks for reading my blog. And find some guy friends, will ya? I digress. Anyway, I am blessed to have several groups of women who bless me in different ways. And on Thursday, I faked several of them out by convincing them I am crafty. Yes, I started two different crafts. Please do not ask me how many I completed. I am not able to share that privileged information. I will show you one in action though. Behold:

Yup, that's a wreath. And I started it. You are welcome for that knowledge. But really, the crafting was fun and inspiring but the conversation was about more than this weepy girl can handle. I laughed. I cried. I laughed til I cried. And when I think I had officially tired out the women (but not finished a single craft--whoops! I let it slip!) I headed back home to the adorbs hubs.

We were on pins and needles Friday because we were told this could be our "date." You know, the date that will define the rest of our adoption.  Our DTE date (dossier to Ethiopia).  I figured we would have to know around noon. So at one, I called to see if something was wrong with our dossier they just hadn't told us about.  The voice on the other end told me not to worry.  But then 4 came (that's 5 agency time--they are east coast) and we heard nothing.  I assumed the worst. Something was wrong and we weren't DTE like I thought we'd be.  Five passed. I was resigned it would be a week or two, depending on their Thanksgiving plans.  Then, at 6:30 we officially got the email: we are DTE. Our package will technically ship Tuesday because of the holiday, but our date is 11/18/11.  Fun times.  We then got to move forward with the fun we had planned for that evening: we went to the Missouri Contemporary Ballet! It was delightful and fascinating and for one second, I felt kind of grown up and proper. If you haven't been to a contemporary ballet production, take thyself. Or thy neighbor. It made me thankful for all the artistic talent in this smallish town.

I know this is getting long. This is what happens when I don't blog for a week.  I will do my best to give you pictures of the rest.  Final game at home. Sad game with no coach. I don't want to talk about it. It's over. And we won!!  Here is my brother, being one part cowboy, one part fan.

And then there's this guy.  He's growing a beard. Again, ladies, he's all mine. You are welcome for the reminder.

I will post about our Sunday adventure at another juncture. It's Christmas related so I may postpone it.

Happy Monday! I hope you are as excited as I am for this short week:).

Weekend Past, Weekend Present

  I planned to post a recap of last weekend but I ended up having a ton of great, adoption-related stuff to post about instead.  So, you're getting a twofer. First up...the weekend of celebrations.

Last weekend everyone we knew was celebrating a baby or a wedding. I am learning to set boundaries in life (thank you Drs. Cloud and Townsend) so instead of trying to attend four events, Hubs and I decided to go for two out of four.  

But first, because we are both crazy and the St. Jude half marathon is coming up and we're raising money for the second year, we went for an 8.5 mile run.  By the time we got to my BFF's engagement announcement brunch, the day had already been in full force for several hours. I also thought it might be possible for me to eat ALL EDIBLE THINGS at the brunch. Still, it was lovely and kicked off what is sure to be an exciting and busy engagement time for my friend.  We're already scheming all things bachelorette and I am looking forward to being the co MOH for the first time in my life.  I would love to show you pictures of this blessed event but I was too busy chatting it up and eating, eating, and more eating to take pics.

Just as things were slowing down, Hubs and I headed off to the next event...I actually did take pictures of this one.  Hubs' coworker and our neighbors wed.  Here, the ceremony.

And then, the reception. It was incredibly beautiful but a little cold.  Thus, I had to put on my stocking cap. And then, as ladies know, I couldn't take it off the rest of the evening. I mean, the hair had officially been ruined.  Here is the evidence that I wore a stocking cap for the entirety of the wedding and reception.

Hubs didn't have a hat but he did look quite dashing in his coat. 

We were thoroughly exhausted when we decided to stop by Miss M's (the engagement chica, remember her from two paragraphs ago) to watch the Mizzou game. We quickly gave up on that when we realized we were losing to the Baylor Bears. Yes, sic em indeed. Ugh.

Sunday was officially Orphan Sunday, celebrated around the world.  We celebrated at church, wearing our 147 Million Orphan shirts, beads (just me, not Hubs), and attending the Orphan Sunday Simulcast at church.  Here are some photos of Orphan Sunday, where we prayed for orphans around the world and  was focused on the importance of the church seeking to help orphans around the world and in our own community.

When the simulcast was complete, we ate the most delicious cake EVER (no really! and beautiful!

Then while I cleaned up the cake, Hubs became the jungle gym for all children at the event. I apologize for the blurriness of the photos but the children and the man child were just too fast for me to get good shots of them.  But look at my cute hubs. Isn't he going to be a great dad? Also, I am going to need to get rid of all things breakable in our home.

Yes, I have a feeling in a couple of years, there will never be a calm moment in our home.  Also, I think we will sleep soundly at night. The sleep of exhausted parents.  When we get to sleep, that is.

So moving on to this weekend.  First, it was 11.11.11 on Friday (you probably knew that). The University Bookstore decided to drop 11,111 ping pong balls from the roof of their building. And some of them had prizes on them. It resulted in thousands of people watching and about six people actually getting to touch any ping pong balls. It happened quickly.  And it was kind of anticlimactic.  Here, the best shot:

Friday night we went to trivia night with E's work. We got 4th out of 24 teams.  Hubs proved his knowledge of science fiction and James Bond (although his boss is the true Bond pro. She owns every book). I, in turn, proved my knowledge in musical movies and historical period movies. I am clearly the fun one here. OK maybe not.  We both had the 90s TV in the bag.

Saturday, we went to what may have been the best game of the season. Mizzou had never beat Texas (the #16 team) under our current coach, Coach Pinkel. That all ended Saturday. Good thing, too, because it was our last time to play them. We announced last Sunday we're moving to the SEC.  Lots of opinions on that one but I will say, it will be really fun to play the teams of some of my favorite bloggers. Yeah, it's all about the blogs, baby. But seriously. The SEC contains BooMama, Big Mama, Kelly from Kelly's Korner, and Amanda from Baby Bangs. What more could a girl want? OK that's really odd, I know, since they don't know I am a person. But still. I think it's fun!

The game made me sick at my stomach and it is truly a tragedy that Poor Henry Josey hurt himself so detrimentally. Side note--Mack Brown, you are a class act. What an impressive thing to come pat our hurt hero on the back before the Gator took him off to the training facililty. Anyway, we had to capture the win. So here we are...

 Finally, today was our baptism service at our church. I had never been to a baptism service at our church (aside from baby-sitting during it in college) so it was so fun. Plus, two of my favorite babies (the only two babies in our small group) were dedicated to the Lord through baptism today. I cried at the beauty of so many individuals, families, and children being committed to the Lord. I took a picture of each family. Totally unidentifiable but here are our beauties. We can't wait to watch you grown in the Lord!

 Two weekends both alike in amount of hours but different in every other way.  So fun that each weekend gives us a little different experience. Next weekend is our final home game and we will be sad to see football season go but I'm hoping for a new start next fall.  I mean, it's not been so magical for us this year.

Welp, Kitchen Stadium is calling my name. Y'all have a good day and I'll catch you on the flip side.

I Came Home, But I Didn't Really Have Far to Go

Last Friday, my adoption family coordinator asked me to send some documents to her.  My response might have surprised her a little: "Um, I will definitely get on that but it's my college's 100th homecoming so it's just going to have to wait til Monday."  I am sure she doesn't get that often.  But seriously, people.  If there's anything I take seriously it's homecoming. I love it!!

The fight song on repeat.

The football.

The droves of people coming back with fond memories of their four (or five, or six, or ...) years here. 

The smell of a grill wafting near the stadium. 

The bug eyed kids waiting for candy and sparkly floats.

The house decs. Oh the house decs. 

And, of course, my personal friends and family.  It all intoxicates me.  I have to take a step back.  It's just too fun.

Here's the problem, though. The anticipation gets the best of me. I am well intentioned when I tell about 50 different people, "I'll see you there!" And when I RSVP  "yes" to fifteen different get-togethers in a 24 hour span, I mean it.  But it just can't happen that way.  Too much.  Too fast. 

So instead, I ended up spending this homecoming like so many others before it: having three minute conversations with people as fast as I can and then RUNNING to the next place to see more people.  I caught half the game--it was the half that mattered. We were too far ahead not to win at that point.  I missed as many events as I made.  I missed as many people as I saw.  One woman just cannot see all of homecoming.  But I did see quite a bit.  I held a brand new, three-month old tiger named Little E.  I got to feed him a bottle at a tailgate and if that's not what homecoming is about, I don't know what is. I caught up with friends from Chicago, Minneapolis, LA, New York, and other exotic locales--and saw some who live right here in the state.  Here is what I didn't do: take any pictures.

So, thank you Melissa and Hubs for donating your pictures to my cause.  Here was my fast and furious weekend.

I can't wait to do it again next year. And maybe someday I'll learn to commit to a few less people/ events.  Probably not.

Home studies and Tigers and Films--Oh My

The next few weekend we're trying this approach that can only be described as "try to cram as much as possible in two one measly weekend."  This approach began this weekend and so far, it's exhausting but rewarding. The disclaimer is that I intended to take tons of pictures. I have three.

Friday, we went on a pup walk. Gabby is finally getting old enough that she's able to sort of walk on a leash.  Sort of because Hubs still has to douse her leash in lemon juice. She tries to eat it and then looks at us with this gross taste on her tongue and a look of disbelief. It's two parts hilarious, one part sad, and one part satisfying that we're finally teaching her something. Thirty minutes later, we all crashed and tried to get as much sleep as possible before the 5am alarm went off to signal us to the next big thing.

We arrived early (8am!!) for breakfast and social work.  The rest of the home study process made me nervous but having to read someone else's observations on Hubs and was the cherry on the odd home study cake. Everything she said was so kind and I was so appreciative. It's just--who of us is used to reading super kind, glowing remarks from someone you met six months ago about your life, finances, marriage, and ability to parent.  It was beautiful and awkward all at once.  We thanked her for our approval and headed off.  If you are wondering, yes, we are one meeting closer to bringing IC home.  We should be doing our next big paperwork submission this week (hopefully).  So, after leaving our social worker, an hour (and one Trader Joe's trip) later we were back at home prepping for our next adventure.  Because we hate sleep. And rest. And time just to watch our BRAND NEW dvr.  Instead we decided to volunteer for an outdoor film festival and bike ride.

In the rain.

Really, though, it wasn't too rainy. And we saw a great film called Last Days Here, a film that made me glad I am neither into drugs nor rock and roll.  Still, it was a great documentary. The festival also had some of the best "picnic" fare I've ever eaten.  Never before have I been to a picnic with seared pork loin.  Maybe never again.  And as a true surprise to everyone, we got to see some great pyrotechnics before the film began.

 

All in all it was a beautiful night by the river. I'd like to give a shout-out to the bugs who ate me alive. I've always wanted polka-dot legs.  Jk.

For our final attempt at cramming as much as possible into one weekend, after church, we went to the grand tradition at Mizzou: Tiger Walk. All the freshies walk through the columns to signify their entrance into this grand institution. We (the staff, community and alums) wear matching t-shirts, cheer, and feed them ice cream.  This time, we also got to be bouncers and keep the freshies in their place until the tradition began. I, being of the perfect bouncer stature, was naturally good at this job.  

Oddly, I got a bit nostalgic, remembering that day NINE (say it ain't so!) years ago when I walked across in my sorority t-shirt and ate my very own ice cream.  And Sunday, I enjoyed the time with Hubs instead of a bunch of women I had just met but planned to be lifelong friends.

Yup, it was fun nine years ago but it was pretty darn good today.  I would say we had a  successful jam-packed weekend.  We'll see about the weekend to come.

Shout-out and thanks to everyone who prayed for and thought of us during our home study. We'll get our official copy in the mail (hopefully) this week!  It's fast and slow all at the same time. And so goes adoption.

Happy New Year!

I don't normally believe in New Year's Resolutions. This year, however, I have made a commitment as close to a New Year's Resolution as I have ever done. A friend and mentor of mine challenged me to read the entire Bible this year. Not in a cover-to-cover format (the Bible isn't really set up to do that way), but instead in a format set out by a guide she sent out. This is a fairly daunting task for me, but I am also pretty excited. I will keep you all posted as to how it is going, and hopefully, just like my lenten commitment, this will keep me somewhat accountable. So... wish me luck. Today I have Matt 1:1-17, Acts 1:1-11, Psalm 1, and Genesis 1-2. Pray for me if you wish. I am hopeful that this will be a life-changing challenge for me.

So moving backwards, New Years last night was great. I would post pictures but we didn't take any. Pete, Eric, and I had a great dinner of crab legs and twice baked potatoes at home. We then watched TV and played video games all night. I barely noticed it was midnight until Eric checked his watch and freaked out. It was just perfect.

Moving backward even further, our Christmas was lovely. We made it to services right after they had started. Luckily, my mother had a welcoming committee waiting for me--no joke. No fewer than three people said they heard I was coming late and that my mother had given them directions on where I was to sit. Hysterical! The situation is so funny because I don't really know any of these people, but since it is my parents' church, everyone knows me. It's entertaining. After services we all headed home and opened presents. Eric and I got some great housewears and some other fun stuff. Part of our Christmas from our parents also included our trip to the Alamo Bowl.

We left for the Alamo Bowl Sunday directly after church. Eric, Mark, and I met Mom, Dad, and Pete in Springfield. We made the 14 hour trip in one day. Dad drove the whole way, and we were asleep in our hotel by 2:30 AM. We were up and out on the River Walk fairly early, and spent the whole day enjoying the sights. We met up with my aunt and uncle and headed to the game. Our hotel was close enough that we were able to walk, which worked out well.

The main event, the game, couldn't have been more stressful! Winning in overtime definitely made for a poetic ending, but I was so nervous I was about to throw up. Luckily, we did win. Walking back from the stadium, we were right next to Marching Mizzou. They played "Hey Baby" and all the fans sang as we walked. That will be a favorite football memory for years to come. We celebrated with margaritas and then were asleep and back in Missouri by 10PM the next day. It was a fast trip, but I wouldn't have missed it for anything!

Here's to New Years, Bowl Games, and great times with family!

Maryville is... Maryville

I am currently in Maryville, MO. What is in Maryville, you ask? A nice Italian restaurant, a hotel room in the Comfort Inn that is the largest I have ever seen, a TV that has weird green and blue disruptions in the picture, a high school, about a dozen other college reps, and ME! So, nothing. I am on the road once again. I had a college fair today in St. Joe, did a little shopping, and now I am in the room. There is nothing on TV. I believe I will be going to online TV soon. On a side note, I got some GREAT deals at Old Navy. Eric, I am certain you do not read this. However, you have a new shirt waiting for you. So cute!

So, it was my birthday this week. I had the best birthday. Possibly the best ever. I had my presentation group unexpectedly sing me happy birthday on the actual day. Ashley also made me some great cupcakes. I left at one and went on a winery picnic with Eric. I always forget how beautiful that view is. Then Mom and Dad got to Columbia, and Mom and I had pedicures. I have adorable pink polish on my toes. Eric got me a completely unexpected gift. It is awesome! I got a framed replica of the Missourian cover when Mizzou was ranked #1. Eric said he chose that specific one because, not only was Missouri #1, but it was our first year married and our first year in Columbia. He is so cute! Pete also went in on it, and it will be hanging in our home soon. Eric also got me a diploma frame. My diploma has been hiding in a closet for too long. The frame has a picture of Jesse Hall at night, completely appropriate for me. He was just so thoughtful!
Mom and Dad took us all out to Olive Garden (well, not Pete; he went to hunt) and we just had the best time. They also gave me my gift: a new camera! So I will officially have photo blogs now! Hooray!

Thanks to everyone who wrote me messages, sent me emails, and called. It really was the best birthday!

Here's a picture of me and Eric at dinner at Olive Garden!

Here's my mom and dad showing how cool they are at Olive Garden. Yes, they are simultaneously talking on their matching phones. Cool guys, really cool.

Here's my darling husband with the adorable (and TASTY!) cupcake he baked especially for my bithday!

And finally, Here is a pic from the gorgeous game on Saturday. It was after the win! We are going to call a win a win on this one, pretty or not. No surprise that we were bumped down one this week in the poll--but I have high hopes for two weeks from now. We just love being tiger fans!

Tune in soon, as I have a whole blog worth of pet photos. I know you wish I was kidding, but alas, I am not!

Here's to birthdays and family!