Spring Break for Grown-Ups

Hubs and I just returned from our "Spring Break" trip to Chicago.  We have also been calling it "the babymoon" even though it could be two years or so before we have a little person here.  This was a completely selfish trip with no reason except to see friends and spoil ourselves.  We know those times are quickly coming to an end, as we begin to save save save for our little person.  Spring break was delightful. We spent much of our time just enjoying the company of our friends and doing a lot of relaxing.  We also managed to squeeze in some sightseeing.  Here, in photos, is what we did for 5 days.

We walked past Wrigley Field.  Kyle (one of our local friends) clued us into the gates on the backside where you can see the field.  It was a very fun view that I didn't get a picture of.

Our friends Melissa and Stewart took us to cocktails on the 96th floor of the Hancock Building.  I am now convinced there isn't a more beautiful way to enjoy the city.

Here we are in the Hancock, snuggly.

One of the 20 pictures I took of the gorgeous view of Chicago.  I'll spare you the other 19 photos of the exact same thing.  Weird fact:  the best view (and photo-taking spot) is the bathroom!

We did ride the el a few times.  Here, Melissa shows us how to hang on like a true Chicagoan.  Meanwhile, I am sitting on the bench taking pictures like a true tourist.

A lucky part of vacationing with a local: getting to know delightful spots you'd never find as a tourist.  Case in point: The Southport Grocer.  Not only did they have the best cupcakes ever (and a great lunch menu) but they also are pretty much the cutest cafe.

The ladies went salsa dancing at Nacional 26.  I learned how to use my new iphone photo app.

I'll close with this beaut.  He's all mine ladies!

We couldn't be happier to be home, but our 5 days in Chicago were exactly the refresher we needed before heading home to a productive week.

Here's to Spring Break in Chicago!

Spring Break!

I am officially on what could very well be the last spring break of my life!  I am enjoying free time and conversations with friends.  I will update soon but til then...

Here's to Spring Break!

Weekend Recap

  We got to spend the weekend with my mom for her 53rd birthday and did a little dreaming of what it will be like for her to be a grandma.  I got her a bag of M&Ms, along with this card:















I found the humor in it, even if no one else did.  Just kidding.  They did.  Mom and I got in our first ever mother/daughter run and had a lovely time!  We left their small town in time to get to church at our place on Sunday.


Church has been so relevant and timely lately as we go through the book of Genesis.  Two weeks ago we discussed putting more trust in God's plans than our own.  This week was no exception, as Shay shared lessons from Jacob wrestling with God.  I find myself drifting into how each sermon affects our adoption and I don't think this is an accident.


We also got to serve in the children's ministry, as we do every Sunday.  For an hour and a half, we share our lives with 15-25 adorable one year olds.  They crack me up, they exhaust me, and they make me excited for a time when I go home with my own little person.  This week we had 20 kids, 4 helpers, and no criers!  It was amazing!




We closed with small group and while this might be the most boring blog post of my life, it wasn't a boring weekend!  We also turned in our first round of paperwork to America World this weekend.  More on that soon. In all, it was a delightfully busy time with family and church family.


Here's to busy weekends!

And it begins...

  Well, it's been over 24 hours and the shock has worn off (a little) and we are now on to the paperwork...

If you've ever wondered what the first step is after being accepted to an adoption agency, the answer is paperwork!  Lots and lots of paperwork--to read, to sign, and to go over as a couple, diligently ensuring understanding of each intricate detail.  Or maybe the wife goes over it and the hubs just signs in faith:).

Here's our new favorite thing:  the file folder of paperwork

I want to thank everyone for the initial outpouring of support, celebration, and prayer.  We feel so blessed to have so many friends and family members who love us enough to make this a reality.

On a special side note, we are at my parents house this weekend enjoying my mom's birthday.  Happy Birthday to my great Momma!  Thanks for teaching me about shoes, cooking, and the Lord.  You rock!

Here's to my Mom!

Baby Steps and Baby Feet

When I was six, playing with my dolls, I envisioned being a mom.  I knew I would really look forward to that day.  I found out a little later (we'll say middle school) it took about nine months to become a mom.  Then, I found out that timeframe isn't always right.  Some babies take a little longer.

At twelve, I remember for the first time telling someone that when I grew up, I was going to adopt a baby.  I am pretty sure Mrs. Driskill and Mrs. Fickie thought I was a really crazy twelve year old.  That dream I dreamt when I was twelve never went away.  In fact, it grew stronger.  After I met the hubs, we continued to talk about starting our family this way.  A year ago, we officially started praying about this plan and it became Plan A.  We prayed for right timing, for vision, for finances, and for His hand to be on everything.

Today is a day I am pretty sure Hubs and I will always remember.  On Thursday, March 17, 2011 we were told by a dear woman that we were officially accepted by the adoption agency of our choice.  If you've read any other posts, you might know, I am a crier.  So I cried.  And thanked God.  And then called Hubs.  This is the first, very tiny, little baby step on the way to our baby.

So this blog is about to get a little more active as we begin the process of raising support (both in prayer and in finance) for this long journey.

If you are like me, you might have a few questions about this process.  So here are the answers I have right now.  I will also be clear that we don't know all the answers at this point and are looking forward to God guiding us through the next steps of this process.  But here are the questions I do know answers to:

Q:  Where are you adopting?
A:  We prayerfully put in our application for Ethiopia.  We think this is the place that meets our needs and also has kids that need us.

Q:  What agency are you using?
A:  America World.  You can read more about the agency at awaa.org.  We have friends who have been working through them and have been encouraged by their journey.

Q: How long will this take?
A:  We aren't exactly sure but probably some where between one year and two years.

Q: How are you paying for this?
A: Well, adoption is an expensive process.  We have some money saved.  We will continue to save.  But we will also be raising support through several projects.   Do not fret, friends.  They will be posted on the blog.  We are prayerful that God will provide.

Welp, that's all I know for now.  Thanks for starting this journey with us.

Here's to baby steps!

Graduation

Be prepared that this post is long...

In a little over two months, I will graduate from my masters program.  It's weird to me.  It feels like it happened very slow and very fast all at the same time.  I know my blog has been somewhat lonely since I started the program, but it seems like I just wrote the post about starting classes.

Yesterday, I received an email congratulating me on meeting the requirements for graduation. Today, I received an email reminding me of the grad fair where I can order my cap, gown, and (this time around) hood.   Much like in my undergraduate years, these emails flooded me with relief and a little stress:  this is really happening! 

God has a funny way of helping me grow and reminding me of where I've been all at the same time.  The email I received about graduation also contained the dates, times, and locations for the graduation ceremonies. In an institution of our size, we have numerous ceremonies.  My ceremony is Friday, May 13 at 8:00 p.m. in the Hearnes Center.

Let me break it down to you as to why this exact date and time is so very symbolic to me.

First, for those who don't know, the 13th is a big thing for the hubs and me.  Specifically, Friday the 13th is even more special.  You see, Hubs proposed to me on Friday, April 13, 2007.  On Friday, July 13, 2007 we were married.  We started our jobs in our current city on August 13.  Our new home has the number 13 in the address (which we did not know until we closed).  We celebrate every Friday the 13th.  It is our special day.  More important than our anniversary, it allows us to remember the little things and celebrate the Lord's hand in our life and our love for each other.  Now, my grad school graduation will be added to the list of important family activities that landed on Friday the 13th.

Lest you think it ends there, something heavy hit me about the announcement of my ceremony.  You see, going to the same institution for undergrad and grad school does some funny things to a person.  Or I should say, does some funny things to me.  I had known the date and time of my ceremony for a few months but the location was news to me.  The Hearnes Center.  Not a big deal.  It's the largest place to hold a graduation ceremony.  What's weird to me is that almost exactly five years ago, I stood on the floor of the Hearnes Center to receive my Bachelors in Arts.  The same floor.  And yet, on May 13, 2011, I will be in a completely different place.

I left undergrad feeling alone.  Uncertain.  Unhappy.  Unwanted.  And unprepared.  This had nothing to do with anyone but me.  My family was all there--smiling, taking pictures.  My future employers--the family who would help me find my place in the world while I watched their daughter--were there.  I had plans--a job even.  Yet, as I stood there on that rainy, chilly, day, all I could feel was alone.  I was so far away from my God I could have had the world but it wouldn't have mattered.  I didn't have it together.  But most importantly, I had no idea why I didn't have it together.  I knew I was a mess.  But I wasn't ready to fall back into the arms of the God who loved me and the family who supported me.  So I stood on that day wanting to be anywhere but in my cap and gown.  Wanting to run back to the certainty of college--the ability to pretend that the real world didn't exist.

My God held tight to me.  He held me and taught me even when I didn't think I wanted him to.  And though I didn't know it, he was teaching the same lessons to a tall, dark, and hansom young man I would meet four months later and marry just more than a year past my graduation.

Friday May 13, I will stand in front of the loving family I had there the first time.  I will stand with a husband who sacrificed alongside me for two years to make this day happen.  And most importantly, I will stand there clinging to the promises of my Father in Heaven that he will never leave me nor forsake me.  That I can love him even when I don't understand.  And that he will love me.  I can stand in confidence.  Not in my job.  Not in my abilities or knowledge that I learned.  And definitely not in my ability to make plans and be certain they will turn out as I wish.  But I can stand confident that no matter what happens, I am not in control.  After five years, I have learned the best control of all is no control at all.

And I look forward to standing in the same spot and being in a different place.

2 Corinthians 7:15-17 (English Standard Version) (from biblegateway.com)

15And his affection for you is even greater, as he remembers(A) the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. 16I rejoice, because I have perfect(B) confidence in you.




Here's to growth.

Snow Day(s)

I had to count to give this statistic, but this is my 12th semester in college.  Yes, 12th.  And in all this time, I have never, ever had a snow day.  Never once.  Today marks the 3rd day in a row classes have been canceled due to snow this semester.  Yikes!  So, for posterity's sake, here's the rundown:

Monday:  Went to work.  Gloom and doom on internet basically said the sky was going to fall in.  Professor said 4pm class would be shortened but would still go on.  Thirty minutes later, Chancellor closes university for Tuesday, starting at 4pm Monday.  All office members do celebratory dance (really wish I had a picture of that.  It included jumping and cheering).  Go home at 4pm to only a little rain and no slickness.

Tuesday:  Wake up to slick roads but snow has just started.  Snow continues to fall at the rate of about 2 inches per hour.  KOMU (our NBC affiliate) has continuous coverage and it is quite possibly the funniest thing I have ever seen in my life.  It included a "Brady Bunch" feel at the desk and afternoon higlights include a reporter at the Lake who looked like real-life Blair Witch, multiple comments about Hot Pockets, and a surprise roadside commentary from Carl Edwards.  No really.  Winds are greater than 20 mph and by sunset, we have about 16-17 inches. Drifts are up to 4 feet.  Our dogs are terrified. Classes canceled for Wednesday.

Wednesday:  I would tell you what happened today but seriously, nothing happened.  I made brownies.  Yeah.  That was the highlight of Wednesday.  Oh yes, and I read and made commentary on Checkering's Seven Vectors and Josselson's Identity Development in Women (see: Student Development Theory).  Classes were once again canceled for Thursday.

Thursday:  TODAY!  Rest, relaxation, and potential for building a snowman.  I'll keep you posted if the snowman happens.  For now, enjoy some pictures.

Rigo as the snow begins to fall.  He's a little uncertain.  This was followed up by running back and forth in the road til he tuckered out, came back inside, and slept for 6 hours.

 Hubs showing off the drift that piled up after he shoveled.

 Showing my Mizzou Spirit, even in the snow.

A photo of the house in the middle of the crazy snow.  You can see it flying. 

If you needed any proof that Hubs is a kid at heart, here it is.  One reason I love him!

We are thankful we are safe and warm.  We'll be here for the rest of the day.  Here's to snow days!