It has been months since my last update. It hasn't been that I haven't wanted to, but I didn't know what to share. In May we received our referral! A beautiful, brown eyed baby boy who we fell in love with the moment we laid eyes on him. We knew he was ours. I'd love to share more information and pictures of him but we had to agree that we would not post details on social websites or on blogs. So needless to say I took a long break from blogging to ensure I didn't slip up and spill the beans. This week, almost 4 months after receiving the referral we heard the wonderful news that our son passed court! We have prayed, we have had our parents praying, our church praying, our parents friends praying that this day would soon come. Although, there are many more steps to go through before we can bring our son home, this is a huge milestone that brought joy to our hearts.
Tonight, as I was looking on other adoption blogs, someone had posted a video on adoption. It took me by surprise. It was so real. It touched my soul. It makes me want to take action immediately and it inspired me to realize that each and every one of us can make a difference. We are called by Him to take care of orphans, we hear this and even repeat it to others but what are we doing about it?
Take a moment to watch this video.
I hope that it touches your heart, moves your spirit and inspires you to take action.
This past weekend my good friend, Beth and I decided to have a GIRLS NIGHT OUT! We went to Canvas and Cocktails for a night of painting and sipping tasty adult beverages.
I was a little reluctant to sign up for a painting class since my artistic ability is next to none but I was told the instructors would walk you through the painting every step of the way. The evening was a total blast and I want to do it again someday. The class was laid back, lots of drinks, lots of good music and being around a good friend made for a great night out. And our paintings turned out pretty good too!
Below are the pictures from our fabulous night out---and you can even tell what they are!! We definitely need to do this again :)
Dean and I have been watching a series on Daystar television (Christian TV station) called, 'Travel the Road'. The series is about 2 young missionaries that travel the world spreading the word of Christ. There is an episode (episode is about 8-9 years old) where the missionaries are traveling through the Sudan and Congo. The episode is heart wrenching; it brings tears to your eyes, it breaks your heart. The episode also shows the harsh reality of what we are possibly facing when we travel to the Congo. We wanted to share an abbreviated version of the video. We hope that you will pray for the people of the Congo and Sudan that God will bring peace to the people of these nations.
If you are cold, tea will warm you. If you are too heated, it will cool you. If you are depressed, it will cheer you. If you are excited, it will calm you. ~Gladstone, 1865
Back in December, I took my mom, sister in law and 2 nieces out for afternoon tea.My nieces loved the outing but didn’t really enjoy the sophisticated, adult food.At that time I told them I would host a tea party for Valentine’s Day and have sandwiches and treats that they would enjoy.Well, a promise is a promise despite my crazy work life (working on many days up to 18 hours) there was a tea party to be had!My mom and I decided to host the tea party together (she is the ultimate baker and lifesaver in preparing for parties), the invitations were sent out, RSVP’s in and the day had come for a Valentine’s Day Tea!
We had 4 young ‘princesses’ and 14 ‘queen’s’ for the tea party and everyone had a wonderful time!I am sad I didn’t remember to bust out my camera more during the party, but between answering many questions from the young princesses and refilling tea pots I didn’t get around to taking many pictures.Fortunately, I did take some pictures of the tablescape before the party started and managed to capture a couple photos during the event.
The young girls table
Every young princess needs a crown!
My 'new' tea set (OK, I have had for over a year but haven't been able to throw a tea party until now)
Happy Valentine's Day!
The beautiful flowers my hubby picked up for the party! Is he awesome or what?!
Olivia enjoying a princess tea party!
Lila looking adorable with her crown!
My mom (at the head of the table), and my family-in-law (mother-in-law, aunt-in-law, cousin-in-law and sister-in-law. This was their first tea party!)
The 'Queen's' (Ladies my mom and I have known for a long time, one at this table has known me since I was 3!)
The other 'Queen's'
Sweet Bella
There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea. ~Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady
The mere chink of cups and saucers tunes the mind to happy repose. ~George Gissing, The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft
Adios 2011, HELLO 2012!I still cannot believe that 2011 has come to an end.Just where did the year go?I feel like it should only be July and here we are ringing in the New Year.When I was younger I remember hearing all the ‘old’ people (granted at that time anyone over 25 seemed old!) say that as they have gotten older time seems to go by faster.I remember thinking they were crazy and now I see just much truth there is to it.Time seems to fly by and I can’t help but feel guilty that all the things I say I will do ‘one of these days’ never seems to happen…instead ‘one of these days’ turns into ‘none of these days’.I haven’t done New Year’s resolutions because all the things I say I am resolving to do turn into let downs if I don’t accomplish what I have set out to do.So my thought is if I have no expectations I might just be pleasantly surprised!I do hope that in 2012 I can spend more time doing things I truly enjoy and not feel like I am married to my job.I hope that in 2012 we get to bring our son and/or daughter home and I pray that 2012 brings great joy and new adventures.
To ring in 2012, Dean and I decided to take a mini trip down to Ouray, Colorado.Ouray is America’s Switzerland.It is a quaint town set in the picturesque San Juan Mountains.We headed out on Friday afternoon for the long haul to Ouray.Things were going swimmingly until we got to South Park (not the TV show but the town the TV show is based on) and just outside of town a semi-truck was overturned due to high winds.45 minutes later they had the semi on a tow truck and we were finally on our way again.
We did get to see a beautiful sunset going over Monarch Pass.
After the 7.5 hour drive we finally arrived!Needless to say we were hungry and very parched.We made our way to the Ouray Brewery for dinner and drinks.
We had planned on going snowmobiling; however, this part of the state has not received the snowfall that they usually do by this time.Since the snow wasn’t great we decided to just check out the surrounding areas and town and wait to go snowmobiling for the mountains to get hit with a huge snowstorm.
Then it was time for snow angels!!
Look towards the center of the picture, there is a person climbing up the ice falls
