Back-logged But Blessed

Yes, I realize that it has been quite a while since my last post I will play a little catch-up here. f I have been so busy with so many blessings lately that I have only had time to do quick little snippets on Facebook.

First off, I have been so busy this weekend with Josiah's and my birthday marathon! Josiah turned 29 on Friday and we all went to Beef's to celebrate after his soccer game (which they won!). Yesterday evening, Josiah's students planned a surprise party for him at our house, so I was busy secretly cleaning all day for that. Lastly, today is my 30th birthday and my extremely, awesome in-laws planned a party for me after church. It was a great weekend!

Lydia and I are flying to Michigan first thing tomorrow morning to visit my family. We will be gone for a week and then my grandmother will be flying back with us the following Monday. I feel a huge weight of guilt leaving my husband home to fend for himself and the girls. It has been a huge job just trying to line up babysitters, prepping lunches, soccer and cheer outfits...so that everything is ready for the entire week I am gone.

My last huge bit of news is that Josiah and I officially in the process of adopting a baby boy! We passed our home study with flying colors and are waiting for a match. We are praying for the Lord to bring along the right birth mother!

That's all our big news!

My New Office!

So I was surfing Craigslist the other night and stumbled upon some gorgeous office furniture. My old stuff was a hand-me-down from my parents which was purchased from a garage sale and in terrible costmetic condition. I was able to talk my wonderfully, awesome hubby into buying this beautiful stuff! The poor guy had to drive all the way out to Dale Mabry in the rain to carry it all downstairs. We got it all carried inside, towel dried, and assembled last night around 11pm. I am so amazed at how God provides for not only our needs, but also our wants. I think we got a great deal!!

I have to change the pink ribbon on the curtain to a green one to match my cute bins and lamp I found at Target. Mr. Matt, notice I hung the "Parlor" sign for you already! :) The guys have their room back...however, I think us ladies use the office way more these days.


Most of the shelves are pretty empty. I still haven't gone through all the nitty-gritty stuff to organize...dreading it too!

What We Did on our Summer Vacation

Here are some pictures of our cruise a few weeks ago. I have no idea why this font has decided to underline itself...oh, well!

Below is the girls closing their eyes the first time we walked into our room. It was their idea to be "surprised".

Dinner the first night.

Riding the water slides on the ship

Our date night, after pawning the kids off to the kids club

The girls projects they made in the kids area

Holding a turtle at the Turtle Farm in Grand Cayman

The shark tank

Unfortunately, we didn't notice that the camera was foggy from the temperature change

Our carriage ride through Cozumel

One Brave Kid

We were in Tallahassee a few weekends ago for a Winter family reunion at the Tallahassee State Museum. There was a really neat animal show where the kids were able to see owls, snakes, and even a baby alligator. Esther is much braver than her mommy...that's for sure. If you know me at all, then you know I am deathly afraid of snakes. The last picture was actually taken from the other side of the room. Thanks goodness for good zooms on cameras because I wasn't getting anywhere near that huge snake!!!

Pounding the Pavement

Well, I have made the final decision to run another half marathon. Who's with me? The race is the DisneyWorld Wine & Dine on Saturday, October 1st at 10pm. I looked today and we have 115 days to the BIG day and the race is 70% full, so if you are planning to run with me (and I know there are a few of you out there considering it), please let me know.

This morning I decided that I needed to start running again, and it was the first official time running since my last 13.1 miler. Whew!!! I forgot how much it hurts to really have to push yourself. I only ran 3.75 miles and it took me forever! Gunna have to do that a few times a week to get back in the groove! Hope some of you will join me!!

Picture of Lydia

Mrs. Morales, the lady who took care of Lydia while we were gone on our cruise, took a gazillion pictures of her. Here is one of my favorites.

Hannah Update

I am so excited to share with those of you who have been on your knees with us, that Hannah's bald spot is continuing to grow new hairs! Everyday the hairs are growing longer. I did some research on Alopecia Areata, and I read that can be caused by a stressful situation. About a week before I first noticed the spot, she had a really rough time with getting her blood drawn for allergy testing. I am really hoping that that is what caused this and that she has no other reoccurances in the future. I cannot express to you all how much I appreciate all your prayers about this and the other matters that are going on in my life lately! I am so blessed to have your friendships! Please continue for my family, as things seem to continue to get worse.