Monday, November 22, 2010

I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for...

ICE CREAM!!!


 Ice cream is a nightly ritual at our house.  Justin is king of the milkshakes!  




Normally, Perry will get a sip or two, then its off to bath time.  But, not tonight!



Justin and Mr. Perry DOVE in.  



And finished off the bucket of ice cream.


Friday, November 19, 2010

A Night With the Chapmans

A couple of months ago, Justin surprised me with tickets to “A Night with the Chapmans.”  For those of you that don’t recognize this family, Steven Curtis Chapman is a contemporary Christian Singer.  He and his wife Mary Beth have 3 biological children and 3 little girls they adopted from China.  But, sadly, on May 21st, 2008, their youngest little China doll, Maria Sue, went to be with Jesus due to a terrible car accident at the family’s home in Tennessee.  Knowing how excited I am that we have plans to adopt, Justin thought (and I definitely agreed) that this concert/speaking engagement would be a lot of fun for both of us.
To start the night, Justin and I went to my FAVORITE old favorite restaurant.  (Have I mentioned that food holds a very special, dear place to my heart??!)  So, I had already coped in the recent years of O’Charley’s changing the divine recipe of their de-licious croutons to something not nearly as tasty, changed their leafy green lettuce to something bagged with all those carrots and purple things in it, and accepted the fact that they no longer had melted cheese to go on their loaded baked potatoes, but I just about had a full blown panic attack when the waiter said they no longer served the Steak Tips Monterrey that I have ordered on EVERY special occasion since I was about ten.  Seriously, no joke, I had tears that tried to sneak out.  After coming back to reality, I quietly ordered the prime rib.  (Though it sounded kind of funny when I ordered it, I really didn’t think twice about it.)
Until…
Justin and I typically try to add up our bill before we get the check.  As Justin was adding, he said, “And yours will be about 17 dollars.”
“No it won’t!  I ordered water with lemon.” I quickly corrected.
“Well, the prime rib is usually more expensive…” trails Justin.
“For real!  I ordered the 7 oz prime rib.  It was $9.99, I promise!”
“No baby, you ordered the prime rib.  The 7 oz steak is the top sirloin.”
“Oh my gosh!! What is prime rib???!!”
“It’s that stuff we ate at ____ & ____’s wedding.”
…. crickets….. devestation……
“It’s okay baby!”  (laughing...not from my side of the table) “I’ll trade with you if you don’t like it.”
Have I mentioned that I LOVE my husband?  It is times like these that I have to remind him that high maintenance only means high quality!! ;) 
Justin said my face was priceless when the waiter put my prime rib in front of my face.  He joked that I barely let the waiter get out of earshot before I looked up and said, “Wanna trade?!”
Needless to say, my steak was delicious, but much to Justin’s delight,  I told him we could retire O’Charely’s.  (PS-After I had devoured my yummy steak, I realized that Justin had only eaten a few bites of mine his.  Guess which two spoiled little poochies ate prime rib for their midnight snack??) 
With our tummies full, we headed on over to Shades Crest Baptist Church where the program was.  We saw several precious little adopted “China Babies.”  They make me smile from ear to ear!  The concert opened with the band Caleb- 2 of Steven Curtis Chapman’s sons and 2 of their friends.  Then, Steven Curtis Chapman came out, then his wife Mary Beth spoke.  She was so funny, down-to-earth, and very real.  We both loved listening to her family’s story, and Justin and I both agreed that it made us even more excited to start our own adoption journey.  (Most likely, fingers crossed and lots of prayers, that will be within the next 365 days or SOONER!!)






Also, if you haven’t read Mary Beth Chapman’s new book Choosing to See, I would absolutely, 100% recommend it.  It journals her past, the tragic accident, and all that she knows her future holds.  It’s an AMAZING book that will have you laughing, most certainly crying, and thanking God for all the many blessings he gives us all daily.



Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Happy Birthday Daddy

Having Perry sing “Happy Birthday” in that beyond precious voice last Tuesday was so exciting and fun for me!  I was really glad that Justin only had to wait 5 days before Perry could sing it to him too!  In fact, that was the very first thing Perry said to his Daddy on Sunday morning, with a little reminder from Mommy of course.  So, Happy Birthday Baby!! Perry and I love you to the moon and back!   

(These are of a few of my favorites of Mr. Perry and his sweet Daddy!) 








Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Happy Birthday Mommy

This little guy sang “Happy Birthday” to me tonight, and then told me again in the car as we drove home.  Yes he did!  AMAZING how big and smart my little bitty is getting.  And if you think that didn’t melt my heart, you are CrAzY!!!  I am the most blessed 24-year-old I have ever met! 

Monday, November 1, 2010

Trick or Treat




Saturday, we hosted the monthly water babies play date at our house.  It is always so much fun to get together with all the water babies and their Mommies.  The babies’ costumes were absolutely adorable and made our photo shoot so much fun!  







Lots of people always ask me what we do with the babies at a play date, and my answer is always so thought provoking:  “the babies play.”  And really they do.  They love to interact with each other, giggling, sharing, and chasing each other around.  We also typically have some snacks and then a photo shoot to wrap up the party.





Our photo shoots never are a 100% success, as one baby or another is typically crying, completely uninterested, being distracted by the horses dogs in the backyard, or in sweet Sophia’s case this go around, running around haunting the neighborhood in her adorable ghost costume!  Even so, I know at least for me, it is my favorite part of the play date.  I love looking back at all of the monthly play date groups to see how all of the babies have changed and grown, since meeting so long ago in their Mommy’s tummies! 







Our Adoption Timeline

  • June 19, 2011- We are officially "Paper Pregnant!" We have submitted our Waiting Child Application to Holt!
  • July 5, 2011- Submitted our formal Home Study Application to Villa Hope
  • September 6, 2011- Submitted all of our paperwork for our Home Study
  • October 8, 2011- Completed our First Home Visit
  • October 17, 2011- Completed our Second Home Visit
  • November 14, 2011- Home Study Approved
  • December 1, 2011- Filed our I600a
  • February 1, 2012- I600a Approval Letter
 
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