Monday, May 30, 2011

Matthew 6:34

I have been a terrible blogger lately due to many things: sheer insane business, filling up my computer space and having a terrible time backing up on an external-therefore preventing me from downloading new pictures- and let's face it... what's a blog post without pictures?, and a pink slip... which is disappointingly not even pink.  Yep- triple uhg.

I am ok, not fantastic, but ok.  I keep reminding myself that I am by no means the only one finding myself in this situation.  Over 1,100 teachers (so far) have already had their units cut, due to poor education funding.  The only thing is, today, I realized that the one opportunity I felt like I was a pretty good shoe in for, is not looking so "shoe-in" after all.  Keep in mind, the 1,100 other teachers are also flocking to the incredibly FEW jobs that have been posted online.

I know without a shadow of a doubt that God has a plan for my life.  I am trusting in Him that everything works out to the glory of Him.  There are several scenarios running rampant in my head.  I'm not going to go through all of the them just yet- some are pretty radical and I have no plans of looking "crazy" at the moment.  ;)

On a positive note, next week is the last week of school and I fully plan on figuring out all of my computer stuff and getting a handle on my pictures and blog!! I have several very exciting things to post about that have happened in the past month, and I definitely want to remember all of the happy times we've shared this spring!

Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow shall worry about itself! Matthew 6:34

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Meet Baby Hank!

Our new Malti-Poo!!  We can't wait to squeeze and love on him Friday!! 



What are you loving today?

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Mother's Day Weekend

Mother’s Day Weekend was very busy, yet fun for us. It started out Friday afternoon when I picked up the precious Leo and Bella to spend the night with us. I have had the honor of babysitting them since Bella was only 6 weeks old!! Perry loves, loves, loves having them over, and I am right there with him. We had a tea party, played outside, and then baked some cookies that accidently turned into brownies. (I didn’t have chocolate chips, only big chunks of chocolate, so I grated them into the batter. Apparently, that made them gigantic and extra gooey!) They were YUMMY!! We ate a few, then the girls wanted to give the rest to their Mommy. We also took this picture during our tea party. We spray painted a frame I already had white and framed the picture to give to Betsy for Mother’s Day. I was excited to help the girls with their special gift and their sweet Mommy LOVED it!!


After dropping the girlies off with their Mommy, and Mr. P with his Daddy for the evening, my sister and I went to a friend’s (will eventually be Melissa’s sister in law) bachelorette party. The night started out at California Pizza Kitchen with some yummy food and great conversation! Melissa and I were quite the wild ones and stayed out to a mere 9:00. She had a final on Monday and I have a baby at home…

(I was bummed that this ended up being the only picture the gentlemen who took this for me took.  The group was about three times as large as this.)

Sunday morning, we went to church and then us girls and Mr. P enjoyed an outing to Homestead Hollow’s arts and crafts show. We got great deals because it was not crowded at all (probably due to mother’s day) and it was the last day of the show. Some of my goods included an outfit for Mr. Perry and Miss Ruby (I’m hoping it will fit! It was entirely too cute and cheap for me to pass up. I did a little monogramming on it and it’s perfect!!), an apron for P (he LOVES to cook and grill! Definitely a Murphree), some bows for R, and a few other randoms. And of course, we had a smorgasbord lunch. Me, Mom, Becky, and Melissa all get one (greasy junk food) dish, and then we all share. I love it. It would probably scare an outsider looking in! ;)


As we were walking toward the exit, Perry spotted the ponies and petting zoo. I could have kicked myself for leaving my camera in the car, but at least I had my IPhone. To say he loved it was an understatement! He talked about the animals all night long!


Then, we came home, Mr. P napped, Mom cooked a delicious dinner, and I did a bunch of monogramming. Right before dinner, we did presents. I was very excited to get a card, flowers, and an external hard drive from my baby and hubby, and my sweet Mommy gave me a sparkly emerald charm (for Perry’s birth month-May) to go on my Pandora bracelet.

My sweet Mommy laughing at her all too true Mother's Day card.

Although it was a wonderful mother’s day for me, filled with love and family, I couldn’t help but cry a few tears over the thought of Miss Ruby’s mom going through all she has/will go through. I hope that the Lord gives her the comfort and peace of mind to know that her little girl has a Mommy that will love her unconditionally and cannot wait until she holds her tight in her arms! I will forever be grateful and thankful for a mother who made a life changing sacrifice and chose life for her daughter.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

A Royal Wedding {in Alabama}

When I was just sixteen, I met my soul mate. We were instantly in love. He was my high school sweetheart and I was his. It didn’t take long until there was a ring on my finger! The summer after my graduation, Justin popped the question while with my family on vacation at The Grand Canyon and Las Vegas. After a two year engagement (that FLEW by!!) we were married in our beautiful church, with all our friends and family to celebrate with.


Our wedding was nearly an hour long due to me packing in everything I could possibly think of to ensure I stay in my gorgeous dress for as long as humanly possible. During Communion, Justin and I were seriously giggling together talking about how our poor guests were probaby bored and starving to death! Lucky for them, we had an awesome spread of deliciousness waiting! (Photography and Food were the two main elements I focused on when planning our wedding. The beautiful sea-food covered ice sculpture was actually made by amazing and very talented Daddy and Grandaddy. I was so in love with it- little did I know until after getting back from our honeymoon, that it nearly didn’t make it to its grand debut. They couldn’t get that gigantic mass to actually FREEZE! It was a mere miracle, D and G say!)

Besides the exchanging of rings during the ceremony and all of the I do’s, my favorite part was singing to Justin before our vows. He was so surprised, that he started crying and sniffling. It was just precious and made me tear up too! So, during the bridge of the song, I actually covered the mic and whispered to him that he was going to have to stop crying so I could finish singing the song! To which, we both started giggling… Our ceremony was so special and personal to us. I love those little stolen moments we were able to share.

It was a ‘royal wedding’ that we soaked up and thouroughly enjoyed! Who knew that only a mere two years into our marriage, we would welcome a precious baby boy to join in on the fun?

I honestly couldn’t imagine anyone else to go on this journey of life with. Justin truly gets me, and I get him. We are best friends through and through. I love how he encourages me, and I love how he typically lets me get my way. I love that he loves to cook as much as me and dreams as big as he can dream. I enjoy looking at houses with him, taking evening walks around the neighborhood together, and I certainly cherish every second of our family nap times!

Justin- I love you with all of my being. Straight to the moon and back! As the song goes, I believe that when God made you, he must have been thinking about me! I can’t wait to spend forever with you.

All my love and MORE!
Brooke

PS- One day closer! :)

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Beautiful Easter Sunday

Sunday was spent celebrating the beautiful miracle of Easter!  What a glorious miracle God has chosen to give us.  Each and everyone of us!! He is not here.  He is risen!!!  Amazing!






The day started out with me teaching my Sunday school class, where I was posed this question by one of my three/four year olds, "Mrs. Brooke, If God is in my heart, why is He not coming out of my mouth?"  Ummmm......




Then, we headed up to Grandmomma and Grandaddy's for the annual Easter celebration of food, family, and fun!


Perry had SO much fun putting his eggs in his tractor, then dumping them into his Easter basket.  Seriously... would I ever have thought it would have been any different?!


And a game of bache-ball, with some seriously ridiculous rules.  And Grandaddy breaking out the cooking flour to line off our "field."  Oh yes, that is my family.



After a great afternoon, we headed home to visit with Perry's Gran and Pop for a little bit.  They brought him a really cool sleeping bag/pal to nap with (wishful thinking....) but it IS cute!  And some old fashioned "pop ups."  You push them down and they suction cup together, then when they loose suction, they go flying into the air!  Pretty cool.

Needless to say, Pman went to sleep in my arms and Mommy got in a good hour of snuggle time before putting little bitty to bed.


Happy Easter!!!


PS- If you notice that P wore the same outfit Saturday morning and Sunday morning, you are correct.  Yes, I did wash, dry, and press it Saturday night because I really wanted his Easter Bunny picture in his actual Easter outfit, as well as him to wear it to church Easter morning.  :) 

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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