Royal Family Kids Camp

Tomorrow I leave on one of the most exciting trips I can imagine!!! ...

Royal Family Kids Camp #218!!!

The first year our church held a camp, I found out I was pregnant with Perry, and camp was about two weeks after Itty Bitty was born.  Since then, I have just felt that P was too young for me to go.

But this year, I'm happy to report that Justin will be holding down the fort and Mommy will be ministering to and pampering 64 PRECIOUS children who are in the foster care system, who have in some way or another, been abused or neglected.

My heart couldn't possibly be more excited to love all over these precious souls, who couldn't be more deserving of the unconditional love of Jesus Christ.

Camp will be throughout Friday of next week, at an undisclosed location, and all communication will be extremely limited, mainly for the safety of our campers.  However, I will be able to call J & P nightly, though very late, and tell them how much I love and miss them.

I have also considered the irony of us getting a referral the week I am away from my cell phone and computer.  Our agency now has the camp number, the camp director number, and my "dean's" number, as well as Justin's number, should they be needed.  Truth be told, the chances of us getting a referral this week are really 50/50, just like any other day, but I wanted to be on the safe side... you know, just in case.  It's not like I'm ready for a referral or anything....  ;)

Woo-Hoo!!  Happy Camp Week!!!  Please pray for all these babies (age 6-13) as we hopefully bless them by sharing God's perfect love with them!!!

Our One Year "Appliversary"

Today is a day that I am full of many different emotions.

Today is a "date" that I have waited for my whole life, and will most certainly be a date to remember and reflect on or the rest of my life.

One year ago today, Justin and I completed and turned in our application to adopt.  It was one of the best days of my life.  A true dream come true.

A lot has happened in the past year:

• Started the adoption process!!!
• Met Amanda and Michael!!  Who have become some of our very best friends and adoption supporters.
• Got a new teaching job- made lots of new friends during the year.
• Went on a great family beach vacay and were on Cloud 9 that we had finally officially started the adoption process!
• Reviewed a beautiful baby girl's file- realized she wasn't our sweet girl.  Still pray for her.
• Designed our "Rags to Ruby" t-shirts for our first official fund-raiser.  Still for sell if you want to grab one!  Check out the bottom of the blog to order! :D
• Took Perry to Chattanooga to the "Elf Workshop"... the best "family of three" vacation yet.
• Became a Pearl River Outreach sponsor to the darling Caroline.
• Started my photography portfolio.
• Received HJ's referral and instantly fell in love.
• Were devastated to realize that despite our abundant love for this precious child, we had to release her referral.  Pray for her everyday.  Love her beyond words.  Still don't quite understand why she is not ours.  Trusting God's plan...
• Went on the most amazing trip of my life and fell madly in love with the country of Korea.
• Hand delivered a care package to Holt for our beloved HJ
• Celebrated my fifth wedding anniversary with my very best friend.
• Celebrated P's third birthday!
• Became a stay at home Mommy-the education world can be cruel, but excited about fulfilling another amazing dream of staying home with my babies....gotta learn the couponing game! ;)
• Got permission to "sponsor" HJ and have the opportunity to send her more care packages.

I spoke to Holt on Monday and was told that we should have another referral any day now.  As excited as I am that we could see our baby girl tomorrow.... or another year from now.... I mean, no one can predict when a baby fit for our family will come through the agency's listing....it's still strange to me that it won't be HJ.  I'm happy with all the blessings God has given us through the adoption world this past year and absolutely can't wait to see what our next "year" has in store for us.  I'm really praying that it includes a baby sister for Perry and another trip around the globe!  I can't wait to get back to Korea!!

3 is a Magic Number {Sunday Snapshot}

The day before Perry's third birthday, he was SO he excited!  I believe our conversation went a little like this:

{Settings: f/2.2  SS 1/1250  ISO 400}

P: Tonight, I am two.  Tomorrow, I'll be Fwee!  And den da nex yeer, I'll be Four, and den da nex yeer, I'll be Five, and den I'll be Six!

Me: Oh, Perry!  Stop counting!!  I need you to stop growing and just be three forever!

P: Uhg!  Mah-mmmmeeeeeeee!  I haf to keep gwowing so I can get big and pway footbaw!

The party was absolutely amazing, though the morning was VERY rushed (hence I didn't get quite as many decor shots as I wanted :/).  In the process of putting together all the decorations, I killed three glue-guns, so I had to borrow one from my Mom that morning to finish.  Also, our refrigerator breaker got tripped somehow and in the midst of all the glue-gun panic, we just assumed it went out too- after all, in that past week, I had also killed our dishwasher and a phone charger...Side note, if you would like to keep your electronics in tact, I suggest not bringing them around me.  I'm not even going to tell you how many computers have mysteriously died in the past year under my care.... Anyway, so while I sent Justin and P to the grocery store to get all the balloons, I was packing our fridge full of ice bags and bagging up what I thought needed to go to my Mom's for the morning to save.  Luckily that evening, we realized it was just the breaker- whew!

I enjoyed making Perry's birthday hat a little more pizazzled for his special day.  By the end of the party, the Happy Birthday part had gotten a little wet and the ink bled a little bit.  It actually made me pretty sad.  

My talented Mom did this the morning of the party.  Did I mention her and my Dad did an AMAZING ice sculpture at my wedding?!  

Notice the discrepancy among the many cupcakes.  One batch turned out SO perfect.  The next batch, that I made the EXACT same way, turned out SO janked up.  No explanation other than I'm a good cook, not a baker.

Becky made sure we had beautiful flowers for the occasion. 

I'm not sure who was more excited about this toy, Perry or his Daddy!

There were SO many people at P's party... I'm pretty sure about 18 kids/50ish people in all, and given that the first 30 minutes of the party I was frantically running around trying to figure out where in the WORLD I had stashed the hot dog/hamburger buns I didn't get as many photos as I would have liked of the guests either.  I tried my hardest to make it around to everyone and visit for a little bit of the hour I had while not searching for food or celebrating with P.  It was pretty crazy, but Perry had a blast and I enjoyed seeing many friends and family, so all the chaos was definitely worth it!  Thank you all so much who came by.  We were so blessed by your kindness and fun personalities.  Celebrating three years old wouldn't have been the same without ya'll!

Thanks for swimming by!

To see more great Sunday Snapshots, visit Stephanie's blog at Ni Hao Ya'll!

All Boy {I Heart Faces}

This is one of my all time favorite photos of Justin and Perry at the beach.

I'm convinced that Justin is such a fantastic Daddy because he absolutely loves every second of being one!  

And in return?  

Perry absolutely LOVES his Daddy!




To see more All Boy {I Heart Faces} photo entries, click on the button above!

Up, Up, and Away! {Sunday Snapshot}

I truly fall in love with Perry all over again each and every morning.  

This little guy is such a blessing to me and our family.  He loves God, his family, and especially, his little doggie Hank-aroo!  He is so smart and uber silly.  You absolutely cannot be around him without smiling! 

I'm not sure what I did to receive the honor and pleasure of being this little guy's Momma, but I'm sure glad God saw me to be fit.  I couldn't imagine a day without him in my life.  

I can't wait to see who he grows up to be, but I know that the sky is the limit for this little dude!

I love you Baby Bug!  

Snap Shot Settings:

f/2.2

1/2000

ISO 360

Post Processed with Florabella's Vintage Linen

To see more amazing Sunday Snapshots, hop on over to Stephanie's blog at Ni Hao Ya'll!