Date Night

Mr. Incredible and I have been married for a little over 3 years. Sadly though, we have not taken many date nights. Now, don't get me wrong- we are ALWAYS together! We go out to eat, shop, and just hang out everyday! {we love it! Isn't it the best having a best friend who is always there?} BUT, we have not go on a DATE date in FOREVER! You know- getting dressed up for dinner and movie!

Normally when kids come you lose date nights, but I think it will be the opposite for us. We will lose our everyday hang out time, but we will gain date nights. We will have to get a sitter, but we will be more purposeful in having date nights!

We ate at my FAV restaurant- Spaghetti Warehouse, and we saw the 4th and final installment of Shrek. It was cute, not the best Shrek, but a must see for any Shrek fans!
Family Photo Op in front of the Fireplace!
I forgot to show this in my excitement about Boston. Here is my anniversary present. It is a charm necklace from James Avery. This is our anniversary birth stone. I have a few other charms picked out as well as two birth stones to be added- hopefully soon! ;)
We got in the car for our date and the temp said 102. The car had been sitting all day, so I thought the reading may have been off. NOPE. Here is the reading later that day! It is only May y'all!

Great is Thy Faithfulness!

God is so faithful! Even when He says "no," or "not now"- He is still so faithful!

Sometimes He drops manna from the sky, or someone drops groceries on your door step when you didn't know how you were going to afford your next meal, (never happened to me but it did to friends of ours). But sometimes, He doesn't send the help you needed. But He is still faithful!

It would have been awesome if someone came up to us and was like, "Hey, I'm a licensed plumber AND a licensed electrician and I will do your inspections for free!" That would have been cool, but unlikely. That would have been manna.

Here is how God is faithful:

I got my VB stuff in the mail the same day I got the news we were gonna have to put the process "on hold" in a sense. Since it was my birdie bandage, I wanted to get to work on it immediately to take my mind off waiting. Well, we were waiting to do the inspections because of money, so spending money on the bird room would have been silly. So I asked Mr. Incredible if I could spend like $20 at Hobby Lobby so I could keep my mind busy this weekend. He said sure. :)

I thought the $20 would be for just a few items, and I would have to go back next paycheck to buy more, and go again later, etc. Well, we get there and the wood is 40% off!!!!! THANK YOU LORD! Seriously, I said that in the isle and was in awe of His faithfulness! We got out of Hobby Lobby buying EVERYTHING I wanted for the room on that isle and we spend $21!

When we got in the car, I realized I forgot Modge Podge. OOPS! We ran back in and it was $6! UGH! I thought it would be like $3 {no $6 won't break the bank, but still} He asked if I really needed it and of course I do! So we are in line and the lady behind us says, "I have the 40% coupon that has to be used on non sale items- since all these are on sale would y'all like it?" SO we got the Modge Podge for 40% off! Do you not see this as God? I do!

Also, I had plans for lunch with a friend, bobbin lessons with a different friend in the afternoon, and a 5th grade graduation in the evening to attend yesterday. The day after we got the "put on hold news." I didn't even have time to work on the bird room, I was so busy! See His faithfulness! All of this occurred when I would have been the most depressed about the whole thing! {Also, I received many encouraging words from firends that are priceless! Thanks so much!}

I see God even in the littlest, most mundane things. You should too! For those of us in Christ, He is our Father! He loves us and cares for even the littlest details in our lives knowing it will bring us joy and Him praise and adoration! He was able to show His glory and faithfulness to me in the last 2 days because I have to wait for the inspections. If that isn't Romans 8:28 in the works- I don't know what is! :)

I am off to work on the bird room some more until Mr. Incredible gets home, (early!! wahoo!), but would you like a sneak peek before I go?
Ok, the blue may seem random, but in the trees are little blue birds. In person you can see this better. :)
I just love the little bird cage. This card is the only VB product with that pic! I HAD to get it!! :)

Birdie Bandage for the Bump

Ok, first of all the bump I am referring to is not THE BUMP. I am not preg. I am referring to a bump along the adoption road.

We are moving towards fostering two little cuties that stole our hearts, so as of now it is not technically an adoption road anyway.

But we have hit a bump, and I am bummin'! We have to get a fire inspection then we can have our home study. No problem. We can get the inspection this week or next with the home study to follow. Well, before we get the fire inspection we have to get 3 different inspections as well- which are not cheap.

The bump? We will have to schedule the inspections for 2 weeks from now. {next pay check for anyone keeping track} THEN we will have to wait for our home study. We could have had the home study DONE in 2 weeks quite possibly, but now we can't even get to that step for another 2 weeks. Not what I had in mind. Please pray that once the inspections are done, they can get to our home study quickly.

As you can imagine, I am quite bummed. So I am applying a Birdie bandage! Unfortunately I had pics for this post, but blogger is not letting me! SORRY!!! I will be spending tonight working on the bird room since my Vera Bradley package came in the mail!

Here is a song that has been on my heart since March. It is a romantic song, but ignore that aspect and think of it from the eyes of a Mommy waiting for her babies. Prayers appreciated!

Just the 3 of Us

We are counting down the days until our kiddos come home, but we are also trying to enjoy life as it is now. God has had us wait for a reason, so we are trying to wait patiently, {trying being the operative word}.
Through the glass of the backdoor. He is soaking up every minute of his last days/weeks as an only child. ;)
Bolt ATTACKS you with kisses if you are not ready!
One of my new favs of all time!

I don't know why I like this one so much, but I do. :)
Ditto for this one! :)
It should be illegal to love a dog this much! ;)

Not Me Monday

I certainly did not eat it while walking through a new house, and I most certainly DID NOT proceed to finish my walk through the neighborhood with Mr. Incredible and Bolt covered in mud. Nope. Not me! Nor did I stop to take pics of with my phone for my blog. Nope. Not me!

Gross!!!
{ok my bum is not THAT flat/wide- I was pulling my shorts to the side so it would show in the pic! lol}

What is "Not Me Monday?" Click here to find out!

To: Some Special Little Kids

If I never met you, I wouldn't like you. If I didn't like you, I wouldn't love you. If I didn't love you, I wouldn't miss you. But I did, I do, and I do still.
-- Author Unknown


Missing someone gets easier every day because even though it's one day further from the last time you saw each other, it's one day closer to the next time you will. ~Author Unknown

Fun in Munchkinland

Today was this little one's 3rd bithday!
Happy birthday Abigail Ross!
Mr. Incredible wanted a pic on the slide- too fuzzy. lol
Mr. Incredible running through the obstacle course, (well, falling in a better word lol).
Here I am up front, Joy, (the cutie from a few weeks ago that sang "God is bigger than the Boogeyman"), and one of my besties Elise bringing up the rear.
Us 3 again- here I am helping Joy up the wall. {my shirt was Mr. Incredible's when he was little} :)
Remember Abigail's little brother that I mentioned a few days ago? Well here he is again! :) He and his sister call me Tasha. I love it! Here he is with Mrs. Tasha's glasses!
"Here Mrs. Tasha, your turn."
I know it is from behind, but do you see his smile? Such joy! :)
Trying to put them on. :)

We had a blast today, and we are planning that when the adoption is finalized- we will have a celebration here! Look for invites within the next yearish! :)

Five For Friday

This is my 5th post this week! Everyday this week, I have posted! I know there are a few of my loyal readers who must have appreciated it. :)

So, do you like my new layout?

We have completed EVERYTHING needed for our home study, (with the exception of the fire inspection which we can't do ourselves lol)!!! It feels so good to be done, and we are one step closer till our little ones come home!!

Today I spent literal hours searching craft blogs. I have found so many crafts to make for the new bird room! Just waiting on the fabric and wrapping paper, (for decoupaging) to arrive! :)

So that was my day today: searching the web, adoption stuff, nap with my loves, searching the web, watching a movie while changing my layout. Yep fun stuff! ;)With our "exciting" day, I didn't take any pics. And since no one likes posts without pics: here is a shot from Fenway Park. GORGEOUS day, gorgeous tree. Yeah, I want to go back soooooo bad!!! {even though a new layout should make up for my lack of new photos} ;)

In my neck of the woods...

Here's what's goin' on:

• My sweet friend is giving away a copy of my book- click here for a chance to win!

• Tomorrow Mr. Incredible is taking off work so we can run our last minute adoption errands- TB tests, finger prints etc- next stop- HOME STUDY! {will let you know when that is officially scheduled!}
  

• Help a sista out! I am collecting UPCs from my bread- Sara Lee's Soft and Smooth. With so many UPCs you can earn free Toy Story 3 merchandise- I want two sets of the breakfast sets, (plate and cup). I have 2 cuties in mind for this, so I need to get 2 sets. I am up to 4 of the needed 8 UPCs- SO if you have some lying around and will not be using them- send them my way please! :) {ps I have never bought this bread before, but I LOVE it! It really is so smooth! The wheat's texture seems like white bread- LOVE IT!}
  

• I have been cleaning the house in preparation of the home study. We are making the bird room into a craft room/guest room. When we eventually move, we will keep this room as it is, and if we get a girl one day then she will have her own room, separate from this one. :) Mr. Incredible's dad is bringing us a full/queen sized bed next weekend for this room. :) I will be building a desk for this room out of a door- future post of course. :)
  

Here are a few of the VB items already purchased for the room- few more on the way by mail. ;) Makes me all warm and fuzzy- so pretty! Oh and I found a site that sells VB RUGS!!! I am so saving up and getting one for this room!!!
I reorganized a lot of my craft stuff into these cute brown baskets. Cute, but when seen from up top- not so cute. Once I have my desk in I will decided what to do with all this...
Once I am done with the room, this is my next project. My sewing machine was a Christmas gift back in what, 2004?? I opened it to teach myself how to use it, and couldn't figure out how to thread the bobbin. So, here she sits. So sad. Not for long though- in my order of VB items, are cloth napkins, which I will make into a throw pillow for the bed. :)

Wednesday Rewind

In true rewind fashion, I will start with the most recent till I get back to the beginning of the week. :)

On Monday I lamented about my bird room problem. Well, right now I am about to go to the bank, make a deposit, come home and purchase my Vera Bradley shopping cart! :) YEA! Pictures by next week I'm sure. lol I have NO patience! The second I get it I will begin redecorating! lol

There are 2 VB items that I am not purchasing this go round. A Sittin in a Tree umbrella, (for my own personal use- so didn't need to be bought with all the room stuff lol). And this little guy:
Ok, I think I want 2! But at $43 a piece, I think I can wait on them!

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When I came up with Bolt as his nickname on the blog, I knew it was fitting. He is after all, white, adorable, smart, and talented. Ever since the nickname was bestowed, it seems Bolt is trying to live up to the original Bolt. You know, the one who believes he is an action hero. From finding and "rescuing" his ball in a closed box to "scaling" the playground equipment- Bolt is day by day becoming his alter ego!

Yesterday I look over and he had a whole bunch of bananas in his mouth, which he has jumped on the counter to retrieve. It was the funniest thing ever, so I did what any good blog mommy would do and I grabbed the camera!

As I took the pic, Bolt began PEELING the banana- can you see it in this pic?!
When I took it away from him, this was the result! Poor kid though- all that work, and he didn't even get to enjoy his spoils! lol Pretty impressive though, huh? No thumbs needed people!

{when I showed the pics to Mr. Incredible he said it was absolutely blog worthy} ;)

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Monday night we had a great lighting storm! Mr. Incredible, Bolt, and I sat on the back porch in awe of God's creativity and power!

If I had caught this a millisecond sooner! ugh!

Could you imagine how awesome this shot would have been had it been in focus?
love this shot!

How great is the Love

Today would have been my sister's 22nd birthday. For those of you who don't know, Tracie was killed in a car accident on October 6, 2006. I miss her dearly and wish I could wish her a happy birthday in person. I know I will see her again, so that eases my pain.

However, I can't stand when people pray to her, or thank her for looking down on them. Sorry, she is not. She is in Heaven worshiping The One who paid her debt so she could spend eternity there. No one in Heaven is singing her happy birthday. She, and everyone else there is gathered around the throne singing a song like this:

Thank You for the way that You love us, how You love us
Thank You for the way You have made us
We were created for Your pleasure, for Your Presence
For the glory of Your Name
Thank You for the way that You love us
Jesus, Faithful King, Lord, with grateful hearts we sing
How great is the love, how great is the love of our Savior
The weight of the cross, the curse of our shame
You carried it all and rose from the grave
How great is the love, how great is the love of our Savior

{How Great is the Love by Paul Baloche}

Decorator Depression

A new friend is unfamiliar with the bird room, so you, (and anyone else of interest) can click here to see what it looks like as of now. :)

As I said a few posts ago, I am redoing it in Vera Bradley's Sittin' in a Tree print. I have a whole shopping cart full at her website that I had full intention of buying soon.

Well, I was browsing online and I found a website that sells VB fabric BY THE YARD!!! Yeah, try finding that everyday- YOU CAN'T!

So I had a cart full of 10 yards(2 different prints at 5 yards each), of Sittin in a Tree and 5 yards of this print. The Sittin in a Tree was obviously for the bird room, while the other fabric is just to have on stock for when I redo a room, etc. :)

I was spending the same amount at both stores and the fabric was a much better deal! After BEGGING Mr. Incredible, he allowed me to purchase the fabric! OH HAPPY DAY!

Well, to ship 15 yards of fabric- cost is $90+!!!!!! NOOOO!!!!!!!!!! Obviously that is not gonna happen now!!!

I am so bummed! Honestly, I am quite pathetic. I have been thinking about this fabric since I found it,and the FIRST thing I thought of this morning was how cute the 2nd fabric would be in an entry way. I had it all decorated in my head- then reality hit and I remembered I am not getting it after all. Sigh.

I am off to clean the house so 1. we can prepare for our EVENTUAL home study, and 2. I can justify redoing the bird room. ;) {and yes I will be going back to plan A and purchasing the products from the VB website}

The Best Thing That Never Happened

So I saw an episode of the Simpsons, (I do not in anyway endorse this show), that had an interesting quote and storyline.

Moe the bartender noticed 3 marriages on the rocks so he made up and elaborate ruse to make the husbands see how badly they were treating their wives, (yes this is the Simpsons- are you as shocked as I was?). He claimed to the husbands that he was leaving town and one of their wives would be joining him. As Homer arrives home and finds out it was a ruse, he tells Marge, "This is the best thing that never happened."

Probably supposed to be a funny line from the less than intelligent Homer, but I think it was pretty smart.

There are a lot of things in our lives like this.

For instance, right before Christmas, do you remeber praying for this little cutie?We feared he had Leukemia. We were at a Christmas concert and I cried (quite hysterically), the whole time. We would sing worship songs, and as I would sing along, I was basically praying for him and his family. Well, he is 100% ok and cancer free. Nothing too significant was wrong with him! To this day, I remember that time very well, and I often thank God for keeping him healthy.

I see it as the best thing that never happened to him! He never actually had cancer in his body, but we have never been more thankful for someone to be cancer free!

Is the quote starting to make sense?

Back in October 2008 I thought I was having a stroke. Literally a stroke- click here to read all about it. That was the best thing that never happened to me. It was my wake up call and got me into shape.

After a good long while of eating healthy and exercising, I fell off the wagon. Well, folks I am officially back on the wagon. I am sick right now with another wake up call from God. I have been trying to get back on the wagon for sometime now, and I guess God decided to give me a little push since I was struggling so much. (He is great about doing that by the way). :)

So, what is it in your life that is the best thing that never happened??? :)

4♥♥

This is my 400th post!!! Wow right?!? :)

I wanted to have a really exciting post for my 4ooth, but this is all I could do:

Well, this is really exciting to us, but since there will be lack of details- it will be less exciting to you. We have only been officially active in the adoption process since March. We kinda took an, (unplanned), hiatus in April. Now we are trying to finish up a few small odds and ends so we can have our Home Study, (LAST STEP IN THE PROCESS)!!! It has gone by quicker than most adoption processes actually, (especially if we didn't have that little hiatus). The exciting news?? Well, I can't tell you- but it is something we have been praying for and dreaming of since mid March- and as soon as we have our Home Study- you will be able to find out what- ok maybe not AS SOON AS, but pretty soon after that! :) It is all I can think about!!!! It is becoming hard to function! ;)

Want a hint?
Ok, so not much of a hint since this pic has been on here like 4 times since March, but believe me if you knew what this was- you would be very excited! Oh, and your prayers would be greatly appreciated concerning this shadow and another little one like it. ;)

Something else that is consuming my thoughts? Remember a few months ago, I said I wanted to redo the bird room. Well, I am. HA! I have NO self control!!! lol Honestly though, these birds/color scheme are so much classier than the ones I had for the room! In the next few weeks stay tuned for a super adorable new bird room!!! {hey, Mommy here has to keep her hands busy with something- it is after all called NESTING} ;)

Pictoral Blurbs

For Mother's Day Mr. Incredible took me to the Woodlands. We walked the mall, went to different shops and just talked all day. {what we do all the time. Don't you love having your best friend with you 24/7?} Besides reveling in the day- talking about our kiddos to be- this was the highlight of my mother's day:

"Happy mothers day to the greatest mom to be!!! I don't think I have ever me someone with such a giving heart. I know that when the Lord blesses your family with a child in need of love y'all will give it 300%. I admire your passion for helping children in need of a loving home and remember y'all are almost there!!!" Thank you SO much Erika!!!! This meant so much!!!

{read below for more on Mother's Day}

Here are some pics from my phone so forgive the quality. :)
Bolt loves me more than anything. Seriously, I am not being conceded or anything- he really does. Not that I am complaining. :) I LOVE IT! Here I am on my computer and Bolt is asleep on my lap and INSISTS his head must be on my arm. How can you blog like this??? :)
Yesterday was Mother's Day. From last Mother's Day, I have 2 things that stick out in my mind.

1. I was really upset and no one knew, except for one friend of mine. She came up to me and gave me a long hug that morning. It was like she knew.

2. I have been at my Cornerstone for 5 Mother's Days now, and every year they give out flowers to the women there. I always got one- even when I was 18, single, and obviously NOT a mom. Last year a friend of ours went to hand me a flower and said, "Oh wait, you are not a mom," and took it back. Yeah, just what I needed last year. Rip my heart out.

Yesterday HE DID THE SAME THING. Except this time he gave it to me because he said that I counted as Bolt's mom. The sad thing is- that morning I had told Mr. Incredible the whole story, so I was shocked he did it again. BUT, what REALLY shocked me was for the fact that he knows more about the adoption than what I write on here- so he knows how close we really are. Very insensitive. If I had not come to the realization earlier this week that I REALLY AM am Mom to Be- I may have punched him in the face and left church crying. BUT since I AM a Mom to be- I smiled and took my flower! Just for my friends at CCBC- there is a good chance you know whom I am speaking- I am not mad at him at all! He needs a little more tact, but I am not mad! lol {if I didn't come to the mom to be realization I probably would be though}

The sermon was about Hannah and being a godly mom. Perfect sermon for me and all the moms there. What I especially liked was how our pastor mentioned that her deep desire to have children was from the Lord and completely natural. We have wanted to adopt for so long- I have wanted it sooo bad- sometimes I wondered if it was an idol. Maybe it was, but it also was very natural.

To sum it all up- I have been Hannah before- not about birth children- but about adoptive children. Now I know it is my time, and I am so grateful and joyful! :)

My last post I mentioned how excited I was about a few things:
Here is Mr. Incredible putting in the last pipe!!! {Notice Bolt over there- we find it so cute that he just plopped down and is sitting pretty}
"Houston, we have water!" Not the first time, but here is the LAST ZONE fired up!!!


Something I COMPLETELY forgot for my last post of exciting things- this would have been #1 had I remembered:
We are so close to being done building our church...
AHHHH!!! We walked inside and I was chocked up. Attending our church in a movie theater was nice, but I CAN'T WAIT to have an actual CHURCH to attend every Sunday!!! If you haven't checked it out yet, you MUST!!!! IT IS AWESOME!!! Thank You Lord!!!!