Wednesday, March 13, 2013

A little bit of everything

Once again it has been TOO long since our last post!  Honestly, I'm not bothered at all by that because we've been enjoying a lot of family time in between the crazy schedule of life.  You would think that perhaps I"d be taking LOTS of pictures of all of our fun times together right?  Somehow I keep forgetting and have to grab my phone at the last second. Yep, keep promising myself I'll get better at that.

One thing that the past month held was visits from and to family!  President's day weekend Nana came and visited and we had a blast!  It was a relaxing weekend filled with shopping and playing lots of games.  It felt so nice to relax and enjoy spending time together! As soon as Nana left I packed up the kids and headed to Mimi and Poppy's house since daddy was going out of town on business.  I just love seeing the cousins play together!  What a joy!  They kept us busy for sure.  Poppy also took a day off and we all went to a very cute little diner.  The Minnie Mouse pancakes were HUGE and the kids loved them!

After arriving home from a great trip to MiMi's and Poppy's, we found lots of things to do around town while daddy was out of town.  Wow we missed him so much!  You should see these kiddos when daddy walks in the door from a trip.  It fills my heart full each time to see just how much they love their daddy.  This last time daddy came in, we ate dinner, and then I was off to an adoption/foster mom retreat in Buford, GA called Created for Care.  They spend lots and lots of time preparing large sessions and smaller break out sessions all centered around being adoption/foster moms.  It is definitely worth the trip.  I will say, however, that with me being so stressed and tired from the three previous weeks I didn't really get all that I could have out of the conference.  Most nights I headed back to the room after the main session just to crash from being so exhausted.  I actually was expecting to get a little rested before heading back to my family, but that wasn't really the case.  I really hope I can head back next year and make sure I have plenty of rest BEFORE heading to such a big event.  Despite that I still did learn valuable information.  Amy Monroe of "Empowering to Connect" spoke several times and the things she had to say about connecting with your children were invaluable.  Have you ever though about the reasons that you tell your children no?  She reminded us that saying yes sometimes is appropriate if it is something we are saying no to just because we don't want to take the time.  My favorite speaker of the weekend was Korean Adoptee Carissa Woodwky.  Wow, she had some powerful things to say about our adopted kiddos and the places that they've come from.  She was an excellent speaker.  I also attended an African American Hair Care session.  Ever since coming home with B I have been soaking in anything I can about how to better care for his gorgeous curls!!!  I was glad to know that most of the things from the session I was already doing.  I still need to get out and get a sleep cap though!  I would encourage ALL adoption/foster moms to attend this event.  The Lake Linear Lodge is gorgeous and there is nothing better than worshiping with 400+ women!  I would say that the thing I learned the most is that we need to remember that God is shaping us as women as we parent our children.  We need to listen to what he is doing in our own hearts as we are parenting.  We need to be open to learning from Christ as he is helping our children learn through us.  OH goodness. Such a huge responsibility! 

I am happy to say that the kids did a great job with daddy while I was away and that daddy did a great job with the kids.  I have such a wonderful husband folks!  This week is our 6 month check up with our social worker!  I cannot believe that it has almost been six months since we stepped off of that plane and onto US soil.  Wow, we are so grateful for all that God has done in the last 6 months.  Our little guys is growing like crazy, full of energy (trust me!), and full of life.  Now for a few random pictures that I actually did find! Because everyone needs some pictures in their life right?  OH, and on a totally and completely unrelated note my new favorite app is Voxer.  Check it out.  How is that for being random?  NOW for some pictures...

Lake Linear

 View out of our balcony
 There is nothing better than sunshine
 Getting ready for our first session!
 Tried to get out for a little run before the Saturday morning session
 Katie and I match!
 Lifting our hand sin praise

 Girl time
 Daddy and the kids at "Uncle D and Aunt CiCi's" house for the weekend!

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