One Year Since Taking the Plunge...

Today marks one year since turning in our initial application to Gladney to start the adoption. (My body decided to celebrate this occasion with the stomach flu this morning, but hey, I'm down to my goal weight now-gotta look at the bright side!) This past year has been a roller-coaster ride full of emotional highs and lows. I thought we'd be further along on the waitlist by now in terms of number of months waiting, but we believe that God had a plan and reason for our paperwork holdup last summer. I did get a little discouraged the other night when I was blog-stalking and found another twin-only Gladney family who has been on the waitlist for 11 months...I'm praying that they get their referral soon! But, then I found the Gladney FBI, which is an unofficial list of Gladney families in various stages of the process. Another family got a twin-girl referral after only 8 months waiting, so those numbers look better! And, according to the boy list, we are #23...but like I said, this list is totally unofficial and is not intended to be a predictor for when we'll get a referral! We've also begun redoing all of our paperwork that will expire in the next couple of months. We have our physical exams scheduled and need to do an update on our homestudy, financial statement, employment letters, and criminal and child abuse clearances. The paperchase seems to never end, but it will be worth it!

Ice Cream makes everything better...

Meet Pinky and the Brain aka Isaac and Matt or Matt and Isaac...Abbie and I haven't decided who really is Pinky and who really is the Brain...most of the time they are both Pinky. So, Monday night I tagged along for another adventure with Pinky and the Brain. Matt is attending a conference for his job this week in St. Pete Beach so Isaac and I drove over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge to meet him for dinner. We had a great dinner at Cafe Luna and thoroughly enjoyed our grouper picatta, tuna with wasabi crust, and seafood curry even though we were missing Abbie's company. As we were preparing to leave, Isaac bumped the table which sent Matt's glass tumbling towards him. Matt tried to catch the glass, but it ended up shattering in his hand. At first, Matt was much more concerned that his iPhone in his pocket was getting wet and ruined, but then we all saw blood. So, the three of us piled in the men's restroom to assess the wound...and yes, it needed further medical attention involving medical supplies that I don't keep in my purse or car. Isaac felt so bad, but Matt was so calm! After calling around to find an urgent care center that was still open and finding none, we ended up at the ER where I filled out Matt's paperwork for him while he and Isaac changed the channel on the waiting room's TV to the national championship football game-priorities, people! Thankfully, the ER was deserted, and Matt was called back quickly after the lady seeking pain pills (sorry, drug seekers are obvious to us medical providers-I call them like I see them!-and she was miraculously healed as she was walking out with her Rx). After about 30 minutes, Matt emerged with a smile on his face and a bandage that made it look like his finger had been completely sliced off, but it added to the drama and laughter. When we got in the car and saw that it was only 9:30pm and we had already had dinner and a trip to the ER, Matt yelled out, "the night is still young!" and off we went in search of ice cream-the healer of all wounds...

So here are Matt, Matt's hilariously huge bandage, Isaac, and their ice cream cones. I about died when Isaac asked Matt in all seriousness while licking his black raspberry ice cream cone, "Matt, do you think Twistee Treat is a franchise?" Pinky and the Brain never stop scheming to take over the world with their entreperunial minds.

3 Months Waiting!

Today marks 3 months on the waiting list for our baby boys! Isaac and I joked that we are through our first trimester since the average wait for a referral is about 9 months long...we are just prepared to be overdue...but hopefully not *too* overdue! To me, since the beginning of the year the preparation to become parents has felt much more real...2011 is here and this is supposed to be THE year! I keep wondering if the boys have been born yet or if they are still developing inside their First Mama's womb. I pray for their First Mama all the time...I don't really know how or what to pray for her so I always pray that she is safe with food in her belly, a roof over her head, clothing on her back, surrounded by people who love her, and that she knows Jesus. While we were on vacation over Christmas, I read this book called "The Hole in Our Gospel" by Richard Stearns. In the book he detailed a trip to meet a widow in Peru who had 5 children and no income, no food, nothing but her faith. He asked her how she went on day after day with no sign of relief coming her way. She told him that she prayed that God would send help...it occurred to him that the help she had prayed for was him, that God chose him to bring help to this poor widow and her children. I wonder if our boys First Mama is praying for God to send help...what a privilege to be an answer to that prayer...what a blessing to become their Forever Mama.

I'm also counting down to the Created For Care adoption conference for moms! Kelly and I are attending the conference together at the beginning of February, and I'm so looking forward to girl time with my best friend and connecting with other adoptive mommas. We are going to learn all about Attachment, Orphan Advocacy, and African American Haircare...awesome!

Crazy Christmas Cruisin'

December 25th, 2010-Day 1

On Christmas afternoon we set off for our long-awaited Christmas cruise on the Norwegian Sun to the Western Caribbean. The ship was decorated for the Christmas season which was a nice touch. It was odd to us to be apart from family that day, but trying something new and non-traditional was just what I needed to get through the holidays while thinking of our children possibly spending their 1st Christmas without us and us without them...

December 26, 2010-Day 2

This is the only picture from the second day of the cruise. We traveled through some really rough seas with 12 foot swells. The waves were so high that they would splash over our window on the fourth deck and our room would go pitch black. I was doing ok until mid-afternoon when the smoke from the casino drifted to where I had found a window seat inside and between the smoky smell, the smell of my self-tanner (it really stunk!), and the motion of the boat, I decided to head down to the room...big mistake. I tried to take a shower thinking that would make me feel better but then this uncontrollable urge to vomit came over me. I turned off the shower with shampoo still in my hair and yelled to Isaac that I thought I was going to be sick-still not sure why I thought he needed to witness this event- and he ran in the bathroom and lifted the lid on the commode just in time. I will never ever forget my sweet hubby asking me if I wanted to rinse the shampoo out of my hair, holding my towel for me, and then unknowingly letting me borrow his toothbrush to get the taste of my mouth-gross, I know. So meet Nora our NCL commode and my BFF for Day 2...

Isaac was completely unfazed by the rough seas and decided to get out of the room for a while that evening around 8:30pm. By 11pm he was still not back yet and in my motion-sick stupor I started having visions of him being blown overboard by the hurricane-like winds. By 11:30pm I decided that I had to find him because I did not want to be the lady on the news whose husband went overboard and she didn't bother to find him until the next day and was then accused of husband homicide. So, I went up to the sports bar where I thought Isaac would be watching Sunday night football...not there. I started to panic and I was starting to feel sick again. I hung on to the walls and made it down to the reception desk and explained that my husband was missing. The lady at reception suggested that I check the Disco-has she met my husband!?!-before I filled out a missing person report and they launched a search team. He was not in the Disco, but I thankfully found him on the next floor chatting it up with his new friends whose wives were also all sick and in bed. Turns out that Isaac had gone ahead and turned his watch back an hour for the next day and didn't know how late it was...I was just glad that I wasn't a cruise widow!

December 27, 2010-Day 3

Hallelujah! We made it to Cozumel, and it was a beautiful day! We signed up for a snorkel excursion and had the best time. The water was almost 80 degrees which was warmer than the air, but the water was gorgeous and the fish and coral were amazing. The crew of the Palancar were awesome and entertained us from the moment we stepped foot on the boat until we said goodbye.

View of my next vacation from the boat-I really want to go back!

Playa Mia Beach Break-we lunched at the excursion company's private beach and then laid under the palm trees until time to go back to the cruise boat.

View from my beach chair-I love vacation.

Self-portrait at Playa Mia.

Lupe, our tour guide, teaching Isaac to dance the Cha-Cha Slide. I told Isaac that I need to take Lupe to weddings with us! He got Isaac to dance the Cha-Cha Slide, YMCA, Do Your Thing, and the Macaranna (sp?). Too much fun.

Goodbye Palancar and Crew-we'll see you again, hopefully!

We topped the day off with dinner at the Italian speciality restaurant-Bene, Bene!

December 28, 2010-Day 4
We made it to Guatemala without any major issues but this is what we saw when we docked: a shipyard. Not exactly the exotic destination I was thinking it would be...reality is that Guatemala is a 3rd world country...no frills here.

Around the bend from the shipyard was a pretty cove, so at least there was some nice scenery to view from the deck until time for our excursion...there was no way I was exploring this port without security.

Enjoying time on the boat while it wasn't moving!

Our shore excursion didn't start until 3:15pm, so we had alot of quiet, down time. We went to the Escobalas Waterfall. This plant is a shrimp plant-I just thought it looked cool.

Isaac jumped right in once we got to the waterfall. I dipped my feet in, but it was too cold for me. Honestly, the waterfall wasn't that impressive, but I guess we can say we hiked through the Guatemalan rainforest to a waterfall over Christmas vacation.

December 29, 2010-Day 5

This was the day Isaac and I were most excited about-Belize! We had chosen this cruise because we wanted to snorkel Belize's barrier reef. We signed up for an excursion to do just that and prepared for the hour ride out to the reef. Even though the day was overcast and a little mild, we knew the water would feel warm once we jumped in and we couldn't wait to see the 2nd largest barrier reef in the world. I thought that signing up for a 7.5 hour snorkel excursion equalled quality and quantity time in the water, but I was wrong. We snorkeled the reef for about 20 short minutes, then they pulled us out of the water to travel to Shark and Sting Ray Alley. We hopped back in to swim with sting rays and nurse sharks for another 20 minutes and then we were done. So disappointing! I cannot tell you how sad I was that we only got 40 minutes in the water. What a bummer, but hey, we can't really complain-we were on vacation in Belize;)

After another long boat ride, we arrived at the Blue Iguana in San Pedro for lunch. The restaurant was actually owned by a couple of guys from North Carolina who had moved to Belize about a year ago.

After walking around San Pedro, we stopped for Isaac to have a shrimp cocktail snack, which would come back to haunt him later...

Self-portrait in San Pedro, Belize.

December 30, 2010-Day 6
Well, I said that shrimp cocktail would come back to haunt him...after we got back on the boat in Belize, Isaac started to feel kinda funny, which turned to nausea. At 1:30am I woke up to Isaac running hurdles over the corner of the bed and chair into the bathroom where he made friends with Nor his NCL commode. Poor guy. We had never gotten sick like that in front of each other in our 6.5 years of marriage until this trip-so suffice it to say that this trip was a bonding experience for us. Luckily, by the afternoon of Day 6, Isaac started feeling better after I made him get out of bed, shower, and come up to the top deck for some fresh air.

December 31, 2010-Day 7
Key West, FL, was the port I was least excited about before the cruise, but actually truly enjoyed and plan to go back soon and take my parents with us. This was the prettiest day weather-wise of the trip, and unfortunately, we only had 3 hours there to cherish it.

We headed straight to the trolley-stop to get a tour of the island and hit the highlights.

We got to see Ernest Hemingway's home, but didn't pay the $50/each to go inside for the tour-maybe next time. But, I did purchase a painting of the home to hang in my kitchen.

The lighthouse is right around the corner from the Hemingway house, and you climb to the top, also for a fee...we passed.

We drove by the Southernmost point in the Continental U.S...we've also been to the Southernmost point in the U.S. in Hawaii.

We had to hit up Kermit's for some key-lime pie-yum!

Pic in front of the Key West courthouse.

Our ship in paradise-finally, and for not long enough!

Isaac wanted to celebrate his good health (and his last "bad" meal before the diet began with the new year) at the French restaurant Le Bistro on New Year's Eve...it was fabulous.

The ship rang in the New Year with Fox News on satelite...we sure were glad we didn't go to NYC and experience the blizzard for Christmas vacation.

Happy New Year!

January 1, 2011-we exited the ship at 8 am and drove home with a little detour to Cracker Barrel on the way. We were blessed to have a great trip and vacationing really did make the holidays easier on me-hopefully, we'll be celebrating Christmas next year as a family of four!