3 Years...

Three years have now passed since we started the adoption process.  While we have many wonderful memories from the last 3 years, getting a referral, traveling to ET, meeting our children and bringing them home are not a part of our memory of the last 3 years as we would have thought.  I'm not going to lie, it is kinda depressing.  We do have hope that this is the year in which we will make these memories.

Over the last 3 years, the Lord has been so faithful to send me encouragement through many avenues, but He often speaks to me through songs while I'm in the car and praying about our adoption or for our boys while I drive.  A song by Plumb recently came out that really expresses my recent attitude towards this long journey we are on towards our forever family.

"Need You Now (How Many Times)"

Well, everybody's got a story to tell
And everybody's got a wound to be healed
I want to believe there's beauty here
'Cause oh, I get so tired of holding on
I can't let go, I can't move on
I want to believe there's meaning here

How many times have you heard me cry out
"God please take this"?
How many times have you given me strength to
Just keep breathing?
Oh I need you
God, I need you now.

Standing on a road I didn't plan
Wondering how I got to where I am
I'm trying to hear that still small voice
I'm trying to hear above the noise

How many times have you heard me cry out
"God please take this"?
How many times have you given me strength to
Just keep breathing?
Oh I need you
God, I need you now.

Though I walk,
Though I walk through the shadows
And I, I am so afraid
Please stay, please stay right beside me
With every single step I take

How many times have you heard me cry out?
And how many times have you given me strength?

How many times have you heard me cry out
"God please take this"?
How many times have you given me strength to
Just keep breathing?
Oh I need you
God, I need you now.

I need you now
Oh I need you
God, I need you now.
I need you now
I need you now

Looking forward to seeing how our story unfolds and God knits our family together.  We are ready to bring our babies home.

Arbonne 30- Day Detox Week #1

In an effort to get healthier this year, I jumped on board with the Arbonne 30-day Detox Plan.  

(Disclaimer: I'm not an Arbonne representative, just a consumer.  My friend Megan introduced me to this healthy eating plan.  I'm blogging about the plan because I found very few consumer reviews online and if this plan works, I'd like to share my experience.  The science behind the plan made perfect sense to me on paper-we'll see how it translates to real life!)  

The plan is basically two protein shakes per day instead of breakfast and lunch with added fiber, two snacks consisting of fit chews and energy fizz drinks, two Metabolism Boosts supplements per day, and detox tea.  I am eating a healthy, sensible dinner nightly.  The first week I completed the 7-day Body Cleanse in addition to the rest of the products to jump-start the detox and weight loss.

At the end of Week #1, I am down 2.5 pounds.  I do feel like I have more energy especially in the afternoons when I am usually ready for a nap after lunch.  I've also been able to increase my weights during high-repetition weight training workouts from 5 to 8 lbs.  Overall, I feel great and looking forward to seeing more results in the next 3-4 weeks.

In addition to the Arbonne plan, I've been rereading through Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst and going through the devotional with the accountability of a close friend.  I have always been an emotional eater, and I know that I need to take those emotions to the Lord instead of drowning my sorrows in a bowl of ice cream, or whatever my craving is that particular day.  Overeating is a spiritual battle for me, it's not just about the calories consumed or the number on the scale or what size I wear.  Although, I do desire to be a skinny Jesus-loving girl!

Merry Christmas and Goodbye Gladney

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Our latest adoption news includes an official goodbye to the Gladney Center for Adoption as our adoption agency.  We've been with Gladney for almost 3 years, and after coming home from Africa this summer God made it very clear to us that it was His time for us to move on (my time would have been much sooner, but we believe that His ways are higher than our ways).  To make a very long story short, we had to redo all of our paperwork, and once our new dossier was ready to go we said goodbye Gladney and hello to a new agency...

And we are happy to announce...

Christmas in Ethiopia is celebrated on January 7th, 2013...please pray with us for our referrals for our boys by Christmas!!!

Thanksgiving 2012

This Thanksgiving we convinced most of Isaac's family to come to FL for the holiday.  Everybody in the stateside family minus one in-law was able to make it down for the long weekend.  We had a full house and had a blast.

Unfortunately, Thanksgiving Eve Isaac started to come down with a stomach bug.  At first, we thought it was a one-time freak bathroom incident because he felt "fine".  I woke him up Thanksgiving morning to get the turkeys going (yes, plural-one for the oven, one for the Green Egg) and he sat up straight in bed, launched out of bed and into the bathroom for round #2.  Suffice it to say, it. was. ugly.  Isaac had to miss the golf outing he had planned with his brothers and stayed home in bed with Gracie and Shadow.  He managed in between trips to the bathroom to start the Green Egg.  I got the turkeys in the oven and on the grill while finishing up the side dishes with the help of the ladies and tending to Isaac.  Thankfully, the bug only lasted 24 hours and no one else got sick!!!

Isaac firing up the grill

The Green Egg and the turkey ready to be smoked.

Family hanging out

Abby and Donna

Jan with the grandsons, Caleb and Daniel

Playing cornhole while waiting for the turkey to finish

Daniel and Donna with Jack

Gabe and Sammy

Isaac and Alyse

The delicious smoked turkey...it definitely won the turkey contest! 

Eating Thanksgiving Dinner

Aaron with child, Kyle, Katie, and Isaac playing Euchre

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Isaac feeling much better and loading up on leftovers!

The day after Thanksgiving we had planned on going to the beach but it was just too cool.  Daniel told us that he had never seen a manatee before and we knew just the place to take him to change that.  We all went down to the Manatee Viewing Center at the Big Bend Power Plant for a manatee adventure.

Manatee Daniel with Manatee Isaac

Daniel and Abby

Kyle and Isaac 

Gabe and Donna

Sammy and Alyse

Aaron and Katie

Isaac and Daniel checking out the manatees

Daniel learning all about Manatees and the way that God created them. 

After the manatees, we took the family to Circles for lunch, one of our favorite restaurants when we lived near Apollo Beach.  We enjoyed their awesome crab and spinach dip and grouper bites-yum!

Caleb and Kyle chillin' on the bay 

Donna, Sammy, and Alyse

Alyse, Katie, Aaron, Daniel

Katie and Aaron with cutey Caleb 

Jan enjoying her grandbaby

Thanksgiving was a great time spent with family.  We hope to have everyone down to FL again soon!

Neale & Kari's Wedding Week

For once, my brother Neale had a brilliant idea...get married to Kari in the Dominican Republic!  We were totally on-board for attending this destination wedding...as if we would miss my brother's wedding no matter where it was taking place...but we were really looking forward to a vacation on a gorgeous island.  We were not disappointed!  Here's the wedding week in photos...enjoy!

View of the resort from our room

Awesome gift bags Kari prepared for us!

Out to dinner

Perry (my baby brother) and I

Kari's family ladies...NaNee, Chris, April & Kari

Josh and Perry take bowling very seriously.

High five...love it.

My husband is an amazing bowler...well, compared to me;)

Perry riding the flying eagle...you just had to be there...

I napped and my camera got hacked by Isaac and Neale,
and now I know that I'm no sleeping beauty.

Last day as singles...Neale & Kari

Neale, Perry, and the masked Joey

Isaac and I on the ATV adventure

Hidden beach...could be a postcard

Tres Amigos

Brothers smoking cigars...

...so I joined in too.

Chip and Perry..."Chip" was my dad's cover name in the Dominican-walmart

Isaac cannon-balled it into a cave pool

Neale & Kari at their rehearsal dinner

Me & my Mama

Mom & Dad with Me & Isaac

Neale, Kari, Chris, John, April, & Mr. Kyle

Bachelorette

Megan, Kari, April, and Kyle 

Dad and Neale getting ready for the wedding.

Perry & Mom getting ready to walk down the aisle.

Love this pic.
Notice the armed guard between my parents' heads...
Perry looks like their body guard.

Kari & Neale getting married.

Mom and Chris after the ceremony.

Dad and John after the ceremony.
...notice the contrast between the moms and dads!

Toasting to our new family member!

Isaac and Perry 

Mom and Dad...toasting to Neale getting married off!

One big happy Smeesh Family!

Wedding dinner.

Wedding dancing.

Here are a few of the professional pictures...

Beautiful Bride Kari

Mr. Kyle walking Kari down the aisle

The wedding week was awesome!  I may be biased, but Neale and Kari's wedding was the most beautiful wedding I've ever been to...God blessed them with a gorgeous day and family and friends to share it with, and a lifetime to share together.  We love you, Neale & Kari!