Magazines You Won't Find at the Grocery Store

I was browsing through the magazines the other day and this is what I found...

Cooking For 2
Country Home
All About Beer
Popular Mechanics
CabinetMaker
Tango
Bridal Guide
Figure
Bass Player
Bowhunt America
Camping Life
Rugby
Shark Diver
Industrial Hygiene News
Water Garden News

However I was unable to find these magazines...

Adoption News
Angry Infertile Women
Step-Parent Etiquette
Couples Who Can't Conceive

Oh well. Off to read my Big Game Fishing Journal!

Bloggy Giveaway!

I'm a little late but there's still time to take part in the Fall, Y'all Bloggy Giveaway! After much thought and deliberation I've decided to give away a full size warm fuzzy fleece blanket.



You don't actually get this one - it's mine! You'll get a brand new one and it doesn't have to be this design, there are many to choose from. Just post a comment and your email so I can contact you if you win. At 10 pm on November 3rd I'll randomly pick a winner! This giveaway is open to only US residents as I'll pay for shipping too.

Check out Rocks in My Dryer for more awesome bloggy giveaways! Have fun!

More Movie Thoughts

I've seen previews for the movie Golden Compass and it looked pretty good. Same company that made Lord of the Rings, must be good. Here's some info on the movie though - check it out before taking the kiddos!

http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp

Into The Wild

On Friday night Hubby and I went to the movie Into The Wild* with my brother and his wife. I had read a little about this story, mainly because portions of it was made in our great state of South Dakota.

It was a great movie, very well made. It's depressing, yet hopeful. Sad yet full of joy. Very difficult to put into words how you are feeling when you leave the theatre. It definitely makes a person think about what truly brings happiness. What is it that brings the soul complete peace and satisfaction? We never really know if the main character finds this peace, a peace that I believe is only found through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

I also asked myself if I could do what he did. Leave everything behind - and I mean EVERYTHING and go on a journey into the unknown. Not worrying about what tomorrow will bring or what he would eat or where he would sleep... hmm that sounds familiar (Matthew 6:25). Yes, I do have perfect peace in Jesus Christ, but I also allow myself to get caught up in the things and possessions I have, even my family that I often put before my relationship with Jesus.

It definitely makes one think - and hopefully learn and grow and change to be more like Christ.

*This movie is rated R. We usually don't go to rated R movies (not legalistic there just haven't found many R movies that bring us closer to Christ). When my brother called and invited us we were torn what to do and we shared that with him. So we did alot of research and found out pretty much exactly what was in the movie, when, why, etc. I have to admit I did close my eyes a couple times or Hubby and I would turn and look at each other. I don't regret that we went. I learned from this movie and it has provided many open doors for discussion. I encourage you though, to be diligent in understanding what you will see if you go to this movie, and any R rated movie for that matter. 1 Peter 2:11

It's A Boy

The little one we've been praying for is a boy! The expectant mom had another ultrasound and everything looks good from what the doctor could see. She will be getting some additional test results back next week. The baby's father also attended the doctor's appointment and she said that he still wants to proceed with adoption.

She met with our agency last Monday and has another appointment scheduled, not sure when though. The agency got our last bit of paperwork and payment last Saturday but we still haven't heard anything. I talked to our social worker this week and she'll call us as soon as she gets our information from the agency headquarters so we're trying to be patient!

The baby's due date is January 11th. Trying not to count the days - sometimes it feels like we're counting the minutes! In the meantime we still have a few things left to do around the house - well one major thing - the nursery's not done yet. Whether we adopt this little one or not we're working to get the nursery done so when the time comes we're all set.

Plus I'm working on Princess's scrapbook. The other night I was able to crop all of her baby pictures. We laughed so hard, she was such a goofy baby (not much has changed :-)) Then last Saturday when Hubby and I cleaned out the garage I found 3 more totes full of pictures! Aaahhh! Oh well, I'll never have to say I'm bored!

Call From the Little Man!

Yesterday my phone rang and the caller id said it was the Grandma of our God-child, the little boy we took care of a few years ago. I say hello and low and behold it's the little man himself!

"Hi Missy" says this cute little voice, one that's no longer babyish but so grown up.

We had a wonderful conversation about nothing (he's 3 1/2) although I did find out he's going to dress up like a tiger to go trick or treating. I said, "Can you take a picture for me" and he says "No, we don't have a picture." "-) And he knows his ABC's but wasn't in the mood to recite them and he's coming back to visit in a few months too.

It's amazing that he remembers us. We took care of him from when he was 1 until he was 2 - almost exactly a year and then we've seen him just 2 times since then (they live way far away from us!). Thankfully we get to talk on the phone but we don't call nearly enough. His mom and grandma and grandpa have done a great job of helping him remember us and we're so grateful.

The picture on the side bar of my blog is a picture of him and his older brother. That was when we went and saw them last June. Talking to him is so wonderful but it also makes my heart ache to give him a great big hug. We're so thankful for him and his family. It also makes me long for little ones in our home. I'm trusting God with that though and in the meantime can't wait for the next call from the little man!

It's a Jeep Thing!

Ok, finally! A picture of Hubby's Jeep. He has wanted a Jeep Wrangler since the day he was born. We were finally able to get one for him this Spring. Then he needed to get bigger tires and put a lift kit on it (basically make it so high that me and Princess can hardly get in!). He bought his tires and everything he needed for the lift kit in June or July but it wasn't until a few weeks ago that he finally took the time to finish his precious Jeep! He's been too busy working on the basement and other things for me - what a guy!

Anyway - doesn't he look great with his Jeep!

Here are some other pictures of us. We went to the park tonight and played!

Things I Did On Saturday

Although I didn't get my whole list done we had a busy, productive day so I guess I should be happy with that.

1. Slept in - if you call 8:17 am sleeping in - that's sleeping in for me.
2. Read my chronological bible - I just bought it a few days ago and it's so cool - alot of historical information.
3. Prince (Pat's son) came over and we hung out and then he took our humungous old tv (Yahoo!! We've been trying to get rid of that thing for weeks!).
4. Hubby and I went and got lunch and then sat at the "Goose Park" - a really cool park with a pond and 100's of geese and then drove to a few stores to look for nursery decorating ideas.
5. Got home and took a nap with Hubby.
6. Hubby and I CLEANED THE GARAGE! It only took us 3 hours and now we can get both our vehicles in the garage. It's amazing!
7. Did about 1/2 the laundry.
8. We drove over to Prince's new apartment (first time on his own!) and then went to Wally World and got him stocked up with groceries and things he needed for the apartment.
9. Came home, made out a menu for the next week and 1/2 and then went back to Wally World and got groceries for us along with a bunch of other stuff we really didn't need! We decided our "theme" for the nursery will be Winnie the Pooh (ya! Hubby wasn't so sure at first but I convinced him :-)) and we found a crib set (we already have the crib).
10. Relax, blog, watch "Jon and Kate Plus 8", off to bed soon.

Hope you have a blessed weekend!

Things I'm Going To Do Saturday

Not necessarily in this order...

1. Sleep in
2. Clean the bathrooms
3. Paint our bedroom
4. Clean the old office/Princess's room which will be the baby's room
5. Work on Princess's picture book
6. Pick up poop in the backyard (oohh can't wait!)
7. Get a massage
8. Work on our profile book for adoption
9. Read my chronological bible
10. Do the laundry
11. Get Princess's comforter dry cleaned
12. Make a menu and get groceries

Ok, how 'bout I just focus on #1 and skip the rest! That sounds much better.

What are you doing on Saturday?

The First Meeting

We met with the young lady considering us for adoption today at 1:00 at a friend's house. We were so nervous. Well actually I was nervous, Hubby said he was just excited. Even though we know anything can happen it was still very cool.

It was quite uncomfortable in the beginning. I'm thankful our friend and friend's daugther (the one who made the connection with us) were there. They asked most of the questions as we just sat there! Hubby actually did most of the talking. I was so proud if him - I haven't heard him talk that much in.... well, I don't know that I've heard him talk that much ever!

We found out we have alot in common. Her and the father are artists and they really want a family that is artistic and will encourage the baby to be artistic. So we were able to share about my drama, Hubby's art, photography and graphic design and Princess's art, photography and writing. That was cool. And then she also loves horses and all animals so she wasn't the least bit shocked about our 3 puppies. Now that's a miracle! :-)

It would be an open adoption, but we don't know yet how open she is thinking. We were excited to hear that she'll be meeting with our adoption agency on Monday so hopefully after that meeting we'll learn more.

It was very exciting to meet with her today but we know we have a long road ahead of us. Although it's only about 14 weeks til the baby is born (approximately 3rd week of January) there's alot that could happen between now and then.

We so appreciate your prayers! For the mom and dad, for us, for the baby, for paperwork, for the mom's family.

Laughing Out Loud With A Mouth Full Of Ice Cream

Oh it's good to laugh. It's good to eat ice cream. It's really good to laugh and eat ice cream all at the same time. Tonight after youth group four of us "old" ladies and a few of the kids were hanging out chowing down on ice cream like we hadn't eaten in six days. We had Twix ice cream bars, Snickers ice cream bars, Dove ice cream bars, Butterfinger ice cream bars, juice pop things and super duper chocolately rich yummy dessert leftover from the Day Spa.

Now I'm not going to tell you how many ice cream bars I ate. Let's just say I'm not going to be able to eat tomorrow or the next day or the next. But that's ok, it was worth it. It was so yummy good. And ice cream tastes so much more yummier when you're hanging out and laughing with friends. The funny thing is that we were sharing struggles, frustrations, sorrows and trials that we are going through right now.

And then we'd eat another ice cream bar. And then we'd laugh. It was awesome.

Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them." Psalm 126:2

Prayer Request

Please pray for my cousin Amy. She is very sick and has only a few days to live. She's just 42 years old. Pray for her family too, her husband and two boys and her extended family.

Speak to us Lord!

Today we met with Barb, she's a nurse that works with the Creighton Model. We're meeting with her mainly because I've felt so icky lately but also to possibly look at our fertility options. I've already been charting for about 3 weeks and after our meeting today she said she could recognize some things that are not working right, which could be any or all of the following: hormonal imbalance, endomedtriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, scar tissue from my previous surgeries. So I continue to chart for at least 2 months before she'll make a recommendation but she said because of the pain I've been experiencing it wouldn't hurt to make an appointment with the OBGYN Creighton Model Specialist that she works with. I did that and can't get in to see her until November 26th so we will have a little over 2 months of charting. Barb gave me a book about Creighton Model patients and based on my other research, this book and my symptons I'm pretty sure they are going to recommend that I'll need surgery to remove the scar tissue/endomedtriosis that I probably have.

So right now we're real challenged to know what God's will is. I do not want to have another surgery. I feel like we'd be throwing away money for a slight chance to conceive when we could put that money towards an adoption (but at the same time we are also doing this so I can feel better). I would probably be open to have a laproscopy but that's what they tried 3 years ago and the adhesions and such was too severe.

We also don't know if we should put the adoption on hold through this process of seeing the doctor. As I cried with Hubby tonight I told him I don't care how we add to our family, I just want to know God's will and do that.

Speaking of adoption our meeting with an expectant mom will be Thursday at 1:00. We appreciate your prayers as we seek God's will through the adoption process and the treatment of my wacked out body! :-)

Journey Into The Land of The Unknown

It has begun again - that journey of excitement, anxiousness, hoping, wondering, praying, trusting - the journey of the unknowns of an adoption.

Last week a friend of ours told us about a young lady that's due in January. Yesterday we learned that she wants to meet us. We'll be meeting with her either tomorrow night or Wednesday.

We appreciate your prayers!

I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. Psalm 63:4

Hello stranger!

I know it's been a few days since I blogged. Hubby has been accusing me of having a blogging addiction so I had to prove him wrong! You'd think he'd be impressed that I haven't blogged or even turned on the computer for 3 days. But no, he just says "you've been too busy...you didn't have time to blog anyway." Ya whatever, there's always time to blog!

Anyway, I have been busy. Today was our Day Spa for Women and it was amazing! Very exhausting. The last few days have been full of talking to mom about supplies and plans, preparing a message to share, memorizing a skit plus trying to get all my work done at my job and keep the house somewhat in order. We had about 20 women come today and the Lord's Spirit really moved. It's so humbling to be a part of His work. You can check out our Day Spa for Women blog here - Ya, I got my mom addicted, I mean excited about blogging! :-)

So pray for the women that came to the Day Spa today that the time they had with the Lord today would renew them and refresh them and they would sense the God's Spirit with them each and every day.

I know, I know... I promised a picture of hubby's Jeep. Good news, we found the battery charger for our camera and it's charging as I type. So hopefully tomorrow I'll post that picture for ya!

A Great Birthday Dinner!

Princess made Hubby's entire birthday dinner last night. She did a great job! We had Grilled Turkey Club Quesadillas, Bacon Cheese and Potato Chowder and for dessert Berry Cheese Rolls (the recipe was just blueberry but we added raspberries). We found some cute dinosaur candles to decorate the dessert in addition to the "3" and the "9".

Prince wasn't able to make it for supper but came over later and watched Monday night football with Hubby. It was a great night!

Thanks again Lord for blessing us beyond what we could ever imagine!

Happy Birthday Hubby!

Yes, it's Hubby's birthday today, October 8th. In honor of his birthday I thought I would pick a random number...hhmmm, let's say 39... and tell you 39 things that I love about Hubby.

1. He tells me he loves me every day
2. He gives me kisses every day
3. He is a wonderful daddy
4. He's taught our puppies cool tricks
5. He loves the Lord
6. He leads our family in devotions every night
7. He leads our family in prayer at every meal
8. He teases my mom and dad and brothers and sisters
9. He gives great bear hugs
10. He can fix anything
11. He can build anything
12. He knows everything about building and fixing things
13. He loves his football team (Patriots)
14. But not so much that our family time is neglected
15. He watches chick flicks with me
16. He wrestles with Princess (and often loses!)
17. He's a kid at heart
18. He loves his mom
19. He's an amazing artist
20. He's creative and can visualize just about anything
21. He writes really great cards on my birthday and anniversary
22. He loves flowers
23. When one of us is out of town he'll chat with me on msn messenger
24. He's a great cook
25. He never uses a recipe and it always comes out tasting amazing (how do you do that??)
26. He usually helps clean the house w/o complaining (usually!)
27. He gives great back rubs
28. He chaperones the all nighter youth events
29. He appreciates a beautiful sunset
30. His favorite part of the paper is the comic strip
31. He supports my blogging addiction
32. He helps Princess study her Vocab words
33. He's competitive but not so much that it's annoying
34. He makes me laugh
35. He likes to rock out to loud music
36. He wants to adopt two kids (possibly at the same time)
37. He often sacrifices for me or the kids
38. He desires for others to know Jesus
39. He's all mine!

Words To Live By

Take a moment and read this post from Boothe - you'll be blessed.

Update

I know I promised a picture of Hubby's Jeep but my camera died so you'll have to wait a day or so til I find my battery charger.

We had our orientation today with the agency that will be doing our adoption home study. It was a great day. There were 9 couples there and it was a good time of learning and sharing. As you know in June when we started this process we felt led to adopt through Ethiopia. After collecting our dossier paperwork we sensed the Lord telling us to wait with Ethiopia. And then we had the situation with the twins which we thought was our answer to prayer. So since then we've been praying about how God wants us to proceed.

Today we heard about domestic adoption and the international programs that the agency (New Horizons) offers. The intl programs are Guatemala (in limbo now because of govt issues), Sri Lanka (the only agency in the US able to place through that country) and Liberia (a very new program). Our hearts were tugged at Libera because the process takes only about a month. The ENTIRE process! Wow! And that program is fairly inexpensive too.

But at the same time we both feel the most peace about domestic adoption of an infant. Since we are open to any nationality or race the wait hopefully won't be too long. We heard stories of families waiting just weeks so that's what we're praying and hoping for, but we're also preparing our hearts for the average wait of 1 year.

So there's really no new news. We are still moving along with our home study and from there we wait more. The good news or at least what we feel good about is not having to complete USCIS government paperwork (required for intl adoptions)!

We also met a couple from our home town that is adopting. We exchanged information and are excited to develop a friendship with them. We'll have the same social worker and are at about the same place in the adoption process. It will be good to have that additional support.

We appreciate your continued prayers and will keep you posted!

Take My Breath Away

Any Top Gun fans? The theme song "Take My Breath Away" was a big hit and lately I've been living it. And oh how I wish I could say it was because of my handsome and amazing hubby. Nope...it's all those darn chip bags.

So I wake up Wednesday morning to a horribly sore back. Come Wednesday night it's not just sore, its shooting pain down my right side and literally taking my breath away every time I move. So I get home from youth group on Wednesday night (by the way, the switched bags of chips were a big hit!) and hubby is grunting and groaning. He goes on to tell me how he was working on his Jeep (stay tuned for a Jeep update tomorrow night) and he was trying to get a nut off and wrenched his back!

So later on we're laying in bed. We're rolling around trying to find a comfortable position, grunting, groaning, moaning and breathless... oh how I wish I could say it was because of my handsome and amazing hubby.

Darn Jeep and chip bags...

Things to do that cause extreme back pain and muscle spasms

Open 50 bags of chips
Empty contents into bowls
Fill bags up with different kinds of chips
Reseal bags with glue stick

Open Your Eyes

A devotion by Princess...

Are you aware of everything God has done for you? Are you thankful of what He does? Every breath, every sunny day, every rain cloud, every loss. Its all for you! Its all to help you understand His love for you, and to grow closer to Him.

Yes, loss hurts, but look beyond what you lost. In that loss run to Jesus. Let Him comfort you and carry your burden. That is the blessing, Jesus can help us even though we aren’t perfect, and He does it willingly.

Do you run around outside with your eyes shut? As your drive to go get your daily coffee fix are your eyes shut? NO! So why do we walk around with our eyes shut to Jesus? Why are we not afraid of crashing without Jesus? Why can’t we throw our eyes open and look directly at the one who saves?

Because we sin. But He died so we could approach Him. We don’t have an excuse anymore, so stop looking for one. God has given us everything we need, and more. So stop. Think of all Jesus is blessing you with. Praise Him. Praise Him again, and again, and again.

Learning From a Bag of Chips

I'd like to share with you another chapter in the life of the most boring person in the world. Hang on to your hats!

After work I stopped at the store and purchased 40 bags of snack size chips. All different kinds. Then after supper, Hubby headed to the garage again to work on his Jeep (almost done, ya!).

I take out all the bags of chips and then I took one bag of Doritos and one bag of Cheetos. I empty the chips into a bowl (Doritos in one bowl, Cheetos in another). I then put the Doritos into the Cheetos bag and the Cheetos into the Doritos bag. Then I take a glue stick and glue the bags back together - oh ya, I forgot a step. I had to earlier carefully open the bag so it could be sealed back up.

"WHAT! Have you lost your mind?" you ask. Nope - just another night in the life of the most boring person in the world!

Ok, there is a purpose but first I'll finish my story. So I do the switch-a-roo on about 15 bags and the door bell rings. It's my beloved friend Liz, coming to spend an exciting evening with me! Now that's what I call friendship! So we finish all 40 bags and they actually look pretty good - you can't really tell they've been tampered with.

So the purpose of all this craziness... Tomorrow night at youth group Pastor Paul will be sharing a message "So, you want to be like Christ?". We'll provide snacks for the kids but when they open their snack - SURPRISE! - not quite what they were expecting. And Pastor Paul will be able to share how living for Christ means what's on the inside and the outside should be the same.

I think it's a clever example of how we often live our life. Sometimes we are walking with Christ on the inside but we allow fear and doubts to overtake us and we fail to live for Christ on the outside. And then sometimes we have a hard heart or are not walking with Christ on the inside but on the outside we put on a mask and pretend to be someone we are not and act like all is right with the world.

Oh, how Jesus wants us to be real. To come to Him daily with our doubts and fears, sorrow and joy. One of my favorite verses is Romans 12:15, "Rejoice with those that rejoice, and weep with those who weep." It's ok to take off the happy face mask and weep. To let Him not only live in our hearts but live in every part of our soul and every part of our life.

What started out as another boring night for me ended with a great time hanging out with a good friend, having a yummy snack (chips of course!) and being reminded of the great joy that's found in being the chip, ur, I mean person we were created to be!

Headaches and Hormones

(Once again - a post with information that you could probably care less about. I recently won an award for the most boring life in the entire universe and I'm sorry but this is all I have to talk about!)

Guess what! I'm fertile! LOL. I couldn't wait to say that.

So I had my first appointment last Friday with my new doctor. She tells me, "You need to get rid of this mental roadblock you have that you are infertile. I never want to hear you say that word again. Yes, God may give you children through adoption but He also might give you children biologically. You are fertile."

Ok! After my appointment I go back to work and all the ladies ask me how my appointment went. "I'm fertile!" I say. Ya, maybe I had a mental roadblock but I'm sorry I just can't keep saying that to people!

Anyway so as I shared with you on Saturday my headache got worse on Friday night and Saturday and Sunday. So I'm thinking for sure I have a tumor and I'm so going to die any minute. Then I realized I hadn't had a soda since Thursday night. This is the lady that has a Mt Dew for breakfast, usually one for lunch and then at least one or two more throughout the rest of the day. So yes, I'm drinking water like my new doctor has instructed but I also went cold turkey on the Dew and my brain was having a serious withdrawal.

Today I had another treatment and it went well. She did some work on my neck to help relieve the headache and it actually did help. I see the other doctor tomorrow that will hopefully provide us some more natural ways for me to most importantly feel better but also increase our chances of taking advantage of this fertile body of mine! :-)

I changed my mind about not saying that word. I think when the doctor comes into the examination room and asks me how I am, I'm going to say, "I'm fertile!".