Well, I am back to my old blogging habits, or should I say NON-blogging habits. Sorry, I'll try to do better!

Recipe for a Great Day

Wake up at 5:15am and start with a healthy breakfast.

Soak in a hot bubble bath for 20 minutes.

Roll hair, add a touch of lip gloss, and throw on a cute
outfit with some sassy boots.


Now you have an adorable 10 year old ready for a great day at school.

Finally Fall

I love this time of year! I would be happy if it stayed like this all year long. Soon it will be Halloween, which is one of our favorite holidays. I love to see the kids in their little costumes. Gracee still loves to dress up and I get to make her a special costume every year. I have no idea what she wants to be this year. I'm sure it will be something complicated that I have to make in two days. She is like her Mama Heather and tends to procrastinate when it comes to making these kinds of decisions, but I am sure she will be adorable in whatever we throw together.

Happy Birthday Pookie!

We celebrated Mark's 38th birthday last night with a few friends and family. It was nice to get together and eat and hang out. Since the beginning of the summer we have been so busy that gatherings have been almost impossible, but we actually had a free weekend to have some fun. We grilled steaks for everyone and made lots of desserts. You can't have a party in the south without a ton of food, you know! We all had a great time and are looking for an excuse to have another party as soon as possible!

Back to Blogging

Well, it has been a long, long, long time since I blogged, so in an attempt to rejoin the blogging world I have decided to update my blog. Please excuse me while I update everything including my links. I actually have high speed Internet now so I can do so much more than before. It is just taking me a while to learn how to do it!

The reason I started this blog was to share our adoption with all of our friends and family. Unfortunately, the adoption situation has been pretty uneventful over the last 3 1/2 years and my motivation to blog has been somewhat lacking. That will be changing very soon! We expect our referral in the next few months, so there will be lots to blog about then. Until then I will try to keep everyone happy with postings about our unexciting, yet sometimes very complicated, lives.

Getting ready to move!

Just four weeks ago our new

house looked like this ...........

and, if everything goes as scheduled, in

about four months it should look

something like this ...........

I cannot tell you how excited we are about our upcoming move. I know some people swear after building a house for the first time that they will never do it again, but we are loving every minute of it. In fact, this is our second time to build, but we sold the first house to pay our fertility debt and start our adoption............money well spent! It can be a little crazy at times because there are so many decisions to make, and with Mark working away from home, I am the one that has to make most of them. Being a complete control freak I don't mind at all! This house will be so special to me because I designed it myself. I wanted a big enough house to adopt more kids in the future, and I don't think we will be outgrowing it for many years to come. Some of our new neighbors are a little puzzled by a childless couple building a house big enough for the "Brady Bunch!" but we plan to fill up every bedroom with kids in the future.

Happy Birthday Mark !

Today my wonderful husband of thirteen

years is celebrating his 37th birthday.

I am so blessed to have this man in my life. Mark is so much more than a great husband, he is my best friend. After spending so many years together I am continually amazed by his sincerity and ever-growing affection for those in his life. I am told on a regular basis by Mark's family, friends, and even his coworkers that he has a tremendous influence in all aspects of their lives. What a compliment to be paid! To know that your are so admired for the way you live your life. Last Sunday in church the pastor delivered a sermon about investing in people rather than material things. He spoke of people leaving a legacy behind when their gone rather than just belongings. As he listed examples of what we could do in our own lives to leave behind such a legacy, I was reminded of what a wonderful man Mark is. He lives his life to be a devoted husband to me, a loving father figure to Gracee, a responsible leader to his coworkers, and a positive role model to his friends. God has given me such a precious gift to be able to share my life with such a wonderful man, and I can only hope to be as important in his life as he is in mine.

Update!

I know I've been a terrible blogger lately. We have had a busy year so far, and I expect the chaos to continue through the holidays. Here is an update of what's been going on with us.



- The adoption is still on! (Despite some of our relatives thinking that it has been put on hold!) Referrals are still trickling in at a slow pace. Some folks believe that now that the Olympics is over that things will speed up over the next few months. IF they do, I think it will be more because of the new matching system and the number of families dropping out than the publicity surrounding the Olympics. Hopefully by this time next year we will have a daughter or be preparing to travel to China.



- We had another awesome summer with Gracee and had hopes a few months ago that she would be back with us on a full time basis. Unfortunately, this is not going to happen, and we have accepted this and are just thankful that we are allowed to see her as much as we do.



- We have FINALLY started our house and what an adventure it has been! We had several snags in the planning process which was the reason for our earlier delays, but once we had the floor plan worked out it was smooth sailing. Actually TOO smooth! Because the housing market is so slow right now we have the sub-contractors on our job as soon as we are ready for them without any delays. It is now moving faster than I anticipated so it can be a little overwhelming at times. If things keep progressing at this speed, we could be in by Christmas!



- We celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary in August!



- We got pre-approved for our future Foster Care adoptions!



- And most important....we are all healthy and happy!

~ Tagged ~

I have been tagged about four times this week, and I promise I will TRY to get to them in the next few days. I thought I would do this one from Kimmie first since it is the most unusual tag I have ever received.

Tagged

Are you a frugal shopper or a big spender?
How much did you spend the last time you purchased the following items, and what brand did you buy?

Lipstick

Revlon Colorstay, about $2 at Hudson’s

Shoes for yourself

Spira Running shoes, $130

Bread

Sarah Lee Wheat, $1.87

Movie ticket

The Grand, $7.50

Television

Sanyo LCD, $725

Take out meal

Subway Club combo, $3.99 with coupon

Hairspray

Tigi Bed Head, $13.95

Underwear for yourself

Bra, $22.50 (not sure of brand)

Gift for your spouse

Playstation 3 Game - Oblivion IV, $59.99

Bottled Water

Sam’s choice 12 pack, $2.50

Hotel room

Holiday Inn, $149

Frozen dinner

Lean Cuisine, $2.68

Clothing for your child

4 Old Navy tees for Gracee, 2 for $10

Jeans for yourself

2 pair Lane Bryant, $39.50 each

Kitchen Utensil

1 Kitchen Aid spatula, $ 5.99

Bubble Bath

Victoria's Secret Desire, $9.50

OTC medication

Generic Benadryl, $3.97

Shoes for your spouse

Spira running shoes for Mark, $130

Haircut for yourself

Robert E. Douglas Salon, $45

Scented candle

Yankee Candle, $7.99 on clearance

DVD

Pirates of the Caribbean #3 on Blue Ray, $24.95

Dry cleaning

Bucko’s, $42.00

Shampoo/Conditioner

Bath and Body Works Orange Ginger, $10 each

Barbeque sauce

Great Value, $1.50(about)

Book

Beowulf, $24.95

I tag..........Margie, Adele, Sophie, Christie D. and Christie H.

Happy Chinese New Year!

~ 2008 ~
Year of the Rat!

May this year be filled with blessings and new beginnings.