Tagged

I was tagged by my sweet friend, Melissa... so here's 8 THINGS ABOUT ME...

8 TV Shows I Watch:

1. The Office

2. 24

3. Grey's Anatomy

4. Private Practice

5. Brothers & Sisters

6. Criminal Minds

7. The Fringe

8. The Hills (I'm not ashamed...)

8 Favorite Restaurants:

1. Hibiscus

2. Bob's Steak & Chop House

3. Coal Vines

4. PF Changs

5. Taverna

6. Piranhas

7. Ferre Ristorante

8. In & Out Burger

8 Things That Happened Today: 

It was a VERY exciting day...hahaha!

1. Development meeting/work stuff

2. Laundry

3. Checked on Sammy (my in-laws dog)

4. worked out

5. cleaned the upstairs

6. ate lunch at Chick-Fil-A

7. talked to my mom, sister, and Jayme (have several more mesgs to return...I haven't forgotten you all!)

8. will be taking down the Christmas decorations tonight

8 Things I Look Forward To:

1. MEETING BABY P!!!  =)

2. Our 7th wedding anniversary

3. Trip to Maui in March

4. The New Year's Eve "Party of the Year" =)

5. Visiting Joe & Candice in NYC

6. Having all of the Christmas decorations down (it will be quite the undertaking)

7. A lazy weekend ahead

8. My 30th Bday

8 Things I Wish For:

1. The phone call from our attorney telling us we've been chosen by a birth mother!

2. A good relationship/meeting with the birthmother.

3. Continually growing and seeking the Lord

4. Always "keeping it real"

5. Continued health for our families

6. Unlimited travel funds

7. A housekeeper =)

8. Our little company to take off 

8 Songs I Just Listened To:

1. Be OK - Ingrid Michaelson

2. On Call - Kings of Leon

3. Diamonds on the Inside - Ben Harper

4. That Dress Looks Nice On You - Sufjan Stevens

5. A Dustland Fairytale - The Killers

6. I'd Rather Be With You - Joshua Radin

7. Phantom Limb - The Shins

8. Orange Sky - Alexi Murdoch

8 Movies I Love:

1. Love Actually

2. Spanglish

3. Tombstone

4. Garden State

5. The Princess Bride

6. Office Space

7. The Departed

8. Reality Bites

8 People I Tag:

1. Neely Floyd

2. Candice Peterson

3. Kym Tucker

4. Blaire Bender

5. Shelly Vandiver

6. Jaime Ferguson

7. Amy Burchfield

8. Amanda Christian

Christmas 2008

Wow...I've missed blogland!  Is that sad?  Haha.  So much to update about our wonderful Christmas...I don't even know where to begin!  Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of pictures yet...most of them were taken by the family photographers (my sister, Neely, and my mother-in-law, Carol).  As soon as I get some pictures, I will be sure to post them as well.  To keep this as concise as possible (and due to my obsession with making lists)...  I'll narrow down our fun memories to the following...  

TOP 10 HAPPENINGS FROM A PETERSON CHRISTMAS:

1.  ROTAVIRUS

Ok...so this first one isn't so fun.  I kicked off our holiday break with the oh-so-lovely Rotavirus.  Ugg.  N-A-S-T-Y is the only word to sum it up.  If you don't know what this is, pray that you never do.  Our good friend from college, Brenner, was staying at our house during these couple of days and I didn't get to spend any time at all with him.  I was quarantined to the back of our house and I don't think I left the bedroom one time.  I would just text Ben with what I needed and he dropped it off outside the door...sweet husband. =)  Thankfully, neither Brenner nor Ben got the virus... and after several days of recovery and bleaching every last thing I touched... we finally moved on and were able to enjoy the rest of the holidays.

2. THE MEYERSON SYMPHONY CENTER

My mom, Neely, and I had a fabulous girls night when we went and listened to the Dallas Wind Symphony's Christmas Extravaganza.  It was beautiful and so much fun!  We got to sit in the choir loft behind the orchestra and I truly enjoyed every minute of the program...even our overly excited neighbor sitting next to my sister who whooped, laughed, and gave us her commentary through the entire program.  =)  We got some great pictures at the symphony center... so send 'em on when you can, Neely!

3. PETERSON/FLOYD GAME NIGHT

My family and Ben's family all got together on Tuesday evening for dinner and a VERY competitive double 12's game.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to finish the entire game because Ben's youngest brother, Jeff, was literally falling asleep at the table due to lack of sleep from his camping trip...  so we still don't know who the true winner is.  And just in case you're wondering, it would have been me.  Haha.  In all seriousness, I love that both of our families get along so well and can have fun evenings like that - we are truly blessed!

4. CHRISTMAS EVE

Ben and I spent Christmas Eve with my family this year and had an absolute blast!  We went to the FBC Keller Christmas Eve service where we enjoyed seeing a lot of old friends... then we headed back to my parents house where Mom started a new tradition...  She catered in Hot Damn Tamales for Christmas Eve dinner...YUM!!!  After dinner, we spent the next several hours opening gifts... which brings me to #5 in our list...

5. THE WHITTEN FOOTBALL

...that's right... my Dad got Ben a signed Whitten football...which you can see from the picture he absolutely LOVED!

As usual, both sides of our family did way too much Christmas... I can't say enough how truly blessed we all are.  

6. CHRISTMAS DAY

Christmas continued for Ben and I as we moved to his parent's house on Christmas Day.  Again, what a wonderful/relaxing day and an absolute blast!  We started off the morning with a great Christmas breakfast... then spent the next several hours opening even more gifts...  then eating even more food!  Carol cooked a great Christmas lunch/dinner - there was so much food that we couldn't even fit everything on the table... isn't that what you're supposed to do on the holidays??? Haha!  We had a wonderful day and are so grateful for everything!

7. BABY P

...and in case you're wondering... BABY P RACKED UP!!!  This first grandchild (on both sides) won't be spoiled at all! =)

We even got gift cards from Ben's parents and Joe & Candice to get Baby P's bedding made...cannot wait!!!

8. JOE AND CANDICE

Although Christmas was wonderful, we had some bittersweet moments as well... We had to say goodbye to Joe & Candice. (Joe is one of Ben's brothers and Candice is the greatest sister-in-law in the world!)  Joe and Candice moved back to TX in June after 4 years in the San Diego/La Jolla area...and it's been so much fun having them here for the last 6 months...we've been spoiled getting to see them every weekend and hang out whenever we want!   We are very sad that they are leaving this week and moving to NYC for the next two years... but so proud because Joe got accepted to start his MBA at Columbia.  This is such an incredible opportunity for them and we can't wait to visit the Big Apple this spring!

9. MOVIES

We are HUGE movie people... and during the holidays we like to catch up on movies that we may have missed.  Here's a few that we watched:  The Day the Earth Stood Still, Valkerie, Tropic Thunder, The Hulk, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Wanted... and the list goes on... 

10. THE WILDEY'S

We ended the Christmas holidays with a visit from Rex, Jen, and their two sweet boys - Maddox and Lincoln.  It was the first time that all of us got to meet Lincoln since he had been born - what a cutie!  Both of our families got together for the Cowboy game (ugg) and a great steak dinner last night.  The party included Ben and I, my parents, my sister, Lea Wildey, Tyler Wildey, Jen & Jason DeLaPorte (with little Keagan and Kyler, of course), then Rex and Jen (and Maddox and Lincoln).  It's always fun to have this whole crew together... and hilarity always ensues when our moms insist on the annual "kid" picture.  I'll post those when I get them as well, but at what point are you no longer a kid???  We all thought it would end at 30... or when we had kids of our own... but I guess not. =)

If you made it through this entire list...you're a trooper!  We had a lot of fun and made some wonderful, life-long memories... never forgetting the true meaning of Christmas - that our Christ was born in the town of Bethlehem - our Saviour, King, Mighty God, Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, and Everlasting Father.  Hope you and your family had a great holiday as well.  Wishing you a blessed 2oo9!

Missing Baby P

Although we are incredibly blessed by wonderful families, friends, and a Savior who was born and gave His life for us...  There's a part of me (a very large part) that is greatly missing Baby P this Christmas.  It hit me last night as I was finishing all of our wrapping and putting the gifts under the tree.  I had a little pity party for myself, and sadly thought that there should be gifts for one more tiny person under there.  

For all of you who have experienced problems in getting pregnant or having children, you'll understand when I say that this Christmas was my cut-off point.  I often thought to myself, that if we aren't pregnant by this Christmas, then something must be wrong and we need to go see someone.  (Secretly, though...I just KNEW that we would have a third member of our family joining us this Christmas.  Clearly God has other plans.)  Obviously, by somewhat of a fluke, we found out much earlier than this Christmas that there were some problems.  For that, we are thankful because it allowed us to start on the adoption journey for Baby P much earlier.  I keep telling myself that that means we will be holding Baby P that much sooner.  =)  

Some good news on the adoption front... Our attorneys have purchased the rights to several more adoption websites which will be featuring us as a waiting family after the holidays.  This gives us more exposure, although it is bringing more paperwork...and pictures.  Ugg.  So worth it, though.  Other good news, is that they are making placements of newborns almost EVERY DAY...which is encouraging.  (A little side note here... I am crazy competitive, so when I see another couple disappear off of the websites because they've been picked, it kind of brings out the worst... just being honest.  Prayers, please!)

As of TODAY...we have been officially waiting for one full month.  Not a long time, I know...but I am dreading what could be a long wait of months to come.  But...despite all of the waiting... we have great hope.  This wonderful season of Christmas reminds us of that.  

"For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders.  And He will called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

We are truly enjoying this Christmas, though, and having some fun...  Ben was amazed at the amount of gifts Baby P is giving this year - amazed that someone who has not yet joined us, could push us so far over our Christmas budget...oops! =)  Hope you and your family are having a wonderful time as well!  Many thanks, time and time again, for the continued prayers!

WAT Marketing / Community Team Christmas Outing

Last night the DFW WeAreTeachers Marketing & Community team went out to dinner to celebrate the season and enjoy good friends, food, and of course...desserts.  Video is compliments of John Costilla.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from our WAT Team to you!

Cyber Stalking

A lot of people ask me about the different blogs that I read, so I added my blog list on the right-hand side under the traffic feed.  Please do not be a silent stalker.  I would love the opportunity to stalk you back.  So...if you read my blog and do not see your name on my list, then please post a comment or send me a message with your blog link.  Thank you!!!

A Weekend Full of Surprises!

This past weekend was a crazy one for us...full of so many SURPRISES!!!  By Sunday morning, I'm pretty sure I was only going on about 7 hours of sleep...but it was well worth it!

The weekend kicked off at The Wine Loft where we had the great honor of helping out with Jill and Grant's surprise 30th birthday.  Jill and Grant have grown up together since the 1st grade, so it was very fitting that we celebrated their birthdays together.  Their spouses, Shaun and Jayme, worked so hard to pull all of this together and everything went wonderfully.  There were over 60 people that came - some from their high school years, college years, church friends, CG group, family, and the list goes on...

Here's a pic of the AWESOME cake (www.opulentcakes.com) - which nearly did not survive the car ride with me...

A view of our party as it was getting started...

SURPRISE!!!  (I love this picture...they were so surprised and Grant even looks like he's crying!)

The birthday people with their cake and special glasses...

The birthday girl and I...

And there may, or may not have been, a 2ft x 10ft banner with pics of Grant and Jill from junior high =)

Shaun, Ben, Grant, and Eric (Grant's brother who flew all the way in from OH)

After a great party on Friday night... Shaun's "29th" (give or take a decade) was on Saturday.  Jill and Shaun had dinner plans with her parents, then they were headed over to Trulucks in Southlake... where, of course, Grant & Jayme, and Ben and I were all waiting for SURPRISE #2...

Ben and I waiting...

SURPRISE!!!  Happy birthday, Shaun!

Shaun's sweet wife, Jill, dropped cup cakes off at our house that afternoon so that we could bring them up to Trulucks...

What a fun night!  Grant, Jayme, Me, Ben, Shaun, and Jill

But...the weekend wasn't over...  On Sunday morning, we were up bright and early to go hear the FBC Keller Christmas program which my Mom was singing in (GREAT music!!!).  We unfortunately had to sneak out a few minutes early in order to make it back over to our church on time.  Then we finished off the weekend with birthday celebration #3... part two of my Mom's bday!  My whole family went out to eat at Babe's in Roanoke, then we headed up to Denton for the Selah concert (we got my Mom tickets for her bday).  It was a WONDERFUL evening!!!  But, I do have to say, that by the time Ben and I got home on Sunday night...WE CRASHED.  

That's all for now!  If you made it all the way through this never ending post of pictures, then you're a trooper!

Who, Me?!?!

I received a very prestigious blog award this week (haha!)...

For the Honest Blog award, I would like to thank an old college friend of mine, Kylie...  And coming from one of the most down-to-earth, real people that I know...I really appreciate it! =)

Now...I am to post 10 honest things about myself.  Here we go...

1. I am the ultimate/extreme Type-A personality.  I know this as a fact about myself and have come to terms with it.  Hopefully you have, too.  =)  Sadly, Ben is the same way.  Often times, we feel like an overwhelming two-man show.  We're glad we found each other because I don't think anyone else could put up with either one of us.

2.  I'm a grocery store snob.  I absolutely loathe going to WalMart...it ruins my whole day.  I have to take about 3 big deep breaths before walking into that craziness.  But, alas...I always do.  I wish money were no object and that I could throw it around uselessly and do all of my grocery shopping at Central Market.  But, we haven't won the lottery yet.  Still holding out hope, though...ha!

3. I'm REALLY ready to meet Baby P.  SOON.  This whole "waiting" thing is no fun at all and is much more difficult than I ever imagined.

4.  Jill and I joined a gym earlier this year, and for a while I was GREAT about going to our classes every day.  Sadly, this is no longer the case.  I showed up there two days ago for my "regular" class, and the gym has been closed for over 2 weeks... apparently they're remodeling.   Ouch.  Guess I missed that memo.

5. I have a huge phobia of spiders and absolutely hate hearing that crunch when you smash/kill them.  To avoid that bit of awfulness, I simply put a cup over them so they don't get away and make Ben take care of the problem when he gets home.  

6.  I am very independent.  I'm not afraid to eat out, go to a movie, or travel alone.  Oddly, though...I am extremely social.  I keep up with a lot of people and thrive on it.  This contributes greatly to my Facebook and CrackSpace addictions.

7. Cars/Driving/Traffic = not my friends.  I refuse to put one of our church logo stickers on the back of my car due to the bad witness I most definitely could give someone while in a motor vehicle.  I hold the HIGHEST number of parking tickets ever issued to a single student at Baylor University (contributed to me graduating late).  I received an "excessive" speeding ticket while visiting some friends in MN this past summer...long story.  (The charge was later reduced after two court appearances and Ben's way of charming the 80 year old court secretary.)  And I have literally lost my car on not one, but two different occasions.  I won't even mention the number of wrecks I've been in.  ugg....  

8.  I am a night owl...to the extreme.  I would prefer to stay up all night, every night...and then sleep all day.  If you get an email from me at 2 or 3 in the morning, don't be surprised.

9.  This past year I've had to learn the very hard lesson of having true joy regardless of your circumstances.  It hasn't been easy, but on looking back, I am so very thankful for the journey that I've been on.  I've truly experienced God's grace, peace, and ultimate provision.  I wouldn't trade what I've learned and where I am for anything in the world.

10. I am "one of those" animal people.  I have two boys - Johnny and Fat Jack.  Fat Jack is a 5 year old cat who already weighs 23 pounds...and he's still growing.  He's well on his way to full-blown diabetes.   We've tried every animal diet the vet has to offer... even tried the "South Beach Kitty Diet"...whatever that is.  Nothing has worked.   And I love the little guy so much that I'm going to be that crazy person who gives him insulin shots...EVERY DAY.  What can I say...

Tada - that's me in all my glory... or ugly details... whatever you prefer =)

HONEST BLOG AWARD is now awarded to:

Kelli, Heather, and Sandi - They are three of my funniest blogging friends, and I just know that their top 10 honest lists will be hilarious to read.  

Candace - she's such a dear friend of mine who is also a brand new mommy...I love hearing her first time mom experiences.

Tracy & Diane - what precious, honest friends to me!

Bethany & Amanda - two women that I did not know very well before Ben and I began the adoption process...but that I feel deeply bonded to now.

And, last but not least... Sundey - I love her take on everything...she tells it like it is =)

THE RULES:

1. Post 10 honest things about yourself along with the award picture.

2. Tag at least 5 other honest bloggers that you know as well as me.

3. Have fun!

Hey...at least this gives us a good blog topic, right???

2008...What a year!

This past year has been filled with many wonderful memories as well as trying times.  We are so thankful for all that the Lord has done and are remembering His blessings this holiday season.  Wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Update on Baby P

Since so many people are asking about Baby P, I figured it was time to update the blog =)

The update is...there is no update.  We're still waiting.  And waiting.  And waiting some more.

We've officially been waiting for 3 full weeks now (which we know is not a long time - it just feels that way when you're anxious).  Our adoption attorney's have hard copies of all our info that they can pass out to birthmothers as well as two websites where birthmothers can view our pictures, letters, info, etc.  They can track hits on only one of the websites because they do not own the second site.  In 3 weeks our pages from one website have received 242 hits as of this morning.  We won't know how our page hits compare with other waiting couple's page hits until the end of December.  I'm very curious to know...should be interesting, to say the least.

In other adoption news...  We have our fully completed home study reports in hand...YAY!!!  We are now officially "approved" to adopt by the government.  Up until this point, our files have read "Home Study In Progress"... but now they will read "Home Study Approved".  One small step at a time...

Thank you again for all of the prayers, questions, and for taking such an interest in Baby P...it means the world to know we have such an amazing support group of family and friends.

For your viewing pleasure...

Some of the funniest moments from my favorite show, 'The Office'...

Jim vs. Dwight

Top 10 Holiday Happenings

1 - Thanksgiving Day

We had a wonderful, relaxing day spent with my family...  Low-key, lots of food, and even more football... doesn't get better than that!  We also took family pictures for my parents' Christmas cards...but Neely hasn't sent them to me yet...so you can blame her for them being posted late.  Haha...I love my sister =)

2 - Computer Crash

(Disclaimer: I didn't say that all of these Top 10 were good things.)

My computer revolted during the second quarter of the Cowboy game on Thanksgiving Day.  This involved me loosing a ton of work... literally getting sick to my stomach... standing in the cold rain outside the apple store VERY early on Black Friday... angry-crying to the mac genius... And it just gets worse from there.  I'm done re-living that experience and moving on.

3 - Four Christmases

Saw it not once, but twice!

4 - Christmas Tree #1

In an attempt to take my mind off of the afore mentioned computer crash... Ben was a great sport and suggested we put up all of our Christmas decorations (and we have a lot of them...).  Here's a pic of tree number one:

5 - Christmas Tree #2

...and a pic of tree number 2:

And, I also have to mention that the trees were the easy part...  Poor Ben spent two days setting up my enormous snow village collection.  Each little piece has tiny little lights that have to be wired and plugged in then run with extension chords into the adapters...  You get the picture.  Ben definitely wins the award for most patient husband EVER!  I have three different "snow village communities" scattered through our house now. =)

6 - Esparza's Night

Esparza's in downtown Grapevine has to be one of my favorites - and with this crew, good times are always had!  (All of the guys were there, too...just didn't get them in this pic)

Pictured: Misty, Jill, Jayme, Me, Neely

Jill's brother (Jeff) and his wife (Misty) were in town for Thanksgiving... plus we had the rare pleasure of Neely and Craig both being home at the same time... so we had to make it a celebration!  

7 - Mom's Birthday

Celebration #2 of the weekend...MY MOM'S BIRTHDAY!!!  It was on Saturday (11/29) and we had the best time!   My mom is one of my best friends and I'm so very thankful for her and all that she does.

Pictured: Craig, Neely, Dad, Mom, Lea

8 - Twilight

One of the reasons we had such a good time at Mom's bday:

That's right, folks... we all went to see Twilight...LOVE IT!!!  All of us are hooked on the books (even Ben and Craig).  And I find it strangely fascinating that I have been sucked into the crush that is Edward Cullum.  I mean, not only is he the living dead...but he's even paler than I am. 

9 - Keystone Church

Always a highlight of every weekend...  (even though Josiah and Jay deemed this "pick on Holly weekend"...)

10 - Grant turns the BIG 3-O

Grant is officially an "adult" now...hmmmm....=)

In all seriousness, we love Grant and Jayme and truly value their friendship.  Grant is a pilot and had been out on a six-day trip.  I love this picture of him getting home after a VERY long week to find Jill, Shaun, Ben, and I crashing his peaceful house...

Jayme cooked a FABULOUS dinner and we had a great time celebrating with "Walter"!