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"!