My Ebenezer

My one New Year’s resolution is to try harder to listen to the voice of Truth. We receive so many different messages from society, from our friends and even from our families that just don’t always accurately represent God’s truth.

It’s so easy to listen to the different voices whose words echo in our hearts at our weakest moments. Voices that tell us we’re not good enough, not thin enough, not handsome enough, not rich enough, not famous enough, not active enough, not trying enough, not sharing enough, not anything enough……. God is ENOUGH. His Voice is the only one that matters.

I’ve been challenged on my faith in this adoption process. People who say that we should pursue private adoption because of all the scary things they know about foster care adoption. People who say we should adopt overseas so that the birthparents can never find the child. People who say we should pursue additional fertility treatment and not “give up”. (I find this statement particularly insulting – like adoption is giving up) But God’s voice is calling us to foster care adoption. His Truth is leading us to the child He has for us.

You see, it doesn’t matter how long it takes. We are willing to wait on God. And we know that when we get the child(ren) He has for us, we’ll be so grateful we didn’t get any of the others. God’s plan is so much better than ours ever could be. We may not understand all of the steps along the way, but God sees the big picture.

The words of this song are very close to my heart. Although we don’t always understand the situation we’re in or the circumstances that are upon us, we can be sure that it can all be used to glorify God.

“… The Voice of Truth tells me a different story. The Voice of Truth, says ‘Do not be afraid.’ The Voice of Truth says ‘This is for my Glory’…… out of all the voices calling out to me, I will choose to listen and believe….the Voice of Truth.”

Happy New Year Friends.

May God Bless you and keep you.
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

-Irish Blessing

As we approach New Year’s Eve, I am reminded of people who have come and gone in my life. I was blessed with good friends when I was younger and some of those friends have even carried over into my adult life. I’m so grateful for the friendships I grew up with and so grateful for the people who know my story and love me anyway. Talking to an old friend is like curling up in your favorite pj’s on a rainy day. I love the people in my life I can talk to occasionally and we pick up right where we left off. They keep my humble, reminding where I came from and where my roots are.

I’m also thankful for new friends I’ve made over the last few years – they keep me hopeful of what is yet to come. As we plan our families together and talk about parenting, I’m just overwhelmed with gratitude. God has given me so many gifts but I especially treasure my friends.

I love that I have people to walk through life with. Don’t get me wrong, my husband is the best friend I could ever hope for and I wouldn’t trade him for the world. But my girlfriends bring something into my life that no man ever could and I’m not sure I can even give that a name. It’s not better, just different. Life is richer when you have good friends.

As we cross over into 2006, I feel a significant transformation taking place within us. We are crossing over into parenthood (or will be shortly). Our lives are changing and things that were once so important suddenly pale in comparison to crib bedding, spit up and diapers. And I couldn’t be happier. As I watch my friends experience pregnancy and childbirth (okay, i didn’t technically witness the childbirth) and as we plan for our family through adoption, I realize that we’re all changing. We’re all growing.

I just couldn’t imagine doing all of this on our own. Starting this new chapter in our lives without friends who are on the same path would be so lonely. And scary. So as we ring in the New Year I’d like to stop and thank God for the many friends we’ve been blessed with over the years. Some of you have been with me since the first grade, others of you only a few short months. I love each and every one of you. Some have long since come and gone, only walking through a season of life with me and I’m also grateful for you.

You see, everyone I meet brings joy into my life. Some when they come into it and some when they leave. ha ha ha Sorry, I just remembered that bumper sticker and I couldn’t resist. Have a great New Year!

So JettyBetty tagged me and I’m supposed to write down 5 weird habits that I have and then tag 5 more people to do the same.

This works out great for me because I’ve kinda hit a blogging wall and now I have something to write about.

So here goes 5 wierd habbits:

1. Blogging is a wierd habbit – i have this desire to share my “story” which isn’t always interesting to anyone but me
2. I must have ketchup with my scrambled eggs
3. When eating gumbo, I have to have potato salad but the potato salad goes IN the gumbo not on another plate next to it. (guess that’s not too wierd if you’re from Louisiana)
4. I call home to check my messages obsessively
5. I sleep with four pillows

Sorry, nothing too exciting.

In other news, we’ve been submitted on a four month old baby boy. So, right now we’re waiting to see if we go to the four way on a four month old baby boy and a 6 month old baby girl. I know. I know. I said no adoption news this week but what I can say? These things just happen. As soon as I say it will go one way, it goes another.

I’m not quite ready to rejoin the “real world” yet. Although our Christmas weekend was very hectic, I enjoyed the business and being around so much of our family.

This week between Christmas and New Year’s often feels like a wasteland. The new year hasn’t yet begun but Christmas is over and there are only a few days remaining. I don’t know why it feels like a “nothing” week but that is how I’ve always thought of it. Christmas and New Year’s are so big and the week in between just kinda gets lost. I mean, really? Does anything exciting EVER happen between Christmas and New Year’s?

I’m sure there is a lesson in here somewhere about making every day count and I could fill this page with something inspirational to motivate you to turn this week into an amazing adventure…….but I’m just not feeling it. I say, take the week off. Even if you have to be at work, work as little as you can get away with and spend your days dreaming of all the wonderful things 2006 will bring. Then plan to make them happen.

Blow this week off and enjoy the slower pace for the few remaining days of 2005. You deserve it and even if you don’t deserve it, take it anyway! You’ll make up for it next year, won’t you? I’m taking off this week. The last few days have been virtually “adoption stress” free and I’m going to continue that. I’ll assume nothing noteworthy will happen between now and next year so I’m just not going to think about it. We’ll return to the usual adoption related posts after the New Year…..or not. We’ll just wait and see what mood strikes me.

In the meantime, go ahead and tell me what your resolutions are. I have only one. But I won’t tell you what it is until you tell me yours.

….if it were a real emergency, you would receive instructions on how to respond. We will return to your regular scheduled blog shortly.

Christmas was very busy and wonderful. We enjoyed spending time with all of our families and had lots of fun playing with all the kids. I’m still recooperating from the madness and will write more later. For now, I’m just taking an extended break.

I hope everyone had a MARVELOUS Christmas.

I’m so excited for Christmas. This year I have been given a very special gift. I have a deeper understanding of what it means to anticipate the coming of a child. As we plan and wait and prepare for our child, we are reminded this time of year that long ago others were anticipating the birth of our Savior. It’s hard to imagine Jesus as a real, living, tiny baby tucked away in a manger upon His arrival on Earth.

This has been an everpresent thought this past week and it’s really helped me to focus on what we are celebrating and why we are celebrating it. In honor of Christmas, of Jesus’ birthday, I’m going to share with you a very special adoption story. A story that started several hundreds of years ago in a manger filled with hay.

Seriously? Only FOUR more shopping days until Christmas? How does this happen? I ordered several gifts from target.com and they haven’t arrived yet. One package “should” have been here by the 19th the other “should” be here by the 23rd. I’m going to scream if I am one of those people shopping on Christmas Eve. In fact, I think tomorrow I’m going to actually go to Target and purchase the same items that I ordered. Just in case.

So why didn’t I just do that in the first place? Well, that would have been too easy.

Working with the youth at church certainly has its benefits. This is only one of them:

So good job, guys. Thanks for initiating us as this is the fist time we’ve been hit. I just have a few words of advice for you:

• After you leave the scene of the crime, DO NOT drive by again – ESPECIALLY if you drive a bright red scion and it’s 1am. Not many people on the neighborhood roads then and you’re very easy to spot.
• When choosing your partners in crime, choose people who won’t cave when cornered. IE: Intern
• When the person whose house you wrapped last night promised you they won’t tell if you rat out your friends, NEVER believe them. They will say anything to assign proper credit to the perpetrators. Intern, I’m actually glad you didn’t know this rule! Thanks!
• Finally, lock your car doors at ALL times. Hide your car when you park in public places and watch your trees at night. We’re coming for you.

Linnsie, Blake and Courtney, Thanks for making it “snow” at our house last night. We were really hoping for a White Christmas. We love you and can’t wait to return the favor! Thanks for spreading the love.

All things pink. That’s the way I’d paint the world, if I had my choice. Hot pink trees with varied pink colored leaves, soft pink grass and electric pink clouds. I can’t imagine a better way to see the world than if everything were pink. I’d love to paint our bedroom hot pink with soft pink polka dots, but Daddy-O is dead against it. I am hoping he will cave and buy me hot pink sheets for our bed this Christmas. (Don’t worry, he won’t let me change our bedspread to pink)

Since I can’t paint the world pink, I’ll have to settle for a pink Christmas. I don’t know how much you can see in the picture, but everything hanging on our tree is pink. All presents are wrapped in pink. Karen even gave me a hot pink micro bead pillow and the tree topper, which I will proudly wear to church on Christmas day, is compliments of Brigitte. Do I have the best friends or what?

Some images need no words.

It’s 1:30am and I just got home from Wal-Marting. Did you know that was a recreational activity in the South? definition: Wal-Marting: the act of going to Wal-Mart in the middle of the night and spending too much money on things you don’t want because it’s so late you’re delirious. (a favorite sport for college students everywhere) I realized tonight that I am no longer in college and not only does my body stop cooperating in public after midnight, but my mind also gives out on me.

Thanks to my favorite (insert self-given politically incorrect nickname here) friend for tagging along. You know who you are.

Thankfully, I got lots of good stocking stuffers and candy, some of that candy may even make it to the stockings. At mom’s house, we have a tradition of stuffing these enormous stockings with lots of goodies and lots of crapola. The adults don’t usually exchange big gifts (except with the parentals) but we contribute to one another’s stockings. It’s a lot of fun and I look forward to the stockings more than I do the gift exchanges most of the time.

As we spend what we hope is our last Christmast without children….and I really, really mean it this time..ha ha ha…..I can’t help but think about what traditions we want to start with our kids on Christmas morning. I’d like to find a unique way to invite Jesus to be part of the celebration but I’m not sure how to do that. Maybe reading the Christmas story before opening presents or something. I’m open for ideas here.

Here I go with the questions again. Use the comments to respond, you guys have been pretty quiet lately!

What, if anything, does your family do to really make sure Jesus is part of your Christmas?

What is the best gift you’ve ever given to another person?

What is the best gift you’ve ever received from another person?

What is your favorite Christmas tradition?

I’m speechless right now and that doesn’t happen very often. I’m at a loss for words because I’m so overwhelmed with God’s Grace.

Okay, ^ that was me being speechless. But I figure it doesn’t have the same affect when I’m writing. Anyway, there are so many people praying for Daddy-O and I and I’m constantly amazed when I hear of someone else. God knows our hearts, He knows our desires and sometimes it’s hard to keep going to Him with the same thing over and over again. I don’t worry when we can’t because I know you are beseeching Him on our behalf. Whoa…beseeching is a big word. Did I use it correctly? Grammar? You’ve been quiet for a while? I need you now.

Sometimes I can literally feel your prayers. I know you are praying because I can see the evidence of it in my heart. I just feel it and I’m not sure it is something I can explain. So thank you. EAch and every one of you, from the depths of our hearts, thank you. We pray that God will pour out His richest blessings on you this Christmas.

I got to help out with a luncheon yesterday that was put together for several foster moms from our agency. It was amazing to hear their stories and see how God is blessing them as they bless the little ones who need a place to call home. These women LOVE these kids. Even if it is only for a short time, they LOVE them as though they were their own. I can’t imagine how hard it would be for a child to be away from his/her family at Christmas. REgardless of the situation at home, those kids will be sad. Say a special prayer for them today, please.

Oh, and one last thing in this hodge podge of a post, I will be posting pictures of the most beautiful pink Christmas tree very soon. IT’s not actually pink (unfortunately) but the decorations are all pink!

I am losing my mind. This is Thankful THursday and what I meant to point out earlier when I was rambling about how wonderful you all are…..

I am most thankful today for you. For all of you pray for us, who are following our story and who just care. We are grateful for you and we appreciate you. God is working in our lives and He is far from finished. It’s not about us but it is ALL about Him and His plan and His purpose. Thanks for sharing in our journey. We heart you!

We’re supposed to get our Christmas tree tomorrow night. Since neither of us is really into decorating this year, I have an idea it will look more like a Christmas bush but that’s okay with me. I’ll get the lights down and put them on the tree but I don’t think I’ll even get the decorations out because, well….I’m just lazy.

You see, Daddy-O and I both suffer from the disease. It’s called can’t-get-my-butt-off-the-couch-to-do-anything-itis. For short, we call it why-do-today-what-you-can-do-tomorrow-itis. We know that whatever we put up today will have to be taken down one day, relatively soon after Christmas. Unless we want to turn into that house that just leaves Christmas up all year round.

Uh Oh. I just remembered something. We do have ONE Christmas decoration out already, sitting in the window in our kitchen. It is a snowman that is about the size of a wine bottle – in fact, it could be used to “wrap” a wine bottle, it’s wooden and very cute. Daddy-O’s mom gave it to us for Christmas and it has been sitting in our kitchen since then. Last year, I think. Crap. It may have been the year before.

This is why we don’t decorate for Christmas. If we put lights on our house, we’d be the neighbors everyone talked about because they keep their lights on all year round. I mean, why take them down if you’re just going to put them back up about 240 days later? Not to worry, when we have kids that are old enough to “get it”, we’ll go all out. We’ll have the biggest Christmas tree, the most obnoxious lights and we’ll be the last ones to take it all down every year.

Anyway, back to the Christmas tree we’re getting tomorrow night. I decided I wanted a tree this year because I found hot pink wrapping paper at Target and I can’t wait to wrap all the presents and put them under the tree! If I can find some cheap pink colored glass balls, I may just decorate the tree afterall.

Some of you may not know about my obsession with the color Pink. I love all things pink. The brighter the pink, the better. I’m not into the Pepto pink – I prefer hot pink and if it’s fuzzy, it’s even better. I don’t know when this happened to me. I used to be obsessed with the color yellow – bright yellow. THen one day I woke up and it was pink. And now I’m writing about it which makes me wonder if I need to see a shrink.

I was tagged by Travis so now I get to list seven things on seven things:

Seven things to do before I die:

1. Have a child(ren) to call our own
2. Watch that child(ren) grow in Christ
3. See the Grand Canyon
4. Write a Bible Study
5. Write a book
6. Foster/adopt an older (teen) child
7. Get skinny again!

Seven things I can not (or will not) do:

1. Lose my faith in Christ
2. Sky dive
3. Get on one of those tunnel like water slides
4. Use credit cards
5. Sing well
6. Model men’s underwear
7. smoke crack

Seven things that attract me to my spouse:

1. He loves Jesus
2. He puts others first
3. He loves his family
4. He’s funny
5. He listens well
6. He doesn’t care what people think
7. He’s hot!

Seven things I say most often:

1. “What’cha doin’?”
2. “That’s amazing”
3. “That’s crazy”
4. “Helloh-oooo”
5. “okay”
6. “um”
7. “we’re getting close…could be any day now…we’ll let you know” *wink

Seven books (or series) I love:

1. The Bible
2. Almost anything by Nora Roberts
3. “Odd Thomas” by Dean Koontz
4. “Daughter of Fortune” by Isabell Allende
5. “I know this much is true” by Wally Lamb
6. “We were the Mulvaneys” (i think that was the last name)
7. “Johnny Angel” by Danielle Steel

Seven movies I watch over and over again (or would if I had the time):

1. When Harry met Sally
2. Where the Heart Is
3. Hope Floats
4. A Cinderella Story
5. Mona Lisa Smiles
6. Savannah Smiles
7. Diary of a Mad Black Woman

Seven people I want to join in too:

1. Karen
2. Brigitte
3. Shawn
4. Jeremy
5. JettyBetty
6. Stacy
7. Sster

So last night I had a hot date with the cutest little boy! Brigitte let me keep Barrett for the whole night and he was so much fun. Daddy-O and I went out to eat with him and this little old lady and her husband stopped by our table as they were leaving and asked if he (Barrett) was that good at home, too. Ofcourse he is, we said….ha ha ha Then she said that he sure was a handsome little fellow and that he must take after his parents. I laughed and said that we sure thought he did! Ha!

Part of me was kinda hoping that Barrett would be really fussy and wake up a lot during the night so that I wouldn’t be in so much of a hurry to get our own little one. No such luck. Barrett is a perfect baby! He went to sleep about 9pm, woke up around midnight for a quick diaper change and then went right back to sleep until 8 this morning! Who could ask for more?

And his little smile is so irresistable, don’t you think?

Even though I know we won’t be getting our child(ren) before Christmas, I still wonder many times throughout the day if the phone might ring….. In fact, every time the phone rings I imagine it is M calling to tell me that we’ve been selected for …….etc… I feel like a 15 year old with her first serious crush, just waiting for him to call… ha ha ha

I know, I need to get out more. Getting selected for a four way and then not getting chosen feels kinda like a 16 year old pimple-faced, overweight boy/girl trying to get a date for the prom. The rejection is brutal, regardless of the reason. And for both Goldilocks and Spiderman, there were good reasons. With Goldilocks, there was a family who already knew her and spent time with her and that was a much better choice for that child. With Spiderman, M (our case worker) said that it was only us and one other family being considered. (so not only did we LOSE, but we lost when we had a 50/50 chance of winning…….I HATE losing) Anyway, in that situation, the other family was working directly with CPS – M said she knew their mind was made up before she even walked in the door.

The caseworker for Spiderman did express some concern about us..about me specifically. (thank you very much) I have a problem with one of the discs in my lower back – nothing major but in my home study it says that I can lift “up to twenty pounds”. The other worker was “afraid I may not be able to lift the child if I was home alone with him.” WHATEVER! M was so ticked off about this because it isn’t at all what was meant in the homestudy. We got my doctor to write a letter explaining the nature of the problem and stating that it in NO way limits my day to day activities in caring for myself or my children. So that shouldn’t ever come up again. Bleh.

The good news is that all of these little things are just things God is using to get us to the child He has for us. I believe that with all my heart.

Now that I have already started a novel with this post, I may as well keep going, right? The title is “Whew” because when Friday evening rolls around I know I have two whole days to relax and not worry about whether or not my phone will ring. CPS is pretty much shut down on the weekends so I won’t be getting any calls. I know the Bible says, “Do not worry about anything, but in everything, with prayer and petition submit your requests to God.” I’m working on that, really, I am.

I am still a work in progress, afterall.

My wonderful redneck husband is not a fan of cold weather. Today, it was in the upper 20’s and lower 30’s all day and Daddy-O works outside quite a bit – you have to understand that this weather is not at all typical for Houston, not even in December. We get a few days in a row of this and then won’t see it again for a few weeks. In fact, I can remember several Christmases where I went outside in my shorts to play!

Although this is probably more than you want to know, it’s an important part of the story. Daddy-O always strips down to his skivies in the living room. (God bless our neighbors who might happen by our house and catch a glimpse of the sexiest potbellied redneck alive – since we have a WINDOW in our front door) Anyway, as he’s sitting on the couch in his jeans and his t-shirt over his turtle neck (I never claimed he had fashion sense) he decides it’s time for his shower and then bed. He stands up and takes off his t-shirt, then he takes off the turtle neck and I started giggling. Because underneath the turtleneck was ANOTHER turtle neck and I could see the hem of another tshirt below that! So he went to work today in FOUR shirts plus his jacket. And I wonder why we have so much laundry in the winter.

When I woke up this morning, I had barely started my Christmas shopping. Only two things from my list were purchased and now, just a couple of hours later, I’m almost finished! Thank you, God, for online shopping and free shipping!

Well, not really on 34th street….but on OUR street. One day our miracle will come. It would take a MIRACLE for it to happen before Christmas, what is it? 18 more days or something like that? “The System” just doesn’t work that fast. BUt I know that when we do get our miracle, we won’t even remember the pain of waiting.

It’s kinda like childbirth. I’ve heard a lot of women say that they just don’t remember how painful the birth really was. I guess you could say we’re in labor right now. ha ha

Anyway, although the two boys we were submitted on have already been placed (okay, so sometimes the system does move quickly), we’re still holding on to Hope. I know Hope is not a super hero’s name and I know I’m not supposed to name them until we are selected for the four way. But, it’s Christmas and right now Hope is all we have. Both in Christ and in this opportunity He has given us. So we’ll hold on to Hope through the holidays and perhaps be able to start the new year with a new family.

Hope is a 6 month old baby girl. I’ll let you know when we hear whether or not we’ve been chosen to go to the four-way.

While you’re here, go ahead and pray for the two boys who have been placed. Pray for a smoothe transition for them.

So this morning I returned all of the crib bedding my mom bought. Ya, that pretty much was the low point of my morning. I HATED taking it back. But I only have 90 days to return it after the purchase date and time was running short. Now we’ll just wait until we find out if we’re getting a boy or a girl or both and then buy the appropriate bedding.

Thanks for your emails, phone calls, comments and text messages of prayer and support. It means the world to me. God’s Grace is amazing – it is because of Him that our hearts continue on this journey. It isn’t our faith, or anything else about us that is spectacular – it’s ALL about HIM. God’s love for us is so much bigger than we could ever imagine.

He knows our hearts will break long before it happens and I believe that His breaks right along with ours. Before the four-way yesterday, God presented another opportunity of hope. Our homestudy being submitted on two boys (siblings). It gave me something to hang on to when we lost Spiderman.

This morning, God gave us another opportunity of hope. A baby girl our homestudy will be submitted on.

As I sulk about another Christmas without children, I can’t help but think of the many kids – older kids – in the foster care system. They are spending another Christmas without a forever family because so few are willing to embrace them into their families. Please lift those kids up in prayer today. And pray for the people working so hard to find them families. Pray for more families to step up and adopt them. I hope one day Daddy-O and I will adopt older kids. I have such a special place in my heart for teenagers, especially at risk teens. I know that now is the time for us, but I do think it will come one day. Maybe by then I’ll have convinced Daddy-O. ha ha ha

2 Corinthians 12:8-10 says, “Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Do you know how much God loves you? Do you long to feel that peace that surpasses all understanding? Do you know what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? He wants so much to give it to you.

God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.

Spiderman is going home for Christmas, but not to our home. He’s not the one God has for us. Surprisingly, I’m okay. Really, I am. I was praying last night that God would send us a baby for Christmas and He quickly reminded me that He already did. “For unto us a child is born” A long time ago, in a manger filled with hay. That’s enough for me.

We are being submitted on a sibling group – two boys, but I’m not going to write about that until or unless we get closer. We are hopeful.

Please pray for us, as facing another Christmas without children is going to be difficult, to say the least. It’s the hardest time of the year for those who desperately want children and don’t have them. Pray for all couples facing that this year.

One of my favorite songs ever is by Matt Redman. Part of it says exactly what I’m feeling right now:

“You give and take away, You give and take away.
Still my heart will choose to say, Lord, Blessed be Your name.”

I don’t even know where to start. This picture was taken our first night in NYC in the lobby of our hotel, The Waldorf Astoria. The hotel was amazing and there were lots of beautiful people walking through the lobby in formal wear. I’m sure we stuck out like soar thumbs, but we didn’t care at all – our blue jeans and tennis shoes were fancy enough for us. Although we did read in our hotel room book that tennis shoes were not permitted in the lobby. ha ha ha

Karen wasn’t feeling so well from her flight (see re-enactment on the right) so Brigitte and I were on our own most of Friday night. As we were walking back to the hotel, we noticed a huge Nextel/Nascar flag flying in front and we wondered what the deal was. Well, we soon discovered that the “deal” was the Nascar Awards were being held in our hotel that evening. Many of the beautiful people in our lobby were race car drivers, team owners, etc….. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t have recognized any of them on the spot, though we did see some interesting people. And since we’ve been home, we’ve been perusing the Nascar website and have identified some of them.

God bless Karen for forgetting her toothbrush. Brigitte and I were supposed to get her one while we were out but it got really cold and there wasn’t a pharmacy between the subway stop and the hotel. So we decided we’d just get one at the hotel but we got up to the room and had forgotten it. Back down we went, in our jeans and plain shirts with tennis shoes. As we’re waiting for the elevator, the emcee of the Nascar event, Jay Mohr walks up with his date, Nikki Cox – if you watch the show “Las Vegas” you know her as Mary. Brigitte and I exchanged looks and both knew what the other was thinking, “we’re getting on that elevator” and we did. Though we were the only people not dressed in formal wear, we rode the elevator and listened to Jay Mohr as he jokingly promoted his new book.

I’m sure you don’t want to hear the play by play of the entire trip, so I’ll just give you some highlights:

Brigitte got fresh with Sponge Bob

View from our room (if you turn your head to the side, sorry, I’m too lazy to rotate it)

We ate at Serendipity (again with the head turning)

We had a blast. So much fun. I’m so grateful to have such wonderful friends that I can spend a weekend laughing with. “I thank God when I remember you.”

It is 4:30am and I can’t believe alarms can even be set this early. We’re headed out to NYC – WOO HOO!

I’m sure I’ll have lots of pictures to share when we get back.

We’re definitely going to NYC. Definitely not getting Grace. The really good news is that she is going to parents that she already knows. One of the families being considered is friends with the foster family and so she already knows them. This will make her transition much easier. Praise God for that.

We’re holding out for Spiderman now. Tuesday, Dec. 6 we get to do this ALL over again! ha ha ha…

……so do I. It’s 3:07 and still no call. So we’re waiting. Patiently. ya, right.