Fun Day

I have come to realize that I am not creative with my titles. Oh well...

We were able to spend the afternoon hanging out by the pool with friends. It was most definitely a low-key event, but fun all the same. We were given the privilege to meet the girl that our friends are in the process of adopting. She seemed to have a good time here, after warming up (haha) to the cool water in the pool. Her parents-to-be were naturals with her, balancing fun and learning throughout the afternoon. The little girl loved the boys, and played very well with them while they were in the pool. She also took to Jack quickly, and showered him with lots of attention and affection.

We also got the chance to hang with Kim Tres, someone who is dear to my heart, even though I haven't had much opportunity to spend time with over the years. She was moving out of the UCF group as I was moving in, but we have many mutual friends, so I have the privilege of seeing her when she's in town. And really, she's not here too often, since until this year, she spend the last six years in Russia teaching. Lucky for all of us, she made a quick visit to Orlando, before she heads off to Qatar to teach for the next two years!

Tyger came over as well, not wanting to miss a chance to hang out with her "little men", as she likes to call Nicholas and Matthew. Having Kim here was an added bonus, but meeting J & T's soon-to-be daughter was the main draw, I'm sure.

All in all, it was a great day around here. It felt like what Sunday's should feel like...an opportunity for a great church service, combined with a lazy afternoon filled with good friends and family. Here's to hoping for many more Sundays like this one, both here and at our new home.

(Did you notice that I threw in the theme for this month, Home? :-))

Baby Shower!

I've thrown quite a few parties for friend's over the years. Mostly wedding showers, with a small mixture of birthday parties thrown in for variety. But today I helped throw my second baby shower! It was quite an experience, and came off without a hitch.

One might say I was the primary point of contact for the event. I guess that's because I asked Anne if I could throw her a shower first. Then a connection was made with her friend Rachel, who also wanted to throw a shower. From there I sent e-mails to a few of the girls from church and a little shower team was created. Let me say that although I am not one who typically likes doing things by "committee", this event has softened my view on group projects. 99% of the planning for this event was done via e-mail. I tried to be as thorough as possible in my initial contact, hoping to get all of the big things assigned early on. Getting everyone to pick and choose a responsibility seemed to work pretty well, and each person was off and running. I touched base with the girls every week or two, getting opinions on invitations and dates/times for the event, but pretty much tried to stay out of the way.

Those who know me well might say that I'm a bit of a control freak. I've softened that image over the years (or at least tried to), and I hope that anyone who witnessed Anne's baby shower can testify that I wasn't trying to control anything. (Although I did desperately want to win something during game time, because let's face it, I'm a little bit competative!)

All that is to say that I worked with some wonderful women. Kelly, Katie, Hilary and Rachel were a dream team. Each person stepped up and took on a major task for the day, and for that I am so grateful. And while my own mom doesn't even know Anne, she came through in a major way. She lent me the plates, punch bowl and cups, and vases. She arranged flowers, helped met set up the room, and generally made the room look beautiful. Oh, and the bonus was that she and my dad kept the boys all weekend so I could concentrate on making the baby shower a success. (Thanks!)

My Wednesday Night Girls, (my Bible study) came through in a huge way. Maruxa offered some supplies, which was wonderful. Maggie stuffed favors and wrapped silverware. Loni did the shopping for our gift. Kim (and others) stuck around and helped with clean up. I love those girls!

But the best thing about yesterday was being able to sit back and watch the event come together, with no snafu's (other than forgetting a can opener!). Watching Anne get showered with love and prayers and gifts for her baby boy was simply amazing. I must say that there is no one more deserving of such a special day than Anne, and I am so thrilled that I was able to play a small role in it.

Impromtu Showing

Until last Saturday, it had been weeks since we'd had a showing on the Cullowhee house. Yes, there's been some interest in it, based on how few fliers are left in the tube, but no one has been inside to see it. Unfortunately, the fact that no one has been here for a showing since last month means that the house had slipped a little bit in the "you must keep the house show worthy at all times" state.

Of course, this meant that the phone rang Friday night at 6:00pm, complete with a call from our realtor saying someone was going to come see the place the next day. Thankfully my parents were here to babysit, and they were willing to do some of the straightening up necessary for the house to be show worthy. The house was seen on Saturday, as always, we're hopeful that it went well and the people are really interested.

All that to say, thank goodness that we had the showing on Saturday. Because of the showing on Saturday, when a realtor came knocking on our door at 3:30pm this afternoon, it meant that Dan (who was home alone) only needed about 15 minutes to run around and put dishes in the dishwasher, pick up the few toys on the floor and make the bed.

I really do wish this house would sell. Yes, there are obvious reasons why we want that to happen...1) not having to pay two mortgages, 2) freeing up a little money so we can buy a stove that was made in the 21st century, 3) kicking our butts into high gear to move. But I want this house to sell, because it really is a great house. It's in a nice neighborhood with good people surrounding it. I don't want it to sit empty and alone. I want people to come here and love it, and make it their own home. It's ready for new people and new memories, and I hope it can have that very soon.

Busy times ahead...

So it seems that our relatively low key summer thus far is quickly coming to an end. In the next three weeks we have the following things on our calendar:

Anne's baby shower in Orlando (June 28)
Kate, Dan's sister visiting before starting her new job (Sometime between June 30-July 5)
A quick trip for me to New Jersey for the weekend (July 4-6)
Jenn's baby shower in New Jersey (July 5)
Dan travels (July 7-11)
Dan's parents in town (July 9-15)


To say that things will be a little busy around here is quite the understatement. Add into that working like crazy on the new house (well, Dan and my parents are working on the new house) and it's quite a whirlwind around here.

Family Day is finally here!

Back in January, Dan and I started talking about what we were going to do to celebrate the first anniversary of our adoption. Visions of a huge blowout party, something similar to what our friend's Laurie and Ed did for their son Josiah when he turned one, danced in our heads. We talked about inviting everyone we knew, and even made sure that we told enough people to save the date that we would be sure family would be in town. Rest assured, dear reader, this party did not happen. You didn't miss an invitation to a huge MacDonald party.

Since those first discussions of Huge Blowout Party, things have happened. Well, one major thing has happened. The house on Burning Tree Lane came into our lives and has sucked up all of our "free time". But it's all good. Yes, I'm a little bummed that we're not having the big party we talked about, but we had a great time celebrating, just the four of us.



If you know me at all, you know that I love Disney. Disney has connected to it so many great memories, so it is no surprise that we spent our first Family Day at Magic Kingdom. The boys really seemed to enjoy the park today, probably more than ever before. I suppose this will continue to be so, as they get a little bigger and can comprehend a little more of what their little eyes and ears are taking in. They danced in their strollers twice, once each way when we passed the show at Cinderella's Castle. They rode rides. They pointed out every balloon they saw. They put on bathing suits and played in the water. They had french fries for the first time! (Can you believe it?) Not one tear was shed the entire day, except by the Mom, who so desperately wanted their pictures taken with Chip & Dale (twins) or Tweedledee & Tweedledum (more twins). They went peacefully to sleep in strollers as we were leaving. (Note, not the best time for them to go to sleep, but we'll take it.) Best part of the day at Disney? Realizing it really is a "Small World". See?

After we got home from Disney, the boys got to have a snack on the special Elmo blanket and watch Elmo on TV. (Yes, Elmo is their favorite thing right now.) Once that was was over, everyone changed clothes and we were off to Lac Viet to have a Vietnamese dinner in honor of today. While I don't know that Disney will be a tradition every year (although one can dream!), I do think going to Vietnamese food will be. The boys loved their meal, and Dan and I enjoyed ours as well.

It's been a wonderful year. I can't believe it's over, and we're on to a new one. It feels like Nicholas and Matthew have been with us forever, and yet, it feels like just yesterday that they were given to us.

Deep but not profound

On the eve that marks the one year anniversary of the adoption of Nicholas and Matthew, I feel like I should have these deep, profound thoughts to write about. Instead, I look around my house, filled with toys, sippy cups, bibs, laundry, and so many other things that were foreign to this space a year ago, I can't think of anything much to say.

So tonight, instead of reflecting on that last night we had as just the two of us, I will clean the living room and kitchen, do a couple of loads of laundry, pack the diaper bag, and get to bed early. Tonight I'm confident I will get more sleep than I did this night one year ago.

PSA

Yes, I know. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday posts are missing. Rest assured they will be posted soon enough. :-)