Random Ramblings

Happy Friday!!

It has been a long week for me and I am glad the weekend is here!  This smiling face has helped me get through the busy week, but I am glad it is just about over!

We started our foster/adoption classes last week.  We will be doing that for five Saturdays in a row, plus one later in March.

The picture above is all our paperwork we have to do, plus SOME of the documents we have to gather.  Joshua was having a hard time finding his high school diploma.  I think he was on day two or three looking for it and he came up to me and asked, "Do you think they would just accept this as proof?"  He was holding the tassel from his graduation cap.  I told him probably not since he did not have the cap too.  He finally found it.  So far, the only big thing missing his is birth certificate....which only leads us to believe they may have found him on the side of the road.  

In addition to starting our journey to adopt this year, we started a major remodel of our house.  Why would be tackle these huge things at the same time?  I DO NOT KNOW!!  But, we did.

First up Joshua is reorganizing our closet!  Odd place to start, I know, but it REALLY needed it.  He took EVERYTHING out of our closet and it is all over the place.  So, if you randomly stop by our house, things are a bit crazy.  He started putting up this thing last weekend.  And why he thought this was a one weekend project (keeping in mind we were in foster/adoption class ALL day Saturday) I will never know.  I'm hoping it is only a two weekend job. 

I think our cute and lovable dog Hank has come into his rebellious teen years.  Joshua told me that was wrong and really he is a toddler.  Okay, he is in his rebellious toddler years.

Yes, Hank, you heard me right, I said you are rebellious.  But, we still love you.  Just hoping you are through this crazy stage as soon as possible.

I've been meaning to show you what my awesome Sister from another Mother MADE me for Christmas.  How cool is this camera strap cover!  AND it has padding.  I just love it!  Joshua on the other hand feels it steals from his manhood when he uses the camera.  It's like two presents in one!

So my Luke is a crazy good speller like his Daddy.  And I don't just mean these easy peesy words like snap, spot, and step.

I mean like the other day I yelled at Josh to ask how to spell a word (and no I will not tell you what word it was.  I am NOT a good speller).  Luke then came around the corner with a look of disgust on his face and said, "SEEEEERIOUSLY Mom, you do NOT know how to spell ____?  It is blah, blah, blah, blah!"  It was hard for me to decide if i should be proud of him in his super spelling capabilities or to be shamed that I am a moron speller.

And while on the subject of Luke, here is a sneak peek of something he did in our kitchen the other night.....full blog post coming on that!

And I will just end on Luke too.  I cannot tell you how big of a smile I get on my face when I walk through our living room and see this.

My Mother's all time favorite children's books were Magic Treehouse books!  We have a bunch that were hers, but they stop somewhere around the 20th book or so.  He will bring these books home for homework and get lost in them!  Sometimes I am lucky enough that he will pull up a bar stool in the kitchen and read out loud to me while I cook dinner.  Truth be told, I love those books too.  I think of my Mother when he reads them and I can just see her face smiling down on him.

Hope y'all have a great weekend and thanks for reading!

Forever Changed!

The building where our church meets used to be a roller skating rink.  And back when the skating rink was first purchased and construction of the remodel began many members of the church went to the building and wrote names on the walls and floor of lost people who need to be saved.  

Joshua and I wrote Luke’s name on a wall.  I wish I could recall which wall it was, but I can’t.  It was dark and honestly, they all looked the same to me back then.  But they are not.  One of those walls has our son’s name on it.  Somewhere under the pretty paint that is there now, the name “LUKE” is written in marker. 

Lately Luke has been asking more and more questions about Jesus and I knew that his salvation was not far away.  Earlier this week Luke said he was ready to ask Jesus into his heart.  Josh and I both talked to him and he understands he is a sinner.  He understands there is no way he can be good enough to get to heaven.  He knows he needs help and he needs a Savior.  He knows Jesus is the only way to salvation.

He knows that Jesus died for him.

As I sat and listened to him pray to ask Jesus into his heart and to forgive him of his sins tears filled my eyes and my heart felt as if it would burst wide open.   

Luke is no longer just my son here on Earth.  He will forever be my brother in Christ.

Praise God!!

There was not only a change in him that day, but a change in me.  I love the feeling I have inside knowing he has made the most important decision in his life.

I love you Luke and Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you!  We are so excited to watch and help you as you learn more and more about Jesus and grow in your relationship with Him!!

A Takeover

To say that our house has been taken over by STAR WARS is a gross understatement.

I guess if you are going to name your child Luke you run this risk.  You also run the risk that your child will not accept that he is not named after Luke Skywalker.  You run the risk of your son being a little upset that his middle name is not Skywalker.  You run the risk of your son wanting a sister to name Leia or a brother to name Obi Wan.  Yes, these words have come out of his mouth.

I mentioned before that I live with constant light saber wars going on all around me.

See, grow ups visit our house and get sucked into the STAR WARS craze.

Well, I also have a bunch of these little characters all over the house.

I have found them in my kitchen, in my bedroom, in my bed, in the bathroom, in the living room, EVERYWHERE.

Their newest location is this table my Grandfather made for Joshua and I for a wedding present.

(I love this table.  There are only three of them that he made...and I have one!)

When my Grandfather was making this table I bet he never thought that one day it would be the set for STAR WARS.

I bet he was just thinking how Josh and I would eat dinner at it.  Which we did for the first year and a half of our marriage.

But now it holds a lamp, a picture, Bibles, and Darth.....

There are show downs on this table.

And Luke LOVES to arrange them all and yell, "TAKE A PICTURE MOM!!"

And I do.  Then he will set up the next scene.

And yell for another picture.

It goes on for a while.  I have lots and lots of STAR WARS pictures, but I will spare you from seeing them all.

Today....

Eleven years ago:

I woke up to a pink note from my Mother.

It was cold outside and very sunny....just as I had hoped it would be.

I slipped into my dream wedding dress and put on a veil made by my Mother.

I saw my Daddy in a tux for the first time.

My new little sister was my flower girl.

Tears filled my eyes the moment I started walking down the aisle.

I locked eyes with my soon to be husband, my best friend, and saw the huge smile on his face.

My Daddy walked me down the aisle and held onto my arm tight.  It hurt.

He did he part and gave me away with a quiver in his voice.

I could barely speak when I was supposed to.

My father-in-law performed our wedding ceremony.

It was perfect.

I married my Joshua.

I kissed him for the first time......as his wife.

In the last Eleven years:

We bought our first home.

Had our son.

Grieved as Grandparents, a Mother, and an unborn child passed away.

Prayed.

Pranked each other.

Stuck together.

Had surgeries.

Fought.

Laughed.

Laughed a lot.

Supported each other.

Smiled.

Changed jobs.

Took trips and vacations.

Started our Journey towards Adoption.

Love each other. 

Joshua, I love you!

Happy Anniversary!!!

(Aren't you proud that I remembered all on my own this year!)

FanFest -- Who was the Biggest Star??

About two minutes after the last World Series Rangers game against the Cardinals, after Josh and Luke both had a chance to let it sink in that the season was over, Josh said to Luke, “Do you want to go with me to FanFest in January?”  “Yes…” Luke said.  

They were sad, but still true fans who could not wait for the next season.

So, on the Saturday of FanFest my boys were up EARLY and out the door.

The first update of the day that I received was that Josh and Luke had been interviewed for a Japanese television stations.  What???  I texted back to Josh.  Sure enough, photos soon followed.  It seems I now live with international stars.  

I then received word that they were in line to see Ian Kinsler.  So, I texted back and asked Josh to give my love to Ian, and maybe a hug.  Josh did neither and just obtained autographs and pictures.  My boys were happy and having a good time.

Luke was also able to play some games while they were there too.

Josh Hamilton is one of Luke’s favorites and so I was super happy to hear that they were going to be able to see him.  I do not think anything will ever compare to the first time Luke met him, but he really had a good time this year talking to him again.

When they got home Luke was carrying all kinds of goodies and had all kinds of autographs.

The following day they went again and Luke was able to sit on stage with Benji Gil and read two books to kids!  Josh said that after Luke read the first book Benji commented on how well he could read and asked if he had good grades in school.  "All As!" Luke said.  Love it.  

 

 Later that night I was talking to Luke about all he had done that day and I asked him what his favorite thing to do was.  "Hold my Daddy's hand." was his quick reply.  I looked over at Josh who was beaming.

It does not matter if you are on tv, or that one of the best second basemen ever signs your baseball, or if you have your picture taken with MVPs, or that you read books with ex baseball players, what matters is time with your Daddy. 

To Luke, his Daddy is the real star!

**Thank you to Joshua and his best friend for texting me pictures!!  The one of Josh Hamilton giving Luke the ball is my favorite--thanks Jerel!

Hank

This blog entry really has no point.

Except to show you our puppy.

And to show you how cute he is.

And to show you how much he likes to sleep.  In the sun.

And did I mention cute?  Yes.  Okay.

He is almost full grown.

And is about eight pounds.

Eight pounds of cute loveable fun.

See, I warned you there was really no point to this.

But you just can't stop looking at a cute puppy.

His brother loves him too.

Dinosaurs!!!

 

On Luke’s last day off for winter break Joshua took off work and they went out in search of dinosaurs.  I called to remind Josh to take the camera, and boy I am glad I did!

Most pictures were what I would call normal.  (As in photos I would take.) 

See, Luke in front of the dinosaurs. 

Cute!

But then, I came across some photos that I might not have taken.

Like this one.

Luke said, “Mom, I was walking by and this dinosaur just grabbed me!”

“Really?”  I asked.  “And Daddy just stood there and took a picture rather than helping you??”

He laughed.  

Let it be known, I would fight off any dinosaur for the safety of my child.

I mean, are the children SUPPOSED to climb up in the mouth of the dinosaur?  I did not ask.  I was just happy my boys were off doing boy things.  Bonding together and all.

But then, the worst pictures came. (if you are squeamish, stop reading now)

Apparently, there were many snakes to see at this place as well.  AND, as if that is not neat enough, it was time for those snakes to EAT!

And my two boys are JUST the people who love to watch this sort of thing.  Not me.  I would have been hanging out with the dinosaurs again and taking my chances with them.  Not Joshua and Luke.  They were front and center and Josh was clicking away on the camera.

Nice photos to look at too....right before dinner.....