Wow...it's been awhile

Tomorrow would be officially 2 months since a post. Wow. Once again, hundreds of unwritten posts have floated around my head never making it out into blogland. Here's a few things that I would have written about if I had been able to stay awake and unbusy enough to write:

1. We went to Disney this summer. Did I mention that? No. Why? I'm lazy. So...guess what??? WE WENT TO DISNEY!!!! Back in July. It was kind of a random thing that happened. Basically, someone gave us a place to stay for 7 days and then we decided to be good American citizens and put our rebate back into the economy. :) It was AWESOME. The highlights? For Jack - meeting Buzz and Woody of course. If you ask him about it, meeting Buzz and Woody are all he talks about. For Hope - she'll tell you how three princesses snuck into our condo (not on Disney campus and 4 miles away) and left her some beautiful princess pajamas (along with Buzz and Woody that left Jack Toy Story jammies). This happened on our first night as we were unloading the car. How in the world did we miss them???? Cinderella confessed when she met Hope so we know that it really did happen. Ahh, the magic of Disney. :) For Ryan and I, it was a week of no cell phones, a million pictures and money well spent. We totally see how people get swept up and visit every year. It really was amazing.

2. I've discovered a new ice cream - Publix brand Lemon Sugar Cookie. It's even low-fat. It's amazing.

3. After 5 years of praying and waiting, I have finally been able to cut back my hours at work and be home a little more. The stress is still on a work but I just cannot believe the difference it's made at home after just two weeks. Wow. Hmmm...no more dinners at 7 or 7:30. No more anxiousness because I'm so spent by the time I get home that I (literally) can't remember the things that I need to take care of until the next morning - when I don't have time to take care of them. (Lists don't help.) No more going home in the fall in the dark. When the time change comes, I'll still be able to leave in the daylight. Ryan even made a comment about how good of a mood I've been in over the last several days. He noticed that big of a difference? That should tell you something right there.

4. So another big announcement. Some don't know it yet but we're adopting!! We're really excited that the time has come to pursue this. We've prayed and talked about this for years. The first question people ask me is "where from"? Here. Domestic adoption. Don't know the age. Anywhere from 0-6. Our homestudy is almost complete and should be sent to the state within the next two weeks. It takes a month for approval at the state office. Then...we wait for a referral. That's about it right now. I'm excited and ready that God is adding to our family in this way!

5. I have a pretty large extended family from my dad's side. He's one of seven and there's 30+ grandchildren for my amazing grandmother from all of them. Despite our size and our geography (we're all over the place), we're pretty close. My dad's next oldest brother has been dealing with a very rare form of cancer for the last couple of years and about a month ago, he took a nose dive one day (literally) and we thought he wasn't going to make it. He did (thankfully) and is back home being cared for by my aunt and hospice until the Lord calls him home. He's truly an amazing man of God with integrity, strength and the kind of relationship with the Lord that I hope my kids have one day. This is the first stroke of death that is before our family in 30 years and I'm really struggling with it. Please be in prayer for me. His death (as many do) will have impacts that none other could have. Some affect me almost directly. Too much there to elaborate on but I am confident in the Lord's decision even thought it is far from what I would have chosen. Please, please be in prayer for him as well. I just pray that when it's time, it would not drag out. He's very mentally, emotionally, spiritually aware and alert. He can easily interact in that way. Physically - it's quite a struggle. I just don't want him to have to deal with that any longer than necessary. I pray the Lord will sustain him until it's time. His complete healing is not far away...

6. I'll leave on a happy note that shows one of my favorite recents pics of two of my favorite people....