An Update?

Goodness, I feel like I should introduce myself it's been so long. (smile!) Life demanded a little break from the internet...er, blogging.

Things are going great - baby is great. The adoption is coming along! And it's been eleven days since I last vomited and five since I last took zofran. I'll be 22 weeks on Sunday.

If nausea is any indicator, this baby should be SUPER healthy!

And rounding the corner is really, really nice. Truth be told, I was a bit down with it all, the nausea that is. And the lack of energy.

 {This marinade is a MUST TRY!!! It's our "go to" for pork tenderloin. Seriously - you NEED to try this.}

And so my energy is returning and I am slowly reclaiming our home, bit by bit. Who knew dust could settle so thick? By the end, everything was out of order. Including our children.

  {Our dear, dear neighbor from before the move (minus his better half -wink, wink)- made it our way on a sales call and we soaked up EVERY minute of his joining us for dinner! It put a lump in my throat just knowing he and The Engineer were in the backyard hanging with the kids. Sweetness.}

We've had to re-establish boundaries. Like, for instance, some form of this has been the norm:

Me: "Why are you eating cheese-its for breakfast?"

Them: "We always eat cheese-its for breakfast."

Me: "No you don't."

Them: "Well, lately we have."

Me: "But you didn't even ask. I don't want you to eat cheese-its for breakfast and you must ask permission before you help yourself to food."

Them: "But you've been letting us eat whatever we want and we never have to ask. We just go get it."

Me: "That was fine when I was sick. But baby, I'm back. No more cheese-its for breakfast!"

My poor little peeps. They have needed their mama and they have done well and been a blessing in their super survival skills while I've been otherwise occupied. Sister has mastered the art of holding my hair back while I puke. Little Bit knows to bring the trash can STAT. And they all know where the zofran is. And all of that is why I've been absent. Woop woop! I'm so thankful to have made it this far. The thought of losing another babe as far along as last time was more than my heart could handle.

There...I'm finished complaining. (smile)

We celebrated three birthdays in less than a week! The Engineer's...mine...and Little Man's! Sister made a cake with JJ and we all sang to Daddy! The children insisted the cake was "just for Daddy!"

And it was precious seeing how enthusiastic they were about celebrating their Daddy! They love this guy!

The Engineer and I had an awesome date ON my birthday. We ate a fabulous steak dinner in a dimly lit restaurant and lingered for nearly three hours and then came home to a spotless house and three children bathed and in the bed. I LOOOOVE a good babysitter!!!

Neighbors introduced us to a fabulous bakery via the gift of a dozen petit-four eggs. We are still learning all sorts of new things about this place we now call home!

We celebrated Little Man's birthday in high style. Dinner at Chick-Fil-A followed by a rousing soccer game. His team won!! Woop woop! And then we came home for presents. Sister got in a little reading session pre-gift opening. Note the position of Little Man's finger...sometimes you just gotta get it.

It's fun to see the girls' excitement with and for Him. Of course, there were some down and out looks as he opened one certain gift. I think I know what the girls will ask for for their birthdays.

Little Bit is taking "ball-all-et" and loving it. Every morning she wakes and asks, "Am I going to ball-all-et today?" And every day, but one, we tell her, "not today." And she is bummed. But usually puts on dance attire regardless.

Little Man amazes us these days. He has fixed more things recently than I can list. Boys are such a mystery to me. His intentions are usually good - like trying to pick the lock on The Engineer's truck with a screw driver. It's so sweet that he was trying to be helpful and have the door open and ready, but seriously! No more screwdrivers in locks!!! Because now you can only unlock the truck if you put the key in just right and turn it just so.

He and a friend decided to help The Engineer make progress on the tree house we are planning to build. There's a perfect tree in the backyard - practically planted and grown just for a tree house - and those boys drove every nail they could get their hands on into the base of the tree. The poor tree. The Engineer has changed plans and will now build the tree house around said tree, rather than in it. I have no clue where, ahem, the adult in charge was. (Me.)

There's a long list here...I'm told this, too, is a season. We are seeking to fill it with lots and lots of old junk to take apart projects. (smile) And truly, I can't wait to see what God does in this Little Man's heart and life. He is really a cool kid...I can only imagine what God has in store for him!

Best soup ever!!! Thai Coconut Curry Chicken Soup. Sigh. Sooo good. The hubs loves it. The kids love it. It's a winner!

Happy Birthday Little Man! This was a labor of love. Me and a ziplock bag. Guess I chunked my old icing tips when we moved? Not sure, but I couldn't put my hands on them. This just goes to show you...necessity is the mother of invention! Me and the hefty ziplock workin' it for an hour and a half. I was pretty pleased with the end product!

A few days post his actual birthday, we loaded up and headed for the bowling alley to celebrate with his "official party!"

So "the man." Cool and composed. He owned that place.

Takin' it all in stride...birthday boy!!!

SPARE! It was so fun to see this girl throw off all inhibition and dance back to us celebration style!

Is a picture not worth a thousand words? I could eat her up!

Happy Birthday Little Man! You are insanely wonderful! A good and perfect gift from our heavenly Father. We rejoice over you with singing and we are so thankful He gave us you! It is an honor and privilege to be your mama...like, Little Man, I LOVE being your mama!!!

Guess where we got to go???

Hint, hint, that's Tiger in orange.

Our dear friends invited us to spend a little time with them at the Masters. Y'all, I'm not even a big golf fan. It was amazing. I've never seen grass like that. It was beautiful. Everyone was kind and courteous. I hope it's not the last time we ever get to experience something like that...what a treat. Thanks, guys!

There's nothing like spending the afternoon sans the kiddos in adult conversation with some of our dearest friends and on the arm of the man of my dreams. Mr. Engineer - I love you.

Last week was spring break. Call me a hermit...I booked our calendar FULL! With staying HOME. We did not have a single play date. We did not eat a single lunch out. We did not go anywhere. We stayed home. And everyone slept until at least seven. Every morning (and once Little Man slept until ten!) We (they) played in the sprinkler...and sprayed each other with the hose washed the car...and played in the blow-up pool...and read...and built forts...

They played "Boxcar Children" and were homeless and solved mysteries (and this cracks me up because we have yet to read a single Boxcar book-they're on the list).

They played "orphan" and "adoption" and ran an orphanage on the porch. Which reminds me of when I was Sister's age; my grandmother was so sick with cancer. My sister and I used to play "cancer." I suppose it's the norm for kids to play at what they're exposed to. (smile)

Little Man worked on his golf swing. He's dented every whiffle ball he owns. And there are divots all over the backyard. We went on long walks...

Little Bit helped me bake pretzels.

And they all played...lots...and lots... and lots...

I put in some serious hours on the casa. I cringe when I think back on my ungrateful heart the first few months we were here. Moving is hard. And I had a hard time with it. We've been here nearly one year and I think we are just figuring out how to live in this house. I wish I'd been more chill. God is so faithful and so good.

And big news!!! Our Home Study is finished!!! Whew! Hip, hip hooray! It felt like it took forever!!! We had lots to read and watch and answer - it was good and hard. Therapeutic! Our social worker said I win the prize for the longest autobiography. It was twenty-something pages (all answering four pages worth of questions). Me...long winded...imagine that!

So now we are waiting...it's a long process...and we wait for the next phase of paper work and fingerprinting. Woop woop!

I hope you are all doing well. I've missed being here, but just didn't have life together enough to spend my time in this way. I'm excited for a new season! Glad to be back! And I'm thankful for y'all!

Happy Wednesday, Y'all!!!