10 years, baby!

 10 Years, Baby!

On July 24th, Brett and I celebrated 10 years of marriage!

What an amazing 10 years it has been.  We have had our ups....big ups and we have had some downs....really big downs.  The one thing that remains consistent with us is our commitment to each other. Sure we disagree sometimes but we have made a commitment to each other and often think of each other. It's not about winning or losing......it's about surrendering your heart to the commitment that you have made and working towards the commitment's best interest.

Someone once told us-

 "If you just focus on making each other happy, 

then you will both be happy."  

Those words struck both of us and I truly feel that this is how our marriage has been so successful as it has.

Do it.
It works.

We decided this year to travel together....NO KIDS....to a place that we have never been.  We have done the resorts by the pool, the beach, the big city.  We wanted something different.  Somehow in our talks about where to go we started to research the Seattle/Vancouver area and that is where we went.  It was a ton of fun.  We really went with no plans, other than what city we would be in each night.  We would wake up each day, grab coffee and start our trek to see all we could see until sundown.

 It was awesome!

 We definitely had our favorite places and definitely want to go back one day to explore once again.

We have not taken a trip for that long away from the kids so we decided to bring a lil piece of them with us to explore....plus we thought it would be really fun to send them pics of what the Ewok was doing!

Ewok Selfie :)

Here is a journal of what we did, see, ate.........through the eyes of our Ewok!

Seattle (Day1 - Day 3)

What we did:

Walked- a ton, Emp Museum, Chihuly Garden & Glass, Pike Place Market, REI Flagship store, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, International Fountain and hung out with some awesome friends from Portland.

Where we ate: 

The Wurst, Biscuit B*tch (twice), Ohana, Grecian Corner, Pike Place Market, Starbucks, Top Pot & Blue Moon Burger

Flight from Seattle to Atlanta

Pike Place Market, Space Needle & Sushi for dinner!

Top Pot Coffee & Donuts
DELISH!

The very first Starbucks!
 Too bad the line was forever long.....

Biscuit B*tch....by far our favorite restaurant of the trip.
So good, we went twice!

REI- Flagship Store- we did a lil shopping!

EMP Museum- Nirvana Exhibit

Victoria (Day 3 & 4)

What we did:
Ferry ride from Anacortes, WA to Victoria, B.C., walked- a ton...again, Whale Watching, Harbor Taxis & Shopped:)

Where we ate: 
Milestones Bar & Grill, Barb's Fish & Chips, Moka House, Ferris' Upstairs Oyster Bar & Bard & Banker Scottish Pub in addition to random candy shop stops for yummy fudge!

Waiting on the Ferry to Victoria

Whale Watching

By far the most amazing thing I have seen in nature......
We were able to follow a pod of killer whales for about an hour.

Bloody Caesar (as the Canadians call them)
And yes, that is an oyster and mussel!

Hanging out in the Harbor

Harbor Taxi



Qualicum Beach, B.C. (Day 4 -6)

What we did:

Glamping at Free Spirit Spheres, Cathedral Grove Forest (where we briefly lost the Ewok) , Little Qualicum Falls, Coombs Country Market, Qualicum Beach,  & Canada Day Festival

Where we ate: 

Coombs Market (we shopped the market and ate in one evening.....mmmmmm truffle gouda!) & Shady Rest Pub

 Free Spirit Spheres- a MUST DO on your list.

Night View

Cathedral Grove Forest- biggest.trees.ever.

 Cathedral Grove Forest.....where we almost lost this lil guy

A Coombs Market Treat- delish!

Vancouver, B.C. (Day 6 & 7)

What we did:

Walked everywhere....even some not so great places! Took a ferry (a very fancy ferry) from Nainamo, B.C. to Vancouver, B.C., Gatson Park, China Town & Granville Island

Where we ate: 

Tap & Barrel @ Coal Harbor &  Cat's Socialhouse

 They are reading while waiting on the Ferry

 Ferry Ride

 Our GORGEOUS view from our hotel in Vancouver.

 Going through customs from Vancouver...

Biscuit B*tch one more time before we fly out of Seattle

I also captured some really great shots on our "big" camera..... and will share those in another post:)

Enjoy!

One step closer.....

Our final Homestudy is in the morning- can I get a WOOT WOOT!  We are about to be on BIG step closer to getting our girl:)  There is more paperwork to be done, but it is great to get this checked off our list!

This is what our breakfast bar typically looks like.....
no longer for eating but for "adoption paperwork-working!"

We had our physicals last week, boys checkups this week and are finalizing some education/training requirements.  We have read books, articles and watched a ton of videos......the good, the bad, the ugly.  I feel that we are prepared and well versed in knowledge for what an adoption truly looks like.  Like I have said before, adoption is a beautiful thing but it comes from a tragic place.

It is amazing to think that she has probably already been born....I daydream about her all the time and wonder how she is doing, what she looks like and where she is. I also have this anxiety in my stomach to hurry and get to her because I know that she is suffering in one way or another by not having the true love and connection of a mother and father.  But I keep telling myself that although this seems like a slow process, it is in God hands and His plan is good.

In this entire process. people have often "thanked" us for what we are doing.  I didn't know why, but I always have felt awkward in responding, "your welcome."  It wasn't until I heard the song "This Is Amazing Grace," at church on Easter, that set truth for what I was feeling.  There is a line in the song that says:

"Who make the orphan a son and daughter

The King of Glory, the King of Glory"

And then it hit me why I have had that awkward feeling of saying, "your welcome."  You see, you shouldn't be thanking us as we are actually thanking God for putting this on our hearts and providing the resources for us to do so.  Don't get me wrong, we do appreciate the kind words.  I just want to say that He is the one that placed this on our hearts years ago.  We have openly talked about it and privately prayed about it.  Last year we started the process and all things have fallen into place.  

He has provided for us to make this happen. 

This is for His glory!

"I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you."

John 14:18

"Anyone who welcomes a little child like this 

on my behalf is welcoming me."  

-Matthew 18:5

Braxton's 5th Birthday!

Happy 5th Birthday Braxton!!!  

I can't believe you are 5 already! (well almost....few more days)

What an awesome boy you are growing to be.....such a leader with a BIG heart:)
You are so smart and continue to amaze me with all that you know/remember each day.
You are living proof that miracles do happen!

Your determination and strong-will has lead you so far in a short 5 years and I am excited to see where it takes you in the future. I can't wait to tell you "Your Story" one day!

a few days old at Scottish Rite NICU

The Birthday Boy!

You see, your story has changed me forever....in ways that I could have not imagined!
I am forever grateful to you for showing me God's amazing grace and am completely humbled by the fact that God chose me to be your mom.

Here is one of our most recent conversations which is very fitting to hitting a big milestone this month.

Brax:  "Mama, do you know that when I grow big I have to leave this house."
Me:  "No, never"
Brax:  "Yes, I do.  I want to be a Fireman when I get big and you can't be a Fireman if you live with your mom."
Me: "well......."
Brax:  "Don't worry mama, when I go I will draw you a picture of myself so that you don't forget what I look like."

His request this year was to have a Lego/Star Wars Party......

so, here you go!

ready and waiting for the kiddos to arrive

Braxton's Darth Vader Lego Man, greeting everyone!

Welcome!

Light Sabers for all!
Made with pool noodles, electrical tape & duck tape.

Snack Table

Cupcakes with rings & light saber toppers

Braxton's favorite cookie, Oreo!
(Birthday cake Oreos are the best....thanks Cammy!)

Fruit Saber & Pretzel Sabers

Jelly Beans and Gummi Bears....oh, I mean Yoda Toes & Ewoks!

TIE Fighter Drink Station- Compliments of Brett!

It was a FUN party!!!

maybe TOO much fun:)

my sweet Wy

Present Time!

Cheeseburger Salad

Ok, so many of you have asked for the recipe after I posted this pic last night. 

 

I would have taken a better pic had I know I would be blogging about this!

There are many of nights when I need to go to the grocery store but just don't feel like it. I really only go to the store once a week so making an extra trip for me is a total chore.   So what I do is play a little game of Iron Chef (remember that show??)  and try to make something super yummy out of what we already have.

So, I present to you last night's creation:

Cheeseburger Salad (2 servings)

1 bag Brussels Sprouts 

3 cups fresh Kale 

1 cup cherry tomatoes sliced

1 lb ground beef (seasoned with Tony Chachere's & garlic powder)

1 small container of crumbled blue cheese

for the dressing:

1 part olive oil

1 part dijon mustard

juice of 1/2 lemon

salt 

pepper

In cast iron skillet, brown ground beef.  I seasoned mine with Tony Chachere's seasoning and garlic powder. *Allow meat to cool a bit before adding to salad.

Chop up fresh brussels sprouts and kale and place in large mixing bowl.  Add in cherry tomatoes (I usually cut these in half) and blue cheese crumbles.  Add ground beef and then toss in dressing.  Simple, right?

I did not give specific dressing measurements for 2 reasons...

#1 I didn't measure them:) 

#2 I know that most people are particular about the amount of dressing on their salad so I figure you could figure that out on your own.

And because we are a spicy family, I also topped it off with my favorite Scholtzsky's Hot Sauce!!!  

I am sure more things can be added.....onion, cucumber, pickles, jalapenos, bacon.....oooh bacon!

Enjoy!

Kelli

Homestudy #1 complete

Well, we had our first Homestudy today and it went great! At least, I think it did. Our social worker is amazing and so sweet.  It is really great that we feel comfortable with her as some intense questions are asked.  Brett and I were joking this morning that we should have a Homestudy every week just so our house can look so good!  Ha.....although we were vacuuming about 5 minutes before she showed up!

Today she did a tour of our home and we sat down for interviews with both us and the grandparents.  A ton of questions were asked about us as a couple, all four of us as a family and some questions about our personalities.  It was really fun to sit back and think about Brax and Wyatt and be able to describe them to her.  I am actually reading a book right now called Parenting Plus for Parents.

It is a great book and I highly recommend it to all!  I learned about it in my mom's group (Mom Matters) at North Point Community Church.  It talks about the 4 temperaments that God has given your child and how you are to be a student to your child.  You are to parent them based on their God-given temperament rather than to how we, as parents, want to parent.  Also, if you are a family with multiple children you can do your children a favor and parent them differently.  You can also take the test for yourself to figure out what your temperament is and then it will give specifics on how certain parent temperaments should parent certain child temperaments.


Anyway....back to the Homestudy today......
It was pretty easy.....after the interviews she toured the home, closets and all....yikes!

I also have to post this picture of the boys' room.  I had told the boys this morning that we had a meeting about the adoption today so Brax (on his own) cleaned his room:

ummmmm....where did everything go???

oh!  there is it.....all shoved under Wyatt's bunk!  Ha!
And to my controlling surprise, I left it just like this....
figured it showed truth to how we are involved as a family in this process

We then went downstairs to meet Mom Mom and Pop Pop.  We toured their part of the house and then sat down for a brief interview.  When we started this process we had no idea that they were going to be as involved as they are.  They are troopers.  I certainly want to be sensitive to what they can handle at 88 & 89 but at the same time really want this process to run as smoothly for them so that they are not overwhelmed.

On a funny note, as we went through the interview with them today, Pop Pop was asked if he had ever been diagnosed with a psychological disorder or ever attempted suicide.  His answer was , "Not yet".....I wanted to nudge him and say "not appropriate."  I mean, we all know that he is joking but she has no idea as she had just met him 5 mins prior.  Well, Mom Mom very quickly shot some "serious eyes" from across the table and he quickly changed his answer to "No."  It was funny, especially if you know him but maybe not such great timing!

Our next Homestudy is our detailed interview and will take place in about 2 weeks.  We have about 5 pages of questions to answer that will basically write our autobiography from childhood until now.  We will discuss this in full detail individually with our SW.  So please be praying for us to get this all on paper in the next 2 weeks.

And I just have to end on a sweet sweet note.....
Ahhh, my Brax....such a sweet boy.

This may just be a spoon....a cheapo plastic "throwaway spoon", but for us we will keep forever.

You see all along this process I have prayed for Brax & Wy about expanding our family.  Doubt has never crossed my mind about our adoption but my mind certainly got to thinking of how this would look for them and how they would receive it.  Well, as I told you in my last last post, they are ecstatic about having a sister and have been talking about it daily.  The question this morning was "How many minutes is it going to take us to go to China to get her?".....whoaaaaa, a lot, a lot a lot of minutes my dear:)

So Brax came home from school last Friday and was so excited to show this spoon to me that he wants to give his sister.  I am guessing he had some sort of snack at school and this came with it so he kept in and tucked it away in his backpack for her.  It was the sweetest thing ever....the sweetest thing to see my boy already wanting to give so much love to someone he has yet to meet!
God is amazing!
That.is.all.

Until next time.....
Kelli

The word of the week is Fingerprints!

Ahhhh...everyone warned me about the lovely fingerprinting step of the process.....the cost, the lines, the drive, the wait, did I mention the lines????......but what I failed to realize early on is that not only are Brett and I do the fingerprint process, but our grandparents have to as well since they live with us.

So let's start on Friday where is took almost 3  hours to get us fingerprinted for the FBI.  Alpharetta Police Department had a mix up where we sat for probably 45 mins and they didn't even have us in cue.  I wanted to cry b/c at that point it was 1:40 and I have to pick Brax up at 2:20.  Well I was late...like my child was the LAST one to be picked up from school late!!!.....enter MOMMY GUILT!  He was absolutely fine and did wonder where I was but was very well taken care of.  I have to constantly remind myself that I did not commit a sin therefore the guilt is false (Thank you Karen Stubbs for teaching this to me)

Ok, back to fingerprints.....I am not sure if you know this but as you age, your fingerprints slowly disappear.  We ended up having to get a notarized letter from APD stating that they did the best they could on Mom Mom and Pop Pop but that their fingerprints were not eligible.

Then today we headed to the GBI- which took 2 hours!  So a shout out to modern technology that allow me to keep working from wherever I am:)  The line was forever long......it was lunch time....OYE, I did not plan this well!  Not to mention that you were expected to work the machine yourself so that was causing a bit of a problem.   But slowly we made our way to the front and we started.  Again, fingerprints on Mom Mom and Pop Pop were not eligible so the machine was not going to allow us to move to the next step until we could get a print.  Luckily the store manager has a wonderful heart and sat with us as we did their prints and helped us bypass the system to submit what we could.  My Wy was with us today and was such a good boy!  Everyone complimented him on his master puzzle & alphabet skills while he played quietly on the IPad.

(and please no judgement for my child laying on the Pak Store floor without shoes one....sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do!)

We have rounded up our second set of paperwork, submitted for our background checks and made copies of all sorts of identification of all of us.....Brett, me, Mom Mom & Pop Pop- and God Bless them for being such troopers in going through this process with us at 88 & 89!  It was a bit of a surprise that they would need to be as involved in the process as they are since they live with us.

This week will be operation get house ready- not that there is much to do but just need to re-tidy up and get somethings off my to do list that have been on there for too long.  Our SW will be here on Monday to do our first house visit and also will interview Wyatt, Mom Mom and Pop Pop.

We also had a very special gift given to the boys this week and it allowed us to fully explain to the boys how we are expanding our family.

Thank you again to Mrs. Emily for making these adorable shirts for our boys!!

I am so mad at myself for not video taping it because the look on the boys face (especially Brax) was just too precious and brought tears to my eyes.  It was full of pure joy and excitement and I couldn't be more relieved that they are so happy to expand our family too! They have talked non-stop about their sister and have already stated that she will be sleeping in their room because she shouldn't sleep in the guest room alone....looking at me crazy saying "that's where you sleep when your sick"

So please say some prayers for the 17th for our first in-home Homestudy- just another step in this awesome journey!!

Kelli