Things on My Mind...and blackmail pictures

After my success of two blogs posts two days in a row I needed to rest and try and think of something interesting to say :)  Although I will not claim that what I am about to write is all that interesting- it is just what occupies many of my thoughts at the time being.

1- Nephews.  This coming weekend I will get to see four of my adorable, kissable (all under the age of 4) nephews.  One is less than 3 months old so he is extra kissable (maybe because he cannot run away from me like the other three quite yet).  There might not be a need to say more except that I also love the parents of those adorable nephews and really enjoy seeing them as well.  And I also should mention that I love seeing my sister that does not yet have any children- and she better not since she is 20 and single...

2-  Yard Sales.  We are preparing for our FOURTH adoption yard sale coming up on April 16th.  The other three have been immensely blessed so we think it's time to go for it again before it's too hot, or before we start traveling for the adoption.  I feel somewhat like a yard sale perfectionist when it comes to pricing and organizing, so it takes me a long time to prepare for one.  Already we are getting donations from some unexpected places (strangers even) and feel so grateful that people are willing to help.  God is good!!!

3-  Distraction. These "waiting for our adoption to happen" days can be filled with lots of thoughts and emotions.  Many of those emotions are not necessarily healthy if you dwell on them for long periods of time, so I've found distractions to be a welcome friend during our adoption process.  Now distraction is not always good (ex. I should be cleaning the house, but I'm distracted watching TV) but it can be a wonderful coping mechanism to focus our energy on things other than how many days it's been since our dossier landed in Ethiopia...to name one.  Thankfully, I've had many distractions that are productive- a bonus!!!  The upcoming yard sale is a great example of this.  Another fabulous distraction I have coming up is a litter of puppies my dog Colette has due the end of March.  There is 2 months worth of focus and energy sucked up right there!

4-  Marriage.  I LOVE being married to Trace!  Recently we had the opportunity to attend a free one-day marriage conference.   We have been married 8+ years so while we are not "old vets" we are also not "newbies" either.  If you know us very well you know that we are co-dependant really enjoy each other and being together.  I see our many childless years together as being a wonderful chance to grow our relationship deep and hope that will help us build a solid foundation from which to parent.  I adore my husband and am thankful for him every single day.  Seriously, I don't deserve him but I thank God he helped me catch him :)

5.  Silliness.  All week that I've been participating in the dress up theme days at work I've been thinking about whether or not I would post visual evidence for the world to see how crazy I am.  Apparently the competitive nature that displayed itself when I played sports growing up did not end when I ceased playing softball and soccer in high school.  After I got pretty good scores the first day for dressing up as Charlie Chaplin I decided to really go for it (there are prizes to be won!) so while I may regret this later (and may remove this post) I hesitantly present my silly pictures.  I am generally a low-key kind-of-person, not the artistic and creative person these pictures might suggest.  Trace is the really the one behind me even posting them- he's been telling me all week to share them.  The theme was "Movie Week"- so at the risk of losing all potential "serious Blogger" credibility, here you go...

As Belle on "Disney Day"

On "Western Day"

As Charlie Chaplin on "Comedy Day"