Our Journey..Together....

daddy & daughter...

2012-02-13T09:10:00.000-05:00

I planned a really special "valentine's date night" for Kaz from Annie this past weekend. I really want it to become a yearly tradition and as the years go on for her to be involved in helping with the planning:) There were 4 parts to the date but below is the first one! A daddy/daughter photo shoot! I could frame every one of these pictures:) They are so sweet!

a year ago today, our world changed...

2012-02-09T12:35:00.000-05:00

A year ago today a lot happened...I woke up excited, nervous, anxious...because a year ago today we went to an ultrasound to find out the gender of a baby that we thought would be ours. We had received a phone call that morning saying to be prepared because the birth mom was really struggling...After thinking about it, we decided to still go to the appointment. We had lunch with her just like we always did before doctor’s appointments. She talked to us about how she was struggling but how putting the baby up for adoption was the best thing for her. As we left the restaurant and made our way to the doctor’s office, my gut feeling wasn’t any better. I can’t explain my feelings but I was genuinely sad...I wasn’t myself. I can’t really explain why....We went to the doctor’s office and the nurse said that the birth mom would be seeing a different doctor today. The birth mom said, “I hope it’s not Dr. ____, because I don’t like her, nor does my sister.” When the doctor came in, sure enough it was the Dr. she didn’t want to see. As we sat in the ultrasound room, I was in front of the birth mom to the side, Kaz was on the other side, and the birth mom in the middle. As the tech moved that wand over the birth mom's stomach, it wasn’t long until we knew it was a boy. A BOY....my heart sank. I was disappointed. I REALLY wanted a girl. Kaz could see the look on my face. I should have been happy but I knew that having a boy would change everything with this birth mom. It would make things harder because there wasn’t a single boy in her family...I knew chances were, this would be last we ever saw of this baby boy. The Dr. saw us after the ultrasound and the birth mom introduced us as the adoptive parents. I still can’t wrap my mind around what happened next...Why, it happened? The doctor told us a story of a child who had been adopted. How brave the birth mom was, and how giving a child up for adoption is such a big decision. That child she was talking about was her child. She had adopted a girl...She talked about the Lord and how He has such a plan for all of us. She even prayed for us. I had to fight back the tears. At the time, I thought she was saying all of that to the birth mom, but in reality she was saying it to me!

That night, we found out the birth mom was pretty sure she wanted to keep the baby. Our relationship with her did go on up until she had the baby, but it was never a for sure NO until that night....Feb 9th.

I can still remember this time last year, so clearly. What I was wearing, where we parked, every detail....After we heard NO, we were sad. We had thought for months that we were going to have a baby around June 18th! What we didn’t know was that WE WOULD have a baby around that time and it wouldn’t be this baby boy....IT WOULD BE OUR SWEET DAUGHTER ANNIE RICE. Like I mentioned, we kept up with the birth mom up until she delivered the baby. She had the baby on June 12th....It was a hard day. We had been on the waiting list for the 2nd time since Feb 9, 2011 and hadn’t gotten one interest from other birth moms...I prayed so hard that we would have a baby soon....On June 13, 2011[the very next day from the birth mom giving birth to that little boy] we got the phone call about our sweet daughter Annie Rice. 2 weeks later, we brought her home. What a JOY and BLESSING she is in our life. A year ago today, I never would have imagined I would be so happy. The Lord’s plan is SO PERFECT and even though the road is not always smooth, I am very thankful for those bumpy paths in our life because they have made up stronger and we have the absolute most precious daughter in the whole world. Her story is perfect and I pray everyday that it brings GLORY to God everyday.

first drawing for my book...

2012-02-08T14:47:00.001-05:00

I've been anxiously awaiting this month because my book is in the illustration phase! I must say, I'm SO EXCITED to see the final product! I've been talking with my illustrator a good bit and I absolutely love the ideas that we have discussed! While I can't give a lot of information, I can share one image of Annie Rice! I was very pleased with it and think it really resembles her from the hair, bow, bare feet, and teddy bear! What do you think?

a sweet and curly haired little girl...

2012-02-03T10:47:00.001-05:00

I've been planning this shoot for weeks! It was suppose to include Charlie, but due to Annie being sick and the weather we had to cancel:( BUT we have big plans for their 2nd birthday photos:) I am ABSOLUTELY in LOVE with these pictures! Her hair was extra curly which made the pictures even sweeter! She is growing up too fast:( I love her sweet, pretty face and I couldn't have been happier with these pictures! I put in a lot of time and thought to make them happen! NOW I JUST NEED MORE WALL SPACE TO HANG THEM:) Kaz told me I just need to switch out photos...I don't know that I can do that:) Here are a few of my favorite pictures from Annie Rice's Valentine Day shoot:)

a sick little girl...

2012-02-02T12:09:00.004-05:00

Is it Thursday already? This week has been a week! I started out Monday with 5 newborn sessions! I was literally gone from 9-7pm. It was a long day! Annie Rice has had a runny nose for a couple of days and on Tuesday her cough and congestion got a lot worse! She normally wakes up in the mornings around 815-830, and yesterday morning she woke up at 645 crying! I knew something wasn’t right. Her congestion was worse and she was wheezing! I called to schedule a doctor’s appointment for that morning! At 9am yesterday morning, we had her first visit with the Early Interventionist! At 9am, she threw up 5 times! It went everywhere:( The EI said we could reschedule because I had a very sick little girl. Being in mom’s arms was the only place she wanted to be. I hated seeing her sick BUT I LOVED holding and rocking her! We went to the doctors office, and had been waiting for about 15 minutes when she threw up all over me and her again:( The doctor said she had a double ear infection, a lot of cold and congestion, and the throwing up was coming from her deep coughs. She was absolutely pitiful! After the doctor’s appointment, I put her down for a nap and when she woke up she was back to her normal self! She’s definitely a trooper! She’s happy and playing this morning like nothing is wrong:) Below are a few pictures from the last few days!

happy girl at the beginning of the week!

yesterday...feeling bad:(

after the throw up incidence in the dr's office

fell asleep in my arms in the dr's office...

On the ride home! I don't know how she didn't break her neck!

Laundry Detergent Making Party...

2012-01-27T09:38:00.002-05:00

Last night, me and a few girls from our Sunday School class made our own laundry soap! I saw the idea on pinterest and have several family/friends who make it, so we decided to give it a try! I bought the supplies for everyone and it came out to be right at $20 per person! We made enough laundry soap that should last our family between 9-12 months! It made a ton, and the best part is I only have to use a tablespoon per load of laundry:) Here's the formula!

1 4 lb 12 oz box Borax (2.15 kg or 76 oz)

1 4 lb box Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (1.81 kg)

1 box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda 55 oz (3 lb 7 oz)

3 bars of Fels-naptha soap,

2 small containers of oxyclean (try to get about 3.5 lbs total (1.58 kg)) This is optional BUT I decided to add it because it adds that extra power of cleanliness to it:)

(you can also use pink Zote soap instead of Fels-naptha)

I found all of these supplies at Wal-Mart on the detergent isle and I literally cleaned them out:)

Basically, you mix everything together in a 5 gallon bucket. We lined our's with trash bags. Fels-naptha soap has to be shredded either with a cheese grater or a food processor[that is the easiest] and then tossed in the mix[these will dissolve in the wash even with cold water). Once everything is together, mix it all really well together and you have your soap! I have been told by friends who have HE washers that it works great in those specific washers. I'm super excited that I don't have to buy detergent hopefully for the rest of the year:) AND it was a fun time to spend with friends!

We are storing most of ours in the 5 gallon bucket in our garage BUT I bought this container at Wal-Mart for $3, and sprayed a little chalk board paint on it to keep in our laundry room. This isn't even half of what the detergent made and it only takes a tablespoon:)

pillows, sewing, and window panels...

2012-01-25T12:16:00.002-05:00

So yesterday I told you about some of the projects we have been working on...Well, those were really the big ones but I’ve been working on several small projects! For Christmas, I asked Kaz for a sewing class! I knew some of the basics but wanted to really learn how to sew clothes for Annie Rice..you know, some of the super cute ones that cost a fortune! Well, this sewing class has come in handy in more ways than one! We have been re-doing the guest room, that used to be my former office..When we started with a blank room, I knew I wanted to use the colors gray, yellow, and white! That along with apple green, gray, and white are my 2 favorite color schemes right now! So we painted the room gray, Kaz made a new headboard, and I had to add yellow accents! I already had yellow curtains that my friend Anne made but needed pillows! I ordered 2 pillows off of Etsy for $22 and loved the way they came out! BUT this week, I bought some of my all time fabric fabric[that comes in many colors] to reupholster the chair in that room. I decided to attempt to make a pillow! Well, not just any pillow because I can make a typical pillow but one that I can just inset pillows I already have in the house! JUST like the ones I ordered off of Etsy. I didn’t really know what I was doing, but decided it shouldn’t be too hard, set my mind to it, and 20 minutes later I had the finished product! It turned out SUPER and you would never know which was the “true professional one” verses mine! Can you tell?

Well, I made the one with the gray bird on it! I made a smaller gray one for the chair the exact same way! Instead of cutting 2 strips the same size, I cut 3. 1 was for the front, 2 for the back. On the 2 back pieces I added a hem, put all of them right sides together, and sewed all the way around! Once I flipped it, I could just insert the pillow! My measurements were not the best way to go about it, but the easiest for me. I made the new pillows by comparing the size of the pillows I had to insert:)

We also put up some pictures! We took old window panels, measured them, and printed 1 picture to fit the size of the frames!

This is the new chair! It was covered in a blue fabric for our dinning room but now it’s completely different and in the guest room!

I love how it’s all coming together and hope to post the whole room very soon:)

life, fabric and lots of staples...

2012-01-24T14:29:00.001-05:00

The last few weeks I have been extremely lazy...well, in some ways! Annie Rice takes a 3-4 hr nap each day and I’ve found myself lately wanting to do nothing but watch TV and lay around! More specifically watch 90210:) I have January and February off from weddings and it’s my time to relax. The problem is I’m relaxing a little too much:) BUT life and work will get crazy soon enough so I’m going to enjoy it while I can! While I’ve been lazy in some areas, I’ve been working really hard around the house on projects. I think we have about 5-6 different projects going on! AND everyday when Kaz comes home I’ve started on something else:) Our current list of projects are re-doing our kitchen[counter tops and back splash, guest bedroom which is almost finished, our bathroom, and little odds and ends such as making a chalk board for Annie Rice! I HOPE HOPE HOPE to be posting pictures soon! Pinterest has become my new best friend and I have found so many ideas on there:) Kaz gets really scared when I ask for his staple gun because I have come to LOVE the words fabric and staples. I have come to realize that fabric, paint, and staples can fix just about anything! I have recovered the same chair 2xs this week with fabric:) It’s finally the way I want it! BUT I do scare Kaz when I mention those words or say, “I have a question”. BECAUSE he knows I’m thinking of something new to do:)

The last few days Annie Rice has been sleeping a ton! Normally we put her down around 8 at night and she wakes up between 730-815 in the mornings. The last few days we’ve put her down closer to 7 and she’s been waking up at 9. Don’t get me wrong...It’s very nice and I’ll take it when it comes:) Each day, I go into her room to find a new dilemma in her diaper! Yesterday morning, she had pooped and peed so much that not only was the entire sheet covered, but her clothes were soaking wet and she slept through it all! I had to WAKE her up at 9. I don’t know how she slept through all of that...I know she much have been freezing! Today, I found a lot of poop:) It had gotten on her back and clothes so I took her to the bathtub to wash her off. I put the dirty clothes in the hall because it’s hardwood flooring...Got Annie settled with eating and then went back to pick up the diaper and clothes. The pj’s were no where to be found. After searching around, I found them with my 4 legged friend...You can imagine what she was doing! I hope tomorrow morning is a little less drama free:) Doesn’t Miley just look guilty?

Annie Rice has started LOVING camel backs! She loves drinking out of Kaz’s backpack and we got her a little pink camelback that we have to practically pry out her hand! These pictures are so sweet of her:)

JOY...

2012-01-20T10:19:00.004-05:00

The Lord has been teaching us a lot about this word JOY over the last few months, and I know he isn’t done yet! This word has appeared over and over in our lives especially the last 3 months! One of the many ways we have seen this word alive in our lives, is through Annie Rice. The Lord has given her a spirit of JOY. She is the happiest little girl. If she is crying, you know something is wrong. Sure, she has her moments like any child, but she is 99% happy most days! She goes to sleep smiling and wakes up smiling. People ask me all the time if I trick her into smiling for the camera. Nope, I don’t. That’s her personality. Other people ask if she’s always happy. She really is. From the moment we put her in our car on June 25 until now, she has been the same. She smiled and clapped the day we got her like she knew we were her parents. I think the only tears that day was when I took her blanket from her:) She says HI to everyone and will even go to random strangers! She's so outgoing!

I can already see the Lord and Holy Spirit working in her life everyday. At night, before bed, we read a story out the of the bible and let her pick a stick from her prayer pail. She is so at peace during this time. It amazes me to watch her. I hope and pray everyday that the Lord uses her story for HIS glory and honor not just now but all the days of our lives. She is such a blessing to our family, and I couldn’t have imagined the perfect plan that He had/has for our lives.

For the fruit of the spirit are: love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control. Gal 5:22-23

kisses from Miley every morning!

running 13.1 miles...

2012-01-18T11:47:00.002-05:00

A few days ago, Kaz and I ran the Charleston Half Marathon. I haven’t mentioned it on here at all, and there’s a good reason! BECAUSE WE DIDN’T TRAIN! We signed up back in the summer and I kept saying that my start date for training was August 1. Then it became Sept 1....then October, and so on and so on! Last year, I was extremely motivated to train. This year, it did the opposite effect! I maybe ran 2xs a week up until the week after Christmas! I honestly had no idea how the race would go because of my lack of training! Kaz agreed to run with me and I’m so thankful he did! He made some big sacrifices to do that! He normally can run a mile under 7 minutes and I’m around 11 minutes so that tells you how much he slowed down!

We both surprised ourselves! Last year, I finished in 2 hours 21 minutes. This year I finished in 2 hours 23 minutes. Not bad for no training!

My friend Carissa also ran the race:)

Here was my thought process throughout the race....The first 6 miles was great! I kept thinking the whole time, I want to do a full marathon! Mile 6-8, I thought, Why in the world did I sign up for this! 9-11 Ok, I can do this...Just keep running. 11-12, I'm so close just keep moving....12-13, Just keep running. You are almost there.

The beginning to me is always easy! The hard part is half way to the end! Thankfully, my ipod got me through a lot of it! Between Pitbull and Miley Cyrus they gave me just the amount of motivation I needed! It also helped knowing we would see Annie Rice at the finish line. I never talk when I run so Kaz kissed me and said good luck before the race, because he knew he wouldn't hear from me until the end! I actually surprised him and talked some during the race BUT HE TOLD ME TO BE QUIET! Can you believe that? HaHa! When I would talk, I didn't turn down my music so in reality I was talking REALLY LOUD:) I was really thankful he ran the whole race with me. I couldn't have done it without him! The weather has been so nice in Charleston so I decided to wear shorts! A cold front came through the day before the race and the morning of the race it actually showed snow flurries! It was COLD, BUT I had already decided on my outfit:) When we started the race, my legs were numb! While running, I literally could not feel my legs! They just kept moving the whole time! My legs were the only thing I couldn't feel...Well, after the race my leg started stinging...I couldn't figure out why! THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BUT I guess during the race my calves rubbed together! I couldn't feel my legs so I didn't notice it so I have a raw spot on both legs! It looks worse than it is. It doesn't even hurt at all BUT I CAN'T BELIEVE that happened! It was a really fun race and actually motivated me to do another one!

waving to Annie Rice!

development and stress...

2012-01-16T09:37:00.000-05:00

This past Friday, we FINALLY had Annie Rice’s development assessment. We have really had a hard time getting this set up. Because of the adoption, Annie already being in the system before we got her, and us changing her name, it has been a long and complicated process. We didn’t really know what to think about Friday going into it...We had no idea what the meeting would look like. We didn’t find out until Wednesday that we had the meeting on Friday, and when we found out I was so excited because we’ve been waiting for so long! BUT that excitement changed to stress really quickly once we got to the meeting! It took about 3 hours and they did so many test! In the past, Annie’s development has not bothered me very much. There have been several occasions where hurtful comments were made and that’s really when it’s bothered me. Other than that, it honestly hasn’t because I have seen just how far she has come since we got her. We know very little about her previous living environment, but when we got her she literally couldn’t do anything but roll over. At 12 months old, she was at the level of a 4-5 month old. SHE HAS COME SO FAR! Her delays have been a blessing for Kaz and I because we have been able to see all of her first...BUT at the meeting on Friday, I felt plain awful for awhile because I felt like we were saying “No, she can’t do that yet” about 100 times! I FELT like we weren’t doing anything right! Did you catch that? I felt, meaning it wasn’t the actual truth, it was a FEELING. In reality, we can always do more and will always mess up, BUT we have done everything we can to LOVE and CARE and PROVIDE for this sweet little girl! We walked away from the meeting very encouraged that she could start therapy soon to start working on some of the delays, the main one being walking. It was very hard for me to believe truth during that meeting because I felt like Satan was just beating me up with lies and for awhile I was believing them! BUT I’m thankful for my husband who spoke so much truth to me after the meeting! When we finished, I really had to use the restroom and as I was leaving I saw JUST HOW MUCH STRESS I WAS UNDER DURING THAT MEETING! I NEVER NEVER NEVER SWEAT! Even when running, it’s very rare. It’s been that way my whole life. This is what I saw in the mirror! UNDER BOTH arms!

I know gross right? BUT it was a pretty surreal moment for me, because it reminded me of this simple truth. When I worry and fear, sweat like a crazy woman in life, no matter what the situation...I will never be in control BUT MY GOD is. He IS and HAS BEEN GOOD, He WILL continue walking us on this unfamiliar journey with Annie Rice, and no matter what others think or say WE ARE doing this very best we can and DOING EXACTLY WHAT HE CALLED US TOO! WE are BLESSED with the sweetest little girl in the whole world who was made and handpicked for our family.

18 months...

2012-01-12T11:34:00.001-05:00

I can't believe Annie Rice is already 18 months old! She is growing up too fast! She has the sweetest personality! Here are a few of my favorite things she is doing right now: She tells everyone she sees HI! Most of the time she yells it over and over!, She blows everyone kisses like she's in a pageant! She blows a kiss and says "MA", She has started signing to me that she loves me. It melts my heart!, She loves picking a stick out of her prayer pail. Every night we sit on the rug in room and read the bible and pray, and every night she sits just as still as she can! , When she goes to sleep she looks like a frog! She always lays on her stomach and keeps working like a little frog to get in just the right position!, She loves saying "Whoa", She is pulling up on everything and taking little steps, She loves drinking fruit smoothies and eating vanilla wafers! She's absolutely perfect:) Well, almost:) Below are a few pictures I took in our back yard the other day! She loves reading books and LOVES her teddy bears! She sleeps with them every night and they even made it in my children's book:)

This was my favorite book growing up. Notice there are no covers! She loves it too! Good ole Robber Raccoon!

She LOVES Miley and watches her every move!

I won the lottery....

2012-01-11T15:45:00.001-05:00

Ok, well NOT REALLY BUT I feel like I did:) Over something so small too:) Get ready, because you will laugh when I tell you what it is....A chest freezer! HaHa! Kaz and I have talked several times about getting one for the garage and I found one on Craigslist saturday night. I told Kaz about it while he was asleep:) and he said Yes! I was so excited when I woke up Sunday morning you would have thought I won the lottery! So, we are new freezer owners:)

It actually came in handy this week because we had another frozen meal exchange last night! I absolutely LOVE doing the meal exchange and even just making meals for our freezer! When we were re-working our budget for this year we decided to have a $20 a week budget on eating out. When you really think about it, that’s once a week and $20 for 3 people isn’t a lot! Last year, that was our worst habit because we ate out so much more! So, we have really made a conscious effort to EAT AT HOME MORE! Freezer meals have made my life SO MUCH EASIER! It has made me enjoy cooking again! We are eating freezer meals just about every night, but there have been a few days where I’ve wanted to cook and I’ve had that flexibility!

I made several meals awhile back for the freezer, and have continued to add to them a little each week. Kind of like couponer’s making a stockpile:) On Saturday, I made 6 meals! 2 baked ziti’s and 4 mexican chicken burritos! Our freezer has enough meals for a month!

At the meal exchange, we grew in size! We had 12 people:) Everyone made a lot of yummy meals! Some of the meals included shepard’s pie, chicken pot pie, pizza pasta bake, chicken poppyseed casserole, cheddar chicken casserole, baked spaghetti, Chicken Taco Soup, and a few other things that I can’t remember right now:) Below are a few pictures...I actually forgot to take pictures until we were already diving into the meals so it doesn't look like as much food as it was:)

bath time and crazy hair...

2012-01-10T08:49:00.000-05:00

Annie Rice loves the bath, and night time is my favorite because it's such a sweet time with this little girl! Miley loves bath time too and always tries to take Annie's toys:) You see her hair? This is how it looks in the mornings or if I don't put it in a little bob on top:)

teaching them to pray...

2012-01-06T08:38:00.001-05:00

Prayer has always been important to me but more so over the last year. I really believe that I have prayed more over the last year than I have in my whole life. I saw months back, even before we got Annie Rice, the idea of a prayer pail. Basically a pail, glass container, etc that holds pop sickle sicks with the different names of family and friends on them. The idea was that each day you would pick a stick out and pray for that person/family.

After we got Annie Rice, we started showing her how to fold her hands for prayer mainly for meals. The day that I said, “Annie, fold you hands for prayer” and she actually did it herself made me cry! Now, she does it anytime I say those words. She’s getting to the age where she may not understand what prayer is all about, but she knows what we do when we pray. We talk, sometimes close our eyes, and fold our hands. So I thought the prayer pail would be perfect to start doing as a family, at night for bed time prayers. I have to just tell you that it is the sweetest thing I have ever seen! She LOVES picking a stick out and the first night we did this as a family we prayed for about 5 minutes and that sweet little thing kept her hands folded the entire time! We have always clapped our hands after we said “Amen” because she very much loves to be praised. So after our little prayers at night she always claps her hands and says, “yay!” It really is the sweetest thing!

It wasn’t hard to make at all. I took a pail, pop sickle sticks, scrapbook paper, ribbon, and a little glue! It was very simple and very bright:) I’m seeing more daily how great the responsibility is to mold her little mind to be like Jesus. I’m so excited for Annie Rice to learn to pray BUT also to pray for other people and the prayer pail is a great tool for our family.

This was after we put her down for bed. She blows us a kiss everynight:)

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

a brand new room...

2012-01-04T20:53:00.003-05:00

We have been doing a ton of projects in our house! It’s a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house. It’s our first home that we’ve lived in for almost 5 years:) I’ve always really liked our house but we’ve done so many projects I really will be sad one day to leave...Awhile back, we talked about selling because we were running out of room, BUT after seeing how much we would take on a loss we said NO. Since my office is in our home, it takes up a lot of space! So the guest room and nursery have always been together, and the extra bedroom was my office. It worked well for awhile until we got Annie Rice...Then the space got even tighter, guest would have to sleep with her in the room...It just wasn’t working. So we took out our dinning room[which we never used because we have a eat in kitchen], put it in storage, made the dinning room my office and changed all the rooms around. At first, I was kind of sad to do that because the dinning room was my FAVORITE room in the house BUT that has changed now! The NEW guest room is my favorite! I’ll post pictures soon of the guest room and new office! So now, our old dinning room is the office, Annie Rice has her own room, and we have a true guest room. No formal dinning room anymore, but still an eat in kitchen:) With making all those decisions, I knew that meant some updates and re-designing and I couldn’t have been happier!

My first task was Annie Rice’s room. I wanted to make it a fun place where she could play, be creative, and be really girly:)

This is the room before...

and then we decided to change the bed out...

It sounds silly but one of my biggest concerns with adopting was I didn’t want a gender neutral nursery. Silly, I know but I know some of you can understand! I’m very happy with the way it turned out! My colors were always orange, white, and green with polka dots and I kept that same color scheme but added a LOT OF PINK!

I painted the trim hot pink one day while Kaz was at work! He was completely floored and I did a pretty good job! I made all the wall art.. with photoshop[a free trial-I edit in Adobe Lightroom], bought some fun fabric, and some black frames! The wall art was complete! I also bought some wood frames and stapled fabric to them for these really cool, colorful, fabric frames! I’m convinced fabric can fix just about anything:)

I saw the lime green dots on Zulily by Wall Pops one day and knew they would be perfect!

I added a few pink poms, a new pink rug...

I hand painted every outlet cover! At first I thought that might be a bit overboard, but knew if I didn’t like it they didn’t cost very much! I ended up loving them! I painted 6 and everyone has a different design on them! I really wanted to incorporate the poem Kaz’s cousin wrote about Annie Rice and kaz’s mom Anne, so I hung it with a picture where Annie could see it everyday!

I bought these wood letters and wrapped them with a little yarn and I got some really cool letters:) All together, I probably spent $100 BUT that’s because the rug was $55 of that. Everything else was very cheap and I made the majority of it! Annie Rice loves playing in her room. Some days while I work, I can hear her giggling in there. I of course still watch her on the monitor:)

AND Miley LOVES her room too! This is where she is the majority of the time!

catching up...

2012-01-04T09:28:00.001-05:00

SO MUCH has been going on lately...I don’t even know where to begin!

The book process is moving along! I received my first edits over Christmas and should receive the final edits in a few days! Then it’s off to illustrations:)

Annie Rice has been doing so good! She has started pulling up on everything! She loves telling every one HI when we go to any store. She will yell HI to some people and others just wrinkle her little nose! She has started saying the tickling sound non-stop...gita gita gita! She loves for us to read her a story! I took this video the other night of her and Kaz. She giggled and snorted while Kaz read to her! It was so funny!

She will be 18 months in 2 days and still in 12 month clothes:) I have no idea how to plan ahead for her because she’s so tiny! She’s been in 12 month clothes since we got her so I don’t know if she will be in 18 or 24 months for summer:( I LOVE when she lays her head on my shoulder. She will only lay this way on me, with her little butt stuck out! I LOVE it! She is such a little blessing.

The only thing I asked Kaz for Christmas was a sewing class! I took the class back in November and honestly haven’t had time to sew until this week but I’ve been enjoying it! Once I finish a few more projects, I’ll share:)

I have a new addiction...It’s not SODA or SWEETS. IT’S WORSE! Stuff Jalapenos! I have made them 2xs this week already and it’s only Wednesday if that tells you anything! This is what I put in mine: sausage, cream cheese, and fresh Parmesan cheese! Yum, Yum! I never thought I would like them because I don’t eat HOT stuff BUT if you take out all the seeds and wash them there’s not really a kick at all! Last night was my last night of eating them for awhile! I have to have limits:)

I told you awhile back we’ve been doing a lot of projects around the house! We are almost finished! One room left to finish! I will post pictures tomorrow of Annie Rice’s room! I worked really hard on it, made pretty much everything and absolutely love the way it turned out! Check back tomorrow:)

a few more Christmas pictures...

2012-01-03T16:22:00.000-05:00

Christmas and being back....

2012-01-02T19:13:00.002-05:00

Well, I’m finally back! I decided to take a little longer break from blogging to catch up on rest and housework:) BUT I’m finally back!

This is a LONG, overdue post on Christmas:)

We had a great Christmas in Chicago and Hartsville! Before we left for Chicago, we spent the night with Todd and Liz. We had to take a few pictures of Charlie and Annie Rice in there matching outfits:) We were in Chicago the 21-Christmas morning, flew back Christmas morning and went to my parents house. We enjoyed getting to see all of our families! I of course got sick yet again! It’s like my body knows whenever I go to Illinois to get sick:( Annie Rice enjoyed seeing everyone and playing with her cousin Matias! When opening presents, she loved the tissue paper and boxes better than anything:)

We visited Mr. Billy and Mr. AP while we were in Hartsville! They loved Annie and she smiled and giggled so much for them!

I couldn’t help thinking how blessed we are all of Christmas. It was a strange feeling knowing Annie was with another family last Christmas, but we sure enjoyed every second this Christmas! Kaz and I honestly didn’t really get her anything. We had in the closest still about 10 bigger toys from showers from friends and family so we wrapped a few of those! She didn’t know the difference and loved every toy! She’s growing up so fast! I can’t wait to share more about all the latest things she’s into right now!

Once we got back after Christmas, we cleaned the house and my parents came down for a few days. Here are lots of pictures! I honestly didn’t take a ton...Surprising, I know...I can’t believe it myself! most of these are from our parents!

Notice her face...She's starting early! She's probably thinking, "Charlie you better come back over here and sit by me!" HaHa

Annie Rice and Grandpa Cy

We attempted a picture with all the grandkids. Didn't go so well:(

Matias wanted to scoot like Annie Rice!

Her favorite thing. The tissue paper!

Sweet Mr. Billy. He told dad he wanted him to bring him 2 ears of COOKED corn! HaHa! Usually he ask for pumpkin bread:)

Mr. AP

PaPa and MeMe

All the cousins!

Aunt JaJa and Uncle Larry!

Worn out on our outing to Chicago!

So tired Christmas morning!

busy bee....

2011-12-19T14:39:00.000-05:00

You’re probably wondering where I’ve been. I hardly wrote any last week...I have been SO BUSY! Here are a few random things going on in the Prikazsky household:)

Awhile back I mentioned we were going to put our house on the market...Well, after talking with the Realtor and seeing how much we would have to loose on the house, we decided to look at other options! So we refinanced, rented a storage unit, and re-arranged the rooms in our house! Our dinning room is now my office, Annie’s room and guest room is now just Annie’s room, and the old office is the guest bedroom! With all of these changes, have come some updates! Good updates! I’ve been working with most of my free time on these projects and finishing each room! There’s still more to do but I hope to show you lots of pictures after Christmas! I’ve pulled out my crafty and creative tools and it’s been a lot of fun:) I’ll give you a sneak peak on 2 things in Annie Rice’s room!

wall art that I made and some big green polka dots for the wall:) I’ll share more after Christmas when the rooms are finished:)

photo credit: Wall Pops

The Lord has been doing a lot in my heart lately, especially in the month of December. He’s been stirring in some big ways! I’ve been reminded everyday of just how much I want to really teach and model to Annie Rice what Christmas is all about. Our role as moms and parents are huge because these little ones learn so fast and pick up on everything we do! One thing we’ve wanted Annie Rice to learn is that everything we have comes from the Lord. We’ve been “trying” to teach her that Christmas is Jesus’s birthday and just as he gives us everything in life, we wanted to teach her about giving him a gift for His birthday. So back in November, we started putting all of our change in a piggy bank and letting her drop the coins in. Everytime we told her that was money for Jesus’s birthday. Last week, I emptied out the piggy bank and was blown away with what was in there. I deposited the money, wrote a check and wrapped it to let Annie Rice take it to church for the Lottie Moon Christmas offering. Today as I drove to the church, I prayed that the Lord would use that money for His glory. It was a very hard thing to do because it was over and above our tithe and there were all these ways that I could think about how we could use that money. But all month, I have been so excited every time I put money in that piggy bank. I’ve been planning it out and picturing Annie give that gift to the church staff as a gift to Jesus for His birthday. I didn’t expect how emotional I would be. It was a huge blessing and a very special time for me. The Lord has blessed us more than I can ever say and it’s an honor for me to be apart of His Kingdom and in molding and raising such a sweet little girl to know Him.

With all the projects and daily life, we have been traveling a lot too! It seems like we’ve been more on the road the last 3 weeks than we have all year! And it’s not slowing down! We are leaving on Wed to go to Chicago for Christmas! I’m so excited:) This is my last post until after Christmas so from my family to yours, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

my hearts...

2011-12-14T19:35:00.000-05:00

My sweet friend Carissa recently took some pictures of us...She has been experimenting a ton with her camera and has an amazing eye for photography! So I took some pictures of her family and she took some of mine! I absolutely love them! Let's face it...I love pictures BUT ESPECIALLY of my family! Below are a few of my favorites!

My absolute favorite!

another favorite!

Her hair on a daily basis without a bow in it:)

29th birthday and ice skating...

2011-12-13T14:28:00.000-05:00

The last few days have been super busy!!!! Hence, the lack of blogging! BUT the last few days have been a lot of fun! Friday, was my 29th birthday...Not much longer til I'm 30:( Kaz kept asking what I wanted to do and I said either ice skating or roller skating! So Liz and Todd came down and we went ice skating and out to dinner! We had a blast and not ONE of us fell! I was really nervous that I was going to fall and break something, but thankfully I didn't:) It was a blast! Here are some pictures from our night! Did I mention we were the only ones on the rink over 15? HaHa

frozen meal exchange...

2011-12-07T22:06:00.001-05:00

SO, I had my first frozen meal exchange tonight! It really turned out well! I got the idea from my friend Anne...7 girls in our Sunday school class participated! Each person made 7 meals[all the same]. I made chicken tacos[also from Anne:)]...It worked out nice because it was a lot cheaper buying all the ingredients in bulk and I spend about $40[without coupons...I ran out of time] and got 7 meals out of it! We each took 1 meal along with keeping 1 that we made! These 7 meals plus all the ones I made awhile back have my freezer stocked to the brim and should last us all of December and January! WooHoo for easy cooking for awhile:)

bad pictures taken with my phone....

more than I deserve...

2011-12-02T10:51:00.000-05:00

the Lord has blessed me with more than I deserve...I was thinking the other day about His grace and salvation...How he continually forgives me no matter how many times I fail Him. As I was thinking about this, I thought of Kaz. Kaz shows me Christ love every single day...Our story is an example of just that. I hurt him over and over before we even dated and he kept forgiving me and fighting for me. To read more of our story click here for Part 1 and Part 2.

Kaz is such a strong, Godly man and I am blown away by him...I’m not a morning person by any means especially when someone wakes me up. When Kaz leaves in the mornings for work and I’m still sleeping, I like for him to be as quiet as possible...Mornings when he isn’t, I can be pretty grumpy but every morning before he leaves I always feel his hand on my back or shoulder. Sometimes I push it off, but when I feel it I know what he is doing. He’s praying for me. He does it every morning. That shows me more love than any flowers or presents could ever say.

He is always there when I need him...He tells me if not every day, almost every day how beautiful I am to him whether or not I feel that way or not...

Growing up, I always thought I would marry a “country boy” and at times I have tried to get him to be more that way...dress as he calls it, a cowboy...BUT I LOVE HIM just the way He is. He scares me to death at times with his adventurous side but I love it. People have always said he looks like Mel Gibson...I don’t see it anymore but I used to...I always tell him that Mel Gibson doesn’t even compare to him:)

He pushes me in every area of my life and let’s me dream really BIG. When I tell him, don’t think I’m crazy but I did this....He always listens and supports me in it. He is my heart, my best friend, and I’m so thankful to have this amazing man as my husband. I love you Kaz more than words could ever say...

phones and remotes...

2011-12-01T16:19:00.000-05:00

These 2 videos display Annie Rice to a T. She's so funny! This one is of her playing with Kaz's phone in the airport. It was on vibrate and someone was calling!

It wouldn't surprise me if she one day speaks English and Chinese! Literally, it sounds like she is talking Chinese all the time! Last night she said so loud Won-Timeeee. It's the funniest thing to hear and Kaz and I laugh so hard at her!

i can never have enough....

2011-12-01T10:50:00.000-05:00

pictures that is...I can never have enough! Annie Rice is changing so fast and I want to document everything. You may remember a post awhile back about Garden of the Gods. It's my favorite place in Colorado Springs and I think if I lived here I would have to go there at least once a week. It's SO BEAUTIFUL and such a peaceful place. Me and Annie Rice took a quick visit the other day and of course I had to take some pictures....well, okay, I actually took 127 pictures BUT I narrowed it down to about 30 on here:) Annie is such a happy baby. Anyone that knows her, knows she laughs and talks ALL THE TIME. If she's not, then you know something is wrong or she's not feeling good. These pictures show you just that! It was just me and her...I didn't have any toys just my camera...There wasn't very many people around and she just laughed and laughed. She makes herself laugh most of the time and I love it! She's so sweet and absolutely beautiful! I couldn't be more thankful for my sweet baby girl...She was definitely WORTH THE WAIT!

This is what she does when you start singing, "If you're happy and you know it!"

hotel rooms and overpriced Santa pictures...

2011-11-30T09:56:00.001-05:00

So this week, me and Annie Rice have been spending our days in the hotel room[it's a suite, which makes it a little bigger:)] while Kaz works...By Monday afternoon[the first day:)], I told him we needed to get out that night for dinner! A hotel room can get really small after a few hours with a toddler, only a few small toys, and no Disney channel:)

This is my make do high chair:)

So on Monday night, we decided to go to the mall...I'm not a big fan of studio/mall photos...That's just the photographer coming out in me BUT I really wanted a picture of Annie Rice with Santa Clause this year...I don't care about it every year but I did want one this first year. I have decided it will be the first and only year we have a picture with Santa! I'll tell you a little of the story...

So we get to the mall and start talking to the representative about the prices/packages. ALL I wanted was a digital copy of the picture. I didn't care one thing about prints...A cd WITH 1 PICTURE WAS $28! I almost fell in the floor...I won't even get on my soapbox about my views on photographers/prints/prices, etc BUT I instantly got in a down mood...and of course they wouldn't let you use your own camera even if you bought prints from them...I told Kaz nothing in me wanted to pay that much money for 1 picture BUT THE OTHER PART OF ME JUST WANTED THAT ONE PICTURE. Either way, I felt like I couldn't win....If we didn't get the picture, then I would be disappointed...If we did, I would be mad we paid that much money. I knew it would be that expensive at mostly any place we went give or a take a few dollars....So we ate dinner while I thought it over and I eventually decided to bite the bullet and get the picture. NEVER again will I pay that much $ for 1 picture. I really just wanted it as a keepsake of her first Christmas and seeing Santa with us for the first time....So here it is....

a denver photo shoot...

2011-11-29T18:54:00.000-05:00

As we were leaving the Aquarium on Sunday, Kaz decided to go a different route than we had been before to get back to our car....Now, normally I would gripe and complain and ask why we just couldn't go back the way we came, BUT this time I didn't because I saw a photographer doing a photo shoot on some railroad tracks...I love railroad track photos BUT this one was different than any around Charleston because it was covered in leaves! So, I had to take advantage of the situation:) Annie Rice loves leaves and she especially loves hearing the crunch crunch when someone is walking on them! Kaz threw a couple in the air and she just giggled away! Below are a few of my favorites:)

I REALLY HEART this daddy/daughter one:)

denver and sweet friends....

2011-11-29T11:54:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, we went to Denver for the day! Denver is such a neat town and we really enjoyed our last visit. This time we went to the Denver Aquarium! Annie Rice really enjoyed it and loved looking at all the fish:) The Denver Aquarium has a live mermaid show that was really cool and Annie just stared at the mermaids swimming and talking!

After the aquarium, we walked around Denver, did a little shopping and walked through a few holiday markets...

BUT the best part of the day was dinner! Over the last month or so I've been emailing back and forth with Angela. Angela, her husband Darrick, and two girls Sydney and Kami live near Denver and are in the waiting process of there adoption. When I knew we were coming back out to CO, I emailed her to see if they would want to meet up! On our drive to Denver Sunday morning, Kaz asked me to read him some of there blog...Well, I did the best I could BUT I CRIED pretty much the whole way to Denver. Even though we have Annie Rice, the feelings and memories of what we have been through will never be forgotten and as I read her blog I could literally remember all of those same feelings and emotions.

When we met this sweet family for dinner, it was like we had known them for a long time! The girls loved Annie Rice and she loved playing with them! I just couldn't stop thinking of how big she was getting:( Annie Rice was amazed at Sydney's braces and Kami loved playing with Annie's curls:) It was a very special dinner...so encouraging to us and we hope to see them again VERY soon:)

thanksgiving and Colorado...

2011-11-28T11:15:00.000-05:00

We had a great thanksgiving! I got a really bad cold thanksgiving morning and slept more on thanksgiving than anything, BUT it was still a great day and I found one way to not eat so much....get sick:( ALTHOUGH, I'd much rather eat:) Annie Rice had so much fun playing with all her cousins. I don't think she stopped smiling all day!

Meme[grandma] was visiting other family when we took these pictures:(

Every year on black Friday, me, my mom, aunt, and cousin go shopping in Myrtle Beach for 2 days. This year we had the bright idea to go Thanksgiving night at 8pm and stay up until Friday night when we got our hotel. It might not have been so bad if I wasn't sick but the lines were horrible and I was so tired. I still found a few good deals BUT I don't know that I want to go without sleep just to shop again:) See how rough I looked....

This is what we did every time we got in the car:)

AND if Thanksgiving wasn't busy enough, add a flight in it to Colorado Springs:) YEP, THAT'S RIGHT! Me and Annie Rice came to Colorado Springs with Kaz for the week:) Annie did really good on her first flight ever! She slept the majority of the way and only cried for a few minutes because she was overly tired! She had a blast in the airport playing with Kaz's phone and scooting all over the place!

I'm so excited for a week away from work so that all my attention can be on Annie Rice...The view is absolutely beautiful and I have decided that one day we will have a vacation home in Colorado because it has become my new favorite state in the US:)

a year ago TODAY....

2011-11-23T09:32:00.002-05:00

A year ago TODAY, was like any normal day. I remember sitting in the recliner watching The Real Housewives of Atlanta[yes, I watch this trashy show:(]...Kaz called and said our code word...We made up a code word so that the other person wouldn’t just keep talking about normal stuff...The code word meant good news from our adoption agency...I immediately stopped in my tracks and in my mind Kaz couldn’t talk fast enough. A year ago TODAY, we got a phone call about a baby...A BABY we thought was OUR BABY....A baby we wanted, prayed hard for, and fought for...BUT in the end the birthmom chose to keep him. It’s kind of ironic because 6 months ago almost to the exact day, she gave birth to that baby boy. We were crushed when she decided to keep him...BUT a day later we got THE phone call about our sweet, adorable, absolutely perfect daughter Annie Rice. A year ago TODAY, I thought the road would be easy...Looking back, it wasn’t easy at all BUT I WOULD DO IT ALL OVER in a heartbeat for Annie. TODAY I’m truly THANKFUL for ALL the Lord has done in our life. I’m THANKFUL for the hardships...I’m THANKFUL for HIS PERFECT PLAN...My heart is overflowing with THANKFULNESS...

a year ago TODAY, I would have never imagined I would be sitting in my living room with a 17 month old little girl...HIS PLAN is perfect....HIS TIMING is perfect....HIS LOVE is perfect....

Praise God from whom all blessing AND TRIALS flow....

a year ago today, I didn't have all these memories...TODAY I AM TRULY THANKFUL!

weekend fun with the Howell's...

2011-11-22T15:53:00.000-05:00

We had such a fun weekend...On Friday, I took a sewing class[more on this later] as an early Christmas present from Kaz. After, I met Liz in Columbia to do some shopping before going to see the new Twilight movie! On Saturday, we all went to the Citadel/Carolina game. I had already promised Kaz before the game I would wear Citadel blue proudly, and I did! I didn't pull for the Gamecocks at all...Once in a blue moon when they play the Citadel, I can switch teams for the day:) We had such a fun time with Liz and Todd...I told Kaz driving home that our friendship isn't one where we have to always talk about deep stuff...If we go talking about absolutely nothing for 3 days I leave feeling just as close, if not closer to them. It's very special...I told you awhile back I might tell you the story of how we became friends...Here it is!

At one of our Bethany meetings last March, Kaz and I sat at a back table with 2 empty chairs beside us. A girl came up to me and asked if the chairs were taken, I said no. The couple introduced themselves as Todd and Liz. We briefly talked BUT YOU WOULD NEVER KNOW THIS FROM MY BLOG BUT I AM AN EXTREMELY QUIET PERSON IF you don't know me...HONESTLY! I don't talk a lot in the beginning and in most cases I have been told it comes across as being rude:( The meeting started and I instantly warned Liz not to think I was crazy but chances were that I would cry at least once at that meeting[it lasted 8 hours]...I did of course, BUT so did she:) We exchanged contact information and got to know each other a little. I have to say at first I didn't know what to think...Here we were not even through the home study and we had the nursery done, car seat, strollers, etc, etc, etc...I asked Liz what her nursery looked like and she said we don't have a nursery yet. They had nothing done! I introduced her to Etsy...asked if she had a blog which right there she probably thought I was crazy...and then we left that day. Great meeting. I NEVER expected anything out of our interaction...A few days later one of us emailed each other..I'm more of a texter, emailer, blogger, than a talk on the phone kind of person. That's just always been me, although I'm sure my close friends are reading this now thinking What? It is true...Kaz can attest to this! Liz finally called me because she couldn't take the emailing:) so we started talking every so often. She mentioned if I ever needed a place to stay in Columbia, there house was always welcome. I had a wedding one weekend in Columbia and for some reason I made my mind up that I was going to ask Liz if I could stay. Looking back, I didn't know hardly anything about her or Todd BUT I REALLY TRUSTED them from the beginning. When I arrived at there house, it was like we had been friends for years. We hugged, I immediately felt comfortable, and it took our friendship to the next level...As I was driving home from that weekend, we texted back and forth[I don't text and drive anymore;)] and I remember asking her, "Do you have a best friend." I don't even remember her response BUT I KNEW that she was an answered prayer. Kaz has known since we got married that I have prayed for a best friend. I had one in college and life took us on different paths and it really left some scars...Since then, I have always wanted a true best friend....I now have one. The Lord knitted our hearts together even before that meeting and HE knew that we needed each other at the exact time in life that he brought us together. I talk to Liz on the phone or through text almost every day. I can tell her anything and call her when I'm struggling or at my highest point. She calls me out in love even though I don't always listen to her advice...She prays for me and truly cares about my walk with Christ. Adoption has a special place in our hearts and lives but even more than with just Annie Rice....through ADOPTION I met a dear friend...a friend I know I will have until we are called home. THE LORD IS FAITHFUL, AND HE DOES HEAR ALL OF OUR PRAYERS...

a little bit of everything...

2011-11-17T09:03:00.000-05:00

I’ve been kind of MIA this week...There’s a very good reason. I simply have not been motivated to do anything! My “normal” schedule if you will has been changed due to me not scheduling any weddings after November 5-the end of February. I did this intentionally to have some time with my family and some free weekends, BUT my daily scheduled has changed drastically and I just haven’t been able to figure out how to use my time the last few days! I have so many things I want or need to do, BUT I just haven’t! In some ways it’s good, other ways I can’t do nothing for the next 3 months! BUT I’m also being a little hard on myself because I’ve worked non-stop even after getting Annie Rice so a few days to do nothing except watching VeggieTales and Nemo, read books, and play with toys is ok right?

I mentioned in my last post Annie Rice has been sick. She got her flu shot on Tuesday...

She is learning so much. She is getting close to standing on her own...She has learned to tell me NO, which isn’t a good thing. She has learned to say what the monkey and sheep say...She’s growing up too fast:( I got out of my car the other day and looked at her and thought, wow is this really true. Sometimes life doesn’t seem real, but I am so thankful for this sweet little girl who brings more joy to our lives than I could have ever imagined! Her and Miley have become best buddies! Kaz and I were cooking in the kitchen last night and heard Annie Rice just a giggling away..Kaz looked and her and Miley were playing a game with Annie’s toy balls! It was the cutest thing! Every morning Miley goes in her room when I get her out of bed, and Annie Rice always says Hey pup pup!:)

I have been a cooking machine lately....I have a love/hate relationship with cooking. I LIKE to cook, BUT hate knowing I have to do it everyday. So I decided to do something I haven’t done in awhile. Make freezer meals! For me, it’s the best thing because I can still cook when I want BUT if I don’t want to or life gets busy, we have something to fall back on instead of eating out! Freezer meals are great, easy, and ends up being a littler cheaper because I make so many of the same thing at a time:) Yesterday I made 4 bags of crock pot taco soup, 4 Broccoli and cheddar casseroles, 4 bags of sloppy joes for Kaz, and 4 containers of chicken enchiladas! I still have 8 other meals to make and we will be good to go:) That should last us all of December:)

Tomorrow we are going up to Columbia to spend the weekend with Todd and Liz. We are going to the Citadel/Carolina game on Saturday! There’s not a doubt in my mind that Carolina will win BUT I promised Kaz I would wear Citadel instead of Carolina...Let’s just hope I don’t change my mind:) I’m really looking forward to the game AND THEN my family is having a little party on Sunday for Annie Rice! We are so blessed!

I’ll be back next week!

fun times at the citadel....

2011-11-14T13:13:00.001-05:00

This past weekend, we went to Kaz's old Alma Mater, The Citadel. Kaz's dad was in town for the weekend and it was The Citadel's homecoming so we went to the open barracks, etc. We had such a fun time, but my sweet Annie Rice is sick now:( BUT it was a fun weekend;)

memories...

2011-11-10T10:41:00.000-05:00

memories I never want to forget....

stressed, run down, BUT so THANKFUL....

2011-11-08T22:01:00.001-05:00

This last week and a half has been a little crazy...well, actually it’s been a LOT crazy! Kaz found out last Monday he had to go to Colorado for right at 2 weeks...It couldn’t have come at a busier time for me with work....He left the next day, and it’s been me, Annie Rice, and Miley since BUT thankfully he comes home tomorrow:) I’m so excited! Like I mentioned, it’s been busy...BUT the Lord has really done so much! He has placed so many amazing people in our lives to help out! I’m so thankful for every single person...My parents, although they didn’t mind at all when I mentioned the word “Annie Rice” :), came down and watched Annie Rice all weekend. On Saturday, I literally got her up that morning and kissed her goodbye and didn’t see her not one other time that day...it was crazy! Not only did they watch Annie Rice, but they took care of Miley, went grocery shopping for me, ran errands for me, and cleaned my house...Blessed...

I’m so thankful for all of these guys in our Sunday School class for selflessly helping move some furniture out of our house on Saturday morning to a storage unit. There was only 3 pieces of furniture...Notice 8 guys! Wow, what a blessing..

I’m thankful for my sweet pup Miley..At times, she can really annoy me and since June she has taken last place in this house BUT it’s times like these that I am EXTREMELY thankful for her. She has protected us while Kaz has been gone and just been such a comfort to me! She wakes me up every morning by putting her nose on the side of my bed until I roll over and hit her in the face...It’s her way of saying, “I’m ready to go out”! AND she hasn’t jumped on the bed NOT ONCE all week! Usually when Kaz is gone, I let her sleep in the bed with me but then I get in trouble when Kaz gets back because Miley tells on me by jumping on the bed at night:) BUT I haven’t given in not once and she hasn’t even tried jumping up! I am very thankful for her!!!

I’m thankful for good friends who have taken me out to dinner...given me Godly and wise counsel, and watched Annie Rice during my daily photography sessions...

I’m also very THANKFUL for each of you! I have received so many amazing emails the last few weeks...I have never even met many of you, yet I feel like I have so many wonderful friends all over the world! Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support, encouragement, and prayers!

oh hair....

2011-11-08T08:52:00.001-05:00

In the grand scheme of things, this has NO RELEVANCE of importance BUT yet it still manages to creep up on me each day...I told you a few weeks ago I got my hair cut. It was only supposed to be 2-3 inches...in the end it was 6 without me realizing it:( I don't hate it, I just don't love it. I did NEED a haircut and it DOES look healthier but I want my long hair back:( I can't do anything but straighten it...if I curl it, I look like I was electrocuted.....This was the night I got it cut...I sent this picture to Liz. Her response, "Look at that sassy pose". Can you tell how excited I was from this picture..HaHa. I'm getting used to it BUT LOOK forward to the day it's long again:)

it's about the journey, not the destination...

2011-11-03T21:31:00.005-04:00

Lately my heart has been pretty heavy for some women struggling through infertility and the adoption process...I know all to well the different stages of emotions that are apart of these journeys...but today, at my MOPS meeting I really got to thinking hard about those stages for me and some amazing things that the Lord did...

The first 2 years that we struggled, as each month went by I would become madder and madder...As that happened, I also became sad and thought the Lord was out to punish me...and I didn’t understand why. It was hard to see the positive because I was so focused on the negative. It honestly wasn’t until March of this year that I completely surrendered my heart and future for a family to the Lord. Why March? I’m not really sure...Things ended with our first birth mom the beginning of February and the Lord really worked in my heart a lot through that...but really up until March I kept thinking and saying that, “I will be happy when we get a baby...I will be happy when we have a family...I will be happy when.....” For me back then, a baby and family was the DESTINATION...That’s all I could see. GETTING TO THAT PLACE. When Kaz and I went on our vacation to the Grand Canyon in March, I remember being at a place where I said to myself I will be OKAY if we never have children...If it’s just me and Kaz for the rest of our lives...Did I still think about a family? Absolutely..and I was still trusting that would happen BUT I began to see that the Lord had been changing us throughout the WHOLE process and it wasn’t just about the destination of having a family, but about the journey getting there...

I emailed just a couple days ago with a reader of my blog about her journey...My advice probably wasn’t what she wanted to hear BUT something that a mentor told me AND I THINK ABOUT DAILY...The Lord will do what He wants for your life that will bring HIM THE MOST GLORY. It’s not about how long or short the wait is, how much you are hurting, how obedient you are[although that’s SUPER important], etc...It’s about HIS PLAN AND HIS GLORY. Some people have oftened asked why do I think that we didn’t get Annie Rice when she was born...Her parents knew they were going to place her up for adoption even before she was born...but they waited 11 months before doing so. Do I wish at times I could have been apart of those 11 months? Yep, I sure do...BUT I KNOW WITHOUT A DOUBT, that I had to go through what I did for those 11 months to be the person I am today. If I had the choice, would I change it? My honest answer is NO! I wouldn’t. I didn’t think at the time I needed changing at all. In fact, I would have been plain mad if someone told me that. Looking back, I see just HOW MUCH the Lord needed to do in me...

This blog is my feelings and struggles that I go through...it’s my life...it’s a journal...BUT I hope it’s also an encouragement to you. Because even though infertility and adoption was my journey, I know that each of you are on other journeys BUT the same principals apply. Don’t keep saying, “I’ll be happy when....” Because when that thing comes, there will be something else....Trust in the Lord’s plan for your life, pray for JOY everyday AND DON’T LET SATAN STEAL THAT JOY...

Jeremiah 31:3

I have loved you with an everlasting love;

I have drawn you with unfailing kindness

the big secret REVEALED....

2011-11-02T20:35:00.002-04:00

You may remember this post awhile back....The one where I showed pictures of me signing documents and said there was a BIG surprise that I would share at a later date...Well, I can officially tell you the good news...

Let me go back just a little...Since starting my blog 2 years ago, I’ve had a lot of people, some that I know and some random strangers, tell me that I needed to write a book. I have never felt called to writing a book about our story[at least not as of right now], BUT it definitely has put the seed in my head. Kaz has said from the beginning I should, but let’s face it...I’m HORRIBLE at grammar, spelling, and anything associated with the English language! Just ask my old college roommate Anne:)

Back in April, when Kaz and I were in Colorado, I saw a LOT of movies while he worked during the day! One movie that I saw was Authur...If you’ve seen this movie, you will probably say that movie wasn’t anything special..BUT for me, it was. It INSPIRED me to write a children’s book....It’s something I had thought about MANY times but never did. I immediately left the movie theater, went to Target, and bought a notepad and pen. I started writing...First, it was about pet goats...NOPE, scratch that...Then a few weeks later, I wrote about an adoption story....BUT I just didn’t feel like I was writing about what the Lord wanted me to. I did HOURS of research about book publishing, literary agents, etc. I searched tons of publishing companies....and found 1 company, christian based, that I knew if I ever submitted a manuscript too, they would be my first company...

Two weeks after we got Annie Rice, I was in the living room surfing on the Internet yet again about the book publishing process, while Annie Rice was napping. I felt the Lord telling me to write down a story...A story that He was telling me. I did, emailed it to Kaz and asked his thoughts. He said it was perfect and that I needed to submit it. I emailed it to another close friend, she said the same thing...I submitted it that night, August 1st to this publishing company[SOME information will be given at a later date:)]...I prayed everyday about this book...That if it was the Lord’s will, I would hear a yes....That He would grant me favor in these editors eyes....I knew this story could be powerful and touch the lives of hundreds, especially children who have been adopted. A month went by, nothing....A few days later, I heard back. The answer was a YES! A YES...What? Really? Immediately, I knew the Lord had big plans for this story...HE DOES....I’m trusting everyday that He would do big things in the lives of lots of people, through the words that He allowed me to write down...I’m excited to see the doors that He opens....This story is not only a story about His faithfulness in my life, but about how special adopted children are, and of course the inspiration...my sweet Annie Rice.

So production has officially begun! It’s not a fast process...An estimated release date is earliest June, latest September 2012. It’s exciting...Something I never imagined in my life...BUT again, the last 3 years have been of circumstances that I never would have imagined for my life and I wouldn’t change them for anything...

To Him Be ALL THE GLORY AND HONOR....

our latest family pictures...

2011-11-01T14:14:00.000-04:00

I love seeing those 2 little teeth in the front:)

Annie Rice loves for us to kiss. She will push our heads together so that we kiss...She thinks it's so funny! For us, it's really neat that she loves that:)

Here's an example...She's trying to grab our heads so she can push them together to kiss:)

Photos taken by Jenny Wiliams

5 years...

2011-10-31T09:18:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, Kaz and I celebrated our 5th year anniversary! Our weekend didn't go as originally planned BUT it was absolutely perfect! Saturday morning we went to Rocktoberfest at Seacoast Church. It was very cold and windy but we still had a great time! Annie Rice got to see her cousin Rilee, looked at the all the animals in the petting zoo, and showed those big teeth to almost everyone she saw;) Everyone took naps when we got home and then that afternoon we walked around the mall, picked up some pizza, and watched the USC vs Tenn football game! Kaz asked if I wanted to go out somewhere nice for dinner that night and I said nope! My perfect night was doing exactly what we did...eating pizza and watching college football:) It was such a fun day and I'm so thankful for Kaz. I couldn't imagine my life without him and it's such a blessing to be married to him!

Annie Rice and Rilee

a preview...

2011-10-27T21:14:00.000-04:00

We had family pictures taken last week by my friend Jenny. She did an amazing job! I can't wait to see the rest...and sadly, these are my last pictures with long hair:( Sore subject....I was supposed to have only 2 inches cut off...It's more like 6:(

a pig and bat, the zoo, and a pet dragon....

2011-10-27T08:49:00.000-04:00

I recently got to spend a few days with my good friends Liz and Todd. It was probably the craziest time we've had together...You would think we were both crazy if you saw us! I got to there house around 430pm. We had planned to take family pictures but had to take them quickly before the sun went down. I told Liz we needed to take them at the latest 615pm. So I get there at 430pm, Liz was trying to get ready, Charlie needed to be dressed, and Todd wasn't home yet. So I started getting Charlie ready, put Annie Rice in the pack n play with some toys, and took Charlie outside to take some individual shots while Todd and Liz got ready. Once everyone was ready, we got in the car to go to the spot where we were taking the pictures. Everyone's in the car but the keys are no where to be found...It's now 530pm. Todd looks, Liz looks, I look....550pm we finally found them in Liz's purse where she had already looked:) We get 5 minutes down the road and I ask if she has Charlie's jean jacket[he was going to wear it in the pictures]. We couldn't find it, so we turned around only to find it under my seat:) Oops....We barely get the pictures but they are GREAT:) Then the hard part comes...trying to decide where to eat dinner. I'm not a decision marker, neither is Liz....We finally decide on Zaxby's. The food comes out, and Todd realizes he didn't order for Charlie...so Charlie and Annie Rice split meals which was completely fine because she never eats even half of her meal. Leave Zaxby's, go home to get the kiddos to bed. I'm upstairs trying to get our monitor working...It wouldn't pick up the camera so I called Kaz who tried helping me for 30 minutes. He was googling what to do and then I suddenly realized that the power outlet wasn't working! I moved the plugin...Problem solved! CRAZY NIGHT from all of us! That's just to name a few:) After the kids went to bed, we watched How to tame your dragon. Very cute movie!

The next day, we met up with our friend Holly, who adopted sweet Ella Ray, and went to the zoo. It was so much fun! Annie Rice doesn't care much for the animals yet but she loved seeing the monkeys because they made so much noise! Liz talked me into feeding the birds, which I had already said I'm not even a bird liker....There was about 15 birds all over me. Climbing up my arm, my head, poor Annie Rice was shaking her head no because they were scaring her. Not a fan of birds!

It was a really really fun day:)

After we got home, we put the kids in there halloween costumes for a few pictures...This first picture sums up our luck at that! Annie Rice is picking her nose while Charlie plays a dead bat! It's my favorite;) It was definitely a challenge...We put a pumpkin behind them and it scared Annie Rice so bad she cried pretty much the whole time even when we took it away! BUT we did manage to get a few shots:)

Even though we have crazy times together, I love every minute I get to spend with my special friend! Maybe I'll share soon how we became friends...It's a God thing for sure!

candy corn and a little pig....

2011-10-25T09:22:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm at my parents house for a couple of days while Kaz is in Colorado:( BUT we've had a great time so far, and Annie Rice is getting spoiled like crazy! She has worn her halloween costume so much that probably when I put it on her Thursday night for the Halloween Carnival at my mom's school, she won't even want to put it on:) We showed the family her costume at Sunday dinner and took a few pictures of Annie Rice and all the cousins...

Sunday night, we went to the fall festival at my parents church. I dressed her in her little candy corn dress that my cousin Brandi made for her. It is SO CUTE! Ignore my face in this picture...I was telling my mom to just get Annie in the picture:)

the famous duck face:)

We also dressed her in the pig costume to go see Mr. Billy and Mr. AP. They LOVED seeing her! She just wanted to get down and scoot...So I let her and she scooted into every room. The residents loved it! AND it was the funniest thing b/c you just saw a little pink tail sticking out of each door. Mr. Billy cried as we left...It breaks my heart. He's such a special special man. He said, "Where did you get her?" I looked at him and he said "Heaven, right?" I just smiled and said, "Yes sir. She's heaven sent for sure!"

last day in NYC, paparazzi, and celebrities....

2011-10-21T10:15:00.000-04:00

Our last day was by far my favorite day! Again, no plans:) We decided just to walk around 5th Ave a little bit and then spend the majority of the day in Central Park. As we were walking to the park, I really had to go to the bathroom so we went in Trump Towers...As we were walking, Kaz said, "is that?" I knew immediately who it was and say YES! It was George Ross[Executive Vice President and Senior Counsel for Trump, also an advisor on the Apprentice!]. I SO BADLY wanted to talk to him...I even told Kaz we could just sit outside the restaraunt until he leaves, but Kaz wouldn't let me:( We were both pretty excited to see him because we LOVE the apprentice!

photo credit

After our first celebrity sighting, we made our way to Central Park...We walked through the zoo, watched the sea lions play, and just enjoyed taking our time....We made our way over to my favorite part of the park, the mall. We sat for a good hour watching people walk by, and then we heard a lot of clapping behind us. We turned around and it appeared to be a lot of film equipment...We started walking that way and the closer we got, the more I saw they were filming a movie...I saw a couple men with cameras so I asked what was going on. One man said they were filming, Thanks for Sharing. I googled it and saw that Pink, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Mark Ruffalo were in the movie. We sat for awhile out of the way just watching to see what would happen...and then I RECOGNIZED a few people that I had seen the day before...I recognized the PAPARAZZI! Within a matter of about 15 minutes, they went from being a group of 5 to 30! I was so excited....Moments later, a black SUV pulled up with Gwyneth Paltrow. Kaz and I split up so we could try and scout out the best place to watch...I even had people ask me if I was apart of the paparazzi. I should have fibbed because then I would have got a closer spot to watch:) We watched them film the movie for about 3 hours...We saw different scenes, outfits, etc. It was probably one of the neatest things I've ever done and made the perfect ending to our trip!

the paparazzi...

Gwyneth Paltrow and Mark Ruffalo...

pictures I found online from the paparazzi:)

photo credit for both pictures...

NYC and Kim Kardashian...

2011-10-20T14:44:00.000-04:00

We did a lot while we were in NYC...again, we had no schedule and it was absolutely the best! Kaz kept asking me what I wanted to do and I kept saying just walk around and do whatever we want! We had brunch with his aunt and uncle Sunday morning at the Eatery. It was a really fun time catching up with them. Then we decided to walk the Brooklyn bridge and spend sometime in Dumbo. This is something I have never done in all my trips to NYC and it was a blast! There were so many people walking the bridge and Dumbo was a very cool little area across the water from NYC! We took our time walking back and that started the trek that we ended up doing 2-3xs a day....what I’m talking about is walking from 3rd street to 50th street:) We had subway passes but we walked the majority of the time, and by doing so we got to see so much! We walked about 7-8 miles that day so we decided to end the night with pizza at my FAVORITE place John’s Pizza! If you are ever in NYC you must go! We walked around Time Square just for a few minutes...and then called it an early night:)

The shirt is just a little bright:) the weather surprised us so I had to pull out the tank from under my 80s outfit and wear it;) The whole day I kept thinking about how blinding my shirt was, but at least I wasn't hot:)

On Monday, we decided to spend the day down in the Meat Packing district, SoHo, Greenwich Village, and Chelsea. These are my favorite places in NYC. I love going and could walk around at these places everyday! We walked the highline. I loved it so much, I will probably want to do this every time I go to New York now. It’s an old exposed subway track that they remodeled, landscaped, and made a little park. It’s very neat and pretty cool being able to walk through the buildings.

photo credit

On our way back to the hotel, Kaz happened to see a group of people standing around and asked me if I thought something was going on. Of course, I was curious so I went over to see what was going on. I didn’t even have to ask anyone once I saw where we were! We were at the Gansevoort Hotel...The hotel where the Kardashians stay on their reality show in NYC! There were tons of paparazzi around so I knew someone famous was coming out! We waited for about 15 minutes and sure enough...Kim Kardashian! I was very excited to see her, even though I can get tired of her quick on Keeping Up with the Kardashians:) She was beautiful! It was just the beginning of our celebrity sightings:)

These were taken with my phone, so the flashes from everyone else effected the pictures!

That night we went to eat at Butter. One of my favorite restaurants:) Then we walked the famous 43 streets again, found a yummy little dessert place, and enjoyed the cool crisp NYC air!

Tomorrow I'll tell you about our last day...WHICH happens to be my favorite day....and we saw 3 celebrities!!!

my most embarrassing moment EVER....

2011-10-19T09:53:00.000-04:00

We had a blast in NYC. Kaz and I really enjoyed every minute. We didn’t have a schedule, did what we wanted and it worked out perfectly...and I would probably say that it was my most fun trip to NYC to date.

We arrived early Saturday morning and met up with our friends the Burns. We ate lunch at the fabulous Shake Shack! We strolled down 5th Avenue, through Central park, visited FAO, and rowed boats in Central Park.

The guys had been scheming all week planning a surprise dinner for us that night...I got enough clues out of Kaz to google the restaurant and guessed it on my 2nd try:) He wasn’t very happy but I was. It was very sweet of them! They took us to Tribeca Grill. The food was very good!

After dinner, we rushed back to our hotels to change into our 80s attire for the 80s Prom Party. We had already talked about it and knew it would be really embarrassing walking out of our hotels, BUT I have to say I NEVER imagined it would be as embarrassing as it was. We stayed in the Waldorf Astoria. As we were walking out dressed from another decade, couples were coming in wearing ball gowns and black tuxedos! To say I was embarrassed was an understatement....The moment didn’t end there, it honestly lasted all night BUT I learned some pretty valuable lessons which I will share at the end...As we walked out of our hotel, a group of women[dressed casually] started talking about us and I could hear every word. One woman said, “that girl has problems.” I wanted to crawl in a hole and cover myself! Kaz and I were the first to arrive at the 80s prom party. We waited outside for Dawn and Seth. As people kept walking by, I mentioned to Kaz that it didn’t look like anyone else was dressed up and that it would be really embarrassing if we were the only ones dressed for the part. When Dawn and Seth arrived, we walked up to the bouncer, gave him our tickets, and he just laughed at us and said the prom ended at 945. It was 10pm. It was like time stood still and none of us knew what to do or say....What made me so mad was that I had called the day before to ask what time the Prom ended and was told it lasted all night. I was so confused and absolutely humiliated for the way I was dressed! The bouncers at the door didn’t make it any easier. One of the ladies at the door treated me the worst I have ever been treated, and I at that moment wanted to burst out in tears. We ended up walking around the rest of the night and grabbed dessert at Starbucks. We made the most of the night...We really did. We had a ton of laughs about it, made a lot of jokes, but it was very embarrassing and what got me more than anything was feeling so judged by people based on my attire who didn’t know one thing about me.

I told Kaz as we left our hotel after the girls said I had problems, that I couldn’t believe people could be so bluntly rude. But at the same time, I felt very convicted because I so often make judgements of other people for the same types of things when I know nothing about them. It may not be as obvious to them, but I do the same thing and usually don’t feel bad about it at all. It really kind of set the whole mood for our trip because Kaz and I started to say things several times about the way other people were dressed throughout the week and then we caught ourselves.

1 Samuel 16:7

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

The Lord couldn’t have hit me any heavier that night than He did with that message. I saw just how ugly sin is, and how I in most cases are no different than that group of girls I walked by. It made me very sad...

So I had a lot of heavy stuff going through my mind that night, but we still had fun! We really did! I wish I was one of those care free people who didn’t care what others thought, but I’m not...I let other peoples opinions way me down, but it’s an experience I for sure will NEVER forget!

Our good friends Liz and Todd ordered us chocolate covered strawberries[a early anniversary gift]that were waiting in our room when we returned at 1am. I told Kaz the night couldn’t have ended any better!!! I felt really bad about myself for a good 2 hours... and then get back to the room to eat my favorite Chocolate covered strawberries! We ate them all and I didn’t think twice about it:)

Here are some pictures from our first day in NYC!

jesus, veggie tales, and adoption....

2011-10-18T10:38:00.000-04:00

In all those long, hard months of praying and waiting for a child, I never imagined that my heart could be as thankful and overflowing with joy as it is now. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about details and how the Lord really cares about BIG and SMALL details...

I remember the day that Kaz and I got the phone call about Annie Rice. When we initially filled out all the paperwork for the adoption, we put down that we wanted a newborn[up to 6 moths old]. That was our max...6 months. We really should have never gotten the phone call about Annie Rice because she was 11 months old. My first thought after hearing that[besides the excitement] was that we were going to miss all of her first...first words, crawling, walking, etc. We were also told that she was developmentally delayed 6-9 months, that there could be signs cerebral palsy, and that they weren’t sure if there was any mental delays. That was what we initially heard and it scared us to no end! We talked to our parents about it and they were so excited but cautious at the same time. We prayed for peace during the decision, and decided that Annie Rice was our child and we loved this little girl no matter the challenges or struggles.

Thankfully, a lot of the initial reports of her health were not accurate, but she does have delays. A lot of people have been so concerned because of that...BUT for Kaz and I these delays have been a blessing BECAUSE we have gotten to see most of her firsts! I can honestly say that I have never been concerned about where Annie Rice is in relation to other children. She is healthy, happy, and growing and that’s all I’ve been concerned with. I was talking with a friend over the weekend who is starting to go through some of the same challenges with her son...My advice to her was something that I feel like the Lord has really spoken to me about lately....and that’s this. In 20 years, looking back my main concern will not be whether or not Annie Rice walked when other kids did, scored as high on a test as I wanted her too, or was the best on her softball team. My main concern will be did I do everything in my power to tell her about Jesus? Did I show her His love? Did I model a prayerful life in front of her? I have been reminded of this every single day...

From the first night that we brought her home, she has listened to Praise Baby when she sleeps. I have made the conscious decision to instead of turning on cartoons during the day, to only play Veggie Tales as much as I can. I have been trying to teach her to say Jesus every single day and the day she does say it I will probably cry all day...

To me, this is most important thing. I have been given a task so great and precious of raising a child and I want to do everything in my power to not mess up too much. Every time I look at Annie Rice, I think of how blessed I am, how I don’t deserve this sweet blessing, and how good the Lord is in my life. As she gets older, when she looks at me, I want her to see the good and faithful God that we serve. BECAUSE He is so Good...

Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing praise to his name... Psalm 135:3

smiling so big, she closed her eyes!

a little pig....

2011-10-17T09:08:00.001-04:00

Well, we are back from NYC and had a blast! After we got back, I somehow got food poisoning and let’s just say Thursday and Friday of last week were rough! Much more on our trip to come...OH and we saw a lot of celebrities:)

Over the weekend, we dropped by a halloween party. Kaz and I were supposed to be farmers but...well, we didn’t do so good on the costumes:) Annie Rice was a little pig! The cutest pig I’ve ever seen:) We had a fun time and she thinks her costume is so funny! She kept the head on for about 30 minutes and then started shaking her head uncontrollably, I guess letting me know she didn’t want to wear it any longer:)