a great weekend...

We had a REALLY FUN weekend! This was my first weekend in a while without a wedding[AT HOME] AND my only weekend free in May, so Kaz and I really tried to take advantage of it! Not to mention, he goes back to Colorado tomorrow:(

We met my parents for dinner Friday night for mother's day! Below are a couple of pictures! We ate at Chili's BUT due to the where the sun was our only option for a backdrop was HOOTERS! Ha-Ha! Kaz couldn't get his eyes right for some reason:)

 After dinner, we met Liz and Todd for Marble Slab! My favorite:) Cake batter + rainbow sprinkles + chocolate chips + chocolate waffle bowl = THE BEST!

Saturday morning, we slept in until 9! That's super late for Kaz! Normally he's up at the crack of dawn! We went to Mount Pleasant and ran the Cooper River Bridge, walked around downtown, and went to the dog show! For dinner, we had some friends over so we made hamburgers! Miley wanted one SO BAD! 

Such a fun weekend! Just sad to see Kaz leave tomorrow:(

a woman's thing...

Most women would say their "thing" is shoes or purses...Don't give me wrong. I LOVE both of those...I have a couple purses[I usually get rid of them after 6-9 months] and I have a lot of shoes[although I only wear 1 pair...my rainbows!] BUT MY THING is Nike Shorts! I have probably 20+ pair and I still want them! In my mind, I can't have enough! The brighter the colors, the better! I'm 100% sold on these shorts for running, working out, and just lounging! They are awesome! AND I wear them pretty much EVERY day during the summer:)

These are the ones I REALLY WANT!!!

a little bit of everything...

whew....the last few days have been BUSY BUSY BUSY! I'm so thankful for a little break and a free weekend AT HOME! So much has been going on lately...

We have started a couple new "nightly" routines...Every day when Kaz gets home from work we take Miley for a 2-3 mile walk in the neighborhood. She LOVES it and so do we:) It has become a great time for us to talk, catch up from the day, and just enjoy the beautiful weather for a little bit! It also helps that by the end, she's completely GIVE OUT and just mopes around all night! It's quite nice! We also started back in April really dedicating time each night to read the bible and pray together. We've always done devotionals together[not every night] and prayed together but it's been a lot different lately because we've started doing it every night AND we look forward to that time together. If this isn't something you do in your family, you should really try it out! I promise you won't be disappointed!

[how she looks when we are done walking!]

My dad's best buddy CPete is in critical condition in the hospital. He had a stroke and brain aneurysm. Please keep him in your prayers. My dad and CPete go to town mostly every Friday and Saturday morning together. He has always called himself my dad's son. Even though it's not by blood, he is apart of our family...Please keep him in your prayers...

I've started working out really hard again this week...March and April were really crazy with work and all the traveling I've been doing! I'm really determined to loose those few extra pounds and be able to run longer than 5 miles again! We recently joined the YMCA because I just can't run outside during the summer..the heat really gets to me, so I've been going to some classes! They are GREAT BUT I have been quite sore! 

Updates on the adoption...really none:( It's been kind of disappointing lately because we are coming up on our "year mark of waiting", which means we have to complete parts of the home study over. We have almost got all of those parts done, but it's been really hard to think about...BUT we are hanging in there and TRUSTING IN HIS PLAN...

moes, miley, and kaz...

my husband is the ABSOLUTE BEST! I had a really late wedding on Saturday that was in Spartanburg[about 3 hours from our house], and an early engagement session this morning. According to the timeline of the wedding, I shouldn’t get back to Charleston until around 3am Sunday morning and then have to get up around 6am to leave for the engagement shoot! My sweet, sweet husband decided to drive me to the wedding and hang out all day in a coffee shop/book store so that he could drive back and I wouldn’t be by myself! 

If that wasn’t already enough to show me HOW MUCH he loves me, he also brought miley and moes downtown today....I had a busy day full of sessions with about an hour break. He knew I wouldn’t have time to grab lunch so he came downtown, brought moes, and miley! He’s the absolute best! We had some extra time to go for a walk so we did:) [Please excuse the way I look-I was in a boat for about 3 hours this morning for an engagement session! I looked a little rough:)]

Kaz, YOU’RE THE BEST! 

 If you can't tell...Miley was GIVE OUT!

i can't say thank you enough...

Over the last 3 years, I've been through many seasons...some good, some bad. I've been angry, happy, excited, sad, hurting, etc...but lately, I've been thankful. Kaz and I will never fully understand why we have been through some of the trials we have...and for a long time we wanted nothing more than to be out of them. We have been through seasons where we questioned everything...We've felt alone and supported at the same time. Throughout the whole time, our focus and desire has been to have a family. Through all of these seasons, the Lord has done amazing things in our life and I am truly thankful. Without going through what we have, we would never be where we are today. The Lord has opened so many doors for us...He has shown me a creative side that I never knew I had...He has blessed with photography and writing...He has made me a dreamer...He has worked so much in our marriage and brought us closer together...He has allowed us to go on some amazing trips...He has increased our faith and prayer life...He has shut some doors and given us some amazing new friends....He has satisfied our hearts with where we are....He has surrounded us with his love...

Our week in Colorado was amazing. Kaz and I honestly didn't talk about the adoption but maybe 1 time. While our desire to have a family has never left, the Lord has truly allowed us to find satisfaction in Him and each other. We have been content...I know the Lord is working in so many ways that I can't see right now...and I know that one day soon we will have a family...but today, I am content. I am blessed...and I honestly can't say thank you enough for all He has done and for all He HASN'T done...

Ephesians 5:20  always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of 
our Lord Jesus Christ.

a sad goodbye...

Today is my last day in Colorado Springs...I have a red-eye flight back tonight:( I'm very sad...BUT it has been a WONDERFUL trip! A much needed trip! The mountains have been absolutely spectacular. Pictures DO NOT do them justice...The greatness of them everytime I walk outside blows me away. Colorado is one place I could vacation to every year. 

Kaz and I have had a blast! We have really made the most of our time despite the REALLY REALLY REALLY cold weather! One of my favorite memories from the trip: Yesterday morning after breakfast, we came back up to our room only to find out that the battery in the door had died and we would have to wait 30 minutes before the maintenance man arrived to work. He would then have to drill the whole battery off the door and replace it. We haven't had our room cleaned since Sunday[I've just been doing it everyday] BUT we did run out of toilet paper so on our way up from breakfast we asked for a roll. We came back to our room, couldn't get in, so we sat outside waiting for the maintenance man with 2 rolls of toilet paper.....What did we do? What else? Played several games including toilet paper basketball, golf, etc..RIGHT in the middle of the hallway. I LOVED that we had fun during that not so "fun" time! 

I am sad to leave, but very thankful for the opportunity to have come AND be able to spend time with Kaz. 

our view from the hotel...

denver and the barr trail...

On Saturday, we decided to go to Denver. We got up early Saturday morning to make our way to Rocky Mountain National Park just a little past Denver. It was supposed to rain on Saturday and we really wanted to hike, so we decided to get an early start to at least get a little bit of hiking in before the rain started. We got maybe 25 miles from the Park and the snow was coming down so hard we decided to turn around. I was REALLY bummed about this because the park looked absolutely beautiful in pictures online and I LOVE doing stuff like that with Kaz. 

So we turned around, and went into the city of Denver for a bit. We walked around downtown, ate some good food, and shopped a little. Denver is a really cool town with SO MUCH to do! Unfortunately, the weather wasn't the greatest so we had limited options BUT I would love to go back again! Once we got back to Colorado Springs, we decided to go see a movie since the weather was so yukky!

On Sunday, we went to church AND THEN went to REI. Now, REI is Kaz's favorite store. I've come to really like outdoor-sy stuff BUT I was super excited this time because he told me he would buy me some NEW, WARMER gear to hike in that afternoon...I didn't exactly come prepared for the weather...When I left home, the weather was supposed to be mid 60s...It's instead been between 30-45 everyday and snowy! SO he bought me a new vest, undershirt, and socks! I was SUPER STOKED and couldn't wait to start hiking!

We hiked about 4 miles of the Barr Trail. It was SO MUCH FUN, but very challenging because I still had so much congestion. The hike couldn't have been any better...It was one of my most favorite times with Kaz. Nothing excites him more than to hike with me! Seriously, he's so happy! Not only did we have a really fun time BUT it was also SO GORGEOUS! I loved seeing hundreds of Cypress trees covered in snow...AND it even lightly snowed while we hiked. It honestly couldn't have been a better day! 

I told Kaz I would hike, bike, run, or whatever he wanted to do ANYTIME if he bought me new clothes:) HaHa. I LOVED seeing him SO HAPPY! Our Easter Sunday together was perfect!