a tree tradition

It's tradition for us to go with our friends, the Browns, to a certain tree farm in a neighboring town and pick out trees. This year we went with our friends (and brought our friends, the Dawsons, little boy with us), but we decided against getting a tree. We figured no one was coming over for Christmas and we still don't have our kids, so why bother?Well it turns out Nick's dad & sister will be coming over Christmas day. :) I asked my co-worker if I could borrow the foot tall half tree she has in our office over the Christmas weekend. She laughed and said she had a small pre-lit tree we could borrow instead. Her and her husband went to Walmart that night and she ended up buying a cute 3 ft pre-lit tree for us as an early Christmas present. It's just perfect!

"Kutie" and her procedure

We heard from "Kutie's" parents last night and the doctors were unable to perform the procedure. They used a catheter to get to her heart but found that, in the artery they were going to repair, there is an aneurism. "Kutie" will have to have open heart surgery in the next couple weeks. Please keep her and her family in your prayers during this difficult time.

a prayer request

Our good friends the Browns, who are like family, have a 19 month old daughter. We'll call her "Kutie", because well, she is a CUTIE! "Kutie" was diagnosed last week with four heart problems. One of the problems is that she has a valve that is too narrow and isn't growing with her. The other three issues are things the doctors will just have to keep an eye on. Tomorrow morning, "Kutie" will be undergoing a procedure to try to widen the valve. Please keep "Kutie", her parents, and her doctors in your prayers. Please pray that the procedure goes smoothly, is effective, and that she'll recover quickly. I'll post an update on how the procedure went in the next couple days.

cute kitten clip

I don't really like cats... I would almost say I hate cats - sorry to all you cat lovers! The fact that I'm severly allergic to them is a big factor. I'm a dog person, through and through. Today I found the except...I was sent this clip at work and the kitten is just precious!

brrr

It's been so cold these past few days, so I finally bought myself a pair of slippers. Nick hates them. He thinks they are old lady slippers, but I don't care. They're warm and comfy. That's all that matters. :)(yup, that's adoption paperwork... but only a small fraction of it)

just a quick rave

Now that we should have a baby in the house soon (we pray!), we're going to have to start finding some him clothing. Growing up we would shop at thrift stores, but I admit I never have in my adult life. Boy have I been missing out! Today I had to go to the bank for some work-related business and on my way back I passed a Value Village. I decided, on a whim, to turn in and check it out. I was there for only a few minutes, but I left with 3 adorable like-new outfits, and it only cost $8.71! Yay for thrift stores!

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why is life so complicated?

First I want to say sorry to you few blog readers out there... I've been slacking :) There's so much I want to say, really vent, about. I don't feel I should share all the details as to what's been going on, but let me tell you it has been very stressful.
These past two months we have been in a "situation" with our adoption. On Thursday things got waaaay more complicated. Honestly, it's something I never would have expected... totally out of left field! Anyway, we're dealing with that right now and are waiting to see how it plays out.
We now have a very important decision to make. I will eventually share this with you, but feel it's not the right time yet. We are pretty sure what our decision will be, and it does bring joy to my heart during this otherwise stormy time.
I keep thinking that I wish I could fast forward time one year, to see how it all works out.

we're home!

Our vacation in pictures...

Entering the happiest place on earth!

Pumpkin Mickey

Main Street USA

The Disneyland Railroad

The Jungle Cruise

The Matterhorn

Entering California Adventure

Grizzly River Rapids

Heimlich from A Bugs Life

An empty Paradise Bay. Here you can see the working of the new water & light show,
"The Wonderful World of Color"

California Screamin

Goofy

The Hollywood Tower of Terror

Video of the big drop on Splash Mountain. The camera survived!!


Mr. Potato Head. As soon as I stopped recording this, he pointed out Nick
and started talking to him.

my anniversary surprise

For our 5th anniversary, my sweet darling husband surprised me with a trip to Disneyland! And we're leaving tomorrow! I'll be sure to post pictures once we're back home. I admit, this vacation has come at the best time... we could sure use a hiatus from all the stress in our lives. Of course we still have our concerns, but at least this will be a nice distraction. All we can really do at this point is to pray about our situation. We're hoping that, God willing, this "situation" will come to a conclusion.

is it really only thursday?

This week is just dragging along, mainly for two reasons: 1. We're hoping to get "that call" this weekend or early next week regarding our adoption, and 2. I've been sick since Monday and can't wait for this cold to end. I've only been to work for about 19 hours this week and I am very much looking forward to the weekend, so I can try to get some rest and recover. I know I'd feel much better if I could just sleep for more than 20 minutes at a time. Whatever I have has gone to my lungs and I'm in a constant struggle to get a good breath. When I finally fall asleep, I wake up minutes later gasping for air. Oye! (Yes, I have been to the doctor... they said to let it run it's course) One thing I've noticed this week, through Facebook and blogs, is that EVERYONE is getting sick. Guess it comes with the changing season! So to all you fellow sickies out there - I hope you feel better soon!

still waiting...

A week ago we were given some saddening news regarding our son and adoption. We're still praying about the situation and are waiting for "that call"... until then, we are just asking God to watch over our little one.

landslide

Yesterday there was a massive landslide here in Washington. Click here to be taken to the news article about it. It goes to show you the amazing force of nature.

difficult times

Please say a special prayer this week for me, nick and especially our son.
I don't care to comment more about it right now.
Your prayers are greatly appreciated!

our nieces

Just thought I'd share with you the latest pics of our beautiful nieces.

"S" (age 9)"H" (age 6)Sisterly love!

signs of the season

Tonight I am all alone. Nick is with the guys from his work at the Mariner's game, enjoying their "diamond club" seats. Must be nice to have an employer who treats you to these kinds of things! I work for a non-profit and therefore don't have any employee perks, except maybe for my wonderful boss - love that lady!

So tonight I decided to pick our apple tree before it got too dark. I did a lot of trimming on the tree this past spring, so the apples were able to get more sunlight. They are the biggest we've ever had! It probably helped that we had a very warm and dry summer as well. One thing I have noticed, though, is that this year we have had a big worm/bug problem. I'd say about a third of the apples I cut into were gross and chewed up on the inside. We have never used pesticide but have never had this problem. 40# of Gravenstein (?) apples picked from our tree

Oh well! I went through and picked the tree nearly clean, throwing aside the apples that looked compromised. Now I'm waiting for a neighbor from down the road to come pick them up. She has gotten into canning this year and has a house full of kids to help eat it. I've already made about 15 quarts of applesauce for ourselves this year. Hopefully our son likes applesauce when he gets here, otherwise I'll never get rid of it! One of my not-so-helpful helpers

Pics from the fair

The Fair!

Sheep used in Mutton Bustin'

A dancing sheep

Nick and I waiting for the concert to start
Tobymac
Third Day taking a bow

And finally... Mutton Bustin'. What's that you ask? It basically bull riding for kids... but on sheep. We had never heard of it before, so we watched it and the kids seemed to be having fun.

The Puyallup Fair

This weekend Nick and I are going to the Puyallup Fair (pronounced pew-al-lep). We're going to meet up with another couple, who we know from Nick's work. There we'll be going to the Third Day and Tobymac concert. This will be the 7th time we've seen Third Day, but we are (especially Nick) their super fans. I haven't seen Tobymac yet so it should be fun! I'm hoping we get there early enough to pet all the cute farm animals :)

Speaking of farm animals, last year we went to a fair up near the Canadian border and saw a cow (or bull?) that was, no joke, the size of our kitchen! It was the craziest thing... should have taken a picture of that!

New Blog

Welcome to the new blog! I still have a few things to work out, so the appearance may be changing. I will now be posting on this blog, and only this blog. If you had Macsyn's Room bookmarked, please make sure you change the bookmark.

Come back soon!