Lost, But Holding Hands

Ryan started basketball a couple weeks ago.  He's definitely got some talent and his height definitely helps.  This week he made two awesome baskets- unfortunately one in the wrong basket...oops!  I'm stepping outside of my comfort zone and coaching.  I have zero  basketball skills, but the teacher in me can keep things organized and moving along productively. We may not be able to shoot any better than when we started, but we can form a line and take turns with the best of them!

We love, love, LOVE  the zoo!  This past spring, we purchased a Friends of the Zoo pass and it has made the zoo wonderfully convenient and so much more relaxed.  Now, it doesn't matter if we only go for an hour or find ourselves in a sudden rain storm because the pass virtually paid for itself after the first few visits. This weekend we spent the afternoon with grandma and grandpa at the zoo.  It was such a fun day.  These pictures make me feel so blessed to see my mom and dad have such a positive and strong relationship with Ryan!

It's the most wonderful day of the year. Picture Day! Ryan wanted to wear his cowboy boots....badly.  So his outfit inspired from there.  While packing the house, I came across Tyler's childhood belt.  It fit Ryan PERFECTLY- divine intervention  Cowboy boots + old leather belt = picture day success.  How cute is this little man?!?

When I was in elementary school I went to Girl Scout Camp.  Once.  It was terrible.  I am fairly certain that numerous scouts go to camp every year and have a great time.  I wasn't one of them. Fast forward nearly two decades and I fell in love with....a camper.  Tyler grew up camping.  He loved being outside, sleeping in tents, and cooking over a fire.  The whole time we were dating and the first few years of our marriage I did the best I could to appease him.  It's not that I don't love nature.  I can appreciate awesome views, fresh air, and S'mores as much as anyone else.  What I don't like is bugs, cold, thunderstorms while tent camping AND the dreaded trip through Colorado when my husband surprised me with a solar shower.  Look it up.  Um, no. After we had Ryan, we began to rethink our camping plans.  It continued to be important to Tyler to spend time as a family camping.  I think it may have become even mor...

I am fortunate to work on a team with some of the smartest, kindest, most genuine people I have ever met.  In a profession that is too often thankless, they are a bright spot in my life.  Yesterday, we attended a workshop downtown together and seized the opportunity to catch up over lunch.  Of course, most of our conversation was related to work and our never-ending to-do lists.  But eventually we began sharing about winter break plans and upcoming holidays.  While I was listening, I began to notice the amount of angst holidays can cause.  During a time that should be joyful, we spend a majority of our time trying to prove ourselves worthy, appease our family, and simply survive. I think one of the greatest choices we make each day is who to surround ourselves with.  Our friends and family can should help insulate us from the sadness and difficulties of the outside world.  They should celebrate with us and for us. It's our choice.  The peo...

In April, all signs began to point towards finalization for our family of 3.  In fact, we left one of our court sessions so full of anticipation and so sure of God's plan that we moved forward with our plans to celebrate.  We drove straight to our travel agent and began planning our trip to Disney World.  We didn't have an exact adoption date and we knew we didn't want to go on our Gotcha vacation until all was official.  So, we took a leap of faith and picked November.  We began reading guide books, blogs, and gathering tips from anyone who would share.  We dreamed of our perfect vacation...to the point where we began to worry about the possible disappointment.  How could The Magic Kingdom really be that  magical?  Would these lists and plans come to fruition in the ways we imagined? We were incredibly blessed to find that our adoption process, while emotionally draining, did not draw itself out.  We celebrated Gotcha Day on September...

It's Gotcha Day y'all!  We will do our best to update throughout our adventure today! Last night we stayed up late to decorate!  We wanted Ryan to know that it was a special day as soon as he woke up! We woke up like it was Christmas morning and waited anxiously until an appropriate time to wake him up- there's a change of pace! Update: First stop of the day is breakfast at one of our favorite brunch places-First Watch!  Update: After breakfast we ventured to Build-a-Bear. We wanted Ryan to have something tangible to help him remember the day! Update: After it was all official we decided to venture to Sea Life Aquarium.  We ended the day with a great dinner surrounded by the people who helped make this last year enjoyable and survivable.  We do not overlook how blessed we truly are.