Fingerprints??????

It's been almost a month since the Memphis USCIS office received our I-600A application and we still have no word on a fingerprinting appointment. Almost every other blog that I've read had their appointments by now. Any fellow adoptive parents have any insight to this????? Greg keeps telling me not to worry, all we need to get in line is our homestudy, but I just want this done! I just hate depending on other people to do things that are very important to me... it's just me being a control freak, yes I know!

Okay, I really will post Christmas pics very soon, I'm just having fun doing nothing productive these past few days! I'm doing some serious vacationing here! Usually, our vacations consist of going non-stop, so I am thoroughly enjoying sitting around! I am so relaxed! A girl could get used to this!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas.....

Connor leaves his treats and letter for Santa.



Connor cooking up some yumminess for Santa!


Connor posing with all the toys he gave up in honor of Baby Jesus' birthday!

We have had non-stop Christmas fun since Friday! I will post all about my class Christmas party and all the family fun we had this weekend later!

This Christmas, Connor REALLY gets the whole Santa thing. We had a lot of fun tonight! We started the evening by going through toys and giving some old toys away in honor of Baby Jesus. He very easily let go of about five big things. Then we went outside and sprinkled magic reindeer food (ummm..well, oatmeal and glitter) all over the front yard so that Rudolph could find our house. We came inside and made fresh gingerbread cookies for Santa (this has been our tradition over the past few years), wrote Santa a letter, got Santa's tray all ready and set it out by the fireplace. We got changed into our pajamas and then watched some of Polar Express, another Christmas tradition. We kept an eye on the Santa tracker online, and actually got Connor upstairs when they said he was in Knoxville. He was a little juiced up, and didn't want to lay down! I think we finally scared him into going to sleep, as all is quiet upstairs.

Now, Greg and I get to stay up late and do the Santa thing!

Merry Christmas to everyone!

An Update

We had a great weekend with the Haneys in town. The Watsons came over Saturday, and the girls stayed at home with the kids and the boys went out and did "boy stuff." They always let us have our girls weekends, so we owed them. I guess we owe them a lot more to make up for all the times they've let us make our weekend trips to Nashville. We really enjoyed getting to know Eliza. She is so cute and so sweet! We are looking forward to watching her grow up. I am a nerd and forgot to charge my camera battery, so I have no pictures from their visit.

On Sunday, we went to Crossings. Connor had been practicing singing "My Deliverer is Coming" the past few weeks in class. We had even been practicing at home, using the fireplace as his stage. He was very excited and I was sure he'd be fine. Well, they all gathered for practice at 9 a.m. He sang the song, but wouldn't leave his best friend, Atley alone. He kept hugging him and putting his arm around him. Atley wasn't too amused and Connor was being annoying! Well, that finally stopped, but Connor then proceeded to stick his hand down his own pants and scratch his leg. He has really bad eczema and on his upper thigh, it has gotten so dry, that he actually has blisters. We were in such a hurry that I forgot to put lotion on him that morning. Everyone was laughing at my nearly four year old with his hand down his pants, but of course I was mordified. I managed to track down some lotion before he did the actual song for the service, and luckily avoided that little scene again. So, it's time for the special music. All the kids come in and line up on the stage and Mom and I both notice that Connor is missing. Mom leans over and whispers "Where's Connor?" and at that moment, a giggling little boy starts running down the aisle to the stage. Yes, it was Connor making his grand entrance. He refused to go on stage and wanted to hang out on the stairs. Carrie managed to keep him from falling off, as he did a little monkey routine, and absolutely refused to sing. WHY IS IT THAT YOUR CHILDREN ARE THE SWEETEST AND MOST WELL BEHAVED CHILDREN UNTIL YOU ACTUALLY NEED THEM TO BE IN PUBLIC????

So anyways, enjoy the pic of Connor swinging on the stair rail at church. Look to the far left corner at the munchkin in the red sweater...yes, that's my little monkey! If I could post a picture of the audience, you would see my red face shaking my head, having to fight myself from yanking him off the stage. The other two pictures are of his practice. Sorry, didn't get his little "Al Bundy" moment on film.

Tonight was our homestudy. Connor was a little show-off. He was a little too energetic. Once again, he had been well-behaved ALL DAY until we needed him to be!!! His job was to give our social worker a tour of the house, and he did a great job! He even showed her Mommy and Daddy's toilet--terribly exciting, I know!

I had my medical evaluation today, so now we are just waiting on our fingerprinting appointments, the I-600A approval after that, and for our homestudy to be written. We're almost there!

For All Those Adoptive Families......

"Can you all not have any more children?" "Connor is so cute! You did so good the first time, why don't you just have more on your own?"

Oh, the questions we've been asked since we told people about our adoption! This one is for all the parents who have been asked all these questions too!

Connor Reads His First Book!

Connor has officially read his first book as of tonight! It is called, I Can See.... At first, I just assumed he had all the words memorized and knew what picture went with them. Then tonight, I covered up every picture and had him read the pages out of order. He doesn't really know how to sound out the words, even though he knows all of his letters and all of the sounds they make, he just knows what each word "looks like" he says. It is a repetitive book, I can see a cat, I can see a camel, I can see a cow, etc. etc., but still it is a milestone and we're very proud of him!!!

I'm baaaaaaaack!

I just got back from Charleston. It was a really great trip. I got to go with my friend Jessica, and we always get along really well. It's always fun to travel with someone you can have a good time with.

No major events happened. We taxied on the runway in Atlanta on Sunday night for thirty minutes, longer than our 29 minute flight we'd just taken, so that was good times. Monday morning, the girl at the hotel desk gave us the wrong directions to the conference, so we walked about five blocks too far. Tonight, we landed in Atlanta and went to the complete other side of the airport, only to find when we got there, they changed our departure gate to the one right next to the one we had come from. We literally only had to walk five feet. I was not a happy camper trekking back to the other side of the airport. Needless to say, I'll take ALL OF THAT because my plane didn't crash! Yes, once again, I jumped at every noise, and put my head in my hands every time there was the slightest turbulence. I am getting better, though. No flight attendants even talked to me beyond the drink request, so that's progress!!

When I got to the airport in Knoxville, I was greeted by an adorable little boy dressed as a chauffeur, wearing a black suit and sunglasses, holding a sign that said "Mommy". People in the airport were laughing hard! I wish so badly that I had a picture of him in his little outfit. He refused to let Greg take one of him before I got there. It was a great way to come home! He loved the little Delta airplane I brought him home and wanted to sleep with it. He really wants to fly in an airplane!

We got some really great teaching ideas and insights. Got recharged a bit, which is always good. We also came to the realization that frustrations with education are universal. Sometimes I feel like it is only in our school, or county, but as I heard teachers from other states, they are going through the exact same things. It is always comforting to know that you are not alone.

Charleston is such a beautiful city. I had been there once before a couple of years ago on vacation. Jessica and I laughed today as we were eating cheeseburgers in this old diner right across the street from Gucci! Only in the south can you be eating a greasy cheeseburger, sitting in a ripped up booth, and stare across the street into a window with $600 shoes displayed. I love being a southern girl!

We had some great conversations about life and work. Ate some good food. Got lots of free stuff. Learned great new ideas. It was a pretty productive beginning to the week. Now, back to work! A bearable thought because Christmas vacation is in sight! I'm so looking forward to my two week vacation! I love being a teacher!

Mommy is out of town!

This is Greg taking over Jessica's blog because she's in Charleston without internet access for a few days and I know her password. Muuuaha-ha-ha-ha-ha! When Jessica is out of town, me and the little man have a big time! Here are a few pictures of our adventures in downtown Knoxville tonight.





The first thing we did was to go up the Sunsphere. It's been closed for years but just recently reopened to visitors and Connor has always thought it was pretty cool. Since Mommy is too scared to go up there, I thought I would take this opportunity to take Connor to the top. He thought it was pretty cool.





Here's the view if you've never been up there. It's pretty stellar!





Why yes dad, I would like to have a gingerbread cookie for dinner!





Connor doing one of his famous Zoolander poses in front of the Market Square Christmas Tree. He calls this one "White Lightning!"

Weekend at Home

Well, we had a busy weekend at home. On Friday, we took Connor to the Christmas parade and did a little Christmas shopping on Market Square. He was in a horrible mood, and we put him to bed early and enjoyed a movie. I of course, can't make it through a whole movie without falling asleep.

On Saturday, Greg and Connor surprised me with breakfast. They snuck out while I was still sleeping. We laid low until noon and then I went on a cleaning rampage. I cleaned and decorated for Christmas at the same time. Greg and Connor went out last night and got a Christmas tree. Everything is decorated, the stockings are hung, and the "bank tree" is now up. Connor told me last night, "Mom, I really like our Christmas house!"

We enjoyed our time together.....and now things get CRAZY!!! We have something going on non-stop every night until Christmas. We have company in town the next two weekends, Christmas programs to see, and Christmas parties to attend! A normal person would be stressed......I LOVE IT!!!!!

I am headed upstairs to pack. My plane leaves in a few hours. I absolutely HATE HATE HATE flying, so I've been sick to my stomach all day at the thought of it. Hopefully I can avoid the flight attendant asking me if I'm okay today. How am I going to fly to Taiwan??????

The Ballet Recital

I've been teaching ballet after school since September. I teach students at my school, so it has been a very easy way to earn extra money for the adoption. The girls are so cute and sweet, and honestly it's been fun to do something that has nothing to do with academics. They had their little Christmas performance on Thursday, and I was so proud of them! They are a great bunch of girls with a great heart! It has made me feel so great to share something with them, that they might not have been able to experience otherwise. So many of the parents have told me how much they appreciate this opportunity for their girls. I gave each of them a rose after the performance, and the girls got so excited over a silly flower. They kept saying, "Oh my gosh, it's real! Smell it!" I am so thankful that God has given me the opportunity to work in the environment that I do. I don't know if I could ever teach at a middle-class school. Everyday makes me so thankful for everything that I have, and everyday I just want to love those kids as much as I can. It truly is ministry to me.

The parents gave permission to have their girls pictures released to the media, so I thought it was okay to post a couple of pictures on here. There will possibly be an article in the Knoxville News Sentinel sometime this week, most likely in the "Your Hub" section, as well as write-up in the South Knoxville Times.

Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?

I just had to post this picture from tonight. It made me laugh and think of "A Charlie Brown Christmas", which we've already seen twice and it's December 4th! I pray that all families will remember Linus' speech this holiday season. In our house, we have just made the pact that at three, we have the power to control his view of Christmas now. If we don't give him a million presents, and set up this big materialistic expectation of Christmas, maybe he'll always remember the true meaning of Christmas. In all the traffic, money stress, and decorations, may we not forget that Christmas is about our Jesus.

RIP... Greg's Music Room

Well, we always knew it was coming. It was a great little music room for four years. Greg proudly decorated it himself, and everyone who came over thought it was the coolest room in the house....very "Trading Spaces". This weekend it was made into a playroom. We kept the whole "creativity" theme in there. There are still musical instruments hanging on the walls, but everything else is gone. Connor has a neat little dress-up corner, tons of room to play trains, an art corner, and lots of his art work displayed on the wall. We had a budget of $80 to convert the room, so I thought it turned out well in that respect. My dream is to build a little stage in there, and really let the kids' imagination go wild! There is so much I want to do in there, but we just don't have any money right now after writing some crazy high dollar checks this past week for adoption stuff.

Connor has spent endless hours in the room since we converted it. He has wanted to play in there non-stop. We put his Christmas tree up in the playroom instead of his bedroom this year. This weekend, before I fly out on Sunday to a conference in Charleston, we will try to get the "bank tree" (as Greg calls it) up in the living room. Yes, all my ornaments match the living room decor, and the wrapping paper also has to match. We all know I'm type "A", come on!

Anyways, here are some pictures of the new play space.

Some Pics!

Since I've been sick since Thanksgiving, I haven't had a chance to get any of the pictures off of my camera. We have lots of great pics to post! Take a look!

Connor is super excited that it's Christmas time!



Oh my! Atley is already catching a ride with Connor! I cringe to think of this scene in 12 more years!



Mmmmm!!! Connor loves making cookies!



Fantasy of Trees was so much fun!



Very tired, but happy to welcome Eliza home! Mandy, Nancy, Eliza, and Me at the Nashville Airport the day before Thanksgiving (actually it was Thanksgiving about this time).

We Rock!

Well, this week we were on fire getting our papework done! We have almost everything in order and will start our homestudy sometime next week. Greg and I both are "to do" list type people and we found a cool little website that allowed us to have our list of things to get done online and both work off of it. It is really neat if you like that kind of stuff....maybe we're just nerds!

This week we found our new adoption agency (totally a "God" thing), mailed our application fee and application, ordered various paperwork (birth certificates, background checks, letters of employment, etc.). We filled out our VERY lengthy homestudy application, and each of us wrote a 10 page autobiography. (Oh my goodness.....we were so sick of talking about ourselves at the end of that!) We also talked to Greg's dad about a will. Right now we are waiting on our will to be finalized, to get our medical exams (our doctor couldn't fit us in until mid-December), and for our homestudy to begin. Yes, we are frantically organizing our house this weekend! I'm sure it would be fine like it is, but we just wanted to!

After our homestudy is completed (hopefully in January), it will be sent to Taiwan, and they will approve it or not. If they approve it, we will pay our adoption agency our program fee, and then they will finish up everything and send our official dossier to Taiwan and wait and wait and wait and wait for a referral. Our file will probably not even be considered for a referral for at least 18 mos. due to the other families ahead of us. Then when we are picked, we will have to wait 6 months to travel. In Taiwan all the court proceedings are done over time, and you cannot travel to pick up your child until they are finished. OH, WHAT A LONG SIX MONTHS THAT WILL BE! We will receive monthly updates, pictures, and videos while we wait, and are allowed to send gifts to her during that time. So, we are probably looking to have Claire home in two years...still too long, but what can we do?

Good news: We rocked the paper chasing this week! Bad news: I have been sick since Thanksgiving and since we pushed ourselves so hard this week, and many nights I only got 4 hours sleep, I am terribly sick. My little cold has spread to my chest, and I can barely talk, and cannot stop coughing. I am off to the doctor now to get "fixed up" as Connor called it. I am hoping to have some meds in my system soon. Greg has been straightening and organizing like crazy for two days, and all I've felt like doing is sitting. I am hoping to make some sort of contribution this afternoon!

Taiwan

So, back in April we felt led to do an international adoption. We really felt that God was calling us to China, and that week God did everything but write it in the sky that we were supposed to do China. We went out to eat to celebrate our decision and my fortune cookie read, "The one you love is closer than you think." I don't believe in all the horoscopes, lucky numbers, blah...blah..blah, but I do believe in God and how he does things in mysterious ways. I always felt that fortune was a little weird, and tonight as I sat in the same Chinese restaurant and opened a fortune cookie with some random saying, I laughed remembering that fortune I had cracked open 7 months ago. Tonight, I can say that Claire is much closer than we thought.

When we made the decision to switch to Taiwan this weekend, we had no idea what that wait would entail. Now we're being told, in the worst case scenario, we will have Claire home in 20 months. Most likely, it will be 12-18 months. She will probably already be about 10 months old when we bring her home. Greg and I realized tonight that Claire could actually be growing inside of someone right now....it gave me goosebumps!

When we were being called to China, we were intent on being faithful to whatever God called us to do, even when we thought it meant waiting three or four more years to expand our family. I have to say Saturday when God laid upon my heart that it was time to let go, I was relieved. At first I grieved because China was where all of my hopes and dreams were, it was "my plan". All day I have been thinking of Proverbs 16:9 - " A man makes a plan in his heart, but God directs the path." I am so thankful that God has decided to direct our path to Taiwan and is blessing us with a little girl so much sooner than we thought. I said in my blog a couple of weeks ago that I wasn't going to change programs because I didn't like God's timeline and that I wouldn't move unless He told us. Honestly, in all of my life, I've never been more faithful, trusting, or closer to God than I have in these seven months. It has truly been a growing experience. He has been so faithful in guiding us. I am so thankful that I've learned more about trust and faith, and I'm so thankful for His grace, for blessing us with all of this, even though I far from deserve it.

My "Type A" personality is rearing it's ugly head. I have a "to do" list and I want it gone! Greg actually said to me on the way home from dinner, "You need to take a big, fatty, adoption chill pill." Since I have seem to come down with bronchitis, I think I will take a "chill pill" and relax tonight. We got a lot accomplished today, and I am proud of us. Someone once said to Greg, "I don't know how you all are going to get all that paperwork done quickly since Jessica works. It is like a full-time job chasing down all those papers." Greg then responded, "Oh, you don't know my wife, then!" I am on a mission!

We will be starting our official adoption site soon. I have been looking at templates to see what would be good for us. Any name suggestions? I think we'll still keep this page to talk about non-adoption things, and of course, CONNOR!

Please pray for the three of us, and our birthmother, whoever she may be!

A Lot Can Change in a Few Days

I don't have time to say much right now since I am filling out adoption applications and looking over everything that I am going to have to write for my autobiography!

We decided on Saturday to close the door on China after learning that the wait is just out of control. They are saying at least four years right now, and that is probably a big underestimate! We have chosen to switch to Taiwan, a program that is MUCH faster! We are probably now looking at 18 months!

Needless to say, we've been up to our ears in paperwork all night. Tomorrow I will get our adoption contract notarized and Greg will call to schedule our home study! I can't believe all of this is finally rolling!

I will post more about everything when I have time. Right now I have a million math papers to grade and my mind is going a hundred miles an hour thinking about everything else I want to be doing!

Hope everyone ate lots of turkey!

Date night, migranes, and adoption

Pretty random little title for my blog, huh?

Last night, Greg and I had a date night. We couldn't even remember the last time we went out by ourselves. We think it might have been July when we were at the beach. We had a great time eating out without constantly entertaining a three year old, to avoid a meltdown. We went to the UT basketball game after dinner, and honestly I really enjoyed just sitting for two hours. It was a good night. Thanks to Connor's "G" for the free babysitting and basketball tickets!

If you know me well, you know that I have been having really bad migraines for a few months now. I finally saw a neurologist this week and found out they are caused by stress and tension. I already knew this, I guess I was just hoping it was something else that I could change a little easier. Not eating a certain food or foods would be so much easier than not being stressed. Anyways, she prescribed a medicine for me, so we could be "proactive" about getting rid of the migraines before they started. I cannot take it because it is against Chinese adoption policies. Despite my great efforts to get her to not write it, she did, and now it is in my file. I called back and had her document in my records that I would not be taking it. I talked to several people from our adoption agency and they think we should be fine, they just might have to do an inquiry into it when it comes up in my records. It was a big stressful mess, so it was no surprise that on Wednesday I had a terrible migraine. I have to track my headaches now on a calendar and it's funny how I'm already seeing a pattern. See if you can see the pattern.

Sunday- no headache
Monday- headache
Tuesday- headache
Wednesday- migraine
Thursday- headache
Friday - no headache
Saturday- no headache so far

Hmmmmmmm...........

This week has been really hard thinking about the adoption and Claire. Seeing pictures of Elly and meeting my nephew has given me "baby fever" as Greg calls it. I have cried everyday, knowing that it will be at least three years before we add to our family. I know we are supposed to adopt from China, but this week I have thought a lot about switching countries, or in the mean time getting pregnant again. I know it's not God's plan for our family, and like I told some of my friends, I refuse to change God's plan for us, just because I don't like His timeline. It was made so clear for us in the Spring what our future was supposed to be, and I have told Him this week, if we're supposed to change our course, you have to give me the same peace and sureness that you did back in April, otherwise, I refuse to move. I am so blessed to have such close friends around me who have given me encouragement this week. I told Greg, I just feel like the closer we get to February, Satan is really trying to mess with me, putting all kinds of things in my path that make me question God's will. I just keep hearing this voice saying, "Trust Me" when I start to doubt. Plus, with the way work is stressing me out this year, I don't think I could do two kids right now. I know God has a plan for us and knows what our family is supposed to look like. I just have to trust. Trust is kind of hard for me. Anyone ever heard my trust fall story? Well, it ended with a broken nose for my poor husband!

Today Greg is going to the football game, so I am going to spend some time with Connor and then this evening, I'm going to pick up my niece and take them to Chuck E. Cheese. Connor is super excited that they get to have a slumber party tonight! Next week is a short week, so I am already feeling a little more relaxed! I am very much looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with my family and friends. I hope everyone has a great holiday!

My New Favorite Elly Picture!

Elly and her parents are coming home on Wednesday! We can't wait to see her! We are so excited that Thanksgiving will be their first holiday together. They have so much to be thankful for!

We can't wait to meet you on Wednesday, Elly!

I'm an Aunt Again!

This morning my precious little nephew, Ashton made it into the world. He is so little, 7lbs 6 oz. Well, I guess he's average for a newborn, he just seems so tiny! He is healthy and super cute! I visited with him tonight and didn't want to put him down!

My niece is a very proud big sister and is already super protective of her little brother. Connor woke up at 6:30 this morning when everyone was leaving for the hospital and was ready to go too! He was so hurt that he had to go to school and didn't get to go the hospital too! He talked all day at school about meeting his new cousin tonight and even let the man on the elevator at the hospital know exactly what we were doing there. When Connor finally met Ashton, he was completely enamored and was the first of the Adkins clan to even hold him. He climbed up on my sister-in-law's bed and held him very carefully. It was just about the most precious thing ever. He was so sweet and I just know he'll make the best big brother ever, even if he'll never have a tiny little infant for a sibling. He couldn't believe how little he was and at one point said, "Oh Mom, look at his little baby legs!" He asked if we could take him home with us and we said he had to stay with his mom and dad. He said, "Well, Marion comes over." We explained to him that Ashton can come over and play when he is bigger! Then he said, "Well, he can go eat with us." We then had to explain to him that newborns don't eat Mellow Mushroom Pizza, and that led to him wanting to know what they did eat.....and well....you can see where this is going.

I love how you can always see Connor's little wheels turning in that brain!

Enjoy the pics of our newest family member!

The Bluebird

Greg played about an hour long show at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville last night. We left for Nashville about 2:30 in the afternoon and I got back around midnight. Greg made it home closer to 4 a.m. We were a little tired today! He did a great job! Everything sounded amazing and so many of our friends and family came all the way out to support him. We had a great time! Daniel, Mandy, Bill and I even managed to sneak in some "to go" cheesecake from the Cheescake Factory on the way home. Banana Cream Cheesecake....Yummmm! The only thing lacking was a little hot fudge to go on top, which didn't seem very sensible to eat in the Watson's new van.

I am very proud of my hubby (everyone say Awwwwwww)!

Why I Love Kids!

I have two "Kids Say the Funniest Things" stories from today.

The first is from one of my adorable little kids at school. A little background, first. Connor was restless all night and was up and down coughing, etc. So, my sleep was minimal last night. I completely overslept this morning and rushed out the door with only time to get a super quick shower and to pull my hair into a ponytail. Needless to say, I wasn't looking my prettiest, with no make-up and donning my only sweatshirt, jeans, and tennis shoes. Yes, I took "Casual Friday" to a whole new level today! Anyways, back to the story. I have this ADORABLE little boy in my reading class. He is so cute! He kept staring at me all through class. Finally, about halfway through class, I was walking around the room helping students and was at his group. He said, "Mrs. Adkins, you looks different. You looks like you change colors." (Yes, there are grammar errors on purpose, keep in mind this is an inner city kid talking here.) I said, "I changed colors?" "Yeah, you a different color." I said, "Well, sweetie I am not wearing any make-up today, so I guess my face isn't as fixed up as it normally is, but I'm still the same color." I then proceeded to make some joke about how scary I am without make-up and promised to never do it again. My sweet little friend said, "No, Mrs. Adkins you still pretty, you just look like you a different color, that's all." I couldn't stop laughing. He is so cute! And that will be the last time I don't wear make-up to work!

Okay, my next story comes from another adorable little boy. The one and only Connor. Greg had a show tonight and Connor and I spent the evening together. We went out to eat and then over to Target to get some stuff for my nephew who will be making his grand entrance on Monday (if not before). We were sitting at the stoplight getting ready to turn and I heard screaming coming from the street corner. I turned and saw a street preacher yelling at oncoming traffic. He had some sign that I can't remember, but I'm sure it was something like, "You are all going to Hell." Just a sidenote, do you think this guy was just sitting at home tonight and got bored and was like, hey, I think I'll go yell about some hell and damnation in front of Target? I mean does that sound like a fun Friday night? Okay, i digress. Anyways, we couldn't make out much of what he was saying, just basically, "(yelling)..(yelling)...(yellling)...JESUS...(yelling)...(yelling)...(yelling)...JESUS!" Connor finally said, "Mom, why is that guy so mad....and why is he yelling at my Jesus?" I thought I was going to wreck as I made the turn because I was laughing so hard. Connor went on to inform me that "My Jesus is nice and he shouldn't yell at him. He lives in my heart, you know and he's nice, he doesn't yell like that guy." So, that pretty much made my night.

I think that my three year old has better perspective on faith than the "angry" street preacher. I'd like to think my Jesus is more like my three year old.

My Weekend

We had a busy weekend in the Adkins house.

Friday was my first day without a headache in almost a week! After work, we went out to eat and then took Connor to the movies.

Saturday Connor and I spent the day with my mom shopping. We found a Captain Hook hat, hook hand, and sword at the Disney store on clearance and had to get it for our dress-up box. He wore it through the entire mall and got lots of looks and laughs! He was hilarious in that huge hat! We met up with Greg at Toys-R-Us after he got back from the game and started a little list for Santa. Yes, Connor once again insisted on wearing his Captain Hook outfit through the entire store.

Today Connor and I skipped church (don't judge me) and went out for breakfast together and played dress-up for two hours (I'm not even kidding). He tried on every single costume in his dress-up box and did a little play for me. It was so nice to spend the morning by ourselves hanging out. That is a very rare thing in our lives. I cherish those times with my little man, and moments like those make it hard to be a working mom. This afternoon, we attended our dear friends' ministry dedication. (Check out The Restoration House link on the side of the page to learn more about this awesome ministry.)

Our weekend ended with Connor's very first homework project (yes, he is in preschool). We had to disguise a paper turkey to keep him from being Thanksgiving dinner. Connor chose to disguise his turkey as a pirate. After digging around the house, we ended up with a pretty cool little turkey pirate, and I ended up with some wicked blisters from the hot glue gun.

I'm off to bed. We have a very long week this week! Tomorrow is Monday and I hate Mondays! It means the weekend is over.

Halloween Pics!

Elly!

Jeff and Nancy have Elly! We can't wait to see her in person. She is so adorable! She's Connor's future wife, just so you know. We love you guys and can't wait for you to come home!

Happy Birthday Greg!

First, Happy Birthday Greg! I love you! Thanks for putting up with me for almost 8 years!

We got back Sunday night from Disney. We had an absolute blast. I think I came back more tired than when I left. I am not sure how that is even possible, but apparently it is when you spend 5 days straight in theme parks. We spent time at all four Disney parks and spent two days at Sea World as well. We did so many fun things! I will post some pictures when I get them uploaded to my computer.

The two highlights of the trip for me were realizing that Connor and my niece were tall enough to ride "Soarin'' which is absolutely my very favorite ride at Disney (they loved it as much as me) and getting to feed and pet the dolphins at Sea World (one step closer to my dream to swim with dolphins!) The worst part of the trip was when Connor threw up while we were waiting in line to ride Peter Pan at the Halloween party, all over his precious Peter Pan costume I might add. He felt terrible all night and we ended up having to leave early. Our big vacation finale didn't go exactly as planned, but we still had a wonderful time.

Now to get back into the groove of work after being off for 10 days! I am a little behind...okay, I'm ALOT behind. I had to call Greg to come get me from work yesterday around noon because the migraine that I had since Sunday got out of control. I ended up in the ER and finally got home about 9:30 last night. The doctor asked me if maybe the migraine could be caused by stress. I couldn't help but laugh. Me...stressed? What do you mean? I was out again today because I had a meeting, but tomorrow I will finally get back to the classroom! I am hoping things return to normal soon!

Now for some good stuff....one of my best friends is in Vietnam right now and as we speak she and her husband are probably getting ready to go pick up their little girl from the orphanage. I cannot wait to meet little Elly! Check out their links on my page to see how they're doing and to hopefully see pictures of Elly really soon! Say a prayer for their safety while they are in Vietnam.

Stay tuned for Disney pictures!

Wish you were here!

It's About Time!

We're off to Disney World tomorrow morning. I am so ready!!!! It truly is the happiest place on Earth and I need some happiness.

So, we're packing up two three year olds and two adults (I have no idea how we're getting all that stuff in our car......why did I trade in my SUV?)

We are all so excited that my niece Marion is coming with us. It will be her first time to Disney, and we are so happy to share that with her! Connor is so excited to have his best friend come to Mickey's House with him.

My mother-in-law is meeting us down there tomorrow night! We love having Mimi around too!

I AM SO READY TO LEAVE KNOXVILLE! NO PAPERWORK! NO MEETINGS! NO STRESS! JUST FUN, FUN, FUN!

As Connor would say, "Peace out sucka!"

Not much to say... Feeling Blah!

I haven't posted in two weeks....nothing much to say.

Things have been busy. Work is killing me.

All three of us have been sick (better now than on vacation).

Connor now says "No Comprehendo" when he wants to ignore what we say. Yes, he's only three. Thanks Veggie Tales!

Spent all night setting up for a stupid garage sale and like two people came.

READY FOR SOME HAPPINESS.....READY FOR DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!

8 DAYS!

Elly is Coming!

Our good friends, the Haney's finally got their referral and Elly will be coming home from Vietnam in a few weeks! I am so excited for them....so excited that we had to celebrate at McDonald's tonight when they were passing through town. We're so lame...it's the only place that we could think of that could keep the kids entertained (i.e. awesome playground), so the parents could talk. Check out their link on my page to read their story. Say a prayer for them as they begin preparing for this part of their journey. They are an awesome family and Elly is so blessed to have them as her parents. We love you guys!

Snagalooga

We spent Saturday in Chattanooga, or as Connor calls it, "Snagalooga" and had so much fun! Knoxville needs a downtown like Chattanooga!

We rode the carousel, visited the "Culturefest", ate at Cheeburger-Cheeburger, played at the Children's Museum, visited the Chatanooga Choo-Choo, went to the model train museum, then had some ice cream and headed home.

Yes, we were tired, but we had a blast. Enjoy the pics! I could only post a few, but the whole album is on my facebook page, so you can check it out!