Thursday, October 23, 2008

Virginia Creeper Trail

One of our favorite things to do is biking. Greg and I have always enjoyed it, and we are so glad that Connor loves it too! We found a place years ago that is one of the most beautiful and peaceful places we've ever been, the Creeper Trail in Virginia. It is 17 miles that will take your breath away as you try to take in the beauty of God's creation. It is not a difficult ride, and we highly recommend it!

We were so excited yesterday to finally be able to share this with Connor! He rode in the bike trailer and collected stuff in his "Nature Box" that we had made the night before. He loved finding leaves, acorns, rocks, and moss and that kept him entertained along the way. He is our outdoors boy, so he loved it as much as us! He actually fell asleep in the trailer the last few miles! I told you it was peaceful!

Enjoy the slideshow!

Friday, October 17, 2008

My Silly Little Man


How could you not love him?

Sunday, October 12, 2008

6 Months!

I lied. I thought the next post would be soccer pics, but I still haven't had time to even load those pics on the computer. Life has been ridiculous lately and managing work and home is about to kill me. I hate October because work is always insanely busy, but I love October because it is just the most beautiful month of the year. If you need an understanding of how insane my life is right now, here's a quick illustration. The other day I was extremely sick. I thought I'd come down with a stomach bug. And then I came to the realization that "Oh, you've slept about 6 hours in two days, and all you've put in your body in the past 24 hours is a Venti Caramel Macchiato and a bag of Skittles." Is it any wonder?

Anyways, at least this weekend was good. Greg made it home from Atlanta and had a wonderful trip. Maybe someday I can go to Catalyst with him. I've always wanted to go, but I just can't slip away from work for two days this time of year. He was back in time for Family Night which consisted of greasy pizza (Me and the health food lately. What happened to my organic diet?) and Chuck E. Cheese. It made the little man happy , so that was all that mattered. Nana and Granddaddy took all the grandkids unexpectedly to Chuck E. Cheese again on Saturday (Connor thought he was something special...all those game two days in a row!) and Greg and I managed to have our first date night in months! Saturday was the six month anniversary of officially being logged in at Cathwell Orphange, and we always celebrate adoption milestones with a yummy Chinese dinner. We decided to go out for sushi. Greg loves it, but I have texture issues, so I've always made fun of sushi eaters, but I got cooked sushi and veggie sushi and I have to say it was quite yummy! We then had a delicious dessert at the Melting Pot. We got to have real conversation that didn't involve interruptions from a bored four-year old, and it was so nice. Too many times I get caught up in all the craziness of life and being a working mom, and I just forget what I great husband that I have.

Fall Break is one week away and I can't wait to just be a mom and wife for a week. I'm a little excited about laundry, cooking, and cleaning, because I haven't gotten to do much of that in the past couple of weeks! And as much as I'm heartbroken that we won't be taking our annual October Disney trip, I'm so excited to not be going non-stop on a crazy vacation for a week where I come home more exhausted than when I left. I'm not sure there can be a point of more exhausted than I am. Greg says I'm like this every October, but this fall just feels the worst of all. I am so longing to simplify things and get rid of the chaos. Greg and I have talked so much about this lately, and I'm to the point now where I know things just can't continue the way they are. But where do you start and what is there to let go? It's so hard! The verse I've been saying over and over every day lately is "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28). Maybe there is some rest in our future!

I keep feeling like something is on the horizon for our family that is going to be big, because I feel like Satan is really trying to beat me down the past couple of weeks. Some really hurtful actions and words have been coming at me from every direction, even in the most unexpected places. I am trying to keep my eyes on Christ and my faithfulness to Him. Maybe Satan is just trying to wear me down before Taiwan. I'm not sure what it is, but it is starting to affect me, so I ask for your prayer that God will just protect me and help me to keep my focus. Pray for our upcoming trip in just two months and for the remainder of our long wait.