So, I don't really have anything very interesting or "newsy" to put on my blog tonight, but the toilet picture was starting to bother me so I decided to just post something so that when I look at my blog I don't see the shiny porcelain staring at me!

This past week has been a hard week...Riley was sick over the weekend, then Michael caught the same virus the night before his birthday and he was at home sick for 2 full days (including his b'day), then I had some not-fun things I had to deal with, etc...

Plus, I really think that the waiting for our referral is really starting to get to me. Originally we were told to expect a 0-5 month wait...now we're about a week away from the end of the 5 month wait with no end in sight. It's so discouraging. It's probably a lot like being pregnant and being past your due date, except that it is different because when you're pregnant and late you know your doctor will only let you go so long--maybe an extra week or two. With adoption, you could be waiting another several months or even longer--there is no guaranteed end in sight. Sigh.

I know that in the end it is all going to be more than worth it...I have a precious 2 year old who is a constant reminder of that...but the waiting is still hard. It's hard to put into words what it feels like to know your son or daughter has probably been born and you know nothing about where he is, what he's doing, when he will be with you, etc... All you can do is pray and ask God to please watch over him and keep him safe and healthy and bring him to you as soon as possible!

Well, I had been planning on potty-training once we get home from our family vacation but today sealed the deal. This morning Riley took off his diaper and ran into the bathroom saying he needed to go potty. I put him on there and sure enough he peed. He's been using the potty quite a bit lately but it's always with my asking him if he needs to go. This was one of the first times it was truly on his initiative. Once we get home from the beach I am planning to really jump into it...we'll see how it goes!

This has been on some of my adoption forums before, and I thought some of you might enjoy reading it.

Different Trips to the Same Place

Deciding to have a baby is like planning a trip to Australia. You've heard it's a wonderful place, you've read many guidebooks and feel certain you're ready to go. Everyone you know has traveled there by plane. They say it can be a turbulent flight with occasional rough landings, but you can look forward to being pampered on the trip.

So you go to the airport and ask the ticket agent for a ticket to Australia. All around you, excited people are boarding planes for Australia. It seems there is no seat for you; you'll have to wait for the next flight. Impatient, but anticipating a wonderful trip, you wait - and wait - and wait.


After a long time the ticket agent tells you, "I'm sorry, we're not going to be able to get you on a plane to Australia. Perhaps you should think about going by boat!


""BY BOAT!" you say. "Going by boat will take a very long time and it costs a great deal of money." So you go home and think about not going to Australia at all. But you have long dreamed of this wonderful place, and finally you decide to go by boat.


It is a long trip, many months over many rough seas. Meanwhile, your friends have flown back and forth to Australia two or three more times, marveling about each trip.


Then one glorious day, the boat docks in Australia. It is more exquisite than you ever imagined, and the beauty is magnified by your long days at sea. You have made many wonderful friends during your voyage, and you find yourself comparing stories with others who have also traveled by sea rather than by air.


You will always wonder what it would have been like to fly to Australia. Still, you know God has blessed you with a special appreciation of Australia, and the beauty of Australia is not in the way you get there, but in the place itself.

Fun Fourth

We had a fun 4th of July. My sister Karoline came to town to stay with us. She only lives an hour away but very rarely spends the night with us because when she's in town she almost always stays at my parents' house. But, since my parents are in Oklahoma for the summer she decided to come stay with us. It was fun to have her!

On Friday we went to the local parade downtown. Riley was mesmerized by the people, animals, trucks, etc... in the parade. Afterwards we walked around the downtown festival for a while and he got to climb around in one of the firetrucks.



After walking around for a while we went back to our house and Ben, Jenna, and Mason came over to finish our Risk game from the night before! Later we headed to some dear friends' house for a cookout. The rest of the weekend was full of shopping, lots of eating, and hanging out!

Here's a picture of Riley with his sweet Aunt Karoline!

I had a wonderful time at the conference in Atlanta! It was a wonderful long weekend. It was so fun to be with my sisters Susannah, Karoline, and my sister-in-law Jenna. Some of Karoline's and Susannah's friends came, too, and it was fun getting to know them and hang out with them.

We got to Atlanta on Thursday evening. Friday morning we hit Ikea! This was my first time in an Ikea, and I LOVED every minute of it! It is my kind of store complete with great prices! Friday afternoon I got to take a nap and that evening the conference began.

I am still mulling through all that I learned, was challenged by, encouraged to, convicted of, etc... I feel like I am experiencing a little bit of "culture" shock coming away from it because it was just such an incredible time for me. I know that my life is never going to be the same--at least I pray that my life is never the same.

Besides the blessing of being able to hear from Priscilla Shirer, Kay Arthur, and Beth Moore, I also had the added blessing of getting to give a hug and say "hello" to some incredible women. Through this blog I found these other blogs and have been drawn to the journeys of these incredible women of faith: Emily,Kenzie, Yvette, and Angie. I, obviously, don't know these women, but I have read their blogs for so long now that I feel like I know them. Anyway, they (along with several other women) all met up in Atlanta for the conference this past weekend, too. I was praying that I would have the chance to say "hello" and let them know that I have been praying for them and their families. Once I got to the conference and saw how many women were there (over 19,000) I knew it would be a miracle. Thankfully, they had on t-shirts with their precious babies' names on them and I was able to introduce myself and say "hello" and let them know that I love reading their blogs and praying for their families. It was a privilege to meet in person these women with incredible faith in Jesus.