Random Updates

I have been somewhat neglectful of my blog lately.... we've been working on our final push to finish up school. We have about 4 weeks left and are working quite diligently to accomplish everything in that time frame. Not an easy thing to do as we are still adjusting to adding a little one to the household. :-)


We've also been trying to update our house on a budget.... basically just giving the front some curb appeal. I have another blog all about our renovations... (actually it was my first blog). So, I've been updating that too... LOL! To see our latest renovation click HERE.

Chris and I are also working on a Total Money Makeover, and it is h-a-r-d! No credit, cash envelopes. This month was the longest month, and my grocery budget was not pretty! To say I was over would be an understatement. Tonight we will be working on this coming month's budget. (I'm not really looking forward to it). :-)

I'll have to do an update on our little man here soon! I missed his 3 month update, and tomorrow is 4 months that he has been home. So, I need to get an update on how everything is going! I do have one update for him though: I took him into the Drs this Monday because of a wheezing cough that I didn't like. It was over the weekend naturally and his appetite was down as well. They checked him out and cultured him for strep. It came back negative...but I got a call today that the longer 24 or 48 hour tests were positive. Yikes! So, he is on his first antibiotic since we have been home. Hopefully it will clear it up soon and I don't get it!

That's it for now... I have to go do the budget thing with Chris. Blah. :-)

Florida and Easter- Photos

We decided to take a last minute mini-break to Florida. My mom had surgery a few weeks prior and she and my dad really wanted to meet ds3 and spend Easter with us. They couldn't make the trip up with her recuperating, so we decided to head down there. Thursday through Sunday, a long weekend, but it was just enough time to kick back and relax a little bit.

We spent a lot of time in the pool, and the older boys got to go golfing with Grandpa. We went to Downtown Disney and had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe and walked all around. (It was busy though.... that's what you get when you visit at that time of year). We celebrated Easter with my parents as well and ds3 had his first egg hunt. He was sooo cute! Here are some photos of the trip!

All my boys in front of a dragon made completely of Legos!

Ds3 in front of a Lego made St. Basil's Cathedral.

The older boys in front of St. Basil's. They found it and ran to tell me to get a photo! It means so much more to them now that they have seen it in person!

Chris and the boys - picture perfect opportunity!

Ds3 at the Rainforest Cafe.... how cute!

All smiles!

More smiles!

Me and my boys

Grandma and Grandpa with the boys

Hunting for eggs

A soft cuddly bunny

Happy at home with his new bunny!

Woman falls off face of the earth.....

I guess that title pretty much sums it up. :-) (They need better smiley faces on blogger). Anyway, I have been horrible about keeping up with my blog. I have two posts I'd like to do and an update on ds3.... but I haven't found the words... nor my camera cable to upload photos of our recent trip to Florida.

Hopefully I'll find both the cord and some words and get some updates on here soon.

Jackie

A Visit with Friends.....

Last week we had company come. Thank goodness they are the kind of friends that you don't have to worry about how well your house looks. They just come to see us, and enjoy a visit. We enjoy our time with them so much, however brief it is. Hopefully they will be able to visit this summer for a little longer! Of course, we could always visit too!

I met Kelly three years ago and it was a total "God thing". We've kept in touch since, and I'm grateful for how easy our relationship is... even if we haven't talked in a few months, we can still get together and pick up right where we left off. That is a rarity, and I'm grateful for it!

Anyway, Kel's husband plays professional baseball in the minors. That's how we met. So every year they head down to Florida for Spring Training, they stop off at our house on the way down for a visit. Yay! Except next year they are in Arizona for Spring Training, and so we won't see them. That is a real bummer! So this year we got to see Luis and Kelly and their sweet girls on their way down, and then Kelly and the girls stopped for a visit on the way back. We always have fun cooking dinner and the girls head right to the playroom with my boys. Plus, there is always Wii! Naturally I did not get a picture of the adults competing! It was a fierce competition though.... that's for sure!

This year they also got to meet our new little man after hearing about our adoption process for so long. They met him several weeks after we got home, and then again last week. What was cool is that Kelly could really tell a difference in how much he has adjusted to us after 2 and 1/2 months. He has come out of his shell, is talking more and smiling a lot more. That was nice to hear because living in the day to day moments, you can lose sight of how far you've come. It was encouraging to hear that!

So, here are some photos that I was able to get of the first visit.... finally I'm getting around to posting them. :-) Kelly took pictures of the recent visit, so I'm gonna have to get those! :-)

Kelly, Luis and ds3!

Luis and our sweet little guy!

Everyone together!

Dr. Seuss from Tennessee?

Did you know that Dr. Seuss is a Tennessee fan? Neither did I..... But here's proof.