Ug, sorry!

 
 
 
 
 
Our time has been constrained lately. With everything we have going on this season, I just have not been able to find the time to sit and write a blog, e-mail, and keep up with all that's happening. I would love to have been able to keep this space updated with every little detail, but simply cannot get to it. I feel so bad about it. Some days, I wish I just had a few more hours in my day . I k[...]

Month 2: Where we stand

 
 
 
 
 
November, already. We just elected a president. Ski season officially starts this weekend. The first quarter of school is about to end. I'm planning my Thanksgiving Menu. In Adoption news, things are rolling down the track. In the past few weeks, we have signed our way through a small mountain of paperwork. I know this is just the tip of the iceberg, there is so much more to come. We have signe[...]

We were up, now we're down

 
 
 
 
 
They say it's a roller coaster. They are right. You soar to dizzying heights with elation... Only to dip into disappointment moments later. I know it is like this, yet you still get your heart wrenched up and down and all around in the process. Last night we were told that Ana had been approved for participation in the Hosting Program, meaning she would be able to travel here, stay in our [...]

I survived the Passport Office

 
 
 
 
 
"You've really never had a Passport before?!?" The lady on the other side of the plexiglass divider raised a questioning eyebrow at me in disbelief. Her eyes glanced back down at my printed out paperwork and birth certificate laying out on the counter between us, finger resting on my birthdate. I am pretty sure I know what she is thinking. Yes, I am 30 years old and have never traveled outsi[...]

Family ties (a killer story)

 
 
 
 
 
  Let me tell you a story about how God is working. This story started almost exactly 7 years ago. Life is not a series of random circumstances and chance happenings. God orchestrates all things and works all things out for our benefit and His Glory (Rom 8:28). Those who have been in Christ for any length of time bear witness to how God orchestrates things and we are often floored a[...]

Our BIG announcement

 
 
 
 
 
I am really bad at keeping secrets. And holding onto this one for nearly a month has been really, REALLY hard. We are going to have a 4th child. But no, I’m not pregnant. So. Here we go, the big announcement: WE ARE ADOPTING A 5 YEAR OLD GIRL FROM EASTERN EUROPE And.. ummm.... Let’s just sit here in awkward silence for a minute while I gather my wits again and we will let this sink i[...]

Blowing gaskets over shower valves

 
 
 
 
 
I've always thought being involved in other people's remodels & design processes is much akin to being a marriage counselor. Many a marriages have nearly broken up over building/improving a house together. They don't exactly tell you how to deal with that in Architecture school. Heck, they barely teach you how the building actually goes together, let alone how to use CAD. But who councils us w[...]

Bring on the crazies

 
 
 
 
 
Our life has been flipped upside down by the shocking reality that Bob Villa so deceitfully presented as idyllic in his 45-minute segments of This Old House. You get into a remodel with lots of gung-ho, can-do attitude. It all gets torn apart easily. Optimism and work ethic prevail. Your swept up in the excitement of demo and major changes underway. We've sat on this 1950's ranch-ish style duplex [...]

1892

 
 
 
 
 
I love film. In case you didn't already know. I've forgotten how much I love Polaroids, as I haven't shot them in about 5 years. Specifically, peel apart instant film. It's amazing how this type of film has actually IMPROVED in the past handful of years. One would think otherwise, given the fact 'Polaroid' as a brand appeared to have died. It's funny to me how what was old and archaic swings back [...]

Last day

 
 
 
 
 
Today is the last day of my treatment. Later today I have to give myself my last injection. That means I have completed 48 days of this treatment- 7 weeks of eating an incredibly restricted diet, weighing my food, swallowing a mouthful of pills twice a day, drinking 1.5 liters of water each day, and poking myself in the bum at 4:45 each afternoon. Honestly, there have been parts of it that are eas[...]