Snow day....and the bathroom is about done!

So, the snow came! Boy did it! We haven't had snow like this in ...well a really really long time! The area is just not prepared for this kind of snow so the streets are really pretty bad still. And it's very cold so not a lot of melting going on, which usually seems to happen pretty quickly around here. We had 8 inches on our back deck this morning. I know for some of you this is pretty normal stuff, but this just doesn't happen around here! :o)

The boys are loving it. Well I think E would love it more if he felt better, he's still got a bit of a cold, so he doesn't stay out long.

Other great news around here is that my master bathroom is about done! Just needs crown molding put up....and accessories bought. The pics below were taken before he completed the base. I love it! I can't wait to get all the "pretties" in it! :o)

ok, I had to post the picture above because I didn't want the first pic on the page to be the toilet below...lol


Forgot to clean the mirror before I took the picture. The original mirror I chose had a beautiful frame, but it was too big, so we had to take it back :o( this one works though and is simple.

Gabriel really had no idea what to do with all that white stuff! This was at about 7 a.m.


The slide was pretty slippery of course... this move had my stomach in my throat... that boy has no fear!!!
S was up in the boys room taking pics from the window...she wasn't interested in dressing to come outside.
Caught in the act of pelting mommy with a snow ball.
Mommy trying to pelt daddy... not great aim.
Daddy playing with the dogs.... they are loving it! Buddy loves to go out and run around in it and eat it. You would think he was a puppy not 7 yrs old.

woo hoo...snow
He's sure beautiful isn't he?!
Home... white...home
Is that crazy or what?! SO much snow!
Snow fort.
Just chillin.... literally. :o)

Baby Girl Needs a home

Please follow this link for a sweet baby girl that needs a new home.

There are no adoption fees and I believe she will be covered by insurance as well.

She's truly beautiful and will need a special family to help live to her fullest potential. Are you her family?

Photo shoot...

SO... what do you do on a snow day when you have N's imagination?

Why, a photo shoot of course!! Enjoy!!

Not to be outdone, E-man wanted to join in the fun.

Shirts for Shoes... only 2 more days!

Shirts for Shoes from Tom Davis on Vimeo.

From Tom Davis' blog

Shirts for Shoes has passed our goal of helping 400 orphans...in fact we're now up to around 500 and we're still going strong. These are exclusive HopeChest t-shirts for this year's Shirts for Shoes promotion. The sale ends February 1. Don't miss your chance to give these limited edition t-shirts as your 2010 Valentines Day gift.

Because we've sold so many shirts this year, we can help many of the older children in our program, particularly those at the Kolfe Youth Orphanage. Many of the boys at this orphanage are older and so their shoes are a little more expensive.

We've got just two more days of this special promortion. We're all going to buy something for Valentines Day. Why not buy a gift that gives a gift to an orphan? What could be better?

If you want to take the next step, check out the boys available for sponsorship at Kolfe on David Held's blog. Or e-mail him at kolfesponsor@gmail.com

Friday

Well, it's sure been a week! Glad it's Friday!

We are under a Winter Storm Warning. Us. Here at the Beach. Snow! If you knew our area you would be as sceptical as we all are.... I love our weather guys, but they sure have a tough time forecasting especially snow. We shall see...I can tell you the boys are way excited!

So much happening this week.

I am feeling more like a human today. YAY!

E-man is still congested and has a runny nose, but that's pretty normal for him. Poor little guy. We took him yesterday to the public school assessment program to have him evaluated for speech therapy. We understand him most of the time, but he still has words that he skips, misspronounces, or can't say at all. We also see him struggling with 'finding' the right word when he's trying to tell us things. We feel like if he can get a bit of help now, that he can excel later. He's so very smart, and observant, that I feel sometimes this keeps him from being able to participate in things he might otherwise.

N has been having a tough couple of weeks at school. Just talking and playing ....always. We just don't see the color green in his behavior chart any more. I had a long conversation with his teacher and she loves him. She does say that he's just very talkative. He tries hard, and wants to do good, he wants to listen...he just has so so much going on in that brilliant little head of his.

S is still flying high after her Chrysalis weekend. She's got a great head on her shoulder's, and we can see the new difference God has made in her life. It's good stuff! Can't wait to see where it takes her!

Our mission team is really stepping up our program! We have been so blessed with funds as well as support from our church. The team has also stepped up and have been taking on more responsibility. It's been so great to watch! We are bonding and forming a true team. We have so much fun together and are so different, yet so alike. We are putting together care kits for the kids and nanny's. We are collecting paint items for the new orphanage that we will be working on when we get there. We are collecting formula for the babies. Things are really coming together! We realized that we only have 2 more team meetings before we leave! woohoo!!!! So cannot wait to see what God does.


Of course the closer I get the more I feel like I am totally going to miss my family. The fact that my D is not coming along is really messing with me. He's my rock, my person. The one that gets me like no other, and I am hating that he's not coming with me on this one. I would ask for your prayers for me on this one. I know that God will be with me, and I take huge comfort in that.... I just need to trust Him. I know it... just feeling a bit of weakness there.

This weekend is Winter Jam, with Third Day headlining! CAN'T WAIT! I pray the snow does not keep them away. We will be working with KLove again. It’s so much fun to talk to all the people we normally wouldn’t get to meet.

I leave you with a prayer request today. I have recently begun reading a blog written by a great lady. She’s recently been diagnosed with Sarcoma of the breast which is different than breast cancer. Take a second to hop over to her blog Glad Chatter and send her some love. Please :o)

I hope you all have a Better Thank Good weekend!

Sick and tired

Goodness, have you ever had food poisoning? You don't want it! Could have been a stomach flu... either way, for about 7 hours I wished to just go into the light. I haven't been that sick in years.

I pray I am not for several more!

My poor family tried to help, but none of them do that kind of sick, well, so they would stand at a distance, make encouraging sounds and ask if they could help. Sweet. What a time for the hubby to be remodeling the master bath. I ended up sleeping on the floor in the hall downstairs...lol Took too much strength to go much further.

E man came home today from school, with a cough that was making him sick so we went to the Dr office, I think they wondered why this mom that looked like death warmed over was in their office.

Turned out he needed a breathing treatment. I crawled up on the bed with him while he did that, and the nurses left me alone. :o) E was a true champ, I wasn't sure what he would think or do, but he was enjoying it actually. The mirror on the wall was a great distraction because he could see himself 'smoking'. He was even making up little dance moves to the funny sounds it was making. So so cute!

He's running a fever now, and just wanted to go 'sleepy' tonight so I guess we will be home tomorrow again.

While he and I were home earlier in the day the show Adoption Story came on. This one had sisters who were both adopting children from Haiti. It brought about really great conversation. He really enjoyed watching it, and asked if we could go there and get a baby. ;o) Seems as though daddy has said one too many times that we had to wait until S was gone, cause that's what E said to me when I said I was ready to adopt again now. Shucks.

The funny thing is that I am still truly at peace with waiting for D to have a God sized 2x4 hit him because he obviously missed the burning bush...lol It's all good though, I just think he's not ready. The fact that God has truly given me peace about it, means that He's planted my seed He just has to work on D. I know He is. ;o) And He waits with me. (Thank you Tiff)

Thank you for all of your prayers. I know God is listening. He's also got some pretty pressing needs elsewhere, so I can wait. :o)

Have a Better Than Good day!

Boys and Bathrooms

I thought I would share some pics since this blog has been sadly lacking...lol

These are just some random pictures taken over the last couple of weeks.

I am not sure what the boys were doing here...looks like some sort of match box car drive -in. ;o)

The boys got this tent for Christmas. They LOVE it!

Quiet time.... sweet boys.
Bathroom updates. As of right now the shower is tiled in and the floors are getting set. It's coming along nicely!!


oops, switched them. The one above is the floor being set. And of course the one below is the shower. We didn't have enough of the small ones to finish the whole shower, and they are expensive tiles, so we used the bigger tiles on the other 2 walls. They are called "Canyon Slate" doesn't that sound wonderful? ;o) Because the slate has so much blue in it though, I am now stuck on the color I should do the walls..... any suggestions?
Pretty huh?! Obviously we have to grout it, but I LOVE it!

Success!!

Here is our Team minus 1.

Chili Cook off was a huge success!

We had 22 different kinds of Chili and made 2000.00!
Not bad for a night's work!

Yay God!!!

Oh! And we created a blog so the team could all contribute info about our experiences. Here's the address http://ethiopiamissionapril2010.blogspot.com/

There isn't much on it yet, but we are working on it.

Blessings!

Catching up

Hey ya'll!

What a week! Seems as though God's just moving in so many lives and I am loving watching it all!

S had an amazing weekend with the Chrysalis kids. She came home a changed little chickie! I have to share with you an amazing thing God did in her heart. There is a moment on the weekend where you are given the opportunity to "examine your conscience" most of what she told us is confidential...amazing... and confidential. But part of it was profound. D and I were discussing our next adoption at the dinner table... It was Tuesday night...I remember because I needed to finish up dinner to get to church for a meeting about starting an adoption ministry.

We were talking about the fact that our friend had told D that he needed to let me adopt again and why was he waiting? We got into some friendly banter...truly friendly because God did let me leave it in His hands. D said our friend was not the "burning bush" he was looking for.... so S says "While you are on this subject, there is something I need to tell you".

"uh oh". we think....

She proceeds to tell us that she's sorry for being selfish, and God laid on her heart to tell us that if we want to adopt again that she is ok with it. She was in tears... we were in tears. She just gave it up.

I wanted to shout from at the top of my lungs "How's THAT for a burning bush?!" But God held my tongue. I am allowing Him to do the stirring... I know He has a plan and I am still waiting on Him. In Peace.

I went to my adoption ministry meeting, praising God. For moving one little 5'4" mountain.

Wednesday I went to my first Committee on Mission's meeting as Vice Chair. I did nothing but listen and gather info. Cool thing though... we are going to join the United Methodist district and make Disaster Buckets for the Haiti victims. I am helping the coordinator put it together. It's not much but it feels like we are doing something.

Thursday night was our Mission Team meeting. We only have 2 more meetings left! Can you believe it?! I can't! We are having a Chili Cook Off at the church this weekend. Our last big fundraiser at the church. We have had a lot of people sign up… lots that I don’t even know. It’s pretty exciting. I can’t wait to see what God does with this one!

On the mission team subject, I would like to ask that if you feel God leading you to make a donation I would love to hear from you. We are close to our goal and I would love to be able to share that we have reached it. You can email me at andreag_98 @ yahoo . com. It would be tax deductible.

Please pray for our team. We are all getting excited. We got a tentative itinerary and are able to see where we might be actually working. There is an orphanage in Adama that will be mostly built when we get there, so we are going to be able to get some real hands on. There will be children to play with, health education to give, widows to love on. CAN’T wait!!!

God is moving in so many places…

This weekend S is on a ski trip with the youth group. D and I will be doing some work on the new bathroom. And I will be taking some pics of some very precious boys…my blog has been rather plain lately.

Prayers for you all to have a better than good weekend!!

Thankful

"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

I am thankful for my husband.

I felt like after my last post, I needed to make sure to say how thankful I am for him. Because truly I am!

For those of you that don't know him, he is a shoot from the hip kind of guy. He jumps before thinking, speaks without using his filter... lives life without much planning.

Sometimes these things make me crazy, until I realize that it's ok to live that way occasionally. :o)

The fact that he's not willing to jump into this adoption that I was so focused on, is a gift.

We are a team. I cannot move forward with something this big without his full participation. So without it we stay where we are right now.

I am ok with it. I did get heated... it was me...acting like a spoiled child. Because honestly there isn't much he wouldn't give me or do for me if it were in his power. Heck, it was his idea to go to Wyoming to visit my best friend, knowing how much it would mean to me.

This weekend a dear friend of ours said to him that he needed to give me whatever I wanted ...especially if it's an adoption. ;o) (love that lady and I didn't even prompt her!) He said he's waiting for his "burning bush"... I asked could she not be his burning bush?! He said nope. oh well...

I haven't given up the thought that there is a little girl out there for us. I am however willing to trust God, because if it were His will to move right now then D would be all over it.

So today I am thankful for a husband who loves me no matter what...and loves me enough to make me wait on God's blessings.

Waiting....

I had to post the While I am Waiting song the other day because it had a pretty profound effect on me.

D and I had a pretty long discussion the other day about our next adoption. He said no. Not now. No questions, but that he just did not feel God speaking to him as I do. I wasn't happy. It got a little heated... not ugly, but I am obviously emotional about it. So I was disappointed.

That very same night we were at an Emmaus function and this song came on. As we sang it.... I felt like God was just saying. "Wait" He has some other things that I need to be doing right now and adoption is not perhaps in the immediate picture.

Three other songs that night spoke to waiting. Then the speaker spoke about God having a plan. It was as if when the speaker spoke he was speaking Gods words to me.

I have a peace now.

I know God's got a plan. I don't know what it is, but I do know that His are always so much better than mine. So if I just leave it alone and let Him do it, then it will be so much better than I can even imagine.

SO I wait. And live in this moment...and Trust Him.

Can't wait to see what He's going to come up with.

While I'm Waiting

Lyrics | John Waller - While I’m Waiting lyrics

Getting rid of the January Blahs....

Seriously January is usually the month where I begin to wonder if I have that seasonal sad thing.

Every year I get all icky and blah... this year I have taken a new approach to getting rid of those feelings.

So far it's worked. ;o)

Here's what I have done:
1. Don't take things too seriously. Life is too doggon short and most of the stuff I stress over is not worth it any way.

2. Prayer. I feel like I am in constant communication with God any way, but D and I have been praying together every night again. Specifically praying for the things we both see that we need to change in ourselves and also praising God for each day.

3. That leads me to Praising God for each day. With the tragedy going on in the world I am praising God for the days that I have on this earth with those that I love.

4. Exercise. Yep, I am doing it again. But I have paired this one with # 1. Not taking things too seriously. Last night I put in Leslie Sansone's 4 fast miles muted it and then put on my ipod with some funky 70's music and just jammed. I was home alone for most of the time so it wasn't a big deal. I can tell you though that when S and D came home they were getting a kick out of it. I was totally groovin to "Play that Funky Music White Boy" and "You Sexy Thing" ... by the way "You Sexy Thing" is a great motivator!

I cooled down with a wonderful worship song by Kari Jobe.

5. Sun light! I am getting outside during the day. Even if it's just to go sit in my van with the sun streaming into the window on my face for 20 minutes. I am getting some vitamin D. (Recent studies show that many people are Vitamin D deficient)

6. Not procrastinating. I am so so bad at this! God and I are working on this one pretty hard! I have found that if I actually do the thing I have been putting off, I feel so much better. hhhmmm what a concept.

7. Planning for the mission trip! This has been such a joy. Such a learning experience. I have grown so much in the planning, learning and facilitating of this trip! I know God has this team in His hands and knows what we will be doing. He's guided us along each step and we know He's in charge.

I specifically ask God to give me joy. Not the giddy, giggly, goofy kind but the kind that you feel because you know you are not in control. It's hard to live that way especially watching all the pain and suffering in Haiti and around the world. My heart hurts for them, and finding the balance between joy in knowing that I am loved and cherished...yet hurting for those person's is a struggle.

So I start back at #1... and work on the blah removers, with much prayer!

Now all Glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Eph 3:20

So much happening...not much to say

Do you ever get to a point that you have so much going on in your head that you don't really know what to do with it all?

That's kind of how I have been so I haven't really had anything to post...lol...not that you all are out there with bated breath wondering what I will say next.

The new job is very busy. It's a good thing. Lots of online work, which doesn't make me want to be online at home.

I am learning a ton and am being given more freedom to get things done at home. Which was a real God send last week when I was sick and had to stay home. I could work from there and not have to take any of my vacation time.

I will need all my vacation time in April. I cannot even fathom the fact that I will be in Ethiopia in 3 months. OMG. ;o)

We are really gearing up now. Only 2 more meetings to discuss what we will be doing and how things will be while there. Can you believe that?! It gets me all kinds of excited just thinking about it.

I am still dreaming of a new little person. D is still sticking to his guns about waiting until S is gone in College. At least I have a glimmer of hope, although that is still 2+ years away. It will sure give us a chance to get ourselves in the right place to be able to bring home another child. Man my arms are missing a another sweet one though!

E has decided that he wants a 'baby Noah' now. Erin's son Noah really touched him. He was so sweet with Noah, when we left for church on Sunday morning he wanted to get home to the baby because he had stayed home with Erin. When I asked him the other day if he still wanted a baby sister, he said "Nope. Me want a baby Noah." I told him baby Noah already had a mommy who loves him, he then said "Me want a baby LIKE baby Noah. No girls" N however wants 2 girls. ;o) So it looks like the boys would be happy with a new addition or 2. Just have to get their dad and sister on board. ;o)

The bathroom now has sheet rock up and I think that will be 'finished' tonight. There was a miss calculation on one of the tile types though. So, I may have a 2 tone shower. Not sure how that plays into the the color of the vanity top I wanted. So, back to colors and trying to work it all out in my head and in the bathroom. It does look like a room though so I am excited about that!

So I guess I do have more to say than I thought.

I will leave you with a boy funny.

The other morning I was getting ready for work and E wanted to know why I had to go to work. I explained the whole bread on the table, clothing on the back, lights and water in the house thing...when N piped up. "E. Mommy has to work to make extra money so we can go back to Wyoming this Summer." E then totally supported my need to work.

The boys have been talking about going back to Wyoming since we left. They 'play' Wyoming, they plan trips to Wyoming, they 'play' with the kids in Wyoming.... guess we better really start saving money huh?

Gosh, good thing I didn't have alot to say. Maybe next time I will share more ;o)

I pray you all have a Better than Good day!

January

Have I ever told you that January is my least favorite month?

It is.

The funny thing is that it's the month that starts so many beginnings. We make new goals, set our sites on new and fun adventures, make new lists.

This morning our pastor jokingly asked which of us had already broken some of their resolutions. ;o) How many of you would raise your hands?

I think I dislike January because it's the end of my favorite time of the year. I LOVE fall and the crisp air and way the colors come alive....it's beautiful. Christmas that just brings so many good and happy memories.

January here is just cold and wet and brown. It's hard to find light in this month for me.

There are some really great things happening this month though so I have been asking God for the grace to see those things as blessings. He's faithful....of course! ;o)

Church this morning was amazing, I love our associate pastor. He's got such a great way of sharing the word and having us listen and take notes. ;o) Good stuff!

Next weekend is the teen version of Emmaus. Our daughter will be attending for the first time. She is FINALLY old enough. A very dear friend will be facilitating so I know she is in very Godly hands. I pray He touches each young lady's life in a new and powerful way.

The following week is our last big fundraiser, the Chili Cook off! Do you live close and make a mean chili? Or just love to eat it? Come on down and enjoy... and help a good cause.

The following weekend is Winter Jam! Have you seen the line up?! It's amazing. Newsboys, Third Day... Tony Nolan. It's gonna be off da hook! ;o) (like how I tried to be all young and hip? Did it work?) We will be working with KLove during the program so I think we are going to have a blast!!

Lots of great things happening this month. Not so dark and dreary. It's all in perspective. I am working on changing mine.... Maybe this year January will move up on my least favorite month list. ;o)

Do you have a perspective you need changed?

Bathroom Remodel

So, what started with an old tiny shower that needed new tile, has become a new bathroom. yay!

Can I tell you how great it is to have a hubby who knows how to do this kind of stuff?! Well some times it's great... He's always wanting to remodel stuff, and I am not always ready.

This time it's a good thing. AND it's great that he knows people who will come help do things like move plumbing pipes around for a very minimal fee. Thank you God! Otherwise we would just be living with one less shower for quite a while longer. ;o)

So here is the progress so far. I didn't think to get a true 'before' pic, but you can still sort of see the progress.

This pic is from the door to the bathroom. As you can see it was really rather small. Can you see the hideous green vinyl on the floor where the toilet was? yuck!
This is the closet that we took over to give us some space. I am kind of bummed not to have the closet any more. It just means we have to be more creative about storage and not keep so much junk. ;o)
This is another part of the closet, the hole in the wall is where the access panel was to the shower previously, and that's D's shirt on the other side of it.
This was the shower. You can see the hole behind him from the other side here. Sure was a tiny shower, I never used it. ;o)

Now the closet wall is gone, I am standing in the hallway looking from what was the closet door. Look how much more space there is already. ;o)
Plumbing going in. YAY!

So there you have it... the before of my new beautiful bathroom. We have an earthy brown and green (trust me it's pretty) tile to go in the shower. Very light sandy colored tile going on the floor. White vanity with a mocha top to compliment the shower tile. Brushed Nickel fixtures and a pretty brown to go on the walls. Sounds interesting...lol

I hope it looks as good in the bathroom as it does sitting together in my kitchen waiting to be installed. ;o)

The boys are fascinated with the process. I took E with me to the store last night and N stayed home watching daddy and B work on the plumbing. He sat nicely on his stool and asked tons of questions about what they were doing. Daddy loved it! ;o) Every morning the boys wake up and ask if the bathroom is done yet. ;o) So cute.

Can't wait to share the finished product! ;o)

New Year....random stuff

Wow... so who thought they would live to see 2010? Not that I have ever been a fatalist or anything, but gosh when Prince was singing about partying in 1999 that seemed like an age away didn't it?

I went back to my blog posts from this time last year to see if I had made any specific goals...or silly claims. The funny thing is that I was making a stand to get more healthy, and I think I did that for a while, but man these last couple of months I have just ballooned right up.

Sad state of affairs really.

The thing that is the same this year as last is my cough. Last year this time I was trying to exercise and cough at the same time. Seems that's my goal this year too. Sure wasn't one I wanted to repeat.

S and I are trying to work out together again. We measured our body parts tonight (bleck and double bleck!) and started a better diet regime.

I hope to lose 20lbs by the time we leave for ET in April. I think that's a totally do-able goal in 3 months. So that's my focus.

D and I signed up for the Shamrock 1/2 Marathon in March so I will have to train hard for that in the coming months as well.

A fun new thing happening this year is I am getting a new master bathroom!! YAY! Our old one was tiny, tiny. D decided to take over the wall closet that our bathroom backed up to and make it into a bathroom suite. It's not all that huge I guess, but it's gonna be pretty! The joys of having a handy husband and leftovers from commercial jobs. We have a ton of gorgeous tile in the garage just waiting to be put into a bathroom. ;o) I have some before pics (Tarah) and will be posting them soon.

The boys are still talking about Wyoming. They are convinced we are going back this summer and ask about it almost every hour. It was the first thing E asked D about when he picked him up from school today. N says next time we are staying for 20 days and 21 nights...lol I don't know where they think the money is going to come from to be gone that long, but we will sure try to get back soon. The ties that bind those kids (and adults) are strong.

Only 3 more months until we leave for Ethiopia! Can you believe it?! The team is excited... I am excited. I think the church is getting excited... if the amount of people that showed up for the Moe's fundraiser is any indication then we are well supported. God is going to do great things!

My prayer this year for us all is that we keep our eyes and our hearts open to what God wants for us. May we be willing to stand for Him or bow to Him when needed. May we be willing to think out side of the box, out side of our comfort zone... live a live worthy of the words 'Well Done Good and Faithful Servant"

The Beauty of Wyoming

We have fallen in love with Wyoming.

Yes even all the snow. ;o)

It was crazy warm even when it was so terribly cold. The feel is so very different from here on the East Coast. We came home to 40 degree weather and are still trying to figure out how it felt colder at 40 here than it did at 20 there.

Here are just some random pics we took while out and about.

The first one however is one that has affectionately been called the "Hendergaines".

D having the time of his life! ;o)
E trying to get snow out of his gloves.
D and I had a chance to go out just the 2 of us and speed through the amazing terrain. What beauty God has created!!! We stopped every once in a while to take some pics.


Winter Wonderland

My new computer wallpaper.


When you step off the trail the snow gets a little deep ;o)

The trip was amazing.

Erin and I did end up taking a trip into Salt Lake City because baby Noah was having issues with his feeding tube. It was a nice just girls trip. ;o) I got to travel through Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah all in the span of about 3 hours. It was all just gorgeous! We saw deer and even had 2 bald eagles fly over the van. We ordered in TGI Friday's and had a slumber party.

Noah's issue seemed to be an 'easy' temporary thing so we were only gone about 24 hours. We found out the day we left to come home that it wasn't such an 'easy' fix after all. :o( He needs prayer and to catch a serious break. He's still a smiley sweet boy though...even through all the mess he's had to deal with.

He sure is in the right place and with the right momma to help him over come all of his challenges. He's so very sweet and loving. He's got a long road, but he's got the right support! God knew what He was doing.

D stayed back with all the other kids. He had a blast actually. All the kids lived, ate, and slept...and we have been invited back so I think all went well. Josh was working but of course came home to help with meals and bed time. He's a great dad!

I also got a chance to meet some of Erin's friends. Including Abbey... the very very cool chic who arranged for me to call Erin on her birthday as a surprise. So much fun to be able to hug people you think are so great!!

Well that concludes the recap of our trip.

It was truly a blessing to be able to spend the holiday with them all. We can't wait to get back out there ...maybe this summer. See what it looks like under all that white stuff. The boys have asked at least 50 times when we are going back.

Thank you Henderson's for all your love and for putting up with us for a week. We love you and miss you huge!