News Flash!!

Hi! I'm cute and I'm 2.5 years old and I don't know it yet, but my life is soon about to change!

We are on the ad@pti#n trail again! For those of you who know our story of the Josephs...this is the original little Joseph who came into our lives 1.5 years ago, but we weren't ready to pursue him at that time. He and Esther are the same age and it just seemed overwhelming to contemplate twin one year olds. This little guy came back into our lives several weeks ago now when our ad@pti#n doors closed in the direction we thought we were heading. I guess the saying when the Lord closes one door He may open a window comes into play. Anyway, this little guy has a pretty cool story of how it seems he was set aside for just this timing. If you would like me to email you how the Lord has put this story together thus far, just let me know as I would love to...it is just too specific of information to be included on a blog. Interestingly enough...the Lord has given us a new name...it won't be Joseph!

Time to think and ponder...

So, we returned home from our trip and I found myself in the ER a few days later after running high fevers and my right ear flaming red and swollen and the redness spreading across my face. They never really could figure out the source but postured that I was exposed to some bacteria on my ipod on the plane and inserting it in and out of my ear I slightly scratched the skin and the bacteria entered? Who knows? Anyway they treated me with high dose IV antibiotics, followed by more at home, and then my regular doctor followed up with another antibiotic to cover other bacteria. The infection has spread, receded, spread, receded, with fevers and swelling and pretty much whooped my energy levels to zero. I am claiming I am on the mends now, but am still really tired. Had to cancel out on a really fun staff trip and conference.

So, what is the high point of all this? I have had a few opportunities like this in my life where I have been sat on my butt and given time to think and ponder. The blessing of times like this is time to evaluate, appreciate, speculate, and change one's persective on things that may have needed a little re-ordering in priority land or things that may have been taken for granted and need a dose of gratitude. Perspective is one of the things I totally get to choose how I will view and interpret the happenings of this life. As I look through the pinhole in the fence and see a limited view, The Lord looks above, around, and beyond me with a 4 dimentional view I will never experience on this side of Heaven. In Him I trust!

Fun visit with Grandma & Papa

Lucky Ru and I have been able to spend time with two sets of grandparents this visit. Papa took Ru to a Manatee Park in hopes of seeing elusive manatee in the wild. The waters have warmed up since last week, so this was the only manatee Ru was able to view...the statuesque type! Papa was so kind and purchased a furry one for Ru to take home for show and tell...thanks Papa!


Our visit with Grandma and Papa was great! This is the crew before heading to church. Ru got lots of practice on Grandma's wheel chair and Grandma was a real trooper allowing Ru to push her around...we love you Papa and Grandma!

Could we have any more fun?

Here are Ru and Pop sharing loves at Disney:)


We stayed in Nana and Pop's camper and had a great adventure camping out in a wonderful campground on Disney grounds. We took a 7 minute boat ride to and from the park. I loved staying at the camp ground. It was this peaceful serene place filled with pines, birds, and Disney enthusiasts.


Nana had special treats for Valentine's Day...thanks Nana!


To top it all off, Nana and Pop took us to the most wonderful circus performance I have ever seen in my life! The talent of these performers out topped the big top! The main clown was named "Clown of the Year" and was spectacular. We weren't allowed to take flash photos in the ring for obvious reasons, but all acts were award winning! Thanks Nana and Pop!

A Princess' Dream Come True...

So, here we are in sunny lands! The weather has been beautiful! Yesterday was our adventure of a life time for little Miss Ru. We went to the land of princesses and spent the day riding rides, watching parades, and meeting princesses. It was a blast! The photos are pretty self explanatory...I will post some more over the next couple of days as we enjoy the rest of our stay. For those of you who are not princess experts, the princess with Ru in the last photo is Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

The letter R...these are a few of my favorite things!

I have a friend at http://jill-simplymythoughts.blogspot.com who played a game of naming your favorite 10 things that start with a letter she assigns...mine is the letter R:
1. Ruthie, my wonderful daughter, who is sensitive, kind, and very perceptive.
2. Robert, my fabulous husband, who has a dry British witty type sense of humor that makes me laugh...and he makes great stir fry!
3. Rice...after our trip to Ch*na...I eat it alot more...Jasmine, Yum!
4. Ranier. Not the beer, but the mountain. One of God's majestic creations that is sooo stunningly beautiful and mighty!
5. Reading. Morning time in the Word with God...it Rocks and so does He!
6. Robert C. H. The man who raised me, my Daddy. I am blessed to have him as my neighbor now too. He sings fun songs, likes to dring mocha lates with me, and cheer on the grandkids!
7. Rain. On a hot summer day where I live it doesn't come often, but when it does...ahhh!
8. Rubs. On my shoulders, neck, or feet...anytime! Ahhhh!
9. Relaxing. I have two families close me who have a hot tub. I love to visit, have a glass of wine and soak and chat:)
10.Rest. I'm learning to enjoy this more as I pace my day and find balance in my life. A time in my day where I can reflect briefly, rest my eyes maybe, and let my breath out and thank the Lord and listen:) Wish it could happen every day, but when it does...it's a good thing!

There you have it...my 10 favorite R's that Randomly Racked my brain while Reflecting:)

Internet Frustrations...

So, I have been trying for about the last 10 days to load pictures on the blog and each time it hasn't worked. We did some memory diagnostics, as we have a lot of photos cramming up ram on the computer. We did some other checks to see what was happening. Finally, today we called our server and asked them to do some diagnostics. Basically, our connection is great for downloading, but they discovered our ability to upload was down to a 3 out of 175. They will be coming out this week to check to see if the chip in our box has gone bad. So, no pictures for now...but soon. This was all new news to me that you can have good internet connection to download, but not be able to upload. A big "load" of techy stuff if you ask me! Ru and I head out for our big adventure Tuesday in the wee hours...so we will probably post pictures while on our trip. I feel very blessed to be able to take a trip with my daughter, just the two of us, special bonding time, plus lots of fun with grandparents! We'll keep you posted along the way...