A Few Pictures from the Week

I hope you are having a great week! Here are a few snapshots from our week!

Beau likes to show us how flexible he is! He can totally put his feet in his mouth! 

My "go to" meal for lunch is pasta because it is so fast and easy to prepare.  Beau loves marinara sauce!

Unfortunately, it takes longer to clean up our pasta lunch than it does to prepare. 

The mess is worth it to see that adorable smile! 

One thing we love about our neighborhood is that there is a wonderful playground.

Beau is learning how to play in the sand! 

I think he is going to love the beach this summer!

Look, mom! I'm driving! 

Beau loves looking for rocks! 

Beau is never too far from his beloved pillows!  They were our couch pillows, but Beau attached to them as his "lovie" when he came home.  He has definitely left his mark on the pillows...chewed corners and all! 

And just keeping it real...this is Beau's mad face!  He is a normal 22 month old boy, so we have plenty of smiles and plenty of tears too!  I think this little mini melt-down  was because I gave him water instead of orange juice in his sippy cup.  Oh sweet boy.  

What I'm Reading

Raleigh has started a little tradition to buy me a few new books for my birthday each year.  If you know me, you know I love a good tradition! :)

This year I opened four new books.  In no particular order, here is my current reading list.

Bloom  by Kelle Hampton




Radical Together by David Platt

7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker

Father Fiction by Donald Miller

I also got an Am*zon gift card from Raleigh's parents, and I have ordered 2 other books.


Spirit-Led Parenting by Megan Tiez and Laura Oyer

Love Does by Bob Goff

So, what are you reading?

A Southern Saturday

Good News, Best News, Bad News

Today we went to Beau's kidney doctor for an ultrasound.  This was scheduled as a three month post-op appointment to make sure the surgeries worked.

Good news:

There was another adoptive mom in the waiting room.  She was there with her "virtual twins," a biological daughter and a daughter from China.  (In the adoptive community, siblings are considered virtual twins if they are only a few months apart in age.) We had a great time chatting about our experiences while we both waited to be called back for our appointments.  She used CCAI for her adoption and had wonderful things to say about that agency.

Best news:
Beau got a great report!!! His left kidney is still dilated (enlarged), but it is not as large as it was when Beau first came home.  Our doctor said we do not need to be concerned about the size of the kidney, and there is still a possibility that it will continue to get smaller and become more of a "normal" size.  Also, the  ureteropelvic junction is still open and the blockage is no longer there! Yippee! We don't have to go back to the kidney doctor for 3 years! Yep, you read that right! Beau will almost be 5 years old when we have to get his kidney checked again! Praise God who restored Beau's sweet little body!

Bad news:

Beau s.c.r.e.a.m.e.d. during the e.n.t.i.r.e. ultrasound and while we waited on the doctor to come give us the results.  Oh well! No need to dwell on the past, right?!

The picture below was actually taken yesterday, but i just couldn't write a post without at least one picture!

Some days are good for staying in your jammies all day and eating bbq chips for a snack!

New Favorite Song

As I mentioned before, we had a wonderful party at my parents' house Friday night. I heard Matt Wertz perform a song that is my new favorite. He said that the song is now being performed at lots of weddings to describe the marriage of a husband and wife, but he originally wrote the song as a love song from the Lord to him. I think it is a beautiful song that describes the Lord's love for His children.

I Will Not Take My Love Away

lyrics by Matt Wertz

I will not take my love away
When praises cease and seasons change
While the world turns the other way
I will not take my love away

I will not leave you all alone
When striving leads you far from home
And there's no yield for what you've sown
I will not leave you all alone

I will give you what you need
In plenty or in poverty
Forever, always, look to me
And I will give you what you need

I will not take my love away

Surprise in the Silverware Drawer

Tonight as Raleigh and I were cleaning up the kitchen, we found a little surprise!

At some point tonight, Beau had put all of his pretend silverware into our silverware drawer! Too cute and smart that he knew where it went! And kind of scary that he is tall enough to open the drawer! I better put the knives away!

Our Week in Review

Beau and I spent last week in Nashville and had a wonderful time making lots of memories! Here are a few highlights from our week!

Do you have any friends that you don't get to see very often, but when you are together it feels like no time has passed at all? My friend Jessica is that type of friend. We met and became friends when we were in 2nd grade and have now been friends over 20 years. While we were in Nashville, we got to visit with her and her adorable 5 month old son Tripp.

Beau had fun checking out Tripp's toys!

Hopefully Beau and Tripp will be able to make fun memories together as they get older!

As always, Beau had fun playing with Pipi! I have no idea why Beau wasn't wearing any clothes at this point, but sometimes boys just like to lounge in a diaper!

One of Beau's favorite activities at Nana and Pipi's house is playing the piano!

Chick-fil-a is always better if Pipi feeds it to you!

Yum!

Enjoying some sunshine!

Beau and Pipi love to be outside together!

Bubbles!

More bubbles!!!

Thursday morning I drove back to Atlanta for a very special occasion! Our dear friends Dana and Ben welcomed home their son home from South Korea Thursday evening at the Atlanta airport. This was a special day that deserves a post of its own, but I think the pictures speak for themselves!

Doesn't Dana have the glow of a mother?! Sweet Oliver was so relaxed with his mom and dad!

The new family of three! Aren't Ollie's shoes so cute?!

Congratulations Ben and Dana! The Lord has greatly blessed you with your son!

Friday morning Beau and I drove back to Nashville for another special event. My dad is bravely fighting cancer and some sweet friends of my parents have been asking what they can do to help. My mom has always told them there is nothing they can do, other than offer their prayers. Well, these sweet friends, Sarah and Chad Cates, really wanted to do something and finally the idea came to Sarah. Her husband is a songwriter and she decided to plan an evening of music in honor of my mom and dad.

Here are the party planners...Sarah and Chad. They are truly two of the kindest people you could ever meet. When Beau and I arrived to my parents' house Friday afternoon, they were already there setting up for the evening. The first thing Sarah told me was that it was her joy to serve our family. What a sweet spirit she has.

If you are familiar with Nashville, you have probably heard of the Bluebird Cafe. The Bluebird is a venue where songwriters perform the songs that they have written. The party at my parents' house was called Bluebird in the Backyard and it was a relaxed evening with wonderful music!

Sarah's parents brought their grill and spent all afternoon preparing the meat. It was such an act of love to give of their time to serve my family.

Beau had fun playing in the backyard before the guests started arriving.

Beau was giving some water to my parents' neighbor and friend, Naomi.

The "grill master" hard at work! And you know what is even more amazing? He designed and build that grill from scratch!

Three generations of love...me, Beau and my mom!

Beau's eyes practically close when he laughs! He must have "inherited" that from me because that happens to me too! LOL!

The party planners took care of every detail. They used vintage floral tablecloths with a burlap runner.

The flowers were such a special touch!

My cousins Erica and Kaitlin, with their boys Matt and Kevin.

Another cousin picture...getting ready for the music to begin!

Two of the guest enjoying the delicious food!

As the sun began to fade, everyone found their spot in the backyard.

My dad talking to the songwriters as we were ready to begin!

Sarah kicked off the night by introducing the artists...Chad Cates, Matt Wertz, and Gordan Kennedy! It really speaks to the character of these three award winning songwriters that they would give of their time on a Friday night to honor my mom and dad.

The music was wonderful! It is always fun to hear songwriters perform songs that they have written! I'm sure you would know many of the songs they have written as they are on the radio and popular tv shows.

A HUGE thanks to Chad, Matt, and Gordon for the beautiful tribute to my parents!

Saturday morning we drove back to Atlanta with my cousin Erica and her husband Matt! They treated us to a Brave's game Sunday afternoon!

Beau was dressed for the occasion in his baseball t-shirt!

Whew! If you made it to the end of this post, congrats! It was a long one!