Here's What's Up

I signed Shiloh up for preschool last week. She's not excited at all. If you ask Shiloh if she's going to school in a few months, her response every time is a very adamant, "NO." She would rather stay home with me. If you ask me, my response is a somewhat excited, "Yes!". Yes, I'm the bad mom who is actually kind of excited about my daughter going to school. Now, don't get me wrong. I will be crying the morning of August 27th. Heck, I teared up just telling Richard about registration. I'm sad that my child is old enough for preschool, but, man, those mornings to myself will be great.

In other news (I don't think I shared this on the blog), my sister is pregnant again. Andrea will be having another boy in early June. Andrea and Daniel were happy with the news. Everyone else wanted another girl. They said they couldn't handle another Camryn. I see where they're coming from. If we ever did adopt again, I'd be tempted to wait for a boy.

In adoption related news, we had our yearly visit with Will's family a couple of weeks ago. He turned two on the 26th. He's a cutie. Will and Shiloh have the same eyes, nose and smile. He also has chubby cheeks like Shiloh used to have. He has Kim's dark hair, dark eyes, and his skin tone matches hers perfectly.

In other adoption related news, some of you may remember that Kim is pregnant again. She found out in December that she's having another little girl. We found out in December that she's considering placing again. She still doesn't know what she's going to do. I'm trying to be patient because I know it's a huge decision, but I wish she would give us some indication as to which way she's leaning. Richard is smart. If you ask him, she's keeping the baby. He has himself convinced that her plan is to parent. This way, he has nothing to think about. I, on the other hand, can't do that. I know for a fact (as does he), that she truly does not know what she is going to do yet. My brain won't let my think otherwise. I wish it would. It would make all of this a lot easier.

Checking In

We're still here!

Let's see... I believe the last time I posted anything was shortly after Camryn's birthday, so you've missed a few things. Here are some pictures to catch you up :)

Shiloh's teeth could not look better :)

Richard and Shiloh started work on their first album together ;)

We spent Thanksgiving in Michigan with Richard's family. Richard and Blake came out to Target with us on Black Friday

On the way home we stopped in Ohio to visit Great Grandpa and...

Gigi

Shiloh got her own Christmas tree

Silly showed up at our house

Shiloh had her second dance recital. This time her friend Tristyn was also in it

Grammie came down again

And we were there, of course

Lee, Laura, and Ella came to visit from Alabama

And we all went ice skating together (Shiloh and Richard's first time)

Shiloh and I went to see The Nutcracker at The Fox Theatre in Atlanta

Santa came

And Shiloh was happy

We went to NC for Christmas with the Outens, and Grammie and Grandpa

And then we had a nice, relaxing, lazy Sunday

And today is our 9 year wedding anniversary!

Do Not Fear

Be not afraid. Have no fear. Fear not. Do not be afraid

I'm currently in the middle of the Esther Bible Study by Beth Moore. Two weeks ago we had a lesson on fear. According to Beth Moore, the number one commandment in the bible is, in more words or less, "Do not be afraid". She asked us to think about what a life without fear would be like. This was huge for me. Since I could never do her words justice by trying to paraphrase them, here is a quote from her...

"The most critical breakthrough of faith you and I could ever experience
is to let God bring us to a place where we trust Him-period.
We don't just trust Him to let us avoid what we fear most. We determine
to trust Him no matter what, even if our worst nightmare befalls us...
Our only steadfast defense against life's certain uncertainty is
unconditional trust in a Savior who loves us more than His own life."

I want to believe God, not just believe in Him.

Eh

We had a good weekend. Happy Birthday, Dad!!

(There, I blogged)

Already Out of Ideas

Day 5, and I can't think of anything to blog about, so here's what's on my mind.

We just found out that our tenant in the Athens house is not going to renew her lease with us in January. The tenant's daughter is entering the military so section 8 is downgrading her since she'll have one less dependent. The contract we have with section 8 ends mid-late January, so we should have plenty of time to find a replacement. While on the topic of the Athens house, next month we will pay off the smaller loan on it. (we have an 80/20 loan on that house) It feels good to make some progress with it.

I have some news to share when I get the okay, but that's all I can say for now. (Don't you hate when people do that? I do, too ;))

And my mind is pretty empty right now, so that's about it. I'll end with some pictures.

Camryn's 1st Birthday Party

A couple of my favorites from Shiloh's 4 year pictures

Moments Like These

So thankful for moments like these.

Keeping With The Adoption Theme

Richard and I are making the preparations for/seriously considering for another adoption. Which one we are actually doing kind of depends on what day you ask me. I say me because Richard is on board for whatever I choose. He would like a second child, but he would also be fine with only Shiloh. The decision is basically mine to make. That's not a good thing. I can be pretty indecisive. Which means that it may never happen because I'll never be able to make a decision.

In the past couple of months we've (I've) decided we're going to adopt again, told friends to keep us in mind if they know anyone considering adoption, decided maybe we're not quite ready, contacted an agency regarding home study info, had a contract sent to us from the agency, decided maybe we should wait until after the Holidays to start anything, and that's where we are today. I think I'm hoping that maybe between now and January 1st I'll have some kind of an epiphany regarding what decision we should make.

Today I'm leaning more towards a second adoption, but I'm sure that by tomorrow afternoon I will have changed my mind.