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wonderful saturday –

today was a gorgeous start to the weekend.  we got up and headed to cary to meet cathy, steve, and gus (some friends we found through yelp who’ve recently adopted a little miracle of their own.)  it was great to finally meet some folks who had been through the process, been where we are now, and have ended up in such a good place with their sweet baby boy.  cathy brought us a copy of their profile book so we can get a feel for the layout and the contents in what we can prepare to create for our own.  she also brought us a book about birthmothers and even a baby einstein book for our future little one!  how sweet!

after lunch we decided it was a great day to be a tourist in our own town.  we headed to downtown wake forest to tour the musem of the birth place of wake forest university.  we pulled up and admired the lawn, the gardens, the fountain, the setting – and then we waltzed up to the porch to find a note that said it was closed for remodel, but was set to open again on november 14th.  drat the luck!  oh well – c’est la vie!  so we continued to tour the outside, pose for photos, and just enjoy the amazing weather.  we learned that the town used to be called “the forest of wake” because it was in wake county and there were an abundance of hardwood trees.  we both loved the story of this.  we strolled down main street admiring the old homes and trees and then had to partake in our usual saturday shopping (just to support local businesses of course.)

for dinner we decided to head south towards down town raleigh for some pho noodle soup.  we made our way to pho cali and had some great vietnamese soup and sammies!  delish!  while we were there we saw a family come in for their dinner.  it was a father with 4 pre-teen children of multiple ethnicities.  they laughed and giggled together as the father explained to them what pho noodle soup was and how the broth was prepared.  two of the boys had mohawks and will and i both joked with each other that this would be him with our kids one day.  i loved hearing all of those little cuties call the father “daddy”.   too sweet.

we’d  picked up a flyer at a local popcorn store last night and decided to go to “anchorsoul” at faith baptist church in youngsville.  after reading about the event on their website we learned that local adoption agencies and foster care services would be on site to provide information.  the event is a haunted house alternative and proved to give us something further for us to think about on our faith journeys.  http://www.faithnc.org/anchorsoul  we both really enjoyed the production and the services offered by this very large baptist church.  looks like they are doing some good work!  the entire thing just reiterated that the path we are on is exactly where we’re supposed to be.

It’s hard to believe that it has been six months to the day since my surgery.  It really feels like 6 years. So much has happened this year.  I think I have grown more this year than at any other time. Despite everything that has happened this year I can honestly say it is one of the best years I have ever had.  My patience, tolerance, and understanding have dramatically improved. My anxiety has decreased and my priorities are finally right. I have grown much closer to my wife and my God. What more could I want?

giddy-up!

melanie flew down to rdu and then we headed off to austin, texas together.   we’d planned for months to go and see delaine, and finally the time was here.

our flights to san antonio were short and painless.  we arrived to the texas heat, gathered our bags, and were greeted by delaine and caleb at the airport.  caleb has bright brown eyes, eyelashes to die for, and the cutest little cheeks.  he was a trooper and was down for the shopping and the sight seeing.  

texas was not at all what i’d imagined.  for some reason i envisioned sand, dust, tumbleweed, and lots of cowboys.  instead i saw lush greenery, lots of limestone, and everyone wearing their regulars.  it was like nc – only hotter for october.

delaine shuttled us to some amazing baby stores and some fantastic lunch at the whole foods headquarters in down town austin.  later that night we feasted on some delicious fajitas over candle light.  we had a good time chatting and catching up.

saturday we headed off to the salt lick for some amazing texas style bbq.  this place has been on a million food network tv shows and was a must do on the tx tour list.  the wait was short and before we knew it we were feasting on ribs, brisket, and sausage.  after our bellies were full we headed out for more shopping.  we visited some amazing antique stores and some unique boutiques.  we picked up some souvenirs and cute stuff for the babe.  we had fun seeing town and survived the heat.  we visited the cold springs and i could totally see myself ditching the camera and taking a dive to cool off!  after some fun around town we headed back home to play with caleb before going out for the night. 

he’s totally easy going and has fun playing with diet coke boxes and magnets.  hope our baby is that easy to please!  he giggled at every last thing and we totally acted like clowns just getting him laughing.  his laugh is infectious and he kept my heart eager for our little one to arrive.  melanie gave him some sesame street characters to play with.  we decided that we’d name melanie “aunt melmo” since she loves her some elmo!  i still laugh when i think of him giggling at his toys or our funny faces.

for dinner we headed to moonshine in down town austin.  the wait was long, but the place was awesome and well worth the wait.  melanie picked us up some beverages at the bar and before we knew it our table was ready.  we all enjoyed our dinners and even splurged for some dessert.  i had to order the red velvet cake, since it is “my mom’s favorite!”  the desserts came out and they were bigger than the table.  we ended up with some to go boxes and then made our way – by rickshaw – to the driskill hotel.  the driver of the bike was from mclean, va – small world.  we all had a hilarious time as we rode the bike across town.  we arrived at the driskill and i actually saw a cowboy checking in at the desk.  (i thought i would see cowboys everywhere – what qualifies as a cowboy? – man wearing cowboy hat, cowboy boots, jeans, large belt buckle – but this was the one true cowboy i saw.)  we made our way to the bar and saddled up for some drinks.  the place was packed, but we had fun as we continued to chat it up.  after our cocktails we headed down to the main drag and i could have sworn that we were at mardi gras.  the streets were closed and people were EVERYWHERE.  live music could be heard pouring out of the bars and clubs and people had their choice of which live act to shake their groove thang to.  we jetted around and took a glance in almost every one.  after our tour we headed back to the car and settled into bed once we got home.

sunday we got up and headed to breakfast.  had some yummy french toast with poached eggs to start the day.  we took caleb home and played with him before his nap time.  after we got him settled in we checked out some more shopping and loaded into the car for the oasis on lake travis.  the sunsets are one for the record books and the food was delish.  i had the best chile rellenos i’ve ever tasted along with a gorgeous sunset.  we all relaxed by the water and had a great time.

monday morning we got up and headed to san antonio.  we visited the alamo and the river walk.  the heat and humidity were a bit stifling, but we still enjoyed a good tour, the water at the river walk, a mariachi band, and an awesome lunch. 

as quickly as it came, our time in texas was gone.  i had an awesome time with delaine and melanie!  it was great to have some down time, catch up, and reminisce.  cannot wait to have the three of us together again soon.

we ran around like crazy fools from the time we came back from vacation to get the nursery ready.  we succeeded in getting everything done, and just in the nick of time for the photo shoot last saturday.  after the photo shoot i had to pack up and head to nova to conduct some training on a group project we’re rolling out.  i got back home on wednesday night and fell straight into a coma.  i made my way through work (barely) on thursday and friday. 

i was grouchy.  you can ask kathy – it was not pretty.  thankfully she and i were headed to the casting crowns concert at the state fair friday night.  i needed that concert so badly.  i needed to get my mind, my spirit, my soul back on track.  i got so caught up in the “being exhausted” that i slipped back into focusing on the non-important and being at that concert made me realize how badly i’d messed up.  kathy – to you – i apologize for having to deal with me on friday.  totally embarrassing – and no excuse for it.

the concert was at the state fair.  we met up at the park and ride and took the bus over to the fair.  we sampled a few things, but stayed away from the majority of the fried “everythings”.  though i do think i still am regretting not purchasing the krispy kreme hamburger sandwich – if only just to get a good photo of this wonderment.  after walking around we made our way to our seats and waited for cc to take the stage.  the concert was amazing (as usual) and i sang my little heart out.  the powerful words of these songs have carried me through all of the hard spots in the past few years, and continue to inspire me every day. 

saturday the plan was to sleep in – sleep late – sleep as long as we could.  by 7:55am amelia was standing up whimpering, ready to go outside.  (this is not late, especially considering that will got home from work after 1am.)  i wearily dragged myself out of bed and will followed.  we all made our way outside and were greeted with an awesomely gorgeous fall day.  change of plans – let’s go fall festival on this day!  i need apple cider, i need gingerbread, i need pumpkins, i need to spend the day outside!  we were both in cahoots and made it happen.  we got our ciders and headed out to hill ridge farms in youngsville.  as we drove through youngsville we saw how adorable it was and decided to stop and walk around a bit.  we browsed the town and then got back on track to the farm.  we spent the rest of the day at the farm and enjoyed the train, the hay ride, the roasted corn, the ribbon fries, the pumpkin patch, the sun, the pets, and the lack of any general schedule or plans.  we admired people’s laughter and watched families spend time with their children.  we know this will be us – soon, very soon!  we took note that our stroller was very popular in “stroller parking” and all around the farm – so we must have made a good choice!  (thanks for the advice carmen!)

we needed this day to totally relax – and that is just what we did.