Vacation continued....

I decided I would recap my last day at the beach. I woke up at 7 a.m., WAY too early for being on vacation so I went back to sleep until 8:45 a.m. This was possible, because I had NO agenda whatsoever except to check out of the hotel by NOON. As I woke up I opened the curtains to the huge glass window and door that faced the ocean. This allowed me to crawl back into the toasty warm bed that faced that very window and to gaze upon the beautiful ocean for the next hour or so. I did some reading while I had a muffin and drank chocolate milk....I just love chocolate milk, but don't have it very often, because it is so fattening. At around 10:45 I decided it was high time to take a shower and pack things up to leave the room I had grown to like so much.


Upon check-out I remembered there was a restaurant that I used to go to with my grandma that was located down the road a bit. The clerk confirmed that the restaurant I was thinking of was in Depoe Bay and it was called Tidal Raves. This was my grandma's favorite restaurant on the coast. The restaurant sits up on the highway and overlooks a cove of Depoe Bay where you can watch the waves come crashing over rocks into the cove. It is truly beautiful. It had been years since I had been to this restaurant and the first time I have EVER sat down in a nice restaurant and ate a meal by MYSELF!!! It was really kinda awkward, but relaxing. There was nothing to do, but gaze out the window and eat. Sounds good, huh. Oh, I should mention I got the halibut fish and chips, with a bowl of clam chowder, crackers, and bread with butter. Yes, I ate too much!! As I ate my delightful lunch I looked in the corner of the restaurant by the window I saw two elderly ladies having lunch together. One of the women reminded me of my grandma. My grandma passed away in 2007 so this lunch was a way of remembering our time together and missing her.

After lunch I proceeded down the road further into Depoe Bay to look at a beautiful art gallery and pick up some carmel corn for my boys. While I was there I remembered the whale watching trip I took with my friend Lisa many years back. This is something I would like to do again. I think my boys would love it!! As I drove back towards Lincoln City I passed the hotel my friend, Christina, and I rented years ago when Luke was just a baby. We had a great time hiking Drift Creek falls, walking on the beach, and having dinner at Moe's. This trip brought back so many memories for me. As a kid my family took many trips to Lincoln City. My family used to rent a little house that sat on D River. There were a lot of fun times of games, rowing down the river in a canoe, having to hike in the rain and mud to get to the house (can't remember if the car broke down, or if the mud was too deep, but it was funny singing songs and walking in the mud)I tried to find it, but wasn't able to find the correct road. I enjoyed traveling down memory lane though.

I stopped at a few stores on the way out of town then called home to say I was headed home. I had a great and fast drive home. Why does it always seem like such a long drive when you are going to your vacation destination, but the trip back home goes by so QUICK??

One thing I wanted to remember in my hotel room when I walked in the door they had a picture of "Footprints" hanging on the wall. I have always loved this poem. In addition, they had a gorgeous picture of a lighthouse in the middle of the ocean with waves crashing all around it. The waves where so high that you could only see the top of the lighthouse and there was a man standing in the doorway looking at the rising and crashing waves around him. At the bottom of the picture was the scripture
"The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer" Psalm 18:2. These are words I need to remember when life gets crazy. Having the picture to illustrate this scripture so clearly will help me to not forget.

This was such a wonderful trip that I will remember for years to come!!!! Many thanks to my loving husband for sending me away!!!

Relaxing Getaway

My wonderful husband surprised me and booked a hotel at the beach for me to go and stay overnight ALL by MYSELF!!!! This is the first time I have been away by myself in many years! I don't quite know what do with myself. The room is perfect. It faces the ocean, has a little kitchen, a fireplace, TV with cable, one of those drop down beds, two cozy couches, a table and chair, and a wonderful bathroom with a jetted tub! In fact this is the only studio room in the whole place that has a jetted tub. God must have known that I really needed to relax :-)

I was concerned how the pass would be going to the beach when I woke up this morning to snow on the ground and snow falling from the sky (can you believe that?? It is the end of February for crying out loud!) I waited until late morning to leave to make sure everything had a chance to melt. I had the most gorgeous sunshiny drive out to the coast. It was wonderful. When I arrived here at the beach, a hail storm hit, but passed very quickly. I headed to a look out point I used to go to years ago. I can't believe I forgot my camera!!!!! I even told myself SEVERAL times to NOT forget it.....but I managed to forget. After looking at God's beautiful creation of the roaring ocean, sand, rocks, trees, etc. I headed to the outlet malls to pass a bit of time before I could check into the hotel. Shopping is not my thing, but going without kids was fun and relaxing. I then checked into the hotel and went for a sunny wonderful walk on the beach. Upon returning to my room I sat on the balcony and read a book as the sun began to set with the sound of the ocean in the background. I will grab something to eat, take a relaxing bath in the jetted tub, read, relax and enjoy this wonderful gift my husband has given me. This might be a boring read to some of you, but I needed to document this event in words since I don't have any pictures.

The quiet is something I don't get often.....something I am trying to work on. This time away is giving me time to think, pray, and reflect on many things going on in my life right now. Thanks honey for giving me a change of pace! I love you!!

GOOD NEWS!!!

We are so excited to report that another baby has found a forever family and we have moved up to number

When I checked our adoption forum this morning there was a post about a family accepting a referral. That is always great news for the baby and family and it means that all the rest of the families on the waiting list get to move up one more slot. It has been very difficult waiting lately, because there hasn't been any new referrals for months. It just felt like the adoption process had come to a screeching halt!! I think it is easier for me to wait when I know that at least there is some movement.

It is nice to be able to follow the journeys of families that are going through the process before us. Congratulations to Candice and her husband. They were just united with their precious son yesterday and things are going great. There are several families who are waiting for the final steps to be completed so they can travel. I am praying that the courts grant all those NOC's, and guardianships so these precious little babies can finally be in the arms of their mommy and daddy.

Adoption has taught me a lot about myself. I have found that I am NOT as patient as I thought I was! It has shown me more clearly how much I like to control situations. It has made me turn to God even more than before, because I have NO control when it comes to the adoption process. This process has shown me how you can love somebody before you even know who they are. I would say that adoption has opened my eyes much wider to many areas over the last year. I continue to remind myself that this is a journey and God is in control and I need to rest in HIM.