Weddings, costumes and more...

So i know you have all been waiting for an update so here you go, it's gonna be short but at least it's here.
Tina's wedding was beautiful. i think it was just what she wanted which makes it even better. We tried to add what we thought would be great but when it got down to it, it was very much her and Jeremy's wedding. The reception turned out just how we had pictured it so that was great. She had lots of people help cleaning up so we didn't have to do it, which was awesome. It was a very tiring week and i feel like i'm still trying to catch up. Because when i got home, Lori and i drove to Salem to pick up Charysse and then headed to Portland for an Amy Grant concert. Thanks to Kristy we had great seats, 4th row back and VIP/Meet and greet tickets so that was fun. So needless to say i've been running non stop since before the wedding. After Tuesday next week it should slow a little. We have to go to Portland to get fingerprinted on Tuesday morning and i believe after that it slows. Of course we have Andy's birthday next Thursday, (happy birthday Kyle, a little early).
Can i just say, i don't think it's the best idea to wait before the night before Halloween to make a costume that you really don't know how it goes. We waited, really because that was the only time, to make Ezekiel's Wall E costume, it looks really cute but seriously it was a little nerve racking. I was so glad Gabriel decided to be batman, the costume from 2 years ago:)
Well life is good, be thankful for Fall today!!!

Tomorrow...

Well tomorrow i head over to Eugene to help finalize all of the wedding details with Tina. My brother and family fly into Portland tonight and then will meet us in Eugene tomorrow. I am throwing Tina her personal shower tomorrow, it should be fun. i just want it to be a personal and intimate time, no silly games just making it about Tina, this is her time. i still need to come up with a speech for the toast, guess i'll work on that when i have a few extra minutes. Well not much else is going on.
We are waiting on our finger print appointment because they of course set it on the day of Tina's wedding so i had to reschedule. Hopefully we can get in on Friday, that's what i asked for, we'll see. Then they just have to review our case and then all the papers can go to Ethiopia, YEAH. Then of course just more waiting but at least it won't be us causing the wait. Our daughter is coming!!!!!!!

I forgot to tell you....

By the way i forgot to tell you all....twin boys are on their way! Rob and Vicki are having boys, yeah, we Adams know how to do boys:)

Almost...

Well today i finished with all the papers for our adoption. They are ready to be notarized! We are just waiting to get one back from the state then i have to go to Salem to get it authenticated, yeah, another trip over the pass. It was really fun to put the family pictures together for our dossier. They wanted 5 different pictures of the family, mainly Andy and i so i had one of each of us plus a couple shot on a heart and then put 2 family pics, with the boys, on a rectangle with left over paper from Tina's shower invitations so it looks really cute. They said that was one, the only are we could have fun and do whatever we wanted, so i did. So if you are reading this please be in prayer that we would get our paper back soon so we can get our dossier sent off to Ethiopia, our daughter is waiting and so are we.
On a different note, things are going great for Tina's wedding. This last weekend we had more "hang out" time and that was fun. i attacked both mom and Tina's eyebrows, they look very pretty now:) She is ready to be a bride and a beautiful one she will be.
That's it for today, be blessed and live in the Lords presence.

Remembering a Sister

I just thought I would jot down a few words about Allison, some that you might not have known.
Allison was a great sister! She was always there for me, to love me, to have fun with me, to correct me even when i didn't ask for it, to inspire me, to tease me, to be everything that a sister is suppose to be.
I miss her, her laugh, her smile, her phone calls, her cards for no reason, her tattoos (my first one was one we all got together as sisters), her singing, even her teasing, I miss it all. She was a great friend who loved to show you her love for you. She really knew how to throw a party, always over the top, that was her style. I'm so glad that I had all the time that I did with her. God is so good in that way. None of us have tomorrow guaranteed and i think we take it for granite sometimes, i know i do. If only i could have told her one more time how much i loved her and what a great honor it was to be her baby sister, to take one more picture with her, so many things. She taught me a lot in life. How to be a girl, hair; nails; make-up; all the girly stuff. She taught me how to make peanut butter fudge using the Jet Puff marshmallow cream, mmm yummy. She taught me how to pursue God and to strive to be who He saw me to be. i got to make her an aunt, the greatest thing ever, she really loved my boys. I am sad that she will never know my daughter, she would have loved her. She gave me many horrible hair cuts, remember the steps shaved into the side of your heads, i had that thanks to her and the shortest bangs of my life. We knew how to laugh and cry together, i really liked laughing with her. I have many memories of going to visit Tina at EBC before she moved to Eugene, just us sisters, good times as Tina would say. Then there were the girl weekends away with us and mom, those were great. I wish we would have started those sooner and had more. i have great memories of childhood with her but more than that i have all the memories of our friendship as adults, finally growing up. We encouraged each other in areas where we were weak. We were better because of each other. i know this is just rambling but i miss her and just wanted to take a moment to remember.....Allison a great sister and friend.

One Year

One year ago last Saturday marked the passing of my sister Allison. Wow, was that a fast year. So many things can happen in a years time it can be overwhelming. i'm so glad the Lord knows exactly what we can handle and never gives us more than that. So i think like everyone else in my family i was going to stay pretty busy on Saturday, the whole day was planned out. Andy had a men's breakfast and then work at the church so i was on my own for the morning. i made the kids breakfast and took my time getting ready, watching the memorial DVD from last year. Not really a smart thing to do when you're trying to put your make up on but oh well. It really made me miss my brother, i'm so glad he and the family are coming out for Tina's wedding, that will be a great time. Then there's a knock at the door. Oh great, my house is totally trashed and Lori shows up. What a great friend, she had a beautiful bunch of flowers and a card, just what i needed! It was great to see her and just chat for a few moments, it was nice to stop the day. But not for long, off to shots for tots we went, first dropping Ezekiel off at the church with daddy. You'd think it would go a little faster. They really did have a nice organized way of doing things but sitting and waiting for 1 1/2 hours was not what i was planning on. i was going to meet mom as soon as i was done for coffee or whatever. So at 11:30 we finally leave, go to Goodies for doing such a great job waiting and then getting a shot, McDonalds to take the men working something to eat and to church to drop Gabriel off so i could go out with mom. Well by this time i only have 1 hour left before i have to get Gabriel to soccer. So we run over to Jakes for lunch. Well kind of, we shared biscuits and gravy in memory of Allison, that was her favorite thing that she had to have every time she came over. So mom was keeping herself busy with Tina's wedding stuff. She finished all the flowers in one day! Then back to the church to pick up the boys, run home and get soccer stuff (because i forgot to plan ahead and have him bring everything), then off to the soccer field we go, only 5 minutes late whew! Only 6 of the 8 kids show up for their pictures and then we start practice of which Andy and i became the coaches in a round about way. Actually we really enjoy it, kindergarten soccer is the best to coach, it's only 1 day a week for 6 weeks. You practice for 20 minutes then play for 20 minutes with a 5 minute break in there. Okay soccer is done, yeah, oh shoot, we forgot to pack for our quick trip to Eugene. Because we spontaneously had James and Torrey over for dinner Friday night, which was great but left no time to get ready. So home we go and get packed in 20 minutes, wow that was some quick packing. Back in the car and off to Eugene we go. Apparently i wanted to get there quick because i made it in 2 hours 15 minutes! We arrive and Vicki had graciously made dinner for us, Chicken Alfredo, so yummy! We ate then off to the river we go. Rob had kept the wreath from Allison memorial and had planned to set it in the river that night. There were quite a few people there, 6 youth gals, Leo and Gina, Rusty, Tina and Jeremy, Kendal, Christian, Rob, Vicki, and my family. The moms weren't quite able to make it and that was okay. So Rob started by asking if anyone had anything they wanted to share about Allison and quite a few people did. She really lives on today through all of us, you can tell by the way everyone was talking. i of course did my best to hold it together but didn't do a very good job. Then Rob got the wreath which had ribbons on it and had me, Tina, Kendal, Christian, Vicki, Rusty, and Gina all cut one off to keep, that's really where i lost it. Then he walked over to the edge of the bridge and threw it down into the water. We all just stood and watched it until we couldn't see it any longer. It seemed to take a long time but we enjoyed the quiet and peace of just watching it float away. Rusty asked if i had any worship songs i could sing, yeah right like i could sing at that point, i understood but wasn't able to lead out, none of us were. So i think we were all thinking and singing in our heads but no words were coming out. We talked a bit more and then Christian broke down and started crying, that was really hard. i so appreciate his tender heart, both him and Kendal are great kids. Over all i think we were on the bridge for a little over an hour. Then the family went back to the house and looked through all the pictures Rob had found while going through the house. That was fun! Lots and lots of memories. Tina left around 10 to go to work and i stayed up till about 11:30 with the boys. Then we got up, got ready and headed home so we could make it to Ezekiel's football game. Busy, that was how i kept it. Was it right or not i don't know but it worked. i think i would have liked more time by myself to just have some thoughts but i guess i can do that anytime. A year has gone and there is new life happening all around us, God really does give beauty for ashes. Rob and Vicki find out what they are having this week, Tina is starting to realize her life is changing forever very quickly, our daughter is real in our hearts, life is good. Thank you God for good life.