The Patio is Done

The patio is complete and our decorating is just about done too. That was so much fun! Along with the hot tub we have a large umbrella, a grill, and now some furniture. We also just bought a fire pit that fit right infront of the sofa.

This last week it has done nothing but rain. It has been difficult to stay out on the patio for very long. We did cook dinner in the rain, that umbrella is awesome!

Anniversary Continues

This weekend we went to see the play Jesus Christ Sup3r Star at the theater down town. It was awesome! A little history, P and I met at a college dinner and theater night. The first time we saw this it was a college play (kind of lame) and we were a little preoccupied sitting next to each other. We wanted to celebrate our anniversary by going to see this again.

Ted Neel3y played Jesus, and he was amazing. I recognized his voice immediately. He is the original Jesus from the movie, JCSS that came out in the 70's. Here is a picture of him from the movie. He started acting in the play in the early 90's. Obvious both the play and the movie were controversial in their day. Heavy metal guitar, slang lyrics, an undertone of impropriety between Jesus and Mary M. and of course the famous Ted scream. I just realized that Ted has been acting as Jesus longer than Jesus was on the Earth.

Here is a you tube link to a small sample of JCSS. Jesus is in the Garden and he is talking to the Father, questioning why he must die, does it really need to happen? You can feel the anquish in his voice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-zFnrKmYfI

We did it

We actually went all out and bought a hot tub this weekend. It's not your typical hot tub, it's doesn't have the formed bucket seats you'd expect. It has a bench-like seat that raps around the tub. Oh, and did i mention it's round! It holds 4 people and has 14 jets. We are really excited about this. It was always a dream to get one and we planned on looking, but we found this and it was in our price range and P loves it. I have to admit that after looking around I was very surprise to find how expensive hot tubs really are, wow.

We will probably have it delivered next week. Our enclosure will not be completed by then so we will hold it in the garage for a while.

Our get-away

We took a mini-vacation over Memorial Day weekend. We went to St Augustine. We have visited the town for short day trips but have never stayed overnight. We stayed in a great bed and breakfast for 2 nights. We had a wonderful time shopping and touring the town. We visited historic churches and the first luxury hotel built in 1888. There are lots of little shops, restaurants and historic sites all intertwined along the main street. We went to our favorite restaurants called Columbia's and Athena's. A Cuban restaurant and Greek restaurant that have fantastic food. Here are a few pictures. The first is the view we had from our private balcony and the second is the room we stayed in.

Our Anniversary

Jeepers, i didn't realize that it's been that long since i last posted.

We celebrated our 15 year anniversary this month. That's a big one. One of those dates you kind of measure where you will be when you first get married. We dreamed we would have a home, have traveled the world and have kids by now. Since we are still working on the kids and we will travel to China some day, we decided to treat ourselves to a huge home improvement. Something that we can spend lots of time relaxing and entertaining in.

We are building a large screened in patio in our back yard. We have a very small back yard that we never utilize, so we wanted something to use as an extension of our home, maybe a second living room. It will be 26'x14' with a screened enclosure. We also have plans on buying a hot tub.
I will upload pictures when it is completed.

Chapman Family

Steven Curtis Chapman is best know as a Christian singer but he is also well known in the adoption community. He has adopted 3 children from China and has an organization that helps families finance their adoptions if needed. My heart breaks for their family as they deal with such great loss this week.

NASHVILLE, TN...5/21/08. .. At approximately 5pm on the afternoon of Thursday May 21st, Maria Sue Chapman, 5 years old and the youngest daughter to Steven and Mary Beth Chapman was struck in the driveway of the Chapman home in Franklin, TN. Maria was rushed to Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital in Nashville, transported by LifeFlight, but died of her injuries there. Maria is one of the close knit family's six children and one of their three adopted daughters.
More than five years ago, Chapman and his wife MaryBeth founded The Shaohannah's Hope Ministry after bringing their first adopted daughter, Shaohannah, home from China. The ministry's goal is to help families reduce the financial barrier of adoption, and has provided grants to over 1700 families wishing to adopt orphans from around the world.

http://www.stevencurtischapman.com

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,357046,00.html

24 months

Next week will be our 2 year anniversary for our LID in China. Yes, we have been waiting 2 long years with no end in sight. This month the CCAA did 4 days of referrals. They are currently at Jan 12. They have done 29 days of referrals in the last 5 months. I guess i write all this to say: at the rate they are moving we will be lucky to see our referral in about 2 more years. We will continue to wait patiently because we know our daughter is going to be waiting for us in China.

Awesome Find

One night while DH and I were walking around our neighborhood and we saw this table out on the curb ready for the trash. I don't know if you can see it but it is a table in beautiful condition, with dancing asian women on a black surface. It must have been interesting watching us try to carry this table home... :)

There is a movement now of people who only decorate their homes or eat food that is found. They are called free-gans. Ok, we are totally not that desparate but we do love that occasional good find!

Secret Buddy

I joined a baby gift swap group last year, and for 8 months my secret buddy sent me themed gifts. This is one of them. It says,

"Be a butterfly, spread your wings and whatever life brings, be true to you--be you-nique. Let the Lord guide you to the beauty inside you, and you'll find the joy that you seek."

I also received a baby ladybug braclet, halloween items, beach items and a cool floating themometer for the bath. Thanks secret buddy!