Thank You

I heard this song about 4 or 5 months ago and have been falling in love with it all the more! It's become my favorite song, my inspiration and my prayer. I have it on my current favorite CD and in my IPod. No matter how many times I listen to it, it touches my heart and evokes big emotion. I hope & pray it continues to keep it's effect on me.

I have been praying on the way to work for years, remembering to mention each child in my class by name and asking God to help me be just what that child needs that day. (among other things naturally) I listen to this song on the way to work each morning now, then pause to not just ask for God's blessings that day, but to remember to say THANK YOU!

I listened to it from my IPod while we were cruising. I remember laying in the sun on a day at sea, watching the ocean that God made, seeing the beautiful sky and knowing how blessed I am. I listened to this song and stopped to say THANK YOU for all the blessings in my life BIG and SMALL.

There are days I listen to this 4 or 5 times, never tiring of it, reminding myself to be THANKFUL for all of God's blessings. Do you stop daily to think how blessed you are? This is for me too, I'm not preaching, just reminding- Do you have a family? Friends? A Home? Food to eat? A car to take you places? A job where you earn money? A church family to love you and bring you closer to God? Do you have air to keep you cool and heat to keep you warm? Do you have enough money for those fun extras in life? Are you able to buy music you love, coffee from your favorite spot, a movie on DVD, a new outfit? There are too many things to name that we take for granted, there are so many people in the world who don't have those blessings.

May my song touch your heart
and remind you to be thankful too!

It's by 33Miles, download it!

What if in morning when I wake up
Even before I fill my coffee cup
I said thank You
Thank You

What if I look at the day and the hours ahead
And before I move forward I bowed my head
And said thank You
Oh I said thank You

What if I looked at my life in a different way
Took a little more time to stop and pray
I know it would change all the moments in between
So here I go

Thank You for everything
Thank You for loving me
It don’t even matter what tomorrow brings
Well I will sing my

Thank You for sun and rain
For what You give and take away
For all Your goodness I will always say
Thank You
Oh I’ll say thank You

What if I lost everything that I had
I could smile and somehow still be glad
And say thank You
Thank you

‘Cause life is joy, life is pain
But the prayer on my heart will never change
I say thank You
Oh I’ll say thank You

Cruising

I know, how many blogs can one person have about cruising, right?! I just have to go back and hit some things that I didn't talk about though. We were telling Andy's brother last Sunday that we are addicted to cruising, I think we need a support group. I wonder if support groups cruise a lot??

We came home to immediately start looking online for the next one! We had been cruising two or three times a year and last year only went once, this trip reminded us how much we love it and we're ready to go again. We are going on another in May or June!! :)

We've only been to the beach in Florida together twice, both of those being trips with my parents. (One before we married and one the year we did get married) It's funny b/c we'd both been so many times before & now WE'VE never taken a trip together, just us to Panama City. Strange and funny!! However; we have been to beaches all around the Caribbean, so we're not complaining!!

You can NOT beat the value of cruising. Every time we look at going to the beach, looking for somewhere to stay and spend a FORTUNE on that alone, plus food and getting out to do some things... It reminds us of just one reason we enjoy cruising so much! The value for your money can NOT be beat! A great comfortable room, all the food you want all day & night, entertainment out the wazoo and you have to do NOTHING!! This last trip cost us about $150 a night for the two of us when it was all said and done. We could never stay at the beach, eat 3 meals a day and have extra spending money for $150 a night!

This past cruise we also did something VERY different for us. We love to eat, we look forward to each and every dinner especially! We have always taken clothes to "dress up" for dinner at night in the dinning room. We started taking an outfit per night, slowly we've started taking things we could mix & match to save on packing space. Then you have one (or two if it's a 7 night cruise) "formal" night. Ugh! All those clothes to wear for just an hour or two. (We go back & change right after dinner anyway-) We realized on this trip that almost every food offered in the dining room was also in the casual buffet. Usually every entree except for one (we would compare the menus), all the appetizers and at least 3 of the 4 desserts were on the buffet!

I ate so many wonderful things that I would have never ordered off the menu. I like to SEE what my food will look like, especially seafood. We could get all we wanted to try on the buffet and go back for more. Of course you can order all you want in the dining room, but you have to wait on them to get it and so on. The fact that we didn't dress up alone was awesome! We are going to start packing one set of dress clothes only (if that) for lobster night b/c it wasn't offered on the buffet. :) Otherwise, I think we're now officially casual kinda folks!! Maybe if we cruise with others we'll go to the dining room, then again maybe not. You never know- (Plus it saves money on tips, shhhhh we're cheap!)

Time always flies too, that amazes me. On the first or second day I always think, man... we have such a long vacation ahead of us. Then something happens and it's the night we have to pack for home before I know it. I always plan to do so many things and we never get them done. I wanted to play putt putt, the ships all now have a 9 hole course. I wanted to consider a massage, I planned on doing a ton of activities offered that I never got to. Funny how fast time flies!

I just had to share one more time how much we love cruising! Andy now gets more excited than me I believe. We're ready go again for sure! ...and now that silly boy is mentioning being ready to go to Disney again too, you know he wont have to talk me into that one!....

Home Visit

I am both blogging this and emailing it, in case you don't pay attention to one or the other. You may see this twice. I wanted everyone to be "in the loop" on where we are, you guys are so amazing and supportive, we appreciate it!!

I am so thankful to announce that we are finished with everything we can do for our entire home study. Every piece of paperwork is complete and filed. We’ve been poked, prodded, questioned, interviewed, studied and visited. Saturday our social worker, Jenni whom we love, came out to visit. I was sad that she didn’t notice my spotless dusting, clean baseboards, freshly washed curtains, new blinds, cleaned fridge and oven, cleaned out closets, nothing under the beds and general tidiness. We’ve spent 2 months getting ready for the big day, that was more like an hour visit from a friend. Funny! I know that we went above and beyond, but it was things that we needed to get done anyway. We went to the dump once and Goodwill twice, how can we have so much stuff?? It feels good to have everything done for once though.

She took a grand tour, laughed at just how much we have in the nursery already. Amazed like everyone else! She checked our smoke detectors, did notice I had all chemicals in boxes on a high shelf in a bathroom closet (I pointed it out) and she did ask to see the fire extinguisher. She met the dogs, all three. She talked to Millie & Casey outside and loved on Gizmo during her entire visit. She asked us a few more questions about what school our little one will attend, how far away the nearest hospital is, how far away the nearest park is (yes, she asked), how far away our church is and a few other random questions. Again though, it was just like chatting with a friend. It feels absolutely amazing to have that final step behind us.

What now?

Jenni will write up her report and send it to our coordinator for approval, she’ll also send us a copy to approve for factual information. Then she will have our coordinator sign off on the final copy and everything we’ve done up to this point will all be sent to the office in California to be signed off on. Sometime while that is happening, our birth mom letter should be approved. We’ve sent our third edit back and are waiting to hear from it. Hopefully if we have anything else to change, it will be very minor. We are hoping and praying that this all comes together in the next 3-4 weeks. Your prayers are much appreciated. I imagine we’ll be able to be “in the books” and “waiting officially” by the time I am out of school. That will give me plenty of time to sit and stare at the phone every day! (Just kidding, I have tons of summer fun ahead of me!)

We continue to value and thrive on your prayer support. It isn’t easy when all you can do is wait, but we’ve been waiting for almost 9 years so we’ve had a lot of practice. We are so firm in the faith that God’s timing is perfect and his hand has guided us each and every step along the way. For some reason now it feels like it’s more in his hands than ever. I know he was with us along the way so far, there are so many examples. To know that we have nothing else to do finally seems like it’s officially handed off to him though and we take such confidence in knowing our God is in control. We will stand back and wait to be amazed by him once again.

A Sunday School teacher talked to us one year, 6th grade I think was when we had Ms. Campbell (right Lisa?), about miracles almost weekly. She reminded us that God wanted to bless us with miracles. We need to pray for them,then watch and EXPECT to see them from God. We need to look for them in all the little moments as well as the big ones. We are praying, expecting and anxious to meet our own little miracle!!!!

So, pray for us and wait with us!
Much love to all!!

Friday, Day 6 @ Nassau:

Back in Nassau. Funny, every cruise we’ve taken has led us there eventually. I have to say that it is what you make it. This was a perfect day in the Bahamas. It was such a pretty, hot, clear & sunny day to begin with. We arrived @ 7:00 and we got up pretty early. We headed off for some shopping. We were walking around a little before 9:00 and most of the stores had signs up that said they didn’t open until (and yes this is a quote) 10:ish! I knew I loved it here, I fit in!! We walked through more stores and alleys than ever before and it’s becoming so comfortable to be there now. I found two things that I wanted and eventually talked myself out of, then wished I’d had gotten. Gotta hate when that happens. We came back to the ship for a short visit with Mr. Dean & Mrs. Carolyn and a piece of pizza. Then it was off for our Stingray Adventure and beach trip to Black Beard’s.


*Picture headed out to Black Beard's. Left to right: Regal Empress (she's tiny, down and back to Nassau from Fort Lauderdale and we want to try it sometime), Carnival Glory, Disney Wonder, Carnival Imagination & Carnival Sensation*

It was our 3rd time to the same beach and we always enjoy it. The stingray adventure there is better than ones we have seen other places. We spend about 3 hours at the beach and you can go in with the stingrays as many times as you want and stay as long as you want. The people on the island are super friendly. The boat ride there is about 25 minutes each way and it’s a pretty boat ride. They have ray feeding once an hour and it’s a ton of fun, if you can get past holding the slimy squid in your hands. Ick!! It’s awesome to hold them under the water though and have the rays suck them right out, amazing!! It’s also so cool when you step into the water and they come and glide around your feet & legs, rubbing on you like a cat would. It cracks me up and continually amazes me, no matter how many time we do it! When they know it's feeding time and you've fed them already, they are all over you! When I'm on my knees with them and they are swarming me, they typically knock me backwards and off my knees. It's hilarious, they're so funny!!

*Picture: I didn't have a water proof camera with me this time, so I didn't get many close pictures of the rays. That little critter wouldn't stay still long enough for me to get a good picture*

We have always had the island pretty much to ourselves with our excursion group and maybe one or two more. Today however; was chaos! We’ve never had a problem getting something to drink, getting our food from the grille, finding a chair or spending time with the rays. There were 5 ships in port today and I’d never seen an excursion place like that. The lines were so long for food & drinks that we gave up on our food that we’d already paid for with the price, Andy (bless his heart) waited for 20 minutes on 2 Cokes! There weren’t enough chairs for the number of people there and it was wall to wall (sand to sand) people. I really think they over booked themselves and that’s not fun for everyone. It was still a good day, but I imagine it’ll be our last trip there. Time to find a new favorite place in Nassau.

*Pic : Us on Black Beard's *


*Pic: This was un LAST TIME we were there. We didn't get the picture taken this time because the line was SO LONG!*



For the second excursion in a row, we got back to the pier just in time to jump on the ship. They were pulling up one gang way and standing around waiting on us at the next one. Our group was the last one back to the ship, thankfully we were with a group and they were waiting. We had 5 minutes to spare, yikes!

After a cheeseburger back on ship, we spent a few hours by the pool before it was time to head back and get ready for the night. It was also packing now, how fast that slips up on you! Dinner, a show and it’s over again..

Towel Animals

A highlight of any cruise, you know you love 'em.
You know you take picture of 'em! The beloved towel animals!!

What is this? Andy says a bunny, I say a dog? Opinions, thoughts.....






We love when we get a new one and this trip we got a frog. I think he's adorable!! Don't you want to save these things and take them home?! I want someone to make one for me every night on my own bed. I always say I am going to the class about making them and never fit it in.



Then there was this guy, again we had NO IDEA! Andy says a jack-a-lope! LOL!!! I don't know what to guess, crazy looking!





We had a few others. I already posted the elephant and I didn't take pictures of the other one or two. We didn't get a swinging monkey, first time I think. So cute though... a new Carnival Caper each night to read about the following day and a new animal, such fun!!

Wednesday, Day 4 @ Sea:

We slept a little later, went to breakfast and then spent the day on a top deck basking in the sun. After breaking for lunch we found chairs by the main pool amidst the craziness. I enjoyed finishing yet another good book while Andy went to visit with Mr. Dean & Mrs. Carolyn. It was dinner and show time. The show was a comedian and hypnotist, we’d never seen one before. I was always curious and am not sure if he was typical or not. His name was “Puck” and we weren’t impressed or amused, not fun at all for us. Such is life, we’ve now seen one.


*Pictures of the sunset, we watched from the top deck. So amazing, again God is so good to us!!*

Thursday, Day 5 @ Sea:

Pretty much the same as the other days at sea. We spent half of the day on a top deck enjoying the wind and views, then moved to the smaller pool for the remainder of the day. We ate dinner and saw the show. The show was “A Walk Down Broadway” and one of my favorites, though the male lead on this trip isn’t as good as the previous ones have been. I love the music in this one!
We went to karaoke on the pool deck under the stars, it was a hoot!!

*Picture of us with Mr. Dean & Mrs. Carolyn Dodgen, still so funny that they were on board with us. We saw them pretty much daily. There was also another lady that we went to church with, Ms. Mobley, and her Mother on board. Small, small world!!!*

Tuesday, Day 3 @ Belize:

We woke up a little earlier, ate breakfast and watched the activity as tender boats began to take people over to the mainland. We were scheduled to leave @ 10:15, headed back to the private island of Bannister Caye. It is the same place we visited on our last trip to Belize and it is truly beautiful!!! Some of you may have gotten my email a few weeks ago about a favorite island being for sale, this was it!! Sure wish we could just buy it and stay-

*Picture from our boat headed from the Glory to Bannister. Glory big ship there in the front, then the Norwegian Sun was close by and a ship from "Fred Olsen Cruise Lines" was there as well. More about that later. There were tender boats EVERYWHERE and the ocean was beginning to look like a parking lot!*

It offers a water trampoline, kayaks, floats, there’s a grille, two very tiny stores, a restroom, a bar, tons of chairs and all the sand & sun you can stand. Andy took a short snorkel trip for about an hour on a little boat from Bannister Caye. He enjoyed it, but said the snorkeling wasn’t as good as the day before in Cozumel. The trip was great and we would recommend it to anyone at all! (Obviously since it was our 2nd trip there) It’s only about a 15 minute boat ride from the ship and I think you really get your money’s worth of beach time! The views from the beach are just breath taking!!!! The water is TRULY CRYSTAL CLEAR!! The shells, I’ve never seen anything like it. We took sooo many pictures last time of the shells, you put your hand in the water and this is what you pull up… each and every time!



We returned for a snack and some serious lazy time. Today I have been reading one of those “I hit the jackpot buying this” book from a bargain table at the Christian book store. There’s nothing like picking up a $5 book and finding a new favorite author, more about it in my reading blog coming soon I’m sure. Lazy time also led us to check out the menu for tonight and once again what we wanted to order from the dining room was on the casual buffet, how can you turn that down? I spent some time online checking email while sitting by a wall of windows and watching the ocean go by, so amazing. I couldn’t stay on long enough to post to the blog again though. The wireless connection was in and out and frustrating.

*Picture: With a 2 hour time difference, our 10AM excursion was really just 8AM there. It was HOT first thing though and the sun was just beautiful on the water*

We got ready without getting dressed up and that’s my favorite way to do it! I also like when you see all the foods on the buffet and you can then chose what you want to try. I ate fish again and it was absolutely fantastic. If I’d have seen it on the menu and read the name of it (I can’t remember now) I would have never ordered it, after seeing it and giving it a try though… it’s pretty much all I ate!! Yay for new kinds of grilled fish~ We realized if we cruise and only eat in the dining room one or two times, it would save us packing as much. We could come in just one suitcase for sure! What all do you really need on a ship? Good books, toothbrush, a few swimsuits and you’re good.

We had big plans of playing bingo, a show and then going to the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” (I’ve never seen it and am dying to see what all the fuss is about) at midnight, but old age kicked in! We headed back to put on Pajama’s, watch a movie and I finished my book! Cruising is all about doing what you want and what you’re in the mood for. Andy’s already asking when our next one should be . . . .

*Picture us on Bannister, note the clear blue water*

And on that note, let me add.. We keep pointing out couples with babies, guessing their age and looking to see that yes, those little ones seem to be having a great time. One little guy, who couldn’t have been more than 5 months old was getting his picture made and had a crowd gathered around because they were making him laugh and it had turned to hysterical giggles. He literally made himself laugh until he cried and he was soooo funny!!! They don’t know they are on a big ship in the middle of the ocean, but they’re enjoying life just the same. Just the confirmation we needed that our wee one is going to be a cruiser at an early age…

*Picture: Andy was up early enough to watch the sun come up, he took several pictures. God is amazing huh? He didn't have to make our world so beautiful, but I'm trying to remember to thank him every day for doing it anyway!!*

“Somewhere on the Sea, Somewhere waiting for me….”

((I wrote these while we were still cruising, just couldn’t get blogger to post them while we were out there))

Monday, Day 2 @ Cozumel:

We woke up to beautiful sunshine and docking in Cozumel. After breakfast Andy & I headed off the ship for a little shopping. The pier area is super nice. There are very nice restrooms, shops out the wazoo, places to eat everywhere and super friendly people. You could get off and could spend hours right there within a few steps of the ship, they are doing big things now for cruise lines. We walked on down the street a little through town, then made our way back through the cruise terminal shopping area again. Back on board for a snack and getting ready for our excursion.

We debated for days, right up until the very last minute last night on what to do. I had read fantastic reviews from Cruise Critic about visiting Paradise Beach for just a few bucks for a taxi ride. There was an excursion though that seemed to offer something we’d both enjoy. Andy made the final decision and off we went. We boarded a 65foot catamaran through “Fury’s Catamaran” trips. It was huge, 3 decks! There were shady seats and sun decks, restrooms, a bar and all you could drink beer, margaritas or Pepsi. We drank our share of Pepsi! *This is the picture of our ship the Glory at the back, the Fantasy (which was the 1st cruise we ever took) there in the front and our catamaran coming towards the pier.*

The ride out was great and we stopped for 45 minutes at a reef for snorkelers to get their fill. Andy said it was the best snorkeling he’s done in all of our trips, and if you’re keeping up we’ve taken quite a few!! (this is our 7th cruise) That’s pretty impressive for him to say. He saw an enormous barracuda that he’s still talking about. You could jump off the side of the boat or walk right down the ramp into the water. I opted to lay in the sun with a great new book, imagine that. The snorkelers (is that a word?) reboarded and we were off again. This picture is of them in the water. There were guides out to help, direct you to schools of fish, be sure everyone was OK. It's actually part of a National Park Reef. There were buoys to keep people in one area. It was a beautiful sunny day, despite the fact my picture looks a little dark. It wasn't by any means!!

We went to a private beach, just next door to Playa Mia (Which is where we went on our last Cozumel visit) We had chairs, floats (mats), kayaks (no thanks) a bar, restrooms or horse back riding. Horse back riding would have been a hit, if it weren’t for the fact we were in wet bathing suits!!! Ick- We spent an hour at the beach. The water wasn’t as pretty as it had been where they snorkeled, but the water was relatively warm and we enjoyed it. Getting off the catamaran, down the ramp steps and into the water was a little exciting. We didn’t make it all the way up into the sand, we were in about waist deep water.
This picture is the private island!


The ride back was fantastic! The views were beautiful. With a motor running and both sails open wide, we were getting speedy! They cranked up great music of all kinds, the drinks were flowing (which made our shipmates quite entertaining to watch) and it made for a perfect ride back to our ship. We had never cut it quite so close, with 5 minutes to spare as we all sprinted back to the ship. Thankfully we’d been dumped off at the pier just steps away. It was a fantastic day though and I would recommend that excursion to ANYONE, of ANY AGE, ANYTIME!!! Picture of us on the ride back.

We came back for a snack, got ready and were off to a show. It was a great day and we were tired. After sitting downstairs in the lobby people watching, we went to check out the dinner menu. It turned out that what we wanted was also offered on the casual buffet and we opted to bail on the dining room and eat at the buffet. What a great choice! I got 4 things that were on the appetizer menu, a plate full of my favorite fish dish ever and we were stuffed. I wish I could find the same “Piked Perch with Cream Tomato Sauce” offered somewhere close to home, yummy!!

After dinner we called it a day and headed to get our beauty rest-



**Note** Since returning home and having the "what was your favorite???...???" discussions we have both decided that this excursion was one of our all time favorites. It was really a great day. I don't snorkel, but I wasn't the only one that didn't. Andy truly loved it and said it was the best snorkeling he's ever done and he's ready to go back. The ride alone in the catamaran out there and back was tons of fun, a great way to see around the island. I was worried about the "party" factor involved, since we don't drink. There were plenty of families on board who weren't drinking though and the music was lively and fun, but not inappropriate. Lots of line dancing for all ages. If you are a drinker, well... the free drinks is enough to entice you I'd imagine. The private island wasn't the most beautiful we've seen, but you're only there an hour and they offer a ton of things to do or you can choose to do nothing at all. I see us doing this one again, I stand by my recommendation for this to anyone! This picture of just how blue and clear the water was where they snorkeled. It was deep, but blue and clear as glass!

Sunday, Day 1 @ Sea:

We ended up sleeping relatively late. Sleeping late for Andy usually means he forced himself to stay in bed until 6:00 or 6:30, this morning it meant 8:30!! The thing with cruise ships is this.. You have a balcony room or window room and the sun in shinning through bright and early at 6:30, you can’t sleep through it. Or.. You are like us on this trip and have an inside room, no light, no clock, not a sliver of shine coming under your door. You are totally oblivious to any time and can sleep through a day without ever knowing it. (Andy was convinced his watch had stopped when he woke up and saw what time it was, he was confused!)

We headed to breakfast for a funny, crazy surprise.

We walked to a line and got right behind a gentleman, who turned around… and… was a very good friend from church! Mr. & Mrs. Dodgen were Sunday School teachers, Bible Study leaders, camp counselors and so on for us growing up. They have two sons, one close to Andy’s age and one close to mine. We’ve known them our entire lives and here they were. Same ship, same cruise, same breakfast! Hilarious. We caught up while in line and exchanged room numbers in plans for getting together again this week. Life is funny!!!!


We spent most of the day on the 11th sports sundeck, enjoying the warm sunshine and (knock ya down hurricane style) breeze blowing! It was a beautiful day, couldn’t have asked for better. We got a little sun, I read an entire book and we took a break for lunch only to return to sunning ourselves like lizards. We did make it to the “Newlywed and not so Newlywed Game” this late afternoon, always a hoot!

I got online a few minutes (though blogger wouldn’t come up so this will be posted later) and Andy went to run, what an over achiever! LOL…. We’re going to be lazy until time to get ready for our before dinner snack (you have to eat something when you wait until 8:30 for dinner). It’s formal night, though we’re on the “not so formal” side of things. Lobster to be eaten and then shows to be seen!




Inevitable picture of towel animals, you have to take these!?! I can't remember if we had an elephant before or not? We liked him though, we also had a frog. We'd never had a frog for sure!

Crusin’ Gotta Love It!

Let’s see if I can give you the highlights. I’m not very good at making it brief, but I’ll see what I can do.

Saturday, Boarding Day:

We left our hotel in Ocala about 9:00 and had a super easy drive through to Port Canaveral. Andy made me cry in Orlando with his pathetic rendition of “When you wish upon a star”, but it was a enough to make me miss Disney. This is our first ever drive through where we wouldn’t be stopping on either end of our journey. I couldn’t help it!!

We arrived early and made a stop in Walmart @ Cocoa Beach, you just can’t pass up a good Walmart.

We made it to the port earlier than ever before and were thrilled at the lack of lines! We breezed through dropping off our luggage, walked straight through security and straight through to check in, not a line in sight. Early my friends, is the way to go! (I am NEVER early for anything, when early means being there before 12:30 though, I can handle that!)

We headed for “Lunch on the Lido”, Andy dreams of that phrase for months before we arrive. Coming home to the Glory, for our third cruise with her, was familiar and comforting. She’s like an old friend and it doesn’t take days to remember where things are, kinda nice. We spent the afternoon in our swimsuits basking in the sun, 86ish degrees in Florida, life is good!

We are eating supper (dinner to you Yankees reading :)) late and at a large table, though only one couple from just outside of Orlando showed up. We had eaten a rather large snack (fried shrimp & French fries) and I couldn’t eat most of my supper; however crème brulee was a dessert option and I had to force that down! It’s my favorite! We saw the “Welcome Aboard” show and called it a day.

Interview done, home visit officially on the calendar and birthmom letter now getting close to approved. And we ... are headed off on a cruise! We've taken this cruise before, this ship 3 times now. Cozumel, Belize, Nassau. Sun, 80 degrees, sand, crystal clear water, beautiful shells, private islands, great food, fun shows, relaxing waves, swimming with sting rays and did I mention great food?

Bon Voyage-