Finding the Happy

Take a look to the links on the right.

Go ahead, I'll wait ...

See the one that says Aimee - Life with Layla and Tanner? See it?

Now, please click on it and go see the video of our great niece Layla singing to her baby brother Tanner. (It's a post down from the newest) She then (not so) gently helps him with his little drooling/spittle problem. Hilarious- Continue to watch and as you are giggling at her singing, which is truly the sweetest sound, watch little Tanner's face. He absolutely loves his big sister beyond imagination.

It's priceless, it's precious, it's pure sunshine!

I love them so much my heart bubbles over~

Just when you need it.

I have to confess that I don't always read forwarded emails. You know the ones, you'll get money, you'll die if you don't, you're greatest wish will come true, if you "really" loved God, yadda yadda.. you'd send this on. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Today, I got one. It had this quote involved, it was truly just what I needed today. It's something I already knew, no brand new realization. A nice reminder though. May someone else need it today as well. *Thanks Kim*

"This is God. Today I will be handling all of your problems for you. I do Not need your help. So, have a nice day. I love you."

June Happenings

I thought I'd blog about summer June happenings at the Tanner house. It's been a busy summer, but nothing over the top for excitement.

Adoption: We got our final approval the last few days of May and in early June were "in the books" officially. We know our birthmom letter is going out through the agency, our website is linked to the agency website and it has been seeing tons of hits daily. (Though many of them are family, friends and curious other couples from the agency.) We have sent packets of information to many of our family and friends, appreciating that they are helping us get the word out. I can't say thanks enough to those of you doing legwork in putting our letters, brochures and cards out there. I've had friends let me be their "guest blogger" to share our story and many of them have our adoption site as a linky on their blogs, myspace and facebook accounts. You guys are awesome!! I love you!! Thanks for your continued prayers for our patience, the right birthmother to find us and a healthy baby too! We know God's timing is perfect and are practicing patience.

My parents: My parents are getting very antsy about the building of their new house. The grading has yet to start, the permits are taking forever and it's a drawn out process. They're so ready. Meanwhile they are enjoying sitting on the porches and watching the wild turkey (who now have babies out there) come and go in the evenings, there are about 45 turkeys out there. They're also enjoying watching the handful of deer come in for evening grazing as well. It's really a great place over there, they are blessed to have found such a great piece of land. (1.1 miles from their previous house, this one had a house that they could move into while they build and it's pretty land with creeks, woods, a lake and animals at the back)

We're also spending one day a week at the lake on the boat, I love the lake. On Fridays it starts off that we have the place to ourselves, as the afternoon wears on we're joined by those headed up for the weekend. Dad's been fishing and caught stuff here and there, we enjoy splashing around in the water and Mom is getting lake reading time in. Poor Andy, who has to work. I am soo ready for us to get up there with the camper!!

This is the property where the house will go:

This is their most recent toy. They are having a ball riding all over the place and in the woods behind them. On my first ride as my Mom drove, I reminded her about the last go kart ride I took with her when I was 6... and she dumped me in the front yard. I held on tight in the golf cart this time. Yes, they're in bathing suits in this picture b/c we're about to head to the lake. This is the driveway and front yard of the house they're living in on the property.

Family: I have been going to swim @ Steve & Teresa's one day a week. It's great to spend time gabbing with them and enjoying their gorgeous pool. Sometimes Aimee is there with the kiddos and Layla keeps US ALL on our toes. A few weeks ago she approached me with "hold it, hold it" and before looking, I stuck out my hand... to be in charge of her quarter size FROG!! Silly girl!

There have been showers galore for the upcoming Tanner celebrations. Our newest nephew Trey is expected to arrive in the next few weeks, his Mommy in waiting, Trisha, says she's ready!!! She & I spent an afternoon together a few weeks ago and I love her to pieces! Naomi and Luke are only a few weeks away from their big day to say "I do" as well. We're looking forward to the wedding! So much excitement coming in July!!

The afghan that I made for Trey

Friends: I spent a day a few weeks ago with my friend Shelley at the pool, lounging around. A dip in the pool and yakking with a friend is my idea of a perfect summer day. I was able to visit with another friend and her two little guys a few weeks back as well. She let me rummage through her yard sale stuff for things I could use in preschool, for free. She's great to me! This past week we had a girl get together at the house and after dinner and great crazy conversation, we played Wii. I think we have Misty hooked.

Home: Speaking of Wii, we love it! Andy is so NOT a video games kinda guy. He likes to move around and doesn't enjoy typical video or computer games at all. After playing one night at Shelley & Rob's house though, he said we had to get one! We started with Wii Play (cow racing is one of our favorites) and Wii Sports (nothing like beating each others head in with boxing). We played every evening. Then as an end of the year present from school, I got Carnival games and we've had so much fun with that. (My Mom's favorite too, they came up the other night for supper and Wii night) Andy got Tiger Woods golf for his birthday and we've had a blast with that too. We each made players that look similar to us, have crazy personalities and it's a hoot. It's been a fantastic investment and at least we're getting a workout when we're up moving and playing with it.

Here is the screen for a Carnival game, where you'll notice MY WII
is jumping up and down b/c I WON!

Andy Lee throwing something Wii...

We've been working (playing) in the nursery here and there. There was so much stuff, thus no room for baby, in there that we had to regroup and take stuff back out. It's a work in progress and we both like going in there to just sit and dream of our baby to be. I've got a plan in mind now for finishing hanging some things and getting "the trees" painted on the walls. I can't wait to have a name to hang over the crib as well!! I'll post a blog with pictures soon, I've taken them all along the way. We have our name list down to 9 boy and 9 girl names. (Which is funny b/c a few years ago we had one picked out of each. Now we've added all sorts of new choices to the mix)

Anniversary: We celebrated our anniversary by going to eat at the Melting Pot, fondue is so yummy. We ate ourselves silly and I went into a chocolate overload that I have yet to recover from.

Pets: Our furry friends are all trying to stay cool this summer. Millie decided to be an escape artist and figured out how to get from "her side" to "our side" of the backyard last week. She'd be found back on the deck in the shade and staring in the window. We've got her escape route closed again now. Casey is wet every time you see her, she loves her kiddie pool and is in and out all the time. Gizmo is permanently attached to one of their A/C vents, it's now where he naps all day long.

Or seen here Gizmo naps on "his pillow" at the bottom of our bed
while I am folding clothes in the bedroom.

There you have it, June happenings at the Tanners. Andy is currently on a "boys weekend" golf trip to South Georgia. I meant to send a camera down there with him too, oops. One more week of June, the summer flies by-

Vampire's Beware!

Tonight I made green bean casserole as part of our supper. We both love it, as does most of our family. It's one of my Mom's favorite foods, she can eat just that for a meal. I digress.... There is a story here, work with me through the recipe.....

Tonight I made green bean casserole and the recipe goes like this:

Mix together:
2 cans of drained green beans
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup of milk OR 1 extra can of cream of mushroom soup (I use soup instead of milk)
2/3 lg. can of french fried onions (cheapie generic brand are best)
dash of salt, pepper and garlic

Pour into casserole dish and bake on 350 for about 35ish minutes, add remaining french fried onions. Bake an additional 5-10 minutes until french fried onions start to brown.

Ok... I tell you all of this to say... I went to sprinkle my garlic powder tonight. I didn't look at it as I popped one side of the lid and sprinkled, all over. As the garlic smell almost made me pass out on the spot, I turned to look. I had "sprinkled" with the side of the jar that is for pouring, not sprinkling. HOLY MOLY!! I tried to dump, scrape, spoon out as much as possible. What can you do, I cooked it anyway.

Whewwww weeeee... there were bites that had so much it could kill you, other bites weren't so bad. Needless to say Andy has brushed his teeth, twice now I think and has chewed half a pack of gum. He said "normally I'd take just that for lunch tomorrow, but what if I had a meeting?" The remaining casserole got tossed tonight. We wont have to worry about vampire's getting us in our sleep, we're protected by a fog of garlic at the Tanner house!!

9th Anniversary
June, 12th 1999 - 2008 @ Noon

It was 9 years ago today that I became Mrs. Andy Lee Tanner. Sometimes it seems like just the other day, more often than not, it seems like 39 years instead! (In a good way ;) It's often hard to remember life before marriage. Andy was my best friend and favorite person on Earth pretty much from the moment I met him. Some people say "marriage is hard", "we have to work at it". I nod my head or smile, I have NO idea what they are talking about. I know that God meant for us to be together and quite frankly, marriage has always been pretty darn easy for us. I'm pretty sure that's the way God intended it to be. We've gone through times that weren't so great, but we go through them together. We've made hard decisions, always figuring things out together.

A few months ago, during an adoption interview, a social worker asked me when we argued how we handled it or what we disagreed on. I thought and thought, I racked my brain, I felt so cheesy and I laughed telling her I couldn't think of a thing and to come back to it. We came back to it and I finally thought of something. We have a very hard time figuring out where to eat when we go out. It's a long drawn out conversation of "what do you want" "I don't know, what do you want" "just pick" "no you pick" "what do you NOT want" "what did you have for lunch" "tell me 3 places and I'll pick" "well, I'll at least take one away and then you can pick" Yep, that's it. That's the only thing we can't agree on and it boils down to, no one wants to decide. I'd say we're doing alright!...Funny thing was, it's the same thing Andy told her too, same story...We were meant to be!!

This isn't to say that our opinions are always the same on things, not at all. It's not to say that we share all the same interests, far from it, we're both quite independent and pretty darn different. It's to say that, these aren't arguments or disagreements. Andy & I cherish the fact that we're different, accept it and never think twice about it. The bond of how we are alike is so great, the rest isn't a thought.

I love this photo of the day. Sums it up great!

June 12, 1999: What a day! I remember when we first started planning the wedding it was so exciting: flowers (tulips!), food (extra choc. covered strawberries), dresses, songs, etc.. By the time it got closer, we were ready to head somewhere for a quick ceremony and just start life as the Mr. & Mrs. I realized it wasn't all about the ceremony, but committing our lives to be together forever. We did have a big 'ole church wedding though and it was quite beautiful, if I do say so myself. Our loved ones were there with big smiles on there faces.

The day started off with my best friend & I grabbing a biscuit @ Martins and heading to my cousin's beauty shop for hair. It was SO EARLY that morning and although I had been really nervous 2 days prior, I was ready to "get on with it" on the morning of the wedding. Meanwhile Andy was having breakfast with his best friend, Gordon and his wife, at IHOP. Then Amy & I headed to the church to finish getting beautiful and start the pictures. It was time to see Andy and the conversation went something like this "you look great" "so do you" "I love you" "I love you too" "I didn't sleep last night" "I was at Walmart with Mom @ midnight" "ready to do this thing" "yep"-

The ceremony was great, makes me smile now to think about it. My little flower girl, God bless Shelby who is a teenager now, was a little hyper. She was playing with her basket, offering it to the pastor and then spread out: hand's folded, head bowed and on her knees for prayer. I had no idea then, but the video sure was funny! My Grand daddy, whom I miss so much, said a welcome and prayed a prayer that was close to the longest on record I'm pretty sure. That makes me smile too! The next big thought is of my Daddy raising my veil, giving me words of wisdom and telling me how much he loved me, right? Um, no! He told me he loved me and "we shoulda done this in Gatlinburg"! Silly man- Priceless!!

Then flash to us lighting the unity candle, symbolizing our lives becoming one with Christ. There was a conversation there that was all about "I can't wait to get to Disney World" "me either" "This time tomorrow we'll be in a park" "I can't wait"

Then it was done, we were Mr. and Mrs. Andy Lee Tanner. I am a blessed woman.

The reception was great. There was fantastic food, a gorgeous (and quite yummy with different flavors) cake and tons of people we loved. We took more pictures, visited and got lots of advice. (No dancing, we're baptist after all. :) Then it was time to get outta there and we were off, to my parents house. We squished my big 'ole dress into the car of the moment, a convertible mustang. We had to stop down the road b/c the girls sash's they tied on the car were blowing over Andy's face and he couldn't see to drive. We arrived at my parents and I remember getting out of the car, leaving beads galore behind. LOL!



We spent the afternoon opening presents and eating food that we didn't get to touch while at the reception, waiting for time to head to the airport. Mom & Dad took us and waved goodbye as we headed on to Orlando. Andy carried a very large, VERY HEAVY bag the entire time. He carried it through Atlanta and through Orlando. From car to plane, from plane to taxi, from taxi to hotel. "What is IN THIS?" he asked over and over. :) We finally made it to our room about 11:00 that night and were for sure wiped out. We sat down to open the heavy bag, LOL!! It was food!! I had got Mom to pack all sorts of left over food, cake and even a GALLON of punch!! Wedding punch by Ms. Melanie (not spiked thank you) is my favorite thing ever. Of course these days you could never travel on a plane with that, Andy couldn't believe he'd been carting around food and punch. LOL.....

We spent a week at Disney World. I was terrified it would be our first and last trip, "would Andy not love Disney like I did?" He hadn't been as much as I had and I was determined we'd do every thing, ride everything (twice), see every show and parade, meet every character, walk every space. It was exhausting!! Andy remembers very little of it and for years later would say "we've never done this before" while @ Disney. I'd remind him we did see it on our honeymoon, he just slept through it. Silly boy-

Little did I know he would love it just as much as me and we'd continue to visit every year, even getting annual passes. (Told you I was blessed!) I had one of those "commit this to memory" moments on a bus, in route to the Magic Kingdom the first morning. I told Andy, I'll remember this moment forever. "I'm married to the man I love with my whole heart, we're about to share a week at my favorite place and I can't imagine being happier."





We had lunch one day at Mama Melrose's. The waitress found out we were newlyweds and made everyone tap their glass with a spoon and we kissed. Awww..... He also wrote this lovely poem, the dork!!



We have lived in one home and bought a second together. We've bought new vehicles and traded for used ones too. We have church hopped, joined two churches that we truly loved, then returned home to our "home" church and our home church family at last. We have made friends, gone on double dates and had cook outs. We've added furry friends to our family. We've had to say goodbye to family we loved and were not ready to let go of, but we've also welcomed new lives to our family and seen that life continues. We've changed jobs, we've found places to work that fit like a glove. We've taken up new hobbies, learned new sports. We've spent weeks at the lake camping, weeks on cruise ships in beautiful Caribbean places, we've played in the snow in the mountains and went to small town festivals all over. I can't imagine anything being greater than the first 9 years together. Now we are getting ready for a new adventure of becoming parents together. We've talked about it, prayed about it and dreamed of it for most of our marriage. Now it feels so close and we are both so excited and can't wait!

Andy is amazing! He's patient, easy going, kind and has a huge heart. He loves animals and thinks kids are so funny. He's smart and wise, those don't always go hand in hand, with him they do. He's funny, a jokester, a typical boy and he makes me laugh (roll my eyes and shake my head too) every single day. He is a family man and knows what's important in life. He loves God and is consistent in his faith. He commits to things 110%. He's an outdoors kinda guy and loves anything outside. He's a busy body and has a hard time sitting still. He loves me, he tells me and shows me daily. He is the love of my life, my best friend, my partner in everything and I love him with my whole heart and I am blessed!!!

"Two people are better than one. They can help each other in everything they do."
Ecc. 4:9

Layla & Tanner
at the ballpark

Andy & his brother, Steve, played on the church softball team this year together. One nephew played as well (Well, one of the teams) Tuesday and/or Thursday nights meant that part of the Tanner clan got together at the ballpark for cheering on the team. (aka: Just getting together to talk, hang out and glance at the game now and then.)




I did intend to take a team photo, I never got to that. I did take pictures of Tanner & Layla though. LOL, imagine that! Tanner smiles all the time, camera or no camera. Layla smiles, laughs and jokes continuously...other than when you pull out a camera.

Lots of walks around the field, digging in the dirt and other such ball park fun!!

Nassau

I keep forgetting to finish my trip report, I know some of you are on the edge of your seats. Ha-ha-ha. Our 2nd and last port was Nassau, this was our 8th time there. I joked with some of you that when we get off the ship they say "oh the Tanners, welcome back mon'". I spent the weeks prior to going back on cruise critic trying to see what we should do. We have spent our times there: twice just walking around, 1 carriage ride, 1 beach day at Black Beard's, 2 sting ray adventures at Black Beard's and one glass bottom boat trip. Everyone says "you've never been to Atlantis?". Nope, we've still never done that. My parents go to Atlantis when they are with us, but we've never ventured to Paradise Island at all. Various reasons...

This trip I had my ideas narrowed down. We ate breakfast and waited around a bit for the early risers to get off the ship, no sense waiting in lines.


You can see the Atlantis behind us:



Then we headed off. We walked around a bit downtown for awhile. I always laugh because they have everything we do: Subway, McDonald's, Burger King, Starbucks, etc.. I had to use a restroom (imagine that) and decided to check out the Starbuck's. It's soooo nice in there, just like one at home. It's upstairs and covers the tops of an entire row of stores. It's HUGE. They have free wireless internet, tons of comfy couches and chairs and you'd think you were at your Starbuck's at home.



Our plan was to catch the #10 Jitney (city bus for $1) to head to Cable Beach. On our way to find the bus we decided that the Hilton British Colonial was just right there and we had rather just stay there than catch a bus and find somewhere else to hit the beach. It's so close to the British Colonial, you can see the ships from there. We'd looked at it many times from the ship and wanted to check it out anyway. The hotel is very pretty and we walked straight through the lobby and out back to the pool area. It's great! There are hammocks in the shade trees everywhere, looked like a great place to nap. Then we talked to the pool/beach guys and realized we had to pay for our day pass in the lobby. Andy paid while I picked a spot. (There were TONS of chairs open, plenty to choose from) I found us chairs with a tiki hut shade & table too, Andy was pleased.



It was $20 for the day, each. We were able to use their towels, chairs, pool chairs, pool and restroom facilities. It was well worth it and so convenient. There was also a bar/grille there where we ate lunch. They had all sorts of sandwiches, seafood. salads, burgers and that sort of thing. It was a little pricey, I think my salad was $6 and Andy's conch fritters about $8. It was easier than walking back to the ship though, all was good.




The views were great and we enjoyed watching the boat traffic come and go. The boats are back and forth continuously for excursions and water taxis to and from Paradise Island. From time to time you can hear the music from Senor Frogs next door and it's a great day. They had sand toys there for the kids to play with and everyone there was super nice. It wasn't crowded at all, about 30 people out there all day.



When we were ready to head back, about 5:30, we walked back through town and stopped at some of our favorite stores. I'd hoped to find a pink swim suit cover up that I'd seen last month, but of course it was gone. We have some stores that we tend to stop in each time we're there and look for new ones too.

I would recommend this to anyone, anytime and any age. It's an easy walk to get there, no taxi or bus ride, much cheaper than a beach excursion from the ship and fantastic day.

Looking back at where we were, from the ship:



We planned to eat dinner and hop back off the ship and maybe check out Atlantis. We were there until 5:30 AM the following morning. By the time we ate, watched a show and hung out awhile though... we decided we didn't want to head back out after all. We watched the sun set from the back, our favorite little sitting area.




Another great day in Nassau, we really enjoy it there.

Approved and Officially Waiting

We are thrilled to be 100% approved by everyone who is involved! Our website should be linked very soon and our letters are on their way to the main office, we're "in the book"! We're waiting on our baby to find us! Thanks for your prayers, support and love!!

Freeport / Port Lucaya

Okee Dokee, seems I haven't blogged about our two port days on the most recent cruise.

We went to Freeport first. Freeport is an industrial port, nothing to look at for sure. I remember when we went there on our first cruise and it was Andy's first view of the Bahamas. (I had been before) He wasn't impressed. There is nothing to do or see when you step off, you must go somewhere!

Thankfully, I have very reliable friends @ Cruise Critic that hook me up on fantastic information. (Did I just say "hook me up"??) They've always steered me in the right direction!

We hopped off a little while after docking and breakfast, let the ones in a hurry move along. We hopped off and asked the super nice gentleman right off from the ship where we should wait on a taxi to Lucaya. There was a large grassy area right there beside the paved turn around for the taxis and buses. Buses for excursions to the right, taxis to the left. We waited about 5 minutes for the next taxi/van.

I get motion sick, BIG time in cars or vans!! So I asked the super sweet driver if I could sit in the front, of course "no problem 'mon". He didn't say that, but let me of course. It's $5 per person, one way to Lucaya. Not so bad! We were off... The ride is about 15 minutes, nothing scary or crazy either. (Unlike the St. Thomas mountain drives or Nassau crazy people) They do drive on the left and when turning it does tend to shock me each time.

They drop you off directly in front of the Isle of Capri Casino, which is very nice. (looking through the door anyway) You can walk directly across the street and there is the market place. It's a very pretty, clean, nice little area for eating or shopping. They have everything from t-shirts to jewelry, knick knacks to cameras. There are all sorts of places to eat from Quiznos & Subway, to local cafe's. You can eat burgers, hot dogs, chicken, sandwiches, salads, seafood, you name it. Inside or out, all up to you.


The market place area, not a fantastic picture. It is very nice! Of course I see yellow tape in my picture , I would get the only spot where they were working. They were working on patching part of the pavement & roof though, upkeep is important there.



There is a straw market there as well, you've seen one and you've seen them all though. We have been "over" them for quite some time. At the back there is a great marina, it looks like you're in Florida. There are beautiful boats galore. You can also take snorkel, sight seeing, fishing trips back there... like from a pier in Florida or something. Very pretty!!


The marina area, the resort way behind us is a place where they offer dolphin excursions: swim with and just experiences with. Such a pretty area!!



Then we decided to hit the beach. Back across the road, right beside the casino is a resort called "Our Lucaya". It's one resort, made up of two hotels. The Westin & the Sheraton. (You can google either hotel or Our Lucaya resort) It's wide open, you just walk through down a sort of board walk area. You walk straight back to the beach. You can pay $15 a day per person and use all of their facilities. You get a beach chair, chairs by the pool (with big ole comfy cushions) use of the pools and restroom facilities. They give you an armband. So we spend $40 for the day total and it was fantastic!!! Oh and right back in front of the casino to catch a taxi back, waited 5 minutes and had a really funny lady driver, she was a hoot!! She was talking about sharks and why she wont go in the water, cracking me up.

The view from my chair!



This is the Westin, looking up from the beach. It's kind of cloudy already that day, not a great picture. You can see the pool a little bit.



We came home to immediately look online and look into flying down and staying right there. It is such a great place. Andy said the entire day "I can NOT believe how nice this is" He didn't expect it to be so pretty, it is! (MUCH nicer, neater, than Nassau. And we love Nassau don't get me wrong!) We are also looking at taking this same exact cruise again and doing the same things! Both of us would recommend it to anyone, anytime of any age!!

It did end up raining on us that afternoon and we had to cut our day a little short, but it was fantastic just the same!