The Grand Bahama

I have been absolutely soaking up our time in Florida this year!  It has been really good for me... and an excellent diversion to the waiting game :)  So, it was a wonderful treat when my momma and I got to take off on a mini cruise vacation to the Grand Bahama Island!  It was a fabulous little hiatus and I truly enjoyed it all.  We chose to visit "the Garden of the Groves" for our shore excursion ~ which was very beautiful!!  If you know my mom at all, you know she LOVES flowers (I really don't think I can emphasize that enough)... so this seemed like the perfect place to visit together... and I think it was :)

When we were on the ship, we enjoyed many different types of food... and lots and LOTS of fruit (or "fluit" as Charlie would call it)... and we enjoyed it all!

This is the ONLY picture I have of mom & I together... I'm so glad we got it :)  My only regret on the whole trip was when a man actually asked to take a picture of mom & I near the beach, while we were on the island.  I hadn't been looking for that "photo opp" and he took me off guard.  So, I answered in haste.  And as mom always told me, "haste makes waste" ... this is a little different take on it ~ but it was certainly a wasted opportunity to have my picture taken with one of my favorite women in the world!!  We enjoy each other tremendously :)

 

I felt incredibly blessed over the entire trip and I am so thankful to have had that special time together!  God is so good to me :)

Thanks, mom, for a great 3 days together!! 

p.s.  I look forward to doing it again someday... soon :)

No daddy... and a trip to the local medical clinic.

Sunday morning, the kids and I packed daddy up and took him to the Fort Myers airport.  He'll be gone all week :(  But I know I shouldn't complain... he left me in Florida, at a beautiful condo with a pool!  I feel incredibly spoiled!!

But something was bound to happen.  It seems things like this always tend to happen when daddy is out of pocket.  Monday afternoon Sammy and Zoe were playing together in the pool.  They were jumping off the side (the bottom ledge) backwards into the pool.  They would look at each other, count and jump like little pencils.  It was adorable.  So cute, in fact that I thought I better snap a picture! So, I quickly grabbed my camera, turned it on, began turning towards them... when I heard a scream.  Now, if you know Zoe you know that you cannot differentiate between an upset cry and a really hurt cry.  So, I calmly turned my camera off, put it away, and began walking around the pool to see what the matter was.  When I was about 1/3 way around, I realized the crying was becoming more intense - oh no, this could be serious - so I started jogging to her.  By the time I got to her, there was a pale pink cloud all around her in the pool.  This WAS serious.  Blood was pouring from her mouth and I couldn't tell where all, but it was time to run.  I grabbed her out of the pool, and quickly carried her into the restroom. (Thank goodness my mom was there with me so she could keep an eye on the other 3 still in the pool!)  It was there that I made a fatal mistake.  I set her down to grab some paper towels... right. in. front. of. the. mirror.  What was I thinking??  She completely wigged out!  And rightfully so... she was covered in blood.  She had split her chin open (or so it appeared). 

Which warranted a trip to...

When we got there, the lady behind the counter told me they were closed!  What?!?? We would have to go to the Fort Myers ER (maybe an hour drive, plus 4+ hours wait).  This was not ok.  So, I turned back around and said, "Are you a nurse?"  She sweetly responded, "No, but did you want me to take a quick look at it?"  Yes, please!  So, both she and a nurse looked at it and said stitches probably weren't necessary and would not be a good option since it was so jagged.  Completely gross.  So instead of a labor-intensive trip to the hospital, we were able to stop by our local CVS on the beach and purchase several dollars worth of super-strength antibiotic ointment, pain reliever, and multiple types of bandaids (including hello kitty and waterproof ones - we do want to go swimming again while daddy is gone!).

What a day!  Thankfully we had been to the post office & the library that morning.  We mailed off our referral acceptance (it is in Alison's hands today!) and then stocked up on books and dvd's.  Thank goodness!!  Because today had to be a no swimming kinda day.  Instead we took a walk... which ended with Charlie falling "a head-over-heels kinda fall" whilst running across the pavement.  Nice.  He's got road-burns and several scrapes to show for it, but- "No, Charlie, we don't have to go to the doctor!"

Referral Acceptance & Celebration!!

Saturday, February 12

I woke at 7am and couldn't get back to sleep (even though I'd slept for less than 6 hours at that point!). We had a big day ahead of us :)  We had a few challenges (like no printer, scanner or fax machine on the premises), but they were no match for us!  We uploaded all our documents we needed to print to Kinkos website (really cool app, by the way)... there were several adoption papers, plus tickets to the Naples Zoo :)

We picked up the documents at a Kinkos in Naples.  We stayed inside and filled a few out right there so we could fax them immediately. 

Next, we decided to eat an early lunch before jumping into our day at the zoo.  We found a great little cafe in the same shopping plaza.  It was fabulous :)

And finally... off to the zoo!! We all had a wonderful day looking at alligators, tigers, monkeys, and so much more!  We took a boat ride there and watched a few feedings.  It was a great day for our animal-loving crew :)

We left at closing time and then we went to one of our favorite restaurants for our referral celebration dinner at...

The kids had never been to one before and we thought it fitting to eat a Chinese meal :)  The kids had a great time and the food was excellent (as usual)!!!  It was super fun to watch the kids use their chopsticks ... they all did surprisingly well!

 

 

 







On top of the fun day and awesome meal(s), God blessed us in another huge way during our celebration weekend... it seemed everywhere we went (even in the restroom!) we had people stop us and ask about our "big" family. They were amazed we were so young with so many - and that we were adding another!!  But everyone was rejoicing and ENCOURAGING us!!!  If you've got more than 2 kids, you've probably had a few unkind remards in your day (like- "do you know what causes that?" - well, we have).  But God made this weekend incredibly special for us.  Not even a nasty look.  Only praise and encouragement from complete strangers.  Huge smiles and well wishes.  I only wish Lily could've been there!

We have prayed for many years that our family could show God's love to this world... and as that prayer was being answered this weekend, it blessed us abundantly!!!  To God be the glory!