Our Life has been a Roller Coaster (long post)

It's been quite a while since I have posted anything to the blog. To be honest, there hasn't been a lot to blog about... some of the highlights since the last post...Stephen lost his job, we had a 30th birthday party at our house, a trip to the Rattlesnake Rodeo (for Dianna, not Stephen), then we hosted our families for Easter dinner, Stephen got a new job, we had to replace the HVAC unit for the house, and we made a big decision. Whew! It 's been quite a ride over the past few months. We've had so many ups and downs, it's been like a roller coaster!

Let's start with Stephen. After 7 years in the newspaper business, things came to a sudden end in March. First, in September, he gave his contract up as an independent contractor. All home delivery distributors were being eliminated and he thought the timing was right. But shortly thereafter, a single-copy distributor hired him. No big changes-- except that he was no longer the boss and he actually got one day off every week! I was ecstatic to say the least. Then, one Friday in March, she called and said sales were down and she had to cut someone on her team-- you know the adage- last one hired, first one fired. But he continued with his part-time job and looked for something else. Well, to both of our surprises, he interviewed with a local restaurant and was hired as a management trainee! The restaurant is called Taziki's Greek Fare and he is training at the UAB location. It is a great opportunity and we are both happy! The last few months have given a renewed sense in our relationship-- it's the most time we've spent together in years!

We hosted a couple of events in late March and early April. First was the big 30th birthday celebration for our friend, Amanda. It was an 80's themed basement party, complete with 80's music, hair styles, and fashion! Madonna was in attendance, as was John and Ponch from CHiPs. The night was filled with fun! It will be difficult to top this party!

Then the next weekend, Dianna and Amanda went to Opp for the 49th annual Rattlesnake Rodeo. It was a blast-- we tried some fried rattlesnake, saw a couple of rattlesnake races, watched a greased pole climb and buck dancing competition, and did a lot of people watching. Anyone who knows anything about Stephen, there should be no question why he didn't attend-- he absolutely LOATHES snakes.

The next weekend was Easter. A family tradition is that each of the ladies in my family has one holiday that she is responsible for each year. My holiday is Easter. We had my family as well as most of Stephen's family in attendance. As usual, it was exhausting, but a success.

Next, a run of bad luck. I had an allergic reaction to an antibiotic, Baxter was injured, then our HVAC went out in our house. Of these, the HVAC was the most devastating! The repair man said he could put a "band-aid" on our old system, but he did not recommend it due to the age of our unit. So, 8 hours and a few thousand dollars later, we got a new HVAC unit. Our house is much more comfortable now than it has been in the 3 years that we've lived here.

So, after all of this, we've made a big decision. We are no longer pursuing an international adoption or an agency adoption. As many of you know, the international adoption was called off months ago after we hit roadblock after roadblock. The agency adoption has not gotten off of the ground since November-- partly our fault, partly due to our circumstances mentioned above. BUT, we have made the decision to become foster parents. We've attended the initial orientation and we have a series of 10 classes to complete before we can move forward. The classes start this Thursday. We feel like this will be the path that will get us to our forever family. So, Amelia Quest may be over...now it is simply Baby Quest!

Where's Obama?

Picking up where I left off after the last post...

My sister and I have this "tradition" that we started several years ago. When one of our nieces or nephew (only 1 of those) graduates from high school, we take them on a trip. We decide where we go based on the personality of the person. Thus far, we've taken Jordan to Chicago, Alexa to Philadelphia, Amanda to New York, and this time, we took Adam to Washington DC. According to him, we couldn't have picked a better place! We left on Wednesday, March 18 (of course, we were delayed in Birmingham and did not make our scheduled flight in Atlanta). But, we finally made it-- just a couple of hours later than we had planned. It was the first time that he flew on a commercial airplane and the first time he rode the subway! Both were a big hit!

The first day in DC, we went to the Capitol, then to the Pentagon, then the Arlington National Cemetary, and finally ended up walking the monuments at night. Needless to say, I about passed out from exhaustion when we got back to the hotel.

The next day, Friday, we went to the Bureau fo Engraving and Printing, the White House, the Postal Museum, Union Station, and the Library of Congress. From all of the times I've visited DC, I had never toured the Library...but I must say, it may be my absolute favorite place there! We had a late tour and had to leave when they closed, but if I go back, I will definitely visit again and recommend it to everyone that goes.

On Saturday, we let Adam decide which of the museums we were going to tour. He decided on the Air and Space Museum. We were there for 5 hours. Then we breezed through the Natural History Museum and flew through the American History Museum enough to see the Trade Towers beam.

And no, we did not see Obama. We did, however, see Marine 1 helicopters in route to the White House. We know he was there...but we just didn't see him. All in all, it was a great trip. Adam is a good kid and we are blessed to have him in our lives. I wish him good luck after graduation and into college!

March Madness

March was a little more hectic than February. It seems like we had something to do every weekend.

First, I had to take an inspection trip for work to the Gulf Coast (I know, I know, but somebody HAD to do it!). Stephen was able to get a couple of days off from work, so he went with me. So on a Sunday afternoon, we headed to Gulf Shores. And, of course, our first stop was the Original Oyster House for some shrimp. Is it just me, or does shrimp taste better during the cold season? Anywho, then Monday, I did my inspection and we headed east toward Destin. What a beautiful drive! Although it was a bit longer than we expected.

Destin was the first official vacation spot that we went to after we got married. My how things have changed in the last 14 years! Destin is not the same as it was back then. Stephen has more memories of Destin than I do-- that's where his family vacationed when he was young. We spent the remainder of the day at the marina and at the beach. It was a glorious afternoon and we enjoyed the few moments we had in the sun.

We love the beach!

Our Little Cabin in the Woods

I know it has been a while since I have blogged about anything. But, I thought it was time to get everyone caught up. My last post was in February, so that seems like a great place to start.



For Valentine's weekend, I wanted to do something special for Stephen-- it has been a while since we went anywhere together. I looked on VRBO and found a quaint little cabin on the lake. My main criteria for finding a place was that it had to be within 2.5 hours of home (otherwise, we would have just gone to the beach!). So, the place I found was at Lake Wedowee. It was super cute-- and the man we rented from was really nice. Look at http://www.papabearscabin.com/-- we stayed in Cabin #1. Although it was too cold to get out on the lake, just the view from the porch was enough to make us feel relaxed. I tried a new recipe for baked ziti (it was wonderful--I'll share it with you if you ask).



Here are a few pictures from the cabin in the woods-- literally, in the woods, out in the middle of nowhere.

cute and quaint
View of the lake
View of the lake from the screened porch.



February-- THE END.