Blizzards of 2010

We are finally through the back to back blizzards that hit the DC area. I take back what I said about liking snow in my last post. I am ready to be done with it. The federal government has been closed all week so I have been off work. Cabin fever has set in.

Friday was a good day - got my shopping, cleaning, and laundry all done (even folded it). Then my friend Stephanie came over and we had dinner and watched Fireproof. It was my second time seeing it, but it made me cry just as much the second time. I highly recommend this movie - really reminds you of the blessing of marriage and the importance of choosing to act in a loving manner toward your spouse.

Saturday morning, Stephanie and I were able to get some stuff done on a North Korean missions project.

And then we lost power :(

It got down to 45 degrees in our house. However, we have much to be thankful for in that we had a fireplace and just enough wood to get us through the evening. John had the wonderful idea of putting blankets up over the doorways in the living room to keep in the warmth of the fire. He staple gunned them up! We made the best of it, read until it got to dark, and then talked until it was time to go to bed. For dinner we had MREs (meals ready to eat)! My friend Stephanie had never had them so John and I decided to oblige her request. For those who don't know MREs are what you eat when you are out in the field in the military. It was actually kind of fun. It was like we were camping in my living room. We ended up getting almost 2 feet of snow!

Thankfully, we got power back on Sunday afternoon. I was able to get caught up on my perspectives class homework on Sunday afternoon so that was a good thing. But by Monday and Tuesday I was in a complete funk after being stuck inside for so many days.

On Tuesday evening through Wednesday, we got round 2 of the snow. This time it was less snow (about 10 more inches), but way more windy, which was scary.

To get out of my funk, I got in some exercise (Leslie Sansone DVD) and spent some time reading the Bible over these last couple of days. I am kind of mad at myself for not making better use of my time. I should have planned out some projects or got caught up on my correspondence (I am always behind - comes with moving around a lot I think). I was going to try to work from home this week, but I was completed unmotivated so I think I am going to end up taking a week of unpaid leave. On the plus side, John and I were able to spend a lot more time together since he was off school. It really helped him to get caught up and de-stress a little bit.

Here are a few pictures of our camp-out and the snow.

After losing power:



Heating up the MREs:


The day after the first storm:







In the midst of the second blizzard:


I heard we have a chance of snow on Monday :(

All of this reminded me of the blessings I have that I don't always remember to thank God for: a warm house, a fireplace, the finances to go buy more firewood (it is not cheap in the DC area), enough food, water, electricity. And most of all a wonderful husband whose has worked very hard clearing away snow and making sure we had all we needed to weather these storms.

Snowed In

We have a huge snow storm on the way; they are predicting 20-30 inches by Saturday! All my weekend plans have been canceled as a result. One of are plans was to attend the Lunar New Year celebration at Korean United Methodist Church on Saturday, but it has been rescheduled for March. They hold the celebration for adoptive families to help them expose their children to Korean culture. I really hope we get stationed somewhere (we won't know until about March 2011) where there will be events like this. But I actually love snow so I am not too upset.

I have invited one of my friends over so she won't have to be snowed in by herself. The new plan is to hunker down and watch movies. Should be fun!

Not much else going on. I am in much better spirits. I had to remind myself of my own blog name, day by day. Take things one day at at time, keep my eyes fixed on my Savior, and keeping fighting the good fight of faith. I remember reading on someone's blog that adoption was not for the faint of heart. I am finding that to be a true statement. But I also know it will be so worth it in the end when we are holding our child.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

We are in the midst of a huge snow storm. Thankfully most of our Christmas shopping is done, just need to get some stuff for Christmas stockings and dinner. It will just have to wait till next week. We are definitely going to stay in today, maybe read a book and sit by a fire. John is outside right now shoveling the sidewalk and driveway along with our neighbors. It's interesting, people are not usually very neighborly in DC. One of the only times is when it snows. It is one of the things I have always liked about the snow in this area. Neither of us has read a book for fun in a while so we are looking forward to a relaxing day inside.

Pictures of our house were requested along time ago which I never got around to until now. Better late than never! It is not super clear because the snow is still coming down pretty hard, but here is our house.

Trying to keep ahead of the storm (unfortunately during the time since taking this picture another inch or two has already fallen)

In other news, we finished our self studies! Both of ours ended up being 12 typed pages. I actually enjoyed the process for the opportunity for introspection it provided. I have really turned around my thinking where this is concerned. Initially, I was feeling a bit resentful about having to go through all of this to have a child when it is so easy for most people. I have begun to think of this process as a "get to" rather than a "have to." Most people don't get this type of preparation for parenting. We are getting to think about and ask ourselves questions that will help us and our child so much. Last Friday we attended the pre-adoption class and Monday evening we went to hear a panel of adult adoptees share their experiences 0f being part of a transracial family. We learned so much and I look forward to sharing the info in a future post.

I believe our last reference letter has been sent. We are only waiting for our Maryland child abuse clearance; apparently it is taking them about 6 weeks to get these back. Florida took 1 week :) enough said. As soon as this clearance arrives, we should be assigned a social worker and then have our interviews and home visit. Making progress!