You never fail me Amazon.com

I'm a little late, but I am finally reading the Harry Potter Series (I'm only 2 years behind everyone else). I was waiting for the last book to come out in paperback. I just started book seven, and I can't wait to see how things turn out.Since I was on Amazon.com (I love you so much!!!), I purchased a few other items. Like I could stop at one!

This is my favorite book from my childhood, well more like my little brother's childhood. I used to read it to him ALL THE TIME. I can still quote the first two pages... "A told B and B told C, I'll meet you at the top of the coconut tree. Whee, said D to E, F, G. I'll beat you to the top of the coconut tree. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, will there be enough room?"
Then I saw they did another book and I had to get it. It's pretty cute (except long hair 70, he's kind of scary.)


I also purchased this bath pillow. I haven't tried it yet, but I hope it makes the tub a little more comfortable. I also ordered the prize for my giveaway. I am so excited!!! But I'm trying to decide when to do it. We have some busy weekends planned so I'm still not sure when it will be, but keep checking back.

Fishing

#31 See & Do

Go Fishing

Today we went fishing with Josh's family at Big Sandwash Reservoir.

WE HAD A BLAST!!!

The whole point of the trip was to help Preston catch his first fish...and guess who helped him.

I helped him catch three fish (because I'm the best, or just have good luck), and he caught another fish with his daddy and with his grandpa.

Josh wanted to catch more crawdads (which Preston calls crabbits, so now we all call them crabbits...). Unfortunately the water has gone down, way down. As in like maybe 10 feet. We thought we would have to worry about Preston in the water, but instead we had to worry about keeping him off the edge of the cliffs. But Josh was determined to catch some "crabbits" so each time one was on the line he would climb down this boulder to get them. He spent most of his time doing that. The rest of the his time he spent untangling hooks and lines. He will be such an awesome father some day.

16 and Pregnant

MTV has a series called "16 and Pregnant." I just found out that I can watch last nights episode on line. Last night the couple choose to make an adoption plan. If you have 45 minutes go HERE and watch it.


Here are some of my thoughts as I watched it.


I love how when they get to the agency they immediately talk about having an open adoption with continue communication. That is something new in the adoption world, and I don't think many people understand that after an adoption you can keep contact with the birth parents. Thank you for letting the world know it is possible.


I love how Tyler stands up to his dad and declares that his child deserves better than what they have. I love how Tyler is putting his child before himself. What selfless love these two have for their little girl. I love how they realize that this child will need more than love to do well in this world.


I loved watching them meet their birth parents. I know that someday we will get to do that, but I am so nervous. I also loved how they continued to get to know each other. I love that Tyler and Catelynn made their little girl a scrapbook, what a great idea!


Tyler's letter! I can't stop crying. I have been so impressed by Tyler. What an outstanding young man.

I wish their parents would have been more supportive. How sad for Tyler and Catelynn. The fact that they went through with their plan speaks volumes of how mature they really are, unlike their parents who threw immature tantrums and tried guilt trips.

I am so heart broken from them. Especially that Catelynn thought it would be easier if she never saw her little girl. I'm so glad she changed her mind and held her little girl.

I have mixed feelings about their case worker. She was so awesome in the beginning, helping them find a family and giving them so much support. But then in the delivery room she seemed kind of pushy. I realize the adoptive couple is waiting outside, but they will get this little girl for the rest of their lives. Catelynn and Tyler should be able to have some time to themselves so give this girl all their love.

Unfortunately the hateful comments have started. Please go leave these wonderful people some positive love.

Lessons Learned

I was just listening to Pandora Radio and this song by Carrie Underwood came on.

I LOVE IT!

Lessons Learned

There's some things that I regret,

Some words I wish had gone unsaid,

Some starts,

That had some better endings,

Been some bad times I've been through,

Damage I cannot undo.

Some things,

I wish I could do all all over again,

But it don't really matter,

When life gets that much harder,

It makes you that much stronger,

Oh, some pages turned,

Some bridges burned,

But there were,

Lessons learned.

And every tear that had to fall from my eyes,

And everyday I wondered how I'd get through the night,

Every change, life has thrown me,

I'm thankful, for every break in my heart,

I'm grateful, for every scar,

Some pages turned,

Some bridges burned,

But there were lessons learned.

There's mistakes that I have made,

Some chances I just threw away,

Some roads,

I never should have taken,

Been some signs I didn't see,

Hearts that I hurt needlessly,

Some wounds,

That I wish I could have one more chance to mend,

But it don't make no difference,

The past can't be rewritten,

You get the life you're given,

Oh, some pages turned,

Some bridges burned,

But there were,

Lessons learned.

And every tear that had to fall from my eyes,

And everyday I wondered how I'd get through the night,

Every change, life has thrown me,

I'm thankful, for every break in my heart,

I'm grateful, for every scar,

Some pages turned,Some bridges burned,

But there were lessons learned.

And all the things that break you,

Are the things that make you strong!

You can't change the past,

Cause it's gone.

And you just gotta move on,

Because it's all Lessons learned.

And every tear that had to fall from my eyes,

From everyday I wondered how I'd get through the night,

From every change, life has thrown me.

I'm thankful, for every break in my heart,

I'm grateful, for every scar,

Some pages turned,

Some bridges burned,

But there were lessons learned,

Oh, some pages turned,

Some bridges burned,

But there were lessons learned.

I must get to the bookstore!

Do I contradict myself by offering to sell books, and then follow that up with a post about some books I HAVE TO OWN?

While I was browsing the Internet trying to find links to all of my books for sale, I found that two of my favorite authors have new books out.

Betsy Brannon Green, what can I say except, I have been hooked to her books since "Hearts in Hiding." I'm so excited to see she has a new book out.

If I had to choose my favorite book that wasn't written by Marcia Lynn McClure it would be "Counting Stars," the first book my Michelle Paige Holmes. I couldn't put the book down. It made me laugh and cry. I will be on the bookstore's door first thing in the morning to buy her newest book.
Now the trick will be to walk in and purchase JUST THESE TWO BOOKS! That is a big task for me.

Beautiful Baby Boutique

My friend Meka has started a store for her incredibly cute baby hair bows, flowers, and other accessories. I know I could make this kind of stuff, but I keep buying when I need them because it's easier. I'll have to start buying from her because her prices are awesome!

See, sometimes I do blog highlights just because I like them, not because I want to win something.

Update on my own giveaway, I ordered something today from Amazon.com (because we all know how much I LOVE them!) that I plan to use in an upcoming contest.

Adoption Voices

There is a new website for EVERYONE involved in adoption. Its like Facebook, but for adoption. They have groups for couples looking to adopt, birth parents, adoptees, all sorts of groups. You can check it out at Adoption Voices. Don't forget to add me as a friend!

See & Do Details

A few of my faithful followers have asked about the "See & Do" that Josh and I are participating in. It is sponsored by our local newspaper. They have gone through the three counties and made a list of 101 Things to See & Do in our area. The rules are that you see & do as many things as possible on the list. To prove you did them you have to either have a receipt or a picture, both with dates. The contest goes from June 16th to September 30th. It includes a wide variety of things. Some our schedules events, like town celebrations. Others are more complicated like climb King's Peak. Then they have simple things, like enjoying a snow cone, sunset, and fireworks.

When we first got our booklet, I thought it would be a great thing to do because we would be able to get more pictures of us and use them in our adoption profile. The prizes sound awesome, but I really don't know if we will win. The book was supposed to come out around June 1st, but they have publication problems and had to push it back which meant push the start date back also. When we got the book a few of the celebrations were that weekend, and we couldn't fit them into our schedule. Then I got sick, and we missed out on a few more things.

After we missed yet another thing this weekend (we were exhausted from our yard sale) and due to the fact that some of the activities are about 2 hours from home, we have decided we won't do this to win, but we are going to continue on with the list and accomplish as much as we can. We have had so much fun so far. Pelican Lake has been our favorite so far.

To the nice person who complimented my shirts, THANK YOU! I love clothes shopping, and my favorite place is The Dress Barn. I would make the store my closet if I could.

Snowcones

#101 See & Do

Taste the rainbow The last thing on the See & Do list is to eat a snow cone. We usually do this several times a summer so it was an easy thing to knock off the list. When we asked the girl to take our picture she said that several people have had her to that, so a lot of people must be trying to do the list this summer.

Fishing at Sandwash Reservoir

Before our yard sale yesterday, we decided to get up early (before the sun) and go fishing. But the early rise was worth it, just to watch the sunrise. We ended up only having one fishing pole so we took turns. Josh did catch a bigger fish, but it fell off the line while I was getting the camera out. Later he caught this little guy. We threw him back and told him to grow big for next year.
I got the biggest fish of the day.

We thought the mountains looked pretty so we took another picture.

Yard Sale

This weekend we had a yard sale at my mom's house to raise some money for our adoption. We made about $350 dollars. I would have liked to have made more, but the week before I kept having nightmares that we would only raise $30 so I guess we did pretty good. We only had my clothes, but they sold pretty good. One lady actually thanked me for once being her size. I thought my books would sell better than they did. I only asked $5 and I thought that was a deal since they are about $12 new. Josh couldn't believe I sold some books, but I would rather be a mother than have a large book collection. Besides, I kept my absolute favorites (which is still a TON of books). My family donated quite a few things to the yard sale. Thank you so much! My mom even sold her trampoline and donated the money to us.

My brother likes to tease his cat. His torment on Friday was to have a sign taped to him. He wasn't sure what to think about it. John said he wouldn't really sell him, not even for $200, but I would have! Well, maybe not, but only if the offer had been a lot of money.

Happy Fourth of July

#67 See & Do

Watch the Night Sky Light Up

We both had fun last night. We each had a camera and took pictures of the fireworks.

I also took a few pictures of the moon last night.

Throw a Strike

#54 See & Do

Throw a Strike

Josh threw a TON more strikes than I did. We played four rounds and he won each time...by quite a bit.

Pelican Lake (again)

We had so much fun a few weeks ago at Pelican Lake, that we decided to go again. We caught a total of 23 fish!
Josh was so excited that he called his grandpa Mike before we were even out of the lake.

Tamiflu should be a diet drug

Firstly, because if you need this drug, lets face it: you are too sick to be eating anyway. You cut out tons of calories when you are this sick. And don't worry, if you suddenly think you are well enough to eat, your body will remind you that you aren't and it will do what it needs to reverse your eating efforts.

When you do start to actually feel better after a few days rest, Tamiflu is still there. If you take the pill without food, it will make you think you are sick once again and you will desire no food. Or if you read the label and see that this pill should be taken with food, you will eat as little as possible because Tamiflu makes it all taste the same... like crap. Even chocolate will no longer taste good while Tamiflu is in your system.

But despite that, I am glad to be feeling better. The first half of the week is a blur to me. I may or may not have napped in the doctor's office and followed that with a good, long cry on the phone with hubby (that freaked him out) because I was still tired. That or maybe I cried because I was informed that I had the Type 1 Influenza and should avoid ALL people. A lot of good that did me. I had to hitch a ride to the doctor because my car wouldn't start, and now that person is sick.

I also made sure to have a mattress in the front room so I could sleep in front of the TV when I was sick of sleeping in the bed. And that must be a lot of sleeping, because I never tire of sleeping in my bed, well except after countless hours... I was even to sick to do any of my favorite relaxing activities such as: read, crochet, or even soak in the tub. How sick can a person get?

Oh, and despite his best efforts (like drinking from my cup, trying to kiss me, insisting that he really does get more sleep with me coughing on him than if I were to sleep in another room, and even taking his temperature "just for fun," right after I did) Josh didn't get sick. That is so unfair! Well, maybe not. Just because I suffered doesn't mean he should to. We all know how men get when they don't feel well...

We haven't rescheduled our camping trip yet, but we will soon. After an entire week off of work, I get to return to the work force on Monday and that is when I will beg for more days off so we can take our long awaited trip.