Okay...all classes are completed!!! We are now waiting on the background check and the home study! Matt's best optimistic guess on a timeframe is June. Mine is less optimistic, but I think that any time this calendar year will be good! :-)
We're so excited...the room is completely ready! We're doing little things to get the house ready. Matt has turned into Bob Vila and is doing a really great job.
This week, I found some very inspiring songs by Steven Curtis Chapman about adoption. I have to say that when I heard the one called "All I Really Want" (a song from a foster child's perspective when talking to Santa Claus), I sat in my office and bawled my eyes out. I know that God already knows which child or children we will bring into our home...I just hope He will give them a little glimmer of hope in their hearts. And I hope they're in our house by Christmas; I want to give them the best Christmas of their lives!!!
Anyway, here's the video--grab the Kleenex first, though! :-)
So, I'll try to keep you updated, but please keep us in your thoughts and prayers...and if you have any thoughts or prayers to spare, please pray for the kids that are out there that need a permanent home! And now, to quote the Golden Girls, "Thank you for being a friend!" ;-)
When Love Takes You In | 0 comments»
Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 7:17 AM
An Anomaly | 2 comments»
Friday, October 24, 2008 at 6:53 AM
Not that anybody's reading but... | 6 comments»
I just want to quickly blog and say I had the absolute best time today. Three of my very best friends (Danielle, Julie, and Marisa) and I piled into Marisa's van, along with Julie's adorable son Tripp and Danielle's two wonderful children, Owen and Hannah. We drove to my best friend Cindy's house in Beckley where we got to see Cindy and her husband Chris, as well as Izzy and Sophie (her two fun and hilarious kids) and her new 1-month old little girl, Suzi. :-) I also got to meet Becky and Andy Nutter, who were very nice.
Anyway, we swam in Cindy's fantastic pool and we talked about old times and how amazed we were at how fast time flies. It was a fantastic day!
But honestly, it zapped me. I've been fighting sleep since 8:00 p.m.!!! And so I'm no longer fighting it. I'm going to sleep. But I'm thankful for the amazing day that I had!!! And I'm thankful for my wonderful friends!
Saturday, August 9, 2008 at 6:57 PM
Conflict Free Living... | 1 comments»

A few exciting updates to post:
Cindy had her baby on June 22. She was a 7 pound, 7 ounce (I think) beautiful baby girl and while they had a little scare with her breathing, it seems like she's doing just fine now. Her name is Suzi (Suzannah Riley Liberty Raines). :-) CONGRATULATIONS, CINDY, CHRIS, IZZY, AND SOPHIE (and Grandma Norma and Grandpa Ray and Aunts Micki and Crystal and the rest of the extended family!!!).
My friend Jeri is pregnant and found out last week that she is having a boy. Congratulations, Jeri and Sean!
My sister Terri is moving to a new (bigger) house and quitting her job to be a full-time mom. I think that's awesome.
My mom, sister, and I are taking a beach trip in September. I cannot WAIT!!! :-)
Happy July 4th, everyone. I'm going to try to post a patriotic blog later in the day!
Friday, July 4, 2008 at 7:13 AM
Cowen... | 1 comments»

Saturday, June 28, 2008 at 1:21 PM
Miscellany | 3 comments»
That's a fun word, isn't it? I recently bought my friend Danielle a book called Jane Austen Miscellany. (If I haven't mentioned it a million times before, I love Jane Austen!) :-)
Anyway, there are a couple of exciting things going on. My friend Cindy is about to have a baby girl. And I mean ANY DAY NOW. Tomorrow at the absolute latest! HOORAY!
Something that has surprised me lately is that I have started exercising and eating fairly healthily. I've lost 12.5 in 4 weeks and I am so very proud of myself!!! :-) Anyway, I've been doing Weight Watchers online and also trying to do either Zumba or a Latin dance moves DVD I bought every day. It's quite a workout, but I can really tell a difference in my life. And I figure, hey, if I put it out to the whole world that I'm trying to lose weight then I'll continue trying! Accountability, folks. LOL! Anyway, this is probably the longest I've stuck with a diet and exercise program since high school...
NEXT...
I'm helping to plan our class reunion, which is a total surprise since I didn't even go to our 10-year reunion (we didn't have a 15) and now we're two years away from our 20th reunion! The funny thing is that as I communicate with people I can't help but think how in some ways nothing has changed, but in other ways everything has changed about us.
I'm so proud of some of my best friends from school. They're wonderful successes. Kairy Barazi is a retinal surgeon in Washington, DC. My friend Chris Byrd is a Major in the US Army. Jamie Martin is a partner in a North Carolina law firm. Jody Driggs is one of the best architects in the state of West Virginia. Stacey Smith is a podiatrist in St. Albans.
While I'm only a person who helps lawyers use their computers, though, I feel like I'm a success, too. Not necessarily at my job (though I'm proud of the job I do and I work hard), but at life. I've come to know myself since high school. I'm secure in who I am and (maybe more importantly) who I am not. Did it take a while? Of course it did. It took YEARS! I certainly wasn't this self-aware in college. And another reason I count myself as successful is because I have some of the most amazing friends you could ever imagine. Luckily I have had very few reasons to lean on them over the years, but when I have they have been my rocks.
So, I quote the Golden Girls to close:
Saturday, June 21, 2008 at 7:15 AM
Blogging | 0 comments»
Okay. Here's the thing. I don't normally blog unless I have something that's really weighing on my mind. But now I have a digital camera, so maybe I'll try to get better like my friends Leigh Ann, Cindy, Kathy, and Erin. No promises, but I'l try!
Today I do have a few things weighing on my mind, but I'll put them in a separate blog! :-)
at 7:11 AM