"Yesterday", Leona Lewis

Love this song! Click on the song title "Yesterday" above in my music box to take a listen. You can read along with the lyrics here below.

I just can't believe you're gone, still waiting for morning to come, wanna see if the sun will rise, even without you by my side. When we had so much in store, tell me what is it i'm reaching for. When we're through building memories, i'll hold yesterday in my heart, in my heart.

Chorus.
They can take tomorrow and the plans we made, they can take the music that we'll never play. All the broken dreams, take everything, just take it away, but they can never have yesterday. They can take the future that we'll never know, they can take the places that we said we would go. All the broken dreams, take everything, just take it away, but they can never have yesterday.

You always used to say, i should be thankful for everyday. Heaven knows what the future holds, or at least how the story goes. (but i never believed them 'til now.)

I know i'll see you again i'm sure. No it's not selfish to ask for more. One more night, one more day, one more smile on your face, but they can't take yesterday.

Chorus.

They can take tomorrow and the plans we made, they can take the music that we'll never play. All the broken dreams, take everything, just take it away, but they can never have yesterday. They can take the future that we'll never know, they can take the places that we said we would go. All the broken dreams, take everything, just take it away, but they can never have yesterday. I thought our days would last forever. (but it wasn't our destiny) 'Cause in my mind, we had so much time. But i was so wrong. Now i can, believe that, i can still find the strength in the moments we made. I'm looking back on yesterday.

Chorus.

They can take tomorrow and the plans we made, they can take the music that we'll never play. All the broken dreams, take everything, just take it away, but they can never have yesterday. They can take the future that we'll never know, they can take the places that we said we would go. All the broken dreams, take everything, just take it away, but they can never have yesterday. Ooooh... (All the broken dreams take everything) But they can never have yesterday.

Tragedy

Please take the time to click on the below link. Steven Curtis Chapman & his family have lost their youngest daughter in a terrible accident.

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/music/ny-etcurtis0523,0,2146841.story?track=rss

Get To Know Me Better...

For those of you who are not bloggers, you probably don't "get" this, but it helps us all get to know one another.

Favorite person (outside of family): This is a tough one. There are so many people that I cherish & given unlimited time in my life I would love to spend so much more time with each of them just enjoying them & their company.

Favorite food? The answer to this is usually different depending on if I have had something fabulous lately that was new to me. Overall, I really enjoy Mexican & Chinese food in general. Usually I am not a big ice cream fan, but there is this place called "ColdStone Creamery", they have them all over now. http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/ The treats that they have there...oh my goodness! The best! Also, recently Thomas treated me to a visit to the Godiva store while we were in Iowa. I chose this "kabob" that had strawberries, banannas & kiwi on a skewer all dipped & covered in Godiva chocolate. YUM! (These items are all ofcourse for when I am not low carbing, which is not very often. Getting & keeping my weight where I need it to be is one of my biggest struggles! However, these are the things that I would choose to treat myself with now & then for a special occassion.)

Quirks about you? I am an "organizer", love to have things in their place. I use to be a cleaning fanatic as well. I still like things clean, but I am not obsessive about it anymore. Thankfully, I have realized life is too short & that I have better things to do. However, if my "to do list" gets out of control, I tend to begin to panic a little as it tends to make me think that my life is getting the same way too. Another one; I love me a little (okay, a lot) of reality television. Really embarassed to admit that one, but I do. Some of it is right down "smutty" at times, but sometimes I just find myself sucked in. Ten minutes later I am staring at the television watching in disbelief & wondering, "What the heck am I watching here?!?!?" Ugh.

How would the person who loves you the most describe you in ten words or less? Wouldn't this be a question for him or her? I honestly couldn't tell you who loves me more...my husband or my Mother. They both love me unconditionally in a way that no words can describe. I would think they would say..."opinionated (never means to offend, but always means what she says), faithful, organized, good head on her shoulders, (my Mom always says that about me), strong values, honest (too much so at times), willing, philisophical, authentic, grateful"...Okay, I am sure that is at least ten.

Any regrets in life? Regrets? No...things that have happened that I wished wouldn't have, choices I have made that looking back I might have made differently, things I haven't done that maybe I wished I would have...sure. However, as far as regretting any of it, I don't have time for that. Everything that has happened has no doubt shaped me, molded me & made me; the good & bad, who I am today. So, nope. No regrets.

Favorite charity or cause? WorldVision http://www.worldvision.org/donate.nsf/child/giftcatalog_christmas07?Open&campaign=124608133&cmp=BAC-124608133

Favorite blog recently? The Smith's, "Bring The Rain" http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/

Something that you cannot get enough of? Time

Worst job you ever had? Hmmm? Never gave that much thought really. Every job comes with its good & bad I suppose. Really haven't had one that was bad enough to say it was the worst. I work to live, never have & never will live to work. A job for me has not ever & will not ever define me. It is all about earning money that is necessary for our family to do the things in life that are important for & to us. I am SO thankful however that Thomas has a career that he enjoys & is so dedicated to though. Even so, he certainly keeps a great perspective & knows his personal priorities as well as our priorities as a family. He is able through his career to provide a very comfortable living for our family & for that I am so thankful to not only him, but to his company as well! He has provided me with the gift of working part time & what a blessing that is for our family!

What job would you pay NOT to have? The President of the U.S.

If you could be a fly on the wall, where? Funny. I just said this very thing to Thomas yesterday, therefore, this answer comes to me very quickly. I would love to be a fly on the wall in the home of the birthmother in which we recently placed our sweet "Emma" back too. The birthmother has two additional very young children & things were not good. I ache to know that "Emma" is okay & long to know what is happening in her world. I realize that this may only make my pain worse, to know her reality, but I am all about being honest here, so that is my answer.

Favorite Bible verse right now? "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "Plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Guilty pleasure? "Grey's Anatomy"

Got any confessions? Well, I try to live as my authentic self always at all cost. Lately, there have been times when I am not feeling very happy in my heart. The ache & longing that is within me really never gives me a vacation. At times lately, I have forced a smile or when I have been asked how I am doing by friends & family, I haven't always been very forthcoming. I think that those close to me already know this though & can & do very often see behind my smile anyway though, so a lot of you probably already knew this, so I guess it is not much of a confession really.

If you had to spend $1000 on yourself, how would you spend it? It would go towards traveling. LOVE to travel...anywhere, anytime!

Favorite thing about your house? The family & friends that fill it.

Least favorite thing about your house? The lack of children in it.

One thing you are bad at? Operating electronic stuff...you know, the DVR, my MP3 player & the like...thank goodness for Thomas or I would be in the dark ages! I am a good learner though, so once he teaches me (okay, usually it does take a few lessons!), then I do okay. I am also TERRIBLE at reading maps! I can't find my way out of a cardboard box, really!

One thing you are good at? Organizational Skills, Being honest (really, I think that honesty is a skill-there are so many who are not so great at that these days, right?)

If you could change one thing about your circumstances, what? Refer back to the regrets question. I am trying to learn rather than to constantly want for what I don't have to instead be happy, at peace & grateful for what I do have. This takes effort daily & is often a challenge, but I am trying.

Who would you like to meet someday? Refer to the favorite person question. There are so many people & places too that I know if given the opportunity to meet & spend time with, go to & spend time there; they could; the people & the places, enrich my life in unimaginable ways...

What makes you feel sexy? My husband. Oh, the question was "what", not "who"...well, sorry. I am sticking with my first answer.

Who is your real life hero? Again...too many to mention just one. Living life today in this ol' world is often times so tough & we all get thrown a lot of curve balls. So many people in my life can hit a curve ball out of the park like nothing I have ever seen!

What is the hardest part of your job? Depends on the day.

When are you most relaxed? Depends. However, siting in the backyard with Thomas talking & admiring the garden ranks right up there.

What stresses you out? Running late.

What can you not live without? Faith.

Favorite song, music or band? Or turn us onto to a new artist that you are listening to & enjoying right now. Leona Lewis! WOW! Her songs are incredible & that voice...ubelievable!

Do you agree with the recent article that blogs are authored by narcissists?
What?!?!? No, that is so silly in my opinion.

Why do you blog? Sanity.

Our Garden Is Finally In!

Thomas got started bright & early out in our garden yesterday. He was out there all day. He didn't come in until almost 8PM! The rain finally stayed away long enough to get going on one of his favorite projects of the year. He tilled, weeded, planted & built cages & fencing. It looks great! He planted everything from sunflowers & pumpkins to onions, herbs, jalapenos & cauliflower, plus just about anything else that you can think of! We already have quite the strawberry patch in full bloom. He built a cage around it & we will soon net it as well to keep the birds from picking them clean before we can. Last year the fruits of our labor were awesome. We had quite the garden & a wonderful, bountiful harvest clear through late October. I appreciate his efforts as it is so nice having the fresh vegetables, fruits & herbs throughout the season. Remember last year? I think there are some shots somewhere on a previous blog post from our gardening season before. Anyway, it is looking great already. Pictures of that project to come soon.

I helped him out a little with it yesterday, but not much. I was doing some things inside. I made us a late lunch which we enjoyed picnic style out in the back yard while admiring Thomas's hard work. He has quite the sunburn on his neck & head as a result of his long day.

Oh & about the lunch...I made a new turkey salad recipe. We can't figure out what makes it so great, but honestly, it is the best we have ever had. I will post the recipe soon. It is a great summer treat.

Thank You Secret Pal!

Yesterday I went to the mailbox to find a gift from my fellow July LID group secret buddy. What a nice surprise! Thank you to my pal for the great Baby Einstein Photo Album! It is just perfect. Mia will love it for sure. When the time comes, we will fill it with photos of our family & send it to her to have in China while we are still here in the states waiting to travel to her! It will be such a perfect way for her to see our faces & the faces of all of her new family until we can get to her & bring her home to join all of us!

THANK YOU again!

I Am So Proud Of Myself!

A friend of mine recently helped me bling my blog out a little for spring. She said that she just couldn't stand all of the white anymore! :) As I have said before doing things like "blinging out my blog" & digital scrap booking are both things that I really want to learn to do.

Well, last night I took a stab at trying to get music on my blog & as you can see I did it! I must say I was & am pretty impressed with myself. I am not electronically inclined so it felt like quite an accomplishment. I kept closing out my blog & reopening it to hear the music start up. I was so silly clapping my hands & praising myself. Thomas was laughing at me, but agreed that it was very cool.

I added a few songs that are very special & inspirational for me & I added some that I just heard recently & have been enjoying. I will change the play list from time to time as my mood changes & different things are going on in my life. You can click on any tune to hear a different song on the list. Just use the scroll bar on the right of the music list to move the listing up & down to reveal more tunes too. Impressive, huh? HA! Not really, but I am just very pleased with myself that I figured it out. (Oh & if the music is distracting to you, in the left corner of the music box there is place to click on & stop it from playing. It is the first little box right under the pic of the album cover.) I will very soon be trying to "bling out my blog" in other ways too. Stay tuned...

10 Months & Counting...

Well, ten months have come & gone. It is always bittersweet for me, these milestones I mean. Counting down the months & realizing that you have come so far, but yet have so far to go. I want to look at it positively, so I tell myself that means that we are ten months closer to our Mia than we were before, right?

I remember vividly the day that we received our log in date & it doesn't seem like all that long ago. Approaching the one year mark very soon makes me think that maybe time is going a little faster. I hate to wish our life away, but we are so ready to travel to China & bring her home.

Well, all I can say is, "Ten months down & who the heck knows how many to go!"

While we are on the subject of the number ten, read this; a little bit about the symbolic meaning of the number ten:

The number ten is the start of a whole new order of numbers and the culmination of the numbers that come before it. This may seem to be merely a distinction given to ten under our decimal numbering system. However the numbering systems in use in the time that the Bible was written were also based upon the number ten. A look at the number values assigned to the Hebrew and Greek letters in the table shown in the introduction Hebrew and Greek numerics will show that the letters were given values from one to ten, then increasing in tens to 100 then increasing by 100's and so on. Furthermore numbering by tens is built in to our very anatomy, count up on your fingers and when they are all used, make a mark on a piece of paper and start from your first finger again. Soon you will have a number of marks, each representing 'two hands' worth. Thus in ancient times as in modern times ten is the start of a whole new order of numbers and the culmination of the numbers that come before it.
Thus wherever ten is found this completeness of order is also seen. Ten implies completeness of order, nothing lacking and nothing over. It signifies that the cycle is complete and that everything is in its proper order. Thus ten represents the perfection of divine order.

If you are interested click on the below link to read a little more about the number ten. I mean, who knew? It elaborates on The Ten Commandments, The Tenth Chapter, The Tenth Verse & so on. So interesting.

http://www.vic.australis.com.au/hazz/number010.html

And now we know...