Small update

I received an e-mail yesterday from our case manager that our homestudy is written! YEAH!! She is now waiting for her supervisor to read it and sign off on it. Holy cow, we are almost certified...finally!!! Once certified, the "official" wait for our future kiddo starts.

Another pic taken during vacation

This is a pic of me and my parents. Can't believe I didn't post one with my other vacation pics!! I have to say that it's very strange having a "family pic" and not having my sister in the picture!! For the past 6 years, it's been the other way around since she has been there and I've been the one that is "away".

Andy and I were talking last night about how much fun we had while we were visting my parents and how we wished we could have those times more often. Guess we're going to have to visit more or at the very least meet them halfway between Colorad and Indiana...which is basically Kansas City. Hopefully we'll be able to do that soon!

Winter is back!

So winter is back...we are under a Blizzard/Winter Storm warning. Yesterday, they said when we woke up we'd have some snow and it would get worse as the day went on. I was very excited..hoping for a snow day! Well, I woke up and there was a light dusting on the grass and streets were just a little wet. Darn it! So off to work I go! The interesting part was that they had already cancelled school for the majority of the school districts. Well, around 10ish, I looked out my office window and noticed a few flakes falling. As the morning went on, the snow started coming down more and more and the wind picked up. Around 11, I could no longer see field that is across the street from my office. At noon, we got the e-mail we had all been hoping for..OFFICE IS NOW CLOSED!! YEAH!

I was pretty lucky on the drive home..not too much traffic and the visibilty wasn't too bad. Meaning..I could see the 3 cars in front of me but not the 4th. Several co-workers had a 3-4 hour drive home due to traffic, accidents, etc. It took me about 20 minutes..double what it normally takes me. The above pic was taken when I got home from work. It was really strange not seeing the mountains..they kind of disappeared! We ended up with about 10 inces of snow which isn't alot for us but the main issue was the blowing snow/blizzard like conditions. As of now, we have a 2 hr. delay for work tomorrow. I guess I kind of got my snow day. =)

Last class is done!

We completed our last foster to adopt class yesterday! YEAH!!! Now we are just waiting for the home study to be written and approved. Hopefully it will be done soon! The class was really interesting...it was class about infant adoption and all of the students except for us were nursing students. They were teaching them about how infant adoption works so that if they ever have a patient who may be considering adoption, they are able to talk with them about it. It was amazing how many people in the class had friends or family members that were adopted or were hoping to adopt as well as several people who hope had family members who were foster parents. The bad part of the class was that I felt miserable! My nose wouldn't stop running, I was hot, then cold, my throat hurt, and I just wanted to go to sleep. UGH!

I went to work for awhile today but then brought some stuff home to work. Nothing better than making calls in comfy clothes, while sipping on o.j, and taking lots of cold medicine. Amazingly, I feel alot better!

Random thought for the day: Seeing Andy in the class yesterday and hearing what he had to say about different things made me so proud to have him for my husband. He is going to be an amazing dad. This may sound silly but while we in class yesterday, I felt myself falling in love with him all over again. When were talking about adoption and what's best for the child, He really "gets" it...he really "gets" me.

Future kiddo's room

These are a few pictures of our future kiddo's room. We haven't hung any pictures on the walls yet but will hopefully do that soon. The shelves are some shelves that I had in my room growing up. They are stackable so you can put them up at different levels. Some of the toys are toys that I had, some that were given to us by family members and a few books/things that we have bought over the years. We have more stuff in boxes but didn't want to put it all out just yet. The pink, blue, and green blanket was made by Mom and Grandma! My grandma embroidered the animals. My mom sewed together all the squares and my grandma quilted it. It is so cute!

Back to Colorado

On Sunday, we drove back to Colorado. We left St. Louis at 9 and got to our house around 10ish. We took 2-45 min breaks for lunch and dinner but other than that we were driving. Nothing too exciting happened on the way back which is good. So in the middle of Kansas, I decided that I would make a video recaping our vacation....Andy was thrilled as you will see.

We are both so glad that we were able to make a trip back to Indiana! While we did several things, some of the best times that we had were just relaxing at my parents' and playing Shanghai! Andy won 5 games, Dad won 5 games, Mom won two, and I won a game of Domino's and CASH(from the Casino). We had some great dinners that my mom cooked along with some great desserts. My favorite was the strawberries!!! I think eveyone knew this by the time we left!

St. Louis

Yesterday, we left my parents' house to head to St. Louis for a St. Louis Blues game. This is the first time we've been able to work a hockey game into our trip..YEAH! I am a huge Blues fan and Andy is a huge hockey fan. We met Deb, Julia, and Greg in St. Louis for the game. We were really excited to go to the game but sad to leave my parents' house! We had an amazing time visiting with them. Hopefully, they will visit this summer!!!!(at least I'm trying to convince them they need to come to Colorado this summer)

We had to leave my parents' house at 6:30 a.m. in order to get there before 11:oo a.m. The hockey game wasn't until 1:00 but they were shutting down several streets at 11 as they were having their St. Patrick's day parade on Saturday. We made it there in plenty of time and was able to check into our hotel! The hotel was right across the street from the ScottTrade Center which is where the Blues play. Once we checked in, we met up with Greg, Julia, and Deb to grab a quick lunch and some green beer! After lunch, we went to the game. I even talked Andy into wearing a Blues jersey!! It wasn't too hard since they were playing the Detroit Red Wings and he hates the Red Wings!

We had a great time at the Blues/Red Wings game even though the Blues lost. Boo! After the game, we decided to take the metro rail to another part of town so we could go out for dinner and drinks. We all had a great time! It is so good to catch up with friends that I don't get to see that often. Lots of laughing, storytelling, and drinks/food. We headed back to the hotel around 9:30 since Andy and I had to get on the road early for a day of driving back to Colorado.

French Lick

We left Indy this morning and headed to French Lick. I had never been to French Lick so my parents thought it would be a nice place for us to go while we were back. For those who aren't familiar with Indiana. French Lick is in southern Indiana basically in the middle of nowhere! I think French Lick is mainly known nationally because it was Larry Bird's hometown.

When we first got to French Lick, we met my parents at the West Baden Springs Hotel, a National Historic Landmark. It was built in 1902. It was known for the mineral springs...which were thought to have healing powers. It has a long history but was renovated in 2006 and is absolutely amazing. The most breathtaking part is the atrium..it is 200 feet in diameter. It really felt like we stepping back in time and it hard to believe that this hotel is in this small town! The rooms cost close to $300 a night..eeks! The hotel even has a Harley Davidson Shop in it. Crazy!!!

After we wondered around the hotel for awhile, we drove over to a new golf course that is being built. The course was designed by Pete Dye-who is a world re-knowned gold course designer. So far the course has cost about 30 million!!! It is basically being carved into the hillside! It is supposed to open in April or May and will host the 2010 PGA golf championship! Again, why in the world is something like this in a small town in southern Indiana?!?!?

We then went to a hotel/casino that is also located in French Lick to try our luck at the slots. Mom and Andy lost, Dad broke even, and I actually walked away with $106...woo hoo! I found a slot machine and we bonded..haha! The funny thing is that Andy had been playing on it and then gave up as he kept losing. Well, I decided to give it a try and within 5 min had turned my $20 into $80. I cashed out, kept 60 of it and decided to play on 20 of it. I turned that 20 into $50 in just a few turns..I played it down to 30 and then cashed out. Keep in mind, this is all on the slot machine that Andy lost on. It seemed like I'd lose a little bit, then win back what I lost, lose a little, and then go up by $20-30. YEAH!!! I decided I was done and didn't want to press my luck any more so I went to watch Dad. He eventually cashed out with $10 and gave me the $10 to take to my favorit machine. 3 spins later the 10 was up to 30...I said "we're done" and cashed out! The scary part is that I really wanted to keep playing, as I could feel the adrenaline from winning just pulsing through my veins! No wonder people get addicted!!!

All in all, French Lick is an amazing town and I know exactly what slot machine to go to in the future. =)

Indy

On Tuesday, we headed up to Indianapolis to meet up with Andy's mom and her husband. We met up with them at the hotel and then went to lunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise. We had never been to one before but my sister has told me lots about it. It was really, really good! After lunch, we headed to Lucas Oil Stadium(new stadium where the Colts play) and all I can say is WOW!! It is huge!!!!!! We were able to take a tour of the stadium and we were very impressed with the stadium. Hopefully, we'll be able to go to a Colts game there very soon!! That evening we went to dinner with Diana and Bob and then went out for drinks and dessert. I tried a stawberry cheesecake martini...it was horrible!!! Some things should not be made into a drink! On Wednesday morning, we had breakfast with Diana and Bob and then headed to French Lick to meet up with my parents. We were so happy that we were able to spend some time with Diana and Bob!! I am so lucky to have such great in-laws!!!

Oh what a night!

Andy and I both had great nights last night. I had so much fun being with Jules and Deb! It had been way too long since the last time we all hung out. We went to dinner at Hacienda..yummy!!!!! I always have to go to Hacienda when I'm back in southern Indiana! I looooooove their chips and salsa, along with a side of ranch. Plus, they have some amazing margaritas. Afterwards we ended up at a kareoke bar type place(went there with a group of people). It was very interesting.... Let's just say that there are some songs that I NEVER want to hear again! No, I did not sing..that is saved for the car!

Andy had a great time on his ride along! He learned alot about the dept and went on some interesting runs. 3 calls for people hitting deer, fight in progress, and noise complaint about a party. He also got to frequent the Huck and Marathon gas stations a few times...the two places the deputies "gather" to discuss work(of course).

Today we headed back to my parents and had dinner with my Grandpa! We really enjoyed seeing him and spending some time with him and my parents. After my grandfather left, we all played Shanghai(card game that my sister got us hooked on).

The above pic is of my friends, Jules and Deb.

We are finally at my parents..YEAH!

We arrived at my parents' house around 3ish on Friday. We made really good time driving here..only took about 15 hours. Thursday started off great...got on the road at a decent time and I was driving since Andy had just got off of work at 6:45 that morning. While he slept, I was cruising along and singing like a rock star...HA!! Speed limit in Colorado is 75 and then in Kansas it drops down to 70. Well....I kind of forgot that(or at least that is my story) and was "cruising" along at about 82 mph when I all of sudden saw a state trooper on the other side of the highway. I knew that I was in trouble when he cut across two lanes of traffic and across the median to get right behind me. Keep in mind, I'm the only car going east bound at this time...lucky me. So being the nice wife that I am, I start saying,
"Andy, wake up, wake up, "we" are getting pulled over." "Huh, what, we are what, uh..." is Andy's response. So I stop the car and Mr. State Trooper comes up.."miss, where are you heading?" All I can manage to say in a very small voice is "Indiana". He kind of smiled and said, "Well, you're not off to a very good start, are you" Great, I'm going to get a ticket. Luckily, he just gave me a writtne warning and kept my driving history ticketless..YEAH!!! Two hours later after some grub from Steak 'n Shake, it was Andy's turn to drive...I was done!

Today we are heading to Evansville so that Andy can do a ride along with one of the sheriff's depts. in a nearby county and I'm going out with some of my friends. My mom booked us a room at the casino as she could get a free room once a month for 3 months. We also went onto the riverboat to make each make our $20 "donation" to their slot machines.

We are on our way

We are leaving today to go visit my family!!! YEAH! Lots of driving and singing. Poor Andy..having to listen to my singing for several hours. He is such a good sport about it and even joins in sometimes.

Last homestudy meeting...DONE

Today we had our last homestudy meeting as well as the home inspection. We passed the home inspection..YEAH!!! Our case manager had a few more questions for us for the homestudy...nothing too scary. haha! She said that she will be writing it up and then turning over to her supervisor to read and sign off on. She said we should be certified by the end of March!! YEAHHHHHHHHHHH!!! We have our last class on 3/23 and then we will officially be done with all the requirements. Once we're certified we can start getting calls about a possible placement. We are very, very excited.

Of course, right now our main excitement is leaving on Thursday for Indiana! I can not wait to see my parents!! It is going to be so strange to be back there and not be able to see my sister. =( Good thing her and Phillip came to Denver in November!!