Life Happens, And It Is Beautiful

Well, it's time for another one of those "Oh, Man! It's been a whole year since I blogged" blog posts.
Oopsie.

Talk about Life HAPPENING! 2018 went by in an instant.

Here's a quick run down:

April :
My parents celebrated their 40th Anniversary, and got to see so many friends and family at their celebration, hosted by all their kids and kids-in-law. :) And the grandkids, who did an awesome job helping out and evening providing some entertainment! Damion and I celebrated our 4th Anniversary! If memory serves me correctly, one of us was sick (again). That made us 0/4 in how we planned on celebrating our wedding anniversaries. :)

Yummy Cupcakes from the party!

My youngest niece wearing my Mom's wedding dress!
Hello 1978! :)

May :
Most of the month was pretty chill for us. I worked on my oil business a bit, and visited friends and family when I could. Near the end of the month, Damion had a small accident at work and got burned on his arm. Thankfully, his beard saved his face from being harmed.. but the beard sacrificed itself to make that happen. So, his three-and-a-half year beard had to go. It was nice seeing his face again, though. ;o) <3

My Friend and their sweet new puppy, Pippa!
It's been a year since they picked her up, and she's GINORMOUS now! <3

My display at an Oil Class I taught for my Sister's friends at church.

Leaving Urgent Care

Goodbye for now, Beard.
Hello, Handsome! <3

June :
Both of us have June birthdays, so we spent some time celebrating one another. Delicious steak dinner for his birthday, and he spoiled me with lots of fun goodies and gifts and a from-scratch cake for my birthday. Over Father's Day Weekend, while his parents were visiting, Damion also was baptized at our church. Though its been years since he gave his life to Christ, this was his first time being baptized as a Believer.
Later in the month, Damion's mom had some unexpected and complicated medical issues. So, I drove up to Baltimore to be with her at Johns Hopkins while they treated and cared for her.

My Sweet Hubby spoiled me for my 39th Birthday.

Molinda's Family send her this fun gift basket while she was at Johns Hopkins.
Making the balloon her new necktie was her idea. Haha! 

When she was allowed out of bed, she wanted to look over the city.
We were pretty high up, so the view was pretty incredible!

Patient Aide Selfie!
I got to watch (sorta, from the other side) my first spinal tap!

<3 Thankful for the leadership and love from Central Baptist Church.

We are so happy that Damion's parents got to be with us that weekend!

July :
We started the month focused on my Mother-In-Law's care, but did manage to get away for a couple of days to Williamsburg to rest. Our minds were greatly distracted while we were there, but we did get to drive around to see some sights and take some time to rest together. About a week or so later, things really changed in our home, though.

Williamsburg, VA

On July 10, we welcomed our first Foster Care placement into our home. The sweetest little 3 month old baby girl. <3 Sweet Girl came to our home that evening, and our hearts melted. She came to my arms, I carried her to the living room, and she and I laughed at one another for a good solid two minutes. <3 <3

Needless to say... the next 114 days were pretty much all about her! I jumped head first into Motherhood, as best as I knew how, and I loved every moment. Not every moment was easy, but it was worth it. She was worth it. She still is, even though we don't get to see her any more.

I wrote this to her two days after she left our home in November:

"For 114 days and nights, we got to watch you grow and learn. We fell in love with you right away, and your shy grin turned into full belly laughs within days. Your tight squeezes where you nearly pulled every hair out of my head were painful, but the sweetest little gifts. How precious to see you experience rolling over, sitting up, trying foods, and reaching milestone after milestone! We will forever be grateful for the books we read, the songs we sang, and the goodnight kisses.

We will continue to pray that you heart will soften as you grow, and that Jesus would steal all of your affections. We pray for your continued reconciliation with family, that your little body would grow strong, and that your joy and happy smile will be a catalyst for peace.

Thank you so much to our friends and family who took you into their hearts as well, right away. Instant connections with friends, showered with love and gifts by family, and sweet gifts of playtime with other children that we love so much.

We will miss you so much."

I don't mean to be so vague about her life and family, but that is her story to share. I can say that while I have been so blessed to know and love other foster families in our lives, experiencing this first hand was more than I ever could have imagined. The immediate ways she made me worry, the deep ache that happened every time she went to sleep at night, knowing that I had to wait for HOURS to see her again... watching my Husband become a Daddy with every ounce of love and fervor that he could... God blessed us so much. She will forever be our first baby, and I am so thankful. <3

From the very first night, she slept all night long in her crib!

I loved our mornings together in the quiet of the house.

She enjoyed books right away, too!

This girl was a CHAMP at all her doctors' visits!

She was SUPER excited when it was time to start trying foods!
It only took her until her third bite to get the hang of the spoon.

This was our last weekend together.
We took her to the beach for a couple of days with my family.

The best squish-face-kisser ever! <3

This exactly describes how anxious she was to MOVE!
As soon as she master turning over, nap times ended with her attempts to escape the crib.
<3

....

Needless to say, the rest of our Summer and Fall went by quickly. We traveled a couple of times with her, to see my family in Hickory and a trip to the beach. In late September, she also got to tag along on a work weekend for me. My oil team got together for some training in Greensboro. That was really fun! Damion's mom traveled here to see us and help with her whenever she could, too. We would have no idea how special that would be until later.

In mid-November, I went to work at a new job outside the home. I work in the Office at a local ServPro franchise that friends of ours own. Administration isn't new to me, but this field of work is, and I love it! (I still love my job all these months later... looking forward to many more!)

We stayed home for Thanksgiving and enjoyed making a (much too) big meal for our house. For Christmas, we visited my family in Hickory, then drove down to Louisiana for the week. It's such a long haul down there, so we were grateful that our employers provided that time off work for us to see family.

My Nieces and Nephews playing around at Christmas.

Enjoying the calm of Christmas vacation in Louisiana.

My Aunt Lora was able to spend New Year's Eve with us, so it was a chill evening at home. :)
We moved into February with ease, and even though it RAINED SO MUCH all Winter long, we were excited to see the Spring coming. I even got flowers delivered to work for Valentine's Day. <3

And then, March 2019 came. And once again, our lives were altered forever...

Oh! Another Thing About What’s Going On With Us...

Soooo... it’s not THAT kind of announcement. Well, it is. But, maybe not what you’re thinking. <3

Ever wanted to share a story, but feel like you need to use a dream sequence filter and play those chime sounds for everyone? Let’s do that now... 

Early in our marriage, and even when we were dating, Damion and I had lots of conversations about children, child-bearing, adoption, and thanks to friends of ours who introduced the deeper ins and outs to both of us, foster care. I’ve wanted to be a mother for a really long time. (Even in my high school years when my aspirations included being a writer/editor for Sports Illustrated, I “planned” to have kids and just get a nanny. Ha!) To be frank, as I got older, I worried about my physical ability to do that “the natural way.” I’ve battled some women’s health issues for lots of years, and my weight has been a concern for me and my health care providers.

As the years have gone by in our marriage (we are about to celebrate 4 years on April 5!), the possibilities of growing our family didn’t seem to narrow, though. Isn’t God good like that? Damion and I shared many tearful, heart-searching conversations where we felt it was important to come to agreement on our future in this area of life. God is the Author of Peace, and I am so grateful that neither of us felt any pressure from one another. I especially “worried” about this because Damion is so much younger than me, and of course, I felt like he may feel slighted by me.. you know? But, since we know that God is the Creator of Life, we also trusted that if He was to make a way for us to have a biological child, He would. 

What I love, though, is that neither Damion nor myself have ever felt like Adoption or Foster Care has to be Plan B for us. In fact, we probably talked about this as often as we talked about having biological children. I have been among many communities of families and friends who have chosen adoption. I’ve learned from each of you! The struggles, the waiting, the joys, victories, patience, praying, finances, legal paperwork, etc.

So, after we moved to Virginia last year (we arrived at our home a year ago exactly - 3/17), our desire to grow our family became more urgent. We just felt a bit more “ready,” you know? :o) Our Friends here in town who are foster parents helped to connect us with their social worker, and last Fall, we began our official journey to become licensed as well. We took the classes, filled out all the paperwork, and even had our home study visit in December right before Christmas. Afterward, we had a few more documents to take care of, but finally, everything was submitted. 

About two weeks ago, we got the call. 

We are approved. Our actual license arrived this week. My heart fluttered with anticipation, nervousness, and lots of excitement. We are thrilled! 

Our families have been SO supportive and happy. That’s such a blessing! We don’t know exactly what will happen next, but we know that He is in control. We trust that whatever happens, He can be trusted. We know that this may lead to lots of heartaches and trials, He will comfort us. We know that whatever circumstances arise, He has provided us love and support and advice from so many friends and family. We are grateful! 

It is our desire to adopt through the foster system, but we also plan to continue to foster as long as we are able! <3 

QUICK! Let's Catch Up!

Me to Self: "How long has it been since you blogged, Nicole?"
Self to Me: "It's been a while."
Me to Self: "Probably should update folks a bit, huh?"
Self to Me: "Yeah.. but keep it brief. It's really been a WHILE."

So! How about we do a photo-run-through of the last 5 months? Maybe that will help keep it simple!
Maybe. <3 Thanks for stopping in! Here's what we've been up to since last Summer ended!

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At the start of October, I headed to Eastern Tennessee with my family for a long-weekend vacation. Damion surprised me by heading out to join us when he got off work on Friday. <3 So sweet!
We all stayed in a condo at Wilderness At The Smokies. Just a pretty place! We taught everyone how to play LCR (a fun dice game that friends showed me last Summer), and that, along with Phase 10 around the big table, were some of our favorite things. We like hanging out together!

 

That's my cousin, Coleby. :)
We enjoyed the beautiful view!

This is what the waterslide area looks like from the outside at Wilderness.
I'm sure its super fun.. but not for me. HA!

 

We enjoyed taking one of the scenic drives up along the mountainside in Gatlinburg.
I've never been up there. Such gorgeous views, and there are a couple of cool spots you can pull off and park. There are some old homesteads to tour, which was cool!

If you've ever come off the mountain, you've been through those tunnels. :o)

 

Dawn and I continued our journey to the gym 3 times a week!
Its a fairly nice setup, so we are thankful it's available to our community.
We have enjoyed meeting folks from around the area, too.
That last photo is our friend, Kevin. He's lost over 100 pounds in the last year!

In September, our church began having Home Groups.
I've missed the community group aspect of church since we left TCC (when we moved to Louisiana after the wedding). So, I am really enjoying it! In October, our group decided we'd do dinner together one night a month. This was our Burgers & Dogs night at the Gresham's Home!

For Halloween, since we live way out in the country and wouldn't get any trick-or-treaters at our house, I headed up to town to pass out candy with the Virgilina Volunteer Fire Department with friends. These cuties were a couple of my favorites! <3

November was pretty calm, including Thanksgiving weekend.
We traveled to Hickory to see my family, which was a nice getaway for a few days.
Sorry, not many photos! :o)

Early December brought us our first big snow for the Winter.
It was fun to watch Damion enjoy it!

Our church Christmas Musical/Play was entitled "All Is Well." We loved it!

 

On our way home from the play that evening, we saw signs (and a huge line of cars trying to get there) pointing us to a church nearby who was hosting a Live Drive-Thru Bethlehem.
How cool! They had everything! Little shops in "town," animals, soldiers, families.. it was super cool. We'll definitely try to go back next year, too! We liked the camel the best. Haha!

Next up, it was time for our Christmas Travels!

First Stop: Hickory, NC with my family for a couple of days:

 

Big Family Breakfast in Morganton

It's so fun to see how much all the kiddos are growing!  

Next.. our immediate family Christmas.
My brother and sister-in-law always host this for us.

Uncle Damion is a good sport. ;o)

And then we eat!
Mercy Heavens... its a favorite.. all those hors d'ouvers my SIL makes!
So YUMMY!

The kiddos waiting as patiently as they can!

More LCR with all the siblings and spouses.

The next morning, super early.. hubby drove us down to Louisiana to see his family!

This is Mawmaw's dog, Sophie. She's a good sport about getting into the Holiday Spirit. Ha!

Yummy Dinner, Exchanging Gifts, and Game Time with Family!

Mawmaw with her Grandkids.

Pardon the pre-makeup selfie.. this was me being super excited about my friend, Devon, who was finishing up Hair School, coming by to cut and color my hair for me! <3 <3

(Then I jaunted down to Lake Charles to stop by and visit a few friends at SLS Childcare Center where I used to work.. HOW DID I NOT TAKE A SINGLE PHOTO??? :o( - next time??)

We loved making sure we grabbed a few of our Lake Charles Favorite Foods - like Darrell's Specials!

More gifts and games with Damion's Mom, Brother, and Brother's Girlfriend

On our way out of town the next day, we swung by and said a last goodbye to our first home.
It's being torn down since the City bought the property in order to expand their city services buildings. It was built by Damion's Great Grandfather MANY years ago, and has housed lots of members of his family through the years. We are so thankful for the opportunity to live there, as well.

On the way back home, we snuck in a night's rest at my friend's apartment in Atlanta. 

In perfect Hallie style, she out did herself with breakfast the next morning.

And then.. NEW YEAR'S! <3
Our friends, The Tucks, invited us over to celebrate.
Yummy snacks and countdown to 2018 together!

 

 

 HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2018 started off with a trip down to South Raleigh/Garner to see some friends of ours.
Check out The Nostalgics on Facebook to make sure you go see them play sometime!

And then.. more snow! This time, though, we got about 8-9 inches!
It took a little while to get rid of all that, but it sure was pretty!

 

My Handsome Snow Hubby. <3

 

Then we got invited to Sweet Dominic's First Birthday!
He and big brother Luca were great hosts. :o)

 

Damion's mom flew up to visit with us for a couple of days!
We carried her around with us all over the place, too. She was a great sport!
(Check out those Size 20 men's shoes! GOODNESS GRACIOUS!)

I also finally got to meet this sweet face!
Baby Sam!

Ladies, check out IF: when you can!
Bible Studies, Discipleship, and one of the best Women's Gatherings I've ever been apart of.
It's held in Austin each year ((I think it's moving to Dallas next year??)), but it's available on Livestream the same weekend! This year, I got to have a few friends over to enjoy it with me.

For Valentine's Day, our church's Student Ministry hosted an event:
Date Night with Bobby Valentine.
Dinner and a Show! They did an excellent job!

And speaking of dates...

My parents are about to celebrate their 40th Wedding Anniversary!!

My Siblings and I have decided that we're going to be hosting a drop-in reception to celebrate with friends and family. We'd LOVE for you to come, especially in you love my parents! :o)
Shoot me a text if you're able to come - I'll send you the address!
Saturday, April 7 from 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. in Rutherfordton, NC.