much to catch up on

This past week has left me in a whirlwind.
I feel as if my to-do list is growing faster than I can check things off.
Does that ever happen to you?
I think it hates me.

Anyway- there is much to catch up on, so here we go....

Have I told you about Enock's good friend Suma?
While E lived in Uganda, he had two best friends... Suma and Job.
It was so entertaining to watch them "rule" the baby home.
One of the hard things about adopting internationally, is taking your child away from his/her close friends when you bring them home.
I think of friends that I have.... friends that are more like family.
I can't imagine.
Even though E gained a mom, dad and brother... he still had to move away from close friends.

Well, God in is graciousness decided to place Suma in a loving family..... in Katy, Tx!
How fun is that?
Suma not only lives only 3 hours away, but we will get to see her anytime we go visit family in Houston.

We took our first trip last Thursday and met up at Chick-fil-a.
E was SO excited to see his sweet friend.



Ahhh.... I just love it.
I keep thinking about how they will get to grow up knowing each other.
We love this sweet girl and her amazing family.
I'm sure there will be many more posts about them in the future.

On Friday, I woke up at a very ugly hour to catch a plane to Atlanta, GA to attend the Created for Care Retreat!
I told Jake that if all I did was fly to Atlanta, drive my rental car to the resort, turn around and fly back, it would feel like a vacation. (And all the mom's take a deep sigh of agreement.)
But lucky me, I got to stay.
Created for Care is a retreat designed for adoptive mom's.
It is a time for rest,
A time to connect with other mom's of adopted children,
A time to be equipped,
And a time to be encouraged.

I can not tell you enough how amazing it was to be there.
I will blog more about that later, but here are the highlights....

This was my view every morning when I woke up.

These are two other Uganda mamma's that blessed my heart!

Our kids actually come from the same orphanage! Be praying for them...
they are both still waiting to bring their little ones home.

And this is Jessica, Wynne and I having way too much fun at our Noonday table!

I love all of these girls!

Ok, a quick note on Wynne (on the right).
She worked at a summer camp growing up.
Has two golden retrievers.
Is adopting a little boy.
And naming him CAMP!

Crazy right?!

They are the featured family over at Give1 Save1 this week.
Make sure and take a second to watch their video and donate $1 towards their adoption. Literally, every dollar counts.
Please take time to show them some love!

I drove back to Austin Monday night and that is when my to do list began to hate me.
Although I feel weeks behind right now, I know that time will stand still tomorrow.
You see, tomorrow is a day I have been looking forward to and dreaming about for a long time now.

Tomorrow Enock turns 3 and we get to spend his very first birthday with him.

I am tearing up just writing that.
I can. not. wait.