a cast on my foot...boo

So, I have a cast on my ankle now instead of the good ol' walking boot. In the interest of looking at the positive side of things, I had my first good night of sleep in weeks (I didn't wake up due to the pain as I have been). I go back in three weeks for an x-ray, and if its healed (God-willing), then the cast will come off. Unfortunately, I won't be able to run the Flying Pig half marathon on May 1st. On Saturday (when the cast was put on), I signed up for the USAF half marathon on September 17th in an effort to show my ankle that it isn't going to keep me down. I have to be healed by then.

 

Getting around is a bit tricky, but I'm getting the hang of it...slowly. I CANNOT go down the stairs on the crutches though, I have to get down and scoot :) Going up is much easier. Please pray that I don't break any more bones with these crazy crutches :)

Wright State basketball & Rod's Capricorn Inn

Happy President's Day weekend! We decided to take in a Wright State University basketball game, a little shopping and a fun dinner out. Now today its gross and rainy, and I prefer to  stay home, blog and catch up on DVR'd "What Not to Wear."

Here a recap of yesterday:

Wesley has started *loving* to take pictures. They are all blurry, but I posted one below.

Wesley couldn't take his eyes off the wolf mascot.

I mean he LITERALLY couldn't look away.

the object of his affection

making sure I saw the mascot

kicked back watching the game

(oh no, I mean watching the wolf)

For sitting quietly through the whole game, I chased the wolf down for a picture.

Wesley had the camera...

We went shopping after the basketball game (Damon needed a navy suit for work). After leaving the outlet mall, we went in search for this restaurant...I haven't been here in YEARS. We're talking probably since college. My high school boyfriend took me to this place a few times, and I just remember how amazing the hamburgers were. (I wasn't disappointed this time either)

Let's be honest...if you passed this restaurant, it is not likely you would ever stop. At least I wouldn't!! It looks a bit like a trailer or a small house that someone haphazardly added on.

Of course, I had to take pictures of us outside on the car seat benches 

Now onto the menu...do you see how cheap a cheeseburger is? $2.35! Where can you get an amazing cheeseburger for that price? Not too many places...

 Damon's "Rod burger" and onion rings (total $6.50)

my cheeseburger and mushrooms  (total cost $4.50)

Wesley had chicken fingers and french fries, but my picture didn't turn out too well...and you shouldn't get that when you go to Rod's. The total for our three dinners was less than $17.00!!

a stained glass window in the dining room 

(makes me think of the 70s)

I had to have my picture taken with Rod

Damon had his taken too

Rod still sings oldies loudly as he cooks, but he doesn't have a cigarette hanging out of his mouth while he is cooking anymore (thank goodness!). The restaurant was PACKED!

So if you are anywhere near Wilmington, Ohio, stop at Rod's Capricorn Inn. (I would even say its worth a trip there!) You will need to call first because he closes the restaurant whenever he feels like it and bring cash to pay for your dinner. (That's something you can do when your food is that good and that cheap)

Enjoy a Rod burger for us!! I am already ready to go back...

Rod's Capricorn Inn

937-382-4357

6660 State Route 730 # 1
Wilmington, OH 45177

(you know a place like this doesn't have a website)

P.S.  I post a lot about eating, don't I?

we're still here (& some good news)

We survived the ice storm here in Ohio. It wasn't nearly as bad as the forecasters made it sound, but I was unable to get up our hill of a driveway in my car. I parked on the street though and stomped through the yard (I had to stomp to break through the ice on the snow). I was glad the next day though when my car was outside because our power went out, so I didn't have to worry about how I would get my car out of the garage. Here are a few shots of the ice taken the night of the storm:

This picture has nothing to do with the storm, but I  took it the same night.

And here's some good news...we got our I-800A approval in the mail!!!! It took less than four weeks from our fingerprint appointment. Truthfully, closer to three weeks. Our dossier has been sent to our agency, save this last paper. I am going to head on up to Columbus next week and get it apostilled.

Now for some most unpleasant news (at least for me it is)....I fractured a small bone in my ankle, and I have to wear the walking boot for what will seem like an eternity. I was lucky enough to "get the boot" (HA HA) two years ago when I had a stress fracture in the same foot!! I am praying that this time I don't have to wear the boot for eight weeks.

Now for Wesley's 4th birthday!!

I bought this awesome cake pan to make a train cake. The first two times I made the cake, it fell right out of the pan. What do you know...the one time it matters I cannot scrape the cake out of the pan!!

Damon saved the day by running to Sam's Club and picking up a cake!

A kitty cat from Doda and Pawpaw!

blowing out candles

Can't you see the excitement as Wes is about to enjoy cake?

ANOTHER kitty cat!! What a great birthday! Almost made eating cake worth it...

Wesley with Doda and Pawpaw

Wesley with Grandma

now with Mommy and Daddy

Happy 4th birthday, sweet Wesley! Time sure does fly...

"adopted for life" free dowload

Have you read the book "Adopted for Life" by Russell Moore? AWESOME book! It isn't so much about adopting children (like I first thought), but it's about how God has adopted us into His family and the part that ALL Christian families are to play in adopting children.

This book is available as a free download right now at http://christianaudio.com/adopted-for-life-russell-moore  I realize that you may not be personally interested in adopting children, but this book speaks to everyone and the role that they are to play in adoption. Enjoy!

P.S. Oh yeah - there is some ice, but the main roads are just wet. So far, not bad weather at all!! I'll get out and take a few pictures. I will say though that I couldn't get up the hill that is our driveway, so I did have to park on the street and walk through the yard. A little salt will fix that.  

it's just a little snow and ice, people

Now I've talked about this before, but I live in good ol' Ohio and the weather here can be stinky to say the least - 70s one day and freezing temperatures overnight, snow, ice, rain, humidity all in one week. Living in the Midwest gives the meteorologists plenty of time to determine the weather "headed for us" as it travels across the country. Any time it is going to snow or be ice-y, you would think that the world is coming to an end...the grocery stores sell out of bread and anything in the freezer section. Really? What are you going to do, sit around and eat sandwiches made out of corn and peas? And if the weather is actually bad, you will be able to get out of your house in about two days, so you aren't likely to starve. I estimate that we could live in this house for at least 10-14 days, so no way you would find me at the grocery today! 

The horrible, treacherous conditions are headed our way, so I'll let you know how bad it really is. If we're stuck in this house, I'll have plenty of time to blog :)

adoption #2 update

So I've been meaning to update y'all on where we are in the "baby sisser" adoption process...we were fingerprinted last week for USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration) and we have begun to gather dossier documents.

Damon and I - post fingerprinting

The adoption "rules" (for lack of a better word) will be changing in Moldova effective February 1, 2011.  The two biggest changes for us as adoptive parents is that the children will need to be on a national registry for a longer period of time (from 6 months to 12-24 months) and a longer stay in country (from 2-one week trips to 30 consecutive days). There are other changes, but they wouldn't affect us like the above two.

Now as parents who are "in the process" (I LOVE to be able to type that), it is unclear right now whether we will proceed under the old or the new rules. We have sent in enough dossier documents to be registered with the Ministry of Labor, but we could be under the new rules because we haven't accepted a referral. There could also be delays in the processing of adoptions as the new rules are implemented.

As always with international adoption, so much is in flux right now, but just like with Ukraine, God's timing will be perfect :) Ukraine stopped adoptions for about 5 months after we had sent in our dossier in 2007, and I just remember thinking that everything (aka my thoughts on how the adoption should progress) was messed up then. Of course it wasn't because Wesley wasn't available until the day we had our second appointment. I really thought that I knew when it would be best for us to travel to Ukraine, but I was SO wrong!! Besides Wesley not being available, we would have been in Ukraine in the winter - no thanks!!

Please pray for us (mainly Staci) as we (again, mainly Staci) work on the dossier. We have to find a notary who is able to travel to our dotcor's office to notarize our medical papers, and I am not feeling all that motivated to get things done. I think the weather has gotten me down. It has been downright dreary here in Ohio with no sun and inches upon inches of snow. Lately it always seems to be snowing which I enjoy when I am home in my pajamas, but not so much when I have to run errands or drive to work.

I am not going to end on a depressed note, so I do have some good news to share...Damon has been offered a new job!! I have been praying for him to get a new job since we started dating (seriously), which was over 10 years ago. He will still be working in government, but in a job much more suited to his talents and abilities. We are so thankful for this opportunity  for him, and I pray he likes it as much as he thinks he will :)

By the way...I FINALLY had time to make a new background!

Happy birthday, Doda!!

Today is my sweet Mom's birthday! I won't post how old she is today because I'm not looking for trouble...  :) At this point in his life, Wesley has almost learned the birthday song, but we're working on it. I practiced with him earlier today and spent a long time explaining the difference between "dear" and "deer." He kept telling me that Doda (his name for Grandma) "is not a deer, she is a girl" and that "Doda does not pull Santa's sleigh." Thank you, Wesley, I was confused. When he sang the song to her on the phone, he sang

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to my Doda, dear Doda  

Happy birthday to you

So happy birthday, DEAR Doda!! You're the best & we love you!!!