Oh. Oops.

I guess I forgot to write on here for a few days. My bad.

Let's see....I wrote about Julianna's big 6th birthday which was a lot of fun and added more toys to our collection. Have no fear though,mommy has been selling the less played with toys online...;) The girls don't put up too much of a fuss with me selling things..most of the time. Occasionally,I will dig a long lost toy out of a forgotten bin and they will just swear that it's the best toy they've ever had and they really do love it! Hehe.

Also,on the day we celebrated J's birthday,we purchased a used car. Le sigh. OK...so basically here's what happened. Stay with me here,this might get confusing. We have had a traveling circus of cars in our driveway last year/this year. In February 2012,we traded in my Honda Pilot (paid off) for a Honda Odyssey. Y'all. I LOVED that thing. Seriously. Coolest mini-van ever. Leather seats,DVD player,spacious. Many time,I would find an excuse just to go outside and sit in the darn thing because it was SO comfy. Now,Erik was driving a 1994 Chevy Silverado. So,we paid off the Odyssey and we were planning to get Erik another car shortly because the truck was getting older and needing more work..plus,the gas was just terrible on it.

However,when we started the adoption process,we sold everything not nailed down in our house (slight exaggeration but not much...),and we decided that to be "fully funded" we needed to sell my van (cry!),because it was the most valuable thing we had. So,we traded in my van for an older,high mileage much less pretty van. :) And I was completely fine with it because it was going to get us to our baby. So,in December, Erik's truck started to fall apart big time. We took it in for some work and spent 250$ on it. Then,the work done didn't help at ALL,and so Erik went and did some work on himself and took the catalytic converter off. Then,we had to go buy a new converter and that was 250$. We really hated to spend so much money on it,but we thought if we just got this last "thing" done,then it would get us through until the adoption was over. Nope. The problems just kept getting worse. Erik drove with the CC off for over a month (which is illegal),and when we went to put it back on,had nothing but problems. While he was under the truck,he noticed a transmission leak.....and a radiator hose leak. Agh. We seriously couldn't fix everything wrong with it. So,we ame to a rock and a hard place. We had to purchase something reliable,and basically had nothing to put down on it....except...you guessed it,our adoption money.

My van isn't worth much,Erik's truck even less....and paying for the adoption leveled our regualr savings account. So,we had nothing but the money saved from selling things in our house and selling the van.

I'm not going to lie. I was SAD. So,so sad. It felt like the death of a dream. However,I am glad we were able to find something used and reliable,and we feel like Erik will be able to drive it for 10 years easily. Now,let's just hope my hoopty makes it 3-4. ;)

So,on the adoption front,we are just praying and waiting. Praying and waiting. I could say it a few more times for emphasis,but I think you get the point,right? Yeah,I thought so. I am trying not to think about it too much (which is impossible),but to still encourage my many new friends that I've met along the way! Whether we adopt or not,we will ALWAYS love the ministry started at Reece's Rainbow,and advocate/pray/give as much as we can.

And since this post is already so random,let me add a few more bits of unrelated news.

1) I'm dieting. Ugh. Many of you long time readers of my blog know that I'm a recovering fattie. I say it jokingly,but I do struggle with food addiction,and lost 100 pounds total a few years ago. I was doing fairly well maintaining my weight...until we lost Oliver. If you are an addict,no matter the "drug",you know that anytime something traumatizing happens,you desire to return to that old familiar thing that you think will comfort you. I ended up gaining about 15 pounds or so above my "maintenance weight." I had a strict talk with myself,and alerted Erik to what was going on,and he is supporting me as I climb that uphill mountain of weight loss and living healthy.

2) We started First Grade at Prince of Peace Academy. :) I was SO happy to dive into a new curriculum because I was getting bored looking at our K stuff. I truly loved our K program,and would be so happy to use it again,but after about 36 weeks,I was ready for something new. For 1st grade,we are taking a whole new approach,and it's going well. I feel like Julianna is getting exactly what she needs at this stage.

3) Matilda is dressing herself. Today: Black turtleneck and black leggings. With Julianna,I would try to guide her choices and still have her look cute. Matilda is a different beast,though,and so as long as it covers her parts,I.do.not.care. Tonight she went to bed with her pajamas on backwards. She thinks she looks cute and that's all that matters.

:)