O What A Very Happy Birthday!

Balloon #1 on my birthday treasure hunt!

What girl doesn't love a box of yummy bath treats to soak in?! I sure do!

My new loungy jammas from Steve

Birthday breakfast--cinnamon crunch bagel, strawberry scone, wild blueberry scone-- no I didn't eat them all...but I sure wanted to! YUM!

Fresh strawberries and cream--a Christy favorite!

Pretty flowers from my friend Rachie! Thanks for making my day girly!

They smelled so good I had to drink them in!

Beautiful flowers from my sweet husband

Entering Estefano's--Casa Toscana

"THE MENU"

Spinach and 3 cheese ravioli with crushed tomatoes and olive oil

Lobster ravioli with a lemon cream sauce

Tomato bisque

Yesterday I celebrated my 33rd birthday. I mean....27th birthday. my bad. :) hee hee. It was such a wonderful day. I was absolutely blown away by all the people I have in my life that care about me. I received so many phone calls, emails, and facebook messages--all of which really made my day! Thank you so much everyone! I truly felt very loved.

I also, as most of you know, have one of the most romantic husbands a girl could ever dream of and he takes every opportunity to pamper me. My day started off with a birthday treasure hunt Steve had all set up for me to do while he was at work. It was so much fun running around the house looking for my next balloon. He had little gifts as well as activities for me to do to make my day special. He seriously blows me away with his surprises.

After my treasure hunt, my good friend Diane and her girls took me out to lunch! We tried out a new Indian place and had so much fun discovering all the different foods they had. It's always a blast being with them. Thanks girlies!

That night, we had reservations at an amazing Italian place called "Estefano's", the location was great as it happened to be right in our own dining room with the whole meal prepared and presented by "Estefano" himself. (Steve) It was delicious!! I have the best husband! It was so fun to sit inside listening to romantic Italian music, while rain pattered down outside and enjoy an incredible meal with Steve.

Last night when I went to bed, I was almost in tears....this time they were tears of happiness for all the love I felt throughout the whole day yesterday. It really was such a wonderful birthday, thanks to all of you who made it so special in many different ways. I am overwhelmed by the good friends I have in my life. I don't know exactly what I did to get them all! But I'm sincerely grateful to you for your examples, your strength, and your love to me. Thank you for making my day so happy! I've said it before and I'll say it again. I am one lucky girl!!

Moving On.....

One of the things I miss most about California.....i can't get enough of this sight!

Gotta have our Waite Time! We love you guys!

Just the girls: Rach, Mia and me on our favorite comfy couch

Jule's Bridal Shower

The most beautiful BRIDE GIRL!

Let's get these presents opened...shall we??

Jules and I

Scotty boy...after his 7 month adventure in China! So glad you're back!

Danny & Steve giving us a private rock concert!

Ahhhh...yes. I have missed you.

Scott, Danny & Steve enjoying their In 'N Out

Roscoe ruling the pad in our hotel room in Augusta

Charis and I--catching up after 9 years!

Steve's and my goal over this past month has been moving on. We are trying to re-focus our lives and appreciate all the good things we have. We are looking for other ways to find happiness, even if it's different than the plan we originally had for our life.
These past few weeks have been busy. We took a trip to CA to look at some dental practices either to buy or for Steve to be a partner in. We have a lot of reservations about going back to Cali, (especially after we look at real estate) but it is home to us and the thought of going back is still very exciting and comforting. We have family there and many good friends as well as lots of things we like to do....baseball games, & BEACH (just to mention a couple)! While we were in Cali we got to spend a lot of time with Steve's parents and my brothers and sister. It was so much fun being with them. We played games, talked, stayed up way too late, and ate like crazy. I loved every minute! I also got to go to my sister's bridal shower (she's getting married in March!) It was fun to be a part of it! Love you Jules! We also got to see our good friends Rachel and Willie--we always have the best time with them. Yummy pizza, good laughs and of course a frozen yogurt run or 2 thrown in!
After our trip to California we went to Georgia for a dental CE course for Steve. We brought Roscoe along and stayed at the Marriot in Augusta, right by the riverwalk. Every morning Roscoe and I would enjoy a long walk around the river. It was great weather and a nice chance to be outside and enjoy the beginning of Spring. While staying in Georgia, I also got to visit one of my former college roommates and good friend, Charis and her family. I got to meet her adorable twins and it was so great to catch up with her after 9 years!!!
Now we are back home, and back to home projects. We painted another bathroom in our home yesterday and have one more to go. Hopefully we will be able to get our house all ready and on the market to sell in the next month and a half. This is a big year, full of changes, but we are excited for them!

Brokenhearted again....

I apologize if this post doesn't make sense but I feel I need to update, even if I don't have the words to explain. This has been an excruciating week for Steve and I. We found out that the birthmother of the baby we were going to adopt next month changed her mind and would not be placing the baby with us. We feel brokenhearted and hopeless. We always knew this was a risk with adoption but we really didn't think it would happen or play out the way it has. We felt good about our initial decision to adopt this baby and felt like we had a good relationship with the birthmom. We felt a lot of love and reassurance from her for so many months. Everything just seemed to change so quickly. So here we are again--hurt, not understanding why we have to keep going through these difficult things. Why couldn't we have been spared from this one? We are once again trying to pick up the pieces and move on. It's very hard. It's difficult to find hope and peace again.
We thank everyone that has reached out to us and offered love and support to us during this time. It truly does mean a lot to know you are loved.