a general update on life

Wow, it has been a while! I had plans to blog over the break but that obviously didn't happen. Now that I am into a routine for the semester, I'm feeling super ready to balance all of the things that I want to do throughout my day.

A little update on life... Over the break Tom and I got to spend a lot of time together, which was MUCH needed. We were lazy bums most of the break. We saw more movies than I care to admit, but hey, we had gift cards to the movies! How could we resist? I went to Auburn to see some family there. My cousin, Kaylie, came along last minute and we were able to spend some much needed time together with my other cousins, Darby and Madison. My Aunt Angela is a great hostess, so we had a weekend of fun and relaxation. I always cherish the moments I get to spend with these girls, and I take great comfort in knowing that we will continue to be a part of each other's lives no matter where we are (or how old). I love being totally girly, and let me tell you, my cousins know how to bring out that GIRLY girl in me :)

We've made definite progress on the wedding plans. I've ordered linens, the cakes, save the dates are FINALLY out, invitations are about to be ordered today, Lou Mandy is going to be our calligrapher, moving forward on a rehearsal dinner location, meeting the florist next week, figured out a theme for numbering tables, bought lots of picture frames on sale at Aaron's Brothers, doing some artsy craftsy details in my spare time at home, room blocks are set up, shower dates are almost set, and we registered! Registering was a little overwhelming. We are loving that we can edit everything online, though. I will probably spend WAY too much time doing that in the next couple of months. We registered at Crate and Barrel, Macy's, and BB&B. I can't wait to start decorating a home. The rent houses we had in college were fun, but we never felt like we had much ownership in those places. Being long distance, we travel a lot on the weekends. Tom practically lives out of his truck, and I am gone at least every other weekend, if not more. We are very much looking forward to have a place where we can both relax..together..whenever we want, however we want! I have a stash of decorating books on my shelf that are itching to be put to good use. I am very much excited to obey God's call to women to be "busy at home" :) I dream of creating a welcoming, safe, organized place for Tom to come home to. It kills me that I can't give that to him right now...

This semester has been one of my favorites so far. The HDFS (Human Development and Family Science) department requires students to do a practicum during their last semester. I am doing mine at the Center for Child Protection for 20hrs/week. In my role as a Family Support Specialist, I greet children and families and interact with children and siblings before and after the interview process. The children coming in have been either sexually or physically abused, or witnessed a violent act of crime. They take children up to 18 years old and also see adults with developmental delays. Everyone at the center is VERY nice. CCP relies heavily on volunteers and interns. The work I do feels very meaningful. There is quite a bit of down time, as well. But no one complains about that...having children in for interviews is not something to really celebrate anyways. The interview is the first step for a child to tell what happened. they visit the Center accompanied by a parent or guardian. All of the participating agencies including law enforcement officers, CPS, the Center's forensic interviewers, and onsite Assistant District Attorney collaborate so that the child can have a safe, non-threatening environment for their statements to be recorded in. There is follow-up care for children and parents via therapy and protective parenting classes.

In addition to that, I am taking my last class, Infant Development and Attachment Relationships. I am loving this class as well. If you know anything about me, you know I have always been fascinated by attachment and anything to do with birth/babies/pregnancy. I feel blessed to be taking the class. There is SO much information out there concerning this topic, but it's nice to know what the research actually says. We had a parent panel last night during class. A couple of first time parents came in to speak about their struggles with getting pregnant. The women were both in their early forties, and were 22 and 28 weeks along. It was surprisingly very informative! There are so many decisions involved with having a baby. From picking the name to banking umbilical cord blood, I could see their anxiety about "picking the right choice."

Speaking of babies...when Tom and I first started dating we both expressed a desire to adopt children. Over the past few years, that desire has grown. God has brought people and experiences into our lives to re-affirm our longing to care for orphans in their distress. My church, Austin Stone Community Church, has been raising awareness about adoption, urging Christians to live out the gospel through horizontal adoption. I don't know a lot of things in my life right now, but I do know that God is shaping my heart in such a way that I will feel unsatisfied if we don't at least pursue adoption at some point in our lives. So... I heard about this adoption conference that Grace Covenant Church is holding on Feb. 20th. Tom and I signed up. Hopefully it will be informative. From what we've heard, adoption is a VERY long and hard process. We aren't adopting anytime soon, of course, but we really want to be educated about ithe financial, emotional, and spiritual aspects of it.