Yesterday was a busy day! We celebrated two milestones, and we visited a new church super close to home. It was a great day, and we really enjoyed just spending time together as a family and celebrating our love for one another.

On October 27, 2007, Derrick and I had our first date. He lived in Austin, and I was wrapping up my last year of college in Beaumont. We had met through friends a year or two prior, but at the time, a relationship wasn’t possible. So we remained friends, and one day conversations picked up. We decided we wanted to explore something more, and I am so glad that we did. I traveled to Austin for the weekend before Halloween, and we went hiking, I met his mom, we had pancakes and went dancing. All of that was great, but neither of us will forget the haunted house that we chickened out of going to! It actually wasn’t the haunted house that we were afraid of. It was the part of town that it was in! It was super shady, and we got out started walking toward the ticket booth, then looked at each other and decided that the parking lot was too scary for us! It was a fun, memorable and special weekend.

Three years after that first date, we started sharing our special weekend with the first new member of our family, Jeep. We adopted Jeep at the end of the 2009, only knowing that he was about two years old by the vet’s approximation. He was taken in to foster care at the end of October, so we decided that would be his birthday. In 2010, we threw him his first birthday party, and it’s a tradition we’ve continued every year since. It’s nothing extravagant. Just a little treat that he doesn’t normally get. This year, he wore Corbin’s birthday hat, and we gave him boiled chicken for dinner, which he devoured in 10 seconds! Not kidding. I love the relationship that he is building with the twins. Lynley absolutely adores him, and I dread the day that we have to say goodbye to him. Hopefully not for another six years or more!

Yesterday, we also visited a new church that we’ve been wanting to learn more about. We have been on the lookout for a new church since this summer after the one we fell in love with decided to move in a new direction. We decided to go in our own direction, and one day as I was driving home, I spotted a church. It’s been there for a long time, but I never noticed it until there was a bright, colorful MOTHER’S DAY OUT sign out front! I don’t normally drive this route home, but God led me that way for two reasons it seems. I’m  definitely interested in signing my little ones up for MDO, so Derrick and I decided that while we wait for them to become old enough, 15 months starting age, we’d visit the church and see what we thought about the people and principles.

Our first impression was wonderful! First of all, it’s only a 10- to 15-minute drive, and when we got there, we were greeted by the most amazing women who run the nursery and MDO program. The babies took right to them and kept wanting to be held by two of the ladies. The nursery is empty right now because the babies that were in it have graduated, so that’s a plus for germaphobe me. Everyone was just so kind to us. I was already invited to a women’s group on Monday nights that I’m so looking forward to joining in the future. We’re going to be on a waiting list for MDO. Bummer But, they’re not old enough until the end of January, and that is flu/cold season anyway. I’m praying for two spots to open in the spring! Or just one spot they can share… this mommy needs a little break to look forward to, even if that means I still have to care for one twin while the other goes to “school.” It would give me a chance to spend quality time with the other, and give them a chance to play with other friends instead of just brother or sister. I’m really talking myself into this option instead of having them both enrolled…. Hmmmmm