Come on over!!!

Wow!  I haven't been here in a while! I wanted to invite all of you over to my new blog... I've noticed that there is still a LOT of traffic through this site. I am so happy you continue to visit. Please click on the link above and join me on my new journey!

See you there...

i am turning the page

My son is learning to love chapter books!  You can imagine how this excites me.  Each night he chooses a book and we read a chapter together.  It is so much fun for me, given my LOVE for books!  I can remember being young and learning to read.  Chapter books were always my favorite.   JP and I were recently in the library when I found a rather large book that I knew he would enjoy.  However when I showed it to him, he looked almost afraid.  "Oh mommy!  I could never read that book...it's too big for me!"   I explained to him that, that was not true at all.  You just had to read one chapter at a time.

Isn't that also true in life?  If you try to figure everything out all at once, it is so overwhelming!  Much too big for us.  But if you focus on living one day at a time (sometimes, one hour at a time), all of a sudden, it doesn't seem so impossible. 

I have come to the end of a very long chapter in my life.  It's time to turn the page.  Part of the next chapter is the opening of my new blog.  I said that I would explain the name on this site, but I have decided against it.  The explanation of the title is written in the body of the post.  I would like to thank all of you, my readers, for your constant support.  You have been amazing and I will always cherish this blog and everything it has meant to me.  Now, my prayer is that you choose to follow me through the remainder of my story.  I love all of you.

Click on the link below.

the Land of Judah

we are home (next to last post)

What a week!!  I hope that everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving holiday!  I have to say, mine was not quite as sad and emotional as I had anticipated.  Don't get me wrong...I had a few moments.  However, as a whole, it was very nice.

As I mentioned before, I spent most of this week at the beach.  How could it be bad, right?!!  The ocean is SO healing for me.  I try to spend as much time there as possible.  (Looks like I'll be leaving for Chucktown aka Charleston on the 13th!)  I can smell the air on Sullivans Island already....Mmm.

Here are a few pics from the week:

 

 

 

 

These pictures are a little out of order.  JP was with me the first part of the week.  We drove home for Thanksgiving day.  JP went to be with his dad and we enjoyed a meal with my dad's side of the family.  Not having JP with me was definitely not ideal, but he was happy... and that's all that matters to me at this point.  After our dinner, we loaded up Preston and headed back down to the coast for the remainder of the week.  Preston had a great time!  He was really cute toting his football around everywhere.

 

 

Here are the boys on Thanksgiving day.  I am SO thankful for them both!  They bring such joy (and chaos) to our lives...

 

 

We are home now.  I have a LOT of cleaning and organizing to do.  I have had a pretty hard time getting into the Christmas spirit.  Everything is so different now.  I have decided that, rather than stay "blue" about the changes, I am going to begin brand new traditions.  I am not teaching tomorrow, so I plan to spend the majority of my day getting the house ready to decorate.  Dad and Laurie will be working tomorrow evening, so mom, the boys and I are going to put up the trees and watch a Christmas movie.  I may even have to introduce JP to hot chocolate!  Saturday night we are going to see the Roper Mountain Christmas lights and visit Santa.  That's always fun.  When school lets out, Kerri and I are taking our boys over to Kathi's house for more Christmas movies and cookie baking... This will be new and I am REALLY excited about it!  We're calling it Kookies at Kathi's.  Extremely cheesy, I know.  But who cares?!  The boys will have a blast. 

 

 

I also have to spend a part of the week studying for my final exam in my medical class.  It is next week.  UGH.  I will be so happy when this is over.  I have terrible test anxiety.  It looks like I will celebrate the end of the semester at the beach!  I look forward to that.

 

 

Alright.  I originally said that I would only post once more to this blog, but I wanted to go ahead and do the Thanksgiving/beach trip recap.  I DO have the name of my new blog.  I am SO EXCITED about it!!  Unfortunately, I will not share it until I am ready to open up the site.  I am working on it NOW.  In the beginning, it is just going to be a BlogSpot address like this one.  Eventually, I hope to change it to an actual website address.  I still have not decided which one I want to use.  My last post on this blog will be this week.  In it, I will share with you the name of the new blog and the meaning behind it.  God revealed it to me this past week.  I had a whole other name ready and actually ON the header of the blog.  After being introduced to this one, I have not been able to get it out of my head.  It is based on a scripture that has brought so much peace and comfort to me recently.  It is very special and I cannot wait to share it with you. 

 

Well, that's all I have for now.  HAPPY MONDAY, friends!



the results are in

I do not have time to write tonight, but I promised a decision by Monday, so here goes:

I will be closing out THIS blog and beginning a new one.  After a unanimous response from you guys, I will not make the new blog PRIVATE.  It will take me a little while to sort out the details, so I will ask you to, once again, be patient with me. 

JP and I will be at the beach the majority of this week.  We will return Thanksgiving day to enjoy a meal with our family.  And then we'll head back to the ocean for an extended weekend.  I will not be writing/or working on the blog during this time. I am going to do my very best to enjoy my holiday.  For several reasons, this is a difficult holiday season for me...that is why I am ESCAPING as much as possible for the next two months!

I wish each and every one of you a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!  Before I open the new site, I will post ONCE MORE on here.  I will explain to you the reason for my decision and give you the name of the new blog.  Once it is up and running, I will provide a link on THIS page for you to use. 

HAPPY MONDAY FRIENDS!

closing

After careful thought and lots of prayer, I have decided to close out this blog.  My decision is based on many factors.  This blog was originally started to chronicle our journey to adopt JP from Guatemala.  I plan to turn that portion of this site into a book for JP to have when he is older.  That was my original intent.  Over time, I have kept you up to date with the happenings of my family and hopefully provided you with a little encouragement and inspiration along the way. 

Well, now my family dynamics have changed.  In closing out that chapter of my life, I feel that it is an appropriate time for me to close out this blog.

I want to thank all of you out there and around the world who have read and supported my thoughts and my family for almost SEVEN years!  Your faithfulness astounds me, and your prayer support has kept me going.  I have received messages and emails throughout this journey that I will forever cherish. 

I have a couple of new ideas I am currently praying about. I really do love to blog.  So, I am thinking of starting up a whole new blog in honor of this new life I have been handed.  I already have several names I am rolling around in my head.  It may take me a little time to decide how exactly I want to go about this.  Another thing I am trying to decide is, whether or not to keep my blog public. That's a very big decision.  If I went "private" with the site, you would have to have permission to read it.  Inevitably there would probably be a lot of you who would not request permission, therefore you would no longer follow me.  That part makes me really sad.  But, there are obvious privacy and safety reasons for making a blog private. 

So, here's the deal.   I am going to leave this post up for ONE WEEK.   I would LOVE your input on this.  I guess you could say that I am going to take a poll.  I will leave my email at the bottom of this post for those of you who I do not message with by phone or see on a regular basis. 

DO I LEAVE THE BLOG PUBLIC FOR THE READERS WHO ARE LITERALLY ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GLOBE TO ENJOY?

OR

DO I GO PRIVATE AND ONLY ALLOW "INVITED" READERS TO FOLLOW MY FAMILY?

If you are a faithful follower, I expect your input.  I am excited about the changes that God is bringing forth in my life.  Changing up my online "journal" is just one of many!  I will make my decision Monday, November 25th. 

Email me your thoughts...

acbeam3@yahoo.com

Thanks in advance for your time!

life is an adventure (or at least my NEW life will be!)

I am sitting here in my room.  I have music playing softly in the background.  John Mayer on Pandora, to be exact.  It's Sunday evening and I have done NOTHING today.  Literally, nothing.  I didn't even leave the house to go to church.  It's been the longest week ever.  Not just for me, but for my whole family.  Our Daddy O's passed away on Wednesday.  We celebrated his life Friday afternoon.  Thursday I spent the afternoon in Family Court.  That was a blast.  I am legally and officially divorced.

Eeek.

Anyway, there were some really good things that came out of this week. 

I had the opportunity to spend most of the week with my favorite people in the whole world.  My second family.  Jeffrey and D.J. (pictured left) came in to town. It's always good to see them.  JP loves D.J.!  Grandmother (in the middle, Daddy O's' wife) actually came out to dinner with us.  It was good for her to get out of her house for a little while.  She is doing well, but continue to pray for her.  She has a long road ahead of her. 

 Laurie and Jeffrey...these two have been T.R.O.U.B.L.E since birth. 



And here are the PERFECT children.  Since birth. (Hehehehe)

 

 



Between the funeral and my court hearing I am emotionally drained.  I woke up this morning and didn't feel like I could do anything.  Or face anyone.  I guess that sounds crazy, but it's how I felt.  We were supposed to go to Pawley's Island this weekend, but I am going to reschedule another trip. Hopefully some time in December, before Christmas.  We leave next Monday and head to Myrtle Beach for the week of Thanksgiving.  I am looking forward to spending time there.  We have not been to mom and dad's condo in a long time.  I hope that the weather cooperates.  It will be a nice time of relaxation.

 



 

How true is this statement?!  Since my separation, I have set a handful of new goals for myself.  One of them is to travel more.  My best friends will be in France over the next couple of years.  JP and I will definitely be visiting them.  More than once!  I am also looking forward to taking JP to visit Guatemala.  I am not sure when that will happen, I just know it's going to.  These two big trips will have to be scheduled around my school calendar, but be sure that I will let you know when they take place!  Exciting! 

 

In the meantime, I will be planning a Weekend Road Trip once a month.  In December, we will be enjoying Dollywood again.  January, I hope to head back to Pawley's and in February, my girls and I are taking a (no children aloud) weekend trip to Charleston.  To name a few...   

 

So I don't plan to.

 

My devotion for today went like this:

 

" Follow Me.  No matter where I lead you, just follow Me.  Don't worry about how everything will turn out.  Just trust Me, and I'll show you the way.

 

Think of your life as an adventure, with Me as your guide and companion.  Don't worry about where our path will lead tomorrow - just live in the adventure of today.  Keep your mind on staying close to Me.

 

If our path takes us to the bottom of a steep cliff, don't be afraid...just hold on tightly to My hand and take a deep breath.  I'll help you climb all the way up to the top.  And when we come to a peaceful resting place, stop there a while and rest with Me.

 

You already know where our journey will end.  Someday I will take you into Heaven.  But, for now, just follow Me as I guide You along today's path.  And enjoy the adventures you share with Me."

 

How fitting. 

Happy Monday everyone!  Enjoy your adventure TODAY and let's be thankful for a brand new week.



a very heavy heart

My emotions are all over the map tonight.  I will attend a funeral Wednesday for an extraordinary woman.  It is my understanding that there is most probably another funeral that will take place in the near future for a very dear friend who is reaching the finish line in his race with cancer.  Thursday, I will finally close the door on a part of my life that no longer exists. 

My heart is very heavy.

I am more thankful now than ever for my salvation and my faith.  Life is short, guys.  And God is making it very clear to me that the things I think are so important on this Earth...they aren't so important in light of eternity. 

I will not be posting again until next week.  Thanks for your patience and your support.

Have a great rest-of-the-week!