Our last few days in FL were a blur, it seems like there is so much time and then as it nears the end so much tries to get crammed in. :)

Here are a few more pictures worth sharing! :)

Liam asleep on the bed, the flash lit up the room so it looks as bright as it does due to that.

The boys enjoying Grandpa's smoothies...

As a "treat" for losing fifty pounds, my mom and Olivia and I went to my favorite restaurant, The Melting Pot...

The day before we met Brandi and Jessica at the beach I had gone to see the tour of Rent. My parents have seen it a number of times and suggested I go since I had not seen it and some of the original cast members were a part of this tour. I LOVED it!!!!

A few years back I had watched the movie but it was odd and confusing to me. I LOVED the stage production! Since we were leaving Saturday, I had decided to get "cheap seat" tickets for the Friday performance and go again. :)

After the performance I went around to the stage door and a few of the actors, including one main actor whom I had been excited to see since I knew him from a few movies and was reading his memoir, came out to sign autographs. I had the book with me, so had Anthony Rapp sign the book and took a picture of him signing others. I wasn't "brave" enough to ask for a photo with him!!!


I see that the show is coming to Chicago for ONE performance in the fall, so I'm planning on buying tickets to go!!! :)

All in all we really had a wonderful vacation! It's good to be home and do things here for a while too. Olivia and Braeden have started soccer, we're firming plans for day care and school this fall, I had a new door put on the front which I had ordered prior to vacation, I was able to see Harry Potter thanks to a friend watching the kids for me, and tomorrow I'm so blessed to be able to participate in a first-ever Project Hopeful International Adoption / HIV adoption workshop with some online friends and some of Olivia's doctors. I'm so excited and hopefully will have lots to share and blog about after! I've also talked with a friend of mine who is a caseworker to put a bug in her ear about something I've been thinking a lot about lately.

I've really tried thinking of ways for our family to help give back, especially in our community. I've tried other things that people I know have done, only to be blocked in many ways. I finally realized I needed to think about us and our gifts and what we have to share. What I think God is leading me to do is provide support to a single, possibly teen, parent who has little to no support in the area. I certainly know what it's like to be a single parent, and to have no family around. I have been blessed with my friends, church, and career, and my kids LOVE to love on other kids! So, I talked to her today about thinking of someone who could use a place to leave her kids from time to time for a break, or to take a class, etc. Someone whom we could have over for dinner every now and then. Someone who could become extended family. Someone whom WE could be support FOR. I think she was surprised and pleased to hear why I was calling and said she would check around to see if they are currently working with anyone like that or maybe someone there would know of someone. I think God has opened my eyes to exactly the kind of thing our family would be perfect for! :)

I look forward to what the rest of the summer brings!