tour de May

it's been silent on here this month (more on that tomorrow),

but it has been far from silent in our world.

we started off May with our first 1/2 marathon as a couple. when I first signed up for this race, my goal was to run it sub-10min/mile pace. for someone who has only run 10miles+ 3 times in her life, this was a strong goal. but by the time race day came around, I was seriously doubting myself. I was just hoping to finish, honestly. training was rough.the adoption journey has been emotionally draining at times + mother nature decided to give us extra doses of winter this year = not a lot of motivation to run on some days. I am a TERRIBLE treadmill runner. terrible. (read: whining, complaining, and quitting early). but, folks, I DID IT! Together, with my supportive/studly husband, we finished in 2 hours and 8 minutes (9:45 pace). and it felt really good. I am ready to keep trying to get faster. :)

 The next weekend we went back to Wichita to watch the STUCK documentary. Wowza. Brutiful, as they say. Watch it. The next morning, Rob headed to KC for a bachelor party, and I spent the afternoon at the park with these two cuties.

then I headed to spend the night with a dear, dear friend. We ate yummy food, drank yummy wine, and talked non-stop for 6+ hours. It was wonderful. I woke up at her house on Mother's Day. On mother's day morning, we went to pick up her precious daughter who is extremely special in my life and has been since before she was born. we share a really special bond. When she saw me (she was surprised) she said: "What are you doing here!?!!" Which was quickly followed up with, "Well it IS mother's day and you are like a second mother to me!" I can't even type the words right now without getting teary eyed all over again. a message straight from God for my aching heart. love that girl. so much.

may has been hard on the adoption front (more on that tomorrow), but we have also had some really exciting things happen, as well. on the 3rd weekend of May, we made our 3rd trip to Wichita to meet and hang out with other Ethiopian adoptive families. it was so great (no pics on here! oops! next time!). the rest of that weekend was spent at graduation parties and getting our house ready for our HOME STUDY!

 

Yes! Our Social Worker came to visit this month, which was a really good reason for us to deep clean the house--windows sparkling, floors mopped, grass mowed, fresh flowers in a vase. Some good ol' spring cleaning! And after our visit and some revisions, we are just days away (fingers crossed) from having our Home Study signed, sealed and delivered.

Our social worker visited us the day before we celebrated 5 YEARS OF MARRIAGE!

 When we got married we both would have guessed that we would have a least one baby in our home on our 5th anniversary, but instead we have two growing in our hearts. We spent our actual anniversary at home- we grilled kabobs, made chocolate fondue and watched our wedding video. very relaxed. then the next morning we road tripped north to Kansas City! we ate bbq + sushi + Ethiopian food, drank starbucks + mixed drinks + tried local coffee shops, and simply enjoyed being together. it was great to be in the city together.

I love this guy so much. We have had a really wonderful 5 years together--just us. These 5 years have been a wonderful gift. We have grown SO MUCH during this time--as individuals and as a couple. We have established a really strong foundation and had a lot of fun. We are excited to see what the next 5+50 years of marriage will bring.

after our weekend away, we made a spontaneous decision to drive back down to Wichita to spend Memorial Day poolside with my family. just can't get enough of these blonde cuties, can you?! me neither :) 

so that does it!

whew!

a quick trip back through MAY.

see why I didn't blog? I was too busy driving to Wichita :)

let the countdown begin

Sarah and I met the weekend we moved into college. 

I still remember what she was wearing. 

(weird? creepy? still true. it was a blue sweater vest, by the way)  

We soon became the best of friends. 

We even planned our Spring Semester classes around watching the Young and Restless together each day. 

again, weird? pathetic?

who cares. it's true. 

   In the ten years since we met, 

we have walked through life together.

our friendship has always been a constant.

we have celebrated the highs and cried over the lows.

we have traveled together and traveled distances to see each other. 

we've enjoyed many a cup-o-coffee and a glass of wine. 

    

She is an incredible mother. daughter. sister. friend.

and in one year she's going to make one beautiful BRIDE.

(and, yes, ultimately that means she's going to make Ziya one lucky man, by becoming his WIFE!)

I'm so stoked for her.

not only because we have been praying for a long time that God would bring

a man into her life who would partner with her as she raises her

daughter and supports her as she pursues her dreams. 

I am also excited because I think that marriage can be pretty rad.  

read: difficult, frustrating, but oh-so-very worth it. 

This past weekend Sarah's bridal party threw them  a fall themed engagement party. 

I made this banner out of burlap and pom-poms. 

I wish I could say I painted the landscape above the mantel...but no.

         

Their wedding is set for November 3, 2013, 

so the theme of the party was a One Year Countdown.  

-- When Harry Met Sally

- See more at: http://www.romancestuck.com/quotes/movie-quotes.htm#sthash.szNrVHNH.dpuf

When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.

-- When Harry Met Sally

- See more at: http://www.romancestuck.com/quotes/movie-quotes.htm#sthash.szNrVHNH.dpuf

Here's the group of women who helped put 

 the party together. I'm excited to get to spend more time with them over the next 12 months. 

the celebrating has only begun. 

 

Sarah and Ziya-

I am so glad we live close to you guys now. We are honored to call you friends and get to witness your journey. We love you and can't wait until NEXT November. 

love, Rob and Erica  

 

"It was a million tiny little things that, when you added them all up, they meant we were supposed to be together." - Tom Hanks, Sleepless in Seattle

side note: I got a new camera (yipee!) but I am still figuring out how to use it, especially with indoor lighting. so be easy on the photo judgment. :) 

in my draft box

I found this in my draft box from last October.
I don't remember writing it,
and I'm not sure what stopped me from posting it then.
but in light of how I've been feeling lately,
I've decided to post it. 

we were in kansas this weekend. 

it was good. 

there is something about being with people who know you. 

good. bad. ugly. 

i saw a friend that i hadn't seen in over three years. 

i got to hug her and talk to her and laugh with her.

it made me miss home. 

i know home in many ways home is denver. 

with rob. 

where we are together. 

yet...my roots go deep in kansas. 

and i am okay with that.

Crazy. On so many levels. 
Last October I longed for Kansas.
And yet sensed we were staying in Denver.
This October I long for many things about Colorado, 
yet sense that we are suppose to be in Kansas. 

Not sure what this means. 
about me.
about God.
about life. 

I guess I'll just take it as it is. 
and be thankful.
and choose to see the beauty in living in a place that I have roots. 
I'm still excited about rebuilding the friendship with the friend mentioned above. 
who knows what God has in store there. 
but I do know that God is at work. 

in my heart. 
in my life. 
in those around me. 

and I'll choose to see that
even on my most difficult of days.      
 

summer recap #1: manitou springs

i'm going to do a series of summer posts.

we had a crazy, busy summer.
full of wonderful things,
just very full.

we started the summer off by celebrating
3 years of marriage
in manitou springs.

our first night we went to a melodrama/dinner theatre
i was really skeptical to start.
but it ended up being very funny and entertaining.
i laughed a lot.


we walked around downtown manitou.
swam and read by the pool.
hiked around Garden of the Gods.

haha. oh, robby. he's so hardcore :)
we were both really sunburned.
the hats were necessary.

on our way back to denver
we stopped at the castle rock outlets :)
a great way to start of the summer!
and celebrate 3 years with my incredible hubby.
blessed!

two years.

A few months ago the hubby asked me
(as I was avoiding a paper by perusing blogland)

"Do you think you'll ever start a blog?"

"Maybe when I'm done with grad school," I said.

i wonder how many times this was my response
in the past two years?

Do you want to join a book club?
when i'm done with school.
Do you want to learn to sew?
maybe when i'm done with school
Have you finished your wedding album? uh, or even started?
well, you get the picture.

well, friends, I am done.
yes.
done!

it would be easy to for me to focus on the things that I could have been doing during the past two years. the ways that I feel like I "missed out" but why would I want to waste my time with such thoughts....and it would be a lie.

sure, the past two years have required sacrifice, hard work, and perseverance.
we have had to budget financially and balance time and energy like crazy.
but we have GAINED much.
I have grown.
My incredible, supportive, patient, encouraging, fun, kind husband has grown.
our marriage has grown.

we have learned so much in the past two years. about ourselves, marriage, God, careers, Colorado, family, communication, being honest, vulnerable. we have learned how to be patient, love deeper, make joint decisions...i could go on and on.

we have grown. and that is SO GREAT to me.
Our first two years of marriage has been it's own kind of adventure.

and when I think of my hubby,
i can't imagine someone else who I would have rather spent the last two years with.
i feel so blessed. almost giddy.

happy 2 year anniversary, babe.
you seriously are the best. seriously.
thanks for being my partner in this crazy thing called life.
i pray we find the adventure in all our days.
i love you.
today and forever.