Travel, Toys, & Things

I used to love watching The Newlywed Game.  Andrew would come home from work and I would ask him some of my favorite questions from that day's show.  I'm sure he loved it.  Ha!

I've quit watching the show but I still like to ask him random Question of The Day questions.  

I thought it would be fun to share some questions and answers with you.

QUESTION #1: If you had to live in one of the places we've visited on vacation which one would be your first choice?

Andrew: Probably Charleston

Elaina:  Denver I think.  I really enjoyed our time there and I love the snow.  

QUESTION #2: If you inherited ten million dollars, what would you buy first (after all the bills/debt were paid off)?

Andrew: Tickets for us on a world cruise.

Elaina:  I'd buy an RV and we'd take a long vacation traveling across the US going everywhere we've always wanted to go.

(Great minds think alike.  We like traveling together.)

QUESTION #3: What is your least favorite think about travel?

Andrew: Other Travelers

Elaina:  Definitely flying.  It is slightly scary to me and it makes me sick.

QUESTION #4: What was your favorite toy growing up?

Andrew: Legos

Elaina:  Probably my chalkboard and then whiteboard.  I've always been a teacher. :)

QUESTION #5: If you could medal in an Olympic sport, what sport would you participate in?

Andrew: I think it has to be 100m sprint.  That's the fastest man in the world.

Elaina:  Gymnastics for sure.  I've always wanted to be able to flip across the floor like that.  

A Little Q&A

I've been in a little blogging rut lately.  Sometimes I think it would be easier to just give up blogging.  But I love it too much.  

I love being able to go back and relive the fun memories.  

I love being able to go back and see how God has worked in our lives.  

And I love being able to go back and prove my husband wrong about certain memories...not that I have ever done that.  Hehe!

Any way I thought it might fun to break up the rut with a little Q&A so I asked my facebook friends for some questions.  

And I didn't plan this but I ended up with 13 questions and today is the 13th so there's that fun little tidbit.

And now...well now I shall answer them.

1. Favorite restaurant?

Hmm...I love me some Chick-Fil-A.  I'm also a fan of any place where I can get some good pasta.  Chicken alfredo is my favorite and there isn't anywhere where we live that serves great pasta.  If we are somewhere else I want pasta.

2. Do you still scrapbook? 

I really don't.  In fact I just cleaned out all of my supplies and gave a huge box of stuff to my sister-in-law.  I still love to craft and do different projects, but I don't really scrapbook anymore. My blog has become my scrapbook.

3. What is your next porch party?

I think hosting our porch parties might just be my favorite thing about our house.  Andrew and I love entertaining and we love the process of planning a porch party.  The Masters Watch party was a lot of fun...I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that it was different from our Americana parties.

  Of course my favorite porch event was the wedding of two of our favorite people.

So our next porch party will most likely be our third annual Americana party.  We've been discussing ways to change it up this year.  Andrew has some pretty good ideas based on the fact that the summer Olympics occur this year.

4. Boxers or Briefs?

Boxers...is there really any other choice?

5. To be or not to be?

Not to be.

6. Beatles or Elvis?

Beatles...though I love me some Elvis.

7. If you could go back and change careers what would you do knowing what you know now?

Ugh!  Asking me this question with 30 days left of school...Let's just say I'm ready for May.
Teaching definitely has its frustrations and sometimes I do beg Andrew to let me be a stay at home wife.  With that being said, I believe God created me to teach.  It's what I've always wanted to do.  There has really never been another option for me.  So knowing what I know now I would still choose to be a teacher.  The rewards far outweigh the frustrations.

8. How was it kissing without braces for the first time?

Oh my goodness!  Let me just tell you. It is such a relief not to have worry about getting stuck every time we kiss.

9. If you could spend one hour with anyone (passed or alive) who would you choose?

My Granddad.  He went home to be with Jesus when I was just a baby so I never really got to know him.  I know that my Mommom talks about him like he was perfect.  I so admire her love for him.

10. What is your favorite, go-to Bible verse?

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord.  "They are plans for good and nor for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."

11. How do you find time/ or when do you spend time in God's word?

I'll admit I struggle with this.  I've tried various times of my day.  For awhile I was doing it when I got to school.  My planning period is the first period of the day and I would take a few minutes then, but I found that some days I would be behind or busy and it wouldn't happen.  For the past couple of weeks I've been reading on my phone with the YouVersion app.  This allows me to do it while I'm still in bed before I get up.  Everything is still quiet and still.

12. Do you make all the the cute things you use in your classroom?

Decorating my classroom is probably one of my favorite parts of my job.  I love choosing a theme, looking for ideas, and then putting it all together.  I spend a lot of time in that room so I want it to be a happy place just as much for me as for my students.  I also love crafting.  So yes I do make the majority of the things for my classroom.  It combines two of my favorite things.  Each summer I have to make myself stop with the decorating and crafting and focus on lesson plans.  Right now I'm leaning towards a travel theme for next year and I could not be more excited about it.

13. Favorite childhood memory?

This is a tough one.  I had a great childhood.  I loved playing JC Penney with my cousins at Mommom's.  I loved playing hide and seek with cousins at Granny and PaPa's house.  Nathan would hide me in the best places - putting me in the tops of closets and all kinds of crazy spots.  Summer days outside with my brother were the best.  We would use the water hose to turn our front yard into our own personal water park.  Family vacations were the best rather it was camping or spending a week in Branson.




Well that was fun.  Thank you for the questions.  Maybe we will do this again soon.

Weaver, Party of ?

A few posts ago I asked you if you had any questions for me about our adoption journey.

It's funny how three of the questions asked are the very questions I've been purposefully avoiding here on the blog.

But here it goes!

What ages are you willing to accept?  Are there any conditions that you are not willing to accept when it comes to adopting?

Adoption is a funny thing in that you have some control over what type of children you bring into your home.  At the beginning of this journey we had to sit down and answer these two questions for ourselves.  There were pages and pages of conditions and behaviors that we had to consider.  It became clear to us very quickly that no matter what child or group of children they match us with, we are going to pray about it.

The easy answer to both of these questions is that we are willing to accept whatever children God has for us.

But that seems like I'm not really answering your questions doesn't it.

Ages?  We are truly wide open on this one.  We feel more drawn to older children because they are harder to find homes for than the little ones.  We also feel like this might be a bit more doable for us since I'm a teacher.  The kids simply ride to school with me.  No worry about day cares.  We will have the same schedule - even days off.

Conditions?  There aren't really in specific conditions that we are currently saying no to, however we have to be realistic.  If a child has some pretty heavy medical needs, we might not be the best family for him or her simply because of where we live.  They probably need to be closer to some amazing doctors.

Again, right now our answer is that we will pray about it and see what God wants us to do.

We believe God will make it very clear who is supposed to become part of our family.

With that being said there is a group that God has placed on our hearts.  

If they have not found their forever home before we are open and ready to adopt, we plan to inquire about them as soon as we are open.

That leads me to the next question...the one that I've been a little fearful to answer here on the blog.

How many children do you want to eventually adopt?

The sibling group that God has placed on our hearts is a large sibling group.  Large enough that you may very well think we are crazy when you hear the number.  It's why I'm a bit fearful.

But God has given both of us peace about seeking adoption of this group.  No matter how crazy it sounds or looks, we believe that God is leading us to pursue these beautiful babies.

So are you sitting down?

Hehe.

We are currently praying about a sibling group of ten.   

Oh it makes my heart explode with happiness when I think about having a big ol' family.

They range in ages from 6 to 16.  There are three sets of twins.

I've always wanted twins.

No matter how many we adopt, right now we feel like this is a one time deal.  We do not see ourselves going through this process a second time.  God might change our hearts on that, but right now our plan is just this one time.

When will we have children in our home?

Good question.  And I wish I knew the answer.  Oh how I wish I knew the answer.  We have officially completed our PRIDE (foster/adoption) training.

 We will attend CPR training later this month.  Other than that we are at a standstill until our background checks come back.

Will you pray with me that those come back quickly?  It's hard to wait when all you want to do is bring your children home and love on them.  I hate that they are still sitting there waiting, not knowing that we want them to be a part of our family.

Once our background checks come back we will go have fingerprints done.  At that point our home study will be ordered.  They are supposed to have 45-60 days to complete our home study.  When it has been completed  we will probably have a three or four week wait before we are declared an open home.

Being an open home means we are ready to be matched with a group of siblings.  

So ideally we hope to have kids sometime this spring.  We would LOVE it if God's plan was for them join our family at the end of the school year, but we know oh so well that God's timing is better than our own.

I'm going to end this post by saying thank you again.  I've heard stories where families adopt with ZERO support from their family and friends.  That is not our story at all.  We are covered with support and we are so thankful.  It means more to us than you could possibly know.

So thank you!

We love you all!

Life Lately

I looked at my calendar yesterday morning only to realize it is already the last week of January.  Crazy!  Where did the month go?

Last week Andrew had to travel to Oklahoma City for work.  Thankfully he only had to be gone one night.  I took advantage of it and had dinner with my Momma and Mommom.  Fun girls night out in the middle of the week.

I also got a little crazy while he was gone preparing for the 100th day of school which was last Thursday.  I made a little treat for each of my students.

It took a little bit of time to put EIGHTY of these things together.

Even with the extra help.

We spent this past weekend in PRIDE (foster/adoption) training.  I wasn't exactly excited about spending 14 hours of my weekend in training, but I really enjoyed it.  The time flew by.  There are three other couples in our class.  Two of us are pursuing adoption and the other two couples plan to foster.  The couples are all so sweet and friendly.  We spent two days getting to know each other.  We laughed together and cried together.  

We had a different teacher each day.  They were both volunteers for The Call and did a fabulous job.  

Throughout the two days we talked quite a bit about permanence and how kids need to feel some permanence in their lives.  Sometimes when a child enters foster care it is very sudden.  They lose all sense of permanence.  Their plans have been torn apart whether those plans are about what they were going to wear on next week's field trip or something more long term.

The teacher asked us to answer a few questions about our plans.  One of the question asked what you hoped to be doing one year for now.  I glanced over at Andrew's paper (not that I was cheating or anything) and he had answered that question "watching football with my sons"

Cue tears!

I love my husband and I absolutely cannot wait to watch him be a daddy.  Pretty sure I fell more in love with him during our training classes as I listened to him answer questions and explain how he would handle certain situations.  I think he is going to be pretty good at this daddy thing.

Our last day of training includes a panel of people who are or have been involved with fostering and adopting.  It will be a Q&A session.  I'm really looking forward to that.  The real life stories are my favorite part of training.  To know that people have walked this same journey and are blessed because of it.


Speaking of Q&A...I thought I would do a blog post answering your quesitons...if you have any that is.  Questions about adoption, braces, teaching, me, our family,...   Ask away in the comments and I will do a post answering the questions I can answer on Feburary 1.  :)

A little A to your Q!

1 + 1 = 2

4 - 2 - 2

12/6 = 2

1 * 2 = 2

The square root of 4 is 2.

What is my obsession with the number two you ask?

Well that's how many questions you all asked me. That's right. Two measly questions. I'm not sure how to take that. Am I that boring or do you all just know me too well already? I'm hoping it is the latter of the two.

I've been putting off answering them because I was really hoping more would show up, but since they haven't here we go.

Question # 1: I know you are particular about food, so what is the weirdest/strangest/most extreme food you have eaten?

Answer: I've thought and thought about this question. I've tried to remember everything I've ever eaten. I thought about foods that I eat that are perfectly normal to me but shock others. I even went as far as to ask the husband what he thought my answer was. His response? Peanut M&M's instead of plain M&Ms. HA HA! I really don't venture out when it comes to food. I'm not brave at all in this area. People have been surprised to learn that I eat alfredo sauce & the center of deviled eggs. Really exciting right?


Question # 2: I know you talk about babies a lot, so my question is do you have a favorite boy and girl name? Or have you gone there yet?

Answer: Oh we've gone there! LOL! It's funny I never thought I would have any problem sharing these names when the time came, but now that it's been asked... Well I do feel a little funny about it. I guess I just worry that people will hate the names. Actually, I believe there are people in our family who are going to hate whatever name we pick. I'm trying to not let them bother me.

Back to the question at hand. Andrew and I have a list of names we agree on. They are few and far between. For a boy, we like Jadon. This was found one night when we we found this book that has every name in the Bible. Andrew would randomly open to a page and point. We liked Jadon Lewis so that he would be a J.L. like Andrew's dad. But some family members have already told us they don't like that, which makes me not like it. We've recently decided on an alternative middle name that we both love, but I don't want to share that yet.

As for our little girl. I want her to be an AJ like her Daddy. I have two options that I really like and that Andrew agrees with. Anna Jaylyn (both after family members) and Addison (Addie) Jane. Addie is the street Drew lived on a little kid.

We have others, a whole list of them. But those are our favorites.

I've been thinking a lot lately about how I have this list and I think about it often, yet God already knows our children's names. That is just too cool to me!


Of course if we have twin boys we will have Marco and Polo. Hee Hee!!



So there are my answers. Feel free to keep the questions coming!!

How About a Little Q&A??

This blog needs a little spice. Or maybe I'm just bored with my post and want you to entertain me. :) I'm also hoping that I have some lurkers who will come out of the wood works, whatever that means.

Either way, I think it's time for a little Q&A. Leave me a comment asking anything you want to know about me. I mean it... anything! I will answer them all.

I'm not sure when I'm going to answer yet. I guess it will depend on how many questions I'm asked.

I did this once before. I think it was a success. Here it was I was asked last time.

Let the questioning begin!

You asked...

and now I will answer!

Hannah asked...

Did you always want to be a teacher or is there something else outthere that you would rather do.
I jokingly say that I was teaching even in the womb. In other words, yes I've always wanted to be a teacher. The best Christmas gift I remember getting is a chalkboard on an easel. I forced my brother, cousins, and stuff animals to play school with me as a young child. Upon graduation there was no question about what I was going to do with the rest of my life. Is there anything else out that I would rather do? Well I won't say rather, but someday I think I would like to be a stay at home mom and homeschool my kids. I would also love to get paid to sit around and read all day. :) But I absolutely love teaching.

How do you stay so skinny, I would just love to be that small again.
Mmm. I don't know. Maybe it is because my diet is very limited. I'll tell you more about that in your next question.

What is your favorite food
LOL!! It cracks me up that anyone would actually have to ask this question. Chicken definitely. I stand a good chance at winning the world's most picky eater contest. I truly don't anything. I eat chicken and mac & cheese a lot!!!!

If you could live anywhere in Arkansas where would it be.
The answer to this question isn't a specific town. I would just love it if all my family could be in the same town. I am very happy where Andrew and I are now, just wish our parents were a little closer.

Do you like Andrews hair long or short?
Definitely SHORT!!!! LOL. I hate his long hair.

Annon asked, Can you sing?
I'm sorry but my smart mouth answer is yes I am physically capable of singing. LOL - comes from teaching teenagers. Okay so I absolutely LOVE to sing and in the privacy of my car I have the most amazing abilities ever. However anywhere else my singing is horrible. I really believe God didn't give me this gift because he knew I couldn't handle it. I honestly think that if I could sing, it would go to my head. I just sing as loud as I can in my car as often as I can. :)

Chelsey asked....

Why do you have a blog? What inspires you to update regularly?
Why do I have a blog? A person I love and admire very much started blogging. I thought it would be cool. I'm not really sure why I started other than I'm a follower. I update regularly because the more I blog the more people I learn actually read my blog. It's an easy way to allow my family to keep up with whats going on with me.

Have you seen the movie, Fireproof? If so, did you take the 40 Day Love Dare?
Andrew and I did see the movie Fireproof. We both highly recommend it to any couple, married or not, and whether or not you feel like your relationship is a good one. It will change you - it certainly did us. It really opens your eyes. We have not taken the 40 Day Love Dare. But maybe we will in 2009. I definitely want to see the movie again.

How often do you scrapbook? What is your favorite part about making albums?
Not nearly as often as I would like. I do much better when I'm making an album for someone else and I have a deadline. Andrew and I have been married for almost five years and I have yet to finish our first year of marriage. This is something I plan to start working on very soon. I want to finish that album, I want to scrap Liberty's first year with us as well as Liam's. My favorite part of making albums?? I have no idea. I love playing around with different layouts until I find what works for me. I do not have a lot of self esteem. Scrapbooking is one of the very few things that I feel like I do well - maybe because there aren't really any rules to it. It is relaxing to me. It's a time to get away from day to day stress and focus on the memories I've made during each moment of life.

How do you stay positive when so many things going on around us can bring us down?
I will admit that I'm not very good at this. I am a worrier big time. Matthew 6:34 was definitely written for me. :) One of the things I do is try to remember that verse. I also grab a pen and paper and begin listing my blessings. This helps tremendously. Andrew is also great help. He is a very literal person who doesn't care at all what people think. He's very practical. But he is also very good at just letting me vent and cry. I pray. We pray together.

Kathie asked...

Where do you scrapbook in your house, do you have a specific room or just all over?
I have a scrapbooking room. Of course I have to share it with my husband and his guitars and amps, but that is okay. I don't really mind. Drew built me a desk that goes from on wall to other - really nice. However, we pulled it out to put in flooring and it is still in pieces in the garage. He isn't pleased and wants to put something a little different back in. So for right now I'm scrapbooking on the dining room table.

How many albums have you completed?
I have completed 7 albums - all for other people as gifts. For myself, I've completed 0!! I inteded to finish up some tonight, but I didn't get my pictures ordered in time. So tomorrow I plan to scrapbook like crazy.

Do you memorize scripture?
Mmm. Not the way I should. I was for awhile, but then stopped. Something I plan to change in the upcoming year.
Do you ever attend Bible Studies?

When you scrapbook-do you go into Flow, like do you meditate or get lost in thoughts about the past?
I definitely get lost in my thoughts. I normally listen to music while I scrapbook and just sing, sing, sing. For me, scrapbooking is relaxing. It's me time!

Where have you traveled to?
Let's see I've driven through lots of states, but these are the ones I've actually stayed and visited in:
Branson, MO
St. Louis, MO
NYC
South Dakota
Kansas City
Destin, Florida
Montgomery, Alabama
Atlanta, Georgia
Livingston, Texas
Orlando, Florida
Nashville, Tennesee

What are your goals for the new year?
Here lately I have felt God working on me. I'm still a little unsure exactly what He is doing, but I definitely feel like He is doing something. So my goal this year is to figure what that is and accept it. I'm tired of hiding in my shell, staying in my comfort zone. Our country needs Jesus now more than they ever have. I want to give God my hands, my feet, my heart, my life and let him use me to take care of that need.
I also keep the goal of improving my teaching and learning more about my field. I never want to be satisfied with anything about my teaching. I want to continue to grow and improve. It is the ministry that God has given me and I want to do the very best I can with it.

What is the area of your life that you most need to improve on in 2009?
See above question - but I'll add a little to it. I want to be a better wife to my husband. He is my best friend and I love him so very much. I just want to be the best HELPmate that I can be. I want to add joy to his life and not be a hinderance.

Today's the day for Q & A

Hey everyone! Today is the day I will answer all your questions. I have gotten some good ones. Some have made me laugh and some have made me really think. I won't answer until later tonight, so you still have an opportunity to get your questions in. I'll also be back later today with more of my random thoughts on hospitality. AND I'm going to try to do my Christmas post today. I know I'm behind. But for now, I'll leave you with a video of Liberty that makes me laugh.

To Anon.

Hey! Not sure who asked, but no my students do not read my blog. They are unaware that I have one. :)

Ask Away!!

Hey everyone. I saw where someone else did this on their blog and for whatever reason found it be a great idea. I think it might be fun. It is your opportunity to learn a little bit more about me. Leave a comment asking me a question or several questions if you have them. You can ask absolutely anything you want. I will answer. I'm not sure when I will stop taking questions and answer. I'm aware that this is week is going to be very busy. Maybe I will start 2009 by answering your questions - yeah that sounds good - and you have plenty of time to come up with some creative questions. :)

This might go great and this might be a flop. I am fully prepared for either outcome.