The beauty around us...

The 1st picture is the moonbow at Cumberland Falls. We've tried to see it now 4 times (third time actually going to the falls...2 hours away!) We finally got to see it! Full moon on Saturday night was very bright and the moonbow was AWESOME! The last 2 pictures, the tobacco & sunflowers, are sights I get to see while driving around for work. Yes...I do have a beautiful drive!! And soon, it will be time for that great fall color! ((SIGH)) Some things about living here that I will miss!! Going to soak it all in!! :)

Finally feels like Fall!!

It is a brisk 66 degrees today with sun and a few floating clouds in the sky. PERFECT Fall weather! I think it is going to be cooler tomorrow and I'm anxious to get out a long sleeved shirt!!

This is what I will miss the most about living farther south. I'll miss fall evenings and beautiful leaves. I'll miss cold, snowy days of staying in and drinking hot chocolate. I will enjoy trips to the beach and camping over Thanksgiving weekend (we hope). It'll be quite a change from living in the midwest!!

So...I'll enjoy these fall, breezy days while we have them!!

One of those weeks!

Monday started off with a sick kid. "I've got a headache" was not the reply I wanted when I went to wake Jordan Monday morning. Turns out she has the flu...most likely H1N1 as a friend she was with over the weekend tested positive on Monday. Our week has been spent in a blur of Tylenol, Ibuprofen, cough medicine, lots of fluids and juggling schedules. The good thing is that this is not any worse than any other flu bug she has had. A year and a half ago she did this (well, not H1N1) and we did not get her fever to break for 4 or 5 solid days. This time around she gets a fever break for a few hours in the afternoon (medicated break in fever). She said she is thankful for that break. I'm not sure she'll ever stop coughing!!

Then, Lance called me yesterday afternoon and his metal implant prep thing in his mouth worked loose after he ate a banana. So...rush trip to the oral surgeon this morning and I am home w/ Jordan. I am thankful for the families I work for and their flexibility!!!

Not sure how Lance & I have stayed healthy through all of this. We do have her quarantined upstairs and that must be the key. Hoping for a good weekend and a healthier kid!!!

A big decision...

We had a bad experience with our placing agency for the adoption last week. We were essentially posed with a situation (us and about 30 other families) and told to think about it and make a decision by Friday. That would mean to let them know if we want our profile shown to a birthmom w/ a preemie born last Tuesday. We prayed over the situation and on Thursday afternoon (24 hours before the deadline) we gave a YES!! We found out 1 1/2 hrs later that she had narrowed her search already. Essentially...the agency was showing profiles while the rest of us were considering the situation. We never had a chance. I awoke Friday morning with a loss as if I had suffered a miscarriage.

We were due to update our homestudy this next week (more $) and have decided to stop the adoption process. In addition to the emotion of now 2 failed adoptions, not getting a chance w/ this baby and now not trusting our placing agency...we simply can't do it anymore. I am so thankful for our wonderful family for understanding this decision and supporting us for all of these years of trying to add to our family.

As I watched Jordan give the Children's Moment at church in Missouri yesterday and listened to my husband speak about Brazil, I realized my life is VERY full and my family is complete. Lance & I are SO thankful to God for the gift of Jordan. We'll be okay...all three of us. Afterall, we are the Whorton-3!!!

Maybe we should get a puppy....

15 Years!!

When I say it, 15 years sounds like a long time to be married. But when I think about it, I don't feel like we've been married a long time.

15 years ago I had such a different idea of what marriage was going to be like. I had the 4 kids, white picket fence and a dog on the front porch. I had a vision of this life that you see in fairy tales. Okay... life isn't a fairy tale, but it has turned out to be way better than I ever imagined. Sure...we've had our difficulties, but to be married 15 years and be so happy and content...that's something to be thankful for!

I thank God for bringing me a wonderful husband and a great father to our daughter. I thank God today for the 15 years we've had together and pray for many more to come!!

Seventh Grade

We have now survived 2 days of 7th grade. I am now actually able to say that Jordan is in 7th grade without that "feeling" in my stomach and a lump in my throat. I've read posts about friends and their children's first day of kindergarden or 1st grade. I remember those days...seems like only yesterday we were embarking on this homeschooling journey. And now...2 years to HIGH SCHOOL! YIKES!

Jordan is again being homeschooled this year and we are using "Switched on Schoolhouse" on the computer. (Not internet based, but computer based.) So far she likes it and says it doesn't even feel like school. She is also attending band at the local middle school and will continue with art class w/ a local artist/homeschooling dad. We'll have a busy year running to band 5 days/week and art class once a week. I'm excited to see her art pieces this year and really looking forward to her 1st band concert w/ this big band!! FUN!!!

Learning & Living

One thing I learned from my experience in Brazil was to concentrate more on personal relationships and less on time and my "to do" list. The Brazilians don't worry about what they have to do or when they need to be somewhere...for the most part. If they are in a conversation w/ a friend or someone needs them, all else is put aside.

I have a "to do" list today...but I am going to take Jordan and Abbey swimming. There is only so much time left with this sweet girl God gave me and today...it's all about her!! It is cloudy, may rain, but we're going to give it a try. I'll pack lunches, put on the sunscreen and have fun today!!

Tomorrow she starts 7th grade...((SIGH))