Wedding Day
29 November 2012
28 November 2012
CHRISTmas Cards!
Since being married in August of this year, DH, C (his biological son), Mollie (my fur baby) and I went to have our Christmas cards made so each person close to us can view our mug shots in front of a tree. One of my dear friends is an EXCELLENT photographer and she managed to get perfect pictures of our little family to capture this first Christmas together sharing the same last name.
After school today DH, C, and I went to view our "proofs" and design our card. We are sooooooo excited to get these ordered and sent out in the mail along with every other American sharing wishes of joy and comfort through the holiday season. Cheers!
After school today DH, C, and I went to view our "proofs" and design our card. We are sooooooo excited to get these ordered and sent out in the mail along with every other American sharing wishes of joy and comfort through the holiday season. Cheers!
26 November 2012
Diets Stink!
I have been telling my husband for a few months now that I'd love to lose 40 pounds. After weighing myself on the scale this morning that total is now up to a whopping 47 pounds!!!!! So, today makes Day 1 of the new diet plan...
After reading another bloggers post I gained some motivation to get this weight loss thing happening, and SOON! The fact that she has lost 41 pounds and seems to be doing well with her diet forced me to look at my own eating habits a little closer. Since Thanksgiving has came and gone I'm determined to make it until Christmas Eve (I plan on pigging out on Christmas Day) trying as hard as I can to stay on the straight and narrow. I figure if I blog about going on this diet then I'll be more accountable if it all goes south.
So here's to the next month of grumpiness, hungriness, not happiness, BUT LESS of me!
After reading another bloggers post I gained some motivation to get this weight loss thing happening, and SOON! The fact that she has lost 41 pounds and seems to be doing well with her diet forced me to look at my own eating habits a little closer. Since Thanksgiving has came and gone I'm determined to make it until Christmas Eve (I plan on pigging out on Christmas Day) trying as hard as I can to stay on the straight and narrow. I figure if I blog about going on this diet then I'll be more accountable if it all goes south.
So here's to the next month of grumpiness, hungriness, not happiness, BUT LESS of me!
24 November 2012
21 November 2012
Thanksgiving!
Typically every year I log onto my facebook account and, along with the rest of mankind, I do my 30 days of thanks. I list one new thing each day I'm thankful for. I didn't do that this year. I've started Blogging and connecting with people from all over the place. I've read stories from families, birthmothers, adoptive parents, and those who struggle with infertility. These are things I connect with. As my husband and I patiently (sometimes impatiently) wait for our "match" to meet our baby, this Blog offers a refresher on the whole situation. So it is here that I want to share my 30 days of thanks...
1. My God! He hears my every prayer and blesses me beyond what I deserve!
2. The power of prayer. I pray often, and am heard always.
3. My husband. God placed this amazing man in my life to be my calm, my heart, my best friend.
4. My family. While we're loud and crazy, we're close and have more love then a circle can hold.
5. My sweet Mollie (dog). She's heard me laugh, cry, scream, and yell and yet she STILL loves me!
6. My job. I love teaching and sharing new experiences with my students.
7. My ability to connect with my students. Teaching in a poverty area poses new problems of its own. My students will share their stories with me and I feel honored they choose to do so.
8. My home. Currently my husband and I rent, but we are fortunate enough to have jobs to help us pay for this.
9. My car. It's not much, but it gets me where I need to go!
10. My church. It's a small country church, but the preacher is such a man of God and delivers messages each Sunday to a congregation of those who need His word.
11. My colleagues. I work with the best people around! We are all there to serve our kiddos and they help me more then they know.
12. Electricity. There are many families who don't have the luxury of having heat during the winter months.
13. Adoption. While it's a long process, I'm thankful that it will someday provide me with a family I've always dreamed of.
14. The experience of fostering children for a year. I am excited to adopt and return to fostering children again!
15. Food. Again, many families don't have this luxury and I'm thankful I can afford to make what I want to eat.
16. Health. Overall, I've been pretty healthy and I'm thankful God chose me to be this way.
17. My amazing friends. I have a close group of friends I would do anything for!
18. My open mindedness. I'm thankful I can see the world for what's there and not focus on the things that don't matter.
19. Internet. It gives me a way to connect with people from all around.
20. Christmas. I'm thankful we have a holiday dedicated to the birth of Jesus Christ.
21. Photographs. I love the memories made at different times and places.
22. My television shows. It seems minor, but I love tv. I love reality shows.
23. My past. Without it, ups and downs, I wouldn't be where I'm at now.
24. Hair color. I love changing my highlights, adding reds and blonds, and browns!
25. Cell Phones. I'm thankful that I can connect with my friends and family at any moment.
26. The USA. I'm proud to live in a place where I can do things as I wish.
27. Doctors. I'm thankful we have these people to "fix" us when we're broken.
28. Music. It has a way to reach in and touch the soul.
29. Vacations. I love taking a vacation and experiencing different places and spaces.
30. THIS BLOG!!!!! It has helped me on so many levels and in such a short period of time.
And there you have it! My 30 days of thanks! I hope each and every one of you will take the time to pray and give thanks for all that God has blessed you with! :)
1. My God! He hears my every prayer and blesses me beyond what I deserve!
2. The power of prayer. I pray often, and am heard always.
3. My husband. God placed this amazing man in my life to be my calm, my heart, my best friend.
4. My family. While we're loud and crazy, we're close and have more love then a circle can hold.
5. My sweet Mollie (dog). She's heard me laugh, cry, scream, and yell and yet she STILL loves me!
6. My job. I love teaching and sharing new experiences with my students.
7. My ability to connect with my students. Teaching in a poverty area poses new problems of its own. My students will share their stories with me and I feel honored they choose to do so.
8. My home. Currently my husband and I rent, but we are fortunate enough to have jobs to help us pay for this.
9. My car. It's not much, but it gets me where I need to go!
10. My church. It's a small country church, but the preacher is such a man of God and delivers messages each Sunday to a congregation of those who need His word.
11. My colleagues. I work with the best people around! We are all there to serve our kiddos and they help me more then they know.
12. Electricity. There are many families who don't have the luxury of having heat during the winter months.
13. Adoption. While it's a long process, I'm thankful that it will someday provide me with a family I've always dreamed of.
14. The experience of fostering children for a year. I am excited to adopt and return to fostering children again!
15. Food. Again, many families don't have this luxury and I'm thankful I can afford to make what I want to eat.
16. Health. Overall, I've been pretty healthy and I'm thankful God chose me to be this way.
17. My amazing friends. I have a close group of friends I would do anything for!
18. My open mindedness. I'm thankful I can see the world for what's there and not focus on the things that don't matter.
19. Internet. It gives me a way to connect with people from all around.
20. Christmas. I'm thankful we have a holiday dedicated to the birth of Jesus Christ.
21. Photographs. I love the memories made at different times and places.
22. My television shows. It seems minor, but I love tv. I love reality shows.
23. My past. Without it, ups and downs, I wouldn't be where I'm at now.
24. Hair color. I love changing my highlights, adding reds and blonds, and browns!
25. Cell Phones. I'm thankful that I can connect with my friends and family at any moment.
26. The USA. I'm proud to live in a place where I can do things as I wish.
27. Doctors. I'm thankful we have these people to "fix" us when we're broken.
28. Music. It has a way to reach in and touch the soul.
29. Vacations. I love taking a vacation and experiencing different places and spaces.
30. THIS BLOG!!!!! It has helped me on so many levels and in such a short period of time.
And there you have it! My 30 days of thanks! I hope each and every one of you will take the time to pray and give thanks for all that God has blessed you with! :)
18 November 2012
Jesus In The House!
We had such a wonderful service at church this morning! Our church has some special guests to sing and their music and lyrics touched home. I related to several of the songs they sang. And I needed that this morning...
Yesterday, DH and I got a "slap in the face" from his ex wife. A woman who has struggled moving on without B. When B and I started dating we knew almost instantly we were destined to be together. So our relationship moved at lightening speed. We became serious quick, got married quick, moved into our home together quick, and started our adoption process quick. It had been 8 years since DH was serious with someone again. This was hard for his ex to understand. Even after so much time had passed there were still moments of holding onto to a future for them.
Please pray for us and for her as we start a battle that shouldn't be happening. Pray that each side is heard and that the truth does remain solid. DH and I have been so happy waiting and planning and focusing on our adoption and we don't want this to deter that. Thanks!
Yesterday, DH and I got a "slap in the face" from his ex wife. A woman who has struggled moving on without B. When B and I started dating we knew almost instantly we were destined to be together. So our relationship moved at lightening speed. We became serious quick, got married quick, moved into our home together quick, and started our adoption process quick. It had been 8 years since DH was serious with someone again. This was hard for his ex to understand. Even after so much time had passed there were still moments of holding onto to a future for them.
Please pray for us and for her as we start a battle that shouldn't be happening. Pray that each side is heard and that the truth does remain solid. DH and I have been so happy waiting and planning and focusing on our adoption and we don't want this to deter that. Thanks!
17 November 2012
National Adoption Day!
I logged onto facebook this morning and witnessed several of my friends proclaiming this awesome day! They're writing about THEIR success stories with adoption, their struggles, their end result of happiness and family.
My husband and I have been "waiting" for 29 days now. I know wait times seem to be anywhere up to 2 years, but I certainly hope we don't have to wait that long. I'm excited to celebrate in this day when I become a mommy through adoption. I respect and love sharing in the joy my friends, both near and far, have been given because of adoption. I just know it's not the same level of joy and excitement as the day it'll be when I receive my own forever family.
Please pray the wait continues on this fast path and that soon a birthmother will choose us to parent her child :)
My husband and I have been "waiting" for 29 days now. I know wait times seem to be anywhere up to 2 years, but I certainly hope we don't have to wait that long. I'm excited to celebrate in this day when I become a mommy through adoption. I respect and love sharing in the joy my friends, both near and far, have been given because of adoption. I just know it's not the same level of joy and excitement as the day it'll be when I receive my own forever family.
Please pray the wait continues on this fast path and that soon a birthmother will choose us to parent her child :)
14 November 2012
Too Busy To Breathe!
I can't even begin to express how busy life has been in the Bowen household! From dreams involving wild animals (yes, real animals) to preparing for our Beta Induction ceremony involving wild animals (my students) my husband and I have spent the majority of the last 6 days (including a day off to celebrate and honor our veterans) getting everything in order for our Junior Beta Club Induction Ceremony at school. This is our first year as co-sponsors and we are trying to create a ceremony our students would remember.
My students are my babies. Since I was told I would never be able to bear children, I've seen my students as my children. Some days we fight and bicker. Some days we are sharing our new stories. Some days we bounce good and bad off each other. I love my kids. I love my job. I love knowing that I'm making an impact in the lives of some kids that are exposed to things most adults should never experience. These students are the reason I love my job!
Plus, with staying extra busy at school, the wait time is going faster!!! Today makes 27 days DH and I have been "waiting" for our child. I just only hope and pray the wait time continues to run smooth...
My students are my babies. Since I was told I would never be able to bear children, I've seen my students as my children. Some days we fight and bicker. Some days we are sharing our new stories. Some days we bounce good and bad off each other. I love my kids. I love my job. I love knowing that I'm making an impact in the lives of some kids that are exposed to things most adults should never experience. These students are the reason I love my job!
Plus, with staying extra busy at school, the wait time is going faster!!! Today makes 27 days DH and I have been "waiting" for our child. I just only hope and pray the wait time continues to run smooth...
07 November 2012
Birthday Blessings :)
My handsome husband, my other half, my soul mate, my friend, my lover, my calm turns the big 33 today! I can't express how blessed I feel to share this special day with him. We haven't been married long, and in fact our relationship was quite short. Here's THAT story...
Four years ago I began my teaching career at a middle school that was a couple of hours away from my family. Now anyone who knows me knows just how close I am with my family. I accepted the position and moved to an apartment with my sweet Mollie dog, where I would teach 6th graders about math for the next year. At the end of the school year I had accepted another year where I was, scared that if I didn't I wouldn't get offered a job closer to home (plus I loved my school). Three weeks before school started I was called in to interview for a job that was 15 minutes from home. I went in for the interview, not sure how it would turn out. I was offered the position the very next day! My teacher friends know just how hard it is to find a teaching position when there are so many awesome competitors out there! I called my previous school and let them know of my decision. Because they are incredible people they let me out of my contract and I signed on with my current school. It was here that I would meet my future husband.
My first year at BCMS was pretty smooth. My team was close, I met some very welcoming people, and my students were awesome! It wasn't until my second year that my teammate, DH, started opening up more. We started our friendship by playing pranks on each other, which the kids LOVED! These playful games turned into conversations. Long conversations. These conversations turned into texts. And more texts. Finally, DH expressed how he felt and our relationship became existent.
Although our dating time was short, we both knew immediately what we had found was the storybook romance. We both fell. We fell hard. We had spent so much time talking and laughing and knowing each other outside of school and yet everything we knew was what we each wanted. Now back to the present...
This man I call my husband has shown me that I have so much to be grateful for. I count my blessings often and today is no less. I am thankful that I get to spend the day sharing celebrations with this amazing man whom I love more then words. The man that will someday (hopefully soon) be the father of my child(ren). Happy Birthday babe! And here's to many more :)
Four years ago I began my teaching career at a middle school that was a couple of hours away from my family. Now anyone who knows me knows just how close I am with my family. I accepted the position and moved to an apartment with my sweet Mollie dog, where I would teach 6th graders about math for the next year. At the end of the school year I had accepted another year where I was, scared that if I didn't I wouldn't get offered a job closer to home (plus I loved my school). Three weeks before school started I was called in to interview for a job that was 15 minutes from home. I went in for the interview, not sure how it would turn out. I was offered the position the very next day! My teacher friends know just how hard it is to find a teaching position when there are so many awesome competitors out there! I called my previous school and let them know of my decision. Because they are incredible people they let me out of my contract and I signed on with my current school. It was here that I would meet my future husband.
My first year at BCMS was pretty smooth. My team was close, I met some very welcoming people, and my students were awesome! It wasn't until my second year that my teammate, DH, started opening up more. We started our friendship by playing pranks on each other, which the kids LOVED! These playful games turned into conversations. Long conversations. These conversations turned into texts. And more texts. Finally, DH expressed how he felt and our relationship became existent.
Although our dating time was short, we both knew immediately what we had found was the storybook romance. We both fell. We fell hard. We had spent so much time talking and laughing and knowing each other outside of school and yet everything we knew was what we each wanted. Now back to the present...
This man I call my husband has shown me that I have so much to be grateful for. I count my blessings often and today is no less. I am thankful that I get to spend the day sharing celebrations with this amazing man whom I love more then words. The man that will someday (hopefully soon) be the father of my child(ren). Happy Birthday babe! And here's to many more :)
05 November 2012
Day 17
Today makes 17 days my husband and I have been officially "waiting" for our child. We have worked so hard and so quick to make sure we get to the point where it's all in God's hands and his timing. While we both know the wait will be so worth it in the end it doesn't make that wait time go any faster. A good friend of mine was recently "matched" and will be bringing her baby girl home around the end of December. Reading stories like these, as well as others I've read on this blog, is what gives my little family hope that we will grow and we will be parents to our child together. In the meantime we wait.....
03 November 2012
The Windy City...
It's THAT time of the school year again...
My husband and I have spent the last 2 days with 55 7th graders visiting The Navy Pier, Willis Tower, Millennium Park, Rainforest Cafe, and The Museum of Science and Industry. Now mind you, this was an 8 hour bus ride and there were 55 VERY excited 12 year olds.
This was a trip I took on as a sponsor last year. B and I are very involved in school and love the opportunity to show our students new experiences. This year was no different. The weather was perfect. The kids were so well behaved. The food was delicious and the kids made memories, which makes up for having to sleep on the hard floor. Here are a couple pictures from our trip...
Navy Pier
Rainforest Cafe
My husband and I have spent the last 2 days with 55 7th graders visiting The Navy Pier, Willis Tower, Millennium Park, Rainforest Cafe, and The Museum of Science and Industry. Now mind you, this was an 8 hour bus ride and there were 55 VERY excited 12 year olds.
This was a trip I took on as a sponsor last year. B and I are very involved in school and love the opportunity to show our students new experiences. This year was no different. The weather was perfect. The kids were so well behaved. The food was delicious and the kids made memories, which makes up for having to sleep on the hard floor. Here are a couple pictures from our trip...
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