"Brick House"

I am proud to announce that as of September 4, 2010, I will no longer be in retail!! YIPPEE! I will be working for a periodontist in The Woodlands as the office/marketing director. I'm so excited....and super nervous! I know it will be a great transition for me and my sanity!!! Not to mention, a normal schedule will help a TON when we start the adoption process!

We appreciate your prayers for our adoption journey, by the way! We will be turning in our adoption papers next month, then wait for approval. Once that happens, we attend classes for a month (since we are adopting through CPS), have our home study and background checks completed, then we wait...

I'll keep you updated as we progress!!!

On an unrelated note, my sweet Preston turned 6 years old yesterday! We have been through alot together and I don't know what I'd do without him!!!

Happy Birthday Preston!!!!

"Songs About Rain"

This has been quite a sad week. Not directly for me, but for some of those very close to me. It's a great reminder how important it is that we not lose sight of what is most valuable in our lives...God and family! I never understood how "non believers" can get through life happy. I couldn't imagine not having my God to lift my worries to. I couldn't imagine thinking that I or the universe made the decisions for my life and my destiny. I know that God has a plan for each and every one of us...even for the non believers. As I read somewhere once "even the devil believes in God".

As for my sad week, I had 2 friends lose people close to them on Sunday. My friends Frank and Kristi lost their great friend Rich to brain cancer at 29 years old. I had the privilege of meeting Rich once (March 2010) and he made quite an impression on me and Chase. Even to the point that I was telling people about him because his bravery and fierce belief that God had a plan for him was so amazing to hear from someone so young. I feel so much sadness for his family after only meeting him once because I can only imagine what heartbreak his wife and family must be feeling. My best friend, Melinda, also lost someone on Sunday - her mother in law. I remember hearing that she was diagnosed with a particular cancer (unfortunately, I can't recall) a few months ago and it seemed to consume her body very quickly. Melinda's husband also lost his father a couple of years ago to the same illness. I continue to pray for my friends as they get through these tough times. It's never easy to lose a loved one and there are no words that can comfort them. Only knowing that there is something bigger out there than you and me and that time will heal the pain.

I also want to request prayers for a high school friend who recently underwent a double mastectomy after several rounds of chemo for breast cancer. She will now have radiation treatments...and from what I heard, her surgery showed that her lymph nodes were clear! :)

Cancer sucks...

"SHOUT!!!!"

Not a whole lot to report other than my sister in law is PREGNANT!!! YAY! I'm so excited for her...I'm equally excited that I get to throw her a kick a** baby shower! WOOHOO!!! Also...we are officially one month away from our 2 year anniversary WHICH MEANS we are one month away from being eligible to begin our adoption process! WHOOP!!!!

We also created a blog that is acting as our website for the moment (meaning no regular updates). I've attached to my outgoing emails as an adoption networking tool (as advised by my family)! I'm attaching the link so let me know what you think and pass it around to anyone who may find it interesting!!

http://dodsonadoption.blogspot.com

Well, I could ramble for hours about nothing, but I won't! I'm going to enjoy my day off and you guys have a wonderful weekend!!!!