I'm All Shook Up

A few weeks back Mike's dad and sister made the drive to visit us in our new house. They got to come to church with us, look around the town, and Amy and I did our fair share of shopping.

Of course, this trip also had to include a trip to one of Memphis' greatest claims to fame. I don't actually know that Memphis claims it, but I am assuming they do and will continue to do so until I am corrected by their Chamber of Commerce or some other authority of relative importance.

What is this place? Graceland of course! Mike and I are pretty much assuming that from here on out anyone who visits will want to go to Graceland, and we have tossed around the idea of seasons passes. Alas, such a thing does not exist. But we could become Elvis Insiders. I know what you are thinking. The answer is no. You could never be as cool as us.

All kidding aside, Graceland is just one of those places you have to go once. Just for the experience. It is fun to see it all, and we were excited to get to go see it with Bill and Amy.


Mike and his dad waiting for the shuttle. We are ready to start the tour! The guy behind Mike just found out that he can't try on Elvis' jumpsuits. Not a happy camper.


Elvis was a man before his time. King of Rock and Roll? Try King of Awesome...


Gonna need to see this movie. Movie poster worked...I'm hooked.


My favorite thing about the Jungle Room is the koala bear. Or at least some kind of bear...


Awesome.


Fabric room. You know that has to get dusty. And how do you clean it?


By the front door...it's really not as "huge" as you think it will be. Not that I'm going to be living in a house that size any time soon. I could also think that because you aren't allowed upstairs. I'll bet it's super cool up there.


After the excitement that was Graceland we went and hung out at the Peabody Hotel for awhile, and we checked out Autozone Park. It's a minor league ball park in the middle of downtown. I'm sure we'll make our way to a few games as we go through Ranger withdrawal. Mike was super excited to take this picture.

When it was all said and done, we went and ate here:


Any place in an alley has to be good.

Thanks for visiting Bill and Amy!

Goo

I feel the need to report that my entire dishwashing life has been revolutionized. Maybe I was raised this way, but I have always been one of those "rinse the plate completely clean before you put it in the dishwasher" people. Well, no longer.

After some late night dishwashing, I decided to experiment and put some dirty dishes in there. As in, I am tired of cleaning baked on pork chop and cream of mushroom goo, and I just want to go to bed. Put 'em in the dishwasher and walked away. Woke up the next morning and poof. No more goo. The dishwasher had taken it all away. I know this is probably the strangest thing I have ever written, but I just had to let you know.

Life is too short. Stop rinsing the goo.

The Paperwork Continues

Even though we have already "met" Baby McD and we are no longer waiting to be matched, we still have a lot of paperwork to get done before the end of the year. We are in the middle of our homestudy, which includes doctors visits, bloodwork, essay questions, references, financial statements, and on, and on.

Although we have already sent off our FBI fingerprints, we also have to have the county sheriff sign off that we have no record in the county we live. You know what that means. Back to the sheriff's office. Yay. Why am I so happy? Because of this. Notice the sarcasm.

We also have to go to an expectant parent class. I am so excited about this part! We will be learning about bathing, feeding, car seats, pediatricians, and so on. This is stuff I definitely need some help with!

Our home study consultant suggested that we ask to take the class privately, since we don't need the childbirth part. We are very fortunate, though, to have a woman's hospital in our area, so they have lots of classes. This class is completely separate from the childbirth classes. I mean, I love the pushing and breathing as much as the next person, but I am glad to have a class so tailored to what we need.

I think one of the reasons that the home study consultant suggests private classes is to be sensitive to women who have gone through infertility and the fact that they will be in a class with lots of pregnant women. I think that is a very legitimate concern in many cases, and I definitely understand women who would prefer not to be put in that situation. That being said, in our case I am really just not worried about it.

I feel like God has so prepared our hearts for adoption and has led us to such a peace that it is exactly where we are supposed to be. I am so thankful for that! So, tune in mid-December to find out how the class went. I can't wait!

Happy Fall

Outside of our new church there is a ginkgo tree. Since we have gotten here everyone has told us about how pretty the tree will be in the fall, how the leaves will all drop within a few days, and how everybody rushes up to get family pictures, etc. in the leaves. Well, I was driving by the other day and low and behold, it really is a beautiful sight. So...here's a little bit of fall in Mississippi for you. It looks a lot like fall in Texas. But with a lot more trees.

And the Beat Goes On...

We have had family here this week, so not much unpacking has been done. What a great break, though! We have had fun, and we are wrapping up our visit today. More posts to come, soon! Here is just about the only part of our house that looks presentable right now: the front door! Could I use a few more exclamation points?!?

I saw this Welcome sign on Bless Our Nest awhile back, and I thought it would be fun on the black door. I got it from Scribble It...check them out!

Or if you are my mom...spend some time thinking about how you could totally make this with your Cricut.