Corner of Central Florida: 2011

The kick at the end of the game.

A national forest outside of Phoenix

Part of the Grand Canyon

2011 Started with a trip to Arizona to watch our beloved Auburn Tigers play for the BCS national
championship and a visit to the Grand Canyon. While I believe that most things I saw during that trip, such as a national forest full of cactus (who knew those were considered trees?), were amazing, I never imagined I would get to see Auburn play (and win!) in that game, and nothing could have prepared me for the Grand Canyon. I don’t feel eloquent enough to even try to describe the Grand Canyon. Arizona is a surprisingly beautiful and incredibly diverse (landscape) state - in one day we went from flat desert to snowy mountains.

My expert guide

The annual family camping trip was a blast, and my husband is an expert at canoeing. I still like to bring up the fact that we were the only ones who didn’t capsize on the canoeing adventure. Lugging the
canoe to North Georgia on top of the trailblazer was worth it.

My cousins and their overturned canoe in the middle of the river

The spring was also filled with medical tests for R and me. We got all the results at the end of April and found out we are unable to have biological children (with the exception of a medical miracle by God of course). This news felt (still feels) like death. However, we are so very thankful that we are in good health overall.We endured a month of wondering if the cause was a possibly fatal health condition and were overjoyed that result was negative. (I realize I’m being rather vague here, but I’m attempting at keeping a small amount of privacy. Although, we don’t mind sharing more if asked)

A home in the community where R worked.

This summer we were blessed with the opportunity to travel to Nicaragua where I got to play with little kids while R helped build a playground for a community. (Did I mention we also both read David Platt’s book Radical?) We met such wonderful people and learned a lot about mud. We also got to spend time with fellow church members, which was an added benefit.

Our group after the playground was built

We started adoption paperwork in May, were formally approved at the end of September, and learned we had been chosen by a birth mother on the first of November. You might say this news trumped Auburn winning the BCS national championship and perhaps even the Grand Canyon.

This fall we were able to visit with my Welsh aunt and uncle on their trip to the U.S., hosted our first Thanksgiving, and proudly watched L walk across the stage and become an Auburn Alum. I also lived in New Jersey for a month for work, which was different.