V for Vacation

Praise God for Puffs Plus! I may be blowing my nose every five minutes, but at least it doesn't feel like I'm wiping it with sandpaper. Yeah, the skin around my nose still feels like I've got some sort of mask on and looks red and peely, but it doesn't hurt. I think I've grown out of my tough girl phase and am perfectly content to give into wimpy, whiny, "i feel sick, feel sorry for me" girl phase.
We had great vacation! Spent a week away: 2days in Chicago, 5 in Wisconson Dells. We walked the city streets, visited The Oriental Institute, Magnificent Mile, Rainforest Cafe and Museum of Science and Industry, browsed a Powells Bookshop, and went ice skating in Millenium Park. We indulged in our favorite snack foods and bought a few movies and CDs. We started and finished a 1000 pc puzzle, went snow tubing and snowboarding. Snowboarding for me was a painful and humilating failure, even after an hr long lesson. Finally, after falling for perhaps the fiftieth time and wallopping my head against the packed snow, I cried, and David sent me "home" for a hot bath and exclusive control of the remote, while he perfected his skill and made the most of the money we spent. I take comfort in the fact that, at least, I can ice skate- David trundled around the rink twice, just to appease me, and then watched contentedly from the sidelines. We all have our gifts... We stayed a night at Kalahari, an awesome African themed resort and enjoyed America's largest indoor waterpark. However, that evening, I was broadsided by an evil virus that rendered me helplessly miserable, no matter how many OTCs I tried (and I tried many). We forgoed plans to visit Lauren and Uncle Denny in Winona Lake and drove home Saturday afternoon. We spent Sunday sleeping, watching movies and finishing our puzzle. Happy Five Years to us! God has been so gracious to our marriage and taught us so much through one another... I really am in awe and so thankful. I'm certain I'll never fully realize all that God has done for me and am humbled by His mercy. We are thankful too for the love and support we've found in the community of our church and friends and family. That probably means you, reader, so take it personally.
Please continue to pray for us as we seek to know the avenue of adoption that God intends for us. Foster-to-adopt may not be the thing, though we plan to continue to take steps in this direction until we feel certain. We are still strongly drawn to international adoption and are open to birthmother/domestic adoption, but we do not feel that we are being led that direction just yet. However, we are anxious to meet the child(ren) God is preparing for us, and are seeking to learn as much as we can about being the parents He wants us to be. Bull of Sargon @ Oriental Institute; Ice skating at Millenium Park; Tubing @Christmas Mountain

Snow hare; Fire in water @ Kalahari resort; "Max in the Catskills" 1000 pc puzzle