Busy and joyous weekend!

We started out Friday morning attending an adoption consummation for one of my CASA kiddos.  I always love these!  Normally, court isn't a happy place...not many smiles.  However, at adoptions, EVERYONE is smiling!  All of the ladies from the county office hover in the doorway to watch, the atmosphere is relaxed and lighthearted, and even Judge Moore can't stop smiling.  Of course there are always some happy tears, too!  All my cases are special, but there are a few that touch my heart a bit more than the others.  This was one of those.  This baby started out his life addicted to meth, spending his first month in the NICU at Cook Children's Hospital.  To see him now, a healthy, happy toddler in his forever family, is such a blessing!  (Dennis also got some great butterfly pictures while we were at the courthouse.)

After visiting for awhile with the happy family (and taking a lot of pictures), we came back home and packed up for the weekend.  We were celebrating Shepherd's 2nd birthday on Saturday.  We met up with the kids for supper and then went and checked into our room.  We normally stay in a little motel that we really like (we like having our privacy and room to relax in the evenings!), but Stephen wanted us to try out a B&B that he knew the owners of.  It was a beautiful Victorian home!  We were the only guests that evening, so it was also very quiet, which we really like.  The lady who checked us in was very gracious and friendly.  After getting settled, we went over to Stephen and Mandy's to spend some time with the boys.  I love that special time together.  Jesse always wants me to read to him, which I absolutely love doing!  Shepherd is starting to enjoy being read to now, too.  Then it was bath time, and Jesse wanted me to stay in there while his Dad bathed them.  I love being involved in their everyday lives!  After his bath, I dressed him for bed, while Stephen did Shepherd.  (Shepherd has warmed up to us, but he is still a little reticent...he much prefers Momma or Daddy!)

After the boys went to bed, we visited awhile with Stephen and Mandy until Sheila arrived.  Then we headed back to our room to rest up for the next day.

After an amazing breakfast at The Old Magnolia House B&B (how do you like that little endorsement I threw in?), we went back to Stephen's to help get things ready for the party.  Well, we mostly just played with the boys while Stephen and Mandy did all of the work.  The other guests started arriving just before 11:00.  We ate lunch, had cake and ice cream, and then watched Shepherd open his presents...with a lot of help from his parents.  After opening 1 or 2 packages, he was pretty much through with that!  I think it was a little overwhelming for him!  He got a LOT of nice things, including a whole collection of Nemos.  LOL!  (Mandy had mentioned in her gift ideas that he liked Nemo themed things.)  We had a great time, but it was soon time to leave.  We were going from there to Shreveport for their meeting.  They were having a 3:00 assembly on Saturday, and we were hard pressed to make it in time.  (We ended up getting there about 20 minutes after the service began.)

Playing before the party

Shepherd and his new toy box

We really enjoyed visiting with the congregation at Shreveport, as well as the other visitors and Keith and Lesa.  They served a potluck supper at Dot's house Saturday evening, so we had plenty of time to catch up with everyone.  Then they had another potluck on Sunday between services.  Those ladies (and guys) are sure good cooks!  It had been many years since Dennis and I had been there together, and we really enjoyed everyone!  (The girls and I have been through a couple of times over the years on our girls' trips.)

We made it home last night about 8:00.  Although I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend, it was SO good to get home and sleep in my bed!  Dennis is starting back on our kitchen renovations, now that the birthday project is completed, so we should start making some progress this week.  Hopefully, I'll have some picture updates to share next week!