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we took friday off to enjoy the nc state fair and go to the newsboys concert. we'd been looking forward to a day away from work, a day to sleep in, some perfect weather, the kk burger, roasted corn, and hearing "born again" live and in person. friday did not disappoint. we slept in until about 10am. even the doggies (with a few potty breaks) took advantage of the chilly fall weather and snuggled with us in the bed under the covers until we'd all had more than enough sleep. we woke feeling rested and ready to enjoy the day. after a few errands we made our way to the fair. the air was crisp and cool and there was not a cloud in the sky. when we arrived at the fair we were starving. we skipped multiple meals friday just to get bites of various things we'd wanted to try.
we started with the roasted corn. you can get fooled and get corn from a lot of vendors on the fair grounds, but the best one is in the back of the park by the camper set up. we waded through the crowds with our stomachs rumbling with the smells of the various food stalls and made our way to the vendor we'd sampled before. it was worth the jaunt. the corn was charred and roasted and fully cooked. the smoky flavor was amazing! (by far the best fair food we had yesterday.) on our way back through the food maze will got lured into the sausage kiosk. it smelled divine and so i clutched our hand squeezed lemonade while he waited in line for a sausage and pepper roll. i was not even going to take a bite, but after he ordered it and it was so mouth watering i just had to indulge. meh. it tasted so much better than it actually was. i told him if he did not love it to chuck it, so into the waste bin it went. next we had to try the illusive krispy kreme burger.
we'd wanted to try this since we heard about it last year, so this had a lot to live up to. we made our way back through the crowds and over to this stand. we pondered the menu on what would be good on this burger. we were going to order just cheese and the burger, but that seemed like a cop out. we ended up getting a hamburger patty, melted cheese, shredded lettuce, pickles, and tomato sandwiched between two original glazed krispy kreme donuts. we were both leery, but braced ourselves and will took the first bite. he was not impressed. i ponied up and took a bite myself - there was just something so weird about it. i honestly feel like the tomato was the deal killer. i did like the pickle, hamburger, and donut combo. will thought it was the cheese that threw it off. i think they are using day old donuts, which gave them a sort of chewy texture that i did not love. either way, we tried it and now can say we tasted it. another partially eaten item chucked in the trash.
after all of this traipsing around and not really fully eating anything we were looking for something that really tasted good. will saw a sign for hand dipped corn dogs, but he could not recall where he'd seen it. we walked around the entire fair until we found that booth. there are a lot of booths for corn dogs, but not very many that are hand dipped. there is a big difference. we don't want to waste our energy on anything we could make for dinner at home. the hand dipped corn dog did not disappoint. it was delish and was painted with yellow mustard. loved it!
after enjoying the corn dog we took a walk around and looked at all of the rides. with will's chiari we have to be careful about what we should not put him on and we decided we'd rather not try anything out. we did have fun watching everyone else scream their lungs out on some pretty precarious things! i also don't think i am as adventurous with this stuff as i used to be. something about plummeting from the sky just does not look appealing anymore. this long detoured walk lured us into the smoked turkey legs. we've seen these before at past fairs, and always laughed as we saw people walking around with giant turkey legs in hand. but, we just had to try it. will ordered up one turkey leg and a bottle of water. we thought it was strange that the fella wrapped it up in tin foil and put it in a bag. however, once we found a bench and unwrapped we noticed he'd given us two turkey legs! whoa! we did a cheers with our turkey legs and settled in for some chow down. these were smoky and delicious - the outside was like turkey jerky - yummo!
we could not go to the fair and not have a fried dessert so we both agreed we had to get something. we'd seen fried oreos, fried cheesecake, fried, twinkies, fried snickers, on and on and on. however we elected for the tried and true funnel cake. where else can you get a good funnel cake? the funnel cake was freshly fried and looked fantastic, but the oil must not have been fresh or hot enough. the cake just tasted off. boo! another item half way eaten hits the waste bin!
after this food tasting extravaganza it was time to sit and watch the sunset. we hung out by the waterfall and got ready to head into the dorton arena for the concert. the sun looked spectacular setting on the water. then it was time to head in for the show. the opening act was a group we'd not previously heard of, but they were pretty decent. however, just after 8 the newsboys came on stage and their show was amazing. they started out with two of the band members on raised panels that were about 60 feet off the ground. they played the guitar and keyboard while floating above the audience. at one point the drummer's set rose up (drums and all) about 40 feet off the ground and then tilted 90 degrees (picture him now looking at the ground) and then rotated 360 degrees, spinning! the band as is good in person as they are recorded and we really enjoyed the show. will's make it through your brain surgery song was "born again". it was a song that really empowered both of us through this time, and we really felt like it gave us a fresh start at our lives and living them the way God had intended. we held each other's hands and sang a little louder for this one.
once the show was over we headed back outside into the crowds for this one last strange food item. i'd heard advertisements for the kool-aid pickle, so i just had to get one. i LOVE pickles more than just about anything. will had an app on his phone that allowed you to search for food vendors or food items. he found the pickle. it was tucked in a permanent booth inside a building. we would have never found it without the miracle app. will ordered up one kool-aid pickle and we went back outside to try it out. will declined to take a taste, so it was all me. i took a bite and found that it was really too kool-aidy. they'd advertised "sweet and sour", but it was all kool-aid with a pickle texture. good concept, but failed execution. last item half eaten and pitched in the waste bin.
after the pickle we decided to linger just a little longer so we could see the fireworks. nc spared no expense with these puppies. the show was impressive and we're glad we stuck around. once that show was over we made our way back to the shuttle bus and eventually back to our car. we were so tired that we both fell asleep at 11:30, which is unheard of in this house! we had a great day together, loved the fall air, enjoyed the search for the freaky food, and will always remember the concert.
a year ago today marks the day that will had his decompression surgery. this day is a day that forever changed our lives. the night before will's surgery we were both nervous and anxious about where our lives were headed. we had faith that God would protect us through will's surgery, but we did not know how long the road would be, or where it would lead. we could never imagine we'd be where we are now.
this thursday's small group and this weekend have given us time to share what we're going through, where we're at, and where we're headed. in sharing we got a lot off our chests - a lot of things we've been keeping inside so we did not have to bombard our church family with constant uncertainty in the process we've embarked upon.
we know we're supposed to be on this adoption journey to build our family through adoption - God did get us that far, but we've never received any confirmation that this path, the path of working with an agency, working with this agency, was the route that was meant to build our family. when you get pregnant you know that you're having a baby, you know that God has temporarily gifted you this soul growing inside you to build your family, and you just know that this is the path for you. we've just felt something is missing from the certainty with the length of time it's taken to receive the approval from the initial application.
questions still linger about if we'll be approved. will the agency be able to work with us despite medical conditions we have? will the issues that prevented us from being pregnant in the first place also be the stumbling blocks to building our family through adoption through this agency? only time will tell. i think the longer the wait of this "doubted" approval has taken the more it's made us question our worthiness.
however, after long conversations this weekend husband and i refocused on the fact that even if we are not approved with this agency it does not mean that we still can't adopt. it's possible to still work with another agency to complete an international adoption, or to work with the foster care system in the state of north carolina. we just know that in the end, no matter how hard we have to work, how much paperwork we fill out, how long we have to wait, how twisted the path becomes - we will be parents.
"Faith is walking face-first and full-speed into the dark. If we truly knew all the answers in advance as to the meaning of life and the nature of God and the destiny of our souls, our belief would not be a leap of faith and it would not be a courageous act of humanity; it would just be... a prudent insurance policy."
— Elizabeth Gilbert
this week we've been feeling the love and warmth of each other, that of our friends, and that of our families. a dear friend at church knitted our baby a beautiful crisp white baby blanket and two adorably comfy hats. the warmth of these items reminds us how incredibly warm we've felt in the recent sharing of this amazingly emotionally chaotic journey with friends and family. we know that all of these wonderfully caring people support us on this journey and we need to continue to allow them the joy in the blessing of helping us along our path, no matter how long it may be, and to continue to keep the faith in knowing that it is God that lead us to this point, and God that will see us through.
today we got an e-mail confirming receipt of our initial application.
wahoo!
not quite...
they also requested additional details for one of the questions we answered affirmatively. we figured this would happen, so we're not totally devastated. however, i was just excited to have us moving on to the next stage. i was hoping this email with attachment was the GIANT application, but maybe we will get that shortly!
in other news - we're set all up for Christmas. will said this was the most excited he's ever been to set up the Christmas tree, and he helped from start to finish. (hopefully he will have that same enthusiasm when it's time to take it all down.)
our most favorite thing is our nativity scene gifted to us from will's folks a few years back. it is made from olive wood and each piece is hand carved. above is the sweet baby Jesus - the reason for the season!
though at first i thought will's diagnosis of chiari malformation and syringomyelia were derailing us from our adoption mission, i see now that they are the piece of the puzzle that was missing.
for so long we wondered - why can't God bless us with a baby of our very own? we feel like we'd be good parents, and we love each other so much that we just want a family that's a piece of each of us. however, as we learned more about chiari malformation, we learned that there is more and more scientific research being done to show that there is a link to this being a hereditary condition.
will's been a trooper. he's dealing with pain, both physical and emotional, but he's strong and he's hanging in there. he was the first one to make a comment that this diagnosis was the "missing link" to our adoption journey, what we did not know originally that makes things fall into place now - the reason why God's plan for our family was to be made whole with a baby that was adopted.
so, its not that we've been derailed, but that we're on track more now than ever before & we now know why we are here, why our family starts with a baby that does not have a mommy and daddy to raise it, and why we were meant to love that baby with all our hearts and souls.
