An exciting start to a new year!!!

Exciting things happening right at the beginning of this new year! I will back track to almost 2 years ago we did a random (thouroughly researched lol)  thing and signed up for this vacation deal where you go to Branson and have free hotel stay as long as you listen to the time share meeting they want you to attend one afternoon...out of the deal you get an~almost free~cruise! We went to the Branson thing last April and made it into a family trip with my family. After the Branson trip you have one year to use your cruise certificate or it expires. We planned to wait the full year and use it in March 2015 because I was wanting to wait as long as possible to leave Lyla;) 

We called to finally book it this week and learned if you go in January you get a free upgrade to a nicer room and airfare prices(which we do have to pay for technically) are significantly cheaper in January because it's not as popular of a month to travel with holidays just being over! I said technically about paying for the airfare because we have a rewards credit card we charge everything to and then pay it off, so we earn travel points. We had already earned enough for completely free round trip tickets for both of us:)) So by booking the last week of January we would save hundreds of dollars..so seemed the most logical. We looked at weather and the difference between end of January and first of March down there is insignificant to justify waiting as well!

Anyways, we booked our cruise and it's final... we can't change it. Now I'm freaking out about leaving Lyla lol. Way back when we signed up for this I thought well Lyla will be a year and a half old, so it will be fine...however, now that it came up so quickly I'm not as emotionally prepared as I thought I would be! I apparently have 3.5 weeks to prepare myself...and wean a very stubborn baby:/

We have typically taken Breyton with us on most past vacations, but this is our first time to travel since we've added two kiddos in 2013...and it's not feasible(nor would I want to lol) travel to Miami and take a cruise with three young children, so they will be having their own fun vacation hanging out with their Meems and Grammy. Mason keeps saying, "Stop- it's not a big deal! You do so much for the kiddos and deserve to get away for a bit to relax!" So that's what I'm going to try to do:))

Yes, there is definitely a part of me super excited about spending, so much time alone with my husband and of course warm weather and the ocean!!! We are flying to Miami to leave for the cruise and Masons' brother/sister in law live nearby there, so we will be spending extra time visiting with them as well! 

So that's coming up......and this past Wednesday we did get word that Miss L, our foster daughter, will be leaving us next week to move onto a kinship placement. Bittersweet! Having a two- 2 years olds and a 1 year old is exhausting on a long term basis, so I think it's for the best. I know after 3 weeks it will be a little sad to say goodbye knowing in this situation we will probably never see her again. She's been having some night terrors and a little more tears about her other mommy/daddy, so I'm just praying so hard that she can find the comfort/love she needs as she moves on from us. 

And on one other side note....

On this day, Jan 2nd, two years ago we received a message out of the blue telling us about this sweet little 4 month old baby boy who needed a home. It was a crazy whirlwind to say 'yes' and I'm so thankful for how God wove Sean into our lives!

Today on my time hop app was the precious first pictures we saw of his little face. 

My how he has grown!

Crazy how time flies and how quickly life changes! Looking forward to another new year and what God will do!