My house is clean... for the time being. I mean, dusting, vacuuming, mopping.. clean.

In return, my daughter has a cold. Oh, the coughing, sneezing, snot-rockets, and sleep-deprivation- this is what I get for dusting. (Since I dust about once every 3 months.) Lauren loves helping me clean the windows and she loves playing with the duster- hence, she has a cold.

I am also thinking about getting Lauren some swim lessons. She LOVES the water. Fitting the swim lessons into the budget will be the hardest part. Over the past week, she has enjoyed playing at the Sea World water park, and Schlitterbahn. She is the happiest in the water- soggy swim diaper, no food or drink, sitting in a lukewarm pool missing her nap time. She is a water-baby.

Are we dorks?

Mark and I are going to try to get tickets for:

They are coming to San Antonio in October! Yay!

I think there will be more people in their late 20's and 30's there. Hope the fans don't get too crazy.

Now, we just need an N*SYNC reunion tour. Mark may not go with me to that one.

Tonight at Bible Study we played the game, Mafia. I haven't laughed like that in a long time. It took a while for the people who have never played, but it was pretty funny. And, I made chicken fajitas for the first time. (Thank you Sam's Club for the pre-cooked chicken. Thank you HEB for the boxed Spanish rice, guacamole, peppers and onions.) It was pretty easy to make, and pretty fast. I need to start cooking from recipes, though. I enjoy cooking when I do it, it is just finding the time to actually get everything together, and to play with Lauren.

I think Lauren and I have also hit a rut. It has been so hot outside and we run errands in the morning, that, by mid-afternoon, we run out of things to do. Plus, she tries so hard to communicate with me, and is actually doing pretty well for an 18 month old, but we have the cries that come when I can't understand her. However, she now signs "more" in the correct context, and has a lot of words and even 2-word phrases. She says "up please" when she needs to get up or if something is out of her reach, and we are working hard with saying her "thank yous." When she says "please" to something, she gets it, and then once she has it, and we prompt her to say "thank you," she just gives you that sweet baby look and runs off. Still a work in progress. Although, I am having a tough time discerning (right wordage?) as to when Lauren actually can understand me and different prompts, or when she just does it because she would do it anyway. (ex: picking up something, moving herself from harms way, not touching HOT things, etc.)

Several posts ago, I mentioned that Mark and I had some things in our life that we needed discernment on. We were a possible adoptive family for a friend's friend, and the sweet baby girl is due July 21. The birth mother "thinks she is going to keep her," and Mark and I have a real peace for this arrangement. The birth mother is already giving her daughter the most precious gift of life, and we pray that they will become a great family that will glorify God, even though the birth mother does not call on His Name as of right now. I plan on going up to the hospital to her (we are sort of friends and we share an OBGYN,) because I want her to feel as though she has a support system here in San Antonio. (Her family and life was in New Mexico.)

As of Mark and I, we are not currently pursuing any adoption, and are praying about how to grow our family. We are taking everything very slowly because although Lauren is a great toddler, I am not ready.

Also, I know I am horrible at updating this blog on a regular basis, BUT, I may be even slower come Monday. We have canceled our "cable bundle" as Time Warner would call it, because it just jumped up to about $200, and to get it back to a reasonable enough price for us to keep it, we have to be new customers. So, after a 45 minute conversation today with a GREAT employee for Time Warner (he really was very patient with me, and me with him), he could not get us as good of a deal as he could if we were new customers. So, that gave Mark ammunition to give the bundle the boot, and keep it off for a while to save some money. Although, I REALLY REALLY need my "So you Think you Can Dance" show. I am addicted to it. Amazing dances, really. And, we both just got into A&E's "Intervention" show, and TLC'S "Jon and Kate Plus 8." They are all three completely different shows, but all three great, in their own ways. So, please forgive me my friends.

PS-- Bobcat, you need to start a blog to update us with pregnancy news and pictures, and then carry on to your sweet baby once he/she is born. THE BEST way to keep everyone updated... in my own humble opinion. Love you and see you this weekend!