• Back from vacation = 94 emails in the inbox and 341 posts in blog reader. #
• Sometimes I forget to put on deodorant. Today is one of those sometimes. Don’t worry though, I just remedied the situation. #
• Grabbig coffee with Jamie. Sitting outside as another summer storm rolls in. I really like thunder and lightening. #
• Just finished dinner with the family and we’re off to B&N with the kids. After that its home and kids to bed.. Then beer and euro08 for me. #

I was going through the 300+ blog posts that had accumulated in my google reader over the past 4 days and found a link to a great resource for churches looking to start adoption funds.  How amazing would it be if the church took seriously its call to care for widows and orphans?

Adoption lies in the future for Jennifer and I. The who, what, when, where, questions still lie unanswered, but the reality is already in our hearts. As the website above points out, money is one of the hardest challenges to overcome with adoption. While money is a big challenge, it is also a strong and powerful reminder to me of the gospel.  See, the price that Jennifer will have to pay in order to become the father and mother of one who is father and motherless will be thousands of dollars. When I think of this great financial cost I am always reminded that Jennifer and I were adopted by God at the greatest of expenses… the very life of his son (Gal 4:3-7).

Church… adoption beats in the heart of the gospel. Let us take seriously the call to care for the father and motherless. Let us give ourselves and our money to make the grace of God in adoption known to the world.

• Drew doesn’t like twitter. #
• http://twitpic.com/2p2r - This guy needs a Mac. #
• Had a good night with friends. Time to pack and get ready for an early flight tomorrow. #
• Sitting at the airport and getting ready to head home. To everyone in Richmond, it was great to see you! #
• Just landed in Orlando. Looking forward to seeing the kids! #

Almost home

Originally uploaded by w ryan burns

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

• http://twitpic.com/2oen - Mia Hamm? #
• Slept in late today. Grabbed lunch with chip and Doug. Now going back to hotel to hang by the pool. #
• Dinner with DeRoco’s. Ladies about to head out to ladies night and guys chillin at the casa. #

• Jenn and I didn’t sleep very well last night… just made some hotel coffee and then we’re off to Church. #
• http://twitpic.com/2mia - At church with the beard. #
• Good day. Preached benediction at church, lunch with friends, watched soccer, eating at Avalon with drew and Sarah. #

• http://twitpic.com/2jqi - Seat with a view… That isn’t the ocean. #
• Just landed in Richmond. Picking up the rental car and off to the hotel. #
• mental note, never use priceline… we’re in a NASTY smoking room. Great, saved a few bucks, but lost a year of life to second hand smoke. #
• Leaving the horrible hotel. Brunch with Robert and Erin, then find a new hotel. #
• Great brunch with Robert and erin. Got a new hotel room. Buying jenn a bathing suit then off to the pool. #
• New hotel a million times better! #
• Staying in doubletree downtown. Used CC points to get the room. Great cookies, roof-top pool, beautiful room, great bed, free wifi, NICE! #

I forgot my bathingsuit. Now that we’re in a hotel with a pool (& one that i feel ok to walk around barefoot in) we decided this was a problem. Since my bathingsuit is technically ‘broken’ anyway, we decided it would be acceptable to run by target & buy a new one.

1) It has become increasingly more difficult to find non-bikini’s that are not uber-ugly or uber low-cut (i can only assume the designers are trying to fix the problem of tankini’s being somewhat modest by making them cover as little cleavage as possible).

2) Try as I might to prove my opinion wrong, conventional one-piece bathingsuits just don’t look right on me.

So after trying on about 5 suits….I settled on a “swim dress”. I only picked it up as a half-joke, but it ended up being pretty cute (ryan verified). Even as I was putting it on I said to ryan, “nothing says “I’m a mommy’ like the bathingsuit skirt”. To which he replied, “but you ARE a mommy”. While I definitely think this suit is not your typical “mommy/old lady swim dress”….it clearly says “swim dress” on the label. There goes any thread of hope that perhaps i’m still clinging to coolness.

Here’s hoping that I actually get to use it this weekend, now that we went through all that.

Ryan and Jennifer from the Richmond rooftops…

Part II of the Burns mini-vacation video.