What to do this Summer

I've been thinking the last few weeks on how I'm going to spend my summer as we continue to "wait" for Baby E (entering into month 7).

As I've said before, we do not mind waiting as we trust God 100% in this process and we'd like our first phone call and meeting to be "the one".  But, with that said, the human side in us is starting to get anxious.  If truth be told, it's more me than Fred just because he has work to occupy him.  He is very cute as he is ALWAYS saying; "I can't wait to take HIM to the park/zoo/pool", or "I can't wait to read to HIM at night".

The other day a friend told me that what I'm feeling is what many women who are entering into their 7th month of pregnancy experience.  And that is, though you (they) and baby are happy and healthy and everything is done, you are just waiting.  The underlining feeling is the same ...... when is the baby going to be here!!!  She also said everyone goes a little stir crazy at some point!

So, with that said, what in the world am I going to do this summer?  Honestly, I really don't know, but I have to keep busy for my own sanity and more importantly for the sanity of my husband!  LoL

Here's what I've come up with, if anyone has any ideas please send them. 

• Finishing up Master Bedroom Project this week (pictures to come)
• Yard Project (stone walk-way) this weekend as we just received approval (pictures to come)
• Beach Vacation the end of the month !!!!
• Reading (The Connected Child, The Vaccine Book and New York - the novel)
• Enjoying the freedom of going out with my husband and my friends at any moment
• Hanging out at our pool

**The house is already so organized that I'm not sure there's much more to organize**

I have a new friend that has been gently pushing me to join our churches MOPS group this summer, as we have a short mini-semester.  Yep, I finally caved last week.  It should be funny, as I'll be the only there who has no baby yet.....  I wonder how many times I'll have to tell everyone that I'm in the process of adoption? :-)

My goal this summer isn't to cram my days/weeks full, but I do need to stay busy.  I came across the below today and I thought it was very appropriate.

You never know when you'll get that call to bring your child home, so enjoy life to the fullest during the waiting period.  We followed three rules:

1. ALWAYS expect the unexpected.
2. Be flexible
3. You are NEVER in control, so don't sweat the small stuff.

Even if you do sweat the small stuff and worry every day until you're matched with your child, there's one thing I know for certain - as soon as you hold your new child in your arms, that will all be forgotten. - Stephanie Boyd

Lists Everywhere

Ok, let's be honest.  I LOVE to make lists.  It's really a sickness, but I just can't help it.  It's very common for me to have at least 3 different types of lists at any given time.  No, it's not just the same thing written down again because I've lost the orginial or because I've forgotten something.  It's really 3 different lists.  It's just that my life runs soooo much more smoothly if I do this.

My husband use to tease me, but after almost 9 years of marriage he has either seen the value of the lists or he's just given up.  I'm going to say it's the first, because that's what I believe.  :-)

Anyway, I found.......are you ready......5 different lists last night that I had written down about a week before Easter, yes I date them.  DON'T JUDGE ME!  I know there are others out there like me.

Here are the lists that I found -
1.  A weekly "to do" List (i.e. clean house, errands, things for hubby/parents, etc)
2.  Project List - These are the projects that really need to be completed BEFORE baby
3.  Ongoing Project List - Projects you have when your a home owner
4.  Baby "must purchase" List
5.  Baby "to do" List #2 - This is what will need to be done once we are matched with a birthmom

I know I like to be super organized and that I don't like to have things hanging out there in limbo, but this might be a little much even for me.  I'm trying to be a little more carefree and not so in control all the time, but it's not easy.  I'm just putting this out there for others like me.  :-)  

Painting - Phase 1

So it's begun...painting our master bedroom.  Last night my sweet husband taped the wall and all the windows behind our bed as well as moved a majority of our furniture into the middle of the bedroom, bathroom and closet.

One of the best things about painting projects is that Fred enjoys taping and dislikes painting, while I LOVE to paint and dislike taping.  So together we make the perfect painter.  LOL  It might take Fred a while to tape, but I never have to do any touch-ups on molding or baseboards.  It's wonderful.  I guess it's one of the perks of being married to an engineer!

Since we had to move our furniture one of the pieces we had to move was our bed.  So, last night our bed was directly under the fan and the foot of our bed was 5ft away from the door versus the regular 10ft.  So, as we're drifting off to sleep Fred says to me, "You will be finished painting tomorrow, right?"  Yes, of course I say, but why?  Because right now our bedroom definitely ISN'T "feng shui" and it's really throwing me for a loop.  I'm not sure if I'll be able to sleep tonight. I'm not kidding when I say that I laughed so hard I almost feel out of the bed. 

Fred was right.  We were not in our "normal" place in the room and we both didn't sleep very well.   I don't know if our bedroom is really "feng shui", but I do know that nothing was in it's usual place.  I didn't know Fred knew about "feng shui", did you?

Well I started and finished painting "the wall" today and everything is back in it's rightful position, less the silk curtains.  Those will have to wait until the whole room is finished.  Fred will be oh so happy tonight.

What a difference paint makes and it's only on one wall. I can't wait to see the final product!  I'm already talking about how I want to paint the master bath. I'm very fortunate that my husband supports my love for painting and will tape every room in the house as long as I give him a heads up.

The Next Steps:
Phase 2 - Painting the other 3 1/2 walls a dark cream, hopefully later this week or this weekend
Phase 3 - Stenciling the brown wall with the dark cream, hopefully sometime next week (it's going to take at least 1, maybe 2 full days to complete)

Here is a before picture....

Here is a picture as of today, though it really doesn't do it justice

Amazing Night at Adoption Agency

Every month our adoption agency and all the "expectant couples" meet to connect and see how we are all doing and encourage each other as we journey together through our adoption story.

Well last night was nothing short of amazing. The founder, Glennis Woodall of Promiseland Ministries, Inc (which under that umbrella are three separate ministries: Hannah House Maternity Home, Maryhannah House Aftercare Program; and Chosen Child Adoption Agency) and two birth moms whom had recently placed their babies for adoption came to speak to us . And wow....it still gives me chills to think about it.

The girls spoke about their experiences in moving to Hannah House, what it was like living there, their relationship with the adoptive parents, and how they are now as they are living in the Aftercare Program and working through the grieving process.  All I can say is these girls are truly amazing. The love that they have for their babies is beautiful, the maturity they possess is way ahead of their actual age (I know I wasn't that mature when I was that age). To hear their stories about why they decided to "place" their babies for adoption, and how God is working in their lives is beautiful and mind blowing all at the same time. God's working in these girl's lives in a mighty and powerful way.

Glennis is a beautiful woman with an incredible heart filled with nothing but love.  Her and her husband have been helping pregnant girls for 25 years.  As far as I'm concern she's a saint.  She said last night when her doctor asked, "why her blood pressure was elevated" she said, "it's because I always have pregnant teenage girls in my house"!! LoL

When I think of the lives that she has touched over the years it's staggering. It's not only the girls, but the babies, the extended families, adoptive parents and those that she talks to over the phone, etc.... I could go on and on for hours, but I won't.

She did pass along some alarming statistics that I thought I'd share. When you’re thinking about us we'd appreciate it if you'd add these beautiful, strong girls to your prayers. ***Remember there are SO MANY girls out there that need and want help but are being turned away, and unfortunately that could means that a pregnancy could be terminated***

Did you know.......

• There are 820,000 teen pregnancies in the US each year
• 50,000 unmarried teens get pregnant every year in TEXAS
• 40% of theses end in abortion
• Only 85 beds are in Christian maternity homes in Texas
• Hannah House is currently able to offer 4 (has to do with age and how they house the girls)
• The cost to care for one of these girls is $102 per day

**Side note - the average age of the girls that arrive at Hannah House is 16**

If you'd like any more information please let me know. Fred and I are always here to answer any questions.

"And now these three remain; Faith, Hope and LOVE. But the greatest of these is love" 1 Corinthians 13:13

Projects

I'll open this post with a question... Is it crazy to start 2 MAJOR projects when your 6 months into  "waiting" for a birthmom via adoption?  You know we could get "that call" at any time.  If your us, you say NO WAY!!!! 

You ask, what are we about to undertake.  Well one is an outdoors project (phase 2 of numerous phases) and one is an indoor project.  The outdoor project is adding a long brick walkway as well as correcting some drainage issues down one side of the house.  Right now it's a swamp due to over watering and too much shade.  The buggies may love it, but I personally think it's nasty.

The second project is painting our large master bedroom.  Anyone, who knows me any length of time knows that I love color and that I'm not a fan of unpainted walls.  (Our nice new beautiful house has nothing but unpainted walls, so I have A LOT of work ahead of me).  So, I'm getting ready to paint the wall behind our bed a beautiful shade of chocolate brown and all the other walls and dark cream and then go back over the brown wall in the cream with a large stencil in a vertical pattern.  (I'll post before and after pictures as it's hard to explain).

Needless, to say we will both need our vacation after all that work.  I guess it's better to get these projects done now while we have the "extra" time, right?!  LoL

God's Handiwork

I know that I say this a lot, but I'm amazed every single day at God's handiwork and how He weaves everything together.  It's utterly mind-blowing to me how God works.  Three years I thought my life was over, that I'd never be a mother, that I'd failed at one of the most basic things that women were created to do and that I'd failed as a wife.  Everyone (or so it seemed to me) was getting pregnant, even women I didn't know.  They'd say the word and BAM they were pregnant....it was very frustrating! 

But, (oh - how I love this word) in ways that only God can work, He kept slamming doors shut in order to THROW THE WINDOWS WIDE OPEN for adoption.  Today, I know without a shadow of a doubt that this is the way that God planned on us to become parents.  We are both so excited that we can barley contain ourselves.  We love our birthmom  and our baby and we don't even know them yet!  We're surrounded not only with support and love, but Christian support and love.  And there is a difference.

Somehow, I strike up conversation with strangers and a lot of the time the adoption comes up and that we are "waiting" on a birthmom.  And the responses are ALWAYS positive; sometimes they ask questions about adoption itself (teaching moment!!!), the birthmom or baby, or about their personal experience.  The last happens more often then you'd think.  For me this happens usually once to twice a week.  I know it's awesome, right!

Just today, I was at the Container Store, buying storage bins for the nursery when this Asian man working there asked if he could help me and why I was looking for storage bins.  So, I told him about the adoption.  Long story short.  He is a Christian (awesome) and they had adopted internationally.  We got to talking about the differences in international vs domestic adoption and peoples responses overall to adoption.  He wished us well and told me that he and his wife would be praying for us.  Really, how totally awesome is that.

Adoption for us (so far) has been such a blessing because God has revealed many things to us regarding His love, the compassion of strangers and how truly blessed we are with our family and friends.  I love that I can use something as beautiful as adoption to education others and to ultimately praise God. 

Christ love and handiwork are so woven through this whole process.  I'm really looking forward to seeing where we are in a year from now.