Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Homestudy Madness

Saturday morning Kelly, our social worker, came over for our big homestudy visit.  We are soooo incredibly lucky to have been matched up with someone who has A) just recently adopted so she knows all of the ropes and what to expect B) goes to our church C) is super enthusiastic and wants to offer any help she can give.  Everything went smoothly.  Ryan only said a couple of things that I chocked up to him not having slept since the day before.  :)  Maddox even seemed to behave himself pretty well.  I almost started laughing mid-question when I looked down and realized that Maddox was sitting right in front of Ryan and I, looking directly at Kelly, as if to say "Ok, here I am.  Aren't you going to ask about my upbringing and puppyhood?"  Thankfully, Kelly likes dogs.

We only have a couple of tiny things to do to finish up the homestudy.  Well, I say "tiny," but I really mean "things that we've been putting off until last minute.  My main challenge this week will be to try and work on my letter to the birth mother.  I've been racking my brain for days now, and I'm not sure I'm any closer to know what to write then I was 2 months ago. 

Other good news:  After two months of craziness, my horse has finally returned to his normal self.  I was lucky enough this past weekend to get to ride him twice.  I can't wait until its warmer out so I can give him a MUCH needed bath.  I've given up trying to get him clean.  3 or 4 months worth of rolling around in mud and sand and snow have basically rendered all hopes of him being clean without a thorough washing pointless.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Fundraising Ideas

Just thought I would throw this out there to see if anyone would be interested:
If we made a t-shirt with this logo on it
or with the squared edges:

 would anyone be interested in purchasing one to help raise some money for our adoption?  I'd most likely put it on a charcoal grey shirt....... Also, any suggestions for changes, etc are welcome.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Crafts and Such

A couple of pics of things I've been sewing lately.  Still need to start working on lady Violet and Miss McKenna's adorable little pillowcase dresses.  I am almost done with the Bunting Banner that will go above the tree in the nursery.  This is probably the easiest thing I've ever tried to make.


More pics to come as soon as I finish!  I also want to thank my super awesome husband for buying me this sewing machine for xmas, and my mom for teaching me how to sew when I was a wee person!

The Nursery

The nursery is coming along nicely.  When we decided to adopt, we had a difficult choice of whether we wanted to specify if we wanted a boy or a girl.  After some prayer and thought we realized that we wouldn't have this choice if we were to actually be having a baby.  Since we are leaving gender up to God, we obviously needed to have a gender neutral nursery. 
If you've ever been in our house, you know that I'm not really a fan of tans or browns.  So our nursery is grey with bright yellow and torquoise accents.  My mother is custom making all of our crib bedding and curtains.  The only thing we are lacking as of now is an actual mattress and the comforter. 
Take a look at how its coming along below:

Maddox wishing this room was for him..... silly boy.

These are the fantastic curtains my mother made. LOVE THEM.


A couple of baskets to hold diapers, etc along with a picture I painted after we had our first miscarriage.  The verse on it reads "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."  We thought it was appropriate to put this painting in the nursery for our baby-to-be since we know now that God's plan for the miscarriages was that we would open our home to an adopted child.  He knew all along.
Crib with now mattress. It does, however, have a crib skirt and a handmade (by me!) quilt.  Yes, it is a baby divided, Auburn/Carolina blanket.  I can't wait for my mom to finish the actual comforter that matches the room.  Still pondering what to put between the two pics above the crib.  Perhaps a first initial after we find out if it is a girl or boy.