Oh, my goodness.  I can't remember the last time I was this tired and this happy!  Our garage sale this past weekend was so much work and so much fun!  Matt and I are so blessed by our fast friendship with Brian and Cindy (the other adopting couple).  They are the only couple we know that has not only been through this process before but is going through it concurrently with us.  They have been a great source of information, support, and love.  We are so thankful for them!

We are also incredibly thankful to all of our friends and family for their donations, volunteerism, and prayers.  I don't know how people go through this process without a support system like ours.  We are richly blessed.  How richly blessed are we, you ask?  Well, I guess if we had to put a number to it...Matt and I had been praying that we would have enough money from the garage sale to pay for our immediate home study co ...

This is from Chicken Soup for a Mother's Soul:

A young woman named Mary gave birth to her first child, and because her husband was on military duty, she spent a couple of weeks after the birth at the home of her parents.

One day Mary mentioned to her mother that she was surprised the baby’s hair was reddish, when both she and her husband were blonde.

“Well, Mary,” said her mother, “you must remember, your daddy’s hair is red.”

“But Mamma,” said Mary, “that doesn’t make any difference because I’m adopted.”

With a little smile, Mamma said the loveliest words that her daughter had ever heard: “I always forget.”

Adoption update:

Things move so  s l o w l y  in the world of adoption.  I don't have a whole lot to add today but I wanted to let you all know that I'm not withholding information...I just don't have any new news! 

The first loose string that has not been tied up yet involves our home study.  Our home study agency, Lutheran Family Services, was supposed to decide the recipient of the $500 home study scholarship (of which we are in the running) at their meeting on Tuesday night.  Katie, our social worker, contacted me this morning to let me know that there was too much on the agenda and they have postponed that decision until their next meeting on April 7th.  While I wish a decision had been made already I'm relieved because that means we could still get the scholarship!  I was totally prepared to be bummed about not getting it.

The second loose string that has ...

Unlike most expectant parents, Matt and I have no idea how old our children will be when they finally come home to us.  And like some expectant parents we have no idea the gender of our children either.  For retail therapists, such as myself, this is actually a good thing.  It completely prevents me from spontaneously buying things we don't know if we will need or even use and, seeing as my husband is currently not working, this also prevents any spending we can't afford. 

To curb my desires, most of the time I just feast my eyes on the seductive photos in the Kids Pottery Barn magazine and the more-realistic-for-our-lifestyle (and closer to my taste) items on Ikea.com.  Harder to resist are the small ticket items like cute sundresses on Etsy (what size? and will we even have girls?)  and California Baby bubble bath (do I want my sons smelling like ylang ylang?).  Obviously you can see my imm ...

Matt and I are having a garage sale with another adopting family on Friday April 3rd and Saturday April 4th.  We are seeking donations of items to sell and items to raffle off.  Check out: www.garagesaleforadoption.blogspot.com  for how to help!

My how the time does fly!  I can't believe it has been so long since my last post.  A lot has been happening in our little adoption world.  First of all, Matt and I have been enrolled with Holt International!  Originally, Matt and I had been interested in pursuing a sibling group adoption in India, Philippines, and S. Korea but after many phone calls and emails to the wonderful people at Holt and much discussion and prayer between the two of us, we decided to narrow our search just a bit.  

New standards in international adoption have been put in place in the United States and around the world as of April 2008.  Those standards are called the Hague treaty.  The Hague treaty was established for protection for children, birth parents and adoptive parents while also endorsing the concept of international adoption as a means for homeless children to receive permanent, loving families.&am ...

WE DID IT!  WE MAILED IN OUR ADOPTION APPLICATION TO HOLT INTERNATIONAL!

WAHOO!!!!  THAT FEELS SO GOOD! 

I know there is TONS of paperwork to come but we are so excited to have made this first step.  It was amazingly satisfying to go down the checklist and make my little checks in the appropriate boxes for items needing to be included.  Adoption Application completed?  Check!  Signed and Notarized blah, blah, blah paperwork?  Check!  Adorable (I added the adorable part) photo of you and your spouse?  Check!  Welcoming (I added the welcoming part) photo of the outside of your home?  Check!  $300 check made out to Holt International?  Painful, but Check!  Two very happy, very excited, very scared prospective adoptive parents?  Check!

I've never been the kind of person who worries about getting older.  That doesn't mean I don't wear wrinkle cream (I certainly do) or try to stay current on fashion trends (even though I don't participate in them).  I guess I've always thought it would be better to focus my energy on things I CAN change.   Maybe that's why turning 30 this past weekend wasn't something I was dreading. 

I had friends ask me, "Do you feel 30?  Do you feel different?"   And actually, I do feel different.  The feeling didn't come overnight.  It is a feeling of growth and change that has been building inside me over the past year.  I know more about who I am and I'm more comfortable in my own skin.  I've realized that I will become the woman, wife, mother, sister, ...

The directions were to make bold whichever ones you have done, so this is what I've done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11 ...

I was at a New Year's Eve party this week trying to celebrate.  I'm not sure what I was trying to celebrate but I know I wasn't doing a very good job of it.  I don't remember what time we left but I know I cried on the way home.  It's been a hard year.  I wasn't at all sorry to bid farewell to 2008.  I think it was the intensity of the feelings, the rollercoaster of hope and...well...lack of hope that defined our year. 

Matt lost his job the first of January.  While no one likes losing a job Matt might be the exception.  Everyday for 5 1/2 years he dreaded going to work and he came home exhausted, frustrated, and unfulfilled.  To be honest, I was relieved after Matt lost his job.  He was transformed.  All of the sudden I was married to the ...