Adoption

You hear talk about adoption in the news. There are famous people who have adopted-Mariska Hargitay, Sandra Bullock, Denise Richards, and many more. They choose adoption for different reasons and have different stories. Most keep the details out of the news (which I think is good).

Glenn Beck and his wife Tania also adopted. They shared their story at a Families Supporting Adoption Conference in 2007. Both gave very powerful talks about their journey which you can read here.  I loved how open and honest they were about their feelings throughout their journey.  Two parts really stood out to me.

The first is when Glenn beck is talking about his son’s birthmother and he calls her a superhero.  He says she is “an example of what real superheroes do. Real superheroes don’t think about themselves. Real superheroes don’t make their life all about them. Real superheroes do the hard thing…” This is absolutely true. Birthmothers and birthfathers and birthfamilies are superheroes. Adoption is not an easy choice. It is not the popular choice. Families that can make that choice should be thought of as superheroes!

The other part that really touched me is in the final paragraph.  Glenn Beck talks about the premortal existence. “I know that we stood around and we were honored when that soul looked at us and said, “I want you as my dad, and I want you as my mom. Somehow or another we’ll find each other.” It’s not just getting any child. It’s sometimes waiting for that soul who is trying desperately to fulfill their side of the bargain and to fulfill what you guys set out to do in the first place and to be reunited with his family for time and all eternity.”

WOW! He puts it so well. We are hopeful that we will find the child who is looking for us!

Read the rest of Glenn Beck and Tania Beck’s talks here.

 

Great Gift

I found the greatest gift for a new adoptive parent (or any parent really).

You can make it yourself. You can buy the cut vinyl from here, cut your own (if you have a Cricut) or I thought paint might work (If you are like me and don't have a Cricut). (Print the words out. Tape them to the glass and paint on the front (like you are tracing). Spray with spray on acrylic sealer to keep the paint on.)

There is an example of a picture in the frame instead of the hand prints. I might make the words smaller if I used a picture. A family picture would be wonderful too. It is a great project that can be very flexible.

Find the tutorial here.

Fudgie and Pansy

Fudge enjoying a pat!

Pansy wondering- what is going on?

Our neighbors have two dogs, a boxer and a BUGG. The BUGG is half Boston Bull Terrier and half Pug. When we first moved in we didn’t know their names so we named them. The boxer is Pansy because he barks at everything and looks mean but he is a big pansy (thus the name) and would probably lick you to death rather than bite you. The BUGG is Fudgie- because she is the color of fudge.

Jake decided we needed to be friends with the dogs and thought that treats might work. Of course, they did.

Now we come out and the dogs sit and we give them a treat through the fence. Pansy tries to shake to get more treats. After the treats, we pat them for a while.  Pansy usually pushes Fudge out of the way to get extra pats. Fudge is more independent and doesn’t seem to care about the pats as much as Pansy. But if Pansy starts to growl at us, Fudge will nip at his ankles and jump up to put her paws in his face. Pansy starts folding himself in half and tap dancing to get away. She is definitely in charge!



Fudge getting ready for the treat!



The Baby's Room



I have been looking at nurseries. Everyone has a different idea of a baby’s room. Some are so bright and colorful. Others are so full of knick-knacks. 

I love this. It would work easily for a boy or girl.



beachcottagelove.blogspot.com



The colors are great. It is so soothing and simple. But the white chair? One diaper blowout and it is ruined.

I also like this:

from houzz.com

I love the chandelier and the simple colors are soothing and easy to work with as the child grows. But it might be too pale and need a bit more color. This is definitely for a girl. But let's be pratical. How much sense does  a mirrored dresser make? Will it be covered with finger prints? Could the mirror be broken and cut someone?

Another that I really like is this one:

Baby H from ohdeedo.com

I love the colors in the rug and how simple it all is. There are touches of the rug colors all over the room.

We are not going to get started until we have a child (in our arms). There are so many  unknowns for us. We don’t know anything about our child yet. Boy or girl? Infant, toddler or older? Will we be able to build a relationship with the birth family or not? And so much more. We are taking each day as it comes and trying to be ready for it. We look at car seats, cribs, beds and clothes so we will be ready.  Hopefully, we will need all those things soon!

HGTV Design Star

There has been a lot of talk about HGTV design Star. I keep seeing commercials on TV and ads on the internet. So I tried watching it on Monday.  The basic idea (if you haven’t watched it) is several designers from all over the country compete to win their own show on HGTV. They have all different backgrounds and lengths of time in the decorating business.  Each week there is a challenge and the judges see who the best is and who the worst is and one person goes home. The person left at the end gets their own show.

The episode I watched had the white box challenge. The designers all had a white room with a futon, a desk, chair, two end tables and a lamp in the room. They went to a restaurant supply store to buy what they needed to decorate the room. It did not need to be functional (which to my mind means what is the point?) So the rest of the time was spent watching the trials and tribulations of these designers.

At the end, we saw the judges go to each room and make comments.  (Jake had plenty of comments too-he is not a fan of decorating shows but he does humor me!)

The judges thought this was the winner.



The judges thought this was a middle design- not art-y enough I guess?

Well, I really couldn’t figure out the point. The rooms the judges liked the best were more like art than a room (maybe that is the point; but if I want someone to help decorate my house I need to be able to live in it after-right?)  and the ones who kept the room too useful looking were at the bottom.  

This was one of the bottom designs. Her table got bumped and fell appart right as time was called.

I thought the show was okay. I am not dying to watch again but I am a bit curious about what they other challenges are and if any of these designers can make a room look good and be usable.  

It's HOT!!

I don’t know how it is where you are, but we are ROASTING! In an effort to stay cool we are staying inside and thinking about cool things. Like pools, ice, and Christmas!

Last December, Jake and I spent a few days of the Christmas holiday with my parents. My sister L. was visiting with her kids; V. and J. Her husband only got to stay a few days due to his work.  We had a good time seeing them and enjoyed seeing the kids.  L. was making dinner one night and so V. and I were playing beauty shop. I was surprised that she wanted me to do her hair (as a kid I wanted to do someone else's hair).

I couldn't really think of anything fancy, so we went to the internet! I found a website and we looked through until V found a style she liked then we went to try it. We had a great time! V. loved posing for the pictures after we finished. She really enjoyed choosing the hairstyles (I think we did 6 different hairstyles!)

One style V. chose!

Another style- much easier and quicker than the first one!

None of the hairstyles turned out exactly like the pictures but V. had fun and L got dinner ready (which was delicious!).  V.'s Barbie got a new hairdo too but wouldn't pose for pictures!

V. posing with Uncle Jake and a new hairdo!

Tree Trimming

It was tree trimming time at our house this week. We have a little grove of trees in our back yard. They are all very close together. The trees on the edges have more branches on one side than the other (because the other trees are in the way). We have had lots of lightning storms lately and Jake thought that trimming the trees might help keep them from blowing over on our house or the neighbors’ fences.

Jake built a ladder a year or so ago to help with trimming the tall bushes and trees. He used it to get to the biggest tree. I don’t have a before picture but here are some during and after pictures.

The first limb comes down.

Which limb should I cut down next?

This part of the trimming is all done! I always get nervous with Jake up on a ladder. Maybe my worrying keeps him safe! We still have some cleanup to do and a trip to the dump (the trash men won’t take yard waste). We (and by we, I mean Jake) may notice other trees that need a haircut as we see how this tree grows.

*Disclaimer-We don’t know if this is the right time of year to trim trees.  We are learning as we go about caring for our yard and keeping the plants looking good and our house safe!

Eagle Project

Jake is helping with an Eagle Project today. A Boy Scout in our Ward (church congregation) wants to turn this:

 

into this:

for a local school for his project. Jake likes to build things and so he was asked to help.  He got all his tools and clamps ready. Having the right tools makes the project so much easier! 

Finding

We are in the Finding part of the adoption process. We are hoping to find someone who will choose us to parent their child. So far this has been the hardest part. I say so far because although making the decision to stop fertility treatments was hard, filling out he paperwork and answering the seemingly thousands of questions was hard, it is not the same as this part (but this is as far as we have come and so if the next part is harder I'll update this. I also know every experience is different and this is NOT a complaint).

As we filled out the paperwork and answered the questions, we felt we were moving forward and working toward something. We were doing something. Now we are hoping something we do (this blog, an email, a pass along card, etc)  will lead us to someone who knows someone who will consider us. 

It feels a bit like when you move to a new place and you are trying to find your way around. You know that the store is close but you aren’t exactly sure how close. You start on your way and keep thinking I am almost there… as you drive a bit farther. You wonder if you made a wrong turn  but you keep thinking you are very close.  When you get there you are so glad. Now this analogy doesn’t work if you have GPS and there doesn’t seem to be a GPS for adoption! At least not that we have found. (If you have this GPS. . .)

We know that we will find someone and/or someone will find us. We keep thinking we are very close (mostly every time I open the email). We just don’t know when that will be. We know things will work out.

From blogginwithbobbi.blogspot.com

New recipe

I tried a new recipe last night. I got a craving for shortcake. I looked on Two Peas & Their Pod (go here  for other great recipes) and found a recipe that looked great and we had almost everything. I did have to go the store for a lemon (the recipe called for juice and lemon zest.  Since we didn’t have any fruit I looked at the strawberries and blueberries. Both were in too large a container. Jake decided to get some cherry pie filling to put on his short cake.

The recipe was very easy. The dough was very sticky though (next time I will add more flour and knead it a bit longer!)

Here's how they look on the blog!  From Two Peas& Their Pod

They came out great and really hit the spot. I put butter and jam on mine and Jake had the cherry pie filling (I think the jam was better!)

Before I put the butter and jam.

A little different than the original but still great!

Go here for the recipe!

A New Project

I am working on cleaning out my closet. I found some counted cross stitch kits in a bag WAAAAYYYY in the back. Of course, looking through the bag was more fun than cleaning out the closet and so I found a new project to start. It is a Christmas project but it is so HOT here that looking at snowmen and thinking about winter will help cool us off!

Here's the package. It should look like this when I am done!

I got all my stuff together. The highlighter helps me keep my place. That is the hardest thing in a counted cross stitch pattern. If you lose your place, it will impact things down the road. Sometimes you can fix it but usually you have to pick things out. It is very frustrating and I have put projects aside for LONG periods of time because I messed up and can’t figure out how to fix it.

The kit has everything I need except the hoop, highlighter and scissors.  I usually separate the floss and put it on index cards but since I didn’t have any index cards I had to improvise. I found an empty Diet Coke box and cut that up. I taped around the fabric so it won’t fray while I am working on it.

I punched holes in the cardboard and wrote the color names by each hole.

I’m thinking that I can get this done by the end of the month!

Wish me luck!

Baby Birds Update

Something has happened to the baby birds. I noticed I didn’t see the mother bird sitting in the nest or flying away as often. Then I didn’t see her for what felt like quite a while (now it has been unbearably hot and we are not going in and out very much).  I didn’t want to disturb the baby birds but curiosity got the best of me.  I dragged a chair out onto the porch to have a look and this is what I saw:







Empty nest!



We don’t know what happened. We don't think that they already learned to fly and are on their way, but we can hope for the best. If something else happened (and it wasn't happy), maybe next year the birds will choose a better place for a nest.

Kate Middleton and Me!!

I was reading about Kate Middleton (is she Princess Kate now, most seem to just refer to her as Kate) and how she is so stylish. I have seen so many pictures of her and she looks great in every one.

But this article talked about how she is wearing. . .sheer stockings(nylons). The author thought this might be a Glamour Don't but let’s think about this.

How many of us have perfect legs (and I mean not just the perfect shape, but also color)? Come on. Raise your hands high!



Don’t worry- my hand isn’t up either! I wear stockings to church every Sunday. I do it for lots of reasons (but I will only give you a few. . .yes you're welcome!)-



My legs are the color of concrete!?!



1 My legs are REALLY white. I am not going to try to tan them and self tanner really doesn’t work. It looks really strange to have gorgeous tanned legs and pasty white arms, neck and face.

2 My feet often express a bit more juice than I would like (is that a nice enough way to say I have sweaty feet?) and stockings really help keep me from swimming in my shoes.

3 I love the extra bit of skinniness I get from the control top of the stockings. (Let’s be honest ladies- every little bit helps right?)

So there you have it- Me and Kate- trend setters! (Yeah I’m laughing too. Don’t tell her. She might stop wearing the stockings!)

We've been featured!

We’ve been Featured!

Ashley Ann over at Blessings in a Basket featured us on her blog! We are so grateful for the exposure!

If you don’t know Ashley Ann, check out her blog to read her full story (here and be sure you have some tissues handy!). Through the trials of her life she has learned that she is stronger than she ever imagined. She is a BIG TOUGH GIRL (just like every birthmother).

Ashley Ann received a basket when she placed her child for adoption. The items in the basket helped with her journey of healing. Now  she  gives baskets to other birthmoms. The basket is just for the birthmother, to offer love  and inspiration. Find out more about the baskets here. She also posts comforting and inspiring stories on her blog. Contact her here to get a basket for your birthmom and/or to donate.

Bridal Shower

My cousin, K recently got married. She lives near my parents and apparently no one was going to give her a Bridal Shower. So my mom decided to do it. She called me and asked what to do. She didn’t’ want it to be to “risqué” but wanted everyone to have fun.

K's recipe book - you can see the tabs I fought with!

Well, I got on the internet and really didn’t find anything but did see one gal who had a recipe shower for her college roommate. Well they did it using email. We decided to have a recipe shower. We emailed all the family that wouldn’t be able to come to the shower (because is just too far!) so they could participate. Then we asked all the guests to bring a recipe or two and some of the ingredients to make the recipe.

It worked out great! We got a 3 ring binder with plastic sleeves to put the recipes in. I found classy black and white scrapbook paper for the dividers and then attached tabs (they were a bit harder to put on than I thought they would be).  Everyone added their recipe when they came in and wrote something on it if they wanted (this is great, or I usually add more garlic) etc. K left with between 50 and 75 recipes (when we added in the ones from family and the guests that attended) that people she knows have tried and say are good.  She also had lots of ingredients like flour, sugar, spices, cans of fruit etc, so her shelves won’t be bare.  My mom went to the Doll.ar Store for cooking tools for favors. She got all red ones and they looked so cute in a basket with a yellow ribbon and a tag with some cooking websites.  We did this in April and rumor has it the guest are still talking about it (I think my mom is just being nice.)

The centerpiece and some of the food!

Here's the rest of the food! Everyone enjoyed the fruit kabobs, cheese and crackers, chips and salsa and the banana split cake. To make your own Banana Split Cake go here. They were great and I put them in glasses that were our Grandmother's (made the evening a bit more special!).

Celebrating July 4th

Jake and I went to my parents’ house for the Fourth of July. My sister and her family came up (they live about 2 hours from my parents) and my cousin and her new husband dropped by.  We were just about to set off fireworks when the sky opened up. It POURED rain. There was lightning and thunder and it was a HUGE storm.  My parents have a sunroom off the family room and it has a metal roof. It made the storm even louder.

When the rain and lightning finally stopped we started the fireworks. We had a hard time getting the first few lit. There was just enough of a breeze that the match blew out if you weren’t right by the firework. We did get the hang of it. There were several of those screamers and a bunch of those bright flash ones. They were very small and seemed to just have a bright white flashing light come out.

The box ones were the best. They had more colors and sparks.  We didn’t get any sparklers though.  I remember them as a kid. They were so fun to run through the yard with and dance around. My sister let each of her girls pick the order of the fireworks. They enjoyed telling us the name on the box and watching them.

We also had blueberry sour cream pie. It was delicious! I think a new tradition has been born!

We had a great time. What did you do to celebrate?

I'm a Blog Stalker!

HI! If you are here from TheRHouse! Welcome! Let's get this started right!

I'm Terri and I'm a blog stalker!

Hi Terri!

I read LOTS of blogs. I love hearing reading everyone's stories. I have learned so much from other families who have adopted, who have placed children for adoption and who are trying to adopt. I also love trying the recipes, the DIY projects (and I really sound nosy don't I?)

I rarely leave a comment. Why you ask. Well, I guess because I feel silly and I am afraid I will say write something that will offend someone or hurt their feelings. I have emailed several blog authors (is that the right term? Is there a term for that- hey you could leave that in the comments!!!) and I guess if I offend them they are the only ones that see it (unless they send it to all their friends with read this horrible/dorky/ weird comment I got or even worse. .  . POST IT ON THEIR BLOG!! ARG!!)

Anyway, I am trying to to better. I am going to try leaving more comments- even if it just says thanks for sharing. Hopefully you will know that those few words are heartfelt and genuine.

Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to comment- or stalk- or email me if you prefer!

School Supplies

I was in Wal.mart today and noticed all the school supplies are out! It seems like school just got out (and it did!) but we do have a few year round schools here and they start sometime in July. By having a shorter summer they get more breaks during the year and some of the breaks are longer (more time at Christmas and more time at Spring Break as well as other breaks).  I know a few teachers that work at Year round Schools and they love it. Parents with kids in just elementary schools don’t are fine with it but those who have some in elementary school and some in middle or high school don’t  like it as much.

But back to the school supplies. It is interesting to watch people choose the supplies. Some parents bring the children and make a big deal of it. Some parents leave the children at home and buy exactly what is on the list. Some use the list as more of a guideline and get more what they want. There is something about brand new markers and crayons that is so fun. There are so many kinds of markers too. I have never had the washable ones (to expensive). I wonder are they really washable? Do they work just as well? Are the colors as dark? What makes them washable? 

I even saw clear glue.  How are the kids going to know they have enough? It is hard enough with the white glue. I love the idea it is washable.  I do like glue sticks but they are used up so fast that the white glue is much more economical. I have seen a child use an entire glue stick on one project (that wasn’t that big!!!) and even if you get them for 25cents at Wal.mart it is going to add up!