Holidays

There is magic and joy in the holidays that I find to be so completely addicting. The traditions we grew up with are now becoming new again as we've become adults and there are littles running around my older sister's house. And, of course, there are some new fun ones....like hay on the roof for the reindeer. It's apparently a farm thing. :o) Watching the holiday season through the eyes of a child is so honest and heart warming, which is exactly what I need this time of year. I need the heart warming magic and joy to help keep my heart patient. Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve was the last place I went with all my siblings just a few months before my brother was killed. So this time of year I think my heart yearns for that togetherness feeling that I once knew just a little more than usual. This year I have been so thankful and appreciative of living closer to my family. We've almost always travelled during the holidays and only missed the long ten hour drive over more than one mountain pass on ice and snow a little bit. The drive was becoming a bit of a tradition in it's own right though with our regular stop at Mom's house in Burns, grabbing coffee in Bend or Sisters, running the dogs at Lost Lake, and calling/texting the second we hit Sweet Home to let everyone know we were almost there.

So...this year was a bit different, but great. One new great experience we had this year was Jake and I getting to take my mom to the Nutcracker the day before Christmas Eve. Going to the ballet in Portland was fabulous! I absolutely fell in love with the venue, the ballerinas (the sugar plum fairy was my favorite), and the orchestra. And getting all dressed up to go out was fun too...

Jake doesn't dress up often, but is oh so extra handsome when he does!

An up-do :o)

And my super cute madre!

It really was a great experience. I don't know how often I'll be able to talk Jake into taking me to the ballet, but I can't wait to go again.

Then there was Christmas....

We got up really early on Christmas morning so we could make it down to Sweet Home before Amelia and Olivia woke up. We made it with plenty of time to spare, got the homemade cinnamon rolls in the oven, the coffee brewing, and then waited like kids ourselves for the girls to wake up.



Super adorable in their matching pajamas (tradition).

Papa with his little Doll.

These girls are just so amazing! They loved that they got presents to open, but they loved having so many people to play and share with even more. Amelia helped coordinate the present opening and was so excited to be the "giver". So sweet. And little Olivia wanted to stop and play with everything she opened. Papa Greg found himself reading the new books that got opened almost immediately.

I can't wait to see what next year brings!

What about a house?

What else could one impatiently waiting a home inspection for their adoption do with their time...well, why not a little house hunting. I love real estate anyway so having a reason to look for another house is fabulous. We found a house to rent while we made the quick transition from Idaho to Oregon, but after being home owners for so long we found it terribly difficult to be satisfied living in a rental. It took quite a bit of looking, a property we loved but had foundation issues so no-go, one with fall-in-love-worthy acreage that slipped through our fingers, but in the end...we might just have found something...

This cute little Spanish-style on half an acre is pending...we are under contract awaiting a home inspection scheduled on Tuesday! If they don't find anything major we hope to close by January 13th. It's too early to jump for joy just yet, but I can't help it. I love the idea of having our home awaiting our baby. If all works out this will be our family home! 

Profile

While we've had some extra time awaiting our agency we decided to get a jump on our profile. Wanting to document this time in our lives as we are expecting our first child we put in a call to Toby with Gobias Media to schedule a photo shoot. Toby does some of the most artistic and beautiful photos and we were excited to have him agree to meet us on a crisp fall day at Laurelhurst Park in Portland. We got some great updated photos of us and are still trying to decide which one to use as our main profile picture that will be sent out to birthmoms.

One thing we didn't anticipate was how old we look. :o) When did that happen?!?



A Little Reminder

It's always nice to see a little reminder like this. Things happen when they are supposed to. :o)

Waiting

I think everyone that we've gotten advice from has told us that the waiting involved with adoption gets hard. I, of course, thought it can't be that bad (kind of like, our children are going to be perfect and never cry in public). I mean we aren't one of those desperately-crazy-give-us-a-baby couples. Or so I thought. We may be approaching that status. Or at least, we have our moments. Or, to be more specific, I have those moments (I won't drag my husband into this crazy bucket with me...not yet anyway). Our wait has unfortunately started earlier in the process then we anticipated. We aren't waiting on a baby. We are waiting on our adoption agency. Some moments I'm okay with this, but without question there are moments where I am not. Our agency emailed us a couple of weeks ago and let us know that the case worker who is travelling from Boise to our area only comes to Oregon once a month and that November's trip was already booked. No room to fit us in the schedule. Awesome. December or January should work though. Awesome.

I should have known I would be challenged with the waiting aspect of this journey. Having patience is something I struggle with on almost a daily basis. I am patient deficient. I was born that way. Literally. My poor mother was only at the hospital for 20 minutes or so before I decided to show up. Maybe that was a good thing for her. Maybe not. I was born waiting for no one. Completely on my schedule. Really, who needs a doctor during delivery?

I'm ready to be a mom. Give me a baby. Now. Or maybe tomorrow...tomorrow is good too.

Actually what I find myself fixated on is what it will be like to get the news that a birth mom has chosen us. Will she be in her 7th month of pregnancy? (This is when many adoption agencies start having their birth moms look at profiles to choose parents for their unborn baby.) Or, will we get the phone call telling us we've been chosen and birth mom has already delivered...how fast can we get a flight booked? What will we be doing? Will I be in a meeting at work? Home cooking? Will I cry? Will the bags be packed and ready to go? I should make a list of what to pack. I always forget something...

Funny thing about this line of fixation is that I've totally skipped over details I still have questions about and we haven't been told about. Where and when do we buy a car seat? Crap - I should probably research car seats...oh wait, no need. I'll just call my older sister. She'll know what I need. Hello speed dial. My older sister and mom can rock-paper-scissors to see who gets the pleasure of my I'm-a-new-mom-and-don't-know-what-I'm-doing phone calls. Maybe I can split things up into day and night shifts for them...good idea. Any other volunteers?

When will I feel like a mom? I do already feel like an expectant mom...

So. What to do while we wait? Our case worker did praise us while she was at our home in Idaho for our "continuing on like normal" approach to the process. This was easier in Idaho. We didn't have delays. We also had a "normal". Since moving I don't think we've quite gotten into a normal routine yet, and getting to that point will be helpful. I think we get closer all the time, but we are missing our regular group of friends and supportive co-workers that we saw all the time.

Maybe I'll go into project mode. Do all the super-time-consuming things that people do when they are expecting...any ideas? If there were a couple little things you look back and wish you did in preparation for your kids, what are they?

I do need to go back and document all of the special adoption-days and milestones we have reached already. Sounds like a good place to start!

Oregon & an Adoption Update

Come to find out moving is a really big deal. Exhausting even. With that being said, moving has been one of the best decisions we have ever made and I think we are all settled in! Moving back to Oregon has felt like we've moved back home. I've never had the desire to return to my hometown, but there is something about my home state that has drawn us back and welcomed us with open arms. Our new little town is picturesque and adorable. It is quiet and the pulse here is relaxed and refreshing. I work with some amazing people who have accepted me more warmly and kindly than I've ever experienced. Same goes for our new church community. I love our little church. It's beautiful. Our priest....hilarious, unpredictable, and addicting to listen to.

We're just missing one thing...progress on our adoption. Actually, there has been movement, but it has been backward (insert sad face here). Moving into a new state has resulted in adding some complications to our adoption. Following a couple of rough weeks we've decided to return to our optimistic state of mind and put faith in the journey we are meant to be on.

I have to admit I've stumbled a bit the last few weeks. My faith in our adoption agency had all but dwindled until I realized that isn't who I should be putting my faith in. I do need to trust them and trust that they are making good decisions for all involved. I hope they are.

So, what am I talking about? We were reassured that our move would be no problem with our agency. They cover Oregon. What they didn't tell us is that they don't really cover Oregon. They are agreeing to send our caseworker to redo our homestudy and complete our individual interviews. They are also agreeing to network for us. What they are not agreeing to is supporting us post placement. Once a baby is placed with you there are months of followup that happens. It is fairly normal for your adoption to not be finalized for up to a year. Our agency won't commit to doing this for us due to resource availability (we think this was purely a financial decision on their part). What this means is that our agency with have to ask another agency if they will be willing to enter into a sub-contracting type relationship with them. Another agency does not have to agree to this, and I'm sure for them to do so there will be some extra large fees attached. Disappointing.

This is really the first time that our journey to build our family has felt like a business transaction. It is unnatural. The good news to this is I am one hell of a businesswoman. I just never knew I would use those skills to build my family. My inner mama-bear-I'll-do-whatever-it-takes instinct has been tapped for sure.

I also have amazing support. My husband. My family. My friends. One of the wonderful women I mentioned above (we work together and go to the same church) is a mother of four adopted children. She has been my adoption (labor) coach the last couple of weeks (she's also a nurse and gives awesome flu shots...didn't even feel it...true story). What a God-send. She reminds me to breath. She reminds me to laugh. She reminds me it will all be worth it.

(insert deep breath here)

There it is - a quick update. I look forward to having more progress to share with everyone soon!

Waiting for Tomorrow

In the midst of crazy busy-ness coordinating an out of state move, getting Jake packed up to move a week before me, having a yard sale (my first ever), taking care of poor Pate and his shaved and sewn up paw, and trying to transition smoothly away from one job into another a song came on and made me pause. I grew up with music always playing in our home, I played for years in my school band, and still find it to be something that can sooth my soul.

Tim McGraw's "Still" was exactly the message I needed to go into and get through this week..."just be still".

I'm finding this to be such an emotional time. There are a few things around my house, the home that Jake and I have shared with our two boys for the past 6 1/2 years, that pull at my heart strings. The nursery that I have all planned out that we will no longer be bringing our first baby home to. The front door that my neighbor carried me through after I received the call about my brother. The office floor I curled up on and sobbed for what felt like a lifetime. The way the moon shines through my bedroom window. The spare bedrooms that overfill with family when they come to visit. The garden that always starts with the best intentions in the spring and always sees more weeds then vegetables by harvest time. My amazing neighbors.

I have so much to look forward to and be excited about. I honestly can't wait to get moved and settled. Come home to my husband and the boys each night (and soon baby). We've had to push the pause button on our adoption to get moved and redo some of the things we had already completed. This has pulled on my heart strings the hardest. I'm so ready to be a mom I just want to push the fast forward button and get through the waiting. I've found myself yearning for tomorrow, but for now, I'm just going to be still and appreciate what I have today.

Newness

There is so much newness going on I'm not sure where to start!

I feel so much happiness and excitement with all this newness though, that I can't wait to feel the enjoyment it is all going to create. Okay, okay, I'm feeling the stress of it all too! :o)

In addition to starting a family we are moving back to Oregon! I accepted the job I interviewed for with Salem Health at their West Valley Critical Access Hospital. In my new role I will be overseeing an operating room remodel/expansion and work on business development for the hospital. I officially accepted the position last week and luckily had a trip planned for the Oregon Jamboree days later so got to check out Dallas a little more. Dallas is just East of Salem. It's a cute little town of about 14,000 and we think that is where we will try to find a place versus living in Salem. We want to be an active part of the community that we are working in and think we can do that in Dallas. Also while in Oregon Jake was able to meet up with the plumbing supervisor at Jet Industries and got a job too! We made the decision for me to take the new job without Jake having anything at all and decided we'd figure that part out later. Thankfully the later came quickly so it is one less thing to worry about.

My official start date is August 29th and was hoping to be getting us moved the week before that, but Jake's new company is pushing for him to start by the middle of August. There is so much to do between now and then, but I'm sure it will all work itself out and get done.

Another thing we are so thankful for is our super competent case worker helping us with our adoption. The agency we are working with is licensed in Oregon so we just have to change a little bit of paperwork and redo our home visit. We will be delayed a few months as we get moved and redo some stuff, but overall not too hard to accommodate. It was such a tough decision to move after living in Idaho for the past almost 8 years, and to be so far along in our adoption process to uproot ourselves. However, now that the decisions are made they are most definitely the right ones and will be great for our family.

Oregon, here we come!!!

"Oh...that's different"

This was a new one for me.

I tried to make this post not sound too judging or seem too cranky, but I have to admit I had both of these feelings going on...

While volunteering at the Oregon Jamboree over the weekend in the beer gardens, I found myself chatting with one of the other volunteers. She had overheard a comment I made to my husband about "after baby is here". This chica at face value appeared to be put together, she's an accountant, and expecting her first baby in by my best guess her mid-thirties. She was obviously excited to talk to another expecting mom about baby. So, as my husband is walking about she turns to me and asks 'did I hear you say you are expecting'. My response with a big smile on my face was 'Yes! We are expecting via adoption.' Her response with obvious disappointment was 'oh...that's different'.

That is all she had to say to me! No questions. Just disappointment. She then kind of turned around so she wouldn't have to talk to me anymore. I was at a bit of a loss over this brief conversation. Bewildered. It seriously felt like I was disqualified from being an expectant mom because baby isn't in my belly. Luckily, I'm not really sensitive to things like this, but I can't help to think of other expecting-via-adoption-soon-to-be-mommies out there. I have met some great girls who are also adopting, and they would have been crushed by this interaction.

So, dear disappointed chica, thank you for stating the obvious and letting me know that adopting is different. Those adopting do face the unknown each and every step along the way. We don't have a gaggle of girlfriends to turn to who know exactly what we are talking about, or have the ability to answer the 'what did you do' questions. (As I'm writing this I'm realizing how similar things really are when you are expecting regardless of how you are expecting when it's your first.) I'm sorry you were so uncomfortable/ignorant/disappointed by the topic of adoption being brought up in your presence that you didn't know what to say. Even though I don't have a baby in my belly, I'm still expecting. There are lots of things we could have talked about and next time you meet someone else who is expecting via adoption, you'd be impressed to realize how much you in your own expecting state have in common....

Do you know what you are having?

Do you have names picked out?

Is this your first baby?

How much time are you taking off, are you going to become a stay at home mom?

What is your nursery color scheme?


....see, lots to talk about!

Little Person Blanket

Some of my fondest memories growing up are the times spent learning how to sew from both my mom and my godmother.

My godmother was one of my soul mates in life. She was over 50 years older than me, lived through the great depression, and had such romantic stories of the loves and losses of her lifetime. We were like two peas in a pod...and I just ate up her stories and wisdom. She had a sewing room that had one wall of storage for all of her beautiful fabrics and the opposing wall her sewing machine...I loved that room. I loved that she taught me to sew because I wanted to. She learned out of necessity. She worked hard at sewing as a child because she couldn't wait to make her own clothes and style them the way she wanted versus what her mother made for her. My godmother was quite the fashionista of her time and it still amazes me how she made most of what she wore when she was my age today.

Most days I can still barely sew a straight line, but I like to take on sewing projects anyway.

This is the little-person blanket I made this week. I love this pattern and can't wait to make some matching burp clothes and also tackle the pattern again. Next time I do this pattern I want it to be bigger and hopefully in some vibrant color for the living room. I just love how it adds pattern and a bit of graphic-ness.

I'm also loving the cream and gray colors together. I do really like yellow for baby, but don't want to be limited by it either since we will likely have a surprise baby (in more than one way really..surprise gender...surprise timing...) it's nice to have options.

Home Visit

One of the things that seems to give couples great angst in their adoption journey is the home visit during the home study portion of the adoption process. We were anxious to get through this next step, but in a let's-keep-this-ball-rolling-what-do-we-do-next sort of way. We had our home visit two Friday's ago and I have to say, it was like having a friend over to talk about us and our adoption journey...and then we toured the house and checked all of the fire alarms and some other things on the checklist. Our case worker is phenomenal and I just adore her, so I'm sure that is part of the reason it was such a great experience. She completely puts us at ease. She knows what she is doing. Answers every random question we are able to muster, and is just a sweet person.

One question that our case worker had for us that ended up being my favorite, even though it really made me pause was 'Why did you choose your older sister and her husband for being your future-little-person's guardians if something happened to you?' As I bought myself some time to process a thorough enough answer that would please the case worker, I started by saying because my older sister is one of the most amazing moms in the world and I can only hope to be half as awesome as she is. She is amazing. Period. Now, I did have to suffer through years of my older sis being "Mother-Marci" to all three of us younger kids. And it drove me seriously crazy. But, maybe it helped her prepare for when she had her own little ones
(do you like how I'm able to make it about me and try to take credit for contributing to her awesomeness :o) ? ). Seriously though, she was meant to be a mother and her daughters are super awesome little people and it's pretty evident why.


I did do the obligatory cleaning prior to our home visit, but what I realized while I was doing it was that it wasn't about having the case worker come over to "evaluate" us....it became fun making room for a little person to join our household and that is what I was really doing.

With this room-making we are now preparing for a yard sale that we will have in early August...I have no idea how we have accumulated so much shituff. I guess we have lived in our house now for 6 1/2 years, but it's really no excuse!

I also got really excited about some fun fabric I have in my crafting/sewing/scrapbooking closet. I already have a little-person quilt almost complete...

Nesting?

It is possible I experienced what some refer to as nesting the other day...and even if that isn't what it is, that is what I'm going to call it. I am technically expecting, so I think it counts.

I had a long day at work that included a couple hours of leadership development bringing me home at about 10 o'clock...and then I don't know what came over me, but as I started a load of laundry I suddenly felt compelled to clean the entire laundry room. As the washing machine started I thought I'd check out how long the water tubing-connector-pipe-thingys were, and sure enough long enough to pull the washer out completely. My load of laundry was not going to slow my cleaning down. I could run the washer and clean underneath it at the same time. Sweet! So there I was in the middle of the night squished behind my washer and dryer scrubbing away at the floor and I started to think.....how do pregnant women nest/clean? I mean if I was breaking a sweat, squished in my little laundry room behind the washer and dryer, not able to stand straight up because I would hit my head on shelving, and could barely fit myself back behind the washer to start with... how would a prego ever get this done? Is there magic prego-expecting-nesting powers?

My conclusion is that there is in fact magic powers involved.

My new go-to gift for expecting friends is probably going to be house keeping services from here on out. :)

Oh My Questions

So, something to know about adoption...there is a bucket-load of questions involved. Questions come from all directions. There are the questions on the homestudy paperwork. There are questions in the classes you take. There are questions that you ask your spouse. There are questions that a case worker asks you. And last but not least, there are questions people ask you when you tell them you are adopting. The last being my personal favorite.

People's curiosity is pretty awesome and before you know it you are wondering if they realized how personal of a question they just asked. These questions really don't bug me, but I do wonder how other people feel when they get asked these sometimes awkward things. I haven't always been this way, but I'm pretty much an open book. It also helps that I work with a group of people that really have no reservations in the inappropriateness arena. They set the bar high (or low, either way you look at it). I consider this on-the-job life-training.

So, this is how it typically goes down....

(Me) We are adopting!

(Other Person) That's great. Good for you guys. Have you been trying? (Said with sympathy)

(Me) Thanks! We are pretty excited. No, no we haven't been trying...(trying to not make a face at Other Person)

(Other Person) So, why are you adopting?

The context and person I'm having the conversation with makes this change only slightly. I have a different interpretation of most of the conversations I have, but the end of the day people end up asking me two pretty personal questions. Seriously, don't get me wrong...I love getting the questions. It gives me the opportunity to talk about adoption and what it means to me. However, once I get started I could talk about it almost endlessly!

1. Does your uterus work?
To appease any curiosity of those not close to me. My uterus is fine. As far as I know. I've never tried to get pregnant so I haven't actually tested this hypothesis. I'll let you know when/if I get knocked up to prove this hypothesis. Stay tuned....but don't hold your breath....it might be a while...we're adopting at the moment...

2. Why adoption (and the unasked question following the answer to #1), why don't you just have your own kids?
The answer to this question is much bigger, more complex (yet very simple) then what I can do it justice. Adoption is Jake's and my first choice for our first child. I don't know if I can really say it is our choice alone. It was the choice meant for us; chosen for us. Adoption is by far not the traditional means to grow one's family, but it is the way we are starting ours. We hope to have bio-kids someday too, and maybe even adopt again.

The bottom line to these questions is that it really doesn't matter. Adoption if a beautiful and amazing way to grow a family! I appreciate curiosity and the questions almost always come from a genuine place, but some people I see struggle with it a little bit.

Out of curiosity:
What was your first thought when you saw/heard the news about Sandra Bullock adopting her sweet little boy? Did you assume because she isn't in her 20's or 30's that she can't conceive? Did you wonder why she adopted? Maybe curious of her motives to adopt transracially? To be honest with you, we weren't considering adoption at the time Miss Sandra adopted. I personally didn't think about it much and I really don't remember if I asked these questions myself. I probably did. Now though, I'm primarily in the mindset that it really doesn't matter...Sandra has a beautiful family. She is a beautiful mother. She has a beautiful son. I think she has some fur-babies too, and I'm sure they are beautiful, but I don't keep up with her enough to really know.  :o) Either way, it works for her and that is what matters to her....and that is what really matters....

One of My Loves

One of my loves happens to be work, or maybe more accurately my career. I love to work hard. I love what I do. I love the field that I am in. I love responsibility. I love to learn from brilliant executives. I love to be under pressure, at high demand, and to over deliver. I haven't always done a good job balancing everything, but I've tried to. I'm often critical of what I could be doing better, accomplishing more, etc., but this week I heard something that made me pause and really appreciate what I've accomplished in my twenties. And, it also reaffirmed that now is a good time to start a family. Selfish as this may sound, (okay, not "may", but "does") I had a lot of soul searching to do regarding starting a family and the potential impact it could have on my career. My work is what has gotten me through the tough times of my twenties. It has been the place that I've buried my head in the sand in hopes of when I pull it back up I will be able to breathe again.


Then I changed jobs, and I've felt like I've been on a sabbatical from my career ever since.


Then I got a phone call from a health system in Oregon.


They brought me in for an interview last week. I was with the same health system for over 6 years before starting with my current company. I didn't interview for my current job, it was more like a series of coffee shop chats. That's just how our small company works. Very informal. So, this new situation was very different. I don't know anyone who really likes to go on interviews, but after being on site for four hours Friday afternoon, it felt more like an afternoon at work than an afternoon of interviews. At the end of the day I was referred to as a powerhouse.


I have no idea whether I will get an offer for this job or not. I have no idea if I do get an offer whether Jake and I would really be able to pack up and move away from our lives here in Idaho. We've been here for almost 8 years! I feel more equipped for becoming a first time parent then I do for making this decision. In fact, I would joyfully take a newborn in my arms tomorrow. I could not, however, make this decision tomorrow. Good news is I don't have to worry about it yet. I won't hear back for a couple of weeks.


I swear our lives have been pretty status quo (in a good way) until we decided to become parents. I'm on the fence on whether to consider all this new stuff as "pieces falling into place" or "all hell is breaking loose".


Either way....my mantra for the next couple of weeks (nothing like a little positive self talk) is that I'm a powerhouse and I have failth it will work out the way it is supposed to. :)

Mel & Her Boys +1

I've been begging Jake to let me get another puppy. I want a girl. She will be little. I will call her Penelope. She will be mine. Then we'd have Petey, Pate & Penelope. Cute, right? Jake has refused to agree to this crazy puppy dream of mine now for years. I think I'm starting to break him down; with the help of a very cute little person. The last time my older sister and her family were here visiting there were white lab puppies for sale at Cabelas. Of course my little niece Amelia needed to see the puppies. They were so stinkin cute, I completely understand her desire to see them. My sister told me later that Amelia was convinced that we had gotten one of those puppies and named it Grassy Field. Jake was so close to agreeing to go get one after Amelia smothered him in her puppy-loving-sweetness and the expectation that we would have said new puppy with us next time we came to visit. Who could possibly disappoint such a sweet little niece? However, now probably isn't the best time for a new puppy. The boys are finally calming down, there is a lot less chewing of household items. Petey is all healed up and happy after his knee surgery. Pate has finally learned how to stop without running into something to stop him. The latter being a pretty monumental development (you should have seen the bruises this dog could inflict).

...And, we are going to have our hands full as we are expecting via adoption! That's right, a B*A*B*Y!!!! We are so ready to have a little "+1" and are blessed to be growing our family via adoption. We are excited, our families are excited, we are excited. Did I mention the excitement? For Jake and me, after being together for over 10 years, it is a pretty awesome thing to look at each other and make the intentional decision to become parents together. Jake is going to be a great dad. I can't wait to watch him.

We've started to share the news with friends and family, and then were quickly overwhelmed by how many people we ought to be calling. Enter the blog-o-world and its awesomeness. Responses have been mixed (I guess adopting at our age is a left-fielded-curve-ball of sorts), but once our news translates to the fact that we are becoming parents there is a lot of excitement and support. The most surprising reaction to date of our news was from my boss. Keep in mind I'm working for a small start up company and have only been there for 9 months...and on some level Boss scares the heck out of me. He's intense. I'll get you up to speed on Boss in another post, but his genuine excitement was awesome! It was such a relief to tell him, feel the energy of his reaction, and get to be outwardly excited myself.

Adoption is this amazing, awesome and humbling, yet quite foreign, thing to go through. Imagine becoming first time parents, but not really know how it all goes down. We are technically still fairly early in the process, have much more of the journey to travel and have much more to learn. To date the journey has been kind and gentle on us. I've chosen to be faithful, positive, and patient in my approach and mindset to this journey. It might get bumpy. In fact, I should probably expect it to.

This is not only an adoption story, this my journey into motherhood....Yay!!!

I hope to share information on the process, how we are handling it all, the funny awkward things that you have to talk about and figure out along the way, and most importantly the joy of growing a family!

Ok Blog

Ok Blog, I'm really going to write you...

There is a lot of exciting stuff going on in our world and in hopes of keeping everyone up-to-date, it is about time to share via a blog.
I'm excited to share my world, my loves, my fun stuff with everyone and hopefully have some fun pictures and stories to regularly share.

Welcome and happy reading!

Here we go...

I've been following a few blogs for awhile now and have decided to finally start my own. Why? Well, maybe  a few reasons and with slight uncertainty still. Will I keep up on it? Will anyone find it interesting (other than my mom of course)? What will I write about?

This blog is for me and anyone who stumbles across it and finds it worth their while to read. I hope it to be what I love about other blogs. I'll likely write about various topics, but at the end of the day this is about life unfolding. About my loves. Love of family. Love of work. Love of fun. Love of life in general.

Most would categorize me as having a type A personality. I'm pretty sure tests would also validate this. My husband constantly jokes about the touch of ADD I likely have as well. He loves to point out when I'm "multitasking" watching a movie with him, thumbing through a magazine, checking my work email, and playing around with a craft or sewing project all at the same time (doesn't everyone do this?).

I figure I might as well add to that list and start writing things down.....so, here we go...