My first sale!

Yay! Just had to say I'm in the process of my first diaper cake sale -- thanks Kim!!! :o) I had a request from my girl Kimberly to make a girl cake which I just so happen to have all the goods I need to whip it up in no time...just gotta go get a few of the 'ingredients' for the inside. This might be a way to get some business...if other people at this shower she is throwing spread the word...that could mean more sales maybe! Woot woot! I have a boy cake done right now so I'll try and snap a picture and post before I take it apart to make a girl cake...anyone interested in a cake...let me know :o) Sales are going for a good cause--to help us bring home our baby :o)

Talk about quick!!

Thought I'd share that we officially have two home assessment meetings left; one of which will be done on Tuesday and the other possibly in the next week or two also not in September as she first thought! The personality test we took came back earlier than expected and thats the last meeting we need to have is to go over that test. Only thing we'd be waiting on is the criminal check. Can you believe how quick this is going? To hell with the three months...lets try do it in half the time! This is all fine and great knowing that we're getting through so quick but at the same time, we're trying to prepare for this baby. So hard for us to not just say, "Alright....We're workin on the profile this weekend and as soon as Kristin gives us the green light, BOOM, profile in book, (and what if.....) BOOM, birth mother picks us one month later, BOOM, due to deliver 2 months after that! So everyone else gets 9 months to have their baby so why can't I just be so patient? Must allow time to get the nursery in order (which Project Nursery is already underway) and get the crib next month and perhaps a shelving unit...etc whatever else we can swing next month. I already found a diaper bag I like! Family...Friends...DONT...and I repeat DONT go into Wizard of Kids thats in the TJ Maxx plaza strip. ITS THE DEVIL!!!Thats where I saw the diaper bag among a milllion other pricy items I would love to have for the baby! Ugh. Hard not to leave there with everything in hand. Ok...vent over :o) Another thing we've started to do is collect books, which I might add that HALF.COM is a great site to find discounted books. We want to start collecting childrens books that will be helpful in explaining their adoption story to them as they are growing up. One which I have been told was one of the best by many other adoptive monthers is one of the books written by Jamie Lee Curtis called "Tell Me About the Night I was Born." So I went in to Barnes and Noble to check it out and perhaps get it and was talkin to mom on the phone as I read it...had to stop because I started tear up. Its going to be the most perfect book! If you are ever in Barnes and Noble, swing through the kids section and just flip through a few pages. Its going to be absolutely perfect. So instead of paying $18 at B&N, the thrifty shopper that I are found it online for $8 same with a copy of What to Expect the First Year to use as a reference to help us know how to care for our baby. I'm sure we'll have all our fam and friends helpin us out with things, but I've heard its a good book to reference to. Others on the list: "A is for Adopted", "A Blessing from Above", and for an adult read, "The Complete Adoption Book"--which I've read another adoptive mother say she keeps it on her coffee table. So...with all those books, planning the nursery, finishing meetings, getting our profile ready, moving office, painting, etc...we've got our hands full for a bit! Just in throwing around time frames, we thought that if our home assessment gets finalized that we'll maybe put our profile in the book maybe end of December-ish. Just gotta play it by ear! Will keep you posted though! Thanks for all your love and support and keep us in your prayers that all comes together as He has planned it for us!

First home study visit completed!!!

Wow seems like everything is coming together so quickly. Previously we were told this process takes about 3 months give or take but after we met with Kristin Friday, that number changed to a little less than 2 months!
So I was all anxious and excited about her coming over so naturally we made sure our house was spotless before she came. The night before we even thought we should have beverage options and maybe some muffins to offer her when she arrived. She did, however, decline due to the fact that she was going to be talking the whole two hours, which she pretty much did. We went over many papers that we had previously signed and discussed fees and timelines for when payments are due and additional costs that will arise. We also had a discussion about our parameters as far as what we are willing to work with in a birthparent situation (i.e. did the BM use drugs, had she no prenatal care, baby premature, unknown birth father, mental disabilities, BM pregnant as result of rape, smoking during pregnancy, etc). All pretty huge factors to consider. Initially when filling out the paperwork we answred no to pretty much everything because we wanted the baby to be conceived in a way that would be equal to if we were expecting and what pregnancy would have been for me. Must be more flexible!! It's so hard to say, yea I'll 'consider that'. By saying no to most of these things is really going to limit us as far as how many situations we will end up be presented with and we could end up waiting 3 years for that 'perfect child'. I wish it could be the case but most often the BMs come to the Village with at least one or more of these factors. So we changed several of our answers to "will consider" in order to give us a better chance of placement.
So after hashing out all the paperwork and giving her a tour of the house and filling her in a bit about our neighborhood, she told us that her goal is get our home study completed by Oct 1st!!!! That's well under the 3 month mark that we had been told before! We were pretty much shocked--this is all happening so quickly. We have three more meetings with her--Dan will meet with her this Friday at 9 a.m. and I meet with her next Tuesday at 9 a.m. Then we meet her together again for the last time sometime in September once the results come back from our personality tests. At that point, if we wanted to put our profile in the book, we can do so which means we can be selected at any time! Kinda makes us nervous as we dont have a nursery ready yet since we didnt anticipate this moving so quickly. We may have to postpone putting our profile in for a little bit until financially we get our ducks in a row and can be prepared in case it happens fast. We'd like to think that we're gonna get picked right away but dont wanna jinx it and then be sitting here for 3 years with no baby. I cant bear to think of that happening but its a possibility. So I guess things are looking good so far. We just need to pass the home assessment and who knows what could come after October! Keep your fingers X'd and keep us in your prayers. We love you all!

My Wish

Heard this song today. When I hear this song, I'll forever remember last Christmas and how it was the most special Christmas ever. Thanks mom, dad and Ty. Love you guys!

I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow
And each road leads you where you want to go
And if you’re faced with the choice and you have to choose
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you
And if one door opens to another door closed
I hope you keep on walkin’ ‘til you find the window
If it’s cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile
But more than anything, more than anything

Chorus
My wish for you
Is that this life becomes all that you want it to
Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small
You never need to carry more than you can hold
And while you’re out there gettin’ where you’re gettin’ to
I hope you know somebody loves you
And wants the same things too
Yeah, this is my wish

I hope you never look back but you never forget
All the ones who love you
And the place you left
I hope you always forgive and you never regret
And you help somebody every chance you get
Oh, you find God’s grace in every mistake
And always give more than you take
But more than anything,
yeah more than anything
This is my wish

Clean clean clean!!!

Ugg! One of my favorite things in teh world is having a clean house---however, I hate having to clean it...especially all day long! Wanted to be prepared for next Friday when our SW comes over so we went through the downstairs and FINALLY got it organized. I went all out and dusted every little crack and corner in the whole house! Obsessed Lace? Umm yeah..just want things to be perfect when she gets here I guess. I even went over to Linens and Things and got a few Yankee candles and to BBW and got some Wallflower plug ins...my favorite, Black Rasberry Vanilla...Yum!! Five more days till first meeting!!! Yay.

The big day is coming....

So our first home assessment meeting is finally set with our SW. She's coming over to meet with us in our home next Friday morning (the 17th) at 9 a.m.!!!! Holy crap! I'm so planning on cleaning like a psycho this weekend (even though it's not that messy around here) but still! I want everything to be perfect. I've been told by other potential adoptive mothers that all we need to do is clean like our mother-in-law is coming because they're not gonna be checkin closets or coming in with white gloves....which is good when you've got a dog that sheds like a maniac! I can't believe how fast this is all coming together. After this meeting, we individually will each meet with her once, and then once more together to go over our personality test. She sent in our criminal background checks the other day and those should take 4-6 weeks to come back give or take. Aye yay yay! I hope that the placement comes quick after this is all done but we could only be so lucky right. Cant let myself get excited and caught up in the momentum of things and then find out we'll be waiting a year or two for a placement. Must protect myself and be prepared for what is to come. I know God has this all planned out for us and we just need to trust in Him that it will all happen in due time and pray that our wait wont be too long.

Emotional wreck

I just have to share this with you all and hope you take the time to watch this video because it hit me on such a deep level I cant even describe how emotional this made me. I know its geared more to infertile couples, but the whole message fits our situation. Will write more when my eyes dry up....love you all...

"I would die for that" by Kellie Coffey

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqfGqOx2iDQ

Paperwork DONE

WE finished our paperwork today. It was a process that took several months to complete. We decided to get it turned in by today as an anniversary gift to each other. Mission accomplished. We went to mail at the post office and decided instead to bring it to our case worker Kristin. As luck would have it she was in and received it with enthusiasm. What happens next is that she looks everything over, forwards paperwork to its proper place and starts the home assessment. Turning the paperwork in is a crucial step and really gets the ball rolling. We are very excited and will keep you all posted!

Fundraising idea

I found this funny and had to share, but I read a comment on another blog in which a gal was doing youth ministry and was getting together with middle school girls to do a tie dye shirt project. Somehow they got on the subject of adoption (they didnt know the gal was adopting) and they were talking about all the needy children in the world. The gal said it made her so sad because of the costs, because more people would probably do it. One of the girls said "how much does it cost?" and another one said "I heard between $300-700". Ha!! The naivites of being so young :o) After reading how lotta these couples are doing fundraising efforts to help with their costs, I decided to use the little "side business" idea I had last spring to see if we can't cash in on the concept to help us with our costs. Diaper cakes--and for those of you who didn't see my first time effort masterpiece I made this cake for my girlfriend the day she had her baby in which I just threw it together at the last minute. It's stuffed full of baby goodies (pacifiers, clothes, bottle, bibs...etc). I went a bit overboard because it was my girlfriend but I may be able to simplify what goes into each cake. I have many ideas and am thinking this week of sitting down and trying to make a few...take some pictures and maybe post up fliers around to see if anyone is interested. If that goes well, we'll see about going a little broader and selling some on ebay. They could potentially be a hit. The nurses and gals at the hospital when I brought this up to my girlfriend seemed to think it was great and that I should start my own business :o) We'll see.

Personality/parenting test...CHECK!!

Yesterday we got up groggy eyed and headed over to the Village for our test. When I talked to the gal on the phone she said it would take roughly 1.5 hours. Dan and I were each put in separate rooms and had to take a test on ourselves, on our spouse and then a short parenting test which had a ton of strange questions but good to know what kind of parent your gonna be. So, I'm sitting there taking my test and look up at the clock and notice I've hit the 1 hour 15 minute mark. After going back over some of my answers I get up to go see if Dan is done and there he was, waiting in the lobby for me....FOR AN HOUR!!! Mister speed tester! He was about ready to leave and go to have breakfast without me! Test was about 180 questions long and we are DONE!!! Yay! Tonight going to print out the background and criminal history forms, write the checks for each of us and toss them in the envelop along with the other papers! Hmm...maybe it'll even be possible to mail it all by Friday! Woot woot!