With Love, Mommy

We are on our way!  We have been working so hard to get things ready for the adoption process.  Last week Kevin painted the kids room a beautiful sky blue that will be the perfect backdrop for some Tinkerbell pictures or a wall decal.  Today we cleaned up the room and hung book ledges for our vast collection of children's books.  It's starting to look like the perfect little Neverland!  I'm sure any children will love the understated Peter Pan and Tinkerbell theme. As far as paperwork, we are pretty much done!  We got our final set of fingerprints done today.  That's right... the courts in AZ do not trust DPS to do a background check, so they require their own fingerprints even though we have our fingerprint clearance cards.  There are just a few more papers to sign! So what's next?  On Tuesday, we have our agency home inspection and our final interview with our caseworker.  We will turn in the rest of our paperwork then.  This ...

This process is so much different than when we were expecting Baby J.  No morning sickness, but those paper cuts sure do sting!  :)   The current paper cuts come from a stack of papers we had to review and fill out for our home inspection.  Our state home inspection was yesterday, and we passed with flying colors.  We have been preparing for this inspection for weeks.  Every room must have a smoke detector, all medicines must be locked up, as well as all potentially hazardous materials, including all cleaning supplies (even windex and laundry detergent).  Our hot water has to be turned down and we must have a shephard's hook and a life ring for the pool, which of course must have a 5' fence.  There were many more requirements in our packet.  The state has officially approved our home for foster care.  We will have another inspection with our agency worker in two weeks. At that time, we will also have our final interview, where are lic...

A new adventure! Our family is growing!  We are so excited to announce that we are expecting!  But maybe not in the way you are thinking.  We have decided to adopt through foster care, and we are thrilled!  This process can be a little confusing, so I am hoping that this blog may serve as a way to keep our family and friends informed about the process.  Our desire is to adopt 2 siblings so they may stay together.  We are open to children up to preschool age, so infants to age 5.  Many people seem confused as to our motivation.  We truly know without a doubt that God has called us to adoption.  We have found our ministry, and it is providing a loving family to children in need.  God calls us to care for orphans, it's very simple.  "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." ~James 1:27 Adoption th...

Time to refurbish the old blog!  Our family has some exciting changes happening, and I would love to make this blog a place to share the exciting details with our friends and family. So its time to start this blog fresh.  Keep checking back, it's about to get good. ;)

Welcome Fall!  Here in the desert, we are finally starting to feel the season change!  It's no longer 100 degrees, and I'm celebrating by wearing hoodies and scarves and drinking pumpkin lattes on a daily basis.  I really do love this season.  Tis the season to be thankful for what we have and who we get to share our lives with.  Of course, this year I have so much to be thankful for.  I have a wonderful husband, an amazing little boy, and a very supportive and loving extended family.  I have a very comfortable house, plenty of nutritious food, and a flexible new job.  What's new in our house?  J is walking!!!  He has figured out that walking can be an actual mode of transportation, not just a fun thing to do every once in awhile.  He is a problem solver!  If he tries to play with something and it doesn't work, he doesn't just cry for help like other munchkins.  He just tries something else until he figures it out!...

Let's get one thing straight: motherhood is tough!  I think every mother on the planet would agree that it is the hardest job out there.  Moms work 24 hours a day, even in their sleep.  They don't take breaks on weekends or holidays.  Everyone has heard the list of mom's responsibilities, including nurse, teacher, playmate, diplomat, cheerleader, and so much more.  And if moms don't have enough on their plate, they have to deal with this "Mommy Guilt" and these so called "Mommy Wars."  I never knew what the big deal was, until I was pregnant with Baby J. It started early, with people telling me about the "research" about genetic testing, about the importance of vaccinating/not vaccinating, and for goodness sakes, put those swollen pregnant feet up!  Then J was born.  And on top of the opinion of all of the other mom's on the planet, I had my own guilt.  I wanted to give this precious baby everything, but it's just not physically p...

I saw a sign recently that I must have!  It said "Excuse the mess, the children are making memories."  I love it!  My house is always a mess now, but I have recently made the decision that I would rather be spending my time playing with my son rather than scrubbing floors constantly or spending hours working out to attempt to get my body back.  Of course, I do clean (especially when it comes to anything that can go in my little boy's mouth) and the hubs and I have been making a real effort to wake up before the baby and take turns working out.  But, when there is a decision to do some exploring/playing that may get messy, the answer is always... YES!!!  This weekend was definitely a hands-on celebration of baby J turning 10 months old.  I also wanted to have some fun this weekend because I am officially done with my Masters Degree!  Our celebration included making a fort and Baby J's first finger painting.  J loved the fort, crawling in and...