Please visit our new blog!!!
I'm super excited to start this project!!
Check it out & please participate :) :) :)
www.thevioletribbon.blogspot.com
Love,
Summer
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Baby Name!!!! :)
The pic is the hint :)
We're getting a baby girl!!! For sure. Our social worker let us know today :)
If you read my post from a day or two ago, you know that this information came at the right time for us. We were starting to feel very discouraged and sad. Everything is just so indefinite and up in the air.. nothing is certain. But to know for sure boy or girl! And to be able to give her a name.. it makes her real. Really real. We're going to have a baby! And she will be our daughter :) Awww.. I like those words.. a lot!!
Speaking of words...
Her name will be Violet.
Sweet and lovely and precious. Our little Violet :)
So thankful right now. God is so good indeed.. Thank you, Lord, for building our family.. even as I type this.. life is amazing, isn't it?
Dossier ON THE MOVE...
Received an amazing email today from our social worker!
Our dossier is enroute to Ethiopia from DC!!
Pretty exciting, huh?? :) :) So they will soon know that we exist!
And we will hopefully have our referral by March!!
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers :)
Our dossier is enroute to Ethiopia from DC!!
Pretty exciting, huh?? :) :) So they will soon know that we exist!
And we will hopefully have our referral by March!!
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers :)
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Nursery in progress :)
Well I only thought that blogging was on hold!
Then I realized that I really want to share our baby's nursery as it is progressing along :) That's pretty harmless information, right?.. haha.
Although Stuart might disagree. He has been over my "should we do this or that?", "what do you think?", "do you like this.. are you sure?", "is this unisex enough?".. and on and on.
I'm actually enjoying the search for what I want and what I like but I think its getting on his nerves a little.
Shopping has never been his thing and looking at squirrels, monsters, and abc's isn't really opening up a new hobby for him!
For me, that's another story! :)
And speaking of "story" that's our quote unquote theme for the nursery.
"STORYBOOK" :)
We didn't really want to do a theme like a lot of nurseries but soon realized that we did need an actual idea for the decor, otherwise it will be a hodge-podge of various, random, albeit cute, crap.
SO we started with birds and cupcakes as the idea, then went to monsters.. yes! monsters!.. but cute ones, kinda Hanna Barbera silly/cute/friendly ones.
We came across a super-cute print and awesome bedding that would be perrrrfect!
Only problem was the cost of the bedding.. $270 for the set.. definitely not the most expensive we've found but still too pricey for us :(
HOWEVER at one online store, we did see another super-cute set of bedding from the exact same line BUT on sale! Woop woop!
It wasn't anything that would even remotely go with the "friendly monster" theme.. but it was still adorable and did I mention ON SALE? ;)
So once I was on that path, my etsy and other internet store searching and browsing continued... and continued..
Finally, we have a set "theme" and more importantly Stuart and I both like it AND equally importantly, it is gender-neutral, which means that we can proceed with it now!..
instead of waiting 5 or 6 more months (hopefully only that long!!) until we receive our referral and know whether its a boy or girl. SO we're very excited about this!
It makes us feel like we're actually doing this! I mean its one thing having an empty crib and shell of a nursery.. but having the personality and character and warmth of a real baby's room.. Awwww :)
So happy.. warm fuzzies.. which I needed, I'll be honest.
I know no less than 6 pregnant people right now and I'm so incredibly happy for them but seeing their bellies grow and hearing about their doctor visits and watching their lives visibly change in front of my eyes.. well, its hard to not feel a little self-pity for what we're missing.
Boo hoo, right?
I know its part of the process but this waiting is just so... removed. Its like something is happening but not really.. not like it is for them anyway.
Until we get that actual photo with a real face and we can give them a real name, its still like its a story or fantasy.. kind of ironic, I guess that we chose "storybook" for our nursery then.
Ha.. never put the two together, maybe my subconscious thinks we're nuts and still making stuff up! Oh well, won't it be surprised in a few months :)
SO that's the deal-io!
Now I'm going to attempt to post pics of the stuff! Haven't received it yet but as soon as we have it in and up, we'll post pics of that too!
So here goes....
......
......
......
Ack! I can't figure out how to post random pics from websites! I've done my own from our computer or camera or flickr pics before but this is difficult.. Hmmpft!
Any help??
Then I realized that I really want to share our baby's nursery as it is progressing along :) That's pretty harmless information, right?.. haha.
Although Stuart might disagree. He has been over my "should we do this or that?", "what do you think?", "do you like this.. are you sure?", "is this unisex enough?".. and on and on.
I'm actually enjoying the search for what I want and what I like but I think its getting on his nerves a little.
Shopping has never been his thing and looking at squirrels, monsters, and abc's isn't really opening up a new hobby for him!
For me, that's another story! :)
And speaking of "story" that's our quote unquote theme for the nursery.
"STORYBOOK" :)
We didn't really want to do a theme like a lot of nurseries but soon realized that we did need an actual idea for the decor, otherwise it will be a hodge-podge of various, random, albeit cute, crap.
SO we started with birds and cupcakes as the idea, then went to monsters.. yes! monsters!.. but cute ones, kinda Hanna Barbera silly/cute/friendly ones.
We came across a super-cute print and awesome bedding that would be perrrrfect!
Only problem was the cost of the bedding.. $270 for the set.. definitely not the most expensive we've found but still too pricey for us :(
HOWEVER at one online store, we did see another super-cute set of bedding from the exact same line BUT on sale! Woop woop!
It wasn't anything that would even remotely go with the "friendly monster" theme.. but it was still adorable and did I mention ON SALE? ;)
So once I was on that path, my etsy and other internet store searching and browsing continued... and continued..
Finally, we have a set "theme" and more importantly Stuart and I both like it AND equally importantly, it is gender-neutral, which means that we can proceed with it now!..
instead of waiting 5 or 6 more months (hopefully only that long!!) until we receive our referral and know whether its a boy or girl. SO we're very excited about this!
It makes us feel like we're actually doing this! I mean its one thing having an empty crib and shell of a nursery.. but having the personality and character and warmth of a real baby's room.. Awwww :)
So happy.. warm fuzzies.. which I needed, I'll be honest.
I know no less than 6 pregnant people right now and I'm so incredibly happy for them but seeing their bellies grow and hearing about their doctor visits and watching their lives visibly change in front of my eyes.. well, its hard to not feel a little self-pity for what we're missing.
Boo hoo, right?
I know its part of the process but this waiting is just so... removed. Its like something is happening but not really.. not like it is for them anyway.
Until we get that actual photo with a real face and we can give them a real name, its still like its a story or fantasy.. kind of ironic, I guess that we chose "storybook" for our nursery then.
Ha.. never put the two together, maybe my subconscious thinks we're nuts and still making stuff up! Oh well, won't it be surprised in a few months :)
SO that's the deal-io!
Now I'm going to attempt to post pics of the stuff! Haven't received it yet but as soon as we have it in and up, we'll post pics of that too!
So here goes....
......
......
......
Ack! I can't figure out how to post random pics from websites! I've done my own from our computer or camera or flickr pics before but this is difficult.. Hmmpft!
Any help??
Monday, October 4, 2010
Dossier, Direction, and Dreams
Ok so I guess there's no need to mention my lack of blogging and all around absence of updates..
Why speak of the obvious, right? ;)
I honestly made a conscious decision to stop blogging during this time..
One of the many, many, many requirements and requests by the Ethiopian government in our dossier packet was to be extremely mindful of anything and everything that we post on blogs.
Apparently its not entirely unlikely for officials to check up on families.. not that I'm posting all sorts of inappropriate and rude things! lol. But things can be easily misinterpreted, especially when sarcasm is involved. And not that I'm a complete hooch, always posting photos of myself in revealing clothing but they told us to really be aware that clothing is very different there and they want to see that we are modest and respectful individuals. Like I said, interpretation is all in the eye of the beholder..
In the rules and requirements of blogging, the section also states that you must not mention fund raising of any sort (no JustLoveCoffee, no yard sales, no gifts, nothing) because they expect you to be able to afford the adoption costs on your own. They don't want people that will struggle financially to parent.. understandably..
It also states that you must not mention details or post any pics of your referral once you receive it.. really? What's the fun in that? :-P It will be difficult enough to contain my excitement but not being able to post anything except.. "we are very excited to be matched with our new baby (girl) (boy) and (she) (he) is beautiful." It doesn't quite sum it up, does it?
Lastly, you must be aware of all that you post because things can sound quite critical very easily.. they require that you not mention anything negative about the country of Ethiopia.
We cannot mention the poverty, the crime, the lack of resources, AIDS, the fact that they have 5 million orphans and that the previously mentioned reasons are precisely the reason why there are 5 million orphans.. and yet we should remember to only focus on the positive.
But you know, I totally get that, really.
Positive is good.
And from what we have read and learned, Ethiopia is an incredible country with a vibrant, spiritual culture and beautiful people with unfaltering joy and happiness that is both inspiring and humbling.
These are some of the many things that we are extremely eager to witness and participate in when we visit twice next year.
However we cannot simply deny the existence of those other facts.. The fact of the matter is that we would not be going there if there was not a need.
That need is not something that the country should be ashamed of or in denial about but that we should all be trying to find ways of helping to make a difference.
We are fully expecting our trips to change us, wholly and forever..
To be witness to the extreme poverty, lack of resources, AIDS, orphans, and yet the sheer joy and spirit of people that relish the beauty of life and love and family and community..
But at the same time, being fully aware of how blessed we are and how much we have here.. Knowing how much money and resources we spend and waste.. Knowing how blessed we are as individuals and as a country and yet how depressed and disappointed and medicated and angry and empty and searching and isolated and confused and lacking we all feel..
First of all, how is this even possible? Even in typing this, I am baffled by the fact that we are clearly missing something huuuuuuge here! For us to have seemingly everything and them to have what we see as nothing and yet the happiness factor is completely backward. They are missing something enormous but we are missing something enormous too.. If we could somehow learn from both... if that makes sense..
But once we witness the lack of physical blessings and yet the immense blessings of the heart there, how can we possibly remain unchanged?
Right now, God is doing something big in our lives and in our hearts.. I don't know why or even how this is all going to play out.. But I do know that Stuart and I are not simply bringing our child from Ethiopia to make them American. That I do know...
That would be entirely too easy and lazy and selfish.
Its precisely what WE would have picked for our lives! But not what God picked for our lives. And that makes all the difference, doesn't it?
Our prayer is that we will have an impact in Ethiopia once we leave and that we will be Christ's heart to them. We fully expect to experience them being Christ's heart to us as well.. And it will be amazing, I know it. This is life changing, crazy stuff.. I'm equally terrified, excited, and humbled..
I don't know if we'll find the answers we're seeking but I feel deeply in my heart that we are on our life's journey, in our purpose, in more ways than we even realize..
God has bigger dreams for each of our lives than we can possibly even imagine on our own. We are simple and present and immediate but God is eternal and infinite. How then can we question when He says, "Go"?
So anywho, loooooong story short. I'm paranoid about blogging something that could be misconstrued because its totally not worth it to us.
So right now, here's the latest in minimal detail :)....
Our dossier is complete and on its way to Washington DC for National Authentication. Hopefully that will only take a week (or less!!) and then it will be mailed to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia! And once there, they will begin the process of authenticating and translating the documents and checking us out..
We are praying and believing that we will receive our referral in less than 5 months and that we'll be home with our little one by the end of next year! Please God!! :)
I will keep you posted on anything big but will probably not go into a lot of detail, please forgive me for that.
Bigger and better posts once we're legally parents!! :) Woop woop!
Until then, I'm on facebook if you want to have more contact, which I would love! :) Summer Moore, Nashville TN.
I love you all and will continue to read your blogs as you continue on your own paths!
Love,
Summer
Why speak of the obvious, right? ;)
I honestly made a conscious decision to stop blogging during this time..
One of the many, many, many requirements and requests by the Ethiopian government in our dossier packet was to be extremely mindful of anything and everything that we post on blogs.
Apparently its not entirely unlikely for officials to check up on families.. not that I'm posting all sorts of inappropriate and rude things! lol. But things can be easily misinterpreted, especially when sarcasm is involved. And not that I'm a complete hooch, always posting photos of myself in revealing clothing but they told us to really be aware that clothing is very different there and they want to see that we are modest and respectful individuals. Like I said, interpretation is all in the eye of the beholder..
In the rules and requirements of blogging, the section also states that you must not mention fund raising of any sort (no JustLoveCoffee, no yard sales, no gifts, nothing) because they expect you to be able to afford the adoption costs on your own. They don't want people that will struggle financially to parent.. understandably..
It also states that you must not mention details or post any pics of your referral once you receive it.. really? What's the fun in that? :-P It will be difficult enough to contain my excitement but not being able to post anything except.. "we are very excited to be matched with our new baby (girl) (boy) and (she) (he) is beautiful." It doesn't quite sum it up, does it?
Lastly, you must be aware of all that you post because things can sound quite critical very easily.. they require that you not mention anything negative about the country of Ethiopia.
We cannot mention the poverty, the crime, the lack of resources, AIDS, the fact that they have 5 million orphans and that the previously mentioned reasons are precisely the reason why there are 5 million orphans.. and yet we should remember to only focus on the positive.
But you know, I totally get that, really.
Positive is good.
And from what we have read and learned, Ethiopia is an incredible country with a vibrant, spiritual culture and beautiful people with unfaltering joy and happiness that is both inspiring and humbling.
These are some of the many things that we are extremely eager to witness and participate in when we visit twice next year.
However we cannot simply deny the existence of those other facts.. The fact of the matter is that we would not be going there if there was not a need.
That need is not something that the country should be ashamed of or in denial about but that we should all be trying to find ways of helping to make a difference.
We are fully expecting our trips to change us, wholly and forever..
To be witness to the extreme poverty, lack of resources, AIDS, orphans, and yet the sheer joy and spirit of people that relish the beauty of life and love and family and community..
But at the same time, being fully aware of how blessed we are and how much we have here.. Knowing how much money and resources we spend and waste.. Knowing how blessed we are as individuals and as a country and yet how depressed and disappointed and medicated and angry and empty and searching and isolated and confused and lacking we all feel..
First of all, how is this even possible? Even in typing this, I am baffled by the fact that we are clearly missing something huuuuuuge here! For us to have seemingly everything and them to have what we see as nothing and yet the happiness factor is completely backward. They are missing something enormous but we are missing something enormous too.. If we could somehow learn from both... if that makes sense..
But once we witness the lack of physical blessings and yet the immense blessings of the heart there, how can we possibly remain unchanged?
Right now, God is doing something big in our lives and in our hearts.. I don't know why or even how this is all going to play out.. But I do know that Stuart and I are not simply bringing our child from Ethiopia to make them American. That I do know...
That would be entirely too easy and lazy and selfish.
Its precisely what WE would have picked for our lives! But not what God picked for our lives. And that makes all the difference, doesn't it?
Our prayer is that we will have an impact in Ethiopia once we leave and that we will be Christ's heart to them. We fully expect to experience them being Christ's heart to us as well.. And it will be amazing, I know it. This is life changing, crazy stuff.. I'm equally terrified, excited, and humbled..
I don't know if we'll find the answers we're seeking but I feel deeply in my heart that we are on our life's journey, in our purpose, in more ways than we even realize..
God has bigger dreams for each of our lives than we can possibly even imagine on our own. We are simple and present and immediate but God is eternal and infinite. How then can we question when He says, "Go"?
So anywho, loooooong story short. I'm paranoid about blogging something that could be misconstrued because its totally not worth it to us.
So right now, here's the latest in minimal detail :)....
Our dossier is complete and on its way to Washington DC for National Authentication. Hopefully that will only take a week (or less!!) and then it will be mailed to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia! And once there, they will begin the process of authenticating and translating the documents and checking us out..
We are praying and believing that we will receive our referral in less than 5 months and that we'll be home with our little one by the end of next year! Please God!! :)
I will keep you posted on anything big but will probably not go into a lot of detail, please forgive me for that.
Bigger and better posts once we're legally parents!! :) Woop woop!
Until then, I'm on facebook if you want to have more contact, which I would love! :) Summer Moore, Nashville TN.
I love you all and will continue to read your blogs as you continue on your own paths!
Love,
Summer
Monday, July 19, 2010
We're officially on The Grid..
We finally have our I-600A in the mail!!
For the past month, we've been waiting for a random document from a little, bitty town in Texas. It FINALLY came in the mail Saturday and this morning we Express Mailed our packet to USCIS.
Now we just wait to hear back from them with (hopefully!!) our approval (aka 171-H) and our "invitation" to be fingerprinted for the FBI. Niiice!
When Stuart heard that part he said- Well, I guess we are officially on the grid now :) ...I guess we are!
There are so many documents that we are still working on, trying to pull together all of the random jazz for our Dossier to Ethiopia..
Passports should be en route to us.
Went to the police station this morning to get our background checks and get that
notarized.
Waiting for my doctor's letter.. already have Stuart's.
Waiting for both of our employers' letters.
Waiting for our non-relative reference letters.
Already have our "Authenticated" birth and marriage certificates back from the Secretary of State of Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Have one bank statement.. supposed to wait til the last minute for the other one.
Have most of the photos we'll send of our house and us.. still need to take one of the nursery and the outside of the house since it looks so cute and happy with our summer flowers and stuff.
Still have a bazillion things to get notarized but that can wait til we have everything.. might as well only go once, right?
There are so many other documents that I'm certainly forgetting to mention at this moment but we do have progress and we're not there yet..
but we're closer than we've ever been before!
Thank you, God!!! :)
For the past month, we've been waiting for a random document from a little, bitty town in Texas. It FINALLY came in the mail Saturday and this morning we Express Mailed our packet to USCIS.
Now we just wait to hear back from them with (hopefully!!) our approval (aka 171-H) and our "invitation" to be fingerprinted for the FBI. Niiice!
When Stuart heard that part he said- Well, I guess we are officially on the grid now :) ...I guess we are!
There are so many documents that we are still working on, trying to pull together all of the random jazz for our Dossier to Ethiopia..
Passports should be en route to us.
Went to the police station this morning to get our background checks and get that
notarized.
Waiting for my doctor's letter.. already have Stuart's.
Waiting for both of our employers' letters.
Waiting for our non-relative reference letters.
Already have our "Authenticated" birth and marriage certificates back from the Secretary of State of Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Have one bank statement.. supposed to wait til the last minute for the other one.
Have most of the photos we'll send of our house and us.. still need to take one of the nursery and the outside of the house since it looks so cute and happy with our summer flowers and stuff.
Still have a bazillion things to get notarized but that can wait til we have everything.. might as well only go once, right?
There are so many other documents that I'm certainly forgetting to mention at this moment but we do have progress and we're not there yet..
but we're closer than we've ever been before!
Thank you, God!!! :)
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Passports, Paperwork, and Penny-Pinching
The amount of loose paper in our house is at a ridiculously high level.. At this very moment, the desk, dining room table, coffee table, and guest bed are completely covered with stacks and piles of forms for our I-600A, our Ethiopia Dossier, US Passport applications, and just a ton of other random stuff from our adoption agency.
It seriously is getting a little crazy in here.. and if things don't start coming together soon, or at least looking like they're coming together, I may possibly have a minor freak-out.
The clutter is wee-bit claustrophobic, especially in our (cute but..) tiny house!
Although this could all be some really good practice for having a toddler someday?? :)
In other news, on Sunday we had an incredible evening with our local 'families of African adoption group'. It was absolutely amazing!!!!!
Stuart and I couldn't have imagined it being better.
The wonderful people there were super-nice and open about their lives and experiences. It was a blessing to get to know some of them.
And it was a big group.. I would guess 60+ people. Tons of kids, tons of parents, future parents, hopeful parents, and even some just interested in possibly becoming parents someday..
Hopefully we didn't scare anyone with our bazillion-questions! ;) We are looking forward to the next event!
And now to the "penny-pinching"/cheap-skate part of my post title...
so clearly this whole adoption thing is not for the faint of heart... or wallet ;) Thus, our quest to live on as little as possible for the next 12 months. We'll see how it goes!
First on the agenda: Cancel Cable TV ASAP!!
Stuart says he'll be fine but I am aware that this will be an adjustment... Let's just say that as I'm typing this, he's downstairs soaking in Spike TV and History Channel like they're oxygen.
Anywho.. trying to crunch the ol' budget down in many other ways too.
If anyone has any interesting or obvious money-saving tips, do tell!!
I'm discovering the greatness of coupons! ;) It is a whole world, isn't it?? The coupon-junkie weirdos! I love it. I aspire to be one of them!! haha.
So that's it.. Just all of that jazz. Oh and I'm also attempting to journal. It couldn't hurt in a time of so much emotional craziness and also it might be something nice for a child to read someday.. how exactly our adventure to meet them unfolded day to day. I don't know, when I put it that way, it sounds pretty boring and annoying ;)
I'll give it a shot though. But sheesh, between facebook status updates, blogging, journaling, saving money, and somehow finding time to work full-time, something is bound to suffer... (this is my way of saying- don't expect another blog for awhile ;) Sorry but I'm nothing if not honest!
Love to you all!!!!! I'm grateful for your continued interest in our lives and I keep up with yours as well.. even though I totally flake on commenting most of the time!
It seriously is getting a little crazy in here.. and if things don't start coming together soon, or at least looking like they're coming together, I may possibly have a minor freak-out.
The clutter is wee-bit claustrophobic, especially in our (cute but..) tiny house!
Although this could all be some really good practice for having a toddler someday?? :)
In other news, on Sunday we had an incredible evening with our local 'families of African adoption group'. It was absolutely amazing!!!!!
Stuart and I couldn't have imagined it being better.
The wonderful people there were super-nice and open about their lives and experiences. It was a blessing to get to know some of them.
And it was a big group.. I would guess 60+ people. Tons of kids, tons of parents, future parents, hopeful parents, and even some just interested in possibly becoming parents someday..
Hopefully we didn't scare anyone with our bazillion-questions! ;) We are looking forward to the next event!
And now to the "penny-pinching"/cheap-skate part of my post title...
so clearly this whole adoption thing is not for the faint of heart... or wallet ;) Thus, our quest to live on as little as possible for the next 12 months. We'll see how it goes!
First on the agenda: Cancel Cable TV ASAP!!
Stuart says he'll be fine but I am aware that this will be an adjustment... Let's just say that as I'm typing this, he's downstairs soaking in Spike TV and History Channel like they're oxygen.
Anywho.. trying to crunch the ol' budget down in many other ways too.
If anyone has any interesting or obvious money-saving tips, do tell!!
I'm discovering the greatness of coupons! ;) It is a whole world, isn't it?? The coupon-junkie weirdos! I love it. I aspire to be one of them!! haha.
So that's it.. Just all of that jazz. Oh and I'm also attempting to journal. It couldn't hurt in a time of so much emotional craziness and also it might be something nice for a child to read someday.. how exactly our adventure to meet them unfolded day to day. I don't know, when I put it that way, it sounds pretty boring and annoying ;)
I'll give it a shot though. But sheesh, between facebook status updates, blogging, journaling, saving money, and somehow finding time to work full-time, something is bound to suffer... (this is my way of saying- don't expect another blog for awhile ;) Sorry but I'm nothing if not honest!
Love to you all!!!!! I'm grateful for your continued interest in our lives and I keep up with yours as well.. even though I totally flake on commenting most of the time!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Home Study Home Visit Friday!!!
Not much to write and yet so much to write..
What an amazing moment this is!
I'm so incredibly nervous and stressed, mostly about the stupid stuff right now.
Trying to clean everything in our entire house like its never been cleaned before, decorating like we might actually have some taste and style ;), bathing and grooming dogs, planting and landscaping, organizing.. Whirlwind nesting, I think! That or I'm losing my mind ;)
So tomorrow is the big day.. I cannot believe we've finally made it to this point. What a looooong time coming.. sheesh! But this means that we are officially headed somewhere! And maybe we might just get there... someday? haha. Really, our social worker told us that she would be very surprised if we were not HOME with our baby next summer!!!!!! Yes, you read that right! Woohoo! Can you imagine?!? I'm actually starting to.. I will post pics soon of the cute little finds I've recently purchased from Etsy..
oh! and we have a baby name picked!! :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)
Another topic for another day and another post, though...
For now, off to do a little last minute dusting!
PS Thank you, God, for this amazing moment in my life.. I cannot quite put into words how it feels to have something I've dreamed of, prayed for, weeped over for so long.. to actually be happening in front of my eyes. To actually be coming true, for me? Its surreal and beyond emotions at this point. I'm just grateful for this moment.. Please help me to enjoy this journey and to never take for granted the family that you are giving me.
*sigh*
What an amazing moment this is!
I'm so incredibly nervous and stressed, mostly about the stupid stuff right now.
Trying to clean everything in our entire house like its never been cleaned before, decorating like we might actually have some taste and style ;), bathing and grooming dogs, planting and landscaping, organizing.. Whirlwind nesting, I think! That or I'm losing my mind ;)
So tomorrow is the big day.. I cannot believe we've finally made it to this point. What a looooong time coming.. sheesh! But this means that we are officially headed somewhere! And maybe we might just get there... someday? haha. Really, our social worker told us that she would be very surprised if we were not HOME with our baby next summer!!!!!! Yes, you read that right! Woohoo! Can you imagine?!? I'm actually starting to.. I will post pics soon of the cute little finds I've recently purchased from Etsy..
oh! and we have a baby name picked!! :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)
Another topic for another day and another post, though...
For now, off to do a little last minute dusting!
PS Thank you, God, for this amazing moment in my life.. I cannot quite put into words how it feels to have something I've dreamed of, prayed for, weeped over for so long.. to actually be happening in front of my eyes. To actually be coming true, for me? Its surreal and beyond emotions at this point. I'm just grateful for this moment.. Please help me to enjoy this journey and to never take for granted the family that you are giving me.
*sigh*
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
lots and lots and lots...
Lots of stuff going on right now.. Sorry for such a brief blog today but I'll do a longer post in the next couple days.
Parents visited this weekend.. helped immensely with house and yard stuff! Had a great visit, lots of fun and laughs and great meals :)
Had a car accident on Sunday.. no one hurt, thank God.. a car forced me into another lane, hitting another car.. it was a stupid thing but it could have been a lot worse.. still waiting to hear from insurance.
Annnnnd today (in 2 hours actually) is our first homestudy appointment!! We meet with our social worker at the agency office for a couples meeting. Then we schedule for individual meetings, lastly will be our meeting at our house. Soooo excited! Not much time to type.. gotta go get ready! But wanted to jot this down!! Keep us in your thoughts and prayers this morning! Thanks!!! :)
Love,
Summer and Stu
Parents visited this weekend.. helped immensely with house and yard stuff! Had a great visit, lots of fun and laughs and great meals :)
Had a car accident on Sunday.. no one hurt, thank God.. a car forced me into another lane, hitting another car.. it was a stupid thing but it could have been a lot worse.. still waiting to hear from insurance.
Annnnnd today (in 2 hours actually) is our first homestudy appointment!! We meet with our social worker at the agency office for a couples meeting. Then we schedule for individual meetings, lastly will be our meeting at our house. Soooo excited! Not much time to type.. gotta go get ready! But wanted to jot this down!! Keep us in your thoughts and prayers this morning! Thanks!!! :)
Love,
Summer and Stu
Friday, April 30, 2010
Token of Promise
If you didn't already know this, my older sister, Dawanna, is an amaaaaazingly talented jewelry designer. (And she is also incredibly generous!)
Her company, Peaces of Indigo, has designed a special piece in honor of and as a fund-raiser for our adoption.
The necklace is called Token of Promise..
It is so named because of a book that I recently read.... the book mentioned that there are basically two different types of relationships in our lives, those which we have no control over and are based on genetics, such as with our biological parents, siblings, etc.
And those which we do have control over and choose for ourselves, such as in marriage and adoption. These are referred to as relationships of promise.
So in both relationships, neither genetics nor promises are stronger than the other.. they're just different.
Quite simply,
Love is love is love.
So anyway, back to the necklace!
Peaces of Indigo is donating a generous portion of each sale of the Token of Promise necklace to our adoption fund! :) :) :) :) :)
Not only is this a beautiful piece of artisan, handcrafted jewelery, but it is also a great way of possibly commemorating adoption in your own life, or in a loved one's life..
or perhaps just a way of enjoying a unique necklace for yourself and blessing someone else along the way!
Please check out Peaces of Indigo and the Token of Promise necklaces!!
Thank you!!!!!
Love,
Summer and Stuart
Her company, Peaces of Indigo, has designed a special piece in honor of and as a fund-raiser for our adoption.
The necklace is called Token of Promise..
It is so named because of a book that I recently read.... the book mentioned that there are basically two different types of relationships in our lives, those which we have no control over and are based on genetics, such as with our biological parents, siblings, etc.
And those which we do have control over and choose for ourselves, such as in marriage and adoption. These are referred to as relationships of promise.
So in both relationships, neither genetics nor promises are stronger than the other.. they're just different.
Quite simply,
Love is love is love.
So anyway, back to the necklace!
Peaces of Indigo is donating a generous portion of each sale of the Token of Promise necklace to our adoption fund! :) :) :) :) :)
Not only is this a beautiful piece of artisan, handcrafted jewelery, but it is also a great way of possibly commemorating adoption in your own life, or in a loved one's life..
or perhaps just a way of enjoying a unique necklace for yourself and blessing someone else along the way!
Please check out Peaces of Indigo and the Token of Promise necklaces!!
Thank you!!!!!
Love,
Summer and Stuart
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Ethiopia meets Nashville meets the Moores' :)
Seriously... 2 posts in 2 days! *gasp!* ;)
Actually, I just wanted to do a little continuation blog from yesterday's minuscule posting ..
And to answer Annie's question and thank her and Christine for their awesome encouragement :)
We are adopting from Ethiopia! And we are absolutely thrilled about it!
Since making that decision in December, our lives have been continuously evolving and we are running to catch up! This world is becoming bigger and yet smaller every day..
For starters, all of the adoption agency paperwork is finally behind us instead of sitting in a mountain of "somedays" and "if onlys".. What a relief! Now we get through the internet certification this week and we'll be off!! That paperwork was a beast though, but what an encouragement to have our home study within the next month!! Of course after that, we'll have to compile the dreaded dossier (dum dum duuuuuum!) but you know what.. we'll get there when we get there. And right now, I'm just going to bask in the sunshine and happiness of no more paperwork for a while! Woop woop! ;) Sweet!
Other than that, we've been attempting to experience the plethora of Nashville's Ethiopian culture. We've been eating at the restaurants and even recently visited an Ethiopian Christian Orthodox Church. Let me tell you... that was an experience!
We walked up to the church at 7am (yes, apparently some people do go to church that crazy-early!) and immediately realized that we first needed to remove our shoes and leave them outside. So then, we continued barefoot into the building, which appeared to possibly be on fire, due to the wafts of incense smoke barreling out the door.
As a side note, if you live in Middle Tennessee, you may be able to sympathize with my immediate concern of an uncontrollable allergy attack. I admit, there was a little fear for a minute or two!
But instead of hacking and sneezing as I had anticipated, I only ended up having to squirt eye drops (like a complete stoner!) through the entire service. (Although, considering that we ended up at IHOP afterward... I suppose the red eyes were only fitting.. teehee)
Anywho, back to the service... so we scooted into the back pew, attempting to draw as little attention to ourselves as possible (yeah-right).
The church was in a small building with a large stone cross outside. The inside was divided into 2 sides. The women were on the right side, the men and any small children (boys or girls) were on the left. Being that we were total visitors and were clearly unaware of all the customs of this church, we remained on the men's side in the last pew... closest to the door. Not for an easy exit but rather, to try to slip in as quietly as possible. Even though we arrived at the supposed start time of 7am, the service had already begun. So we didn't really have an opportunity to chat or introduce ourselves prior to our conspicuous arrival.
The church "service" and I use that term not in the sense of the services I'm used to but just because that's the word I guess I'm supposed to use when referring to a church gathering.. but anyway, it wasn't really the typical stand and sing for a few minutes then sit and preach for a few minutes type of thing.
Oh, no, no no.... this was stand and sing and sing and sing and sing and sing.....
you get my drift..
And, it was absolutely one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
So there we were.. standing barefoot, with what grew to be maybe a hundred people, who were all singing/almost chanting in Amharic (Ethiopia's native language).. And this went on and on for an entire hour and continued for another hour, I'm sure. We di only stay for the first hour because we'd gone with a coworker of Stuart's (who happened to live in Ethiopia at one time) and his 15 y/o daughter. After an hour, his daughter was done.
Oh but the amazing details of the service.... the beautifully robed and crowned "priest" and "bishop" (I'm assuming those would be their "titles?"..) They stood, almost regal, in their white and gold embellished robes, continuously initiated the chanting that would then, move into and through the congregation.
The sound was extraordinary. Almost monk-like but with a Middle-Eastern tone and melody.
It wasn't the African sound I had expected.
I know that Ethiopia is actually right on the upper North-Eastern horn of Africa, near to Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and the Arabian Sea, but I guess what I was seeing and hearing didn't quite fit the mold of the typical "Africa" that we imagine as Americans. It was eye-opening, for sure.
Another amazing part was the little curtained "room" at the back of the where the priest and bishop stood.
It held what I later learned was a wooden box draped with crimson-red velvet. It represented their holy book and also the ark of the covenant, which they and many others believe to be hidden in Ethiopia to this day.
The religion and culture of Ethiopia and their ties to the ark of the covenant is definitely a different post for a different day.. but it is important to mention because during the service, another bishop or maybe a "deacon?" carried the velvet clothed box around the room, while another "deacon?" covered the box and themselves with a beautifully embellished umbrella.
It was a sight to see, like a grown-up parasol. Stuart said that he believed that it was to shield themselves from the holyness of God or maybe to protect the holyness of the box?
I need to check into that a little more....
But they brought to box up to each person, who kissed it and then touched their head to it and then repeated it twice. Even the little, bitty girls did it.. it was so cute and special to see such reverence in a small child.
When they came to us, I assumed that they would pass us by, but nope! They came right up to us and we each touched our heads to it. The gentleman then said the first and only English we heard the entire time, he smiled and said "God bless you." It was cool. Maybe it sounds simple and obvious but it was special somehow.
Before I forget, I wanted to also mention the white robes or coverings that the men and women wore. Almost everyone there had a white cloth wrapped around their body and the women had their heads covered with it as well.
(This pic is from flickr.com BoazImages)
But the image of that crowd of people in white robes and then the billows of incense smoke, topped off with the Amharic chanting reverberating through the building was indescribable.
I would never have believed that we were still in Nashville, Tennessee! It was surreal and beautiful.
It also gave me a respect and admiration for this new world that we are embracing as our family grows.
We understand that the Ethiopian culture cannot possibly be understood by simply sitting in on an hour long church service or eating at a restaurant..
But we are beginning to reach out within our community to the people that will be able and willing to show our child a piece of her culture that we will not be able to do ourselves. And that is turning out to be a growing experience for Stuart and I as well.
What an amazing adventure we are on.. We are so thankful for our eyes to be opened, for our hearts to be touched, and for our worlds to be expanded.
As God brings Africa into our lives, I fully expect life to never be the same for us and you know what?.... I'm absolutely ecstatic about it! ;) lol
This is the way life is meant to be lived, isn't it?
Next Sunday, we are excited to join a local Adoption Group for a little family fellowship! It will incredible to meet other people like us with families like ours will be :)
Their blog called 686 Fellowship and they are a group of Nashvillians who have or are in the process of adopting from Africa.. Did I mention that I'm sooo excited!?!
Actually, I just wanted to do a little continuation blog from yesterday's minuscule posting ..
And to answer Annie's question and thank her and Christine for their awesome encouragement :)
We are adopting from Ethiopia! And we are absolutely thrilled about it!
Since making that decision in December, our lives have been continuously evolving and we are running to catch up! This world is becoming bigger and yet smaller every day..
For starters, all of the adoption agency paperwork is finally behind us instead of sitting in a mountain of "somedays" and "if onlys".. What a relief! Now we get through the internet certification this week and we'll be off!! That paperwork was a beast though, but what an encouragement to have our home study within the next month!! Of course after that, we'll have to compile the dreaded dossier (dum dum duuuuuum!) but you know what.. we'll get there when we get there. And right now, I'm just going to bask in the sunshine and happiness of no more paperwork for a while! Woop woop! ;) Sweet!
Other than that, we've been attempting to experience the plethora of Nashville's Ethiopian culture. We've been eating at the restaurants and even recently visited an Ethiopian Christian Orthodox Church. Let me tell you... that was an experience!
We walked up to the church at 7am (yes, apparently some people do go to church that crazy-early!) and immediately realized that we first needed to remove our shoes and leave them outside. So then, we continued barefoot into the building, which appeared to possibly be on fire, due to the wafts of incense smoke barreling out the door.
As a side note, if you live in Middle Tennessee, you may be able to sympathize with my immediate concern of an uncontrollable allergy attack. I admit, there was a little fear for a minute or two!
But instead of hacking and sneezing as I had anticipated, I only ended up having to squirt eye drops (like a complete stoner!) through the entire service. (Although, considering that we ended up at IHOP afterward... I suppose the red eyes were only fitting.. teehee)
Anywho, back to the service... so we scooted into the back pew, attempting to draw as little attention to ourselves as possible (yeah-right).
The church was in a small building with a large stone cross outside. The inside was divided into 2 sides. The women were on the right side, the men and any small children (boys or girls) were on the left. Being that we were total visitors and were clearly unaware of all the customs of this church, we remained on the men's side in the last pew... closest to the door. Not for an easy exit but rather, to try to slip in as quietly as possible. Even though we arrived at the supposed start time of 7am, the service had already begun. So we didn't really have an opportunity to chat or introduce ourselves prior to our conspicuous arrival.
The church "service" and I use that term not in the sense of the services I'm used to but just because that's the word I guess I'm supposed to use when referring to a church gathering.. but anyway, it wasn't really the typical stand and sing for a few minutes then sit and preach for a few minutes type of thing.
Oh, no, no no.... this was stand and sing and sing and sing and sing and sing.....
you get my drift..
And, it was absolutely one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
So there we were.. standing barefoot, with what grew to be maybe a hundred people, who were all singing/almost chanting in Amharic (Ethiopia's native language).. And this went on and on for an entire hour and continued for another hour, I'm sure. We di only stay for the first hour because we'd gone with a coworker of Stuart's (who happened to live in Ethiopia at one time) and his 15 y/o daughter. After an hour, his daughter was done.
Oh but the amazing details of the service.... the beautifully robed and crowned "priest" and "bishop" (I'm assuming those would be their "titles?"..) They stood, almost regal, in their white and gold embellished robes, continuously initiated the chanting that would then, move into and through the congregation.
The sound was extraordinary. Almost monk-like but with a Middle-Eastern tone and melody.
It wasn't the African sound I had expected.
I know that Ethiopia is actually right on the upper North-Eastern horn of Africa, near to Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and the Arabian Sea, but I guess what I was seeing and hearing didn't quite fit the mold of the typical "Africa" that we imagine as Americans. It was eye-opening, for sure.
Another amazing part was the little curtained "room" at the back of the where the priest and bishop stood.
It held what I later learned was a wooden box draped with crimson-red velvet. It represented their holy book and also the ark of the covenant, which they and many others believe to be hidden in Ethiopia to this day.
The religion and culture of Ethiopia and their ties to the ark of the covenant is definitely a different post for a different day.. but it is important to mention because during the service, another bishop or maybe a "deacon?" carried the velvet clothed box around the room, while another "deacon?" covered the box and themselves with a beautifully embellished umbrella.
It was a sight to see, like a grown-up parasol. Stuart said that he believed that it was to shield themselves from the holyness of God or maybe to protect the holyness of the box?
I need to check into that a little more....
But they brought to box up to each person, who kissed it and then touched their head to it and then repeated it twice. Even the little, bitty girls did it.. it was so cute and special to see such reverence in a small child.
When they came to us, I assumed that they would pass us by, but nope! They came right up to us and we each touched our heads to it. The gentleman then said the first and only English we heard the entire time, he smiled and said "God bless you." It was cool. Maybe it sounds simple and obvious but it was special somehow.
Before I forget, I wanted to also mention the white robes or coverings that the men and women wore. Almost everyone there had a white cloth wrapped around their body and the women had their heads covered with it as well.
But the image of that crowd of people in white robes and then the billows of incense smoke, topped off with the Amharic chanting reverberating through the building was indescribable.
I would never have believed that we were still in Nashville, Tennessee! It was surreal and beautiful.
It also gave me a respect and admiration for this new world that we are embracing as our family grows.
We understand that the Ethiopian culture cannot possibly be understood by simply sitting in on an hour long church service or eating at a restaurant..
But we are beginning to reach out within our community to the people that will be able and willing to show our child a piece of her culture that we will not be able to do ourselves. And that is turning out to be a growing experience for Stuart and I as well.
What an amazing adventure we are on.. We are so thankful for our eyes to be opened, for our hearts to be touched, and for our worlds to be expanded.
As God brings Africa into our lives, I fully expect life to never be the same for us and you know what?.... I'm absolutely ecstatic about it! ;) lol
This is the way life is meant to be lived, isn't it?
Next Sunday, we are excited to join a local Adoption Group for a little family fellowship! It will incredible to meet other people like us with families like ours will be :)
Their blog called 686 Fellowship and they are a group of Nashvillians who have or are in the process of adopting from Africa.. Did I mention that I'm sooo excited!?!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
new news...
its funny how as things have finally been progressing for us, i've been blogging less and less!
i guess maybe the reality that "someday" is actually happening right in front of my eyes... well, its a little overwhelming. and we are so excited and thankful for it! our social worker has been absolutely amazing. (we looooove lisa at bethany christian services in nashville!!)
so we are completely finished with all of our paperwork for our agency. our psych evaluations came through. (there was only a moment of doubt.. lol!) our drug and HIV tests came back negative... sweet! and our incredible references were completed and mailed..
seriously, a huge THANK YOU to stuart's mom, delores; my sister, dawanna; my boss, tami; and our fabulous friends... ivonne and brian, kim, and jeff!
and now we are signed up for our online NCFA training which is an 8-10 hour requirement with the national council for adoption. we are hoping to stab away at that over the next week or two. and then!.... we will finally be ready for our homestudy! woop woop! its about freaking time, eh? holy crap.. what a journey! ;) lol.
totally, 100% worth it, but still.... wow!
i will do better to keep everything posted once we get through the online course. because i think things are going to get a little exciting after that! it will be official!
thanks for continuing to check in... i realize that i totally suck at this blogging stuff ;)
i guess maybe the reality that "someday" is actually happening right in front of my eyes... well, its a little overwhelming. and we are so excited and thankful for it! our social worker has been absolutely amazing. (we looooove lisa at bethany christian services in nashville!!)
so we are completely finished with all of our paperwork for our agency. our psych evaluations came through. (there was only a moment of doubt.. lol!) our drug and HIV tests came back negative... sweet! and our incredible references were completed and mailed..
seriously, a huge THANK YOU to stuart's mom, delores; my sister, dawanna; my boss, tami; and our fabulous friends... ivonne and brian, kim, and jeff!
and now we are signed up for our online NCFA training which is an 8-10 hour requirement with the national council for adoption. we are hoping to stab away at that over the next week or two. and then!.... we will finally be ready for our homestudy! woop woop! its about freaking time, eh? holy crap.. what a journey! ;) lol.
totally, 100% worth it, but still.... wow!
i will do better to keep everything posted once we get through the online course. because i think things are going to get a little exciting after that! it will be official!
thanks for continuing to check in... i realize that i totally suck at this blogging stuff ;)
Sunday, February 21, 2010
mother teresa and paperwork
I have found the paradox....
that if you love until it hurts,
there can be no more hurt,
only more love.
Mother Teresa
How incredible is that quote??
I heard it today at church and it touched my heart, deeply..
Maybe its because of us adopting.. But maybe its simply from being suddenly more aware
of the enormous number of children that live in sadness & hopelessness, believing that
they have been forgotten by the world.. wondering who will love them..
It breaks my heart..
But what can we do??....
As usual, I'm just trying to figure it all out! :)
Meanwhile, our paperwork fiasco is still progressing.
Stu is downstairs as I type this, chipping away
at his autobiography.
And I have my psychological evaluation tomorrow.. Yikes! ;) Its not really
the sort of test you can study for though. I mean, either I'm crazy or I'm not, right? ha.
So, anywho, keep me in your prayers tomorrow from 11-3. I have a one hour session,
followed by a 2 hour test.
Sounds grueling! For a good cause though :)
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Coffee + Love = Adoption!! :)
Coffee + Love = Adoption
That's the premise of our adoption fund-raiser..
An amazing friend a coworker has encouraged me to open an online store to help fund our adoption. So we did!!
www.justlovecoffee.com/StuartandSummer
Please visit it!!! :)
An amazing company called "Just Love Coffee" allows families to have online coffee stores to raise funds for their adoptions. The idea is.. Organic, Fair-Trade Coffees and helping orphans and their forever families. Incredible :)
Thanks so much for your help and support!!
and thanks again, Melissa :)
That's the premise of our adoption fund-raiser..
An amazing friend a coworker has encouraged me to open an online store to help fund our adoption. So we did!!
www.justlovecoffee.com/StuartandSummer
Please visit it!!! :)
An amazing company called "Just Love Coffee" allows families to have online coffee stores to raise funds for their adoptions. The idea is.. Organic, Fair-Trade Coffees and helping orphans and their forever families. Incredible :)
Thanks so much for your help and support!!
and thanks again, Melissa :)
Saturday, February 13, 2010
paperwork hysteria!
our formal application has been submitted...
:) woohoo!!!!!
we're spending this weekend signing many, many, many papers, filling out forms, and writing our new autobiographies for Bethany... the questions are different than with HSC.. bummer!
anywho, that's our weekend...
putting that pen to paper! yeah, its kind of a pain in the *** but its for a really good cause!...
our baby :)
yay!
:) woohoo!!!!!
we're spending this weekend signing many, many, many papers, filling out forms, and writing our new autobiographies for Bethany... the questions are different than with HSC.. bummer!
anywho, that's our weekend...
putting that pen to paper! yeah, its kind of a pain in the *** but its for a really good cause!...
our baby :)
yay!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
the scoop??
tomorrow is our next meeting with the adoption agency!
we are set to discuss the official-filling-out-of-the-formal-application (sounds like a big build-up for a lot of paper signing ;) but its an enormous decision to do it because that means we are in route to our homestudy and in contract (financially and emotionally) to this agency. but we have done a lot of praying through this and believe that bethany is the agency for us :)
and so, the next part (also to be discussed tomorrow) is the homestudy process... i've read a lot of books and blogs and i feel like i have a good idea of what the "homestudy" entails but still... i'm scared! ;)
any advice from those of you that have been there?? pleeeeeeease!!!
we are set to discuss the official-filling-out-of-the-formal-application (sounds like a big build-up for a lot of paper signing ;) but its an enormous decision to do it because that means we are in route to our homestudy and in contract (financially and emotionally) to this agency. but we have done a lot of praying through this and believe that bethany is the agency for us :)
and so, the next part (also to be discussed tomorrow) is the homestudy process... i've read a lot of books and blogs and i feel like i have a good idea of what the "homestudy" entails but still... i'm scared! ;)
any advice from those of you that have been there?? pleeeeeeease!!!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
what-what??
Holy moley!! Could we actually be moving forward?!?!?!?
Yes, it appears to be so....
woop woop!! :)
We had our official "Informal Meeting" on Monday with Bethany (aka Adoption Agency).
All went amazingly well. I didn't spazz out or embarrass myself once, although I did tear up at one point but that's because I'm just too darn emotional when it comes to all of this baby jazz! :)
Stuart and I have been around the world and back again with our hearts leading the way, trying to find the country our baby is pulling us to.. Honestly, we still don't know where God is taking us but we have the utmost Faith that He knows better than us. And He will bring our family together, if we have to travel to the ends of the earth to find them..
Our hearts are pulling us in one specific direction, one that is so different than where we started but that's part of the adventure, I suppose! You never know where life will take you.
For us, we started in China and who knows?... maybe China still, only God knows, right?.. then we were led to Korea and now after all of this time and energy and love that we've developed for that country... well now our hearts have moved us toward Africa, specifically Ethiopia.
I know... what??!?
Honestly, I don't know where this came from any more than you. We do support a little girl in an S.O.S. Children's Village in Zambia. But other than that, we have no ties to Africa... and yet, how immense is the love that we suddenly and overwhelmingly have for a place we never dreamed of even traveling to.. Its crazy and unplanned, and yet unexpectedly perfect.
We don't know if Ethiopia is where our baby will be born but in this journey of building our family, as we've set out on a somewhat selfish endeavor.. well, our lives have forever changed.. truly. The world has suddenly become so much bigger and yet so much smaller..
I believe, wholeheartedly, that there is a reason and a purpose for everything.
Stuart and I have always thought that this adventure was simply a quest for our baby... now it seems as though God has additional plans for our family. Whatever that may be, I don't know. The research that I've done on the different countries we've been led to for adoption has opened a world of need and questions that I simply cannot forget about once we have our baby in our arms.. We will have that moment but then what?... Everything that we've learned and the deep places of my heart that have been touched cannot have only been for us. There just has to be something more...
What is that scripture??
"...once our eyes are opened,
we can't pretend we don't know what to do.
God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls,
knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act."
(Proverbs 24:12)
And I guess, we will do our best.. wherever that leads..
As we stand right now, we are meeting with Bethany again next Thursday, the 4th. This meeting is really to prep us for the formal application process and the homestudy-extravaganza.. haha. After Thursday, I guess we'll officially have the ball rolling!
We'll keep you posted on any happenings as they occur!!
Thanks so much for checking in and for still caring! ;) lol
Monday, January 18, 2010
cute finds from etsy!!
so this will be the new wall art in our bathroom... cute, huh??
i found this awesome artist called matte art... click on http://www.etsy.com/shop/matteart
to see all of his super cool stuff! i loooove it. everything is so sort of retro and quirky, its perfect!
anywho, that's about it from here.... not really doing much else except waiting and wishing and hoping and praying ;) oh, and playing on the internet, clearly!
another cool find is this:
kinda neat to have a "waiting" announcement to explain and celebrate your process.. this one is by j queenan and she has lots of artwork as well. her site is @ http://www.etsy.com/shop/jqueenan
Still waiting for our big day next Monday... our official meet and greet with the new agency! Happy thoughts and prayers, pleeeeeeease!! :)
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
blogger! boo!!!!!!
so clearly i have been a complete slacker in the blogging department... sorry :(
i've not really had much to say on the adoption front, so i haven't really been babbling on nonsensically as usual.
i do plan to continue with my typical rants and craziness after we have our formal meeting in a week and a half with the bethany christian services adoption agency.
our appointment is on monday, the 25th. if you could please keep us in your thoughts and prayers that day, that would be awesome!!! :)
but just because i haven't been posting lately, doesn't mean that i haven't been checking on all of my fellow bloggers' progress and updates!!
which leads me to the problem i am having...
for some reason, "blogger" has deleted all of the blogs that i was following!!!!!! so now i have no way of checking on any of you and keeping in touch! boo.
if you would please send me your web address, that would be awesome. i know some of you are in the crucial times of your journey and i am devastated that i might miss some of it!!
love,
summer
**literally 2 seconds after posting this, all of my "followed blogs" popped back up on my dashboard...
so i have no idea what happened but since its been so long since i've posted, i'm leaving the post as is!! its better than nothing, right?!
yeah, probably not but its all i have time for today. sorry!! :)
i've not really had much to say on the adoption front, so i haven't really been babbling on nonsensically as usual.
i do plan to continue with my typical rants and craziness after we have our formal meeting in a week and a half with the bethany christian services adoption agency.
our appointment is on monday, the 25th. if you could please keep us in your thoughts and prayers that day, that would be awesome!!! :)
but just because i haven't been posting lately, doesn't mean that i haven't been checking on all of my fellow bloggers' progress and updates!!
which leads me to the problem i am having...
for some reason, "blogger" has deleted all of the blogs that i was following!!!!!! so now i have no way of checking on any of you and keeping in touch! boo.
if you would please send me your web address, that would be awesome. i know some of you are in the crucial times of your journey and i am devastated that i might miss some of it!!
love,
summer
**literally 2 seconds after posting this, all of my "followed blogs" popped back up on my dashboard...
so i have no idea what happened but since its been so long since i've posted, i'm leaving the post as is!! its better than nothing, right?!
yeah, probably not but its all i have time for today. sorry!! :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
