Thursday, August 25, 2011

147 {Million}

There are estimated to be around 147 million orphans in the world.

In reality, that number is much, much higher.  147 million, is all that legally have been recorded.

And I get photos of these children on a weekly basis...

Through our adoption agency, adoption advocates asking for money, special needs reports, new referalls being added to the wait list, etc.

And you wanna know why this is so bad?

I fall in love with EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. OF. THEM.

Really.  I want to be the Mommy to every one of them that I lay my eyes on.

I thank God each and everyday that he gave me such a passion for adoption because, ya'll, I think it is just about the coolest thing, and I'm absurdly excited to be a part of it!

But at the same time, my heart breaks on a DAILY. BASIS.

I so look forward to the day when the orphan crisis will be 147 million minus one.

And I pray that God some way, some how uses me to bring comfort and joy to those left behind.



Wednesday, August 24, 2011

On Rope {Black and White Wednesday}

I happen to think my family is pretty amazing. 

 This is my little sister and Uncle Timmy on rope, repelling Neversink in Scottsboro, Alabama.


For more beautiful Black and Whites, visit Lisa's Blog! 

the long road

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

My Baby Love

I have no rhyme or reason why I love this photo of my little bitty so much...


But I do.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Adoption Update!

OK

So really.... this is so minute.

Really it's just a tiny pebble to hurdle over as far as adoption is concerned.

But me, myself?

I'm ECSTATIC!!

Because...

OUR FINGERPRINTS HAVE CLEARED!!!!

And I'm so super duper happy, because just about two weeks ago they came back with a mistake on them that we had to fix.

I was soooo nervous that it would still be wrong or be sent to the wrong place never to be found again, etc. etc.

But we're clear.

SO, in THREE more documents...

Our part of the Home Study will be complete.

YIPPEEEE!!!!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Ahoy Matey!

On the 6th, Perry and I helped our good friend Harrison celebrate his 2nd birthday!  (And luckily, I had already downloaded these pictures before Hank decided to make my camera cord a snack!)  So I wanted to share all the swashbuckelin' fun we had!!

Briana, H's Mom, is a fabulous Home-Ec teacher with bookoos of creativity.  I knew we were in for a treat before we even got to the party.  Check out the "cake!"  Are these not the COOLEST things ever?!  They are mini cupcakes with icing in push-pop containers.  LOVE 'em!


The kiddos were all so cute eating their cakes.  LOVE that P has so many friends that he gets to see and play with on a pretty regular basis!


Perry actually ate two cupcakes- after he made sure there was enough for everyone else.  


Then, he played pin the eye-patch on the pirate.  I was so proud of him.  He almost nailed it! 


 He was also pretty thrilled with his own eye patch!


He even had to let Olive give it a go... which she also didn't seem to mind!


Monday, August 15, 2011

Bullet Points

I've been a bit neglectful of my blog lately, mainly because Hank ate my camera cord, which has made downloading pictures a thing of the past.... At least until I have an extra $15 bucks to go spend on a camera cord.  Can you tell making adoption payments has made me a bit neurotic tight?  (On a funny note... I've even been trying to save money by encouraging more vegetarian meals in our household.  Justin's not exactly "on board" with that! ;)

So, in lieu of many photographs with a cute lil' story, I thought I'd bullet out a few happenings, happinesses, and hopes.


  • We are moving steadily on the adoption front.  We have about 3 more documents before our part of the home study is complete.  YEAH!  Once our fingerprints are cleared (any day now, hopefully), we should be able to be assigned our official social worker.  Then, she will come do the home visits and write up about our family.  We did find out that the social worker who will be assigned to our case is actually a Korean adoptee herself.  I was very excited to learn that!
  • School has officially begun.  It was a really fun day, but a bit hard too considering Perry and I both have been sick with a fever/stomach virus for the past several days.  As fun of a day as I tried to make it for my students, my two main objectives were to not get sick in front of them and make sure they all got home the correct way.  Two Exedrin Migraines later, both missions accomplished.   I have a really cute Rainbow Fish art project for them tomorrow.  It involves glitter!!
  • Hank got his first haircut this past Saturday.  He looks sooooo different that I had to keep promising myself that no one had stolen my real dog.  Good thing he's still sweet, because his slick look isn't so cute.  :/  At least he's clean and cool during these last hot/humid weeks of Summer.
  • My other dog, Sadie-Bug, had a minor surgery today, so that was also on my mind during school.  She had an extremely scary and difficult recovery after being spayed, so I was thrilled to learn that she was doing great and can come home tomorrow morning.  
  • Our house has been relatively clean the past week.  Strange, but nice.
  • I'm already making my Christmas list.  Since I'm trying to be extremely frugal this year, I'm finding that some creativity is going to be necessary.  All those items around my house that my family has always had their eyes on, just might get new homes this year.  My sister jokes that by the time our adoption is finalized, our house is going to look like Whoville after the Grinch has come through!   But that's fine.  Whatever it takes to bring home Miss Ruby, I'm game!
  • Pinterest- Have mercy.  I'm on board.  L-O-V-E it.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, you need to find out... quickly.
  • Perry is starting to become quite the conversationist.  He is adorable talking on the phone.  I love that I know what the other person is saying, even though I can't hear them.  He is very articulate and is so cute pointing and hand gesturing as if the person on the other line can see him!
  • I am growing rapidly fond of red.  I think it is the anticipation of fall and cinnamon scents and Christmas!!!  The BEST time of the year!!!  
  • My garden completely bombed.  The only thing left growing (and thriving!) is my jalapeno peppers.  They are very yummy, at least.
  • I bought the CUTEST Fall/Pumpkin applique the other night.  I can't wait to make Perry a Fall outfit.  I just have to wait until some fabric goes on sale! 
  • I'm really wanting to do another giveaway in the next little bit.  Just trying to come up with something exciting.  No particular reason for doing one this go around.  Just that I LOVE entering them, so I figured I'd do all my FaBuLoUs readers some fun and host another! :)

Monday, August 8, 2011

Trashy Town

This summer, Perry has become a HUGE fan of the cutest little book titled Trashy Town.  In fact, he likes it soooo much, we watch this story on DVD nearly every night.  It has become so routine, that I catch myself throughout the day humming, "Dump it in! (boom boom) Smash it down! (boom boom) Drive around the trashy town! ... embarrassing, I know.


In addition to the book, our morning routine also incorporates the garbage truck.  Every morning, we get up, take Hank out, and Perry plays with his trucks and tractors in the flower bed.  It is a great time for us to talk, play, me catch up on answering emails, and just enjoy the morning.


So this morning, when Perry asked if we could see the "gah-bij tuck," I sweetly said, "Not today buddy.  We'll have to watch the garbage truck on Wednesday."


And that's when the sniffling (on my part) began.



Because it suddenly hit me that I won't be able to watch the garbage truck with my baby again until next summer, after school is out again.  Silly to miss the garbage truck, I know.  But every moment spent with Perry is so precious.  And he looks forward to every. single. Wednesday!


But as sad as I am to end silly little Summer traditions, I can't wait to see all the new routines and traditions that the Fall will bring!  


Wednesday, August 3, 2011

{HOT} Mama's Salsa

Last weekend, the girls and I (and P, of course) got together to can some fresh, homemade salsa.  Becky and Timmy grew most of the vegetables (we needed a few extra tomatoes from the neighbor's), and I grew the cilantro.  It was so neat to can salsa using organic veggies that didn't even come from the market!

I wish so badly that I had taken pictures of the chopping/prep process.  It was really beautiful with all the bright colors and Becky's elegant chopping block.  But, instead of photographing, we were all too busy crying over the onions or choking over the jalapenos and cayennes.  (I had no idea that chopping such hot peppers literally made it hard to breathe.)  Even mincing the garlic cloves started to get to ya.

After we chopped, we boiled the tomatoes for about an hour with vinegar, then added the rest of the ingredients, then boiled for a few more hours.  Finally, we filled the mason jars and put them in the boiling water for their hot baths to seal the lids.


I'm sure Rachel Ray would be so proud of us (Becky) removing scalding hot salsa from its water bath with cheap tongs.  I'm not gonna tell you how many times they slipped, the boiling water splashed, and we all squealed like little school girls.  

But the finished product was both beautiful and incredibly scrumptious.  Even if the heat level is off the charts!  (Thank goodness we only used about 1/4 of the peppers the recipe required.  And ya'll, I like things H-O-T!! But even this salsa is a bit much for me!!)


All in all, the process took us about six hours!  It was a verrrry long process, but with good friends and a little wine, it was so much fun!  The recipe said our cooking would yield 10 jars, but really we filled 20 jars, about 4 of which were quart sized!! We had so much extra, we joked that we were going to sale it and label it, Hot Mama's Salsa!!  LOVE the name!! :)

Our Adoption Timeline

  • June 19, 2011- We are officially "Paper Pregnant!" We have submitted our Waiting Child Application to Holt!
  • July 5, 2011- Submitted our formal Home Study Application to Villa Hope
  • September 6, 2011- Submitted all of our paperwork for our Home Study
  • October 8, 2011- Completed our First Home Visit
  • October 17, 2011- Completed our Second Home Visit
  • November 14, 2011- Home Study Approved
  • December 1, 2011- Filed our I600a
  • February 1, 2012- I600a Approval Letter
 
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