Parental Development

If you know me personally, or even have followed the blog for very long at all, you know that about a month ago, Justin and I had to say no to the file of the most beautiful little girl I had ever seen. The emotional baggage of that decision took me by surprise. Even though I know that this little girl already has a family who can’t wait to love her, I still think about her everyday and wonder what life would have been like with her in our family.



After speaking to our social worker, she helped me to validate these feelings saying that turning down a file evoked similar feelings to having a miscarriage. And while I am fortunate to have never experienced miscarriage, I was so comforted by the fact that she made that connection for me- allowing me to realize that it’s ok to be sad, hurt, and have a feeling of even being “at fault” for saying no.


Even though this little girl has touched my heart in a most special way, in the past week, Justin and I have received further medical education/news that completely confirms that our decision was a good one for our family. Not an easy or fun one, but a good one for our family.


In the immediate days of turning down this file, Justin and I asked to edit our special needs preference list. This is something I haven’t even been able to look at until today. The thought of “turning down” a child just ached my heart so much. Even though these conditions on this paper are currently not matched to a face, it’s almost as if my heart puts a face to the condition. Every time I cross a condition out, it makes me sad. But at the same time, Justin and I are trying to be absolutely as open-minded, yet realistic, as we can possibly be.


I pray (and know!) that God is not bound by this checklist and for that I am grateful! I am comforted in knowing that He will bring our daughter safely into our arms in His timing. I am trying to view this list as an opportunity not to pick and choose the conditions that I/We are open to, but as an opportunity to become as educated as possible to the special needs that our little girl may one day have. I am hoping and praying that this education helps us to know, without a doubt, when God shows us her face that she is our Ruby-Grace. So, we will continue to persevere through this list of adventures, prayerfully and carefully considering our checks and X’s.

Hot Diggity Dog! {Favorite Photo Friday}

I absolutely love this photo, mostly because of the extreme irony in it. 

(And the fact it so perfectly shows off my hard monogramming labor!)

You see, I HATE hotdogs.

Gag, Bleck, Yuck, DISGUSTING!!

I find everything about them to be utterly grotesque.  

So much so, I wouldn't even allow Perry to eat them.  Bad Mom award me... I don't even care on this one.

But Perry's Daddy thought it was vitally important that our son experience the American Food of Choice.

And our little stinker LOVES them!

He actually ate TWO at this particular party.

UHG!

It icks me out every time he eats one.

But, even so, I can't get over how ridiculously cute he is puttin' one down.  

....Stupid hot dog inventor....

To see other Friday Favorites, visit Lisa's blog!

Single Parenthood

I am so fortunate in that I am not a single Mom. God has blessed me with one of the most amazing men on the planet to be my husband and to be the most amazing Daddy to our children. No, we don’t always one hundred and one percent of the time get along like Lucy and Ricky, and things aren’t always peachy-keen in the Murphree household, BUT, we both know how good we have it! We are both incredibly thankful that we have each other and we tend to work great as a team!

However, for the past two months, our team has bit a bit gimpy. Justin was told to go on the night shift at work until the end of the year. :( There are a lot of pros and cons to this new shift.


The Pros: He gets a night shift raise, doesn’t have to work in the chaos of the daytime shift, and there are fewer workers on the night shift, so he has better relationships with those guys simply because there is a little bit more “human time” on the job. He really, really likes it. Plus, his bosses have asked him to be the lead man on the shift (which he is currently doing), but they have told him that if he will commit to this shift permanently, they will give him an even more significant raise for doing the lead man position. Also, this would mean that during the summer, we would be home during the day together, which would be a whole lotta fun!!


Then, there are The Cons: Justin and I don’t see each other from Sunday night until Saturday morning. I kiss him whenever I leave for work and he kisses me whenever he lies down for bed...and seeing as how the other one of us is asleep, the sleepee obviously doesn’t even kiss back. Uhg- That’s all the interaction we get. And, I HATE not being able to snuggle with my sweetie any during the week. (Though this lack of seeing each other has sparked Justin to write some incredibly sweet letters to me- which I haven’t really gotten on a regular basis since high school… so I suppose that could be a smidge bit of a Pro??)


It also significantly decreases the amount of Daddy/Perry time available. Perry does “sleep in” twice a week so he can hang out with Daddy a little longer, but then he has to go to his G&G’s so that Justin can have a little rest time before his shift that night. But basically, the biggest con is that I just HATE feeling like a single mother! It is so exhausting and I just MISS having a husband at home! We don’t get to have family kisses (this is the CUTEST and SWEETEST thing you have ever seen!), movie nights, snuggle time, cook dinner together, etc. etc. etc. It just plain ole’ stinks!


So, we are in the process of trying to decide if Justin is going to commit to doing the night shift and enjoy all the working perks (which, despite me missing him so, I really do want him to enjoy his work to the very best of his ability) and a pretty spiffy pay raise (that would help us TREMENDOUSLY with the adoption expenses) or, if he will take a pay cut and a not as great work environment to be home with me and P more. We have played around with the idea of him doing the night shift until Ruby comes home, and then switching back to days. Which, I think, might be the answer. That scenario would be a little bit of give and take on both ends, I suppose.


But, until then, we are making the very most out of our weekends and any days that I have off for holidays. And, in a very strange way, the extra effort it’s all taking makes me feel like I love him even more…

The Great Pumpkin Patch

On Friday, the 7th, I took off work and my friend Leigh Ann and I took the kids to play at The Great Pumpkin Patch.

It was so much fun!  I always enjoy the country feel of the pumpkin patch, and I love that all of the activities are outside so that the kids can run and play off as much energy as they please!

We started the day playing in the hay- which was fabulous for my and P's allergies!  Uhg- those allergies!

Then, we went on the tractor ride to the pumpkin patch.  I had given Perry a pep talk, instructing him to pick out the very best, biggest, prettiest, orangiest pumpkin.  And- about point two seconds into his pumpkin finding adventure, he fell in love with this here cantaloupe pumpkin.

It was terribly cute, just not exactly what I had in mind.  But Perry loved it!  He carried it around with him all day, playing with it, rolling it, and even throwing it.  In fact, he loved it so much, he even had to show our social worker, Kelly, the next day during our Home Study visit!  (I was extremely nervous about carving it at the pumpkin carving party the next day.  I was so worried he would be distraught after cutting it.  After some extensive explaining on my and Justin's part, P was ready to turn his cantaloupe into a Jack-O-Lantern...and I must say, it turned out just perfect!!)

We then hit up the pony ride, snack bar (LOVE some terrible-for-you cheese fries!), and the bouncy houses- which were a HUGE hit.  Perry and Sophia especially enjoyed the tallest bouncy slide known to man. 

Uhg- I was such a NERVOUS WRECK every time they climbed to the top, but they both giggled and squealed up and down that slide for a little over an hour! It was an absolutely perfect day to be sick... cough, cough!

From Scentsy to South Korea

I hope everyone has had a wonderfully fun weekend!

As many of you know, my husband, Justin, and I are in the process of adopting a little girl from South Korea! One of my good friends, Amy Gunn, has so graciously offered to host a Scentsy party for us, in hopes of helping us relieve a little bit of the financial burden!

You can place an order directly to me, or you can visit Amy’s Scentsy website https://agunn.scentsy.us to place an order. Just be sure to scroll down to her open parties and click on From Scentsy to South Korea. You can place an online order to our party any day in October!

All proceeds from our Scentsy fundraiser will go directly toward our adoption fees and helping to bring Miss Ruby home to snuggle in her Mommy and Daddy's arms!  AND Amy has such a ginormous heart, she has offered to donate 100% of her commission to our cause for the month of October! 




Thank you so much for all your kind words, prayers, encouragement, and support as we travel on this amazing journey called “adoption!”

500 Thread Count

Growing up, I was always encouraged to play outside. I’m thankful for that, as I feel like nature evokes one’s imagination. Running through the sheets was just one of the many things I loved to do.

Whether that meant I was a princess running through the wings of a castle or the star of my very own theatre show, presenting myself to the audience with a “Dun-da-DAAA!”

Or, maybe it was just the simple fact that they smelled so good!

I tickles me to see that Perry loves running through the sheets every bit as much as I did when I was little!

…And I still love taking my comforters and quilts to my Grandmommy to have her wash and hang on the line to dry. (I don’t have a big enough washer for those items, or a cool eco-friendly clothes line.) Nothing beats the smell of naturally dried laundry! Thanks Grammie!! ;)

*Pardon the poor quality of these photos.  We've been so busy lately, I've been shooting with my Iphone.  I'm so glad to have something I can stick in my back pocket and still capture beautiful memories with!!