Fundraising ideas????

Oh! I almost forgot, I need fundraising ideas!!!!! If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. I live in a rural area and it is hard to fundraise so ideas are very appreciated!!!!

Things are changin'!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! I know that I personally recieved more presents than I feel like I really deserve. But just being around all the people I love was the best thing ever. I know that next year we'll be sharing the holidays with our little prince!

I am still waiting on the call from my home study agency. I am growing very impatient with them. Other news.....We changed adoptiona agencies! I am almost giddy with excitement to say it outloud. For quite a while now I have had a nagging feeling that something was very, very WRONG. I have prayed about it and then a few nights ago after speaking with several people (wink, wink) we changed to Adoption Ark. I spoke with Jill yesterday and she says that with the way things are going that we could travel by June or July! I feel really good about the change. We look forward finishing our journey with them! Thanks Suzanne, Matt and Muriel!

Merry Christmas!

Hey everyone! I hope this message finds everyone in good health and spirits! I am excited to say that I finally got all our clearences and they can finally set up all our home visits! I am so excited I am just ready to move along with our home study. We finally got our nursery put together and I have to say it is soooo cute. I am just so ready to have Garrett home and for us to just be a family. My biggest dream!

Happy Holidays

Well, I know I haven't had very much to talk about lately. The past few weeks have been hard because this is my first holiday season without my Daddy. It has just been so many firsts this year. It is just too hard. I think I've cried everyday for the past 2 weeks. Last Saturday was the Auburn-Alabama game (a b-i-g deal in the big state of Alabama). My Dad was a huge Auburn fan and so am I. We watched that game together every single year. I watched it with my husband (an Bama fan), my brother Matt and some friends this year. (War Eagle) Auburn won for the sixth straight year. My Daddy was in heaven watching that game! I just miss him so much.

Anyway, we're still waiting for one of my clearences to come back before they can come do the home study. I have the most of our dossier together. I'm beginning to thing that I'm going to have our dossier before the home studys even done. (ugggggggg!) I know, I know, the waiting is the worst part. I keep telling myself that but it's not really any consulation. At least I know that the good Lord willing by next Christmas Garrett will be here with us and it will be another year of firsts.

Typing away....

Well, I've just fisinshed typing my first round of documents for our dossier. Boy are my fingers tired, lol!!! It is all well worth it though. I mailed the last of my papers for the homestudy. The lady at the agency said a social worker would contact us soon about our appointments. I'm soooo excited!!!!! It's all coming together, finally. The sad part is once I have all this work done, the wait sets in. That's gonna be a killer! Maybe the time will pass quickly though. I just have to keep my mind otherwise occupied, lol. Anyone with any tips on how to do that, please let me know!!!!

Random ramblings......

It's my "little" brother, Andrew's b'day!!!! I can't believe he's already 12 years old! He's getting so tall. He is so excited to be getting a new nephew. Jeremy and I took him to eat last night. He wanted a steak so we took him to Texas Roadhouse. We told the waitress it was his birthday so all the waiters and waitresses came over and embarassed him, lol! I'm just really proud of him and glad he had a great day!!!!

Anyway, elsewhere on the adoption front, everything seems to be coming together as far as paperwork goes. We have all of our documents completed for our homestudy, we're just waiting on them to call us. We picked up our baby crib, changing table and dresser. I can't wait to get started on the nursery! I want to have a place to put his things. We have a few clothes but, I 've not bought alot of that stuff yet, I was waiting til closer to time to travel to see what season it will be. Well, better run!!!!

Happy Halloween!!!!

Happy Halloween everyone! I absolutely cannot wait until we bring Garrett home so that we can trick or treat. It will definately be a year of firsts. First Halloween, first Thanksgiving and then my favorite, first Christmas!!!!!It makes me smile just thinking about it!

We started our parent ed dvd's this week. Let me tell you, those tests ARE NOT easy! I feel like I need a tutor, lol! We also talked about Garretts middle name more. At first his middle name was going to be Seth but after some thought and discussion, we decided to name him Garrett Paul. Paul is my Daddy's middle name and his father's first name. I think my Daddy would be so proud. Garrett is also a family name, Jeremy's great-grandfather.

Well, everyone have a safe and Happy Halloween! Muriel if you read this, I trust you'll post Sophie in her Halloween costume!!!! ;)

It's cold outside, baby!

Okay, it has turned cold outside. Yeah, it's finally sweater time. I've been looking at sweaters for the past 2 months at work. So, yesterday Jeremy went up into the attic and got my sweaters. He came face to face with a black widow spider on the way up the stairs, which was a traumatic event.

Anyway, we got Jeremy's passport this week. I can finish dossier papers now. We also got our parent education dvd's from CHI yesterday. We have to watch the dvd's then go online and take the test. Needless to say they are BORING. Jeremy feel asleep during the first disc last night. He said we'd try it again tonight. I'm just glad I have something adoption related to occupy my mind, finally!

It's raining, it's pouring!

It's rained for 2 straight days, uggggg. Now we did need the rain, but California needed it much worse than we did. Anyway, my Mamaw is out of the hospital. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers, they were very much appreciated.

Well, I've gotta work 50 hrs this week and I worked 50 last week. I'm really tired but need the money! Plane tickets aren't cheap, lol! :) I also had my dear ol' VW Jetta hit this week. A girl rearended me in the parking lot at Cato. Hey, at least she came in and told me. Insurance will take care of it hopefully! Anyway, I will get to have most of the day Saturday so me and Jeremy can have some "quality time". By that I mean we will be watchin' football all evening. Speaking of which, I hope to be going to the Auburn homecoming game on the 3rd. My friend Katie thinks she has tickets so, she wants to take me for birthday/xmas! Fun! It offsets the horrible week I've had.

Good news and then bad

Jeremy's passport is finally in the mail. I got an email today. I can finally get started on all the papers for our dossier! I really wanna get all that done and apostilled while we're doing our homestudy. It's funny home something so little like that can make me so excited. I guess that it's because I wait and wait for progress. Either I have too much paperwork to do or none at all, lol.

Then I found as I was writing this that my Mamaw is back in the hospital. I called up there and she is screaming in pain. She is in remission from colon cancer, and she also is diabetic, has high blood pressure, had 2 strokes and to top it all off has osteoarthritis. The girl sitting with her was calling the nurse for pain meds while I was talking to her. My grandparents were so great when Daddy passed away. It make me sad to think that she may not be there at the end of my journey to meet Garrett. My dads parents passed away when I was in elementary school and my moms parents are all I really have left. Pray for her!

Wow! It was really great to hear from everyone. When we first started this process, I felt very alone but now I feel like I finally have other people that can relate to and share my hopes and fears with! Adoption is a whole new world, lol!

Anyway, back to the paper chase.....we found out that we have to go back to the dr's office and do bloodwork and a TB skin test, fun! We've already been to do our physical for the adoption agency but this is for the home study. I know it's all worth it in the end, though. I'm kinda confused with my home study agency though. They haven't really clarified alot of things for me. They also haven't done a great job explaining paperwork. I guess I'll just have to call and ask them for better directions for what they need.

I also have questions about the whole 1 trip or 2 trip thing. If you make 1 trip, it's my understanding that after your court hearing that you get to keep your baby with you in the apartment. Does anyone else have any info on this? I just couldn't fly back home and leave my little boy in the baby house. After you bond like that and then leave, thats just not something I can do. Well, gotta get back to work!

Hurry up and wait....

Well, this is my first post. Like anyone who has adopted or is in the process of adopting knows, waiting sucks! So far we have submitted our I600A, I've got my passport (still waiting on Jeremy's), we've submitted fingerprints to every government agency in the US (lol), and I'm gathering paperwork for my homestudy agency. My homestudy agency is waiting on our FBI and ABI clearence before they can set up any appointments. So, we are on hold. uggggg!!!!! I know I should be more patient, but after a 5 year struggle with infertility, I just want everything NOW! I have been trying to occupy my mind with baby furniture and bedding. We have our furniture on layaway and Jeremy's parents (Nana and Popa) bought us the most adorable bedding ever! It has "big trucks" on it. (My husband in in the trucking industry) I also have an obession all of a sudden with diaper bags. A co-worker has got me a Coach and won't let me have it until my shower. I think I want to wait until after we travel to have a shower. Some people have told me to have a "gift card" shower, but I'm afraid that would seem tacky. Anyone have any suggestions? I just want to be totally excited and then I start hearing and reading Kaz "horror stories", and i get very depressed and anxious. Our agency, Children's Hope International, has been excellent. They have been there to answer any question, no matter how silly it sounds. I checked out several agencies before we decided to use CHI. Well, I guess that's it for my first post. I've been a blog stalker for so long, it thought it was time I join in!