Some Items Lined Up and Fun Stuff

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I was I was interviewing pediatricians and getting on the waiting list a couple of day cares. Well, I'm happy to report that we now know which pediatricians office we will be using and which pediatrician we will be using. We are also on the waiting list at our top three choices of day cares. So now we simply wait.

We are registered to attend the Spring Adoption Workshop with CAS in March, so that's our next event to look forward to. If you are reading my blog and are with CAS and planning on going to the workshop, e-mail me or leave a comment so I will know to look for you and introduce ourselves!

I have decided to change up the wall art in the nursery. I am going to cut a bible verse out of vinyl using my Cricut and put it on the wall above the book shelf. I have also stained a shelf to match the furniture that I'm going to place above the changing table to use as storage and be able to place items out of the reach of little hands. I'll hope to get this done soon. Once I'm done, I'll post pictures.

Moving on to baby stuff, also know as baby gear. As you have seen from the pictures I've posted in previous posts, I've been slowly getting things we are going to need once we have a little one to care for. But, believe it or not, I still need lots of things. Here' a brief list I've compiled of the things I know I still need:

Big Items:
Swing
Baby Bath Tub
Excersaucer
High Chair
Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat

Small Items:
bottles
pacifiers
diapers
wipes
diaper rash cream
beauty kit
medical kit
baby wash
baby lotion
burp cloths
receiving blankets
crib sheets
mattress protectors
pack n play sheets
changing pad covers
bottle cleaning supplies (brush, dishwasher basket, drying rack)
formula containers for diaper bag
bibbs
insolated bag for bottles

So what do you think, am I on the right track? Are there some items that I need or don't? What could you not live without when it came to your baby? Any suggestions on the items I listed above? All advise and comments welcome!

Day 168

Okay, so here's a happier post. No news on the adoption front, but I am trying to learn to live without being consumed by it. Now, I'm not saying that there aren't going to be bad days and that there won't be days where I drive myself batty thinking about it 24/7, but atleast I can appreciate the joy in the good days. Yesterday I was able to attend church with Ben as a family for the first time in about 3 weeks. It was so wonderful to enjoy fellowshiping with our friends in Bible Fellowship Class and then coming before the thrown of God and singing and praising Him and then being fed such great Bible teaching and being blessed by what was being said in the message being brought. Isn't it weird how sometimes you will be sitting in worship service soaking in the message and it feels like the Lord is speaking directly to you, like the message was meant for you. It was one of those days for me yesterday. First in the song service, I raised my hands and praised the Lord as the words to the songs we sang sunk deep in my thoughts. And then, the message......wow!!! By the end of the service I was praying to God that I needed Him more than anything during this time. I am beginning to understand what this whole waiting process is all about and why God allows us to go through it. Each persons journey is different and God is working on each person in a different way and for a different purpose. I can't wait to see what I will learn from this journey and look back and say the LORD was and is and always will be Awesome throughout the entire process!

Day 162 - One Month

One month waiting....One month down, how many more months to go? I will go ahead and admit it now, today was hard. I caught myself looking at the calender and wondering when will we get the call? Will it be a match with an expactant mom or will it be a direct hospital placement? Where will Ben and I be when we get the call...at home, at work, out buying groceries...where will we be? How will I react? Will I cry or scream or smile uncontrollably or go into my organization mode and get things lined up? How will God let it all play out? And, since this happening on His watch and not mine, when will He decide that it's time for us to be matched? There were tons more questions that ran through my mind, but I actually can't remember them all now. I cried alot. I tried talking to some friends, but they really just don't get it. They aren't in my shoes and they don't understand. Throughout the day I would ask the Lord if He would put someone in my life that understands what I'm going through and thinking. I would love to have a friend that "got me" and understood what was happening in my world right now while we are on this crazy waiting journey.

I did talk to my mom and she was able to give a pep talk and it helped alot. I also read Matthew 6:25-34. It's about worrying and how God tells us that we are not suppose to worry, but to seek the Lord and His righteousness. I have got to figure out a way to not think about this whole process 24/7. I don't know what I'm going to do, but I have to figure out something. If I keep thinking out it constantly, I'm going to drive myself crazy. I have been keeping myself busy with scrapping and house chores and little projects here and there, but when you are stuck in the house alot due to snow and because you are from Mississippi and don't really know how to drive on ice, well, let's just say.....you think ALOT.

Before ending this post, I would like to take a minute to say "Thank You" to those who have been leaving comments. I love reading what you all have to say and the encouragement you give. You will never know how much I appreciate the encouragement. Also, if I can ask one favor, for those of you keeping Ben and I in your prayers, please pray for the expectant mom that is carrying the child that the Lord wants us to parent as well as the baby. We obviously don't know who the Lord will match us with or what their life is like right now. We don't even know whether or not our child has been conceived, but we are continuously praying for the mom, the baby and for God's plan. Please keep all of us in your prayers. And please know that if you are going through this journey too, you are in our prayers.

God's Timing.....God's Provision.....

SNOW!!!

It snowed and sleeted all night Friday and all day Saturday, here's a slide show of the results......

Day 156

As another adoption blogger once said..."waiting is for the birds." It's only been a little over three weeks and it feels like three months. I know that everything happens when the Lord wants it to happen, but sometimes I wish he would give us a clue to know an estimated time or time frame. But, then again, we are human and God knows that our small minds can't handle certain things and he knows what we can and can not handle, therefore he reveals himself in HIS way and in HIS timing.

For those who know me, they know how emotional I am. Needless to say, I've been keeping alot of my emotions inside lately. Hence, the last post. Here's how it all started....On Friday after we met with Doris, I realized that we needed to get a couple of boy outfits and a couple of girl outfits in case we get a direct hospital placement, so I decided that I would go look at Kohl's after work. I also had saved up some coupons for BRU and had a gift card I had been saving so I was planning on going to BRU to get a Diaper Genie! Yes, I was excited about getting a Diaper Genie. So, after work I went to Kohl's and looked at their clothes since they were having one of their Baby Days Events. After walking around and looking for awhile, I didn't really find anything that I liked except for a little froggy sleeper and a blanket that I absolutely loved. It was different colors and very soft material. No girl or boy outfits were purchased, I felt disappointed. I then went over to BRU, I wanted to look at the bottles first, because I was trying to decide between Avent and Dr. Brown's. I was standing there looking at the bottles, when I noticed that there were four pregnant women around me also looking at bottles to purchase. It looked as though they were purchasing last minute items because they were do any day. I decided to walk away and then come back to the bottles later. I then proceeded to get my Diaper Genie. After putting it into the cart, I walked around to look at a few more items and then checked out. Once in the car, I broke down crying. Don't get me wrong. I'm thrilled for those women and I have come to terms with the fact that I will never be pregnant or carry a baby or feel it kick, move, etc or have morning sickness, or know my due date; but, there is still something in me that would love to know what all those things feel like. Also, I think the biggest thing that was bothering me was that all those women I saw at BRU knew their due date and although I know that we are waiting on our baby, we don't know our due date, we don't know anything. So, anyway, I made it home and the rest of the evening I just chilled out and watched tv. Ben was having to work late hours and got in late that evening. I was already asleep when he got home. I thought if I fell asleep I would feel better in the morning, however I woke up still feeling sad. I spent about an hour writing in my journal and then Ben and I started talking. He knew I was having a real hard time dealing with everything so he started reading scripture to me and passages that were extremely encouraging. We then had a good long talk and I felt much better afterwards. Once we got dressed and got going for the day, we headed over to Greensboro to the Carter's store to purchase some boy and girl outfits, which he helped me pick out! Here are pics of the boy and girl outfits. We did get outfits to bring a boy and a girl home in, but we are saving those!!!

After we left there, we stopped in Kernersville at the "good" Target and registered there. So we are now registered at BRU, Target and Wal-Mart. Once we got home, Ben agreed to take the Travel System out of the box and put it together for me. So now it sits in the Dining Room, car seat ready to be filled and stroller ready to be pushed. We are going to take the base and have it installed at the local fire department when I come to terms with the fact that I can have a car seat in my car. Here are some pics of the travel system.

The rest of the weekend went really well. I was off on Monday for Martin Luther King Holiday so I worked on putting the Diaper Genie together and working on my "In Waiting" Adoption Scrapbook. Here are some more pics....

The rest of the week went by in a blur. I had something going on every night after work. On Thursday night, when I wrote the last post, I had just gotten home from a Bible Fellowship event planning meeting. It was fun, I just misunderstood some things that were said and had gotten upset over them. Needless to say, on Friday, I spoke with the person and everything was cleared up. On Friday, a group of girls from our Bible Fellowship class went to stay at a home on Baiden Lake for a women's weekend getaway. It was so much fun and we had a blast. It was so much fun talking to all these women. I was given TONS of advice and asorbed it all.

This week has been filled with interviewing pedatricians and getting on the waiting list at a few daycare centers. I have one more pediatrician left to interview and two more daycares to visit and then I should be set. Our Bible Fellowship class is giving us a baby shower in March for all the basic stuff we will need to bring a baby home. Stuff like bottles, pacifiers, diapers, receiving blankets, sheets, medical kits, health kits, bath tub, etc. I am really looking forward to this! I have ordered all the supplies from my Stampin' Up! rep to start making my Thank You cards.

Little by little this journey is becoming more real. I am doing alot of different things to keep myself busy and keep my mind busy. I am really getting into the whole coupon/sale shopping thing. I have always coupon shopped, but not with combining it with sales,etc. I'll let you know how well this goes for me.

Well, it's getting late and I have to go to work in the morning so I am going to sign off for now. If you have any suggestions on baby items that I should or should not register for and some good coupon websites or deal websites please leave me a comment with this information!

Day 150

I want to: scream, cry, explode, laugh, etc. So many emotions. I can't go into alot of detail right now, but life has been happening and I just want a break. I don't want to think. I don't want to talk. I don't want to listen. I don't want to do anything, but wash my face, curl up in my bed and go to sleep. I am tired.

I am going to a women's retreat this weekend. I'll try to do a lengthy post with some new pictures soon. I'm sorry I haven't wrote alot lately, but I'm trying to decided how I want to write about all that is going on and how I'm feeling. I want to find the right words.

God's Timing.......God's Provision.......

Day 144

We are now "Officially Waiting!" Our meeting with Doris went very well! Here's a recap of our day...Ben and I woke up, got ready and went to McDonald's for breakfast. After that, we went and ran a bunch of errands. It was then time to head to Charlotte, but I wanted to stop back by the house to use the restroom and drop of a few things. When we got home, I checked the front door to see if our Profile Books had arrived. They had! We then ran upstairs, printed off copies of the letter we wrote to the moms and I made pockets to put the letters in and stuck the pockets in the back of the books. We then got on the road headed to Matthews, NC. When we got to Matthews, we stopped and ate a quick bite of lunch, then went to CAS. Doris was running a little behind, so Jim came in and talked to us for a few minutes. When Doris arrived, we got to talking and it felt like to talking to an old friend. We gave her our albums and our CD of information that will be put on the CAS website. She then asked if we had any questions. Of course, at that moment we couldn't think of anything, but once she began talking and explaining things to us, we had questions. She answered all our questions. When we left, we felt very prepared and very blessed that we are with CAS! Now, here we are.....waiting....It's ALL in the LORD'S TIMING and ALL with the LORD'S PROVISION!!! Please keep Ben and I in your prayers during this time. Ben is staying busy with work, big transissions going on there, and I am staying busy with reading and scrapbooking. We know that the Lord is in control and HE is the one in control!!!

I saw this saying hanging on the wall in Doris' office today and absolutely LOVE it....