Baby Room!

There is no news to report as of today.  The only other news is that we've continued to work on the baby room.  (And I discovered Panoramic on my iPhone) :)

K & T

Update-ish

Unfortunately, there isn't much to report as of late.  We haven't yet heard anything from our agency about our adoption.  Our situation is very different than many other countries.  For example, we do not receive a number and stand in line.  The partners in country and our agency here match families with children.  Essentially, we won't know ANYTHING until we know EVERYTHING!   We have, however, continued to connect with many other families!  In fact, one family is leaving TODAY to meet their little girl!  :)  Our prayers and thoughts are with them during their stay.  We pray for a safe & healthy trip and a speedy process to bring her home soon!



Adorable pic of the day...our puppy Sam has been found lying in the baby room in front of the crib.  This is most unusual as she normally is never even in that room!  She must be waiting for her bestie! 

Making Connections

Over the past week we have had the amazing pleasure of connecting with other families!  Facebook is an amazing tool!  I immediately felt a sense of relief that I finally have people to really talk to about our situation.  We have been blessed to have amazing support from family and friends but as anyone in a unique situation can understand, you find an additional sense of peace when talking with others who have gone through what you have.

Collectively, we are working on packing lists, notes on travel/hotels, etc...  Awesome!

Happy Memorial Day

For the long weekend, we decided to roll up our sleeves and get some work done!  I love the idea of painting, I even love the feeling when you're covering that old paint with new and how clean everything feels.  I find the prep work extremely frustrating however. 

So on this Memorial Day, I am humbled to remember how fragile life is, both for those we have lost and those we have yet to embrace into our lives.  We thank our service men and women who have given so much for their country and for the families of those who serve and their sacrifice. 

We have a robin's nest just outside our front door, literally two feet.  We have had an amazing time watching first one, then two, then five eggs in the nest!  Today, we woke up and we've got baby birds!!  It's such a reminder of how delicate life is and how much we need to be thankful for. 

Many blessings! 

The Calm Before The Storm

I can feel it...the time is creeping up on us when suddenly we'll get the call that will quite literally change our lives.  We are in that moment that we will later look back on and say "Why didn't we go on a vacation? or Why didn't we spend more time preparing?"

'Calm' is certainly not the most appropriate word here as what we are feeling is, in fact, anything other than calm.  Anxiety, nervousness, excitement, fear...just to name a few. 

Now, please excuse me while I try and calm my "calmness" with some chocolate.  :)

Happy Mother's Day to the Lucky Mama's and Mama's-To-Be Out There!

Mother's day has been a difficult day for the past few years.  I've always tried to stay upbeat and positive about days like this knowing that one day, I will get a homemade card and macaroni necklace too.  We've used this day to celebrate the mother figures in our lives and how much we love them for being so wonderful to us.  Unfortunately, for many waiting mamas-to-be, Mother's day can often serve as a reminder of what we don't yet have.

Today, while out for quick appetizers, a friend of ours wished me a happy 'future' mother's day.  It was the sweetest thing and I immediately teared up.  I hadn't really thought I counted for this holiday yet.

I'm working on building my relationships and connections with other adoptive families to work through some of these tough times and found some great articles! 

How To Stay Upbeat This Mother's Day
How To Celebrate An Adoptive Mom-To-Be on Mother's Day
How to Survive a Mother's Day When You're Waiting to Adopt

To all the mothers and mothers-to-be whether through adoption or not, may I wish you a very happy Mother's day!

Kelly

Facing Race

Snake Eyes(good) & Storm Shadow(bad)

Last night Tony and I had an extremely rare 'date night.' (Soon to be all but extinct with kiddos! :) We went to see G.I. Joe: Retaliation in theaters.  Halfway through the movie I leaned over to Tony and asked him if he could think of any other time when two opposing characters (good and evil) are portrayed with good being dressed in black, and bad being dressed in white.  He couldn't.

Traditionally, characters in comics, movies, etc... always have the 'good' guys dressed in white and the 'bad' guys dressed in black.  Hmmm.   It's pretty common in our culture to associate good with things that are light, clean, heroic and safe, and bad with things that are dark, dirty, evil, or unsafe.  Ummm....The Dark Side?

Is it always the case?  Not at all.  Black is associated with elegance,  finances "In The Black," and let us not forget the LBD (Little Black Dress), any girl's go-to!!  However, do these trump the emotional upheaval this color psychology can have on our kids, my kids?

This issue is so deep, I can't even begin to touch it, nor am I qualified.   Watching the movie with Tony just put some thoughts into my head about how/when we will have to address this and what can we do to ensure that our child(ren) will develop strong sense of self and inner beauty to combat these subconscious thoughts?

Deep breath...
K & T