And the journey officially begins...

Tonight I get a message from our super awesome social worker. Remember that last little piece of paper we needed? Yep, she has it!! What does that mean...she is signing and we are READY!!!! Super excited tonight.

Late July...God told us to get prepared. We spend the next couple of weeks, praying, sorting our thoughts and saying YES to an open door for adoption. Soon after we met with our social worker to begin a new homestudy and tonight I sit here reading our NEW HOMESTUDY!!!

Yes, you read that correct...we have a current updated homestudy.

You ask me...so now what??

Well...we don't know.
Simple as that.

In July God placed a little girl in our path that simply turned our lives upside down. She opened our hearts once again to adoption. Seeing this same little girl journey to a new family herself has continued to warm my heart. Her new family has been fighting for her, advocating for her medical care, education and simply advocating for her to be in their family and to be loved. Seeing her again this weekend for the first time since July was amazing. It is amazing what unconditional love and care...and FAMILY can do for a child.

So...here we sit. Homestudy in hand. Our door is once again open for adoption. All we are waiting on is for God to knock on the door. And if/when He does, we will answer. Simple as that. 

So tonight...the journey officially begins.
My prayer? For God to guide us and direct us in the path that He wants us to go.
Will you commit to praying for our family?

Update

A little update...

Our homestudy is ALMOST done. And by almost, I mean we are literally waiting on one sheet of paper. One tiny little document...that we should have already...but seems it got lost. And well, in the adoption world, things like this are just going to happen. Although both mine and Hubs clearances were mailed together, in the same envelope, at the same time...only his was processed. So, our awesome social worker sent it again last week. So, literally, any day we will be done. DONE!

Whohooo!!!

On the fundraising part of this process.  We are now in process of our third order. Honestly, I didn't think we would do a third. But several people encouraged me to to 'just one more' and here we are...orders coming in. I stand amazed at the generosity of others (many complete strangers). I stand amazed at the support and commitement to keep our famlily in prayers. I simply...stand amazed.

We've been asked many questions, over and over again, so I'll take a second to answer anything I may have missed, or you may have missed. Soooo....here goes.

Timeline: There is no time line. Well, God knows...but we do not. He simply asked us to open our door and to be ready...and here we are. Ready and willing.

Baby, toddler, older child? Again, we have an open door. Younger than Hulk, but other than that, pretty wide open.

Boy or girl?  Yes, it will either be a boy OR a girl.

How will this work in your home? Good question! We have a 3 bedroom home, and currently Hulk and Bug have their own room. Hulk's room is slightly bigger, so depending on the gender of the new little one, will determine who has the biggest room. This, my friends, is a minor issue when it comes to a child needing a home...a family. For many generations, children have shared a room, not a big deal in our book!

How much will the fees be for this adoption? The reality of this....we have no idea! Scary? Ummm, yes. We started this adoption with $6.00 in our adoption account. Yes, just $6.00. There are a lot of factors that come into play with this adoption. What I know? God told us to be ready...and we are. Will it happen tomorrow, next month, next year? I have no idea. What I know is to continue to be ready. What we are raising right now, will go towards legal and travel, which we will have regardless of the situation.

How many tshirts have you sold?
First order: 126
Second order: 56
Third order: ?

So there you have it. A tiny little update. And as always...thank you thank you thank you for praying!!!!

Stay at Home Moms...Can you relate?

Alright, I have thought about this post for awhile. I would love to share with you what a typical Stay at Home Mommy day is like. Why?? Because I occasionally get comments like this:

Oh, how great to be a stay at home mom! It's great that you...
...can play with your kids all day
...have plenty of time to do your housework
...don't have any commitments
...have no stress.
...can watch your soap operas (seriously?)
...have so much time!
...don't have to work.

OK. really? So, being the optimistic person that I try to be, I'm thinking that those people who say these things simply and truly have NO idea what Stay At Moms do all day. You must think we just sit home and eat chocalate all day while laying on the sofa watching our shows? ummm...no.

I cannot remember the last time my tv had anything other than dora the explorer or music playing. Yes, I do play with my kids...but umm, not all day. Plenty of time to do my housework? It must have been a LONG time since you've been to my house. I consider it a extremly succesful day when my house looks anywhere near clean. No stress? really, no stress? I'll keep those comments to myself. Don't have to work??? I work harder and have less time then I ever did when I 'went to work'.

Do I enjoy being a stay at home mom? You bet!!! I wouldn't change it for the world. I love that I get to 'work' and be home with my babies? Really could it be any better. Do I wish my house was clean and the laundry wasn't an all day event? Yes. But, I'd rather have happy kids and a messy home, then a clean house with unhappy kids. Do I wish I could do it ALL...yes. But I can't and that is ok.

I AM NOT SUPER WOMEN...AND I AM OK WITH THAT!

So, what I decided to do, was simply document a day in my life. So here ya go...for all those that truly have no idea what we S/WAHM's do all day. Enjoy!

Things I didn't get to today...
Today, I didn't make it to the bank and didn't get the goody bags done for the birthday party this weekend. I also didn't get a slide rental (although I did call, but ran out of time to call back). I didn't get Bug's pants made and didn't get her shirt to my friend who is going to embroider it. I folded all the laundry, but it's still in the middle of the living room floor...wish I'd had the time to put it up. And my house...yea, haven't touched it in 2 days.

But, what I did do is everyday things. My day is full, every day. Every day holds different items on the checklist. And everyday I can get overwhelmed if I let life get to me.

But, why get overwhelmed! Life is good, very good!! I truly have the best job ever. I get to see my kids grow. I get to see them learn and laugh and love each other.

Tomorrow, with a 3 year old behind me every step of the way... I will do all the things I did today (minus the grocery store and dropping/picking up Bug from school) plus, I will clean the house, go to the bank, pay bills, drop off that shirt that I didn't get to today, start preparing for the birthday party, more laundry, make the pants for Bug's party and clean the back yard of all the kiddos toys and clutter. I also need to refreshen Bug's hair, which will take 30ish minutes. We also do homeschool 3 days a week, and that happens to be tomorrow. Oh, and I can't forget to rent that slide for the party! Oh dear...have I ordered cupcakes yet??

Every day is different and every day is busy. For those of you who think we SAHMs just sit around all day...I love you, but I think you are clueless. Soooo....here ya go. I did miss several things, but maybe you'll get the idea. :)


*********************
Today started at 5:30
Shower, then...

Answer a few emails from overnight.

Put up dishes from last night...leaving the kitchen a mess.

 get the kids up for school!

 

Look at this in my home...love it!

Start laundry load ONE of the day

Breakfast...I have no idea why there are 2 spoons?

Last minute homework.

 

Hubs left his sunglasses...Hulk running out to hand them to bossman.

Bath time for Bug

Packing Hulks folder...check out these awesome grades. GREAT start to the year!

Say for the millioneth time...tie your shoes!

A few seconds of play time before school. Notes from Bug to Hulk

Load up! Time for school

Check it out...wet hair! Yep, no time to dry it. I'll do it when I get home.

Driving driving driving

Morning prayer for our school, teacher, friends and our family.

Made it...now we wait

 Whew, made it just in time. Never tardy, but we do cut it close some days. 

 Back home. Bug is really excited about her new 'high score'...please note, there is NO iphone/ipod. Our kids don't have them...so they use their imaginations. yea, mean mommy, right?

Now time to get Bug ready for school

Loading up again...

 Today is grocery day and the pantry is empty...quick stop

Yep, that's healthy? Air head are NOT for lunch by the way. :)

Walking Bug into school

In class

Back in the car...

Back home, hanging up car keys, and grabbing studio keys.

Thankful for a hobby/job that is literally in the back yard.

Time to finalize galleries, network and start uploads before my 10:00 appt

Just a few minutes to straighten up this crazy mess

He's here!

Session finished, now to purchase a few things for the birthday party this weekend.

Gourmet meal and 8 minutes of peace and quiet in the parking lot.

1:00 and time to get Bug!

Grocery shopping

Unload the groceries....did I mention the slight panic when they were out of car carts...not my panic, Bug's! Thankfully one rolled up at the perfect time and we grabbed it. Grocery shopping with a regular boring cart is just no fun.

Ugh...hate putting away groceries

Laundry load 2

Wash dishes...again. How do they multiply when I'm not even home?

Prep yarn for Bug's yarn braids that I will freshen up tomorrow

Fold laundry (this happens. all. day. long)

A few minutes of front yard play time as we wait for the bus. For the record, she dressed herself

Bus is here!

Homework time

Backyard sprinkler fun while Hulk does homework...means I'm in 2 places at once

Supper prep

More homework...with a small appetizer

Load 3 for the day

Starting supper. Love this purple pan. :)

Good behavior/effort reward (homework time can be brutal). 10 minutes of music.

Supper time

Yep, the dishes multiplied again

Laundry load 4 for the day

Bedtime...we have early bedtimes at our house. Everyone needs beauty rest!

Kids go to bed and Hubs follows soon after...didn't grab a photo of him. :)

See ya later Dora!

Write letter to one of our kiddos bmoms. 

Last load of laundry (for the day) in the dryer. Silent celebration!

Answer emails from the day

Sit down to work on the session from today, expect to be there a couple of hours

Fold the last load of laundry

Work at the computer until 12:30 and called it an early night. 

**************

If you've actually made it this far. Thank you for taking the time to ready. I know it's long, but I did enjoy doing this today. I did kept forgetting my camera and missed several things...but I hope you get the point. Being a sah-mommy is the most fulfilling thing...ever. But it is also tough, and finding that balance is tough. 

If you know a sahm, give her a hug, and encourage her. Tell her she is a great mommy and is doing a great job. There are far too many mommies out there trying to be super-mom and do it all. 

Ladies...you don't have to be super-mom. We don't have capes and red boots with stars on them. But we do have fantastic kids and the opportunity to be there while they are young. This is a blessing!!! Stop worrying about what the mommy down the street will think of your decorating or un-swept floors. Do YOUR best...but most of all, make time for your kids in your busy busy day. 

Love ya'll!