Made in Vietnam...

I'm in love. Tuesday, I stopped by our Adoption Agency to drop off my booties and hats for the orphanage. On my way back to work I stopped at Knitwitts, a local yarn shop. I was ready to start a new project. I picked up some yarn and I needed some bamboo needles for sock knitting. The lady pointed out some on the counter that were made of rosewood and all her knitters love them. I had seen them when I first came up and they were very pretty but more expensive than what I normally used. She pointed out that they were made in Vietnam. That sold me. I bought a set and they are wonderful! The are handmade in Vietnam for Lantern Moon . They have some of the most beautiful things. So, if anyone wants to know what I want for Christmas ...
And, in adoption news... today marks the thrid month of our official wait for a referral. A

Lot's of Adoption Stuff...

It's been a busy week in our adoption world. We had a Waiting Families meeting on Tuesday at our agency. The topic was "Post-Placement Paperwork". Can you believe there is more paperwork? Actually, we will be filling out some kind of adoption related paperwork until our child turns 18. In Vietnam adoptions, the country requires yearly post-placement reports until the child turns 18. I personally think that is wonderful. Mainly we will write a little status report on our child an include some pictures. I think it's great that Vietnam wants to make sure their children are doing well. Receiving these reports in a timely manner is a very important part of keeping good adoption relations with other countries.

Friday, we got an update from our agency that referrals are coming! Not for us yet, of course... but for families in front of us. There are babies that have been identified for adoption. There is a process where the baby's paperwork is put in order. There are 2 adds that have to run in the local paper for 30 days each, documentation, etc. All this paperwork is done to prove that the child is legally eligible for adoption. Our agency is very thorough with this paperwork. They make sure it is all in order before giving a referral. So, as the paperwork is gathered for these babies... referrals will be made. I'm very excited for everyone who will be getting that wonderful news very soon. Of course, we will also move up in line as the referrals come in... so I am excited for us too!

Today I took a trip out of state for another Waiting Families Meeting. Dwayne's parents live a couple of hours away from us. I drive over and we attend our agency's meetings together. They will be traveling with us when we bring our baby home. The topic of the meeting was Therapeutic Parenting. It is a very interesting topic and goes along with all the Attachment and Bonding things I have been reading. I have also been reading "The Power of Possitive Parenting". This talks about similar topics.
It's been a long day and a good week. I think I'm going to work on some more baby booties... and get to bed. A

Sunflower Smile...

There is a place I pass by every day on my way to work... and I can't help but to smile when I see it. There is a long narrow field of sunflowers on the side of the road. I'm not sure how big it is... but it is significant enough to make an impact. They come up every year. It doesn't look like anyone tends the land. It just looks like someone planted them one year... and now they come back on their own. Every time I see them I think about our adoption and how I can't wait to take pictures of the baby with the flowers. Today, I decided to pull over and snap some pictures.

Thank you to who ever planted that field the first time. It has brought me lots of smiles ; ) A

Lions, Monkeys, and Gators... Oh, My!

I thought I would share the nursery bedding we got for the baby boy nursery. It's a sweet little Jungle animal set in sage green, tan, and ivory. We will probably get a honey color wood furniture. We want something similar to the one in the picture... just not white. (we do want white for the girl nursery... but that's another post ; )

I hope we can get the crib soon. I feel like I can't really put the room together until that piece is here. When we built the house we chose a sandy tan color for the walls and cream trim. It goes perfect with the bedding. My sister is an art teacher. She's going to paint a mural of cute swinging Monkeys and happy Gators on the walls. I'm so excited to get started on it. I know it will be adorable.

Dwayne and I saw "Evan Almighty" at the Drive-In last week. It was cute. I'm not good at quotes, but in one part God(Morgan Freeman) is talking to the mom about prayer. He explains to her that when someone prays for courage they may instead be given opportunities to be brave... and when people pray for patience they may get circumstances that allow them to develop patience.
I'm still in the "developing it" stage ... A

Congratulations Bride & Groom

My sister got married today. It was a beautiful day and a gorgeous location. They got married in a gazebo on the lake. I did my "tour-of-duty" as Maid of Honor. It was terribly hot out... especially for the wedding party... but if we had it to do all over again I would still want her to have it outside. The scenery was priceless. It was truly a fairytale setting. The only thing missing was my babies as the ring bearer and flower girl ; ) Oh, well

Happily ever after... A

God Bless America

Happy 4th of July!

Baby Stuff...

I love getting stuff in the mail... especially baby stuff. I got the sweetest baby blanket today. I've been searching for just the right one... that's not too girly. For those of you who don't know already, we would like to adopt a boy and a girl. We have requested an infant of either gender so we will probably be adopting a boy first. For some reason families request girls over boys about 4 to 1. Our dream would be to adopt boy/girl twins in our first trip, but that's a million to one shot. We will most likely travel again as soon as we can!

Since we originally planned to adopt from China we were expecting a girl. We have a closet full of girls clothes and other items. The boys room had a slow start, but it is catching up. At first it was not as easy getting excited about little boys clothes. Girly things are so cute. But, I have turned the corner and Gymboree is my new best friend.

Now I've gotten off track... back to the blanket... it's so sweet and soft. On one side is a Blue Asian Silk Brocade. The other side is the softest, fluffiest Minky Rosebud Swirl Chenille. You can't really tell from the picture, but the Chenille actually looks like little rosebuds.

I wish I got a package in the mail everyday ; )

Best wishes, A