Three Months

Finally. Today marks three months since our home study was mailed to Korea. We were quoted a three to six month wait for referral. I would have been totally shocked if we received the call before the three months.... just not likely. However, we are now officially in the window where it could be any day.... ANY DAY! Our agency is currently still quoting a three to six month wait with an average wait of about four months. Our agency currently does not have many families waiting for a referral so it could happen sooner.

Eden's room is coming along. I picked up her bedding and LOVE it. It is simply perfect. THANK YOU LYNN!!!! I will post pictures soon. Still need to buy a rug, add some knobs to her pink piece, restore the victorian love seat for her room, and sew up a few crib sheets. I find that I can't pass her room without going in. I find myself just staring at her things, looking through her clothes, organizing then reorganizing.

It is strange to think that somewhere out there my little girl is alive and living her little life. I just pray that someone is loving her. I pray that they are taking in all that I am missing... her newborn smell, the sound of her cooing, the warmth of her little body when being held, the milestones she will reach. I pray that someone is appreciating this precious time with her.

Room Update

Eden's room is coming along. I LOVE it!!!!! Tomorrow I am picking up her bedding and crib!!!!

Her changing table.


This is our old TV cabinet. I took the doors off and painted it pink and blue. I will be using it as shelving to display her doll collection. The white piece was yellow and used to sit at the landing upstairs.


I just can't believe how amazing the walls turned out. This is my favorite room in the house!!!!!!


I have had such a great time painting with my dad! I am so proud of what we did!!! We think we should go into business. T & A Painting (our initials).... I think we would get lots of jobs with that name!!! :)

Our Big Project

Over the last few weeks we have been working on getting the upstairs arranged for Eden. Luca and Adrian are now settled into their new rooms. Our playroom toys are now all in the basement and the clutter of toys, old clothes, and junk sitting at the landing of the stairs is now all packed up, sold, or thrown out. Eden's room is coming together. My dad painted the upper part of the walls the prettiest blue and the chair rail and wainscoting are now up thanks to Ron. My dad is on his way over to paint it today. Ron was so cute working on the wainscoting project. He wanted it to be "perfect" and I think it is! My friend Lynn has been making Eden's crib bedding. We spent about four hours picking out all of the fabric. Each piece is different so it took a while to get something that matched and looked good together. Soft pinks, swiss dot, chenille, and a print from Pottery Barn Kids called Cherry Blossom make up the bedding. The overall look of the room will have a shabby chic/vintage feel. I have a box of Valentine cards that were my grandmother's . Some date back to before 1900. I love the colors and designs on the cards so much and are my "inspiration" when picking things out for the room. I also have a small victorian looking love seat that was my grandparents that I will be reupholstering for her room. I sold my changing table and bought one that is a white Jenny Lind style to keep with the vintage feel. This has been so much fun!!!! Here are some pics....

Some of the Valentines...



Some great vintage finds...




A couple of fabrics and some of the bedding...





Painting, wood work and the boys checking things out...

Our I171H Is In Seoul

We received word today that our government has forwarded our I171H to Seoul, Korea. Loved getting that in the mail! Things are moving along.

Of course, upon further inspection I noticed that they had not one, not two, but three dates listed incorrectly on our updated copy. They shorted us about 50 days on our expiration date and stated that Ron's fingerprints had expired last month. So frustrating. Thankfully I have a copy of the original with the correct dates and our agency is going to take care of this mess for us. Gotta love it!!!!

Our summer has been great despite the mediocre weather we have had. Hard to believe we have just a month left. Always goes by too quickly. However, this is the first year that going back to school won't hurt quite so badly. There are just waaaaayyy to many good things happening this fall. My sister will be having her baby, Lynn will be bringing home Hope, and... oh yeah.... WE WILL FINALLY BE SEEING OUR DAUGHTERS FACE. We were told no longer than six months until we receive a referral. Tomorrow will be exactly two months since our paperwork was sent to Korea. Sooooo I expect to see her face sometime within the next four months. I have been so blessed with the timing of this wait. Summer and fall just always seem to fly by. Summer with it's warm days and our freedom from work/school, play dates, camps, appointments, summer projects... all keep us on our toes! Then, it's back to school with the excitement and sometimes overwhelming feeling of not enough hours in the day. The first couple of months and the last couple of months of school are always the busiest for me. Before I know it, it will be October with trips to the cider mill, Halloween, and the birth of Mia/Claire/Lucciana. If we have not received a referral by then, well I know it will be close. November will be six months. Just in time for Thanksgiving.

I find myself constantly putting time into the context of my wait. How many more hair appointments, dental checkups, monthly volunteer days.... how much farther will I be when the milk expires, the dog gets groomed, the flowers get fertilized. It is sick.

This wait is different from the China wait in that the program is so much smaller that I rarely hear when people get referrals. There are tons of China adoption online forums that are really active. I could log on every day and there would be something new. With some of the Korean forums it can be weeks until someone posts something.

To keep busy I have begun a HUGE project. I (with the help of my awesome mom) moved everything out of our playroom upstairs and moved Adrian into it. Then, Luca moved into Adrian's old bedroom. I have to say that the rooms look really cute! My dad is here right now painting Eden's bedroom and... shocker.... it's NOT pink!!!!!!!!!! Gasp! Can't believe it myself!!!!!!!! More on her room to come.

In just an hour I am taking the boys to meet their friends for open skating, then Luca has a doctor appointment, Adrian has a hockey camp, Luca has skating lessons at 5:15, then both have vacation bible school this evening. Like I said, summer is busy and flies by in a wink... and this year... I wouldn't have it any other way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations!!!!!

Congratulations Lynn and family!!!! Hope is beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Waiting for Hope

It has been years and yet I find it hard to wrap my mind around the fact that the little girl my sweet friends have been waiting for will finally be revealed. In just a day or two we will all see her face for the first time. This is really happening!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations Lynn and family!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are in pins and needles!!!!!!!!

Check out Lynn's blog (listed on the right of this page) to follow along!!!!!!