if there is ever a time..............

that I need a little extra prayer, thought, good wish, etc ---today is it.  10-1/2 months waiting and lots of other babies being placed to wonderful families---but there is this little twinge still wondering "why not us?" "what are we doing wrong?"

I know God has a plan. I know there is the "perfect" baby out there for us. I know that we are working on His time, not ours.  I KNOW the other families deserve their bundle of joy just s much as we do.....BUT it doesn't diminish the questions and feelings we are having.

ok pity party is officially over for now.  I'm not looking for sympathy. I am just venting so I can sort of get myself together enough to work today.

So, please send extra prayers to the birthmother that she is healthy and at peace with her decision ---without her being at peace, He can't join us together.

Adoptive Mommies get together

One of the many many wonderful things about the adoption agency we are working with, is the support system of other families in any of the various stages of adoption--waiting, completing paperwork, already received their child, etc.  Last night a group of women--all from the CAS (Christian Adoption Services) "family" got together for some fellowship, story swapping and good general support of one another! 

There were 2 others like myself in the "waiting" phase- and 3 others who have had babies placed with them already. It was great to hear the stories, the advice, the "what happens" and the expectations of events/things such as getting the call, waiting to hear if the match is truly a match, at the hospital, dealing with the birthmother/birth family after paperwork is signed as well as during the legal risk/revocation period, changes of birth mother relationships after the first year, reactions of own families, how do we keep this a secret for that first week??  etc/etc/etc  we gabbed and ate and gabbed some more for over 3 hours!!

The three things I know waking up this morning: 1) we definitely chose the right agency to work with 2) there are some pretty amazing women out there either in the same boat or have been in this boat, and 3) this wait is "normal" and we must just put it all in God's hands. Thankfully I have done #3 already! As our agency's website says "waiting on god, waiting on placement"  That pretty much sums it up!!!

Virginia Creeper Trail

We've been saving our vacation time from work for "when the baby comes".....and since it has been 9 months---and still no vacation, no  baby---no time off can make a couple of people CRAZY!  so we took Friday off from work and went to a trail we've been wanting to ride for a while. It is a 34 mile rail-to-trail biking/horsesback trail called the Virginia Creeper Trail. It is kind of split into 2---we went to the 18 mile mark. You actually take a shuttle up the mountain, then bike back down to your car in a tiny town called Demascus, VA.  The ride up was enough to make ANYONE sick--all windy, hairpin turns, no guardrails, huge steep drops (Mindy, was thinking of you!).  However, the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful.  It was supposed to be 98 degrees in Charlotte, so we picked the perfect day to head to the mountains.  It was cool and almost chilly in a few spots.

The ride down takes about 2-3 hours depending on how often you stop, etc and we were riding in some of the most gorgeous scenary imaginable.  Lots of moss covered rocks and trees, the trail followed a creek/stream/small river all the way down, lots of places to stop and fish, rode thru backs of some folks private land, rode over 32 trestles/foot bridges, etc...it was truly god's country. Then at the end a  few cute diners for lunch and ice cream, if you wish. 

It was a great way to clear our heads, feel like human beings again, and have a vacation, even if for only one day. 

Adoption Update

Many of you have asked what is going on with our adoption journey---all we can say is that it is all in God's hands and we are on His time schedule.  Yes, I admit, I wish he would "hurry up" but what can we do??? He is waiting to place the right and perfect baby with us, and for some reason, that perfect baby isn't ready to be known yet.  We are still "waiting" for a potential birth mother to choose us to parent her child and are actively on the waiting list of families.  We have been officially on this list for 8 months now---so if I were pregnant, I still wouldn't be having the baby yet!  Keep praying for the birthmother to be healthy and be at peace with her extremely courageous decision---she is the one to be praying for, not us.  Without her, we are nothing.  Trust me, when we know something, EVERYONE will know!  Thank you all for the thoughts and wishes---keep them coming!

Goofing off with my 2 favorite kids!

My parents were in town for a brief visit--so we had dinner at Phil and Karen's--here is some pix of Addie, Kevin and me goofing off after dinner.  Aren't they getting soooooo big??? Addie is going to be a Junior in High School this year and Kevin a Freshman! Man, where has the time gone??????

Garden Bounty

We've had a few mis-steps with the garden---mother nature not fully cooperating with us as well as the squirrels and chipmunks thinking our yard and garden is their own personal playground and buffet...but nonetheless, we are picking tomatoes daily and have a few really good crops of cucumbers and squash.  We just planted round 2 for a late season crop of lots of yummy veggies---we tried broccoli, brussel sprouts, collard greens, cabbage as well as round 2 of peppers, tomatoes and squash.  Lettuce will go back in once this awful heat stops and we get a little cooler weather.

Buffalo visitors

Matthew's niece Liz was in town for work and we had the great pleasure of having her and her friend Susie (or Sujo) over for dinner and a little laundry.  They both work for Bank of America doing loan modifications for people and travel like CRAZY!  It was great to be able to see them when in town!

homemade pickles

my neighbor received a bunch of produce from her niece and didn't know what to do with it all and asked for my help-----so I took the case of cucumbers and made bread and butter cucumbers!  Wouldn't have been possible without the help of Aunt Nancy and her recipe---thanks Aunt Nancy!  Now I am ready for when my garden comes up to make more pickles and can veggies later this fall!

Look what I did!

another "passing the time" activity ---I took up knitting again and kinit this baby blanket!  I haven't held knitting needles since I was about 10 years old----so I found a yarn store, found a fantastic lady named Betsy who was VERY patient with me and re-introduced me to knitting and gave me the pattern to this blanket---and was on call when I needed her--like how to weave in the tails when changing colors, or how on earth do I bind off???? 
in the end, I'm very proud of myself and the end result of my new hobby!!!  dish cloths for everyone for Christmas this year!  ;)

Spring in North Carolina! it's garden time!

Trying to stay busy and eat healthy all at the same time----one of the easiest and most enjoyable things we've done this year!    Matthew's  been a busy guy building these raised beds--even though we have the land, the drainage is a killer and we lose more plants than survive, so we went mostly raised beds this year.  Here are some pix of our gardens----soon to be filled with tomatoes, peppers (5 types), cucumbers, squash, onions, potatoes, radishes, etc----also pix of our herb garden--I'm very proud of this because I have been totally "winging it" and it keeps coming back and I get to use all of these herbs in cooking! YUM!  Matthew enjoyed making the stepping stones with our neighbor David last year.   The other pix is a box filled with 3 types of lettuce--guess what we are having for dinner??!?

 Also, tonight as I went out to take these pictures---look what I saw slithering across our driveway! YIKES!!!! luckily a great neighbor came over after hearing me scream like a little girl and scooped him up and tranferred mr snake to the end of the road. The gorgeous flowering plant is a lenten rose given to me by a dear friend a few years ago and it is finally blooming--they take a few years to bloom and settle in---I thought I had killed it, and instead it rewarded me by the beautiful sight this year. 

Babymoon

We needed to get away..it is that simple.  Time to de-stress and go at whatever pace we wanted.  We've been so wound up jumping everytime the phone rings, crazy-eyed staring at construction projects to be done, a to-do list a mile long, it was time to get away before we drove each other crazy (ok, before I drove Matthew crazy).  So we headed to the mountains of Asheville, NC for the weekend.  For those that have never been, it is breathtakingly beautiful and as close to New England as we're going to get down here in the semi-south.  Asheville is known for being the home of the Biltmore Estate--the largest home in America with 250 rooms built by George Vanderbilt. 

While in Asheville, we did enjoy a wonderful gift of a FABULOUS brunch at world renown Grove Park Inn.  http://www.groveparkinn.com/Leisure/Dining/BRDR_Brunch/    Built in 1913, it has become a home away from home for many dignitaries and celebrities.  During the summers of 1935 and ’36, author F. Scott Fitzgerald resided in our Room 441. He’s just one of the American luminaries to have stayed here, a list that includes Harry Houdini, Will Rogers, George Gershwin, Thomas Edison, Eleanor Roosevelt and Henry Ford. Not to mention presidents — William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard M. Nixon, George H. W. Bush, William J. Clinton and Barack H. Obama.  This list doesn't include the celebrities and famous golfers who have also stayed.

The view is FANTASTIC and the clean air demands relaxation as soon as you drive onto the grounds.  What we loved the most was the HUGE fireplaces.  Here we are in the Great Lobby. There are actually elevator shafts built into the back of these fireplaces to hide them to be discreet to the guests.  amazing.

Anyhoo, the weekend was amazing.  The weather was great---a bit chilly, but sunny so we didn't care.  We walked around the downtown area of Asheville for the day checking out all of the cool stores, art galleries, general store, etc. Never had so much great, inspired food in one weekend.  And it was just what the doctor ordered---rest, relaxation and away. perfect. Now we are refreshed and ready to go!

Now, if only Doris would call to tell us there is a baby waiting for us..................................

Getting practice putting things together

Trying to stay occupied while in waiting stage, I've been trying to not go overboard and buy everything for the nursery---it's hard to keep walking by a full nursery with no idea when it will be occupied----however, still need to be ready for "the call"....so we purchased the pack-n-play. Our thoughts are to have the baby in our bedroom for the first x # months anyway, so this was a necessary purchase (I have to rationalize things somehow!).  Here is Matthew putting this together.  What you don't see, is once it is all put together, we went to move it to the nursery AND IT WOULDN'T FIT THROUGH THE DOORS!  after catching our breath from laughing so hard, we semi-collapsed it. So, in preparation of parenthood, we are learning that the 15 minute tasks do often take MUCH longer than anticipated!