Faith and her puppies

Faith loves hanging out with her dogs, and they are very interested in whatever she is doing.

Adoption News...Kind of.

Faith and I met hubby for lunch today. We had a nice time hanging out and talking. We were discussing our adoption journey and about April Baby. We feel like the likelihood of her joining our family is diminishing. I guess it more like the hope of her joining our family is fading as her due date creeps closer and we've heard nothing more about the situation.

We were discussing what we wanted to do if that situation does not happen (as I still hold some hope). We were thinking about checking out Bethany, as it is a national agency and gives us more opportunity to match with potential expectant parents. We decided it was between them and Faithful Adoption Consultants, and were thinking we'd not use our previous agency this time. However, when I got home from lunch and check my e-mail, I had an e-mail from our previous sw, telling me a space had just opened up for us in the program we were in with Faith. Now, I'm super excited, but all over the map on what to do. Decisions, decisions...

While I'm Waiting

A friend called me one day to tell me they were sitting in their car, and this song came on the radio, and they thought of us and our adoption. I've heard the song before, but I looked up the lyrics, and they really speak to where we are right now....waiting, trusting in God, and trying to be patient.

Lyrics to While I'm Waiting by John Waller :

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

1 Corinthians 13:4

I was just thinking about our April baby, and lamenting the waiting and uncertainty of the whole situation. Should we get a homestudy done so that we are ready, just in case? Should we just throw up our hands and move on from this situation. Not knowing is the hardest part in adoption for me. But, I was reading some Bible verses on waiting and I saw the following translation of 1 Cor. 13:4 ~

"Love is never tired of waiting."

And it touched my heart. If I love this baby as I say I do, for better or worse, then isn't she worth waiting for? If we're ready to accept her, as she is, drug-exposure and all, and face the challenges that can come with that, then aren't we strong enough to face the waiting and uncertainty?

I was speaking with friends today, who have two adopted sons. I was telling them about how the Lord saved this little baby from the abortionists sword already, and how we felt like He was protecting her from the effects of the drugs. The husband said that the mom could stand in the middle of a burning building, and the Lord could have it fall down all around her to keep the baby safe. So, if I can have faith that God is protecting this baby, trust that He has a plan and purpose for this baby, then can't I trust in Him to place this baby in the family that He wants to raise this baby. If it is our family it will happen, regardless of the homestudy being ready, or the money being in place, etc. etc. So, I guess I know I need to place this fully back into God's hands, but it's so hard to let go.

The New Playroom

We spent most of this long weekend repurposing two rooms in our house. We had been using the third upstairs bedroom as a home office, but it is now a new playroom. We moved the office downstairs, to the unused family room. Both rooms turned out great. I am so excited to show Faith her room tomorrow. It is going to be wonderful to not have all of her toys in the living room where naughty foster puppies chew on them and clumsy mommies trip and fall on them.

Since the playroom will be turning into Faith's big girl bedroom this summer, complete with a whole new design and furniture, I spent as little on the playroom as I could. Which turned out to be a whopping $20 for a new rug. Everything else in the room, I already had on hand. I took inspiration from a DIY mom's blog, who had used scrapbook paper to "wallpaper" an accent wall in her kids' playroom. I was going to do the same, but Derek suggested I do polk-a-dots instead, and I am SO glad he did. They turned out super cute, fun, and whimsical.

Before and After Photos:

I found some nice, colored photographs of animals that were left over from my preschool days. I put them on the closet door at Faith's height. She loves animals, and I think she will get a kick out of looking at them. In the corner is her old frog chair. Faith and the dogs love that chair, but unfortunately it's not washable. I plan on replacing it with a washable rocking chair, but that will have to wait for now.

I used the solid color scrapbooking paper that coordinated with the patterned paper to create a playful window treatment.

I placed Faith's new blue rug in the center of the room and put her beloved slide on top of it. The slide was a gift from our neighbors. I put three toy bins against the right wall. In the back is a two drawer storage unit that I found while rummaging in the junk room. I repurposed it, and it now holds all the dollhouse toys for the giant Playschool dollhouse that my mom got Faith this summer at a rummage sale for like $15. It's just out of sight (next to the pink convertible in the picture above this one) and it came with two huge bags of furniture and accessories (like a deck, above ground pool, and grill that makes cooking noises).



This is what the playroom looks like from the doorway. I hung an AquaDoodle the Faith's Nana got her for Christmas under the window. It's a great place to create artwork, and if she scribbles on the wall, it's just water. Well, that's the tour. Hope you liked it