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

Callie - Our Foster Puppy

Christmas 2009

Christmas was wonderful this year. It is such a treasure to spend Christmas with my husband and daughter. We were pretty low key this year. Icy weather kept us from braving the cold to attend the Christ,as Eve service, like we usually do. But, we had fun staying in and playing cards with my mother-in-law and eating lots of yummy food. This year I made ham, turkey, stuffing with dried cherries, toasted pecans and sweet sausage, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, glazed apples with dried fruit, a peanut butter and chocolate dessert, fudge, and Happy Birthday Jesus cupcakes.

On Christmas day, we slept in and Derek made me breakfast. What a treat! He even got up with Faith, and let me sleep in extra late. His mom came over for lunch and after Faith's nap, she opened presents. We decided to not wrap anything this year, as the concept is beyond her. We put all of her new toys under the tree, and she made a beeline as soon as she spotted them. We were very good about staying within our budget. We spent a hundred dollars on Faith (she is our one and only right now) and we each had fifty dollars to spend on the other. God really blessed that fifty dollars. Derek was given a gift card from work, and he used that with his money to buy me a really, really nice MP3 player.

I went on E-Bay and I bought him a new to us Wii system. It cam with two regular remotes, two numchucks, two games, and a barely used system. I also got him a remote charger station, and two extra games (buy one, get one half off). I spent way over my budget (although I got a phenomenal deal), and figured we could pay it off over the next couple of months. Derek really, really, really wanted that Wii. And, I really, really, really wanted to give it to him. He deserves something special for being such a great husband and hard worker.

Here's the blessing: Two very special family members gave us unexpected amounts of Christmas money to use on a family present. Once I took out their gift money from the total that I spent on Derek, it ended up that I only spent 50 bucks. Tell me that isn't a blessing from above. And, thank you M and J!

Christmas is NOT about presents, food, or playing games. It is about celebrating Christ's birth, which brought us everlasting life. However, I do thank God for the ability to give presents to my loved ones, cook them good food, and enjoy their sweet company. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

(She had just spied that snazzy looking drum set)

(Wait....there are more instruments inside?)

(Talking on her new cell-phone.)

(Finally discovering the basket of toys. She got a dump truck, baby doll that can go in the tub, farm animals that make noise, adoption story book, and cars to name a few.)

(Bit, the drum was her favorite gift!)

(Her other favorite gift was her new, blue sled. She sat in it for a looooonnnngggg time. She'd get up, get a toy, and go sit in her sled. It was very cute.)

(Did I mention Nana's gift? She got a little wagon that game with Duplo blocks. Faith has been enjoying making towers with the blocks.)

(Where'd Baby Faith go? Now, we have this adorable toddler in her place.)

(She's so smart too. We got her a magnetic fishing puzzle. I showed her how to do it once, and she got it right away. She'll sit and fish over and over. She also got Praise Baby dvd's and c.d.s from her C.G. She really enjoys listening to the music.)

New Baby's Life Verse?

I have been thinking about our new little baby that we are praying to join our family. I have been praying for her and my thoughts are never far from her. I got to thinking about what would be a good life verse for her. We picked a life verse for Faith, and will pick one for each of our children. We see a child's life verse as a special little prayer just for that child which focuses on something specific we desire for that child. Faith's is about living a life of grace - both giving it and receiving it.

Yesterday, I was thinking that a verse on wisdom would be really appropriate for this little girl (more on why later). I googled Bible verses on wisdom, but nothing really caught my eye. I went about my day, and later that evening, I sat down to read from my Bible. I opened it randomly, not sure what book I wanted to read from. I scanned the page I had opened to, and much to my delight realized that I had opened to Proverbs 4, "Wisdom Is Important."

Verses 8-9 really stood out to me as being so appropriate for a little girl. The Lord is so good. He answered my unspoken prayer for guidance on the right verse for our new little girl. He answers prayers both great and small. Oh, how I pray and long for this child. Faith is going to make an excellent big sister!

Proverbs 4:8-9

"Treasure wisdom, and it will make you great; hold on to it, and it will bring you honor. It will be like flowers in your hair and like a beautiful crown on your head."

God's Promise

Psalm 113:4-9

(The Message)


God is higher than anything and anyone,
outshining everything you can see in the skies.
Who can compare with God, our God,
so majestically enthroned,
Surveying his magnificent
heavens and earth?
He picks up the poor from out of the dirt,
rescues the wretched who've been thrown out with the trash,
Seats them among the honored guests,
a place of honor among the brightest and best.
He gives childless couples a family,
gives them joy as the parents of children.
Hallelujah!

What a blessed feeling to know that God fulfilled this promise in OUR family. Truly, we have great joy in our lives through our daughter and are childless no more, even though we are unable to conceive. What a miracle!

Big Girl Room - Take Two

I am starting to think about Faith's big girl room again. Really, when you think about it, it won't be that long until she transitions out of her crib and into a twin bed. Plus, it is SO much fun to plan. She'll probably move into her new room sometime this summer. Her big girl room will be what it now Derek's office. It is painted green, and we're going to keep it that color. My mom is helping me to decorate, and we've decided on a shabby-chic nature theme that's fun and whimsical.

We're going to use the bedding set pictured above. I love the owls and trees. I have my eye on those butterfly mirrors too. And, oh my gosh, did you ever see such a cute tree branch lamp? I can already picture Faith in that bed. Can you love a bedding set?

We're going to paint a tree on Faith's wall where her pretend play (a kitchen set and table with chairs) area will be. Something similar to the picture below. The trunk and branches will be pink. The leaves will be in shades of pink, blue, and green. I think. I've contacted a local artist to get an estimate on how much it would cost to have the tree (and maybe an owl or two) custom painted in her room.


Faith's play kitchen. We're getting her this for her second birthday. Shhh....don't tell her.

I am on the lookout for a small used table and chair set that I could paint to match Faith's room. Make believe playtime...I can already picture Faithie having tea parties and "cooking" in her kitchen.

I am keeping the furniture in Faith's big girl room to a minimum so that she'll have plenty of play space. She'll have her bed, nightstand, kitchen set, and table set. In her closet, I will put storage for all her other toys and clothes. I can't wait to get started on this project next year!!