Dreams of Tea Parties and Golf Clubs

I don't know how many of you watch the TLC show, "The Little Couple," but I am just so inspired by this sweet family and their beautiful children!  Will is adopted from China and Zoey is adopted from India and they are both just absolutely adorable!  I love to watch the whole family interact as they not only face life's daily challenges but as they adjust to being a forever family through adoption as well.

Last night, Jen (the mother) and her precious baby girl, Zoey, got dressed up and had a tea party.  To some, this might seem like no big deal.  This is something that moms do with their little girls all the time.  During this episode, Jen talked about how special she wanted this to be for Zoey... and how she wanted her to remember dressing up... and how she wanted her to remember drinking from her tea set... and how she wanted her to remember getting to eat in her room... and how she wanted her to remember this very special time of the two of them just enjoying this moment TOGETHER.

Here's a picture of Jen and Zoey enjoying their tea party.  Isn't Zoey just too cute with her diva sunglasses on?  Jen looks pretty adorable with her hat and boa, too!  :0)

I LOVE TEA PARTIES!!  I'll admit it.  I got a little misty-eyed last night as I watched this (I know everyone is SHOCKED by me getting emotional!  HAHA!) because as cliche' as it may sound, this is truly something that I look forward to... something that I DREAM of doing with my own little girl (should Baby Cherry be a girl) some day!  Ok!  OK!  While I'm being completely honest, I'll just say it.  Baby Cherry may or may not already have a tea set (just in case).  :0) 

There are plenty of other things I dream of as well.  Anyone who is or who ever has longed for a child has wishes and dreams for things that they would like to do with their child(ren), things that they would like to teach their child(ren), and special traditions, morals, and values that they would like to instill in the lives of their child(ren).

Tyler LOVES golf!  He loves all sports, but golf is really his thing.  I've gotten a few little shirts that say, "Daddy's Little Golfer," and other golf related things.  He doesn't get super excited about the baby clothes, but I do know that he has hopes of teaching his son or daughter how to play this game that he loves so much.  I know that is something that he is looking forward to doing... just like I'm looking forward to tea parties!

Right now, we continue to dream... and HOPE... and PRAY!!

Holy Spirit

My brain is like a popcorn popper.  I have thoughts and ideas popping up here and there and all over the place.  I rarely finish one thought without another one popping up.  People say that this is a symptom of a creative mind.  I don't know about that.  Maybe my brain is just super full (but I've always been this way to a certain extent - lol) or maybe it's due to my very short attention span or my self-diagnosed ADD.  Whatever it is, it annoys me.  I can be thinking about how I want to plan a really fun math lesson and in the span of five minutes, I will have at least 20 random thoughts that stemmed from that original thought of the math lesson that take me in a COMPLETELY different direction and I will be thinking of why we need to buy a new handheld vacuum cleaner!  What does a math lesson have to do with needing a vacuum cleaner except that the money needed for the vacuum cleaner doesn't add up to the cost of the said vacuum cleaner... UGH!  Here I go again!  Anyway, you see the point... I think.

Because of my popcorn popper of a brain, I sometimes find praying to be difficult.  I sit down to talk with God and my prayers, just like my thoughts, are just popping up here and there and everywhere and I often lose focus and to be completely honest... I get a little frustrated.  I get frustrated because my prayer time is special.  It's sacred.  I feel like I'm causing a bit of a barrier between myself and God when I lose focus during my prayer time and it breaks my heart.  

One way that I often pray... a way that always holds my focus and a way that I always feel His presence a little stronger... is through song.  Sometimes I sing and then there are other times when I just play music (on my iPhone or other musical device - I do not have instrumental talent as badly as I would LOVE to have it!) and listen for Him and just be in His presence.  The music calms my thoughts and helps me to focus.

In the last couple of weeks, I have been praying more specifically and intentionally for The Holy Spirit and the peace that He provides (not just for Tyler and me in our adoption journey, but in other areas of our lives and for other family, friends, and people that God has placed in our path).  One song that has been a great part of my prayer time has been "Holy Spirit" by Jesus Culture.  Francesca Battistelli also sings it.  The lyrics are as follows (More of my blog post follows the song.):

Verse 1:

There's nothing worth more

That could ever comes close

Nothing can compare

You're our living Hope

And my shame is undone

Your presence Lord

Verse 2:

I've tasted and seen

Of the sweetest of love

When my heart becomes free

Your presence Lord

Chorus:

Holy Spirit You are welcome here

Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere

Your glory God is what our hearts long for

To be overcome by Your presence Lord.

Bridge:

Let us become more aware of Your presence

Let us experience the glory of Your goodness

*Chorus*

I know that The Holy Spirit has been with me from the very beginning of this adoption journey.  I know this to be absolute!  I know this because the fruits of The Spirit (The Holy Spirit) are love, joy, PEACE, PATIENCE, kindness, goodness, FAITHFULNESS, gentleness, and self-control.  I am not naturally a patient person.  I am NOT good at waiting for something that my heart desires.  In the case of our adoption, I have never had a greater earthly desire than to be a mother!  It is not in my nature to have PEACE about PATIENTLY waiting for that... but I DO!  I have such a PEACE that I know that ONLY The Holy Spirit can give!  That peace makes it so much easier to be patient and faithful as well.  I can't truthfully sit here and say that every day is so easy to wait... because it most definitely is NOT... but I have a peace in knowing that "in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him (and we most certainly do!), and who have been called according to His purpose (and we feel like we have been)."  


He also calms those annoying "popcorn popper thoughts" and helps me to focus!  

Oh, how I love Him!  :0) 

Missing Grogery...

Today, March 26th, would be my Grogery's birthday.  Grogery was my grandmother (my mama's mama).  My older brother, Will, named her Grogery.  She was supposed to be called Granny but he liked Grogery instead... so Grogery she became... to everyone who knew her.

Grogery was one of those people who just made everyone's life so much happier just by knowing her.  She was so loving, kind, patient (Oh my, was she patient!), caring, funny, and a million more wonderful adjectives!  She gave the most comforting hugs.  She had the most contagious laugh. (Oh, how I miss that laugh!)  She had such a beautiful bedtime story voice and knew how to tuck us into bed just perfectly.  She was a pretty good referee when we had the occasional sibling or cousin squabble.  She was an EXCELLENT cook!  I could go on and on...

Many of my BEST childhood memories are memories with her.  Teaching at Gold City Elementary School (the play school that she and our grandpa let us have in their basement) with my cousins, Orange Crush (with crushed ice) and popcorn while watching TV at night when we spent the night, my cousins and I having our pretend Olympics in the front yard while she judged and gasped because she was so afraid that we might get hurt while doing a cartwheel :0) are only a few of the wonderful memories that I have with her.   There are so so many more... way too numerous to name!  My life has been so beyond blessed because she was my Grogery!

I was 16 when she passed away and I will be 32 in June.  It has been weighing heavily on me lately that soon I will have spent just as much of my life without her as I had with her and it breaks my heart.  :0(  I know it may sound a little selfish to be sad when my life has been so blessed, but I can't help it.  I am so thankful for the 16 years that God gave me with such an amazing Grogery!  I am incredibly thankful that He has blessed me beyond measure with all of the wonderful grandparents that He has!  There is no question that I am blessed!

I see more and more of Grogery's precious spirit in my Mama and Aunt Debbie every day as I watch them interact with their own grandkids.  Although it makes me sad that my niece, nephew, cousins' children, and my own child(ren) won't know Grogery, it does make my heart smile to know that her memory lives on and that they will always know the love that she shared with us as it is passed on to them.

Here's a picture of my Grogery.  Wasn't she beautiful?  :0)

Happy Valentine's Day!

I really just need to take a minute and brag on my husband.  He and I are VERY opposite, so it is rare for him to surprise me with something.  He is always kind and sweet and he works very hard to take care of us and our home.  However, he isn't really into the cheesy, ooey, gooey, over the top romantic stuff.  I am.  LOL!  That being said, the thoughtfulness that he put into Valentine's Day... HUGE!!

When I got home from school on Friday, there were flowers on the counter.  They were red and white roses.  I know it is a bit cliche', but roses really are my favorite.  I wasn't totally convinced that he would remember that, though.  I suppose I shouldn't underestimate him.  :0)  I looked at the flowers and thought, "Oh, that's nice and just said thank you."  I am ashamed to admit it, but I honestly assumed that he suddenly remembered that it was Valentine's Day on the way home and stopped at Kroger and just picked up what they had.  Regardless, they were pretty and it was nice of him to get them.

Later on that night, he said, "You never asked me why I just got five flowers."  I looked at him strangely and said, "What are you talking about?"  He said, "You never asked me why I just got five flowers.  Nobody just gets five roses.  It is either six or twelve.  And you didn't ask me why two are red and three are white."  I still had a really strange look on my face, I am sure.  I had no clue what he was talking about or WHO even had taken over his body!  It is so unlike him to even count how many flowers there are, much less know how many are red and how many are white!  LOL!

"Ask me," he said.  So... I asked him.

He said that the two red roses were for he and I and the three white roses were for Maggie, Lucy, and our baby that is yet to come.

I couldn't even say anything.  I just started BOO HOOING!!! (I mean, UGLY CRY!)

And then he gave ME a strange look and said, "Well, there's no need to cry about it." LOL!

Seriously?!?!  You don't get to bring up my pups AND my baby and expect me not to cry!  LOL!  It truly was the most thoughtful Valentine EVER!!  I really do love that man and I am falling more and more in love with him as we go through this adoption journey together!

Wrong Numbers

I never noticed just how many wrong number phone calls we received at this house until we started waiting...  waiting for THE MOST IMPORTANT PHONE CALL OF OUR LIVES!!  I am still shaking right now because every single time the phone rings (especially when it is an unknown number), my heart skips a beat and it literally takes my breath away...

I am still trying to catch my breath as I type right now.  Tonight, it is taking a little longer than usual and  though I haven't blogged in a bit, I felt the need to get my thoughts down in writing.  Yes, waiting is tough, but God continues to lead us on the most amazing journey of our lives!  I know that God's timing is PERFECT and that He has a PERFECT plan for our family and maybe these wrong number phone calls are a reminder to keep OUR HOPE in HIM... and that we need to be waiting on HIM and HIS timing and not simply "waiting for a phone call."  HE has called us on this journey and we are excited to follow Him!  We will continue to praise Him in this time of waiting!  

"My Hope is in You" by Aaron Shust has played over and over in my head throughout our adoption journey.  "My HOPE is in YOU, Lord!  A peace that passes understanding is my song.  My HOPE is in YOU, Lord!"  I have had such a peace every step of the way and I know that it can ONLY come from God!  If you know me very well at all, you know that peace in WAITING can ONLY come from the Lord above because this girl alone is NOT good at waiting!  (HAHA!)  So... I will wait on Him for He is my refuge!  I am also so thankful that God has blessed me with Tyler as my husband and partner in this journey because he is SO patient and calm.  He is a gift!

I can't say that I'm not still excited and anxious to receive a phone call saying that we have been matched with our child but I am going to say that I am no longer "waiting on a phone call."  I am waiting on GOD!

Fingerprinting Day!

Tyler and I traveled to Nashville today to be fingerprinted for our I-600a application (Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition).  This has been our first BIG step in our adoption journey since our home study was finalized, so we were really excited about doing this today!  It was also nice to just get to spend a nice day together.  The weather was GORGEOUS and our appointment was at 2:00 pm, so we were able to take our time, relax, and really just enjoy our day together.

Now, I suppose we will just wait (We do a LOT of that these days!) and see if the U.S. and the Department of Homeland Security will give us their stamp of approval to proceed with our adoption.  I don't think we have gotten into TOO much trouble (with the exception of toilet papering a few yards ;0) ) - well, hopefully we haven't gotten into any trouble that would keep us from being granted permission from the U.S. government to adopt our baby anyway!  On second thought... maybe we SHOULD start praying that the results of our fingerprinting come back clean of any mischief!  ;0)
(Quick side note: If you are reading this and don't know me - I am SO just kidding!  No criminal activity here!  LOL!)

I was REALLY hoping to take some pictures of us being fingerprinted (You all know how I love taking pictures of every part of this process!), but there was a big sign and an an even BIGGER security guard right as we walked in that said "ABSOLUTELY NO CAMERAS, CELL PHONES, OR ANY OTHER RECORDING DEVICES!!"  It made me so sad!  I was even afraid to snap a picture OUTSIDE!  LOL!  The girls who did our fingerprints were super nice, though, and Tyler even made friends with that big, bad security guard (who turned out not to be so big and bad after all).  :0)  

I was kind of expecting Tyler to have some difficulty getting his prints made since he has a "unique" (I've been sitting here at the computer trying to find the right word to use - LOL!) pinky finger (It was torn off in a yard rolling - aka toilet papering - accident when he was a kid.  No worries, though.  They put it back on.  ;0) That's a whole new story for another day - now that I have you intrigued!), but I'm the one who they had to redo several times.  Apparently, my "ridges aren't deep enough" to get a good enough print.  I had no idea that was even possible.  Oh well!  I guess I'll just have to live with my deformed fingerprint ridges!  LOL!

Anyway, our fingerprints are finished!  We are praying that we only have to do them once (We would LOVE it if you would pray with us about that).  I believe they expire in 18 months.  We've known of a few people who have had to redo this part of the process a few times because of expiration.  As a matter of fact, we saw a lady doing that same thing today.  She was still smiling, though, because she knew that although she was repeating this step (and paying for it again - not cheap); it was bringing her one step closer to her child!  I'm praying that she gets to bring her child home VERY SOON!  :0)

We've Got Mail!

I typically don't love to check the mail.  As a matter of fact, I usually leave this chore for Tyler.  There's just rarely anything fun in there... mostly bills and such... and who wants those???  Not this girl!  LOL!

Lately, that has changed!  I have been checking the mail!  When I was still out of school for the summer, I will even admit that I was basically stalking the mail carrier even!  I have been anxiously awaiting our appointments from the Department of Homeland Security (USCIS - United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) for our fingerprinting!

After my BIG MISTAKE of not sending our home study with our I-600a application, I wasn't sure how long it would be before we got our appointments.  I was actually going to call today to find out if they received our home study and to make sure it got matched with our application.  Thankfully, I check the mail first before I called!!  Much to my surprise...

WE GOT OUR APPOINTMENTS TODAY!!!

PRAISE THE LORD!!!!

GOD IS SO GOOD!!!

Thank you all SO MUCH for all of the prayers!!  This is a pretty big step in the right direction!