That's my girl...new pics!

New Iris pics, can't wait to wake up to that face each day! Oh Blake, we have a surprise for you....

Yeah!!!

We got submitted to the Embassy today!!!! Now we wait. You'd think after almost 3 years I'd be more patient, more willing to wait. Nope, it still drives me crazy. Thank you everyone for your prayers!

Weekend Whereabouts...

This is the first time in two weeks that we have been healthy enough to enjoy the weekend...adoption stress looms over me each weekend, but I'm trying my best to not let it sour my mood. Last weekend we were worried about the USCIS case #, but it ended up being a non issue b/c the police report error. The weekend before that we were waiting on a fixed birth certificate after an error. I don't want to set myself up for disappointment each Tuesday, so I set out to enjoy the day.
We had a gift card from Visa (Joe's work) so we enjoyed a delicious lunch @ Egg Harbor. This will be the one restuarant I'll miss when we God willing move to Florida. I love this place. We visited a few resale shops & I found an expensive shirt for Blake that cost 80 cents, but it was cute so I splurged.  :)
Then after we came home for Blake to nap I ran to the thrift store down the street to see what I could find to paint. During these long winter months I find that painting anything white cheers me. Can't explain it, but it works.
I found a cute little 7 dollar table that was hideous but once it's got a little tlc it will be perfection. My excuse to buy it was a craft table for Blake that he desperately needs. Joe bought it so I'm good.
Had to use up my 99 cent coupon @ Dunkin Doughnuts for an iced coffee & I have to say I kind of like mine better. That is, thanks to International Delight and their amazing creamers. (Please bring back white chocolate raspberry, I beg of you)
Joe put together our crib for Iris ...day 4 and finally success, it's done. Putting two cribs in a tiny den was a bit of a puzzle, but we made it work. Now Blake gets to wonder why in the world he's sharing his space with an empty crib - we hope that's not the case for long.
Happy weekend to everyone!

Lyrics for the weary soul

1. Day by day, and with each passing moment,
   Strength I find to meet my trials here;
   Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,
   I've no cause for worry or for fear.
   He, whose heart is kind beyond all measure,
   Gives unto each day what He deems best,
   Lovingly its part of pain and pleasure,
   Mingling toil with peace and rest.
2. Every day the Lord Himself is near me,
   With a special mercy for each hour;
   All my cares He fain would bear and cheer me,
   He whose name is Counsellor and Pow'r.
   The protection of His child and treasure
   Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
   "As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,"
   This the pledge to me He made.
3. Help me then, in every tribulation,
   So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
   That I lose not faith's sweet consolation,
   Offered me within Thy holy Word.
   Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
   E'er to take, as from a father's hand,
   One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
   Till with Christ the Lord I stand.

Source: http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/713#ixzz1nJuHavtt

Blake in the snow



Would you look at that...





Is this really necessary?




Can we go back to the beach now?



Dwell on This

Cuts like a Knife

What we thought would be a great day today ended up being a huge disappointment. We are still waiting on a case # that USCIS never sent with our I-171H & due to the holiday we were not able to get it yesterday in time to be submitted today to the Embassy. Each week that passes and we are not submitted is such a painful reminder that we are separated from Iris & to have such a last minute thing that seemed avoidable end up causing more delay is a big letdown.
Please pray for us to not be discouraged but to trust God's timing in all of this. Of course there are no accidents with Him and I have to think on what is true and not focus on the what if's. Hopefully next Tuesday will be our big day & this week will be saturated with prayer and trust in the Lord.

Oh dear....

I seriously hope there is no major problem, got an email on Friday saying that they need our case number from  USCIS that came with our I-171H. It starts with ADD...and then there are numbers following. I immediately looked at my files and I don't have anything from USCIS with a case number on it. All we recieved with this form was a congrats letter and the pink form if we have to update anything. Am I alone in this?  There is a receipt # that begins with SIM, but apparently that's not it.
We are hoping to be submitted to the Embassy Tuesday and I'm praying this is not a factor in holding anything up. Last I heard in reply was that they will have to get it from the Embassy to submit it to the Embassy. Okay, if it is no big deal, please tell that to my stomach that has been in knots all weekend. And so the saga continues....

Sick & tired of being sick & tired

This pretty much sums it up. Blake is the sickest he has ever been & he has dragged me down with him. This last week has felt like a month. Hoping we can kick this soon & feel better before we travel again.

Light at the end of the tunnel

Thrilled to get the birth certificate today, very special to see that waiting in the inbox! Not only that but hopefully the passport this week as well as the physical & then God willing we will be submitted to the Embassy next week (Tuesday only). We wait 2-3 weeks till we get a date from the Embassy meaning that March 2012 should be when we can finally take our girl home! It would be completely amazing to get to see some couples from the last trip at the same time; hoping that all works out somehow too :)
"When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word, what a glory he sheds on the way...while we do His good will He abides with us still, and with all those who trust and obey. Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey."

A speck of good news

We've been waiting for the past week to have our birth certificate corrected as it had some mistake on it. (Only us). Heard today that it has been fixed and is being used for the passport process. Hopefully we will get it soon & get good news of being submitted to the Embassy in the next week.This month can not be over soon enough for me!

V-day

With Valentines Day around the corner this quote seemed fitting ...time to start planning something romantic for Tuesday. I never can recall what I've gotten Joe in the past for Valentines. Maybe I'm just being selfish but it kind of seems like a day that women should be off the hook and the guys should be scrambling for the perfect gift. To me it seems like a great excuse to get something I really want/ need that I can't afford, but hey, it's Valentines day, so there ya go. A new swimsuit perhaps? A Yankee candle? Something for the house, all perfectly good "valentine" gifts in my opinion.
Not that I'm complaining but I'd give almost anything to go to dinner on a real date with Joe minus Blake.  It's just way too stressful to be in a restaurant with a one year old. Oh well, maybe next year. If you are reading this Joe, you can't go wrong with cheesecake & a foot rub. And a bathing suite. And a candle.  I promise to act surprised. Love you too.

Blake = Helper

My sweet Blake has been such a help lately to me. When I am missing Iris and feeling so sad, he's there to hug. When I need to laugh all I have to do is watch him for about a moment and he makes me smile. If I have the urge to snuggle I forcibly can always get that from him too.  What a precious gift he has been to me for almost 16 months. I've got to keep telling myself to focus on the good of what I have and not dwelling on who / what is missing right now from my life.

I love you Rachel Goode

These are my sister's children. Drew is 5, Jack is 3, Cole is 2, and Lyla is 2 weeks old. Now THAT is a handful. Rachel amazes me, and not just Rachel but her husband Jason. They are a great team and I miss being part of their daily lives.
When I was trying to have a baby for so many years I found myself easily jealous of my sister's fertile status. I thought in my mind how she doesn't understand how much I want to be a mom, but what I didn't understand is how hard it is to be a mom. Rachel was always patient with me, she was unconditionally loving and never shared so much of her tough days because I was in my private world of pain.
Since having Blake I see how completely self absorbed I was. Not only was Rachel caring and supportive during my pregnancy, but she sacrificed (along with my friend Amy) to visit me and help me out when he was a baby. Now that is love. I am so grateful to have a friend and sister like Rachel. Until I became a mom I never realized how difficult it was to have someone needing you at all times. Now she has four little ones needing her and I admire her strength, her endurance, and her patience. Love you sister.

Weekend Finds

On Friday I saw that several families recieved their birth certificate for their baby that we are all anxiously awaiting so the next step can happen. We however didn't get the email, so I'm hoping it's waiting for me tomorrow morning. I felt down about it all weekend, but realize today after church that I need to stop feeling sorry for myself and that the Lord works out every situation in His timing & care. I think the hardest thing about adoption is the fact that EVERYTHING is out of your hands. You are constantly waiting for someone to do their job, get their paperwork done so you can carry on with your life and bring your child home. To relieve the stress, I needed to do a little shopping.

Doesn't take much to excite me when shopping so when I found these napkins at Ikea I was pretty happy. Except now I think they are too cute to use...I also found two decorative pillow cases at Ikea for 1.00 total in the "as is" section and really cute anthropology looking knobs at Homegoods for 5 bucks on clearance. It was a cheap shopping day but just what I needed.

Praying and hoping that SOMETHING happens soon. It's been 5 weeks since court & I need some good news soon!

Happy Friday!

The things you feed on you'll long for more

Last month in Florida I heard my brother teach in church and that quote "the things you feed on you'll long for more" was said. It pricked my conscience as I realize that a lot of time I feed on unimportant, temporary things here on earth that have no eternal value. My love of design, blogs, shopping, and watching tv take up too much valuable time and the more I value and invest in such things, the more they are attractive to me.

Of course nothing is wrong with having hobbies and enjoying day to day things, but I find that I'm easily swayed to the extreme if I'm not being careful. Last night I was reading a book on prayer and I realized throughout this entire adoption process I've not prayed about it like I should. Maybe that's why it's taken close to 3 years to complete!  In all honesty though I wonder if I had spent more time being diligent to fast and pray about the entire process would it have gone differently? I now spend my prayers and thoughts begging the Lord to help us bring Iris home soon and I'm so impatient, but I have to remind myself that there are no mistakes with God. Nothing is out of His hands. If He wants Iris to be home by this month, He alone will make that happen and nothing can change that. If not, then He must have a reason for an extended wait that is beyond my understanding. I just need to be faithful to pray, think on what is true, and seek God in this waiting time.
"Posture your life so that you may be easily enticed by Christ" - what am I doing to make this so in my life???