OMAHA HAHAHAHA

Summer is going waaaaaay too fast! I just want to slow it down and soak it all in! We've been busy trying to settle into the new house (adjusting to doing yard work- I weeded for 2.5 hours this evening...at least I think those were weeds I was pulling). We have also been making the rounds to connect with loved ones! We had an awesome weekend in Omaha, NE with Kevin's 2 best college buddies and their significant others! Can I just take a second to recognize, that I am so glad these guys have such great women in their lives now?! It used to just be me and the 3 amigos. About time we injected some estrogen into the group! 


We are 1.5 weeks into waiting for the notarized home study to arrive. By my estimation we have 2.5 to 3 weeks left, and then we can work on having it state certified and we will be ready to send our dossier paperwork in and start the Immigration forms. Yay, paperwork and waiting! Something new and different ;)


I also had a new lil boyfriend come into this world...Mr. Henry Maxwell, welcome to this crazy thing we call life. Can I just say, you are blessed with some awesome parents! I hopefully get to meet him in person next weekend, and not just a skype date, so I can post some pics! Up next, a trip to NoDak for the 4th with fun and family! We are finally going to get to tell my Grandparents about the adoption. Yay!

Until then, a few Omaha pics...I bet you can tell by the title, that lots of laughing was had this weekend :)

        My new Lemur buddy. He was trying to get away from all the people when I got              Kevin to snap this pic.

           Elephants! We walked by 10 minutes later and they had moved really far from  the      fence,  so I felt lucky to get so up close with our camera!

The Spider Monkeys were fascinating, they started lining up. I thought it was because they knew I was there to visit...I was wrong.

As evidenced by this guy, they knew people were starting to throw food, and he was saying, "I'm open coach!" Even when it went in the water, he snatched it away from the Koi. Impressive moves.

Toward the end of the afternoon, Todd thought he would try out the Spider Monkey's moves to see if it would get him some food. 

WE PASSED THE HOME STUDY!!!!!!

Well, it was actually a painless and rather enjoyable process. Our Social Worker is incredibly sweet and kind. I hope that when I work with my students, they feel even a little bit about how I felt when talking with our SW. She was an amazing listener. A really positive person, with an ability to put things in perspective in such a genuine and practical way. She is just another blessing as a part of this process. Some of her feedback brought me to tears in such a heartfelt way. She had such nice things to say about us...a reassuring and wonderful feeling. I hope everyone feels as content as we do today. 

Well, cutting it short...we are expecting visitors! Yippeeeee!

We've Moved!!!!

I am sitting in my NEW living room in my NEW house writing this post. Ya know what?! It feels great! We feel incredibly blessed. We had help with the move this time around, it went relatively smooth (as smooth as a project like that can go), and we have every last item in the house (or the garage as the case may actually be), point being...it is not on a moving truck or in a car! We still have some things to unpack, but the essentials are all taken care of for now! A shout-out to my MIL and Mother who unpacked about 50 boxes and put the kitchen together yesterday. WOW! They were asking me questions about where I wanted things, and I am pretty sure my response 9 times out of 10 was, "Um, whatever you think." Honestly, my mind was so boggled by everything going on around me that I couldn't make a decision to save my life! 

We had Part 1 of the Home Study this evening. Our sweet social worker, was impressed by how much we had accomplished in 24 hours. We have Part 2 in the morning, and we are feeling ready! So, what was I fretting about before she arrived? We decided to reward ourselves and my parents (Kevin's parents had to leave this morning) with a movie. My parents are looking like happy campers on the couch watching "Avatar" on Kevin's big TV. They earned it...my mom worked right through the day, cleaning my floors and organizing more stuff. My dad spent a looooooong time cleaning the new glass top stove. Apparently is wasn't properly cared for previously. I think it looks amazing now, and he would like to give it another 'go-round.' I'm not going to tell him no! :)

We have also sold 5 shirts already and have 5 more ordered! Woot! Check them out in the previous post or to the right! 

Some promised pics from the move: 
 

 Would you look at the sprout coming out of that thing!? It was found in the pantry. It must have fallen out of the bag and onto the shelf below, and nobody knows just how long it was hiding back there, but we thought it was picture worthy. It is even better in person (no, we didn't save it).

S

So, going from Condo living to a Single-family home means we have to cut our own grass (and shovel our own snow, but I'm not prepared to think about that yet). Kevin is a bit of a thrifty spender when the situation allows. He is so proud of his $20 lawn mower. Don't worry...he talked the seller down from $25! Oh, and he got a weed whacker for free. Isn't that a beauty of a lawn mower!? He makes me laugh...

T

This would be the garage at the condo a few days before moving. Oy. There were still boxes and things to be packed in the house. Plus, furniture. Where did I acquire all of this junk?!

T

Diogee was tired of watching us pack and ready for some grooming.

Kevin's dad was the first person to go through the t-shirt box. I wanted to take his picture since he was the first person (besides Kevin) to put on one of the shirts. We should have made Diogee a shirt too! All those in favor????

Say a lil prayer...part 2 of home study is TOMORROW! 

More Than Just a Shirt

We wanted to be like all of the cool kids, so we have decided to make/sell t-shirts. First, these shirts will be used when we make the trek to NoDak for the 4th of July. We are planning to wear them when we tell our extended family members about our adoption journey. While we were at it, we thought it would be a pretty neat way to raise funds in order to make a donation to our agency and care center which will be caring for our sweet little baby. That's why this is more than just a plain ol' t-shirt. We are hoping for a couple of things. You will wear this shirt proudly and increase awareness about the needs of children globally. Also, you get the chance to help us support the people who are working to care for our child (and many others), as well as those people who work tirelessly in the service of children.

We are new at this (obviously), and are just going to see how this goes. If you decide to purchase a shirt, please be patient as we work out any possible kinks in this system. I am definitely not a business person! Each shirt is $20. You can use the paypal button to the right, or if you know me and I will be seeing you soon, you are welcome to shoot me an e-mail and pay me in person when I deliver your shirt! Totally up to you! Blessings to you this weekend!

                                                               Front of Shirt

                                                  


                                                             Back of Shirt

False Alarm

Our Social Worker called, and the poor things has bronchitis! Needless to say, she needed to reschedule our home study visit. So, due to everyone's schedules, we will be doing our visits back to back next week. This only delays the finishing of the process by one day as we will meet with her Wednesday as originally planned, and then the following morning. Was looking forward to starting tomorrow, but completely understand when someone is not feeling well! Just another test in patience...good thing I am so good at that! :P-- Updates to come next week!!!!!!!!

Home Study Part 1-TOMORROW!

I am excited to get this party started! Oh, and I am so nervous, I am worried about either physically vomiting or that other problem that I like to call, word vomit (you know, the one where I talk and talk and not much makes sense or is really appropriate?!) Also, for those of you who know me...I did buy a home study outfit. It really isn't about impressing anyone, but I always feel a little better when I feel like I look good. I know, shallow... So, when I admit that I am nervous, people just keep saying, "just be yourself" (including my husband). This is really great advice, and I plan to work it. However, have you ever thought about what happens when someone doesn't like you or finds you annoying/irritating? Eek! I am a headcase today! I can't say that I've had many people reject me for who I am (unless you count Middle School--which I don't). :) I just get jumbled with all of these thoughts! 

The move is progressing along! We are less than a week away! We ran out of boxes and packing tape last night (for the 2nd time), but I rectified all of that this morning! Back on track! 

While I was out, I also managed to get a few more forms done for the dossier. Go me! We are down to one form, which can't be done until we change our address, a few passport size photos, and we will start looking at the official US Immigration forms that will come next. Yup, more paperwork! ;D

I am making good on 2 of my summer goals so far...cruise through dossier paperwork and reconnect with my dearest friends. I've had a shopping trip with 2 wonderful ladies (CJ and LL) a date with my new boyfriend born 1 month ago and his momma (CVZ) and lunch with a fellow school counselor (MM). So nice to catch up with these 4 amazing women! I can't wait for more playdates! I have also been trying to document our move...will post those next week after the move. A little teaser: just wait until you see the potato we found cleverly hiding in the pantry!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a wonderful week!!!!!

Home Study Scheduled!!!!

Our Social Worker called! FINALLY!!!!!! All of our paperwork was finally in place and we scheduled the home study! We are doing things slightly backward due to moving our residence. Instead of our social worker coming to us on visit 1, we are going to her. It's about an hour and a half drive and we are going June 10th in the am! 

Next, she will come to us on June 16th. Um, this is exactly 1 day after we close and move into our new home. YIKES! She knows we are moving and is incredibly understanding. She said she didn't care if there were boxes all over the place. She needs to check the place out and make sure we have room and its a sturdy joint. It better be! :) While she may be understanding and laid back about us moving, I can't say that I am! My mind is racing about how I can physically unpack and decorate the whole house in 24 hours. I've seen it done on TV, so it can't be that hard, right?! Okay okay, I am just going to try to remain calm and relaxed, even though I am currently a neurotic mess!!!!!!!!

Those prayers are definitely being answered and we thank you! Once this step is complete, we are one step closer to our baby! Whoop! We are nearly done with all of the paperwork needing completion for the dossier (which is paperwork that goes to Africa, and puts us on the official wait list). Even the stuff which had to be "re-done" due to our change of address. This should all be complete next week because SCHOOL'S OUT as of TOMORROW at 11am!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to focus energy on other things in my life for a few weeks! Yippee!

I will keep you posted on the home study process and there will most likely be some rambled posts about the move... Enjoy your week! I know I am!

Accused of being "High Maintenance," Pfffft....

I don't usually sing his praises in manners such as this, because his head is big enough already ;P--but, my husband is one of the best! I was a bit of a crabby-pants this morning, because I didn't want to go to work. The weekend was gorgeous, and having Monday off tricked me into thinking we were already on summer break (Thursday here I come!!!!)-- Yes, I know--many people work year round, and I get a long break. All I have to say is, "I guess I was smarter than you when I picked my major?" :P So anyways, Kevin did not have to work today. His company gave them today off, because they no longer get Good Friday as a holiday (don't get me started on that rant). That is a whole other blog post.

He was still in bed looking all serene when I was getting ready. I was thinking ugly, jealous thoughts. Shortly after I was at work, he started text messaging all of the incredible things he was accomplishing. He ran some errands to get some dossier paperwork taken care of and to get things taken care of for our impending move. He scheduled all kinds of necessary appointments, and packed a bunch of boxes! Wow! I am rarely that productive, and I can already guarantee that my first day off on Friday will be spent having fun, not working! :)

So, I came home and proclaimed that one of my "Love Languages" is definitely "Acts of Service," --according to my wonderful husband, I change my mind regularly on what my "Love Language" is and he can't keep up. Ha! (He meant this as a joke....I think?) What can I say, maybe I am high maintenance? I like gifts, affection, quality time, positive affirmation AND acts of service...who doesn't?! Regardless, he does a pretty fine job of tending to all 5, and don't tell him I said that! ;)