Our News- Adoption

So I made a small announcement in our last post.. Nate and I are planning on adopting. I say planning because it is a LONG LONG Road ahead and we have been taught by our past experiences not to say something is happening because God might have another plan for you along the way.. we hope God sees adoption as his plan (but we are speaking from past experiences here..).

This announcement is not a small one or shall I say one we take lightly.. It is one we have discussed, slept on, discussed some more, argued about, and listened to everyone else's opinion on..etc.. We have been discussing adoption since we meet actually. We both felt eventually in our life we would adopt a child. But it wasn't till last year that I really started to think about it. At first I thought it was just the loss of the miscarriage that put adoption in my heart..I think it is apparent I want to be a mother.. but I prayed about it. Put it in the back of my mind and left it there. Nate said last year he wanted to try again and see if we could have our own. So we tried.. and you know how that story ends. After that it was like a seed was planted inside me.. I meet total strangers talking to me about it. I prayed about.. there was a sermon at church about it.. just weird things happened which is no coincidence.. it was god planting that seed in me.  Yet, Nate was fearful.. I think initially due to people's responses about our choice. But I kept praying and God planted the seed in Nate. He started talking about it..he started looking into and than we found Depelchin Children's Center.

The first step towards adoption (domestic) is to attend a CPS approved intial orientation meeting which is two hours long and they shove a ton of information down your throat. I left there in tears.. tears of joy..tears of overwhelmed..tears that this is happening!! OMG this is happening..

Than you go onto step two.. filling out 30 pages about your parenting style, how you feel abot discpline, where the child will sleep, where they will attend school..etc. Than there is getting all the documents ready for the agency/social worker which includes: birth records, social, drivers license, proof of all insurance, marriage certificate, plans of your home, pictures of every room, pictures of all pets and people who live in the home, paycheck stubs, diplomas, health status, background check and driving record.

Step Three is to turn in more documents start the homestudy process which includes visits from a social worker and fire marshall.

Step Four is to complete all classes which happens between step 2-5. There are over 60 hours of very informative classes that are required.. and than after all is completed and they deem us acceptable parents we will have a child.


I'll keep you updated as we go.. this week we are childproofing and organizing the house to get ready for the fire marshals visit. They recommend you have the marshal visit before the social worker so that if there is anything to fix you have a timely manner to fix it. We are still at step two and it is a process so as we are updated we'll let you know...


I'm sure if you are reading this you are wondering alot of questions. So let me answer them all..or try to at least... we are not certain that we can't have kids. I've been asked now multiple times if we are infertile. I assume not since we have been pregnant twice now. It is just we are not willing to undergo thousands of dollars worth of testing to maybe find a solution.. much less did we feel it was necessary. We aren't going to play God.. this isn't to say that those who do chose this option are wrong.. we just didn't feel at this time it was the road for us to go.

We just feel that after two miscarriages that we still wanted kids and that trying naturally wasn't where we were anymore. It wasn't a choice that happened overnight and both of us came to this.. we feel that we are called to adoption and that if God later blesses us with a child thru natural birth than we will be twice blessed.  Right now just Houston has 1500 kids waiting for a home.. 1500. We are good people who want kids and feel we can give one of these children a great home.  Here's the catch we aren't doing straight adoption. We are doing foster to adopt which means that the child's parental rights haven't be relinquished but most likely will. So we will have the child in our home for 12-18 mths before the adoption can be finalized. I know it sounds like a long time and there is risk.. but this is the route we chose to go.. and it is more likely we will receive a child from 0-6. We did talk about straight adoption to adopt an older child but right now we are leaning towards 0-6 foster to adopt. This might change as it is a long process but this is where we are right now.The process to get a child in our home varies from 3 months to 2 years. Typically it is 9 months. So we have time to evaluate all our options and see where we are.. Any other questions feel free to leave me a comment or email me.

I know adoption isn't for everyone. I have heard people's ideas of adoption and I know that some feel it isn't the ideal way to start a family. But there are really great stories out there.. so please keep your negative comments to yourself. We have researched this, we have went to the classes and we have started the process.. this is the choice we have made.. Perhaps research it yourself. See if you can open your heart to a child who needs a home. Someone to make them feel safe, secure and loved. Isn't that what God wanted us all to do??

Catchup

I'm sorry I haven't blogged in so long.. things have been a bit crazy around here. I am two classes away from graduation with my Masters. So I have been super busy with that, still teaching full time and trying to keep my house up as well as a social life outside of work. I don't know how some people do it. It never seems to fail that this time of year Nate and I both have something planned every weekend. It never ends and some weekends we are so over booked..not complaining. But we are on Thanksgiving break currently which I am also on break for my masters program! Horrray!!!
But we also have had some big changes in our household.. changes involving rearranging the house of course- we all know I get bored and change things all the time. But Nate and I have also decided to adopt. More on that in another post..
Let's get to the good stuff fall decor because it is coming down as soon as thanksgiving is over and Christmas is up!! Warning there will be lots of pics since I am playing catch up.. First off is the Living room..

Notice the entertainment cabinet.. That is from Simple Matters and is a Welsch Hutch she transformed for me. I adore it.. You also might remember that the couch and arm chair were in a V shape towards the windows. It was just throwing off the room so back in July I moved the arm chair to the corner of the room by the fireplace. It makes the entry so much larger and we put a little mini dresser behind it with closed storage when we finally have a child in the house we can throw all their junk in there.

 By the fireplace I have my vintage wine vessels stuffed with fall leaves. Don't you just love the new ottoman too.. it's a HomeGoods Purchase along with the New Jute pillow (PB knockoff for 1/2 the price). I also added some pine cones to my candle holder.

 

Now onto the kitchen.. On the island I have this pumpkin candleholder..

 I added fall foliage to my Miranda Lambert Wedding Cloche..

 And on the other side of the sink is the chalkboard and fall mums..Mums Live forever if you change their water frequently and they are so inexpensive to have. I love having fresh flowers around the house.

 I also recently purchased this large canvas of  Life Sayings.. I have been meaning to DIY one that I have been seeing allover blog land but lets be real.. I don't have the time or patience to get around to it. I wanted to put it inbetween the two large windows in the kitchen but it barely fit so we moved it over here.. which works perfect because walking down the hall to the bath/garage you see the family calendar..etc that is all black too.

Here is the hallway shoot.. sorry very bright in the kitchen in the mornings.

Now the dining room-- I sold our old mission table on Craiglist..exactly where I got it. And found this beauty thru Jannet from Simple Matters. Ill take pics of it closely later. But it is black which is perfect because you see it when you walk in the house and so is the entry table. It is distressed and has a leaf which is ideal for Thanksgiving..

 In the corner I left my wine wreath, have my new scentsy warmer and my wood carved cross.. it has a nativity scene at the bottom but I think the colors are fall/winter so I leave it out regardless of the season. Oh don't forget the ugly mail dumping basket..lol

 Lastly, the entry way..I added some little wood figures that say Give Thanks and a pumpkin and the chalkboard says "Give Thanks to the Lord"..

 Hope you enjoyed the fall decor.. I promise Ill post pics of the table close up.. I love the claw feet on it. Plus class pics soon. I will also fill you all in on the adoption.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

PS.. I am a much better blogger in summer..lol!

Halloween Decorations

This week was my mom's wedding. So it was a super busy week! Wednesday we went and got our nails done. I introduced mom to shellac nails and she was thrilled. Thursday we got some rain which was wonderful since we are in drought but it made us late for the rehearsal. Friday morning we (Nate, Brigitte & I) made our way to the small town Mom was getting married in and busted our butts getting the church and hall ready for her. Brigitte helped me arrange the church which I can't wait to show you pics...but I only have a few since I was so busy so I will have to upload the professionals later. I also made the bouquets and boutonnieres. Than Brigitte & I went and helped at the hall. It was a great day for mom and I know she was super happy in the end.  Below are pics of the cake table with the bouquets from the wedding. I surprised my mom with a locket with her mom and dad in it and tied them to her bouquet and gave her a catholic bible to carry with it.

This is the sign in table at the church.

My sisters and I were all bridesmaids. Plus my Aunt Barb was maid of honor. Lastly, there is a pic of mom and Shay.. all happy!!

Now on to the halloween decor!! I typically only decorate for Fall, but this year I got the itch to decorate for Halloween too. Allison inspired me with a trip to Ross and her scary bird cage with skulls..lol.  So here is the house in all it's gouhly scariness..shake a little!!

First up is the door way.. still fallish! I decided to keep this traditional. My mums are just now blooming I know they will look awesome in a month!

Our Entryway.. I left the bookwreath because I feel fall is all about textures and I just added Trick Or Treat Smell my Feet to the chalk board. Below on the table everything stayed the same except the EEK sign!!

 

Our Halloween Mantel Rocks!! I got these awesome pillar candles last weekend in Round Top at Gypsy Junk which I will be on HGTV in November.. They were at Miranda Lambert & Blake Shelton's Wedding!! I also bought a cloche that was at their wedding!!  So on the mantel I left the awesome pillars with glitter candles, added some glittery black bat garland, BOO sign, Candy Corn in a jar and glitter pumpkins!! Below are some close ups..

 

Than in the dining room I just added candy corn sign that reads Trick or Treat with little bat, cat and witch dangling!!

 Next up the Kitchen.. My Fav Decorations!! First is the glass cloche that was Miranda's at her wedding. I added paper mache skulls in it.. spooky!!

 Second is next to the sink where we have our chalk board that has a ghost saying BOO! & Trick or Treat. Plus don't forget my skull sponge holder!!

 On the windowsill is a sign that reads Eat, Drink and Be Scary!! In glitter which makes it less scary.

On the Island I added this cute cat which reminds me of Bella..lol with her belly reads "Best Witches" "Happy Halloween" "Spooky"..etc. And my glass pumpkin with candy corn which Nate swears he hates but loves.. 

Last up in the living room on the coffee table is another little cat latern with Trick or Treat, Spooky and EEK on her belly! I love them and I can't wait for Fall weather and Halloween!!

..

The more we continue to plan and plan our lives out and leave God out of it.. the more he will continue to lead us to know that ultimately he is in control.

A couple large events have panned out since this summer and when these things happen I always think why.. sometimes I feel like it is always an uphill battle.

Than I am reminded things can always be worse. There is always someone else with bigger problems at the end of the day and ultimately it isn't my wants that truely matter.. it is his plan for me.

I am starting to realize his plans and I am so glad I didn't lose sight of what are my talents and abilities he has created me to use..

Remember it isn't what we want but what God wants..

My Mentors Classroom

I told you all I would show you my mentor's classroom. I have been so busy.. I forgot.

My mentoring teacher did a camping theme last year, but this year we wanted to change it up a tad. So we made it a nature them with owls!!

Here is her work display board that says: Something to Hoot About with owls at the top!

 Below her chalk board is a pond with 4 animals and she writes their reading groups under each animal.

 Above the chalk board is Work Habits with Owls and in the corner is the reading tent and and Owl in the tree saying "HOOT HOOT HORRAY FOR READING".

 Along the next wall is her wall word wall which is "Take a picnic with WOW Words"

 The back wall has checkered pinic border with ants and parts of speech.

 In the front corner opposite the reading wall is the Mrs. Henry's Peak! She has her calendar and behavior chart up on the mountain now.

Tara is a great teacher, but she felt her downfall last year was organization. So she spent the first week back at school organizing while all of us decorated our rooms. We literally decorated her class in two days and I would have to say we did a fine job!!

Labor Day Weekend..

The three day weekend was full of catching up around the house, DIY Projects and School work.

I came home Friday and decided the small changes I made in the entryway were nice but the gallery wall looked empty above the lamp.  Below  is the pic of the small changes I made last week.. but for some reason it just didn't seem like it fit. So I sat and stared at it till I could refigure it in my head..

 Here is what I did.. I added two new pictures and reworked the ones I had.

 First I added this color one here with the scenic view of Hawaii and moved the pic of my sisters with Nate next to the lamp. Above the lamp I added a vintage map print of Hawaii. I think it evens it all out perfectly! It really makes it seem like the shorter glass lamp is meant to be there now. (Remember I had the lamp that is in the dining room there before and it is taller.)

Than on Sunday I went to my mom's to sew the curtains for our third bedroom. I forgot that I needed 4 panels.. I was just thinking curtains for the window(2 panels for the closet and 2 panels for the window). So I ordered more fabric for the windows with pom pom trim in green! Which we'll finish those next weekend. But we did get the curtains for the closet up so I can hide all our junk now! I love love chevron.. so I chose a fabric that is gender neutral and would be perfect for a baby (if we are blessed with one) or an older child (if we end up adopting later).  This room will eventually be a child's room so I wanted something that was timeless and fun yet neutral enough to go boy or girl.

The fabric I chose is by Annette Tatum and panels would sell for $180.00 each. I spent less than $12 a panel and I will have four panels and tie backs!! Plus we had extra for pillows.   I love the results. The chevron has a lighter aqua that blends with the walls and a teal plus lime green. So if we have a girl we can add pinks and if it's a boy more greens and browns!

Here it is closed with my grandma's stool recovered in the same fabric as the rocker.

Here is open.. Mom and I are working on Tie backs so we can tie it back if needed or close them. The tie backs are going to be made with Annette Tatum Blue Alphabet material. It is so adorable and we'll make extra pillows with it too.  I think kids will have fun with this being a stage or reading nook later.

We had extra fabric so we made a regular pillow case cover and a lumbar pillow. When my additional fabric comes in we will make more pillows and it will become a reading nook like YOUNG HOUSE LOVE did in Clara's Room here:

Plus I figure it never hurts to have additional matching pillows. I really believe in pushing your children to be creative and push literacy. So if I can make a small cool nook for them to play games and read than it's an extra plus! I mean it already hides the clutter!

Than yesterday, I went shopping with one of my BFF's Kourtney to find decor for these cuties (Kylie & Chole) big girl room. Love these girls and their need to accessorize!! LOL..

We had a great time eating lunch and buying goodies for their big girl room which I will show you soon!

But Kourtney wanted a solution to cover all her clutter in her laundry room too. I suggested wood blinds like YHL did in their last house. But we couldn't find an affordable solution. So I suggested curtains.

Here is the before with all the clutter we all have.. and here is the after with no sew curtains!!

Kourtney wanted a traditional fabric that would match the rest of her house.. we found this on clearance at Hobby Lobby and it coordinates so well. I love that it instanly streamlined the laundry room. We made two panels so she can easily access her laundry supplies and there is room next to the washer to hang clothes on the rod that the curtains hang on. The curtains cost $10!  Next on the list is painting her laundry room (which will be free since we already have it) and organizing her 3rd bedroom once we finish the girls' big girl rooms!

Hope you enjoyed my projects. I have more curtains DIY projects coming soon..plus the girls' room. I hope everyone had a great labor day and please pray for all those in Texas that are being effected by the wild fires. Two people I work with had to evacuate their homes and still don't know if their homes  are ok.