Took the words right out of my mouth

This article was written by one of the ladies on my adoption agency's forum about the Madonna adoption fiasco, and it says everything I wish people knew about our decision to adopt from Africa. She says it all so eloquently, and well, just read the article...

8 Months Waiting...

We will probably have to do a homestudy update soon, but we are just waiting to see if we will be moving or not. I'm not sure we will have a clear answer on that anytime soon.
So, the families that are recieving referrals right now have been waiting an average of 14 months. Which means that theoretically we are halfway there. In theory.
Not much else to report with that.
I'll post soon about what I won in the Sew Mama Sew giveaway day. I actually got a cupcake in the mail on my birthday! I could not eat it though. Stay tuned :)

Give Away Days!

It is time once again for the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day, (most sites will let you enter until May 31. They have divided it into Knitting/Sewing and Handcrafted. Nicely organized! Yeesh, I may just have to give something away myself next time.
http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/

Sneezerville is offering two great giveaways, one for knitters and one for sewers.
(And I am really hoping for the sewers!)

I am absolutely loving the Heather Ross fabrics that Sugared Limes is giving away!

And you can put it all in this sewing basket on Why Not Sew? (unless you're not the winner)

The Stitchin Chicken is offering a hand made basket full of goodies!

I think my kindred spirit is residing over at See Mommy Sew, though she obviously gets more sewing done than me :)

Here's a different type of giveaway, it is a camera strap cover and she makes them in all sorts of beautiful colors. If you win, you pick the color. (from the Benner Daily)

Baby #3 and Me

I finished reading Marley and Me, a very funny, sad book about a rather sweet, stupid dog. The author called him the world's worst dog because of all the stuff he got into and destroyed. It dawned on me today that I have the baby equivilant to that dog. Technically she isn't quite a baby anymore, she'll soon be two. Keep in mind that she is my third (following two very active boys) and I am in awe of her ability to change order to chaos no matter where she is. I will give you today as an example. It was a typical day, except that I am totally congested from what I think is not the swine flu. The only safe time is when she is strapped into the highchair for meals, so breakfast was okay. I let her down, and when I turned my back to put dishes in the sink, she had climbed from the floor to the chair to the table where she commenced hunting down any food or beverages still left by her careless brothers. I removed her from the table and cleared any temptations to the sink. I seemed to have overlooked a cup, and she has poured it on the floor. This is why I only let them drink water, with ice if I'm feeling crazy. This is also why I have developed a habit of eating and drinking at the counter, I don't like to share. She also tried to climb in the dishwasher while I was loading it but that's standard. We got a bit of schooling done while she emptied a cupboard of "acceptable playthings" (plastic cups, aprons, placemats, etc.), but then I heard dog food hitting the floor. Who left the pantry door open?? She was very sad when I took the scoop away from her and put the pile of food back in the giant tub. But she consoled herself by pulling the books out of the bookcase and removing the dust jackets. I later find lovely pencil drawings on the kitchen tile, not sure when or how she fit that in. We went upstairs and I tried to clean up the bathroom a bit. I came across some nail polish that was old - in point of fact, all my nail polish is old because I only use it twice a year - and I felt a need to try it out. I painted one nail perfectly while she watched, then out of nowhere she mugged me. The bottle flew into the air leaving a lovely mauve trail as it went, POOM onto the carpet. I spent the next half hour scrubbing it out with nail polish remover, while she and her brothers fought over cotton balls. I don't see a spot and thankfully the light in that room is dim, so don't tell my husband about it, okay? If you see me at church with only my thumbnail painted, now you know why. I also got a bit of laundry done and tried to check my email. The latter was a mistake, I had my eyes on the monitor for thirty seconds too long. She had removed the knotted and sealed diaper trash bag from the laundry room and ripped it open. She had then removed a diaper and undid my fastidiously neat diaper burrito to ascertain the contents. That is when I saw her with her left hand holding the offensive diaper while her right finger pointed towards the mess inside, and she seemed to be deciding whether to touch it. Wasn't smelling it enough? Ewww. I grabbed it away and whisked her to the bathroom sink, where I washed her with soap until I was satisfied with her cleanliness. She really loved that, after all water is FUN! Naptime! As usual, she tried to eat the diaper cream while I changed her. Does she have no taste buds?? Here is a partial list of what I have caught her eating - lotion, cream, toothpaste, shampoo, soap, play doh, diaper wipes, dog food, dog biscuits, mascara, lip balm, vegetables, and paper. Yes, I know vegetables are okay, but she eats anything I feed her. But she also loves chocolate, so I find that confusing. Daddy got home before naptime was over. I confess that I usually wait until my backup is home, before getting her out of the crib. She definitely tones it down when there is more than one set of parental eyes. The worst she does for him is going up and down the stairs over and over. And also drinking out of the dog's water bowl. Sometimes she dips her hands in it, and sometimes she is tidy and uses a spoon.

7 Months Waiting

What do I have to blog about? I have disappeared because my husband is still doing obscene amounts of overtime (obviously I am grateful for this, but I'm tired too), nothing new has happened (two walkthroughs in two months), and I'm kind of depressed with the news coming out of Ethiopia right now. Things are tumultuous, and some newer, smaller agencies have been doing some despicable things, if rumors are true. Our wait is now looking more like 14-18 months for a referral, but at least, I can be assured that we used a reputable, ethical agency. That is what I keep repeating to myself over and over.

Our new super computer is becoming a bigger headache than the old one. We have had it for a few weeks and I have become adept at playing technical support russian roulette. I find the technicians on the west coast are the most helpful, but two out of three of my calls go to somewhere in eastern Asia. My computer periodically locks up and shuts down while I am in the middle of something, usually about four or five times a day. Despite at least a dozen hours spent on the phone with hp, I have yet to get my problem fixed. I finally told them I want to have it replaced with a properly working one. The downfall is that they have to recieve it back before they build the new one. Does that seem odd? Because I kind of feel like they should be making amends and apologizing for their faulty pc, but I am the one being seriously inconvienced. Hmph. As a result, I still don't have photos uploaded yet, therefore no fun, non-identifying photos to share with you today.

5 Months Waiting...

5+ months waiting and I have disappeared from blogging.
It is because:
a) The house is for sale, so I spend all day cleaning. Ironically, there hasn't been a walkthrough yet.
b) Poor hubby gets up at 4 am and doesn't get home until 6 pm. So I spend all day watching the kids, then he gets 2-3 hours before bed to eat dinner and spend time with us. Oh, and sometimes he works on the weekend. (I am not complaining, I am thankful for the job and the steady paycheck, especially considering what some friends are going through right now.)
c) I am exhausted, tired, frayed, and occasionally on the verge.
d) I have NO time...
I will be back someday, perhaps even to show you proof that you CAN get a speeding ticket for going 6 miles over the limit. Or with similarly ridiculous/happy/crazy/sad/disappointing/exciting news. We shall see.
Oh, and my computer crashed a few weeks ago, resulting in a complete recovery needing to be done, but I lost all my bookmarked blogs and pages. If you have a blog that you do not see listed under my blog list, please comment with it or send me an email. I am still missing some...

4 Months Waiting

We have been waiting for a referral for four months, and we anticipate another eight to nine months before recieving one. I am actually okay with that right now because of all the other stuff going on. It is actually perfect timing for a job change, this will give us plenty of time to get resettled before we bring her home. So that's the status of our adoption right now, not much to report. Dear Mr. S_ is excited because a move south means we will be much closer to the Ethiopian restaurant that we like and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church that we haven't gotten to visit yet.

What is new this week in my life?

What isn't?


After a hellish week of car shopping, (sometimes with three cranky kids, and sometimes without) we bought a car. We went through the gamut of possibly getting a newer car that we would have to slowly pay off or getting a really cheap older car for my dear Mr. S_ just to drive to work. We ended up somewhere in the middle with a minivan that is exactly like our beloved brown Sienna, except this one is newer and a different color. We traveled to northeast, northwest and north of Houston, including some hardworking Hispanic gentle mans houses, seedy used car lots, overpriced Fred Haas' shiny car lot, and a sweet old gentleman's lonely, little car lot out in Cleveland. We ended up at a dealership in Conroe. We were out of time and needed to get back and pay the babysitter. I was out of patience, so I gave them my ridiculously low bottom line and stuck to it. Later, I went home and checked the KBB price for that model, year and mileage and we ended up paying a price right between average trade in and average private party sale :) I got it for $1500 below average dealer retail. So that made my day. Plus, the assurance that we were DONE car shopping.
Within a day of buying the new car, we got the Crapavan sold. It was sad to say goodbye to our trusty transportation of nine years, but it was comforting to know that it will see another life as a taxi in the Woodlands. At least that is what I was told. And it put a little bit of much needed cash into our accounts. good bye old friend.

Negotiations for the new job started on Monday, and they were never very encouraging. They really wanted Mr. S_ to work there, but their payment methods are similar to government. So they can't compete with the private sector for starting pay. However, it is a prestigious and exclusive set of men that get to work at this company. All I can tell you is that he is going to get to work on stuff that no one else gets to work on, seriously only like eleven other guys. In the long run we are going to be doing better because he will have guaranteed forty hour weeks, guaranteed overtime, perks, perks, perks, bonuses, and from what everyone tells me, job security. I am so proud of him. He was made for this. He is such a hard worker and so good at what he does, so it's wonderful to see him get a position worthy of him. Shh, he is far too modest to let me say these things about him, but the proof is in the pudding. Whatever that means.


It is starting to sink in that we will probably have to move though. It is a 90 minute drive each way for him, so.... decisions will have to be made. I know we will have to move, and I know we will have to sell the house. That's actually not the worst part. The worst part is leaving a community that I actually feel like I fit into. I have only been here two years, but in the many years we lived in Florida, I never felt like I fit in. I love our church. I love our homeschool group. I love our Cub Scouts pack. I love our pediatrician, dentist, pest control guy, and library. I'm not so keen on our vet however. I have finally made lots of friends. I am actually starting to get scared about starting over again. What if it's like Florida again and I can't find my niche? What if I can't find any kindred spirits? I am thankful that our church family and friends will still be within an hour's drive at least. It's not like we're moving to Iowa. I feel mean for uprooting Child #1 again now that he has made such good friends. What are the choices? What is God's will for our lives? Are we following it? Yeesh, too many big things happening right now. It is making my brain hurt.

Definitely a beginning of something...and an ending

Today was a beginning. It was one of those days that your whole world shifts. After a frenzy of sending an amazing resume to 20-30 places in the last two weeks, everything from dream jobs to worst case scenario jobs, my husband heard back from one place. Granted it was the one place that made me jump when I heard the message. I called hubby and screamed at him, ______ wants you to come in for an interview. He had to pull off to the side of the road so he could concentrate on his phone call. He had his interview today. I do not think I have ever seen him so nervous about an interview. I mean, he always gets nervous, but this was crazy nervous. Then I realized, I was just as bad. I've had stomach problems for three days, trouble sleeping and crazy stress dreams. We had this interview covered in prayer and decided that whatever God wanted for us was fine, we just wanted it to be obvious. I am so grateful to my church family and my neighbors for their prayers! I am elated to tell you that they want to hire him. He was told that an offer letter will be coming in the next week or two. I still can't tell you where he will be going, but it is a once in a lifetime job. (And mom, you are not aloud to spill the beans.) It is not a job that he is taking for financial reasons however. So let those clues sit with you while you try to figure it out. Once everything is decided, I will try to share more. BUT this is an amazing blessing, and from the timing of everything, one that God had him uniquely positioned for. We are full of thanksgiving today. The next few weeks and months are going to be difficult, but He is faithful and awesome!

And as I also mentioned today brought an ending, our love/hate relationship with the Crapavan has entered the final days. It came without warning and without cause. Halfway down Stuebner Airline Rd the Crapavan had a stroke and dropped the transmission, it lost third gear and the ability to shift. It worked hard to make it home in the throes of death with very loud engine wheezing, and idling at stops at 4000 rpm. I think it took a quarter tank of gas to go 15 miles to our house. We are grateful that we were able to get it to our home and did not have to abandon it on the side of a cold and lonely road. However, I am saddened that I will finally be forced to face the seventh layer of hell again - used car shopping. Sweet hubby is going to try a last ditch effort tomorrow to see if the Crapavan is faking it. He is going to see if he can reset the computer and trick it into working again. Oddly enough, this is not unheard of. I am praying this will be the solution and I will have a repreive from the auto dealers.

So it begins...or ends...or something.

This week started out really good, but it has ended up sucking. After months of rumors, poor husband's company has finally started doing more than just asking employees to conserve office supplies and electricity. All hourly employees have been cut down to 32 hour work weeks. It is temporary (in theory), but no word on how long. This makes my chest feel heavy when I think about it. I knew God was preparing us for something because I have been able to save money so easily for a couple of months now, but all the same... We are going to try to make that extra day off really count, and I will probably make it unofficial resale day. A day where husband does home school, and I list on Ebay or Woodlands Online. I have never had a month where I made the amount that we will be losing though. We have figured out that if we just stay home, we won't spend money. So we'll see how that goes. I think the next month or two will really let me see how this will work. I suspect it will be rather uncomfortable and vaguely unpleasant, but not nearly as bad as being laid off!