Spinster House

I have often made the comparison of selling a house to courtship. You gussy it up with paint and elbow grease, then you put it out there on the market hoping for the phone to ring. When a walk through comes, it's like the first date. Sometimes you do all that cleaning/prettying up and they stand you up. Sometimes they show up early when you're not ready. And then you wonder if they liked you enough to call back for a second date. Well, our house is becoming an old maid. Nobody wants a second date much less an engagement. In fact, we haven't had a call in three weeks. I find myself cleaning things up in expectation and I keep thinking "wishful makeup-ing" (Pretty in Pink reference for the John Hughes fans out there). I can find no logical reason for our loser status. Our house is one of the newest in the neighborhood, and one of the cheapest per square foot. Sometimes it feels like God has made it invisible.

I find myself constantly asking Him why?? What is His purpose? I like having things figured out in my head. I have a very hard time going day by day trying to discern His will when it is completely unclear. God seems to know that about me, and I think He likes me to be uncomfortable sometimes. Don't you find that is when you are on your knees and talking to God the most? If nothing else, I will say that my walk with Christ has changed in the last couple months. I've gone from fasting from chocolate or soda or whatever to being on my knees and crying in prayer to a more consistent morning and night devotion and prayer. I find my priorities and personality changing a little too. I've never heard a booming God voice in my head telling me what I was supposed to do, and I've often wondered if that really happens (or if I just can't hear it). Even when I was dating my husband and I knew I was supposed to marry him, there was no voice, I just knew.

I'm reminded of a few years ago when my husband was working and living hunreds of miles away and I was taking care of two toddlers with a house up for sale all by my lonesome. It went on for four months, and we kept praying for wisdom, clarity, guidance. What were we supposed to be doing? But I couldn't hear anything. Don't get me wrong, I felt peace when I really needed it, but He never gave us a neon sign or an answer of why. Then two months after hubby came home and we decided to stay put, everything came together perfectly... for a totally different job, different state. It made sense then even though it hadn't when we were going through it.

Oh yes, God is stretching me. I'm hoping that it will all lead to our house selling, and us finding the perfect house in the perfect neighborhood (closer to everything). But either way, I think I've matured a little more this year. I don't want to be a waiter, waiting for the house to sell, waiting for a referral, waiting to pick her up, waiting, waiting, waiting... Everyday must count because we don't know what tomorrow holds. Sorry to get all schmaltzy and philosophical, but I needed to just talk that out. I know it's just a house, but it's gotten to the point of frustration.

Give Away Day Winnings

Here is my much delayed post about all the cool stuff I won from the Sew Mama Sew giveaway day. I just recieved the last item this week (I guess she was much delayed also :). Let this be a lesson to you, if you neglect house cleaning and cooking dinner for a few days and devote yourself fully to entering oodles of blog giveaways, you too could be just as lucky as me. I was extremely surprised by all contests I won, and I made sure to share with my family, children and friends.

So, in photo #1, we have a Surfing Nelephant from Danger Kitty Designs, underneath that is a heavenly smelling tropical soap set from The Nadalet Family, and the adorable little red bag is from Mackville Road.

In photo #2, I put my 20 year old pincushion next to the beautiful cupcake that I won from Hillary at Designing Happy (she also included that lovely fabric scrap). I am still going to keep my old pincushion. Child #1 is very excited to be able to start using it.

In photo #3, cupcakes were the charm this year, and my cupcakes actually came on my birthday. How cool is that? This is my lovely personalized apron and cupcake clippies from Julee at Green(ish) Mama. I love this apron and I keep it hanging in my kitchen. My daughter wore the clippies on her birthday four days after mine!

And lastly, in photo #4, a super soft pair of wash mitts and goats milk soap from Breezy Babies. Seriously, I just kept closing my eyes and rubbing my cheek against the mitt. I cannot recommend the goats milk soap enough, it's fabulous!

9 Months Waiting

I have been busy busy busy lately. Relatives visiting, summer camps, and occasional walk-throughs. I'm feeling happy this week because Ethiopia just announced they will be leaving courts open longer this year. See, usually Ethiopian courts close for about two months every year during the rainy season (August-September). It has been confirmed that they will be staying open through August, not sure about September yet. It is great news for anyone waiting and anyone in the process. I just feel bad for the judges because they won't be getting the normal vacation time this year. We will be updating our homestudy this month, whether we move or not. So there you have it.

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.