Two

We have officially reached 2 weeks of waiting. It kind of snuck up on me with yesterday being the Memorial Day holiday. I was about to head to bed and realized it was Tuesday. So, here are some of our week two highlights:

The kids spent the entire past week in KY with Ryan' parents. They were here the night that we returned from Disney, and then they packed up and headed out with Nana the next day. So, they just returned home tonight. I missed them terribly, but I've enjoyed hearing some of the highlights of their trip which include- testing out the new rope swing their Pap hung for them, catching a crawdad and then dressing it in one of Lizzy's Polly Pocket dresses (yes it survived the fashion show), eating brownies for breakfast, and having a close encounter with a 4 foot black snake. I'm sure all of this fun would have been severely limited had I been on the scene. That's what grandparents are for- right? Someday I will get to feed my grandchildren brownies for breakfast.

I spent much of my week scrapbooking. I am such a scrapbooking wannabe. But, I have made up my mind that before the new baby comes, I will have some semblance of a scrapbook for each of my children. So, I have been power scrapbooking for the last week. I have decided that Creative Memories saying about how simple pages are completed pages will work for me. I am not going to win any awards, but I have managed to scrap the first 2 years of Lizzy and Isaac's lives this week. I just have Lily to complete and then I can move on to my next phase- a toddler to teen album for each of them. Those should be a little easier. The kids had so much fun looking at what I had already finished when they got home tonight. Going through all those pictures made me realize how big they are and how fast our time with them is flying by.

The other chunk of my week was spent at the NCHE conference. That stands for North Carolinians for Home Education. I know, it sounds like a real snoozer, but it's actually quite fun and always very encouraging. It's a great time for me to revisit why I do what I do. I am not a person who home schools in an effort to protect my children from the influences of the public schools, but rather to prepare them for a life of ministry in whatever way God calls them to serve. I found the public school schedule left us with very little time or energy to be intentional in discipling our children. This weekend I attended sessions on raising kids of character, mentoring your daughter, and reaching the heart of your child- just to name a few. It's also encouraging to be surrounded by over a thousand people who share your passion. It was a real blessing.

With the adoption being at a waiting point, it kind of seems a little distant or unreal. But, tonight, I was lying in bed with Isaac for a few minutes telling him how much I missed him while he was gone. I said, "You know, you're one of my favorite people in the whole world. You're actually in my top 5." I was referring to his daddy and his siblings However, he wasn't counting Daddy at the moment, he was thinking of the baby. So he responded, "Yeah, you just can't see one of us yet." It touches my heart how they are ever mindful of the baby. They often ask questions about what he may be doing or if I think he's born yet. They are faithful to pray for him. I love those moments!

Disney Pictures

Ryan bought a computer this weekend to replace our beloved, but dead Dell.  He decided to play with it and created this little Disney Montage.  Since I know you blog readers are simply clamoring for more images of our Disney trip, I thought I'd post it here.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Disney, recital, no sale, and waitlisted!

I know it's been a while since I've updated, but we've had a busy couple of weeks!

We just returned from a week at Disneyworld where we had SO much fun. We spent an entire week there with both grandmas and all four kids and it was a blast. I asked Elizabeth on Tuesday night if she was having fun and she said, "Yes, how could anyone not have fun at this place?"

We returned from Disney about 2 hours before the girls first piano recital. We were all very nervous as our girls aren't especially fond of being in the limelight. But, they both played very well and neither of them cried or panicked, so we were delighted!

The one bummer about our trip was that we did lose the contract on our house while we were gone. We weren't terribly surprised because of the way it had all come together, but we were a little sad. So, we're back where we started. We are just continuing to pray for peace and putting our trust in the fact that God has a much bigger plan than we do concerning that house.

When we returned, the motherboard on our computer decided it was retiring, so I was unable to check e-mail, blogs, or the infamous Gladney FBI list. I was going through major blog withdrawals after a week away from the computer. My sweet husband brought his laptop home tonight so that I could have a little bit of computer time. Now, we have to decide what to do about the computer- I didn't realize how dependent I am on it. Banking, school stuff, adoption stuff, even grocery planning. I feel lost!

Because of the computer issues, it took me until midday yesterday to find out that we are officially on the Gladney waitlist. We were waitlisted on May 13th. This means that we are now approximately 3-5 months from receiving our referral and seeing our baby's photo! We are delighted that the real wait has officially begun and we already have one week down.

That covers our last few days! I'm looking forward to posting those little pictures that show everyone what week of waiting our family is on. I think I'll forego a week one photo so that I can instead post a few photos of our recent adventures! The first two pictures were taken at Disney and the final photo is of Abby and Elizabeth with their beloved piano teacher, Ms. Morgan.

We have a contract!

This is wrapping up to be an eventful week! We were able to get a contract on our "extra" house and we're optimistic that means we have it sold. The house is supposed to close by May 23rd, so we are delighted that we may be down to one house soon.

It was kind of funny how it all went down. The first offer we got was ridiculously low, and so it took about 24 hours of negotiating to get it to an amount where we would be able to settle at. So, when our realtor called with the final amount- the one Ryan and I agreed would be our bottom dollar, I was walking up to the playground at the park with our 3 youngest children. I hung up the phone with our realtor and my assignment was to call Ryan and verify that this amount would work.

Well, before I could get the phone closed, I saw a little boy playing and I suspected right away he was an Ethiopian child- he was beautiful. I observed the mommy who was definitely not Ethiopian and then figured out who the daddy was and he was definitely not Ethiopian. He was wearing an Inspi(red) shirt and this was another clue to me that they might be adoptive parents. Then I spotted their older child and I recognized him from a blog picture. After gawking for a moment I decided just to ask them if they were who I thought they were and it turns out they were! I had the pleasure of visiting with them- the Atwood family for about 30 minutes. They are another Gladney family who brought their son home about 2 months ago. They were so kind and willing to share their knowledge. It was a pleasure meeting them.

In fact, it was such a pleasure that I forgot what I was supposed to be doing. Finally, I returned to reality and remembered my assignment. So, now it's all settled and we're just hoping for a relatively painless inspection and closing

We've Got The Golden Ticket!

Today was an overall stinky day- but there was one majorly redeeming event- we got our golden ticket! We received THE I71H. The last piece of the paperwork puzzle. We are thrilled. It only took about 4 weeks and we are delighted! We made a beeline for the notary and the Fed-Ex place. Unfortunately, we missed the Fed-Ex man by about 10 minutes, so it won't go out until tomorrow- that's okay!

We are almost officially waitlisted! The dossier service has everything else ready and waiting, so once this last piece is authenticated, we're done. Hooray!

One of the other things that is heavy on our hearts right now is non-adoption related, but we would covet your prayers. We have a house we've been trying to sell for about 6 months- it's not the one we live in. We knew when we put it on the market that we would probably have to carry it for a while, and so we prepared financially for that. However, we have been struggling with some anxiety about the whole 2 mortgage thing lately. We know God clearly led us to purchase the house we're in and to step out into faith that he would handle the details. We feel very confident that we made the right choice, but we still wrestle with the "what-ifs" of never selling the extra house. Anyway, we have a serious looker right now- they're coming for the 3rd time tomorrow. We would love for this to be the one.

My prayer is just that whatever happens, Ryan and I would be willing to accept God's timing and that we would keep our mind fixed on Christ and put our trust in him. The scripture that God has given me concerning the whole house thing is Psalm 18- especially verse 30 which says, "As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless." Everytime I start to panic, I simply tell myself that the way of the Lord is perfect.

Like I said, we would appreciate your prayers. Wouldn't that be something if we got our house contract and our I71-H all in one week?

Still waiting

All right, April 15th has come and gone and still no 171H. Now granted, it wasn't really very realistic to think that we would receive it by then, but in my deranged mind, that was the my target date. I am behaving myself very nicely though and I am waiting until the mail lady drives away from the mailbox before I make my mad dash down the driveway.

I know it won't be too much longer, and we're staying busy with life. I know you're dying to know what one does while awaiting the arrival of an 171H. I am so glad you asked. Here's just a sampling of what our first three weeks of waiting have included:

• We cheered Daddy on as he ran his first 1/2 marathon. His goal was to complete the Raleigh Rocks Half-Marathon in 2 hours and he made it in about 1 hour and 58 minutes. We are so proud of his determination. What's even more impressive is that 18 months ago, he weighed almost 300 pounds which makes this a truly amazing accomplishment!


• We acquired a "free" aquatic turtle from some friends who are moving away and were looking for a new home. So far the turtle has cost us $140.00 in various turtle needs. Our new pet, Shelly is settling in nicely to life in the Campbell Circus.


• We took an overnight trip to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Va. I got absolutely sopping wet on the Roman Rapids raft ride. Two hours later, I could still wring water out of my shirt. Daddy of course, stayed almost totally dry. Elizabeth (7) discovered a great passion for roller coasters. She had Daddy and I on the Loch Ness Monster for 3 consecutive rides.


• We hung our new window treatments for our bedroom. Covering all my naked windows is one of the items on my "Before Baby To-Do List." Thanks my mom for being such a talented seamstress!

I know you're absolutely thrilled to have had this little look into our world! Hopefully there won't be three more weeks to report on before the arrival of our golden ticket!

Deep thoughts

When I was in college I loved the "Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey" segment that was frequently featured on Saturday Night Live. (That was when I had the energy and interest to stay up until midnight on Saturdays). One of my favorites deep thoughts was "The crows seem to be calling my name, thought Caw."
Anyway, my sweet son Isaac had a "deep thought" this week. He came walking into the laundry room as I was folding clothes (story of my life!) and he said, "Mom, I don't think that our Brother Baby is going to like watching television." So, of course I asked him why he would think that. He said, "Because all of the people on the little kids shows have white skin."
To this I responded, "Huh? (long pause) Well, what about Little Bill?"
He looked at me with great disdain and said, "Mom, they don't even make that show anymore." and walked away.
Once again I realize how totally unprepared I am for dealing with all of the potential issues ahead. I have lived my entire life in such a "white girl bubble" I had one black person in my entire graduating class of 270. What do I know about being a minority or dealing with prejudice? Why in the world would God choose ME for this journey? It's certainly not because I'm capable.
I don't know-will our baby feel that all of the people on the little kids shows have white skin? I know I am just thinking of this beautiful dark-skinned child that I can't wait to parent and love and cuddle with and how I want to be a forever mommy to him. It's hard for me to believe that in this day and age there will be those who see him as anything but my handsome son- no matter what his skin color may be.
Then I think about the reality of the fact that one day he is going to want to ask some pretty little girl out for ice cream. What if she's blond haired and blue-eyed and her parents aren't okay with that? Wow!?! What do I do then? What is this going to look like over the next 5- 10- 15 years?
I am so glad that God gives us enough light for our path today. I don't suppose milkshake dates are in the near future. So, I guess I'll keep trying to educate myself about these issues which will inevitably come, realizing that ultimately God will give me the wisdom to deal with the hurts and prejudices we'll face.
In the mean time-I'll deal with the more immediate issues like should I use cloth or disposable diapers this time? I'm so confused- nobody was "going green" the last time I had a baby. Baby gear has changed way too much in 4 years!