Life Unexpected

Yesterday, Nate and I decided to spend some time cleaning our house. Our back bedroom has become somewhat of a disaster, due to my obsession with buying clothes at yard sales and consigning them at the local consignment store (I know it's weird, but it's money toward the adoption and I love it)! The back bedroom has also become a holding place for all the gifts that my family and friends have given us for the little ones to come. While know one knows the age or sex of of our children, because we are still waiting, it hasn't seemed to stop those who are close to us from picking things up for them. It's going to be a serious problem if we get two boys! They are going to be wearing A LOT of baby Roxy and will have to figure out how to rock out some sweet baby Uggs! While I was working, I came across a pile of baby stuff that hadn't yet been put in the closet that I had picked up at a yard sale. There were two little onesies that said, "Light of dad

This past week, for some reason, has just seemed really hard in this waiting process. I don't know if I am just getting antsy, or impatient, but I've found myself battling to stay positive in the waiting process. I guess some weeks are just like that. A lot of people have been asking about the timeline of our process, so I thought I would give an update of where we are at, and how long we expect to wait. We started our process officially last May 2010. However, our Dossier (the big fat packet of paperwork) was not finished and submitted until January 31, 2011. After the Dossier is submitted, families become part of a wait list for what is called a referral. A referral is when a family is matched with a child. You can specify ages and sex when it comes to the adoption. Nate and I are waiting for a referral of a sibling group of 2, both under the age of 4, and one being as young as possible (0-12 months). We have said we would like one to be a girl, but are open t

Many of you know that I coach volleyball at a local high school. A couple of days ago, I received a message from one of my former volleyball player's Mom. She has been keeping in touch about our adoption journey and encouraging and supporting us along the way. The past several weeks I feel like this journey is just dragging out...WE WANT TO GET OUR REFERRAL! But it has been people like Kristy, who have continued to help encourage us and remind us that this journey is going to have an awesome ending. I wanted to share with you her message (you are going to need tissues...just saying!) Andrea, I wanted to share a little story with you. Last Friday evening, I was at Dulles very late, waiting for my beloved daughter to arrive from San Diego. Two men, one 30 ish, and one a bit older were milling around in the same baggage claim area with a huge bouquet of Welcome Home balloons. I did not engage in any conversation with them, but watched and wondered about their story. (This is