Am I part dog?

Jeremy made a very exciting purchase off of EBay about a week ago. He bought BarkStop. It is a device you plug into an outlet and when the dog barks it is supposed to make an irritating noise in the dog’s ear. Obviously this annoying sound should make the dog stop barking. That is indeed the purpose. Human ears are not able to detect the noise . . . supposedly.

The reason for the purchase . . . well, we love Abbie. LOVE HER DEARLY! But . . . yes there is a but. Sometimes, she can live life a little “on edge”. She is a barker, a protector, a watchdog. It is the nature of her breed. But, we don’t enjoy the barking at 2:00am because she heard a leaf blow in the back yard or every time a visitor stops by our house or a neighbor across the street slams their car door closed. And with a baby coming, we need to nip the barking in the bud. We assume that soon our sleep will be disturbed enough, without assistance from little, sweet Abbie.

Well, the BarkStop arrived on our doorstep today. What an exciting event! Plugging it in and testing it out. To test out the product, we of course we had to bang on windows and ring the doorbell when Abbie was least expecting it. And she barked in response to our behavior. At first she seemed to not notice the annoying high-pitched sound. After more “tests”, we could see that she noticed it, but frankly, she seemed unbothered by it. I, on the other hand, was a little bothered by it. I could definitely hear the annoying high-pitched sound and it was a little disturbing to me. It was disturbing that I could hear sounds that only dogs should be able to hear.

Jeremy used the ice dispenser from the fridge later this evening. And of course, BarkStop started it’s squealing. Apparently it can’t yet decipher between a dog bark and falling ice cubes. Abbie was lying on the floors and she just cocked her head to the side, as if she kind of enjoyed the ringing. What a waste of money . . . and a bit of an added complex for me.

The song in my head

He is the Lord and He reigns on high
He is the Lord
Spoke into the darkness, creating the Light
He is the Lord
Who is like unto Him, never ending in days
He is the Lord
And He comes in power when we call on His name
He is the Lord

Show Your power
Oh, Lord, our God
Show Your power
Oh, Lord, our God
Oh, Lord, our God

Your Gospel, oh, Lord is the hope for our nation
You are the Lord
It's the power of God for our salvation
You are the Lord

Show Your power
Oh, Lord, our God
Show Your power
Oh, Lord, our God
Oh, Lord, our God

We ask not for riches but look to the cross
'Cause you are the Lord
And for our inheritance give us the loss
You are the Lord

Send Your power
Oh, Lord, our God
Send Your power
Oh, Lord, our God
Oh, Lord, our God

The chair in my dreams

We bought a rocking chair yesterday for the nursery. You might be thinking that we are crazy for buying all of this stuff ahead of time. But I am thinking: if we got a last minute call, what would be the big important things I would want to have? And they are - car seat, bassinet, and rocking chair. Right now, the chair is in our bedroom. And it will stay there until we actually move our baby into the nursery. The chair fit the criteria that we had set: cheap and rocks. Ok, I was a little pickier than that, as I wanted it completely upholstered and some other requirements. Jeremy didn't love the look but liked the price tag. I think it looks just fine and will be perfect for the nursery. And then later, possibly the living area.

The chair is brown microfiber. Some of you know our strong distaste for microfiber. I think Jeremy is even more passionate than myself, on this opinion. Our couch and one living room chair are both microfiber. I think microfiber is synonymous for VELCRO!! The people (furniture salesmen) always tell you, “It’s such a great fabric. It’s practically stain proof.” And maybe that is a true statement. Luckily, we haven’t really had to test out that claim in the last 5 years. I’ll let you know after our children have spit up all over our furniture. But microfiber also has a tendency to work like velcro. Just about everything sticks to our furniture! And so, we have to use a rolling sticky type brush on it constantly. So you are probably asking yourself, “why did they choose this chair?” Go back to prerequisite #1: CHEAP! Despite the fabric, I do absolutely love this chair!

The chair is in the corner of our bedroom and on my side of the bed. It was the first thing I noticed when I woke this morning. Obviously, it hasn’t become a permanent fixture in my mind and I just haven’t gotten used to seeing it there. But as soon as I saw the chair this morning, my mind started going. I began my daydreams of the precious, sweet moments that Jeremy and I will both experience in that chair. I daydream a lot these days . . .

Thanks mom!!

I have to say, I have a very talented mother. Somehow, last spring when Jeremy and I were trying to get pregnant, she agreed to make all of my stuff. Stuff includes: the bedding, bumpers, bed skirt, curtains, pillow, diaper stacker and maybe add some flair to a little lamp. Did I leave anything out, mom? Well, we went ahead and picked out all of the materials last May, as I am one of those that really wanted to be surprised about the sex of the baby. This is one of the reasons I wanted my mom to make it all. I thought the gender neutral stuff in the stores was so-so (though it has improved in recent months) and I am not a huge fan of themes, which nurseries often revolve around. So she is at work on this project and AT WORK HARD! In fact, I am a little worried that her life is becoming all work and no play! She began this week and has finished the curtains and bed skirt and is moving on to the bumpers. She is a perfectionist (definitely a good thing) and it is looking great already. I can’t wait to see it in person (hopefully early March). And no mom, that doesn't mean it all has to be completed when you come for your visit. I wanted to include some pictures in the adoption scrapbook of her working on the new grandbaby’s “stuff”.

Notice the fabrics. I love it!
And the curtains are done. She even covered the buttons on the tabs. She is amazing!

Apparently my dad has gotten involved in this little project and is learning to sew. So here he is in all his sewing glory. Good job Martha Stewart!

We Passed!

Ok. That wasn’t a huge concern . . . passing/failing. I mean, we don’t have a criminal record or anything. But our social worker came to our house today for our final interview and our home safety inspection. And apparently, our home is safe and we are somewhat normal characters. The agency is still waiting on our fingerprints. She said they should be in by mid-March, at the latest. And that is about it. Once that information comes in, the agency will be able to show our scrapbook to prospective birth mothers.

After the interview, we went out and bought our car seat/stroller combo. Which is very cute, I might add. That is the one thing that our social worker suggested purchasing ahead of time . . . since you never know. We could get a last minute call and not have any “planning” time. I have to say it was a lot of fun to walk around Babies R Us and dream. Though it was a tad overwhelming thinking about all the decisions to make. There is NO lacking for options in the baby stores these days. A young girl helped us with the stroller hunt. (Some of them were so complicated for first-timers!!) Since we were looking at the gender neutral ones, she asked if we were having a boy or a girl. I explained we didn’t know and that we were adopting. And that opened up a whole new wonderful conversation that I won’t even get into. I wonder if I should be offended that she possibly thought I could be 5 months pregnant right now. I’m going to try not to think of it that way.

Interviews . . . check!

That’s right, mark it off the list. They’re done. We have them behind us. And they went very well. They weren’t nearly as grueling as we were anticipating. (Don’t scare us like that next time, Amanda!) And even better news . . . our social worker is coming to our home on FRIDAY! That’s right. Friday morning – 8:45am to be exact. So she will do a walk-thru/safety inspection and an interview with us together. And I will hand in my scrapbook. Then we are done with our input in this process.

Hasn’t this gone so quickly!!? We just went to the seminar on February 1-2. Now we are almost done. Our social worker told us today that it would probably be 2-3 weeks before they can begin showing our profile. They are still waiting on our finger prints to come back from OSBI. Then she also has to type up a report for our homestudy/interviews. Which she did say that she could go ahead and get started on that part this week. (Bless her heart, she knows how anxious we are for our little baby!)

It’s so hard to know . . . I mean, I know God is controlling the timing; and ever part of the process He is ordaining. But is He moving us through quickly because there is a baby very soon for us. That is at least my desire. But we could move through this process quickly to sit and wait and wait and wait. It’s just so hard to know. And I can’t know. I just have to trust God is His infinite wisdom. I believe He has a better plan for our lives than we could create on our own or even dream of. And He has been proving that to me even more and more over the past few weeks. Thanks for all your prayers! We feel them. I’ll keep you posted!

Moving forward . . .

Jeremy and I will have our individual interviews with the agency on MONDAY!! We will be off work for the holiday. So we will be getting our physicals done early that morning (needed for the adoption agency). And then our interviews will be at 11:00am and noon. Wow! I am thrilled!!!!!!!!! (And let me tell you, since Jeremy has been sick this week – he never sounded so good, as when he called me with this news a few minutes ago. He is just as giddy about all of this as I am!) They are moving quickly, as I have been hoping they would. I think, I think, I think . . . that after this interview they will set up the 2nd to come to our house and then we’re ready to go! We will be ready for our baby to join us! Well, you all know we are ready now, but paperwork will prove us to be ready. We will have the official stamp of approval. It’s just another step forward in this process and it may keep me smiling all weekend.

P.S. I never planned on being a daily blogger. I guess I just didn’t realize how many things happen daily, where I feel the need to share with the world. Or whoever chooses to read.

Terrifying morning!

It has been an interesting morning in the office. We have had some friendly visitors . . . mice. So early this morning a woman came up to me and asked me to place a phone call to the trouble desk because she spotted a mouse in the building. So I placed the call. And I gave her a little tease about trying to catch it. Well, the laughter ended when 2 mice came running under my desk just a few minutes later. Granted they are tiny baby mice. But who really cares about the details – they are MICE! I am the same girl that will place a kitchen glass over a bug in our house if Jeremy is not home to kill it.
Side note: He was out of town for 5 days for work. It was during a weather change when the bugs start trying to come in. He had not sprayed in a while. So when he returned, there were about 8 drinking glasses on the floor of our living room with dead bugs under them. They had suffocated. So that’s just a little history on me. I HATE anything icky and I’m not going to have anything to do with it. I’m not going to try to kill or catch, only avoid . . . by running, climbing or shutting myself in a closet.

So now, for the past 2 hours I have been sitting in my chair at work, Indian style. My ankles are starting to hurt since I have on tall boots and I am not very comfortable. But I feel safer this way. They placed a mouse trap, loaded with peanut butter (apparently a favorite of mice) under my desk. I think hearing it snap may send me over the edge.

He caught it!!

It finally got him. It was only a matter of time, I suppose. Whatever the virus is that is going around EVERYWHERE has now found Jeremy. I know from speaking to my family and others it’s traveling through at least the states of: Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado and knocking down multitudes! So when the cold chills hit Jeremy today, he decided to call the doctor. And they were graciously able to “squeeze” him in for an appointment this afternoon.
So perhaps Valentine’s Day will be an uneventful one at our home tomorrow night. In fact, probably very similar to Jeremy’s birthday 2 weeks ago, when I dramatically thought that I might, perhaps, be on my deathbed. Beware of the virus!

Confession of my selfish thought: I hope he doesn’t pass it back to me!!

Glad for coffee

I am happy to have it back in my morning routine. After months and months of trying to get pregnant, I decided to lay off the coffee thinking maybe that would be helpful. Well, I decided to say goodbye to caffeine pretty much completely. And I was really okay with that. I didn’t have an addiction to it or anything. In fact, at my house everything is decaf . . . even the coffee. But at work, where I always have the morning cup (or 2), it is not. So for the past couple of months, I have freely had my morning cup of coffee with sugar-free hazelnut creamer and 2 packets of splenda. I like it sweet! And I just wanted to say that I am glad it is back in my life.

Where is the kitchen table??

There is just a lot of paperwork. That is our kitchen table in the picture, though you can’t really see it! I don’t remember the last time we had dinner at the table. Which I hate! I don’t like sitting on the couch and eating my dinner in front of the TV. Dinner is supposed to be family time, right? Recently, there was one night that we pushed papers and scrapbooking materials aside to at least make a spot for each of us. So we could sit and eat and look at each other and talk . . . with no TV. But I am definitely ready to be done with this part of it – the paperwork and difficult questions. But I also know if I am not “working” on something pertaining to the adoption, then it will definitely feel more like a waiting game.

Back to the questions we have to answer. They aren’t easy, by the way. I mean, Jeremy and I have had a lot of time to actually think about parenting. Some people are just thrown into it and sort of fly by the seat of their pants. But since we have been eagerly awaiting children for a while now, we have had plenty of time to observe others and begin to learn how we want to do things. So my thought is this: if everyone in the country had to fill out this paperwork and go through the home study process before bringing a child home from the hospital, America would have a lot more orphanages. I really believe that. People would think, “I’m not ready!” For the record, that thought has NOT crossed our minds. We are MORE than ready for this. And I know this interrogation process will be well worth the end result. But it’s hard to answer some of the questions nonetheless. For example: What makes you angry? I don’t often get “angry” per say, definitely frustrated at times. Or what about this one: What experiences have you been through that will help you parent a child? Okay, seriously, I don’t think babysitting gives one parental experience. Just some crazy questions to weed through and give my best and honest answers. And I realize that each one will probably open up a new can of worms as we start interviews. But oh well, I am ready to be an open book . . . I think.

So actually most of the table is covered with the scrapbooking materials, not actually adoption paperwork. But it’s easier to complain about the paperwork. I mean who wouldn’t love the scrapbook portion of this process!! The scrapbooking is actually the fun part for me. We get to make a scrapbook of our lives for the birth moms to look through. That is part of the process in how they choose a family. I am almost done with the book, but am waiting on a few pictures (AHEM!! You know who you are.) Maybe I will post some of the pages on the blog soon, if I can figure out how to do that. I bet Jeremy can assist with that one.

Okay, I have taken my break. I am now getting back to the PAPERWORK!!

Big News!

Dear family and friends,

I hope that this year is off to a good start for each of you. At our house, we are hopeful for a very exciting 2008. And thus the purpose of this letter. I wanted to update each of you to let you know what exactly is going on in our lives right now.

We are excited and hopeful about the possibility of growing our family. We are completely ready to be mom and dad to some little ones. This has been a struggle for us over the past year and a half. And now we are getting a small glimpse of God’s purpose in it all. And so, we have excitedly begun the process of domestic adoption. Adoption is something that has always been on our minds. It is something we discussed very early on in our marriage. It became an idea very close to our hearts as we watched God bring into our lives, 2 adorable nieces through domestic adoption. And as we have prayed about starting a family of our own, the decision to adopt came easily.

So without further ado, we would like to announce that we are in, what I would like to call, our second trimester of adoption. We are in the home study process, mainly consisting of paperwork and a few interviews. And once completed, probably around the end of February, the agency will begin showing our profile to birth mothers. And the waiting will begin for us.

We would covet your prayers during the next few months. Please pray for the child that God has planned for us. Pray for the baby’s healthy development and safe delivery. Pray for the amazing woman that is making the decision to place her child in our lives. It is such a sacrifice that I can not fully comprehend and we are so grateful for her selflessness. And lastly, you can pray for us; as we move through these last few steps of the process, involving paperwork and interviews. And we would appreciate your prayers for patience as we wait for our child.

We are really beside ourselves right now. We are so excited to see what our family will look like and who God has planned for us. God has been so gracious to make each step forward so evident for us. Thank you for your prayers. And thank you for holding a special place in our lives that we can even come to you and ask. We love you all!

Love,
Jeremy and Melodie