A Dose of Chicken Soup

Borders. Oh Borders. There are tons of books about adoption. I went to the parenting section of Borders today with an entire shelf devoted to...or should I say labeled as "ADOPTION." The shelf however was full of books on the joy of pregnancy and baby names. There was ONE adoption book on the shelf "Chicken Soup for the Adoption Soul." I hate Borders. If you're going to have the shelf GET THE BOOKS FOR HEAVENS SAKE!

The weekend has been great, and things are progressing for us in a big way. We're almost done with the home study paperwork. The actual home study is very soon. I need to train my dogs to behave better. :)

Mama

Sunshine, Sand, Waterfalls, Trails...and you.

I have some really neat seashells in my bathroom window, one of which is some kind of purple sea urchin shell. I found it when we were at Long Boat Key with our friends J and A. The trip was awesome and SO relaxing. Looking at the shells I imagined what it will be like to take our little guy or girl there with us some time. It will be so much fun. Mr. N. and I have been so many places and experienced so much joy in our lives that I can't help but become giddy when I think of all the things that we'll be able to share with our little one. When we drove to Daytona for our seminar we passed some parks and hiking trails along the way and Mr. N. said "think of all of the wonderful places we will be able to take our baby." He's right...and I'm ready.

* The pictures to the right are all from our trip to Longboat Key. You can see the sea urchin shell on the left (just the edge of it). I don't know the little boy but he was awfully cute.

HOPE

Have great hopes and dare to go all out for them.
Have great dreams and dare to live them.
Have tremendous expectations and believe in them.

Cloth and Babies

I was lurking around in the fabric store today seeing if they had anything interesting or new (that was dirt cheap) when I heard a little baby crying on the other side of the store. I heard the mother happily cooing with the baby getting her/him to settle down. She had so much love in her voice.

It made me think of our baby- the baby that MIGHT be crying on the other side of the world. I wondered if anyone was picking him up, holding him, settling him down. This is the part that hurts me the most. So many children, so few caregivers...no one to pick them up when they cry.

Baby, if you are here on this earth today...and you cry...I hope (with a hope beyond compare) that someone picks up you and caresses you.

hugs, kisses, and the sweetest of dreams~

mama and daddy

A Future Day of Celebration

Mother's Day is May 9th.

I hope I remember to do something nice for my mother. A special person that raised 6 kids, at least two handfuls of neighbor kids and a boatload of grandchildren.

Mother's Day.

Maybe 2011 it will mean something completely different for me. Maybe.

Facts about Russia

Hello!

Several people have asked me all kinds of questions about Russia (make sure you read these Jordan)! Here are some links for you guys!


http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Places/Find/Russia
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0930073.html
http://worldinfozone.com/facts.php?country=Russia
http://www.uni.edu/becker/Russian2.html

Enjoy!!

Thank you for being so!

My husband is wonderful! Not for anything in particular that he did for me today...but just for being who he is everyday. I know that I am lucky, and for this I am grateful.

I just got back from a business trip. While I was away I had a wonderful dream. I was on a farm and I came around the corner of a barn and Mr. N. was standing next to a hand-hewn wood fence petting a horse and holding a beautiful baby girl in a yellow dress. The sun was shining down and they had a glow around them that was unbelievable. He looked up and smiled. I smiled back and felt a deep sense of happiness. It all felt so real.

I want to wake up each day feeling like that.

~ Mama

Onward and Upward...slowly

Hi,

I really don't have much to post. Not much is going on. It has been cold here for the past week in the 20s-40s. We are waiting for our FBI fingerprints to clear and Mr. N. has to have a physical (our doctor is on vacation) so we wait. Meanwhile we have signed up for our parenting classes and our CPR class. We have been working a little on the child's room. It keeps me focused and settled and happy. Sometimes we just open the door and stare inside. I like going in there. It is a happy place full of so much joy and hope.

Aunt K and Uncle J are bringing us a glider rocking chair! We are really excited. They are supposed to bring it tomorrow and come see the room too.

Well, like I said...not much going on. I am posting two pictures of the room.

mama

Sunday Deals

Yay! We finally found the crib that we were looking for- used, online and LOCAL! Just a few dings and scratches with Sealy mattress BARELY used for $80. I was happy. We brought it home and bleached everything down and gave it a good scrub. It looks great it the room! Aunt K and Uncle J have the dust ruffle and a few other items. It will be nice to get those (thanks guys!). We just need a small dresser with changing table capability and a nice comfy glider rocker...and maybe a little bookcase if we have room and we're done! Well, except for the baby which won't be around for a long while :( I hope that LONG WHILE goes by fast!

We finished a few more paperwork items (thanks Aunt J and Grandma!) and took pictures of the house this weekend. I think the HS packet will be ready to send in soon. Maybe this week (fingers crossed). Having days off this week really allowed us to accomplish a lot towards our goal! Way to go Mr. N. and Mama (patting us on the back).

Vacation over. Back to the real world tomorrow. Over and Out.

Mama

A Note to You

Dearest little baby,

Today is January 1, 2010. I don't know this...but my guess is that you are probably born by now. You are soft and sweet and in your crib. The time in Moscow right now is 4:48 a.m. It is January 2nd for you! As always you are on my mind tonight. When I look into the sky and see the moon I know that we are sharing the same moon (I hope you get to see it some times...but if not I will make sure that you will see it often in the warm arms of mama and daddy). When I wake up and look outside and see the sun I know that we are sharing the same sun (I hope you get to see it some times...but if not I will make sure that you will see it often in the warm arms of mama and daddy too). Please know that we love you. Please know that we wish you were here with us...instead of where you are now. You belong here. Please know that we are working as fast as we can so that the three of us can share many many moons and suns...and stars. We love you. Happy New Year sweet baby.

loving you forever,

mama and daddy

*The image tonight is a work by Kana Handel called "Prayer for Someone Crying." Her work is amazing. and I recommend checking out her site http://kanasarts.com/MainFrameSet.html. Thank you Kana for the beautiful things you do!