Decluttering My Life - An Adoption Fundraiser!

Well, we are officially done with paperwork for now it seems.  That is, a new form hasn't crossed my inbox for about a week.  YAY!  So we are truly in the waiting I guess, with nothing else to do.

Obviously, I've been working on the nursery lately.  It's certainly coming along.  I got the curtains I wanted as a gift this week!  Andrew and I picked up some cheap-o frames at Ikea recently and I printed off some adorable pictures of characters from some of our favorite children's books.  So there's a bit of color going on in the room now.

Now that the baby room is almost done, all the stuff that WAS in the room had to find a new home in our house.  I've decided it'll be much easier just to get rid of it all.  That's not going overboard is it????  Really, I started walking through the house and thinking about what I could live without if it meant that I could bring home my baby.  That list grew QUICKLY!  Thus begins my yard sale brainstorming.

Since sharing my idea with friends and family, we've had TONS of stuff given to us to sell.  I have actually had to set up a room in our house just for yard sale stuff (thank goodness the home study is over!).  This weekend I started pouring over everything, pricing things, sorting boxes like a department store (electronics, women's clothing, etc.).  This is my new little pet project I guess.

I've heard that big yard sales, especially ones involving multiple families contributing like this one, are fabulous fundraisers.  I've never really been a fan of yard sales, but Pinterest has a never ending list of valuable tips and ideas for putting on a great sale.  I'm going to give it a whirl and see how it goes.  I'm inspired and encouraged by the ever growing pile of boxes at my house - it may just be fantastic after all!  Stay tuned!

(If you're reading this and you've thought you'd love to help but don't have a lot of cold hard cash to spare, please feel free to bring me that box of stuff you've been stashing in an upstairs closet for two years and waiting to get rid of.  I will gladly sell it!)

Pass It On

My mom cleaned house recently and sent me a box chock full of some of my childhood belongings.  Here are a couple of my favorite items:

That's right.  This girl (points to myself) LOVES to read.  I'm sure some will find these to be odd choices, but you can tell these are some well-read favorites from my own childhood!!  You can see my favorite German Christmas story book and a non-fiction book about space.  This definitely explains my love for language and literature and for science and technology.  Reading makes well-rounded people.  I still adore reading to this day.  I'm so grateful for a mother who sat next to me and read with me all the time.  It made me love reading and learning!  Now I teach technology classes, and then I come home and curl up with a Jane Austen novel to unwind.

As the saying goes, "Readers are made on the laps of their parents."  I hope I can pass along this same passion for reading and learning to the next generation.  I don't know that these particular books will survive at the hands of a child, but I am sure that we will find quite a few to stock baby's library.  Nothing sounds more precious to me than curling up in that sweet rocker and reading with future Baby I.

Thank you, Mom!!!

A Nursery for Baby

Thank you to everyone who recently participated in our Thirty-One fundraiser!  It was delightfully encouraging to experience that level of support!  And a HUUUUUGE thank you to the lovely Marcia for taking on such a big project!  Remember, if you need anything Thirty-One down the road, check out her web site. https://www.mythirtyone.com/marciasthirtyone

We’ve been busy bees lately with fundraising, paper work, and trying to prep our home for a future baby. 

Adoption starts off feeling like a far-away dream.  Then you start meeting people and having conversations.  Then you have endless stacks of paperwork (one of my friends found a shirt that says “I am paper pregnant.”  Love it!).  There's lots of waiting.  And lots of work to be done on the house.  

Recently we started the nursery with the rocker.  I love that thing!  Then the crib came in the mail!  I’m so excited!!!  And I can’t wait to tell you the GREAT deal we got on it!

Maybe a year ago, Andrew and I started saving our rewards points on the credit card for a lovely vacation.  We want to go back to Europe so much.  I figured, hey we can save the points and cash them in for plane tickets. 

But as this adoption moves along, I realize we have new priorities.  While standing in a nearly empty room, I suggested to Andrew that we could also cash our points in for giftcards.  We did, and we found a great crib and changing table!!  And there you have it, a furnished nursery for very little mullah (remember, the chair was a hand-me-down and free)!!

(I’m not recommending using credit cards.  They work for our family because we diligently pay it off monthly and refuse to carry consumer debt.  You may find not having a credit card works better for your family.) 

I’m so glad I remembered our rewards points and was able to score a great deal for the nursery.  We are another “baby step” closer to bringing home Baby I!  Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and continuing to lift us up and encourage us.  You, our readers and friends, are a light in our days during this long process.  Please continue to remember us in your thoughts and prayers.