Today is going to be a VERY BIG DAY!

Long story short, we met with our social worker for yet another home study update this morning-- which went very well-- and she gave us some information that may change everything (for the good)!! Can't share more right now but I'm smiling so big my cheeks are hurting! Isabelle and I danced and twirled through the loop inside the house and I haven't felt this optimistic or full of hope in a little while now. I feel so free! Free for possibilities, free for all that God has in store for our growing family, free to let go of the expectations and the time frames and all those what ifs!

God placed this desire in our hearts and He will be faithful to the very end. What, then, do I have to be afraid of? You guys, adoption is scary and wonderful and beautiful and full of ups and downs, but God is bigger than any detail and all details...everything! We would be so grateful if you could offer up a prayer on our behalf as we continue on this winding path again- thank you!  =)

In the past 24 hours I've...

Every now and then I like to record all the things that make up a day in my life as a wife and Mom to my 13-, 12-, 10- and 6-years-old crew. I will probably faint from excitement by the end! Here we go, and in no particular order.

In the past 24 hours I've...

• reorganized 3 sets of bureau drawers
• used a plunger (ewwwwww! just ew!)
• listened to a handsome boy's music
• completed 6 loads of laundry AND put away all 6 loads
• swapped out winter clothes for summer ones
• taken 8 walks (and only one was the I've-got-to-get-out-of-here  kind!)
• played fetch with the dog
• watched Isabelle zip up and down the street
• dismantled 1/4 of the new rock wall
• tripped over both a large and small rock (while dismantling said rock wall)
• spackled nail holes in the wall
• edited pictures for the yet-to-be-painted frames hanging in the family room
• worked on a new tutorial for a little girl's nightgown
• asked a friend for a favor
• read a few chapters in a library book (that I noticed on the shelf and got because the author's name is also Bethany)
• wished I had my piano here (soon!)
• watched Dora
• chatted with neighbors
• pampered a sick child
• got groceries in record time
• still not put away all the groceries
• smiled at cute pigtails
• made fruit salad for the kids' school snack
• reorganized my closet
• dug holes in front of the house
• taken away privileges for poor behavior
• calmed down Ryder as the Kindergarten bus approached (every.single.time)
• danced up and down over some new seedlings that sprouted
• resisted the urge to buy another plant/flowers (mostly because I had to rush home to sick Caleb)
• watched Isabelle tumble, cartwheel and flip
• had the most fun chatting with the other gymnastic Moms!
• {finally} hung up some of Isabelle's things from our old house
• decided to take the plunge and try to make Hushpuppies (out of my Laura Ingalls Wilder cookbook!)
• ate my Mother's Day M&Ms (small bag, people!)
• held hands with the one I love
• seen Robert Downey Jr pretend to pee in his Ironman suit
• enjoyed a leg/foot massage by not one but two children!
• helped a friend with a favor
• finished an order for 3 matching nightgowns...eek! So cute!
• done 5+ tick checks (only one found, but not embedded...still so gross!)
• met a filmmaker at the pond (that outta-here walk) and discussed the Northern Pass
• giggled watching Isabelle helping me fold towels and washcloths
• made 3 lists
• spoke harshly with a child but later shared a sweet moment together
• prayed for my friends, family, and a few people I'll never know but read their stories and felt compelled to pray
• asked God for help and thanked Him for my life

 

(sorry about the watermark - I've recently seen some pictures of Isabelle online and it really creeps me out)

What did your day look like?

Hope it was a great one!

The Best Mother's Day

In our family, Mother's Day is more a weekend-long event rather than just one day. And why not? Mothers work really hard! This morning I woke up bright and early with a big smile on my face, reflecting on the joys and blessings in my life.

And then I had myself a little moment. I think I was just feeling overly emotional because this adoption hasn't been going the way I'd thought it would, and I just got so upset. I kept telling myself to snap out of it and put on a happy face for everyone, but that only made me cry harder. (Plus, after being brave and asking to have my haircut fixed yesterday and thinking it looked really cute when she finished only to find this morning that when I tried to do it, it is three or four inches shorter in the back than what I'd thought, and with the humidity and rain it simply wasn't going to obey me anyway. Then everything I tried on looked and felt awful. It was pretty bad.) So needless to say, we were a little tardy for church this morning, and that dark little voice inside me was egging me on to throw my hands up in desperation and simply not go. Then the enemy would have won and it was only 7:55 AM, people! I would have missed out for sure! And what kind of message would I have been sending to my children? It was a wonderful service and we had a great time.

I never remember to get a picture after church but before the kids change into play clothes. And no, it isn't like to happen before church!

And I've been pampered with glorious foot rubs, back scratches, homemade waffles, beautiful cards, my favorite candy (peanut M&Ms and a Peppermint Patty!!!), quiet time to read and sew, and long, leisurely walks all day long! Right now on my counter there are a dozen sheets of pasta that Bill made, which will become homemade Seafood Scampi for dinner. Now that's love!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! And to all the wonderful mothers in my life and in our family, enjoy your special day! Please know that I'm still praying for those of you who ache to be mothers or who have endured the loss of a child. God sees you and loves you and wants to give you more than you can even imagine!

I was just about Isabelle's age in this picture with my beautiful Mom. In our matching dresses of course!  =)

44 Years

Isabelle and I just got back from my parents' house where we'd gone to wish them both a Happy Anniversary  -- 44 YEARS! 

That's a tremendous accomplishment and I'm so thankful for my Mom and Dad!

Little Miss and I traipsed through aisle after aisle of darling plants and flowers in search of just the right one for Mimi. Oh wait, that is how I had pictured it in my mind. The cold hard reality may have resembled something a little different, something shall we say, like a drooling, whining, Nervous Nellie of a dog yanking his poor people along like helpless rag dolls through the outdoor displays. Silly dog.

We settled on purple petunias and a hot pink geranium, two of my mother's favorite colors.

I'm sure she would have loved them had she actually been at home when we showed up, ha ha! My Dad said she was out visiting friends (love that!) so we hung out with Grampy, who had been hard at work all morning repainting all the ceilings. He said he'd better clean himself up so she'd go out to dinner with him tonight. HaHaHa

So here we are back at home, Ryder is sprawled out by my feet as I type, Caleb is gearing up for his game tonight, Ethan will have a sleepover with Bill's parents, I'm thinking up something little but special for Jonah and me if I put Isabelle to bed early, I'm trying to finish up some sewing orders, finish the laundry, get snacks made, and saving the best for last...deciding which sides to order from our favorite Chinese food joint for Date Night In with my man. I just happened to pick up Friday Night Lights, Season One last week...  ;o)

Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Mother's Day!
I hope this {see below} is part of my weekend plans...

And for those of you who ache to be mothers, I'm praying for you- God has wonderful things in store for you, but waiting can be so hard! Don't give up hope!

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee.

Isaiah 26:3

Vulnerable

I think I've started and restarted this post about twelve times now. I still have no idea what I'm going to say because there's so much swirling around up in my head right now and I can't narrow in on any particular focus. So with that said, here is my randomness in all its random-y glory.

I'm having a hard time dealing with being disappointed by my children. Does that sound terrible? Does that make me sound terrible? I love my kids more than my own life! BUT... I feel like these particular stages and phases are literally going to do me in! Where is all that sweetness and cuteness that used to be such a big part of my everyday life? It isn't everyone -- goodness knows that would send me straight to the loony bin for sure! -- so at least I can be thankful for that, but it's still so hard. Most days I'm left feeling disappointed, frustrated and overwhelmed, and not all that excited for what's bound to be a repeat performance the next day. Please tell me I'm not alone.

On a lighter note, one of my little Love-Troubles has been saying the funniest things lately. The problem is I can't ever remember any of them! By the end of the day I've been here and there and everywhere in between and I'm done for! Maybe I'm just getting too old and it comes with the territory! At least I get some good laughs in throughout the day, right?

I am in complete denial that my little boy will be a freshman in high school next year. Gulp. Nope, never mind. Can't even bear to talk about that right now. Moving along.

I got my hair cut last week at a swanky place (well, swanky for me), and I'm not loving it. That always stinks! I might even muster up the nerve to call and ask for a change -- the back just sort of falls flat and hangs there...it's not pretty -- but that really intimidates me! I don't want to hurt the stylist's feelings, but I also don't want to cry every time I look in the mirror. Decisions decisions... has anyone really ever done that? Normally I just trim the parts I don't like myself, but that's kind of what got me in this mess in the first place, so I promised myself I wouldn't take matters into my own hands again. For a while anyway. Especially after paying bigger bucks! Someone tell me what to do, pleeeaase!

Yesterday Isabelle and I were playing outside when the rain came, for two minutes. Then we went back out, only to get rained on again. And again. I needed a slow day anyway (not that park playdates aren't awesome, but sometimes you just need a quiet day!) so I declared it Movie Day. Wouldn't you know that the second I popped that DVD in, the sun popped through the clouds and shone all afternoon. Oh we didn't care! We watched that movie all right, and I'm STILL singing Now I see the Light.... AND, because I am slow or perhaps living under a rock, I had no idea that the voice of Flynn Rider is that Chuck (never saw the show) guy. Love love love Flynn Rider's voice! Mystery solved, in case anyone else has been living under a rock.

I am so tired of making school lunches right now I wonder if I'm going to break out in hives just thinking about it! Then I'd have a bad haircut AND be itchy! Moving along...

I just hung up on a fundraiser guy on the phone. Well, I wasn't completely rude, just a little bit rude. Maybe when he asked me how I was doing this morning, I should have really told him, ha! I did say 'No thank you' right before I hung up on him, so that make it okay I think. Right?

Okay, one last pity party moment. I truly truly love our new church, and I have enjoyed getting to meet new people as well as get reacquainted with some old friends, but I have this gaping hole inside me that just flat out misses my old church. The church I grew up in. The church we were married at, where our children were dedicated, and so much more. I hope I'm learning to be someone better as a result of this pain because it just kills me that not one friend, teacher or leader has reached out to us in any way since we left almost a year ago. I know we're all busy, and I'm vaguely aware that I'm not the center of the universe, but it just plain hurts! (My friend Kristen is the exception here, but we we've been friends outside of church for a long time- Love you Kristen!) I still don't know people very well at our new church, so I feel stuck in some sort of middle. Missing what was, and lacking the connections to feel really involved and part of the newer community.

I snapped this picture the other day of Isabelle and her friend Tess playing out in the yard. There was so much giggling and smiling and squealing! That's how I always dreamed it would be having a little girl. (I loved watching the boys play with their friends too, but believe me when I say there wasn't much sitting down involved in those play dates, ha!) I'm sorry if I sound whiny today...I do know that I am a blessed, blessed girl.

Okay, I have to go sew sew sew! Lots of orders to finish up, so thank you very much to anyone who purchased something from my little shop! I appreciate you so much! We have a home study update with our social worker next week, so those purchases will help pay for that. Thank you! Hope you have a great Thursday! I'm going to call my Mom to say sorry. And THANK YOU!

A Big Milestone for My Little Girl & a Busy Weekend

Isabelle is growing up so fast! (Despite my constant protesting!) She lost her very first tooth a couple of weeks ago, and then her second one at a Subway in Delaware on our way back from Virginia last week...I think I forgot to mention that in the Virginia post!

Well, today, our lively, sassy, beautiful little girl has gone and done it again...

I was extremely proud of Jonah, who spent an hour or more today helping Isabelle Kate master the ins and outs of riding sans kiddie wheels -- he was very patient with her, and she was absolutely beaming at him the whole time. Just melted my heart.

She zipped up and down our street for hours! So proud of her! She was ready a while ago, but I don't think I was. Now there's no stopping her!

Business has picked up big time in my little Etsy shop and I feel so grateful! I had finished up a cute polka dot nightgown and sweet pink dress before some new orders came in, and as of a half hour ago, they are still available.

Peasant nightgown (portrait dress) with crocheted lace hem//Size 24 Months 2T

Ruffled pink peasant dress with dainty bows//Size 18-24 Months

The weather has been so warm and sunny, and we have LOTS of yard work to get done, so we've pretty much lived outside this past week. No complaining here! No pictures to share yet, but sometime soon...okay, I lied. Here's one --

Gorgeous, right?

Earlier tonight we took our Annual First Ice Cream Cone of the Season Walk Around the Neighborhood. Say that five times real fast! I guess it was a double first, since this is our first spring and summer here.

We couldn't leave Rydie out of the fun!

I don't know if it shows in the picture or not, but this dog was crazy wild for ice cream, or maybe just the cones! He nearly knocked Isabelle over jumping up to snatch hers out of her hand. No chance she's letting go of her cone, jumpy dog! And she didn't.  ;)

I, on the other hand, couldn't resist that pitiful little face and may or may not have accidentally dropped my cone.

Yeah, you're welcome, pup. =)  Have a great night!