Questions, answers...and a side of confusion.

So far, no morning sickness...but the paper cuts are terrible!! :)

 I think it's time to update everyone on our adoption status at the moment. I know we've talked to a lot of people about our plans and what's going on, but we're still getting a lot of "frequently asked questions." So here ya go...
 #1. You said Kids with an S? YES, we are in the system as "looking for a sibling set". Now you will ask us, "Why TWO?!" with an alarmed face. Well here's the thing; The more reading and researching we've done, we noticed that people generally only want to adopt ONE kid. While there are plenty of single kiddos out there waiting for their forever home, there are also sibling sets that the State is trying to keep together for the sake of Family. The problem with keeping family together is, that other families don't generally want to deal with all these children. Well, we do. We want more than one kid anyway, and there is a huge need here!

#2. The age of these two kids are? Anywhere from infant to about 4 yrs old. That's what we told our Social Worker. Toddlers are fine and babies are fine and anything in between.


#3. Why are we having a Pre-Adoption Sower? Well, the funny thing about having our home visit by the State is, they want us to be fully repaired when they arrive. Our social worker informed us that we should have everything possible there at the house, have the baby room all set up and the whole sha-bang! So, my creative sister in law, Christina, is heading up our pre-baby-baby shower. Along with help from both excited Grandma's-to-be, and some amazing friends.
This Pre-Adoption shower is going to be the strangest, most fun shower ever created. We're doing a Dr. Seuss theme and going all out! Don't worry if you didn't receive an invite because I've also been informed there will be an equally awesome After-baby shower for clothes and fun things!

#4. When will you get the kids? Believe me, I would LOVE to know the answer to this question myself! All the paper work is being sent in in the next few days to apply for our home visit, and once that takes place they will be "processing" us and will call us to make an appointment for a home visit. The list of things needed to be sent in for this part of the process is giving me a headache, the things that need to be done before the home-checker comes to our house is giving me a headache, and the waiting, waiting, waiting is giving me a headache...or maybe it's just my 3rd cup of coffee speaking up. Anyway, the point is, I am SO ready for all this to be over with!

#5. Then do you get the kids? Ah, not yet. Once our home is approved for our 2 babies, we will have our Social Worker do her own inspection of the house. Then she will have a series of interviews with us together and separately, determining weather or not we are up to this challenge. (Don't worry, I've seen the other people who were applying for this adoption process and Matt and I have a great shot! haha).
Once she decides what type of children would be the best "fit" for our family, we will have a chance to meet these kids. Until then, we know nothing about who is available for adoption.





#6. Once you get the kids will everything be finished? Haaa. No. Unfortunately, the speed of the actual Adopting process of our kids will depend on so many different factors. They will try to match us with kids that have the highest possibility of being adopted quickly. Some kids have parents in jail that may have a probation period, and in that case, things could get very scary for us.

#7. What experience do you have with kids anyway? A lot more than people give us credit for, trust me.
#8. Are you and Matt ready for these emotionally damaged kids? Who's ever really ready? We've had a lot more training than any other first-time parents...and I watch a lot of Super Nanny. Haha. But

seriously, God put this on our hearts to adopt these kids, and He will not give us anything we can not handle! (with Him by our side, of course).

 #9. I just have one more question... Go ahead and ask me any questions you might have, I'd be happy to answer if I can!

Well folks, I hope I've shed some light on all the confusion. I'm still a little confused about all this myself but we can get through it together! *wink wink*.



One day all this paper work and these to-do lists will make sense and be nothing but a really annoying memory!

Family, Friends and Fireworks!



I love food. (If this comes as a shock to anyone, you apparently do not know me at all).
I love music. I love hanging out with fun people and having a good time. I love that BBQ picnics were created JUST for this purpose! So, Matt and I decided to host our first 4th of July Party at our house this year.
In order to make this the best Independence day BBQ ever, I skimmed a few web site ideas on-line and looked at a couple pictures to decide how I should go about decorating and cooking and what-not.

I came across the cutest picture of an apple pie with stars instead of slits on top! Apple Pie? Sure! Can't be that hard to make right?
When I told my boss I was making my first apple pie he said, "Well this is the first time I'm happy I wasn't invited to someones BBQ." Har har har, funny guy eh?

The next idea I got from some Martha Stewert-type web site was: brownie, marshmallow and strawberry skewers. I thought, Ok! Let's do this!

Well I scrambled around to 4 or 5 different stores after work for 2 days, trying to find a star-shaped cookie cutter and other miscellaneous 4th of July decorations. I have one thought on this...What is wrong with Southern CA?! Places are covered in holloween costumes from September on, but try to find some USA B-day supplies? Nothing! I'm still peeved.

So, what did I do? I got down to the basics of practical thinking mixed with Arts n' Crafts. I made my own dang cookie cutter. Out of card board and a knife.

Living proof you don't NEED a cookie cutter.

You laugh, but it worked. And I'd like to see you try!
So, after one phone call to my mom, and a quick peak on the BettyCrocker web site, I put the thing in the oven and out came a beautiful dish! yumm

We had such a great time at the BBQ and everyone showed up with amazing side dishes and desserts!



While Matt grilled everyone's food, some people played horse shoes, some sat and relaxed and the rest of us got busy chatting and catching up.


There is nothing like the smell of BBQ food! So yummy!
If we could eat like this every day, I would have no complaints! Ok, well if we could eat like this and not gain an inch anyway...

 Other than the pie, the brownie and marshmallow and strawberry skewer thingies ended up looking ok too!
I made the brownies too sticky, but with the help of Christina, Mom and Grandma Betsy, we got them all put together. The problem with having such pretty food though, is that you don't want to mess it up!...I still have 2 left overs that I've just been looking at.
 Matt however, had no problem making the pretty food disappear.

The center pieces for the tables were just empty wine bottles, decorated with red, white and blue streamers with flags and flowers sticking out the top. Very easy and fun to make!



It's days like these that make you truly appreciate your freedom and remind us why we work so hard, punching the clock from day to day. It's feels so great to know that we earned this day off and that we still have men and women out there defending our freedom so we can continue to enjoy our holidays!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!

The night ended with a great firework show! Matt put up his usual ladder set-up and let sparks fly!

I still think sparklers are the best thing ever... no matter how old you get, they're still so much fun!

After most of the crowd left, we sat out front around the fire pit that was still burning and made s'mores with friends while we all recited most of the lines from "The Sandlot".
                                        Such a great end to such a perfect day!