twiddling thumbs.



yeah, pretty much!

So it's been a month and a half since we sent in our Foster Care license packet.

We are currently STILL waiting for them to contact us and come do a home visit.
I'm literally going insane waiting for this phone call!

However, being the insane person that I might be, I am getting a lot done in the mean time! Here are a few things I have accomplished in these last few slow passing weeks...

1. I have successfully raised 3 hissing wild kittens and turned them into friendly little purring pests. I mean pets. pets.

2. I got addicted to Pinterest... and even almost made a few things using ideas from it.

pretty much!

3. I have written one and 1/3 of  my "update" blogs.

4. I have re-arranged the kid's bathroom supplies a few times... only to let it all end up in the same spot.

5. I went out for a fun girls night with my awesome friends and got talked into getting my lip pierced. Good times.

me, Jolene and Kelley out for a drive

6. I started reading another book. A page here, a page there...

7. I got the cracked windshield on my car fixed.
(ok, well actually Matt did that.)

8. I watched Matt re-organize the garage.

9. I bought a new pair of jeans! Yes this makes me happy, don't judge. Besides, these aren't yucky stretchy maternity jeans, and for that I am thankful.

10. I helped sell a ton of stuff for my Grandma at her Estate Sale.
(And ended up taking home 2 boxes full of stuff for Matt to organize into the garage. Well, he's just so good at it!)

Cleanin' up 40+ years of living in one spot.

11. I hung up a few new pictures in the house. And hung up more new frames already equipped with pictures of children who don't look like me! Sweet.

12. I bought at least 50 more songs from my favorite bands on itunes. Please don't add that up.

13. I did a couple sit -ups a few mornings ago. Oh! and went on a walk! go me.

14. I called the Foster Licensing place, only to learn that someone new has taken over the paperwork department and things are running behind over there. Take your time people, I've only been waiting a few years, what's another few months?!

15. I've talked Matt out of watching at least 4 Disney movies in the last few months.
(why get sick of them before we are forced to watch them over and over and over...and over and over and over?... He doesn't get it, but I've babysat. I know these things!)

Just by looking at the pictures,
 I have100 Disney songs running through my head

16. I started reading another book.
(no I'm not done with the previous one. I have this contest to see which one gets my attention the fastest then I stick to the winner).

17. I've enjoyed many a full glass of coffee and of wine. Just because I'm not on some pregnancy diet and I can do this without the general public looking at me with condemning eyes. (FYI: I do not mix the two drinks together. Just to be clear.)

makes me laugh every time.



18. I have made a point of watching as many good movies as possible with Matt, (with the volume all the way up), since we all know one day those days will be doomed and filled with interruptions.   

 

I'm not really sure what a couple (such as ourselves), is supposed to do while they wait for someone to call and make an appointment to come look at your house, so you can get on with your life and get some children and start your family... Guess we'll just keep sitting here twiddling our thumbs and keep the "Be Patient" signs up. 

          

    Psalm 27:14

   Wait for the Lord;
       be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.

Nesting? more like Hyperventilating!

I promised pictures of the kid's room, and here they are!

the dogs love the animal bean bags we found at Target.

Yes, I know...we tend to go big or go home when it comes to decorating or creating something. It doesn't help that we had an awesome baby shower and that we also get fun things from Matt's jobs.

Toddler bed from Chris & Theresa, leaf from a job
and stuff from the shower!

We are getting more and more excited for this whole messy process to be over with... but while we wait, we repair.
It has been pretty fun setting up this baby room. But nerve racking at the same time.

"What if we forget something?!"
"What if they don't like this?!"
"What if they don't like that?!"
"What if we don't get everything done in time?!"

"What if the knives aren't hidden high enough in the cupboards?!"
"What if they don't think we make enough money to support kids?!"
"What if they think the pink tile on the bathroom counter is inappropriate?!".... oh wait, that's me.


My head has been a circle of annoying questions for months.

bath toys and necessities!

By now, if you've ever read any Baby Book, you would know that this is the time when I should be doing my whole "Nesting" thing. Well my nesting includes me standing in the room, looking around, smiling, wishing I could play with all the toys stacked nicely in the closet, and then suddenly running out to the computer or to the phone with something I forgot to check on or something I needed to ask about, or something we need to buy... This waiting game is no fun!

awesome chair from my
cousin, Danni.
the dogs love it.

UPDATE:
We have received our printed CPR licenses, we have submitted all necessary paper work, I've written my thank you notes for the baby shower (but I ran out of stamps so sorry if yours is late!), and we have heard from the Foster Licensing office. They are "currently processing our paper work". Not sure what that means or how long it will take them, but they'd better be happy with all of it because if I have to fill it all out again, they'll have to pay for my carpal-tunnel surgery.

Kitchen supplies!
 

We are getting finger printed today. I am actually waiting for Matt to get home right now so we can go. I'm pretty much writing this blog to keep myself from pacing back and forth. I'm so ready to get this one last thing done so we can relax a little!

Well that's about it for now, I'll post more updates the second we hear anything.

   

 Here are a few more for fun :)

Daisy really loves everything in the room.
...if only she knew WHAT it is for! haha

Faith, Family and Famlyish-Friends!

the guest book, "The Places You'll GO!"

Wow!
That's still pretty much the first word that comes to my mind when I think about the Pre-Foster/Adopt Shower that was thrown for us!

We needed this shower to help supply us with all the things that our Social Worker told us to get to prepare for our home visit, (aka: the inspection of our home to make sure we are fully prepared and ready for our sibling kids/babies).








Family!

We are SO thankful for this support! This took complete faith from everyone involved!

We still don't know how old the sibling babies will be, if they will be boys or girls or both, what race or size or when we'll get placed with them... These supporters show that along with us, they also have complete faith in what the Lord is doing in our lives!

Familyish-Friends!

Matt's sister, Christina, was gracious enough to volunteer to put this Seussical shower together. With her party planning experience and the help of some great friends and family, (shout out to Kelley, Amanda and Jenn!), we made it happen!


Once we finally decided on the theme of the shower, we only had 3 weeks to throw it all together. Funny thing about last-minute planning by this creative crew, the less time we had, the more the great ideas just kept coming and the craziness continued to grow!
Matt made the frames for the photo area (an idea we got off Pinterest), and I helped spray paint the Truffula Tree pots (another idea we got from on-line), and frames.

Family Frame!

I'm going to stop right here for one second just to let everyone know that Matt, the father of my not-yet-adopted children, is amazing. There is nothing this guy cannot do! Please give him a round of applause!!






Yummy Snacks!

 “You're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So... get on your way!” 




Kim (my BFF from 4yrs old) and her
hubby Neal...who are starting their own
Foster journey this month!!

 We are going to use all the photos that were taken of our guests, for our kid's scrap books! This way they can not only see people celebrating their "almost here-ness", but also who came and loved them before we even knew their names!

(Plus, seriously, this picture taking with props thing was so fun!)










My Mom with
 Aunt Karen & Aunt Laurie!

Newest Update:
We are now prepared for our home visit by the State! The application has been sent, and I have spoken to someone there and they have received it. Now we are just waiting for them to process our paperwork and call us to schedule this home-check appointment.
After we are OK'd by the State, our social worker will come do her own inspection and interview us one more time...and then place us with our kiddos! We are so close, and ask for continued prayer that the rest of this process goes smoothly and quickly!

To see more FUN pictures,
visit my Facebook album!

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”



So now we come to the fact that I have so many children "things" that I don't even know where to start to organize everything. Which inevitably ends with me sitting here at the computer typing and drinking incredibly strong coffee to get me motivated. Let's see if it helps!




                                                    Next up:

               Photos of the "Kid's Room!" hopefully within the next few days... so stay tuned!!




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!

Has it really been 10 years?!

I know, I know, we're very mature.

So, as most of you know, I turned 27 last week. I seriously cannot believe it's been 10 years since I was 17! Looking back, it all went by so fast. But back then, of course, time moved in slow motion.

My famous yellow and red room
complete with all kinds of pictures.

17 was one of my favorite years. Not necessarily because a lot of good things happened, but mainly because my entire life had it's turning point that year...

High school Besties! people thought we
 were sisters that year at camp. Love you Britt!

 I was almost done with high school, I was itching to get out on my own, my grandparents gave me my first car, I had pretty much decided who I wanted to be as a person, I got my first "real" job, I even painted my room to a different color then it had been for the past 20 yrs before that.




My life is SO different than I thought it would be. In a good way though! I mean, I didn't even know Matt when I was 17, yet as I'm writing this, my HUSBAND is currently doing pull ups in the garage. How could I ever know this life was just around the corner?!



I would have never imagined I'd be happily married for 5 1/2 years by now. Especially to a tall, blue eyed, soft hearted, funny guy. *wink wink!*
 How did I get so lucky?! God knew what he was doing even when I was ready to give up, forget all about guys, and marry my darn horse.

10-14-2006

My grandpa married us, along with Pastor Ron, from the church I grew up in. It was so special for me, having both of these wonderful men of God declare Matt and myself, "man and wife."
This is definitely one of the biggest highlights of my last 10 years.





 I would have never imagined my 2 amazingly funny puppies, (I am so thankful for my cute, stinky, furry babies, they brighten up my day!)

Poor babies, they got fixed.

....Or the fact that I have nothing in common with half the people I used to be friends with at this point in my life. Some of my best friends then, are people I never even talk to now. It's pretty weird actually, because when you're a teen, your friends are your life. Now, being an "adult" you're lucky if you can have time for good friends at your work place, or maybe have a few to hang out with on the weekend.


Speaking of friends... I have the most amazing group of friends right now!

When Dental people have a
Christmas Party, haha!

 I couldn't have asked for better people to walk into my life! My co-workers are more like family, and my other friends outside of work are just as special.





I love how we've finally found a group of friends
that we can just be real with, have fun with and enjoy life with. It's amazing what you finally learn is important in friendships; When you're "an adult" you know that you don't have to put up with people that use you, and you can save your energy for friends that really care about you. 


Everyone at Stagecoach for the weekend!

Here are 10 Random things that have been awesome in the last 10 years:
1) Got Married to an amazing guy! Had the funnest wedding I've ever been to. Went to Hawaii for our honeymoon and loved it!
2) Started the Adoption process last year! This whole process has been very exciting!
3) Stagecoach was created! And we have enjoyed it yearly, for the last 5 years. Yehaw!!
4) Bought my very own new car (with a TON of help from Matt) and it's almost paid off!
5) Finally took control of my dreams and got another horse after letting Cory go 5 yrs ago. Cash is awesome and he makes me smile every day.

My new man, Cash!

6) We've moved 3 times since we've been married and now are finally in a rental house owned by my in-laws. It has a yard! I have a (very pathetic) Garden! Goal accomplished.
7) Got my RDA license for work and passed the State board exam back when I was 22 yrs old. Still loving my job.
8) Graduated from babysitting. Worked at In-n-Out. Worked at a restaurant. Worked as a Nanny. Been a dental assistant since 2006!
9) All 3 of the Pirate's of the Caribbean movies came out.
10) Osama Bin Laden was found and killed. While we were at a Rascal Flatts concert. At Stagecoach. 55,000 people shouting together, "USA, USA!" Awesome, powerful moment!

10, PS.) I survived Homeschooling! And I didn't turn into a "socially awkward person" like the general public thought I would, haha... Thanks Mom and Dad! :)


And now I know what you're going to ask...
"Do you have any Words of Wisdom oh old-wise-Sarah?"
  Well... all I can say in my old, old age is this: Have fun. Enjoy your life because it's the only one you'll ever get. Work hard, earn your paychecks and earn your fun days off. You'll enjoy them more! Don't worry about getting rich because trust me, I've met a lot of rich people in my field of work and none of them are content. Let Jesus take the wheel. You can plan your life till you're blue in the face, but if it's not in God's plan, it ain't gonna happen baby! So get over it and move ahead toward His goal. Always remember, friends may come and go, but family is forever. If you want to do something, go for it. Thank a Soldier. Do something embarrassing in front of a large group of people, it's liberating! Be thankful for your life because there is always someone else out there who has it a lot worse than you do. Listen to music that makes you pound on the steering wheel. Be proud of your Country and take care of her. Take care of your body, exercises, eat well. Watch good movies and cuddle with your spouse or special "other". Laugh at yourself!! Take a stand, don't back down. And finally, don't let other people's opinions of you get in the way of anything. You are God's child and he made you just the way you are supposed to be!

   All in all, the last 10 years have been just what I needed. I can't wait to see what God has planned for my next 10 years!
                                          But for now, I sure love my life!