Adoption news for the week

Well, the saying goes "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." What that saying fails to mention is all the other thousands of steps it takes before reaching the desired destination!

Our adoption journey has been a series of many steps - some big, some small. Sometimes it seems like a sprint, and sometimes a marathon. I guess it really is a marathon because even when the adoption is finalized, our journey with our new family member will just be beginning.

This week was one of those bigger steps - our main home study meeting! Yes, that meeting about which so many adoptive parents obsess about. We were no exception! :) Mark took the day off to catch up on some work outside, and I cleaned and cleaned all day! I think we could have just about entertained the Queen after all of that! And yes, what they say is true. At the homestudy, they are much more concerned about your providing a safe home and a loving family than they are if you have dust on your baseboards!

And, yes, the meeting went great! Mostly, our social worker had questions about how we felt about certain issues now that we have learned more about open adoption, and also questions about how we felt about certain situations or what kinds of circumstances we felt that we were open to. Lots of talking, and yes Mark did his share! (for those of you who know my quiet husband!) :)

We have had such a positive experience thus far! All the people that we have worked with at the agency have been so professional and sweet and helpful! We are excited to find out just where the next step in the journey will lead us!

Finished Object Friday: Winter Flowers

Who doesn't want a little cheer to brighten up these cloudy winter days? :) Mom and I spent a little time crafting the other day - so fun!! She made some really cute flowers too, but here are mine (plus some... we didn't have long enough to do all we wanted...)  ;)

Felt is so fun to work with - it doesn't unravel or shed so you can just cut it to the shape you want!

These were some of my favorites - soo fast and easy! I made a handful!! (Not all of them are pictured...) :)

and I love these colors!! So bright! (I used this tutorial.)

 I love this one as well... matches several of my wintery outfits! :)

This was a quick and fun little tshirt flower. (Tutorial here.)

It didn't turn out quite like I had hoped. I think next time I would make it a bit bigger - maybe I would have less separation where I tied it off. But still... fun and super easy especially with a rotary cutter! 

 

So what have you been up to? I'm ready to see some of your craftiness!! :) 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Many blessings from our home to yours!

Share the Love!

I just wanted to share some of my Winter/Valentine decor.

I was so ready to get all my Christmas stuff put away (our tree takes up a lot of space in our living room!) And, yes, I've had it all down for a while! :) I'm just now posting, even though I've had it up a while, because... well... it took me a while to finish it. :)

I know that Valentine's Day isn't always "Sweetheart" day. Some of my close friends don't have a "Sweetheart." So, in my decor, I wanted to remind us of the most important Love that we all share - God's love! The New Testament above belonged to my grandfather. It was given to him by a chaplain in World War II. It is very special to me and I love incorporating God's Word into my decor!

I enjoyed making this wreath. I've been admiring the yarn wreathes on Pinterest for quite a while, and had fun making this one! (By the way, you can find me here on Pinterest! Come follow me, and I'll follow you back!) ;)
The whole mantle: The last finished bit was the frame with the vintage "valentines." Just finished that! 

(and in my hurry to finish this post, I didn't get a super clear picture. It's pretty cloudy today... oh, well. )

I really like how my wintery decor turned out, especially my piano!

I hope you enjoyed my little tour! :) I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day next week!

Little Chefs

No, not this little Chef... (he's pretty cute too, I think, although my parents can't get over the "rat in the kitchen" aspect...) Anyway... I digress. I do mean "chefS." Yesterday afternoon I had four sweet visitors: three little girls, and they brought their mommy too!! :) After a fun, quick lunch (tuna and crackers, chips and salad), we made cookies! The big girls helped at the stove:

Oatmeal No Bake Cookies! (with plenty of supervision of course.) And their mommy did our lunch dishes! I sure got a good deal, didn't I? I need to have them over more often!! ;)

Time to dip them out!

Baby sister had to get in on the action! (Thankfully, most of the "hot" action was done...) ;)

(You know that poor last child that always, and forever will be "The Baby." Wait... nope. I don't feel a bit sorry for them. They are always spoiled rotten!!) heehee!

A big part of the fun is, of course, licking the spoons!!

Or is it eating the cookies at a table just your size with a mug of warm chocolate milk?? :)

Finished Object Friday - Fenced in

Yes!! It is finally finished!! Can I hear a cheer?? :)  We actually finished it last Saturday. We are so glad for help of friends and family to get us jump started on this project!  It took a little more supplies, some fence stretching, a little pounding here and there and two (partial) Saturdays and it's done! (boy, that kindof makes it sound pretty easy...)  :)

Here's my handsome, hardworking, hero, hubby! :)

And does this count as a finished object friday for me? Yup. I helped too. It was fun to be able to work on this together. So, now just a few more little things around the house (along with some cleaning!!! ... I know they say that a home study isn't a white glove test, but it is a little nerve wracking!) :) We may even be able to finish our part of the home study in the next few weeks! So exciting!!


So now, it's your turn! I did do a little fun crafting with my mom this evening, but haven't taken some pictures yet, so that will have to be for next time....   For now, I'd love to see what you've been up to!