Nursery pictures...

The much awaited nursery pictures are finally being posted. I'm very happy about how everything has turned out. I'm also excited about the things that I made myself, I covered her lamp shade, made the bulletin board, painted the Calla Lillies, and the "Monkey See Monkey Do" sign, put together the flower arrangement on her bookshelf, painted the letters of her name to match her bedding, and painted her cross and added the cute sequin monkey! I'm also going to do a nightlight to match her lampshade, so I'll post that later.

I decided to post a link to shutterfly for everyone to see the pictures there, as posting all of the pictures on here would be too much!! Also for those who don't want to look, you certainly don't have to!!!

http://calafaytroxclair.shutterfly.com/

I've also washed a lot of her clothes and put them in the closet, in her dresser, and am starting to pack up diaper bags.

I leave tomorrow for a mission trip in New Orleans with our college kids, which I'm very excited for, but I wanted to be as ready as possible before I left so I could give my all while I'm there. When I get back I'll be here for two weeks, then take our youth to camp, which I'm banking on being a life changing experience for them, so again I wanted to be able to give my all while we are there too! Please be praying for those trips, but also for our baby girl as we prepare to bring her home. She can come anytime after I get back from camp. Baby Mama will be 37 weeks on June 17th, which is full term, so we'll see when she arrives. Pray for an easy delivery for Baby Mama, as her first childbirth was very awful, and I know she doesn't want that to happen again! So, keep us all in your prayer!

Adoption specifics in Louisiana

We are adopting in Louisiana, and I have to say that for those of you who know me, that makes my heart smile a bit, as Cala will be born at the same hospital I was! How cool, huh?!!?

So, someone asked about why it takes so long in Louisiana. Who the heck knows, but in that state, the time for finalization of the adoption is one year after placement. I know in Texas it's only 6 months, and since my friend lives in Alabama, but did her adoption in Louisiana (she's from LA too!), there it is just a matter of you getting in front of a judge to finalize it, so that can be really quick (in Alabama). Every state is different, each have different laws, as to what you can provide a birthmother, if they do a paternal registry, how long it takes to finalize, etc. If you're interested in knowing more, there is a great chart in "The Idiot's Guide to Adoption" that lists some basics from state to state. It's good information to have.

We could move our adoption to Texas, in order to have it done faster, but that would require another attorney and more paperwork, who needs that, right?!?! So, we'll be official about a year after placement, though our hearing last week made us the legal guardians until then (after the birthmother signs over her rights). Another interesting fact, that I did not know is that the baby will not have our last name initially, that will also be official in a year, when the adoption is final. I will say I didn't love that, but I'm pretty sure they go by both names until then. She will have a new birth certificate issued with us listed as her parents, and giving her our last name. Interesting facts for you there.

If you ever have any other questions, please ask and I'll share whatever I know. I'm happy to help someone else with some of the background work for this process.

I have almost finished Cala's nursery, but I'm not posting pictures yet, I won't until it's done. Why? Because I'm OCD, and I want you to see the finished product! But I will say this... It is SOOOOO CUTE!!!!

New Day

Today is a new day and I feel like a new person. The weather was glorious today, I'm not sure there is even a word to really put how perfect it was! I get to go to a job that I love everyday, and work with someone that is very fun and has the same passion that I do for youth. That in and of itself is such a great blessing, and something I've been praying for for quite some time.

My day started beautifully, as I went to Pray Date and Katy had posted a song by one of my favorite groups, NeedtoBreathe. It's called Lay it Down and it just reinforces our need to surrender our concerns, our fears, our worries to God. Thanks for the reminder Katy!

I did some research on books regarding Adoption, I've already read a few, but I want to read more. I want to know about the adopted kids and how they feel, what things they might struggle with, and how to address those issues. Knowing full well I can't be prepared for everything, but wanting to educate myself as best I can (while I still have free time to read (: !!). It all still seems so surreal, and I'm wondering if I'll wake up and find it all to be a dream.

We continue to move forward. We received our background checks today, and I'm clean, bet you're all glad to know that!! Not that I could've ever worked with children had I not been, but now I have the 'official' paper to prove it! We'll get that to our attorney and our social worker tomorrow, as I think that is the final portion of information that she needs for our home study. I'd like that to be completely finalized, it will just feel more 'official'.

I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of the nursery furniture, as I can't wait to see it, we picked it out of a catalog basically. Sean is excited that it's a 'boat of a bed', very sturdy and strong! I, of course, can't wait to see it in the nursery and see how good it looks with the newly painted walls.

Thank you all who read my blog and send me sweet comments, they really do bless my soul and I'm grateful. I hope that in some way I convey ways that people feel, and that I can be helpful to someone else who is going through some of the same things. I know each path is unique, and we all have to deal in our own ways, but I'm grateful to have this outlet and to have the support of my friends and family while we walk this winding road!!