Masterpieces of the Everyday

No real news, so I might as well distract with recent pictures. Though I thought I'd *die* if we had to wait this long to travel and pick up our daughter, I still seem to be kicking. Life goes on. Frustration exists. But so does joy. Eric and I have been conscious of the change that is coming- life as we know it is about to get mixed up and turned upside down- and have been careful to plan more dates and family fun moments. We're breathing in, breathing out, and trying to enjoy the journey. Most of the time, we're desperately screaming and crying, "Hurry up and and get us to India, God!!!". But, the rest of the time, we are soaking up the precious, priceless, and fleeting masterpieces of the everyday.

Family Lego time all around the dining room table. We pulled out the big bins and worked on our own projects. As creative as I am, I stink at this. Still, it was fun to have all of us being creative together!

Homeschooling field trip/ service project to Graceworks. We helped bundle toiletries for families that will be receiving pantry and household items from the charity.

Dean's first sleepover with a friend down the street. They are such a sweet twosome- rarely fighting, and their personalities are both the sweet, sensitive kind. I love it when they play together and was so thrilled that Namratha snapped pictures of their evening.

Grant needed some fun motivation to really improve the speed of his multiplication facts after a summer break. Ice cream!!! He knows all of his facts and can rattle them off, without pause! Great job, Grant!

Recently, Eric pulled out his boxed comic books from the attic. There must be at least 8 boxes from his pre-teen/teen years. This was the first time Grant was entrusted with some of them after a tutorial on how to keep them crisp and pristine. So sweet. Sadly, many of them are waaay too old for him, but he's enjoying a few storylines surrounding Robin at the moment (and keeping the spines in top shape!)

We cherished last moments with dear friends who were moving away. So sad. :-( We miss you, M family!

Grant's first lawn mowing experience. He's learning, and loves the feeling of being responsible enough to get this task. It's not a "chore" yet- but I imagine that in the next 2-3 years, it could be something he does well on his own. Wow. He's growing up!

More proof: Daddy teaching him how to fix his tire on his bike. *Sigh* REALLY growing up!

More Twists and Turns than a Rollercoaster!

Edited: Got word from the agency that they'd expect us to hear about the passport 2-4 weeks from when the court documents were received. In our case, its been 2 week so far. That said, we could wait another 2 weeks, or we could hear any day. God only knows!

Yes, we have ICPC.

No, we don't have dates.

Dorothy's passport isn't done yet, so we can't plan travel until we're certain that she has one all ready to go. Buying tickets and then not having her be able to get on the plane would be stupid.

So, we're in Wait #564 of this crazy adoption story.

The kicker? I haven't wanted to tell too much, but, we're in semi-competition with another family. As far as I'm aware, our in-country coordinator can only book one family at the start of October before another big Indian holiday, Diwali (traveling not recommended between Oct. 12-22). The next slot would be after Diwali. Either way, yes, we'll travel in October (unless something crazy happens). But, of course we want sooner rather than later. Of course.

Step for step, this other family has been at the same stage as us these last 2 months: guardianship, waiting on court documents, ICPC, ICPC approval. Now? They just got word that their daughter's passport isn't done yet, either. I guess whomever gets a passport first will travel in early October, leaving the second family to go in late October.

I'm in communication with the other mom, and we've been mostly jovial about the fight for the slot. Deep down, though, I'm sure we're both wishing for the first dates. Twenty years from now, 2 weeks might not make a difference. Right now, though, its the equivalent of being on a rickety, wooden, loud ride that you desperately want to get off of, and the conductor sends you around for a "bonus lap". Sure, you know you'll get off soon, and that's great, but it doesn't remove the present queasiness.

ICPC approval!

Just got word form our agency that the US side of things is DONE. Our in-country coordinator will be in contact soon to go over travel dates!!!

Filling the Void,

A month or two back, while on the phone with my friend, Heather, I realized that I wasn't giving many updates on the blog, here, about normal day-to-day life. What have we been doing? I figured everyone wants the big adoption related stuff to be posted, so I write about that. Then, it seems, I don't have much time to post anything else.

But, I've been filling the void. I don't really mean the dramatic, emotional type of void like, "there's a void in my heart because Dorothy isn't home yet". Though, I suppose there are days when that is fitting. No, I more mean, an actual physical void. On my wall.

We have 22ft. ceilings in the living room. One of the projects since we've lived here has been to Put Something On the Wall. And while some may find that type of large space freeing, I just felt intimidated and frustrated. Truly, if money were no object, I'd fill it with large scale, breathtaking art that inspires, and uplifts and changes your life. Grand art. Amazing art. Okay.... you get the picture.

So, instead, I came up with this:

The picture is horrible. I took a quick snap and resisted the urge to "stage" the room for a better picture. The reality is, my boys were playing a video game and there was likely a huge pile of to-be-folded laundry on the couch.

What you are seeing is three IKEA shelves, stacked, with some great silver IKEA platters hung on the wall, some candle holders, and books. Totally budget-friendly, and slightly unexpected. The shelves are about 45 inches wide and spaced about 19 inches apart. So, it takes up a good portion of wall, yet, goes so nicely with the curtain fabric and the mellow griege wall color.

I love asymmetrical arrangements, but it is still *balanced*. The peony flowers are in these great green glass compote containers I found at the thrift store for about $2 each.

And the candle holders in turquoise were previously brass/ gold that I spray painted to match the pops of color I have in our house. Again, thrift store. I think they were about $2- $3 each. The books were from our collection. I just looked specifically for the bindings that were in shades of white, blue, and green, removed the dust jackets, and arranged them until it looked right to my eye.

So, there you have it- one of the projects I've worked on these last few months! Soon I'll showcase a few others.

[Wall] void filled!