Water Fun

Today has been an interesting day to say the least around these parts...

I woke up this morning to water dripping in our bedroom...what a way to wake up! Well...that one little drip led to quite a few more drips...

(This is not where the leak started...this one started above the bed)

I think til it was all said and done we had at least 7 spots. I say leaks, but 2 of the spots were pretty much downpours. I was using an umbrella at one point to have it run off of that into a trashcan at the bottom of the steps all while holding another bucket at another spot! So much fun today has been...

(top picture is the water running down from our bedroom into our kitchen

bottom is the water on our back steps that go from kitchen to our bedroom)

(this was before we got enough trashcans and pots and such to all of the "leaks")

Don't mind the junk on the floor and such as the ceiling has started to fall down.
(we emptied this trashcan several times this morning)

This just in...

...in the mail that is...

We got the petition to adopt for our littlest one today! It was so fun to see her full name that we have chosen for her in print and official. I guess my husband and I will be heading to the notary within the next day or so to get everything notarized and sent back to the lawyer. After they receive that it's just a matter of a getting a date in front of the judge! I am soooooo excited!!!!

I Spy Swap

I signed up for an I Spy Swap over on Wendy's blog...I have been wanting to do one of these for a long time. I should have done it when I only had 1 kid...now I have 3 to make them for and will need lots and lots of patches. Oh well, at least this will get me started. Below are the patches I am contributing to the swap...

I HAVE been busy!

Everytime something happens around here...I seem to forget to grab the camera :( Oh well, such is life I guess.

I wanted to take a picture of my son's pirate snowman he had to make for school. They read a book about snowmen and was given the task to create their own "snowman person" from just the snowballs they were given. By the end of the evening we had a snowman complete with a pirate hat, sword, and parrot, of course.

I wanted to take a picture of the hearts I paper pieced for the quilt guild I am apart of for the Block of the Month. I made 12 of those little buggers...didn't win...grrr! Now my sister has given me the task of making some more so we can make little table toppers. I am in search of white scraps to be able to work on them again.

I did get to take a picture of the block that I've signed up to do on Kathleen's blog. I have everything cut and even got my block finished. I am so proud of myself. Hopefully it will be dropped in the mail tomorrow! I hope all of the gals from my group likes the fabric and block I decided to use!

The "Go Ahead"

We got word yesterday from our caseworker that we are a-ok to move forward with the next step for the adoption of our littlest one. We also heard that the adoption caseworker from the agency that is doing all of the paperwork, etc. was filing everything yesterday. So...it sounds like everything is moving forward. We were told to plan for February. I will give them until March for everything to be finalized...I think that's nice of me. Although really, I am just preparing myself for the agency to tell me it needs to get pushed back.


The next step?
We wait to get the paperwork from our lawyer that will need to be notarized. After that, we basically just wait for a court date. How exciting!!! I am so thankful that this seems to be moving along...I can't wait to enjoy my family without the worry of a caseworker saying...oh there is a family member interested...we are going to start visits, oh mom is doing what she needs to do, there is a possibility of going home...it will be nice to have the roller coaster in the shop for a little...my head and heart just need a break!

Kindergarten...really? Already?

I was just about ready to throw out the messenger paper that our school district sends out, when out of the corner of my eye I saw something about registration for kindergarten for the fall. There has been great debate in my head at least, about sending T to k-garten next year. Our school district had the cut-off of August 1. T just missed it by a week, so we were trying to figure out if she could maybe "test in" or whatever the proper term might be, to see if she could attend in the fall or did we just want to send her to preschool again. The article in the messenger said that they had to be 5 before September 1st, so I immediately called. There was indeed a change for the fall, and she will be able to go. So, now there is no more questioning whether to send her to preschool or k-garten. T is a smart little girl, she is the oldest in her class now and I think she is a little beyond what they are doing in preschool but she doesn't seem to mind. I worry a little bit because it is a full day k-garten here and that's a lot when you are only used to going to preschool 2 days a week for 2 1/2 hours. I think she will do fine...I guess I'm just being a worrying mommy! Our son, bless him...will not love his sister going to school with him, so that might bring new challenges to our house, but at some point he will have to make the adjustment.

It seems like just yesterday we went to pick T up at the agency. It was after 9 p.m. til the caseworker got to the agency with her. What a sweetheart. Our son and her had a fun time running the halls while we signed the paperwork. From the moment we saw her, I knew she was going to hold a special place in my heart. That night she even looked at me and called me mommy. That is typically not the case as many kids being placed into foster care are very upset and distraught from being removed from the home that they know and love (whether the situation is good or bad). We have definitely had our challenges with the little bundle of joy. She can be very destructive...permanent markers are no longer welcome in my home. We've had fun with toothpaste, Vaseline, shampoo, lotion, etc. It's been a learning experience for sure. I've had to get things off sheets, carpet, and walls, I never thought possible. On adoption day, when my husband and I were on the stand testifying why we wanted to adopt her, you could just see the weight lifted off of her shoulders...like everything was going to be ok from that point on.

The roller coaster ride of foster care and even the adoption process can be so overwhelming, but to see the smiling face of a child that did not have the best start to their life...it makes it worth while.