Inspired, Once Again

So, I'm going to be totally honest here. Up until about half an hour ago, I was ready to be done blogging forever... er, at least for the next couple of years, or however long it takes to get our baby. I had been thinking about the concept of blogging in the past couple of weeks, and why I did it, and what it did for me, and if it did anything for those of you who followed me, and honestly I couldn't really put my finger on anything good that came out of my blogging. Not to mention I had started to get tired of posting yet another "Nope, nothing has happened yet. We're still waiting" type of entry, when most of the people that I follow here have their families and moved on with their lives. And then, this afternoon when I found myself with a few extra minutes and a computer on my lap, my fingers found their way to the old blogger account... and that is when I realized why I blog. Besides the fact that I love being able to "journal" this way and look back a year ago, 2 years ago, 5 years ago, etc. and see what I was thinking, feeling, experiencing... all of that aside, I realized that I went from "having a blog" to "being a blogger" for one reason and one reason only. And that reason is why I will continue to be a blogger, although probably never as often as I used to. That reason? You. My friends. With interesting lives, encouraging words, funny stories, and, when I logged on today and read one of your comments... actually missing me? And still praying for me? Even though I haven't posted regularly for over a year? How crazy of me to think that I could just leave and never come back! Isn't that terrible of me? Not completely forgetting you, but easily pushed to the back of the mind, not wondering what was going on in your lives or really caring about your challenges or accomplishments or every day happenings. And then... then when I read about them, that is when I remembered why I did this. Not just because it was therapeutic for me during a time that I needed it. Not just because it was a way of journaling what was going on in our lives. Not just because you all kept me riveted with interesting stories and the many similarities in our lives... but because we were friends. Really, truly. How silly of me to forget! So here I sit, ready to rekindle some old friendships and apologize for being gone so long. I can't guarantee a post every day, or even every week, but I do hope to post something at least a little more regularly, and I have every intention of continuing to follow - and care about - what is going on in your lives. Sentimental? Maybe. But true. I mean every word. So thanks, friends. I'm looking forward to keeping up with you in the future. ;)

My, oh my...

I'm not even sure where to start. It's been too long! First things first - nope, no baby yet. But we ARE officially waiting... so I've been trying to stay busy and not think about it much unless I have to - I'd prefer to be pleasantly surprised if it ends up being a short wait, rather than expect it to be short, and be disappointed if it isn't. Of course I can't help but pick things up here and there - we now have the crib, bedding (I decided to go with a completely different one than the one that I got your opinion on below - I'll have to post pictures when I get it all put up :), the walls are painted, there are onesies and a few little outfits in the closet... oh, and I'm thinking about cloth diapers! Any input there??? Pretty much everyone I talk to about it thinks I'm crazy, but I really think it won't be too bad - I got some all in one diapers from someone who had gotten them and decided not to do it, and they're really nice, so I'm thinking that I'll at least give it a try. What do all you moms out there think? I just think that if I'm going to be the one home with the baby, and since we're going to be paying for formula, I might as well save the money and do my part to be "green" :)... right?

I really thought last year's Mother's Day that it would be my last without a baby, so this year was kind of hard, although the people in our church were absolutely amazing. We have several adoptive families, so those couples are always so sweet and understanding. Have I mentioned here how amazing it is that in our small church we have 4 other adoptive families, besides us? When we discovered that I was so excited, because it was just such a "God-thing"! Only He could put those families in our church and surround us with other people who understand and totally relate to what we are doing! 

I'm so thankful that we have the church to throw ourselves into right now. I love it, and God is so good! We're growing (we're running around 60 on Sundays), and my husband is an amazing preacher! Right now we're looking into another building that we might be able to rent - it would be so great to have a place of our own that we could have all the time, not just an hour on Sunday mornings. If the one that we are looking at right now doesn't work out, we know there will be another better option out there! Hopefully before too long, too!

It's a little hard right now because we are still very involved in the church that helped us to get started, and yet we're also becoming more busy with our new church, so we're staying pretty busy these days. This week is VBS at the "old" church (for lack of a better word) - so my mornings are busy there, and afternoons I'm cleaning or working on things for the new church. But like I said, I do love that I'm busy.

Oh, and we have added a member to our family through another kind of "adoption." :) Keebler came to live with us in March - he is a SWEET 6-year-old Golden Retriever who we just adore! The cat - well, not so much, but she's learned to adjust, once she figured out that he wasn't going anywhere, and that he won't do anything to hurt her. :) He has fallen right into life here with us like he's always been here, and we just love having him! I told Troy I thought it would help to fill a void, but actually I think it has just made me more aware of the fact that I don't have a little one to nurture... ah, but it IS nice to have a walking buddy, someone eager to see us when we get home, and another warm (although hairy :) body to share the couch with!

Well, supper's calling! Hubby's cooking steaks on the grill - anyone want to come over? :)

Input, please?!

You girls are always SOO sweet and helpful, I thought I might enlist your help on my newest quest. With the adoption moving along (we're ALMOST paper pregnant - just have to put the finishing touches on the profile and submit it this week!) I've been working on the nursery! So I got the not-so-beautiful wallpaper border down that was in there, and now it's painted a light yellow and next I'll be painting stripes - the wide ones in a shade darker of yellow. So, my question is this: is toile fabric (this one to be exact) too girly if we were to get a boy? I'm thinking I would bring in the blues and greens with a boy, the reds and pinks with a girl. Oh, and white furniture. Unfortunately, I've kind of already fallen in love with this set... but if you say yes, it's absolutely too girly... then I'll move on, but only if I have to! I'll post pictures of the nursery when it's done!

This is so much fun!!! :)

And thanks to all for the sweet well-wishes - the homestudy went wonderfully, and we are more excited than ever! I might post a link to our profile when it's done if I remember to! ;)