The Simpson Six

Trip One, Day One.

2012-02-26T05:26:00.002-08:00

So, day one of our first trip didn't go exactly as planned. Like, at all. We were all packed, ready to go, and out the door exactly when we needed to so we could get to the airport in Nashville with plenty of time to go through security, check our bags, et cetera. We said our goodbyes to the boys, which went better than expected - nobody cried, but David was a bit upset. I think he got over it pretty quickly once we were gone.

My parents brought us to the airport in Nashville and saw us off. We checked our bags, and both were under the maximum weight which was a fabulous surprise! There was no line at the security area, and we were through in less than five minutes. We both got a book at the bookstore and had some Mexican food for lunch.

Chris hates when I make him do this!!

We sat down at our gate with about an hour until our flight would start boarding. I was reading my book and Chris was playing a game on his phone. We knew we would have to rush at Dulles to make our connecting flight, because we only had a 45 minute layover. About 10 minutes after we made ourselves comfortable waiting, I looked up at the screen that displays the arriving and departing flights, and our flight was blinking DELAYED. For real? I didn't really get nervous at that point. I did when the get workers came and announced that our 1:28 departure wouldn't happen until 4:20. Four. Twenty. The plane we were to get on was coming from Chicago and was delayed because of strong winds. Then we wouldn't leave for DC because there were strong winds in DC. That meant our plan from Nashville was leaving twenty-five minutes before our plane in Washington DC. Um, that won't work. And our plan from DC? A direct flight to Katie's country.

So I got in line to see what we could do. I was the third person in line, and I had to wait over an hour. Not a good sign. Also not a good sign? The look on the ticket worker's face when she was trying to find us flights.

She ended up putting us on a flight that would get us to DC and give us ten minutes to make a connecting flight to London. From London we would go to Katie's country and would arrive on Sunday night. We knew that would obviously be difficult, but at least we were moving forward, not staying in Nashville. The only other options were flights that would get us to Katie's country on Monday evening, and our appointment to get permission to see her is on Monday morning. So we got on the tiny plane from Nashville to Washington D.C. And they had to check my carryon bag at the gate, because they said it wouldn't fit in the overhead compartment on the little plane. (It would have.)

Our flight to Washington was fine. It was quite bumpy, because it was so windy. Once we landed, we knew we had to book it - remember, we only had ten minutes. Well, we also had that checked carryon bag. We had to wait ten minutes outside next to the plane for them to unload the gate checked bags. And then we had to run to the next concourse to our flight. We got there two minutes after it pulled away from the gate. Literally, two minutes. If that bag hadn't been checked at the gate, we would have made it. We were so, so disappointed. So the woman at the gate sent us from gate D-7 to the customer service desk at C-20. It's probably a quarter of a mile away, literally. (And we had come in on our flight from Nashville at gate C-18.) We got to the customer service desk and saw this:

There were easily fifty people in front of us. Um, if it took me an hour to get helped when there were three people in front of us, how long would this take?! But what other choice did we have?? It was now after 7:00, and we had made it 600 miles from home. Only 4,700 to go! So we waited. And waited. And waited. And then a man who I think was a baggage handler came by and said, "Do you want a shorter line? You can do the same thing down at D-18." At that point I wanted to scream obscenities. Why in the world would the people sitting on their butts watching the world go by at gate D-7, where we missed our flight, send us back to the C concourse when we could have done THE SAME THING right down the hall from where we were? So I sent Chris up to D-18 to see situation there while I waited in line and told him to call me when he got there. There were three people in front of him in that line. So I walked the quarter of a mile back up there to change our tickets.

I'm going to tell you, this woman didn't make things look more promising. And she was either working really, really hard to find us flights or she was on Facebook, because she didn't speak for five minutes. And of course by this time, there were no options available that would get us to Katie's country on Sunday. And she tried to put us on a flight that connects in Frankfurt with less than an hour to change planes. And get our baggage, and go through customs. . . um, no. Despite the fact that there was a flight leaving DC on Lufthansa that would connect in Paris and get us there Sunday, and the gate worker in Nashville told us to ask about it. And this woman told us, "We can't pay to put you on another airline." Um, then WHY DID SHE TELL ME TO ASK?! I was furious at that point. Especially when she slid the "reduced rate hotel voucher" over to me. After all of that, we got the privilege of paying for a hotel room, because "It's not the airline's fault you were delayed." Hello. It's certainly not our fault. . . Needless to say, I will be sending a very carefully crafted letter to United Airlines to voice my displeasure at the situation.

We got the hotel shuttle (which took 40 minutes to come) and checked into our hotel. Which I admit is nice.

We ordered a pizza, which tasted like the best food ever at that point, and hung out watching some t.v. Things could have been much, much worse. We could have been sleeping on the floor of the airport. We could have not been able to afford a hotel. We could have been eating granola bars instead of pizza. In the grand scheme of things, we were fortunate. We don't leave until after 5:00 today, so we will hit a museum during the day and then head to the airport.

So now what? Now we will arrive in Katie's country Monday evening. We may be able to get an appointment on Tuesday to get permission to visit her at the orphanage. We may not be able to get permission until Wednesday. We will miss at least one, maybe two days of visits with her. That will mean we may only get to see her twice. Clearly that's disappointing to me. That will mean our second trip will have to be longer so we can get the required number of visits in before court. But we will get there, and we will see her. It's not on the timetable we planned, but it will happen. Please pray that we have no other issues or delays today!

Stuck. In. Nashville.

2012-02-25T12:59:00.001-08:00

We are stuck. In Nashville. We will be delayed by 3 hours which causes us to miss our connecting flight. To Katie's country. We had a ticket agent work really hard for us and there are severl flights we *may* make from Washington to get to our final destination via other assorted European cities, which will allow us to get to Katie's country in time for our appointment on Monday. PRAY that happens. Please! We have not gone through this process for nine months to miss this appointment. We cannot see Katie until we have that appointment.

ONE MORE DAY!!!

2012-02-24T00:00:00.000-08:00

We. Leave. Tomorrow.

For real.

We have waited for this day for almost nine months. And really, for the first time in the last few days, I have felt excited because we are going to have another child. All of the excitement thus far has been about getting ready for her. Now? Now that we're going to meet her, and touch her, and love on her? Now it feels like she's going to be our child. Now it is real. And it is amazing.

I got this package in the mail today.

It's from Jenny, my sweet friend who had a birthday party for her children and asked that her guests bring Coins for Katie instead of gifts for her boys. Well her guests did, in a big way, and they raised over $1,300 for Katie that day.

Inside the package?

This ADORABLE bag for Katie that Jenny got in Thailand. It's so, so cute!

Jack thought so too. . .

I looked up the weather today in Katie's country. Let's compare. This is the weather where we live.

Aaaand, this is the weather where Katie lives.

Bundle up loves!

Next time I blog?

I will be in Katie's country!

T.W.O.

2012-02-23T04:02:00.002-08:00

For real?

TWO days until we leave!!!

I cannot wait to see this face, in person.

THREE!

2012-02-23T04:01:00.002-08:00

Ah, I missed three days to go!

I am trying to cram a week of work into two days so I can feel OK about leaving. So far, I'm doing a good job, but I'm crazy busy as a result of it.

I had an appointment to get my hair trimmed yesterday. Or, you know, cut three or four inches off and totally change the style.

David is in a play at the end of the month. They're doing "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory", and he's an Oompa Loompa. To say that I am proud of him is a huge understatement. David has his own special needs, which you can learn more about here, or here, or here, or here. David would have NEVER tried out for the play a year ago. He wouldn't have even wanted to go to the play because it would be so loud and chaotic. He has made such incredible progress, and we are so thankful. Want a preview of his performance?? Well you'll have to wait, because I can't upload the video . . . nothing like a teaser!!

Four Days - Q&A Time

2012-02-21T18:13:00.002-08:00

We leave in four days. FOUR DAYS?! Can you believe that???

So I love question and answer posts on people's blogs. I don't really think I have enough readers for one, but I have had several new readers recently so we'll give it a shot. Ask me any questions you've got, and I'll answer them. Do you have questions about our adoption process so far? Our fundraising? Our family? What we had for dinner? OK - maybe you don't care about that. Leave me a comment or email me at ksimp6577 @ bellsouth . net and I'll answer!

FIVE!

2012-02-20T14:24:00.001-08:00

Five days until we leave.

I have about 15 days worth of work to do before then at my office. You do the math.

This conversation took place at my house yesterday:

Henry: Mama, will people make fun of Katie:

Me: Yes buddy, I'm sure someone will. She's different, and different makes people nervous.

Henry: I will get mad when that happens. I will tell them she's my little sister and that hurts her feelings.

Me: That's a great idea and a great thing to say.

Henry: I think David will do nothing.

Me: Well, that's possible. David has a different way of handling things.

Henry: Yeah. And if someone makes fun of Katie, I know what Jack will do. Whip their ass. I know I'm not supposed to say that, but I think it's true.

Me: Me too, buddy. Me too. But please don't say that again.

I will venture to say that with three brothers, Miss Katie will not have much to worry about.

Six Days to Go - Packing Day!

2012-02-19T14:16:00.001-08:00

We leave in six days!

Six days from right now, we will likely be trying to sleep, bellies full of butterflies because it will be the night before we meet our girl. I still can't sleep on Christmas Eve because I get so excited - you think I'll sleep that night?!

Today was packing day.

Looks organized, right?!

Georgia was overseeing things from the head of the bed.

Chris had a small pile. And if you think by looking at this that he only wears Khaki, well, you're right. We're really, really trying to pack light, and I think we've done that! I'm so impressed with ourselves. I am not a light packer, as a general rule. We are putting all of our clothes in one suitcase, and all of our donations for the orphanage in another. We plan to then use that suitcase for any souvenirs, etc. that we want to bring home.

In addition to the toothbrushes and toothpaste I told you about here, we also had all of this donated!

Dr. Walter C. Chitwood, Jr. very generously donated nearly 200 toothbrushes and over 140 tubes of toothpaste for us to bring!

These should be so helpful for the people at Katie's orphanage.

In case you haven't noticed, I don't want to call it an institution. I will continue to call it an orphanage.

All of the toothpaste Dr. Chitwood sent was Kid's Crest - which happens to be the Simpson boys' favorite.

To make the most of our space, I took all of the toothbrushes out of boxes and packed them in gallon size Ziploc bags. We got it all in one suitcase, and it weighed less than 50 pounds. I *may or may not* have done a fist pump when I took it off the scale. . .

What were the boys doing while I spent most of the day packing?

Jack did this. For a long, long time. And talked the. entire. time.

Henry spent a considerable amount of time making a Lego Katie, with a minifigure to represent everyone in our family. We've put it "up high" so Jack can't ~~destroy it in one fell swoop~~ touch it.

David? I'm pretty sure he spent the afternoon snuggled up on the couch watching Harry Potter.

Six days!

SEVEN!

2012-02-18T17:43:00.001-08:00

Seven days from now we will be on a plane, flying 5,300 miles to our girl.

Our girl who has been transferred to the institution.

Yesterday I was a w.r.e.c.k.

I had a full on come apart in my office.

Boo hooing, mascara running.

The ugly cry.

I think about where our girl is.

I think about what she's enduring.

I think about her being moved from the baby house she was at for so long to a new, strange, scary place.

And then I heard from several mamas who adopted children who had been transferred.

And they reassured me that it may not be that bad.

And I take comfort in the fact that Katie was transferred with at least one other girl from her baby house, sweet Albina. Albina's forever family lives about 4 hours from us, and I am on a mission to find her when we see Katie. I will give her a hug, and tell her that her mama is coming. Soon.

I am not going to lie - I'm scared for Katie. But I have to live with where she is. And work like hell to get her home to us even faster. And hopefully, by adopting Katie - who is considered too damaged for a family - we will help the children we will leave behind. I have to believe that we will make a difference for these children in Katie's institution. I have to believe that Katie has been transferred to the institution so that when we bust her out of there, we are leading the way for the others.

Something good will come of this.

Eight days - Please Pray!

2012-02-17T10:31:00.000-08:00

Eight days until we leave.

And it literally cannot come fast enough.

We found out today that our sweet girl has been transferred to the institution.

I don't know when, I don' t know why, and I don't know where. Our coordinator has never been to her institution before. I am terrified for our girl and what it's like there. I cannot imagine what she is enduring every day, and it literally makes me sick to my stomach.

I need you to pray. Pray that our girl is safe, and that she is not being mistreated. Pray that she has enough to eat, and that she is being cared for. Please, please pray for her.

I am a wreck. I feel so helpless and scared and afraid for Katie. I am so thankful that we will be there next week.

NINE!

2012-02-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

Nuevo days to go!

Девять дней, чтобы идти, as they say in Katie's country.

So, it's no secret that children in Katie's country in the orphanages have some medical issues. And some are just basic care issues that can be rectified with a little basic care. The kind of care that we take for granted. Like, seriously for granted.

Amy, an amazing mom who is a single mother with five sons, four of them with Down syndrome and three of whom are adopted, posted here about meeting her newest son, Liam. As I read her post, one part really stuck out to me:

I didn't expect his teeth to be so covered in plaque. Both Caleb and Elijah's teeth were beautiful, so I didn't have any reason to think that Liam's would be any different. But they were awful and the smell that came from his mouth was horrid. :( Mental note to myself: first thing when I return to the US, make a dentist appointment for Liam. A sad reminder of the neglect he has endured.

This is COMPLETELY unnecessary. And unimaginable to me. We so take for granted the simple things we have available to us, and for our children. I can honestly say that I have not ever really given much thought to brushing our teeth, or brushing the boys teeth. You have teeth, you brush them. End of story. Not so much for Katie and other kids like her.

I am a do-er. I'm a fixer. And I am not afraid to ask for help. So I have. And, in typical fashion, my friends have started to really come through. While I realize that I cannot change the fate of the children who will be left behind at Katie's orphanage, I can do my best to help them, and to help the people who are there caring for them to take better care of them. There is no reason that I can fathom that these children cannot brush their teeth, unless it is because they do not have the proper tools. That? That I can do. That I can help to fix.

The kids at Katie's orphanage will be receiving 54 toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste, courtesy of Dr. Jess Sinquefield at Sinquefield Family Dentistry. How did we get these donated? I asked. I called Dr. Sinquefield's brother and asked if it would be possible. Dr. Sinquefield's brother had zero hesitation. None. He had a lot of questions, which I was more than happy to answer. He was just as shocked as I was that such serious tooth decay and dental issues affected these children at such a young age. He had no idea. And neither did I.

Three days later?

I had a box with all of these goodies on my desk at work.

I know I likely sound much like a broken record, but the generosity that people have shown to us during this process is something that we will never, ever forget. And we will talk about with our children, over and over. I can only hope that we will teach our children - through our words and our actions - to be as generous as the people around us. And if I call in every single favor I may have out there, it will be worth every single second.

So, though it is not enough, thank you Chase, and thank you Dr. Sinquefield. Thank you for being part of this process, and thank you for helping us to leave Katie's friends and caregivers with a gift that can make a big difference to the children we will leave behind.

Ten

2012-02-15T00:00:00.000-08:00

TEN more days until we leave!

We had our travel call last night with our facilitator. We talked about what to expect while we're there, and what sort of timeline we're looking at once we're home, between our first trip and our court trip.

Because our court dossier has already been sent to Katie's country, we could be back for court in as little as 4-8 weeks. Assuming all goes well, we would return for a third trip 30 days later. That could possibly bring Katie home to the U.S. as soon as May or June. Her birthday is in June, so that would be FANTASTIC. I don't want to get my hopes up though, and we're trying to remain very realistic about the process. If she comes home in June, that would be one year from start to finish.

David has strep throat. I'm keeping him essentially quarantined, because I don't want Chris or me to get it before we leave. He has been home from school for two days, and he'll go back on Thursday. And I will be at the doctor at the first sign of any illness before our trip!

I had a fabulous surprise at work today when someone came with sixty toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste for us to bring for the kids in Katie's baby house. These are MUCH needed, and I am so excited to bring them.

I also found out today that a family about 4 hours from us is working hard to bring home a little girl from Katie's baby house who also has Down syndrome and is the same age as Katie. I would so love for our families to get together after the girls are home so they can see one another again. I sent a message to the other mama, and that's something we're both interested in.

TEN more days!!!

Eleven

2012-02-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

ELEVEN DAYS until we leave!

In two weeks we will have already met Katie.

That is crazy for me to think about.

Today I was very busy at work. I looked at the clock and it was 3:40, and we hadn't gone to court yet to do the day's filings. I grabbed our stack and headed out the door. I walked to the courthouse and set off the metal detector. I stepped through again, and it went off again. To say I was annoyed would be putting it mildly. A quick scan with the wand later, and I hurried up the stairs with my files.

While I was in the clerk's office, the ladies were talking about Valentine's Day. The woman helping me asked if my husband was going to get my something special for the big day. I told her that we're taking a trip at the end of the month, and that was enough of a "Valentine's" gift. She asked where we were going, I'm sure expecting to hear some beach or something. I told her the name of Katie's country, and she looked at me like she was shocked. Sort of a why-would-you-go-there-in-the-winter look. You know - crazy eyes we call it! I told her that we're adopting a child, and this is our first trip. She was very excited, and asked me a couple more questions.

Another woman sitting a little further back said she knew someone who had adopted two children from Katie's country, and she asked if we knew which child we would adopt. I explained that Katie has special needs, and we picked her because of her special needs. She came out from behind her desk and asked me what sort of "special needs" KR has. I told her Down syndrome, and her eyes got wide. I see this woman literally every single work day.

And I never knew she has a granddaughter with Down syndrome.

She is very familiar with Reece's Rainbow, and she was so excited that we're adopting Katie. Her granddaughter is three years old. She asked me some more questions about Katie, and she got teary and gave me a big hug. She whispered, "You're saving her life. You are literally saving her life."

She gets it.

For every ignorant comment we'll hear, and for every snide look we'll receive, for every sideways glance we may get and for every uninformed question we'll hear, there is someone like that little girl's grandmother. Someone who gets it. Someone who has a person in his or her life who is special like Katie. And who gets it.

Happy Valentine's day to my little sweetie - I will give her some special belated Valentine smooches in a couple of weeks!

Twelve

2012-02-13T00:00:00.000-08:00

Twelve days down, twelve days to go.

I'm excited on our trip to pick up some souvenirs. Like matroyshka dolls, with which I am o.b.s.e.s.s.e.d.

I've been spending some time on Pinterest lately looking for. . . um, really random stuff. What? Isn't that what you do on Pinterest?

So here are some things I'm loving right now.

I love these cookies!

They would be an insane amount of work, but they're perfect.

LOVE this!

These are from Blissfully Sweet. Her cakes look fantastic!

This is another from Blissfully Sweet. Adorable!

Cute little Matroyshkas for a party.

The template to make this adorable card.

This link to 35 matroyshka crafts.

You all know how much I love a craft project!

This adorable applique PDF. And it's only $2.00!

And a pattern to make a soft matroyshka doll.

I could seriously link to these ideas for days.

Happy Monday!

Thirteen

2012-02-12T07:44:00.000-08:00

THIRTEEN MORE DAYS!

Lucky 13?

I was on Facebook yesterday when I got a chat message from Kelly, who is in country right now for court so she can be Charlotte's mama. Her first words were, "Hey Kim. If you haven't gotten long johns yet, just do it. Trust me." She went on to say that she and her husband did some sightseeing at 1:30 in the afternoon and the temperature was some crazy -30 business. Um, great. I hadn't even really considered long johns. I keep thinking that it won't be much colder there than Massachusetts or New Hampshire, which is where I lived for about 25 years. Wrong. Glad we went shopping yesterday. . .

I am now the proud new owner of these babies. I guess if nothing else, I can wear them as pajamas when we've come home. And I have a feeling I'll be thanking Kelly when we get there and I need to wear them!!

So one other thing I have zero need for here but will need when we are in Katie's country is a winter hat. And, despite growing up in New England where it is obviously cold and snowy, I haven't worn a winter hat in probably 25 years. Have you seen what those do to your hair?! I realize this is ridiculous and vain, but how do you wear a hat somewhere, then take it off and have good hair still? I think I found the answer.

I got a cloche hat. Mine has a fabric flower instead of the buckle, and it's warm and lined with silky material. No static, and my hair won't be out of control hat head when I take it off. (Because I'm sure every day Katie prays for a mama with good hair. . . ) And I realize that I'm not going on this trip to make a fashion statement, but I also don't want to look like a doofus the whole time. We got Chris a hat too, and we both got some great warm gloves and scarves. Chris got some boots, and I had picked some up for myself a few weeks ago. The only other thing on my list was some new earbuds, and we're in business!

I cannot believe there are only 13 days to go until we leave. It's going by fast! Last night Chris and I went out with some friends for dinner, and my mom spent the night at our house. It was a good trial run for everyone I think. One boy in particular - JACK - is not good about going to bed when he sleeps at Gigi's house, because he gets so excited and just wants to play. Thankfully, here he went right to bed with no problems (or at least that's what she told us!). That makes me feel good about when we're gone, and that he won't turn into a sleep deprived monster.

Today I'm going to work on some more freezer foods for the boys to eat while we're gone, and we'll work on our valentines. Have a great day!

Fourteen

2012-02-12T07:27:00.000-08:00

FOURTEEN DAYS TO GO!!

Oops - I missed posting this yesterday - so now we really have 13 days to go, but I couldn't leave 14 out!

On the agenda for today?

Finishing our pre-trip shopping.

Finishing our pre-trip listing.

Sleepover with Gigi at our house.

Sounds like a perfect day!

Fifteen

2012-02-10T03:07:00.000-08:00

FIFTEEN DAYS!

We leave in fifteen days! The time is flying by. Chris made his list yesterday of the things he needs to pick up before we go. He and I are actually going out this weekend without our children, which so rarely happens, and we should be able to knock that list out quickly. Katie's country is very (VERY!) cold right now. We live in the South. . . even when it is VERY cold here, um it's really not. Yesterday I was walking the one block from the parking garage to my office as I shivered in my coat. It was fifty degrees.

This is the current weather in Katie's country.

Have I mentioned that my husband wears shorts every.single.day?

Literally, we had to purchase pants for him to wear on our trip.

This will be interesting.

Sweet Sixteen

2012-02-09T00:00:00.000-08:00

SIXTEEN DAYS!

We got a card in the mail from my friend Amy and her family. They live in Maine, and they saved their Coins for Katie. Amy and I met a looooong time ago, very shortly after I started working for Gap. We are very similar (gorgeous, funny, and smart. Duh.) and very quickly became friends. Fast forward fifteen years, I've moved to Tennesse, got married and had the boys. Amy still works for Gap (seriously, she has to be one of the employees with the longest service, and she is so good at her job), and she has two girls. And I'm sure she still has amazing hair - even though I haven't seen Amy in nearly 10 years, I can promise you that her hair is amazing. (I'm all about the important things. Clearly.) I was so happy one day when Amy and I connected via Facebook. She and her family sent me this card this week, and it is one of my favorites that we've received. I LOVE handwritten notes, and the notes from her girls are so special!

I cannot wait to show Katie all of the fabulous notes we've received from people who have worked so hard to bring her home. We are such a lucky family - lucky that we are bringing Katie home, but especially lucky that we have friends like Amy and all of the others who have been so kind and generous to us. Thank you!!

Seventeen

2012-02-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

SEVENTEEN days to go!

Do you remember how surprised I was to read on Sarah's blog that she and her mom had a Coins for Katie jar at their store in Ohio? Well when Joyce, Sarah's mom, heard we got our travel date she and Sarah went to cash in their Coins for Katie jar.

Their jar was full, and it was heavy!

They brought the jar to the grocery store and used the Coinstar machine to cash it in.

Guess how much money they raised, with the help of their generous customers?

You will be shocked - NONE of these people, including Sarah and her mom, have ever met our family, yet they dug deep into their pockets to donate their change (and sometimes their "green money" as Jack calls it) to help us bring Katie home. I was AMAZED and completely overwhelmed when I learned how much money they raised. . .

You will have to click over to Sarah's blog to find out the total!

Thank you so much Joyce, Sarah, and the amazing customers at J. Ellen's House of Fabric. And guess what? Their generosity is not ending there - Joyce told me they will be using their jar over and over again to help raise money for more of the Reece's Rainbow children waiting for the families! Joyce and Sarah do some incredible things for the Down syndrome community, and we are so thankful they chose to support us as we work hard to bring our special girl home!

SEVENTEEN DAYS!

Eighteen

2012-02-07T00:00:00.000-08:00

EIGHTEEN MORE DAYS!

We got these chalk matroyshkas in the mail yesterday from Misty.

Yes, I realize they're upside down. For some reason I cannot fix it.

There are six dolls inside, and they. are. so. cute!

David divvied them up. You know, because he's "kid boss".

There was an election.

Jack wrote on the table as much as he wrote on the doll, and he could barely release the Lego Harry Potter (seen face down on the table next to him) from his sweaty little fist long enough to draw on the dolls.

Henry took his job very seriously.

They are so fun.

And I may or may not have played with them after the boys went to bed. . .

Thanks Misty - come over soon with your family for game night and play with them! :)

And remember, EIGHTEEN DAYS!!!

Nineteen

2012-02-06T00:00:00.000-08:00

Nineteen days!

We started to get some things ready this weekend. We packed the toys we'll be brining. We picked up some toiletries, and I packed those that I won't be using before we leave. I made several lists. I started making and freezing some things for the boys to eat while we're gone.

I made two huge batches of banana muffins - one with chocolate chips and one without.

I kept a few out for the boys for ~~this week~~ tomorrow and the rest went into the freezer.

I also made some orange cupcakes for work. They smell so fabulous when they're cooking. I posted that recipe last year (when I made them for the same person!) on my other blog, The Real Housewife of Bedford County. They are so good, and very easy to make.

We had our fingerprints re-done for our FBI updated background checks on Friday.

Jack repeatedly asked the police officer who did the prints, "Do you know any crooks?" Crooks? We've read one too many Lego City books where the police save the city from "Crooks"! Getting our background checks updated is the last thing we have to do. Right now. I will completely not be surprised if we get some last minute frantic thing we *have* to do. In fact, I'll be surprised if we don't.

Things we still have to do? Figure out if we'll board our dog Max, who can be a little wild, get some more food ready, buy some winter hats, get Chris some shoes. . . and that's about it.

Nineteen days!

Twenty

2012-02-05T00:00:00.000-08:00

We leave in twenty days!

We let the boys each pick out a toy for us to take for Katie. We've picked up several other small toys to bring to play with while we're visiting Katie, and all of them are things that we can leave there.

This is what we're bringing for her.

We plan to bring a couple of items each day so we've got new things for her each time we go.

We have the photo book we made her, a silky blanket I made for her, some egg shaped shaker noise makers, and some flat pack Play-Doh.

Jack picked the purple doll.

David picked the stacking cups. And yes, she's 4 years old, but she will not cognitively be like a 4 year old [ie: Jack]. I think the stacking cups are appropriate, given that we don't know where she will fall developmentally. Henry picked the two Little People cars with the girls driving. We also have a little Magna Doodle and a kaleidoscope.

We have a little princess flip phone that lights up and makes noise. We've got a small Etch-A-Sketch and two books - the farm book has different textures throughout, and the Toes, Ears, & Noses book has flaps to lift. We're bringing a little Mrs. Potato Head and some extra parts, and a coloring book and crayons. Many of these toys have a "hidden" purpose of allowing us to see how her fine motor skills are - whether she can hold a crayon and knows what to do with it, if she can manipulate Play-doh or lift the flaps in the book, if she can press individual buttons on her phone and manipulate the pieces of Mrs. Potato Head, if she can stack the cups and/or understands the sequencing of stacking them and knocking them down, and if she knows what to do with a doll. I tried to pick items that were sort of dual purpose, so I can come back and have a bit of a better idea of where she stands developmentally at this point.

I will definitely leave her blanket with her, which I made. I will also leave her photo book. And, if she'd like to keep the hair bow, I'm happy to leave it. She will be a Southern girl after all, so she needs to get used to wearing one!

TWENTY DAYS!

Twenty-One

2012-02-04T00:00:00.000-08:00

Twenty-one days until we get on a plane to meet our little miss with the extra 21st chromosome.

One way to look at this adoption is that we have twenty-one days until we get on a plane to meet a child who was given away because of her extra 21st chromosome.

I prefer to look at it as us having twenty-one days until we get on a plane to meet the child we have chosen, because of her extra 21st chromosome.

This package arrived at my office yesterday afternoon.

It has our travel packet from our agency!

It's got a travel guide, which is seriously broken into five chapters.

How do people do this without an agency?!

It has our program travel and post-placement information.

POST-placement! Like, AFTER she is home!!

AAAHHHHH!

Even just reading that makes me happy.

It also has this very official envelope with instructions to "Take to US Embasy", and contains a lot of official, important documents. I cannot believe how close we are to finally getting to this girl!

Twenty-Two

2012-02-03T03:26:00.000-08:00

Twenty-Two days to go.

I got some boots yesterday. They're warm, cozy, and fabulous.

Now I just need socks to wear with them.

Because, you know, we live in the south and I really don't ever have to wear socks.

I will pack light.

If I keep saying it, I know it will happen.

Chris brought Jack to the store yesterday to pick a special toy for us to bring from him to give to Katie. Chris made sure to stress that Katie is a girl and likes to play with girl toys. I suspect there may have been some, ahem, gentle steering toward appropriate toys.

This is what Jack selected:

She's perfect.

And very cute.

And oddly wearing an outfit that I would put Katie in.

It's a perfect match.

Today? More fingerprinting to update our FBI clearances.

Have a great Friday!

Twenty-Three

2012-02-02T03:55:00.000-08:00

We have TWENTY-THREE days until we leave!

I suspect that will be a fast 23 days, given all that I have to do in that short time period.

By the time we meet Katie Ruth, it will have been 267 days since we started the adoption process. 267 days during which she had NO. IDEA. that a whole bunch of Americans were working so, so hard to get her home to her family. I cannot wait to get to see her!

I thought I would explain a little about this process, for those who do not know how it will work. Katie's country requires three trips before we can bring her home. Yes, I'm serious. We will go for our first trip, have some official meetings about her where we will learn about things like her available medical history, how long she's been in the orphanage, why she's there (um, duh. She has Down syndrome.), and things like that. We will have the opportunity to ask questions we may have about her, and I have plenty. Like, four typed sheets plenty. I see this as the only opportunity we will have to get the information from the people who have cared for her - I need to take the opportunity when I've got it. After all of that, we will get to the real reason we'll be there - meeting Katie and spending time with her. We will visit with her in the orphanage as much as they will allow. At the end of the week, we will come home, and Katie will stay there. And that, my friends, will be difficult.

We will make a second trip to her country to have our court hearing. That will be a hearing in which we will literally present to the court, in a foreign country, why we should be Katie's parents. Why we should be allowed to raise this child. To tell about the opportunities she will have here - for love, for education, for therapies and medical attention, for a family. And hopefully the judges will agree and will rule in our favor. At that point, we will legally be Katie's parents. And will come home, and Katie will stay there. And that, my friends, I suspect will be nearly impossible.

After our court date we will come back home and wait. There is a mandatory waiting period after the hearing, and when that has expired we will go back and get our girl.

Things could go quickly after our first trip, as our court dossier has already been sent to her country and translated. This should speed things up. Or, because international adoption is less predictable than the lottery, it could be a long time until we get to go back. I am so, so hopeful that's not the case.

So, now we prepare for our first trip. Our fabulous trip to meet our little girl. . .

Tickets? Purchased.

Visa Applications? Getting sent today.

Packing? Will start tonight.

Cold weather clothes? Notsomuch.

We live in the South y'all! Stores are selling swimsuits and beach hats now. . . Here's hoping a department store has some warm-ish clothes left!

Happy Thursday!

We Have A Travel Date!!!

2012-02-01T13:54:00.000-08:00

Are you sitting down?

We have a travel date.

We will leave on FEBRUARY 25TH!!!!

FABULOUS NEWS!

2012-02-01T08:43:00.000-08:00

Remember that dossier I wrote about?

IT HAS BEEN SUBMITTED to the government in Katie's country!!!!!!

This is AMAZING news for us!

Next up?

A trip to meet our girl!

Coins for Katie Add Up!

2012-02-01T04:02:00.000-08:00

This is our Coins for Katie jar at home.

It's an old dog treat container that I've taped a 5x7 photo of her onto.

And added a hair bow.

To give you an idea of the scale, this is the jar next to a coffee cup.

This is what it looked like last night.

Chris and I counted it and rolled it, and there was over $140 in there!

The entire premise of Coins for Katie is that a little bit of change goes a long way. Well, all of the change - literally pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters - we have collected has totaled over $5,000.00 so far. FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS! That is money that people literally sometimes throw away, drop on the street and don't pick up, lose in the floor of their car. . . I could go on and on. $5,000! And we have about 25 cups still out there!

When we started this adoption process, Katie's family sponsorship grant through Reece's Rainbow had $87.49. Some kids have $10,000 plus. We didn't pick her because her grant total was appealing - we picked her because she is supposed to be our girl. We didn't have the amazing amount of money needed to adopt her in our savings account. We had a modest amount, but nowhere near the total. Chris' exact words to me were, "I want to do this, but how will we afford it?" We are a single income family with three children, one of whom has special needs and therapies not covered by our health insurance. We certainly make enough money and have a lifestyle that is conducive to one income, but not one income when we are also looking at spending tens of thousands of dollars on adoption. I told Chris that if we were on the same page with the adoption, not to worry about the money - I would make it happen somehow. And we will! We are so close I can taste it. In less than almost exactly 4 months, from August to December, we raised over $20,000. I am so proud of our family and friends. When I think about it I get butterflies in my stomach.

And now we will get to meet our girl, in what could be just a few short weeks. If you have Coins for Katie change you have collected for us, we would like to have you send it to us either through our FSP link on Reece's Rainbow, through paypal directly to us, or by a check in the mail so we have that money for our first trip.

Thank you so much for helping us bring Katie home!

What is a Dossier?

2012-01-29T13:59:00.000-08:00

dos·si·er (dos - e - a) n. A collection of papers giving detailed information about a particular person or subject.
[French from Old French, bundle of papers labeled on the back, from dos, back, from latin dorsum.]

We are currently waiting for our dossier package to be filed with the government in Katie's country. This is what I tell people when they ask where we are in our adoption process. They usually nod their head, smile, and say, "Oh that's great!" However, I don't think most people know what a dossier is. I would have had no idea before we started this process. This is what it feels like. . . .

The dossier and the home study are the two biggies in an international adoption. You cannot adopt without completing both. Our home study was a piece of cake. Our dossier? Not difficult, per say, but just a lot of work. Like, a full-time job for a while, kind of work. Our agency sent, no joke, a bound book with our Adoption Preparation and Dossier Instructions.

We have to prepare five sets of documents - set one is the "registration" set, which is the first to get filed. This was my list before set one was finished.

The items on this list included:

1. Numbered picture list with: one family photo, four to six pictures of the inside and outside of your home

2. Letter of Intent, notarized and apostilled

3. Application (one for each applicant [parent]), notarized and apostilled

4. Questionnaire (one for each applicant), notarized and apostilled

5. Certified copy of Marriage Certificate, apostilled in the state of origin; must be current.

6. One signed copy of each applicant's Passport, notarized and apostilled

7. Commitment to provide post placement reports, notarized and apostilled

8. Commitment to register the adopted child, notarized and apostilled

9. Declaration of Attorney regarding property ownership, notarized and apostilled

10. One form I 171H (USCIS approval), notarized and apostilled

11. One letter of medical approval for each applicant, notarized and apostilled

12. One copy per applicant of your doctor's medical license, notarized and apostilled

13. One letter of employment per applicant, notarized and apostilled

14. One local police clearance for each applicant, notarized and apostilled

15. One FBI clearance for each applicant, notarized and apostilled

16. Adoptive home study

17. Agency post placement report commitment

18. Agency registration commitment

19. Agency license

20. Agency licensing letter in good standing

21. Interagency agreement - treaty

Set 2 is our court set, which had to be sent to our facilitator with set one. Some regions of Katie's country do not require this, but our's does. This was our list for this set:

The items on this list included:

1. Numbered picture list with: one family photo (8x10), six to twelve pictures of the inside and outside of your home

2. Adoption training list with attached course certificates (for on-line courses only), apostilled

3. Letter of medical approval, one for each applicant, notarized and apostilled

4. One true and correct copy of your doctor's medical license, per applicant, notarized and apostilled

5. One psychological evaluation per applicant, notarized and apostilled

6. One true and correct copy of your psychologist's license, notarized and apostilled

7. One certified copy of Marriage Certificate, apostilled in the state of origin, must be current

8. One signed copy of each applicant's Passport, notarized and apostilled

9. Financial statement, notarized and apostilled

10. Declaration of attorney regarding property ownership, notarized and apostilled

11. One certified copy of the deed of home, apostilled

12. One letter of employment, per applicant, notarized and apostilled

13. One local police clearance for each applicant, notarized and aspostilled

14. One FBI clearance for each applicant, notarized and apostilled

15. One true and correct copy of Form I 171H (USCIS approval), notarized and apostilled

16. Letter from prospective parents addressed to "Dear Honorable Judge", explaining in detail why you wish to adopt a special needs child, and what resources are available to you in your city or state, and what organizations you subscribe to where you derive advantages, information and experiences to share with parents who are raising a child/ren with similar special needs. (Yes, for real.)

17. Adoptive home study

18. Agency post placement report commitment

19. Agency registration commitment

20. Agency license

21. Agency licensing letter in good standing

22. Excerpt from state adoption laws

23. Interagency Agreement - treaty

Then? There are sets 3, 4, and 5. Thankfully those are much easier, and are largely prepared by our agency. We will have to update our police clearances and my employment letter, but for the most part our dossier preparation is completed. So what does that all look like when it's done?

Each document got an apostille, which is the blue jacket with the cover letter with the fancy gold seal.

Don't know what an apostille is? Don't feel bad - neither did I.

Ap-o-steel n. - Additional authentication required for international acceptance of notarized documents, including but not limited to, adoption papers, affidavits, birth certificates, contracts, death certificates, deeds, diplomas, and degrees, divorce decrees, incorporation papers, marriage certificates, patent applications, powers of attorney, and school transcripts. Instituted by 'The Hague Convention Abolishing The Requirements Of Legalization For Foreign Public Documents' of 1961, its objective is obviate "the requirements of diplomatic or consular legalization" and thus replace the cumbersome 'chain authentication method' that called for verification by multiple authorities. As prescribed by the convention, an apostille (French for, notation) is a preprinted small (minimum 9 x 9 centimeters) form having ten numbered items of information with blank spaces to be filled in by the designated authority in the issuing country. It is obligatory upon every signatory country to accept apostilles of the other signatory countries.

You pay per apostille, and the prices vary WIDELY by state. In Tennessee, they are $2.00 per document. I also had to pay $6.00 per document to first have the notary on each document verified by the county clerk, so each document's authorization effectively cost us $8.00. Sets one and two had 62 documents to notarize and apostille. ($496.00 for those of you doing the math at home. Plus $47.00 to send via Fed Ex to our agency.)

Anyone who says it's adopting is the "easy" way to have a child has clearly never adopted. I am here to promise you that birthing babies was easier than this. I didn't have to have a psychological evaluation or prove to anyone that I was qualified to have a baby. Nobody came to inspect my house. I didn't have to prove that I wasn't a criminal and that I would be able to financially support a baby. Or two, or three, or four. Nobody had to write me a letter of recommendation to state that I would be a good parent, and I certainly didn't have to write a letter to my doctor justifying my reasons for wanting a child. We didn't spend in excess of $30,000 to have any of our babies (or all of them combined), and I most certainly didn't take multiple trips to a third world country to pick them up. In fact, I stayed at a cushy hospital and it was seriously like being on a nice vacation. Although our journey to Katie is much different than how our other three children entered our lives, it is no less exciting or anticipated. It is much like waiting for a child to be born - we have been dying for updates on her, and cannot wait to see her. All of our hard work and "paper chasing" will pay off - hopefully soon!

If Katie Was Here Now....

2012-01-28T07:51:00.000-08:00

I love the "If Katie Was Here Now..." posts. So, if this little munchkin was already home, these are some things she would be sporting.

I have a feeling shopping for girl's clothes will be much more fun for me than shopping for the boys. . .

Mini Fashionista

2012-01-27T10:25:00.000-08:00

Do you remember this post? I loved the black jacket in that post, and I would totally have purchased it for myself if it came in adult sizes. I was not, however, about to spend $49.50 on it for a toddler who does not yet live in my house. I would spend $6.07 on one though, and I did last weekend. I love it, and cannot wait for her to wear it!

Calling all Coins for Katie Cups!

2012-01-25T18:29:00.000-08:00

Do you have a Coins for Katie cup?

Have you heard we may be traveling to see Katie soon.

SQUEAL!

I cannot wait to get my hands on that little muffin.

If you've been collecting Coins for Katie (not if you've gotten a cup since the start of 2012), we are asking that you send your money in either directly to us, through PayPal, or through our Reece's Rainbow link so we will have that money for our first trip.

We will never be able to adequately thank everyone who has helped us bring this sweet girl home.

If you have any questions about how to get the money you've collected to us, please either ask in the comments or email me at ksimp6577 at bellsouth dot net.

Thank you so much!

From Obsession to Fruition

2012-01-25T18:08:00.000-08:00

Remember this, my obsession?

Well, it's come to fruition.

My sweet friend Carrie Beth cut the letters for me, and I bought a handful of embroidery hoops. I got a bundle of fabric squares at Joann's for $11.99 and used a 50% off coupon. I also had a 40% off an order over $25, so my total for seven embroidery hoops and a bundle of fabric was just over $15.00. I also used a few scraps of fabric I already had. I do want to add more hoops, so I think I'll wait until I have another coupon and buy about 5 more. I'm only going to use fabric I already have with those, because I don't want 12947209 patterns of fabric on the wall.

I LOVE how it looks.

And I know I will love it more when it's got more hoops filled in.

This child better come home soon.

I'm afraid I'll redecorate her room 4 times before she gets home!

Happy 4th Birthday Jack!

2012-01-22T07:10:00.000-08:00

Jack is SO excited, because he and Katie Ruth are now both four years old. He keeps saying, "We're the twins! We're the twins now!" He had a fantastic, low-key birthday. The only thing that would have made it better would be if his "twin" was here to celebrate.

We had a chocolate pirate cake.

Aargh!

We had some balloons.

I love balloons.

He ripped through his gifts in about 4 minutes.

When it was time for cake, Jack said, "Turn the lights off!"

I love that he wants to do his candles in the dark.

He loved his little cake.

I love these boys.

2012-01-22T05:54:00.000-08:00

Thank you 320Sycamore

I'm Obsessed.....

2012-01-21T06:32:00.000-08:00

Obsessed.....With doing this in Katie Ruth's room, over her bed. O.B.S.E.S.S.E.D.

Some Quick Updates

2012-01-20T17:34:00.000-08:00

1. Our court dossier has been sent to Katie's country! What does this mean? It means that we should get a faster court date once we've made our first trip. Having the documents already there should mean less time between our first and second trips. And less time until we get this monkey home.

2. We got word today that our registration dossier should be filed next week!!! That means it is very likely that we could travel in the next 6-8 weeks. As we all know, things can never be predicted in this adventure. However, it is very promising that we could be looking at travel time and referring to it in weeks instead of months. I can't wait to get my hands on these cheeks.

3. Jack turned four yesterday.

He asked me if Katie Ruth could come to his party. Sweet love. When I told him that she couldn't, he asked if he could save her some cake. Um, gross. He asked if he could call her to tell her it was his birthday. He is just dying to get her home. He told me, "When you bring Katie Roof home, do you know the first thing I'll say to her? Thank you for coming here. Do you know why? Because I CAN TELL HER WHAT TO DO!" Clearly someone has been bossed around for, oh his entire life. I so hope Katie is home for her birthday. . . don't worry. I've already got about 32 birthday parties planned for her.

4. I think this weekend I'll start making some freezer meals for while we're gone, make some notes about the boys' meds, school, activities, and things like that so when we get a travel date I don't have to worry about that. It's exciting to think we may actually go soon!

Katie's Room

2012-01-14T13:56:00.000-08:00

We have made a LOT of changes to our guest room since we moved into our house last year.

This was the room when we walked through the house before buying.

It has the largest closet in the house, which was very poorly utilized.

It has a non-functioning fireplace, which is OK with me.

(It's non-functioning because there was previously a fire in our house, which originated in this fireplace. It is the only fireplace in our house that has not been converted to gas, and after the fire the chimney in our house was dismantled.)

It had builder color cream paint.

It also has amazing hardwood floors, a fabulous transom window, and a huge window seat.

We were going to make this our master bedroom.

Until we realized there was no way our bed would fit up the stairs.

We bought a great bedroom set from a family friend. We got a full size bed, hope chest, dresser, vanity, and two side tables. For $50. Yes, I'm serious. It fits perfectly in the room, and the style matches the rest of our furniture. I'm not a real modern furniture girl - I like very traditional things. So this is how we had it once we painted the room. We used Martha Stewart's sea glass paint from Home Depot. I tried about 10 different colors before I found the one we used, and it's exactly what I wanted.

This is what you see when you walk in the door now.

I got a fabulous bedding set at Essex. It's so soft, and it was $22.99 for the spread and two shams. It had a Macy's tag on it for $329.99. For real. Essex is pretty ghetto, but it's worth digging around to find deals like that.

I made the two pillows that are on the bed. I'm going to make some more to add, and will likely monogram the shams once she's home. Right now the plan is for her to sleep in this bed. We may start with a toddler bed for her, but this will eventually be where she sleeps.

This is the bookcase that I redid - it was a simple project with just a few coats of paint and some scrapbook paper on the backs of each shelf. The basket and bucket were a couple of projects for me, and I painted the frame on the top shelf and the K. The elephant and doll on the top shelf were Christmas gifts for Katie, as was the polar bear.

My mom made the curtains. They are perfect, and I L.O.V.E. them. The fabric is from Joann's, and I was unsure about it when I first brought it home. I had a piece taped on the wall for a long time before I decided to do it. I love it. It is much more bold than I usually would choose, but it's exactly what I was hoping it would be. The tiebacks are just a wide navy grosgrain ribbon held back with a small hook.

The lamp on the vanity is my next project, and I have something in mind already. It's a lamp that I had in David and Henry's old room, and while the colors aren't what I want to use anymore, the lamp is perfect for the space. I've already started to re-do it and will show you when it's done. The chair at the vanity was a chair from my office that was going to be thrown away. I recovered it and made a small pillow for the back.

See that basket of hair bows? It was donated to our silent auction for the Coins for Katie Pancake breakfast. Someone paid $45 for it. And gave it to me for Katie.

Let's just say I hope the child will keep a bow or headband in her hair...

I made the art over the fireplace, and am now searching for something else to put on the mantle. I have some ideas, but nothing that I've started yet.

The dollhouse was a gift from my friend Brandi, and Jack loves it. Like, pink puffy heart loves it. He has moved Batman, Robin, and Mr. Incredible right in, and they've quickly taken over the childcare duties. He's also backed his batman van and a lego van right up so they've got some transportation.

I moved this chair in from the playroom. Mostly because it was constantly getting turned over and used as a launchpad for a small boy when it was in the playroom. I like it in this room, and Jack and I have broken it in here in its new space and have read many books and snuggled here.

I still have to decide if I will make cushions for the window seat I didn't show you, and what to do about a rug. I'm thinking I want an area rug, maybe in sea grass or something similar. Overall, I'm quite happy with how the room has developed so far!

Crafty Business

2012-01-08T16:06:00.000-08:00

Since we have no dossier to be working on or suitcases to be packing, I've been keeping myself busy with some craft projects. I usually have about 6 or 7 different ones going at any point, so I've really tried to finish some up before I start new ones. We'll see how long that lasts. . .

As you may have noticed, I'm quite *ahem* thrifty. I pretty much refuse to pay full price for something. This is rooted in several things. We are a single income family with three children, so I can't just run out and buy something every time I feel like it - I have to be more intentional about my purchases. And trust me when I say this did not come naturally to me. My thriftiness started out of necessity. Now, it's almost a game for me. If I see something for our home that I like at, for example, Pottery Barn or Ballard Designs, I will try to duplicate it instead of buying it. Most of the time, I'm very satisfied with my version. Which I promise cost significantly less than the original item. So the first thing I recently finished was some storage for Katie's room.

I started with this. For real.

It was 99 cents on half price day at Goodwill.

Now seriously, buying that and knowing I could make it look good is some real vision. Or crazy business, because this was some airbrushing at its finest.

This cute pink bucket is what it looks like now.

I sanded the heck out of it, use a spray primer, and spray painted it with some leftover pink I had. Total project cost? 99 cents.

This was my next project. It was also a half price GW find. It had some chickens and eggs hot glued to the front. Cute, right? I yanked those suckers off. It was $1.99, so I really wasn't going to be too heartbroken if I ruined it by pulling off the crazy chickens. Next, I used some leftover sample paint I had from when I couldn't decide what color to paint Katie's room, so that part of the project was free. I used a foam brush and painted a few coats over the brick red. Now it's a perfect storage basket on her bookshelf, and it cost $1.99 and about an hour of my time. I'm going to find a small K and glue it to the front. By that point the project will probably be about $5.00.

I love the framed saying on the top of her bookshelf - it says "There's no place like home." I think I'm going to paint that bookend tangerine, which would match her curtains and some pillows I've already made. That bookend is part of a set that I got as a gift about 7 years ago. I already have the paint, so that project will be a freebie.

Do you remember in my post about her Christmas stocking I showed you an etsy print that I wanted to try to make?

It looks like this.

I liked that version, but I didn't love it.

And I certainly didn't love it for $75.00 plus shipping.

So I got a canvas for $5.00 (two for $10.00 - Henry got one of them for Christmas) and got started. I painted the canvas tangerine, my current color obsession. ($2.49 for the craft paint.) I bought some scrapbook paper at Hobby Lobby when they were 50% off, and I just picked random patterns that I liked together, some skin tones, and some colors for hair. I ended up spending $6.00 on the paper and got WAY more than I needed. I probably used $2.00 worth of the paper I got, and I will use some of the other pieces for mats for some frames in her room or elsewhere in the house. (So my total cost for this project was about $10.00. Not $75 plus shipping!) The prints on the papers I got match other rooms in our home as well.

I used the same template from the Christmas stocking and just eyeballed it to make it bigger for the largest doll. I used the largest one to make them incrementally smaller and just eyeballed it again each time. For the faces, I just found things that were round and were the size I wanted the faces to be, traced them, and used that as a guide.

And I L.O.V.E. it. Henry is working on something that will go on either side of it, and I can't wait to show you that. And yes, I realize the mantle needs something else other than a Tyler candle (my favorite!), some bare wood people begging to be painted, and a candy cane pen. Baby steps. That mantle's been empty for a year and a half!

They still need some faces, but I had maxed out my *artistic* abilities for the day. And really, I'm a little scared that my lack of creativity will ruin this when I put their faces on....I promise they'll be faceless for a while!

No News Is Good News

2012-01-07T18:27:00.000-08:00

Well this blog has turned quite boring since there's not any news ...... I did hear from our coordinator that our dossier is with the translators now. Most of Katie's country is closed until after January 10th for a big Christmas celebration, so hopefully once things reopen we'll hear something. Until then, we wait!

To Quote the Wise Tom Petty....

2012-01-04T19:37:00.000-08:00

The waiting is the hardest part.

You take it on faith.

You take it to heart.

The waiting is the hardest part.

Up to this point, we have lots to do for our adoption. You hear a lot about the paper chasing. The fundraising. The applications that have to be filled out. The medical exams to have performed. The tax information to collect. The fundraising. The notarizing that needs to be done. The background checks and the fingerprinting. The USCIS clearance to obtain. The fundraising. The photographs to assemble. The apostilling to be done. The fundraising. We've done all of it for the last seven months. And I think we've done it pretty well. Now? Now we wait. And Tom Petty was right. (Or in this video, Eddie Vedder and Tom Petty......what? The 90s were some of my best years.) The waiting is the hardest part.

When I was busy compiling all of that information and scheduling all of the appointments, I didn't have time to worry. Time to worry about E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. I'm not a worrier by nature - not at all. I'm the person who takes care of things so someone else doesn't have to worry about it. I'm a fixer. I spend the vast majority of my day telling people not to worry - not to worry about their divorce, their cheating spouse, the children being passed back and forth between two bickering parents, their child support that isn't being paid or their child support that they can't afford anymore, their pending criminal charges or their violation of probation, their trial that they have next week, or how to explain to their spouse that they want a divorce. I cannot tell you how many times a day I tell someone, "Don't worry about it right now. I will take care of it." And I do take care of it. And then I come home from work and tell people not to worry - not to worry about the dog peeing on the floor, not to worry about dinner needing to be cooked. Not to worry about the laundry that needs to be taken care of, or the dishwasher that needs to be unloaded. Not to worry about the bikes that need to be put away or the Legos that need to be cleaned up. Don't worry about your brother crying - he's just tired. Don't worry about your milk spilling - we can clean it up. Don't worry about the leaky roof. I'll call someone to fix it. And please don't think that my husband sits around eating ice cream and watching television all day - he does not. All of the day to day things that I have listed at home are just part of having a family and having things to do all of the time. There is always something that needs to be taken care of. Always. And I like being the reliable person or the person people know they can count on.

But now, with no paper chasing to do, not forms to fill out, no plans to make, I have time to worry. And that's pretty much all I'm doing. I alternate between being worried that we won't be approved to adopt her to being worried that we're not the right parents for her. I worry about her being in her orphanage still, and how hard that must be for her. I worry about her health and about the medical care she is missing out on right now while we wait. I worry about her "non-accute" heart condition. I worry about her cognitive development and how every day that passes is another missed day for therapies and attention and stimulation and love that she's not getting. I worry about how that will affect her. I worry about all of the medical information we do not have, but I know is probably there. I worry that she's going to start getting therapies when she's at least five, instead of when she was a baby. I worry about whether she's warm enough or if her belly is full enough. I worry about her banging her head against a wall or rocking back and forth or pulling her hair out to try to soothe herself, because she doesn't have someone to do that for her. I worry when Jack comes downstairs after he had a bad dream and I snuggle him up in a cuddly blanket and rock him back to sleep while I quietly hum "You are My Sunshine" to his hot sweaty baby self, because I know when she wakes up with a bad dream she has nobody. I worry about when we will travel. I worry about my children while we will be gone. I worry about David, who snuggled me close at bedtime last week and said, "I won't be able to take it while you are visiting Katie. You've never been away from me for that long and I will be so sad." And I worry because I know that's true. I worry about Henry being upset while we're gone but not talking to anyone about it and being sad. I worry about when we bring Katie home, and I worry that we won't bring her home. I worry about court in her country, and how scary that will be for us. I worry that my husband, who is so much less comfortable talking to people than me, will have to do the talking for us in court. I worry because I know he will be nervous. I worry that there won't be hot water in our hotel and I'll be so irritated the whole time. I worry about what my husband will eat in her country because he is a fairly selective eater. I worry that we're making a big mistake and that our family will be forever changed by this experience, no matter the outcome, and what if I want to go back to how we were before? I worry that she will hate us. I worry that she will not bond with us and will be miserable here. I worry about her parents, and whether they will come back for her when they learn that new parents want to take her home. I worry that her parents didn't give her up because they wanted to, but because they felt like they didn't have a choice. I worry that I won't be enough for her - patient enough, smart enough, loving enough, strong enough, kind enough, understanding enough, warm enough, or enough of a mama to make up for five years without one. I worry that she'll hate our dogs or our food or her new clothes or her sheets or the color of the walls in her room or the shampoo we use or the way our house smells........you can see how ridiculous some of these fears and worries are.

Clearly my still hands have given way to a wildly active mind. I wake up in the middle of the night worrying about these things, convincing myself in the dark quiet middle of the night that these worries are bigger than bringing her home. And while I know rationally that this is not the case, I can convince myself of anything in the middle of the night. And I am not a pessimistic person - really I'm not. I am usually able to look at the situation and work my way through it. That's the problem. There is no situation right now. There's no to-do list to work on. No checklist to check. Nothing. Nothing but waiting. I know our family is forever changed by this experience, no matter the outcome. And I know that we are all better for it. I know that we will have challenges with Katie: challenges with her eating, and her self-soothing, challenges with her behavior and her communication, challenges with her therapies and her adjustment, challenges wither her diagnoses and the best way to handle them, challenges with her being sad and with teaching her how to be part of a family. Nothing about this process is easy, and we don't expect it to be. Really? If I'm being honest, we expect bringing her home to be hard as hell. Sort of like being a parent has been so far.

So until something changes, we wait. Our dossier is with the translators and they are back from their holiday January 10th. And we'll keep waiting. And hopefully I'll stop worrying so much!

2011, The Year in Review

2011-12-31T19:38:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

Can you believe 2011 is almost over?

I thought I'd recap what a crazy, incredible, eye opening year this has been for our family.

I didn't start this blog until July, when I officially announced that we were working to adopt a little girl. I introduced our family, and the sweet face we are working so hard to bring home.

This is us!

This is her!

We started collecting things for our yard sale, had our home study, and started planning our Run for Katie. I met my sweet friend Misty through that planning, and she has become one of my favorite people and one of Katie's biggest supporters. This child, from the moment we put her in our hearts, has brought amazing people into our lives.

If you'd like to read about January through June for our family, hop on over to The Real Housewife of Bedford County. I've posted about it there.

In August, we painted our guest room, which will be Katie's room.

We took all of our house photos for our dossier.

And we got some great donations.

(Please remember, when we started this process in June, we started at zero dollars. We had some money in our savings that we used, but Katie only had a family sponsorship grant of $87.49)

We also had our first fundraiser - a big old yard sale!

August was obviously a busy month for us, because we also kicked off Coins for Katie, which has been an astounding success for us.

In September, we sent ninety Coins for Katie cups to Erin and her first grade class in Massachusetts.

We also got lots of photos of Coins for Katie cups all over North America.

We had our biometric finger printing done, and our sweet friend Jenny and her family had a generous party where the gifts were for Katie.

In October, we learned that Sarah and Joyce have a Coins for Katie cup in their store! I was so excited, and so proud of Sarah for wanting to help us bring Katie home. She and her mom do some amazing things for people with Down syndrome.

We were in the newspaper and we had our Run for Katie.

I also worked on some projects in Katie's room.

We also mailed our dossier package to our placing agency! This is a HUGE step in the process, and one that felt so good to complete.

In November, we got an amazing donation from strangers.

And if that wasn't enough, the same people blessed us again with donations they collected on our behalf from their friends and associates.

We also had our Coins for Katie pancake breakfast.

This was an incredible day for us and for Katie, and it is one I will never forget. We raised nearly $7,000 that morning, which we could not have done without the help of our incredible friends and family. It was an awesome day.

We also put up our Christmas trees, including one in Katie's room.

And I told you about my uncle Clayton, who is part of the reason we are adopting a special needs child.

In December, we tried to pay some of the generosity we've received forward by participating in Operation Christmas Child.

Next, our dossier package was received in Katie's country for translation!

I made Katie a Christmas stocking.

And the girls in my office and I gave the gift of hope to four special needs children instead of giving gifts to four attorneys. And, because they are all great guys, they loved their Angel Tree Christmas ornaments! (And now two of our Angel Tree babies have families!)

We were gifted an incredible doll house for ~~Jack~~ Katie.

And I finished a high chair for ~~Jack's~~ Katie's babies.

And finally, we were given an incredible gift. Someone very close to us offered to cover whatever adoption expenses we are unable to cover. The sense of relief such a gift brings, and the incredible amount of emotions it makes me feel is indescribable. That does not mean that our fundraising will be done - we have several Coins for Katie cups out still that we would love to get back. It just means that the stress of worrying about how we will raise the rest of the money is gone. And that there is virtually nothing standing between us and that sweet girl.

What will 2012 bring for us?

I hope it will bring Chris and me to Katie's country.

And I hope it will bring her home to us.

I hope it will bring us opportunities as a family to help others, the way we have been helped by so many of you.

I hope it will bring us the chance to continue to be amazed by this process and how much it has changed our family - every one of us.

I hope it will bring love to a little girl who has quite possibly never felt that, even though we have felt so much of it for her.

I hope it will bring peace and clarity as we look toward the end of this process.

For you, I hope 2012 brings what you have brought to us: generosity, love, acceptance, friendship, support, and purpose.

I hope 2012 will bring us our girl.

Happy New Year.

High Chair Re-Do

2011-12-31T13:37:00.000-08:00

Remember this little beauty that I found at Goodwill?

It's a nice, sturdy, wooden doll high chair that was $9.99.

The closest thing I can find that's similar is one on ebay, which is $79.

Well I got it home and promptly ripped off the disgusting 30 year old fabric.

I brought it out in the yard and spray painted it my favorite Rustoleum Heirloom White.

(And can someone please tell me why I always feel mildly guilty for painting real wood? Even if I don't like it the way it is, I still feel a little guilt about it.)

I finally got around to covering it this week when I was off on Monday.

I used a fat quarter of fabric that I already had but hadn't used.

Instead of making a pleated skirt, I just hot glued some ribbon around the edge, and I like it just as well.

Here's a close up of the fabric - I really like it.

I'm very pleased with how it came out.

I hope Katie likes it - Jack certainly has!

I'm linking to Thrifty Decor Chick's Before and After party.

We Love Hand-Me-Downs!

2011-12-28T08:08:00.000-08:00

Katie Ruth has been so blessed to get some great hand-me-downs already from our friends. Remember her Pottery Barn Kitchen from my friend Brandi and her little girl? Well Ms. Brandi and Emma have again gifted us with a fabulous hand-me-down - a Fisher Price Loving Family House. It's so fun!

Jack was SO excited to see it, and he started playing with it as soon as I brought it in the house last night.

We will get some more people for it, because as Jack pointed out, five babies can't live there all alone.

And five babies are the only current occupants!

Jack said to me as soon as he got up this morning,

"PLEASE come play babies with me!"

And just to show you how quickly Jack moves - all.the.time.- I thought

I'd share these photos of him playing.

Thank you Brandi and Emma!

We love the dollhouse and will take good care of it!

Thank You 1st Grade Friends!

2011-12-26T17:53:00.000-08:00

Do you remember when I posted this post about my friend Erin's school collecting Coins for Katie?

Well we sent out our cups - LOTS of them.

And the kids loved them. I wrote here about how excited they were to collect Coins for Katie, and about some of the things they said.

Erin sent them on their way with their cups.

We have been writing back and forth with her class and even sent Flat Stanley to visit.

I have saved their letters for Katie in her scrapbook.

We were even in the newspaper!

Well this weekend, on Christmas Eve, we got a letter from Erin.

Inside her letter she included the money her first graders collected.

They've been working since the end of September to collect money to help us bring Katie home.

What do you think they've raised?

Are you ready?

$1,167.51!!!!

Can you believe that?

In less than three months, a group of six year olds and their generous families helped to raise over $1,100 to help bring a little girl they have never met home. It is amazing to me how much Katie's journey has touched people and inspired them.

Thank you so much!!

You get what you give.

I hope that Erin and her first graders have gotten as much out of this journey as we have.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T18:24:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

Santa stopped by and filled Katie's stocking.

He also brought her a baby stroller and a Baby Stella doll.

Jack has named the doll Rosie....Although I'm pretty sure it's actually a boy.

David and Henry's stockings were filled as well.

And, of course, the slipcovers were off of our sofas!

And Jack, despite being very close to the naughty list, managed to charm his way back onto the nice list. Santa took care of him too.

Henry said the one thing on his list that he really wanted was Katie home.

{Insert sad face here.}

Since she wasn't here this year, Jack and Henry opened her stocking goodies.

Yes, Jack is in his underpants!

Not only Santa brought gifts for Katie.

Sister got a lot of gifts - I cannot imagine what she'll get when she is home!

She got an Our Generation doll from Gigi and Grampy. She's a cheerleader doll. WITH GLASSES! I cannot tell you how much I love children who wear glasses - I always have, since I was a child. I love them. When I was little I had a Cabbage Patch doll named, of all things, Kitty Jessica. Kitty Jessica came with glasses, and that was my absolute favorite thing about her. Gigi said she saw a woman with the same doll in her shopping cart and she knew she had to get one for Katie Ruth. David and I checked her all out, particularly her glasses! And, I suspect, David sort of wants to read the book that came with the doll...

She got this adorable pink Ellie Knitbeary elephant from Nan and Gramps. She is so cute with a tutu and ballet slippers.

She got a Mrs. Potato Head, some bubbles, and a dolly swing and play mat for the floor.

She got fancy letters for her room, baby bottles with disappearing milk and juice, a slinky, a flip phone, and some sticker dress up dolls.

She got two cute hats and bows, and three sippy cups.

She got a cute whale dress and a tiny Magna Doodle.

She got a market bag full of fruits and veggies she can slice up and put back together.

Merry Christmas big girl.

I hope with all of my heart that it's your last one alone.

The Gift of Generosity

2011-12-21T17:54:00.000-08:00

Today my family received an amazing Christmas gift. Someone very close to me brought me to lunch and told him how much I mean to him, and how much he appreciates my friendship and the things that I do for him. He told me that he considers me a part of his family, and that he is proud that Chris and I are working so hard to adopt Katie Ruth. He told me that he and his wife had talked, and that they want to help us bring Katie home. He knows how stressful the expenses of the adoption are when I think about them. He knows that, when we started this process, we knew we would have to work really, really hard to raise the money to bring Katie home. And he knows that we have. And he told me that he will pay the remainder of our adoption expenses when we're done fundraising.

Yes, you read that correctly. When we are done with our fundraising, he will pay for the rest.

Let that sink in for a minute.

He was so heartfelt in and sincere in his intent and his feelings behind this amazing gift, and the sentiment and the purpose behind his generosity mean as much to me as the monetary gift. He has absolutely no obligation to do this for us. But he has done it. He has his own family to support, and three children of his own. He obviously has the financial means to do this for us, but more than that he has the heart to. There is no way for our family to ever thank his family for this. And he doesn't expect us to. And please don't think this is the first generous thing he has done for us. He has always been exceptionally generous to me. But this - this is a different level. This is literally bringing our child home. And he is so excited to meet her - this gift was genuine and entirely from the heart. We are amazingly blessed.

So tonight I am thankful for incredible friends. For generosity and selflessness. For humility and for being able to appreciate all of the blessings we have received. I am thankful that this little girl that nobody wanted has shown me so much about the people I love, and about people I don't even know. I am thankful that my family has jumped into this journey to our sweet girl with open arms and open hearts. I am thankful that I have surrounded myself and my family with people who will accept Katie as a Simpson, not as a child that was thrown away. I am thankful for the journey, and I cannot wait to see her sweet face at the end. And I am thankful that my sweet friend has made that reality so much easier for us to see.

Special Christmas Gifts

2011-12-18T10:30:00.000-08:00

We had our office Christmas party Friday night. I am so fortunate to work with a small group of people who all genuinely like each other and like spending time together. They are all incredibly generous, and Friday was no exception. One of my favorite things I got was this necklace, from Travis and his family. It is so sweet and thoughtful, with each of our children's names, including Katie, stamped on it. I love it.

Instead of giving gifts to the attorneys this year, the other two girls in the office and I decided to sponsor Reece's Rainbow angel tree children for them. Let's be honest - the attorneys I work with do not need us to buy them anything. We weren't sure how they would feel about the Angel Tree kids, but they LOVED them!

These are the children we've sponsored:

Emilie.

And this sweet girl has had a family commit to her during the Angel Tree!

Jonas.

Silas.

Seriously? Can you stand those glasses?!

And Terrence.

If you need a gift for a teacher, friend, or hard to buy for person on your list, I so encourage you to donate to Reece's Rainbow. Obviously we have been incredibly blessed by the donations made by people. When we committed to Katie she had a grant through Reece's Rainbow of $87.40. When we started this process we had no idea how we would pay for it, but we trusted that we would figure that detail out. If a child has a large grant he or she is much more likely to have a family commit, as the financial aspect of adoption can be overwhelming. Obviously we cannot all adopt a special needs child. You can help change the life of one by making a donation though.

Katie's Photo Book

2011-12-18T09:57:00.000-08:00

I wanted to leave a photo book with Katie when we get to travel to her so she can look at our photos while we're gone. I love the book we made, and I plan to use Google Translate to put the captions underneath in her language so (hopefully!) someone in her orphanage can tell her who the people are. Even if they can't, she can see our pictures!

Click here to view this photo book larger

You'll love award-winning Shutterfly photo books. Start your own today.

Christmas Traditions

2011-12-18T09:46:00.000-08:00

I can't wait for Katie to share in some of our Christmas traditions! The trees and the decorating are obviously big favorites for me.

We love some nutcrackers in this house.

Each child gets a new one each year, and they all did this year (including Katie Ruth).

We haven't broken any of them yet this year, which is a record.

They do get rearranged daily, thanks to Jack.

We also get new ornaments each year to memorialize something we did that year.

Sometimes they're for vacations we've taken, or for something the boys liked.

We have bikes for the year they learned how to ride their bicycles, and Dora for the year David was obsessed with her. This year we got three new R*****n ornaments for our Katie Ruth.

I write the year on the bottom so we don't forget when we got them, and we have fun every year talking about why we got them, where we got them, etc.

This is hung up HIGH. Like, top of the ten foot tree high.

I had to stand on the back of the couch to take a photo of it. I don't recommend that.

The boys' favorite Christmas tradition is our advent calendar.

Each day someone gets to open a door and there are tiny gifts inside each door.

And I mean tiny - some of them have been chocolates, four quarters, a lego mini figure, a parachute man, stickers, gum, and things like that. I have to keep it on top of the refrigerator so no little fingers get into it!

The person who opens the door on the calendar also gets to open book. I wrap 24 Christmas books at the end of November and put them all in a basket. They open the book and we read it that night before bed. (The person who opens the door and the book also gets to be first that day when we're leaving the house, getting ready for bed, picking stories, etc. It's a big deal around here to be first!)

My other favorite? CHRISTMAS CARDS! I love them. I text Chris each day from work to see if we got any in the mail. He saves them for me to open because he knows how much I love them. I love sending them (and want our's to be the first one people get) and I really love getting them!

Go here to read about one of my favorite card recipients!

Hopefully next year there are six people on our card instead of five.

I can't wait for Katie girl to be here to be part of our Christmas traditions!

Coins for Katie Goes VIP

2011-12-13T02:58:00.000-08:00

When we had our Coins for Katie Pancake Breakfast, it was covered by a local magazine, VIP Murfreesboro. The issue was published recently, and there's a full page feature about our breakfast. There are some great photos, and we are so lucky to have been included in this issue. What a fun thing for us to keep and show Katie! (And my name is listed as "Karen", which cracks me up literally every time I think of it!)

You can find the online edition of this issue here. Thanks VIP Murfreesboro!

Katie's First Christmas Gift

2011-12-09T07:41:00.001-08:00

I had lunch with my friend Joey yesterday and she gave us Katie's first Christmas gift! (You may remember me posting about Joey earlier and the delicious jam she gave us, as well as the tutu and hairbow she mad for Katie.)

She gave us a really sweet book that I had never read, "On the Night You Were Born", by Nancy Tillman. It's a perfect book that talks about how on the night you were born people celebrated and that there was never anyone like you born before. It talks about how special "you" were on the night you were born, and how much we love "you" because of how special you are. I cannot think of something more appropriate. Although we obviously didn't know Katie on the day she was born, she is special to us already, and we will spend our lives making sure she knows that. She may have had a rough start, but we want her to know how loved and special she is to our family, our friends, and people she will never even meet. Joey also gave us a really soft, squishy, snuggly polar bear that we will bring with us to Katie's country when we travel for the first time. We will leave it with her so she has something to snuggle. I plan also to bring the book and read it to her while we're there. I know she won't understand a word I'm saying, but someday she will. Katie is so, so fortunate to have so many people who already love her and are praying for her and working hard to bring her home. I can't wait for her to feel that herself!

Let the Translation Begin!

2011-12-07T08:11:00.001-08:00

What does that photo mean?

It means our registration dossier and court dossier have been delivered in Katie's Country!

This is awesome news!

Let the translation begin. . .

We Have Movement!

2011-12-06T02:32:00.001-08:00

Why are they so excited??

Because our dossier package has been sent to Katie's country to be translated!

(OK, they were excited about Thanksgiving lunch at school. . . play along.)

YAHOO!

What does that mean?

It now will be translated and submitted for registration.

Once it's registered?

We get a travel date to meet our girl!!

This will still likely be two months in the future, but we're excited that there's progress!

Paying it Forward

2011-12-03T05:20:00.001-08:00

We have been so incredibly blessed by so many generous people who have helped with our fundraising and have supported our family throughout this process, both with their financial donations and their emotional support and encouragement. Chris and I have always tried to consciously teach our boys about helping other people and have tried to impress upon them how fortunate they are. It's difficult to really gauge how much understanding they have of that because they are so little, but we want them to grow up to be giving, generous, helpful adults.

We thought it was especially important this year to make sure our boys were involved in helping other people. We have done a few things to do this, and have included the kids with choosing what to participate in. The first thing we did was help with a can drive at school to help feed families in our county. The boys each selected some non-perishable foods to donate, and we talked about some reasons people may not be able to buy enough food. Henry's class brought in the most canned foods in the school, and they won a pizza party! He is so proud of his class and excited for his party.

The school that we are so fortunate to have our boys in does a lot of things to benefit the people of our community. They are committed to ensuring each child in our county has a Christmas gift, and they are doing a toy drive. David and Henry each will select a toy to bring in for a child who may not otherwise get a Christmas gift.

My favorite activity we have done is to participate in Operation Christmas Child through Samaritan's Purse. We filled these three shoebox sized boxes with toys, candy, books, and some personal hygiene items like soap, hairbrushes, toothbrushes, and toothpaste. The boys picked every single item in the boxes themselves. It was a bit frantic and frenzied, but they were excited. Very excited. . . .we had to cut down the items they included by about fifty percent! Henry and Jack each chose to buy items for a boy, and David picked a girl. It was interesting to see him choosing items for a girl his age - needless to say, we didn't always have the same ideas! They were excited to pick toys and gifts for people who would not get gifts, and we talked a lot about how Katie will celebrate (or not) Christmas at her orphanage.

Thank you for being part of helping us make our boys more aware of how we can help other people. And thank you for helping us.

Come on Santa

2011-12-02T03:19:00.001-08:00

I made this stocking for Katie last night.

It's a stocking from the Dollar Tree, and I made the Matroyshka doll from a very easy pattern and template I found here. I admit I cheated a bit - the flowers are pre-made pins/hair clips I found at Hobby Lobby for $1.99 each. I don't really plan on this being Katie's stocking forever, so I can take the flowers off and put them in her hair or on a sweater or shirt. The doll was SUPER easy to make, and this is a very inexpensive way to make a cute stocking. If I had made the flowers instead of purchasing pre-made versions I think the whole stocking would have cost about $3 or $4. Some come on Santa! Katie's stocking is ready.

I'm also going to use the pattern to make something similar to this for her room.

I can't decide if I'm going to make this using scrapbook papers or fabric. . . I like this version from Etsy, but it's about $70. I don't like it that much!

If Katie Was Here Now. . .

2011-11-30T18:26:00.001-08:00

I think it's time for the Christmas version of "If Katie Was Here Now." You may remember the prior installments from this post and this post. Well, if that little nugget was here for Christmas, it may look something like this. . .

Santa *may or may not* be bringing her a Baby Stella doll.

Let's just say it's not impossible!

LOVE!

I will admit I want this dollhouse.
So I can decorate it.
Hush.

Yes, these are jeggings.
Apparently I'm only against them (strongly!) for adults.
I find them oddly acceptable for children.

Overboard?

Whatever.

This child will be the first girl in our family in 29 years.

I'm pretty sure overboard will not be uncommon.

Santa will be bringing her some presents at our house and we'll bring them to her on our first visit, whenever that may be. I cannot wait for next year when she's here to see and experience Christmas herself!

Keeping Our Heads Up

2011-11-28T18:41:00.001-08:00

I am trying so hard not to be discouraged. Although we found out today that our documents will be sent to Katie's country by Friday, we also found out today that we will very likely not travel for our first trip until February. That's a month later than we were anticipating. And I know - it's just a month.

It's a month longer that we have to wait to see this girl.

It's a month longer that she has to be in an orphanage instead of at home with us.

But, it's just a month.

We have done everything we can to get our paperwork done as fast as we can.

Now, we wait.

We raise more money.

We apply for grants.

And we wait.

I will not get discouraged, and I will not be pessimistic about it.

We will celebrate Christmas and know that next year she will be here with us.

And we will wait.

Getting Christmas Started

2011-11-27T15:06:00.001-08:00

Well, Thanksgiving is over so it's time to get Christmas started around here. I love Christmas - if I could put a Christmas tree in every room I would. And really, we're not far from it. We will have a big tree in our living room, a tree in the entry, a tree in the playroom, a tree in the guest room (Katie's room), a tree in the boys' room, and two potted trees on the porch. And those are just the trees with lights. . . we have several smaller trees with no lights all around the house. We got started yesterday and have these up so far:

This is the entry.

The playroom.

You should see this beauty in daylight.

To say it's a little heavy on the ornaments is an understatement.

And this is Katie's room.

It's the old playroom tree, and we've got it on the window seat.

Henry decorated it.

And included a Hawaiian lei.

It's, um, interesting. It looks best in the dark.

Henry has asked me several times about Christmas for Katie, if she celebrates Christmas, what she gets for presents, if Santa comes to her orphanage, and things of that nature. I told him that I don't think Santa brings her gifts or that she gets gifts, and he was very, very upset about it. He asked if Santa would bring her gifts here, and we talked about that for a little while. He said he thinks that Santa knows she will come live her, and he thinks Santa is going to bring her presents so that we can bring them when we go to see her. We've gotten her a stocking that we'll hang, *just in case* Santa brings her something here. The stocking we've gotten is plain red. . . if you know me at all you have realized there's no way I can leave it like that. I found this ADORABLE stocking on pinterest, and will be making my own version.

Have you started your decorating yet?

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-25T06:30:00.001-08:00

Next year I hope we have to set another place at this Thanksgiving table.

A spot for this little turkey.

I hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving.

We have a lot for which we are thankful!

Giving Thanks

2011-11-22T07:10:00.001-08:00

You may remember my post about the kindness of strangers from earlier this month. In that post I talked about the family of one of our clients and the very generous donation they made when they heard about Katie. Well that same family was moved by Katie and wanted to help even more with our fundraising so we can get that sweet girl home. Today I am thankful for the R family and their many, many friends. When the R's came to my office today, they came bearing gifts. . .

In two weeks they raised $2,517.00. They provided me with a list of the donation amounts - they range from $5.00 to $350.00. Every single one of them is from someone I have never met. I know I have said it a million times, and I hope it doesn't sound contrived because it is entirely sincere, but the generosity of everyone we have come into contact with on this journey to Katie Ruth has been completely overwhelming. I am surprised nearly every day buy how giving people are - of their time, of their money, and of themselves. We will never be able to thank people enough.

A Gift for Katie!

2011-11-20T19:18:00.001-08:00

My sweet friend Joey, who is someone I met through work and I knew the day I met her I wanted to be friends with her, gave us our first gift for Katie! (She also gave us some delicious blackberry jam and blueberry jam. . . which lasted about 48 hours.)

She made an adorable tutu and hair bow for Katie. I love it! And, true to form, Jack had to try it on.

I hope Katie won't mind sharing.

Everything.

Katie's First Christmas Decoration

2011-11-20T17:58:00.001-08:00

Each year, we buy the boys a nutcracker and a Christmas ornament. They love nutcrackers, and they've picked some pretty funny ones (like David's "soldier girl" two years ago. . . who I think lost a battle, as she very quickly lost her weapon and was beheaded.) We were out today getting some things for Thanksgiving and found Katie's first nutcracker. It had to come home with us!

Next year I hope she will pick her own!

Part of the Reason

2011-11-16T18:18:00.001-08:00

Probably the most common question we get from people is, "Why are you adopting?" While my natural response is really to ask, "Why not?," I typically don't say that. I explain that we feel like we can give another child a good home, we have always wanted a big family, we really want a little girl. . . all of the reasons people expect. Then, when some people find out we're adopting a child with Down syndrome, they are really surprised. Or ignorant.

Thankfully, I've only encountered the ignorance on this journey one time, and it was yesterday. A woman was in my office, and she is someone I encounter in my job quite frequently. She said she heard we were adopting a child, and I confirmed the rumor. She said, "Well be careful. You never know what kind of medical problems those kids can have." I tried to bite my tongue. I just couldn't do it. I told her that we actually already know she has "medical problems," as she's got Ds. She got this shocked look on her face and said, "WHAT?! DOWN syndrome? I mean, is there even a cure for that?" What. The. Hell. I just shook my head and smiled. She followed that flash of brilliance with, "KIM. Those people don't even have a normal life expectancy." I wanted to ask her if she even knew what a "normal" life expectancy is. (PS, it's 78.1 years in the US for a normal life expectancy, and about 60 for a person with Ds.) I seriously wanted to smack this woman. And she questioned, I mean grilled me, about why we would want to adopt "one of THOSE people". Seriously? I had ugly, ugly thoughts about her.

This is one of the reasons we want to adopt one of "THOSE" people.

His name is Clayton, and he's my uncle.

My great-uncle, to be more specific.

His brother is my grandfather.

Clayton was born at home with his umbilical cord wrapped tightly around his neck. In the 30s, that didn't typically end up well. So, my great grandmother's first child (of 5) was born mentally disabled. We all know what that was called then - retarded.

Clayton grew up in the same small town I lived in as a child.

He likes to say that he went to every grade through sixth. Twice.

He did not go to an institution. He lived at home with his family.

Clayton was a member of the community. I have heard stories of boys in the neighborhood getting into fights to protect him at school if someone made fun of him.

Everyone in town knows Clayton.

He has recently moved to a retirement assisted living facility.

He has lived relatively independently, in his own home but with help, for his entire adult life.

He's 81 years old.

He loves to drink black coffee all day long.

He loves gummy fruits that he gets every year at Christmas.

He loves NASCAR and the Patriots.

Clayton never had any sort of therapies, like occupational therapy or speech therapy.

He has had jobs. He's never been a doctor or a lawyer. Have you?

He's worked jobs that made him feel important and independent.

He has felt like he was contributing to something good, and that made him feel important.

Isn't that how we all want to feel?

He felt valued.

He is valued.

He's travelled to Alaska and Florida, and several places in between.

He has been a part of my life since I was born.

He can remember things that happened fifty years ago.

Last week? That's a little fuzzy.

When I was growing up, he was a part of my daily life.

He would come to the grocery store with us.

He would walk to our house nearly every day.

He would just want to chat.

And, most of the time, he sort of irritated me.

As I got older, I became much more aware of Clayton being different.

He was loud, and he chewed with his mouth open.

He wanted to talk to all of my friends, and I didn't want him to.

He sometimes acted like a child, and I was often embarrassed when he came places with us.

He would come to the movies with us and laugh too loud.

He would come to programs at school and act different than everyone else.

He needs daily attention and care.

He can't do things like cut his own toenails or be trusted to have proper hygiene all the time.

He can't do his own laundry or cook a meal for himself.

He can't drive or take himself to the doctor.

He can't balance a checkbook or pay his own bills.

Someone has had to care for him for his entire life.

But our family did - nobody put him in a home or in an institution.

Clayton is part of the reason we have chosen to adopt Katie.

I have always, since the day I was born, had someone in my family with special needs.

Someone who was different.

Someone who was too loud and acted different than everyone else.

Someone who laughed too loud at the movies and who needed help every day.

What would Clayton be like if he was born today?

What would his life be like if he had occupational therapy and speech therapy?

What would his life be like if he had special education services and graduated from high school?

What kind of opportunities would Clayton have if he were born in my generation or the generation of my children, instead of in the 1930s?

I would love to have had the opportunity to talk to my great-grandmother about what it was like to parent a special needs child 70 or 80 years ago.

I suspect it was not easy.

Just as it is not now, but she had many more obstacles.

While I once considered Clayton an embarrassment, I know we are lucky to have him in our family.

He has taught us all lessons about life, society, and family without trying.

I hope we pay attention.

Now What?

2011-11-14T18:29:00.001-08:00

Now that our Coins for Katie pancake breakfast is over (and I have recovered!) I am starting to think about the next fundraiser. . . There's something wrong with me. I enjoy the fundraising portion of this journey a lot! Time to get my planning mojo on!

Coins for Katie Pancake Breakfast

2011-11-12T14:04:00.001-08:00

We had our Coins for Katie pancake breakfast, silent auction, and cupcake sale this morning at Chili's. I was so nervous while I was driving there that I'd pull up and there would be nobody there. . . Thankfully that wasn't the case! I did our shopping last night.

(Chili's provides the space and cooks the food - we had to provide the food and the waiters.) Someone donated $500 to us to purchase the food, and the Gammon Dairy donated fifteen gallons of milk for us to use.

We set our silent auction items and our cupcakes up on the bar. It was perfect - everyone had plenty of room to walk around and look at all of the items.

These cornhole boards (made by my dad!) got the most bids of any item. They looked great and sold for $175. Thanks Matt and Crystal for bidding and winning!

The Fullbright family, who was generous beyond measure, added a k-cup holder and several boxes of tea and coffee tot he Keurig machine. We also had the gift basket next to that donated by the Honeybaked Ham store in Murfreesboro.

I was so happy with how our silent auction looked all set up.

It was so exciting to see it all finally come together!

The silent auction items got a lot of attention. . . especially at the end!

We sold our beach vacation and our Cirque de Soleil package.

Those two items alone brought in $1,500!

We had LOTS of cupcakes!

I made cupcake toppers with Katie's picture, hearts, and the cupcake flavors and

just brought my cupcake stands and cake stands to put them on.

We had these big vases for the tips - this was probably the best thing we did. Since they were all competing to see who got the most tips, you could really see who was winning. They were the first thing people saw when they walked in the door, and they got a lot of attention.

Just in tips alone we made $2,672! (That includes the $300 to be paid by the three "losing" attorneys.)

Three of our excellent waiters: Brock, Andy, and Travis.

We had jewelry for sale, and 10% of the profits from her sales were donated to Katie.

She had cute, cute things!

Erica F. and Erica D. did a wonderful job seating people, greeting, and making sure everyone was taken care of.

This is the whole group from my office.

We had an amazing morning.

Our grand total raised?

$6,611.50!!!!

This breakfast FAR exceeded any expectations or guesses we had about how much we would raise. The generosity, kindness, and friendship everyone who was there displayed is completely overwhelming and incredible. There is absolutely no way we could ever communicate how appreciative we are of the support we have received from our friends, our families, and our community. The only way for us to thank people for what we have received is to be the best family we can for Katie Ruth and to pay this generosity forward. And that is exactly what we will do.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to everyone who came to our breakfast, bid on silent auction items, bought cupcakes, and tipped your waiters so generously. This was an amazing day for our family!

Giving Thanks - The First Grade Edition

2011-11-10T19:30:00.001-08:00

This is hanging outside of Henry's classroom.

This my friends, is what it's all about.

This little girl has no idea what is waiting here for her.

Coins for Katie Silent Auction List

2011-11-10T04:08:00.000-08:00

We have a seriously good selection of silent auction items for our Coins for Katie pancake breakfast! I am so excited about it - I think we're going to have a great morning. Our items are:

1. A private box with tickets for 14 people, including a catered dinner with private waiter and two parking passes to the Michael Jackson, The IMMORTAL World Tour, Cirque de Soleil performance on June 12, 2012 at 8:00 p.m. at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. Fair market value: $4,000.

2. A week's accommodations at the Marriott BeachPlace Towers, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Fair market value: $3,500.

3. A gift certificate for a haircut and style at Salon Cargile in Nashville. Fair market value: $50.00.

4. A set of birthday countdown blocks and decorative clips from Embellished Living. Fair market value: $26.00.

5. A book page wreath from Embellished Living. Fair market value: $45.00.

6. A University of Tennessee cornhole set. Fair market value: $150.00.

7. A gift certificate to Danielle Bennett Photography. Fair market value: $125.00.

8. A gift certificate to What's New The Salon for a signature facial. Fair market value: $70.00.

9. A football autographed by Middle Tennessee State University head coach Rick Stockstill. Fair market value: $50.00.

10. A triple-strand necklace of green semi-precious gemstones, glass and Swarovski crystal beads with matching earrings. Fair market value: $83.00.

11. A Keurig Elite coffee brewer with 12 K-Cup sample pack. Fair market value: $120.00.

12. A gift certificate to Paige's Pantry for a parent/child cupcake decorating class. Fair market value: $30.00.

13. Four tickets to the December 26, 2011 Nashville Predators game vs. Detroit Red Wings. Fair market value: $380.00.

14. A Totally Bowlicious gift basket including 2 headbands, a tutu, 3 flower clips, 2 Korker bows, and more. Fair market value: $77.00.

This is not the basket we have - ours is bigger!

15. A gift certificate for a Valorie Cole celebrity makeup artist makeup application and consultation. Fair market value: $75.00.

16. A gift certificate for ZOOM! Teeth Whitening. Fair market value: $495.00.

Total fair market value of all donated silent auction items: $9,276.00!!

People have been amazingly generous with the items donated. We also found out today that someone has donated $500 for the purchase of the food for the breakfast, which means that every dollar we earn is profit! Please join us if you're local - it will be a lot of fun!

Giving Thanks

2011-11-08T20:33:00.000-08:00

On my original blog, The Real Housewife of Bedford County, I am doing a post each day in November about things for which I am thankful. Today, on The Simpson Six, I am thankful for a woman named Jackie. Jackie contacted me via email very shortly after we committed to adopting Katie Ruth and told me that she was a prayer warrior for Reece's Rainbow, and that she would be praying for our family and for Katie. I am not the most observant religious follower, but I certainly feel like I'm a faithful person. I believe 100% in the power of prayer, and I feel like we are very lucky to have Jackie's prayers and support. Jackie does not live near us, and I do not know her in "real life", but I think about her often. I think about how fortunate we are to have her support and her prayers, and her thoughtfulness. I think about how generous she is to open her heart to our family and Katie - people she has never met. I think about her relationship with God and how important that must be to her. I think about what a great program the Prayer Warrior program is and how lucky Katie Ruth is to have a prayer warrior who is thinking about her and praying for her. Jackie has sent me such kind, thoughtful, sincere emails, and she has even made a donation to our FSP account.

So tonight, I am thankful for Jackie. I am thankful for her supporting us, praying for us, and opening her heart to us. I am thankful for Jackie's generosity and for her faith. I am thankful for Jackie.

Busy, busy!

2011-11-08T20:22:00.000-08:00

I am busily getting ready for our big Coins for Katie Pancake Breakfast that will be held this Saturday, November 12 at Chili's at the Avenue in Murfreesboro. I. am. so. excited. I think we'll have a great turnout, and a lot of fun. And I found out today that a local magazine, VIP Murfreesboro Magazine, will be at our event with a photographer! I'm excited for more people in our city to read about our journey to Katie and to see what great people we have in our community who will be there supporting Katie and our family. We have some fabulous silent auction items. All combined, the silent auction items have a fair market value of over $4,300!! Every single one of the items has been donated to us, and I'm hopeful that we'll make a good bit of money at our silent auction. We're excited and busy getting ready.

I had the nicest phone call today from one of my favorite clients, Jenny. She is a nurse at local hospital, and she said one of her patients today was a six year old little girl who with Down syndrome who had been adopted from Ukraine. The little girl has been home for 8 months and has a 4 year old sister with Ds as well. My client said the mom was talking to her about the girls and Jenny said all she could think of was Katie Ruth and that we need to get her home. Jenny went on to say that she was so touched by the girls that she got really emotional and started crying because she was so happy they have a home and a family. And she was a MESS on the phone with me. It makes me so happy (oddly?) when people are so touched by things like that - I don't think that Jenny would have had that same reaction if she didn't know me and have a personal connection to adoption. I have known Jenny and her family for years, and we're lucky to have her praying for us and thinking about us on our journey to Katie.

I hope your week is going well!

My Newest Project

2011-11-08T03:59:00.000-08:00

As is probably clear by now, I love a project. I usually have about 8 of them going at any given time. With our dossier complete, I now have some time to work on them. This is my newest beauty.

I picked this cute little dolly highchair up at Goodwill on Saturday for $9.99.

My secret to successful shopping at the GW?

Being able to see beyond the outside of something and picture what it would look like with a little work.

The legs were loose and wobbly.

And please don't ask about the fabric.

It's hideous.

The 70's called and wanted their highchair back.

But it was SO cute, I couldn't walk past.

The first thing I did was tighten the screws.

Wobble? Gone.

(Then I read the original tag on the bottom of the chair and learned it was made at a company about 5 miles from where I grew up. . . approximately 1,100 miles from here. Clearly that means it was supposed to be mine!)

I was sort of hopeful that I would be able to eliminate the need to cover the cushion with fabric and I would just be able to paint it, but that was not the case. The seat is just a piece of MDF.

The cushion is in fine shape, so I saved that and will recover. I am just going to use some fabric from my scrap stash to cover the seat and make a small ruffle to go around to cover the MDF edge.

I painted it over the weekend with Rustoleum American Accent Heirloom White paint, and it looks awesome! I'll show that transformation and the recovered seat another time. Jack loves it and keeps trying to climb into it. He said, "I know my sissy Katie Roof will LOVE this chair!" I hope so!

2011-11-04T19:25:00.000-07:00

We got some more Coins for Katie donations today!

Our sweet friend Kayla, who was our babysitter every week for two years (and whom we miss very, very much!) brought her Coins for Katie cup to me at work today. She saved $33.09. In a TINY sippy cup!

We also got a check today from Lynn, who I worked with in New Hampshire at the Gap. Lynn saved her change, had a yard sale and accepted donations there, and sent us a check for $125! Thank you so much Lynn! Lynn has been a supportive friend to me for many years, and, if I know Lynn, she will love Katie!

I also just noticed that we got a $10.00 donation to our FSP today. Thank you to the person who made that donation!

My first batch of bracelets will be sent out in the mail tomorrow to people who have requested them!

Coins for Katie Pancake Breakfast

2011-11-03T19:46:00.000-07:00

It's coming up ya'll!

Our Coins for Katie pancake breakfast is Saturday November 12th from 8:00 a.m. to Noon.

It will be held at Chili's at the Avenue in Murfreesboro.

Tickets are $7.50 each, and will be available at the door.

Our waiters?

Bert

Kirk

Brock

Travis

Jennifer

All of the attorneys from our office, and my sweet friend Jennifer.

(And Jennifer, by the way, is the ONLY person with any table waiting experience.)

The attorneys will be competing to see who earns the most tips.

All of their tips will be donated to Coins for Katie.

The three losers?

They'll all be donating an additional $100.00. each.

We also have incredible silent auction items like a custom corn hole set, a week at a Marriott Vacation Resort in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a ZOOM! teeth whitening gift certificate, a gift certificate to Paige's Pantry in Murfreesboro, a Totally Bowlicious gift basket, a wreath from Embellished Living, an autographed football from the MTSU football coach Rick Stockstill, a Keurig coffee maker, a photography gift certificate from Danielle Bennett Photography, and more! These are some really incredible items that are available just in time for Christmas gifts.

I'm so, so excited to see how much money we can raise at this event. It will be so much fun, and every penny will go to our first trip expenses. If you are local, please join us!