the future

We've been watching the Olympics just like everyone else and it got me thinking about the future of these babies and the role we have in their lives. We may not get to watch most of them grow up, but it's amazing to think that in a few years we could be watching the Olympics and hear one of their names and know we had a small part in getting them to where they are. We just hope that after they leave they'll still have the kind of support and nurturing they had at our homes

New Arrival

So, Jake had been gone a couple of weeks, and we were really, really, REALLY ready for a new little one. Obviously, we didn't want something bad to happen to a child, but if one had to come into care, we wanted him or her to come to us. (I was voting for a "her" since I've had a strong need to buy dresses, and they just weren't Jake's thing.) Since we were just kind of hanging around, I volunteered to bake multiple dozens of cookies for a church function, and that's what sealed our fate.

On Friday, June 13, C.C. sent me a text (our preferred method of baby alert notification) and the rest of the day was shot to hell for me. I was in the middle of leaving a voice mail for some poor woman, and I doubt I made any sense at all. I sincerely apologize to anyone who had to talk to me that day.

C.C. picked Miss Josie up from the hospital, five days old. For the vital stats, she was 6 pounds, 14 ounces and 19.5 inches long. She's absolutely beautiful, and I've been buying dresses ever since--thank goodness for the clothing allowance they get! We had to get used to a little one again, and actually, neither of us has spent any significant amount of time with a baby THAT young before, but we were doing pretty well--still working, lots of WONDERFUL volunteer sitters until she's old enough for daycare--routine was re-established, life was--fairly--calm.

We figure she'll go to family sometime in the next couple of months, and we've talked about how empty the house will be again. Abstractly, we discussed if we should say yes if they call about a "permanent" placement--aka an "adoptable" baby (Which by the way is ALWAYS a maybe, I don't count on it until I'm signing papers). Well, God has a funny sense of humor, and plans for us, because...

Baby Greens...

My last week of freedom before my job starts is slipping away quickly! We spent last week painting furniture for the nursery. Nursery...wow. I even went back to my stagecraft days and installed new hardware for the furniture--which involved drilling new holes and spackling. I was very proud of me! Anyway, it was a lot of fun, and turned out okay. We picked the linens from Walmart.com, and kind of went from there. The paint is a bright green, but very cheerful and matches well. Of course, it is also gender-neutral--very important to my C.C., and practical too, as we have no idea who's going to be entering our lives! We also got to see ScottyMo and meet Kristina. Much happiness from that!

Erin and Molly visited this weekend, lots of rounds of Pitch and many garage sales visited. You really have to get out EARLY to find anything even remotely worth it. No sleeping in for us this weekend, but I need to train myself back into getting up early again, anyway. We've found some great toys and books, and also a little bit of clothes--we don't want to go overboard, but want to have some stuff in a range of sizes. The agency has four hours to place kids, and often they come with very little, so we want to be prepared. We have our first class tomorrow night--we're so excited!!! I will update again when we've learned something...Can't wait to hear how everyone else's life is going! Check out our nursery pics: