116 of 365...Informational Meeting

Geek Boy and I attended an informational meeting this evening about fostering, fostering to adopt, and adoption through the state. We found out some very valuable information and have made some decisions on what journey we would like to make.

At this point our calling is to do an adoption through the foster care. This means that we will most likely adopt an older child. We would like the maximum age to be 8 years old. Due to state and federal laws, a child has to be in foster care 12 months before they are eligible for adoption. Now there are loopholes in the system like if the parent relinqueshes (sp?) all rights to the child before the 12 months are up. The state's goal is to keep the child with the family so foster care and adoption are the absolute last resort.

My heart just hurts thinking I could foster a small child for 12 months and then have to give him/her back to the family. Perhaps when we are older and don't want to add a permanent member to our family, we can consider fostering but for now it's just not something I can emotionally handle. Geek Boy summed it up perfectly when he said, "I want a child to add to our family who I can call my own and he can have my last name."

We also realize that adopting an older child means there's a lot of baggage. This child has been in the system for a long time and has probably been bounced around from one family member to the next so there is a lot of emotional and probably physical abuse that has taken place. So the more training we can get, the better we can become as adoptive parents. It also made me realize Geek Boy and I will have to train the Drama Queens (I was calling them Little Divas, but they are really Drama Queens) on how to handle a child with "baggage". They have no idea what it's like to go without the basic necessaties. So it is a learning process that the whole family must take on.

My heart wants to rush this process through but my head is telling me to take it slow and to embrace all of the resources out there that our agency can give us. Based on the numbers we saw this evening, there is not a shortage of kids needing to be adopted. There is a boy out there waiting to join our family so we just have to be patient.

But of course if that baby just happened to fall into my lap, we certainly wouldn't turn him away...LOL

I have friend who works for CPS and my hat goes off to her and the whole CPS system. We got just a small glimpse of what they see every day and I can't even imagine what that is like. It takes a pretty special and strong person to see all of that abuse and neglect day in and day out.

115 of 365...Please Pray

That I can keep this plant alive!!

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114 of 365...First Step

Wow!! Things are moving rather quickly with the adoption process. This morning a lady of the adoption coalition emailed one of her co-workers and asked them to get in contact with an agency to help us out. As I was frantically leaving the office to pick up the Little Divas, an emailed popped up from the agency we've been assigned to!!!

As soon as I got home, I started working on it and then when it was time for me to pick up the younger Diva, I handed all of the paperwork over to Geek Boy and asked him to work on it. I consider myself pretty organized but Geek Boy way surpasses me in that department. He was able to find paperwork that I didn't even know we still had.

By the time I got home everything was photocopied and he labeled everything I needed to sign. All I needed to do was finish the financial side of the paperwork.

So tomorrow I'm going hand deliver the application. In the meantime, I need to get all of the pets vaccinated and get a copy of my high school diploma. Since we are possibly going to foster and then adopt, it looks like we have to have a fire inspection and health inspection.

Yep...this is really happening!!

113 of 365...Clean Sweep

All of this work



Just so we can move this



Out of the kitchen and into a corner in the corner of our living room. But we did throw away a lot of things and have a box started for Half Price Books. So it was all worth it.

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112 0f 365...We're Expecting

Did I get your attention? No, I'm not pregnant but we are trying to add to our family by adopting a little boy!!!

Geek Boy and I have always talked about adopting-even before we had our girls. After giving birth to our second daughter we decided not to try anymore for a natural child of our own and decided sometime down the road we would adopt a little boy.

Well the time has come. This decision has been weighing very heavy on my heart for about a year. We're not getting any younger and our girls are growing up so fast. We both feel this is the perfect time to start the process.

A lot of research has been done on our parts and after some very disappointing news with some local agencies, we have decided to try and adopt through the state and are hoping to find a little boy who wants to be part of a fun and loving home. Right now our goal is to adopt a boy no older than 8 years old. There is one boy we have inquired about and are just waiting for someone to get back with us.

Geek Boy and I are scheduled to go to an information meeting on Thursday and will hopefully get some more information on getting a home study done so we can officially start the process.

We are asking all of our friends and family for lots of prayers through this process. We are working on getting the house organized and decluttered. Geek Boy is giving up his man cave (computer room) for our potential son. Luckily our house is in very good shape but there are a few minor things that need to get done. So if anyone would like to help with peeling wall paper, ripping up carpet so we can stain the floors, paint, etc please feel free to come on over. I'll feed you and provide cold beverages of your choosing.

The Little Divas are very excited about welcoming a boy into our home. I think they have a new incentive for keeping their rooms cleaned and helping us organize the house. The older Diva is anxious to show him how to play soccer and basketball. The younger Diva can't wait to take him to school.

Of course Geek Boy and I realize that this is going to be a long journey and we are prepared to take all of the necessary steps to provide a home and necessary resources for this little boy to feel safe and loved. It will not be prefect and there will be difficult times but we are strong enough to handle it.

So there you have it!!! I will blog about the journey through the good times and not so good times. Please keep us in your prayers.

111 of 365...Talk Scentsy To Me

So I have a Scentsy problem!!! It is a good problem to have because my house and office smell so good. My sister started selling Scentsy about 2 months ago and I have acquired an addiction. My current favorite scent is blueberry cheesecake. My pest control guy kept commenting on how good my house smelled. And if a man notices, you know it has to be good. If you would like to know more about Scentsy, please let me know.


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110 of 365...I Is A College Graduate

My boss is graduating from UTA next week.

We had a surprise graduation party for her, which was very top secret. My boss thinks she needs to be copied on every single outgoing email and wants to be in the know on everything in the office...hence her title of Controller. We told her we were having a Cinco de Mayo luncheon. So while she was off fetching food, the worker bees were frantically putting up decorations.

Here she is all surprised and ticked off that she was tricked...

One of our co-workers shocked at what he saw with this covert operation (the Hilary Clinton face)

The graduation girl...

It was a true Hallmark moment; almost brought tears to our eyes...

BFF's...

So proud of you Momma Bear!!!! Way to go!!!

109 of 365...My Cup Runneth Over

Is it total white trash when you have more plastic cups from BBQ places than you do glassware?