Our BIG news!

Have you ever wanted something so badly that your heart ached? Have you ever wanted something so badly that you had NO CONTROL over? Then, the realization comes that no matter how hard you work at it, your dream will never come true. I have been there. For me, it was the lowest I've ever been. Rock bottom. That's what infertility is like. It's a desperate, humbling place. It sucks. ....and then... your dream changes. In our case, we decided we would rather be parents than be pregnant. Our dream of a pregnancy was an empty dream with no hope, only frustration and desperation. Our dream of parenthood was full of hope, excitement, and joy. We adopted both Maddie and Sam through open adoption. They were awesome experiences. And in the end, what you get is better than your dream come true! So, I tell you that story to tell you our big news. Our sad story of infertility has turned into a happy life of parenthood. We are so grateful for all that we have yet... we think someone is missing.

We have decided to adopt another baby!

The heartache and longing for a third child has been there for a while. Now, we're acting on it and couldn't be happier! We've just about finished our home study. Our "Dear Birthmother" letter is ready to show birthmoms. We're just waiting for a birthmother to chose us to be the parents of her baby. This could take 2 weeks or 2 years. Who knows! So we are preparing our home, our hearts, and our lives for our next, and last, baby. Here's a recent picture of the 4 of us. I'm hoping the next picture we have of all of us includes our new baby. We do not know how we will meet our baby's birthmother. More than likely, it'll be through our facilitator at the Adoption Center of San Diego. But if you know someone who is considering adoption, please send them our blog or email address. I'll work on putting our letter on the blog soon. Any prayers and happy thoughts you can send our way are greatly appreciated. We can't wait to be parents again!

Take care,
Christy

Mother's Day

I wish Mother's Day were everyday. It was so great! I got to sleep in. Brentt got the kids dressed (albeit in dirty clothes) and made a good breakfast. Then, I was showered with gifts and got this wonderful concert:




If you are a Momma, I hope you had a day filled with love and appreciation for all your hard work. It is mostly a thankless job, but I wouldn't trade it for the world! I am so lucky to be married to this wonderful guy and have these two loving babies. God is good!
Christy

"Life is short when the days are long."

There's a new website called Crop Chocolate. It has one scrapbook deal a day and the item is usually drastically discounted. Its sort of like woot.com except its only for scrapbook stuff. I check it every day because there's a different deal each day. So far, they've only had Making Memories stuff. I bought a fabulous shelf for my scrap room, an album and this box. No, it did not look like this when I bought it. It was plain white and BORING. Now it looks like this:

I collaged the top and sides using vintage papers, a new K& Company paper, some 7 Gypsies atc cards, and pages from my beloved 1887 French hymnal (I knew it had to be used for something special!). The messages of Hope, Dream, Bliss, and Love are special words that simply make me happy. The peony reminds me of the peonies on the farm. I love the milinery flowers tucked in. I found those at Papertales. I think the pearls add a dreamy, nostalgic touch.
I heard this quote recently, "Life is short when the days are long." It seems so applicable to my life right now. My days often seem so long with the kids, errands, cleaning, paperwork, cooking, and life in general. But at the same time, life seems to be speeding up. The years are starting to fly by and I feel like I'm grasping at time. I'm trying to cherish moments that fly by too quickly. This quote is a nice reminder to just appreciate everyday.
Thanks for visiting! Enjoy your weekend!
Christy

How I spent National Scrapbook Day

Yep, there's a special holiday for us special people. I don't really need a holiday to celebrate but all the deals and fun the stores have sure is great. I went to Papertales last night and the party was hopping! The store was packed and everyone was having a great time. The ambiance is so jovial and light in there all the time. They were also celebrating their one year anniversary so they had a special gift for all the customers. Isn't she lovely?!?
They have some hard-to-find stuff and I was ECSTATIC to find they had the new, oh-so-hard-to-get October Afternoon lines. I couldn't decide between the Cherry Hill line or the Ducks in a Row line. Isn't it all lovely?!? This stuff was just flying off the shelves since I think Papertales is one of the first stores anywhere to get it. My favorite is on this sticker sheet from their baby line. There's a little saying that says, "We've been waiting for you!" So appropriate for adoption and its gender neutral... sort of... I love it!
There were so many celebrations at all the local scrapbook stores today too but I choose to go to Springfest with the kids instead. They were exhausted so I registered for a free online class from Lisa Pace. I've heard a lot about her and I love her vintage style so I was happy I could do a free class and try it out. This is what I made during the kids' naptime.
I couldn't believe how quickly it came together. Its one of the most meaningful and symbolic things I created. I still want to put a ribbon and some flowers along the bottom of the frame but I'm out of the brown satin ribbon I want to use. Here's the story of my creative journey:

These are the "keys" to our family's happiness. The first is love...

and faith (a small poem about having faith and leaning on God when times are rough)
The top 10 characteristics I want our family to strive for. My sister found this button in an old house on my parent's farm. To me, it symbolizes my past. The twine symbolizes the farm I grew up on and how much I love it.These flowers symbolize our family. The 2 larger flowers are the parents, and the 3 little flowers are the children. Of course, one of those flowers is yet to "bloom" so for now, it symbolizes our hope and optimism.
I hope you enjoyed hearing about my creative journey. I LOVED Lisa Pace's workshop today and would recommend it to everyone. I'll definitely take another of her classes.

Cheers!
Christy