I'm a Lean Mean Cleaning Machine...Well Maybe Not Too Lean!

Yikes!  Tomorrow is our home study.  I cannot wait and yet I don't feel ready for it.  Don't get me wrong.  I love it because I know that we will be one step closer to meeting our little loves.  I am stressed that maybe I forgot something.  What if she doesn't like something?  What if she feels something about us or our home will keep us from being great parents?  Clearly this is illogical.  Our home and our hearts are ready for the special ones that are out there getting ready for their forever homes.  I continually stop and pray for patience and peace.  If I just had a little more of those 2 things I think I would be much better off.

We have 3 more PRIDE classes left.  Surely we can handle that!  Tomorrow once the social worker leaves we will head to our finger printing appointment.  The Saturday after our classes we will take our CPR and First Aid course.  We also need to make a family book and a flyer to "advertise" ourselves to case managers.  Everything has been done.  At least I think it has been done.  Each meeting I seem to learn about a new hurdle or hoop, a missing piece of paper work, or something that they  haven't told us we needed yet.

Tonight I will clean up this almost clean house, fix the dresser for baby #2, and enjoy some relaxation with some of my friends.  Hopefully that will be enough to keep me occupied and stress free so I am ready for our home study.  I took half a day off of work so that I would be sure I had plenty of time to finish everything on my to do list.  

I found out the procedure from HR for when I take my leave once these little sweetie pies arrive.  I will get 49 paid days off.   I can take 60 but the last 11 won't be paid.   I'm not sure how many of those I will actually use.  I guess I won't know until they get here and I find out how old they are, what they need, and see how things begin to work with our new schedules.  For someone that likes to have everything all planned out way in advance I am REALLY working hard to be flexible and patient.  This entire process is like one giant lesson in learning patience and flexibility.

Back to laundry and toilet cleaning...as if those things alone will make or break our chances of starting the family we have been waiting so long for.
    

Ringing in the New Year

We rung in the New Year like crazy people.  We watched South Park while lying on the couch until the fireworks started going off last night.  Then we tried to go to sleep but couldn't because of the noisy people outside.  It was nice to sleep until 10:15 though.

2013 has brought us lots of crazy ups and downs.  I know this time of the year lots of people focus on what has happened in the past year.  I'd rather not do that.  We have 6 days until we begin our PRIDE classes.  I am looking forward to what the new year brings.  Hopefully that includes our babies that refuse to let me sleep in so late.

We leave Arkansas tomorrow.  We have one more day with the family to celebrate.  S and I will spend it going out to dinner, I'm sure I'll do some shopping, and we will get to packing for the long car ride tomorrow.  I can't wait for next year when we spend the first day of the new year with our babies!  

Waiting and Waiting and Waiting...

We have so far been officially waiting for just over a month now.  We were supposed to begin our PRIDE classes last week but the instructor was sick so now it seems our start day is supposed to be this Wednesday.  We will also have class on Saturday.  

I don't think I should complain about the waiting process.  This is just the beginning.  We could finish up our classes and then wait and wait for the arrival of our kids.  To pass the time we are focusing on cleaning and getting the house ready.  We just finished our bedroom, cleaned out the kids closest, and moved their dresser into their bedroom.   We organized the file cabinet, got together forms for the taxes for the year, and have been researching what we need to get in terms of life insurance and opening an IRA.  

While all of that is terrible and boring it beats sitting around being mopey and sad about all of the waiting.  Hopefully this time will give us the opportunity to ensure that everything is together and ready for the arrival of our kids whenever they get here.  Once they get here they will be our sole focus and messy cabinets will be something we don't even have time to worry about.  

I wish I knew the plans but in the end I always realize that had I gotten what I wanted when I wanted it I would have missed out on some great blessings.  I repeat this verse to myself over and over again whenever I feeling stressed about the unknown and the waiting.