T.Minus 15 Days

Its after midnight so its officially 15 days till closing day!

I had a rough Friday and Saturday. I had a migraine and we completed our adoption training, (try sitting through/paying attention to 8 hours of training with a migraine. yeah.).

So obviously.I'm thrilled we're done with training- we're that much closer to bringing home Rosie, but I definitely got discouraged this weekend.

Our journey to Sweetpea was ridiculously easy. If you are familiar with the process at all you'd be shocked at how easy it all went.

Well, I think I psyched myself out, dreaming that Briar Rose would be as easy as Sweetpea. Now it could go as smoothly- IF God chooses it to- but logic, statistics, etc would say otherwise.

And that's not even mentioning us losing our child to reunification. Yeah. Not even going there.

Nor does that include worrying about Briar Rise's transition, attachment, how Sweetpea responds, etc...

Y'all, I'm JUST talking about Sweetpea's super quick/easy process.

I know what's coming on all fronts- the good, the bad, and the ugly. Not to mention the paper work. Ooh the paper work.

Foster parents everywhere just threw up in their mouths a little.

Prayers are greatly appreciated! The enemy is trying to tear this mama down! He won't win, but I don't want to grow weary either. :)

Over the years while waiting to begin the adoption process, I've decorated/redecorated the nursery. It helps for sure! :)

Well, this time- I get to decorate our whole house in 15 days!! Not to mention a new nursery!

I just ordered countless yards of fabric, (fabric for curtains in every room of the house minus the master and playroom!), and get this...

I just ordered TWO matching cribs!!!

If that doesn't shake my discouragement I don't know what will!

15 days. A brand new home. A blank canvas for me to decorate. A fresh nursery with Sweetpea in one crib and the promise of Briar Rose in the second.

I'd say that's just what this mama needs to get through this, (you know, besides massive amounts of prayer!). :)

(here is a pic of our whole family on a walk- 10 points if you know where Bolt is! Sweetpea and I holding hands as I said the other day. :) Pretty soon we'll be trading in that jogger for a double!) :)

Gnomeo and Juliet

Mr. Incredible and I have fallen in love with Gnomeo and Juliet. Its a cute movie, and while its rated G, I wouldn't necessarily deem it appropriate for little kids, (its nowhere near Shrek by any means-I just think its too much of a love story for little kiddos). :)

We wanted to get a Gnomeo and Juliet statue, but it was a bit too pricey. Then I found these little guys at Hob Lob- and I found a gnome Mickey  too! Too perfect for words...epecially since we can't have a garden really in the desert! Lol We'll get one potted plant for the back patio to put these little guys on. :)

Walking Hand in Hand

Many  moms enjoy the privilege of walking hand in hand with their child, and I'm sure many take it for granted.

Well, Sweetpea and I can't really do that. Until now.

When Mr. Incredible joins us on walks, I have him push the stroller and then I can walk next to Sweetpea and hold her hand. :) She loves it! She always tries to get me to hold both of her hands, (which is impossible lol).

Enchanted Rose

Since I still had the red roses, I decided to do another photoshoot and star another item on Annie's Aspirations: 6. Dress up clothes photoshoot
I mean, come on- how perfect is it that I have red roses- a Belle photoshoot is a MUST!  Oh, and notice her Tiana doll?  Sweetpea has 4 princess costumes, (our favorite princesses), Tiana, Belle, Cinderella and Aurora.  I bought matching costumes for her Tiana doll so when she dresses up her Tiana can too! :)

She requested Bolt for the shoot again :)

Lady in Red

Cinderella here, reporting to you live from my local library.  In 19 days we will close on our house.  I a little over 19 days I will be back to blogging from the comfort of my own bed house. :)

NEWS FLASH. This just in. Ok, so I made a funny "reporting" my goings on. BUT would you beleive it that I was just interviewed for our local news?! How ironic is that?!  Ok, so its not as glamourous as it sounds- the AC is out at the library and I was asked to say how I felt about it. LOL  Small town news, people! HA!

As I said yesterday, I was inspired by Avery's Bucket List to create Annie's Aspirations.

We were able to "star" two aspirations yesterday, (I cross out ones that have been completed, and star the recurring ones each time they are done).

I bought Sweetpea this outfit because it resembled Little Orphan Annie's red dress.  My mom bought her an antique Annie doll to celebrate her adoption. When I found this dress I knew it would be perfect to do a photoshoot!

Little did I realize that it also, (even more so), resembled Minnie Mouse's red dress. When we went to Houston last month, my mom took Sweetpea on a "shopping spree" at the Disney store.  Two of the things she bought her were the red Mickey and Minnie. I knew these needed to be added to her shoot as well! 

I bought her red roses to go with the shoot.  Also, I bought wall paper that I had thought was pink.  Well, it is red. I painted half of it, and have not finished it.  Well, I am so glad I did not!  It made for a great back drop for this photoshoot!

There are a lot of pics, but all of them are oh so worth it! Without any further adieu:

She stopped to pray for her "Annie doll." :)  She is very thankful, and thanks God all day, for everything!  Great lesson from my tiny angel!

Notice my pink paintwork behind us?  We will not be taking this with us to the new house. *sigh* Oh, and my mom also bought me the Minnie shirt I am wearing during the shopping spree. :)

She was used to blowing Dandelions, so when she smells flowers she blows them! lol

She hugs and kisses everything!

It's a crime that this is out of focus!

She asked that Bolt join her in the shoot...

Giving him hugs- she loves him!!

Two aspirations starred:

8. Do a fancy (or at least deliberate) photo shoot once a month *

9. Go to the store and pick out flowers for those photo shoots  *

Photo Shoot Preview

Avery's Legacy

Just a few short weeks ago, I blogged about a little girl named Avery. She has SMA which is life threatening.

Well, she died yesterday! Very suddenly! They knew death would be the outcome, but not this soon. Heartbreaking! Read her dad's post here:

http://averycan.blogspot.com/?m=0

When I wrote about Avery, I also posted about how I was inspired to give Annie a bucket list of sorts. I decided to make Annie's Aspirations. Not life long goals, just ones over the next year or so. Today I was planning on crossing one of those off her list.  I will take "fancy" photos of her, and we bought her flowers for the shoot. I painted her nails last night and we bought her flowers as well.

I don't think it was a coincidence that the days I began to cross off her goals, happened to be the days Avery went to heaven. (By days I mean the day she went to heaven and the day following-today).

Besides Avery's legacy of bringing awareness to SMA, she also inspired me to write Annie's Aspirations. I know it seems small, but its easy to take everyday for granted sometimes. We don't know how long we'll have our girls, so now I'm more purposeful in my day to day with them.

I'll be posting the pics tomorrow, (I'll have too go to the library to do so lol).

Pray for Avery's parents! I know all day today and tomorrow when I take the photos and post them, (a well as prepping for them etc), I'll be thinking of Avery and her parents!