Home Study Meeting #4. Check.

Oh yeah. We did it.

Cuban Daddy & I just had our last Home Study meeting     (well, until we have to do it again every 18 mo.) today!!!  It went great.  I'm amazed at how much you can get to know a person (well, how much they can get to know about you) in 4 short visits.  But, we've really grown to like our Social Worker a lot.  Definitely in it for the good of the kids...and for the good of the families.  She's been really helpful, really kind, super accessible.  I'm hoping she'll be around for when I come up w/ more questions on this journey.  She's an adoptive parent herself.  

And today, she received one of our shirts! ;) 

She went w/ green which means we're out of Adult Mediums in both colors now!  

** Reminder: Have you taken your picture yet? **

I still have more 'catching up' on here to do, but wanted to update you on today.

We are having to complete several hours of 'classes' & seminars online for adoption credit.  This must be completed before the Home Study can be complete.  We breezed through 3 of the 2 hour classes.  Then we attempted the "4 hour" class last night.  We took 2 hours to do 3 of the 19 chapters.  Each one has 'homework' & there's an evaluation at the end.  4 hour class??? I think not!!  While some of the information is really helpful, other parts of it are pretty ridiculous.  I mean, seriously.  

We are still working to complete our Home Study packet of paperwork (my fav...ugh).  She gave us a deadline of June 10 to get it all to her (Although we can drop chunks of it off at her house any time so she can be working on it.  Super accessible, right?!)  That way, she can get it written up, sealed/approved, and sent to the agency  before she leaves for vacay.  And all of that will probably take us to the end of June.  Then....the Dossier!  Our last MAJOR endeavor before we get on the waiting list.  I can almost taste it...

Oh, and yesterday was our baby girl's 4th birthday!  I begged her to stay 3 but she insisted. :(  Will fill you in on more of that later.  

For now, what has kept me up til 2 am the past 2 nights: 

It was worth it for the birthday girl:

Busy busy.

~ 6 in Love ~

T-Shirt Follow Up

Hey guys, 

Just checked ADOPT T-shirt inventory & a few of the sizes are about to run out.  So let me know soon if you want one!

We are out of: 


Purple Smalls
Purple Mediums


We are almost out of: 


Purple Larges (only 1 left!)
Green Smalls (2 left)
Green Mediums (only 1 left!)


I believe we have at least 2 of all of the other sizes & colors remaining.  $20 adults; $15 children

Comment here or email me at peachzyo@hotmail.com if you want one!  First come, first serve.  Thank you!!!

Have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend (& Happy Birthday to my oldest brother, Nic!). 

Looking forward to you T-shirt pics, 

~ 6 in Love ~

*** Read yesterday's post 

for more information! ***

ADOPT T-Shirt Friend Photos!

Okay, friends, something fun!


While Cuban Daddy & I embark on 4 nights in a row of online adoption courses (required, costly, and involving tests!), rush last minute to get all of the loose ends of our Home Study together- including multiple appointments & unexpected costs, plan & celebrate our daughter's 4th birthday, my brother's birthday, Memorial Day, hand-paint G's bday gift- a big desk, have our last Home Study interview, oh, and work & raise kids...this week...


Let's do something!  

I'm asking that if you  have one of our ADOPT "Words With Him" T-shirts (and nearly 40 of you do!!!), if you'll take a picture of yourself wearing it & email it to me!  Some of you have also gotten one for your kids or spouse.  I would love to see everyone!  I've already heard stories of your outings while wearing the shirts & the responses you have gotten in public, and would love to hear more.  One of the main reasons we chose the T-shirt design we did is to spread awareness about adoption & the needs of our world's orphans.  So, I'm thrilled that it is happening!  Even if it's just a little bit, even if it's just a few people, it's something.  Maybe it's because I'm a teacher & I must believe...but I am a believer that you never know the extent of your influence.  We are changing lives, people.  Someone could be inspired to think about adoption, to give to a charity who helps orphans, to help families trying to adopt, to read what the Lord says about caring for them, to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.  And that makes me excited.  Thank you for walking this journey with us.  For making a difference in the lives of orphans everywhere.  It takes all of us!  Who knows the magnitude your $20 could have?  Of course, it helps our family bring our babies home, but it could be doing so much more.  And we may never know!  


Thank you for your support in buying a T-shirt!  And if you haven't, and you would like one, please leave a comment or message me, and I will get one to you!  Adults are $20, children sizes are $15.  We have purple and green.  We are out of adult mediums in both colors, as well as small purples.  Otherwise, we have sizes ranging from Child XS to Adult XXL.  


Okay, so snap those pics & send them to peachzyo@hotmail.com.  They can be the classic "I took it of myself w/ my phone in the bathroom mirror or car," or you could be snuggled w/ your kids, or out on an adventure, on vacation, at home or the grocery store.  Maybe you wore yours to church.  Can't wait to see you all in them!  *Oh, and feel free to tell me about your experiences while wearing them- what did people say to you?


It'll probably be after the Home Study is complete, but I will compile all the photos you send me & put them on the blog!  Looking forward to seeing some Green & Purple!!!


Here are (more than) a few of us for inspiration:

Aren't you tired of looking at us?  Your turn!

~ 6 in Love ~

The Good & The Bad

Quick Updates (b/c all I have to offer you tonight...and probably this week...is 'quick'):

The good:
Cuban Daddy & I had our back to back interviews with the social worker.  And they went really well! (Or so we think...ha!)  Thanks for the prayers.  Confirmed how much we like her.  She's awesome!  Made us feel super comfortable.  Unfortunately my allergy to cats forced us to have our nearly 1 1/2 hour interview out in the mid day heat.  Whew!  I hope she thought I was sweating from the heat of the sun & not the questions!  ;)  My favorite part was reliving mine & his 'how we met' & dating life.  So she asked- after all that, "Why marry him?" My response: "He's perfect."     (*Remind me to tell you about our first date sometime*)


The bad:
I didn't realize JUST how much more paperwork this Home Study requires.  It's a lot.  Shocker, right?  I mean, we already turned in the intro packet for the Home Study (No this is not App #2 if you've been following...totally unrelated...that's another.)  I showed CD tonight & he said, "But I thought we were done w/ paperwork." I love him.  My response, "No, I just told you that so you would be able to get through the first one."  :) 


The good:
Remember our awesome social worker is working us in to complete our interviews in one week??  This way we can get things done quicker.


The bad:
We have to get things done quicker.


The good:
G's birthday is in less than a week.

The bad:
I'm planning a 4 year old's bday festivities while trying to finish the Home Study...in a week.  


And not just the packet, but tonight we realized we also need to do this w/in the week, as part of the H.S.:

* We both need to be drug tested.  Really hoping caffeine is not one of them.
* We need to get our dog, Roxy, updated on her vaccines & submit her paperwork.  This one is bonkers to me.  (*And if someone would just take her, we could skip this step.  Anyone? Anyone?)
* We both need to have psychological evals done.  Didn't realize the quickness of this one.  We just received the paperwork & instructions for it today. 
* We need to complete 10 hours of 'educational training' from approved adoption education websites & submit those documents.  (Again, this is not the 'pre adoption online seminar.  Yep, gotta do that one too.)
* We need to investigate where to turn a 911 Call History form in to have that checked out & get that done.  
* There are two references we didn't realize we need.  Those two chosen people are going to just love our last minute request for that one.  
* We were given a DVD we need to watch & will discuss at the next interview.  I'm actually looking forward to watching it, but it's time, nonetheless.


The good:
G's pediatrician check up form was received by the agency.


The bad:
K's was not.  Hoping they kept a copy at the doctor's & we don't have to redo that one.  It was months ago.  Sheesh.  


The good:
We received our official acceptance letter from Buckner today.


The bad:
It included the bill for a $3500 payment in addition to a $500 one we didn't see coming.


The good:
I'm getting things on 'my list' done.

The bad:
Sleep didn't make the list.

Thoughts & prayers always appreciated!

I'm gonna need about 10 more hours in my day.

~ 6 in Love ~

Home Studying

So, I'm trying to work on the several hours long online pre-adoption seminar I need to complete our 1% of App #2 Approval...but the Idol finale & TiVo'd Celebrity Apprentice finale keep distracting me!  And...I wanted to let you know some last minute info:

Something crazy, super exciting happened yesterday!!!

I was emailing our social worker (for the home study) back in forth like 10 times yesterday.  I expressed how we were finally approved & able to move on w/ our Home Study. (Remember we had the home family interview, but had to postpone the other 3 interviews due to App #2?)  Well, typically the Home Study/interviews are spread out over 4-6 weeks.  So, I'm thinking, we've already 'wasted' all of this time waiting, that we'd love to speed it up, and it doesn't hurt to ask.  So, being that she's incredibly accommodating (!), she said she'd do all 3 of the remaining interviews WITHIN the WEEK!!!!!!!!!  Wow, I feel really blessed for that to have worked out! 

 I mean, we're talking a whole month less waiting to bring our babies home!!!

Thank you, God.

So, please pray for Cuban Daddy & I as we both have our individual interviews with her tomorrow.  I have no idea what to expect & due to the last minute nature, feel unprepared- which is SO not me.  Guess I'll just have to go with "being myself". ;)  

Cuban Daddy's so charming, I'm not too worried about him!  I mean, c'mon:

Oh yeah, he's got this.

I'll keep you posted!  Thanks for the prayers! 

~ 6 in Love ~

Approval!

Yes!!!


We received an email yesterday stating that we are approved w/ our Application Part #2 - under the condition we finish the online pre-adoption seminar (Whoops, I totally forgot to finish it.  It wasn't included in the packet, just stated on one of the sheets.)  I went online right away to finish it (it will take a few hours), but their website is down for construction.  But, of course, right?! ;)  I emailed the contact at Buckner and asked if we can go ahead and schedule our Home Study appointments, and she said yes!  


Soooooo excited!!!  This one has been a long time coming.  Whew!

Mothers

Our two babies, G & K, each get to pick one book before naptime and one book before bedtime, and we read them both together.  Funny enough, the day before Mother's Day, G choose Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too? by Eric Carle 

(or "Car-row" as she insists).  And, no, I don't think she had a clue it was almost Mother's Day.

And although we hadn't read this book many times (fairly new to our fam), G, being the quick memorizer that she is, learned it-word for word, cover to cover.  She was so excited that day to 'read' it to K and I...and she did.  And as I was listening, my eyes were open again.  "Does a kangaroo have a mother? Yes!  A kangaroo has a mother- just like me and you.  Does a fox have a mother?  Yes! A fox has a mother- just like me and you."  

(And so on throughout the entire book.) 

 And with her sweet voice reciting & K's eyes & ears glued to the book, 

my mind begins racing.  

All of the animals can say that 

they have a mother.

The children of this world cannot.

And I went further. 

 When our two new little ones come home, this book will very likely have a different meaning to them.  At what point could they read this book and say "Yes! We have a mother too."  When will they consider me their 'mother'? (Yes, I already consider myself their mother, and we aren't even close to being matched yet.  But that's different.)  Will this book- and the countless others out there like it- cause them pain?  For how long?  Or will it bring them joy that they have a mother now?  Or will it be both?  I'm thinking a combination of all of the above.  

G & K innocently (as it should be) got a kick out of this book.

#3 & #4 will have a different perspective of this book.  

Of this world.  Of mothers.

God, please give us the words to speak when they come to our family.  Let us know what to do and how to do it.  Let us be sensitive to those things of which we need to be sensitive.  Let us minimize their pain as You heal them- body, mind, and spirit.  Let them know that they have a father, a sister, 

a brother, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, 

a church, a community. 

And, God, please let them know very early that 

"Yes!  We have a mother too!"

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So my little G has a birthday coming up.  How can my first baby be turning FOUR?!  Well, she's been talking for a while now about her upcoming birthday.  In fact, she's been talking about turning 4 since she turned 3.  I've been begging her to stop. Ha. (I ask her all the time to stay little, don't get bigger or older, just stay Mama's baby - she knows I'm *kind of* joking.  Her best response to me has been: "But, Mommy, I HAVE to eat my veggies, so I'm going to grow." =)  Anyways,  I guess she's going through with it.  She's turning four in a couple of weeks.  And since she's been trying to plan her bday for oh, a year now, I have asked her what 'she wants.'  Well, since she found an American Girl magazine at her Noni & Popi's house, she has been pretty excited about maybe getting one of those, flipping through the magazine daily.  So, she her Noni & Popi for a 'new baby doll' for her birthday.  Pretty convinced she wanted one of those type of dolls, I asked her which kind (regular one, baby one, twin, skin & hair color, etc.) she preferred.  Several days, she thought about it & tried to make up her mind about which one of these special dolls she hoped for.  She talked about every detail, taking this decision very seriously.                She knew she only had one shot at this doll.  

Then, several days ago, when I asked (Noni needed to go shopping!), she had changed her mind.  Thoughtfully, she said 

"I don't want one of these dolls.  I want to adopt a baby from the Cabbage Patch Hospital.  I want a baby like my Cherry Blossom (the name she chose for the baby she 'adopted' from there last year).  Cherry Blossom wants another baby that looks like her.  So I want to adopt one like her so she will be happy.  

So they will be the same and have each other."

I was astounded.  

I'm telling you, heart of gold, this one.

We have NEVER talked to her about the reasons behind us adopting siblings- or the reasons we are adopting at all for that matter.  (She still doesn't fully understand adoption, as we have purposefully kept her innocent about many details regarding why there are orphans, and what that means.  We know that that time will come, and that it will be important for her to understand.  Now is not quite the time.).  
All she knows for now is that she's getting 2 new siblings when she's 7 or 8 years old...and that they won't be from Mommy's tummy.  And she's excited!!

And, yes, what she is feeling about her Cabbage Patch is what we have thought of for #3 & #4.  We want them to have each other.  To have 'someone like them' in that regard, in our family.  

(And, of course, we want to love on two more!)

What insight.

What confirmation.

Thank you, yet again, God, for using our 3 year old to speak to us.  

Adoption.  Yep.

Siblings. Check.

Left to Right: Cherry Blossom, G, Apple Pie

(Imaginative child!)

The official Cabbage Patch Hospital:  http://www.cabbagepatchkids.com/visit/

Is it odd that I feel like God talks to me through 

word games, books, dolls, and children?!

I've been known to get it from street signs and Michael Jackson songs as well.

=) 

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Happy Mother's Day!


Meet me- the mom.

...and the amazing mom that taught me to be a mom? Isn't she beautiful?!:

The 3 responsible for me being a mom:

Truly, a happy Mother's Day to me!

More from the day & week to follow:

G had a Mother's Day Luncheon at her PreK 3 school.  

She was sure to dress fancy & told me to do the same! ;)

A braided crown seems kind of fancy... 

Totally in love with this child.  We're enjoying the luncheon together! 

Time with my girl 

Thanks for these- they're beautiful, Cuban Daddy!

Let's note that I also got to sleep in & received breakfast in bed...wow!!

K woke me up w/ breakfast singing, 

"Happy Birthday Mother's Day to you!"

After a yummy lunch with the family, K chose to sing in the rain. 

I absolutely LOOOOOVE times like this.  When my kids wake- from nap or night time- they need their 'wake up time' like their daddy because they're babies.  And they both insist on Mommy holding them.  I so don't mind.  It's the best cuddling imaginable.  

Today was especially long and sweet.  Soakin' it up.

Me & the babies 

G had her Gymnastics Awards Night & she's actually really good for such a little squirt!

Didn't feel like cooking  Celebratory dinner! 

K is a funny little guy.  On this day, he insisted on carrying around (Everywhere!) the blankey from his bed.  You can imagine how fun our errands were.  Me: "Ew, don't let the blankey touch anything!" I think what it was is that he was super tired & just associated it w/ sleep.  I wasn't in the mood to fight it.  It was kind of sweet. 

Awesome photo of the day:

I love so much about this!  Shot after our blankey-dragging, errand filled, sleepy day.

What do you love most about this photo?

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Mothers.

All of us that have had, known, and loved our mothers...
we are blessed.

Unfortunately there are over a hundred million children 
in this world that are without mothers.

A life without a mother.

I can't imagine.

Some of you may have lived it.

There are millions of babies and children living it now. 

But, we can change that.

Please see the "How You Can Help" tab to see 

what you can do.

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As for me, I am blessed in so many ways.

For one, I have an amazing, always been there for me, best friend kind of mother.  

Secondly, God has allowed me to be a mother.

And that has been my greatest role.

I could not possibly love my children any more than I do.

It's so ridiculous.

I wish that every child (because EVERY child is precious and important to Him) 

could know what it is like to have a mother crazy in love with them.

I can only guarantee that 4 of them will.

~ 6 in Love ~

Yard Sale in Photos

In a previous post, I told you about our amazingly successful Yard Sale.  

I was rushed and didn't have time to post pictures, so here they are!  

Cuban Daddy and my little brother, Cam.  They did all the lifting, loading, and unloading from our house to my aunt & uncle's house on Thursday night.  

We shall refer to them as "the muscle."

Bright 'n early Friday morning (but we're up *early* in our house EVERY morning, so no biggie), the kids were pretty excited about 'breakfast in the wagon.'  Worked great b/c they thought it was fun, & we knew where they were the whole time we were unloading the garage and setting up the sale.  Win, win.  As soon as we finished setting up, Cuban Daddy took them to my OTHER aunt & uncle's house, where they kept the kids until afternoon naptime.  We SO appreciate all of our family pitching in to help us so much!

Our family of four:

And again 

Getting ready for the sale to start.  Crazy enough, several people had already shown up an HOUR before the sale was set to start! 

Cuban Daddy & Georgia Peach ;) 

We are seriously in awe of all that has been done (1) to help us (2) to bring 2 orphans into our forever family.  You guys are amazing. 

Some of the sale

The entire day Friday we were slammed!  It was just my mom and I most of the day, and we had no idea it would be as busy as it was.  Ridiculous...in the best way!  I'm such a *planner* that is really, really, really bothered me that we didn't have anything priced at first.  Here there were tons of people & no prices.  Shoot me now...it was horrible.  Fortunately my mom rocks in situations like that.  I sent every single question her way until we had it labeled.  Makes my skin crawl reliving it.  I'm a wimp when it comes to that I guess. But, it didn't slow us down...we sold, sold, sold!  I snuck out about an hour after it started to put a couple of signs up. (We were one of the only houses on that street doing the sale, and didn't want to be missed!).  Friday looked like this most of the day: yes, ALL of those cars were there for our sale.  I even had to ask people to move their cars b/c they couldn't get through.  Awesome! 

* And remember that we only started with about 5 grocery bags to give people to put their purchases in (we lost the huge bag we had saved...I think it must be in my garage or something).  We gave people bags ALL day Friday...and Saturday for that matter...and never ran out.  We ended the day with about 10 bags left over.  You do the math.  #GodMultiplies

We raised $800 Saturday!!!

After barely recovering from Friday, we thought "Oh my gosh, what's Saturday going to be like?"  The sale started an hour earlier & Cuban Daddy & I were the only ones on 'set up' duty...w/ the babies!  So, we started a little frazzled.  CD left the house to go set up & I was to follow up w/ the kids...running late.  We got in the car and started driving when I realized my gas was WAY below empty!!!  Yes, this is actually what the gauge looked like.  I'm sitting at a stop sign when I took this picture.  I was praying the whole time, "Please, God, don't let us run out of gas!"  I could only imagine what was going to happen if we were stuck & CD had to do all the set up on his own...or either stop and come get us, leaving the sale unmanned and unsetup (word?).  We made it to the gas station!  

During the sale Saturday, a friend from church came by to drop off their Sippys 4 Siblings donation & sippy cup.  How sweet!  Soon after, one of my former students came by to find us.  To say hi and to pick up a Sippy cup to start collecting change.  Whoops...I had forgotten to bring Sippys to the sale! :/  But, I had the Sippy just turned in!  How great is our God?

My Aunt Lyn, who so sweetly donated our 'yard' for the weekend, was a big help!

I figured it wouldn't hurt to bring a few of my hand painted canvases to the sale.  We had sold so much Friday, we had some empty space! 

My little bro, Cam & his amazing new wife, Deana, were helpful beyond belief for this sale.  They totally went above and beyond with their offers to help.  Donating items, setting up, working the sale Saturday, bringing us lunch, cleaning and loading up, letting us use their truck...I mean, seriously!

Green & Purple representing! 

Cleaning up after a tiring day 2... They got ice cold Pibbs as payment.  I think they deserve a raise!  Seriously, we could not have done it without ALL of their help! (*My Uncle Jeff is on the right...thanks for lending us the house & yard for the weekend, & for all of your help!)

Our Saturday crew...minus my mom & dad...& me. 

We made another $277 on Saturday!

As I mentioned in the previous Yard Sale post, my amazingly kind great Aunt & cousins held a Yard Sale of their own...on their side of town on the same day.  And...they told everyone about our situation, had posters & flyers, and Sippys 4 Siblings sippy cups everywhere!  They donated the proceeds of the sale to US!  What in the world?  For all of you have had a Yard Sale of your own, you know the work that it takes to pull it off.  The prep, the long days, the clean up...and to do it not for yourself?  Doing it all to help someone else.  Makes me want to cry just thinking of the generosity again.  We are truly touched and blessed by them & their love for us...and our new babies!  

Yard Sale cash!  I found myself shaking my head and laughing aloud just holding this.  Yeah, alone, in the car outside the bank.  I was in total awe of the weekend we had just had & the overwhelming success of the Yard Sale.  Thank you, Jesus.

This is us.  This is our crazy life. 

And we can't wait to add 2 more to our clan!

Humbled by your love, support, and God's faithfulness, 

~ 6 in Love ~