A Copy and Paste Blog from Kelly

Kelly is my blog sister who lives in Tennessee and is also adopting from Colombia with Gladney Center for Adoption.  We both decorated our little Colombian princesses’ rooms in mariposas de la lavanda (lavender butterflies)!  Her blog this past week could have been written from my heart as much as it was from hers.  So here is Kelly’s post that says exactly how I’m feeling too:

We’d Love a Referral in November–It Is National Adoption Month =)

I love talking about our adoption journey. I’m happy to share how God has called us to adopt. November is National Adoption Month, but even if it wasn’t I’d still be telling our story.I love how God has put this love in my heart for a little girl that I don’t even know anything about. I don’t know how old she is, what she looks like, where she is exactly (maybe she is @ Chiquitines, but maybe she’s not there yet). She may not even be born yet, but still I love her.

**(Zaza is born already, but we don’t know what region she is in.)

I love hearing the boys pray for their little sister. There isn’t much that is sweeter, if you ask this momma =) 

There are so many things that are hard to explain to people, when I’m trying to share our story. I have learned though, that some people just don’t get “it.” Countless times I have been asked why we are going to Colombia, and why we are not adopting here @ “home.” Really people just don’t get “it.” I am thankful that God has made it clear to us, that our daughter is in Colombia. Now, I just have to be patient & wait for the details of the rest of our journey. We know that we will not be traveling in 2009, because the courts in Colombia close Dec. 15th to Jan. 15th. There is still a possibility that we will get our referral this year & then we would travel when the courts opened in January. This is our prayer. Have I ever told ya’ll how hard waiting is? =)

**From http://whatweareherefor.blogspot.com/

 

Your Reticular Activator

The Reticular Activator System (RAS) became known to me a couple of years ago when I was studying-up on remembering information from a meeting.  (Yes, I used to have enough free time to study things like that…)  Anyway, it was put in each of our brains by God to help us sort the plethora of information coming at us daily and nightly.  It is a non-conscious process that takes place continually as it sorts data into “not important” and “important.” 

My first real-life lesson of using the RAS was my initial night in dorms at Trinity Western University, Langley, B.C.  That memorable evening I was shaken awake multiple times as the train rumbled by on the tracks that were entirely TOO CLOSE to the dorm for non-coma-sleepers to get any sleep.  After the fourth or fifth pass, I went and woke up a second year student so as to complain to someone.  I remember her slurred words clearly, “Give it a few days.”  What she was really saying was, “Your RAS will eventually figure out that you need sleep more than you need to be awaken to identify the train noise and you will sleep through it in a few days.”  I didn’t believe her, but she was right.  Two years later we moved to Fort Langley and a different train track… and my RAS once again took a few days to process train noise as unimportant.

Another time my RAS was highly active was each time I became pregnant.  All of a sudden there were pregnant women coming out of the woodwork.  They were everywhere…. and the world was not pregnant before I discovered I was pregnant.  Interesting.

Rick affirmed that men also have an active RAS after they buy a new car.  No one has the car of choice until you pull out of the lot with your unique purchase.  All of a sudden every second car is your car.

O.K. that little psych lesson on the RAS was given in defence of my current subconscious attractedness to all things adoption.  Yes, it’s because we are in month 11 of waiting for our name to be called so we can bring home Zaza from Colombia.  Adoption is everywhere… seems like in most families somewhere… and even in stories.  Not knowing the storyline, I chose the book-on-cd of Silas Marner for our trip to the sunshine state.  I actually drove long enough to make it through the seven hours of Silas and Eppy, Godfrey and Nancy.  Yes, it has the adoption theme woven through it, but what stuck with me was a few choice lines from the “book.”  Silas told Godfrey, “When you have turned a blessing from your door, it then belongs to someone else.”  Isn’t that the truth?  No matter the cause for the turning away. 

The other truth of adoption that I loved in the story was Eppy’s attachment to Silas almost instantly, even though the rest of the characters do not have a fondness for him.  I’m not sure if it’s so much an adoption issue as a child issue.  Children are so accepting and forgiving of our shortcomings and failures.  It’s love, that’s it.

Side Note:  For those who know that details are highly important to me… YES, it bugs me that Eppy’s locks are not the color of gold on the book cover.  Sheesh.

No More Hot Wheels under the Purple Bed!

Not a day goes by that I don’t think of, dream about, pray for and long to hug and kiss our little Zaza who is STILL in Colombia waiting for us.  Nov. 7th officially marks our 9th month of waiting for our adoption referral.  When we initially heard 2 to 30 months….. we hoped and prayed it would be closer to the 2.  Well there’s still five months to go on the “closer” side. 

The Colombian courts close from Dec. 15 to Jan. 15, much to this adoptive mom’s chagrin.  When we do receive the referral, we get the profile checked out by a pediatrician familiar with international adoption and the we give our answer.  (YES!… duh!)  Then we travel within two weeks.  So FAST, it’s scary.  The clincher is that depending upon which region Zaza is living in, we could stay from 4 to 8 weeks in Colombia.  It’s all up to the courts. 

Sadly, there is now not enough time before their Christmas break to fit in the 2 weeks plus 4-8 weeks.  So it’ll be 2009 when we meet our girl.  Yes, we started this whole deal in 2006…….  I can’t say that waiting makes it sweeter… just longer.

Anyway, we’ve been in process so long that our USCIS approval needs and extension and an update to our homestudy.  Since our agency closed a few months back, we had to find a new social worker in AZ who is Hague compliant.  (Hague is the new international regulators/rule makers for adoptions.)  So this Saturday from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. we meet our new case worker and she tours Zaza’s prospective home.  Not a big deal if you keep your house clean and tidy all the time.  BIG HAIRY DEAL if you only keep the downstairs clean and tidy.

Zaza’s room is ready for her…. has been since January.  The walls are painted yellow.  Her vintage, wooden, carved canopy bed from Auntie Connie is painted purple.  The ribbon-encircled lamp is glowing on her curvy, vintage dresser from Auntie Julie.  The lavender butterfly rug from Auntie Donna is snug by the bed.  The blue turtle from Auntie Jill is sitting on the shelf.  The Beatrix Potter book from Auntie Darla is sitting next to the blue turtle on the shelf.  There are even frilly dresses on pink hangers hanging in her closet from Auntie Jilly too.  Just last week Mom and I found a darling, carved wood, two-drawer bedside table… from Grandma.  I still need to repaint it and find knobs, but I had to run up and put it in there to envision Zaza opening the drawers to hide her treasures.

However, our son Keeve decided to keep the bed warm until Zaza gets here.  So, with the 2:00 visit only 48 hours away, Keeve and I cleaned up the Hot Wheel tracks, rolled up the city road rug, put G.I. Joe back in his box, and put Lightning McQueen in the garage sale pile.  It looks like a girly-girl room again and there are officially no more Hot Wheels under the purple bed.  Whew.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

For every Bag for Zaza, there is a book that the bag is named after, hence the blog title.  Up for auction tomorrow morning are three new bags:  Owl Moon (a hippy extravaganza), the Cookie title mentioned (a hot pink and denim number for a little princess) and Flower Arranging (a stunning black, white and red cinched purse.)  Here’s a peek:

Check ’em out at www.BagsForZaza.blogspot.com and help bring our daughter home from Colombia.  Thank You!!!

AND voting day!  How exciting.  I had grand plans to sashay my way to the front of the polling station line and drop my “early” ballot in the box….. but tonight I discovered that my dear husband, in his excitement of voting in his first presidential election, wrote all over my ballot thinking it was a practice one.  It was not.  Now I’m standing in line with the rest of you.  Shoot.

The Chips are Down, but the Bags are UP!

www.BagsForZaza.blogspot.com has some real beauties up this week, if I do say so myself.  In fact, I just did.  There is something for every gal on your Christmas list, young and old.  For those new to MSJ, this is an adoption fundraiser to bring our daughter home from Colombia.  It started as a family project and has blossomed as we found more people to call family. :o)

The bags and/or purses go up for auction on Tuesday and the highest bidder on Saturday night at 9:00 pm has a little bit more of their Christmas shopping completed.  Purses are the rage, in case you haven’t been out of the house lately.  Big bags, handy bags, cutesy bags and just plain versatile bags are IN.

BFZ has also become an addiction for many, but especially my mother.  I truly don’t know what she used to do all day long before she was designing award-winning bags… and checking the comments for every single bag dozens of times each day.  She took a sewing break last week, which we have all done in turn, but she had a difficult time knowing that she wouldn’t have as many comments to read.  Dad even put a computer in her sewing room, right next to the Singer, for easy access while stitching and ripping out and stitching the beautiful bags.  Such dedication. 

Seriously, how easy are we making your Christmas shopping for you?  It couldn’t get any easier.  You don’t even have to stay up on the auctions, if you choose not to.  Just pick out a dazzling Bag for Zaza for that special someone on your list, bid $175, and you will read your name up in lights on Saturday night.  It’s that easy.  (The bidding starts at $25….. shhhhhh!)

Thanks to all those who have donated fabric, trim and buttons.  Thanks to all who have bid and bid and bid, and STILL don’t have a bag.  Thanks to all of our models across North America for showcasing BFZ when you wear your bag.  Thanks to those special women who are spending their not-so-free-time sewing for Zaza.  Blessings upon you ALL!    (Only 72 shopping days until Christmas!  Don’t get caught in the MALL on the 24th!)

Another bloggggg…..

Not much action in the trenches today.  The big news of the day was a $25 savings at Office Max on printer ink.  Love that.  It’s just a conspiracy theory, but somehow I know the office supply stores control our amount of printer ink from their head offices somewhere.  There’s a button they push that sucks our cartridges dry. Ours ran out yesterday.  Also yesterday, my niece called from across the street to see if she could print something at our house because THEIR printer ink was out.  This morning I mentioned my shopping trip to a friend and HER ink was out yesterday as well.  SEE!?!  It’s true.  I know it.

Hubby is overnighting in Winslow, Arizona.  Raise your hand if you sang, “such a fine sight to see… it’s a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford slowing down to take a look at me.”  EVERY time Rick says he’s flying into Winslow, I sing the song for the rest of the day.  When he overnights, I sing it for two days.  Now you’re going to be singing it too.  hahahahahahaaaa

I did finish a Bag for Zaza today, so that’s great news!  It’s only Thursday.  I might get two done this week.  Here’s a sneak peak:

There is a fierce bidding war going on:  www.bagsforzaza.blogspot.com.  At least online there’s no hair pulling or mud throwing.  It’s quite addicting, actually, to keep up with the bidders and the commenters.  And a BIG THANK YOU to all who have helped bring Zaza home.  Someday there will be a picture of our sweet Zaza on this blog.  Stay tuned.  The wait seems endless, but she will arrive.

Make it a great Friday!  I love Fridays!  Thank God, it’s Friday! :o)