And now the Waiting Begins....

It started yesterday---the painful process of the waiting!
Our first week home was pretty full between catching up on sleep, going back to work, and sharing all the pictures and exciting stories with our friends and families.
We also got our list of documents needed for court and are trying to get these done ASAP.
And, then it hit me yesterday. This waiting for court is so hard. And, to top it off, I am someone who worries about every little thing.
On a happier note, we did start the nursery! We spent Saturday night stripping wallpaper from the bottom half of the room. We picked up the colors on Saturday afternoon and R put them on the walls to test them out. The room has a chair rail around the center so we are doing two colors, one on the top half and another on the bottom half of the room. The top will be a mystic beige which is a common neutral color in our home. The bottom was originally going to be jalapeno pepper but we changed it to dill pickle. Much better! R painted the top half last night while I was catching up on laundry. He is very anxious to finish it up so he can start putting together the crib and changing table. I will post pics as we make some progress!
I'm thinking of all of you out there in blogger land as you wait for your court dates. I think I'm as anxious as you are to hear about your dates! I check your sites every day when I get home from work.
Speaking of work, I'm not sure I mentioned this but I work as a toddler teacher in a preschool. I love my little class and they add a lot of sunshine to my days. Today we learned about penguins and it was so much fun to watch them waddle around the classroom! It put a smile on my face!
Until tomorrow......and I hope to see some good news in bloggerland!

We are Home!

We arrived home on Sunday evening and have been sleeping and catching up on American TV. Sorry we didn't post as we had intended but we were pretty busy and internet time was expensive.
I would love to share all the wonderful details of our trip but I do want to check with our coordinator so as not to create any problems.
I will say that the trip was great and that we are anxiously awaiting a return!
Will try to share more soon!

We're Off and Running!!

Here we are in Starbucks the night before our big trip (last American coffee for a week!) We got some additional gifts for the people we'll meet there, and every hour that goes by, the trip is becoming more real to us!

Now it's Sunday afternoon, and we're just about to leave for the airport. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

Here we come, Phil!

Nervous or Excited? I Can't Decide.....

Well, it's a lot of both!
We had a phone conference with our coordinator today about the travel and it hit me, I am really leaving in a few days!
I have to share an experience I had today.
I was out of work early and went home for the conference call with the coordinator and R (Rob). Then, I decided to go out and pick up some more gifts. There is a store in a neighboring town that prides itself on its gift selection and customer service. And, to top it off, I have a gift certificate to the store. Well, I went in and started perusing the scarves and pins. I asked one of the employees to show me a scarf in a case and she looked annoyed with me for interrupting her. Another employee saw me walking around and around the jewelry counter and did not even ask if I needed help. Needless to say, I left the store without purchasing anything.
Now, normally, I don't get too upset but I really could've used some nice help from an encouraging employee today!
I did go to a small craft store in my hometown to look for local area cards and they were great! I told them what I was doing and about our trip and adoption plans. They were so wonderful! It's too bad that I went to this store before the other one. Oh well, I guess I'll need to hit the mall!
Question for my fellow racers-----what kinds of gifts did you bring for caregivers? orphanage directors? facilitators?
I did love Lauren's idea of bringing a cake one day to the caregivers and asked my coordinator if we could stop and purchase something on our last day and she said that would be really nice. I gave you full credit for the idea, Lauren! Thanks, I love it. I'm a preschool teacher working with toddlers and I know how much we appreciate it when our parents bring in treats for us!
We did find out some encouraging news today. There will be another couple from our agency in our region at the same time as us. We will be going to the Ministry together and staying at the same hotel. Yeah! It's just nice to have some camaraderie!
Well, until later!