Craftiness and Nursery Progress

First, please pray for CC and Faith in these last ten weeks...CC has had some stomach pains, and she has been scared. As of today, she's feeling better, but we still want Faith to stay warm and cozy for at least 8 more weeks!

We are finally starting to get Faith's nursery together...such a big step, and so scary knowing that we could always come home empty handed...such a big test of faith (no pun intended)! We had to go buy a crib last week because the one we had was drop-side, and all drop side cribs have now been recalled. Kind of a bummer expense-wise, but I LOVE the new crib! Her bedding should be here any day and I can't wait to see it! The walls are aqua, and we accented it with white trim and molding. This is the view when you enter the room:

The view facing her crib:

The lettering above her name reads, "Such a big miracle in such a little girl."

Close-ups of the crib:

I have been trying to make as many things as possible for her room. I got some white wood letters on sale and added buttons and rhinestones to make them more personalized:

I also painted four canvases for her room...her bedding has mermaids, and we are going for a beachy feel :)

I also made a wreath with strips of linen, tulle, burlap, feathers, an iron letter 'F' and some rhinestone buttons

This is not the best pic, but I'm really happy with how it turned out :)

That's it for now...more pics to follow soon with the rest of the furniture and bedding! 





Faith's Giveaway

As many of your know, there are some big expenses that come with an adoption. For us, one of the biggest is the cost of having to take two weeks off work without pay and pay for a place to stay in Utah for up to two weeks - we are estimating we need to raise about $3,000 for this and another $1,000 for our court costs while we are there. To help us, some friends have put together a giveaway with some great prizes! A $5 donation gives you the chance to win many great prizes! These include (most of these are local to the Fresno, CA area - sorry!):

Gift Certificates:


$100 gift certificate for Academy Hardware of Sanger

2 One-hour massage gift certificates ($90 value each-two separate prizes)
Brow wax & 30-minute mini-facial courtesy of Vanessa at Amenities Spa & Salon at Fig Garden

Two certirficates for three combination plates, courtesy of Chapala’s Mexican Restaurant of Sanger (two separate 3-entree prizes)
One pound See’s Candy

Gifts:

Two small original landscape paintings by Central Valley artist Tim Esau

Various artwork in varying styles created by local artists

1983 collector set of uncirculated Olympic Silver Dollars ($50-$75 value)

Baskets and their contents:

Beauty and Hair Care:

One free hair cut at High Style Salon of Fresno

OPI nail polishes

Biolage Limited-Edition hair care products

Assorted lotions, body washes, and styling products

Colorful carrying tote

Gifts for Baby Boy:

Jungle themed hand-made fleece blanket

Two custom created onesies

Three hand-knitted hats, sizes vary from newborn to child

Sock Monkey themed photo album

Gifts for Baby Girl:

Penguin and friends hand-made fleece blanket

Two custom created onesies

Three hand-knitted hats, sizes vary from newborn to child

Forest Friends themed photo album

Wine:

One bottle of Treatch Cellars, Muscat of Alexandria

One bottle of Treatch Cellars, Nebbiolo 2007

Two Wedgewood wine glasses with box of wine glass charms

Wine bottle opener

Wine bottle carrying case

Bath & Relaxation:

Bath pillow

Box set of seashell candles

Coconut vanilla body wash

Two hand-crafted Cobble Creek soaps

Bath poof

Vanilla scented diffuser

Hand-held bath massager

Home Spa Set:

Seven hand-crafted Cobble Creek soaps

Loofah sponge

Pumice stone brush

Chesapeake Bay candle, Sea Salt Air scented

11-piece box pedicure set

Decorative washcloth

Hawaiian Treats:

Box of mango coconut patties

Box of coconut chocolate patties

One pound of Kona coffee

Box of passion fruit tea

Honey-roasted macadamia nuts

Kona coffee-glazed macadamia nuts

Chesapeake Bay candle, Vanilla Rum Brulee scented

 
We appreciate your support and prayers! If you want to purchase a ticket, either email me at pookiebearl@yahoo.com, use the "donation" button on the right hand side of the blog and put "Faith's giveaway" and the number of tickets you want in the message line, or give me a call! We have over 4,900 left to sell! The raffle will be held January 1st...don't miss out! :)

Why adoption?

Why adoption?
For me, I was always interested in adopting. It was never a matter of if I could have biological children or not, I just knew God had called me to adopt. I am talking as far back as high school people lol...I was the girl who watched the World Vision commercials and BAWLED...still am ;) I thought I wanted biological children too, but it was never that important for me to go through the whole pregnancy experience. I know it is for some women, and I totally respect that...I think God was just preparing my heart for what was to come.
We did try to conceive for two years...went through the weekly (or more) infertility Dr. visits, I took up to 4 meds a month and gave myself a shot (yuck!). But we came to a place where we had to stop and ask ourselves - was this how God wanted us to build our family or were our own desires and stubbornness clouding our judgment? At that time, our next step was IVF, so we decided to walk away and let God speak to us.
A few weeks later, we got the email that would change our live.
A friend from church emailed and said her daughter knew of an 18-year-old in Utah who wanted to give up her baby for adoption. We prayed about it, talked to her, and I have to say, I have never heard God speak more clearly...Mike and I felt such an overwhelming sense of peace...we knew this was our baby.
Mike was always ok with the idea of adoption, but thought he also wanted a biological child. Funny how things change, because he felt the same tug on his heart as I did when he heard about this precious one, and once he saw pictures of his sweet little Faith, he feel so madly in love it made no difference who carried her in their tummy. My husband has a huge heart, and I love how he lights up when he talks about his daughter.
We are constantly reminded by people that things could change, that the biological mother could change her mind. However, we are at peace and have chosen to walk this path that God is leading us down with joy, hope, and faith (and Faith!).

I didn't give you the gift of life,


But in my heart I know.

The love I feel is deep and real,

As if it had been so.

For us to have each other

Is like a dream come true!

No, I didn't give you

The gift of life,

Life gave me the gift of you.

Author: Unknown

The baby stuff is taking over...

So over the last week and a half baby stuff has begun to take over our extra bedroom:

This what the side of our extra bed now looks like: baby bags, a baby carrier, hangers, blankets, swaddlers, a baby sleep timer, a boppy...I'm sure there's more that I'm forgetting! We've also got quite a start on Faith's wardrobe, as you can see below:

We have bought (OK, I have bought lol) clothing in multiple sizes - 0-18 months - I can't pass up a good sale! Hair bows, a pacifier clip, hats, shoes, socks, bibs...I will have to change Faith every few minutes for the first couple years of her life - ha! These are a few of my favs:

A little black and silver sparkly skirt and rock n roll shirt and little jeans with heart pockets.

Two cute little sundresses for next summer...my mom also bought her a little bikini and cover-up!

A little hedgehog sweatshirt, a cute sweater and velour skirt (with matching pink boots), and a grey velour dress from Baby Gap, complete with a hood with ears :) all in bigger sizes for next winter.

Possibly my favorite...a little fleece coat and hat with leopard trim...so cute!!!

We also got the fabric swatches for the bedding we're having made by a lady on etsy...they are laying on a rug I got for the nursery floor:

This is the picture from etsy of what the bedding will look like when it's completed, although we made a few changes - added a monogram and a different crib skirt:

I registered for this matching glider at Babies r Us, but I'm going to just buy it if I don't get it:

We are ripping out the carpet in her room, replacing it with the same wood flooring we have throughout the living room and hallway, and painting the walls a sandy color. We are planning on adding crown molding and a chair rail and painting the area under the chair rail in the sandy color with pale aqua stripes. I'm also looking for a cute chandelier for the room and I need to start refinishing her dresser, crib, and armoire...so much to do! I can't wait to see it all come together, but most of all I can't wait to have my little girl in her nursery and in my arms! :)  We also have THREE baby showers coming up this winter...we already registered at Target and Babies r Us...it's so surreal though, it still seems like a dream! It's just so strange when you've wanted something for so long, prayed for it, dreamed of it, and then it becomes reality...I'm sure we will spend many nights watching our sweet daughter sleep, in awe that she is ours...we are so blessed :)

Baby Leonard is...

a girl! A sweet, beautiful baby girl! We have chosen the name Faith for her, as "faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we cannot see," and she is our realization of God's promises, the answer to our prayers. We can't wait to meet her!

                                                                Faith Olivia Leonard

17 Weeks

Today Baby Leonard is 17 weeks! According to http://www.thebump.com/, baby is now the size of an onion and has fingerprints, footprints, and is practicing yawning. :) On Monday we will find out the sex of the baby...I can't wait to get another peek at our cutie pie and give him or her a name! We have settled on Jack Cameron for a boy and Faith Olivia for a girl. We will be starting our home study soon, and I can't wait to get that over with...so much paperwork and stress!i
This week I got a wonderful call from the biological mom saying she felt the baby kick for the first time - so exciting! I can hardly wait for Monday!!!

Dear Baby,

Tomorrow you will be 15 weeks old! I can't believe that in six short months we will finally get to meet you and hold you! Your daddy and I love you so much already and we feel so lucky that God chose us to raise you and love you. Even though I am not able to carry you in my tummy for this 9 months, I am holding you in my heart and thinking about you every second of every day.
Love,
Mommy

Baby Leonard at 14 Weeks!

Well, if SOMEONE had cooperated, we would have known today if we were having a boy or girl according to the Dr., but now we have to wait until October 4th to find out...Boo! This kid is stubborn already...lol. Be did get a nice view of the spine though...so cute!

Baby is exactly 14 weeks today...around three inches and the size of a lemon according to whattoexpect.com. We are so excited to welcome this precious little one into our lives :)

Our blog: Now our adoption blog!

So I haven't posted anything in a YEAR! I cannot believe it! This year has been rough, lots of ups and downs in terms of our journey to becoming parents. Along the way, I found out I had a blocked fallopian tube, hypothyroidism, and fibromyalgia...all things that make getting pregnant that much harder! My husband and I decided to really pray and seek God's heart on what was next for us. We didn't feel that comfortable with the next options medically, but we also couldn't afford to adopt...we were really beginning to feel like maybe we would never be parents! I started praying that God would bring someone into our lives whose baby we could adopt, as a private adoption would be significantly lower in cost than a traditional, agency one. About two months ago, a family friend introduced us to a girl her daughter had mentored for a few years - an 18-year-old who was about 9 weeks pregnant and was looking for someone to adopt her baby. She wanted a Christian family that lived out of state - we are one state apart - and had three requests: she wanted to help choose the names, she wanted pictures from time to time, and she wanted to be able to write a letter for the child to read when they were older explaining why she gave him or her up. I am excited to say that we met and she choose us to adopt her baby! We do not know yet if we are having a boy or girl and are cautiously optimistic, as we know so many things could change before her March due date. However, we are praising God for this opportunity and are excited at the prospect of adding a child to our family! The upcoming months will chronicle our efforts to raise money (we will have giveaways, eBay auctions, and other fundraisers, along with a Paypal donate button on this site) and the ups and downs of adoption. Stay tuned and keep us in your prayers!