Here comes the nursery!

Today, family came over to get my "big girl" bedroom suit from the extra bedroom. Last night, Ty and I worked really hard to get everything ready. While I was at a student's basketball game, Ty moved all the furniture from the nursery to the new extra bedroom. I was so proud! Here is the blank slate that we are starting with, and a picture of the closet. I finalized the nursery bedding that I am having custom made from Etsy, and we LOVE it!!! When I get the fabric swatches in the mail, we will select the paint colors and get that step done. This week we will also pick up the furniture :)

Consignment Sale

Here are some pictures of the items I scored at my first consignment sale. I went with mom, Dawn, Andrea, and a colleague from school. I got a bouncer $20, Leap Frog learning table $12, hooded towel/washcloth $1, few cute outfits $6, and a super cute pair of little shoes $2. I had a lot of fun shopping, just wish I knew the gender and time so I could have gotten more clothes! Almost all the clothes I have are either ducks or something yellow....so excited about the green froggie outfit I got.

The Big Purchase

Last Saturday, Ty and I went out shopping. While out, I mentioned running by Babies 'R Us to look at the furniture to see what we liked. They were having a trade-in event with a big sale and gift card, so I wanted to possibly take advantage of the good deal :) We walked around the Greensboro store, and only found two collections that we liked. I have researched and researched found that baby italia was one of the best brands. We found one set that was on clearance in a beautiful cinnamon color. The sales associate said that she would give us an additional 20% off because it was a display, that certainly made Ty's ears perk up. However, we found too many scratches and knicks to make it worth it to us. We home and on the way we talked about going to the Winston store to see if they could order it. In between going to dinner with friends, we swung by the other BRU and as I walked back to the furniture dept, I saw a man taking the cinnamon bed apart. I had spoken to someone earlier at that store, and I couldn't believe that someone would snatch it that quick. (If only Ty didn't need to shave his head...we would have been able to get the set we wanted-but that's another story.) That collection couldn't be ordered because it was on clearance, but Ty went looking around some more. We both kept coming back to the baby italia, but in a different style, Hamilton. It is so beautiful. The lady that helped us was the supervisor and she said that she loves it and that always gets good reviews. When we were doing the paperwork of ordering, my heart started beating fast and my palms got sweaty. They said it would be ready in 7-14 days, no worry for us! Well we got a good deal, but it was still VERY expensive: 25% off crib because of trade-in (went to thrift store and bought an umbrella stroller) to use, then we got another 10% off for opening BRU CC and the lady gave us an additional 20% off the chest of drawers.

I love our furniture and I know that Little Miracle will enjoy having such a nice set from the time they come home until when they leave for college!

Common Ground

This picture is of sweet Mehya and I with a present she gave me today.

Mehya and I have a special bond, adoption. Mehya was adopted from Korea and was one of my students in reading last year. Her mom is a teacher at my school, and told Mehya our news one day. I love how she connects Mehya with her special story! One day when walking down the hall, she had asked me if I had a baby. I told her no, but didn't go any further than that. I didn't realize that her mom had told her that I have a baby growing in my heart like her mommy did. Well, when I found that out, it melted my heart. Just a week or so ago, I saw Mehya again and she asked about the baby again. We had a great conversation and she went on to ask if I had a picture. I told her not yet, but maybe soon. Then she pointed to my heart, and I said yes, the picture is in my heart. Melt again.

Today, Mehya stopped by my room with a gift bag shouting my name. (Those who know her, you can imagine that sweet Kernersville/Korean slang she has) I asked her who it was from, and she just smiled a big grin and said....it's a secret. I asked if it was from her, and she said...I gotta go. Bye! I kept it on my desk unopened for a while. I thought it was from my Secret Pal.

When I opened it, the card read: "This is a little something for the baby growing in your heart." Love, Mehya

Then I opened the tissue paper to find a sweet little plaque that said: "Baby~Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart." It is beautiful...enter tears and a big smile.

After school, I went to her mom's room and thanked her for the gift. She was so excited. I told her that I was going to put it in the nursery, and that I would take a picture of it and show her. We took our picture together and hugged!

Thank you, Mehya for this heartfelt gift!

Big Kahuna!

When we got the first packet, I thought...okay, we can handle it. Then, on Ty's birthday, a bigger envelope came! Happy Birthday! This packet included: criminal record papers, physicians reports, tons of papers to sign, statement of faiths for each of us to write, create a will paper, health insurance, infant care class, more financial statements, and after that...it just gets blurry. Needless to say, we are still working on this packet. It is so hard to balance work, personal life, and church. One paper at a time is our motto. We just got word yesterday that our friends got their reference letters to fill out. So things are moving forward.

Formal Application picture

Here is a picture of Ty with our formal application approval letter! His face says it all...yay! paperwork! Here comes the long haul!

A Baby Event and more prayers~

This weekend was really fun. Saturday morning mom and I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to their Baby Event. We were greeted with four months of CFA coupons for breakfast and milkshakes. When we went to the back of the store, it was like being in a convention. Vendors of all kinds, here to overwhelm you. We joined in the conversation a mom-to-be was having with an associate on car seats. Come to find out, she is the store manager at Buy Buy Baby and was so super nice. It was like having our own personal shopper during the event. She showed us all about car seats, strollers, the never ending bumper on the crib debate, and the dreaded bottles. She was so excited to hear about our adoption and told us to ask for her when we go back to CLT to her store. The raffles that they were giving away seemed awesome...although I wasn't going to be happy to win the breast pump :). My name was called for the first prize, so anticipation left early. I won a Joovy foocot, which is a modern brand. I won a child's cot with storage bag and it is a cool lime green color. It retails for $79. Ty wants to sell it, so we will see. Mom ended up getting her crib bedding on clearance for dirt cheap too. I went to BRU afterward to use a coupon...can't let those $5 ones go to waste. I was able to get 3-2 packs of pacis (1 pack is glow in the dark for night time), outfit with hat and socks, 2 teething toys on clearance with addl' off, and 3 travel size lotions for $20-SCORE.

Friday morning I got a text from my minister at church which was a little weird I must say. He said that he wanted to know if he could use part of our story to introduce his sermon Sunday for Baby Dedication day. We chatted on the phone, and went to church like normal. Several people stopped me in the hall to tell me congratulations from the first service, so I knew that it was meant to be. Sure enough, Bill began by telling that it is easy to become a parent, sort of. Then he said our names and had us wave in the audience. He said that after trying for several years and after doctor confirmation, we knew we couldn't have kids. He said that we still wanted to become parents, so adoption found us. Everyone in the congregation clapped for us. Yes, we turned vibrant shades of red. Then he told the story of how we told our family. After that, he went into more detail about becoming a parent. The goal of that wasn't to boast about us or make us feel like we are the "super couple." I mean, he called us. I think that it was a sign from God to tell the services so that more people can be praying for "little miracle." I believe that with all my heart. I sure do hope that we can be a part of Baby Dedication 2012...Ty said "it will be cool when we do it!" Yep, it sure will.