Happenings as of Late

Things have been busy around here lately (do they ever truly slow down when you have kids?).  Here are a few pictures of our Spring so far.  

Caroline's dance "recital" was fun to watch.  She was more concerned about staying on her "X" that getting any of the steps.  She kept looking down to make sure she hadn't strayed.  At one point the little girl next to her was crowding her out of her spot, but Caroline firmly stood her ground.  We have a rule follower on our hands, just like her mama.

She got the "Big Hand" award in music class for the third tome this year.  She brings it to me all of the time and asks me to read it to her.  She is so proud when she gets it, she can barely wait for the carpool teacher to buckle her in before she says, "Mama, let me have my folder!  I wanna show you something!"

Painting is always a big hit.  Painting a Tinkerbell picture in Tinkerbell jammies is the ulitimate.

Our latest gluten-free venture: pizza.  No, the crust is not made from some non-wheat flour.  It is made from cheese.  You read that right.  Two types of cheese and eggs.  It was very rich and very yummy.  A small piece goes a long way!

Fundraising Galore!

We have been fundraising like mad lately!  At least, it seems that way to me.  Until just recently, we hadn't done any fundraising for our adoption.

The first thing I did was to sell hair bows. So far, this has brought in about $500, and I still have lots more ribbon to make some more bows!  (Let me know if you want some!)

Next we held a yard sale.  Actually, it was a selling palooza, consisting of selling some things on Craigslist and e-bay and having yard sales two Saturdays in a row.  We had only planned on one big yard sale, but our neighbor had advertised one the weekend before ours was scheduled, so we went ahead and pulled some of our wares out.  We had lots of people donate items for us to sell, and we made about $2000 altogether, which was much more than I had ever anticipated!  Caroline enjoyed helping by selling chocolate covered pretzels.

Next on our agenda is a Thirty-One party.  My good friend Lorrie is a consultant, and she generously offered to have a party for me and donate all of her earnings from the party to our adoption fund.

I have truly been humbled by the generosity of others through this process.  We've had friends and family make donations.  I had one neighbor whom I had never met write me a $20 check at our yardsale, and only buy a children's book.  Several others said, "Keep the change."  Lots of friends, both here in Birmingham and far away, have told their pals with little gals about my hair bows.  It's truly neat to see so many come together to help us bring our child home.

So why all the fundraising?  I'm not going to sugarcoat it; adoption is expensive.  In total, we will spend about $30,000 during this process.  A lot of that we have already paid over the past 5 years.  Our final fees, which are due soon, will total $9,500.  We also have to fund a trip to Colombia for 3-4 weeks.  In the end, though, our family will grow by one, and the 143,000,000 orphans will be less one.  Praise God!

Fishing at Mimi and Pop's

We spent Easter Sunday at Mimi and Pop's house, and we got to enjoy the newly built pier. Matt, Philip, and my dad had spent the previous weekend working hard on the pier, getting it ready for jumping from and tying the boat to this summer. Pretty soon the water will be up, and we can christen it with the first jump. For now, we enjoy fishing off of it. The fish weren't biting that night, but Caroline was enjoying casting and reeling in all the same.

And, just because, I'll throw in a picture of her all dressed up.  What a cutie.

Bows, bows, bows!

In an effort to raise money for our adoption, I (and my wonderful mother) have been up to our ears in ribbons lately.  We have been cutting, stitching, hot-glueing, and heat-searing bows!  I have really enjoyed it thus far (we'll have to see how long before that wears off).

Now I am ready to sale!  They are (I believe) priced to move at $3.75 (medium), $4.00 (large), and $4.50 (jumbo).  Just click the BOWS tab above to find out more.  Feel free to pass the word on to your friends, and let me know if you would like to just browse my collection!  There are some really cute ones.  {I am having trouble not keeping one of each print for Caroline.  How many bows does one girl need?}

Also, I am continually placing orders for new ribbon, so let me know if there is something in particular you need!

Thanks!

Little Miss Bright Side

This was one of those things that I knew, but hadn't really taken notice of.  You know what I'm talking about?  One of those things where, when someone points it out to you, you say, "Ohhh, yeah.  I know exactly what you mean."  Well, it dawned on both Philip and me recently, and now it seems to stand out to us all of the time.

Caroline ALWAYS has to rephrase things in the positive.  Always.  Without exception.  If you make any comment with a negative phrase in it, you can bank on the fact that she will be coming back at you with something positive to say.  I'll give you some examples:

• "I can't drink coffee.  I can watch grownups drink coffee, though."
• "We can't play outside because it's raining.  When it's not raining, we can play outside."
• "We can't get a toy today.  Maybe next time we can get a toy."
• "We can't hit each other.  We can tickle each other, though."

In some ways, I think she's just trying to control the things that seem out of her control.  However, being an optimist myself, I like to think that this points to the fact that she is an optimist as well.  

My Little Miss Bright Side.

Little Helper

It may have taken 20 minutes to sweep the kitchen (and another pass at it after she was down for a nap), but it's so much better to share the task with a little helper. 

Caroline asks often if she can help me cook, clean the floors/bathtub/ kitchen table/etc. (she gets her own rag and spray bottle of vinegar water), fold laundry (she's really good at washcloths), and anything else you can imagine.  I'm so glad I have an eager assistant!

One of our favorite kids' bands, Slugs and Bugs, sums up Caroline's thoughts nicely in their "I Wanna Help" song.