Mystery Project Revealed

I was VERY surprised when I moved the toys up from the basement to find that the kitchen sets had broken areas on them.  They were sharp, and there was no way I was going to let children play with them like that.  So I began a search for a new (used) kitchen set.  I've been telling you about all of the great bargains I found at Once Upon a Child, but a kitchen set was NOT among them.  I did look there, but anything that seemed sturdy was three figures = too expensive for our budget.

A friend posted an Etsy idea that I totally loved!  I've been showing sneak peeks at it for the past couple of weeks as it has been in process.  Here is a scene from yesterday morning.  Sometimes it looks worse before it looks better.

Stay tuned!  It looks a lot better this evening!

Bargain Day, part 2...And we have clothes, LOTS of clothes!

Yesterday I showed you how much fun one can have with toys at a clearance sale.  Remember EVERYTHING at the sale was only a dollar!  The little princesses needed some additions to their wardrobe (we expect them to come to us literally with only the clothes they are wearing) and sweaters and jackets were a top priority. 

The little princesses come from a tropical area of China where it is HOT much of the year.  This week when we were in single digits in Ohio, they had weather that was in the high 60's.  That is their winter.  SO... when we are enjoying springtime in the 50's here (likely when they will arrive home) they are apt to think, "Wow, it is COLD here!"  So, we have coats, jackets, sweaters...

And more coats, and jackets, and sweaters....

 
 More cuteness...

And note the shirt on the end there.... BIG sister.  That is Tikvah's.  She has shot up like crazy the past couple of weeks, so it was fortunate to have this sale to allow her to move up a size!

Missed a few things.  Also didn't take a picture of the TWO hip carriers we hope to use in China.  And yes, they were only a dollar also!

So we have the beds, the bedroom decorated, we have the playroom, we have the clothes....now all we need are for the two little princesses to come HOME!

Bargain Day!

I gave away our preschool toys several years ago; so I was quite excited today when I went to the Once Upon a Child clearance sale.  As advertised, anything with a clearance tag was just ONE DOLLAR!

I have outfitted the little princesses playroom with lots of "new" toys, and only spent $10.00! 

There is a set of building toys with TWO plates - to build flowers
A little mop and bucket
Tag Reader, six books, and two National Geographic Kids Activity card sets to go with it
Polly Pocket play set
Four different computerized sounds/colors/shapes/songs toys
Fisher Price monkey with his little hut and bananas
Two View-Masters with several reels

Just take a look at this haul!

As amazing as that $10.00 buy is, just wait till you see how I rounded out their wardrobe!  Stay tuned.  My washer and dryer have been working all evening making them fresh.  I'll try to get a picture of them tomorrow.

Have you ever gone to one of these sales?  It was amazing!

Waiting is Hard

I guess it is obvious that waiting is hard.  We have all experienced that whether it be waiting for the birth of a child, waiting for an adoption, waiting for Christmas or waiting for our birthday as a child!  Now that we are within that target range of "could be any time" the wait for LOA (Letter of Acceptance) is nagging at me.  I just want to get our daughters home!

We were discussing this wait at dinner last night.  Someone told me I needed to be patient.  Hmmmm...  So I've been evaluating the whole scope of emotions over this wait, and I can honestly say it isn't that I'm pushing against the Lord's timing, being a control freak or any of those things.  I couldn't quite explain it, but I think the story and definition of "impatience" that I found on a friend's blog last night sums it up very well.  Thanks for sharing this Jane!

 

I "stole" this from a friend over at Adoption Makes Six

 

A journal post from an anonymous adoptive parent:

"Here's something I wrote about 2/3 through our first adoption process. I surely did not understand before being an expectant-adoptive-parent how hard the wait was. I did not understand how love grows before you actually meet your child. When watching my friend go through an adoption (before ours) I kept wondering why she was worried or not trusting in God's timing. I had no clue really about the emotions involved. I have since apologized to her! :-) So I have to keep that in mind when talking to people who don't understand ... to understand that I was the same way once. However, I had to "write this" to counter all the comments sent my way about trusting God (even from my husband!) I had to put into words that I could still trust in the Lord and be "impatient" but impatience had to be defined….

Impatience Defined

In our adoption process…

Impatience does not mean I don’t think everything will work out okay;

Impatience does not mean I am a control freak;

Impatience does not mean I do not trust in Providence;

Impatience does not mean I do not have confidence in my agency;

Impatience does not mean I don’t suppose my child is being cared for until I’m united;

Impatience does not mean I do not believe God’s timing is best.

Impatience simply means…I miss my child!"

Working Weekend...

Daddy of the princesses spent much of the weekend working on the big surprise.   There were multiple scavenger trips to the garage and the home improvement store.  Big sister Tikvah assisted at times.

There is still quite a bit to do, but it is starting to look like what we intended.

Funny the things that adoptive parents find to do while we wait for LOA.

Three Hints

Yesterday I showed you a special project in the works for the two princesses.

Today I will give you three hints as to what this is.  I went to Goodwill again last night.  Here are some very vital parts of our project:

1. a dowel rod
2. a stainless steel bowl
3. two knobs taken off pan lids

I promise, this is going to be so cool!

Playroom for Princesses

Living Room

 As I told you in my last post,  we've been rearranging the house and are transforming our living room into a play room.  I had really hoped to be finished by now, but alas, my timetable seems to be too ambitious again.  We have made a lot of progress, however.  Here is a glimpse at what is happening at our house.

Play/School Room

 The living room furniture has made way for a table (IKEA clearance, folks!) and my husband made it shorter by cutting the legs down several inches.  We can't have the little princesses struggling to reach the table!  Four smaller chairs (red!) are in the works.

The large, red shelving unit moved up from the basement and now holds a wealth of toys and books. Tikvah's desk has moved down from her room, and fits nicely in the corner on the left.   My favorite chair is to the right of the shelves, so we are all set for playing and doing school work in this room.

  
And do you see that thing on the right?   

On Saturday, this "mystery item" was an U-G-L-Y entertainment center purchased at Goodwill - on clearance, of course.  It was fake oak with glass doors.  We removed the doors, and you can see that it has become red, black and white....why?  A friend gave me a GOOD IDEA!  Stay tuned.  You won't believe it!