How much fun?

How much fun can three little girls have with an after Christmas clearance sale?

We found these giant gingerbreads at the grocery store DEEPLY discounted.  The girls had a LOT of fun decorating them.  Believe it or not, Abigail (the littlest one) was the only one who actually ate her entire cookie!  She happily munched it down over several days. 

Our New Organizing Wall

One of the best things I ever had in my home was an oversize bulletin board.  I'm talking a MAJOR bulletin board that we'd gotten at a school auction.  It was maybe six feet across and four feet tall.  It held four of those poster board size dry erase calendars that are used in a classroom.  I really miss it!  We left it behind when we moved because we just don't have room for it here.

After some major scares whereby I lost some important adoption paperwork, I decided organization HAD to be given priority around here.  We live in an average home that doesn't have a lot of extra wall space, so I have to take advantage of smaller spaces, using them to their best advantage. 

I already knew the back of the door leading into the laundry room was a haven for the Little Princesses' hair stuff.  It has saved me thousands of steps and hours of looking for brushes and bands.

So why not utilize the other side of that door?  Sure it faces the family room, but why not?

 

I haven't totally used these pockets to their full advantage yet, but there is a lot of potential, and it has helped a bunch already.  I love having file pockets to drop important papers into.  It is so much better than putting them down in a random spot until I get them into a file cabinet!

Since the pockets were a success I decided to take it one step further to organize the family calendar and the children's chore charts.  I used a small wall that is slightly inset which allowed for hanging clipboards without disturbing the normal traffic flow through the hallway.

I painted with magnetic primer first.  Hint number one: it is an awful, oil based substance (translated a nightmare to clean up) that my husband stirred for an hour before it was of a useable consistency.  I finished with a chalkboard paint. 

 

  Hint number two:  My magnetic boxes, etc. will not stick.  Magnets with NOTHING under them stick, but that is about it.  If I were to do this again I would skip the magnetic primer.

This wall has been so handy!  The dry erase calendar allows for easily adding - and in these bad weather days moving - activities.  The dry erase board serves as a great place to highlight reminders.  The Little Princesses have their "chores" on magnet boards.  They move the squares to the bottom when they have completed the tasks - and I will add that they LOVE having little things to do.  They really enjoy helping.

When I added Isaac's chart, Tikvah wondered out loud why I had given him a pink one, then she looked  a little closer.  We don't have a LOT of photos of Isaac, but in three of the photos (obviously taken on different days) he is eating ice cream.  His chart has a scoop of green and a scoop of pink ice cream!

Tikvah and Isaac have laminated charts so I can easily add things with a dry erase marker.  Hmmmmmm.... do you suppose if I put "Come home soon" on Isaac's chart that it would help?

Linked

http://www.abowlfulloflemons.net/2014/02/one-project-at-a-time-21114.html

Our Classroom has a New Addition

Most of you know that we are home educators.  It has been that way since the dawn of time... ok not really, its only been the past twenty-seven years.  Here is a view of our modest little classroom.

And a new addition just barely showing from the other doorway.

 

So it is still hard to tell what it is?  Let me move again...

Want a clue?

 

Isaac has his very own desk in the classroom now!

 

I've kept things down low so he can reach them.  Now all we need is for him to show up for class!

A Sneak Peek at Isaac's Room

Getting the Little Princesses' room set up was easy.  Canopy beds and princess decals set the stage very well.  Isaac's room required quite a bit more thought.  How does one choose decor for an eleven year old BOY?  We still don't have an actual bed or table to go beside it, so this is still a work in progress.  Some of you have been asking about it though, so here is a sneak peek.

Getting details about the child you are waiting to adopt is difficult.  I had to pretty much rely on reports and updates.  These few details weighed in heavily in the design of the room.   So here are the few facts we were told and how I worked them in.

1.  Isaac likes to draw, especially nature themes such a birds and trees.
2.  Isaac's favorite color is red.

To incorporate the nature theme, his room is painted a greenish/brown color with a dark blue horizontal stripe going around it.  The curtains have trees and birds on them. 

The bedspread has a nature theme.  I expect the bed and nightstand that we purchase will be black.  Above the bed are pictures that contain crowns to bring in that "Prince" theme also.

I combined a large tree/bird decal with a Bible verse from Psalm 1:3. 

Moving on around the room I've hung a couple of baskets to hold his shoes so they are up and out of the way as he moves his wheelchair around.

 

His clothes are hung low in the closet so as to be easily reachable from a sitting down position.  The boxes on the floor (one on each side of the closet) hold folded clothing and additional bedding.  

 

I included a table so he can pursue his hobby of drawing.  Nature and prince type things are on the shelf above.  The life verse we chose for him is to the right of his bulletin board.

 

And finally, a large shelving unit.  I've included a variety of baskets and drawers to hold whatever makes him happy.  The large leaf hanging above the shelves kinda makes me happy with its pop of color!

The girls jumped and clapped today as I worked on his room.  We are all pretty excited about Isaac's homecoming.

The Ramp Work Has Begun!

After waiting for several weeks for the county to approve the holes that were dug (really?) and then enduring some unusually freezing cold days, the work on the ramp has begun!

 

Our front yard and porch are a muddy mess, but progress is being made!

 

Four men from a local church (not even the one we attend!) are volunteering their labor on this chilly day to get the posts set for Isaac's ramp!

 We are very thankful for those who have a heart for the orphans who have come alongside of us to help in such a practical way!

 

The plan is for Isaac to be able to enjoy our front porch with the rest of the family.  We love to sit out there on nice days and just talk.  The ramp will come out in the middle of the current railing, have a turn around deck, then come down parallel to the porch to join where the sidewalk starts.  The posts you see are for the guard rails.  I'm so excited to see this coming together!

A Heartfelt "Thank you" and Steady Progress

I received a gift a few days ago that brought tears to my eyes.  We know a college student (who obviously doesn't have much money) who regularly contributes as she can to our boy's homecoming.   She has a big ole heart for the orphan and puts it into practical action.  This time her little sister watched as she was putting her gift into an envelope for us.  This little girl is only six, but was herself an orphan just a little over a year ago and knows first hand how great it is to have a family who loves her.  When she figured out what her sister was doing, she insisted that she wanted to contribute too.  So she took money out of her own savings and gave it to us to help get Isaac home.  Folks, that is GOLD!  The amount given by these two girls isn't large in the world's eyes.  But the spirit in which it was given, and the sacrifice it represents touched me so much.  They truly illustrated Matthew 6:21, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  Thank you, girls!  May God bless you richly for the care and love you've shown to our Isaac.

This last week has been a very busy one.  The unexpected arrival of the hard copy of our LOA last Monday triggered a flurry of activity.  It apparently took our agency by surprise also as our referral paperwork wasn't even here yet!  They like to have it completed, notarized and returned to them by the time our LOA is issued. Ethan took a half day off work on Tuesday so we could complete these very important papers, and over night them to our agency.

Perhaps the most important of the bunch was the i800 immigrations forms.  These set in process our intention to declare Isaac - specifically -  as our immediate relative.  The i800 was sent on its way from our agency on Wednesday, and so we wait - again!  Most people have the approval in about two weeks.  It took nearly a month last year with our girls (we've never been the "average" wait time where USCIS is involved), so I'm not counting on that two week timetable.  But, hopefully we'll have an approval in a few weeks, anyway.  Once that approval is received our Article 5 paperwork is initiated at the National Visa Center.  We are getting down to the last few steps!

Since our LOA has been issued, our agency now allows us to send a care package.  I'm trying to gather photos (and my thoughts) to send Isaac a letter.  BUT, I really want to include a photo of his room. So this week has also included a lot of moving things OUT of the guest room to prepare it for Isaac.  I am finished painting, but there is still lots of work to do.  Maybe I'd better send a letter and photos now and again later? 

Another thing back in the works (finally!) is the ramp.  We waited literally for weeks for the county to come to inspect the holes that were dug for the posts that will support the ramp.   Then our area was hit with REALLY cold weather.  I got a phone call this morning that the crew is coming tomorrow to pour the concrete and set the posts.  Yay!  All around, there is steady progress towards Isaac's homecoming.  I can hardly wait!

LOA!!!

Wow, what a day!  Our i800a approval to our Supplement 3 arrived at last - just a week before it expired!  This extends our approval into 2015 and also updates our records to say that Ruth has married and no longer lives at home.  That was an exciting find in the mailbox!

A few minutes later I heard from our China case manager that we were Match Reviewed, meaning that the computer system was showing that our LOA had been issued.  Ok, NOW I am excited.

This was followed up just a few minutes later with a phone call saying that our hard copy LOA had actually ARRIVED.  Oh boy!  NOW we are ecstatic!  Tonight will be a crazy whirlwind of completing immigration papers so we can get everything back to our agency tomorrow.

We are looking at probably 10 - 12 weeks before travel!