Friday, October 11, 2013

MONEY - Enough



This is a picture of Kian's pants drawer.  It's just like it looks... empty.  But what you don't see is that downstairs, there are pants in a laundry basket waiting to be folded.  A similar thing happens with his underwear and socks, and with Logan's pants and onesies.  This says to me one thing: Isn't it great that I have enough?  I know I may get some quizzical looks, but let me explain.  I didn't have to do laundry a single day earlier than I usually do it.  Kian is dressed.  I have no want, I have no excess.  I have just enough.  This makes me immensely content.  My sister-in-law said to me the other day "Hey, I found some pants that would fit Kian, do you want them?"  I readily accepted, and it felt like an added blessing.  The more I keep in this mindset, the less I am apt to go out and impulse buy because I "need it".  That said, there are times that I do have a genuine need, and I can generally find these things at second hand stores, handmade, or fair trade because I wait for them and save for them.


This is Kian and Logan playing with their "new toys".  Every 2-3 weeks or so we rotate a box of toys (we have 4 that we go through) and toys that were boring a few months ago are new and fresh again.  Guess who avoids going to a toy store and buying new things because their kids are bored?  This family!  I like to supplement the boxes with 1 or 2 things I find at thrift stores or garage sales.  This system has worked really, really well.

Just another way we try to save pennies so we can give all we can to our adoption, and savings for our future children's healthcare.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Another quick update

The major components of our home study were sent off today!  Shouldn't be long now!  we have a lot of work to do, but now we can see the light at the end of the home study tunnel.  zack was just saying the other day that it really doesnt feel real.  It feels like a lot of paperwork, which, lol, it is.  When he was training and running and selling soap, that was palpable to him.  Now it's like, what's going on?  Even for me as I've been doing a majority of the paper chasing, it feels less like something exciting and more like something... I don't know... Papery?  Well in any case, we can sense progress and that is exciting!

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Home Study - update

We are almost there!  First of all, we have all the money we need for the home study and the second payment to our placement agency.  BIG BIG BIG AWESOMENESS!!!  We are completing the initial paperwork part of our home study.  We got family photos taken this past week and also did our health exams.  Step by step we keep inching forward.  It's really getting exciting for us - each step makes this more and more real!  Next we will be doing our home visits with a social worker and finishing up the paperwork part.  So exciting!

Now, here's a few of my favorite photos from our family pictures.  Do you think they say, "We are fun and warm and would like you to join us"?