Trying to Remember...

...that God's timing is ALWAYS perfect, even if I don't see it!

Our referral for Molly in August was an absolute surprise. We weren't expecting "the call," our dossier is not ready to send to China, we haven't even had Carson in our family for a year yet. After the initial "wow factor" wore off, reality is starting to make me worry. Can we afford to adopt right now, with the economy in such a mess? Is Carson secure enough of his place in our family to be able to bond with Molly? Are we CRAZY for doing this again so soon??

The other kink in the timing is my job. In July, I accepted a position (which starts in December) teaching pediatric clinicals at a local nursing college. Teaching was always a long-term dream for me -- something I would do when I was burned out with staff nursing, which I am not yet -- but this job literally fell in my lap. In fact, I turned it down twice, but they kept sweetening the deal until it was really, truly too good to turn down. The fact that the job is at the nursing school I attended makes it all the better for me -- nostalgia and all that.

So now I'm going to start a new job in mid December...and then have to take a maternity leave within the first few months of starting. It would be best for us to travel sooner than later since the first two months will be sort of an orientation period, when I could sneak away and not be missed too much. Starting in late February or early March, I will have my own clinical group and will be expected to grade papers every week, meet with and mentor students, and teach clinicals every Thursday and Friday. How is THIS going to work if we travel in March, or April, or later??

In preparation for this job change -- which will include an office day that I can do at home if I have no meetings at the college -- I took a look at the office in our house. Oh my...
...this will NEVER do! While Carson's marker board/chalkboard was in the office, it was really in the way. If I have to grade papers and prepare for clinicals at home, this messy room HAD to be dealt with. And if Carson is going to be underfoot while I'm doing those things (which, of course, he will be), then he had to have his own space in the office.

I remembered that Meggie had a great Little Tykes desk when she was little...so we dug it out of the dusty basement. First it needed a bit of cleaning...
...which the boys happily handled for me! Carson, what do you think of this cool desk?
He gives it one "thumb up"! That's always a good sign!

We bought a big four-drawer file cabinet to help contain the mess of papers that always reside on my desk and rearranged the furniture in the office to accomodate Carson's desk.

Let's take a tour...
Of course, the details are what make a space special. Take a peek at these cuties on the bookcase...
...referral pics of Molly and Carson! Carson's desk is very organized (most of the time)...

...and also has its own special details. Here we have his Spiderman "naga-zeens" (aka magazines)...OK, so they are really coloring books, just don't tell Carson...Wait, whose picture was that on his desk?? Why, it's Molly!
My desk got moved and the mess is definitely more under control (most of the time)...
And now, while I'm on the "poot-er" (aka computer), Carson can also "go to works" at his desk.
An unexpected bonus with this new room arrangement is the large open floor area. While I'm on the "poot-er" and Carson is at "works," Meggie spreads out on the carpet and does her homework. Those who know me KNOW that I value quality time...

So while I try to focus on preparing for my upcoming job change (10 weeks to go)...and try NOT to focus on the timing of Molly's adoption and how difficult it may end up being...I really need to work on trusting in God's timing. After all, Carson arrived in our family smack in the middle of my Bachelor's program -- yes, it was tough, but it worked out just fine. This, too, will work out.

Right...??

Girls' Weekend!

Meggie's dance team began their 2008 competition season today, which gave Meggie and I an opportunity to spend some quality time AWAY FROM THE BOYS! That's right...we had a Girls' Weekend! (Actually it was more like a Girls' Overnight...) While it was a bit weird not to see the boys, it was fun to remember what it was like to just focus all my attention on Meggie!

We headed out on the road Friday after Meggie got home from school. Well, technically, we stopped at the store first and loaded up on junk food...can't spend quality time without sustenance and something had to keep us powered up for the long drive!

We had dinner on the road and got to the hotel a bit after dark. Since Meggie wanted to make a poster to support the team and I had to hem her costume, we headed right to our room (we got upgraded to a King Suite thanks to Daddy's Hilton Honors points...nice!). We put on comfy jammies, found a movie on cable, and got to work. No, it wasn't the most exciting Friday night we've ever shared, but it was very nice. We got to watch what WE wanted on television and chat a bit without the interruption of...well, of anything!

This morning, we got up bright and early (well, actually, just early...wasn't bright yet) and headed out to the competition site. Here's Meggie walking in, poster in hand...
...as we entered the Louisville Slugger Field! (This is one competition Daddy would have enjoyed attending...he would have LOVED to see this field!)
Oh, you couldn't see Meggie's poster? Here's a closer look:I staggered around the stadium, desperately in need of coffee, and came back (WITH coffee...yeah!) to see the girls already busy stretching...
...and getting excited for the performance!This is this team's first year competing -- their studio has been competing for years, but this is a new style of dance and this group is the studio's first entry in a Jazz/Cheer/HipHop competition. The girls on Meggie's team didn't really feel ready to compete yet and were a bit discouraged, feeling they would probably not do well on their first time out. After their performance and the crowd's reaction to their number, they were MUCH more relaxed and started having fun. One of the moms from the team brought a bunch of loud noisemakers (which sounded a bit like foghorns) -- our section really made ourselves known!

Morgan enjoyed the noisemaker...
...and Jacqueline was very excited to have gotten hit by the frisbee Morgan almost caught! (Uhhh, Jacqueline, you're holding it upside-down!)
Here we have the girls hanging out in the stands, waiting for awards to start:This competition really made an effort to give the dancers a great day. They threw gift merchandise into the crowd (like frisbees, drink cozees, and t-shirts), had a Crazy Dads Dance-Off (hysterical!), and brought out their mascot, Jammy:
And the best part? Not only did the ATJ All Stars win a Gold Medal and first place in their division, but they ended up being Grand Champions in the Senior age group!! WOW!!! Not too shabby for their first competition, huh?

Actually, that "best part" stuff wasn't exactly true. The best part...for me...was spending 24 uninterrupted hours with my firstborn! Love you to the moon, Megster!!

Carson's Big Day...and Molly's First Care Package!

In his defense, he didn't get his nap today. We had a busy day and there just wasn't time! As he was getting dressed for the the readoption hearing, he kept begging for a nap. (Any other day, I have to beg HIM to nap...)

This is what we were getting on the way to the courthouse...
...he wouldn't talk to us, wouldn't smile, and REALLY looked like he was going to drift off to sleep. Sadly, the trip to the courthouse was only 15 minutes...no time for napping!

We arrived at the courthouse and, after a short wait, headed into the small courtroom. I don't know why, but I was a nervous wreck! I mean, I was a court reporter for years...courtrooms shouldn't freak me out. And this hearing was just a formality...Carson's adoption was final in China. Still...I was nervous and Carson was WIGGING OUT! When we were seated at the table in the courtroom, he couldn't sit still. He nearly broke into tears because Grandma and Grandpa sat behind us in the row of chairs...Grandma quickly moved to sit next to Carson, which helped. In this picture...
...we were waiting for the Judge to come in the room. Notice how blurry Carson is? He was so fidgety!! (No, Shannon, it was NOT your fault! Thanks for taking pictures for us!)

In this one, gotta admit the boy looks like he's up to something...
Literal minutes before Judge Rogers entered the room, our friends Chris and Shannon (who were kind enough to attend the hearing and even took their girls out of school early to come along!) told us they had attended one of these before and the Judge would ask us questions. WHAT??!! I hadn't prepared for that. Nervous just moved straight into panic. AACCKKK!!

After we were sworn in, Grandma did the best she could to keep Carson distracted so he would stop his incessant chattering. She even took off her watch and let him play with it. I'm pretty sure she would have dumped her purse out on the table if required. Grandma, you're the BEST!
As Judge Rogers talked and asked us questions (which were really no big deal -- but thanks for freaking me out, Chris!), Carson decided he wanted to talk right along with him. How funny that Shannon got a picture of me reminding him to be quiet!
The Judge decided he wanted to let Carson speak. Now remember, Carson was a bit sleep-deprived and wiggy. He started to ramble on...I heard "Molly" and "I give you a spanking" and lots of things I couldn't figure out. It was so funny, we were all cracking up! Judge Rogers was chuckling and asked Carson something on the order of, "Are you always this shy?" Carson laughed...then winked at the Judge. Judge Rogers threw his head back and howled with laughter! It was perfectly timed...and also a classic Carson move. Turn on the charm, Little Man, and you'll win 'em over every time!

At one point, Judge Rogers asked Meggie if she was OK with finalizing this adoption. Gulp! I looked at her -- a bit worried -- and she smiled sweetly and answered the questions just fine. Girl, you had your chance!! (Just kidding...remember, this was just a formality...)

To conclude the hearing, Judge Rogers wanted Carson to come up and bang his gavel. He had three of them, actually, and here he is showing Carson the biggest of the three...
...I LOVE Carson's face in that picture! Hysterical!

Then Meggie got to come up and take her turn. Judge Rogers said she could order anything she wanted. She ordered, "More allowance" and banged the gavel. We laughed...she doesn't get an allowance, so that shouldn't be too difficult to handle! Giving her ANYTHING would be giving her MORE! (Girl, you should have thought that one through...I would have ordered us to buy you a car!)
Carson wasn't a fan of sharing the gavel duties with his big sister! Taylor wouldn't come up and take her turn, but Rachel was eventually convinced. My camera was acting up (it was on the wrong setting...didn't think to check that) which is why some of these pictures are blurry. I didn't hear what she ordered...hope it was something good!
After we were all finished, we got a family picture with Judge Rogers.
Judge Rogers asked Carson if he wanted to see a picture of his son. Carson was so excited...we quickly figured out it was just because he wanted to get behind the bench and get his hands on that gavel again! We all peeked at the picture on Judge Rogers' computer screen and saw that his son is in the military -- he's a Naval Aviator -- and we spent a few minutes talking about that.
After we paid our Court costs and headed outside, we got a nice family picture with Grandma and Grandpa...
...and one with Chris, Shannon, Taylor, and Rachel.
We really appreciated that they all took time to come to this hearing for us, especially since it was at 3PM on a work day...not especially convenient for most of us!

Grandma and Grandpa took Carson over to their car to give him a little surprise...
...red, white and blue balloons!! He was so excited...then proceeded to run around the courthouse lawn with the balloons flying in the wind behind him.We were chatting about dinner plans and the Teenager decided to start the minivan to get the air conditioner going. OK, seeing her in the driver's seat of a car is just too weird!
Chris and Shannon and their girls joined us for Carson's favorite dinner...China food!!
After pigging out on lo mein noodles, Carson decided HE wanted to take some pictures. Since he was a bit new to using the camera, he did better using it while it rested on the table. Therefore, we all had to "get down" (as he kept repeating) so he wouldn't chop off our heads.
I helped him lean the camera back for this one...
...and I took this picture of me with my Little Man!
Because I adore Chris and Shannon, I erased all the pictures he took of you guys! Boy, that kid can capture a bad angle like nobody's business!!

When we got home, I got down to business. We had purchased many things to put in a care package for Molly...and it was time to pack it all up and get it to the Post Office.

Here is what we got for Molly, including a photo album for her that has pictures of us in it...
...and the things we bought for Molly's foster parents, the orphanage director, the nannies, and for Molly to share with her friends.
Our adoption agency provided us Chinese translations of words and phrases so that we could label the gifts and the photos in the album. Before packing all that stuff in the box, Carson wanted to kiss the stuffed poodle we bought for Molly for "good luck."And, yes, folks, it fit in the box! It was a tight squeeze, but it fit. YEAH!!
At least this care package didn't drive me to distraction like Carson's first care package did! There is a bit of pressure with these things...this is how Molly will find out she's being adopted so we want the gifts to be special. But honestly, the "stuff" doesn't matter. What matters is that our Little Lady will know in a week or so that she has a family who already loves her and who can't wait to meet her and bring her home...and her foster family can begin to prepare her for that.

Gotta go to bed...it's been a busy day!!