Well, I figured after a rough couple of days and weeks, I thought I'd share some blessings! After all, in the midst of the hard days, there are still so many beautiful things I am grateful for. I won't lie though, there are times when I forget about these... this is why I am putting them down here. :)
My wonderful husband who is the most patient man I have ever met! After all, he puts up with me and my moody, emotional and overly dramatic self! I have my days when I'm perky, cheerful and overly energetic, but those days haven't been very often these days. He constantly encourages me, tries his hardest to cheer me up when I'm down and loves me like no other. I love him to pieces and can't wait to see him love our little one!
Our amazing church that we call home! We have never felt so connected and blessed to be in a church where we feel welcome, a calling to serve and place to worship! Its been a HUGE blessing and we've met some incredible people since being there. We help out with the kids ministry [3s and 4s to be exact]. And yes, there are days when its hard having 15+ kids at a time. But this past Sunday reminded me why we do it! Those kids look up to us and we've had an absolute blast getting to know each of them. We've created a routine with them, and they now respect us. We have a little Bible time, and they have a new friend, a puppet that they named Joe! Richard and "Joe" teach the lesson each week and they think its the funniest thing. Anyway, we just adore those kiddos!
Our adoption. I know that is pretty much all I talk about these days, but that is a big part of my life right now. Our adoption has become so much more than just raising money to bring home our baby. Its one of the most humbling things I have ever experienced and God is really working in our hearts. I feel extremely blessed to be used in the ways we're being used. To be the ones that God has called to take part in this wonderful journey. He obviously thinks we can handle the things we're going through... which sometimes amazes me! ha But... its beautiful. Its touching. Its eye opening. We've experienced some of the most amazing things since starting this journey. Met some of the most encouraging people ever, and made some lifelong friends throughout this journey so far. In the next few days, we're looking forward to sharing some pretty exciting news too! Not yet though!
Now... for some little teasers of how the nursery is coming along.
Love the fabric we picked out. Very simple, but also very gender neutral. They're dandelions!!! I LOVE it! Thanks to my wonderful mom for making the bumper, curtains and bed skirt. No sheets on crib quite yet.
The little stuffed animals from my baby shower. Aren't they cute! And of course our sock monkey that we bought the baby a while ago!
A little organization never hurts either! :)
LOVE LOVE LOVE the diaper bag my sister gave me at my shower! Isn't it cute!
I'm having so much fun putting our personal touches on the nursery! We've saved soooo much money by doing things ourselves. Just to give you an example of ways we saved....
1) The crib came from Target for $170 (way cheaper than Babies R Us and other baby stores, plus its cute!)
2) The bedding was handmade (by my mom!). I couldn't find bedding that I LOVED, so I went online at my favorite fabric shop called www.fabric.com and found the fabric I liked. I paid $5.40 a yard (by the way, the price recently went up for some reason and now its $6.98 per yard) I got a total of 4 yards of the white with green dandelions, and 2 yards of the green and white paisley for the curtains. That is a total of $32.40. Plus, I found a white baby bumper from Babies R Us for $19.00, and my mom slip covered the bumper. That way I can take off the slipcover and wash it when needed. :) Curtains, bumper and bed skirt were a total of $51.40. Not bad, huh?
3) The changing table/storage unit was $75 at WalMart. It was a discontinued item that was originally a buffet. It was an espresso color and it is REAL wood (not the fake stuff). I was shocked, but its true! We brought it home, painted it white and it looks fabulous in my opinion!
4) We reused an old bookshelf in our house and also painted it white. [free]
5) Nursery Rug was found at World Market for $22
6) Lamp was found at Big Lots for $30
We're at a total of $348.40, plus white paint.... so add around $23 for paint. Either way, I'm super proud of us for saving so much and still getting the nursery we want! We're not finished, but we don't have too much left to do. I'm betting we will get out under $500 for the entire room! For being on a tight budget and trying our hardest to save & raise money for our adoption... not bad. :)
Until then... Brantley
