preparing for a storm and keeping busy

Well, I guess a positive to not having a little one yet is that it's easier to prepare for a storm. We are supposed to get hit by a tropical storm that just sort of popped up in the Gulf of Mexico today. No biggie. We have food, water, groceries, cat supplies and today was laundry day- so we should be set. =)

When you have a little one, you need to think of making sure you have enough diapers (we're already stocking up on them, we use coupons when we have them!), formula (same thing- coupons are awesome) and clean clothes for baby. Plus all the other little extras to keep a little one entertained should the lights go out or you get stuck inside for a while.

Our nephew is coming over to visit this weekend. He's 5. I am going to pick him up tomorrow after school lets out, and bring him home. He and I are hosting a cookie decorating party this weekend. Since it's probably going to be rainy the rest of this week- baking cookies is the perfect thing to do with him.

We are also going to go visit day care centers. I put together some kits for Noah's Ark to drop off at day cares (there are about 8 within a 2 mile radius of my neighborhood alone!), and figured it would be something fun we could do. We'll just go down the one major road, and he can be my "helper" when we go in to the day cares and drop off a packet. I was at convention, so I was able to preorder (and have now received) 400 of the $5 promotional gift cards with mini catalogs. So I am taking them to all the schools in the area, along with a packet of information about Noah's Ark.

My Adoption Shop is taking off well. I added another name to it as well, bought the domain name Unique Baby and Parent Gifts. I was receiving some feedback that my shop was going to be too restrictive and not encourage everyone to shop there. So, I have both names now =) Though the official name is My Adoption Shop. I am really enjoying getting it together, and ordered my moby wraps today. My onesies are also on the way, as well as bath toys and some other goodies. But my lollipops are really popular right now. Which is cool. They are fun to make!

One thing is that it keeps me busy, which is really good- and takes the thinking of adoption constantly off my mind. The best way to let the time go by is to keep busy! But I do like that once I get up and running, both Noah's Ark and My Adoption Shop are both extremely family friendly. I will be able to work as little or as much as I want to, and can get together the My Adoption Shop orders at night, after our sweet little one has gone to bed. Yay for flexibility!

Well, off to scrounge up some dinner for Mike and I.

Emotions

Adoption is a roller coaster, that's for sure.

Lately, I've been watching shows on discovery health - adoption stories and a few others. So sweet to hear other people's stories, yet so hard, it brings a tear to your eyes.

We can't wait to be one of those happy families.

We will say, it's nice to spend alone time, just the two of us. We are taking advantage of those "selfish" times, enjoying the moment of just us. Doing things like going out to dinner, sleeping in, just hanging out, things we won't be able to do quite as much when kids are in the picture.

But still, we welcome the challenge, want to be parents so bad that it hurts. Wondering why no one picks us. Sometimes we have to close the door to the nursery, not look at the tiny clothes that are waiting for a baby. The changing table, all ready to go. Diapers, wipes, blankets, everything waiting for a little one.

And stores. Baby things, baby stores, baby clothing. How can you miss a baby sale? Such cute little things in the baby section. It's so hard sometimes to go to the store, and avoid the baby section- be it clothing or supplies. We can't wait to shop there, buying stuff for our little one(s).

The ride sure is interesting.

So neat to hear

It's truly wonderful to hear people's stories about how adoption has touched their lives. When people find out you are adopting, those that can relate hapily tell you about their experiences. Most of us, if not touched by adoption directly do know someone, a friend or family member, who has an adoption story to share.

Recently I went out of state for a meeting, and met a wonderful lady who shared her story. They did fostering for a while (I truly admire the folks who do that), and keep in touch with some of the children they fostered. After one left their house (he'd been with them for a couple years I believe) their daughter entered their lives. I saw a picture of both the boy and the girl, and they are absolutely precious.

A friend and I were in a craft store, shopping for scrapbook paper and for baby shower invitations for a friend of ours. As we were checking out, making small talk, somehow we must have said something about adoption. Our cashier told us that she'd been adopted from Korea when she was a little girl. It was very interesting talking with her.

And often I hear birthmother stories as well. As we started this journey, several folks who had been touched by adoption from the birthparent side (either themselves or relatives of theirs) approached us. It's been wonderful chatting with them, and in fact we've sometimes shared our profile, website, etc for feedback from them.

The stories go on and on. It's wonderful to hear people's experiences, and to realize that quite a few people have been touched by the joys of adoption.

Adoption Stories

I just discovered a show on the Discovery Health Channel. It's called Adoption Stories. Similar to A Baby Story or Birth Day, but it focuses on the adopting family. Occasionally A Baby Story will do a show on adoption, but it is rare. So, it's nice to see a show that focuses just on adoption. From the few shows I have seen, it appears to focus on international adoption as opposed to domestic adoption. It also shows birthparents, and often shows the meetings between birthparents and adoptive parents. It's been very interesting so far...