While We're Waiting....

The waiting has been a little difficult for me lately. I think about it constantly, every minute of every day. I know that I have to let it go because it is out of my hands now but that is hard to do. All I want is a baby! A baby to love and cherish for the rest of my life. Sometimes I wonder why we are having to wait but I know I shouldn't question the things that have happened in our lives so far. Everything has happened for a reason and we are much stronger because of them. All I know is that when Bryan and I finally get our hands on Baby Pruitt, it is going to be one special day!

Focusing my energy on other things is important right now, so I started thinking about the things that Bryan and I have been doing or could do while we are waiting. These things really serve a purpose in our lives right now. They fill our time and help us move forward.

These things are:
*Going to the YMCA. Bryan and I have been exercising regularly for the past few months and we both feel much better about ourselves. We have both even lost a few pounds.
*Blogging. Which I have become slightly obsessed with. I love to read daily blog entries that I have discovered through the adoption website. Learning about other peoples lives is pretty interesting.
*Camping. Bryan and I have scheduled some camping trips for this fall. We love to spend the weekend in the camper with the dog just relaxing.
*Reading. Not just adoption books but other things that I enjoy reading (magazines, girlie novels, etc..)
*Enjoy quiet time because hopefully we won't have that for much longer.

Starting today I am going to TRY to really focus on these activities and enjoy them for me! I am also telling myself everyday when I wake up that I am one day closer to receiving a wonderful gift from God. HE IS IN CONTROL!!!

Weekend Fun!

This weekend Bryan and I had the opportunity to babysit. Our friends Ashley and Anthony went out on a date and we kept Aiden who is about four months old. We had a great time and got lots of practice feeding and changing diapers. Roxy loved Aiden! She kept sniffing and licking him. She even laid down with him on the floor. Bryan and I were curious about how she would react but she did great.







Sunday afternoon, I went to see Mary Poppins with my mom, great-aunt and friend Kendra. It was great! It was fun seeing a classic movie as a broadway show, knowing all the songs and the characters.



Everyone have a great Monday!

Braeden Luke Jones is here! He arrived last night at 8:55. He weights 5.13 lbs and is 19.5 inches long. Scott and Angela have been waiting so long for this and I am just so excited for them. I spoke to Angela today and she said she was tired but feeling good. Tomorrow Bryan and I are going to visit so more pictures will be coming soon! Please keep them in your prayers as they begin this wonderful journey together.

Prayers!!!

Please keep our friends in your prayers this week. Scott and Angela are going to have a baby! Angela was admitted into the hospital last night because of high blood pressure. They are going to begin inducing her tonight. Hopefully, Baby Braeden will be here soon!

Adoption Lifebook

I ordered a book today that is like a baby book but made for adoptions. Below is the description about the book:

MY FAMILY MY JOURNEY is a baby book that celebrates the wide array of experiences and choices that bring a family and their adopted child together. This lovely keepsake album contains sections to record all the joyful milestones and cherished family moments that mark a new baby's life, pages to chart the adopted child's unique journey, as well as a sturdy pocket in which to store important documents and memorabilia. Inside the pocket are over 60 stickers you can use to customize the family tree pages. As the pages of the journal fill with memories, this book will stand as a lasting testament of love for the entire family.




Bryan and I have always said that we want our child to know they are adopted. We plan on discussing it with our child when the time is right, hopefully at a young age. There will be no secrets about where they come from. I thought this book would be something special to help share our adoption story with our child.

Meet the Teacher Night

Tonight was a very successful meet the teacher night. Mr. Murray and I had a packed house of eager sixth graders ready to become middle schoolers. Covered lots of information and met lots of people. I won't remember their names on Wednesday but I catch on pretty quickly.

Busy Weekend!

This weekend flew by! Friday night, I visited with my friend Angela who is having her baby Thursday. (pictures coming soon of new baby) Saturday started out kind of rough. I have a piano that was at my aunt and uncles house which needed to be moved to my house. It is a wall piano that is very heavy! I lined up five guys and a trailer to move the piano Saturday morning at 9:00 am. Luckily, the move went very smoothly. We only had one small cut on an arm which only required a small band-aid. The piano is now in my dining room ready to be played. I haven't tried to play yet to see if I remember how. Hopefully, it will be like riding a bicycle, it will just magically come back to me!

Saturday evening, my husband grilled wonderful cheeseburgers on the Big Green Egg. For those of you who don't know about the Big Green Eggs, they are the Mac Daddy of all grills! My husband worships his grills, they are his precious treasures which he adores. We have a large one and a small one that sit in their own cooking table.



Scott and Angela came over Saturday night and ate with us. We watched the Bristol Nascar race and just hung out at the house. Good times!

Sunday, Bryan and I went to Babies R Us and registered for some things. Honestly, we now have no idea what we registered for but we assume that they will be things that will help us with the baby. It was fun but a little overwhelming because there is so much stuff! How could something so small require so much stuff!

Ashley, a friend of mine from work, gave us a cute bassinet that we also went to pick up today. Roxy tried it out and loves it!



Finally, my dad and Bryan wanted to take out my dad's new boat. So the three of us loaded up and hung out on the lake for a couple of hours this evening. Mom stayed home because she wasn't feeling well. Hopefully, she will make the next trip because it was a lot of fun!

Comment problems

Some people have mentioned to me that they were having a hard time posting comments on my blog. I looked at my settings and I think I fixed the problem. Hopefully, you should be able to comment on my blog now. Thanks!

First Day Back and Good Reading!

Today was my first day back to work after a quick summer break. It seems that the longer I have been teaching, the faster my summers go by. Today went pretty smoothly, meetings and workshops all day. We have a lot of new teachers on the sixth grade hallway, so that involves getting to know new people. Luckily, my team is staying the same. I am on a two man team where I teach Language Arts and Science while my teammate teaches Math and Social Studies. We have been together for three years now so things are pretty easy. My room is pretty much together and somewhat organized. We did receive a surprise today. Our PTSA gave all the teachers a $50 Walmart gift card to us for teacher supplies. That was AWESOME! I feel like I always spend a fortune at the beginning of a school year so that will definitely help. All in all, good first day back!

I heard from my case worker today Michelle, she sent Bryan and I some books and resources that we could read while we are waiting. I wanted to share those with you just in case anyone else is interested.

You Can Adopt by Susan Caughman and Isolde Motley

Focus on the Family's Handbook on Thriving as an Adoptive Family by David Sanford (CAS now gives these out at their conferences so you may already have this, but if not, it has some good real-life stories, etc.)

Raising Adopted Children by Lois Melina


Adoptive Families magazine posts their prior issues and recommended/reader favorite articles on their website, and they have a list of books chosen by their editors as ones they recommend. (www.adoptivefamilies.com/books.php)


The Happiest Baby on the Block is a good book to learn about ways to comfort your baby (crying can be very stressful for everyone!). You'll feel more confident once you bring the baby home.

Thanks again Michelle for the wonderful resources!

A New Look and a Fresh Start!

I AM BACK!!! I started this blog so that people could follow along with us through our adoption but I got a little lazy. Sorry! I want to catch everyone up and hopefully continue my blog with regular updates. A lot of things have happened since my last post so I am just going to make a list.

Adoption:
Completed home study
Met with agency for finalization of paperwork
On the website as official waiting family!!! (check us out at christianadopt.org)
Waiting on the phone to ring....

Our life:
Completed my 8th year of teaching.
Traveled back and forth to the beach all summer with family and friends. I love Oak Island!
Completed some work outside of our old/new house (concrete, painting trim, flowerbeds, etc..)
Going back to work.

Check out my new look! I have been keeping up with some different bloggers through the adoption agency website and I just loved their backgrounds. I got a little creative and changed mine. I think it is super cute!

I plan on blogging more now because I feel like it will help me through this waiting time. So far waiting has not been that bad but I am very anxious. I really wonder everyday what God has in store for us. We know that he has our baby out there somewhere we just can't wait to see what he blesses us with. Everynight I pray for God to guide us through this process and to keep our birthmother safe and healthy. I always think that someone out there is carrying our child and I hope she is taking care of herself and the baby.

Also, I am super excited about my friend Angela who is preparing to have her first baby next Thursday. It is going to be a baby boy and his name will be Braeden Luke. We spoke last night and she is nervous and excited! She has been trying to have a baby for six years now and she is finally getting her little miracle. I am so excited for Scott and Angela and they are going to be wonderful parents!

Before I go, I have to share with everyone my latest purchases. I couldn't resist these super cute onsies and bibs. I found them at the beach this past week and figured they would be good for a boy or a girl. I finally feel like it is ok for me to buy baby things. Baby Pruitt could be here anyday!!!