Finding vs. Waiting....

Today was productive and proactive.  I went to several places and passed out adoption cards and it felt good. I'm not the kind to sit around and wait kinda person... I'm a doer.  I will admit that I had some funny reactions to the cards... mostly, people are just curious. It's funny, but in my area, adoption is still undiscussed to a certain extent. In fact, some consider adoption shameful and have no concept of what an open-adoption is...
What ya gonna do? :) I just explain it as simply as I can.  Adoption is love - pure and simple. We have more love to give. 
So I continue to research... ways of connecting with expectant mothers, etc... obviously, I am networking through my cards, but, I'm also relying on the web for outreach... It also helps me feel like I'm working toward a goal instead of waiting around... :) I found this definition of Wait vs. Find on another blog and thought I would share it here. 

WAIT
Waiting is passive. It is being idle and is extremely unfulfilling.

W: WHAT IF?
As we wait, we may stay in a constant state of "What if?" We may put off plans and not take full advantage of our present opportunities while we sit by the phone waiting for that important call.

A: ANXIOUS
As we wait we may get restless and uneasy. We may feel a lot of anxiety and worry about things over which we have no control.

I: INSECURE
As we wait we may feel insecure and doubt our capacity to parent. We may feel unworthy and have a sense of low self-esteem.

T: TENSE
As we wait the tension may grow. If we are not careful, contention can easily enter the home and we may begin to blame and easily hurt other's feelings.

FIND
Finding is active. It is being proactive in the search for your child. It is following the principle of doing all that we can and then relying on the Lord to help all things work together for our good.

F: FAITH
It takes faith to search for your child: faith in prayer that Heavenly Father will guide us and place us in the right places; faith through fasting that we will encounter the birth mother carrying our child; faith that the Lord will direct our paths and help us find our children.

I: INSPIRATION
The Spirit can inspire us to talk with those around us about our desire to adopt. As we listen to the prompting of the Spirit, we can be divinely guided in our efforts.

N: NETWORKING
It is beneficial to talk to everyone. Using every possible channel to get the word out can expand our voice and can increase the likelihood of finding our child.

D: DIVINE INTERVENTION
Once we have done all we can do, we can rely on the Lord to intervene on our behalf. It is only through Him that all things are possible. The Lord will direct our paths.

 

Loving Saturdays... in the winter. :)

Here it is... Saturday and I'm still in my pj's at noon. I love it.  Later this year, Saturdays will become my busy days...weddings and sessions to photograph, but, for now I can just enjoy being lazy. And I am.
I've been on the computer all morning. Checking out blogs, researching Independent adoption, playing on facebook... life is good.
Our MAPP classes are going well... we are learning so much about ourselves.  We've had a few contacts from potential birth mothers, but, nothing concrete. Time will tell. :) At least we know our networking is working... And meanwhile, we just keep praying and getting our house ready for a little one...

Speaking of getting the house ready... Marc and I have been painting. This is a project I've wanted to do since we moved in to the house last year. We have this knotty wood paneling throughout the downstairs and although I can appreciate it's beauty - I just have to lighten the place up. :) We started on our first room last week. Here are some step-by-step pics... I will update with a finished pic soon!

Yup. We have a long way to go... :) 3 more rooms after this.

So this is fun!

Marc and I have been working on our "homework" assignment from MAPP class.... we are filling out massive amounts of paper work, which is mostly questions about our life, childhood, etc...

 The fun part has been the Photo Book. We are supposed to gather photos of us, our kids, family, and home. As some of you know, Marc and I dated when we were 14... and so we've been including some of those photos too! I'm posting a few...too funny!

Our Wedding Day - October 12th, 2002

the boy's playroom... hopefully a baby room soon!

MAPP Classes

Marc and I took our first MAPP class last night to become certified as Foster - to - Adopt parents. We really enjoyed the experience. :) Marc was so talkative... I was laughing at him. He had so much to contribute and several of our questions were answered. I can't believe that we will be home study ready and certified by Feb! We can officially welcome an infant in to our home sooner than expected. Hoping and praying our birth mother is out there...