New Clothes From Old-a Cheap Mom!

I've always been cheap. So, now that I've discovered remaking clothes to fit Ana, I'm having lots of fun. What makes it great is that you're not spending any money, but still making some cute things. The grey skirt was from a t-shirt of Matt's. I didn't have instructions for this one, but saw something like it and gave it a try. The striped skirt was a stretched out polo of Matt's. I did this off a website. The dress was a shirt of mine that I haven't worn in a while. It turned out a little long, but I really like how the back looks!

So--all you out there with old t-shirts. Don't throw them away. Give them to me!!

A Shocker

The GOOD news is that we got our court date today.

The SHOCKING news is that it isn't until OCTOBER 7. The courts suddenly decided to close from August 21-October 6.

Like I said before... adoption is a lesson in patience.

We should be traveling around October 27 then!! We'll let you know Christmas travel dates soon. I'll put an e-mail into the travel agency tomorrow!

You Have to Smile When...

-your toddler claps and says and enthusiastic "Good Job" when YOU go potty!
-you have crisp waffles, cinnamon apples, and toasted pecans for supper.
-you get everything accomplished on your list.
-you remember to be THANKFUL for your MANY blessings!

A Book Recommendation

Raising Kids for True Greatness by Dr. Tim Kimmel

The first few chapters of this book were really challenging to me. It really helped me to take a look at what I view success as. We're not into money--obviously with the vocation we've chosen, BUT education is a high priority. This book encourages one to look at success as building strong character in your child--humility, grace, service, etc.

I think it's a great read and highly recommend it. I have a copy if you want to borrow it!

It's Been Filed

Our dossier has been filed and our case was officially opened in Addis Ababa. Too bad the judge wasn't there--but we should get our court date sometime this week. Now we're working on seeing if we can do the immigration stuff in Singapore--his visa is only good for three months.

Adoption is a lesson in patience.

The Picture Says It All

Yep, we've been potty training. I must say she's doing quite well. I should have done this a long time ago, but my big motivation is that I don't want to have two in diapers! Matt says she'll hate me for taking all these pictures!!

New Outfit, Beads, and Bahailu's Quilt

I've had this shirt done for quite a while, but put off making the skirt because I wanted to piece Bahailu's quilt. I've been having fun quilting it at night--takes no thought and is rather relaxing. Anyway, I just finished the skirt today. It was probably the hardest thing I've sewn so far, but turned our to be really cute. I already had this material, but can't wait to try it again with some nicer colors! I'm thinking about trying to make her baby a matching dress. This outfit should fit for a while--so why not??

Ana is really into beads. She uses these big ones as well as the smaller ones. I was very proud of her on this day because she got so many on in one sitting!

Bahailu's quilt is really simple, but I like how it turned out! I'm probably 1/3 of the way through quilting--so should be no problem to finish it before we go to pick him up.