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Over the past couple weeks, Bryan and I have been blessed to be part of an adventure that will hopefully end in the adoption of two young people that have been "children of our hearts" since last summer. Within weeks of having our ninth little one, we will be blessed to be the parents of eleven! Sounds unreal, even to us!
Here's the timeline of how this has come about:
June 2011 - We were given information on a boy and girl that might be available for adoption. For much of last summer we pictured these children becoming part of our family.
Fall 2011 - Communication on the siblings dwindled to nothing. I assumed the plan had changed and they were no longer available. But we had a new pregnancy to focus on!
Fast forward to March 2, 2012 - I get a call from my adoption worker saying that the case worker for these children was anxious to interview us as soon as possible. We inform her we are interested, but that we are pregnant: a scenario our home study said would impact our ability to adopt.
March 8 - During the interview, God's hand in the process and timeline becomes very apparent to all of us. When the children were asked in what type of home would they like live, the girl answered she hoped they would have a baby. The interview went fabulously and the review team voted unanimously to match us with the children.
March 14 - The case workers told the children about us and showed them our scrapbook. The girl said, "I would be blessed to be part of this family."
March 16 - We met them in person for the first time. I can't remember ever being so nervous. It went great!
March 18 - We introduced them to the whole family at a park. We started counting to ten when counting noses.
March 24 - The children were able to spend the day here at the farm and see our house.
Moving forward, we'll have more visits during their Spring Break and on weekends. Shortly after they wrap up their school year at the end of May, they'll be joining our family forever!
It's only been a couple weeks, but we feel these children have been in our lives forever! I guess God knew that all along!
We're enjoying a cozy jammie morning after a busy weekend. I love homeschooling!
We received our official delivery date this past week. Baby Stumpf will be born around 8am on May 10th. Bryan really won that round with the doctor who was looking at 1-3 weeks before that date. He has an important meeting on May 7th, so he convinced the doctor to delay it.
Would I be out of line to insist on supreme pampering at the end for having to carry this child a week or so longer? Actually, Bryan treats me like a queen much of the time, so I think I'll be fine (huge, but fine!)
This week we will be enjoying:
Monday - Apple Kielbasa Coins, Florentine Crepe Cups
Tuesday (Mock Math Tournament, Bryan night meeting, Horse Judging) - Waffles, Fruit Syrup, Sausage
Wednesday (AWANA) - Corn Dogs, Chips
Thursday (Boy Dr. Appointments, Karate) - Black Beans & Smoked Sausage over Rice
Friday (Homeschool Convention!) - Stumpf Chili, Cornbread
Saturday (Homeschool Convention!) - Hamburgers, Potato Wedges
Breakfast menu is here; lunch menu is here.
Nothing is safe around here. I'm in super-nesting mode. Today the laundry room and mud room submitted to the the organizing tornado. I had the children clean under one of the couches while I read to them this evening (in my defense, there were more papers under there than a filing cabinet!). I even put ripped books back together with packing tape.
We've got a busy week and weekend coming up. Par for the course for this time of year!
This week we will be enjoying:
Monday (Bryan Night Meeting) - Black Bean Quesadillas, Skillet Corn
Tuesday (Mom's Meeting, Horse Judging) - Hashbrown Casserole, Peach Cobbler
Wednesday (AWANA) - Chicken Nuggets, Popcorn
Thursday (Karate) - Tomato Soup, Grilled Cheese
Friday - Greek Ham Wraps, Micro-Roasted Potatoes
Saturday (Awana Grand Prix, Horse Judging Contest, 4-H Aerospace) - Grilled Pizza Sandwiches, Salad
Breakfast menu is here; lunch menu is here.
Tonight we enjoyed one of the children's favorite dinners - Brinner! Breakfast for dinner. A couple of my dinner chefs pick it every time it's their turn to cook.
For a special treat, we enjoy making fruit syrup for our pancakes and waffles. (Be sure to try the Homemade Pancake Mix. Double the oil amount for waffles.) This fruit syrup can also be used as jam if you refrigerate it.
Microwave Fruit Syrup
1.5 Cups fresh or frozen fruit (strawberry is our favorite)
1/4 Cup White Sugar
Mix fruit and sugar together in a microwave safe container (at least 6-cup capacity). Microwave on High for 6 minutes, stirring half-way through. Mash fruit to desired consistency (I love using the Pampered Chef Twist & Chop for this!). Enjoy it warm.
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