All posts by Molly

First Adoption

Bye-bye, Quinn

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We found out today that we won’t be adopting Quinn. I am not so sad as much as disappointed and uncertain about our next step. He is going into foster care in his country, so I hope that he can find a good family there. At least being in foster care will be better than an orphanage for him.

I am glad that this happened so early in our adoption process. We can choose another child if we’d like. I am not sure what we’re going to do… none of the boys are currently “jumping out” at me, but Andrea is adding more children to the website today.

It took me by surprise, not the idea of being in the process of adopting and then finding out that we will not be bringing that child home, but that it was Quinn. I expected Erika to the the one who would get adopted elsewhere. Because she is younger and a girl. I did get a new photo of her today. She looks so much older to me!

Adoption

Ransom

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I mentioned that Storing Up Treasures was one of my favorite blogs. Right now, Courtney is trying to do something amazing for 26+ children and 26 families. She is trying to raise $10,000 in 20 days for 26 families who are adopting. Would you consider donating?

This is something that I read on Courtney’s blog that has put the idea of donating to adoption in perspective for me…

“A wise person once told us as we were lamenting the cost that we were not “buying children”, that we could not look at it that way. We had to look at the cost of adoption as “ransom.” Think about it. Anyone of us would give up everything we had if one of our children currently in our home were held for ransom. We would pay whatever it took. Family would join in, friends would join in, strangers would line up to help. No one would think “well that kid deserves being held for ransom because of XYZ” … the thought is terrifying.

Look at adoption costs the same way. You are potentially stealing the future away from these children. But in a good way. There is a child being born in the US right now who needs a family so they do not grow up without hope! There is a child living in an orphanage where they share a 10×12 room with 15 other children at night who needs your help! There is an HIV positive child in a far away land who if they could only make it to the US would live a long and happy life because of all the breakthrough medicine. There is an older child that once they are aged out of the system will surely be forced into prostitution! Pay the ransom for these children, please … I humbly beg of you.”

I know that I was fortunate to grow up in the United States in a really awesome family. But, I don’t think that it is fair of me to go about living my life ignoring the fact that there are children in this world who starve because they don’t have food or die of manageable diseases. Or even just live in an orphanage and never get to know the love of a family.

Everyday Life

Who Are We

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I realized that I never really introduced Aaron and me(Molly), because I never really thought that too many people besides my mother would read this. But, I have noticed that we have 11 followers and my mother only has two email addresses. I am going to give you a brief summary of Aaron and I, in case you don’t know us. If I don’t know you, I’d love it if you would introduce yourself in the comments.

Aaron is my husband, of course. He is a “construction materials testing technician”. Which is a really long job title which means that he keeps buildings from falling over. By testing concrete and looking at building plans, etc. For fun, Aaron likes working out in the yard, hiking, geocaching, mountain biking, camping, basically anything that means being outdoors! I think that the first word that most people would use to describe Aaron would be quiet (he is very quiet!); other good adjectives for him are sweet, hardworking, patient,  and active.

That photo is from our honeymoon. It is Glacier National Park, which is one of the many places that we went to on our honeymoon.

Aaron and I are largely opposites. I just graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in Classical Antiquity, which I will probably never use! I have my own business, the Paper Hat, where I design and print custom napkins for weddings, birthday parties, etc. It is really a lot of fun. If I ever get an opportunity for free time, my first instinct is to take a nap, but I also love taking our dogs hiking, playing any kind of board game which involves trivia or words, traveling, reading, and picnics.

This is also from our honeymoon, also from Glacier NP… we went to so many other parks, but we had actually showered on the first day of being in Glacier.

Aaron and I live in Lawrence, Kansas, home of the Jayhawks. While it is our home now, neither of us grew up in Kansas… Aaron is from Missouri and I am from Pennsylvania. We love Kansas because of the open spaces. We have three dogs, weimaraners. I am a crazy dog person. All three of our dogs, despite their high energy levels, are great with everyone. They are all from a weimaraner rescue, Heartland Weim Rescue, which is a really fantastic organization if you live in the Midwest and want to adopt a weimaraner (see my crazy dog person side coming out?).

Is there anything else that you want to know about us?

Our House

Erika & Quinn’s Room

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This does not relate to our adoption process, but I wanted to share it since we just closed on our house yesterday! We are slowly moving in. One of the things I have been thinking about is the room which will be Erika and Quinn’s. We planned this out as we prepared to move in. I am nervous that they will end up not coming home, and I sort of feel that planning out their room before we even complete our home study is “putting the cart before the horse”. But,  I can’t help having ideas. We don’t know Erika and Quinn at all, beyond their photos and description, so basically, I am dreaming up a totally awesome room for a 2-5 year old boy or girl. Good plan?

We chose this room for a very specific reason. Not proximity to the bathroom or master bedroom… or the great natural light… No, we chose it because of the odd doorway to the small closet-like space. Seems totally weird?

A few months ago, I saw a photo of a hidden playroom– someone had a space like this and they cut a hole in the back of an armoire and used that as a “door” to the playroom.

Doesn’t it just scream… Narnia??? I think our space is probably smaller, but oh well… I know when I was younger, I loved secret places and forts.  If they don’t like it, it would still be a convenient place to toss all of the toys when someone is coming over!

There are a lot of other things that I’d love to incorporate in their room…  my some of my all time favorite fabrics are the sock monkey fabrics by Moda. I would love to base the rest of their room around those fabrics.

I think that it will be aqua and red– which sounds like a hideous color combination, but it is actually super cute.

A less feminine and more kid-friendly version of this… I just love the barely blue walls with the bright red curtains.

So is it totally crazy that we are already planning this out? It’s not like we have started buying things for their room, but I love to be thinking about these things.

Adoption

My Favorite Blogs

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There have been a lot of blogs from families who have adopted which have really encouraged us to adopt! If you are considering adoption, want to learn more about what day-to-day life is like with an adopted child or just enjoy reading other people’s blogs, I recommend checking them out.

One of the first blogs I ever started reading regularly was Smiles and Trials. Christine and her husband have adopted 6 children, have 6 biological children and are in the process of adopting again. They truly have hearts for adoption. They seem like such a cool family. I have emailed Christine a few times and she has been so encouraging! I enjoy reading her blog because she has adopted recently, but also a few years ago. It is neat to read some of her older blog entries and see how her children have progressed the long that they have been home. Christine also blogged through most of the adoption of their son Dennis, so that is great reading material for understanding the process… Dennis’ adoption blog is The Ukraine Train.

The Stumbo Family recently adopted a little girl, I believe from Ukraine. I enjoy reading their story because the Stumbos keep it real! They are very honest about the ups and downs of having Nina home. I don’t think that they have had Nina home for too long and I know that the first several months of bringing a child home is the hardest. It is nice to see the bad with the good, if only to be aware that this will not be an easy journey!

Storing Up Treasures is the blog of another large family. Both biological and adopted children. Courtney puts it all out there on her blog as well. She admits her struggles, with her son’s attachment issues, her awareness that she and her family will never “fit in”, not being able to deal with puke, etc. I loved her blog within the first five minutes of reading it and passed it on to my sister, who instantly loved it too. Can I also confess that I don’t really care that she is 10 years older than me… I’d love to be her friend?

The Hosford Family adopted Victoria about six months ago. I have enjoyed reading their story about bringing her home and how she fits into their family. Jaime, Victoria’s mom, has also been really fantastic about answering my questions. She is very awesome!

So, these are my favorite adoption blogs… you know I read tons of blogs, so if you need craft blogs or home decorating blogs or whatever, let me know…