spring cleaning

Happy first day of Spring!  Kind of hard to tell around here. Remember last year? People were getting sunburns and out planting their gardens by this time. Crazy.

Along with spring comes spring cleaning! For me, that means some deep cleaning...like pulling out all the appliances and sweeping up the Cheerios, crumbs, and nastiness that managed to sneak its way under there. Dusting the top of our 1 ceiling fan, cleaning the tops of the kitchen cabinets, cleaning windows, and maybe even reorganizing a closet or two. And the garage. And the basement.

 

It also means getting rid of our junk and clutter that has built up over the winter or over our last move or over the last 20 years... 
Getting rid of clothes the kids have outgrown or toys they don't need after making a haul at Grandpa and Grandma's during Christmas. Maybe we read the book "7" by Jen Hatmaker and are inspired to give away a bunch of STUFF that is just taking up space or collecting dust and maybe someone else can use it. If you are anything like us, you have one of those extra deep closets and you have no clue what's in the back of it. So why keep it? (I ask myself)

 

Well I just might have an idea for you! This summer we will be having a rummage, garage, yard sale. SO, if you are one of those people that do have a few things lying around you would like to donate (get rid of), we would be happy to accept your donations (stuff, furniture, clutter, etc).

 

Tea Pot Days are the weekend of June 14-15. We are planning on having a second rummage sale that weekend. We have found a gracious host for the Kingswood Rummages in Sioux Falls the end of April. See that post HERE.

Our sale hours will be:
Thursday, April 25th: 9 am to 8 pm
Friday, April 26th: 9 am to 8 pm
Saturday, April 27th: 9 am to 1 pm


How to donate:

I can pick up your small items/bags, just send me an email. (jessicarwaltner@gmail.com)

You can bring your large and small items to our house any time and we will store them in our garage.

You can bring your small items/bags to church and drop them off in Trav's office (please label your bag RUMMAGE).

If you have any large items or furniture, I will plan on borrowing a pick-up for a week or so and can come get those items at some point.

If you would be willing to volunteer your time in the weeks before and the weekends of the sales, we could use extra hands pricing items, setting up tables, and bargaining with shoppers.

check it

We finally have our home study visits scheduled! The first in the series of four will be this Friday afternoon on March 15th at our house. 

Here is the checklist of all the paperwork we had to complete before we started the home study. 

The FBI fingerprints/background checks were what kept us waiting to begin the home study, as they take about 8 weeks to process. Not to mention one of our personal references...but they will remain nameless. :)  

I have to admit I loved putting a check mark in front of each form as it was completed. Sometimes when I make my to-do list on an especially productive day at home I will add things that I have already done just so I can check them off! I am so cool.

This is our adoption binder to help keep us organized through this process. So far I have made copies of all of our paper work and keep it in the binder in case we would ever need to refer back to it. Our agency also keeps several copies on file for us. I have also put all of our training resources and handouts from classes in here along with random things like maps of Uganda. 

For our finances, I started making a list of "money in" and "money out" on the back of a piece of scrap paper. Travis assured me that was lame and was quick to make me an Excel spreadsheet with the proper "credit" and "debit" columns. It took him about 2 minutes to set it up and it's probably one of his top 5 favorite things to do. Being married to a nerd has it's perks I guess. ;) 

I have put a few of these notelets around the house to remind me of God's provision and faithfulness and to hopefully help me to memorize some verses.

One of the two verses by my nightstand, and no the other one isn't from Song of Songs. ;)

A couple other verses are in our kitchen and on the bathroom mirror. 

Be still, and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; Wait for the Lord! Psalm 27:14

blankets

bringing.blankets.home. INVENTORY

 Blanket Inventory:

Since I have had several requests for people to "take a look" at the baby blankets, I have decided to post pictures of all the blankets I have left. At the end of the post, I also took pictures of fabrics I have paired together that will be sewn into blankets. If you like one of the fabric pairs, just let me know and I will make that blanket next! When I sell a blanket/receive a donation, I will take that picture down. :)

Click HERE for the original baby blanket adoption fundraiser post with details.

The Flannel Swaddler:

multicolored animals: orange/white chevron (boy)

green/gray birds and trees: black/white birds (neutral)

purple paisley: purple/white checker (girl)

pastel green/orange/gray/brown animal: green (boy)

 gray/red/white/turquoise bike: turquoise (boy or neutral)

The Baby Minky:

pink/green/yellow park: brown minky (girl)

  

pink/white flowers: brown minky (girl)

Blankets To-Be:

I also have some fleece to make a couple of child-size fleece tie blankets if anyone is interested.  My boys have a couple of these and they are great for naps, winter car rides or sleep-overs! Super-warm!

yellow/pink/orange owls: black/white dots

jessicarwaltner@gmail.com

book worm

Just a little recap on what we've been up to lately. We have been doing a lot of reading, online classes, and other things to help prepare us for this adoption. I'll share some of the things that have been keeping me busy. 

I recently read these 2 books:

Adopted for Life focuses on the Bible's perspective on adopted and how we as Christians are all adopted in to God's family. The author also shares his story of adopting two little boys from Russia. A very solid book!

Travis and I recently rented this movie: Somewhere Between

 

This awesome documentary tells the stories of 4 girls from 4 different families who were adopted from China and currently live in the United States. You can see the trailer here. It's pretty emotional at parts but SO good. I will definitely be purchasing this DVD and making my family watch it with us again. Sorry family. ;)

Voddie Bauchman Adoption Sermon

Friends of ours, whom I have mentioned before, recommended this sermon about adoption. This is the second thing I have "stolen" from Becca's blog but I don't think she will mind me sharing. Sit down with a cup of coffee or cocoa and get comfy because this hour-long message is definitely worth your time! 

One of our training requirements was to complete 10 hours of online classes through Adoption Learning Partners. The classes that Travis and I did are as follows: 

Adopting the Older Child

Conspicuous Families

Finding the Missing Pieces: Helped Adopted Children Cope with Grief and Loss

The Journey of Attachment

Medical Issues in International Adoption

I thought all the classes were really interesting and helpful. Some of the information was review from our other training. But it never hurts to hear something twice. 

A few other books I have read or am in the process of reading over the last few months: (I do have a bad habit of starting several books at once)

Did I mention I am also in a book club that meets once a month? I think we are meeting next week and I haven't even gotten the book yet. But our book this month is about a failed abortion that lead to an adoption and based on a true story. Sounds like a tear-jerker and something right up my alley!  

Well that about does it. But of course all these books pale in comparison to my Bible. Even though a lot of the books I have read stem from the Bible, they can never replace time in the Word, time spent with God. 

I should also mention that I have been sewing more baby blankets if you are interested. Click here for more information. If you would like to see some of the new designs, just ask!