Last Visit

Tomorrow afternoon is our final home study visit! I can't believe how fast the home study has moved. It is hard to believe that we will be a waiting family in the very near future.

Our adoption photo books arrived today. I was so afraid to look at one...in case I made a mistake. Michael unwrapped one and immediately said, "my name is spelled wrong". He was kidding, but I wasn't laughing.

We ordered a crib mattress yesterday. I've been doing so much research on mattresses. I ordered the Serta Nightstar Extra Firm Mattress. It had great reviews and we ordered it from Target so if we don't like it we can easily return it to the store. We also received a present from our neighbor, Sonia. She got us a Bouncer. I'm sure it will come in handy!

Less than 24 hours and our home study visits will be complete!

Home Sweet Home

Michael and I have enjoyed a wonderful week in Florida with my mom and step-dad. The weather was fabulous! We enjoyed the pool, beach, reading, relaxing, and shopping. Michael also enjoyed fishing, the dog track and checking out several MLB teams spring training sites. We visited some unique places like Lover's Key Beach (great shelling) and Matlacha, a small town on the water with unique shops and restaurants. We were sad to leave, but I'm always ready to come home after a week...just wish it was a little warmer here!

I enjoyed having some extra time to work on our adoption photo book and adoption photo video too. We ordered the book on Thursday...times 4. It killed me to buy 4 of the same book and spend so much money, but I know they are needed. I'm excited to share the adoption book, photo video, and birthmother letter with everyone soon!

Second Meeting Completed

Our individual meetings were today and they went great! I went to the office this morning and Michael went this afternoon. I feel like the social worker knows more about me than most of my friends. Let me tell you...there would probably be fewer babies being born in this world if every want to be parent had to go through a home study!

Our final meeting is on February 29th. We can't meet next week because Michael and I are headed to sunny Florida for a week of relaxation. Our school district has a mid winter break this year. Love it! Anyway, she seems to think that the home study will be complete and we should be a "waiting" family by March 6th!!!! I can't believe how quickly this is moving!

Busy Weekend

This past weekend was all about adoption! I, Michael helped a little, wrote the Dear Birthmother letter this weekend. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be...I just needed to sit and make myself do it. I will share it once our home study is complete and it is posted on the agency's website. I also worked on our picture video/slideshow. I have a lot more work to do on that, but I figure I will do a little bit at a time. We also went shopping for a glider. We found a glider that we really liked...it is more of a cushioned chair, but we aren't sure if it will fit in our nursery with the other furniture. Oh, I forgot to blog about the dresser/hutch we are getting. One of my friends/coworkers wanted to get rid of the dresser that she had in her little boy's room so I went and looked at it and it will fit perfectly!! It will be our dresser/changing table.

The second part of our home study is on Thursday. I will go to the agency's office on Thursday morning and Michael will go on Thursday afternoon. Hopefully our stories match! ;)

First Visit Completed

The first home visit went very well!! I'm not sure why I was so nervous! She was here for about two hours. We sat on the couch and talked for most of it, she took a tour of the house, and we scheduled our next visits. (Aunt Patti, she did ask about the fire extinguisher, but it isn't a requirement in SC for adoption. :)...thanks for the advice.) Michael and I will go to her office separately next week and at the end of the month she will come back to our house for a visit. She thinks the home study should be completely done by the middle of March...in our world of waiting that is no time at all!! Yay!!!! Now I feel like we have so much to do...we really need to write the Dear Birthmother Letter and finish our adoption book!!! I've been more excited and happy this week than I have been in a while!!!!!

Less than 24 Hours

In less than 24 hours we will have completed our first home study visit. I'm nervous and excited! I'm not sure what she will ask or want to see, but we are as ready as we will ever be. I pray everything goes smoothly tomorrow, and we can schedule the next visit soon!

Happy Anniversary!

Six years ago today at 4:00pm I became Mrs. Michael Rataiczak. I wish we were in St. Lucia celebrating, but I guess Columbia will have to do. :) Happy Anniversary to the love of my life!!! I can't imagine life without you!

Our gorgeous day!

The love of my life!

Finished Tree

The tree is complete! We came up with the idea by looking at different vinyl decals for nurseries, but we didn't want to spend $150-$200. Our version cost around $20. The leaves, birds, and owls I made from scrap book paper that I bought on clearance at Michaels. I was able to find the leaf, owl, and bird template online...with a little tweaking. The paint was the most expensive...$15 and Micheal didn't even use half of it.We are very pleased with the final product! :)

Busy Day

The first home study visit will be Thursday at 1:00pm. We have spent a portion of today cleaning. Our house is pretty clean most of the time, but I cleaned a little more than usual. Michael even pitched in, and he hates to clean! He even vacuumed the steps. We also had long phone interviews for the life insurance we just applied for. I feel like I keep giving people personal information...which is only going to continue during the home study visits. I also finished up the tree! I LOVE it! I will post pictures of it tomorrow. After a busy day we are headed to Bonefish for our anniversary (on Tuesday) dinner. We were going to go out of town for the weekend, but when the home study call came...we decided it would be much wiser to use the gift cards we have for Bonefish. :)

Lunch Quote

We ordered lunch today because it was a half day for the students. The place we ordered from always puts quotes in their napkins. My quote was....

Written goals have a way of transforming wishes into wants; can'ts into cans; Dreams into plans; and plans into reality. Don't just think it-ink it!  - Dan Zadra

This quote was perfect for me. I don't ink it, but I do type it. :)