A LONG overdue Thanks

Look what came in the mail for me!!  My friend Bekah, who is also adopting from Ethiopia, sent me this great gift after hearing about our referral!  She is quite crafty, and has a LOT of talents.  She is currently #2 on the boy list with AGCI, but really she's #1 because the family above her has different parameters.  You can read about their adoption journey here.


I'm so excited to use these great burp cloths with my boys!  Its going to make spitting up SO much more glamorous and wonderful.  Thank you Bekah!!

More Sneak Peaks

Here are some more pictures from the mural!  I'm HOPING…. it is almost done.  It looks almost done to me, but Adrian is a perfectionist - which is why I LOVE this mural. So its hard to tell if he's almost done or not.

But from now on, I am only going to post little peaks until its all done.  Then I'll show the whole sha-bang, once its totally done.

So here are those peaks.  Some are new, but some are just my favorites :)

 

Sluiter Baby Shower!

 Yesterday my 2 sisters threw me a beautiful shower.   It was at Liz's house, and my aunts and lady cousins on my dad's side were there, as well as my mom, my step mom, and David's mom.

It was a "double-header" theme!  Each game had to do with "doubles" or "pairs" since I'm going to have a pair of boys :)  There was popcorn as a parting gift for everyone, and baseball theme all around.  It was so cute and so fun!  I had a great time, and got some wonderful gifts from some very important woman in my life.

It was so fun to imagine my boys in the sweet little outfits!

Thanks to my amazing sisters, and my amazing Sluiter family for such a GREAT day!!

Here is some of my sweet extended family.

Tiger's Swag...

Katie - explaining that you need to find your "pair" in the diaper bag.

Found mine ;)

Grandma Stefanich searching for her pair.

My Aunts - cheating at the game.

Sweet.  Soft. Cozy.  LOVE it.

Books :)  Mommy Hugs and Daddy Kisses.  Or maybe the other way around… 

Grandma Sluiter made a stocking for one of the boys!!  She's working on the other one :)

Check out her ridiculous handiwork!

She also made me a Moby/type wrap in an African animal pattern :)  Can't wait to figure it out!!

More Mural

Just a few updated pictures of the ongoing mural…  Looking so good :)

The Whole Thing….

UH - May - ZING sunset…  Or is it a sunrise?  

Love the pink :)

Whoa, Lions.  So cool.

Dave and I moved the changing table/dresser into the room already.  And It. Was. Challenging.  I'm not exactly the strongest person and we have this ridiculous staircase that turns a corner.  So that was awkward.  I was huffing and puffing away and took a break after each step.  Poor Dave was SUPER patient with me and my weakling arms.   

Cannot WAIT to put together some cribs in there.  We'll be bringing those up the steps in pieces, so my muscles will be much more useful.  And obviously I'll be the one putting the cribs together, so I'll use my mad skills then. :)

Dear September...

Dear September,

Please go fast.

You see.. you are just one of the months in the way of holding my boys.  And I need you to move along quickly.  August treated me well, and was gone before I knew it.  Please do the same.

And if you think of it.. forward this letter on to October as well.

Yours Truly,

My First Shower

I had my first Baby Shower!  The second my friend Alisha heard about our referral she was all over it.  Her daughter Paisley is the same age as my boys, so whether they like it or not, they'll be growing up together.  I joke with her that Paisley will have my boys fighting over her for a date.  But the truth of the matter is I'll probably never let them date. Ha!

Alisha did such a great job planning my shower!  She had so many fancy little decorations and ridiculously cute and yummy food.

Her daughter, Ruthie, was a great help too.  She helped her mom set up, and run the games too.  Thanks, Ruthie!

We played this game where we had to hold 2 babies (don't worry - they were stuffed bears.  No actual babies were harmed during the playing of this game), talk on the phone, and sort baby socks.  Pretty sure my fake babies were squished under my armpits… but I rocked those socks!

Speaking of rocking… look at the guitar on the booty of these little pants!  So cute!!  These are from Aunt Kate and cousin Eddie - who is a rockstar himself.  So he's a good role model for the boys. 

The boys also got some cute Tigers T-shirts… which Dad will L.O.V.E...

And my cousin Mindy made these Amazing Tigers hooded towels, with matching washcloths.  She is SO talented!!  These will also be a fan favorite at the Stefanich household.

In other handmade news, my friend Anne made these ridiculously cute onsies.  She hand sewed these super cute little somethings, and there is a really cute heart button sewed over Ethiopia.  I am going to be SO sad when they grow out of these, and I might have to hit Anne up for these in additional sizes.

Thanks to Aubrey for the super cute Bumbo.  Dave was really confused when I registered for these, but once he sees them in action, he'll love them :)  I already know of their greatness!

I got SO many more amazing gifts for the boys, and was so blessed by my friends and their company as well as their sweet gifts.  Thank you to everyone who came to my shower, and thanks to Alisha for throwing such a great party!

Our Court Date

Today my little boys are 4 months old.  I've already spent a month of my life dreaming about rocking them and loving them and cuddling them.

Over a month of wondering WHEN I would get to meet them.

Yesterday we found out the day we'd get to hold them.  :)  And I can't stop smiling.

I was at my aunt's cottage with 2 of my aunts and some of my cousins.  Dave was at work.  We were sitting around talking about (would you guess it?) my boys.  I just got done telling my aunt that I didn't expect to hear about a court date until the courts reopened in October.

Then my phone rang.

The weird thing is, if you call me frequently, you know that I am not the best at answering my phone.  I often hear it ring, but figure by the time I race through the house, or dig through my purse to answer it, I will have missed it anyway.

Yesterday my phone rang, and it wasn't even my regular ring.  It was a ring from over a year ago when we had a case worker 'T' during our paperwork stage.  Our regular caseworker is out of the office, so T is handling our case right now.  Weird that her number was still stored in my phone with a special ring tone.

It almost like I knew in my gut I had to get to it.  So I raced across the lawn and in the cottage to dig through my stuff and find my phone. Wouldn't you guess, I didn't make it.  But I did see T's name scroll across my phone just as I reached to answer it.

I called her right back.  She acted all nonchalant, like she was just checking in, because K was out, and then she added, "oh, and I have some good news for you too.  Do you have a minute to talk?"  She told me our court date was November 1.  We will need to be in Ethiopia by October 29.  I screamed like a teenager at a Bieber concert.  It was mildly embarrassing.  My aunts and cousins came running in, and  I started taking notes (and good thing I did, because I remember very little about the call).

And then I started crying.  Like the awkward, cover my face, can't control the tears, silent cry.  And I just answered T was some "mm-hmms" and "okays" that I squeaked out.  My poor family sat there trying to figure out what was going on, but being respectfully quiet.

So now we know.  By the end of October we'll hold our precious little boys. It seems like an ETERNITY away, but I'm hoping with school starting in a couple weeks, it will just fly by.  I have lots to do to keep my mind busy, and prepare for these cute little honeys.

Like for example, today, as I write this, I am staring out the window waiting for our cribs and changing table to be delivered.  And waiting for Adrian to drive up to work on the mural some more.  And then going into my classroom to prepare it for 23 wonderful first graders to come get their school on…

But no matter how busy I am, my mind is constantly on my boys.  So I have a huge sense of relief now knowing the day I get to meet them.

AHH!  I can't wait!!!

No More Numbers

This is the day that everyone seems to be getting new numbers.

And this is our first month without numbers.   *Sigh*

Its so weird to be done with that stage of our adoption.  So instead of imagining who my little ones might be, I actually get to swoon over cute pictures, and amazing little faces, and tiny bouncy seats and twinsy sets of cribs and sheets and pack-n-plays and teeny tiny socks.

Our cribs and changing table get her next week.  But I can't put them up until the mural is done :)  Which is looking WONDERFUL by the way!!  Here are some photos for your enjoyment…

Can't WAIT for it to be done so I can set up the cribs!!

Birthday Pie

To my sweet boys,

I make one peach pie a year.  You will love it.  I promise.  Because I am not amazing at baking many things, but I dominate a peach pie.  

Its your Grandpa Sluiter's birthday today.  And we'll celebrate it with you every August 9 with a peach pie.  Because he didn't ever want birthday cake on his birthday.  He wanted peach pie.  Ever since he was little.

This is just one of the many things I will teach you about your Grandpa.  And while you will never meet him in person, I know he's already watching over you while we wait to meet you.  Because that's what Grandpas do.  And I'm sure he's whispering naughty little things in your ears on how to drive your mommy crazy when you're little.  Because that is something THAT Grandpa would do.  He always had a smart mouth comment for everything, but you couldn't help but love him for it.  It sort of runs in the family.  I hope one of you sweet boys has a little bit of that spunk in you too.  If your Grandpa has anything to do with it, you both will.

And one day, if you tell me you want something besides birthday cake on your birthday, I'll learn how to make it.  And if you both want something different, I'll make both things.

Just like I did for your Grandpa.

*Happy birthday dad.  Miss you more than words can say.

AniMural

Its official.  The mural is underway.

Maybe you remember reading about the sketches, in this post.  We were blown away by our friend Adrian's talent.  But then he started on the actual wall.  And again… Dave and I?  Blown away.

He started by transferring his sketches.  To the wall.  They're huge.  And amazing.  And more than I every imagined they would be.

Now he has begun painting.  He's only just started, but you can already tell its going to be outstanding.  Each day he comes, a little more of the mural comes to life.  I'll keep posting as he goes… and I'm going to try to get some action shots while he's here… if he's not opposed to being online on the coolest blog ever.

Okay… enjoy some photos of the process so far.  I've taken 1 million, but I've only included a small portion here.  You will have to excuse the pictures that include me.  I was trying to show you the 'scale' of the animals.  So focus on that, and not my sweaty, fresh from the gym, self.  Thanks.

Blank Wall - pre Adrian

Can you see the light sketches?

My favorite elephant...

Why Hello, sweet Giraffe!

How about a little black paint?

Splash of color…   

My friend, Giraffe, with beautiful eyes. 

The Giraffe is smelling my sweaty hair. 

The wall.  Its going to be SO great. Large animals.  Amazing Art. 

Adrian will be back next week.  I'll snag some more pictures.  I try to give him some "artistic space" while he's here.  I shut the bedroom door, and keep the dogs away, and try not to bother him.  Then, the second he's done, I RACE up the stairs to check it out. And then I gush about how great it is.

Sometimes Dave and I just stand in there.  And try to imagine how we'll fit two cribs in the room without covering up something awesome on the wall.  But its a small room, so that might be impossible.  

Because Adrian is very talented.  And every part is amazing.  

So when Dave puts the cribs together - SCRATCH THAT - when I put the cribs together, I'll just have to work extra hard to honor those sweet animals the best I can.