GREAT NEWS!!!

I want to say something profound and deep, but all I can think is AHHHHH, YAY and WAAAAAHOOOOOOOO! My mind is going a million miles an hour, this is incredible. Oh, you don't even know what yet, hahaha, WE GOT OUR TRAVEL APPROVAL today!

Our agency is trying to get a Consulate appointment for June 29th or 30th. If we get either of those dates we will be leaving on June 17th. There is a chance that Xander will be ours forever on June 20th, Father's Day! How cool is that?

We may not get our confirmed travel dates for another week, but I will be sure to let you know!

I need to go do some more celebrating, cheering and Praising God!

Stuff on the walls

So, we made a little more progress on Xan's room. I got a bedskirt, boring, but needed to be done. We also hung a few things on the walls. It's still not done...but, the way things are going, we have plenty of time *sigh*.

Xander wasn't necessarily named after Shaun Alexander, but once Kevin realized that Xander was short for Alexander he liked it a little more. We are very wary of "idolizing" athletes. We are huge sports fans, but athletes in general tend to be, well, not who you want your kids to look up to. However, Shaun Alexander is different. He is Kevin's favorite athlete, maybe of all time, and so we have no problem if our Xander wants to imitate him.

Here are the curtains, not real exciting. The window treatment goes so high that we had to take the curtains all the way to the ceiling. Unfortunately, they are a bit short, and look a little funny, but we are going to get some tie backs so it frames the window a little better when they are open. We wouldn't have put anything up, but it is really bright during the day, so to help with naptime we are trying to make the room dark.

This is my favorite part of his room right now. My "sister," Amy Coontz, made these fabulous accessories for Xander's room. When I read that quote I knew it needed to be in Xander's room, there is nothing that could describe him better. The framed X on the dresser is also by her! Macey has one and I have given one as a gift, I just love them. The piggy bank is decorated like a football, good for his room and good for Texas. For those of you who followed the other blog (when it was about our journey to adopt a little girl) might remember when I did "Cute Item of the Month." I began shopping years ago and would highlight a cute item purchased for our child. Well, the very first item I purchased was two lamps, white lamps with really cool black and white shades. Since they were quite girly, they would not work for a boy, but with a new lamp shade it worked out perfectly!

My verse for this week has been Philippians 4:6,7. I have heard it 1,000 times, but it took on a whole new meaning. "Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

"...the peace of God that surpasses all understanding..."

Progress!

We have made huge progress on Xander's room! Last weekend we took big sister to Auntie Seana and Uncle Jason's for a few hours and we got to work. We had a lot of shuffling to do. Some stuff came out of the garage, some stuff came out of Macey's room, some stuff went back into the garage...shew! We are SO happy with the result. Check it out!

The main feature! The cool bedspread, bright green pillows from Nana Charlotte and panda bear from Aunt Stephanie.

This is the view from the doorway looking slightly right.

And this is from the foot of the bed looking left.

Kevin said he is just going to move into Xander's room! We still need a few things and obviously nothing is on the walls. Hopefully next weekend we'll tackle that task and I'll post again!

Just so you know still no TA, still no date, but there is still a sweet boy waiting in China, and we are still extremely excited to bring him home!

18 months and some blue paint

Xander is 18 months old today! Happy 1 1/2 years, buddy! Forgive me for being a little weepy, but it was a tough day. I told you before, I had always hoped to be with him when he turned 18 months old, so the reality of today stung a little. What's the significance of 18 months, you ask? I'm not sure I have an answer. The only thing I can come up with is that we completely missed his 1st birthday, we didn't even know of him until he was 13 months old, so in my mind 18 months is the next "big" number. I kinda feel like 18 months is a transition from baby to toddler, so we are missing that too.

Anyway, this wasn't to be sad, just a recognition that our little man is 18 months old today!!!

I finally put some paint on the walls in his room. I love to paint, I really do. I have literally painted every wall in our house, minus the closets, and if I think about it too long I just might paint those too. I am a firm believer in trying something bold and if you don't like it, paint over it. With that in mind, I buy cheap, Wal-Mart paint so I don't feel bad if I have to do it again. This time, however, I was painting over yellow paint, it's not very bright, but the blue we chose wasn't very dark so I wasn't sure how it would cover. I knew I didn't want to have to paint too many layers so I bought good paint. Can I tell you, it is worth EVERY extra penny! Wow! It's thick and covers in one stroke of the roller. I completed one wall and almost a second. I chose to start with the walls that had the most trim work to get them out of the way, so I have the easy walls left. Here's a sneak peak.

It's hard to tell the exact color, but this is what we call Seahawk steel blue!

By the end of the week all the walls will be painted, I'll post some more when it is finished.