The Queen B

The Queen Is Green

Guess where The King is this week?

Yep.  

I'm totally and completely jealous.

Totally.

And.

Completely.

The King and his dad have gone back to Guatemala to help the Carney's finish up their home.

The King's dad hasn't been before.

I'd say he's hooked.

So that La Princesa doesn't forget that The Princess and I exist...ahem...I sent her a photo album filled with my our pictures. 

(I even included the pets.)

The King said she grabbed it and ran.

He said she immediately pointed to my picture and said, "Mi mama".

(Of course, she pointed to his and The Princess' pictures, too.)

(But this blog is about me.)

She cried when he had to go work on the construction stuff.  He said she just wanted him to hold her.  

Thankfully, they were able to end the day with smiles and hugs.

And now you have all of the information that I have.

Remember how The King was a bit stingy with The Tales Of La Princesa on his last trip?

DEJA VU.

Remember how you all had to gently persuade him to fill my cup to overflowing?

GET ON IT.

***

In all, there are 8 guys that are spending this week finishing the construction. Their move is fast approaching.

The Carney's had a garage sale last weekend and sold all of their worldly possessions.

All of them.

I don't know if I would have that much faith.

I would want to store my stuff.  You know, just in case it didn't work out like I'd hoped.

They sold it all.

The money that they made from the sale is what they'll start over with in Guatemala. 

Dishes.  Towels.  Spoons.  Sheets.  Clocks.  Spatulas.  

They can only take what fits in a few suitcases.  

(That would be, like, my beauty products and a few outfits.)

God has taught me so much through their example.

I encourage you to follow their journey.  

I know that I've turned The Journey To Guatemala into our story about La Princesa. I cannot forget the reason The King forced me there in the first place, though.  

It was to help our friends.

They are moving on June 20.  

They don't have their monthly financial needs covered.

They're still going.

Pray for them.  Their 4 boys are leaving all that is familiar.  They are leaving jobs and friends and family.

They are being obedient.

They are serving.

I am so excited to see what God has planned for them.

All Sorts Of Things

Hello.

Sorry I bailed on most of the blogging last week.

I cannot thank you enough for your sweet response to The Princess' La Princesa bracelets.

Guess how many we have to mail?

92.

For real.

Isn't that awesome?

92 people praying for La Princesa's adoption.

I am overwhelmed with gratitude.

The Princess is overwhelmed with string.

Seriously.  

But she's had such a sweet attitude about it.

I haven't heard her complain at all.

Not once.

I asked her if she regretted us mentioning the bracelets, and she immediately said no.  She is thrilled that people would be willing to pray for La Princesa.

Won't that be a cool thing to tell La Princesa when she's older?

So if you've requested a bracelet...please be patient.  We're hoping to get them all out by the end of the week.

Y'all rock.

***

Yesterday, I made the mistake of going to the grocery store while hungry.

The result?

Really?  

S'mores Ice Cream Sandwiches?

Yes.  Really.

When The King came home, I showed him my purchase.

He immediately tore into one and said, "That's weird.  I kind of taste marshmallow".

  

Really?

Yes.  Really.

***

Wanna see something sweet?

Last week, one of the missionaries at Casa sent us a new picture of La Princesa.

She pulled our picture from her pillow and showed it to him.

I know.  

Breaks my heart to pieces.

Off to braid more string...

We Love Summer

The Princess was filling out one of those All About Me books last night when she came upon the question, "List three words that describe you".

She read the question to me and said, "Well.  I think I might start with Intelligent".

Then, I kid you not, she asked, "How do you spell that?"

Summer is SO already here.

***

Several of you asked about The Princess' La Princesa bracelets.  

(Say THAT 3 times.)

The Princess and I decided that we need all the prayer we can get, so she agreed to send a bracelet to anyone that would like to wear one and pray for La Princesa's adoption. 

No pressure.  We totally understand if you were just saying it to be nice.

Each bracelet has a strand of light pink string mixed with several other colors.  

I'm not sure if I shared the story of La Princesa's favorite color with you...when we asked her what her favorite color was, she quickly replied, "Light pink.  NOT DARK PINK.  Light pink."

So we used light pink string.  NOT DARK PINK.  Light pink.

Just email me your info and we'll send one your way.

Really, though.  NO PRESSURE.

PRESSURE FREAKS ME OUT.

Adoption Update

Many of y'all have been so kind to email and ask how the adoption is progressing.

Thank you.    

I've had to really process all that I've learned.  I don't share this lightly.  It is incredibly personal and important and precious to us.  

A part of me wants to keep it private and off of the blog.  But a bigger part of me knows that God has placed me in this situation with the ultimate goal being to bring Him glory.

I didn't hesitate to share the fear of traveling to Guatemala.  I was thrilled to share the life-changing blessings that we received while there.

I don't think now would be the time to shut my pie hole.

God has taught me so much through you.  Wisdom and encouragement and understanding...things that I'm just beginning to need.

And just maybe God can speak to one of you through our story.

(There's a teensy part of me that is dying to say, "Don't make me regret telling you all of this stuff".)

Hang with me as I attempt to describe our present situation.

The short answer to the "how's the adoption going" question is:  Sloooowllllyy.

I had such high hopes of The King returning from Guatemala with fantastic news of a quick adoption.  Even though my brain knew it wasn't likely, my heart hoped that it was possible.

God did such an amazing thing in placing La Princesa in our hearts.  I sort of thought His next step might be to quickly bring her home.

The news that The King returned home with wasn't bad.  

It wasn't great.  

It was hopeful.  

It was disappointing.

I'll try to make it quick and simple.

Guatemala is currently closed to new adoption applicants.  There is a new governmental agency (CNA) that will be handling all future adoptions.  The old agency (PGN) was apparently corrupt and slow and horrible.  

CNA won't take any new applicants until they process all of the adoptions that PGN didn't complete.  

Which is a really good thing for the families that have been waiting for so long for their kids.

Another thing that CNA is changing is the ability for parents to "shop" for their kids. There won't be any choosing who you adopt.  You get the next one on the list.

I understand the theory behind that, but that is not good for us.

Thankfully, in special cases, CNA has indicated that they will make exceptions.

Special cases would primarily be a financial or relational bond that can be proven.

Here's the deal.

La Princesa is currently not "adoptable".  If we have her declared "adoptable" by the courts before we have an undeniable claim that we are a special case, she could be sent to another family.

In order to prove our bond with her, we have to take on some of her monthly financial needs.  We have to make frequent trips to see her and take lots of pictures.  We have to hang onto every plane ticket and email.

And here's the big one:  Because of her medical needs, we need to bring her here on a medical visa.  She needs at least one major surgery.  There's nothing that I want more than to bring her home and care for her.

And here's the stinky part of the big one:  We'll have to send her back.

My heart can barely take that.

I can think about it for about 4.5 seconds before the tears begin to form.

The reason for the stinky part of the big one:  The director of the orphanage will have to surrender his passport during the time that she is here with us.  And we can't begin having her declared adoptable until we have proven that we have a special case.  And we can't have a special case until she's lived with us and we've loved her and provided medical care for her.

I truly believe that God allowed her little face to have this medical issue for this reason.  I believe that it will be what brings her to us.

But to send our child from our home back to an orphanage in a third world country?

How can that possibly be explained to her?

Would she ever feel secure in our home again?

The only way that I can wrap my brain around it is simply to trust God.  

It is not my natural reaction.

When I start going down the Long List of What-Ifs, I have to stop.  I have to shut it down.

I could not foresee that being obedient in traveling to Guatemala would lead me to my child.  I could not foresee that my heart would immediately love another child as if she were my own.

I cannot foresee how God is going to bring her home.

But I wait in eager expectation.

Yesterday, someone asked me how often I think of La Princesa.  

It is pretty much all the time.

My sweet nephew had the idea of wearing string bracelets to remind us to pray for La Princesa's quick arrival home.

The Princess made the bracelets.

Every time I see mine, I pray.  

Usually, it is just a quick, "Please?"

But sometimes it is a stop-what-I'm-doing-and-fall-to-my-knees-to-beg kind of prayer.

Often, it is a prayer of thankfulness.

Or a prayer for The Princess...for the protection of her heart as she waits while the love for her sister still grows.

I don't want to bore you with every detail of our situation, but I do feel that I am supposed to share our story---however it may go---with you.

Our immediate prayer needs are for wisdom and for a medical team that is willing to treat her and is compassionate to our situation.  We are also praying for a miracle...we don't want to have to send her back.

Thank you for allowing me to share all that is in my heart.

The Allergens, They Are Rampant

Have you missed me?  

Um.  I've not been blogging all week.  

Do you want to know why?

So I called the city to ask if I could have a dumpster.

Not have so much as borrow.

We've got lots of cleaning out to do before we move and the middle of August does not seem like the best time to tackle that chore.

The King called the city on Tuesday morning at 8:15.  At 9, I heard a REALLY LOUD SOMETHING going on outside my garage.

Did The King accidentally say that we would be tearing down a 40 story building?

Perspective:  Do you see the ladder behind the GINORMOUS dumpster?  It is a really, really tall ladder.

I cannot even throw something over the side of that bad boy.

If I threw away every single thing in our home, we would still have room left.

The dumpster fella warned me to keep an eye on how full it gets because they'll charge me by the ton.

DID YOU READ THAT?

THE TON.

I think we're safe.

So I've spent the majority of this week in the attic.  

The dust?  Unreal.

The heat?  Not severe, but semi-extreme.

The cedar?  Oh, the cedar.  

Some of you might recall my experience in The Cave of Death.

Our attic has a cedar closet.  I've been standing by the cedar closet in an enclosed, hot & dusty tomb.  

I am no longer able to breathe.

I miss it.

I've sorted the things to move, donate and ditch.

The donate and ditch piles are getting pretty big.

Maybe not an actual ton, but pretty big.

What to do with the Rubbermaids full of The Princess' baby clothes?  Baby toys?  

I don't want to give them up.  I've kept them for almost 12 years.

I don't really want to move them, either.

The Princess found my yearbooks from junior high and high school.

I may not hear the end of it.

Lots of "Daddy was cute, but your hair was really big!"

Ya think?  

She read all the inscriptions.  (Made me a bit nervous.)

Well.  That's where I've been all week and will be throughout the weekend.

Send good thoughts my way.

By the ton.

Weekend Recap: Mother's Day Edition

I have written a little poem.

School is over.

The plays are done.

The Palace is happy.

Summer better be fun.

Thank you.

Have I ever mentioned that I'm not a great poet?

I know. Where's the proof?

Anyway.  The Princess is officially finished with the 5th grade.

Hallelujah.

Her 2 plays are finished.

Hallelujah.

Her theater had 4 productions this weekend.

Yep.

Four.

She was a mouse in Alice in Wonderland.

Actually, she was a dormouse.

(I had to look it up.  It is a mouse found in Europe that hibernates a lot.)

Anyway.  She had fun and did a great job.

And it's over.

***

Thanks for the advice on the mirrors.  I'm now more confused than ever.

I'll narrow it down and we'll discuss again later.

The house is completely framed.  WOO HOO!

The view out of my dining room window is just what I'd hoped...

The cows.

I have a strange fascination with cows.

(I know, Jules, I know.  They freak you out.)

Wanna see a cute baby cow?

Or, I mean, wanna see a cute calf?

I think he's sticking his tongue out at me.

How sweet is that?

***

Finally, Happy Mother's Day one day late.

Just to prove the lengths to which mamas will go for their babies...

Look at the mammary glands on that girl.

OH MY WORD.

If you care about me at all, you will immediately enlarge that picture and take a really good look at those mamms.

(That includes you, Jules.)

They (It?) were (was?) swaying between her legs when she walked.

Bless her.

I hope you all have a better day than she's having.

It's Time To Get Back To Work

I gave you all a nice long break from selecting my house stuff.

Now sit up and pay attention.  Get your coffee.  Grab your glasses.

We've got work to do.

Ok.  First I'll give you a progress report.

You know what this progress says to me?

IT SAYS WE'VE GOT WORK TO DO.

This week's completely stressful decisions are...

...bathroom mirrors and all things lighting.

I'm not sure that I we can handle both decisions in one post.  

Let's go with the mirrors.

I think I can handle the mirrors.

My dream bathroom is kind of a mixture of simple and glamorous.

Here are my inspiration pictures:

photos:  Kitchen & Bath Ideas

I'm not doing everything just like these pictures.  I just like a lot of it.  I'm using the white hex tile on the floor and the white subway tile in the shower.  I'm also copying the beadboard around the tub. 

I think I'll go with a different paint color...maybe a light turquoise-ish?

DILEMMA:

I love the mirror and light fixtures in the above photo.  I don't have room to do 2 light fixtures.  Each vanity is only 42" wide in my house.  I am thinking of centering one crystal pendant.

I have 9' ceilings.

The vanity will be 36" tall with 6" of backsplash. 

So that's really 42" tall.

Not sure if you care.

Just felt like those are need-to-know kinds of things.

LOVE THE MIRROR.

BUT THE MIRROR IS EXPENSIVE.

I cannot find one for less than $375.  

And I need 2.

So...

I'm trying to create a similar look for less.

Much less.

I'm going to give you some options.

And if you know of something better, please, for the love of all things shiny & reflective, send me the info.

A.  Dimensions: 21" x 44"

B.  Dimensions:  28.5" x 36"

 

C.  Dimensions:  21" x 40.25"

D.  Dimensions:  30.5" x 43.75"

E.  Dimensions:  31" x 43"

Or.  A completely different look...

F.  Dimensions: 30" x 40"

Please.  Send your thoughts and ideas.

The spacing is really funky.  

Get some graph paper.  

Draw it out.

Get to work.

Oh.  Y'all don't think for a second that I'm more into the house than the adoption stuff.  

I can tell you with absolute certainty why my house took so stinkin' long to sell and the timing fell as it did.

DISTRACTION.

It is only by God's grace that I have the biggest distraction ever in the building of our home.

I'm so thankful to have something else to think about from time to time, you know?

Now back to work.

Photos:  Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn, Wisteria, JC Penney, JC Penney, Pottery Barn

He's Getting Back On My Good Side

Hola.

My mom called to see if I was sick because I didn't post yesterday.

I wasn't.

The King didn't get home until well after midnight and I had to ask him 489 questions about the trip.

BECAUSE I GOT NOTHING THE ENTIRE TIME HE WAS GONE.

He obliged until he fell asleep.  

Mid-sentence.

I will share all that he learned about the adoption in another post.

I'm still processing...

Oh.  There was a 6.1 earthquake on Sunday while The King was in Guatemala.

His thoughts?  

"Man, it was totally cool. It was like the whole ground was moving."

Really, King?  THAT'S BECAUSE IT WAS AN EARTHQUAKE.  THE EARTH WAS QUAKING.

And they lost electricity at the orphanage when the electric panel blew up.

The King rewired it. (Yikes!)

And the water pump went out and the orphanage was without water for 48 hours.

That is really major, y'all.  450 kids without water for cooking, bathing, drinking...

The water pump is still not working properly.  If you remember, pray for them this week.

I did want to share a few more pictures.

These were taken soon after The King arrived.

Loving her new sunglasses - I think she wore them the entire weekend!

Ok.  This is hard to see, but it is funny.  This painting is just above La Princesa's bed.  We sent her a Dora The Explorer watch.  (Hello?  She speaks Spanish.  I was trying to relate.)  A few days after he'd been there, The King noticed that she'd added Dora's picture to the painting.

Completing her puzzle

Are you ready for me to stop?

Ok.  I'll stop.

But seriously.  How sweet is this?

The King, His Crackberry & A Smitten La Princesa...

 

He Was Scared Of The Bloggers

Y'all scared The King. He was afraid of a riot. 

His good pictures (which remain to be seen) are on his camera. He sent a few to get us off of his back, though. 

I can't wait to tell you more about his trip. 

I can't wait to FIND OUT about his trip. 

The King is slow to release the info. 

Pray as they return home today. 

My heart breaks to think of La Princesa telling him goodbye. Almost more than I can take... 

For now, enjoy the bad cell phone photos.  

Make a Smilebox postcard

We Must Petition The King

All I'm saying is this...  

He's with La Princesa, he's got a camera and email is free.

WOULD IT BE TOO MUCH TROUBLE TO SEND ME A NEW PICTURE?

I'm kind of needing a La Princesa fix and he's my only source, you know?

So, um, King?  If you are reading this?

TAKE A FREAKIN' PICTURE AND SEND IT MY WAY.

Feel free to encourage him in the comments.

He did send me 2 sweet stories today.

About La Princesa & The King.

But I'm not jealous.

At all.

Why would I be jealous when I can enjoy all the sweet pictures he's sending to The Princess and me....oh!  That's right!

HE'S NOT SENDING THE PICTURES.

The stories were pretty great, though.

#1:  The King wears a cross necklace.  Apparently, La Princesa has been wearing it since he arrived.  

She had been repeating a phrase to her friends that he could not understand.  He finally had one of the missionaries interpret...are you ready?

Look what my daddy brought me.

It's too much, isn't it?  My heart can barely take it.

I may or may not have reminded him to tell her who picked out the pink stuff.

He may or may not have said that he hadn't given the pink stuff to her yet.

KING!!!!!!  YOU'RE KILLING ME.

#2:  One of her little quirks is that she sucks on her finger when she's nervous or serious or sad.  

As he was tucking her in the first night, she kept sucking her finger.  She seemed sad.  When he told her it was time for bed, she would shake her head no.

Finally, The King told her that she had to go to bed and he would see her in the morning.

She beamed.

She'd thought he was leaving.

How is he ever going to leave?

This picture was taken in March just before we headed to the airport. 

The King may not come home.

Several of you have emailed and asked what you can do or pray about regarding our adoption.

I've got a specific request.

We got a good news/bad news report about the adoption.  I don't want to get into the specifics until I've had a few things confirmed...but basically, our options for bringing her home have been severely reduced. 

Like, we've only got one option.

And it is in no way an easy road.

Or a certainty.

I know that God brought her into our lives.  I keep reminding myself that He began this work and will be faithful to complete it.  

I also know that when we join in prayer, amazing things can happen.

Thank you.

(Now then.  Harass The King about the photos.)