The nursery

After spending hours at IKEA, mom and I found a crib... and several other things.  I really didn't know what I wanted going into this shopping trip.  We looked at a few cribs around Columbia a couple of weeks ago, then travelled up Charlotte Sunday.  This was my first trip to IKEA stateside.  And I was quite impressed.  The first sign of trouble was Mom saying to me, "We can buy anything!" Bad sign!
But it turned out well.  I did get some good stuff for the house including the crib.  I went simpler than planned, but it saved us a bundle.  Now, I have to figure out how to motivate my hubby to help put it together.  I also need to find my own motivation to sand and paint the dresser we will be using.  I have a dresser that was handed down from my parents, which my dad says was handed down from his parents.  It will make a perfect dresser and changing table.  My plan is to paint it a sand color.  We bought textured sand colored paint for the bottom drawer.  We are going to decorate it with shells and some other cute beachy things.  I finished touching up the paint on the walls and ceiling tonight.  I can't imagine if I was pregnant and had to leave all this stuff to Mark!!
So, we have the crib, we have the dresser/changing table, we have the pictures and sea creatures for the wall... Now to find the time to put it all together.
I am hoping we hear from the social worker soon.  You'd think I'd have learned my lesson by now to stop praying for patience.  After all we went through over the last couple of years, my friend Tammy told me you shouldn't pray for patience, something that would have been good to know a while back :-) But, I still find myself praying to be patient and accept God's timing.  His plan is my plan and His plan is the best plan.  So, all in good time...

 

Well on our way!

Last night was so amazing!! I still cannot believe the turnout.  We were blessed to be surrounded by our family, friends, and coworkers for a really fun time.  The night started with dinner and drinks and a jam-packed silent auction.  People were eating and bidding and talking.  There were kids running around the putting green outside.  After the bidding wrapped up, we thanked everyone and announced the winners.  People got some great deals on spas, salons, tutoring, books, lottery tickets, and much much more.  Then we danced and just enjoyed the evening. 
My coworkers did a phenomenal job on the organization of the event.  The food was yummy, the desserts were out of this world, and the entertainment was great.  Overall, it was a great event.  And, I'm sure everyone is wondering, how successful was it?? Well, we raised...

$4425

Yep, A-MA-ZING!

Our next step in the process is the home study visits.  We are just waiting on our social worker to call and set these up.  Bethany has all of our application stuff.  So we wait.  Hopefully we will hear something soon and we can jump this hurdle too!

So, for now, I just want to wrap up by thanking as many people as I can remember who donated to the auction last night and made it so successful!

Thank you...

Miss Cocky

Discovery Flight

Bliss Salon

Bewitched Salon

Griffin Pools and Spas

Hope Bryant

Lindsay Kenney

Mandy Stroud

Jonna Howell

Laura Alexander

Terminex

Susan Douglas

Kiki Wooley

Miryam Malpartida

Kelly DeShazo

Pivotal Fitness

Bodyshop Athletics

Anytime Fitness

There's definitely more and I'll add them.  But right now my eyes are closing.  Mark and I followed up our big night with the Mud Run this morning, so we are wiped out.

Thank you everyone!!



It's coming along...

What's that you ask? Well, a couple of very exciting things!!
We got our nursery painted this weekend.  Just a few touchups still needed because my painting skills do leave a little to be desired, but the bulk is done.  We went with a color that is light blue, called stillness.  I think that bodes well, right?

 Primed and ready

 Some pictures Mom and Dad got for the nursery on their cruise up the New England coast.

Found this print in the Bahamas by an artist from Clemson.








And the second thing to be super excited about is our upcoming Spaghetti Supper and Silent Auction.  Next Friday is the day! We have some awesome stuff to bid on, like a weekend in Cherry Grove, a Nook, several fun baskets, gift certificates for the Body Shop and Pivotal Fitness, and wine.  There is so much fun stuff going on.  I am just hoping we have lots of people come and eat some baked spaghetti/ziti, have a few drinks, and just have fun.  I want to see kids and grown ups alike having a fun Friday night raising money for our baby.
On that note, where do we stand?
All our paperwork is in.  We are just waiting now on our home study to start.  Our social worker should be contacting us this month to set up those visits.  Fingers crossed, by the end of October, we'll be baby ready!
Now if I could just find the time to go shopping!

Email me, call me, or message me to let me know if you want to join the fun Friday night.  We need a count of who's coming, so even if you don't pay in advance, just let me know you are coming so I can get a count.  Need to know how much food to make!