As you all know, we had our home visit this morning...and it was great! I put out some lovely cookies (E didn't have any, but I wanted to have them just in case) and I made coffee and tea, but she had a glass of ice water instead. They usually don't eat or drink anything, it probably has something to do with it possibly being construed as bribery or something.

Anyway, she got here ten minutes early...met us and met Lucy, who was even more well-behaved than usual, and then we gave her a tour of the house. She liked the nursery - she said the color was great - she even looked in the garage (thank god we cleaned it!) and then we sat down to talk. It was just getting to know you kind of talk...we discussed what medical issues we would be willing to consider, and then we paid the next installment and we were done! It took less than an hour! After she left, Jeremy and I went out to lunch and then went to buy some dog treats. It was almost anti-climactic that it was so short! I wanted to fling open my closets and show her the organization...but I restrained myself :)

I am so glad we're done, it is such a relief! As soon as we get our profile in, we're good to go...and it should be ready to print this week.

Here are some pictures of the nursery, which is finished...enjoy!

The left side looking in


The right side looking in


Closeup of the door/window trim and the baseboards

The wall letters and pictures I made - bonne nuit is French for good night

The Serta sheep from Mindy - they are perfect for the room!

The switchplate covers

The bookshelf my Grampa made...it will be painted white to match

I found this and thought some of you might be interested...it was good reading! An open letter to Michael Vick:

http://www.prdifferently.com/2007/07/an-open-letter-.html

It struck me today when I was re-reading some of the older posts on my blog, that the babies we saw in the nursery on our first tour of The Cradle's facilities have had their first birthdays. That makes me happy to think of those parents and children who are going to be celebrating a milestone in each other's lives and a little sad to think another year has gone by with no baby in our house.

We're almost done with the preliminary process. That seems so incredible to be able to say that after the year we've had, but we have scheduled our last section of the home study - the homevisit - for the 21st of August at 10:00 am. The nursery looks awesome (some of you saw it last weekend at the party) and the house is spotless, thanks to Rosa and the carpet guy. I am not dreading the home visit like I was, all of the women I know who have gone through this process have said that it was a breeze, and not to worry. I do worry a little, but not as much as I was! Unfortunately, I have to work this week and next...I had hoped to have a little extra time off to work on the garage, but I suppose that's what the weekends are for.

Last weekend was our annual summer party, and although some of the usual attendants weren't able to make it, we soldiered on without them. The weather was great, the pool was perfect and the food was plentiful...in fact, we had so many desserts left over, I have been in a sugar coma for the last week :) Lucy was very excited to see the kids, and besides licking most of the children and both of the babies on their heads, she was very polite!

Jeremy is back from a short trip to Detroit...and we're so happy to have him home! When he's out of town, Lucy sits by the stairs from 6:30 to 11:00 pm, barking at the slightest noise that might be him coming up the front steps...it's sort of poignant - and weird that she can tell time that well! She rewarded him for his return with a couple of twirling leaps and lots of licking and barking. She certainly loves her daddy :)

This is a post from my online friend, Emily's blog...Belly Laughs & Crocodile Tears: Adoption-Its Not a Journey...Its An Emotional Quest Check it out!

A lot has happened since I last posted...we have been working on the nursery like crazy - I ripped out the paneling and scraped the ceiling, Jeremy worked on the ceiling repair and skimcoated the walls. It's been a huge undertaking. That part is all done, and we've finally started priming the walls and ceiling, which has made a huge difference already! This week, we start painting with actual color (sigh, finally) and we'll also be replacing all of the trim. I will post pictures when it is finished.

I will be so happy to have this done...it feels like it's taken us so long to do it (and being relative novices at renovation, it probably took us longer than it would have taken other people). I am really proud of the work we've done though, so if you come over and think it looks like crapola, just don't say it unless you want to see one or both of us in tears LOL. I'm also looking forward to the day when I don't have drywall dust coating every surface in the house. Those of you who know us well, know that neither of us are perfectly tidy people...the vacuum never really calls to us as loudly as our random books and hobbies do. That said, it has been a huge irritant to live in the midst of this mess and noise. It will be such a relief to see the end of it!

In other, way more fun news, we got to leave it all behind to visit Colorado with some of the Wanats...it was pure bliss. Colorado is one of the most beautiful states in the country, and we were so excited to be able to take a break :) My mom was good enough to come to our house to hang out with Lucy...some of you know that Lucy was abandoned and has some abandonment issues, so it was really nice of my mom to make the trek to our house so Lucy would have familiar surroundings! Thanks Mom! We've spent some of our other down time (what is that exactly?) hanging out with friends and enjoying our yard and our puppy...the pool has been in perfect condition this summer, and we've been enjoying it quite a bit! Last night, we sat out on the lower deck on the glider with Lucy and just enjoyed the sunset. Life is good.