Adoption Chronicles- The back story, pt. 6

Realizing that our time being a family of only 2 was limited, there were a few things that we knew we needed to accomplish before we were joined by another family member. Ever since we purchased our home in August '08 we have had a huge to-do list. Staining the cedar siding rose to the top of that list. I guess we thought that we'd have all the time in the world, but suddenly this became super high on our priorities and a great urgency was felt. Day after day, every spare moment was spent outside slinging a paint brush, even when temperatures were down around 40. Our incredible friends gave of themselves and their time to come help us until the job was done (for the most part).



In addition to doing work on the outside of the house, preparations took place on the inside to make room for baby. David got quite friendly with Craigslist over the next couple of months trying to sell just about anything that wasn't nailed down in the baby's room. Black Friday sales enabled us to get awesome nursery furniture at an even more awesome price. (Would you expect anything less from David?) The furniture arrived before the rush came for Christmas Eve planning and other holiday events, and our friend Bryan came over to help with the assembly. Over the time of one afternoon, our guest room became a nursery.



From day one in meeting with our social worker, she strongly encouraged us to hold off on baby showers until after we brought baby home. Many people asked what the plan was for baby showers, and we just said we'll cross that bridge when she gets here I guess. (Which did seem quite strange to say to people who were looking to help organize a party to give us things.) Still, there were a few cards that arrived with gift cards to Babies-R-Us & a few other stores to help us get ready for the first few weeks with baby. A couple of recent moms also gifted us many of the clothes that their girls had grown out of, and they are just adorable.


Also, mom & dad Gafford showed up at our door with a car seat for our trip our to New York. They even showed me how to install it, so we were ready to roll. (Or so we thought...)