Adopting Ellie - 31 Days

Thirty-one. That’s how many days I have to tell my story. Technically, I guess no one is limiting me or judging to see when or if I complete the mission. Which probably isn’t a good thing for this inconsistent blogger. I’ve stopped and started so many times I’ve lost count. I'll be the first to admit I'm not a naturally consistent person. I begin something, and soon I drop it like that computer programming class I thought would be fun my first semester of college. 

But, for the next 31 days, I'm throwing caution to the wind, diving in and going for it.

My title for this series is Adopting Ellie.  I'll share about the journey to our little girl, some reasons we adopted, and why we chose international adoption. I'll talk about how our biological children have been affected and hopefully get them on video to share adoption through their eyes.  

Ready or not, here I go!

Check back here October 1- 31 for a new link each day.

Day 1 - My Story

Day 2 - My Story - part 2

Day 3 - Top Ten

Day 4 - I've Got Answers

Day 5 - Video Link

Day 6 - no post. Oops!

Day 7 - The road to adoption

Day 8 - The process

Day 9 - Visitation

Day 10 - Throwback Thursday

Day 11 - Cleared for travel

Day 12 - no blog

Day 13 - no blog again

Day 14 - I'm busy building an ark

Day 15 - sunshine and hairbows

Day 16 - slumber party in my room

Day 17 - throwback Thursday

Day 18 - no post

Day 19 - no post

Day 20 - no post

Day 21 - Cel-le-brate good times, come on!

Day 22 - Welcome home!

Day 23 - Big Brothers

Day 24 - Good news/bad news

House update!

We knew when we bought our house that there were several things we wanted to do to make it feel like home to us. The previous owner did a great job doing some major upgrades, but we still moved in with a to-do list.

About a week after moving in, I decided to dive into one of the top things on our list - painting what was left of the brown trim and the (wainscoting, paneling, beadboard.... evidently terminology is not my thing) wood on the lower half of the walls. 

Here's what it looked like the day we moved in.

This is standing in the kitchen looking into the living room. The door in the photo separated the two rooms.

Most rooms in our house do not have overhead lighting (nor wiring for overhead lights). This brass wall lamp and its lovely mint green shade was the only source of light in the room.

So I gathered supplies, researched, and got to work.

Only my quick two day project turned into a month-long-when-will-this-ever-end remodel of the living room. I'll post more details later, but I'm so very excited about how it all turned out!

that time I took an unintended 4 month break

Wow. I certainly didn't mean to take a 4 month hiatus from the blog-o-sphere. Some big things have happened since March.  Kyle accepted a position as social media marketing strategist with the International Mission Board (IMB) for the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). He began his job June 10 and moved to Richmond, VA. God sold our home in Milledgeville in a week and the kids and I were able to move up on July 11. We have been staying in temporary housing and will move into our new house this week.

This morning I set the laptop up and asked the kids one by one to go in and record their thoughts about moving and our 2 weeks here. The results were - well, I'll just let you experience them. Here they are - 3 of the Brogdon children at their creative finest. One child stated he was camera shy and could not talk in front of a camera so he's not represented. Just a few notes:

1) None of this was prompted or staged. The only direction they had was to "talk about moving."

2) Evidently forever = til Thursday.

3) If you can understand what Noah is saying, you have my utmost respect.

4) When did my almost 13 year old start sounding like a grown man?

In which I lament springing forward

When I was a little girl, I didn't really catch on to the whole "time change" thing. I mean, I knew it meant I'd be going to bed while the sun was still up until school was out, and there was something about it that made adults cringe and talk about it for weeks before and after. But, my child-like brain just couldn't wrap itself around the gravity of the situation.

Fast forward 30+ years. I get it. Oh, how I get it. 

Springing forward crept up on me this year. I was going about, waking up to beautiful sunrises at 6:30ish each morning, never realizing it was all about to end.

Sunday came and went without too much trauma.

But then Monday came. And Tuesday. Followed by Wednesday (which I understand is the normal order of things, but emphasis, people. Emphasis.) And the morning darkness has gotten me. My alarm goes off, but there's no reaction. It's still dark outside and my brain is evidently totally against functioning until the sun is up and screaming "Good Morning!"

So the past few mornings have been a blur of "How is it 7 already?" and rushing to get Ellie ready for school and Kyle out the door in 30 minutes. 

On a positive note: if there's ever a contest, say one that involves getting a child out of bed, dressed, hair brushed, shoes on, fed, lunch & backpack together in the shortest amount of time, well, go ahead and sign me up.

TYWSOP Day 4

I spent most of Wednesday in the bed sick.  I've heard of moms whose children would have taken the same opportunity to cook all the meals, clean and sanitize the house, make sure it smelled like roses, and as an added bonus have all the laundry done, folded and put away just so mom wouldn't have to do it.

But here's where my reality kicks in.

Y'all - there were no children rising up and calling me blessed. No one who brought me Gatorade and saltines out of a heart of gratitude for the countless times I've done it for them. Certainly no little people cleaning the house.

In fact, I'm not even sure they realized I was sick. They knew I was here - that was certain. They'd pop their sweet little faces in the door every so often to ask if they could have a snack or if they had to do their math.

As far as they were concerned, it was a free day!

Now, I could wallow in the fact that my kids didnt take on role of substitute mom for the day OR I could choose to be grateful for my fabulous kids who did finish their school work and didn't completely destroy the house. I choose the 2nd choice and I'm so honored I get to wake up to these kids every morning - sick or not!

TYWSOP Day 3

So I missed a day. Told you this was reality. :)

Today's doesn't come with a picture. Simply because I cannot take a picture of myself not running.

I signed up for a 5K at the end of March. This won't be my first. And, evidently, it's not my first time to sign up for a race and then consistently talk myself out of training runs each week.

So - as much as I love fitness plans and the thought of running, the reality is I don't enjoy it. And I'm not good at being consistent.

Oh, I'll make it through the 5K. Hopefully things will turn around in the next couple of weeks. I'm trying. But if history (reality) proves me right, I'll be the one at the back of the race looking like I need to be carried off the course.

I'll keep you posted.

TYWSOP Day 2

TYWSOP (things you won't see on Pinterest) - has a nice ring to it, don't you think?

Here's day two of my unveiling reality.

Legos. I love them. I really do. They foster creativity, imagination and don't require batteries. However, the organization of all those tiny little pieces has always been a struggle. I've tried everything, and I've finally come to grips with the fact that if my son's happy with their current home, then I need to be too.

So, without further ado, (adoo? adue?) here's the fabulous you-won't-see-this-storage-solution-on-Pinterest Lego box* compared to my dream Lego storage. Really, Pinterest? I could use my time and money doing that. And I would be in love with it. For all of the 2 minutes it took my boys to completely dismantle those drawers and have none of the pieces back where they belonged. And that's a battle I'm not choosing to fight.

(*We actually have multiple boxes of Legos. Not just one. That would be way to easy.)