Great News!

Picture from Squeaky Bean's 1st birthday party.

We just got the best sort of mail from the Chesterfield County Circuit Court in Virginia. It's an envelope filled with formal copies of Squeaky Bean's Final Order of Adoption. Woohoo!! Her adoption is finally final! We can plan a sealing date now! And a blessing date! I am so excited!!!

Of course, we still have the bureaucratic mess of applying for a birth certificate and social security number and amending our taxes, etc. But the most important stuff is done!

Reminiscing: Making Plans

Several years ago, I was having a bad day. Normally, when things are going crummy, I don't feel any need to take it out on God. (That's ungrateful). But that day, for just a while, I was starting to think his plan for my life stunk.

We had just experienced our fourth miscarriage. I was still a little ticked from the third one, which happened to manifest on the very anniversary of the day our daughter had died the previous year. (Irony can be funny or depressing; that time, it was the latter).

I started complaining to my sweet husband. "This is too much!" I said. "I want to just get pregnant and actually have a healthy baby." He tried to comfort me. He, of course, was also sad and frustrated.

"We need a plan", I said. I thought if we made some kind of detailed outline of our demands to God, they would somehow work out better.

"We have a plan," said my kind, faithful husband. "Our plan is that we pray; we read the scriptures; we go to Church; we pay our tithing; we attend the Temple."

I sulked outwardly while his words took root. "I mean I want a 'let's get a baby' plan," I complained.

But I knew he was right. My surly defiance at God's apparent disinterest dissolved. Obedience really is the only plan that makes sense. We choose to obey and we follow through. Everything else is subject to forces beyond our control.

Sometimes the things we want and work for happen and we think, "Look what I did." But when you spend a lot of time and effort and faith on something that never materializes, you realize how fortunate you were those other times--how many things are beyond your power to control and how much Heavenly Father blesses you just because you ask and always because he loves you.

Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge recently gave a profoundly straightforward address at General Conference called The Way. I'll quote just a part.

The Lord’s way is not hard. Life is hard, not the gospel. “There is an opposition in all things,”21 everywhere, for everyone. Life is hard for all of us, but life is also simple. We have only two choices.22 We can either follow the Lord and be endowed with His power and have peace, light, strength, knowledge, confidence, love, and joy, or we can go some other way, any other way, whatever other way, and go it alone—without His support, without His power, without guidance, in darkness, turmoil, doubt, grief, and despair. And I ask, which way is easier?

There is only one way to happiness and fulfillment. Jesus Christ is the Way. Every other way, any other way, whatever other way is foolishness.

Be Forewarned...

When I was a much younger girl, I would write essays. Essays about poems. Essays about stories I read. Essays about movies that affected me. I think I wrote 3 pages when I saw The Dead Poets Society. I wrote at least 7 pages about Dances With Wolves. I didn't ever show anyone my essays; it just made me feel better to talk through my feelings in that way. An essay is also a good place for a self-righteous rant, especially if you don't expect anyone to read it.

I've decided to start writing some of those essays once again and I guess I'll post them here. But I don't want to catch you in a tirade unawares, so if I'm going to write a rant of any kind, the title will say Soapbox: and then whatever it is I'm writing about. I may, for instance, watch Juno again this week and write a post called Soapbox: Juno. I just wanted to give you a heads-up.

I really love having friends who disagree with some of my political and religious views--or most of them. And I love to hear how those views differ as long as they're expressed kindly. There are a lot of really smart people who see the world from a completely different angle than I do. I like to know what their angle is. Seeing as how my day-to-day world is so very small, I really enjoy mind-expanding, viewpoint-enlightening discussions. They can be hard to come by, but they always make my world feel bigger and more interesting. So, whether you agree or not, I'd like to know about it. Thanks.

Crafty Pass Along

This is a crafy little pass-along game. Here's how it works. Be one of the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post and I will send you a handmade gift sometime in the next 6 months. I have no idea what yet...you can make suggestions if you like.

Then you pay it forward as well by doing the same thing for 3 people on your blog. Once you leave a comment telling me that you want to participate, you need to make a pay it forward post on your blog, then come back and let me know that you've posted. Got it? I'm excited to see how this one goes! My friends are all so talented. =)

An unusually short post...

Last night, I caught the opening of the local Channel 9 news. The lead story was newsworthy, but the second? Not Obama signing the massive bailout into law...

With a straight face, the newsman said, (and here I quote), "Is your man a sloppy kisser?"
I changed the channel. I figure I can pick up Teen magazine next time I'm out if the kissing issue becomes urgent.

(By the way, my man's a fabulous kisser).

Tutus

Squeaky Bean will turn 1 later this month. I know. It's shocking. And lately, I've been able to sense a change in her vibe. She's much less like a baby and more like a GIRL every day. It is awesome. I feel a little badly about it, but I'm way more psyched for her birthday than I have been for the boys', because you just give them another ball and a truck and they're set. But girls come with ACCESSORIES!!! So, I've been obsessed lately with what kinds of accessories I could make for her first birthday...great big flower headbands? a tiara? a baby doll? A tutu?

A TUTU!!!

So, after looking at dozens and dozens of types of tutus on etsy.com and googling different tutu patterns, I went with my sweet friend, Emily, to Walmart, mulled over tulle color combinations, and spent the day at her house making tutus for our girls. Here are a few pictures from our fun day.

Big flapper hairpiece, huh?

Whose tutu is floofier?

Sweet Squeaky Bean in her birthday tutu a little early.

The only problem is, I thought the tutu would BE her birthday present, but seeing her in it makes me feel like she needs even more accessories to complete the look...a wand, a hat, some leg warmers? a My Little Pony? Don't the colors just scream My Little Pony? Just one wouldn't hurt, right?