The office

The office..

For the month of January, the home office is the focus of organization.
I started this a few weeks ago and a few things have taken my attention away. However, we still have time to take care of our home offices, for those who are following a long with me month by month for home organization or re-organization.

Here are the suggestions from the magazine:

Organize or set up mailboxes on a desk, bullentin board or wall. Label areas for each family member

Check to see if all writing utensils work and if they do not, throw them away.
Group items that are a like in canisters

Organize or outfit a desk drawer with tray dividers or multiple small bins with compartments labeled.

Hang or place a large calendar or dry erase board version located where everyone can see it and use it

My personal additional suggestions are:

First take about three garbage bags and 3 boxes or storage containers. Label the storage containers with shred, garbage, and sort through to pack away. The garbage bags can be used to toss old and unwanted materials within the office.

The storage containers can be used to hold items that may be confidential that need to be shredded and not thrown away. The other storage containers can be used to hold bulky items such as old magazines, catalogs etc that can be thrown away as well. Remember to black out or rip off your mailing address etc. I keep a permanent black marker on hand for these instances, or either we just rip off the back and shred the mailing labels. One suggestion for those who are near elementary and middles are to donate your magazines which are family magazines to a school. Many art departments and classes use them for different activities and projects.

The sort through storage container or box can be used to house materials that you may need to sort through to file in another location or scan to put it into your computer. There are a number of devices available to scan business cards and documents that can be organized into software onto your computer.

I would also recommend purchasing affordable containers to organize small things within the cabinets. Many office organization stores and discount stores have these items for affordable prices. Designate drawers for specific things so that you can get into the habit of putting those things into that area. For instance, home documents, home business documents should have their own separate area.

Within those specified areas, I would purchase dividers that label the folders, depending on whether or not you have a file cabinet with a hanging file system in addition to a cabinet. These dividers are a life saver and many of them come pre-labeled in a pack, or you can label your own by purchasing your own filing system and having a folder for each area of your home (Health, insurance, daycare, legal documents, taxes, utility bills, mortgage, donations, etc). If you need some some suggestions of where these organization items can be purchased, leave me a post and I will respond and give you a few suggested places that are very economical.

Additional recommendations would be to make a list of pertinent office equipment that you may need that you do not have that will come in handy. Such as a small fire/water proof vault for your important documents, a small two drawer file cabinet, and a shredder. Just having a designated space assists with organization if you do not have a designated home office or organized area to place these things. I highly recommend having a small vault for small important documents easy to access, even though I know that most people can get safety deposit boxes at the bank. However, it is helpful to have these things close by when needed.

I also recommend having one basket on your desk to put things that you need to tend to or sort through that week. This keeps the desk from being messy and you can place the small items in the desk. It has assisted me with keeping my desk from piling up with different papers. I know that when my little wooded basket on my desk is looking full, it is time to shred and go through some things.


I will definitely show some before and after pictures of me re-organizing some of my home office cabinets and space. The sad part is that I have all of the organization stuff, however, I did not finish taking the time to put everything into their places with the items that I purchased. This organization by month will definitely assist me with finishing reaching my goals each month because I will be focusing on one room at a time. I will also show some of my favorite and great finds/buys for cute and savvy organization on a budget that I have found. I think some people may think that it costs so much to organize areas, however, if you take your time, you can really find some chic items at a bargain price at the right places!

I can't wait to hear about everyone's home office or office area organization. We still have about 8 days left this month to organize and clean this area. I think it is possible, even if you are just starting. Just do a little each day and focus on one thing in the office for 30 minutes to an hour. It is amazing to see what can be accomplished if you can just stay in one area and re-organize.

Let me know your thoughts and let me know how your office organizing is going. The month of February is the kitchen, so we will get to that on February 1st.

answer 1...

We received an answer/sign from God that we had been waiting on for since we met the sibling group (boy/girl) that we were presented with in December. We had been praying since we were presented the children for God to show us some sort of clear sign to let us know whether we should move forward with these children or not.

This afternoon around 4:20pm my SW called me to let me know that her supervisor called her the previous night to let her know that a couple that had met the sibling group prior to us were seriously interested in adopting the children now. Originally, in short, the couple had spent time with the children prior to us and decided that they were not sure if their busy life styles could handle two children at one time due to their involvement with different things and their church etc. The couple was childless as we are. I am glad that their hearts changed and that God spoke to them after spending some time apart from the children.

Our SW wanted to know if we were interested in adopting the children, because if not, the other family who had initially met the children, but decided not to move forward with adopting them decided that they definitely wanted to move forward with adopting them now. I believe that one of the parents had seen the children at the offices on another visit and missed seeing them. However, they came to their decision is fine. We feel that this was a sign for us that we should allow this family to move forward with adopting them.

We will be having our scheduled play date since we already have an upcoming playdate scheduled with their driver. We felt as though we should have the last play date since we promised the children that we would see them again. Their driver was a little disappointed that we were not continuing on with the visits to get to know the children even more because I feel as though he felt that things were going great with us and he was hoping for us to be their adoptive family. I told him that they were not "moving" us out of the way. We had a choice and we were not at the point of giving a definite answer, so our best choice would be to let the family who truly is ready to adopt them since they spent a significant amount of time with them prior to our visits.


When our SW called us and told us. I felt it was a definite sign from God that this was our opportunity to let the children be placed with a family. Regardless of the fact that the family originally said that the children were not a fit for their lifestyle, however, they had a change of heart and maybe they possibly needed that time to sort out their own situation and pray on whether or not they should adopt the two children. No matter what the reason was, they recently had a change of heart and they are aware that another family (us) were having visits with the children and possibly interested in adopting them.
However, we just recently met the children and we were no where near making a definite decision. Our decision was a little bitter sweet, however, I know that this was a clear sign.

So, with saying all of this, we know that this was a clear sign from God stating that these beautiful children will have a loving family to be their forever home. I advised our SW to let her supervisor know that she can let the other family know that they can proceed. We are not at a place with them right now where we could definitely say yes we are and I would not want their future delayed because of us. We are very comfortable with the decision that we made today. I must say that in a short period of time and with the initial visit and one play date, I was growing attached to the youngest child and we were looking forward to at least one more visit.
I know that both of these children are going to a loving forever home. In a sense, this took a weight off of my heart because I had a heavy heart regarding the children if I did not feel a total connection to both and if we decided not move forward. I desired for the children to have a loving, forever home. I am glad that we were in prayer for them from the minute that we met them. It took a few weeks, however, we know this was a clear answer.

During this same conversation, my SW advised me that they have some more babies and little situations becoming available. The supervisor also told my SW to let us know that we should not feel bad or feel like they would look at us any differently if we did not want to move forward with the sibling group, becuase they understand. She also advised her that they have more children coming available that are more along the lings of our age preferences.

So, just when I was doubting and trying to figure out how and when God was going to show us what he wanted us to do, he showed up and let us know that he answered the prayer that we had regarding the children since we met them. He has been in the middle all of the time.

This has been an interesting journey, however, we are definitely remaining in prayer and things are working out as they should.
I hope to have more exciting news coming real soon with some situations that we will find out about.


It has been a crazy busy week since the weekend and I have not had an opportunity to update the blog, put the pictures from the holiday on Monday and respond to emails and posts. I will update over the weekend. Thanks for being patient with me.

What are you doing today?

Are you on or off?

Today we are celebrating history as we do every year. We are often reminded that this should be a day on and not off in terms of service in our respective cities.

Our service activities for my organization started 5:30 am this morning and continue to this afternoon. I chose to be at the parade and take pictures for the organization. This morning many of our members served breakfast at a homeless shelter. Then we had two different shifts at another location for sorting goods for needs women who need interviewing clothing, makeup and etc. Lastly, we have the mlk parade/march where we unite together.

What did you do today?






Edit: I will add pictures from todays activities on tomorrow.

Service...

Service......

I am proud to say that I am apart of this wonderful sisterhood and organization! Today, we celebrate One Hundred and Three years of Service!

I do not think that I could ever write enough about how much this organization has done nationally and internationally. I truly enjoy the community service that we provide and the sisterhood that have once you become a member. It is unexplainable, however, it is something that I am passionate about and that I would not change for anything. Yes, maybe my passion has a lot to do that my mother and many other women in my family and immediate friends of the family are also members of this illustrious organization.

Yes, many say that you can do community service in other aspects and that is true. I also participate in other community service projects that are outside my sorority. However, it is just something about being an active member of a sorority and the bonds of sisterhood that it brings and our level of community service with our programs is just phenomenal .

One place where you can meet so many women from different backgrounds and your common interest is your organization. One place where you can know that whatever city, state and other countries that you may move to, you will be able to find a connection with a chapter somewhere. Whether I move to California, Japan, Korea, Canada, and some countries in Africa. I will be able to find my sisters and that makes a world of difference when you are transitioning in life.

Personally, it makes it so much easier to find a new church to visit, find a new hair salon, daycares, schools, and career information when you can get first hand information from your sorority sister when you are in a new or foreign place. There is wonderful networking that takes place in addition to all of the work we do within the organization. The leadership skills that many acquire within our organization is priceless. Being actively involved in our organization is such a positive influence and it strengthens our skills and knowledge in so many different areas.
Therefore, I know that for one Saturday a month for 10 months out of the year is devoted to my local chapter meeting that I am apart of. Those Saturdays are not including committees that I am part of and actual service projects and events that our organization sponsors. It sounds like a busy schedule, however, you decide on what you would like to participate with in terms of all of the different committees, just like with any other organization. I am unable to do everything, however, I feel good about all of the great things that we do as a whole.

It still amazes me and makes me smile after many years of being in this organization that people of all ethnicities and ages know who we are and what we do in the community all over. When I am out and someone happens to see my license plate holder or a perhaps a keychain, it is sometimes a conversation starter for a stranger. They enjoy telling you that they saw something in the news or that the organization visited a nursing home where their family member resides or they may know about our scholarship efforts. It tickles me inside and makes me so proud that I am apart of such a wonderful organization.

Again, for those of you who are readers who are unaware of this organization, feel free to educate yourself by visiting our international website. Information is powerful!

Organization focus for the new year

(bench and storage baskets on my walkway behind family room area)

I am devoted to taking each month to reorganizing and organizing different areas of my home.
For years I have purchased different magazines for this purpose and they actually help. I shop at stores that have home organizational tools/supplies to make things look a little more presentable. I try to go there at least once a quarter or every other quarter to help me organize things. I have one particular store that is my weakness. However, when I do visit the store I have a complete list of the items that I need so that I am not side track and spend more than what I should.

This past fall I picked up another magazine and it was so helpful to see a calendar for getting started at the beginning of the year organizing different parts of your home. Let's face it, things can kind of get out of whack with a busy schedule. I am a working professional with a demanding job and a business owner. I am heavily involved in community service as well as neighborhood activities. Sometimes I really do not see how we have time to manage what we have. However, we have managed to. Things are not perfect, however, we try to stay on top of them.

We try to keep all areas as presentable as we can by picking up behind ourselves and putting things away before we go to bed. This habit is definitely important as families add members to their household, as we are now. I have talked to a few friends and acquaintances who feel that they are just overwhelmed with small children and have had a difficult time keeping their main areas of their home tidy and they feel that it is just not obtainable and admit that they are embarrassed to have people over because they need help. They admit that once their home is cleaned, it only remains that way for a few days, even with a house keeper coming monthly. Then on the other hand, I have friends with several small children and you would not know it upon entering their home at any time. Their home is always neat and in order because they have adopted the habit of picking up and cleaning up each day and teaching their little ones to pick up behind themselves.

One thing that always stuck with me as a little girl was to always keep your main areas of your home presentable because anyone could stop by and your home is a reflection of you. It does not have to be perfect, however, keeping it neat and tidy daily helps with things not building up and becoming an eye sore or an overwhelming task.
I have become the queen of purchasing cute baskets and different storage devices for our closets and areas to house different things so they are not just thrown anywhere and can be tucked away neatly. Sometimes I have to move them to different areas as needed, and particularly when I purchase more baskets or either I see a basket that fits my style and need more.

A few of our helpful items are having an upright vacuum on each level for quick and easy pick ups (or you may option for one and take it up and down as needed). Also we have a powerful hand vacuum for cleaning the steps and we have an electric steam vacuum for sanitizing the floor when needed. We have a larger vacuum that my husband uses because it is a little bulkier since it has the large canister and water has to be added for each use. We were kind of suckered into purchasing that overpriced piece of equipment the first year we moved into our home by a sales rep who was selling these vacuums in our subdivision. It does work well, however, it is not necessarily worth the price, even though it does a lot of things.

I can say that we did a lot of reorganizing back in the summer/fall as we were preparing for our home study with the new agency. At that point, I knew we were going to have to keep things on point at all times as we would be having different visits for our home study. So, some of the areas will not need addressing or heavy addressing as we have really taken care of those areas recently because we did those back in the fall.

The focus area for this month is the home office. I will make a separate post for the home office focus as it pertains to me and the recommendations. I will be posting each month on the room for organization each month as I have it listed in my magazine. This will surely keep me on track and hopefully help some others.

Having a goal and plan for organizing each month is very helpful and I think that it will definitely hold me accountable to making sure that it is done, so that I am not overwhelmed when I try to organize a particular room or rooms at one time.

So, what are your home organization goals or problem areas?
Who is going to tackle their areas with me, month by month?

snow and ice

We received snow and ice on Sunday evening in parts of the country. We have pretty much been relaxing around the house and I have been resting, resting and resting. I guess that I needed that rest.
Our circle in front of my house looked like an ice rink until today and not to mention a couple of steep hills that it takes to get out of our subdivision. We remained still until today due to all of the ice and the warnings for everyone to stay and home and not drive unless it is absolutely necessary. It was a mess all over the city with cars stranded and wrecked.

My husband and I enjoyed staying in watching movies, sleeping late and just being still for a change. I really do not have a lot of great pictures of the storm that hit us because it was more ice than anything else and it was really hard for me to get out and get the pictures that I wanted.

I am thankful for some extra rest that was obviously needed, however, I am also thankful that we did not lose power during this ordeal due to the ice on the power lines. Things are beginning to melt a little bit, however, the highways are still icy and there is a lot of snow and ice still thick on heavily traveled roads and parkways. I ventured out today for a few minutes, however, I am back home relaxing. I hope everyone that received this storm are safe and cozy in their homes.

A Word...

Today I was reading my 60 day introductory version/Day 5 of Our Daily Bread and it was titled "The Waiting." I have been reading this devotional for many years and I read it on line often. My mom recently had the devotional sent to my home by ordering it on line since I was talking about not having my own personal copies and going to the internet to read it. I grew up with having these devotions available for free at my church back at home. I enjoy now as a busy professional having the mini versions with me to read at my leisure during the day or multiple times during the day.

This message today was right on time for me. In short, it discussed waiting on God and trusting as Abraham did. This is a small excerpt from my reading today. The suggested reading for today was Genesis 15:1-6

"Waiting for God's promises to be fulfilled is part of trusting Him. No matter how long the delay, we must wait for Him. As the writer of Hebrews reminds us, " Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful" (Heb. 10:23)---Marvin Williams

Waiting can be tough in any circumstance, however, knowing and believing that God is in control, makes it that much better! I prefer to have what God has for me than what I have planned for myself. I have learned through many years of growing and being patient that his gifts are always abundant and more than what we could ever imagine.

handmade gifts and domestication..

I received this cute little handmade apron and matching dish cloth from my dear friend Nakira. We actually met about 2 years ago shortly after I began blogging and I was knee deep in my adoption journey. She is not only a cyber friend, but she has become a true friend and she truly knows who I am, and not just my alias on this blog.

She emails, texts, calls me on my cell and home. We talk often, and when we don't we make up for missed time chatting. We bounce ideas, business stuff, crafts, sewing, baby talk, pregnancy, traveling, investing, and all kinds of things to one another. She understands my OCD ways as she has her own OCD ways too! We both are becoming better in that area. Most of all, she understands and has been empathetic throughout my journey because she has been down that road successfully. It is amazing how this journey has allowed me to meet such wonderful people.
To top it all off, we found out shortly after meeting in the blog world that we are from the same state and near the same parts. It has been difficult getting together when my hubby and I go home to where I am from. I am an only child, however I have a large immediate family and we do a lot of things together when I visit and it is very difficult to see everyone. My parents usually make it a little easier for me when we come home and they usually have some cook out, BBQ, fish fry or big dinner so my immediate family, cousins, family friends, and friends can come by instead of us trying to get to see everyone on short visits. Nak has been wonderful and has tried so hard to meet our schedule when we come into state. We will definitely make it happen this year. She just may have to come and be apart of the family and hang out, which she does not mind at all!

The week before Christmas I had a long day and it was one of those rough days right before the holiday. I had a lot running through my mind and it was just a sense of doubt in my mind about this journey and I had been in a funk for a few weeks regarding the whole idea of adopting and a few other things.
I believe sometimes I just think too much and analyze things, however, it is just apart of who I am. When I pulled up to my home, I always check my mailbox before pulling in the garage and there was this cute little package inside of the box addressed to me. After I went inside, let the dog out and breezed through the mail, I ripped through the package like a little kid on Christmas Day!

It was totally unexpected, a handmade apron and matching dish cloth from my dear friend Nakira. My spirits were lifted quickly and my mind was taken off of where I was trying to take it! This little apron is perfect and guess what? It matches my kitchen. She has not been to our residence yet, however, she has seen a few pictures that I have posted and removed in the past, and I guess she was very, very attentive. Our kitchen is comprised of earth tones colors (Chocolate, burnt orange etc). She nailed the colors perfect. My husband loved it too!

I love wearing aprons in the kitchen when I am cooking and I am looking forward to adding this special handmade one to my collection, because it was made with love, by my dear friend. Now, I must say that I did not get around to doing any sewing as I had anticipated this past fall with projects that I had lined up due to all of the adoption business that we were completing with our new agency.


I am going to carve out a little more time for sewing this year. It may not be often, however, I am pledging to do something simple quarterly. I returned to my hobby of photography over a year ago, however, I have not made a lot of time for sewing due to my work schedule and doing more with photography and graphic work. I will make it a point to definitely do something handmade for my dear friend for the next special occasion.

Yes, I am thirty something and I can "put it down" in the kitchen like a true southern girl from the past!
I am domesticated and proud of it!
My husband tells people that my cooking skills are one of the things that surprised him about me when we met while dating in NYC in my twenties. He was shocked at my cooking skills and level of domestication. I guess it says something about our generation. I often remind young ladies when they are looking dating seriously that they really need to have some sort of domestication skills. It definitely sets you apart from the next chick that can't cook, clean or do laundry. It is a double standard with guys, however, I have often heard from a lot of men that they truly would like a mate that has some wife skills and potential. So, with that said, it truly does take more than a pretty face to make it happen and keep things going. It surprises me to hear of the number of ladies my age that can't cook at all. It is actually kind of sad.
Many people ask me, "You cook on Thanksgiving and Christmas when you don't go home?" I advise them that I cook the same things that my mom cooks when I am home and I help out there too. My mom is truly a wonderful cook and she loves it and cooks with a passion. It truly is a lost art for this generation.

I am going to enjoy my chocolate apron! Thank you for the apron and dish cloth set Nak! You are a wonderful friend and I am so thankful that we met!

Sweetness

We have been keeping a little secret....

A few people know about these sweet little things that we met a few months ago and they have taken our hearts. They are truly sweet babies. They had an opportunity to stay with us for a whole day since we did not have anything planned and their foster parent needed a day to get some things done. She asked me to take pictures of them as well while they were with us and she left us outfits to snap a few in. They have been in care for a little while and we are very close with the parent that has them in care. They are growing and blossoming like little flowers. Yes, it is two of these sweet little things. Twice the love! They have their own individual personalities and they are so observant.

They kept us busy in a good way and we loved every minute of it. They enjoyed exploring our home and had a ball.

We have tried to help out with them whenever we can by going to their home and helping out and seeing how her routine works in her home since she has been doing this for a good while. She is a wonderful resource. The answer to the much asked question is Yes. Yes we are interested in these little ones and we have developed a little relationship with them as well. That is all I am going to say about that right now. We still have guarded hearts with all of this. We know that God will place the right ones into our home.

I have intentionally placed blurry pictures for the obvious reasons.

Visit

(Here are a few cropped pictures from our play date. I cropped out their faces for obvious reasons. However, they are truly adorable children. I will probably take them off shortly even though their faces are not showing. I just wanted to show a little peek of our play date).

We had our play date on Friday afternoon (New Years Eve) and it went very well. I was very curious as to how things would go with my husband meeting the children. We arrived at the mall at a few minutes after the children did with their driver and we met them outside of a store. They were waiting for us on a bench with their driver.
I introduced the driver and the children to my husband and we all walked to the play area and food court as planned. My husband grabbed the preschooler's hand and I took the 2 year olds hand. They were a little quiet initially, however, the driver advised us that he didn't think that they had their nap and they were a little off schedule, which is expected since we met right after lunch time. My husband immediately started talking to the little boy and they had a conversation all the way to the play area.

I must say that I was initially shocked that "baby girl's" hair was fixed on this visit. There had been some concerns of hair care before. I think it is just a matter of the family not knowing how to take care of ethnic hair, thats all. The children are well taken care of in other areas. The first visit her hair was all pulled back into one pony tail, sort of, but desperately needed moisturizing and grooming with a brush. I was advised that she typically wears it all freely out with a band/bow around it on occasions.

I was prepared to do her hair on this visit. My hubby chose a diaper dude bag to take on the trip and I packed a few healthy snacks, wipes, tissues, hand sanitizer and hair care products. I purchased her a brush, comb and moisturizer for her hair as well and packed those into the baby bag.
Their driver was so tickled that we had our own cute baby bag. Well, it was very chic. My husband chose his navy blue with white pin striped diaper dude bag for this visit. The bag actually went well with his jeans and white dress shirt. I guess he did this because he was the one that was carrying it and he did not want to carry a feminine diaper bag that looks like a purse!

To my surprise, her foster mom had attempted to put it into 2 pig tails and I was happy that she did. I forgot to send back the products that I had purchased for her hair, however, my husband later suggested that I should not just send the products without instructions. I will do a separate post on this. Hair care and maintenance is a really big deal to me, and it seems to be more relevant now that we have met a potential placement that has been in a transracial home for over a year and there is a need for hair care support and guidance.


Once we arrived to the play area and food court the preschooler was very active and talkative. He was all boy and active as any other preschooler should be. We had to get change for the riding toy and we let them ride a few of the stationary riding toys before we moved on to another play area. I also purchased them cookies from that popular cookie food chain store that really turns kids out and many adults too!
Afterwards, the 2 year old wanted to ride the train, so my husband took her on the train ride while I took the preschooler to the play area since he said that he did not want to ride. I was able to get some cute pictures of her riding the train with hubby. She talked to him on the train ride and pointed at things that she liked and wanted. She is a very intelligent 2 year old that does not speak in baby language at all, which is a good thing. Both children are very articulate and have large and impressive vocabularies.

During the visit and while I was watching the preschooler play in the play area, their driver asked me when did we want to schedule another play date and he told me his schedule. I told him that I would have to go over my husbands schedule for the remainder of this month and we would get back with him this week for scheduling something towards the end of the month if possible, or right before the end of the month.


At the end of our 1 hour play date we walked to the car with the children and their driver because we parked near one another. We buckled them in their car seats. I buckled "baby girl" in and my husband did "Little man's" car seat. As I was fastening her in, she clearly asked me in a nice, loud and clear voice, " Are you coming back?" Meaning, am I going to see her for another visit.
I was shocked out of my skin that a 2 year old would ask such a big question. She had been relatively quiet all day, however she held my hand, ate snacks and talked minimally, however, she was very trusting throughout this visit too.
Again, the driver was shocked as well because this is a child that is very, very, slow to warm with everyone. He asked me was I going to answer her question. I started laughing and I said, "Yes, I am coming back" and " Yes, you are going to see me again". She gave me the biggest smile and looked at me with those pretty eyes and waved bye.

We talked to the driver outside of the car for about 2 minutes after that conversation with "baby girl" and he has truly bonded with these children over a year and knows them very well. He suggested a slow transition period for them when I briefly stated that I had concerns about bonding if we decided to move forward after other visits. It made a lot of sense. He also shared that what is different about her now is that she has warmed up to us much quicker and trusts us much more than she has with others. She typically does not warm up that quickly. The fact that she went with my hubby on the train ride in the mall and held his hand as well was big. I have noticed that she enjoys being nurtured and taken care of, although she is very mature acting. My husband mentioned to me that he believes the preschooler also needs a lot of nurturing although he acts as though he is just find and coping, by portraying to be a strong little boy. I think that is his coping mechanism to be honest.

The end result is that my husband would also like to have at least 2 to 3 more visits with the children before we make a decision on whether we want to move forward with possibly discussing transitioning them into our home. He felt that they were great kids, adorable and very intelligent to be so young. He also understands that these little ones understand that they do not have a permanent home and they do want a "Mother and Father" and I do believe, in their own way, they are being discerning as well. I can say that my heart was a little more open on this visit and something about them just warmed me up and I was not as guarded as I was before at our initial visit. Even if we do not make them apart of our forever family, I am thankful for meeting them through this journey. They are truly special children and we do not know what the future holds right now. I do know that seeing them, interacting with them makes you humble and it shows you how even little ones can teach you something about perservance.
I know that God knows our heart and desires. He knows what is best and we are leaving it in his hands as we take this journey.