No words.

Just came home from a very long day.  A day where I couldn't go refill my water glass without seeing the terror continue to unfold.

As I picked up Madeline from school today, I couldn't help but squeeze her and choke up.  When she asked me why I was sad, I just sat there wondering how do I even begin to explain to my preschooler why 20 kids went to school today and are never coming home.

Instead I just quietly explained that there are lots of kids' families that we need to pray for right now.  She looked at me very seriously and asked "Do they need us to pray for them to get hats and gloves and coats, Mommy? Because we can help them get that stuff." 

You have a big heart, kid.  A big heart.

New ornaments

Look at me: blogging from gymnastics! Just wanted to share our new Christmas ornaments because they are AWESOME. As is Madeline's fantastic new hair cut!

1

Blog to go?

Thanks to the ridiculous number of extra students I had in my last couple of classes, I was able to buy a new (to me) iPad. My rationalization for this was that it will help me keep up with my classes while on the go. It just occurred to me that it might help with blog posts on the go as well. So I'm trying it out while hanging out in bed. Not bad.


THANK YOU a million times over to all of you who have been spreading the word about our amazon deal and shopping like maniacs! November was AWESOME and it looks like December will be as well!

10 more days of class!

Shop with Purpose

Just a  reminder as we head into Christmas Shopping season....

 

If you are shopping Amazon, please do so by clicking the link in the upper right hand corner of our blog.  Empty your cart first, click, and shop until your heart is content!  Everything looks the same and it's complete anonymous, but it's a super easy way to help us raise money for our adoption.  As of this week, we have officially mailed or handed out 1000 of our Amazon reminder cards!  And some very awesome friends have taken it upon themselves to spread the word to their friends, family, and coworkers.  You have our blessing to spread the word on this!  

In love with a picture

I read a ridiculous number of adoption blogs on a regular basis.  I came across this particular post this week, which perfectly describes how we're feeling right now:

 

"This is the stage you realize God can put a vicious fight in you for a kid without your blood coursing through his veins. Those early doubts about loving a child without the helpful instincts of biology are put to rest. Of course, you don’t know this kid yet, but you love him in your heart, in your bones. You’ll fight like hell to get to him. You can’t think of anything else. You are obsessed. You dream about him like you did when you were pregnant. You realize that when God said He sets the lonely in families, He meant it, and He doesn’t just transform the “lonely” but also the “families.” He changes us for one another. God can create a family across countries, beyond genetics, through impossible circumstances, and past reason."

There you have it.

You can read the rest at: http://jenhatmaker.com/blog/page/2

(Don't get use to this 3 posts in a few week business. I start teaching my first graduate class on Monday.  I'll be lucky to eat, bathe, or sleep over the next 6 weeks!)

Job Updates

I'm on day 2 of being stuck at home with a sick little girl.  Which is actually not so bad given that it's freezing cold and windy outside.  It's nice to have the chance to get caught up on a few projects and cleaning items, but especially the blog.  This made me realize that I have been TERRIBLE about updates this year, especially the last few months.  I also just realized that blogger has changed their layout and this seems easier now, which could be a good thing!



So the Long family has had some job changes.  Quite a few for one household actually. 

In June I was offered the opportunity to take an internship in the training department at my company.  This has always been a strong interest for me, so it seemed like a no brainer.  It's been a wonderful new adventure and it will be interesting to see what happens when the internship ends. 

On top of that change, I was actually offered the opportunity to teach as an adjunct professor under the lead of an old professor of mine.  This has been a longtime dream of mine, so of course I jumped at the chance.  The nice thing for now, is that it's all part of an online program, which gives me a lot of schedule flexibility given that I also have a full time job and a small child.  I'm wrapping up my second class this week and starting my first graduate class next week.  It's a challenge and pretty time consuming, but I really enjoy it.  Plus I've committed to taking all of my earnings from that gig and putting them into the old adoption fund. 

And last but not least, Brad was recently offered a position that is a great career move for him.  It's still local, limited travel, and will allow him to grow in some areas of interest for him.  He started this week and is confident in his decision to change. 

We honestly cannot express how blessed our family has been this year. 

And I really just included this because I wanted to play with the picture editor. Seems easier which is good.  Madeline is becoming quite the little artist, which is ironic given her techy father and number crunching mother.  It is sweet to watch her spend so much time at her easel, being very creative. 

When You Least Expect It

As you can probably tell from my last post, I have been over the waiting.  Months of no news to report. Me feverishly stalking our agency's internal forum to see who has gotten referrals lately.  I pretty much reached a point where I was completely consumed by thinking about the adoption process. And to be honest, this didn't not make me a particularly pleasant human being.  On the morning of October 8, I decided that I simply couldn't go on functioning like that.  I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I wasn't being the wife, mother, friend and employee that I wanted to be.  So on a Monday morning, I decided to let it go.  Knowing full well that God has a very perfect plan in place, I decided that I was going to put the notion of seeing our daughter out of my head. Until Christmas.  That timeline fit with what seemed to be going on around us and I concluded that would be a pretty awesome Christmas present. 

I pulled into my garage the evening of October 8 and it was a beautiful day outside. Madeline scrambled out of the car to climb on her bike and enjoy the favorable weather.  As I was gathering our belongings to empty at the car, I just happened to have my cell phone in my hand when it started ringing.  A blocked number showed up, which normally I would never answer.  I have no idea why I decided to answer that call, other than it was so nice outside and Madeline was entertaining herself, so I figured why not.

It was THE CALL. 

The one where a familiar voice was telling me that she had a baby girl for us. 

Our baby girl.  And I mean a BABY baby.


She rattled off a few details and I'm pretty sure I sounded like a moron on the phone because I was so in shock. 

As soon as we hung up, I hit the pavement, sobbing.  Madeline and my next door neighbor came over to make sure I was ok. 

It took about 20 minutes for Brad to get home and for pictures to be emailed to us.  The whole thing was kind of surreal. 

The minute we saw the thumbnail of her face, we were in love.  Three pictures that have been glued to my side ever since. 

We drove that night to Meijer to get prints made.  Madeline and I were whooping and shouting with joy at the top of our lungs. (Brad managed to maintain some composure.) 

I woke up the next morning convinced it was all a dream.  But her picture still sits on my nightstand. And the bathroom counter. And in my cubicle. And on my computer. And phone. 

There won't be much to report for quite a while.  And we can't put any more specific details on our blog because we are currently going through a legal process over "there."  But if you see us in person, I'm apologizing in advance for shoving pictures of our gorgeous baby girl in your face. 

Time to hurry up and wait some more! But at least we have a beautiful face and name to pray for while we wait.

The Waiting Place

...for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come,
or a plane to go or the mail to come,
or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a sting of pearls,
or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls,
or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
NO! That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying.
You’ll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.

--Dr. Seuss

 

That about says it all right now.

I think I've been asked about 567 times in the last month how our adoption is going. The good news is that we're all done with paperwork! Now we just sit back....and wait...and pray for our future child. Waiting for an email saying that there's a baby girl needing a family. Waiting to see pictures. Waiting to send our humble little gifts that we've compiled to comfort her until she comes home. Don't get me wrong - I love that people care enough to check in with us and are genuinely excited to hear about our progress. Several of our good friends that are going through this process have already received referalls for for their children, primarily because they don't want an infant. So we're just waiting....

Family Pictures (Finally)

After nearly 2 years without family pictures (seriously, my MBA interrupted everything!), we finally got some new family shots.  After months and months of severe drought in Indiana, all it took was the Long family headed outdoors for some family pictures to bring the rain. 

A graduation present: my new necklace! From The Vintage Pearl

Heather's muffintop, also courtesy of grad school.

Love this picture. Hate Maddie's facial expression!

Someone at work commented "It looks like you're missing someone.." We are!

And immediately after this shot, the house we were in was struck by lightening.  Awesome.

Photos from Broad Photography, recently relocated from Cincinnati to Fishers.

DONE.

As in done with school.

 Finished.

 Complete.

 Graduated. 

Master's Degree in hand.

Holy Cow.

Welcome New Readers!

We had the opportunity to spread the word on our blog and Amazon deal to several hundred people over the last few weeks, which is ridiculously awesome! 

 So if you're new to our site, welcome.

 Feel free to shop Amazon by clicking the link in the upper right hand corner. (Make sure to empty your cart ahead of time!) 

 I will be posting updates about last week's exciting fundraising opportunities soon, but for now I have a paper to write -the LAST one of my MBA!

Exciting and Urgent Update!

As you might know, the Long family spends most of our Saturday mornings enjoying breakfast at Chick-Fil-A.  Let’s just say they know us well there.  We are so excited to partner with our local Chick-Fil-A for our first (and probably not our last) big fundraiser.  If you are in the Hamilton County area on Thursday, May 17, please join us at the Chick-Fil-A in Noblesville for a fundraiser to support our adoption! This promotion is available ALL day from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. for dine-in, drive-thru, or pick-up catering.  All you have to do is show up, give them our flyer, and enjoy.  In return, Chick-Fil-A will donate a portion of your sale to our adoption fund.  Everybody wins! If you’d like to attend and I haven’t already thrown myself in front of you, which is very unlikely at this point J, e-mail me or leave a comment and I will make sure you get a flyer.

Praying for a great turnout and the chance to see a lot of our friends in one place!    

Back from the Dead

If you have seen or talked to me in the last two months, then you probably know why I have been negligent in my blogging as of late.   The grand finale of my MBA program literally sucked every waking moment out of me (and most of the sleeping ones as well).  I did have to take a brief hiatus from adoption paperwork just to manage my job, family and school commitments, but we’re getting back on track.  I’ll post some pictures and updates about a few things that have happened this spring, but I mainly wanted to say that we’re still alive – and expecting an influx of new blog readers! This week we mailed 150 letters to our Indiana friends letting them know about a few upcoming fundraisers.  My very good friend Janice created beautiful little cards to let people know to shop our Amazon link, which we were able to include in the mailing.   So if you’re new to the blog, Welcome. If you’re not, thanks for hanging around.

Just what I needed to hear

I have often said that I want to open my mailbox and find a letter from God with what I'm supposed to do in life. I promise, I would jump right in and just do it! Turns out that life doesn't work that way. Today I was reading a blog that I follow regularly called Stuff Christians Like by Jon Acuff. It's very funny and makes me think a lot about my life. You should read it too. You should also read his book called Quitter because it's awesome. Anyway, what I read today really summed up what I need to hear right now.

"Good, you’re right to fear that xx will go away. Because that will happen. It will vanish and evaporate one day. That’s why I don’t want you to give your all to xx . I want you to give your all to me. I want all your hopes and all your dreams.
Because I am unchanging. I will not go away. I will not fade, I will not vanish. I am the great I am. I and I alone can make that statement. You can’t see it right now. Your eyes are blind to the things I’m doing, but know that in the mosaic of my mind, the only mind that spans generations, I am preparing you for something. I am tilling your heart and your soul right now. I am stirring up everything you think you know about you and me because I am preparing you for something. And what that is, I will not say, but know that it is mine, and things that are mine begin in love and end in love and they never make sense to the human mind because my designs are too wonderful to fathom.”

You can read the rest of this post here http://www.jonacuff.com/stuffchristianslike/2012/03/the-map-the-plan/

I have a handful of close friends that are really struggling with the fact that their "plan" didn't work out as expected. I'm right there. Hang in there - I think some big, awesome things are in the works if we just give up a teeny bit of control.

Step by Step

The last few weeks have been very uplifting.  We are seeing some awesome Amazon purchases! (Whoever decided they needed a new tv and accessories...I love you. Just saying.) Our garage is quickly filling up with goodies for our yard sale and just last week a coworker of mine offered some furniture for the sale.  We are officially set for a fundraiser at Chick-Fil-A (details to follow in a later post) and so many have already RSVPd via Facebook. What's even more impressive is my out of town friends who have asked "How can I help?"  I have a very good friend who is close to pulling the trigger on starting down this same path, and it's awesome to have someone to babble about all the details with who actually cares.  I can't share who it is right now, but I'm really excited.  Last but not least, I made a new connection who just brought home two little ones from the same area we are adopting from. It's awesome to have somebody who has been there, done that.  I am constantly amazed at how open and encouraging the adoption community is.


Two weeks ago, while sitting in the waiting room of the pediatrician's office, Madeline turned to a complete stranger and said the following very matter of factly: "I'm growing a baby sister in Africa."  You can imagine the look. I just nodded with the knowing look that kids will say anything. I was super proud of her, especially as she's not much for talking with strangers.  She insists on praying for baby sister and our sponsored Compassion child at all meals and before any form of sleep.


I'm headed into the home stretch of this semester and quite honestly, I don't want to write papers, I want to finish my paperwork! Praying for focus right now.  I'm trying to pace myself by allowing one adoption To Do per day. I've sent away for a lot of official documents that we need and am already seeing them come back.  Hopefully in the next week I will be mailing a letter with some great information to all of our friends and family.


Just for the record, I have be fairly vague on her about our process, including which country specifically we are adopting from.  I don't want to do anything to jeopardize the process for our family or others, nor do I want anything I write to be misinterpreted.  But if you have questions, definitely e-mail me or catch me in person. Brad and I are so excited about this journey and our prayer is that others will choose adoption for their families as well.

Welcome to Our Mansion

This is the doll house that Madeline got for Christmas.

She frequently resides in the 2nd story.Ridiculous!

Happy Spring

From our happy little family to yours

Enjoy these beautiful days while they last!

Lady Bug

For Christmas, my sister got Madeline this lady bug night light.  She absolutely loves it and can't sleep without it these days.  It glows in red, purple, and green and throws stars all over the room.  Best of all, it shuts off autmatically after about 20 minutes. Long enough for Madeline to enjoy, but doesn't drain the battery! It's super cute and a very charming way to have a nightlight.

Let the Paperwork Begin

You know you have a whole new outlook on life when it's Saturday night (and St. Patrick's Day to boot) and the highlight of your evening is driving to Office Depot so you can purchase supplies to make a paperwork binder.  And yes, that's a true story. 

Despite all the insanity of school and work right now, we are diving head first into the paperwork stage of our adoption.  I laughed because every piece of paper from our agency says to take it one step at a time and not get overwhelmed....and then I looked at what all was required and I figured out why all the warnings! 

So now I have a nice binder, organized by topic, with all my important paper in sheet protectors. Nerd alert! 

Let the paperwork begin!

Great Wolf Lodge

We had a fantastic weekend at Great Wolf Lodge with our friends, the Harless family.  We swam and rode water slides until we were pruned.  The girls had their first "sleepover" together.  We hardly even ate we were so busy.  I wish I could show you picutres, but we were pretty water logged.  We will definitely be returning for another weekend getaway in the future. 

Pretty hair. Glad that Madeline will at least sit still for Ashley, even if I'm not allowed to do her hair.

Best Buds.

Weekend Project

Up next at the Long house: Madeline's New Room! Here's what we're striving for...only better!

She picked it out!

Good Reads

For Christmas we bought Madeline several adoption themed books to help facilitate a discussion about our upcoming life changes. I know there are tons of great kids books on adoption, but I was really happy with what we have so far:

This book has Madeline convinced that any time someone is sad it's because they miss their mommy. Very cute but a little confused.

By and far, this is my favorite book.  Bright colors and a perfect message about how families are made.

(And whoever bought a new flat screen tv and accompanying items this week....I love you.)



Three

Hard to believe, but our tiny baby girl is now a 3 year old. Still tiny, but a 3 year old none the less.  It’s unbelievable how much she’s changed over the last year.  So independent – insists on doing everything herself and helping mom and daddy with their chores as well.  She pretty much gets her self ready for school each day.  It’s hard to imagine going back to the baby phase with such a big girl running around and potty trained. Madeline is developing a very strong sense of humor – very dry and frank – it’s absolutely hysterical.  She knows where everything is and just how it’s supposed to be done.  

 

We celebrated her birthday by a big family party at Grandma and Grandpa Webb’s house.  Unfortunately both Uncle Matt and Uncle Bert were indisposed that day, but other than that it was all our people in one house.  We are moving Madeline into a new bedroom to make way for baby, so all the Grandmas and aunts joined together to pick up some room items.  Madeline picked the bedding herself, with my approval.  I wouldn’t have picked pink, but it’s pretty cute.   Additional gifts included Barbies, Barbie's convertible and a jewelry box.

This ridiculous face is becoming her official picture pose. Ugh.

Instead of having a party for our Indiana friends, we decided to keep it low-key this year. (Read: Heather does not have the time or energy to clean the house.)  Instead we will be venturing to the Great Wolf Lodge in Cincinnati with our good friends, the Harless family! 

Madeline and Evan: The first time all winter they've been allowed in the same room.

Next time you're on Amazon....

Not going to lie - adoption costs a small fortune.  There are lot of valid reasons why this is the case, which I will not go into here.  There's no doubt that the financial aspect of this adventure has been the hardest thing to grapple with.  Needless to say, the Long family is in full fledged financial lock down.  We are attempting to filter every possibly penny we can into our adoption fund.  We have already been immensely blessed in the last few weeks through a very unexpected gift from friends and some awesome work opportunities.  Even little things like my car repair being covered under warranty and my beloved Sonicare toothbrush miraculously fixing itself have proven to be blessings.  But we know we're going to have to step it up with some creative fundraising ideas. 

So here's a SUPER easy one that you (and everyone you know!) can help with.  The next time you feel compelled to buy something from Amazon, (and who doesn't? I've bought my entire Christmas list from there 2 years running!) please access it through our nifty little link on the right side menu.  A portion of your purchase will go straight into our adoption fund. How ridiculously easy is that?

A few details:
-We will not know who is purchasing, so don't be afraid to load up on neon spandex undergarments or whatever else strikes your fancy!
-You must log in through our link each time you access Amazon in order for the next purchase to count.  Please bookmark us!
-If you put something in your cart but then check out during another session, that will not count :(
-Please feel free to pass this along to your friend, family, coworkers, Facebook feed, Twitter, etc. The more the merrier!
-If you want to post to your blog, let me know - I can get you a cool looking link.

Thinking Ahead

Disclaimer: We are not actually selling our child.  She looked super cute with this sticker though.

If you're anything like me, you spend the dreary winter months trying to get your house cleaned up a bit. Cleaning out closets, geting rid of items that are no longer used, etc.  If you happen to stumble across some items that you're not sure whether to sell or donate, please consider passing them over to the Long family for a massive garage sale in the spring.  We are going to attempt a sale during our neighborhood garage sale and are asking for anything you are willing to pitch in. 

 All proceeds will go directly to our adoption fund. 

 Think about it - no need to bother with your own sale. Most of my friends have to group together just to have a reasonable inventory for a garage sale anyway.  No hauling stuff to Goodwill.  And it all goes towards a great cause.  If you are interested, please let me know!   

(Random side note: first incident of toddler shoplifting this weekend. At an Autozone.  Really? )

Building Our Family...

Well...I accidentally jumped the gun and put my ticker up, so I guess it's time to spill the beans....given that Madeline is almost 3 and I'm almost done with grad school, people have been inquiring as to whether there will be another baby Long arriving shortly...

After much research, prayer, discussion, prayer, waffling, prayer, raw anxiety, and prayer...

we have decided to grow our family through adoption!

Most people who know us realize that this has been on the table for a long time.  We originally thought we were going to be adopting locally, but God has really been pulling my attention toward the need for international adoption for the last 9 months or so.  After a whole heck of a lot of research and soul searching (I can say confidently that I have a better understand of what it means to wrestle with God these days...), we have decided to adopt a baby from Africa.  I will be posting a lot more about this over the next few weeks.  We just applied to our agency last week (which is when the ticker begins) and we are hoping to have this wrapped up by the end of the year, but if there's anything I realize about this process, it's that I'm completely out of control of most things.

Someone once told me that adoption is not for the faint of heart and I think they might be right! 

Christmas Take 2

So we had to wait several weeks before attempting Christmas with my family again, primarily to make sure Evan wouldn't be exposed to anything nasty.  So MLK weekend, we packed everything up yet again and headed to Ohio for Christmas Take 2.  You can only imagine my joy when we woke up Saturday morning with Madeline puking and running 103 degree fever. Oh happy day.  So we were once again banished away from family, with the exception of my parents.  We did manage to exchange gifts and here's a few decent shots...

Barbie car. She loves this thing.

Giant mound of presents. Must be the Webb family Christmas!

Why do I keep getting all this doll stuff? I don't know, but I like it!

Quit making me smile grandpa! There are giant boxes to be unwrapped!

The world's biggest dollhouse.

Christmas - Take 1

I think I may have jinxed our Christmas celebration this year with my complete lack of spirit during the early Christmas season.  After some mad last minute shopping (thank you Amazon prime!), the Long family was all packed and ready for a nice long weekend with the family in Ohio. The car was crammed full of gifts, luggage, and dogs. Our last step was to put Madeline in her pajamas for a nice long car ride. Imagine our surprise when we realized that the case of dry skin she had on her face had turned to a full fledge rash on her hands.  A quick stop by the urgent care center confirmed what we had already discovered on Wedmd - a seriously disgusting, highly contagious virus called Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease! Not to mention two screaming ear infections.  And we didn't have a clue.  In the 3 hours it took us to get out of the urgent care center, the nastiness has spread to her legs and bottom.  And there went our Christmas plans.....

Pictured here with the beautiful, scabby, raw mess that covered her body. 

We were officially banned from venues with children, so no Christmas with the Webb family.  I did skype in for dinner and presents though.  Fortunately Brad's side does not have any other children, so we did manage to spend a nice long weekend with his family.