Dressing Up Emily Margaret's Drawers

Hi all!

I came across this project earlier today on Nanny Goat and fell in love.

As you know Emily Margaret will be using James' nursery furniture.

It's beautiful white furniture that will hopefully 

just need a fresh coat of paint.

I've been keeping my eyes open for nursery ideas.

Isn't this just the cutest way to help add 

a little girly-ness to her dresser?!

Cute, fun and inexpensive... that's my kinda inspiration! :D

God's blessings on your Sunday afternoon, Sarah 

Hague Training Graduate

Hi all!
I just had to share the good news,
I've completed my Hague training...
HOORAY!!!

So,
not only are we one step closer to Emily Margaret,
I learned a ton about international adoption.
Our international social worker Karla
presented several of the video messages.
Also, Jennifer Chambers, MD from UAB's
International Adoption Clinic spoke as well.
Dr.Chambers will be one of the physicians working
with Emily Margaret once she comes home.
I loved how not only was it informative but
it was very personal too.

Call me a dork but I thoroughly 

enjoyed all the articles and video clips!

Now we're just waiting on 

Big Daddy to finish his training. 

Yes, for the record Emily Margaret,

your Daddy may make the money that brings you home,

but your Mama finished her Hague training first! ; >

Thanks for sharing all the 

little victories with us!

God's blessings, Sarah :D

Hague-Compliant Training

Hi all!
Just as I thought we were finishing up
the last of our education,
I realized I'd forgotten one small thing...
our Hague-compliant training.
Small as in $175.00
and 8 hours of education
for both Andy & myself.
The cool part is that I'm about
half way through and I've really enjoyed it.
I've learned a lot!
Such as,
for every 3.4 months a child spends
in an orphanage, they will fall approximately
1 month behind developmentally.


Note to friends:
If you're ever on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire 
and the category is international adoption trivia,
call me, I'll be worth your lifeline! ; >


With all the paperwork and studies
I thought I needed a little reward.
My little reward came in the form
of a very adorable little Korean girl, Tessa.
I spent the morning with a sweet friend
and her 14 month old princess. :)
Which reinforced the message that with
proper love and attention these adopted
children make huge progress once home.
Tessa has blossomed from a solemn baby
to a chubby cheeked, bubbly personality,
head strong toddler.

Emily Margaret, I can't wait for you to meet 
Tessa, she's the very definition of spunky! :)

That's all for tonight,
I'll update you on our progress.
Please keep our adoption and baby girl in your prayers.
God's blessings! Sarah :D

Special Needs?!

Hi all!
I wanted to take a moment for a quick update.
Andy and I filled out our Special Needs Conditions checklist last night.
It was actually the 2nd time we filled it out...
I'm still not sure what happen to the first copy?!

So as we were filling it out we had the obvious
conditions we'd prayed and talked about...
Cleft Lip/Palate,
Extra Digits,
Club Foot/Feet,
yep, yep, yep.

What floored us were the conditions
listed that to us were very minor...
Small birthmark,
Eczema,
Mild Burns,
Hip Dysplasia,
Anemia,
Partial Hearing Loss,
all manageable and all yeps.

We progressed on down the list
until we got to this one,
Excessive Moles.
Excessive moles, honestly?!
Andy's reaction was "Shoot I've got that,
mark YES!"

Not exactly the kind of diagnosis
I would expect to classify someone as Special Needs.
Although we all know Andy's special! ;)


Of course there were numerous more serious
conditions on the list that Andy and I had prayed
about that we didn't feel led to check off.
But it made us laugh to think that by these standards
everyone of the Hinsons has a special need.

I would encourage anyone looking into adoption
to check out the special needs conditions.
You'd be surprised how healthy some of these conditions are.

I guess this is all just another verification from
God that we're going in the direction He's leading us.
Thanks again for keeping us and
little Ms. Emily Margaret in your prayers.
God's blessings, Sarah :D

Family Addition Reality

Hi all!
This morning has been a lazy one
filled with family discussions,
while sipping coffee.

Dreaming...
Us wondering how long the flight to China will take.
Looks like about 14 hours.
The things we'll do.
James wants to do Tae Kwon Do in the town square,
like you see in the movies.
Joseph's heard that they have a Playstation 7 in China,
so he wants to check that out.
Yes, when the Hinsons dream, we dream big! :)

Discussing...
That those first few days Emily Margaret will cry a lot,
and how that's a good thing.
We want her to mourn the loss of the life she knew.
How we probably won't be able to use our cell phones in China,
without a gianormous fee.
Yes Joseph, that means placing calls and texting.


Preparing...
Until this morning I've given very little thought
about the stuff she'll need once she's here.
But after yesterday's meeting I realize it's time
to get my game face on. :)
My sweet dad kindly reminded me that my youngest
is seven years old, I'm truly starting all over.
The best part??
Since Joseph and James are 6 1/2 years apart
I've done this starting over before.
Only this time, I'll need pink!

Remembering...
That James' baby bed is in storage.
My bff Allison has my changing table.
She's using it for her new baby boy
until we need it again.
Aunt Rach has our Britax car seat.
Although after living through 3 kids
there's probably not much life left in it.

Considering...
How we'll do her nursery.
I'm pretty sure I'll be doing lots of DIY projects.
But I'll save the nursery for last.
When I have more nervous energy than I can stand!

Refocusing...
The classes we still need to finish.
The paperwork I need to obtain.
The baby girl I need to pray for.
And most importantly the God I need to thank.

Thank you as well for all your thoughts and prayers.
You're my cyber cheerleaders!
God's blessings on your Saturday, Sarah :D

Final Home Study Meeting

Hi all!
Today was the last meeting of our home study.
We finished up with Jennifer,
our social worker.
She asked more about the boys.
What their personalities are like,
how we discipline them
and most importantly,
how we express our love.

Now that Jennifer is finished with our interview process
she will spend the next couple of weeks typing up the report.
Which is perfect timing since she and her husband
will be traveling to Korea in the next 3-4 weeks...
to adopt their baby boy!
Congrats to her and her sweet family.

After we finished with Jennifer it was time to meet Karla.
She's our go to girl for everything to do with China.
We were able to ask her lots of questions.
The biggest thing on our minds right now,
was what she thought
about the boys traveling to China with us.
She said she thinks our kids are at the perfect ages to travel with us...
HOORAY!
Honestly, I don't know how we'll come up with the extra money,
but just knowing that all my babies will be together made my heart jump!
So grandparents, if you're reading this,
I know exactly what the kids want for their birthdays this year. ;D

Last but not least we discussed what our timeline will
probably look like for the remainder of the adoption.
We can expect to start being matched as soon as our
home study report is completed and submitted.
I was trying to be an adult and remain ultra calm,
so I said "We should be matched sometime this summer?"
Karla's reply, "No probably more like April."
Now I can't lie,
my heart literally leapt into my throat at this point.
Apparently I was remaining too calm
because I noticed that Karla was reading my face for emotions.
That's when I busted out,
"Oh we're ready to go this weekend, so April's fabulous!"
Andy chimed in "Glory sister, the sooner the better!"
I could tell that Karla was pleased with our excitement
and I was glad to not have to stifle my enthusiasm anymore!

Once we except our referral we'll have to be cleared through China.
Then we'll make our travel arrangements.
Karla said that usually takes about 6 months all together.
Again, I was needing to plot it out so I asked
"Ok, we'll probably being traveling ...."
Karla interjected, "I think you'll have your Emily Margaret
home with you this time next year!!!"
That's the best thing I've heard all week,
HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Andy says if she's not here by Christmas he's
going to leave the tree up for her to enjoy once she's home. :)

So, I've got a ton of paperwork to complete,
some money to come up with,
and a baby girl to prepare for.

I keep thinking,
hello,
this is r-e-a-l-l-y happening.
Oh God is so good!!!

Thanks for all your comments and prayers,
it means more than you'll ever know!

God's blessings, Sarah :)

Last Home Study Visit

Hi friends and family,
tomorrow's a B-I-G day.
We'll be in Birmingham,
for the last meeting of our home study...
HOORAY!

Although I'm very excited
today has been a challenging day.
I've found myself very tearful.

Maybe I didn't sleep well last night
and I'm just tired.
It could be that I forgot to take my hormones.
But it's probably that my heart is full
and breaking for Emily Margaret.

How can I miss someone
I've never even met?

Although we pray for her everyday,
I find that I feel closest to her each time
we reach another adoption milestone.

So little Miss Emily Margaret,
we're getting a little bit closer to you...
wherever you are.

Andy asked me today if I thought Emily Margaret
could be in Haiti.
He said the girls in his office told him
about all the orphaned children from the earthquakes.
The girls asked him to give them a heads up
on any thoughts of us flying out this weekend
to get our baby girl.
They wanted to make sure they had a few days
to gather our needed baby items!

Oh Emily Margaret,
you might be in a cramped and cold orphanage for now.
But when you get home the flood gates
are going to open with love and affection,
from your family and friends.

I'll post tomorrow about our final meeting.
We're supposed to meet with Jennifer,
our social worker for about 30 minutes.
Then Karla the coordinator for adopting from China
will join us for the remainder of the meeting.

Please keep us in your prayers tomorrow.

God's blessings! Sarah

Over The Top Award

Hi all!
I'm so excited, I think someone actually reads my blog.
What gave me that idea??
I just got my first blog award!

When I got the email I couldn't help myself from imagining an acceptance speech...
First I'd like to thank my family,
for allowing me the time to blog
AND for providing me with an unending supply of material to blog about.
Secondly, I'd like to thank my sweet hubby for bragging on my bloggy skills.
Thirdly, I'd like to thank my baby sister for introducing me to the blogging world.
And last but certainly not least, I'd like to thank my bloggy friends for their comments, inspiration and prayers.

So, here's how this works.
I am supposed to answer the questions below with only one word answers.
Then I am supposed to nominate 6 other bloggers to receive this award.
They must also play along and answer the questions on their blog.
Then they pass along the award to their 6 favorite blogs.

Ok, here I go:

1. Where is your cell phone? Close

2. Your hair? Messy

3. Your mother? Nurse

4. Your father? Bank-Security

5. Your favorite food? Chinese :)

6. Your dream last night? Hhhmmm??

7. Your favorite drink? Dr.Pepper

8. Your dream/goal? Adoption

9. What room are you in? Living room

10. Your hobby? Crafting

11. Your fear? Grumpiness

12. Where do you want to be in six years? Surrounded

(By my husband, kids and the love of the Father)

13. Where were you last night? Home

(Playing board games with the family. Hello Friday night!)

14. Something that you aren't? Boring

15. Muffins? Sure

16. Wish list item? Emily Margaret :)

17. Where did you grow up? Birmingham

18. Last thing you did? Ate dinner

19. What are you wearing? Jammy tales!!! :)

20. Your TV? Non-issue

(Non-issue for me of course, my hubby and boys keep that under control!)

21. Your pets? 2 Dogs+2 Cats

22. Friends? Fabulous!

23. Your life? Forgiven

24. Your mood? Tired

25. Missing someone? Emily Margaret

26. Vehicle? Pimp-bus

(It's actually a pimped out YukonXL Denali, hence the nickname Pimp Bus.)

27. Something you're not wearing? Makeup

28. Your favorite store? JJill

29. Your favorite color? Yellow

(Or Lellow as James use to call it.)

30. When was the last time you laughed? Today

31. Last time you cried? Last night

(I laughed until I cried while playing Scattergories with the family.)

32. Your best friend? My hubby

33. One place that I could go over and over? Home

34. One person who emails you regularly? Does Facebook count?!

35. Favorite place to eat? Out

Whew, thanks for playing along with me.
Now for the nominees...
drum roll please... ;>
1. Rachel at The McMommy Diary
2. Allison at The Swaffords
3. Kala at Three Little Men And A Mommy
4. Holli at Settled In My Home
5. Leslie at Dilly Dally
6. Kristin at Write It Down

I can't wait to read your versions of these questions.
Thanks again Amber, I'm honored.
God's blessings on your night, Sarah :D